Sick baby :(

I have a sick baby. I just hate it when the kids are sick and you can't really do much to fix it, bar lots of cuddles! My little man seems to maybe have that yucky bug back again, but different this time. He's had runny poos that have gone EVERYWHERE (sorry for the graphic!), and he's vomited a couple of times now (at least the floors will get a wash huh). He also has as nasty cough left-over from the cold he got off me. My poor darling. Can you please pray for him that this all clears up today and he still has a happy day. He's still mostly himself, I just get so sad when I see him vomiting and I can't fix it!

In other news, coz I haven't caught up much lately... I've been excited about scrapping again! Won't really go so far as to say my mojo is back, but we'll see about that when I get some new photos printed. I'd love some new stock too (wouldn't we all) but I have lots to go through and try to use still, and Greg is still not working, so what we have is all we have and has to last us for we-don't-know how long. But I've been doing some scrapping and enjoying it again. I won't be able to share though, as I'm actually entering a comp - probably won't get anywhere, but am trying to finish off an entry for the Oz Sketches DT call. Sketches right now are my type of thing, so I thought I'd enter!

So yep, Greg is still not working. We are starting to look into other avenues bar just retail management. I have no doubt in God's provision though, so even if we get down that those last pennies, I know He'll look after us and provide us with what we need. Prayers would be appreciated though thanks!

What are you all doing for Anzac Day? Do you go to the marches or anything? Would be interested to see what you all have planned with your families for the day. We don't have anything planned per-se, but I might just try to organise something either with my family or some friends from church - a nice opportunity to get together. It's also my MIL's birthday, so we'll have to send a call that way. Hopefully her gift will arrive in time!

We had a really great service at church yesterday. One of the cell groups led the service, and its was just really awesome. The theme was 'showing kindness' and for one part they brought the pastors up the front for people to show thanks to, and to pray for them as a church. It was a really powerful moment and made me all teary and lovey for our awesome pastors. I would have gone up to say something, but I would have just cried! Lol, I get a bit emotional at times. We also had a guest speaker, so it was reviving too. Its great to have something different every now and then. I'm on for the kids service again next week. Should be food. Am not doing it all myself this time though, so that will be good too! I love doing it though.

Pregnancy is going along well. I forget to mention it most of the time. I need to take some new pics - might try to get onto that today (also would like to do a shoot of my little man too, although with him being sick might not be the best day!) Anyway, I'm now 30 weeks along! Wow! 10 more weeks to go. Somehow it seems so much more real once its getting down to single digits (9,8,7 weeks left!). Am feeling well most of the time. Get a little tired, but that's probably from a long day and sometimes restless nights too. I feel a bit fitter than I was last time though, as I'm running around after 2 kids now I guess, so I can handle a bit more I think. Little tike is moving around heaps. As soon as Greg gets a job, we'll start looking at buying the furniture we need - a new cot, and an upgrade on the pram to a double model. I've been scouting e-bay so we should be able to get a good buy - just wanting a cheap cot really. Then there's the canvases I want to paint for the wall above Eli's cot - well they will be Eli's for the moment, but I would like to do some for over the other baby's bed too, but will have to wait on the sex for that!

Well, my 6 yr old is hounding me to play a game or something with him. He's been really demanding for our attention lately, so I suppose we should give him some. Ahhhh... the joys of parenthood huh.

Hope you all have a fantastic week!
Nat xx

11 months...

Little Man,

How on earth did you get to be 11 months old already! I'm really starting to worry now, and please oh please slow down! Now in only 4 weeks time, I will have a one year old... and well, that's just too strange... you have grown up way too fast for my liking. Please slow down!

This one will be a long catch-up, as Mummy didn't get to write you a 10-month letter, so I have to cram 2 months worth of baby developments into one. And boy there's lots of things to mention! Where to start...

At 9 months, you were beginning to wave, and well now, its just a given. Every morning when I come in to get you, there's a big wave for me from the cot. When Daddy wakes up he gets one too. The other morning at 5.15am (when you woke you monster!) when it was dark, you were even waving at the dark, no-one there... was so funny.

Another funny thing you did at 10 months, but haven't so much these days, is bending over and looking through your legs. You would just crawl a little, stop, then randomly stick your little bottom in the air and look through your legs. Daddy would copy you and you would even try to reach for him through your legs... oh, I miss this cute little antic. Why don't you do this anymore?

