I just want to know that I am not alone. Bendy Hair Follicles?

Fess up.  Who has them?  Who even knows what I’m talking about?

 

Bendy Hair Follicles or BHF as I call them around here.  When your stupid hair grows out one way, and then gets forced into another direction and then it hurts like a mofo.  Yeah, you know what I’m talking about!  Don’t you?

I want to know that BHF is a real thing, and it is not just me.  My husband gives me a look like he thinks I am bat shit crazy whenever I mention it.  But he just doesn’t KNOW.  He has no hair.

I’ll tell you a little secret about hair. Hair is stubborn and hair doesn’t like being told what to do or where to go.

 

These are the people that are likely to be inflicted by this nasty reality:

1. Curly haired bitches.  I think these girls have it the worst.  Their crap curly hair grows out of their head in all different directions and they generally have very strong evil follicles that resist hairbrushes best efforts to put them back into place.  What happens is this – unless the bitch in question lets her wild tresses go nuts, she has to put it up in some fashion.  There is a 100% chance that whatever hairstyle is chosen, there will be follicles bent the wrong way.  If the poor bitch has kids, especially babies who like to grab hair, wild and woolly hair is just not an option, therefore, she MUST tie it back and subsequently subject herself to the pain of the bendy follicle.
2. Ballerinas.  These girls wear their hair in buns – right up on top of their heads.  Really tight buns – smothered in hairspray so the hair has no chance of escaping the anti-gravity hold.  This is all well and good while dancing on stage.  The girl looks as cute as a button, but she has no idea what is about to happen.  After her performance and the audience has all gone home, she has to take her hair out.  There is no avoiding it.  Once the 1000 bobby pins come out, her follicles are going to scream as they are allowed to fall back to their natural position.  Agony.
3. Hippies.  Sometimes, you can get BHF is other places too.  Like your legs if your all hippie like or just don’t shave much.  This usually happens when you wear leggings or stockings.  Pregnant women wear leggings a lot and they also don’t get to shave much because they just can’t.  When you pull your leggings on, your spindly leg hairs are pulled upwards and trapped there.  That is of course until you take your leggings off later.  And then BAM – Bendy Leg Hair Follicles.
4. Ferals.  Bendy Hair Follicles get worse as your hair gets dirtier.  If for some reason you don’t get to wash your hair very much, like you are homeless or have babies, there is a good chance that your follicles are getting bendier and bendier.  Especially as you keep on pulling your hair back everyday to avoid little hands getting up into your knots and pulling on them.  Also, as your hair gets more gross, you tend to resort to the old bun or shove it under a hat to hide the fact that you haven’t brushed your hair or showered in a month.  Not good options for the BHF sufferer. It’s just a vicious circle.  Sadly, the only way to cure BHF is to wash your hair.  Easier said than done.

 

I am horrified to say that I fall under all of these categories (well, except ballerina.  I haven’t done ballet for a long time, but I REMEMBER!).  And my hair gets curlier and bendier after each baby!  Forgot to mention – going to bed with wet hair is also a big no-no for the person with BHF as your head on a pillow is bound to push your wet follicles into unnatural positions and dry there.  Problem is, I generally shower at night after babies are asleep, but I don’t want to wash my hair then or it would be worse in the morning!  (not to mention that curly haired bitches SHOULD NEVER go to bed with wet hair or they wake with the afro from hell)  Sometimes my head hurts so bad that I pounce on D as soon as he gets out of bed in the morning and beg him to take the babies so I can wash my goddammotherfuckingbendyhairfollicles before I chop my head off, stomp on it and throw it in a fire.

I looked and looked for a curly haired bitch photo of myself but there just aren’t any because I ALWAYS pull it back – thus making my BHF worse!

Is this normal?

Do YOU have BHF?

Put your face on and do your hair. We’ve been shot and Tameka can shoot you too!

This is a really triumphant moment for me.  I have been successful in convincing D to participate in a family photo shoot.  You know he is not a big lover of the camera and will always do his best to sabotage photos with a goofy face.  Every.  Single.  Time.

 

The gorgeous and talented Tameka from Tree Pretty Photography has taken our photos before.  Last year she did a photo shoot with what I thought were going to be all my children.  D got out of that one.  You can see last years shoot here.  Little did I know that I was soon to discover we were expecting one more!  Now we really do have all of our children, our family is as big as it is going to get, so it is of ever increasing importance to me to secure that illusive family photo.  A photo with us all in it.  A photo where we all look normal and like we love each other.  A photo that we could even put on our wall and not cringe every time we walk past it.

Tameka is running a freakingly good value promotion on the 16th November, which is in 2 weeks!  She is offering mini photo shoots on the beach.  You get a half hour time slot with 5 different ‘poses’ and the high resolution, edited photos in both black and white and colour will be emailed to you to do with as you please!

