Clear! *whine – thud* beep, beep, beep…
Never mind me, just resuscitating my blog 
Time for a catch-up post I think…
Kim is working away, pleased with the recent rain – our house tanks were filled from our own roof for the first time since we moved here! He has been taking Hannah to swimming lessons on Saturdays after the teacher broke her ankle and had to hire someone else to take the lessons. He hops into the other end of the pool with Abby and gives her a bit of a play, which they both enjoy. Its a brand new pool inside a building which a local family have purpose-built in order to teach swimming year-round. Its fantastic and very much needed. He has also bought a season ticket for the town pool and we have been saying – stuff the cost of the petrol, our children have to learn to swim! He is looking forward to next week when we go to the beach as well
Hannah is looking forward to our holiday with her grandparents and Aunty Jen and Uncle Boyd. Also very excited about starting school on 29th January *thud* where has the time gone? I can still see her, wet and wide-eyed, lying on my tummy just after she was born! I am slowly accumulating the necessary accoutrements, so far we have the hat, headband and scrunchie, a ’sports jacket’ (which is a new addition to the uniform and is a very nice light but warm windbreaker) and textas and a pencil case. Sill have to buy a book pack and glue stick, sew the skirts and jumpers, buy the polo tops and school shoes (black with white socks for normal days, joggers with blue socks (why??) for sport day) and the sports shirt and shorts. And a new bag and lunchbox. At least she already has 10 pairs of white socks and her farm socks are dark blue! She is progressing confidently with her swimming, and also with crafty activities, cutting and gluing featuring frequently in the spare room. She is also growing another set of molars which is quite painful at times 
Abby is having a tough time adjusting to no longer being the baby of the family, she is still a baby in a lot of ways herself. She turned 2 this week, and although that sounds quite big, I’m really starting to see that toddlers really are just “babies on wheels”. She needs a lot of my time and attention, which is hard when there is a newborn also requiring a lot of my time and attention 
She is otherwise thriving! She is still breastfeeding and has put on a lovely lot of weight in the last 2 months, I previously thought she was a little light-on, but with the resurgence of ‘mummy milk’ she has become Rubenesque again (been looking for an opportunity to use that word since I learned what it meant a couple of weeks ago LOL!) She is as strong as an ox and climbs prolifically. Her favourite activities include dancing on the table, operating the TV via remote, or the button on the TV if that is removed from her. She also loves chasing bubbles, spreading food on the floor, throwing things, and her favourite words are “NO!” and “MINE!” and “Bummy” (dummy) and “coc-ut” (chocolate) and “Boobie!” She loves water in all forms, and at last week’s swimming lesson was bending her knees to duck her own head under the water! She is on the typical toddler emotional roller coaster, we are all riding it as bravely as we can and enjoying the highs as often as possible
Beth is now 8 weeks old, and settling into life on the outside world. In some ways just like her sisters (sleeping well at night for now) and in other ways very different (by far the chuckiest although that’s passing now to some extent). She is in OO clothes and I’m hoping she get into O soon as there are a lot more clothes of that size I wear her every day in an assortment of very beautiful and practical carriers which she mostly enjoys. Our town has many shops with steps and narrow entrances, not very pram friendly, so I’ve learned to carry Beth on my front and Abby on my back…as Abby is completely uncontrollable a bolter not the kind of kid who stays close by. She is starting to take notice of the world, and smiles and chats to us on a regular basis. All othe functions are pretty much ‘normal’, babies change from week to week though so I try not to get too attached to any particular habit or pattern, it will be gone soon LOL! She has brown hair and blue eyes at present, but they seem to be changing perhaps to brown like Abby’s.
I am doing well, not finding feeding 2 any more arduous than 1, less even, as Beth causes no damage so I’ve basically had no pain, and that has made a lot of difference. Making adjustments where necessary and making plans for streamlining things like packing school lunches (not so easy with a gluten free fussy-bum!) and getting to the bus by 8.10am *gasp*. I am also very much looking forward to our holiday and introducing Beth to her Gra Gra and Aunty Jen. I have a new machine in my kitchen called a Thermomix, its a lot of fun and has made a lot of the things I cook regularly a lot easier. My life seems very full of things which are not that interesting to write about, but I am going to try and blog more regularly regardless!
