Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Its the way you Talk

If you have followed my blog for a little while
you would know my blue eyed tornado Master J
has a speech delay.
If your new thanks for following
and you can read a little bit about our life living with a speech delay here

Following on from that post i thought id share some of the gorgeous things Master J says
Lets call it...

J Talk
"Wait daddy home, fix it"
translation - wait till daddy gets home adn he'll fix it

"Coco's Hoot Hoot"
translation - Lil C's Owl teddy

"Happy Happy"
translation -  Happy Birthday

"Cuppy"
translation - drink

"ank-you"
translation - thankyou

"wait me"
translation - wait for me

Everyday he gets better and better at these words and is always trying to learn new ones
Everyday he makes me that little bit more prouder.

Did your children have special little words or ways of saying things?

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Sunday, May 29, 2011

Things I'm Lovin

In this momment, right now
These are the things i love.

*Winter
ok so not the germs especially when my babies are sick
But i do love 
curling up on the couch under my $10 Tinkerbell blankie
reading, blogging or watching foxtel

*Hot Chocolate
I am not a coffee drinker sometimes i enjoy a nice cup of tea
Give me a hot chocolate and im yours forever
Oh and don't forget 2 marshmellows please ;)

*Cooking
We all know i am Loving cooking
but cooking in winter is something specia.l
Nothing beats belly warming soups and casseroles.
I love watching the kitchen windows fog up from the heat of a simmering pan
because it is that cold outside.
It makes me feel all warm and cosy.

*Excitment on faces
Master J saw the add for the Mack Truck Tour
and you could not wipe that smile off his face.
Everytime it came on he would squeal with excitment
"queen mum queen"
Needless to say we are off to the show today
How could i say no!

*Birthday Parties
Master J is 3 in a little under 3 weeks
This year his party is a bit differnt to any party I've been too
and all thanks to the gorgeous Lil of
I am having so much fun planning his big day i cant wait to start on Lil C's

*Lil C moving
Yes the little Owlet is crawling
One armed Cammando crawling and a few normal crawls
Its wonderfu,l he loves hanging out by the back door looking outside
and i love that hes exploring
Master J... well he's still getting use to the idea of his little brother chasing him down.

Lastly
*Gorgeous Jewllery
The beautiful girls of HuggaBoo Designs
have created a stunning vintage inspired necklace just for meeeeee
Isnt it beautiful!
I can not wait to order some more it is everything i had pictured in my mind.
I ahve ordered a few pretties for my hair off the girls and i could not be happier.
I am smitten with their work.

What do you love right now, In this momment?

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Saturday, May 28, 2011

I am Grateful for...

Technology
Dont stop reading yet, i know it sounds materialistic etc
But when you have a mumma (or is it momma hehe) living in the USA experiencing her first tornado season
technology becomes your best friend.

Mum has been in Winfield Kansas since October 2010
As I've said before watching her leave was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

Back, what 20 odd years ago?
If i had been the age i am now our communication would have been limited to..
Snail mail & very long distance phone calls.

But today in the year 2011 technology has come so far!
I can Skype, email, Blog, Facebook, and Text.
All of which has been amazing.
Skype has been my saviour whilst i have a computer
I can ring mum up any time and hear her voice, hear that shes ok, hear that shes happy.
She can be there to listen to my problems, give advice and see Master J and Lil C grow up.

While i didnt have my computer My iPhone and the Facebook app were my saviour
As much as i hated being reduced to just Comments, wall posts and Messages
It was better then nothing
THANKYOU Apple and Mark Zuckerberg!

So yes i am grateful for technology!
as you may have seen several states across the USA have been experiencing tornados
you can read more over at the gorgeous
Kansas being one of those!
Needless to say i have been petrified for my mothers safety.
She is ok and all her lovely American friends keep reassuring me it will be ok
But honestly that is easy for them to say.
Try sitting over here in Australia watching all the devastation
Konwing your loved one is right there... on/near what they call tornado alley!
Yeah now tell me it will be ok!

Through the powers of technology though
Mum has been able to keep us updated that she is indeed ok in this momment
She has given me links to track the tornados
She has also been able to share this photo with us.

Downtown Kansas City image from Here

Ok i'll admit thats a pretty awesome photo
ssshhh don't tell mum i said that ;)
But it dosen't really help ease my fear.

So there you go as much as technology really is a bit of a time waster
and iPhones can suck and Facebook is the devil
I would be compeletly lost and a total wreck without them.

