The excitement...

3 sleeps until Santa. My life might be hectic, it might be crazy, I might feel like I never have enough minutes in the day & never enough moments to myself, but in 3 days I get to share the magic of Christmas with my children. And that is enough to make everything alright!

I have always loved Christmas but there is something really special about sharing it with my own kids & watching their joy of it all. Even Gabe is really getting into the spirit of it all this year. Since the decorations appeared everywhere he has gotten really excited about Christmas trees. We told him we were getting one & he kept talking about a green tree. Normally we get a real tree, but the day we wanted to get one it was in the middle of a days-long downpour, so we decided to get a fake one. I must just say it was much easier to decorate, & looks neater, but I miss the unique Christmas-tree smell.

When asked what they wanted from Santa; Abbey replied a "Dora Computer". I think I found the last Dora laptop in Melbourne (but that is another story). Gabe simply wanted a "green tree". When I was talking yesterday about Santa leaving their presents under the tree if they were good; Gabe said "Mummy I already have a Green tree". So he has already got the one thing he wanted, and doesn't quite understand why he needs anything else. Let's hope he is always so easy to please!

Poo talk...

Some of us in this house have just recovered from a bout of Gastro with diarrhoea (no vomiting thank goodness). Gabe got the bug 1st & had it the longest and the worst. He had to miss out on the last day of swimming for the year & the Jim's Christmas party. The next day Abbey was telling someone that Gabe & Mummy had to stay home because Gabe had diet-poo!

Then later in the week Abbey caught the bug. I was trying to doze, as I was not quite ready to get up & start the day with my early-risers, when I heard "Mummy, Mummy, I need help. I just had 'fizzy poo' ". Now that got me out of bed in a hurry. Yucky to talk about, but we thought 'fizzy-poo' was a perfect description!

A taste of freedom...

Abbey has her 1st little visit to Grammie's in the holidays. She spent 5 nights there by herself, and had a ball. Got to do lots of girly things and got lots of attention which she loves. Seems she didn't miss Gabe & Mummy too much. Gabe was missing her a lot though. On the Thursday he suddenly stamped his foot & said "Take me to Abbey right now". He went shopping with Daddy on the Thursday night as usual & picked out a special orange jeep for Abbey (his fave color) & a red matchbox car for himself. He left Abbey's jeep on her bed for the few days & then the morning we were leaving for Grammie's went and got both cars to take. He held onto those cars tightly in the car. At one stage he told me he dropped his car on the floor, I said don't worry we will get it when we get there. He replied "it's ok Mummy I still have Abbey's". Just picture the love of a little 2 year old boy holding a special present for his sister for 3 hrs in the car. He even slept 1/2 the way & still held onto that car!

So we arrive at Mum's, and Abbey was really excited to see Hamish & really couldn't have cared less if Gabe & I were there or not. Hamish gots lots of kisses, we had to ask for ours. And then Gabe gave her the car. Abbey threw it on the floor & asked him for his red one, which she liked better. How sad that a 3 yr old couldn't understand the love that came with that little car!

And since we have been home, Abbey has been thinking up reasons to get rid of poor Gabe. Yesterday we dropped Aaron off at Albert Park to play baseball & we headed to an adventure playground in St kilda to meet Donna & Giani. Abbey thought Gabe should go to baseball with Daddy!

Tonight I was doing the dinner thing alone with the kids. As they were sitting at the table waiting for their food this was the unprompted conversation...

Abbey..."Gabe do you want to sleep at Grammie's house tonight, with Grammie in Grammie's bed"
Gabe..."yeah"
Abbey..."Ok. I'll drive you there in the green car cos it's a long way & I'll buckle you in Gabe. Then I'll drive back home & sleep in my pink bed"
Gabe..."ok"

Well at least she was going to buckle him in!

A little snippett...

I have taken to bathing all 3 kids together. Saves time & energy. And makes the whole process a little quicker. Means Hamish doesn't get his long soak with individualised attention, but he has taken to crashing for the day early evening, so this is what works at the moment.

Gabe has the big bath all to himself. Abbey shares the baby bath on the floor next to the bath with Hamish. Everyone is happy with this arrangement.

Due to their eczema our daily bath routine has always been that both (now all 3) kids get moisturised after their bath. Well tonight I did Hamish 1st & then Gabe. As I was starting on Gabe, Abbey wanted a little bit of cream for Bubba (her baby who usually has a bath with her). I explained that Bubba needed some pretend cream as the real stuff wouldn't rub into her skin. Abbey told me we didn't have any pretend cream. I told her that her baby bag on the pink stroller had a jar of pretend cream. Abbey's answer to that "Mum I threw the pretend cream in the pretend bin"! I had to laugh!

In need of sleep...