Photos to come later
My DIY Onbag
Seems the only place I can post photos these days is here LOL!
This is a bag with looong straps that can be tied however you like – backpack, shoulderbag etc, so it’s flexible for wearing around a baby in a sling or other carrier If you google Onbag you’ll find the UK blog where you can print the DIY instructions for free or buy one from the designer, a WAHM
Tricky, but well worth the effort!
My DIY Wrap-Pod
This is a little project I made when I wanted to try a Pod style carrier but didn’t want to take the time to sew a whole one, as you need rather long straps. I was thinking I would have to cut up one of my wraps to get fabric long enough to make the straps, which I didn’t want to do, then realised I could just make a casing in the Pod body to thread the wrap through and save cutting it up!
1. Here is the body of the pod, all creased from being folded up. I made it reversible with pink and brown drill to match my Maruyama Vatanai wrap. It’s out on loan at present so the wrap in the pictures is Ulli Storch.
2. This is the casing at the top. It’s not quite wide enough to comfortably thread, but works really well when wearing, I don’t know if you’d want it any wider.
3. The wrap folded neatly at the centre marker – I just folded in half and half and half again, you could try an accordion fold if you wished. Or perhaps fold in half first then accordion fold.
4. Threaded through, before being spread out.
5. With the wrap fanned out. It’s 2 layers of wrap there, folded in half.
I’ll try and get an action shot…when I’ve done my hair LOL!
My ‘new’ slings!
Here are some very bad pictures of a pouch and ringsling who have just had a lovely makeover, courtesy of Kate, who makes Wildslings.
The pouch is a Hotsling in hemp fabric and is now purple and so lovely. The photo is blurry because Abby was too excited to sit still!
The ring sling is made from half my Cairo Hoppediz wrap, the dye matches the colour of the sling rings exactly, but the soda ash ate the shiny coating from the rings…oops…must dye the fabric before sewing in the rings next time LOL! It is just the most luscious, wonderful pink
Many many thanks to Kate for doing such a wonderful job! I’m all inspired to get out my dyes now!
Testing photo upload!
I haven’t uploaded a photo since I moved the blog to WordPress, so I’m just going to do one to see how slow it is
Well that wasn’t too painful…and it worked! Unlike my previous blog host, which had not allowed me to upload photos for several months *thumbs down*
I also found the camera today, so I’ll have to upload some more and start taking them, too!
Online Babyhunt!
Hi! You know these sayings –
“The best laid plans of mice and men…” and “Spoke too soon.”
Well, they’ve been flung around here a bit the last few weeks LOL! We thought our family was complete, but it seems You Know Who thinks otherwise! We are expecting another baby to be birthed at home in October
Not something we were expecting or planning, I’m still struggling to get my head around the idea of having 2 under two, 2 in nappies, breastfeeding 2, not to mention how to get 3 carseats in the back of our car LOL!
So I’ve decided to make a fun online game out of the pregnancy announcement. It will also be interesting for me to see who reads my blog, as I have no idea! Once you’ve read this, if you’re a member of one of my online parenting forums, please put the following in your signature. (If you’re not, feel free to email or call us, or just leave a nice comment)
Here’s what to put (adding appropriate emoticons if you wish)
The great [insert forum initials here] Babyhunt – I found the secret pregnant member!
Don’t tell anyone who PM’s you asking, reply with appropriate emoticons LOL! Someone will eventually start a thread demanding to know who it is. I’ll post clues if necessary, I’ll put it in my sig too so it’s not too obvious that it’s me LOL! I’ll drop some hints around the boards too…it’s been really hard not to say anything so far, although I have told a couple of people.
Thanks for playing with me!
Love Nikki
Summer Fun
Here are the gorgeous girlies
Hannah and Abby love to share bath time, although they’re quickly outgrowing this tub! They both enjoy showers now though, so it’s no big deal, somehow the 3 of them fit in there and shower together!
Abby can also climb in and out of the tub and shower by herself, which is a little hair raising when it’s so wet and slippery. Occasionally she gets dunked for a second but no harm done and there’s always someone close by to grab her. Bother, I accidentally deleted the photo
We have been to the pool twice and are going again today as soon as we’ve had morning tea, so I’d better get on with it! They both absolutely LOVE the water and Hannah is growing in confidence each time.