Stay safe to everyone in the paths of these powerful beasts but most of all Stay Safe mom

Playing along with the ever gorgeous Maxabella




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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Im a woman thats why!

I can be in the middle of one book but want to start reading another.
Its my perogative ;)

At the momment i am in the middle of reading 'Mia Cupla' by Mia Freedman
It was one of my mothers day presents and i am LOVING it!
There is so much i can relate too, laugh at and even cringe at.
The Chapter im in the middle of right now Life with Children is my favourite so far.
The way Mia has written this chapter is with witt and serisouness
I've laughed and its even made me think.
I like a book that can put me on a gentle emotional rollercoaster.
I started reading Mia Culpa, just a few pages a day im in no rush
when i purchased another book.
The Complete Mary Poppins
by P.L. Travers
Its HUGE 762  pages huge to be precise 
Apparantly Mary Poppins was a series of books
who knew?It was there and i had just watched the movie so i thought why not grab it now.
I had forgotten how much i loved the movie
when it appeared on Foxtel the other week
needless to say i I'Qd it!
and watched it that night!
Its a beautfiful movie
I love the magic behind it and the imagination of the whole story.
I really am just a big kid!

Im hoping the book will be much the same if not better then the movie
I love to lose myself in books, use my imagination and mind to put myself right there next to the characters
Block out the rest fo the world just completley submerge myself amongst the words.
Well at least until one of the boys brings me back to reality ;)

As much as i want to hide amongst the pages of Mary Poppins
I will finish Mia Culpa, I have too.
It's too good a book not too really!

Its not that im not enjoying the reality of Mia Culpa
I think it's just the appeal of "fairy tale" that is drawing me to Mary Poppins
Perhaps the lesson to be learnt is don't buy a new book until you've finsished the current one?
or Maybe i should just read faster and more often ;)
Am i the only one that does this?


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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Meal Planning Tuesday - Whats in The Cupboard?

This Image was created just for meeeee by the gorgeous Em of Mum's The Word

This weeks menu is using pretty much everything i already have in the cupboard or freezer.
I'll just have to get things like sour cream and fresh vegies.
heres to cutting down on our shopping this week
the extra will hopefully be put towards Master J's 3rd birthday.

Wednesday - Pumpkin Soup and garlic bread
Thursday - Honey Chicken and fried rice
Friday - Its Mr S birthday so he has chosen Lasagne and garlic bread
Saturday - Basil Pesto Pasta Chicken
Sunday - Homemade Chicken nuggets and roast vegies
Monday - Massman Curry in the slow cooker
Tuesday - Sundried tomato and garlic fettucine (dolmio packet)

Whats on your menu this week?

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Monday, May 23, 2011

Crying Babies and Anxiety

Crying babies give me anxiety

Image from Here

Yep tis true.
Every time i hear a bubba cry i get a little anxious
It dosen't even have to be my own could be someones in the supermarket.
But as soon as those cries hit my ears i start to fret.
Its not a bad anxiety it dosent cripple me but my heart starts to race and i start to freak out

I know you're asking why right?

The answer..
Sleep deprivation and being a new mum
Hearing cries brings back so many sleep deprived stressful memories.

My blue eyed Boofa was such a terrible sleeper and whingy bubba.
In the beginning he would feed and wake so often i would be stressed every time i heard him cry
At night was the worse, i craved my sleep in the early months and he didnt.
So every peep every noise every cry would send my heart racing, somedays the tears would fall
All i wanted was sleep, all i wanted was him to sleep longer then an hour here or a few hours there.
He was also a baby who needed attention
You had to be playing with him or he would whinge.
Its just who he was.

Mix all of this with being a new mum and thinking you werent doing things right
and of course i was going to get some sort of anxiety.

This was one of my biggest worries when i had Lil C
that he would be the same that he would not sleep very well and be quite whingy.
I was compeltely wrong
he hasn't been like this at all...

...except for the past week or so

You may have read in an earlier post he is not well
the poor owlet is teething and has a blasted cold
all of which is causing him grief, hes having trouble falling asleep and is just not a happy boy
 unless mummy is giving him cuddles.
So the anxiety has come back slightly

Before he got sick i could let him cry it out on the floor
Dont call DOCS it would only be for a few minutes while i finished what i was doing
and he would only be crying because he had gotten stuck crawling around or is ready for bed.
I could handle it because it didnt happen too often or i knew what he wanted.

