Four Weeks

Its hard to believe that our little Tully Bee is already four weeks old - and also to believe that i havent posted here for almost three weeks! Truth be told i have wanted to post, and have had the urge to write, but my best ideas have struck at 3am when i'm breastfeeding Tully and i just dont have the patience to type out a blog post, on a tablet device, using only one hand...

But i'm here now, and i'm happy to say that its pretty much all good. Tully is proving to be a pretty chilled out, laidback little lady, certainly in comparison to how Flynn was at the same age. For one thing, she sleeps sooooooooo much better than Flynn did - i consider a " bad night " when she wakes twice, as on average she has only been waking the once, feeding for an hour, and then drifting back to sleep whilst she finishes her feed ( which means i can pop her straight back into her cot and head back to bed myself ). She's a hungry little milk pig and if there has been anything we have struggled with its been my milk supply. Tully is being mixed fed as my supply is much lower than it was with Flynn ( probably due to the extra stress of two kids and running a business ) and though at first i was reluctant to give her a bottle or two of formula a day i figured - very quickly - that " fed is best " and now my bubba girl is gaining weight and content after a feed. The majority of feeds are still breastfeeds and i'm enjoying the moments we have together, especially the one or two night feeds when its nice and quiet and un(toddler)interrupted...

Flynn is still in love with his sister - most mornings he'll greet her with a " Good morning Tully! " or my personal favourite " Hello my beautiful pumpkin! " ( which he copied from Daddy ). He constantly wants to kiss her or hug her or touch her hair, which i admit i find incredibly cute, except of course when a hug turns into him almost squeezing her to death or a pat on the head is more like a smack. He does go a bit overboard and get a bit rough sometimes, or a bit grumpy at a lack of immediate attention and he might try and bop her one, but so far he's been caught red handed everytime and told that that kind of behaviour is just not on. Speaking of behaviour, Flynn sookiness (as a way of getting attention ) continues but we're hoping if we refuse to acknowledge demands when he's being whiney, and instead wait until he can ask in a " nice " voice he might outgrow the whingeness soon. Right?!

This raising two children gig is going pretty well though, thus far. I havent had too many meltdowns yet, and though i get frusturated by one or the other of them from to time to i've found that overwhelming feeling of love and contentment far more common. Hell, i even found myself smiling away in the dark at 4am a few days ok, completely in awe of awesome my children and my husband are... and you know that isnt the pregnancy hormones talking, 4 weeks post birth!

Learning To Be A Beach Bum

So you remember all those posts i've made lately whinging about the weather and how it better get its act together and co-operate when we took Flynn down to the beach? Well, we went away this past weekend and i am happy to say that we had glorious sunshine both days - good job Mother Nature!

Mick and I were both kind of excited to see how Flynn would react the first time he saw the ocean. Good news is we got a great " Oh wow Mum! Dats da beach! " and a very excited little smile. Bad news is he wasnt exactly fond of the water until the fourth and last visit to the beach, and by that time Daddy had already headed back to Dubbo ( Flynn and i stayed on an extra day, as i dont work Mondays, and drove home with my parents ). He loved the sand - he kept saying " i playing in the big sand pit! " and had a ball chasing the seagulls and looking for shells, and he was very interested in all the little hermit crabs that Poppy and I found in the shallows - he just wasnt too keen on getting his toes wet. I think it was a combination of just being completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of water ( as a kid from the country the most water he sees on a regular basis is in the bathtub... ) and the fact that though the air temperature was lovely, the water temperature was still a bit cool.

I'll admit that though we had fun all four times we went down to the beach, i was a little bit upset that Mick had to miss out on Flynn finally taking to the water. We went down to a small bay not far from our holiday house late Sunday afternoon and, with a bit of patience and a bit of coaxing from Poppy, Flynn not only came in for a swim being carried by an adult but he was eventually running into the shallows all by himself. Once he figured out that he could splash and kick and that the little waves werent going to knock him over, he got into the whole beach experience. And though i was disappointed that Mick missed it, I'm glad that Flynn did eventually take to the beach - its an Australian rite of passage to have summer holidays to the beach, and i want him to enjoy them and look forward to them, the same way I did as a kid.

So after the success of the weekend ( which just wasnt long enough ) we are hoping to be able to go back down in the Christmas break, as long as we can jag some accommodation at the right price. By that time of course we will have a 4 month old aswell as Flynn so 3 or 4 days will be more than enough!

