A little tag I found...

Well no-one tagged me but I found this one in my blog travels this morning, so I'm going to start it!! (I don't think I've seen this one yet)

***

5 things found in my bag:

1. Blistex lip conditioner - have had really bad cracked lips this week!
2. a dummy
3. random dockets and my shopping list
4. An ALDI trolley token - ahh, that's where it is...
5. a pen


5 favourite things in my craft room: (or what would be if it was in a 'room')

1. storage crates organised into girl and boy prints
2. my snap press and lots of coloured snaps
3. my sewing machine (I *heart* my sewing machine)
4. lots of photographs that really need sorting (and scrapping!!)
5. a couple of circle journals from the SOF girls


5 things I have always wanted to do:

1. learn to play the piano
2. wear a bikini... *sigh* long way off that one!!
3. travel to Europe and NZ
4. be organised
5. have my own home


5 things I am currently into:

1. modern cloth nappies
2. LOST
3. sewing sewing sewing
4. themed kids birthday parties
5. wasting time online


5 people I am tagging:

1. Karen L
2. Lusi
3. Susan (denimangel)
4. Chrissy
5. Carol

Eli's 2nd birthday party

I think the pictures say it all...

But for my own reference as well as if you want the finer details:

* We had 4 families (us, Nana & Pop, the Krisanskis and the Camplings) & Uncle Jeremy.

* We ate yummy steak, chicken kebabs, sausages and salads.

* We had ladybird cupcakes, made by Mummy and Daddy.

* We played Pass the Parcel, and Julie won - some clown dress-ups :)

* Eli got lots of lovely pressies - a Wiggles guitar, light-up Wiggles shoes, a Wiggles jumper and 2 DVDs, a talking Scoop (Bob the Builder), a Cars colouring-in pack, a Cars outfit and a VegieTales DVD. (can you tell he likes the Wiggles!?)

* Eli and Jacob ate far too many lollies.

* The boys had fun on the trampoline.

* Everyone had fun playing with Eli's Wiggles guitars (he got another one on his b'day - both different).

* Jacob enjoyed quiet reading time. Eli did not...

* Lani enjoyed smooshing her cupcake between her hands.

* Eli woke up at 4.30am and didn't sleep till 4pm.... then slept through till 2.30am and got up then (its now 5am and we're still awake - Mummy is going to be a zombie today).

* All in all, a great time had by all.

2 years ago today...

after a somewhat long and frustrating birthing experience, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, my second, whom we named Elijah Christopher Mardon.

Since then we've had a rollercoaster of a time with him... lots and lots of fun and great times, and a few more difficult times too.

Today our little man celebrated his 2nd birthday!! I know we all say it a lot, but the time seems to have gone so fast... it really doesn't feel like it was all 2 years ago!

Greg stayed up late last night putting together his fantastic present - a train set and table. I was up early this morning, waiting for him to wake, ready with the camera to try and capture his reaction.... but I waited and waited and waited... everyone slept in today!! Finally out he came at 7.15am, teddy in hand, to see what this cool thing in the middle of the loungeroom was. He was still asleep mostly, so his reaction wasn't much. but he absolutely LOVES his train set!! He didn't even have a sleep today - something I don't think has ever happened before - as he was so excited and occupied playing with the trains. The set has one electronic engine, and when you go over different parts of the track, different noises sound - very fun!! And its got great drawers in the table to keep it all in! Greg picked it up on special at work - the joys of being a Toy Store manager!

He also had a couple of presents to open from Nan, Gran and Aunty Andi - lots of Wiggles and Cars things - his favourites!!

Anyway, here's a little collage of this morning:

Greg ended up staying home from work today coz he wasn't really feeling to well, which meant a better b'day for Li :) We went along to a little playgroup at Sarah's for a couple of hours, and of course I took a little cake for Eli to blow out the candles (the best thing ever huh!)...

Then he came home and instead of sleeping, he just played and played with his train set.

He requested pizza for dinner (idea placed in his head by Dad!) so we ordered some in (and I ate a WW meal). Then of course the birthday cake. I didn't bake one for tonight - not enough time!! But it was a cake and it had candles on it and that's all that matters to the birthday boy!! He just LOVES blowing out the candles!! And of course eating it too!! Yumm......

