A new obsession.

Blythe is gone from my thoughts – pushed out by pretty nappies, but now the nappies have been replaced too… What the hell is wrong with me…?

Why do I always have a ‘thing’?

Psychoanalysis aside, I have a new obsession & it’s baby carriers. Looking back on past ‘carrier use’, I should have seen this new addiction coming. I should have seen the signs… I wanted to use from the very beginning. I spent hours thinking about how good it would be if I had one. I tried different kinds of them. I kept going back…

With Le Punk I tried a stretchy wrap, a baby bjorn, a sling & finally, happily, the ergo. When we first found the ergo & found it worked for us unlike all the others I was so very happy. That ergo was a life-saver, helping us to navigate around an unfamiliar city on decidedly pram-unfriendly public transport. Punk would sleep in it, laugh in it, eat in it, I found if comfortable for long wear & super sturdy, so when expecting Suspence I was again looking forward to wearing it, I purchased the infant insert & was content. Punk even has her own little ergo!

But then… Suspence hated it. He would have no part of the bloody infant insert… in desperation I bought another sling… no love there. Another second hand baby bjorn too – I hate them but know from Punk that even if I find them objectionable, tiny babies don't necessarily – we were able to use that for a grand total of 2 weeks before Mr Tubby was just too heavy for me to carry comfortably… Then, disheartened, I thought “I’ll wait.”.

I’ll wait until Suspence is big enough for the ergo on his own. I’ll bide my time. I’ll not carry him… impossible. This kid needs to be in arms most of the day! So, when the nappy group I am a part of started a swap event I offered up my brand-new ergo infant insert for swaps & received a ring sling in return; because, ooohparently, I never learn.

I loved the ring sling when it arrived, it fit better than other slings I’d tried & was comfy & easy to adjust – if only Suspence could have felt the love too…! No dice. But. The fact that I personally liked the ring sling when I never thought I would got me thinking; “What else am I missing…?”, so when a Baby Hawk Mei Tai came up for sale on a forum (nappies, again…), I snapped it up. I had never even given the Mei Tai much serious consideration – all that tying looked like a capital pain in the butt & it couldn’t be as comfortable or easy as my beloved ergo….

I. Was. Wrong.

The Baby Hawk arrived yesterday & I am IN. LOVE. It was cute for a start, but most of all it was EASY. Easy to put on, easy to get the perfect fit, easy to wear & according to Suspence; easy to fall asleep in. This thing is so much more comfortable than the ergo that I find it a little hard to believe…

…& now that I know how fabulous Mei Tais are… well… I want another one. Or two. I want a prettier one. With a hood. Or a pocket. Or both.

A quick Google found me a plethora of free Mei Tai patterns & tutes – but I really am kidding myself if I think I am going to get the time to sit down & sew my own any time soon, as much as I’d like to, so now I am going to save up for something special… something like this, or one of these.

Do you baby wear? Have you tried but failed? Do you intend to? What on earth is my next ‘thing’ going to be (because you have just about as much of an idea as I do!)?!

Isn’t it Ironic…

…that I am probably “online” more than I have ever been – one handed via the iPod while Suspence is feeding or sleeping or crying in my arms – yet am blogging less than ever?!

(*please note that the following pictures have absolutely nothing to do with anything, they’re just some favourites taken recently…)

It is very near impossible to blog from my iPod kids, & just as hard to keep up with the blogs I read – commenting on them is quite the pain in the proverbial… but as I keep saying; I MISS YOU! Really & truly & would like to “hang out” with you again – but until Suspence is, oh, I don’t know… 12, My blog is going to be verrrrrrry quiet…

…so, I may have a temporary answer at the very least – I’ve just this moment, while Suspence is looking at me accusingly & starting to whimper – created a facebook page for the blog here.

Come & ‘like’ it & we can chat! Share your blog posts with me there if you like, or photos, links to your own fb pages or cute things to buy or make or tricks to get babies to sleep on their own… whatever you like & I will be there… A LOT. Like even at 3am. I might not make much sense then, but it’s the sleep deprived thought that counts.

…and if you don’t “do” facebook (because you have stronger resolve than I!), I will, eventually be back… but damn I can’t see when. I am so very crap at being a mother of two!

Finally….

My friend random.org has picked a winner of the lovely little tea zine;

Numero 8: Zofia!

Email me your address My Dear & I will endeavour to post it off to you…  soonish.

You can enjoy it with Chai or English Breakfast, both excellent choices in my humble opinion….

Can’t buy me love…

But thanks to some lovely, generous people, you can buy a bit of comfort & assistance to go towards the QLD flood relief efforts.

We have been in tears this morning, hearing about the devastation that is unfolding at the top of our country; the loss of life is shocking – The Boy was telling me earlier about a little four year old boy who was actually IN the rescue boat yet was still swept away… it doesn’t bare thinking about, my heart aches for him, his parents, the rescuers, everyone that has been lost & who has lost.

Show your support by supporting some of the fabulous people that have been organising fundraising auctions on facebook & around blogland; just some of the auctions I have found so far;

• Flick Will Fix It is holding an auction on facebook, donations so far range from Pettiskirts to web design.
• Possum Pouches are continuing with their fundraising efforts here.
• A fabulous nappy maker has set up an auction page here, nappies & baby items are pouring in.
• Handmade Kids are compiling their generous donations right now, for the auction beginning on the 14th.
• Oz Material Girls are gearing up for a big auction too.
• Blogger auctions & raffles co-ordinated via Make It Perfect.

Of course you don’t need to buy anything to donate, you can do so directly right here.

