How far along? 19 weeks already ... It feels like this pregnancy us zipping by so far.


Stretchmarks? None so far.

Symptoms: I picked up a nasty bout of gastro this week that literally zapped every resource from me so the tiredness is tenfold now,

Sleep: solid apart from the peak of my gastro that saw me sleeping on the bathroom floor and sitting in the shower at 2am.

Miss Anything? You guessed it, I'd love a glass of sav blanc or Chandon right now! 'Tis the season to be merry and I'm missing out wahhhhh

Movement: busy wriggling babe whenever we get one of Es full blown tantrums... Hoping it doesn't mean I can expect two against mumma in future.

Age: 18 Months ... and oh my goodness, could being a mumma get to be anymore fun than it is right now! I have loved every second with E but at this age there is such an emphasis on fun and play.

We've been shopping up a storm:

Now that's what I call Disney 4 disc boxset
Target festive mason jar sippy
Target dinosaur shaped sandwich cutter - only $3 and the perfect simple way to make sandwiches lots of fun.
More Christmas decorations - got to love 40% off at Target and Myer.


Making Christmas presents - personalised gifts for the ILs from Snapfish. With a 60% off code last week these were all of $10! The perfect stocking stuffers.


Christmas baking! I had to make something to share for Ethan's daycare Christmas party and conscious of egg allergies/intolerance's, I decided to use a cookie recipe that didn't require egg. With only 4 ingredients, these should have been simple but thanks to the sweltering humidity here and the copious amount of butter included, I had to refrigerate the dough in batches for at least an hour before use and roll out with my trusty Tupperware rolling pin (filled with ice water) between grease proof paper. It was a fiddly nightmare and I still have two batches of dough in the freezer as I simply couldn't face working with more of it at the time. Don't even ask what happened to the green icing that should have been included!





Decorating the office and collecting gifts for our charity present drive. I'm beyond thrilled with the support so far and I love knowing that we are helping those who need it most right now. Without doubt, giving is the best part of Christmas.

Making delicious salads with the perfect summer ingredient - pomegranate! Fresh and yummy, this one is just leaves, fennel, spring onion and mint with pomegranate, haloumi and a squeeze of lemon. Simple and refreshing, this salad is a big hit with everyone we've ever served it up to - including my dad who thinks salad should only contain lettuce, tomato, carrot, cucumber and cheese!




Christmas Carols! I'll say it again - Its the most wonderful time of the year! We headed along to the Mayor's carols with my sister, her family and some friends. We all bought along nibbles and blankets and enjoyed a festive night singing all the favourites. Ethan was in heaven with all the music and was on his best behaviour bopping along to Jingle Bell Rock.




Painting and swimming. We broke out the finger paints for the first time and E was a bit bewildered with it all and not too sure about the messy hands. We followed up with some swimming at granddads which is always a big hit!

How far along? 18 weeks



Stretchmarks? Nope - sticking to the same creams as last time.

Symptoms: Tired, so darn tired this past week but just loving life.

Sleep: tired tired tired and still with those wacky dreams that leave strange bruises on me.

Miss Anything? Fetta cheese on my salads and a glass of Sav Blanc to go with it.

Movement: lots of rolling and movement as soon as I lay down to sleep each night.

but they never said it would be so hard either.

I realise that I am so very very lucky to be married to the man I love, mother to our perfect little boy, have a job I enjoy and the blessing of another baby to come. I am grateful for every single part of my life but being a wife, a mother, pregnant and working full time is exhausting and you know what? Sometimes it is just so damn hard. Some days I'd love to bury under the covers and skip the day altogether. Its hard to keep all the balls in the air and every now and then, one slips and you have to start juggling all over again.

Things didn't really change for us after Scott and I got married. We were already living together and life continued just as it had before our wedding so we were not at all prepared for the enormous changes that pregnancy and then parenthood brought to our lives. Sure we expected a shift and we were even happy about that but we weren't at all prepared to be 'dropped' by friends of many years and we weren't prepared for dealing with a baby with silent reflux (and now a toddler with silent reflux). We were prepared for lack of sleep (although maybe not to the extent of our reality) and the shift in our relationship and its focus but it hasn't been without its struggles.

