AKA The Pizzlets

As promised from the other day here were the efforts from Amelia trying something new.  Before you all gasp in horror…I spied her about the crawl up the first step and called Mum over to watch that she didn’t fall while I snapped these.  I am confident she can climb but not enough so that I’ll just leave her to it! 

At least now I know we need the baby gate…it was sitting there, in the box for such a long time.  I was wondering whether we were ever going to need it!

Well it was a busy afternoon for Amelia.  I am not in the least bit arty…best you’ll get from me is a poorly drawn stick figure so you can imagine my enthusiasm when trying to encourage Amelia to play with crayons!  I did give it my best effort but, alas, Amelia shows as little interest in drawing as me!  There’s still hope for her yet (well sort of – Adam isn’t any better at the art either). 

After gnawing on a few crayons (lots of fun getting the little pieces from her mouth) it was time for a nap.  She was most certainly not sleepy today and decided she only need a 40 min nap!  All was well for the first shot but once she saw me it didn’t go well…and then, as with all babies, she turned off the waterworks and started grinning.

Can you imagine adults crying and having a tantrum and then stopping with the click of a finger?!  How exhausting and stressful…no wonder they nap!  Not content with having a paddy she started to threaten me with gnawing on her bed…uh oh, better get her out of there.

Now, awake and recharged, it was time to destroy the nursery!  First pull all the toys off and dump them in a pile…then, on to the books.  She didn’t yank out all the books so I guess she found what she was looking for. 

It’s funny that she goes for one of the oldest things in the room…the books Jim and I used to read when we were younger.  Meg and Mog are great books and super colorful but, after a time of looking at them, your eyes start to play tricks on you.  She obviously likes them and I think that perhaps I should get some more for her. 

So that was my afternoon…well a couple of hours of it at least.  I’m so tired!  My bed is calling….

Another great week has been and gone and although the weekend was a washout all was not lost! 

I had some fun experimenting with Amelia and her food…you may (or may not) be surprised to hear that the girl loves olive tapenade!  Very sophisticated.  I was reading an email from Catherine at Weelicious who said to try olive tapenade…I thought that the worst that could happen was that she’d spit it out.  No chance of that, she hogged it back.  My Mum was even surprised and later confessed that she thought I was ambitious to even attempt it.  I have to question myself now…have I made a rod for my own back?  Is she going to want creme brulee’s now instead of strawberry yogurt?  Let’s hope not – I haven’t mastered the creme brulee quite yet…I hear Adam in the background telling me there’s still time

I know why I am always exhausted…running after a child that refuses to acknowledge what no means!  Amelia seems to find new and inventive ways in which to *try* to injure herself…this week it was climbing the stairs…more to come on this. 

The great thing about cloudy skies is that there is no worry of harsh shadows, the great thing about a sprinkling of rain…how green it makes everything.  Now that all my Spring flowers from my post below have gone it made me realize that if I don’t get myself into gear I will miss some of the other great flowers out there.  There are lots of wildflowers (and weeds) out right now and they are easy to spot because they are only in areas that have not been mowed.  It was warm out today even if the sun didn’t make an appearance until it was due to set.

I hope you enjoy!

Well I had a fabulous weekend being spoiled!  Adam went all out with a balloon, cake, flowers and…wait for it…a 50mm 1.4 lens!!  Amazing!  With my Mum being marooned over here, I got my wish and I also got to share some of the weekend with her (although she doesn’t appear in any of the pics below).  We had great food (even if I am praising my own cooking hehehehe) – fresh made guacamole, chile-honey glazed shrimp and chicken with a fresh salad, and, of course, nothing could go better with this combo than fresh made Margarita’s – yes, we squeezed over 30 limes! 

My other amazing surprise is winging it’s way to me as we speak which is an Epiphanie Belle Bag for my camera and new lens – thank you Mum and Dad!! 

It couldn’t have been a better weekend than it was – a truly fun time getting everything ready.

