Roly Poly!

Hi Dolls,

Sooo… Piper rolled from her back to her tummy this week! Eeeee…. Just a little bit excited and so damn proud of my little pumpkin! She has been on a roll (literally!) ever since! As soon as we put her down now she is rolling from her back to her tummy and back again grabbing and playing with her (many thousands of) toys. We've also been having fun dressing up and having photo shoots in baskets - Watch out Anne Geddes!Nothing can stop her now, she’s growing up so quickly! Before you know it I’ll be back at work - luckily enough to be going back only part-time. As much as I can’t wait for all the different stages she is about to go through (walking and talking etc.) it will mean that I'll have to be back at the office and that I’ll be missing out on every single moment with her. Anyway, I’m making the most of now until my maternity leave is up.

I haven’t updated since before my birthday really. So here goes….

The girls and I got together to try and plan a surprise baby shower for my bestie. She is due next month and didn’t want to have a baby shower. My first thought was, why!? I guess it’s a bummer not being able to celebrate with some bubbly or a bit of kabana and cheese but that just wouldn’t do for us. I understand not wanting a big fuss, but it’s a really big deal to be having a baby and we had to celebrate it in some way. A friend suggested having a lunch at a local restaurant with just the girls so it wasn’t a huge gathering, just an intimate celebration with her closest girlfriends. So I invited the mum-to-be out for lunch with the girls in the disguise of a lunch for my birthday. I know, I’m that good of a friend, I gave up my birthday for her! So I picked her up and we arrived fashionably late to a table decked out with balloons and presents. When I dropped the mum-to-be home and finished unpacking the car with all her surprise pressies, I said to her, I bet you didn’t think you would be bringing home this mountain of baby presents! It was a lovely lunch and I think we pulled off the surprise for her!

So, for my actual birthday, my husband took Piper and I out for breakie. We went to my favourite breakfast spot – Mocha Jo’s. It’s in Glen Waverley and it is amazing. The food and the atmosphere are fabulous. My go-to breakie meal without a doubt (I get the same thing every single time) is poached eggs on ciabatta bread with smoked salmon and avocado. Delicious! We then went into The Glen shopping centre for a spot of shopping and got our wedding rings cleaned at the jeweler we purchased them from. He cleans them for free and they look brand new again. I get all my jewellery from there now – KT Jewellers. He is lovely and has some beautiful pieces. He will even design from scratch to suit your budget. We then hit up Chadstone shopping centre and I scored a new hair curler. It’s a Babyliss Pro 25mm ceramic curling iron from Hairhouse Warehouse. I will do a separate blog on this baby very soon. It is awesome and I think I’m finally starting to get the hang of it without burning myself! Seriously, I have a ripper of a burn on my hand - ouch! I also managed to get some bobby pins thrown in. Can’t go past a good set of bobby pins. These ones actually hold and stay put. They were around $15 for 999! They always go missing, but this will take a while for that to happen now! We also visited Ferguson Plarre and picked up my birthday cake! A strawberry cheesecake. I had been drooling over it for weeks and couldn’t just buy it for nothing, right?... Right! So I waited for my birthday and it was well worth the wait – it was yuuuummy! Make sure you try the custard tart and chocolate éclair too… I heard they are amazingly scrumptious….! The family came over for a BBQ the night of my birthday and I was showered with gifts and money to go shopping (!) for some more gifts! My sister got me some gorgeous body shop sparkly body lotion and a beautiful silver necklace with my name cut out alà Carrie Bradshaw.

I updated you all on my sister-in-law’s and new brother-in-law’s wedding last week, but I forgot to show you Piper’s outfit from the store we shall not name. I think it’s just too adorable to not give Piper and her outfit a mention!

Last week we also had to say goodbye to a beautiful member of our family. The gorgeous silky terrier Phoebe who grew up with my husbands family. I know you are in a better place now little baggarty chicken… RIP…

Until next time lovelies…

Rhubarb and my week so far…

Hi Dolls,

This week has been another busy one – visiting some of the grandparents and a lovely outing at the shops among numerous other bits and pieces.

Piper spent her first night in the cot in her own room last night. She had been napping in her cot during the day in the hope of a smooth transition to her overnight sleeps. Daddy and I weren't quite ready for her to be on her own at night, but she has grown out of the basinet which we kept in our room and we no longer have a choice but to let her sleep on her own in her own room. She went pretty well, but did wake up a few times. So fingers crossed tonight goes a bit better.

This week’s highlight was a shopping expedition at Chadstone Shopping Centre with Piper, my sister-in-law and two nephews. One of the little darlings had a play with the scissors last week and cut himself a nice little bald patch in the front of his hair. A quick trip to the hairdressers and well… it doesn’t really look too bad now… but it’ll be good once it grows back!

So, imagine my delight when I realized there are still sales happening! Then I remembered that I’m still on one wage (bummer) but quickly countered that with the thought of layby (woohoo!). I had a look at a few things in Target before the toy sale started (which started Wednesday midnight by the way) and was very practical for once… and no – I’m not justifying silly purchases that I didn’t really need. Although I do very much think that this is a fantastic skill I have acquired in all my experience and years of shopping. If you want to go shopping with me, be sure to want to buy, buy, buy, because I really can justify any purchase. Alas, the guilt overwhelmed me and my many wanted purchases, so I stuck to just buying a latch thingy-ma-jiggy that will allow the new car seat to go in the car and stay put. I don’t even need to justify that one – there is a first for everything!

We went past a kid’s clothing shop called Rhubarb. Oh my god, this shop is amazing! The sales were spectacular. My sister-in-law stocked up on a few bits and pieces for next winter for her kids and I lusted after pretty much the entire store. Our families and friends have been so generous, loading Piper full of absolutely gorgeous and wonderful gifts. While I wasn’t looking, my sister-in-law picked up this fabulous growth chart from Rhubarb that I was eyeing off for Piper. It was only $15, down from $40 (see saving more than what it was bought for, bargain - see what I did there, I told you I can justify any purchase!). It is super cute and will be put up this weekend by my husband… when I ask him. Pumpkin, if you are reading this, pretty please put this up on the back of Piper’s door. Not sure if I like my chances, I think it’s hilarious but he hates it when I call him pumpkin or any other name for that matter. E.g.: Shnookums, Muffin, sweet-cakes etc.

In a few weeks, it is my sister-in-law’s 30^th Birthday! Dirrty 30! Ha, I just like saying that. She is taking a few of us to a Winery for lunch and I am beyond super excited! So for the next few weeks I need to get myself into training and start drinking so I can keep up. I am not a big drinker at all, a light-weight at best and seeing as I was pregnant not too long ago I haven’t had a drink for at least… hmm… probably a year and a half. So it’s been a long time between drinks and if I don’t want to be snoring under the table halfway through lunch – which I don’t (and I totally don’t snore, no matter what my husband might say!) – I need to pace myself. My problem is I get a bit excited and go too early, too quickly. I also don’t love alcohol all that much so I knock it back and mix it up to trick my taste buds. I think it’s a great idea to begin with, but mixing drinks just really isn’t a great mix.

My other challenge this week is to try and get myself into some sort of a routine. For Piper and myself. The sleep, eat, play routine with a bit of tummy time thrown in which is a nightmare because she absolutely hates tummy time. Wish me luck!

http://www.rhubarb.net.au/
http://www.chadstoneshopping.com.au/