 

Now, there are a few great things about this opportunity.

1. If you have a crabby photophobic husband like mine, he will be far more likely to participate in something that will be over very quickly.  You can give him a massive guilt trip until he says yes.
   Me:  What, our family is not important enough for you to give up half an hour of your day?
2. Couldn’t be more easy for the goofy non-model people.  Walk in, walk out.  She has heaps of ideas ready to go.  Tameka has ‘The Eye’ and knows what will look good and work for your family.  She will tell you what to do and you just need to bring the smiles and have fun.  Practice your photo face in the car on the way to the beach.
3. Sunny or overcast, the setting could not be more beautiful.
4. Do I really have to point out how unbelievably cheap the deal is?  $50!  That is super good.  I was pulled in to take those portrait photos in the shopping centre recently.  They were asking $80 for ONE PHOTO!  And that is it, no digital file, nothing else.  Crazy.  (I remained strong though – ‘I’ll just take my free one please’) $50 and you can print, share and reprint as many times as you like.

 

I went into the shoot with a mental note of what shoots I wanted to get – the family, the kids, the boys, the babies, me and D, and little Crazy Hazey. That is 6 shots instead of 5, but I am super dooper lucky because I am good friends with Tameka’s sister, so I think she was extra generous with me.

We started off at the beach.  Unfortunately, the weather was very unkind to us.  It was as hot as Hades and blowing and absolute gale.  Hair blowing everywhere, sand all up in our eyes, babies crying.  We got a few shots in but decided to do a re-shoot in the park on a less windy day.  But don’t worry, weather looks good for 2 weeks time.  I checked.

Here are some photos from both locations.  I think you will agree that they both make a spectacular backdrop.  I personally love the green woodland type background more than the beach!  But don’t worry, if you like the trees better too, I am pretty sure Tameka is planning another event like this in a park soon.  How lucky am I?  I kind of got a 2 for 1 deal!  Now let’s see if I got the 6 shots I wanted…

 

The Family.

 

The Kids.

 

The Boys.

 

The babies.

 

Me and D.

 

Crazy Hazey.

 

Some extras.

So there you have it.  Beautiful photos once again.  Thank you very much Tameka!  Please, if you are on the Gold Coast or planning to visit on the 16th and have half an hour up your sleeve to create some lasting memories, or just looking for a great photographer, do yourself a favour and call Tameka from Tree Pretty Photography.  You won’t be sorry!

Which ones do you like?

Chum-Lee’s Choice – The 2 year old’s Christmas wish list edition.

Holy crap.  Christmas is in 55 days.  That means there is only 54 shopping days left!

But don’t despair, Chum-Lee and I have been putting in the hard yards for you.  Hours upon hours of toy and goodie research has been conducted and I think I have come up with a pretty darn amazing list of the bestest and the coolest toys and tidbits for the super crazy and active 2 year old.

T wants all of these.  Or rather, I should say, I want them all for T, but I am pretty sure he would tell you he wants them too, if he could.  Some of the items I am about to show you are on my ultimate wish list, but some of them T is actually going to receive, so shhhhh don’t tell him, we don’t want to ruin the surprise on Christmas morning!

When I started thinking about Christmas gifts for the babies, a few things came to mind.  They had to be good quality and made to last.  I am not interested in something they will play with for 5 mins and then leave in the back yard to rot.  I want toys that will stand the test of time with both babies.  The toys need to be something they can play with actively – no screens to stare at.  I want them to use their imaginations and be creative.

 

Little Tikes Anchors Away Pirate Ship

I thought I would show this one first because T already has it.  I did originally get it for him for a Christmas present but we had some really hot days here and D had gone away for a boys weekend.  What was I to do?  I couldn’t manage taking both babies in the pool by myself, and the little dude was hot and suffering in the heat!

Needless to say, T got an early Christmas present.  His reaction when I brought the box in was gold.  ‘WOW!!!!! WOW! WOW! WOWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!’ he shouted.  It’s great, he hangs out by the pirate ship all the time.  It has a little motor so running water gets sucked up and comes out the top of the crows nest.  He can press the button himself and it turns itself off after a minute so there is no danger of it being left running and eating your battery life.

Cleaning and refilling it is super easy and T thinks that is the best part because he gets to help with the HOSE!  Chum-Lee likes it too, as there is always a fresh source of water.  Why do cats never want to drink from their actual water bowl?  Chum-Lee would rather drink from the toilet.  Lots of other things like the pirate ship too, like blankies, loaves of bread and hats.

OK, it’s not the cheapest water table out there, but it is strong and made to last.  Mother-in-law gave a little cheapo one to T for Christmas last year and it didn’t even last half a season.  I figure this will last the babies many summers to come, I also scored it in one of the big toy sales so got a bargain.  Money well spent.