A New Chapter

A month or two, amidst all posts about my upcoming wedding, i wrote that Mick and I were hoping for a few positive outcomes in regards to some future plans we were laying. We needed a big " yes ".... and i'm happy to say that we got it. That is, we got a big "yes " to a business loan and, from January, we will be the proud new owners of a small business.


We've been amazingly lucky with out opportunity - Mick's current employers had been looking to sell for a while and were having no luck. After a bit of thinking - and knowing that we are a young family looking for a break - they generously proposed that they loan us two-thirds of the cost of buying a part of their business, as long as we could get the rest of the money from the bank. That is, they would lend us their OWN money ( which we will pay back at a reduced rate of compund interest ) because, as they put it, they love Michael like one of their own family, they believe in him, and they wanted to give us an opportunity to provide a better life for our family.

I was gobsmacked at their generosity, and we hoped against hope that we would be able to secure some finance from the bank..... and we did! We are still working out a bit of the logistics but basically, as of January, we will own our own courier business: Mick will be doing pick ups and deliveries to a town about 2 hrs drive away, 5 days a week, and i will do the book keeping and general paperwork of an evening, after i finish at my own job.

We're not stupid - we KNOW it will be a hard slog for the first 6-12 months. My responsibiliities to our business will be on top of my other job, and as Mick will be our only driver he wont be able to take any sick leave or holidays. There are the small ins and outs of a business that we will have to learn, and ways of doing things that work for us. But, in the long run, we know that owning our business is going to afford our family some amazing opportunities, and a more comfortable lifestyle than we can provide now.

It is still a month away, but there is so much we have to organise and begin learning before then. However, i know we are both looking forward to the challenges that will be thrown at us in the next few months - wish us luck!

By Any Other Name

I had my first day back at work today after 3 weeks off and do you know what i realised? Holy mackerel there are a lot of places where i'm going to have to change my name! I've already had to email two seperate departments in my organisation and they're happy to change it from my maiden name to married name without a marriage certificate - but for all the other official type stuff ( bank/RTA/Centrelink ) I'll have to wait.

Truth be told, i really dont want to wait, I'm excited about having a new name. Funnily enough , a few of my friends expressed suprise that i was going to change to Micks surname - i've always been a bit of an independent/girl power type of woman ( to the point where i told Mick if he was ever going to  propose he was NOT to ask my father for permission - i'm not an object to be handed off ! ) and they had assumed i would just keep my own name. But, despite my firm belief in having my own identity as a woman, i'd never even thought about NOT changing my name. Why? Changing my name, to me, is another symbol of our unity as a couple. I'm not saying you cant be united with different surnames - if that works for you then great - but for me i couldnt wait to be " Mrs Amy F ", wife of Mick F and, equally importantly .... mother to Flynn F.

I know that there are lots of mums out there who have different names to their offspring - i mean, so did i for the first 22 months of Flynn's life - but changing my name feels like making our little family unit really complete. Not complete in the sense that we wont be adding to it ( fingers crossed! ) but complete in that we're all one and the same now, all bound together for everyone to see.

Sure i may not be overly fussed to share the same name as my FIL ( hell, thats a whole other post .... ) but i'm Mick's wife and i'm Flynn's mum and i'm happy and proud for everyone to so obviously know it!

No More Stigma - A Mental Health Post, Part 3

See, i kind of, sort of, might have thought i was in love with someone ( In retrospect, now that i have Mick and we have Flynn, i know that it wasn’t ... ). I let myself feel all those happy feelings i hadn’t had, convinced myself that maybe i had found something great, finally. When i told the object of my affection how i felt, he told me he didn’t feel the same way. He thought i was a great girl, and a great friend, but nothing more.


It sent me into a tailspin – and started my second major bout with depression. Within only a few months i was back to the self loathing, the wondering why i wasn’t good enough and thinking i never would be.. Recognising what it was this time i went back to a GP, did the whole mental health questionnaire again, and got a referral to a local psychologist.

Opening up was easier this time – i’d been there, done that. It wasn’t so scary, or so taboo. What was scary was the prospect of what he was asking me to do... to get out in the world, alone. As much as i was used to being alone, being alone at home and hitting the pub on my own were two totally different things. We both agreed that my major problem this time was not so much self confidence, but loneliness – and the only way to alleviate loneliness was to find new friends. Easier said than done, right?

