River Fire 2008

Last night we met up with Troy's family at Bobbie Jean's house. We had dinner then walked up to the Kangaroo Point Cliffs to watch the Riverfire fireworks. It's like a tradition now. The first year Xander was just a newborn and he slept right through it. Last year he got scared and cried lots. But this year he loved to see the big noisy planes go overhead. We had a fun night. For those of you that don't know what Riverfire is about, check it out here -

http://www.riverfestival.com.au/riverfire/

A time and a season...and that season is OVER!

For the last 6 months Xander and I have spent our Saturdays watching this...

Troy's team didn't win a game at all this season, but they tried their best! Each season Troy manages to score one goal. He wasn't sure he'd do it this season, but during the last 10 minutes of their very last game Troy scored a goal that tied the game. We were all very impressed. I was relieved that soccer was over for about 5 minutes, until Troy reminded me that football season is upon us...yay.

Add it to the wish list...

I want one of these! They are called Baby Bumbo Seats. The trays usually come separately but they're real cool too. They retail for $80 but I've been watching on ebay to try and find a cheaper one. Not having much luck yet. If anyone loves me lots and LOTS and wants to get us a baby present, this is what we NEED! :)

37 weeks (+ 4 days)...

3 things...

Another cool thing I found...

3 THINGS...

3 Joys -

1. Being pregnant. The first 18 weeks were not much fun at all and I pretty much complained every day, but since then I've felt great! I haven't gained lots of weight, I'm still sleeping well at night, I've got lots of cute pregnant clothes...it's just been great! Plus I'm scared about the birth so I'm happy to stay pregnant forever! :P

2. My camera. I have never loved a material possession more than I love this camera. I don't think that I will ever get sick of taking photos, and if I do it will be a very VERY sad day! Studying has been hard and I've got a long long way to go, but there's just something so exciting about creating such a beautiful thing that everyone loves. I don't know anyone that doesn't appreciate a beautiful photo!

3. Being married. When we were first married I really struggled with seperating myself from the YSA scene. I missed my friends and all the fun stuff we used to do together. It's taken me a while but I'm finally over that and I LOVE being married. I would never EVER want to be single again. Marriage is safe and secure. I know that I'm always loved, no matter what. I know that I'm never alone and there will always be my Husband there to support me in whatever I do. I'm not a big 'alone time' person, so having someone with me all the time suits me perfectly! Marriage is the greatest :)

3 Fears

1. Losing a child. I don't think anyone could ever possibly understand what it feels like to be a mother unless they are one themselves. There's this instant change that comes over you, the second you hold your little baby. It's like all of a sudden you're the strongest woman in the world, and goodluck to the person that tries to hurt your baby cause they're a dead man! Sometimes I imagine to myself what I would do if someone tried to take Xander or hurt him, and I kinda scare myself because I realise that I really do think I could kill for him. I always tell Troy about the story of the woman that picks a car up to get her baby out. I totally believe that it happened. I could lift a car if Xander was trapped inside! Any day. BRING IT!

2. Being alone. I've never liked being alone. Maybe it comes from being a twin? I had Charles there with me through everything until we were 18. Then I got married and I had a Husband. I don't know what it is, but I love to always be surrounded by the people that I love. Even if we're just sitting around watching poxy T.V. I am positively terrified of something happening to Troy and being left alone. Let's just not think about it...

3. Heights. It's not super bad. Like if I was on "Who dares wins" and they were offering me lots of money, I'd prolly jump out of a plane. But I'd definitely be freaking out! Rollercoasters terrify me. I even get scared driving down the Toowoomba range!

3 Goals

1. Get this baby out safe and sound! I would love to do it drug free this time, but I'm not making any promises!

2. Get my Photography Diploma finished and find some awesome professional that I can work with to learn from. And learn how to use Photoshop!

3. Look like I did at my wedding. I think this one's a life-long goal, but I gotta put it out there! According to Oprah, it should work!

3 Obsessions

1. Food. Definitely food. I dunno about you, but I think about food every couple of hours! :P I know it might be an emotional problem, but food makes me feel better. If I'm having a crappy day, a sticky date pudding from Hungry Jacks can fix anything! And I love to find cool recipes and cook delicious things. I'm always on the look out for good recipes!

2. Photography. I'm pretty sure I don't know anyone that takes as many photos as me. We've had to buy more space for the computer cos my photos take up so much room!

3. T.V. It's terrible, I know! But there's just something so good about finding an awesome series and watching the whole season in a week. I love it! In a few years I'll be busy with kids and won't have the chance to sit around and watch T.V, so I'm enjoying it while I can! :P

Where were you then?

I was blog-searching and came across this. I thought it was a cool idea...

20 years ago - I was 2 years old. I don't think I have any memories from this age. I do know that we were living in Albany Creek, just houses away from my future eternal companion :)

10 years ago - I was 12 years old, grade seven and about to enter the teenage years. I had cut my own fringe, which turned out just GREAT! (see all photos from 1998 for proof) My best friends were Nikki and Stacey. We spent lots of time roaming the streets of Laidley, eating $2 worth of chips (which was a lot of chips back then!) and basically just being kids.

5 years ago - I was 17 and a senior in high school, my funnest school year by far. I was in the school musical "No Ill Feeling". We had such a blast practicing for it. My group of friends consisted of nearly all couples which was lots of fun. Everyone was starting to get their licences and buy cars. We had freedom! There was lots of ups and downs that year but drama is what makes things interesting :)

3 years ago - I was 19 and a newly wed. Troy and I were living in Strathpine in the house his Grandfather left the kids. Everything changed very quickly! Gill moved in with us after about 3 months, around about the time we found out I was pregnant. I had a great job working at Pinelands Learning & Development Centre where they paid for me to do my Certificate 3 in childcare. As soon as we found out I was pregnant we started saving my paycheck and by the time Xander was born we had enough money to buy a car and a bike for Troy. The first year of marriage was hard, especially because I got pregnant so quickly and all those crazy hormones were messing with my head. But we got through it!

