First peek at the colour scheme...

So for all you people who keep asking: "What colour are you having your bridesmaids?" this post is for you.  After much deliberation factoring several important things (such as the time of year, my favourite colour and what will work with our location) I can reveal to you my two colours that will be in my colour scheme.

The first is this killer eggplant shade. It is awesome.

The second is an olive green. Because we all know green is the best colour in the whole world.

Now as for both colours at this stage I'm not actually sure which will be my bridesmaids and which will just be used in the colour scheme because really I don't want to make up my mind now just to change it in a few weeks time (very possible scenario).


xoxo

Lock it in thanks Eddie...

Things now completed on my todo list:

- Book in Maternity Leave: This gets a huge HELLS YES.

So yesterday I applied for and was granted my next batch of maternity leave. And yes I have actually started a countdown calendar on my desk so I can slowly strike off the days until the big date of the 9th December 2011 gets here and I pack up my desk and head off into the land of Mummydom.

I would like to thank the government for their new paid parental leave scheme. I'm actually going to be able to have at least 7 months off with Charlie and Baby Dash with no stress over our finances.  What a relief it is.

Other than that my todo list is as long as my arm. But that's alright, I have no rush to get anything else done at the moment. Lazy Lady Ahoy!

xoxo

Quarter of the way down...

So for the last few days I've been a bit sore. And being that bit sore wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't all the freaking time.  After a few quick phone calls to midwives galore, I was pointed in the direction of a Pelvic Floor Specialist who (hopefully) will be able to help me get my body back to being bearable.

It's not that I expect pregnancy to be a picnic - Gosh, second time around I know it's no picnic! But being sore all the time has lead me to be one exceptionally cranky fat cow and if you ask Groomblogger he will tell you that it's not fun to live with.

On a more crazy note - My baby boy is now 15 months old.  When I used to work in Childcare I always thought anything over 14months was toddler-ish... but to be honest I don't want him to be a toddler! I want him to stay as my baby, he's even getting hair. Oh darling boy! Why are you growing so big?!

It is wonderful getting to see him grow and all the fun things he is learning about, but I worry that soon enough he will be in a car with his 'P plates' up and he'll be off down the street without a second glance back for his poor mum :(

I need to stop worrying, I know there are many more merry moments in between then and now - The one I'm looking forward to the most is the first out-of-the-blue "I love you mummy".

And as for the wedding front. Today I received an email reminder - '18 Months til the big day'. Needless to say I kind of crapped myself at this point. When asked, I still tell people I'm not getting married for two years but I guess since Simon was lovely enough to ask me to do him the honours, a quarter of my planning time has lapsed! IT IS GONE!

Of course as you can tell I have been doing stuff but really, 18months left to finance the whole thing and make what I have in my head happen on the day?! I can see why people get so worked up about it!

Anyways, I'm going to have a small nap before I take a relaxing bath in preparation for this evenings special physio appointment. Wow, I know sounds like a hard life I lead doesn't it?

xoxo

New Favourite Purchase: One Wedding Dress

So I've been putting off telling you all this because well, I actually felt a bit silly for organising it so early. But well, it has happened and I am very happy and I guess it is MY wedding so if you think I'm crazy for ordering my dress early I might just punch you in the face if you verbalise this.

So yes... I HAVE PURCHASED MY WEDDING DRESS. Well actually I have lay-by'd my wedding dress. Same thing really.  After trying on HEAPS of gorgeous gowns the one I've picked... I just cant describe it. It makes me feel so special and I absolutely loved it when I first put it on. I wont be able to wear it again until after Dash is born so I've just got to go with the photos online (because Rayanne wont let you take photos there - poo!) and then next year we'll start working it out to fit me perfectly.

One word: Excitement.

The rest of our days have been filled with a snotty toddler, a cranky fat woman and a hairy-faced man who can't be bothered shaving. The joyous home life that we live. It is a glorious thing.

xoxo

And the lesson of the weekend... I'm pregnant.

The last week or so has been relatively busy. I kept thinking to myself "Woman, you are twenty weeks pregnant, get on a blog about how wonderful it is that you are halfway there!" and I really just couldn't find two seconds to be motivated to do so. Terrible I know.

The Saturday just gone I spent most of the day bustling about and every single thing I did made me actually feel pregnant. Normally I know I'm up the duff but when almost everything you do highlights the fact that you are in fact a blobbing big whale that cannot keep up with everyone else it is mighty depressing.

Swimming in the morning - I couldn't get in the pool which Charlie because I cannot physically support him for half an hour in the water without getting massively puffed.
Lunch - Couldn't finish my food because there is NO BLOODY ROOM IN MY TUMMY at the moment. And I needed a lift up to my car which ultimately wasn't that far away.
Afternoon time - Nanna-napping for what should've been 30 minutes but what ended up being 2 hours (consequentially making me REALLY LATE for pre-party drinkies (lemonade) at Shazza's house).
Erin's 30th - Not in any way able to keep up with my work friends. At all. The end. They are all crazy. And I look like I've swallowed a basketball filled with cement. Good Lord.

So this weekend I decided I would think of something good to blog about and I came to the conclusion that I would try Instagramming my day and it went as follows.

Day of Instragrams #1: Slam dunk at swimming.

I do enjoy watching my two boys having fun in the pool together. I'm looking forward to starting Dash swimming next year - then both Simon and I will get to jump in and get wet! Fun!

Day of Instragrams #2: Avoiding grumpy gnomes.

And also bargain hunters at the KnD home show to purchase new pot plants for the front door. Oh and security lights - because walking around our house in the dark is a dangerous business.