At 10 months you started saying 'Mama'! Yay!! You can now say 'Dada', 'Bubba', 'Mama', 'Nana' and often there is a mixture... the other day in whinging you said something like 'Dada-nana-Mum'... heehee... Now you also say 'Ba' and 'Da' with real purpose, like you are trying to say other things. And you seem to know which of us is 'Dada' and 'Mama' now. Sometimes you call me 'Mum' now, and it also sounds like you say 'bum', haha. Jaidyn is still trying to get you to say 'Jaja' though...

We had our first family holiday in March. We went for a fairly long drive (5 hours) down to Coffs Harbour. You were mostly well-behaved in the car, but you found it quite a game to throw your toys onto the floor... then Mummy would turn around, pick them up and give them back.... then it was fun to do it all over again! I had a very sore back when we got home from twisting around so much! On this holiday, we had a brief visit to the beach (it rained much of the trip), a little swim in our pool, and lots of walking around in the pram for you really while we looked at stuff and while Dad and Jaidyn did things like go-karting. It was nice to all be together though.

You are such a cheeky cheeky little boy! We quite often refer to you as 'terror' or 'monster' these days... 'the Li-Li (pron lie-lie) Monster' is one of your many nicknames. You are constantly into something you shouldn't be. Usually its standing up belting on the TV, or turning the receiver on and off, or pulling out the xbox controllers from behind the speakers... You have also discovered how to open all the cupboards around the place now. You like to get in the kitchen and open the copboards. So far you are not really going into them too much, but it will only be a week or so... yes, we need to get child locks for them all now. You also like the plastic bags kept in the bottom of the pantry, and love to mess them all over the floor. On a number of occasions we have walked into the toilet to find you have unravelled ALL the toilet paper from the roll. We are learning to keep all those doors closed now, but we still accidentally leave them open sometimes. If you are left to wander, you will head into your room (one of the onyl doors not usually closed) and you've now started going into your bin. Yuck. Have to watch you here... what a pain in the butt you are! If its not the bin, you'll pull everything out of your nappy bag, or if your wardrobe is open then that's lots of fun too. And you also like to climb up on top of your toy basket now too. You really keep us all on our toes! If it goes quiet, I think 'Oh no, where's Eli now', usually to find you messing something up, somewhere...

You are so much closer to walking now my darling! You have now mastered standing up without hanging onto anything. Now you can get up from the ground without using the couch to help you. When you first stood by yourself, you would flap your little arms around, making a panting kind of sound with a funny screwed up grin on your face. You were so chuffed with yourself - it was like you were saying "Look at me Mummy!" We are yet to see any actual steps, but I feel its only a bit away before you are confident enough to give it a try. Really need to get some photos of these things...

One thing I am not so happy with is that you are waking, without fail, between 5 and 5.30am. It really stumps me as to why, but I think its either the guy next-door who gets up early and puts his outdoor light on - which shines right into your room; or it's the kookaburras; or just a terribly yucky body clock thing! I DO NOT like it, and I'm starting to get worried about it with the new baby coming along. I will need my sleep then my darling! And, you will be in with Jaidyn for the first few months, and I really don't need him waking that early everyday too! Usually you will have a nappy change (very wet!), and a bottle and go back to sleep, sometimes... I have tried to just lay you down again with your dummy, but you won't go. Maybe I've put you into a bad routine giving you a bottle at that time. I really wish it would stop and you would just sleep right through till at least 6am!

You had your first bout of sickness this month too. We all came down with the tummybug over easter and you got a bit too. There was only a little bit of vomitting, but it really put you off your food, and you're only really getting your appetite back properly in the last week. You also had the runs a bit and such a sore red bottom my darling! You also have a cold, and I think you've had a snotty nose for a good few weeks now, on and off. Now the cough seems to be there. I try to dress you as warm as I can for bed, but sometimes its still warmish when you go to bed, but its rather cold in your room of a morning.

Since being sick, your food tastes have changed somewhat. Suddenly, my mashed vegies for tea are not good enough, and you won't even have one mouthful! We have bought a few of the Heinz jars, which are fine.... you eat them.... you also ate shepherds pie with us the other night, just NOT vegies.... ahhh.... the joys of changing tastebuds. I will not tolerate a fussy child, so I will have to persevere with adding gravy, sauce, cheese, whatever might make it a bit more yummy. And I'll try to vary your diet too sorry babe. Please don't be fussy...