Abby absolutely loves being outside, and she can open the front door and screen to get out onto the verandah now. She can’t get back in the screen door, so that’s a bit frustrating for her, but she’ll work it out pretty soon. The verandah is all fully fenced now and she’s not showing any tendency to climb yet, she toddles around pushing toys or looking at the animals and feeling the wind on her face
Our little pool is also out there some of the time, Daddy carefully leaves the hoses in the sun so by afternoon, the water is quite hot, and they can have a play in comfortable temperature water.
We do have a latch on the screen door, so if the water hasn’t been emptied out of the pool, I can lock her inside, thank goodness! She loves her little watering can which you can see in the picture, and Hannah’s old purple mower is also a hit!
Hannah is developing a real sense of humour and loves to make faces for the camera She’s holding a plastic fish in case you were wondering LOL! We bought her several sets of food and kitchen stuff from Target last year, so we have everything from sausages to salmon to spatulas lurking around the house!
We measured Hannah the other day, she’s over 110cm tall now, still growing about 1cm a month which she has been doing for the last year. Very, very long legs, just like Mummy She’s looking forward to going back to the preschool program at daycare this year and catching up with her friends. She may have some new friends as she’s going on a different day this year. I’m hoping to take her back to Physie, seeing as ballet didn’t come off last year…waiting to hear whether they have a teacher for the little ones…hopefully I won’t have to volunteer!
Sweet Harvest
I’m not sure if I’ve posted this photo before, a lovely friend made the girls a pinafore dress and matching bib for Abby, well, it’s a top on Hannah, it is just stunning, we just love our horsey dress
Abby is growing in leaps and bounds…not literally, she’s not grown much in height recently and has come down a few percentage points on the growth charts, but that’s nothing to be concerned about, she’s an obviously healthy thriving individual, who happens to be shorter than average, like her dad LOL! She is so much like him in so many ways. She’s very cheeky, she delights in teasing games and running away when I call her – not much fun in town near roads but we have good baby carriers!
She really understands what we’re saying now, and has learned to nod for ‘yes’ as well as shake for ‘no’. Which is very helpful at meal times – I can ask her if she wants banana or crackers or more potato. She also knows to go straight to the bathroom to wash her hands after eating – yesterday I said nothing when I got her down from the highchair and she went straight there! Very exciting but somehow sad that our baby is growing up so fast.
Words are coming slowly, but she babbles a great deal, so she’ll be one of those children who ‘talks’ constantly then one day turns around speaking full sentences, whereas Hannah had a huge vocabulary but took longer to put the words together
Hannah is still growing taller very rapidly, still about a cm a month. She’s just over 110cm now! Only 30cm to go before she’s adult seatbelt height. I was quite surprised to know it was 140cm, and marked it on the height chart so we wouldn’t forget.
She said to me the other day, “Did you know that all fish can swim?”
“Yes, I did know that.”
“And all dolphins can swim too!”
“Just as well, or they’d drown wouldn’t they?”
“Yes, they don’t have legs to walk around on the land with, so they better swim!” ROFL
Here’s my haul from the garden the other day, beans, snowpeas and a couple of strawberries. I’m really enjoying really fresh greens, and as long as I get out there and pick them every second day, they don’t grow too old and tough and stringy Kim is enjoying his strawberries very much, we have carrots, corn, pumpkin, watermelon, cucumber, zuchinni, tomatoes, radishes and spinach, and probably some things I’ve missed Kim puts a lot of hard work into the garden and it pays off richly with a sweet harvest of chemical free, freshly picked produce. Hopefully over the next few years once the baby stuff is over, I’ll have more energy to participate more.
BTW, the beans are in Kim’s own babycarrier, a wrap that I had been wearing Abby in, Kim took her for a walk and I fashioned a pouch to put the veges in, which was very handy! Baby carriers are multi purpose tools – we used one as a towel the other day after Hannah had been wading.
Love Nikki
PS for some reason this comes up as unpublished now I’ve moved the blog to wordpress, so I’ll have another go