Gabe has decided that he doesn't need as much sleep as we think we does, and that it is OK to start the day at 5.30 am. Last week it was 6 am & now 5.30 am. Well no little boy, your Mummy needs a lot more sleep than that! And really so do you.

The other night he came into our room sobbing at about 4. Beside himself that Ernie was "licking him". Poor little guy was convinced that Ernie was inside & had been licking him. I had to show him that Ernie was safely locked outside, and tell him he had (what I assume ?) was a dream.

Another night this week he came into our room at about midnight saying that he had lost Leo (lovey). I thought this was strange as I had only been asleep for about 1/2 hr & had checked on the kids before I went to bed. Leo had been on the floor & I had safely tucked him in next to Gabe. Well as I was walking him back to bed to find Leo, he stopped in the family room & picked up Leo from under the coffee table. I thought this was odd, but realised why in the morning. As I was sitting down feeding Hamish, I noticed that all the cars & Little People figures I had packed up before I went to bed, were lined up on the coffee table where Gabe likes them. He obviously decided that he needed to do this at midnight!

So yes I am rather tired at the end of a long week of early starts. I can only hope that I get some sleep on the weekend!

Like winning tattslotto...

Just getting over the shock of our allergy appointment on the 15th. Both Abbey & Gabe had skin tests. I walked in with no expectations & walked out feeling a whole lot more comfortable sending Abbey to kinder next year.

After Abbey being diagnosed with dairy, egg ,peanut allergies & probable anaphylaxis at 6 mths & avoiding all traces since then, she tested NEGATIVE to eggs and peanuts. The allergist and nurse couldn't believe it & re-tested both, especially as her Dad &Grandfather both have egg allergies that they haven't outgrown. Her reaction for cows milk was 4mm & her allergist wants to do a food challenge for that in hospital! Gabe was tested for all nuts for the 1st time and was negative to all, and again neg for egg. His dairy was 10mm though & still has his epi-pen for that. So my immediate challenge is to slowly introduce egg & peanut butter to them both & then soy for Gabe. Gabe is currently on rice milk after only having a 3mm reaction to soy at 9 mths but reacting(eczema) the few times I have tried to introduce it to him. I started on the egg this week. Their allergist said to challenge the same food at the same time for them, but just don't start on the same day. So I started by boiling an egg last week (she said to start on the yolk of a hard-boiled egg). And immediately Abbey asked what is that "poohey smell". Needless to say she didn't try any that 1st day. So Gabe got the 1st smear on his lip and was ok with that. The next day he got 1/4 tsp mixed in his jam on his toast because he wasn't going to eat it off the spoon. And it took me over an hr to smear a tiny bit on Abbey's lip. Tomorrow I will have to try some kind of disguise for her.It's so totally weird to have eggs in the house after 3 yrs. I only used to use them in cooking, as Aaron is allergic & I've never been a huge egg fan anyway. So I can't say I blame them for not wanting to try a new "poohey" smelling food. The week of egg yolk challenging was a long week, and I am now sick of egg myself!!! We managed it though & both had no reaction at all to egg yolk. To get it in I made egg yolk custard with rice milk (very thin consistency) & ended up having to add it to their milk. And french toast. Abbey hated the toast & ended up with more custard milk. Despite being very confused about what she can and can't eat now, she understands on some level that she will be able to eat more cake & the like soon! And Abbey is very confused now about what she can & can't eat. She keeps asking me about different things & what they have in them. This week is egg white which is easy. I made meringues & they love them!

Definitely makes 3 yrs of no traces & stress worth it! We have decided after we have challenged peanut butter, that we will go back to a peanut butter free house until we know what allergies (if any??) Hamish has. Hamish has already got the tell-tale signs of eczema & is trying to scratch his head a lot. So until we have the all clear with him for peanut and egg, we still need to be careful. But yeah very happy with our progress in the world of allergies. We are now at a point that I didn't think we would reach when Abbey was diagnosed. I know I haven't challenged her with the PB yet, but I don't think I have even heard of anyone outgrowing a peanut allergy!

Breathe, just breathe...

Whoever coined the phrase 'terrible 2's' has obviously never met my 3 yr old daughter! Let's just say that today has been a challenge. And although I had an activity planned to do with her this afternoon, I actually breathed a sigh of relief when she decided to put herself to bed for a nap. Now she may be up until 11pm tonight (again- the same thing happened on Monday), but I honestly don't know how we would have made it safely through the afternoon if she hadn't made that decision! Her mood was infectious too. Gabe went and pouted in the corner at Kinder Gym because he didn't get his way. Pity he looked so cute with his pouting & I couldn't help but almost laugh at him. Even bigger pity I didn't have the camera at that exact moment!

It has been a weird old week and a bit around here. Lots of food for thought.