I was even taken to lunch today…a ladies lunch AND this evening, Adam agreed to play Scrabble with me.  I must be losing my touch though because he won.  I will say though that he was the one adding up the scores and halfway through I realized he had miscounted a score so perhaps he was giving himself extra points.  I should have been paying better attention but I was reeling from the shock that Adam had agreed to play!

Thank you everyone for your kind emails, cards, phone calls (even my FIL, Joe called me, although I missed it because I was sat outside enjoying the evening) and gifts…you made it a great day and one that I’ll remember for a long time!

Trying not to disappoint, here are the pics from the weekend!  (Don’t think you’re getting away from the camera Betty…I’ll get you sooner or later )  Oh, and no jokes about the fact that my cake looks like it’s on fire…Adam says he chose a small one…there’s bigger ones for the years to come hahahaha!!!!!

I, like many, have been thoroughly enjoying the color that Spring brings.  My Nan always loved her flowers, she would write to me and tell me how her garden was looking…anyone that knew her would agree that there wasn’t anything she couldn’t grow.  The same cannot be said for me…if you don’t believe me come on over and have a look at the garden!  Our favorite time of the year here is when the grass turns brown and matches everyone else’s gardens in the street…during the spring and summer it looks a sight compared to the pruned and manicured lawns all around us.  Joking aside though, the flowers that are out at the moment are amazing and of course I couldn’t resist pulling over and getting a couple of pics of Amelia.  If Nan had been here she would have loved them and I know she would appreciate the thought.

So without further ado…Amelia and SC’s great Spring flowers!

I keep having to remind myself that I cannot take the days I have with Amelia for granted.  They go by in a blink!  Last year I missed out on lots of pictures with her but it won’t be the case this year.  With the help of an ottoman, several dvd cases and a dog ball I managed to get these earlier and considering how incredibly critical I am of any picture of myself I was fairly pleased with how they came out. 

She’s been grinding her teeth so badly today…the sound just makes me start pulling funny faces.  I guess her teeth are really bothering her today!  I wish there was something I could do to take her mind off it.

I was glad to get these happy pics and the one where she’s grabbing for my necklace (and neck)…she’s always going for that and before she clean rips it off my neck I wanted a reminder in case, in years to come, I forgot how I got a saggy neck!

I still find it amazing to watch Amelia when she’s seeing something new or tasting something new…I have to remind myself that although I have already made up my mind about that particular thing, she is only just deciding.  She’s always been a keen eater and loves to try new things.  Today I tried something new in a bid to cheer her up (we think it’s the teething…the kid just can’t seem to cut a break).  I am doing the best I can to give her as much finger food as possible as she’s very independent and wants to do it all herself.  My Mum suggested that I try cheese sticks so I cooked her Baked Mozzarella Sticks courtesy of Catherine from Weelicious.  Once she had fully inspected each bite-size piece she actually warmed up to them and chowed down…shame the pictures don’t show her enthusiasm!

Within the last couple of weeks I have had the two most important and influential men in my life mention that I was still in my pajamas.  Now, this may not sound too horrific but wait…

When you get married you still think you’re as young and careless as all those singles around the pool drinking their cocktails.  But your life is better because you’re not searching and searching for Mr/Mrs Right.  Smug thought but that’s what a lot of people think.  Then you get pregnant and vow not to become old and uncool.  Then you have the baby and being cool or uncool doesn’t matter because, mostly, you’re exhausted.  You sit there and wonder whether you can still pull off certain clothes or hairstyles or make-up now that you’re a mum.  You’re closest and dearest people assure you that of course you can…anything to cheer you up and make you feel like you’re winning.

But, once that year is over, and people have given you that year to get back to how you once were the gloves come off!

