It's safe to say that as far as E is concerned, poor old Santa is a great big fail this year.

Does anyone else have a heck of a time trying to find the perfect Christmas gift for their parents and inlaws? It's never so much about the money for us (although I always have a budget), it's more about finding the perfect gift that tells them just how much we love and appreciate them both now and always.

I usually keep a running list of  gift ideas for everyone eg. My go to for mum is theatre tickets and Swarovski ornaments but sometimes there is nothing showing and none of the crystal appeals. This year has been one of those years. Scott and I haven't had a single idea for our parents ... Until tonight! It all came to me while watching Scott cook dinner funnily enough.

I heard on the radio today (between wiggles CDs) that Dragon were on tour and scheduled to play the Gold COast in 2014 ... You know, the 1980's band that sung 'Young Years' ... Which is also one of my dad and my all time favourite songs. Dad and I share a big love of music, especially all things 80s and have been to many a concert together including The Eagles and Richard Marx to give you an idea so Dragon tickets are completely perfect.

Consultation with my sister led us to deciding to organise a family sitting over our family holiday with a photographer mum loves for her gift. The photographer did my sister's wedding and niece's first pictures so we know his work well. She's been desperate for an entire family portrait, especially since the babies came along so she will love this. Pity the pictures will be out of date come May when B2 arrives but we can always just repeat next year.

The in-laws were proving impossible this year. Never easy to buy for at the best of times, they don't like clutter, have just returned from an OS holiday and have absolutely everything they need. We were tossing up books, box sets and not much else when my brainwave struck! I was thinking of an experience for them when I put two and two together and came up with a full day wine tour with lunch at our very own local wine country, Mount Tamborine. I did some research and found a great one that does pickup, drop off, 2 course lunch and 4 wineries. I can't believe I've never thought of this before as it's right up the ILs alley given they love wine, food, Mount Tamborine... It's perfect.

We are breathing a big sigh of relief tonight knowing that we really have completed all of our Christmas shopping.

How's your shopping going?

How far along? 15 weeks


Stretch marks? No - and I go on and on about it but I am loving using my Mothercare cream again.

Symptoms: I definitely need to keep up those pelvic floor exercises as an annoying cough this week reinforced they aren't quite what they used to be.

Sleep: the nights have been cooler which helps enormously as my body temp is much higher lately but not enough to help me sleep through this week.

Have you told family and friends: Yes! And you can check last month's 'sooner than expected' post if you want to see E's eviction notice.

Miss Anything? After the week I've had, you guessed it, WINE!

Movement: slight flutters but nothing definite or consistent. I had an anterior placenta with E so didn't feel anything till 21/22 weeks last time so I'll probably be shocked to feel anything significant before then.

Age: 17 Months

We had a bit of an unenviable early start to our weekend when we were woken before dawn by the sounds of E's very laboured breathing. Concerned as he appeared to be struggling for air, we woke him and were greeted by a very sad baby with a harsh seal like cough that frightened him (and us) each time. Poor babe also had a temp spike of 38.6 (not bad considering how many times we've nursed 39+). Whooping cough was the number 1 illness that popped into my head and given it appeared his breathing was affected, we made the decision to head straight to emergency. Luckily it was a surprisingly quiet night/morning and the triage nurse had one listen to E and admitted us immediately saying that we did the right thing bringing him in as he very much needed to be there.

How far along? 14 weeks


Stretch marks? No - Loving using my Mothercare cream again.

Symptoms: still tired but that's about it now with some occasional queasiness.

Sleep: it's great... I'm sleeping well and solidly thank goodness.

Have you told family and friends: Yes!

Miss Anything? Wine! Yep, still badly missing my sav blanc ... But it's totally worth it.

Movement: no, nothing this week. I can't wait for Scott and Ethan to feel them though.
Best moment this week: putting up our Christmas tree with Es help and thinking forward to how much fun the future has in store for our little family in every Christmas to come.

Food cravings: loving my cola drinks and mangoes - thank goodness they're back in season.