But now the poor cherub is crying because hes feeling like crap :( 
Its brought back all the issues of i dont know what he wants!
I dont feel it all the time but if we've had a bad day it definatly makes me fret.

Second time round it is most certainly easier to handle the crying.
Most days i know exactly what is wrong
But that all goes out the window when they are sick
I just have to keep telling myself that hes sick and dosent feel very well
and it really helps lower the anxiousness.

I hope i am normal to an extent i even hope im not alone
Having such a difficult time first time round i guess it was only natural that it would carry over to number 2
Im just glad its not as bad and can seem to handle the crying alot better.

On a happier note if anyone is wondering
Master J ended up sleeping through the night at about 18 months old
the whinging?
 well lets just say mumma still gets slightly anxious and stressed some days ;)

But hey they are my babies and really in the end its all completely worth it.
brotherly love at its most perfect

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*edited becuase my proof reading sucks!



Sunday, May 22, 2011

Germs, be GONE

Sickness has struck us down

image from here
Guess its better then the rapture right?

The germs hit Master J first the poor thing a terrible cold
He's been quite sooky and whiney
and as much as that drives me crazy i know its only because he is just not well.
We decided swimming lessons was just not an option and stayed home.

It then struck Mr S
ohhh yes the dreaded flipping Man Flu
gaaaahhhhh
So of course i now have 2 children instead of 2 ;)

Then it decided 2 family members wasnt enough
Myself and Lil C are now sick :(

YES mummy is sick!
BUT as it is the unwritten code of motherhood
I suck it up and keep the house running
the hosuework and washing are getting done slooowly
and thats ok by me!

As for Lil C
the poor owlet is teething and now has a cold
hes off his food and not drinking as much as he was
Hes having trouble falling asleep so we've been co-sleeping a few nights
yet my gorgeous boy is still smiling
yes thats right the boy will smile through ANYTHING

So the end of this week brought tissues and wiping running noses
warm clothes, vicks and singlets
and lots of mummy cuddles.

I have been able to do some creating for my wee little FB business

material cut out for wipescases

And its given me time to blog and build my Fb page
i am still lacking some serious blog inspiration though :{

I've also been able to plan and start making things for Master J's 3rd birthday party
Can't wait to share that with you all.

So i guess this sickness thing has kinda worked in my favour
I've had a productive week.
I've acheived lots

As i type we are rugged up sitting inside with blankies and the heater on
watching Beauty & The Beast
as the rain and cold wind blows outside.

But as much as i love the mummy cuddles and this weather
i loathe the germs that come with it
I just want my babies better.

So germs to you i say.. 
BE GONE, you are not welcome here anymore...
kfanksbye!

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Saturday, May 21, 2011

I am Grateful for...

...Friends
Near and far
Things have been rough the past few months so much has happened
there has been doors closed but new ones opened.
But i am a firm believer in everything happens for a reason
wether it be bad or good, it was just meant to be.

The ones that follow have an impact on my life everyday,
and i am so blessed to know every single one of them.

I have a gorgeous mumma in Tassie
we speak every day and work together with our FB buiness's
She has been one of a few amazing mentors
I hope one day we can meet and that our friendship does nothing but blossom and grow.

5 gorgeous girls with their beautiful children
We have catch ups regularly for playdates and mummy gossip.
3 of which i speak to on a daily basis and have helped me through one of my toughest momments recently, and i could not be more grateful for that.
However each and everyone of these 5 girls has helped me in some way
wether they realise it or not.
But i want them to know i appreciate their friendship, more then words could ever express.

2 wonderful young ladies
We have rekindled our friendships after a few months of not talking
I can honestly say i am extremely grateful to be given a second chance
They were always a huge part of my life and i am very thankful to be apart of their lives again.

Bloggy Friends
Blogging has opened many doors for me none more important then the friendship one
So many of my lovely fellow bloggers and readers i interact with regulalry
And as i gain more exposeure and interaction
I just know some of these friendships will grow
We may only talk through our comments, blogs or FB pages but that in itself is sometimes all we need.
And of course it may eventuate into face to face meet and greets and lifelong friendship
Only time and blogging will tell ;)

and lastly but certainly not least

My Mumma friends!
All the girls from the good Ol Days of Myspace
Or from Primary/High School
They all mean the world to me
We can talk about anything with each other,
children, relationships just "stuff"
and nothing feels better then knowing you have the friendship and support behind you
of people who go through the exact same things as you.

