A trip to IKEA

We needed to return a couple of lamp shades and find a noteboard for our kitchen, so I decided to make the 20 minute drive to our local ikea store with Jayden yesterday.
Upon arrival (you know how it is with kids every excursion preferably starts as early as possible before they get cranky) we were informed that ikea does not open till 10, but the restaurant was open if we wanted breakfast. I have to admit, it was a good idea because boy did Jayden fill up on $3.95 worth of sausage, eggs, baked beans, tomato and hashbrowns, despite just having eaten a hearty breakfast of toast and eggs a mere hour before. Being full makes him less prone to being cranky, which equals me not losing my temper and thus ensuring a pleasant next few hours.
So after we returned the lamps we got credited with $20 of ikea dollars. We then went to the kids section, where Jayden fell in love with a 'shoo-shoo-tain' set which cost $20. And because I love him I decided to get it.

Now I am counting my pennies and budget in my head and praying that I will somehow have enough to get this and the noteboard (which cost $27). When I am nearing the checkout I remember that I. HAVE. AN. IKEA. VOUCHER. for $12 off for $50 spent. Suddenly I am worried that I havent spent ENOUGH!! ha ha At checkout my total comes to $48.50, so I grab the nearest thing available - a diam chocolate bar worth $2.50 which brings my total to over $51. Less $12, less $20. So I end up spending $20 all up and even got a treat for me!!

I am grateful.
Because Jayden has not yet stopped playing with his trainset and I dont actually think he will stop. He has been obsessed with trains and cars and "T-T' (Thomas the tank) and "K-Chowww" (Lightning McQueen). Damn these children toy makers must make so much money. I finally know what my parents must have felt like when my brother and I pestered them to get the latest Transformers or GI Joe set..

Welcome 2013

I don't think that its hit that its already 2013. A brand new year. This calls for a 2012 wrap up.

Main Highlights of 2012:
1. Jayden's 2nd year:
Think we can say without hesitation that Jayden has made this the best year so far. We have loved watching him grow and change. Now he is a happy 2 year old always running around. I wish i could freeze time and his growth..

2. Finished 1st year Physiotherapy
whoo hooo I am on my way!!! I won't say it was easy; infact it was quite the opposite.. Thank God for such strong loving grandparents and support that they give to us. We would not have made it otherwise..

3. Weddings!! (Serena and Ray, Lauren and Ming, Enid and Derek, Aneeta and Manish)..
Especially had the honour of being a part of Serena's big day, and seeing her marry the man of her dreams. Meant alot to me.

4. Not going to Singapore for Christmas
Okay this one was out of prudence as we are on one income at the moment. But I truly loved my Aussie Christmas. Spending time with family, friends, playing countless games of May I.. and the FOOD.. Also the week my parents came down was pretty awesome too - I dont think i have ever spent time with them ALONE alone. We even went cherry picking!

5. Josh
What can I say? The man that I married has continued his transformation into this wonderful loving giving father and husband. I am continually amazed by his sacrifices and generiosity and kindness toward his family. Love you more than life.

So now its 2013! Where do I start? In the first 3 weeks of the year we have had Jayden's 2nd birthday party, and then left him with the grandparents while Josh and I roadtripped it up to Melbourne to watch the tennis. Aussie Open. We had such a good time that we are almost planning to make it a bi-annual family trip. Managed to catch Li Na and Baghdatis, as well as the match between Neiminen and Haas. It was awesome. I have to admit, after the first day I was feeling like I would love never to see a blue court, raquets and green balls again, but mid way in the 2nd day something changed, it suddenly became addictive. Now at home the tennis is on nearly 24/7 except to allow for sesame street and peppa pig and giggle and hoot.

Here's to another awesome year!!!

Jayden's first non-nappy poo

If you think the title is disgusting just chalk it down to just another milestone that me as a mum simply has to blog about..

We've started trying to potty train Jayden. So far it hasn't been successful, but on the bright side he knows now to sit on the potty and grunt like he's doing a poo and it is extremely cute to watch.

This morning I thought I would give it another go. He had just woken up his usual happy and cheery self, and I knew he would do a poo soon. So I changed him, made his milk and sat him down on the potty, with his milk (yes, I know he usually does a poo when drinking) so giving his milk seemed to be a good option, and settled down to wait. I even told him he would get a raisin if he did a poo, which seemed to take him even smilier and happier. It was a good sign.

I sat there with him for about 15 minutes and nothing happened. At this point I had to start getting ready, so Josh came in at this point and took over - such a great dad. After 5 minutes I hear a yell.. "JAYDEN WHAT DID U DO?!!! ARGHH"

At this point I'm thinking "Josh I know you like being clean and poo is messy, but aren't we supposed to compliment and cheer like we'vejust won a million bucks since it took soooo much time and effort for the little guy to poo, if not for positive reinforcement?"

So I rushed into the toilet, only to discover that Jayden had done a poo.. on the bathroom mat. It turns out Josh had left him alone for 2 minutes while he rushed out to get a toy, and in those precious 2 minutes, the deed was done. So we scooped the poop into the potty and told him it was where it belonged. I will spare you a picture as it looked disgusting.

It was hilarious. You cant really blame Jayden afterall.
So after changing Jayden I held him close, gave him a cuddle and told him he did an awesome job on his first non-nappy poo.

