Blogtoberfest - The last day

Well once again Blogtoberfest is over today and I have to admit I did very poorly indeed.  I started off well but fell by the wayside just over half way through.  Seems to be my limit.

I'm afraid I had more posts planned but I had a couple of really bad days followed by a week with my sister from the UK and I didn't want to waste any of the time we had to write a blog post.  She left yesterday and now it is back tonormal around here.  Well nearly.

The kitchen is still not finished (only small things left to do) and it is starting to annoy me.  We have the final inspection on Wednesday so R and I need to go round tomorrow and make a list of everything we think isn't done right. 

My little sis J spent two full days of her visit with a paint brush in her hand (bless her) and we were able to finish off two rooms and get half way through a third which is great for us.  Now to try to polish off that one and at least one more before the in laws arrive on 3 December.  We had originally hoped to do a further three rooms but I need to be realisitc as there is not much I can do.  I managed about 2 hours of painting before my body said I had done to much and although there is not much left to do in the room that will become Jots we still need to do a number of things that I can't do alone (like the ceiling). 

So I am starting to focus less on the paint job (that will be R's job to worry about) and more on the soft furnishings for Jots new room.  I am thinking of getting some girly fabric and some embroidery hoops and making hanging art that way, then we can change the fabric when she wants to.  I also want to make her a book sleeve but need to refind the tutorial which I bookmarked some time ago. 

After Jot has moved rooms we are on to the nursery.  No idea about this yet as I haven't even started the babies welcome quilt and don't really know what colours to choose.  No idea on gender of baby (although I am starting to sway towards Blue) so don't want to pink it.  Then again I don't really want it to be green or yellow either so I might just blue it regardless - I think that is what we ended up doing with Jots nursery in the old house.

My Christmas Plan is coming along well.  I am about to organise a baking day at the end of November to stock up the freezer with cookie dough and cakes ready for the silly season.  As well as making some foodie christmas gifts.  Hoping to rope in a friend or two to join me so the kids can entertain each other and we can catch up. 

I also have a list of things I have to make before Christmas as well as another list of things to do and shop for but I have a feeling that some (or possibly all) of those lists will not happen.  I am getting very slow now and with only about 7 weeks to go I am feeling very ready for a break.

Finally, I hope you have a happy halloween tonight.  Are you doing anything?  We are planning on a quiet night in and have a bucket load of lollies in case we get any trick or treaters (doubt it as we had none last year and I ended up eating all the lollies).  Have a good one.

Jotsmum

Blogtoberfest Day 19 - The Move

I am soo very very very glad to be home.

The move itself went well.  I actually didn't have to do anything.  I packed at the unit and then R loaded the car, drove home (dropping Jot and I off at Mainly Music on the way), unloaded the car, cleaned the rooms we were using last night, washed out the fridge and collected us from the train station.

We have discovered one or two little downsides to moving back mid renovation:

1) Dust everywhere
2) No kitchen (R has set up a temporary kitchen in the garage but I am thinking that takeaway food sounds so much better at the moment)
3) No laundry machine - did finf the nearest laundromat though so will need to take a trip on Saturday to start on the mountain of washing I have
4) No ensuite - well it is all there but the tiler hasn't finished and so we are not sure quite how water tight it is - luckily we didn't renovate the bathroom this time so we can at least have a shower.
5) No power to half the house

So far the plus side to the renovation is that we are able to use the indoor toilet (Thank you God).  Although as R pointed out the new placement of the door means that if we leave the toilet door open (which those of you with a toddler will know is sometimes not your choice) the neighbours can see you!  Once the ensuite is fully functional this will only be a problem for the youngest member of our household and as she is used to toileting in public I doubt it will bother her much for a while.

I was very pleasantly surprised to have the stone workbench for the kitchen fitted yesterday (after being told it was likely to take another 2 weeks) so I am now a little hopeful of a functional kitchen in the next 10 days.  Please keep your fingers crossed for me.  I do love the new kitchen though it looks very swish and with all these slow closing doors and drawers I can see a lot of fun ahead for us all.  Jot has already marked one drawer for hers so that will be our plastic drawer - why has she chosen the largest one?

Before and After Photos will follow but unlikely to be part of Blogtoberfest.  I just doubt it will all be finished in time as we still need to paint.