Day of Instragrams #3: Impulse buys. They do include outdoor furniture :)

So we went straight from KnD to Barbeques Galore and found an 8-seater outdoor setting for half-price and decided to lay buy it because we want somewhere nice to sit in the summer time.  Shame now it just means I've got ANOTHER surface to keep clean!

 Day of Instragrams #4: Lovely ladies out for lunch.

Preachers - starring: Maddy, Laura, Nicole, Vic, Dimi and Nat. Was very nice to catch up even if we did nearly freeze to death. Heaters should be for more than just night time people! In Tassie they should be all day devices!

Day of Instragrams #5: Pre-drinkies at Shazza's place :)

Kind of would've been better if my nanna-nap hadn't made me so late! Uh well.



Day of Instragrams #6: Tearing up the Longley dancefloor.

We danced to amazing 80's music. It was epic.

Day of Instragrams #7: Birthday girl stuffing her face.

"Erin stop eating pizza so I can take a photo" "No - It's my birthday and I'm hungry".

Day of Instragrams #8: Where is my lunchbox?

And the token scary Bear in the background. Goodness me!

Day of Instragrams #10: Ballooning in Pregnancy.

Yes Bri, you did look Pregnant. If pregnant people looked like they had balloons stuffed up their tops. You drunk, drunk girl :)

I know right? Massively exciting day. OK. I'm done now. I might do a more grown-up update about being preggers later. Maybe not though.

xoxo 

Jeans for Genes

So after my grizzle this morning I have gotten over myself and decided I will now give you a short rant on something important.

Today is Jeans for Genes day. Jeans for Genes is a major national fundraiser for the Children's Medical Research Institute. Even if you have not actually put any denim on (or even if you've double-denimed it up for the day), I can only ask you ever-so-kindly go find yourself a badge-seller or head to their website here to do your little bit.

Simon, Charlie and I have all worn our jeans today. Just for the occassion and I must say we do all look very spunky.

It's just a shame that wearing jeans covered in self-made designs of material paint are not cool at the moment - or are they? Hmm, I shall have to investigate.

Oh yes, and also I wanted to let you know that I managed to get a lift up the hill today AND I'm getting to finish 30 mins early too. BONUS. So my icky day is icky no more.

I also got to buy the following (with permission from my darling Simon), to fill our downstairs entrance way with a bit of decorative love.

xoxo

Dreary Old Friday

So I know I've been saying that we shouldn't complain and today I think I've ignored my own advice.  Since I woke up it's all I've done.

The icky things include, the fact that I barely got any sleep after about 3am this morning, I forgot my lunch, I discovered I have a hole in  my shoe so my feet and jeans got saturated on the walk down from the car, the car is pretty much as far away as it could possibly get and my chances of getting a lift with someone this arvo are slim to none, and just to top it off I will be single-parenting this evening. What fun.

It is these Dreary Old Fridays that make us desperate for the weekend to arrive, even if they promise only more wet weather - at least you can stay inside in front of the TV, curled up under a blanket.

This here was my outlook this morning, as I trudged down from the car. Not really that appealing if you ask me.

One nice thing I did spot on the walk down however, were the gorgeous little blossoms on the trees. It reminded me that days like this don't last and something better is coming - weather-wise it will be Spring, and for me it will be the arrival of Baby Dash.

OK. I can stop complaining now, maybe I will be able to scum a lift up to the car tonight... Goodness me.

xoxo

Scrapbook Love

Over the last few months I have been collecting lots of lovely pictures of wedding dresses, designs for table settings, colour schemes and other bits and pieces.

So what would make the most sense? To make a pretty scrapbook to keep all these pictures in.

So today I went to Big W and found a lovely little book, some swish pieces of paper and some double-sided stickytape and got to work.

I've had a jolly old time this afternoon decorating the first few pages, and once I get some photos in it I'm looking forward to sharing them with you all.

xoxo

Dashing...

 "Hello there mum, it is nice to see you - but no - I will not roll over into the position you want so the lady can take my photo"

And Dash did not change his mind through his photo-shoot yesterday so I got to lay in different positions to try and get the sprout to smile and show us his little self.

Getting to hear my second son's heartbeat was wonderful, racing along - just like Charlie's did when he was in there. 

Just watching those little chambers flush in and out too fast to really see clearly, counting ten fingers and toes, seeing two eyes and that all the bones are where they are meant to be... knowing that I've made another one that seems OK... Made me a little teary.

When you are a first time mum you have so many horrible statistics about losing the baby, the second time around you can't help but be a little bit scared (even if everything went spot-on first go). So a scan that went as wonderfully as this has made me very happy.

I do love my beautiful boys. All three of them. What a lucky lucky lady I am.

xoxo

When is a Laundry Basket not a Laundry Basket? When it's a Tunnel of Adventure. Duh.

So it's been a busy few days. Doing family things, trying on yet more wedding dresses, complaining about my tax return taking SO DAMN LONG to get here - you know, the usual.

I just wanted to share with you though, this very cute moment that occurred the other day.

Simon had knocked over the washing basket in the hallway and we soon discovered that 'Who needs to buy an expensive play tunnel when this works just fine thank-you-very-much?'

'I have so many expensive toys, but I'd rather play with the wash basket'

'Mum did you know there was a tunnel in our loungeroom?'

'Watch your head!'

In other exciting news I can now feel Baby Dash kick with my hand on my tummy. I'm yet to see my jelly-belly wobble but I know we can't be far off.  I'll have some more pictures of Dash for you tomorrow after I go for my 20 week scan.

Also you may be interested to know (and I cant wait to show you photos when I manage to capture that too) of Bugg-man using a fork. He is a rather forceful eater. I'm glad it's the pasta he's stabbing with that fork and not me.

xoxo