The Royal Adelaide Show 2012

Last Thursday we went to the Royal Adelaide Show with Rebecca and Joash. Last year I insisted on bringing Jayden but he was so little that he did not really get into it, but this year he really enjoyed himself. It was seriously so much fun to see him Ooh and Aah-ing over everything, and there was so much to see and do. For me going to the show with a kid is a totally different experience than going by yourself. For one you find yourself Ooh-ing along and even trying to take pictures with mascots (yes the ones we try to avoid when they come right up to you, wave and try to hug you).

 And yes I finally got around to borrowing my father-in-law's NIKON d3000 camera. Here are some untouched photographs. There was seriously so much to see and do. Bubbles, Giant Tractors, Sheep Shearing.. even Becca was enthralled.

On a separate note, I have finally downloaded Photoshop and have started playing around with the program. I am still a complete noob at this - do not know most features, and all I did was change the background a little on this one but I'm pretty excited... so here's one of Jayden smiling on cue (he smiles when you tell him to), courteousy of my father-in-law. It is too cute not to share.

Anticipation

Am trying to blog more regularly, so here goes..

I absolutely cannot wait for next week, to be mroe specific, next Tuesday night. Or the end-of-year holidays for that matter. But back to today's topic: Anticipation.  The excitement that builds up in you and renders you unable to think of anything else.

I have 2 tests on Monday and Tuesday in Anatomy and Physiology, both of which are hard and both of which I think I wont do very well in. To be honest I havent been working very hard at all this semester and I am dreading these assessments, but its going to be such a massive weekend come this time next week..

For starters, the husband is taking next Thursday and Friday off for a long weekend! We are going to the Royal Adelaide Show on Thursday with Jayden, Bec and Joash. I am so excited to be going to the show with Jayden, this time last year he was barely aware of anything, and I think he is going to really enjoy himself! I have even picked out his showbag - the Cars one (yes what else is it going to be aye!). Am even going to borrow Dad's camera (the nice DSL one) and start taking pictures!!

On Friday as my birthday present, Josh is taking me to IKEA to buy an organising system for our kitchen, and a few other knick knacks for our house that I want  need... am sooo excited and have already made an ikea shopping list (its such a nifty idea because everytime I get to IKEA i tend to get starry eyed, and forget what I need).. Sigh. Call me pathetic but everytime I close my eyes visions of my new shelves and organisation come, and excitement builds up just thinking about how nice my house is going to look...

But for now its back to study.

Reflections.

I was always very good at starting things. There's something about a 'Fresh' start. Makes you so motivated to get up and do things. Well, me anyway. But finishing them is a whole different story.

I used to have big aspirations. Big dreams. Be a singer. Be Famous. Successful career.
List goes on and on.

Now my dreams are still big, but boy have they changed. And all of them tie into the first one.

To be a loving mother, and wife tops the list. I dont want to be famous, I just want and need my kids and husband to know me.

To stay fit, healthy and in shape. To enjoy my life, to keep up with the kids, the dog and the husband. Yes, the dog rates a mention because when I take him for a walk I can't up when he decides to run off (which he does alot). Besides it never hurts to look good.

To keep a snapshot and record of life as I know it. Yes this is where this blog comes into play, when I have time to update it. I want to be able to be an awesome photographer so that when Jayden turns 22 and says "remember when we were growing up and I used to bathe in a pail" and I can actually pull that cute photograph of Jayden being naked and actually bathing in his pail to embarrass remind him. I have billions of cards, wedding invitations and things that need organising, and have started putting them into scrapbooks (well, will start after exams in December that is!!).

To always stay thankful and grateful to God, and be grounded in Him. I have so much to thank God for - family, friends, a wonderful life on this earth and there is nothing I can ever do to deserve this save His Grace.

So anyway, Jayden is now 20 months old and is on his way to becoming a toddler. How quickly do they grow up?!!!! Its the first day of Spring, beautiful weather and a new dogpark has just opened up near our place which we have been taking Charlie to. Will blog more about this and hopefully post photos up too. In the meantime its back to hitting the books as they call it.

Engine Trouble

And by that I do not mean our cars. Okay I admit in the past month we have had to replace both batteries in each car. I dont know, maybe they both decided to become friends and start losing everything together but let me tell you it was a blow. But thats over now so now Im going to concentrate on today's topic.
I will be the first to admit it.

This semester is not going well for me, mainly because I cannot find the motivation to start studying really hard once again. How do you say this.. when you've tasted the icing there's no way you're going to plow through the entire cake.. when you've experienced the fullness of 1 month of beautiful holidays, who wants to go back to the hard slog???

Because I am really, really behind my uni work, and its only week 1. Am starting to stress about it really hard.


Not to mention the fact that I am sick. Sick as a dog. Who knew the human nasal cavity and sinuses could produce so much mucosal?!! Not to mention I have red eye (conjuntivitis, thank you, Jayden) and a cough that makes my voice sound deeper than Josh's (well okay, maybe Joash's because Josh does not inherently have a deep voice at all). In short, having a man voice, bloodshot eyes and a persistant cough does not make you want to study at all.

I hope this passes soon.

In the meantime, here is a clip of a song, “Thank you’ by the Katinas. It just helps remind me that I have so much to be thankful for everyday, and especially not to forget God in all this.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJEPg7fKOtc