Xmas Shopping - Check!

Hi Dolls,

So it’s been a busy week. Two words – TOY SALE! This was my first year checking out the mid-year toy sales. We usually leave all our Xmas shopping until a few days before Xmas. I always mean to make it happen earlier but the funds and motivation are just never there. It’s just more exciting picking out the perfect present for everyone on a deadline. Shopping and spending all that money at once is quite exilerating! But, now that I have a baby and it will be her first Xmas this year, no one could hold me back! As soon as those toy catalogues were delivered to my letterbox I was all over them! It felt like it was Xmas already! Looking through all the toys I wanted to get for my little girl, Piper, and for my nephews and friends babies it really brought back memories of my own childhood. I remember circling all the things I wanted when I was a kid (which was pretty much everything) and still not much has changed. I love junk mail and still circle everything I want – I mean need. So the list for my little girl was pretty much the same - massive. I also picked out her presents for when she is two – doll house, and when she is three – kitchen and when she is four – drum kit! But shhh… it has to be a surprise! I ended up with a massive trolley at two different stores and had to go back again to the original store for the things I forgot the first time. So I am now all set for Xmas and it’s only July! I feel so organized, I must be forgetting something. All I have to do now is just pay for it – Boo!!

This week, I also caught up with B & L, who are friends we made at our baby birthing classes. They had their little baby (what a cutie!) just 4 days before Piper came along. We had a great time and Piper got a little present as well – a little ittybittyindi ‘confetti’ headband. B made it and has just started her own label – ittybittyindi designs. She is so clever and creative. She makes beautiful, one-of-a-kind children’s garments, accessories and plush toys. They are handmade with a sprinkle of love, a cup of giggles and a pinch of mischief. You can be assured your teeny tot will stand out in the crowd with a wardrobe full of cheeky, cute and quirky outfits from ittybittyindi designs!

I haven’t seen B since our birthing classes and this was the first time our little girls met each other – even though Piper slept through the whole thing! We swapped birthing stories (shocking!) and it got me thinking back to when I was still pregnant. The minute anyone heard I was pregnant, the nightmare pregnancy stories came out to play (double shocking!) Seriously, no one wants to hear the bad stuff before you are about to go through it and have a baby. The thought of birth and labour and everything in between is scary enough anyway. We don’t need to hear anything else that is going to scare us more from something that happened to a friend of a friend's, cousin's, best friend's, mother's, sister's, daughter's friend. Who cares! Chances are it’s not true anyway and then what happens - you can’t sleep at night! My advice – buy yourself a full length maternity pillow (amazing) and block your ears! Whatever happens, the end result is amazing and when you are holding your little baby in your arms it is all totally worth it and nothing else matters.

I have also started my mother’s group! It’s amazing how much you can learn about a group of woman and their babies in 2 hours. It’s nice to have a reason to get out of the house and put some makeup on and catch up with people whose eyes don’t glaze over because you can’t stop talking about your baby (guilty – oops). I do make an effort and try not to talk about Piper all the time, but she’s so cute and doesn’t everyone want to talk about her? Ha, I know. I was one of those people who couldn’t stand it when all anyone could talk about was their kids. I didn’t mind a little bit of baby talk but not for the whole conversation. I now understand that if you are at home with a baby all day long, some days there isn’t much else to talk about. Apart from talking about my shows – Winners and Losers and Offspring (love them) there’s not much time left for anything else not baby related. I'm in my own little bubble. I don’t even watch the news anymore (well actually I never did) – never anything positive on the news, certainly no happy endings! So I don't even know what's happening around the world. That’s why I always try to get out of the house and be as social as I can. I still love shopping, but will have to be satisfied with window shopping until I go back to work. I have been creating a mental shopping list for months now.

Well, until next time… peace and love…

Check out ittybittyindi designs on FaceBook – ittybittyindi designs, and the online store on Etsy - http://www.etsy.com/shop/ittybittyindi