We are having a small party/casual BBQ for him on Saturday, but unfortunately a couple of our friends can't make it, but I'm sure it will still be enjoyable with a few extra kids to play with. I'm going to make cupcakes (of course!) so I'll be baking tomorrow and icing and decorating tomorrow night - fun!

Will be back with photos from his party soon

xxx

Sweet Sleep :)

I've had two great nights of sleep, praise the Lord!
Thanks to any of you who said a little prayer for me. Our God cares about all things!

1.50am

Well, its 1.50am and Eli is lying on the loungeroom floor watching a movie...


Yes, at 1.50AM!!


He just seems not to be able to fall back asleep (since stirring at around 11pm) and I'm sick of getting into and out of bed again... so I thought, a good time for me to upload some recent pics of the kids.

The babies have been sleeping ATROCIOUSLY since we got back from our holidays, which is now 2 weeks ago!! I don't really think its transition anymore, so they're probably both just going through different phases right now that are not helping with sleep... Eli's had a bit of echzema and now a cough, and Lani seems to be back into terrible night-feeding habits again after just doing whatever worked while we were away.


Whatever it is though, I tell you what - I'M OVER IT!!
I think I'm averaging about 4-5 hours sleep a night, if I'm lucky.
With myself *needing* to be up fairly late working on nappy orders - because I just can't find uninterrupted time during the day - I don't really have another option!!
But its totally burning me out! I NEED sleep!
(oh, and now he's also eating a muesli bar at 2am... *sigh*)



So, despite serious sleep deprivation, here's some random shots that still make me smile...



Lani sitting up at the big table with Li to have lunch together - so cute!

The aftermath of chocolate biscuit... that last one is her 'let me out of this chair!' face...

Playing outside. Lani loves to push this car around the backyard - so cute!
And don't you just LOVE the tongue hanging out while she's crawling to me!? That's a Glover trait that one... every one of us (bar Greg) do it - I get it from my Dad... love it.

Well, I think I will try for bed again now...
Night (hopefully!)
xxx

Mothers Day, another year older and the gift of compassion...

Hope you all had a lovely Mothers Day last Sunday. Mine was great! It started with my frist gift which I call 'death by cuddles'! All three kids were in bed with me, jumping and cuddling every which way - was soooo nice... was also a little painful too though, and I think my bruises had bruises at one stage! I got lovely and spoilt with breakfast and coffee in bed, brought in on the gift Jai made me at Boys Brigade - a breakfast tray! Then Jaidyn was so eager to give me his other gift from the Mothers Day stall at school - some lollies in a glass-painted jar, and then a special wall hanging made by Eli at childcare. I thought Lani's gift was in very good taste - a voucher for a spa pedicure and manicure!! How thoughtful of her - just what a busy mumma needs. Now I just have to grow my fingernails back!
The service at church was especially lovely. The ladies group made bookmarks with quotes or verses on them for each of the mums, and a lovely bright gerbera to go with them. A wonderful message on mothers, and some special prayer for mums and those who struggle on mothers day too, a few of which are somewonderful friends I thought about throughout the day.
We then headed to my folks place for a BBQ lunch. Yum! We gave Mum a big frame with some of the new pics taken by Katie Toland Photography - she absolutely loved it, so can't wait to see it on her wall. Topped the day off with a birthday cake for me :)

Yep, Mothers Day and Birthday all in the one week for me (a few years ago even the same day!) I turned 26 on Wednesday. Had a rather low-key and uneventful day, and even had a bit of a pity party for myself... but then it really got much better. A beautiful gift arrived in the mail from my bestie Lusi - another yummy cupcake cookbook - thanks hun!! And a few cards too. And then my other bestie Sarah came over after school with a pressie and afternoon tea. I don't think many ppl get excited about sewing pins, but I did, lol... plus another voucher for a spa treatment of some kind - spoilt! Greg came home from work with a lovely bunch of flowers for me, and told me what my gift would be. My sister Shanyn then came over for dinner too, and her and Greg made taccitos (tacos but using burrito tortillas). In the end, a nice day, and I did feel spoilt (as a girl should on her b'day) after all. In the next couple of days I also ended up with more cards in the mail and a nice sum of birthday money to spend on something special all for me!

