motorbike...

E has had a fantastic day!Ben got the motorbike going this morning so she could have her first ride....my in laws have a motorcycle and small engine business and so sent 3 reconditioned bikes for the 3 girls (E and our 2 nieces)E was off and soon worked out how to increase the throttle speed even though Ben had adjusted it down so it would only go slow! We were wondering why it kept speeding up as she was going around the paddock!Ben had a lot of fun too!Our youngest niece came over for a ride on her bike as well!Now she is out swimming in the pool...Ben is yet to get the heating fixed...the pool is fully enclosed with fly screen to keep the leaves etc out and provide sun shade but it means it is cold so we have pipes on the roof to solar heat it...it needs some repairs...

A couple of kid's birthday parties to go to this weekend so pretty busy here...can't believe it is December tomorrow...I must get out that tree too and get E decorating while we are waiting for this baby!! I am guessing she will just arrive on December 5th or 6th now! So all good here if I could just shake this cough and cold...I hope you have a great weekend planned -Lissy

39 weeks....

Well I was hoping not to be here posting at 39 weeks...but I am...so here is the bump...my friend Susan says the baby is obviously not bored enough yet to come out! I had an appointment at Ob today...I had taken E along as she has been asking to go...but we got lost in the queue so it was a long wait...I was so tired and frazzled that I do not even know how much baby has grown...probably better off not knowing being that she was already 7 pds two weeks ago...but all is well so just back to waiting!

Other news...E had dance concert last night...no good pics on stage as no flash photography...but she had fun and did very well...she was very excited so it is amazing I got her still for a second to get any photos! 3 costume changes...crazy!

All the stage shots are blurry like this one!
She did her own impromptu encore after the last item...they were all running off stage and E ran down to the front of the stage around the curtain as it was closing and bowed and waved to the audience! The teacher had to come and get her off! She seems to be a bit theatrical!

Ben is flying back from Tasmania tonight..so has not missed the baby! The Ob seems to think the baby will just come on time like E did! And I still have a bad cold and cough so it is probably just as well there is no baby on the scene yet!

There was a market day at school today...the older kids had stalls selling things they had made, face painting and so on...E really enjoyed it...she bought some biscuits, a braclet and had her face painted...and still had change from $5! I bought some kangaroo paws which are now looking very nice in a tall vase!

So that is it for now - Lissy

already this week...

...things have been busy....

After the car club came to visit dad's collection (about 20 cars and probably 40 people turned up) Sunday, Ben finished cleaning the pool and E had her first swim for the summer...

..it is too cold for us so Ben will have to get the solar heating going!

And we went up to my Aunt and Uncle's house for tea as my cousin's wife was over from Melbourne...E had fun looking at tadpoles and such...
Yesterday Ben took off to Tasmania for four days training...so hopefully this baby will stay put for a few days...

Ben's dad has a motorcycle and engine business and sent us two little second hand four wheeler bikes for the grand kids to ride...E was trying it out even thought it had no fuel!I did manage one thing on the weekend...a button tree...but now need more pins and couldn't find any yesterday...sold out!
Last dance practice for E yesterday as the concert is this Wednesday night...Swimming and such today...

I am sick again...cold and cough...so is E...hope we can shake it before the baby arrives...so that is it for now - Lissy

dad....

...we think of him and miss him everyday...today would have been his 71st birthday... and it is very hard to think he is not here....he was such a great dad and loved the kids....family was very important to him...and so we are a close family

The car club are coming today...a kind of memorial run...to see all his cars and tractors and such...

The kids could always ride in the cars, truck or on the tractors and play on the ploughs and other bits...and E spent a lot of time helping him in the shed...as did the boys at the farm...They loved spending time with him and Dad loved being with them too...

Dad hated having his photo taken but I never took any notice and kept taking them - I am so glad I did as I have lots of photos...but we would sooner have the real thing...Lissy

and after....

A slow process....being that I need to sit down and take rests all the time....hot day here and I am feeling it...but I have cleaned my work space...