This is the second time I have posted this today – in the first I was musing about whether to auction a drawing or something to raise funds too, but somehow I felt a bit uncomfortable with that option the more I thought about it. Instead I just want to put the spotlight on all of the other people who have already done so much; Please support any or all of the above fundraisers, donate what you can & please, keep everyone who is affected in your thoughts; they are going to need all of our strength to get through this.

Stay safe. xo

Now you are 3!

It was Le Punk’s birthday yesterday, I can’t believe how quickly 3 years have flown by – especially since these last weeks with Suspense seem to have gone by rather slowly!

She had a wonderful day, full of presents, an indoor playground visit with her nanny, surprises (the dummy fairy came, took away her dummy & brought her a fairy!) & way too much sugar. I totally stole the birthday pancakes idea… thanks Kate!

My cake making efforts were dismal this year, I knew they would be & hoped to get away with an easy option – a giant cupcake using a silicone baking mould… not such a great idea when one has never used such a contraption before, or when one has an incredibly dodgey oven… Cake fail. Thankfully, for a Punk, lashings of pink icing & handfuls of M&Ms fix all problems…

Happy Birthday again to my precious Punky, I love you more than ice-cream & surprise kisses!

xoxo

PS, Lola, I think we need to put in an order for a couple more of these fabulous dresses, in the next size up…!

Mother Envy.

Everybody knows about Mother Guilt - but what about Mother Envy?

Mother Guilt comes when you feel as though you aren't doing right by your children - Mother Envy comes, I think, when you feel you aren't doing right by your self.

I've been feeling a bit of Mother Envy lately; while sitting here more often than not still in my pyjamas at midday, with eyebrows that could be mistaken for a pair of caterpillars that took a wrong turn at Albuquerque... I've been looking at photos of other mothers, reading their blogs, watching them on television and even; on the occasional hurried excursion out of the house wearing baggy maternity pants because they're too big yet my old pants are still too small, sporting a jaunty splash off baby puke on my shoulder; observing them in their natural shopping environment....

Some of them have teenagers, some of them babies, some of them primary school kids. Some have immaculate make up; others don't seem to have any at all. Some look as though they've been working out for years, others look as though they're not against a nice glass of vino in the evenings; but what these women all have in common is their aura; their presence of self... These chicks have got it together and I am in awe.

(Just in case you are lacking in Mother Envy – tell me you don’t wish you were Liv Tyler, above…)

Not the nice kind of admiring "I should follow your fabulous example" kind of awe, but the "...look at you with your fancy necklace and sparkling eyes, I don't like you at all!" kind of awe.

I want to be them. I want to be able to sit down with my two immaculately dressed children at 9.30 in the morning, order a coffee and a babycino and mentally check off the list of 23 chores I've already managed to get through that morning. I want people who glance my way to see a confident, relaxed woman, with her own style, happy in her own skin, who also happens to be the poster mother for parenting magazine.

I know that is never going to happen, but I feel the green eyed monster fidgeting about inside of me all the same, because, well, they make it look so easy...!

I'm not talking about arrogant young trophy wives here either, I'm talking about confidant, perfectly natural women, who are more often than not "older"...

Some live on farms, some look like hippies, some look like they would not be out of place amongst the sharks of the corporate world….

I wonder if that could ever be me. I wonder (hope) if they were ever like me, unsure, bumbling, awkward and often frazzled..? I was confidant in who I was before I had Miss Punk. Before I was pregnant with her more so, I was pretty much happy with the things I did and the person I thought myself to be, but with my changing body, my self-image began to change too.

The things I did or could do began to change, and now, as a stay at home mother of two living in a small country town, knowing no-one, I seem to be a million miles away from the city-dwelling, late-night-working, going out drinking with friends loud mouth I used to be, and I feel like I don't really know how to be this person yet.... not do I feel I am quite the mother I would like to be yet.

I wonder if it's something I can learn, or grow into?

 

Do you ever get a touch of Mother Envy? How did you reconcile the you before children with the you after?

….and if you don’t feel this envy ever; if you are happy and content and ‘together’ all the time, with an easy smile, pleasant children and a cute new jacket…. I don’t think I like you…

the little tea zine….

I had such a lovely suprise in the mail this afternoon – a cute little parcel of tea-themed goodness from Isis.

A while back Isis put out the call for tea-themed contributions for a zine she wanted to make, I sent her a drawing & she included it for me – very nice of her considering the pool of talent I now know she had contributing! I’m sorry Isis love – my Miss Teapot is positively outclassed!

Anywho – the finished zine is A M A Z I N G. Beautiful, cute, funky, clever & just… well… just my cup of tea. There are tea-themed crafts to make, reviews to read, recipes to drool over, stories to savour… I can’t believe how much dear Isis has been able to fit into this little gem & just how fabulous it all is. Truly! Perfect for sitting down in your favourite armchair with an iced vovo, & yes; a cup of tea. You might need a pot of tea actually, if you plan on getting through everything in just one sitting.

If you would like to see for yourself, you can buy it here for just $5 AND you get a free tea-themed badge!

If you are feeling lucky, you might want to tell me what your favourite drop of tea is in the comments below. I have two copies of this tea-riffic (ha! I kill me!) little zine & I’m giving one away. I’m keeping the badge though. Sorry.

 

Huffed and puffed....

Happy New Year all! ....I was happily snoozing at midnight, then up feeding Suspence at 10 past 12. Excitement abounds over here, don't let anyone tell you any different!

New year: new blog title... What do you think?

It's what Punky says when she's tuckered out, but doesn't want to say she's tired incase she has to go to bed! Hope to be back soonish to spruce things up around here (...do I already feel a HTML headache coming on?), pull up the blinds, shake out the rugs, that sort of thing.

In the meantime, enjoy nursing your hangovers party people....

(PS, what are they going to call this decade, do we know yet? Eighties, Nineties, Naughties.....?)