Huge week

Where to start internets? Where to start...

Huge, big, massive week here at Casa de Aneets.

We had the first big night on the town sans little D (I think baby D is now a thing of the past. Sob...). I had been stressed for months about leaving little D with his grandma so we could attend a family wedding. In the end he was totally fine and barely made a peep.

Doesn't everyone spit roast an entire pig for a 1st birthday party? (image)

This big night was followed up by little D's first birthday party. The morning of the party there was torrential rain and it looked like the entire day would be a washout. Luckily, the sky cleared and the sun came out just in time and a great time was had by all, including D who was an angel the whole day. 

Finally, little D started daycare this week. Nobody in the history of motherhood has been more ready to take a break from their child. Nobody. However, as the day approached I started stressing and worrying about how he would cope without me.

You and me both Jesse (image)

Once again little D took the change in his stride. He didn't cry for me once the two days he was there. He loved the new surroundings, the food, the kids and even napped fairly easily.

Who is this kid?

Happy birthday baby D

Today is Baby D's 1st birthday.

I ate so many of these while pregnant I was shocked D didn't come out covered in sprinkles (Image)

Going in to this whole 3rd kid caper I knew it would be hard, but had no idea exactly how hard I would find it all. However, I also had no idea how much he would complete our family.

I know with certainty that we are all here now. That is how I describe my pre D life. It always felt like we were missing a member. I know now that D was the missing link & we all love him so very, very much. I love watching him laugh with the hubs, I love watching Miss M & Miss V chase him around the room, I love breastfeeding him every night with him snuggled against me. I love all of it.

To say thanks for bringing him into the world he slept through for only the second time last night. After the sleeplessness of this year it seems a fitting gift.

Happy birthday Tenacious D!

Snippets

Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose (

Image)

Hey there internet!  I was not scheduled to take a blog break over the festive season but life kind of got in the way of online time.

What's been happening? Well, highlights include:


* Baby D sleeping through, proper sleeping through, for the first time on Christmas night. Thanks Santa!

* Of course, it has not happened again since and he woke up 3 times last night, but that 24 hours was glorious.

* the Parlux is everything I thought and more.

* The Boxing Day sales with P23 were fun as usual. The highlight this year was having 'lunch' at the new Sydney Westfields foodcourt. Hamburgers at 10am? Don't mind if I do. Yum!

* First time in my life I actually went to bed before midnight on New Year's Eve. I lasted until 11pm and then the hubs and I looked at each other and decided sleep was more important. Nannaville has a new member.

* Have delved into the world of Friday Night Lights with the hubs and am smitten. I order everyone to watch this, you will not be disappointed.

Not much else to report. Am enjoying having my big kid home and spending some quality time at home without the chaos that school brings.  Am in the process of getting organised for Baby D's birthday festivities this time next week. Good lord where does the time go?

Season's greetings

Future Christmas photo shoot idea perhaps (image)

Does anyone out there in real life send their friends and family Christmas cards any more?  Real cards that you have to hand write, put in an envelope, affix a stamp and post.

E-cards don't count. Sorry, they don't. I will, however, award half a mark if you send a card you created using your family photos and a fancy computer program.

Every year, in the lead up to Christmas I tell myself that this is going to be the year that I finally say goodbye to sending Christmas cards. However, by mid December I usually relent and spend an evening up late getting writer's cramp writing out the damn things. 

This year I stepped it up a notch and printed out an awesome photo of the kids (I had an impromptu Christmas card photo shoot in the front garden a few weeks ago. Come on, doesn't everyone do that?) and stuck it in one of those frame like cards you see around the traps.  It looks fab, if I do say so myself. Of course I may be biased as I think I have the world's most gorgeous children, but take my word for it, it looks GREAT.

However, I seem to be getting fewer and fewer cards every year. This year the number of cards we've received is at an all time low.

I would love to know where everyone stands on the Christmas card issue. Yes, hitting the hard issues this week folks!