Still a few bits there but very clean for me....I always seem to have a few little piles of odds and sods that do not have homes...and that I keep there in case I need it....and ideally my tins of tools and utensils need to be hung on the wall some day...but if you look at the before pic on the last post you can see a BIG improvement!!

So now what...well time permitting this week I plan to scrapbooking wise:
A...work on E's birthday album
B...do some more pages in the baby's birdie album
C...start a big sister album for E ready for photos when the baby arrives

and craft wise:
A...start button Christmas tree decorations (the button ones like Ali Edward's made)
B...make some foam ball decorations using fabric...saw these somewhere too...but cannot remember where...I should be more diligent about noting things down
C...decorate the baby's Christmas box....to hold her decorations...E already has one...very simple one I made last year....and sewing wise:
A...a sleeping bag for the baby
B...a dress for E
C...booties for the baby

I need to clean my sewing table a bit too but it is not too bad at the moment!

There is way too much really on my list but at least it is a plan!

We shall see how I go...but really I am hoping to be otherwise occupied with a newborn instead!

Off out side now to water my garden...the retic is off so I am hand watering! Lissy

waiting...

Still waiting for the Baby to make an appearance....

E found a spider in her room today....so before Ben rehoused it they had a good look...it was eating a bug!

And Sharon is mistaken if her desk is chaos!!! This is chaos....I am now cleaning up as obviously I can't move to do anything!!
Other than that today...we have been to vote in our Federal elections.....and I have been cleaning...Ben is fixing the tractor...and E is now playing in her clean playroom! Lissy

cucumbers....

...are growing in our garden! E loves cucumber so was very excited to find some under the vines yesterday!And some fabrics arrived in the post today....These for some doll's bedding and such....from hightown fabrics on ebay... and for some Christmas projects....from eQuilter.com in the USAAnd Sharon popped in for a coffee today so I got her to take a photo...is this the last one??? Hope so!! Other wise we will be back next week with 39 weeks!And it is HOT here today...36C...or something so we are hiding out inside...hope you have a nice weekend planned - Lissy

oh dear...

...whatever possessed me to try and make some Christmas decorations this afternoon when I am feel less than average I do not know....I thought these were simple...and they are...but mine have turned out pretty wonky! I tried to hand stitch and it looked like E was having a go at the sewing...lol...so then I machine stitched...a little better but they are all wonky....I think I should just go and lay down! LESSON - do not attempt creative things when feeling very tired and worn out and plain rotten at 38 weeks pregnant...oh well...here the masterpieces are...lol...
I have a few other things I am hoping to tackle but shall have to wait until I am more with it! Lissy

when.....

"When is Baby coming????" E has been asking every day since her birthday! We have been telling her for months that it would be her birthday, then Baby will come and then Christmas...it is now a bit hard for her to understand that we do not really know when Baby will arrive! I have told Ben the baby's name....he is not overly keen but I hope it will grow on him...as I can't think of anything else!

I spent the morning at school today to help out in the class and take photos....it is great to see how much all the kids are learning...and it is all as they are interested and ready (as is the Montessori way)...so a fabulous way to learn for young children! They choose what work they do each day and the teacher also gives them individual lessons as needed.

E was very busy today....E started painting a ceramic Christmas ornaments, made bread to eat for morning tea, did some writing, and some work on beginning sounds, played outside, read books, did puzzles...and so onAnd that is all for today - Lissy

home again....

Ben turned up in a taxi on Sunday morning about 11 which was great :) He had been waiting on standby at the airport and got an earlier flight as we had not expected him until about 6pm!

We are at nearly 38 weeks now...so any day now...here is a bad photo (no flash) of E and I at home today making lunch...I really must get some more photos of E, me and the bump!My Canon 350D died on the weekend...so top priority today was to go and see about getting it fixed! First of all I found out it would take 4 - 6 weeks at least...panic started to set in...then it would cost about $300 and then it probably need a new shutter and other things....basically I have taken so many photos ( about 50, 000) that I have worn it out! So in the end we decided it was cheaper to get a new body...so I am now the very happy owner of a Canon 400D....early Christmas present ... and I cannot complain about that! Haven't really played with it yet...but I will!