Really when it comes down to it
I have some amazing people in my life.
Some have been there from the very start others have just walked into my life
But each and everyone of them are here for a reason.


I am Grateful that they love me for me and are here for me whenever i may need them
as i am there for them.

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out"


Playing along with gorgeous Maxabella You should too!


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Friday, May 20, 2011

homemade bubba food...

My kitchen must hate me i beat it to within an inch of its life at least once a week
Last week i made a whole lot of food for Lil C
and a few of my friends wanted recipes etc.

On this particular day i had an Italian chicken casserole just the Coles brand in the slow cooker
This was perfect as i used some of the sauce on his vegies for dinner.

I also made homemade vegitmite rusks
One of Lil C's favourites!
Just take 2 pieces of bread wholemeal or white
Spread vegimite on one slice top with the other slice and squoosh it down.
Cut all 4 crusts off and then slice the sandwhich into 3 fingers.
Lay on a baking try lined with baking paper
And cook in a low overn 125o for 1 hour or until hard.
They store in an airtight container for quite awhile.


Next on the menu was Apple and Strawberry
I peeled, cored and diced 3 apples (you can use any kind) and cut the tops off and cut into quarters a punnet of strawberries.
Pop them all in a small saucepan with some water and a sprinkling of sugar
(takes the bite away)
The colour of the strawberries will run but ot still tastes yummy ;)
Once they are all soft and mushy transfer to a bowl leaving behind the liquid and mash or puree
Let it cool and Voila!
You can use the liquid for their breakfast use it soften weetbixs or mix with baby rice cereal.

Vegie pancakes were a huge hit with both Lil C and Master J
Simply make a pancake batter as usual minus the sugar
mix in some mashed vegies ie. potato, pumpkin and sweet potato
grate some zucchini and carrott into the batter
and mix well
Cook as you would sweet pancakes
Master J loves having his cut into shapes using cookie cutters and served with tomato sauce
and Lil C just loves sucking on fingers of cooked pancake

I even attempted finger food vegies.
I simply peeled and sliced into fingers
potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, carrott and apple
then par boiled them in some water until they were soft, but not falling apart.
As they cool they harden a little but are still soft enough for little moths to suck/gum or chew and dont get mushed in their little hands.

At the momment the poor poppet isnt eating much because hes not well
but when hes feeling good he normally eats quite a variety of foods.
Homemade sghetti sauce with soup pasta
mashed vegies
banana muffins
Plain crackers or for something sweet yo yo biscuits
Strips/fingers of red capsicum and cucmber
Lots of pureed/mashed fruits
and
Yoghurt

Once hes feeling better and eating more again we will be moving onto
rices and differnt sauces including pureed casseroles etc
chicken nuggets and some more vegies.

So thats what gets cooked in my kitchen for my little Princes'
hope you can take some inspiration from it :)
and
Did your little ones have a favourite homemade food?

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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Did she just do that?

Back when i was a wee teenager say about 13?
There was things that "adults" did that i never ever thought i would do or happen to me.
These are some of the things that I do now as 25yo mumma of 2 that i never thought would happen

* Drive a car
Growing up i was so excitied to be able to get my licesense at 16 but once 16 came i still didnt have my 'L's
at 18 i still didnt have them at 21 nope still nothing
Ok so at about 23 i finally got them after falling pregnant with Master J
best thing i ever did!
But i had reached a point after several failed attempts where i never saw myaself driving a car
Now i have my P's and drive my partners Ford Fairlane.
image from here

*Fill a car up with petrol
This obviously comes with the territory of driving a car
You cant drive anywhere without petrol
But the thought of me going into a petrol station and knowing what to so and doing it "right"
scared the absolute shite out of me
Now i do it once a fortnight!

* Not gag or dry-retch over poo and spew
I have like the weakest stomach!
I would almost vomit at even the thought of someone else vomitting
and POO omg lets not even go there
But throw 2 kids into the works
and sure i'll hold anyones hair back and rub their back or change pooey nappys
Its all become the norm and my stomach has turned into an iron gut!
Ok so not entirely true but its better then it use to be.

*Be a statistic
I never thought i'd see the day where my parents got divorced.
This was both their 2nd marriage so my dad is actually my step dad
but he raised me & my bro from when i was 2 so i know no other.
So i thought they'd live happily ever after
But no they divorced my bro and i become a statistic... again.

which brings me to the next one...