Making friends in Cambodia ( i'm 3rd from right, bottom row )

I decided that there was nothing to be done but give it a shot. With the help of anti-depressants ( again ) i started small – i spoke to people at the gym instead of just a nod and a smile; i went out to the movies or to lunch with my sister, just to get out of the house; i went on a trip to SE Asia and made friends amongst strangers; and strangest, and maybe bravest of all, i started internet dating.

My friends and family thought it was a bit weird, or maybe a crazy/desperate move, but little by little i got my confidence back. I had a few good dates, a few ok dates, and one particular date with the most condescending, materialistic, arrogant man i may have ever met ( blergh! ) I went on an ok date with an ok guy that i just didn’t click with, and then found out he thought i was the bees knees when he sent a friend to my place of work to talk to me a few months later ( kind of creepy.. ).

And then – i met Mick. Online. On a dating website. Our first date, a casual lunch at the pub, went for 5 hrs. We saw each other next day, and a few days after that. And the rest is history! Or, for the short version: dating, pregnant, engaged, baby, family, and getting married in 17 days! I’m blissfully happy, and despite a brief blip when Flynn was 6-8 months old ( which could have seen the onset of another episode but, thanks to intervention, didn’t ) i’ve been “well “ for over 3 years now.

And i hope to stay “ well “ for a long time to come. But i know that that isn’t a given – i have to consciously be aware of my negative emotions when i feel them, and work to keep them in check. And i feel that part of that work is also to tell my story – maybe not to just blurt it out to everyone i meet, but be open and honest when the occasion calls for it. Mental Health Month is one of those occasions. And on this occasion i’m asking you to share to – whether you can share a story, or show support for those who need it...

Adventures in Picnicking, Old School Style

Oh in the summertime, when the weather is high.... ok, so its not summer yet. Nor spring for that matter. However, over the past weekend we did have some lovely weather here in Dubvegas so we got together with my parents, my neices ( who were staying at Grandma and Poppys for the day ) and my younger sister to go on a proper, old-fashioned picnic. We packed ourselves some lunches, i made some delicious cheesecake brownies for dessert, and we took all the kids ( big and little ) out the park/play area at Taronga Western Plains Zoo ( our favourite playground in town! ). Unfortunately we missed out on a picnic table because when we got there every table was taken up by birthday parties - from what i could tell there was 3 seperate birthday parties going on....

 But no matter because there is lots of open space to run around in ( and a fence around the perimeter so little people cant run into the car park );

There is the great jungle gym/tree house. Flynn can climb up the ramp by himself and giggle his guts out when he goes down the slippery dip. The bigger kids climb right up the top and yell out at the top of their lungs " Hey Grandma! Hey Aunty Amy! Hey, i'm up here! "...

There were Daddies enjoying the sunshine on their picnic rugs ( looking good baby! )....

...and Poppies pushing little people on the swings. Flynn loves the swings and at the age of almost 20 months that the appropriate noise to make whilst swinging is " wheeeeeeeeeeee ! "

 There were also beautiful neices galore! The very cute MissB on the wobbly bridge....

 And the just as pretty, if not slightly more adventurous MissH at the end of her flying fox run.

 Then you had Grandma's playing hide and seek with cheeky little boys ( who then got bark in his shirt and proceeded to itch and scratch... )

And little boys who just l.o.v.e sand and dirt and all things grotty.

And, at the very end, there were silly Mummies ( with no make up, freckles and all ) and crazy Aunty Pippy's ( who had run out of bubbles to blow for the kiddies... ) making silly faces. Ah, a day in the park.... hurry up spring and summer can i do that every weekend!

Trusting Yourself - 15 Minutes To Live

So, with only four days ( or prompts left ) in the 30 Days of Music challenge ( another post to come this afternoon ), i was thinking i was going to be back to posting the same old stuff again, and hoping that i wouldnt bore all you readers to death. So, happily, whilst cruising around the forums on Digital Parents i found a link to a new (and somewhat more meaningful ) writing "challenge ". In celebration of Ralph Waldo Emerson's 208th birthday, the good people who run a website in homage to him are running the #Trust30 initiative:
 #Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your now, and to create direction for your future. 30 prompts from inspiring thought-leaders will guide you on your writing journey.


Now, like the 30 Days of Music challenge, i think i might spread these prompts out over the course of two months - and seeing as the content will probably be a lot " heavier " in nature, i'll probably need the extra time to think them over.Plus, i'm already a day behind so it wont be so bad if i skip a day or two. So, day one?
( By Gwen Bell ) You just discovered you have fifteen minutes to live....

