robots or unicorns....?

today has been marked on our calendar for weeks

the day we find out if we get a unicorn or a robot

ha

as we all got into the car

bets were placed

guesses made

two votes for a girl

the other two, a boy

our sonographer is THE most delightful lady

she coos and sighs

at our baby as if it were her own 

perfect fingers and toes

perfect spine

perfect everything

that's all I wanted to hear
and then she asked

"do you want to know?"

think she already knew the answer
before we said it

and there it was

a clear view 

little miss dumpling

18 weeks - but who's counting?

18 weeks and 4 days

but who's counting?

into the second trimester now

not quite as exhausted

but i am thankful to be able to sneak in

an afternoon nap

people are starting to come up

rub my belly

like it will give them 

good luck

getting all manner of baby-related gear from lovely friends

a white bassinet was the first

i put it into our bedroom

and for a week

paul and i would stop dead in our tracks, startled, like deer in headlights

everytime we saw it

but we really are, happy

happy to have received the gift of life

happy that it already has the love of its big sister and brother

happy that just when we thought we had all our blessings counted

we got one more

we all get to find out this week

what our 'surprise' package will be

robots or unicorns?

Two Plus One Equals Five...

i have a good excuse to have been away so long. 

the past months have been quite the roller-coaster.

ever since the day of lily's birthday

see, i looked into the mirror and saw that my resolve to eat sensibly over christmas had, quite alarmingly, failed me. 

you know that midriff of mummy tummy i had so proudly gotten rid of during my sugar-abstinence..had returned with a vengeance

still it felt unusual and the next day i decided to investigate further

what i discovered was quite a shock

what i discovered, was that we would be welcoming a new member into our home and our hearts

for now, i am calling it 'nugget'

nugget has overcome pretty significant physical odds to get here

but it would seem that the planets aligned one day...

i am now a third of the way through this journey

my first spring child

nugget at 11 weeks and 6 days

nugget will be our third child

unplanned, but certainly not unwanted

the excitement is building

the big sister and brother are bemused and excited 

sean has been all kisses for the baby

lily fires off ideas for names randomly

i just want to sleep. and sleep. and sleep.

Zzzzzzzz...

on this day eight years ago...

12 hours of labouring

i sucked so hard on that gas inhaler

that my eyes almost popped out

we (finally) got to 9.5cms

i almost got to deliver my first baby

the 'normal' way

but it wasn't to be

her temperature rose

my temperature rose too

and we were all whisked into theatre

the epidural went in

causing me to have violent shakes immediately

and then i lost sensation in my chest

too much was administered

i thought i couldn't breathe

i thought i was breathing my final breaths right there

i remember thinking how nothing went as planned

especially the dying-on-the-operating-table bit

i figured if i was dying 

i was going to try hard to hang in there

long enough to meet my lovely girl

to hold her and tell her i loved her

to tell her i was sorry to not be able to to watch her grow up

they told me i was still breathing as normal

but the excess epidural just meant i couldn't feel it

i heard them saying they delivered her

there wasn't a sound

at the same time i drifted in and out of consciousness

desperately hoping they would hurry and let me hold my baby

and there she was

wrapped up tight

she looked like a little eskimo baby

chubby cheeks

black shiny eyes

quiet as a mouse

i forgot about everything else

it was the three of us

everything was perfect

it all happened on this day

eight years ago

she has become

funny

tender-hearted

generous

affectionate

an over protective sister

a lover of animals

a lover of big stuffed toys

a lover of little stuffed toys

an expert on chocolate

goofy

oh yes she is the goofiest kid

and everything else in between

she has become everything we hoped for

and then some...

happy 8th birthday lu-bi-loo

we love you

giveaway time...

it needs a name

paul has been in training for 

another marathon

looking for an alternative

to those sickly sweet, artificial energy gels

i created a snack with

raw cacao

organic honey

organic peanut butter

organic oats

kale powder
naked ginger

coconut oil

chia seeds

medjool dates

it was delicious, chocolatey, sweet, nutty and wholesome

perfect as an in between meals snack that satisfies you for longer

great for kids too - if nuts are not an issue

bonus: its all raw and no cooking is involved

post your suggestions for a name

the one we like best

will win a 250g bag of bars

good luck!

road trip treasures...

i wasn't looking forward to the drive home

nearly 3 hours of dreary

lifeless bitumen

i asked my dear friend and gelorup (bunbury, western australia) local

if there were any places i should try and catch on my way home

she told me about a quaint shop and cafe in a chapel

ten minutes drive in the opposite direction

of my journey

i decided to take a punt

off to boyanup i went

and i was delighted with what i found

Rustic French Living

a surprise find in the tiny town of boyanup, western australia

french country-inspired homewares and clothing

filled the bright and airy interior

of what used to be 

a church

jo, the owner

started the business just over a year ago

and hasn't looked back

travellers come from everywhere

just to stop by

browse

shop

and enjoy a cafe au lait and macaron

should they fancy

i enjoyed a buttery vanilla cupcake

one of a selection of baked goodies

made by Jo's friend

 linen

muslin

candles

frenchy stuff..heaven!

be sure to pop by the next time you are heading to the south west

 (or heading to the big smoke)

you will find them  at

33 South Western Highway

Boyanup

www.rusticfrenchliving.com.au

heading northbound

i passed a few gorgeous little towns

this one was one of my favourites

brunswick junction

driving through i caught sight of

the original

peters creameries

its dairy country here

quiet

beautiful hills

and references to cows EVERYWHERE

love.

my final stop was in the old logging town of

pinjarra

as i cruised through the town i spied

a small but well stocked

antique shop

vintage cutlery

it was a steal

i just love them

i guess my trip home wasn't so dreary, after all

bearded bards ahoy!...

jack carty & josh pyke

this weekend i drove 200kms to bunbury

to catch a 30 minute set

if thats not dedication

i don't know what is

i went with my friends Natalie and Steve

who had never heard of either singers

we dined at the venue where they would be performing

almost empty when we arrived

we asked to be seated

and of all the empty tables we could have had

they seated us right NEXT to josh and jack

i nearly fainted

josh cast a glance my way as we approached

probably noticing my ukelele hanging off me

probably worrying i would try and ask to jam with them

probably thinking '..of all the empty tables they could have had..."

i could not bring myself to even look at them as we ate

much less say hello

josh is better known

but i was really there for jack

a fresh faced sydney-sider

with a big vocal range

and voice that just pulls you in

his latest offering "break your own heart"

has been playing non-stop since i got it three weeks ago

have a listen 

if you like