Thursday was 'Compassion Day'. This is the one day a year when Compassion Australia does a sponsorship drive for children in the third world. I have been wanting a sponsor child for at least a year, if not more, and this year, this is what Greg gave me as my birthday gift! It was one of the best gifts ever, and will be one that keeps on sowing into our family year after year, as we see our little friend grow, go through education, and hopefully all the way into his adult life. We chose a little boy named Braian (pr Brian?). He is 7, like Jaidyn, and like Jai also has a mother,father, sister and brother. He was on the 'priority list' and while I thought we might initially like a little girl, this little guy tugged at my heart-strings right from the start. So we have a new family member now, and I can't wait to receive all the info about him and start writing him letters from us! It certainly gives me a great sense of joy to know that instead of spending more money on myself and stuff I really don't need, my birthday gift was really a gift for someone else much more in need. Something truly dear to my heart lately, and something we are most-definitely called to do in the Bible (Matthew 25:31-46).

Well, I was going to write more, but its actually 3.30am and I thought I'd do this while up with Lani for a few hours (*sigh* almost worthy of another whole post that is *sigh*)... so yeah, I better get back to sleep now or I'll totally be a zombie in the morning.

Lusi's new range!!

Have you checked them out yet??? All I can say is YUM mate... well done.

If you haven't seen yet, go to her blog http://lusi-austin.blogspot.com/ to see the new Lusi Austin chipboard from Buzz & Bloom...

Babies everywhere!!

Just a quick post to say a huge CONGRATULATIONS to the beautiful Erica who had a baby boy, Cooper Jack on Monday. He's just beautiful sweetie... and she gave birth at home - a woman after my own heart - something super special about that!! I just wish we lived closer so I could visit you, miss you xxx

So many new babies lately!! Making me a bit clucky again!!

We're home!!

And boy, I tell you what, Dorothy was right - there's no place like home!! We certainly realised this while being away with 3 kids, two of which are babies - for 2 weeks!! We're pooped!!
WARNING - long post ahead.... 2 week holiday to report. If you make it through, good for you!!

We had a lovely time though. We flew into Melbourne and hired a car to drive to Mt Gambier. You may think 5 hours in a car with 2 babies is not such a good idea, but they were pretty good, and better than having the 2 of them on our laps in a teeny Regional Express plane I think!! The laptop with movies was a life-saver! So the cartrip was not too bad at all. We got into Mt Gambier at 10pm and the kids were wired and up till about midnight!! lol...

We spent the first week mostly at home because the gastro bug had made its way into the house. It hit one of two us each day for a while week almost!! Miraculously, I was the only one spared - praise God!! Mum's don't get sick right? I guess I'm around the kids so much that I've built up a good immunity to nasty stuff! So yeah, the first week was almost a write-off for doing stuff, so we had to cram in the last 5 days there!!

We did manage to fit in a day play at the farm owned by Greg's Aunt and Uncle on the Monday though, before the gastro set in... Aunty Di took the boys with her for a few hours, so we had a nice few lazy hours with only Lani to worry about. Then we joined them for a pizza lunch. Andy and Di own a plant farm, with lots of space and a few animals to boot - chickens and ducks and the dog! The boys had a ball making cubbies out of tree branches that were being trimmed at the time. The space is so lovely!! I would love to live in a farm if it wasn't so much work - as Greg and I are not green-thumbs, it would probably never happen for us...

We had such a lovely surprise on the first Tuesday night! Greg and I went out for a date for coffee and a movie, and Greg's cousin decided to meet us for coffee, but instead of his wife, he brought Greg's sister, Andrea - who'd come as a surprise all the way from the UK!! It was soooo good to have the whole family together!!