Image from here

Without a doubt, after giving myself 30 seconds or so to panic and ponder my own mortality, i would have to contact my most treasured of loved ones. Only those closest to me, those who have supported me, loved me, truely known and seen and lived me.

To my fiance - Thank you for finding me, and for being ready to accept the love i had to give. You were the light at the end of a dark tunnel, the dawn at the end of the longest night. I love you, and always will.

To my son - If your father was my dawn after night, you are the sunshine who keeps the clouds at bay. You're my honeybee, my baby cakes, and even though your feet smell i love your guts forever.

To my mother - we had our struggles ( as sulky teenagers are want to cause... ) but we've come good in the end. Realise the potential that you have, and go with it - stop your worrying and let yourself "be". And love yourself, the way you always, even in your funny way, loved me.

To my sister - i love you, and despite having called you a bitch when we were kids, i dont really think that. I think you are headstrong and sometimes a bit dramatic, but that you are stronger than you imagine and will make it in the end. Forget your naysayers, and remember you.

To my father - my rock, my sounding board and the first man i ever loved. I am proud of the way you live your life, proud of the way you love your family, and proud to be your daughter. See you on the otherside, wherever they may be.

To the rest of the people who inhabit my life i'd have to leave a farewell note - short, sweet and to the point:
I loved you all. Goodbye, and good luck...









 

My Sweet Family Life

So i'm again participating in the new " Sweet Life " meme brought to you by the gorgeous Melissa over at Suger Coat It. Basically Melissa wants us to celebrate the good things in life, the stuff that makes our lives worth living, and loving. This week, she wants to know about our sweet families...

 Those are my beautiful boys, who make me laugh, smile and burst with love everyday. Sometimes they make me cry  and want to tear at my hair, but isnt that part of being a family? And i've always been a believer that the bad/sad/frusturating times are there to help us appreciate all the good stuff even more. But its not just my fiance and my son that make my life sweet. No, i have to count my extended family in that aswell, with a special mention to my mum and dad... or Grandma and Poppy as they are now more frequently called.

Thats Flynn and my mum at Mayfield Gardens a few weeks ago. I think having grandkids keeps my mum young, because she spends so much time playing chasies in the garden or building block towers that she doesnt have time to ponder any " ah, i'm getting older! " thoughts. And she's always willing to help me out - whether its coming round for a visit, or taking Flynn for the afternoon so i can do something on my own, or whatever. She is one sweet Grandma. But the real sweet star in the family?

Pop. Flynn is in love with Pop, Mick admits to having a man crush on him, and i've always been a Daddys girl. My dad is the most giving person i know, whether it be time, or money, or advice... the man does it all. All the help he gives us - we, a young family, just trying to find its feet - is what helps make my life sweet. I think, without my dad especially, my life would be vastly, vastly different....

Hand-me-down Evidence

Just a quick post - so you now how i mentioned that in my Hand-me-down post that my mother had dressed me in my cousins hand-me-downs, even though i am, in fact, a girl and he was a boy? And that i couldnt find the photo of me in red " Sherriff " overalls? Well, my mother found it and here it is for your viewing pleasure...

Oh yea, thats me - a bit over 2 yrs old i think - in my fash-tastic hand-me-down overalls with my chubbster brother. Aren't we vintage gorgeous?

I'm Building An Ark - But I'm Not Growing A Beard

I was listening to one of our local radio stations this morning and, in anticipation of the heavy rain that has been forecast for the next few days ( which, mind you, i bet doesnt eventuate.... ), the morning dj team were discussing whether they had better build themselves an ark. All that had to make it with was some newspapers, some Blutack and a pen but hey.... it got me thinking. If that Biblical flood was a-coming, what would i put on my ark?
( Please note that, like all good hypothetical things, such as deserted islands, my ark will be fully electric. Its a pimped out ark, okay? )