1 year ago - I was 21 and busy with a gorgeous one year old. Everyone was having big 21st parties which was heaps of fun. Xander and I went on a holiday to Tasmania to see my beautiful sister Evelynne Mai and her family. We had lots of fun but I missed Troy terribly. It was the first time we'd been apart since we got married. Xander got really sick around this time too. We ended up in the hospital with him on oxygen for a few days. They still don't know what's wrong with him!

So far this year - Lots has been going on for me this year! I got pregnant at the end of last year so I've dealt with yucky morning sickness and had lots of hospital and doctors appointments. I've managed to only gain 4kg which is FABULOUS considering I gained 20kg with Xander! At the beginning of the year I decided what I want to be when I grow up (apart from a loving mother and wife :) and I started my Photography Diploma. That all kicked off a lot faster than I'd planned. So far I've already done engagement, wedding, couple and family shoots. I'm up to module 9 out of 12. I was hoping to have it done before the baby came but I can't see that happening. But it's been a productive year for me!

Yesterday - I'm 20 days away from having a brand new baby, so I'm getting all the rest I can (Doctors orders!). After a Doctor's appointment in the morning I watched lots of McLeod's Daughters and ate choc mint ice cream.

Today - I finished Season 6 of McLeod's Daughters and spent the morning playing with Xander. Stef is coming over later, after she's had her wisdom teeth taken out! Yowch...

Tomorrow - Xander and I are going to watch Troy play his last game of soccer for the season. They haven't won a game at all this season, so we're keeping our fingers crossed for them!

The rest of this year - First of all I just want to get this baby safely into the world! After that I expect lots of sleepless nights and stinky nappies. And Charles comes home in October which we are all SUPER excited about!

For old times sake!

So I've been looking for something to do and food was the answer - as always :) I LOVE Sandra Rea's fried bread and have always wanted to make it myself, and now I finally had the time! So I called Sandra, got the recipe and got cookin! I made roasted pumpkin soup to go with it...mmm....Thanks Sandra!

The recipe written down as Sandra was telling me over the phone...not real clear..sorry :P

The dough after I left it to rise for a few hours..

The roasted pumpkin...
The dough pre-frying...

The dough frying...

And again...

Ta da! The finished product....

What's a girl to do?

I'm bored bored BORED! Counting down the days until the baby is due...23 to be exact....and boredom is the exact opposite of what you need when you're on the count down! I'm too exhausted to actually do anything that requires effort. Xander and I have spent the whole day watching t.v.....BLAH.....

A new do? That is the question.

So I'm considering a new hairstyle. I'm sick of the long, straight boring hair and want something that's easy to chuck up quickly but still look cute. What do you think?...

A face only a mother could love...

Busted!

Today I had a man come to the door to sell me milk, bread, cheese, fruits & vegetables. It sounds like a good idea so I'm doin it. But that's not the point. While I was talking to the man at the door Xander got up from his nap and this is how I found him....

36 weeks...again!

Today I am 36 weeks pregnant...again! I've added a picture from last time round to compare. With Xander I started at 65kg and was 90kg at full term. This time I started at 84kg and now I'm 87kg. Not doin too bad! Today I bought an outfit to wear when I'm not pregnant. I have NO idea if it will fit me, but if it doesn't it will be my goal to make it fit!


36 weeks pregnant with Xander...
36 weeks pregnant with Lilah...

A disgustingly delicious evening...

Carlos is headed home to the States today so last night Troy and I went out with the Hawthornes to Morgan's, a fancy seafood restaurant at Redcliffe. Seafood could be my most hated food in the world, but it's Troy's favourite! I ate before we left and got dessert at the restaurant instead :P Troy said his meal was delicious. We already knew that though, because we all waited around for another 1/2 an hour to see him devour a crab. Trust me, there was no meat left in that shell! Thanks Ian and Loraine!

Don't judge me!

Today I ate nearly an entire block of Caramello chocolate. Usually when I'm pregnant I'm completely off sugar and chocolate all together. I dunno why today was different, but it sure tasted good! Somehow I've still managed to only gain 2.5kg since I got pregnant. That prolly won't last for long if I keep chocolate in the cupboard...

The REAL birthday!

Today was Xander's real birthday so we invited a few friends that didn't come to the family party and we went to McDonalds for lunch. The boys had a great time playing in the playground and Xander got even MORE presents - sooo spoilt! I actually spent most of the time having contractions but they went away after about 2 hours. For a while there we thought we'd have 2 babies with the same birthday! :P

Birthday number Two!

We had Xander's 2nd birthday party on Saturday. Everything went really well, even if it did cause me A LOT of stress! (Next year we're goin to Macca's!) :P I made homemade sausage rolls, party pies and pumpkin soup and everyone said they were delicious. Troy's Pop even asked where he could buy the pies from! Xander had lots of fun blowing out the candles, cutting his cake and opening all of his awesome presents. He got books, a big scary dragon with a remote control, a homemade church bag with a game and frog book, a tool station, slippers, toy cars & trucks, puzzles, figurines of his favourite dogs in the world - Devil & Bender, a Mr Potato Head, a toy boat with Diego & Dora...I think that's all. Sorry if I forgot anyone. Xander got LOTS of presents, he's very spoilt :) He had a very fun day with his cousins. Thankyou for coming everyone!