We actually made a 'family day' last Sunday. Is it awful to admit that we haven't done anything just the 4 (now 5) of us since Abbey's birthday when we went to the zoo? We took the kids to the Enchanted Maze garden at Arhtur's Seat. They had a section just for kids, & Abbey of course was fascinated by the fairies in the garden. As we were getting ready to leave, I had to take her back to the fairies and she had to have her photo taken with each one individually. Despite the cold & slight drizzle, we all had a great time. And although the $39 for us all to get in was a bit much, Abbey definitely got her $9 worth. And all the way home & all that evening she kept saying "I had the best day". She made us happy just becasue she was happy! Now let's hope that it doesn't take us another 6 mths to get the chance for a family outing.

Bruce's funeral was hard, but then I knew it would be. Anne, Evan, James & Ainsley (via her sister- as she was still in the UK) all managed to be brave enough to share some of their stories and love of Bruce. And I managed to laugh through my tears. RIP Bruce, unfortunately there isn't enough brave, beautiful souls in the world & you will be missed by many. Despite his struggle to survive, he managed to maintain an infectious enthusiasm for living. The simple things in life were what were important to Bruce. Family, friendship, music, good food to name a few. I will never forget his amazement that I had never seen Star Wars. And so he took me along with Anne & Evan when it was re-released for the big screen, telling me I would be sure to like it if I just gave it a chance. Well sorry Bruce, it really wasn't my thing. He also similarly tried to expose me to car racing at Sandown. I think that was early in my 1st year of Uni & so I hadn't known Anne or the Hollonds for long. Rhonda sensibly went shopping that day! So Star Wars or cars weren't my thing, but his enthusiasm for both & his willingness to share were inspiring, as was his love for his family! I will remember many meals shared, many conversation about life, the universe & a million other topics & a man who touched many lives and made a difference. And that is special!

It's also poignant that a new grief can freshen up old grief. Dad has been gone for almost 8 yrs, but it still makes me sad that I can't share so many things with him. Especially my children! Now I'm sure Dad will be sharing a few good conversations with Bruce up in heaven & Bruce will fill him in on earthly happenings. I have to believe that is the way things work!

And to finish (or sinnish as Gabe would say)...Gabe's new saying is

"doesn't matter". Now how Gabe is that? Mr casual & all!

Almost forgot...

I almost forgot that Gabe wanted to use the potty before his bath last night. Not unusual as he has shown a little interest and talks about wee, poo & the potty.

So he sat down and straight away did a wee. In his usual Gabe fashion he was very casual about it. He wee-ed and then said "ta-da". And then looked at us as if we were the crazy ones for being excited and making a big deal out of something ordinary as far as he was concerned! I don't think we will have to resort to bribing to toilet train him, unlike his big sister!

A few things...

A few new happenings at our house this week...

Abbey has only had one wet night pull-up in the past month or so. We used the last one last night & so tonight we are trying undies. She was very excited to wear undies to bed, so we will see how she goes. The girl has some serious bladder holding capacity, and very rarely does she wake up and go straight to the toilet in the morning, so I think it's time. Worth a try anyway!

Gabe & his sleeping issues! He woke up around 11.30pm Wednesday night. Abbey was already in our bed with her painful leg growing-pains, so I left her with Daddy & went to see Gabe. I hopped into "Grammie's" bed with him (the single bed in his room), and we cuddled for a bit until he told me to go & was settled. So that is where he spent the night. Last night he wanted the bed over the cot & slept through for the 1st night in about 2 weeks. Again chose the bed for his nap today & bed tonight. Looks like our little boy is now in a big-boy bed & he is managing without a side rail! I have put pillows on the floor next to the bed, but he hasn't needed them.

Hamish is so close to making his 1st laugh that we have all been trying to be the 1st to make him laugh. Yesterday he gave what I would call 1/2 a chuckle & it was to me, but I won't count that as the 1st laugh. When he is kicking around on his back, he somehow manages to slightly move backwards. Which I have informed him that he is just too little to be doing yet! He also moves his head significantly when he is on the floor to track one of us as we move.

Some days are just hard...

Yesterday I woke to a phone call from Anne to tell me her Dad passed away in the night. So sad & makes it even worse that I 'understand' (if that's possible) how she is feeling as unfortunately we have 'lived' it. Bruce was a wonderful man who fought so hard just to 'live'. A thousand thoughts, condolences & hugs to Anne, Evan & Rhonda.

Abbey & Gabe saw me crying on the phone & afterwards & asked me what was wrong. I think Abbey picked up on my mood of sadness yesterday & was very clingy. We went shopping with Tori to Fountain Gate for a little while. I *had* to get out of the house. We were going to go to the market but it was raining. Tori enjoyed shopping with us, and bought a few things. I think she liked having my advice or opinion. I just bought Gabe a new hoody. The poor child is wearing a few things that have suddenly developed short sleeves!