Your have a few favourite games you like to play. Peek-a-boo in the curtains is an all-time fave and you've loved this one for months now. But now its more fun as you can pull the curtain over your face and then when I say 'Where's Eli!?" you pull it off your face and give me the hugest grin. Then we do it again, and again, and again... You also have started loving to play-wrestle with Jai on the loungeroom floor. You often get him in a little headlock between your legs, or you wrap your arms around his neck and she rolls you around on the floor a bit. You both giggle and giggle. Good to see you giving him some back though, and I love watching you play together. You also have this rather particular routine when we walk from your bedroom. I recently painted and put up name letters on your door, so when we walk past your door, you pitch yourself at them to get a touch (sometimes almost falling out of my arms!). I put your hand on each letter as we spell out your name, E-L-I-J-A-H... then we do the same thing on Jaidyn's door, J-A-I-D-Y-N... maybe you'll be able to spell your name early! After we walk past the doors, you lean forward to touch the photoframe (with a family pic pre-Eli) that hangs on the wall next to the kitchen. And it's the same three things every time... so cute. Sometimes you enjoy watching some cartoons on TV. Daddy took these sweet pics the other day as you were watching something exciting. I love the different expressions, even at 11 months!

You are having 2 or 3 sleeps a day still. I tend to try to fit in 3 if we can. If you are up about 6am, you will usually sleep at about 8.30am, then again about 11.30/12pm and then again about 3pm. If you sleep a bit later, you may only have two, but you are more of a problem of a late afternoon then! You sleep about 30mins - 1.5 hours usually. You usually go to bed about 6.30/7pm.

Daddy lost his job a bout 7 weeks ago, so has been home EVERY day with us! You really like having him around. Mummy may be going a little crazy with him here everyday, but you have two parents to play with now. You usually stay home with Dad when I go to work on Wed, Thurs and Fridays. And sometimes if I have other things to do too (the busy life of a Mummy!)... we fear we will have a sad baby on our hands when Daddy goes back to working (which we hope is soon!). Daddy has really been enjoying his time with his little man too, and I think he finally realises that being a SAHM is not all Dr Phil and coffees! lol...

You now have 6 little chompers in your mouth. Chewing is a lot easier for you now, no problems. You got your two top inscisors a couple of days apart from each other, then the two middle ones came through a couple of days apart too. There is no sign of the bottom outside ones yet though. You look so cute when you grin your big cheesey toothy grin at us!

You are in despearate need of a haircut too my darling, but you know what, I'm starting to get a bit attached to your wild messy curls. Your hair has certainly gone curlier since being longer, its my curls coming through I think! You are just so cute, good enough to eat!!

Its hard to believe that we have to start planning your 1st birthday party in a week or so! Oh my! I can't beleive you are at that age already sweetie. I will be sad but happy at the same time - my baby is nearly gone :(

We love you to heaven and back darling xxx

Been busy creating....

Have a couple of projects to share. I know... it's been a long time between projects!

This first LO is one I started a few weeks ago, for the Beyond the Blue journey/comp at Embellished Scrapbook Shoppe. The theme was 'Where do you find your inner peace?'... I decided to do my layout on my God, as He is most definitely my source of peace, when I manage to find some. I used the gorgeous Psalm 23 to go with it all too, and have done some journalling on the inside.

Think I'll finally upload one to the BtB gallery now! :)

Here's the inside, when the white piece opens up. The rest of PSalm 23 on the left, and my journalling on the right.

My journalling reads:
I find my peace in my God. He is my refuge. Without HIm, I don't know hiw I would live. When the kids are giving me grief, when the house is a mess, when my schedule is too tight... I put on some worship music, close my eyes and give it all over to God. He takes me out of my mess, and puts me in His rest. He makes it all bearable again. My only down-fall is not giving Him enough time. Life only gets unbearable because I'm too busy, I'm too tired, I'm too stressed out. I'm sure my life would be a lot more peaceful if I would just give God more of my day. Then I could live in the peace He promised me, all my waking hours.

Last night, after finishing that LO, I decided to finally pull out the wooden letters I've had sitting in my stash for AGES, for Elijah's bedroom door. And this is how they turned out:

I'm just so happy with how they look! It was heaps of fun too. I painted them, then added little dot flowers, and butterflies and grass done with the end of the paintbrush too. Then I added these cute little wooden frogs I found at the cheap shop. I made them the same colours as his quilt set, and I'm also going to do canvases for his wall in these colours and similar design (frogs, dragonfly maybe etc).

Here's a close-up of the 'E' and the 'J':


Well, just wanted to share. I'm off to have some shut-eye while the little man is asleep too, or I might turn into the Mummy Monster later this arvo!!