But here is E at dance this afternoon! No editing on this photo...
Ben and E had fun on the trampoline tonight before bed...need to look at the camera settings...a priority for tomorrow in case the baby arrives!

So that is it for today - Lissy

party...

Well the birthday party was a great success...pony rides and plenty of space for lots of kids to run around....didn't actually count how many came but there was at least 30! They all had lots of rides. Mum iced the cake...the horse on it is actually one she has had in the cupboard for 30 years....it never made it onto a cake for my sister and I! All in all everyone had a good time including Evangeline which is what it is all about! And the weather was great...so here are some photos...click on the pic if you want to see it larger!
Ben just called and he flies home tomorrow! Pity he missed it all...can't think of much else as I am pretty tired so off to bed - Lissy

four...

Here she is...our four year old! Bit of a strange expression on her face! Lots of photos and details mainly for Ben's benefit as he is still at sea somewhere south of Bali heading for Dampier!

She loves her new lego....
The new pram and baby doll are very popular...ready for her to be a "mum" when the baby arrives...
Grandma gave her a little key board and she has been entertaining us ALL afternoon...

And she "wrote" some of her own music!

I made some cupcakes to take to school...E's teacher Naomi does this wonderful story about the earth going around the sun...and the child growing up...
The birthday child get to be the earth going around the sun (the candles) and each year the teacher says what she can do...up to their current age ( crawl, eat, walk,ride a bike, write their name and so on)
and then they sing happy birthday...it is fabulous.... Montessori education really is fabulous for E!

So happy happy birthday to our darling girl...party tomorrow! Lissy

it has shrunk....

I think our bed has shrunk...I was sure it was a queen size but now it seems more like a double...lol...with me , the bump and the body pillow...I do not know where Ben will fit when he gets home!

My rings are now on a necklace around my neck as my hands have swelled a bit with the hot weather...so I am wearing what I call the pregnancy ring which is a large antique ring about 100 years old that both my sister and I have worn when pregnant!

My bags are packed....ready for any quick trip to the hospital...E was born only 50 minutes late...she was due on November 15th but arrived at ten to one in the morning of the 16th...so I am figuring this baby will come sooner than December 5th!

But she cannot arrive before Sunday when Ben gets home....or from November 26th - 29th as Ben will be away in Tasmania....and the Obstetrician goes on holiday on December 6th...other than that I do not mind!

I had an appointment today with the Ob....Baby is now 3.2kg...about 7 pds I think...which apparently is spot on...but considering E was 3.45kg (7 pds 8 oz ) when she was born that it seems rather large to me! She has grown a kilo in the last two weeks and I am not really keen on her growing another kilo! No photo today as she was hiding again!

Hope you are all well and happy - I am but tired...and a bit grumpy too - Lissy

dress rehearsal....

Last night E had her dress rehearsal for the dance concert in a couple of weeks....it is all pretty low key really but they were still pretty cute! I cannot believe the teacher managed to get 20 little kids on stage dancing! And they mostly did very well! My camera battery died so I only got a couple of photos...and not very good ones...I am hoping I will still be on board in two weeks to go to the real thing!



Not much else happening around here just a few party preparations and hoping Ben might get home sometime on the weekend...we are now at 37 weeks...and still waiting for the new addition to our family to arrive!

Hope you are having a good week - Lissy

phew.....

A little bit hot here at the moment....37C yesterday and up to 39C today...but then cooling off to about 30C for the rest for the week hopefully!

Mum has been going flat out in the garden...even in this heat...and it is all looking so much better...tidying up generally for the party and so on too...it won't look that fab to other people...but to those who have seen it recently it is great...it was all very over grown and a lot of weeds and such...so now it is looking pretty orderly...

Went to a double 4th birthday yesterday for two of E's little friends...she chose her dress...I bought this on etsy...from Kinchi...and she looks great in it...superbly made...and they had face painting at the party too...hot but a nice day out... This week is busy with party preparations, dance dress rehearsal and so on!