Blogtoberfest Day 18 - International Shopping

Getting in a day early as I know I will not get a chance to post tomorrow as it is MOVING day!

I am all for shoping handmade and ideally locally so when it comes to birthday presents for my wonderful family who live across the ocean I am sometimes stuck for choice.

I know about
Etsy - Mostly USA but also worldwide
and
Madeit - Australia

But now I have found
Notonthehighstreet - UK
and
Toggle - NZ

Edited to Add from Comments:
Folksy - UK
Oz Handmade - Australia

This should make Brithday presents easier to purchase. 

I will be AWOL tomorrow but will be back to regular programming on Wednesday (I hope).

Blogtoberfest Day 17

Help

I am drowning in packing.  I got so distracted by it this morning I forgot to check my fasting Blood Glucose Level (which is the most important when dealing with Gestational Diabetes).  I have sent R and Jot off to swimming with a full car to drop off at home on the way back and come to work.  A much more peaceful way to spend the day.  However I know how much we have to get done tonight as we have to be out of the serviced apartment by 10am.  No lie in for me tomorrow :)

Timing of leaving the apartment works quite well though as we have Mainly Music at 10am and while Jot and I are participating R can take the full car home and empty it.  Then all I need to worry about is a day of unpacking and organising and trying to figure out how to live without a kitchen (oh and where we are going to sleep).  I have demanded that the washing machine is plumbed back in (chances are a little slim) as I have no idea where our nearest laundromat is (although I am hoping for one to magicaly appear on our local shopping strip). 

I think the nights are going to be interesting as Jot has been on a cot mattress on the floor for the last 8 weeks and over the last week we have found her on the floor next to it more often than not.  I am hoping going back into her single bed will mean that there is more space for her but also think that she is going to fall out of bed a lot over the next week.  It will be nice to see how she goes in her own room again too.  I have loved having her close by BUT the fact I wake with every little squeak means my sleep is getting severly disturbed. 

I am looking forward to my bed and hoping I can actualy sleep in it this week - we haven't decided where we are going to be sleeping yet as I think we are planning to decorate the master bedroom before we move back into it.  Fingers crossed for my bed (whereever we put it).

Blogtoberfest Day 16

Another day and another titleless post.  I just have no idea what to call them at the moment as they really are just my ramblings.

I decided on this skirt to knit for Jot.  Ok I didn't decide Jot did as she saw in the picture that it was purple.  It is actually kitting up quite quickly.  I am on the middle tier already and really want to get this finished in the next week but I know that won't happen.

Tuesday is moving day.  We are moving back to our house after 8 weeks living in a serviced apartment in the city.  I have enojyed the convenience of the flat being closer to both R and my work but living in a one bedroom flat with a 3yo is trying at the best of times, throw in an over tired and emotional pregnant mum life has proven to be interesting.  I am looking forward to being back in the house surrounded by my things (even if they are in boxes) but I am not looking forward to the fact that the renovations are still not complete and we will be living without a kitchen until they finish (and I have not been given a finish date yet!).

On the plus side we will have space again and that is what I am looking forward to most I think.

My sister arrived from the UK a week today and I am so excited to see her.  I saw her last February at her wedding (blimey that can't be the last time I saw her can it!) and although she is flying solo this time I am so looking forward to catching up with her (and hopefully getting some free babysitting).  Jot is excited too and that is great.  We have plenty of work planned for her though and the poor thing will be living in a building site - hope she doesn't mind too much.

Little Sis is with us for a week and then I have an extra day of work before heading back for two and half weeks until I go on Maternity leave.  I can't really believe that it has come round so fast, yet on the other hand I am desperate for it to be here.  I am (as you may have guessed) a bit over the pregnancy this time round.

My planning for Christmas has hit a snag.  I got distracted by everything I have to do before the baby arrives so I have made an executive decision.  This Year is going to be able the kids.  If we don't already have a gift for the adults (and I have made one or two) then they will not be getting one.  I am just too tired and time shy to do the shopping.  R is in charge of the Christmas Dinner ( I will be in charge of the newborn :) ) and my Mother in Law has agreed to make us a summer pudding for dessert.  All I need to do now is to make a plan for the baking etc that we usually do during December for gifts and see if I can't allocate some to Grandma time and step back completely just to supervise :).

