DD minus 26: Dude, Its Hot....

Yes, of course its hot - welcome to the Australian summer. So in the part of Australia where i live, the temperature starts to heat up from around the middle of November and there isnt usually any cooling down to speak of until early March. Generally, i am in love with this part of the year:
* First of all, its the Christmas period. I know there's something to be said for a white Christmas ( you know, by people in the Northern Hemisphere ) but i'll take the heat and the sun for my Christmas celebrations.
* Its the season for all the best fruit - namely peaches, cherries and mangoes. I've said it before, i'll say it again - mangoes are the food of the gods.
* Putting your lawn sprinkler on to water the grass and letting all the little kids run through it
* Barbeques - cooking outdoors, eating inside with the air conditioner on
* And a few other things i cant quite remember right now

Dont get me wrong, i'm still much happier to have this weather than be stuck in winter, but this summer i'm really feeling the heat. Guess why? Oh yea, i'm pumping around enough blood for two people and thats keeping me extra warm as it is - and the combination of heat and being on my feet have given me ankles the size of an elephants. Sexy.

I mean it only got to 38 degrees celsius here today ( thats 100 degrees for your Fahrenheit type persons ) but its only set to get warmer and, like i said, the heat carries on for quite a while. o matter - now that i'm on maternity leave i dont have to go outside if i dont want to, or be on my feet all day, so i can indulge myself in a fabulous hourand half long nap under the airconditioning in the afternoons. Which i did, today. Naps are fabulous.

But before i took a nap? I have finished the baby's room - i am now officially a rockstar! Or at least i felt like one this morning when i had finished putting up the wall decals and vacuumed the carpet. I am loving the wall decals. Check it:

I apologise for the flash reflecting off the paint there, but how cute are my little puppies? If your in the market for wall decals, for kids rooms or otherwise, try http://www.dezignwithaz.com/ . Theyre a company based in San Fransisco and they have some really cool stuff.

And now, onto tomorrow. I can promise there will be a lack of baby updates because - tomorrow i'm babysiutting my neice all day. Yep, i'm hanging out with H while her mum and dad are at work. So far i plan to take her to the movies and to make some banana muffins for our afternoon tea so instead of baby talk you can expect a run down on the antics of a four year old, possible a movie review and a critique of my banana muffins ( made straight out of the box ). Mmm - muffins.....

DD minus 27: Look Whats Finally Coming Together

You know how when you've been wanting to do something for months, and for better or worse you've ( kind of ) been procrastinating or just not quite finding the time - and then, finally, you get your arse into gear and the project is nearing completion .... you know how that makes you feel ? That " wow, look what i've done ", personal pride kind of feeling ? Yep, thats what i've got going on because..... the baby's room is almost done!

I feel like i've achieved a lot today. Its not just the physical act of washing and drying and folding piles and piles of baby clothes and cot sheets and fleecy blankets - although seeing all those little clothes hung out on my washing line was kind of sweet. Its more than that. The near completion of this physical task - the painting, the putting together of furniture, the washing and folding, the organising and decorating - is symbolic. It means I'm READY. Or as ready as i'm going to get anyway. Sure, i still need to pack a bag for the labour ( altough i did pack my bag for the actual hospital stay today - go me! ) so i'm technically not quite ready, but i feel like i am.

I also feel excited, nervous and a little scared - but on top of all this, i feel ready. I know i'm repeating the same word over and over here but theres no other way to explain it. I feel like i'm in a place where, even though i am excited and nervous and just a little scared, i'm also at ease with whats going to be thrown at me and i'm pretty sure that i'm going to be able to handle it, no matter how bad it appears to be. It might be because i've been having all these little conversations with other mothers or other pregnant women lately - like my beauty therapist today ( by the way way, lower leg and foot massages are the bomb! ). Its nice knowing that i'm part of a group - which has literally billions of members.

She asked me if i had thought about pain relief for the birth ( which i have.... kind of ) and how i think i'll make it through labour ( which can literally last all day if not longer ).

Here's what i'm holding on to - billions of other women, since the dawn of time, have been able to do this. And if they can, i can to. Simple yes, yet motivating. If so many other women can do it - can be strong, can bear down in the face of pain, can kick and scream and fight until the " job " is done ( or, for the Zen ladies out there, bite their lips and do it all in silence ).... then so can i. I can be that Superwoman.

And seeing as i've put together a piece of furniture all by myself this afternoon, made up the cot, sorted and folded all the clothes my child owns and cleaned the bathroom, i think i'm well on my way to that superhero status....

DD minus 28 : Its The Final Countdown

So, here it is, my ambitious new blogging project.

Wondering what " DD " is ? Its Due Date. Thats right - as of today there is exactly four weeks til the due date for the birth of my first child. Bearing in mind that only around 5% of babies are actually born on their due dates, this countdown is not going to be very accurate. I mean we could get to DD - 14 and i could go into labour; or we could hit DD + 7 and nothing might be happening. Nevertheless i'm going to start an official countdown today anyways.

Now, before you all close this page out of boredom, this countdown is not going to be all " ooh, i'm having twinges in the lower abdomen today! " or " When are my stupid waters going to break already!!! ". There will, of course, be some of that ( whats a countdown to a birth without it ? ) but there'll also be a rundown of whats going on in my head and my heart, what i've been up to now that i'm on maternity leave and just general, non-baby related chit chat. And besides, there will be Christmas and New Years thrown in during the 28 day countdown and a planned " Best of 2009 " post aswell.

So - whats going on here on DD minus 28 ? Well today is officially the first day of my maternity leave so i dont really have any routine to follow or anything that i absolutely MUST do. That being said, the giant watermelon bellied bird in me is anxious to get my bags packed for the hospital. You know, like i said, just in case this countdown doesnt quite make it all the way to the end. Its amazing to me how much stuff people/doctors/magazines have recommended i need to take! Ok, pyjamas, plenty of underwear and nappies and clothes for the baby are kind of obvious, but :
* cooling spray for my face during labour
* sugary snacks for energy
* Ear plugs
* Loose change for phone calls
I mean that kind of stuff i wouldnt really have even considered. I'm sure any mums reading this are laughing their guts out at me, but seriously the last thing on my mind is some fancy moisturising spray for the labour ward. Plus, until my antenatal class, i didnt know you were allowed to eat anything during the whole event so i wouldnt have thought to pack lollies either.

So theres that - and there is also lunch with my sister coming up. I thought i may aswell get out and be social and enjoy being a lady who lunches before i become a mum who wears lunch all over the front of her shirt. I'm thinking chicken carbonara is sounding good.....

Guess Who's Back...

Back again! Amy's back! Tell a friend!

Okay, yes, that was a lame reference to a long forgotten Eminem song, but basically what i'm trying to say is that i'm here. No, i didnt die. Nor did i run off and join the circus, fall into a black hole or even give birth. No, the incredible truth is that my wireless internet modem up and died and of course my internet providers are incompetent and sent me the wrong part twice before i finally got what i needed.

So i missed my little old blog here. Truth be told there hasnt been anything overly exciting happening in my life ( although i'm currently reading " Eat, Pray, Love " by Elizabeth Gilbert and its been provoking all kinds of self-explorative thoughts .... ) however: this Monday the 14th of December will see a resurgence of regular posing on this blog. And by regular, i mean EVERYDAY.

Unless of course i'm abducted by aliens, lose all connection to the electrical or, God forbid, go into labour....