New hair :)

OK, so I got some pics of my new do!


And from the back too...
It's still a bit wet in these pics and the sun decided to go behind a cloud, so you can't see the red in it as good as it is.... haven't had a colour in my hair for years! Feels nice :)
So I was thinking of going shorter than this really, but my hairdresser wanted to try this style with it shorter at the back than at the front - she said it looks great with curly hair, so we did that instead. I'm liking it now :) bI may just go shorter next time if I feel like it, but it bounces up pretty high anyway...

And this pic I just took coz my bub was there too... and he's too cute! Not a great pic of me, but anyways....

I will try to get Greg to take some pics of the bump this arvo too...

Hope you're having a great day!!

Yucky flu...

We've been a bit down and out this week. Me, I've had a nasty flu for a week now, boy its annoying! We've also (most of us) had a tummy bug over the Easter weekend (thankfully we were right enough for Sunday though!) Greg was sleeping most of Friday afternoon, I was bed-ridden most of Saturday, and then we were not so well again on the Monday, and poor Eli threw up too on Monday, as still has the diarrheoa (sp!?) a bit... Yuck!! He's also had the snots for about a week too! Today my BIL (who lives downstairs and shares meals with us) has come down with the bug too (sorry!) - so far Jaidyn is the only one who's been fine!! Must have some good antibodies flowing around that body, or he's yet to get it!

So trying to take things a bit easier, slow down and get over this properly!

In other news, I'm booked in for a hair-cut tomorrow. Thinking I might cut it all off - not 'boy' short or anything, but the longs is just annoying now, and it only ever goes up anyway, so think I'll take the plunge and go a lot shorter now, so I can have some sort of 'style', lol. Maybe something like this pic, that was a few years ago... mind you, my face is a fair bit fatter now, and add glasses - I hope the shorter style still works!

Mel, a girlfriend from school, who I only see every few months now is coming over for dinner tomorrow. She's heading overseas to live/work, indefinitely I think in a few weeks, so will be nice to catch up with here one-on-one again.

Oh, well can't really think about what else is new. Not much really.

Hope you all are having a good week so far!

Happy Easter! Christ is Risen!!

Hallelujah! Our Christ is Risen!! What a day to celebrate!! Freedom, joy, love... all that comes from Christ dying on the cross for ME and for every one of YOU too.

I hope you are all having a wonderful Easter Sunday! We have so far....

The first year we've actually been in our own home for Easter as a family! We've been with my grandparents in Toowoomba a couple of years, and at the Bunya Mnts with old church friends another, so its good to be home for Easter this year.

So what family traditions do you all have? I'd love to hear some of them.

Since Christmas last year, we've decided to 'get rid' of Santa, the Easter Bunny etc as we really felt those secular characters take the emphasis away from these special Christian celebrations. Yeah, it might sound really mean to Jaidyn, but its the best thing for our family, and in future years I hope it will be easier...

So anyway, instead of having the 'Easter Bunny' leave eggs and treats for the kids this year, we've done something a little differently today. Now, I didn't want to totally disappoint Jaidyn in the morning when every other year he's been used to finding goodies at the bottom of his bed, so we placed a couple of little eggs in a bucket, and this note:

Happy Easter! Now don't be sad,
Mum & Dad don't think you've been bad.
After church we'll have lots of fun
Finding your Easter eggs one by one.
So right now, don't be at a loss,
Just remember what Jesus did on the cross.
He died for your sins, so you could be free!
And he came back to life on day number three.

He loved it too, and has been very excited to do his egg hunt when we got home from church. I really wanted to remind him too of the importance of remembering Christ today, as He is the reason we have this weekend to celebrate!

Anyway, the hunt... when Greg was young, his Dad would write cryptic clues for them to find their eggs, so we decided to do the same thing for Jaidyn this year (and be practicing his reading while he does it too!). So Greg and I spent about an hour last night writing little poems for him to find his eggs around the house today.. well I turned out to be the better poet, lol...

So I'm just going to put it all up here, coz I'd like to have this written down somewhere in case I want to scrap it sometime, and the clues will no doubt get thrown out.... so bear with me...