Blogtoberfest Day 15

I did think about this post over the last couple of days and have been wondering trying to decide if I post about it or keep it private.  I know R believes it should be kept private but if no one talks about it there is always going to be stigma about it and that is not right.

I am talking about Antenatal (and Post Natal) Depression.

I suffered with PND after JOTs arrival for about 12 months and it is actually what got me back into sewing and blogging as part of my recovery.  I had 12 months of counselling and still don't feel completely free of it.  The long and short of it for me was the disconnection I felt to Jot.  Don't get me wrong I never wanted to give her back (except maybe at 3am) but I didn't feel that first rush of love that you are always told about when about to become a new mum.  I just felt like we were in a bubble, the problem was we were in different bubbles.  I breastfed for 20 months and during the first 11-12 months it was the only time I really felt connected to her.  I am thankful for the support of my family during this time (as much as they could provide being overseas) and especially for the way R has always thought about how I am coping when planning anything.  I also am grateful for the support of the Melbourne City Council who provide free counselling for struggling parents as well as a great Movement and Music program and the Maternal and Child Health Nurses who noticed something wasn't right.

For me it is I think linked to my sleep patterns so I have better days when I have a had a good nights sleep, it is also linked to my socialisation and I realise that there is no way I could be a SAHM (and I admire all of you that are) as losing my identity as an individual and just becomeing JotsMum was a shock to me and I really struggled to link what I had been to what I had become.  Going back to work and making connections online helped enormously and gave me an outlet to be me again (not the old me but not just Jots Mum either).  People were interested in me as a person rather than as an extension to Jot.

Anyway when we decided to try again I was expecting a long journey like we had with Jot (in total it took about 4 years of trying to get my gorgeous girl).  This time round though we were surprised by a positive test on our first month of trying.  A great surprise but quite a big one to get my head around.

With the speed that this all happened, the morning sickness, the getstational diabetes (and of course the insulin), the stream of overseas visitors (which have been a bit of a blessing) and of course these renovations it is not surprising to me that I have been struggling lately.  About a month ago I walked home from work in floods of tears for no apparent reason (or not one that I can remember) and I made a decision to do something about it NOW before baby arrives.  I am terrified of suffering PND again as this time it is not only me and a baby I have to look after but Jot needs me too.

So I did some research and am now self referred to a research program being run by the Parent and Infant Research Institute run out of Heidleberg.  I start the first of 8 weeks of congnitive therapy on October 24.  This should mean I finish up just as the baby is due to arrive.  I already feel a bit better about it all just knowing that I am doing something about it.

Now I am also putting it out there to everyone who comes by to read my musings.  I hope it doesn't change peoples opinions of me but to be honest if it does I hope they ask for more details.  It is not something to be hidden away and if my talking about it brings just ome more person to seek help then I have helped. 

Blogtoberfest Day 14 - Whoops Nothing to see

Only remembered I hadn't posted at about 11:30pm last night and by which time I was in serious need of some sleep.

I therefore decided that Day 14 (nearly half way through) could be considered a failure.

Blogtoberfest Day 13 - Christmas is coming

The goose is getting fat.
Please put a penny in the old mans hat.
If you haven't got a penny a ha'penny will do
If you haven't got a ha'penny then God bless you.

Every year around this time someone says to me that Christmas is coming and the little rhyme above pops into my head.  I love it and had to google it today to see if I could find its origin.  It seems to me it should come out of a Dickens novel but it seems to be an old English nursery rhyme popularised by The Kingston Trio and also by John Denver and the Muppets.

Well I opened my blog reader today to be reminded that it is only 10 weeks till Christmas and that organised people are well on their way to planning the holiday.  I have to say at this point I am not one of them.  I thought that maybe I should try to get more organised this year as we will have a new arrival just before Christmas and it would be nice to have everything ready to go before I go into hospital for the birth.

So I am using this great 10 weeks to Christmas plan from Planning with Kids as well as one or two posts from Organized Christmas they have some great printable checklists to help etc This site is American so you will find that in some cases everything is finished in time for Thanksgiving.  A little confusing to me but the checklists are still very useful.

So tonight once Jot is tucked up in her bed I plan to plan!  I want to get a basic 10 week plan down on paper taking into account all the visitors we have coming, the move back to the house and of course everything I have to get ready for the baby.  Oh boy I really do need a plan.