T plays with a loaf of bread in the pirate ship. Because that’s where bread goes apparently.

 

Little Tikes Easy Store Picnic Table

A kids table and chairs was always going to be on my Christmas list.  My parents gave K a table and chairs for Christmas when he was nearly T’s age and it was a great present.  K loved having his own special table that was just his size.  He used it for art and craft, eating, teddy bear tea parties and as a makeshift cubby house.  It was study and lasted us many years.

My prerequisites for a table were that it had to be strong, versatile and tidy.  The Little Tikes table ticks those boxes.  The Little Tikes stuff is tough.  Even cyclone T can’t destroy them.  This table can be folded and stored flat, which makes it very handy for packing in the van to take to a picnic at the park.  What really sold me on this one is the tidy factor.  There are cup/paint holders and a little trough to hold pens in the middle.  There is also a lip around the edge of the table so your crayons won’t roll off.  It’s all made of sturdy plastic so it’s easy to clean AND as it is all in one piece T can’t hurl chairs all over the yard.

 

Imaginarium City Central Train Table

THIS!  He is going to freaking love this!  I really desperately wanted to get T this train table for two reasons.  One because I think it is awesome and trains are cool, and two because K will love it as well and he’ll love to play trains with T.

Sadly, this train table is pretty exxy, even when it is on special, so I had resigned myself to the fact we simply can’t be spending that kind of cash.  My second option was to get a cheapy table from Kmart that was half the size.  Luckily for us and for T, Mother-in-law kindly offered to buy this as a combined birthday/Christmas gift for T Bear.  I wish we were in the financial position to give this gift ourselves but we are  certainly grateful that she can.  Beggars can’t be choosers!

I love this table way more than the Thomas Tank Engine tables because it has DRAWERS to pack away all the crap!  ANYTHING that helps me maintain some sort of order in this chaos is greatly appreciated.  Also, love that  it is nice stained wood and classy.  I hate the Thomas ones as they have all the landscape stuff painted all around the table, which will look shabby in time when the pain start to chip.  The wooden table can fit in with out decor.

You probably realise that I prefer good quality study toys that are going to last our babies a long time.  These are our big ticket items and a lot of time has gone into researching which will be best suited to us and our family.  I can even get some ‘pink’ trains for H.

 

Crabbie Sandbox

I’ve been on the fence about a little sand pit for a while.  I’m not too keen on more mess being walked into the house, nor am I keen on cat poo in the sand, but after seeing just how much T LOVES playing with sand at our playgroup, I have decided that I can work with these two challenges.

I like this Crab Sandbox a little more than the basic clam shell ones for the simple fact that it has a little seat for this old mumma to sit on, but the clam shell sandpit would also be fine if you had younger knees than mine.  The sandpit needed to have a cover to keep the cat crap out and this one does.  I just need to keep a dustpan brush at the back door to brush down the babies before they come back inside.  Kmart also does a little wooden box with a cover that would work.

 

LEGO DUPLO

T is just a bit too young for the massive bucket of LEGO we have in the cupboard and the little pieces are not safe for H.  Duplo is awesome.  You can build cute animals and people.  It is really easy to put together and pull apart.  T really loves building things with blocks and gravitates towards the Duplo whenever he has the opportunity to play with some.  I love the fact that this is a unisex toy, and as with the train table, pirate ship and sandpit, it is a toy that both my little babies and big doodles will get joy out of for years to come before the graduate to the little LEGO.

 

Fisher-Price Doodle Pro Classic Doodler

This a magna doodle.  You know, what you played with as a kid?  Yep, they have been around for years and are still excellent.  I chose this one as the pen string is attached in the middle of the board so it is good for both left and right handed little artists.  It looks like T is going to be a lefty.  This is just a really handy toy to have.  It is cheap, easy to transport around and apart from the few little stamps there are no pieces to be left all over your lounge room.  Creativity at its best.

 

A Very Busy Sticker Book (The World of Eric Carle)

T loves The Very Hungry Caterpillar and he loves stickers.  Most kids do!  I just stumbled upon this book and grabbed it on a whim but I think it is a winner.  A good cheapie.

 

Personalised Peppa Pig Book

T, like a lot of kids his age (and their mums) love that cheeky little pig, Peppa.  T is Peppa Pig obsessed.  He has a Peppa figurine that he tucks into the top of his nappy so she can cruise around with him.  He loves her.  I found that you can have your own personalised Peppa book printed so your child is actually a character in the story.  You get to design what he/she will look like and can even have a personal message to your child printed inside the cover.