We started Jaidyn off in his bedroom with the following clue:
This is your first clue, to start you on your way,
I wonder if we have any letters today?
We had to help him with the first clue, as I don't think he quite got the idea of the 'crytpic-ness' of it, but after a little prompt, he was right on ball! He ran down to the letterbox... with myself in hot pursuit... Where he found a couple of eggs and this clue:
Hip Hip Hooray! You found your first one,
I hope you're having lots of fun!
The next place sounds like your middle name, but starts with a 'g'
I wonder where it could be?
After helping him to take the 'j' from the front of his middle name, James, and add a 'g' instead, he says "GAMES!" and runs back inside... with me dragging my fat pregnant body behind him... did I mention we live in a hill...?! lol...
He searched around where we keep his board games to find nothing... but then Dad said, "What other games do you like to play?" and he said "X-box?" and went to find the next clue: On a rainy day Mummy might cry,
But there's something else that can get the clothes dry...

He guessed this one pretty well, and ran straight down to look in the dryer (its too dark in there to get a photo so I didn't try...)

In the dryer, he found the following clue:

You're doing so well, you're such a clever boy!
You will find the next clue
where the baby keeps his toys...

He ran back upstairs and started looking through Eli's toybox in the lounge room, only to find nothing there. We asked "Does Eli have any other toyboxes?" which prompted him to look in another one with stuffed toys in the loungeroom... nothing there.... and then he ran into his room - and found the eggs and the next clue in his little box in his room...

Do you think you have found them all yet?
The next clue might be near the swing set...

From behind, as I chase him down the stairs...

Now this one took a bit of attention to detail... as Daddy hid them 'near' the swingset, so we had to look around the backyard a bit...


But he found them in this little pot, with this clue:
Is there anywhere you have not been?
The next clue you'll find where you get yourself clean...


"The bath!" he says and runs back upstairs (me a little further behind this time, gee!) He found them, a little wet, in the plughole of the bath... (the bath is not so clean, so I decided not to show that pic!) and this clue:

This food does not need a dish,
You'll find the next clue
where we feed the ........
(he had to guess what rhymes with dish - fish!)

He worked it out pretty quickly (all that wonderful rhyming work they do at school!) and ran back out to the fishtank... I got there first this time and positioned myself to get a shot...In the drawer he found this clue:
Look outside when the weather is fine,
You might see us hanging on the line...
"Clothes?" he says? "Hmmm, what else is on the line?" "Pegs!"

Back downstairs to the peg basket, dodging the towels hanging on the line...By this stage, Jaidyn's little bucket of eggs was looking mighty full, so thankfully there was only one more clue:
It's been a long hunt, and the end is in sight!
Go to the place where you end your night.

"In bed!" But then he was a little confused, as we had him locked away in his room while we hid the eggs... ahh, but Greg sneaked in there and put the rest on his bed while he was running down to the letterbox!

And on his bed, this is what he found:

The jackpot!! We decided that we'd just put out the little hunting eggs and a few middle-sized ones for him on the hunt, and would put all the rest (from grandparents included) on his bed for the end result! At first he missed his bed, and was looking elsewhere in his room, but he saw them soon enough!!

We had a fun time! And I think we'll definitely do it like this every year now - much more fun... even though Greg may have to make a hunt for me again some time (I was deprived as a child, lol)...

So we managed to skip the whole Easter Bunny and reflect on the real reason of Easter... but also have a really fun time together as a family!

Here's the boys opeing their little gift from Nan and Pa - yummmm, lots of mini eggs! Thanks Nan!

And here's one of the little "Li-Li Monster" as we call him. He was getting a little sleepy so went down straight after Jai had finished the hunt. He looks tied (and incredibly cute!) doesn't he! (needs a haircut though)

Happy Easter all!!

Oh No!

I'm a terrible Mum!!

Jaidyn lost his first tooth yesterday and put his tooth out in his tooth keeper for the 'tooth fairy' to leave him some money...

And he came out this morning and she had not been!!

I completely forgot!

How TERRIBLE am I!! Oh sob sob sob.....

I don't know if I should tell him to leave it out another night or just give him the $1.....?
As it is, we have not really come to a decision about whether to have the tooth fairy in our house. We don't have Santa or the Easter bunny as these characters take the emphasis away from Christ at these special times... but the tooth fairy doesn't take the emphasis away from Christ, but then again, its a 'fairy' - magical creature etc... so we just don't know really!! Well, maybe Jaidyn won't actually beleive in the tooth fairy now after she forgot to come!

I feel really bad about it hey....

Anyway, hope you all have a great Easter weekend. And don't forget the real reason for this wonderful time of year (and its not a fluffy bunny who gives eggs)... God loved us so much that He sent His only son to DIE for us, so that we may all be free from sin forever, through loving and accepting Christ as our Saviour! I know I do!

N xxx