Are you planning for Christmas?

Blogtoberfest Day 12 - Simple Living

Well so far I only have one link in my kids section but lots more in my Simple living section so I am posting these today and will hopefully get round to adding more to the Kids section before I post it on Friday.

Simple Living

Homemade Ricotta
Homemade Yoghurt
Yoghurt secrets
Homemade Soap
Preserving
Home Management Notebooks
Olive Oil Soap
Lotion Bars
Insect Repellent
Furniture Polish
Deodorant

Blogtoberfest Day 11 - Sewing

Yes I know I am late again but here is the current sewing list  of starred items.  I will be adding to this as and when I get time to go through the remaining items in my starred items and of course all those bookmarked pages on blogs I don't usually follow.

Sewing

Wallet to Tote
Mini Tent
The Pea Pod Carrier
Kids Teepee
Hostess Gift Box
Co-worker gifts
Car Caddy
Bedtime Storybook Caddy
Fitted Crib Sheet
Panel Curtains
Two Handed Pot Holder
Binky Leash (or Dummy Saver)
Plenty of Pockets Tote

blogtoberfest Day 10 - Cooking

I went through some of my starred items in my reader and once I got over the fact that I have nearly 500 starred items.  I didn't get through them all this weekend but I do plan to finish them in due course.  I think I will add them to this list and book mark this list in the side menu on the off chance I will get a chance to actually try some of these recipes.



Cherry Sherbert
Watermelon Granita 
Ice Coffee
Rhubarb Cobbler 
Milky Way Cake 
Red Velvet Sheet Cake 
Cinnamon Rolls 
Grasshopper Pie
Homemade Ketchup
Pumpkin Pie
Three Cheese Mashed Potato Casserole
Hot Fudge Sauce 
Texas Sheet Cake
White Choc and Macadamia Cookies
Christmas Cookies 
Baked Beans 
Cranberry Orange Coconut Cookies
Taco Seasoning 
Rainbow Cake

As you may be able to tell the Pioneer Woman is a huge inspiration to me.  Shame I never get round to trying any of the recipes :)

Blogtoberfest Day 9 - All caught up

I love weekends as it gives me a chance to catch up from the week and in this case catch up on my Blogtoberfest posts.

I have decided that I hate smoke alarms.  Yes they are a valuable piece of life saving equipment BUT seriously when they run out of battery does it have to be the middle of the night when you don't have another battery in the house.

Since 5:25am this morning the smoke alarm in the bedroom of the 'special' house has been beeping every 24 seconds - yes I counted it.  It has been driving me nuts but funnily enough both R and Jot slept through it.  In fact R is still sleeping through it (or at least hasn't got up in a huff to stop it).  Jot woke at her usual time and then came into bed with me for 10 minutes so I could put my hand over her ears to stop the 'bell'.  She was scared to leave the bedroom, didn't realise that the bell was in the bedroom.

So high on our shopping list this morning is a battery for a smoke alarm.  Not sure how we are going to replace it though as it is right over our bed and the ceiling is too tall for either of us to reach just standing on the bed. 

BlogtoberfestDay 8

We don't have foxtel at home (and are not planning on getting it) but while we are in the 'special' house we have foxtel and as there is nothing on TV tonight (that I can settle to) I thought I would channel hop Foxtel and I have found Lifestyle Food and more specifically 'Ace of Cakes' and 'Cake Boss'.  Both of which are dedicated to decorating cakes.  Wow there are some amazingly talented people out there.

So I am now being inspired to make a cake - problem is Jot has just had a birthday and mine is the next one that comes around where I will be 37 weeks pregnant.  I think I will have to try to keep this inspiration for Jot next year unless I find another reason to bake a special cake between now and then.

Chances of a special cake being made - slim to non existent - but a girl can dream can't she?

Blogtoberfest Day 7

I have an excuse for not posting yesterday evening to ensure I caught up as was my original plan.

