Day 181 - Copycat

After reading Simon's blog about the grout cleaner He was using, I decided to give it whirl. I have to say I'm a bit grossed out by the results. The product seems to work well, you can see the difference between the colours, but the fumes are pretty bad and it sure does burn my girlie hands.

Day 180 - Wardrobe Design

Today I tried my hand at Wardrobe design with the hopes of creating what I want for Maddie's new closet. This design was made on a website called easyclosets.com and took a lot of fiddling to get it how I wanted it. Hopefully I can convince Nathan to make it this way for me, I mean Maddie as I think it would be so much more useful than what it is now. So far I have only managed to empty the top shelf in here, and am very fast running out of other places to put things as Nathan hates throwing things out. It will be difficult finding homes for everything that we are going to need to move in order to do the extensions.

Day 179 - Dinner

Terrible photo again today, I just couldn't get a good one. I am going to have to go back to carrying around the real camera. Tonight we had dinner with Mum, Amy, Adam and Kylie at royals. Maddie can now say Amy which is pretty cute, but the highlight of the night was Maddie pinching mums dinner. She was eating so fast that it was like she was worried Mum was going to eat it all before she could have more. It was so funny!

day 178 - Awwww

Being a Mum really is the best thing in the world, tantrums, dirty nappies, sleepless nights and all. Now that I am home most of the time with Maddie I am really appreciating how much she is changing and how fun she can be. It seemed that while I was only doing 20 hours a week, while I was back working I was always running, trying to keep up with everything. Now that I am getting my health back after a crazily bad run, I am enjoying being at home a lot more than I thought I would. Maddie is getting into that super independent, I know what I want, and I WANT IT NOW stage, which is a challenge, but also so incredibly funny.

Tonight she pulled the apples off the bench and as I told her no, she bit into one as fast as she could while I raced to stop her. I couldn't not laugh, It was right before dinner time and she had already had most of two different apples already today, but she wanted that apple right then and there! I have never seen her take a bite of something so quickly, as if to say well I've started it now what are you going to do? I am starting to think she has an addiction to them, and they now have to be kept out of her reach. I never in a million years thought that I would have to put apples up high. I suppose I could have taken it off her, but its fruit, it just seems wrong to not let her eat it, and i couldn't enforce anything as I was too busy laughing.

Maddie also had me giggling while we were shopping, first at Aldi, when she pointed to all the cool things and said Daddy, then when we got to a vacuum cleaner she shouted Mummy and pointed to it. Why cant I have something cool too? At Woolworth's, when we were loading the car, she was saying "Bye truck" and waving as it passed, then I pointed to some sparrows, which she then said "Yummy, Ta, Yummy" at the top of her voice, she really wanted to eat those birds. I substituted with a muesli bar, but I don't think that was what she really wanted as she was still saying yummy when i mentioned birds later on.

Today's Photo is of Maddie looking at the photo of me nursing a baby lion in Phuket, she was hugging and kissing it saying Mummy, when I came out of the shower. Totally made me tear up and go all mushy! It is so hard to imagine Maddie being 3, let alone a teenager, but gosh, she is growing up way too fast. I have to say that so far this age has to be my favourite. Maddie you are so much fun and WAY too cute!

Day 177 - Strange

I was hunting for my sewing machine today after Nathan tidied up while I was sick over the weekend and couldn't work out where he had put it. Turns out it was in plain view in the bottom of Maddie's display cupboard. What a strange but, yes, tidy place to put it. Thanks for letting me spend most of Saturday in bed, I really was sick!

Day 176 - Fun

Nathan frequently falls asleep in the chair, and after years of yelling to wake him up I've changed my tactics. It's a lot of fun attacking him with one of Maddie's flowers, well at least I think so. He certainly doesn't appreciate it, Nathan is such a grouch when he gets woken up from a chair nap.

Day 175 - Bler

So I am sick, in a throw up all day kind of way. Aside from looking at a bucket, a sink or the toilet all day all I have done is take a photo of Nathan's back now his bandage is off. Thanks to Simon for sharing his meds, it's nice not to be throwing up anymore!

Day 174 - Disaster

I thought it was time to return the Morgan's dessert glasses today after having them for ages. I thought I would try an adaptation on mums banofee pie, using crumbled biscuits as the base. Unfortunately the middle layer didn't set so it was a sickly gooey dessert. I will have to try make it again in a few weeks.

Day 173 - Major Surgery

This morning Nathan had his two cysts removed. The surgery took a lot longer than I expected it to, so I got a little nervous and called the hospital to check on him rather than waiting for his call. Nathan was very sore tonight and we discovered that he can't wear his mask. I wonder if any of us will sleep for the next week.

Day 172 - Turtle

Today I ducked in to the cake shop at Majura to get Grace a turtle shaped cookie cutter and couldn't help myself, so I bought Maddie one too. I'm really looking forward to making fancy shaped food for Maddie.

Day 171 - Grace

This morning we walked down to riverside plaza with Leah and Grace. While Leah was waiting for her coffee Grace played with my sunnies which she seems to love. I have to say I really enjoy Graces attention, especially when we talk about turtles. It is so cute how much she loves them.