*Have a relative in another part of the world.
My family are in Australia pretty much in every state.
I use to wish we had family overseas just to be cool really ;) but i never thought it would actually happen
Until my mum became my mom
yep Mother dearest moved to the good ol USA :(
Seriously hardest thing i've ever been through
She is happy and thats the main thing and i miss her terribly but she is where her heart belongs
mom i know your reading this so please dont cry!!


*Go green...ish
I used disposable nappys with my first even though i had pressure to use those "old fashioned"
terry towelling cloth nappys
But second time round i was inspired the gorgeous Miss Holly Homemaker to use MCN's
And i have.
We dont use them full time only at night or if they are drying do we use dispossable but all day long Lil C is in some gorgeous printed and coloured MCN's
I never thought i could handle the washing of the poo but hey with my cast iron gut everything is possible!

just a tiny snippet of my MCN stash ;)

*Become a School Geek.. Aagin
I totally wasn't a geek at school just for the record
But after high school finsihed i wanted to study more
I love the whole learning process, writing assignments, searching for information
oh and dont forget the awesome stationary.
So i studied cert II in communtiy services
Then Cert III in youth work and began Cert IIII in Youth work (i never completeed cert IIII)
Now i want to study again!
Call me crazy my life is so hectic right now
but what i wouldnt give to be studying event management or planning.
Maybe one day soon that opportunity will arise but i never thought i'd go back to "school"

*Eating new foods
As a teenages i HATED avvaccado, tomatos and grainy bread
Now im happy to toast grain bread smear it with avaccado and top it with tomato
YUM!
I still wont eat melted cheese or any form of pork
But these new foods are amazing!

*Cook and LOVE it
yes you may have seen how much i am into cooking right now
But i never thought i would reach that point.
Cooking for me was always such a chore
i felt the same way about cooking as i did washing dishes or doing the laundry
I loooathe both!
Cooking now though is exciting
I love trying new recipes, buying exciting new kitchen utensils and serving food my family will love.
You could say cooking has gone from Drab to Fab!

There are so many more things i have surprised myself with
I never thought i would be or do any of the above.

My forseen future at 13 wasn't anything like i thought
In all honestly its much better.

I feel like an adult, a real mummy and a real housewife and
Im happy with that.

image from here

Are you doing anything you never thought you would or could?

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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Meal Planning Tuesday - more slow cooker yummys

I can't believe its tuesday again!
Last week flew by


Well we got a little lazy on monday and had takeaway instead so I moved
our meals forward a day
I spose thats the joys of meal planning you really can move your meals around as it suits your life because you cant plan life around your meals.

Wednesday - Chicken curry in the slow cooker
Thursday - Teryiaki beef stirfry with noodles
Friday - Tacos
Saturday - Lamb shanks in the slow cooker served with gnocchi
(thankyou miss L for the recipe x)
Sunday - Chicken schnitzel with roast vegies
Monday - Simple beef and veg casserole in the slow cooker
Tuesday - Morrcan chicken risotto
(recipe from Sinna x)

Lots of easy stuff this week and very much looking forward to the lamb shank recipe
That and the easy beef and veg casserole are our new recipes for the week.

Whats for dinner at your house this week?

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Monday, May 16, 2011

writers block, so lets cook

Do you have a fussy eater?
My master J is terrible.
As a wee babeh he would eat whatever i fed him
but as soon as he learned to feed himself and gained that independence
all food consumption went out the window.
Unless it came in tin spaghetti or nugget form

So i was left wondering what to do.
I child will never starve themselves that you can be sure of
But how do you deal with the mothers guilt of you child not eating their vegies?

I was given loads of advice
and took most of it onboard.
Some of its worked most of it hasn't.
So ive found our own little tricks that work
and by golly did i get sneaky ;)

I used pureed mixed vegies as a substitute for the egg & milk step on chicken schnitzel
It was a bit soggy at first but once they started cooking they turned out fabulously and he ate them all up
MUMMY 1 MASTER J 0

We use tomato sauce.


Ok so not the best way but seriously
Master J will eat almost anything with tomato sauce on it
I dont put much but there has to be some.
The boy ate roast beef and roast potatos because it had sauce on it!
I almost fainted he's never eaten roast beef!
We grate or finely chop vegies into EVERYthing possible.
Spaghetti sauce is the real winner
in goes almost every vegie
mwahahaha
AND dont forget the ravioli he luurves ravioli.
im yet to attempt making it myself but its definatly on the list

He loves chicken nuggets
a good friend of mine gave us a chicken nugget recipe using chicken mince
loads of vegies and breadcrumbs
mix it all together
well kinda
and VOILA chicken nuggets the fuss pot will eat
oh and dont forget the sauce.

