If you asked my what the date is today, I wouldn't be able to tell you. Without friends reminding me and everybody commenting about it on facebook, I also wouldn't have known that daylight savings starts tomorrow. I would have just woken up on Sunday, accepted the time and got on with the day.
At the moment dates don't really mean much to me, I just live by the days. I know what I have on each day, but if you asked me for the date, I just wouldn't know. So when Geninne put up her new calendar, I just assumed it was already October, and swapped the desktop calender immediately. It wasn't until the next day that I actually realised that it was still September. I felt a bit silly but didn't bother changing it back, as it seemed like a waste of time.
So if you're keen for a change, why not add the new calendar as well :)
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Cards
The latest crafty craze that my friends and I have really been getting into the last few months is card making. We have been inspired by all the super pretty cards out there and by all the Stampin' Up parties we have been attending. One great thing about Stampin' Up is the huge variety of stamps they have on offer. I just want so many, but so far I only have one set of stamps. They are just so cute and I hope to use when making cards for the arrival of babies, and for birthdays.
This week I had a go at making a few different cards. This first was a card for a newborn. Sadly, I didn't use my stamps. Instead, I made this...
I also attended an engagement party, so I made this pink love-heart card, which I got the idea from here.
And before the above mentioned engagement party, I also attended a housewarming party. To help warm the house, I made my friend this little card.
I really enjoyed making all these cards but I especially enjoyed using the sewing machine on the last two. It has just been so long since I have sewn anything that it felt good to sit down in front of my sewing machine again and create something, even if it was only small. I just wish I had some alphabet stamps so I could have stamped out 'home sweet home' on the housewarming card. I guess I could have written it, but I don't really like my handwriting. It's just not neat enough.
Talking about friends making cards actually, here is a link to some cards that my friend Britt made. I think they are great :).
'Fox & Friends'
This week I had a go at making a few different cards. This first was a card for a newborn. Sadly, I didn't use my stamps. Instead, I made this...
I also attended an engagement party, so I made this pink love-heart card, which I got the idea from here.
And before the above mentioned engagement party, I also attended a housewarming party. To help warm the house, I made my friend this little card.
I really enjoyed making all these cards but I especially enjoyed using the sewing machine on the last two. It has just been so long since I have sewn anything that it felt good to sit down in front of my sewing machine again and create something, even if it was only small. I just wish I had some alphabet stamps so I could have stamped out 'home sweet home' on the housewarming card. I guess I could have written it, but I don't really like my handwriting. It's just not neat enough.
Talking about friends making cards actually, here is a link to some cards that my friend Britt made. I think they are great :).
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Not enough time!
In the last few weeks my life has been taken over with uni work. The house is a mess! The dishes aren't done, the floor isn't vacuumed, the washing isn't put away, or even in the machine for that matter. I certainty don't want visitors at the moment, and sadly, I can't go visit anyone because I have too many assignments to finish.
When Nicholas was about 8 weeks old, not going to bed until midnight some nights and still waking up twice during the night for feeds I decided that I wanted to go back to uni. In retrospect I am not sure why I decided this was a good idea and why I thought I was going to be able to cope with studying and being a mum. The first few weeks were OK, but then assignments needed to be done and I found I was running out of time. The last week has been really intense. I have spent the entire week at home trying to finish two assignments which were due on the same day. I feel like I have no life. Every moment Nicholas is asleep during the day, I am doing uni work. Even sometimes when he is awake, and this makes me feel really guilty, I have been doing uni work. And this is why I haven't been blogging much either.
I honestly didn't think having a child and doing uni was going to be as difficult as it has been. Unlike last year when I worked two jobs and studied three subjects and survived, this semester has been a real challenge. Not only is most of my spare time taken up with readings, and listening to lectures but I have this feeling that my studying is affecting the limited time I have to spend with Nicholas when he is not sleeping. I have this real desire just to spend time with Nicholas without the burden of uni work bearing down on me, and as mentioned above, I have this real sense of guilt when I can't do this. Thankfully, there are only 3 weeks, one assignment and one exam left till it's finished for the year. And I am hoping that maybe next year (I only have two units and a prac left) my Mum can look after him while I spend a day studying.
This is also one reason why I haven't been blogging much either. Just not enough time!