As I was taken out by a migraine this afternoon this is the only photo I took all day. I had planned on a trip to Bunnings to get some sealant for the rocks around the paver's and to finish cleaning and moving the furniture. Hopefully the weather is as nice tomorrow so Maddie and I can workout side.

Day 170 - Projects

Tonight I pulled my new sewing machine out of its box and did an interesting job hemming Nathan's track suit pants. I suspect I need pins next time I plan to hem anything, but I didn't stitch the legs together so it can't have been too bad a job.
Now I'm hunting for sewing projects and thinking of things that we may need. Maybe the sewing machine will get more use than I expected.

Day 169 - Plane Spotting

This afternoon we went to Costco where I, believe it or not, purchased a sewing machine. Yep your eyes aren't failing I really did do it..
After shopping we took the girls to watch planes and Grace spent ages hanging out with me in our boot while Nathan and Simon chased Maddie around. I wonder why she has to run off all the time, although it was great to have her use some of her energy. The photo is of the girls hanging in Leah's boot with Simon when we were ready to leave. Maddie wanted to stay in their car with the boot door closed and not come home with us. Luckily at the moment Maddie is obsessed with her dummy so I was able to bribe her out

Day 168 - Lunch

Today I cooked lunch. I know it doesn't happen often, so I had to take a photo to prove it. Lunch was a chicken breast stuffed with pesto, sun dried tomatoes and Camembert then rolled in pistachio daka on a bed of Caesar salad minus the bacon I forgot to buy.. I was impressed with how it worked out but then mum was helping and supervising to make sure I didn't ruin it.

Day 167 - Addiction

This week Nathan bought us a coffee maker, despite us not actually being coffee drinkers. I was banned from coffee early on in our relationship after he first experienced me after having a coffee. We were driving to Melbourne one night after finishing work and it was cold, so when we stopped at Yass for a bathroom break, Nathan went through drive through to get a hot chocolate only to discover they didn't do them in drive through (yet), so he got me what he thought was the next best thing, a flat white. Well caffeine and I don't mix well, it makes me hyperactive, jittery and super awake. So from just after Yass, all the way to Kim and Jac's in Melbourne I talked at warped speeds, despite Nathan often asking me to stop talking several times.

The coffee machine makes pretty good hot chocolate, and with enough milk I am learning to like the decaff coffee and the weaker flavour we have. Night one Nathan picked up the strongest coffee and the hot chocolate and we had to try both. After spending the previous night up with Maddie, the couple of mouthfuls of coffee I tried, with a lot of added milk meant that I could function enough to do the books, and stay up way too late watching t.v. Since then, I have had to use the machine a couple of times a day, not that I normally drink hot drinks, but at the moment I just love them. Must be the new appliance obsession, I wonder how long it will last.

Day 166 - I'm Sick

Maddie woke up well today, I wish I could say the same for me! Needless to say it was another quiet day at home for us.
Maddie's passport application... How exciting!

Day 165 - Maddie is Sick

Last night Maddie came down with a stomach bug which kept us up for most of the night. I don't know how Nathan functioned all day at work today. We spent most of today in bed as Maddie needed to be attached to me constantly and she was so miserable. She perked up tonight in time for Nathan to get home but has woken twice all ready and now I'm feeling unwell too. Hopefully it passes over night.

Day 164 - Karyn's Birthday Balloons

OK... Balloons, wind and Maddie certainly make for a challenge. To say in the least!! Karyn doesn't like to celebrate her birthday but we thought some balloons and flowers were low key enough that we would get away with it, and we did, but I do wonder if that was because Maddie walked in with the balloons, and Karyn laughed when I answered that they were a nightmare to get.
Customer service at Sparties was dismal as always but the balloon choice was pretty good I thought. Then getting them to the car. Wow between the wind and Maddie I am amazed they aren't floating around Canberra. I tried to put them in the boot but Maddie pulled them back out. Then I decided to just put them on the back with Maddie but the person who parked next to me parked super close so we had to get in from the other side of the car. Now that's a challenge and a half with helium balloons and a toddler. Was all fun though and I think Karyn had a good day for her birthday.

Day 163 - Entertainment

Maddie sure loves Graces company, although I am not sure that she is getting any better at sharing. I love the photo of Maddie sitting on Grace while she was trying to get to the iPod to help colour in. Both girls also enjoyed a bath tonight using the bath crayons to colour it in. I don't think I've heard Maddie laugh so much as she did tonight when the girls were splashing with their legs in jelly on a plate style.

Day 162 - Catch up

This morning we all caught up with Lucy and the girls and Bron too. We met at the Mawson club, which we discovered has excellent facilities for little kids. Maddie loved playing with Melissa and Gemma and we were able to relax and enjoy our cake and mocha as the girls kept Maddie entertained.

Day 161 - Cementing

I don't think that my hands have ever as much as they do right now. They are grazed cut and so dry that I can hardly straighten my fingers, but we managed to complete cementing in all of the rocks around the paver's today so it makes it worthwhile. I am pretty excited about having the paver's finished off and all of the outdoor furniture out back where it belongs.