I remember when I was a girl, my mum had a personalised book for me printed.  I think it was about fairies?  Anyway, what I do remember was I was so amazed that I was actually in a book!  I mean, this book was about ME, it was the coolest thing ever for a book lover.

T has a couple of Peppa books already which he reads over and over, and I think he will get a real kick out of being the star in one.  I haven’t gone ahead and ordered one yet as they are quite pricey, especially once you add shipping on top of that.  I am wondering if this might be a better present next year, but it is pretty rad, which is why I am including it in the list.

 

George Pig Beanie

Now, T does love Peppa Pig, and there are some pretty cool Peppa toys out there but I am not about to shell out the big bucks on something fancy if he is not going to play with it.  This is a safe bet.  It’s not expensive and can be the test to see if your little one is a true Peppa fan.  If he loves it to death and plays with it, then perhaps go out and buy your kid the playhouse or rocket ship of whatever, but sometimes it is a good idea to test the waters first.  You could end up saving yourself a wad of cash.   Oh, and H will be getting a Peppa beanie so they can play together.

 

Humpty Beanie

T’s other obsession is Play School.  The kid can’t get enough and I like Play School too.  I have a secret mummy crush on Teo.  I can’t get over the fact that they are still singing the same songs that they did when I was a little girl, and I remember them all!  I would love to get ALL the Play School friends but I’ll just stick with Humpty for T and Jemima for H, for now.  Then we can have our own Play School type fun at home.

 

Ok, that is 10 of my best (For now.  I reserve the right to add a million toys to my wish list).  Do you have any super amazing toys or present ideas that I can add to my list?

We should all thank Chum-Lee for his help in researching these toys.  He was very good at sitting in front of my computer screen and knocking things off my desk when I disagreed with his input.

The pictorial progress report. Still a long road ahead.

I avoided stepping on the scales and measuring myself yesterday because I was a bit afraid of what I would see – big fat numbers.  But it has been a month since my original fat photos so I could not avoid the progress report any longer.

It is not AS BAD as I thought it was going to be.  I am relieved that I have not gained any more, but it is what it is.  It’s pretty much what I expected, given that I had overdosed on youknowwhat and youknowwhat – the two evils, both beginning with C.  I dare not even speak their names, for I fear once the words spill from my lips, I shan’t be able to stop myself from indulging once more.

 

It has been one month since I started this journey of finding myself again underneath this layer of wobble.  One month of trying to become a runner.  One month of dinky knees.  One month of feeling guilty for eating too much c_ _ _.  One month of highs and lows.  One month of learning what not to do.  The first month of many healthy months to come.  My gift to my family – a healthy mum and a healthy wife.

 

Now, don’t get excited.  What you are about to see looks almost exactly the same as what you saw a month ago.  A little disheartening, but oh well.  Baby steps, baby steps…

Now remember – the BEFORE pictures are on the RIGHT.  Look LEFT for the non-existent improvement.

 

 

 

Notice the difference?  Yeah, me neither.

As with my running, I will keep on chugging on.  I will keep you updated on my progress.

And now, the ‘Operation Find My Hot Bod’ exercise update.

While I have not been so perfect with my healthy eating plan I have tried really hard, but not as hard as I COULD to exercise regularly.  I never said that I would workout every day, because quite frankly, that would be setting myself up for failure.  There is no way I could manage that.  I am far too flakey.

What I have found is that I am enjoying trying to become a runner.  This is coming from someone who has avoided running at all costs – her whole life!  Sometimes, I need my asthma puffer after getting out of bed in the morning, so attempting a 100m dash would be like suicide.

Things started off well, but then I hit a bump in the road with my dinky knees.  I ALMOST had to ditch ‘Operation Find My Sixpack’ but they suddenly came good.  I think my knees just went into a state of shock.

 

I have kept track of my exercising, this helps me to see how many workouts I have done and it makes me feel good.  It also keeps me accountable.  I can see where I have started to slack off and I tell myself to stop being a lazy tart and get off my largest muscle.

 

18th Sept – 30 Day Shred 
This is my first workout.  I died.  I died, I died, I died.  I couldn’t even get through 30 seconds of jumping jacks.  I used my babies as excuses to complete each set just a little early.  Oh, H is tipping over, better prop you back up.  Did you want a drink T?  Let me get that for you.  Does someone need a nappy changed?
I hurt too much from this workout the next day, so I rested.

20th Sept – 30 Day Shred 
I made it through this workout without stopping today but it was bloody hard work.  T joined in and tried to sit on me while I did crunches.

21st Sept – 30 Day Shred and Couch 2 5K
This was my first day of the running.  I ran for 60 second intervals and walked for 90 seconds.  I needed my asthma puffer 29465920 times after EACH run.  I had to skip a run in the middle to catch my breath properly.  I truly thought I was going to drop dead from a heart attack.  I barely made the 60 seconds and had to push myself so hard to get there.