I love love love my Juicy terry pants…I have several pairs.  I live at the beach and frankly I didn’t think it was possible to under dress.  How wrong could I be!  One of these men said to me a few weeks ago that it must be nice to be able to wear my pajamas out and not worry about changing my clothes.  So, not only am I scanky because if I can wear my pajamas out, I apparently don’t need to take a shower either, but I am that lazy that I can’t be bothered to put on real clothes…NICE!  The other man said to me the other morning ”Oh, you still have your pajamas on”.  My hair was still wet from the shower and I most definitely had not put on fresh pajamas.  I was wearing casual pants because they’re comfy and I have a kid who plays on the floor (which means I play on the floor) and throws food.

The lesson I have learned, whether or not I can put their comments down to being “men”, apparently you **can** under dress at the beach and once you are all grown up and over 30, terry pants are not something you can pull off in this family!!

Message received loud and clear boys hahahaha

I couldn’t wedge this pic in with all the others from the post before this…here is a great pic my Mum got of my Dad and I.  It bears no relevance to the post other than the fact that we’re laughing (as I hope you are too)…Oh, and in case you’re wondering whether these men may have a point…my hair is wet in this pic!  :)

So much has changed over the last year, including packing to go away for the weekend.  We can now get out of the house with three bags (food, clothes and diapers) instead of the twelve or so that we had prior to the New Year.  We’re back to normal…well almost, I have to lose a few extra clothing items for some of Milly’s but Adam feels it’s a fair concession

We headed to the beach on Friday to spend some time with my parents…my Dad came out for a few days during Easter.  By the time we had said our hello’s and Milly had done several laps of the coffee table – gently holding on and side-stepping all the way round – she was hungry and **demanded** food.  Then off for a bath and then to bed.  Sounds idyllic with the routine we have doesn’t it?  Throw in some temper tantrums (no idea where she gets that from :p ) and dramatically flinging herself on the floor and we’re almost recreating the scene for you.  She’s cutting yet another tooth – that will make nine.  Does this mean that since she got them in such quick succession she lose them the same way?  She could be toothless at seven??

We grilled our dinner and settled in for a movie with ice cream, chocolate and chips to enhance the experience!

Saturday brought a happier baby after 14 hours of sleep…the boys went off to do some fishin’ and Mum and I hung around for an hour while Amelia played and had her breakfast.  Mum made bacon sandwiches and coffee for Baz and Adam and then we went for a walk to the pier to see what they had a caught…a stingray was all.  You would think with 5 or 6 poles they would have been luckier but perhaps us yelling and talking scared them away.  Now I know why Adam never wants me to go with him…it’s too quiet of a pastime for me to enjoy! 

The afternoon was our first opportunity to take Amelia to the beach…and I think we have learnt three things out of the quick wander down there.  Amelia doesn’t like the beach or water, I need some sun and, until I get a tan, Adam should really stay inside so he doesn’t get any darker hahaha.

By the afternoon and a whole day of pictures we were all tired.  I got my first taste of a Mojito on Saturday evening and all I can say is South Beach here I come!!  They are so good, but as I told one of my friends, after you have had a couple you had better get off your stool and check you still have your legs!  They go down way too easily.  We finished off the movie from last night…The Hurt Locker (excellent movie) and, after the boys had polished off a tub of ice cream each, we were off to bed.

Sunday was a repeat of Saturday…the boys off fishing in the morning only catching three stingray   Mum and I took Amelia to the pool where she made it quite clear that whether it’s the ocean or a heated pool, she didn’t like it!  Fair enough…she must take after me.  We’ll try again soon.  She has other things to focus on like walking…she’s so close.  She lets go of the sofa and claps and stands there for a while but then grabs for  it again.  She also mimicked Mum when she said clever girl…perhaps she’ll be more like me after all – a talker!

Whether it was great company, or a totally relaxed setup, we all had a great time and, as we were driving off the island, we couldn’t believe it had only been two days.  The best part, we could do this every weekend all summer long.  But, I think without the company it wouldn’t be the same.  We’ll have to wait and see…