My family -  this one's a given. Mick, Flynn and the rest of my immediate family. Extended family i could give or take but we gotta take Poppy and Grandma and the rest of them. Also , we're going to assume that my friends have their own arks so they dont need to hitch a ride with me.
My computer -  and internet connection. We have to stay connected to the rest of the world ( well, all those people who were savvy enough to prepare for the watery Apocalypse ... ) and how else are we going to know when its safe to come out and dock?
Books - lots of them. Something for everyone to read - everyone except my dad and my brother, who are not such big fans of books. Maybe i should take some magazines aswell, just so they have something to entertain themselves with. Booby magazines are banned though!
Food - uh. Duh.I'd be getting my bake on before we set off into the great unknown - heaps of freezable pastas and casseroles and yummy, yummy cakes and slices. We wouldnt want to run out of food and have it turn into a whole plane-crash-in-the-Andes cannibal type situation, would we ? Because if it came down to that i think i'd be one of the first to go - my bootiliciousness would be delicious!
Blankets and pillows - and possibly beanbags and mattresses. We wana be comfy in our ark because Gawd knows how long we're gonna be in there.
And finally....
Deoderant - lots and lots of it. And maybe dry shampoo. I suppose we could rig up some kind of shower in this electrical ark of mine, and there would be plenty of water to go round, but failing that we gonna need some kind of BO buster.... it'd be stinky up in that house ark!

Uh, How Do I Put This?

The first day of Project Sleepy-time ? Big. Fat. Fail.

I thought we were going to be ok, at first. He showed tired signs at around 8:20 am. I wrapped him up, gave me a quick snuggle and put him into his bed, as described in my last post. It took 45 minutes of crying ( and 2 minutes of me stroking his cheek, which i dont think was allowed ) to get him to sleep. 45 minutes i spent lying bag in a bean bag, with my eyes shut, pretending to be asleep. Not too bad for our first effort. I could put up with that.

Flynn woke after an hour and he was all smiley and cheery and generally adorable. I was going to try putting him to bed again around noon but my sister-in-law asked if i could look after my 18 month old neice while she went to the dentist ( yep, no problem ). Consequently, we didnt try to another nap until 1pm. This was when the fail came in. Long story short - my previously adorable son lie in his bed, wrapped up and tucked in, crying and screaming for two hours. This was only because, after an hour and half, i couldnt take anymore of being in the same room and i cracked, curled up on the floor in the fetal position and bawled my eyes out, before my mum rang and out of the blue and i begged her to come and help me.

Yes, you read that i right - i full on cracked. Crumbled. Came unstuck. But my mum took Flynn outside, and my dad helped me off the floor, and we had a chat and worked out a way to help me ( my dad, who walks every afternoon, is going to come and take Flynn with him so i can have an hour to myself to clean, or cook, or read, or nap... or whatever )..... and i am ok. And i will be ok tomorrow.

Maybe we are not ready for the Parental Presence method. Maybe it will be better tomorrow. Maybe it wont work at all and i'll just have to try something else. But i'm gonna keep trying cos that the kind of mumma i am - vunerable and perhaps slightly mental, but willing to do whatever i can for my bubba....

You Gotta Be In It To Win It

The lottery that is. And i'm not usually - i might buy a lottery ticket once or twice a year, so its highly doubtful that i'll ever win the big bucks but, for the sake of a blog post, lets just pretend that i did win big. Say $50 million dollars big. What would i do with it ? ( NOTE: i totally stole this very simple idea from Erin @ Motherhood Y'all ).

#1: Umm, boring - i'd pay off my debts. Which, for me, means my mortgage, my car loan and a couple of hundred dollars on a credit card. I'd also pay Mickey J's debt and our immediate families. Way to get in the good books right ?

#2: Pay for my wedding and honeymoon - we still havent set an official date yet but Mick and I plan on getting married sometime around September or October next year. My parents have a bit of money set aside to pay for it all but i'd much rather pay for it myself. Either way, whether we had $1000, $10 000 or $1 million dollars, it wont be an extravagant affair. We're just not that kind of people. Beautiful dress ? Yep. Pretty location? Yep. Good food? Yep. Should it cost the price of a new car ? Umm - nup.

#3: Buy a new house - for my little family ( we currently live in a two bedroom duplex that i - or the bank - own ) and one for each of our immediate family members. That way, after having already paid off their debts, they could have a new home to live in and one as an investment property to earn them money. Tricky....

#4: Set some aside for my children - well, i only have one at the moment but i will have more in the future ( i'm like 99% sure ). So i'd set aside a big lump sum as a trust fund, say one that couldnt be touched til they were 25. I would hope by then that they'd figured out their priorities in life and then they could put the money to good use. You know, instead of blowing $50 000 on booze and parties and sexual liasions. Which is all fun, just not what me as Mum would want the money spent.

#5: Investment - i dont really know how the investment market works so i'd have to get some help with that, but i wouldnt wanna blow all my moolah on junk. I'd be smart enough to put some into stocks, or into the property market ( or, you know, whatever ) so that i could make money off of my money. I don't mean for that to sound greedy, but you'd do that too right?