I have a friend Amy, who is about a week ahead of me on the Couch 2 5K.  She helps keep me motivated and started taking photos from her runs as she said it helped her get through by thinking about what she would photograph.  So I started doing the same, and she is right, it really helps.

This is me trying to catch my breath at the end of my first run. Before I collapsed.

22nd Sept – Walking
I was so sore from running the day before that just couldn’t do it again so I had a rest day and just went for a nice long walk.

Sunset over the lake.

23rd Sept – 30 Day Shred and Walking
Day 3 of the Shred and I made it through quite easily.  I even used two cans of chick peas for weights, which T thought was pretty funny and narrowly avoided dropping them on his toes.  I walked again in the afternoon which is my favourite time in the day for walking.

25th Sept – Couch 2 5K
Second run.  A little easier.  I only needed my ventolin 28465 times after each run.  Improvement.  One of the things I love so much about walking is that I can just daydream.  I can let my mind go completely and think about nothing or anything.  NOT the case with running, all I can think about is surviving the 60 seconds.  I pinpoint a tree about 10 metres away and think, I just have to make it to that tree.  Once I get there if the 60 seconds is not finished I pinpoint another tree.  Every step is a struggle.  But then I see this:

Jacaranda in Spring.

26th Sept – 30 Day Shred and Walking
I worked really hard on the Shred and T is getting quite good at the warm up stretches and sticking his face into my bum when I do squats.  K decided he was going to work out with me today.  His puny little body couldn’t even keep up and he piked out half way.

27th Sept – Couch 2 5K
My knees started hurting today when running.  They were OK when walking but every step hurt while running.  A bit of a worry considering I was just beginning to find my stride.

30th Sept – Walking
Thought I would take it a bit easy as my dinky knees were being very dinky indeed.

1st Oct – Couch 2 5K
Week 2 – 90 second runs.  I didn’t want to give in to the knee factor so I went on the run.  In hindsight, it might have been a bad idea.  They hurt so bad I almost turned back half way into the first run interval, but I kept on chugging on.  Just.  I wasn’t running, I wasn’t even jogging.  I was barely shuffling, it was so incredibly painful.  I don’t know if it was the right thing to do, but I didn’t want to give up.  I may be many things, but I am not a quitter.

Right THERE is the pain epicentre.

2nd Oct – 30 Day Shred
I couldn’t even do the cardio sections of the workout.  My knees were not cooperating, so I just did extra abs, or cuddled my babies.

3rd Oct – Couch 2 5K
I tried to go on the run again.  OUCH!  I was the little engine that could.  I fought through the pain and did the full Cliffy Young shuffle to the end.  By this point, my knees were not only hurting during the running, but walking also.  I had started considering physio, or amputation.  I reluctantly admitted defeat and forced myself to rest my stupid knees.  My mum also gave me a tube of anti-inflammatory cream to try.  Why didn’t I think of that?  I am not sure, but I think it helped.  Knees started feeling better, but I didn’t want to rush back in too soon.

Saw this swan doing yoga. I actually saw him a week later and he still had his leg out. I don’t think even the most skilled Yoga Swan could hold a pose that long, so it must have been from an injury. Poor Yoga Swan.

7th Oct – Couch 2 5K
What a difference a week makes.  I wouldn’t say my knees were better but a definite 3857% improvement.  I kept up the cream regime, applying it several times a day and before and after the run.  I can’t say I was jogging at my happy comfortable speed but I certainly wasn’t doing the lame shuffle.  I had found a happy medium between the two and that felt pretty good.  It is also noteworthy to add, that I didn’t even need to take my ventolin during the run!  I also did 3 extra runs at the end!

This gum tree was swaying like crazy in the wind that brought with it a much needed cool change on a scorching hot day.

12 Oct – 30 Day Shred
I hadn’t done the Shred for a while, and guilt got the better of me.  After eating 200 slices of cinnamon toast, I figured I needed to do a workout.  No pain, so I went really hard and worked up a sweat.

13 Oct – Couch 2 5K
Week 3 – includes 2 x 3 minute runs (which is a really really really long time to the non-runner!).  This run was amazing.  My knees were fine and I ran at MY perfect happy pace, which felt great.  3 minutes is a shit storm longer than 90 seconds, but I got there!  I just concentrated on my breathing and pushed through until I felt like I was flying.  I felt so happy and proud of myself.  I didn’t give up when it was hard and am achieving things I never thought possible.  Again, I did an extra run at the end, just for shits and giggles.

These happy little yellow flowers were lining the path for me. It felt like they were cheering me on.

