Infant Weight Watchers... *rolls eyes*

As many of my readers may know I had a baby 12 weeks ago, a gorgeous little man who is the light of mine and hubby's life, born 7lb 13oz, the little guy was smaller than we expected as we were told to expect a 9lb or 10lb, needless to say we had a wardrobe full of 000 clothing that didn't initially fit, having to opt for the 0000 clothes first of all instead.. I didn't buy too many, thankfully because the little fella grew super quickly into his 000 wardrobe in no time at all (2 weeks later) and now he is moving into the 00 clothes! I already have 2 bag fulls of clothes that he has outgrown!

 My point though, isn't that I wasted money on lots of clothes (I have no problem with that at all.. I enjoy every minute of clothes shopping..  ) What concerns me of late, is the amount of people who feel its OK to comment on my babies size.. like he is a supermodel or something.. "Ooh he's a little chubby" "Look at those rolls" (although I for the life of me, can't see rolls.. ) or even "What a big boy".  Yes, he is quite tall and certainly doesn't have numerous rolls so I think he looks 100% adorable and 100% healthy!  My elder son grew in the same fashion and by 5 months he was a size 0.. now he is a super skinny 6 year old, I don't think he has an obese bone in his whole body..

I sometimes feel like asking these infant Jenny Craig activists if they think I should send bub to the gym, perhaps a calorie controlled diet? Cut out the carbs perhaps.. LOL. He drinks bottles for goodness sakes.. he is hardly down at McDonald's every day binge eating. It just amazes me how people think it's OK to make such comments.. I hardly think they'd like it if I pointed out their second chin, fat ass or the couple of extra kilo's they gain here and there.. so why do they think its OK to tell a baby they are fat?  

Just my random observation for the day.. :) 

Computer Woes...

 Ever since I was 12 I have had a computer with access to the Internet, so this week when I found myself 'computerless' with 2 broken laptops I really felt quite 'disconnected'. A feeling I haven't experienced since I didn't pay my Internet bill in uni and lost my Internet connection for a week! However, in this crazy day of technology, my despair didn't last too long upon realising I had 2 'retired' desktops, 1 dinosauric laptop hidden in the back of the linen cupboard and of course my IPhone to fall back on! How insane does that seem? We had so much technology in the home, we just simply take it for granted and forget it is even there.. and because things are worth so little these days, it wasn't worth selling either the desktops or the retired laptop when we no longer needed them, so they just sat there (and did what unused computers do).  

So my laptop went off to the shop with what I presumed would be a virus, however, the issue turned out to be a broken hard drive.. Thankfully, even though my warranty expired 3 weeks ago, Acer have been lovely enough to honour the repairs.. So after a week in the shop, I am out of pocket $150 for the computer shops labour, diagnosis and backup and will now still be without my computer for another 7-10 working days whilst Acer receive and repair the problem.. on the bright side, I saved $160. 

I didn't realise computer illness's were contagious, but Hubby's computer is doing something very similar, and still being under warranty, it too is off for repairs through the rental scheme it was purchased through.. 

In the meantime I chose to use the dinosauric laptop of days gone by, it is 10 times larger than I remember, 100 times slower, makes noises that computers shouldn't make and the 'd' key is missing, but we are getting along just fine. 

I think after the laptops come back I'm going to take some time to clear out the 2 desktops and the clunker of a laptop and re home them to someone who needs 1 computer in their life.. :) 

Shop til I drop..

Its certainly no secret that I'm an avid shopper.. In the past I have often felt like the shops are a second home to me, I could walk around them for hours, aimlessly browsing and feeling right at home! Since the birth of my Son, I haven't been out to the shops quite as often as I used to (it's no longer a daily habit, more so a weekly one!) Funnily enough I haven't suffered too many withdrawal symptoms because I have turned to the oh so convenient world of online shopping and I'm loving it!

Why? well since Charlie was born, hubby started popping to the shops here and there to pick up groceries or the odd supplies that we needed.  All well and good (he sticks to a list like a fly to flypaper)  but, I missed being able to pick up the bits and pieces that never make the list and overall I missed being able to grocery shop in general.  So over the school holidays I turned to Coles Online and used their 'Click and Collect' facility which allowed me to select all of my grocery items and then collect my purchases at my nearby Coles loading dock, all bagged and ready to go for no extra cost!  I was initially dubious about items such as deli, fresh produce and meat, but every item that was selected by the personal shopper was in great condition (sometimes even better than I choose for myself!)  and what I loved most about the experience it was the easiest grocery shop I had ever done with 5 kids in tow!