Today was a challenge with all 3. Gabe & Hamish woke up at 1am. Gabe screaming with his teeth (again), but still no sign of any of those 4 molars. I can't be sure that he didn't wake Hamish up, although Hamish was all snuffly. Sent Gabe to Daddy's bed, fed Hamish back to bed myself (now in Gabe's room). I tell you it's all about trying to get the most sleep with the least amount of drama! Then Abbey came in to see me at 6am & wanted me to go back to my room, so she could sleep on the floor beside me on her little bed of pillows. I told her to sleep in Gabe's room or get into his cot, after much whining & crying about it she must have decided to climb into the cot. The next time I woke at 7.30am, Abbey was in Gabe's cot snoring, Hamish was awake & ready to eat again & Gabe was up doing puzzles. Gabe told me Daddy woke him up. Funny seeing as Daddy was still blissfully sleeping. Thank goodness every night isn't *quite* that bad!

So that was the start of the day. It was a day with many tears, tantrums & frustrations, but we made it through. Aaron arrived home to Hamish crying in the Bjorn, where he had been most of the afternoon (the only way he would settle), Gabe had just got out of the bath & Abbey was refusing to get in as Gabe had pooed before his bath & she thought the water would be dirty. It wasn't. I handed the boys to Daddy & gave Abbey a quick bath. At least Aaron was around for dinner, teeth, bed tonight or I really may have lost the plot.

If someone asked me exactly what I did today I wouldn't be able to cross many things of my to-do-list, but it's amazing how much time 3 little people take up in my day. It was one of those days where I wonder what I did with all the hours in my day before I was a Mum!

Time to start...

Ok, now it is really time to update here.

I need a place to organise my thoughts, and I need a place to record all the 'moments' with our 3 angels. And I also want to share the next 3 months with my 'baby' sisters while they are off travelling the world & having their own adventures. Hopefully by October I will be so used to coming here that I will continue!

Life is now an adventure for me. Life with a 3 1/2 yr old, almost 2 yr old and an 11 week old is busy, busy, busy. Overwhelming at times, but then I get a little bit back, a smile, a cuddle, an "I love you" and it's all worth it a hundred times over. I have been doing so much all by myself, as Aaron is completely consumed with establishing our business. He is missing out on a lot, but tries to spend what time he can with the kids. Consequently our family time is suffering & our 'us' time is non-existant at the moment. The past few days I have been feeling teary & overwhelmed more than usual, so that is another reason I wanted to write things down. I have made sure that I tell Aaron how I am feeling & I have also made sure to let myself do a little something for myself. The housework will wait. I know I am more at risk of getting post-natal depression this time, as being busy it is easy to ignore feelings & my own needs. So at least I have been thinking about what I need. I don't think I am depressed, simply over-tired.

A few things...

Abbey got an acceptance letter for Lynbrook Kindergarten for next year. How can my baby girl by almost old enough to go to kinder already? Time goes way too quickly I tell you. I have been trying to make more of an effort to do something with her each afternoon while the boys (hopefully) both nap! This week we have made cookies, colored in & cut out & worked on her sticker book. She loves the 1 on 1 time, and really needs it I think.

Hamish slept from 9pm last night until 6.20am this morning. May it continue. He has been sleeping for longer each night for the past week. BUT the secret is letting him sleep on his tummy. It is obviously his comfort zone. I kind of feel guilty as tummy sleeping is such a big SIDS no-no, but then he can easily lift his head from side to side? And sleep is so important for us all.

Gabe has had this little thing going for a while where I say "I love you" and he answers "yeah". He finally said "I wuv you too" to me 2 weeks ago when we were staying at Mum's. After saying it 1st to Kazzy & Jewey, both times unprompted! Well he still hasn't been saying it consistently. Tonight when I was tucking him in for the 3rd time (of about 5 times) I said " I love you Gabe" and he said "I wuv me too"!!! Well at least he has good self-esteem! As I write this he is finally asleep in our bed.

A place to start...

Well I need to record our happenings somewhere, so I'll try a new fresh place! I have tried the blogging thing before & never kept up, but there are so many little things with our 2 kids (soon to be 3) that I want to record & remember, so here goes!

Number 1~ Abbey almost 3. Seriously the fastest 3 yrs of my life. She is happy, at times fiesty, a worrier & absolutely beautiful (biased- yes)!

Number 2~ Gabe 16 mths. Also happy, almost always has a smile, much more laid-back than his sister. Wins the heart of almost anyone, with his innocent way of communicating!

Number 3~ Due to join our family in May. And will make our family complete!