the little people...

as the little one grows within me

i am increasingly aware of how Lily and Sean are turning out as people

more often than not

i notice that as we look forward to welcoming a brand-new human to love and guide

i also notice at the same time

that the other two are already very much

who they will probably be for the rest of their lives

you can get so bogged down worrying about the future

that you forget whats happening right in front of you

we've done alright, i think

these two are wondrous

and i am in awe

our mothers day...

usually starts early. 

the kids are so excited to give me their presents they can barely wait till the sun rises.

blurry-eyed, i summon up all the cheer i can muster

(i am NOT a morning person)

and we all open my gifts and read their hand-made cards

together

my eyes welled up

they had written such beautiful words

brimming with so much heartfelt love

that the room was almost aglow with it

they scamper off to make me a cup of tea in my favourite

china cup

and a slice of delicious, buttery pannetone...

the day is full of promise

paul has been charged with the task of making
beetroot gnocchi with kale pesto for our lunch

the beetroot gnocchi with kale pesto was a ripper

lily flipping out her wobbly and perfectly luscious lemon pannacotta

all the girls..my impossibly youthful mum, who
lives to dote on us all.
she is truly inspiring and selfless
i hope to be much like her someday.
i love you mum.

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!