I moved desks at work yesterday and although I was really careful about lifting and moving things I think I did too much.  It took 3 hours to move 3 people and then I had to unpack my own desk and get it sorted.    I was fine till the walk home (usually takes 20 mins) but suddenly mid walk I started to hurt and itjust got worse and worse. I even had to call R to come home from work to put Jot to bed as I couldn't get down to her level (she is sleeping on a mattress on the floor in the 'special house').  I also rang the ob to check all was ok and he seemed to think it would be but if it got worse to go in to the hospital and he would meet me there.

Luckily it seemed to settle down a bit after some panadol.  Back this morning but another dose of panadol will send it on its way.

So I really will catch up today as there isn't much to watch on TV tonight.  I just need to make sure I don't overdo things again today.

Blogtoberfest Day 6

I'm a day late already - how is this happening?  Actually I know how it happened I went home expcting the laptop to be there and R had taken it to work so I couldn't post.  Now I am playing catch up and I hate that :(.

I haven't got very far with my lists for next weeks posts either but I am working on it.  Hope to get some time over the weekend.  Who am I kidding I will need to delay knitting to get it all done.  I have however decided on my categories for next week.

1) Cooking - Monday
2) Sewing - Tuesday
3) Kids Stuff - Wednesday

Ok that is as far as I have got at the moment so I still need two more lists for Thursday and Friday.  I need to get my thinking cap on.  I might split the sewing one into two as I know that I have far too many of them bookmarked.

Blogtoberfest Day 5 - Knitting

I am about to start a new project (which knowing my track record will still be on the needles in blogtoberfest next year).

I want to knit Jot a skirt.  She wants Purple and White and she has already chosen the wool.  I have the needles I just need to find a pattern.

Ravelry is my favorite location for patterns and so far I have narrowed it down to two.  I really need to be careful about how long it is going to take me to knit though.  I want something that is actually quite quick and simple.

Twirly Girly Skirt  - I love this one and I think it great taht it can be knitted up in the round and also in other yarms - I might try this in a bamboo cotton for summer

Twirly Skirt remix - This one I really like because it is a closer fit and I think that is lovely on small kids.  Luckily Jot will fit the remix size.

I have downloaded both and I am looking for some opinions as to which to make first - I know I wil probably end up with both but until I know the gender of the baby my knitting is limited to Jot. 

Other knitting patterns currently in my ravelry To Do list are:

Monster Chunks - I love these and I really must knit some - BUT want to get the skirt done first.
Bloom - This one I have been meaning to make for an age but I am still a little initmidated by it.

Blogtoberfest Day 4 - Mainly Music

Tuesday is fast becoming one of Jots favorite days (and mine too if I am honest) and is is mostly down to a group just started at our church.  We have just started a 'Mainly Music' group. 

Our church (St James Old Cathedral) is in the heart of Melbourne right next to Flagstaff gardens within easy reach of public transport (Parking is not great due to some building works but spots on King Street open up at 10am) .  It was just round the corner from our old flat and when we moved we just prefered to stay with the congregation we knew well. 

So back to our Mainly Music group.  It is run by us (a group of around 5 volunteers headed up by Jenny our choir director) who take turns each week to do various jobs to make the session run.  All of us have pre school children as the group is open to anyone under the age of five. 

It only started three weeks ago and so far only with members of the church as we wanted to iron out the teething issues we may have (just one or two so far) but we open our doors to all comers next Tuesday 11th October.

It is an exciting venture for us as not many people even know the church is there let alone that we have a great kids music group like this.  Jot has a blast and to be honest I use it as a bargainning chip to get her into bed on a Monday night (for some reason she is particularly reluctant to go to bed on Monday).

The program is very simple:

10:15-10:30 - Arrival
10:30-11:00 - Music Program
11:00-11:30 - Morning Tea and Playtime

Although today we got distracted chatting and didn't leave till midday.

The music is great and is very catching.  There is one song about dancing feet that I am still humming to myself now (5 hours later).  I took some photos the very first week but can't get at them - I might add them later if I remember.

It always exhausts Jot and that is not an easy feat any more and she is usually asleep by the time we have finished at the market afterwards.  The group is such fun and event he adults get a bit of a work out.

If you are in Melbourne, have preshcool children and want to join us next week please pop along.  All we ask is a $5 donation to the running of the group (all money raised is put back into the program) and some smiling faces.

If you would like to come along please contact Matt Williams (03 9329 0903 or info@sjoc.org.au) as spaces are limited.
I hope to see someone new there.