Bad hair be gone!

Come to mama you sexy thing! (Image)

I have wanted one of these babies for AGES but unfortunately my old, 11 year old, Remington hair dryer just would not die.  I felt it was frivolous and wasteful to buy a new hairdryer when the other one still worked.

Having had a crappy few months with sickness invading the household I decided I needed to treat myself for Christmas. Given the amount of panadol, nurofen and antibiotics I have dispensed to the kids lately I deserve something frivolous.

I had a hard time choosing which colour but in the end decided to go with my favourite, green. Isn't it pretty?

For those in the market for a new one Hairhouse Warehouse have them for 20% off at the moment.  Bargain!

I have heard such raves about this hair dryer and am looking forward to giving it a burl on Christmas day.  At the very least it is going to save me some time, which, given I am going back to work next year, will be in short supply.

A pox on germs

One of these would come in handy to combat the suitcases I am sporting under my eyes (image)

I don't know about you guys, but I am so looking forward to new years eve.

For Sydney's firework display?
Nup.

In order to get dressed up and have a night on the town?
Nup. The three kids put a dampener on any big night time plans for the foreseeable future. Do you know how hard it is to get someone willing to watch all 3 of them at once? Trust me it is hard.

Is it because 2012 is just going to be so awesome and exciting?
Not really.

I am so looking forward to NYE because I so want 2011 to be gone.

2011 has, quite frankly, sucked. A lot.

With the exception of the safe and healthy arrival of baby D in January, the rest of the year has been a haze of over tired baby, sleep deprived me, screaming (mostly baby D but sometimes me), crying (mostly baby D but sometimes me) and running around with the other kids. I have a hubs in the mix too but he has sadly been a tad neglected as I've dealt with the other louder, screamier and more demanding parts of my life.

The past 3 months in particular have been the worst.  Sickness has arrived at our house in insane proportions.  We have had from baby D alone, ear infection, throat infection, double ear infection with almost burst ear drum, virus and now this week's bomb shell: chicken pox.  It is breaking my heart seeing him suffering through the pox at the moment.  Quite frankly it sucks. Big time.

As an aside, how can they have worked out how to clone people since my time as a kid but still have no better treatment for the chicken pox spots than calamine lotion? It makes you feel useless and like you are failing your baby, who is in so much discomfort, by having nothing better to use but calamine lotion. Get on this scientists please.

I need not mention that Miss M and Miss V have also caught some of these ailments (though thankfully not the dreaded pox, they had them this time last year though) and even the hubs has not been spared.

I have been lucky in that I have not caught a thing.  Instead I have put in hours and hours nursing everyone back to health.  As a result I am wiped out. Done. So ready for a week where I don't have to trot us all off the the GP yet again. We have been such frequent visitors I am even getting the GP and his lovely receptionist a Christmas present this year. Seriously, I wish we were not on such friendly terms, being strangers to one another would be way better.

So on new years eve this year I shall be toasting to good health for 2012 and praying that it is a reality for our crud filled house.

This post amounts to Christmas sacrilege

Blogland is currently awash with posts which are about decorating for Christmas. Pivotal to any Christmas decorating is the Christmas tree.

I have to admit, these posts give me hives. I hate putting up our Christmas tree. Phew, there I said it. I seriously HATE it. 

I hated it before kids too, don't think that my kids have somehow sullied this experience for me.  The hubs and I have a long history of fighting about the Christmas tree. Not about where decorations go or how to decorate it, but rather who is going to put it up. You see, he hates putting up the tree too.

The time spent, the mess, the attempts to put the decorations evenly only realising too late that they are all somehow bunched at the bottom of the tree. Did I mention the mess? Ugh.

These days? I have no choice but to put the damn thing up.  The kids have been asking about the tree incessantly and I can only distract them for so long. So I will plaster a grin on my face, grit my teeth and fake  Christmas joy with the best of them. Sigh.