When Nicholas was about 8 weeks old, not going to bed until midnight some nights and still waking up twice during the night for feeds I decided that I wanted to go back to uni. In retrospect I am not sure why I decided this was a good idea and why I thought I was going to be able to cope with studying and being a mum. The first few weeks were OK, but then assignments needed to be done and I found I was running out of time. The last week has been really intense. I have spent the entire week at home trying to finish two assignments which were due on the same day. I feel like I have no life. Every moment Nicholas is asleep during the day, I am doing uni work. Even sometimes when he is awake, and this makes me feel really guilty, I have been doing uni work. And this is why I haven't been blogging much either.
I honestly didn't think having a child and doing uni was going to be as difficult as it has been. Unlike last year when I worked two jobs and studied three subjects and survived, this semester has been a real challenge. Not only is most of my spare time taken up with readings, and listening to lectures but I have this feeling that my studying is affecting the limited time I have to spend with Nicholas when he is not sleeping. I have this real desire just to spend time with Nicholas without the burden of uni work bearing down on me, and as mentioned above, I have this real sense of guilt when I can't do this. Thankfully, there are only 3 weeks, one assignment and one exam left till it's finished for the year. And I am hoping that maybe next year (I only have two units and a prac left) my Mum can look after him while I spend a day studying.
This is also one reason why I haven't been blogging much either. Just not enough time!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Retro Readers Club
I have joined a retro readers book club where we are to read 'James and the Giant Peach' by Roald Dahl. I loved Roald Dahl's books as a child. My favourite in particular was Esio Trot. I read this book so many times, and recently enjoyed reading it out loud to one of the kids I used to look after in the holidays.
This will be a great reason to procrastinate from doing uni work :).
What was your favourite Roald Dahl book?
This will be a great reason to procrastinate from doing uni work :).
What was your favourite Roald Dahl book?
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Spring is coming!
Spring is almost here! There is an obvious change in the air. The sun is starting to shine just a little bit more and it is becoming slowly warmer. Everything is starting to grow again. Even the chickens have started laying again and make an embarrassing racket in the morning when they are laying eggs. Plus everything is looking just that tiny bit greener. Now is the perfect time to be out in the garden preparing it for summer, which is what we have been doing these past two weekends. Even Nicholas has started spending some time outside, which is a first for him.
Rhubarb!
Raspberries - yum
Our newly planted mulberry tree!
Nicholas enjoying his time outside!
Rhubarb!
Raspberries - yum
Our newly planted mulberry tree!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
1-1-1-1-1
Everyone should know how to make this cake. It is super easy and super tasty, because all it involves is 5 ingredients, each measuring 1 cup.
I don't know what this cake is called, so I'm calling it the '1-1-1-1-1 cake'
1 cup SR Flour
1 cup coconut
1 cup milk
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sultanas (I substituted with dates as I had no sultanas, and if I had made a caramel sauce it would have tasted like sticky date pudding).
Then in the oven for about 45-50mins on 180°C.
Too easy :)
I don't know what this cake is called, so I'm calling it the '1-1-1-1-1 cake'
1 cup SR Flour
1 cup coconut
1 cup milk
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sultanas (I substituted with dates as I had no sultanas, and if I had made a caramel sauce it would have tasted like sticky date pudding).
Then in the oven for about 45-50mins on 180°C.
Too easy :)
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Our introduction into August this year was unlike any I had ever experienced. As a kid, I never broke any bones (first fractured bone was when I was almost 19-years-old), I was never admitted to hospital because of an illness (I did have an operation when I was 16 for scoliosis but this isn't an illness). In fact I was hardly ever sick and I rarely injured myself.
Before having children I actively avoided thinking about the notion that one day my child might be so sick that they would need to be admitted to hospital. I think as a parent, no-one ever wants to imagine their child being that ill because when they are it is heartbreaking. Thankfully, we have have a good public health system, knowledgeable doctors and caring nurses to help when we have sick children. I am grateful that during this time I didn't have to worry so much because, even though Nicholas had bronchiolitis, they gave him oxygen when he had trouble breathing, a feeding tube when he was too tired to feed himself, and a full-time nurse to watch him when things were really bad. I would hate to think how things would have been if we didn't have any of these things.
