Half a Rodent!

Yes Beth has teeth!! A scarey thought for any breastfeeding mother... Believe me when she bites you'll all know about it! Yes even you Grace over in Ireland!
She got the bottom right tooth first and then a few days later the bottom left cut through. I hadn't really given it a thought but boy it must hurt a bit when they come through the skin. Yes she has been a bit grumpy but she does look very cute with the bright red cheeks and startling blue eyes.
Speaking of startling blue eyes.... couldn't resist putting this picture on!

Selfish or Essential?

It's not that I'm lonely or bored in any way, but I do crave adult conversation and company at times that doesn't involve babies! I think it's the guilt free non-baby time which is the hardest to achieve. I love going to the movies with friends, hanging out singing karaoke very loudly in a new subdivision with the windows open....thanks Gazza and Shazza!!

It is these moments that make me feel like me again and not just a wife and mother. I think that is why I have really enjoyed getting back into my running...because it's all about ME for a change. I spend the majority of my day doing things for my family so to get away and only think about me and do what I want to do.... is LOVELY!!

Definitely essential for me! Time out keeps me human.

Murphy's Law

I have been training for the last couple of months to run the 10km Round the Vines race in Martinborough on the 16th of March. The training went really well with both mum, dad and Dave looking after Beth at various times so I could run off to pound the pavements. I felt well prepared....

However over the last week or so Beth has been unsettled some nights, I thought she may be teething, but who knows? No teeth yet anyway. So you can imagine my dismay when she decided to have an unsetted night, the night before my race! Dave did his best to shoulder the load of getting up to appease the beast, but as every mother knows you can't sleep through your child's crys, as much as you may want to!!!

Then just to top things off my body decided to throw the monthly curse at me! I had a decision to make, do I take up the foetal position and whimper beneath my duvet deciding bed is a better option for the day or do I crush Murphy into the ground as I get up and prepare for the event I have been training so hard for? You know me.....

So as I took my place at the starting line I looked around wondering if anyone else had had 5-6 hours of broken sleep and had breast fed twice already that morning?!?

I was still determined to achieve my goal of running it in under an hour and.....I did!! 56 mins and 29 sec to be exact! Take that Murphy!

Special thanks go out to my lovely husband who did star jumps and shouted encouragement in the middle of the Martinborough School field (by himself!) and then proceeded to run 300m beside me (pushing the stroller) telling me I was almost there. What support! Though he did complain later about having sore legs...

Dave and Duvets

Is this normal? Has anyone else ever seen anyone put on a duvet cover like this? Or am I the lucky gal who has nabbed the one and only duvet burrowing male around here?

We have discussed the different techniques there are to putting a duvet cover on and this is the one that Dave believes is best. Now, who am I to say he is wrong? My way is not nearly as entertaining, so I am more than happy for him to continue the butt up head down technique for as long as he likes.

Date scones and the linen cupboard

I remember when I was teaching that I used to have these weird little homely fantasies about having time to clean out my drawers, sort out the wardrobe, bake a cake etc... Well yesterday I did it! I cleaned out the linen cupboard and finally got rid of the fitted sheets that no longer fit. I also made a batch of date scones, much to the amusement of my husband.
Hmmm I obviously have too much time on my hands.... well must go, I'm going to clean out my drawers.

Innocence

This morning as I was watching my daughter play, I started thinking about the beauty of her innocence. As far as she is concerned the world is a wonderful place that consists of boobs, toys, mum, dad, grandparents and people who give her loads of cuddles.

My protective instinct is well in place as my heart breaks with the thought of her getting emotionally or physically hurt. I guess the biggest thing to learn as a new parent is to step back and let her learn by her mistakes but to always be there to guide her, teach her good values and give her plenty of opportunities to discover the world and everything in it.

If all babies had this kind of start in life would that mean that there would not be evil people in the world? Or do bad people turn out to be bad anyway, despite being brought up with loads of love?

Shark Infested Waters

House Hunting! This is a scarey yet exciting event. I think I get excited looking at the different property websites and then realise I am looking at houses WAY out of our price range. But there are some properties that sit there not selling that look really good....but why aren't they selling? I am told it is definitely a buyers market at the moment which is good, but we do have to sell a house before we can buy another one!
It's the real estate agents that put me off, I really appreciate the ones that show me through, give me a call a couple of days later and then leave me alone. I think they are hard to find. If it's a buyers market I bet we will be like the fresh meat being thrown into the shark infested sea, the real estate agents will be fighting for a piece of us!
Anyway we are viewing our first property tomorrow so wish us luck!