RECIPE
this is my adapted version
500gms chicken mince
Grated carrott, zuchini, celery, i also grated capsicum and squash
plain flour to dust
milk and egg wash
breadcrumbs to coat
Oil to cook

combine mince and grated vegies in bowl
(no need to really bind the mixture as the chicken mixture is quite moist)
roll mixture into balls of the size you wish
then form into nugget shapes
dust in plain flour, dip in milk & egg wash and coat in breadcrumbs
Heat oil in fry pan and place a few nuggets in at once.
Cook unitl golden brown and cooked through.
Serve with favourite sauce.

These are good to freeze too
I froze some for the boys and just used the oven to re-heat

Master J loves these especially if i make the little party pies
mince and vegies pastry and sauce
WINNER!

Another family favourite
He dosent quite like the mushrooms
but i never thought my boy would eat leek let alone sour cream
AND we dont have to have sauce on this one ;)

My latest winner was dinner the other night of
Baking Dish Pastie.
I chocked it full of vegies and he devoured it
sauce and all

Baking Dish Pastie
recipe from Play Time Snacks on FB
500gms mince
puff pastry
1 carrott
2 potatos
1 parsnip
1 sweede
1 turnip
1 onion
1 tsp of corn flour
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 beef stock cube
i also added
zucchini, squash, pumpkin, sweet potato, beans and brocoli

Brown diced onion & mince, add potato & carrott (diced small)
Cook for 5 mins, add stock cube, pepper & salt
Grate turnip, parsnip & sweede
I added all other vegies here too
Mix in a small bowl corn flour and curry powder pour over meat
Mix well, add lid, cook for 15 mins, stir when needed.

Put a layer of pastry in baking dish, fill with mixture
Add a top layer & prick with fork
Brish with milk & bake for 30 mins at 180o or until golden.

not my own image, image from Play Time Snacks

All these recipes help ease the mothers guilt
I'm happy for him to eat all of these insead of meat and veg sepeartly
because at least even if he dosent know whats really in it, i do!
AND
if all else fails i whip out the trusty ol tin of spaghetti

Honestly somedays you just have to pick your battles and give in.
Theres always tomorrow nights dinner!

If you are after some fussy eater tips check out the gorgeous Nathalie of Easy Peasy Kids blog post.

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Thursday, May 12, 2011

PUSH, the first attempt

I thought i would have my first attempt at PUSH


PUSH is a fun new game all about pushing your photography skills to the limit and always striving to do better and be better, to be more creative and find something exciting in your everyday life.
Push is run by the lovely Danielle of 

And this weeks theme is
JUMP
now the weathers been a bit wintery here is good ol Radelaide
so i thought instead of Jumping at the park bench 
I would share a picture of my Master J jumping like a daredevil
hope thats ok!

Ok so its not the best picture
but i think i did pretty well considering it was an action shot lol
He was jumping off the couch straight onto dad
and found it hilarious!
NO fear i tell you NONE!

Do you want to PUSH your photography skills?
why not join in the fun see how far you can PUSH yourself and your creativity.


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Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Meal Planning Tuesday... The Slow Cooker edititon

Its that time of the week again


Tuesday!


I put my slow cooker on this morning with beef and red win casserole
OM NOM NOM
and i have been inspired to do alot of out meals next week in it too
So quick, so easy and melt in the mouth meat = perfection

Wednesday - Baking dish pastie
Thursday - Chicken, Leek, Sourcream and Mushroom Pie
Friday - Chicken Caccitore in the slow cooker
Saturday - Meatballs with pasta & garlic bread
may even do these in the slow cooker ;)
Sunday - Roast Beef and vegies in the slow cooker
im spluging on the budget this week lol
Monday - Nachos
Tuesday - Chicken curry in the slow cooker
not sur eon which one but there are some fabulous curry slow cooker recipe bases

Whats on your menu this week?
or do you have an easy fabulous curry slow cooker recipe for me i can try?

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2 boys & wanting a girl... or maybe not?