Anything making you queasy or sick: nothing I can pinpoint this week.

Have you started to show yet: yes but it's still not a definite bump.

Baby is a: Girl ... I'm dying to know! Must hold out! Only 26 weeks give or take to go 😩

Belly Button in or out? Innie and unlikely to change.

Wedding rings on or off? On and there to stay for awhile.

Happy or Moody most of the time: happy definitely but feeling more overwhelmed than usual and have had a few OMG how will I do this with 2 under 2 moments.

Looking forward to: having more energy, the 20 week scan and Christmas with all it entails.

1. Make nuts and bolts - it's an Aussie thing involving nutri grain cereal and curry powder amongst other things.

Christmas for me is ... the most wonderful time of the year ... and yes, I did sing that line as I typed it.

I love the carols, the food, the shopping, gift-giving, preparation, decorations, the sentiment and most of all, I love to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.

I have collected many decorations carefully over the years and am still building my collection however my favourite most precious Christmas decoration is my Royal Doulton Nativity scene. I bought it a little before last Christmas at a ridiculous good sale price after lusting over it for years. It gave me enormous joy to set up and look at last year in the lead up to Christmas.

This year the nativity scene will be displayed well out of the way of little fingers but its really important to me to teach E the meaning of Christmas the way I was taught growing up. Imagine my delight when I was scouring the internet for Little People sets and came across a Little People nativity scene! At $49.95, it wasn't cheap but I had a gift voucher to one of the online stockists so I couldn't resist buying it for E.

E loves his little people sets and seems to be at an age where he likes sitting 'playing' with them so I can't wait to pull this out with all of our home decorations and explain the scene to him and set it up like mummy's. I feel its a lovely way to share the Christmas message each year with him as he grows and it really makes him a part of the decorating and decorations with his own special piece to be responsible for.

How far along? 13 weeks 

Maternity clothes? I bought some dark navy maternity jeans/jeggings from Jeanswest last week. I won't be wearing them for a while given how warm it is here but I expect they will get lots of wear come April. Best part? They were 40% off. 

Stretch marks? My magic potion is finally here! All the way from Singapore. My mother in law picked me up some tubes of Mothercare Its Your Body Stretchmark cream while in Singapore as we can't buy it in Australia anymore. Turns out its popular there too as she had to do a special order for it. The sweet almond oil smell is amazing and its such a beautiful cream. I used it during last pregnancy too and it kept the SMs at bay so hoping for the same result again.

Symptoms: I'm exhausted ... completely drained. It doesn't seem to matter how much I sleep, I wake so tired. The hot weather the past few days also seems to be activating my nausea but other than those minor complaints, I'm great!

Sleep: Apart from a few crazy vivid dreams (don't ask), I'm sleeping pretty well.

Have you told family and friends: Yes! 

Miss Anything? Fetta cheese on salads, good champagne and having a social glass or two of wine with my sis/mum at weekend lunches.

Movement: I'm sure I  had fluttery feelings again before bed last night but I'm really looking forward to them starting properly and Scott feeling them.


Best moment this week: Our 12 week scan. Seeing our uncooperative little bug on screen, arms crossed over its face was very cute and hearing all was tracking well and developing perfectly is the best news.  

Food cravings: Still cola drinks and frozen fruit plus pasta now as well.  

Anything making you queasy or sick: Just the heat I think.


Have you started to show yet: Some days more than others.

Baby is a: I'm still guessing girl and Scott says boy of course.   

Belly Button in or out? Innie - can't see that changing at all again this time.

Wedding rings on or off? On and there to stay for awhile.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Very very happy but also a little stressed/on edge where things are making me teary or upset easily but I'd say this is more down to our weaning than anything else.

Looking forward to: The tiredness passing!

As I've posted before, bloggers, instagrammers, facebook users, tweeters ... are all accused of only sharing the perfect moments of their lives so here goes with my ongoing confessions to a not so perfect life:


Ethan watches TV ... 'watching' might be an exaggeration but he does like to have ABC Kids on in the morning for background and a little bit of In the Night Garden before bed.