I also liked the fact that I was able to shop smarter because I was at home and can go and check on the items before I order and I didn't seem to forget anything, which is usually my biggest problem! I could rave about this service for ever and ever and have used it 3 times so far, each time, I was equally as impressed.. definitely something I will stick with in the future.. (if only Aldi had the same service, I'd be set & a little better off financially..lol)

Iv also used the Catch of the Day website to purchase Saucepans for 60% of the RRP and Lamaze storybooks for Charlie, also 60% off the recommended retail price.  Charlie's rocker came off of Big W online for $30 cheaper than I'd seen advertised elsewhere and was delivered to my door for $7.00!  Other sites I have been checking out are Grocery Run, Babies R Us, Toys R Us, Target online, Pumpkin Patch and a host of other brilliant sites that are often run by Mum and Dad operators.  You can save so much money by doing your shopping around and shopping online! 

I don't even think it's worth driving to the shops anymore! 

Crazy Busy Disorganised Chaos.. But making progress :-)

Well life has slowly been returning to a 'new kind of normal' in our household this week. Jobs that were getting done by bedtime (such as making the bed, before you get in it.. or showering for the first time when you would normally be taking your nighttime shower etc..) have been getting done in a more timely fashion (even if mine and hubby's dinner was eaten at 11pm this evening!)  Organised chaos, isn't that what they call it?  Although I would probably still describe our household as disorganised chaos, compared to the 'before' shot.. but hey.. its early days and were still in the trial and error stage when it comes to forming a routine that works around Charlies, 'Non-routine'.  

 At this point in time, Hubby and I taking half the night each - one does the early bottle, one does the late and the bottle/s in between we are both awake for - we find we are both too drowsy to go this bottle alone & whilst one is feeding, the other is ironing the uniforms and preparing the lunches for the next day.  This seems to work well, although the last thing you feel like doing is ironing and preparing lunches at 2am.  Charlie seems to like sleep, but he tends to sleep more on his 'mobile basinettes' (aka - Mummy & Daddy) and his rocker over his basinette.  Im on top of the washing now (2 days ago after a few days rain was another story..) but the ironing pile makes Mt Everest look like a teensy hill - I really must tackle that tomorrow morning (although I think iv said that to myself for a month prior to Charlie's arrival!). 

My other littlies homework is all up to date and we have been enjoying our regular Thursday night shopping trip.. I like to keep things as normal as I can for him, I don't want him to feel like he is missing out now just because there is a baby in the house.  After all, he is my baby too and was used to having me largely to himself for 6 years.. Sometimes I feel insanely guilty when the times he wants to do something is bottle time, but getting him involved with Charlie and seeing their relationship is so heartwarming - he really is a great big brother and should be so proud of himself, as we are. 

Some of the things I am planning on embarking on next are;

* The ironing..

* The garden.. (planting out for Spring)

* Getting back into the swing of baking regularly

(I have 2 tubs of untouched cookie dough that cost a fortune sitting in the fridge..)

* Online shopping for groceries...

* Venturing out a little more..

* Organising a bills and budget folder to maximise my 'home' time.

*  Venturing back to work 1 day per week

So yes, I have a few things in the pipeline that I will chip away at for the next couple of months.. I know its early days yet and our family is still adjusting to adding a new little person to the mix, but we wouldn't have it any other way.. I can't say we are going to go back and have any more..we'll see what the future holds, but for now a grand total of 5 kids between, we couldn't ask for any more (Well maybe just a little more sleep.. hehehe).

The last 3 weeks..

The last 3 weeks in our household have been filled with baby goodness!! Our new addition, Charlie Oliver arrived on the 26th July and ever since our world has been a whirlwind of baby snuggles, bottles, sleepless nights and nappies :-)  But of course, we wouldn't change a thing because he is super adorable and we spend the majority of our days staring at the gorgeous little man... Born at 7lb 13oz, Charlie was  a lot smaller than i'd imagined him to be (after looking like I was carrying 3 babies of that size!) and when he was born, the first thing I exclaimed was 'Isn't he soo tiny!'  and hubby said 'Look at all that hair!' (after being used to bald, blonde babies).