14th Oct – Couch 2 5K
Another fantastic run.  I could have run longer, but am saving it until week 4, which I know is going to be TOUGH.  Do you think I would be fooling myself if I set a goal to do the 10K run in the Gold Coast Marathon next year?  Ok, maybe I should just see if I can make it to 5Ks first.  I am really starting to see why runners love it so much.  I am looking forward to see what the next few weeks bring.

I love how the afternoon sun makes my shadow look long and skinny 🙂

 

Now, all I need to do is have my little photographer K take my progress photos tomorrow and do an official measure/weigh in.  I did weigh myself a few weeks ago and had lost 3kg, but I am almost sure I have put most of that, or all of it back on through my poor eating choices.  But I am not going to dwell on that.  I am going to put any guilt or self-destructive tenancies behind me now and focus on tomorrow.  Tomorrow is a new day, and tomorrow I am going to be the best me I can be – for myself and for my family.

After my last run. A huge change from my first ‘post run selfie’. Can’t wait until tomorrow!

Operation Find My Hot Bod – A Food Update.

I wanted to write this post last night, but my husband insisted that I go to bed early.  He wouldn’t even let me take my phone with me, in case I sneaky stayed up on Facebook and Pinterest.  He says I get super moody when I’m tired and don’t get enough sleep and he is right.  I’m like a super grump, and probably a total bitch to live with.  D is a rock star though, because I got plenty of shut eye and feel a million times better today.  Thanks D, I love you.

I want to update on how much weight I HAVEN’T lost and how ‘Operation Find My Hot Bod’ is going.  I was hoping it would be going better, but I guess at my age I need to be happy to loose it real slow.

 

So, two things I was looking at changing.  One – eating less crap, more good stuff.  Two – Exercise.  30 day Shred and the Couch 2 5k.

 

Let’s look at food today.  I began doing really well and was entering everything I ate into My Fitness Plan and counting all my calories.  I was trying to eat good stuff and avoid the naughty stuff.  Then we ran out of food in the house and I had some cinnamon toast (with a heap of sugar).

That’s it.  That’s the end of the story.  I now have a problem with cinnamon toast.  The problem is, it is too damn good!  And the problem is, I can’t stop eating it.  And the problem is, it’s a slippery slope.  It starts with just a slice, then two, then some chocolate and soda and before you know it you have spiralled out of control and are chasing a full habit of peanut butter and nutella.  Straight from the jar!

So I have fallen off the healthy eating wagon a bit.  Already.  But this post will hopefully serve a purpose, and that is to publicly shame myself into a cinnamon toast detox.  I really struggle with food.  I like it too much and have trouble maintaining healthy eating long term, especially when there is so much baaaaad stuff in the house.  And especially since it is so much easier and faster to grab a mint slice, than to make a salad sandwich.  I’m time poor.  My minutes where a toddler isn’t clinging to my leg are few.  I used the last of the vegetables in dinner the other night and still haven’t gone shopping to replenish the fridge.  We do have KitKats though.

It is also self destructive when I have lunch at my bff’s house and she sends my home with this:

Nigella Lawson chocolate cake with icing on the top AND in the middle!

And instead of saying, ‘no thanks, I am trying to make healthier choices.’  I say, ‘yes please!’  And then think how I can eat it all before D and the boys get home.

I didn’t, by the way.  Well, not ALL of it.

 

That is pretty much where I am at with food.  I need a proper kick up the backside!  Some days I eat moderately well and others, I would rather not say.  What I can say is this – I can, and I WILL do better.

Magical Milestones – First tooth, first food.

I am not sure how this happened but H is now 6 months old.  How did that happen?  Did I blink?

 

Here I was blissfully unaware that my little baby was getting older while nursing her, and flipping through the pages of a mothering magazine (bought for me by my super thoughtful husband) (actually, is he trying to send me a message that my mothering is no good?) (do I really need to know the ’10 top tips from a second time mums’?) when I am confronted my a Heinz Baby Food ad, and then BAM it hit me – I need to think about feeding H food!

This was a couple of weeks ago and the main reason for a mercy dash to IKEA.  Any excuse to go to IKEA is valid.  I purchased myself a new high chair and a few months supply of dish scrubbing brushes.  Enough to get me through until my next IKEA run anyway.  I ate the meatballs with lingonberry sauce.  As always.

 

When I announced to the family that H would be starting solids soon, J responded with, ‘but she hasn’t got any teeth.’  Well spotted J, but babies don’t need teeth to eat.  I think he thought I was going to give her crisp carrot sticks or something.  Anyway, his point is moot, as she cut her first tooth on Saturday, 1 day before her first taste of food.  1 day after her half birthday.

It is not easy to photograph the teensiest of teensy little teeth but I believe you can juuuuust see it poking through here.