I rely on baby food pouches when all else fails and E is refusing anything I put in front of him. He sucks those things down the way I enjoy(ed) a glass of wine after work.

You can often find E running around the playroom or yard 'nakey' or in just a nappy on a Saturday afternoon. Its hot, he's messy and I get sick of the washing.

My sheets have sat in the laundry all week waiting to be put through the wash. Lucky I have 5 sets... this may also be why I'm so slow to get around to washing them.

It took 2 days for the dishwasher to be unpacked this week. Lucky I have a lot of dinnerware and cutlery too.

I'm not above bribery ... if 'tanas (sultanas) get him to lay still for nappy changes then Ethan can have 'tanas to his heart's content.

I haven't flossed at all this week and have only washed my hair once.

I left my bins out after rubbish collection for 2 days ... well actually, I can blame Scott for this as its really his job to bring them in.

I look forward to silence in the car on the way to work some mornings and press ignore if anyone calls me some days. Sometimes its the only peace I get for the week.

I have feigned an 'important' task (think bathroom stop, phone call ...) to avoid changing E's dirty nappy when S is around. I don't do this often but just admitting I have done it - only when S is around and its still changed straight away.

We eat frozen veggies for dinner as much as we eat fresh ... those Heinz microwave steamer bags just make life far too easy.

I ate 2 Twix ice cream bars for dessert last night and KFC for lunch yesterday.

It took me 6 weeks to remove and repaint my toenails - I just kept painting over as 'touch-ups' during that time.

I have sat on the floor and cried while he is crying ... sometimes those tantrums all get too much and push me to my limits as well. Tears are cleansing and cathartic.

I am THAT mum that has to check on Ethan regularly while he sleeps to make sure he is still breathing. I have been known to even give him a little poke to be sure ... thankfully I think I've only woken him twice maybe.

I watched this season of Big Brother (and I was sad Tahan didn't win). I love some reality trash and since we cancelled our Foxtel (soon to be reinstated through TBox), free to air reality was my only option.


That's just a few  in the interests of 'keeping it real'.

E started daycare this year and has the most lovely educators. Even through drop-off tears he will still put his arms out for either of them which of course warms my heart.

So with Christmas coming quickly and my love for buying gifts, I have been on the hunt for the perfect gifts to say thank you to E's educators for taking such good care of my boy.

I just can't ever go passed Glasshouse candles and the Christmas scented 3 pack is ideal ... because there are 2 carers and 3 candles, I get a little gift too :)

How far along? 12 weeks - baby is the size of a peach with vocal cords forming.


Total weight gain/loss: probably a kg but no real idea.

Maternity clothes? No maternity specific wear yet but my wardrobe choices are definitely shrinking and I have to pick stretchier options now. 

Stretch marks? Mother in law is back with my Mothercare stretchmark cream ... all the way from Singapore! I adore this stuff for its smell, texture and of course for the fact that it kept SMs at bay last time.

Symptoms: tired, so very tired but not sick or queasy anymore and my skin is finally clearing up after an awful break out, the likes of which I haven't had for years.

Sleep: I am averaging 8 hours a night with some wacky dramatic dreams thrown in and I'm managing to avoid getting up to pee a million times by avoiding water in the lead up to bed time and just holding on (good pelvic floor strengthening I figure) but I'm literally busting come morning wakeup.

Have you told family and friends: We certainly have and as a result, have been told of a few other pregnancies also ... I won't be alone on mat leave!

Miss Anything? Not really other than a good sav blanc at the end of the day.

Movement: Last week I'm sure I felt flutters but I haven't felt that sensation again. I'm looking forward to them starting soon.

Best moment this week: Hearing bub's heart beat racing on the doppler at my midwife checkup. Truly a magical sound.  

Food cravings: Cola, coke, pepsi... I cannot get enough but am trying to limit my daily intake and be sensible.  