We spent 4 days in the hospital, hubby stayed the first night with me, which was good as I was still attached to a drip from the c-section & it was nice for him to be able to get used to our little guy, we spent the majority of the night in awe of the little fella, amazed at how we made something so perfect. Since coming home, we've had a few sleepless nights (thank goodness for foxtel - we've watched quite a bit of Channel V and a whole heap of baby stories on Discovery Home & Health)  but we tend to take 'shifts' so we at least get a few hours sleep each -  I'v been doing the 'lates' and he the 'early's'. 

All of the other kids have settled in really well with a baby in the house and are all proud big Brothers and Sisters.. although my eldest Stepson has repeatedly forgotten his baby Brother's name, this is nothing unusual for him though.. he didn't remember his teachers name after the first term holidays.. odd!  

Well id best go and catch a few more Zzzz's whilst I can this morning.. Night all. 

My Baby Shower..

With one month to go until my due date, my lovely Mum and Aunty threw me a Baby Shower to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our little man.  My parents live in the country, so we decided on their home for the venue as they have such a pretty outlook and it's just so peaceful, clean and fresh in the mountain air.  The day was gorgeous and sunny and it was so lovely getting together with so many lovely female friends and family for good food and games. I created the games to play on the day and we played the following;

* Celebrity Mums and Bubs

You were allocated the name of a celebrity mum on a card & a separate card with a celebrity child's name on it. You had to wander around, introduce yourself to everyone and find your correct children.  I found this to be a great icebreaker and a good way to start off the games of the day.

* How many Jelly Babies in the Bottle?

I filled an Avent feeding bottle with jelly babies and the guests had to guess how many were in the bottle.

* Mum to Be 20 Q's

20 Questions about myself, my infancy and childhood.. the person with the most correct answers was the winner.

* The Price is Right

I put out 6 baby items and the guests had to guess the cost of each item, closest one to the complete total was the winner..

*Guess the Belly.

Using wool, the guests had to cut the wool to an approximate length that would fit around my pregnant belly.  People can be very unkind hahahaha.. Although 2 people nearly got it spot on in the end!

*A-Z of Baby Names and Baby Things

With 2 minutes on the clock, guests had to write down in alphabetical order - baby names and baby items starting with each letter of the alphabet.. first to finish their list, was the winner..

I also had a couple more games up my sleeve such as 'Guess whats in the nappy bag' and 'Baby food tasting' but I ended up running out of time and lunch looked too appealing, so we stopped playing games to have our delicious lunch, followed by a gorgeous cake that my friend made for me - take a look at the amazing inside!
(photo to come when blogger wishes to cooperate!)

and I opened some delightful gifts..

All in all it was a fantastic day and I had a wonderful time.. Thank you to all of those girls for making me feel very special xo

Good afternoon Blog, long time - No see..

Well, I can't believe its been a month since I last posted on my blog! How time flies, when your having fun (or keeping busy, as in this case!) I am so thankful that it is school holidays and life has slowed down to the crawl that I intend to enjoy for the next 2 weeks..  So what has been happening in our little neck of the woods?  
* I had been busy with work but i'm finished now.. I finished up last Thursday, but prior to this I was trying to do a few days each week of relief work. 
* The days I wasn't doing relief work I was attending events at the kids school, doctors appointments or shopping.. filling most of my days in nicely from morning til school pickup!
* We finished organising the nursery, Hubby did a fantastic job in setting it all up and we decorated it together.. It is just as we'd both hoped and always imagined - very happy with it all.
* My Mum spent a few days in the hospital with a bad back, so I was up visiting her and helping her out in the week after she came home.. thankfully she is on the mend now, which is nice.. awful to see someone you love in so much agony.
*And on the weekend my Mum and Aunty threw me a lovely baby shower! Which was a gorgeous day with lots of gorgeous ladies in my life. I was in charge of creating the games, so that kept me busy for quite some time..

So nothing exciting or glamorous, just the day to day activities that keep us all busy.  So here I am - Kids on holidays, me on maternity leave, 4 weeks to go til the little Mr arrives and planning on enjoying the next few weeks before we're reintroduced to the world of babies.. Hope you have all been keeping well too..