In my life...

This is a list that was apparently doing the rounds some time last year. I've only just discovered it and thought it was interesting so I'm putting it up. The ones in bold are those things I have done.
There are many things on this list that I would love to do and hope to achieve one day so I decided to italicise those.
I'm not tagging anyone but feel free to try this yourself.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Fatherly love

These are the photos I took for Luke's Father's Day present, I took some last year and it was a lot easier when my subject couldn't run off. It took a lot of cajoling and pleading to get Jacob to sit still and hold the letters but I finally got nice photos. Luke has a threefold silver photo frame on his desk so these will now be displayed there.

We're blue

We went for the 18 week scan and we're found out we're having another boy.
It's exciting news, I was hoping for a girl but I'm sure Jacob will love a little brother and the two will hopefully be good mates
.

World Breastfeeding Week

World Breastfeeding Week was celebrated 1st August - 7th August this year. The theme or topic was breastfeeding in an emergency which at a glance sounds strange or even humorous but when you consider how safe and convenient breastfeeding is and the disasters that have occurred in recent years it is an important issue.

You don't need to cart around bottles and cans of formula or worry about keeping them clean and dry. In an emergency situation, whether this be fire, flood or cyclone, finding fresh clean water is probably one of the most difficult and concerning problems. Finding boiled water is even harder, yet this is what is required to make up safe baby formula and then even more clean water is needed to wash and sterilise bottles.

It is a common problem in disaster areas for bottles and formula to be provided but no provision made for sterilisation or enough clean water.
Breastmilk is portable, clean, and always at the right temperature.

My local ABA group celebrated WBW with a morning tea at our playgroup morning. I made cupcakes and iced them as close to the ABA teal as I could get. Excuse the wonky lettering, it was just done with the corner snipped off a snaplock bag, in about 10 minutes.

Lovely surprise

Yesterday a delivery man unexpectedly knocked on my door with a big box.
In it was a fluffy white bathrobe, slippers and some Bio Oil so thanks Bio Oil and MotherInc for picking me as a winner in your June Mother's Day competition.
Here is Jacob modelling the bathrobe.

A big transition

On Friday night after some some discussion over the dinner table, it was decided that the time had come to convert Jacob's cot into a toddler bed. He had been attempting to scale the side any time it was lowered and Luke had caught him trying to scale it when it was not lowered!

We decided to do right there and then so Luke and I went upstairs to take off the sides and put on the two bars that turned it into a bed. It looked very grown up for our little boy but he was very excited about it. The other thing was he would no longer sleep in his sleeping bag so he would have to learn about sheets and blankets and how to mange the covers.

This all changed when it came time to actually go to sleep and he tearfully told Luke that it wasn't "his bed". We had little fingers creeping under the door, banging on the door with 2 hands, shouting and crying but eventually he calmed down in Luke's arms and went to sleep in his own bed. That night he woke up at 3am cold and unable to get back under the covers but went back to sleep as soon as Luke re-covered him. Then he woke at 5am because of "the birds" so I brought him back to our bed where he went back to sleep for another 1.5 hours.

Since then he has been going to sleep quickly and mostly staying asleep the whole night. Nap time is a little more challenging but I discovered I can fold myself into his bed to give him "na-nas" which is a nice way to go to sleep after a hard morning playing.

Coming clean

while I've posted a little recently, I have been hibernating for a while and there's a very good reason for that.
I'm pregnant and due early February.
I have had bad morning sickness again but not nearly as bad as last time and it almost seems to be gone.
Mum has been here helping out and consequently I have hardly had to lift a finger which I think has greatly contributed to how I've been feeling.

We went for the 12 week scan this morning and saw Baby no.2 wriggling around. No pictures unfortunately which I think is what happens when you go through the public system but he/she looked very cute.

More sourdough

I made bread today!
It turned out fairly well for a first attempt using my starter, it didn't rise as much as I hoped but I think that's usual for the first loaf.
The crust had the little bubbles you get with a sourdough loaf and the texture and taste were great.