Anything making you queasy or sick: I'm off meat but that's not really surprising. I'm not a big meat eater of any kind at the best of times and my sensitivity to its taste and small seems heightened in pregnancy. Nothing to worry about as my iron levels are excellent thus far.


Have you started to show yet: I am definitely bigger but still at that awkward stage of looking like I ate too much at lunch.

Baby is a: I'm guessing girl but only based on how different the pregnancy has already been so far... its going to be a loooonnnng 6 months to find out :)  

Belly Button in or out? An innie - its really deep and didn't pop last time so I'm not expecting it to this time either.

Wedding rings on or off? On - I'm hoping the swelling and fluid retention from my PE that claimed me last time stays away.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, so very very happy and blessed that we were given this second little miracle.

Looking forward to: Our 12 week scan is Tuesday so I'm more than a little excited about that!

Only recently, Scott and I, at the urging of my mother in law, have once again recognised our need for regular date nights. We always talked about them and we know they are important but when you're working full time and a parent, most nights you want to have quality time with baby, eat dinner and go to bed. The last thing you can feel like doing is getting dressed and heading out! We also value every moment with E as we are away from him for work and so prefer to do things that we can include him in.

With baby 2 joining us a little sooner than expected, mother in law has insisted we concentrate on some quality couple time and make the most of it while we can. We are very lucky in that both sets of parents are more than happy to watch E for us and have him stay over but we are always conscious of how often we call upon them and not abuse it. E has had 3 sleepovers now with MIL and is according to all reports, an absolute delight. I figure she must be telling the truth or she wouldn't be so keen to have him as regularly as she requests.

Only last weekend before Scott's parents went away, they insisted on having E and us having a date night. I have to admit, I was a little bit excited when Scott suggested we take advantage and go to the newly opened Hurricane's in the Soul building at Surfers Paradise for dinner. We have both eaten at and enjoyed Hurricane's in Sydney at Bondi and Darling Harbour so were eager to see how that translated to the Gold Coast.

It was a disastrous start to the afternoon with me breaking down on the way home after dropping E off thanks to a faulty petrol gauge. Luckily Scott had finished work and was able to come and rescue me with a gerry can.

I admit, it was lovely to shower and get ready without having to amuse and entertain a toddler underfoot and it was a novelty to chat in the car about this and that on the way to dinner without having to break into Dr Knickbocker.

The restaurant is beautifully located on the first floor beach side and has a similar fit out to its Sydney counterparts. The service was prompt, we were quickly shown to our table and drinks orders placed - sparkling water for me sadly. Being a Grill, the menu emphasis was steaks, BBQ and ribs so I went with the beef skewer and Scott couldn't say no to a full rack of pork ribs. Neither of us were disappointed with our choices - the food was hot, tasty and well presented with a wait long enough for us to know it was fresh but not for us to get hungry. Scott even went so far as to say they were the best ribs he had tried! Although a little pricey, it was well worth it for service and food and we have already made a booking to go with friends for Scott's birthday in December.

Unfortunately I can't vouch for the dessert menu as there is a Baskin Robbins in Surfers and nothing beats a Sunset Sherbet scoop for me!

I have to say, the restaurant was stylish, the food was great, but the best part of the night was getting to just talk and listen uninterrupted to Scott. It made me realise we really do need to commit to regular date nights as its that one on one time together that makes our relationship strong and gives us the solid foundation to get through those days and weeks where sleep is out the window, work is stressful and E is having a Wonder Week. Those days are only going to get harder (and better) with another little person in the mix so now is the time to strengthen those foundations of ours.

Its also reminded me that its so important not to lose your romantic relationship in the midst of raising children. A close family friend who went through divorce after 2 children and 20+ years of marriage once told me she was blindsided by her husband's request for divorce and her best advice is to always work on your relationship because otherwise the kids become your life and when they're all grown up and moved on, its too late, there is nothing left to work on.

And here are some pics of E hamming it up for his Granny and the camera during his sleepover -