#6: Give to charity - maybe a $100 000 or so. I'd give to a few different causes : Westmead Childrens Hospital in Sydney, Careflight, The Jane McGrath Foundation.... things like that. I might give some to a foreign aid charity, but only after i'd fixed up some Australian interests first. I'm not against foreign aid ( i've sponsored a child through World Vision for 9 years... ) i just would like to give to a charity this is going to help in my community first, thats all.

#7: ( Lucky last ) Living allowance - i'd quit my job so i could be a SAHM for a while ( until Flynn and any subsequent children were at school ) so i'd need to allot some money to the day to day running of our house. Maybe $80 000 a year? Thats more than what we live off now but its not flashy - enough to cover bills and neccessities but with a little extra for luxuries and holidays. Yep, that sounds about right.

So how about you guys? Where would your Lotto winnings go ? ( Oooh, and speaking of winning things, head over to Blog This! and vote for me in this weeks poll. Please!?! )

Us - A Photo Story

So - I've previously mentioned a photoshoot that Mick, Flynn and i had done with my friend Ree. Ree is trying to start up her own photography business and offered to take some photos of us at a discounted rate, in exchange for being allowed to use some of our images on her Facebook page ( her business page can be found under Speaking Onethousandwords ). Of course we jumped at the chance, and had some photos taken on March 27th, 2010 - the day Flynn turned exactly 3 months old. We would have loved to have got some pics of our gorgeous boy with his beautiful smile, but unfortunately he didnt want to cooperate. He was pretty calm for the first dozen or so shots but then he started to get a little upset.... which then progressed to full blown crying. We managed to quiten him down again but i couldnt get him to smile or to sleep either. No matter - we have beautiful photos of our beautiful family ( with over 200 shots taken its going to be hard to choose which ones go on the wall! ), just happens that my little angel happens to look like a sad little dude. Sad but sweet - and sick. Yep, later that day, when he still hadnt managed to cheer up, i checked his temperature - poor little fella had a slight fever and was coming down with a cold. No wonder he wanted to cry. So, thats the story behind these samples from our shoot. Enjoy!

Thinking Happy, Week 7 ( ? )

Ok, at leats i think i'm up to Week 7. Either way, its time for another weekly round of Operation Think Happy, brought to you by Holly at Good Golly Miss Holly!

1. Time with family and friends - yesterday was such a great day. Mick, Flynn and I visited with a dear old friend of mine, a lovely older lady that i've known for years, and it was a pleasure to catch up and be able to introduce her to my little family. Plus, after that, we got ourselves some Subway for lunch and headed to one of our local parks and met up with my parents, my sister, my 2 neices, my  uncle and his 2 daughters.... for a huge playdate!

2. Lovely weather - the sun makes me smile. It amkes me smile even more when the temperature is not so hot that you feel like you're going to drown in sweat, but not so cold that you need to bundle yourself up. Its been a week of absolutely lovely weather and i've been fortunate enough to be able to get out and enjoy it.

3. New recipes - So remember how i wanted to be Martha Stewart ? Well i've really been giving it my all this past week. I went through some recipe books, wrote myself out a shopping list, and cooked some really yummy meals this week. Mick has appreciated the effort and always tells me how good the meal was and thanks me for cooking it ( even when its crap! ) so its made me smile that i can cook nice meals for my family, without becoming too boring.

4. Fitting back into my pre-pregnancy jeans - hallelujah! Again, i dont really feel the need to mention the specific size but fitting back into my pre-pregnancy jeans made me happy because a) there are 2 or 3 pairs i  just really love and b) i dont have to waste money on hew jeans to fit my post-pregnancy body!

5. My son - he just gets cuter and chubbier and more clever by the day. He's learnt to poke his little tongue out ( cheeky boy! ) and now if he's sitting on my lap and i take hold of his little hands and gently lift them up, he plants his little feet and pushes up with his legs til he's standing. He think its the neatest trick ever and i think its too cute when he looks all chuffed with himself.

6. Getting to have a long shower - most days i get enough time to jump under the water, have a quick scrub of my bones and jump out. So it makes me happy when i can leave Flynn with his daddy and take a long, hot shower, shave my legs and wash my hair properly. Mmm, bliss....

7. ' Special ' time with Mick - if i have to explain this one to you, your too young and naive to be reading my blog...