I have 2 boys
2 handsome little men
Who i LOVE with my all


In actual labour with master J (L) My 2 babies now (M) Waiting for our induction with Lil C (R)

I wont deny the fact i was disappointed that one of my babes wasn't a girl.
I thought i wanted a pinky to dress up, go shopping with, share the mother daughter bond that i have with my mum
To share in all the girly things.
And up until recently i thought i still wanted that, that i still wanted a girl.
I watched the show 8 Boys and wanting a girl
and i felt for these woman because i wanted the same thing.
After watching that i had a talk to a lovely mumma of 3 beautiful boys Miss A
Who said i shouldn't want to have another baby JUST to try and have a girl
and you know what?
she was ABSOLUTLY right
(I look at the converstaion now and see how superficial it was)

So I was prepared to stop at 2 boys. 2 amazing little men.

But now im not so sure.
If you were to ask me
"are you done having babies?"
I couldnt say yes!
I just can not bring myself to say
I am done having children.
I just know in my heart there is at least 1 more babe in me.

Right now 2 is plenty but i would love to be pregnant again.
have another baby, raise another little human.
I loved being pregnant, dont get me wrong i complained
but overall i had 2 amazing birth experiences and i would love to go through it again
(if possible i know things could turn out completely differnt i was extremely lucky)

Would i want it to be a girl?

Yes, i would love a little princess
BUT
I think I would be just as happy if we were blessed with another baby boy.
(confused yet? yeah so am i!)

All of these thoughts running through my head have made me realise
we aren't ready for another baby yet.
That i need to be 100% prepared to have 3 boys.
(dosent that sound terrible!)

Right now in this momment i would happily birth another boy
But then i see a baby girl and think i would like to expereince that too.
Some people wont understand this as they read it and thats ok they dont need too
I know how very lucky i am
I have 2 healthy boys, i was able to carry my babes to full term with no complications
I was able to fall pregnant quite easily

I really am truly grateful for everything i have
There is just something inside me that would love to have a bond with my own baby girl.
Then theres something inside me that would love to have that mother son bond again.
So for now i am putting my all into loving my boys, they really are the light of my life
they are my everything and you know what 2 boys is fantastic!
I love having 2 Little Boys

We are just going to see where the wind blows us
All i know for certain is we will be going back for number 3

Im sure 3 boys would be even more amazing then 2...

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Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mothers Day

What is a Mother
- J. Kyler McManus

What is a Mother?-
She's someone who shares
In all of your problems,
Your joys and your cares-
Someone who gives you
Right from the start
The warmth and the loves
Of her motherly heart
Someone who's loyal
And helpful and dear
And seems to grow more so
As year follows year
Life is much brighter
And happier, too
Because there are Mothers-
Mothers like you.

image from here

From one Mama to another Mama
&
To my Mom and your Mum

image from here

May your day be special and full of love
It really is the best job in the world.

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Saturday, May 7, 2011

Grateful for... Words

Im joining in over at Maxabella Loves for


And this week i am grateful for words.
Yep simple little words.
Words can mean so much, or so little but this week for me
they meant so much.

I love the words...
"I love you"
"Mummy"
they are the special ones i hear every day.
~
Lil C saying 
 "Ger - Ger"
(ok so thats a sound not words but he isn't quite talking as such just yet)
or
laughing and watching my mouth when i say
"Mum, Mum, Mum"
"Dad, Dad, Dad"
~
My mum saying
"I know i can't physically be there, but i am always here for moral support"
she lives in America (freaking hard at the best of times)
or
"I love you bubby girl"
~
Master J saying
"Happy Happy"
His version of Happy Birthday
or
"Daddy Fix It"
when something is broken or mummy just can't do it
~
Mr S saying
"We'll go out for tea instead for Mothers Day"
he's working till 1pm
or
Giving me a hug & saying
'I know this is what you need"
~
So many words this week, so many words every day mean so much to me
BUT
the ones i really needed to hear this week
were...

"After the rains, come the rainbows love. Of that you can be certain"

"Trust yourself, be strong, and don't trade off part of who you are for ANYONE!"
~ Rita from Made by Mama

Both of these i will hang on too forever.
Both of these have helped me through this week.
Both of these are simply beautiful.
Both of these are nothing but the truth.

What are you grateful for?
&
Dont forget to join in the fun over at MaxaBella Loves too.
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Friday, May 6, 2011

Children, Delays & All Shades of Grey

My Blue eyed Boofa, My first born blue, My Joshua
To look at him you see a smily, clever little man who looks older then he is.
You see parents who love him and a little brother who adores him.