We celebrated my MIL's 60th birthday on the Friday. ANZAC Day means lots of parades for MIL Sandy and FIL Chris though, as they both play in the Pipe Band. We took the kids along for the 10am parade and service, and I was surprised how emotional it made me. I felt so proud to see the diggers coming (mostly driving) down the street - proud of our heritage, proud of what they did for our country, proud to be Australian. The kids (especially Jai, being older and all) enjoyed watching the parade too. We stayed for most of the service too, before the little ones started protesting! Not sure if we'll be taking them to the one in the city, but if we happen to move to Mt Gambier at any stage (hopefully!) we'll certainly be taking them along each year - its an important part of our heritage... We also had a small dinner and cake for Sandy Friday night, but a few of the family were out with the bug, so it wasn't quite the same.
We celebrated Saturday night with a party though. Everyone was mostly better by then, so were able to enjoy the night, praise God for that! We ate roasts cooked in the BBQ, and salads, and traditional fruit cake with marzipan icing (Greg's absolute favourite!) for the birthday cake, and other yummy desserts. We got the family together for a photo too - everyone together... probably won't happen again for a very long time!! The family were interested in seeing my Patooties Nappies and I had a couple with me that I needed to give to customers, so I could show them off too... got a few tips from Aunty Di who's a seamstress, and some more from Greg's cousin Brooke whose a graphic/website designer and offered to help me with a business card. Family are great huh!! Greg's Aunt Heather asked me to send her a bunch of brochures too as she works at a uni and will hand them out at the childcare centre there! Thanks Heather!!

We said goodbye to Andrea early Sunday morning. Was too short a visit really, but with only 12 days to plan it (last minute), she could only get a week off work. We then headed to the family church to worship together, even if Greg and I spent most of the time in the cry room playing with toys!! lol... the worship was lovely though, open and really just lead by the Holy Spirit, just how I love it - lots of time for worshipping and call for prayer needs too.

We were hoping to go Ice Skating while we were in Mt G, as they had a special school holiday program in town, but with everyone sick, it just didn't happen!! Poor Greg has been wanting to ice skating forever and it never seems to work out. :(

So we were able to do a few small outings the next week. However the rain also decided to join us that week, hindering plans a little more too.

Took the kids out to one of the other cousin's house for a play. They also have acreage and the kids had a ball. They also have a pet peacock!! How cool - was strange just seeing a peacock strutting his stuff around the yard though, lol.

Despite being sick and bad weather, the boys lucked out with a few trips to the local parks to play though. Greg and I took the kids to the local wildlife park and playground on Tuesday arvo, and it was nice to just walk around as a family, looking at the kangaroos, swamp hens and turtles and we even spotted an echidna hiding in the brush. The kids loved the park and so did Greg - I reckon I seem to get just as many photos of Greg playing on the playgrounds as I do the boys! lol, he's just a big kid really...
We went along with Sandy and Chris to a friend's re-affirmation of wedding vows party on Tuesday night. It was so lovely to see an older couple re-affirming their love for each other in an intimate ceremony with friends and family (and us tag-alongs too)... great feed too! We actually went to visit them earlier in the day too to feed their cows and sheep. Eli and Jai loved it!
Wednesday Greg and I went out for a lovely breakfast together, and a little walk around town without the kids. We love going out for breakfast, but obviously don't get to do it much!!
I also got to catch up with the beautiful Ali, my mate from SOF. We had a lovely lunch together -at the same cafe where I was for breakfast (lol, I think the girl looked at me strange...). Was so good to chat with you IRL honey! And of course we got a few snaps to prove it!

Thursday saw us pack up and get in the car for a few days in Melbourne. We were going to stop at Sovereign Hill to kill a few hours, but it was raining on the way, so we decided we'd try and come back the next day for the day. We stayed with my Aunt and Uncle in Essendon. They have not had little babies around the house for a LONG time, so I think it was a bit of a different thing for them, and the house was a little hard for the kids too as it was not really baby-proof at all... but we were very thankful for the hospitality of course. And it was fantastic to catch up with the family again. While we were there, the gastro bug went through their house too... I felt so bad in case it was from us or if I was a carrier (seeing as though I didn't get it myself)... but it was a week since any of us had it, so I think it might just have been co-incidence...

Friday we took the kids back to Sovereign Hill for the day/afternoon... it rained on the way out there so we half-thought we'd have to turn back, but the rain held off for most of the day, just a little mud to deal with and a few sprinnkles... needless to say, we ended up hiring a buggy pram with nice big wheels that could handle the mud and dirt tracks, instead of our teeny stroller. And Lani loved being in the Baby Bjorn for the afternoon, being able to see everything happening. Jai really loved the place, there was lots of interesting things to do and see. Not so interesting for the little ones though, except Eli loved the big horses and carts that went by frequently.
We took the kids on the Underground Mine Tour, which possibly wasn't the best idea... Eli wasn't too interested in the man talking and just wanted to run around in the dark, lol... he was particularly not impressed with the train ride (rollercoaster ride really) back to the start.. I thought it was great though, but he screamed the whole way, poor Monkey. Lani loved it though! Go figure, lol.