Sadly, keeping out of hospital, other than when he was born, didn't last very long. Only 11 weeks. And I honestly think that this time in hospital was more tiring than the first. Not only was Nicholas' sleep disturbed regularly by doctors and nurses poking and prodding, but so was mine. On the first night we were there, we sat in paeds emergency from about 8pm until we were admitted to a ward at about 1.30am. After talking with the nurses, feeding Nicholas one last time, saying goodbye to Daniel and helping Nicholas to sleep, I finally got to lie down and sleep around 4am, only to woken up at 6.30pm for another feed. This sleep deprivation continued the entire time Nicholas was in hospital, and to some extent is still happening even though we are home. So much so, that I now have a cold and am running on empty.
The hardest thing though, apart from the sleep deprivation, was seeing Nicholas in pain. Over the last few days all I have really heard from him is crying. On the Friday night, while waiting in emergency the nurses had to take some blood for testing. They did this by pricking his heel and then squeezing it. At first it didn't seem so bad. He didn't cry when the prick occurred but after they started squeezing his foot, he tried so hard to get away from them. He struggled and screamed more than ever before, and I found it so difficult to keep hold of him. I found it so distressing that I ended up in tears also. So when it came to putting in a nasal gastric tube, because he was too weak to feed, I just had to leave the room. I just couldn't bring myself to watch him struggle that much again. What I could do though was be there to give him cuddles afterwards.
After 4 or so days in hospital we were sent home with the all clear. And it is great to be home. There is just no comparison. Nicholas is slowly on the mend, but still very clingy and grumpy, and cries far more than usual. Also, his sleep patterns were disrupted in hospital, so now he has to relearn those too. Hopefully over the next few days things will start to get a bit better. And thankfully, I have great friends and family, who bring us dinner so I don't have to cook, and who come over and help me or listen to me cry on the phone when I am not coping.
Here are some photos of our time in hospital.
Before having children I actively avoided thinking about the notion that one day my child might be so sick that they would need to be admitted to hospital. I think as a parent, no-one ever wants to imagine their child being that ill because when they are it is heartbreaking. Thankfully, we have have a good public health system, knowledgeable doctors and caring nurses to help when we have sick children. I am grateful that during this time I didn't have to worry so much because, even though Nicholas had bronchiolitis, they gave him oxygen when he had trouble breathing, a feeding tube when he was too tired to feed himself, and a full-time nurse to watch him when things were really bad. I would hate to think how things would have been if we didn't have any of these things.
Sadly, keeping out of hospital, other than when he was born, didn't last very long. Only 11 weeks. And I honestly think that this time in hospital was more tiring than the first. Not only was Nicholas' sleep disturbed regularly by doctors and nurses poking and prodding, but so was mine. On the first night we were there, we sat in paeds emergency from about 8pm until we were admitted to a ward at about 1.30am. After talking with the nurses, feeding Nicholas one last time, saying goodbye to Daniel and helping Nicholas to sleep, I finally got to lie down and sleep around 4am, only to woken up at 6.30pm for another feed. This sleep deprivation continued the entire time Nicholas was in hospital, and to some extent is still happening even though we are home. So much so, that I now have a cold and am running on empty.
The hardest thing though, apart from the sleep deprivation, was seeing Nicholas in pain. Over the last few days all I have really heard from him is crying. On the Friday night, while waiting in emergency the nurses had to take some blood for testing. They did this by pricking his heel and then squeezing it. At first it didn't seem so bad. He didn't cry when the prick occurred but after they started squeezing his foot, he tried so hard to get away from them. He struggled and screamed more than ever before, and I found it so difficult to keep hold of him. I found it so distressing that I ended up in tears also. So when it came to putting in a nasal gastric tube, because he was too weak to feed, I just had to leave the room. I just couldn't bring myself to watch him struggle that much again. What I could do though was be there to give him cuddles afterwards.
After 4 or so days in hospital we were sent home with the all clear. And it is great to be home. There is just no comparison. Nicholas is slowly on the mend, but still very clingy and grumpy, and cries far more than usual. Also, his sleep patterns were disrupted in hospital, so now he has to relearn those too. Hopefully over the next few days things will start to get a bit better. And thankfully, I have great friends and family, who bring us dinner so I don't have to cook, and who come over and help me or listen to me cry on the phone when I am not coping.
Here are some photos of our time in hospital.
And two of favourites
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
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