Day 160 - Visitors

Tonight, Cass, Glen, Hunter and baby Mackenzie popped in for dinner, and as we were all wanting to eat at the same time I pulled out a rocker for Maddie to sit it. It seemed that Mackenzie wasn't all that keen on the rocker as I think she lasted about 2 minutes in it, which is very similar to the time that Maddie spent in it as a baby. Tonight Maddie seemed to love it though as she sat in it quite a bit.. Gosh Maddie has grown a lot when you see her in something that she should have used as a baby

Day 159 - Zoo Day 5

Another gruelling night at work in the warmth of our home tonight for Nathan as he added more to our ever changing Zoo. I think the top half is now finished except for staining and the decorative slab to go on the front, although I am not convinced that we shouldn't put in a little shelf on the top. I am also now thinking that a shelf might be handy on the middle as well to hold in some of the smaller teddies. Thankfully chief builder and designer can work these things out. We are up to screwing the back on the bottom, adding a little shelf below and trying to decide what to put on the front of the toy box, whether to go with barn like doors, a drop down door, lower the front and keep with one piece, or keep the same height like the rest of the toy box. I am sure poor Nathan is exhausted, but he seems to be enjoying it, and I am loving watching the progress of our idea's develop into something we can use. For the time being this will live in our lounge room, and eventually its home will be in the play room we are planning with the extension.

Day 158 - Play Doh

Today, like every Wednesday, seemed super busy. With our late, lay ins that Maddie seems to enjoy getting ready for swimming lessons in half an hour is quite a challenge to start the day off. Today we also went shopping and watched the planes out in the freezing wind for a while before coming home for us both to have a nap. It seems that while I finally feel better after that month of being unwell, I still tire a lot more easily than before, but at least today I didn't need my inhaler.
While we were out shopping I remembered to pick up some play doh for Maddie to try out. As she is waking from her naps miserable and crying for most of the afternoons at the moment, I am eager to try anything to cheer her up and make the afternoon speed up. Maddie loved the play doh, though not the taste, as it immediately went straight to her mouth today. I am not a fan of the smell of the stuff, but I did try to make Maddie a little red turtle, which was dismantled very quickly. I think Nathan enjoyed playing with it as much as Maddie though.
I did learn today the importance of keeping the screen door locked tonight, as when I went to run out the door to meet Leah I found her standing on the front step with the screen wide open. Thinking that she was just pulling into the driveway, I screamed with fright to see her standing there. Hopefully I didn't squash Graces chalk.

Day 157 - Bed

Maddie and I were playing with her monkey teddy that we picked up at Mogo zoo, and I thought I would try it out putting it to bed in one of Maddie's baskets with a blanket over the top. Well, Maddie didn't like this idea nearly as much as climbing into the basket herself. The basket was way too small, and no matter how hard she tried she could not fit, herself, the monkey, the blanket, a book and her crackers in with her. She did enjoy playing in it for ages though, Maddie sure does seem to like getting into small boxes.

Day 156 - Slave Driver

We discovered today that either Nathan really liked building this zoo or I am some kind of slave driver. After a long day at work Nathan came home had dinner and pretty much went straight to work. We decided slats were the best way to go to divide the frame and Nathan cut and stuck those down.. Then he started on the side... Well it was trouble!!! One pailing in particular just would not cooperate. But persistence paid off and now one side is on. Poor Nathan hasn't been up this late on a work night in ages.

Day 155 - Zoo Work

This weekend Nathan started on his ever growing list of tasks that I would like him to do, completing three on Saturday and one today. Unfortunately I added another 5 things to his list over the weekend, so I am sure he thinks that it is never ending.
Today he started making the Zoo for Maddie's teddies to live in, it is a fabulous idea that Leah found on Pinterest, but the company doesn't export them over here, and they are only small, so we decided to make our own. The girls enjoyed hoping into the frame to check if it was suitable for the teddies. We realised when I put most of the teddies in there tonight that it is way too big, so we are thinking of building a toy box into it this week, and having the teddies up the top so Maddie only has a few out at a time. I am definitely looking forward to the flexible bars going on and the dividing bars in the middle so that I can keep the teddies tidy.

Day 154 - Lazy Day!

Other than helping Nathan load up the Ute for a tip trip and a visit to Bunnings and to visit Mark before he goes away, we really didn't do much today other than look at pinterest and try convince apple TV to work. No matter how hard we try it just seems to find a new way not to cooperate, I still love it though. Maddie had her first breakfast in bed today as she seemed to wake up as cranky as I am in the morning. I hope she stays more like Nathan and wakes up happy like she normally does.
The first photo today is of the sandbox I am Hoping to convince someone to build for Maddie and the second the most amazing deck I have ever seen.. Love at first sight Both found on pinterest

Day 153 - Visitors

Today April and Thomas, Cass, Hunter and Mackenzie popped in for a visit. I think every time I see Mackenzie she gets cuter and today I even got tiny baby cuddles.