They have the BEST boiled sweets that are made in the confectionary company at the Hill. We watched them make the lollies, and of course had to bring some home. The Raspberry Drops are THE BEST.... maybe not so good for my diet though, as Greg and I will be starting Weight Watchers next week (well he'll be eating healthily with me, but not actually coming to the meetings...).
We were well and truly pooped when we got home... but the night wasn't over. My cousin from Townsville was in Melb for a conference, so she popped in Friday night to hang out... was nice and chilling though, as we were tired!! Saturday we got ready nice and early and headed down to the Mornington Peninsula. We were having a family photo shoot with my beautiful friend and talented photographer Katie Toland. It was SOOO GOOD to meet you IRL honey, and I can't wait to see the photos all edited up. I decided though, that I don't want to be a children's photographer anymore - and I take my hat off to you darl... children are HARD to photgraph - or just mine! LOL... I was exhausted just from chasing them around and telling them to look at the camera! Ha!! We got a few in the studio and some at the beach too.

Saturday afternoon, Greg headed off to visit his WOW mate, and a few of the SOF girls came down to Katie's for woodfired pizza and a hang-out! It was lovely to meet Megan and Mary, and we missed Gennie and Tam who couldn't make it :( Katie took some fun photos in the studio of us girls, so will be fun to see them when Katie gets a chance to edit them (she's a busy lady this week trying to get orders our before Mother's Day!)...
Poor Eli didn't sleep all day so was rather feral. I think everyone was a little over our holiday and just wanting to get home by this stage too! The kids mostly slept on the way home, but Eli was woken at one stage and decided to cry for about 15 mins! Ohhh that's so hard when you're in a car and can't do anything!! Not to mention when we're all dead-tired!!
The kids all slept so well that night though, and Eli even slept in till almost 7am, which was a nice change after he'd been getting up anywhere from 4.30-6am every other morning!! (and still up at 5am at home today :()

I met my beautiful friend Hayley briefly, as she leant me her portacot for Lani to use. I was sad that I didn't get the time to spend more than 10 mins with you honey, but I made sure we snapped a quick piccie:

We were SO HAPPY to get on the plane yesterday!! And even happier to walk in the door. Oh, it was so good to be home! We've realised that a 2-week holiday with 2 babies is an awfully long time!! They were unsettled a lot of the time coz they were out of their comfort zone, and had all sorts of sleeping problems, but we're happy to be home!!

Don't think I've forgotten anything... hope not....

Today is Labour Day here in Qld. So we're having an old friend of the big boys (Greg and Jeremy) - and his wife and new daughter - over for dinner tonight - so I gotta unpack, do grocery shopping, a quicky tidy and make a couple of nappies that are a gift for them from my SIL today!! (they are going to use MCNs so I get to talk nappies!)

Oh, and I almost forgot to say, we came home to a lovely clean home. My dear BIL got the cleaning bug yesterday and went for it - HOORAY!! Sooo appreciated!! He CLRed the toilet, cleaned the oven (!!) and the bathroom and a lot of things I've been *meaning* to do... THANKS JED!! I just need to mop the floors today really and we should be right!! Now to just try and keep it clean, which will be a feat in itself with the kids around!! *sigh* nothing stays clean for long with kids around!

And a few other things to mention that happened while I was away...

CONGRATULATIONS to the beautiful Carol who welcomed her little princess Lily Angelica into the world on Anzac Day.... and also to my wonderful friend Tam who delivered little Xander Levi last Friday - I was so sad I didn't get a chance to visit you honey.... will just have to stick with virtual cuddles like I had to with D... he's beautiful!

Also thinking of Gayle and family today at little Ella's funeral... may the Holy Spirit comfort you all as you celebrate her short little life today. HUGS honey, it devastated us all xxx

CONGRATS to my Lusi for your new line of stamps - can't wait to see them honey. Need a chat-ski soon K. Love you xx

Uhmmm, there was probably more but I forget.... to all my mates, love you all! xx

Anyway, if you made it through, good for you. This post is mostly for my own records really... maybe I'll get a chance to scrap it sometime....

Ciao, N xx