 

There are actually two things you need to introduce your baby to once they start solids.  One is of course food, the other is water.  Exclusively breastfeed babies don’t need water because they get whatever they need from your magical boobs, but once they start eating food they need water to stop their poos from turning into cement.  No-one likes to poo out cement.  Think about it, if you had a liquid diet, say you drank vodka for breakfast, lunch and dinner and then someone fed you a pub roast dinner, your butt would get all bunged up too.

 

Now comes the food time.  What do I feed her and how do I do it?  Do I go down the Traditional Weaning route with purees, or try the Baby Led Weaning where she eats finger food and feeds herself?  I have decided to do a mix of the two, as I did with T.  I am going to do Hazel Led Weaning.

Hazel (or insert the name of YOUR baby here ____) Led Weaning goes like this – you spoon feed your baby some stuff, while they play with and attempt to feed themselves some other stuff.  I figure this is the best of both worlds.  You can make sure they are getting some food into their belly with the spoon, while allowing them the opportunity to try and coordinate their hands and mouth, and maybe, just maybe munch on something in the process.

For these first few days, all I am doing is really just trying to let her know that other things can go into her mouth and they taste funny.  I am letting her play with a spoon, and she likes that a lot.  I am not really all that fussed yet if she is eating, it is just discovery at the moment.

Here she is discovering her first taste of something other than boob:

Whoa Mumma! What is that? That don’t taste like boob, or my thumb!

OK, it’s not that bad. I’ll take 2 spoons please.

Theo watches, like a dude.

 

The next part of the food introduction phase is the ‘watch out for the horrid change in poo consistency and smell’ part.  This part I am not looking forward to.  So far, after 1 day of the tiniest bit of food that got in her mouth, poo remains the same.  I know this because last night H pooed in the bath.

Does anyone remember that T liked to poo in the bath?  Well, H is following in the brothers footsteps.  Except she does it 18464 times more often then he did!

 

It usually goes like this:

Fun, fun, fun!  Two babies in the bath!  Splish, splash, splosh!  Bubbles come from H’s butt.  Uhoh.  Is it just a fart?  Wait….  Nope, just a fart!  Splish, splash, splosh, fun resumes.  And then shhhhplurggge…  H giggles.  Wth?  Oh crap, H crapped in the bath.  ‘D!!!! quick H shat in the bath again!!!’  ‘T, time to get out!’  (rinse off T with water from upstream)  Throw baby #1 at husband.  Grab baby #2, rinse her off.  Rush off and get babies dressed for bed.  Come back to clean bath, by which time it has become a swamp of orange poo floaters.

Joy of joys.

 

One day in the (hopefully) not too distant future, my babies will learn that poos are best done on the toilet so their mummy needn’t wash poo out of baths no more.

Happy half birthday Sweet Sparkle Princess!

My oh my, where has the last 6 months gone?  And can someone please slow down time!

The Shared Room – Part 2.

We left off here.  It was the first night of the babies sharing a room.  I published that post and woke up to a dead computer.  My old mate has now been revived and I need to update you on the shared room shenanigans.

 

That first night was pretty good.  I hardly slept a wink, as I was sure every little noise from either baby was going to wake the other one, so I was on a continual state of stand-by mode.  I was ready to run in there and pounce on the noisy baby, and to whip them away faster than you can say ‘omgdontwakeyoursleepingbrother/sister!’  D of course slept through.

H started stirring around 4am.  She probably would have settled herself back to sleep but I wasn’t willing to risk it.  I scooped her out of bed and boobed her.  T snored through the ordeal.  Once I got her back to bed I was able to snag myself an extra hour sleep before T woke up and started to call out, ‘Mum, Mum, Mum!’  This was at 5:30am, and I consider that to be a pretty good first night (for them anyway).

I always find it a little insulting that T wakes up and calls out to me, but the first thing he says when I drag my sleepy butt out of bed and into his room is, ‘Dad?’

 

The following day we had family visiting.  T’s aunty asked him to show her his room.  Off he ran and turned left down the hallway to his new room, where he ran up to his cot, banged it and said, ‘Bed!’  That said to me, he understood the room change and had accepted his new room.  This whole shared room thingy had to work because it would just be too hard on him to change back now.

 

I need not have worried.  Even the day time nap has been mostly smooth sailing.  H just does her own thing and T tries to talk to her until he gets bored of the one way conversation and chats to his bears for a bit, before falling asleep too.  We listen out for sibling rivalry on the baby monitor but there has been none.  What we do hear is this – ‘Haaadel, Haaadel, Haaadel, Haaaaaaaaadel.  Mum.  Mum.  Dad.  Haaadel.  (gurgle from H)  Kai?  Kai?  Haaadel.  Jai.  Cat.  Mum?  Haaadel.  Dad, Dad, Dad…….’  Silence.  Snores commence.