Hopefully Ben will be leaving Singapore today...but still won't be home until Sunday or Monday I think...so he will miss E's birthday...he hasn't been to one yet! But that is his job...gone 5 weeks...home 5 weeks...give or take a bit all year...but we are cutting it fine with the arrival of the baby!

I have made a couple of bibs...for Imogen...to go with the booties...bib pattern free from Nested
Mel has tagged me but need to think what to write!

And that is about it! Looks like thunder storms to the north...off to dance now...too hot really but dress rehearsal is tomorrow night!

Lissy

our week so far...

OK so Ben is still up in Singapore...and so they wont have the boat back to Australia until next Thursday or so...and he may have to stay on a few days....he was due home Tuesday next week....

He has complained that I have not updated my blog...so here it is :) Nothing terribly exciting mind you....

Monday....nothing very exciting just around at home...stuff like sorting out the plastics to see if all the lids are there, cleaning, ironing...thrilling stuff!

Tuesday...Melbourne Cup.....mum brought some yummy lunch over and we watched the race....and we all had naps...this is E read mum a bed time story...

I also had a spider incident.....I squashed a big spider on my head when I was letting the dog out of the kennel in the morning...YUK! It was at least 1" or so...it's body that is....We really need to get this place sprayed as they are everywhere at the moment...there was big one in the bathroom the other night too....and they are all around the pool and garden and inside...YUK!

Wednesday... a few jobs around here, mum was over and then my friend Jo came for tea..I tried out this new recipe...easy and tasty...I didn't have quite the right ingredients so substituted a bit but still tasted very nice!

spicy chicken and rice

2 T olive oil
4 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin removed
salt & pepper
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t ground chipotle pepper
1 large orange pepper, diced
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/3 c raisins
1 1/2 c jasmine rice
2 c chicken broth
mango chutney (optional)

1. Sprinkle chicken thighs with salt, pepper, cayenne, chipotle, cinnamon and cloves. Heat oil in a large dutch oven and add chicken, browning each side for 5 minutes.

2. Remove chicken and add in onion, orange pepper and garlic and saute until soft. Add in raisins and rice and stir until rice glistens. Add broth and then return chicken to the pot, nestling each piece into the broth and rice mixture.

3. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until chicken is cooked through and rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Serve with mango chutney and steamed vegetables.

edited to add....this is from Everybody Loves Sandwiches.. I have no idea what chipotle pepper is, I didn't have sultanas so used currants, and I didn't have cloves or cayenne so threw in some Chinese 5 Spice...and it tasted good...E even likes it :)

Today....breakfast with Sharon at Menu in Guildford....yummy food and nice to catch up.....Sharon will be at the Subiaco Craft and Community Fair, Sunday 11th November, 2007, Mueller Park, Subiaco (Next to Subiaco Oval)...so drop in and say hi....

E was very tired today...so after much hard work I managed to get her to have a nap and so did I! Usually it means she will go to be later but the last few days she has been tired and grumpy so we shall see!

And here we are at 36 weeks.....I can't bend or do much now which is frustrating! I am sleeping better but still tired! Despite all that I am excited that our baby will be arriving soon! So is E....I have a name picked out...but I have not even told Ben as he will tell everyone...lol...but I will tell him soon...he has no ideas...I had Evangeline's name picked out too....and it was the only name we had!So that is it for now...need to get on and do some more gardening around here and general tidying up....well mainly mum will be as Ben is still away and I am not very useful at the moment....it is Evangeline's birthday party next week and then the weekend after we have the car club coming for a "shed run" a kind of a memorial thing for dad to see all his stuff...it is still very hard to believe he is not here anymore...it has left such a big hole in our lives...we miss him every day....Anyway that is it for now - Lissy

this weekend...

A rather nice weekend here...after being very windy all day yesterday ..we had a nice warm sunny day today....

Yesterday we had breakfast with my friend Jo...and E made a toast face for me...I had been telling her to spread out the jam and she then explained what it was! Mum came over in the afternoon so I could sleep.

I made a pair of Bitty Booties from Heather Bailey's blog for Imogen who visited yesterday... and a bib but have not photographed that yet...both very easy so I will make some more...