Take care
Jots Mum

Blogtoberfest Day 3 - A plan (maybe)

I really enjoyed doing my week long series last year on simple living and really wanted to have a plan this year for something similar.  Something I can post about without a camera.  I have to say I haven't come up with anything yet - But I will so expect a series of some sort towards the end of the month.

Instead I have another plan.

Are you like me?  Do you read 150+ blogs on a daily (or almost daily) basis?  Do you see hundreds of things you want to cook, sew, knit, try?  Do you bookmark them and then promptly forget what they are (or worse where they are)?

Yes - I thought so.

So my mini plan for this month is to review all those posts I have bookmarked (or starred in my blog reader) and

a) make a list here
b) action them (this might need to wait till I get back into my house with a working kitchen but I can try).

This will be next weeks plan as the first thing I need to do is to look at them all and categorise them.  According to my blog reader I have over 200 posts starred and this doesn't even take into account those I have bookmarked elsewhere.  This may take some time.

Blogtoberfest Day 2 - Royal Melbourne Show

Its only day 2 and I am behind already but I stick with the theory (as I did last year) that until midday it is Day 2 somewhere in the world and therefore it doesn't matter I am a few hours late.

We spent yesterday at the Royal Melbourne Show (so tempting to put Royal Norfolk Show - the agricultural show of my youth) and I have to say that tired does not begin to explain how I was feeling when we got home.

Pregnant ladies should not spend 5 hours in the sun pushing their three year olds around in the buggy - they should be pushed around in their own buggy for 5 hours :).

We had a great time.  Jot loved the animals and was running round like and idiot when she saw the cows and the sheep.  She sat quietly on our laps to watch the horse jumping but wouldn't sit through the monster trucks (too noisy Mummy).

The queue for the showbag pavillion put me off completely so I got to sit in the sun with the buggy while R took Jot in and magnificently came out 25 minutes later with two bags and a pair of fairy wings for Jot.  By the time he came out the queue was twice the size as when he went in.

We caught up with a couple of R's mates who were working at the show this year and although I looked for ladies I knew at the CWA canteen I didn't see anyone I knew.  Probably all hard at work behind the scenes making scones.

I have to say it was a great way to pass the day and the only thing I will change in the future is NOT to let Jot fall asleep in the car on the way home (a bit hard as we had to go via the house so it took twice as long as it should have) as she was up till late  Maybe a good thing with the daylight savings change.

So one very exhausted Mummy, a tired Jot and R who wanted to stay longer :)  A very good day.

Blogtoberfest Day 1 – What to talk about?

Day 1 of blogtoberfest and already I am at a loss at what to write about.


As I have no plan yet (might try to figure that out tonight) I thought it might be a good idea to follow up my pregnancy vent of the other day with some things that I am enjoying right now (in no particular order).

• Jot and her incessant demands to knit. At three I am not sure how to get her started so any ideas would be gratefully appreciated. We tried one of those French knitting bees and she never got interested in it. Presumably because it is not like the knitting I do.

• The never ceasing movement of this baby. I know he/she/it is well as I am constantly being pummelled and it more than makes up for the rest of the stuff my body is going through at the moment. We are still at the stage that as soon as R places his hand on the bump all movement stops which I find incredibly funny but R can’t remember the same happening with Jot.

• My gorgeous hubby R who is taking on more and more of looking after Jot (when she lets him) so I can get some more sleep, have a bath, throw up or just sit on the couch and put my feet up.

• Time to think. We are currently living in a serviced apartment in Southbank as we are renovating our house. Everything is packed and although I really want to be back home I am enjoying the short walk to commute to work (and Jot childcare) and the fact that I am not surrounded by my stuff. That sounds silly as it is what I am starting to miss BUT as I don’t have my sewing machine here I can sit on the couch in front of the TV and design quilts, think about maybe starting my own business, names for the baby (really not getting far on this one) and just generally having time to think without the constant pull of 101 UFOs.

• Family – My fantastic Mum went out of her way to find a new ‘Daisy’ comforter for Jot when our Daisy decided to jump out of the buggy and go exploring around Melbourne. So about two weeks after we lost Daisy she returned having visited grandma in England

So although I have a number of days each week when this pregnancy sucks there is much for me to be grateful for and the good certainly outweighs the bad.