Joshua now at almost 3

But there is the side to Master J that people dont really see and dont understand.
A side that people judge, a side that they blame on bad behaviour or bad parenting.
None of which is the case.
That side is his developmental delay.

Joshua dosent talk very well.
He hasnt since he could start talking.
At his 18 month check up the only words he could say
were
"Mum"
"Dad"
"Bub"

Joshua at 19 months

I thought nothing of it really, I knew he wasn't speaking the same as other 18 month olds
But i had been told over and over and over again kids do things in there own time.
So to me this was no differnt
to him sitting up & rolling over at 6 months instead of before
or
getting his first tooth and crawling at 9 months.

He was also behaving quite badly.
He would throw things, hit people and even bite them.
All of which, as a mother absolutly devastated me.
I was embarrassed to say the least but also started blaming my parenting.
All i kept asking myself was
"why is he behaving so badly, what have i done wrong?"
and all the answers i would get were
"its just the age he's at, you need to be stricter"

At his appointment they weren't "worried" as such
but thought it was best to get him checked out by a speech and beahvioural therapist.
In the mean time we were to just keep talking & reading to him if we could
(master J dosent sit still for long so reading was hard)

We got into the Speech sessions and the results for me were a relief and a realisation...

Joshua had a speech delay.

This means basically he didnt have enough words to get him through the day.
ie. Bikkie, Drink etc
Enough words to communicate how he was feeling or what he wanted.
This then turns to fustration for him.

I was also told he was a very sensitive little man
I was shocked 'Sensitive' was not the word i would have used to describe him at all.
It would seem Josh picks up on surrounding emotions quite easily and reacts quite strongly to them.
They also said he couldn't control his own emotions.
That his emotions were like a volcano.
As he experienced them they grew and grew and grew until they finally bubbled over.
Which is when he would throw something or hit someone.
Apparantly this is a very odd combination, so it was going to take some hard work.

All of which i was completely prepared to do, anything to help my beautiful boy.

I myself felt relief to an extent i finally had some sort of explanation for what we were living every day.
I finally felt like this wasn't all my fault.

We started speech therapy as soon as we could get in.
and it worked wonders!!
Joshuas speech was coming along in leaps and bounds.
It felt like every week he was learning 1 or 2 new words.
His behaviour was improving slightly the more he learnt.

It however didn't stop alot of the judgment i still experienced.
People would tut if he had a tantrum at the shops, people would glare if he hurt their child.
I just wanted to scream he's not doing it on purpose!
He simply dosent UNDERSTAND!

I would cry at night still hating that people didnt understand, that it wasnt just a case of
"he'll do it in his own time" or "you can't control him"
It was a case of we need to help him because he's having trouble.

Joshua at about 2

Joshua is now turning 3 in June
he is a loving little boy who is FULL of energy
I mean full!
he is non stop from the momment his eyes open in the morning to the momment they close at night.
Somedays are extremly hard and somedays it would be nice to not be on the go all day.

playing planes Easter 2011

Living every day with a child with a delay is not an easy task
Every day is a constant battle of words and tears, sometimes his tears sometimes mine
Everyday we have to name everything he is doing or what he may be feeling, we name colours and sounds and smells.
I have to explain to him as simply as I can how I am feeling, trying to teach him cause and effect.
If he speaks a cluster of words i have to repeat it back to him or add another word or two trying to teach him more words, bigger sentences.
I have to try and decipher what it is he wants because somedays he just can't tell me, all he can do is grunt or whinge or point.
Honestly it breaks my heart him trying so hard to get the words to tell me and they just aren't there.
It is all just a work in progress, everyday he is learning something new to help him for next time.

I could not be prouder of the progress he has made, he says things that are just plain funny and he says things we still dont quite understand.
We are lucky that he will more then likely be starting Kindy early aswell because of his delay
which i think will be very beneficial for all of us.
I know in my heart one day he will talk & talk & talk
and we will look back on this and go
WOW look how far we've come.

Joshua now at almost 3

I wrote this to hopefully help you understand that some kids are differnt.
That some kids need a little push with development
but most of all
That you don't know if that child has a developmental delay, or Autism or Aspergurers
 that there may be more to that tantrum you see at the doctors surgery, or that child pushing your child.
that children are not black & white, they are all shades of grey.
and
That those shades of grey are really the colour of a Rainbow

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