Its almost the end of 2013 and of course the end of the year brings about reflection of what has passed. Its been a big year for us, as have the two before it and I could never have dreamed the highs and lows if I tried. Here is some of my year in review (not in any order):

* We welcomed the most precious little girl to start 2013 - our 3rd niece, the gorgeous Lillee.
* We had to deal with some health scares for me and for Ethan that thankfully have all been managed and treated. Sadly though, Ethan is still requiring medication for his silent reflux as its just too severe even now to continue without but we continue to hope its something he will outgrow.
* Our baby boy turned 1! Who knows where the time went and how my baby became a toddler but he is very definitely not a baby anymore and that's okay because he is the most delightful little guy around.
* I suffered the indignity of another Blues loss... if I'm honest, I barely watch SOO anymore and go for the socialising now.
* We said goodbye to some friendships that if we were honest, were really over in 2012. There have been more than a few tears shed at my end and its still a little raw but I'm looking forward to moving on in the New Year.
* We celebrated my father receiving a well-deserved Order of Australia Medal.
* We endured over a year of a baby who thrived of minimal sleep and fought weaning with his considerable will to enjoy a boy who now sleeps through the night at long last (touch wood) and loves his sippy of milk.
* I survived the Federal election complete with hours of volunteering and a 3am start on the big day to celebrate a Coalition win!
* Our boy started daycare and with it we experienced our first true bout of separation anxiety that is just fading now.
* I shared some special occasions with my two favourite women, my mum and my sister including seeing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with them both and The Script concert with just my sister.
* We rekindled some old friendships and made some wonderful new ones that bring us a lot of joy and happiness. I'm also lucky enough to be a part of the most amazing 'mothers group' who give me their support and unstinting friendship always.
* We celebrated the lives of some treasured people who will forever be in our hearts and memories.
* I started a new career after 15 years in the real estate industry and its turned out to be the best possible change I could imagine complete with a supportive and hardworking boss who is a pleasure to work with.
* After some initial shock, we celebrate an unexpected pregnancy and now await the big arrival of B2 in 2014.

Pregnancy the second time around with a toddler underfoot has been a little hard on me and I've been constantly tired, often nauseous and not much help to Scott lately who has been picking up the slack with cooking, getting up with E at 5am and keeping the house. As a result, we are both snappy and tired so Christmas this year can't come fast enough with the much needed break it brings, a blessing for us. Two weeks together doing nothing but relaxing and having fun is just what we need to welcome in the New Year and all 2014 holds in store for us.

At the end of the day, life is hard but you know what? The highs, lows, losses and gains .... Its all worth it.

How was your 2013?

If you're a long time reader of my dribble, you may recall my very first post over at Gold Coast Real Estate Girl. For those that don't, here it is ... http://gcrealestategirl.blogspot.com.au/2010/06/world-cup-widow.html
I was bemoaning the fact that I was a World Cup widow but if you continued to read, I got right into the series and even got up for the 1am odd games.

Three years on and the World Cup is coming again. If you're a football fan, you will know the draw for Brazil was done on Friday night at the oh so civilised 3am. Sadly, Australia didn't fare so well in the draw being an unseeded team but I think the media's 'Group of Death' is more than a little bit of an exaggeration. Especially given England, the USA and company didn't fare much better in their Groups.

Obviously no one wants to draw raining champs Spain, Chile AND 2010 runners-up the Netherlands but then again, no one wants Brazil, Portugal or Ghana to name a few either. Scott tells me we are screwed in his oh so succinct summation but I think at best, its an opportunity for our Socceroos to fire up and play against the best there is in the World and if nothing else, take some lessons from the matches for next time and towards preparation for the Asian Cup. At worst, we are done after three games but at least we can say we were there.

I quite liked former Socceroo, Craig Moore's, take on our draw when he likened it to a draw in the Champions league where everyone was worried about their team playing the 2 powerhouse teams in the group and  an unnoticed Valencia slipped through and went on to win the group.

Are you excited for the World Cup? Are you planning to watch the games live next year ... I must admit, my timing is once again impeccable with this pregnancy. E was born right around the Olympics so there was plenty of midnight television that was actually worth watching during all those night feeds and all that rocking and if B2 proves to be similar to E in this regard, then at least I will have the World Cup to look forward to at 2am.