 

It is not perfect, they do wake each other up, but usually around general wake up time anyway.  But seriously, who has two babies and has perfect sleepers all the time anyway?  I have it good.  I know I have it good.  My babies are rock stars.

 

I have not done a lot with the room design yet.  I will get there eventually, but what I can say is that J has already turned his new room into a bomb site.  Seriously!  And he has only lived in there for 1 week!!!  Meh, dirty teenage boys!  At least he can now stop terrorising K with his ‘personal grooming’ habits.

A Liebster Award, thank you very much.

It is always lovely to be nominated for a blog award.  Everyone loves a little recognition that what they are doing is appreciated, and I am no different.  I feel good when people say they enjoy reading my little blog, so thank you very much Tarah from Starting over as Ms, your nomination is accepted most graciously.

I remember learning German in high school, and I also remember dating a German clown (yes, I really dated a clown from a circus), so I know that ich liebe dich translates to I love you.  Similarly, liebster means beloved or dearest and I am going to take that meaning and run with it.  My blog is the dearest.  Thank you.

 

The rules for a Liebster award are simple.  You give a link back to the person who nominated you, then answer the questions that they have left for you, you write 11 random facts about yourself and then nominate up to 11 worthy bloggers to receive the award and ask them 11 questions, and then contact them to tell them the good news.  Simples. (compare the meercats)

 

Here are my questions left from Tarah:

1. What was your favourite place to go to when you were a child?
   Probably the beach.  And my Nana’s house, we didn’t get to go all that often but I remember her place was a treasure trove to explore.  In adulthood, I realise that Nana was a hoarder, but that is beside the point.
2. Favourite ice cream?
   Too many to choose from but if I had to pick one, it would be chocolate and peanut butter. Nom nom nom…
3. Why did you start blogging?
   Easy – to become famous.
4. Who inspires you most?
   My husband and children.
5. What is your favourite blog post you have ever written?
   Again, hard to choose as they are ALL UNICORN AWESOME, but if I had to choose my favourites they would be Boobs are Magical, Why leaving the house can be like a marathon event and Mother’s Milk 
6. If you can be a super hero, which one would you be?
   I am already a super hero, I am a mum.
7. Book or Kindle?
   Book.
8. Jeans or Yoga pants when you are home?
   Well, I am not really cool enough to have actually yoga pants, I just have target leggings and ahh bras.
9. Your dream vacation?
   NYC.  I think I could spend a whole week exploring Central Park.
10. Pinterest or Facebook?
    Facebook
11. If you had to have one ringtone for the rest of your life, what song would you choose?
    Time After Time by Chet Baker – my wedding song.

 

11 Random Facts About Yours Truly

1. I don’t shave.  I wax, and I probably let myself get a little too Amazon lady hairy between waxes.
2. My computer desk/work station is a huge mess at almost all times.
3. I like cake.
4. My family is my universe.
5. I am very particular about how I like to hang the washing.  I don’t match pegs or anything crack pot crazy like that (anymore) but it has to be done a certain way.  Sometimes D helps hang the washing and I just about kills me to see the way he hangs some things but I have learned to appreciate his help and walk away.  Until he is not looking, then I duck back outside and rehang them.
6. I hate having my photo taken from my right.  I have a good side and a bad side and will avoid pictures taken of ‘the ugly side’ at all costs.
7. I am a coffee snob.  This comes from years of making coffee for a living.  If I don’t know for a 100000% that it will be made to perfection, I’ll opt for water, or instant.  I would prefer instant to a bad cappuccino any day.
8. Walking and swimming help me stay sane.
9. I get pretty agitated when it is super hot or I am hungry.  Watch out if I’m hungry AND hot!
10. I really don’t like The Offspring.  The band, not the show.  I LOVE the show, but hate the band.
11. I kill plants.  But I am trying really really really hard to keep our passionfruit vine alive.

 

Here are my lovely very deserving Liebster Award nominees:

1. The Witching Hour and Full Moon Crazies
2. Natural Parenting
3. The Natural Momma in Me
4. Baby and Me – Ready To Mum
5. Biscuits n’ Crazy
6. Mama Gets Real
7. I Raise My Kids
8. Mom in the Muddle
9. Josie, Mom and Dad plus Triplets Make 6!
10. Two Punks, a Princess and Me
11. Housewife Hacked

 

Now for 11 awesome questions for my nominees:

1. Tea or coffee?
2. Cats or dogs?
3. Do you have any weird idiosyncrasies?
4. What is your favourite quote?
5. Who has been a great influence on your life?
6. Why did you start your blog?
7. What is your favourite post?
8. What is your ideal way to spend a lazy Sunday?
9. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
10. Your life is going to become a script for a movie. Who would you want to play you?
11. Confess something juicy.