Today I stared working on E's curtains again....I have nearly completed one drop...had to applique on 9 butterflies and now I'm constructing it..then two more drops to go...I have procrastinated so badly on these!

Then we went to a birthday party for one of E's friends from our mum's group... note E is wearing the skirt I made last weekend!

And I made the EASIEST pasta for tea and it was DELICIOUS...if you like tomatoes that is! From Mirror Mirror blog....and a good pic there too...here is her recipe....

Spaghetti with Cherry Tomatoes
Set the water boiling for some long thin pasta, such as spaghetti or linguine.
Take a punnet of sweet, very ripe cherry tomatoes - thin-skinned ones work best - and cut each one in half (a serrated knife is always best for tomatoes, I sometimes use the bread knife). That's the most work you'll have to do.
Put the pasta on to cook before you start the sauce (yes, it's that quick).
Take a large frying pan and heat up a generous splosh (about 1tbsp) of good olive oil. Peel a clove of garlic, halve it and fry it in the hot oil until it turns golden brown. Remove the clove of garlic. If you have garlic-infused oil use that instead and skip this step.
Get the flavoured oil really hot on the highest heat and add the halved tomatoes. Take care as they will sizzle and spit at this stage. Keep frying them on a high heat until they collapse and melt down into sauce, prodding with a wooden spoon helps. Stir occasionally to stop them sticking. Season with salt, pepper and half a teaspoon of granulated sugar unless the tomatoes are very sweet. If they've turned into a sauce before the pasta is ready keep cooking the sauce over a gently heat to keep it warm but don't overcook. If you're feeling fancy stir in a handful of chopped Italian parsley at the end and give it time to wilt.
When the pasta is ready stir it into the fried tomatoes adding a tablespoon of the pasta cooking water. Add another generous slug of olive oil (not garlic oil this time).
And that's it. It doesn't need cheese and you really mustn't remove the skins. They're the best bit.

So a good weekend really though I am still tired and grumpy! Have a good week - Lissy

my nights....

for the last few weeks they go something like this....

this was last night....

9.11pm...hit the sack....a bit later than usual...

1.58 am wake up....tick tcik...2.24...tick tick...2.55....tick tick....3.15....tick tcik....3.46....tick tcik....4.05....tick tick....4.26....sleep.....

5.15....wake....sleep.....6.44...."Wake up Mummy, it's morning time..."...and every other morning this week she slept til 8 am due to day light saving...oh well..at least she did not wake up at night too like she has a couple of nights this week!

Some nights I get up and do something...others I try and lay there and get back to sleep or get up and have a drink...

This really is driving me NUTS! I do not need practice as sleep deprivation!

oh and we both have coughs and colds...yippee!!

Anyway today we are off out for breakfast with my friend Jo...it is very windy....and then I hope mum will appear so I can have a sleep! And there is a nice post below of E playing with baby Imogen...Lissy

practising to be a big sister....

Here is E today playing with my friend's baby, Imogen...I think she is going to be a great big sister when our baby arrives...they came over for afternoon tea...Imogen is now 9 and a half months old! And very cute!And here is the 35 week bump...not very interesting to most of you really but more for Ben when he is away...he is usually gone for 5 weeks so there is lots he does not see...like the bump getting bigger!I am not enjoying sleepless nights...I really do not need practice for when the baby arrives...I had a quick visit to Alli's this morning to take her some stuff...and picked up some party stuff at Spotlight...I did not even look at any fabric! And Mum came for tea tonight...and that is all for today. We have a few things on this weekend but maybe I will do something creative too - if I get any sleep - Lissy

5 weeks...

5 weeks to go until Baby is due to make her appearance... I had a check up at the Ob today and she is now 2.5 kg...she was hiding so the scan isn't very clear.....it is her side profile...amazing to thing that in a few weeks she will be joining us!

Ben is in Singapore as the boat had to be taken up to have some work done on it at a shipyard up there....

Mum has been mowing my lawn...E has been running riot as usual! I have been tired and grumpy!

Off to visit Alli tomorrow and to get a few things from Spotlight for E's party...

And then it is the weekend! Hope your week is ending well - Lissy