Musical Beds

Now that my boys have their own little 'manland' upstairs, containing their bedrooms and very own bathroom (which I still have to clean, so somehow not everyone won with that little arrangement!), every night seems to involve some kind of musical beds.

Riordan changes his mind every sleep. Top bunk, bottom bunk, back to the top. I just ask him now as our pre-bedtime routine. Bowen sometimes enjoys a sleepover in Riordan's room, when he's not luxuriating in his queen size bed, replete with Crusty Demons doona cover. (He's such a man about sleeping in it too. When I sleep in a big bed by myself, I stay on the edge, neatly tucked beneath the blankets. I barely have to make it. When Darren, or either of the boys, sleep in a bed it's straight to the middle, covers pushed to the side or bunched up in the centre, with everything looking like a bomb has hit it in the morning). Just to complicate things further, when Bowen had his extended sleep over at Big Nan's the other week, Riordan slept in his bed!

I'm hoping one day that Austin and Riordan will want to share a room, and that we can turn the 4th bedroom into a study, or storeroom. It's smaller than the others, with no built-in, and I just know that who ever has to sleep in there will think they have the short end of the stick!

We get the house raised back up and stabilised tomorrow, which means that I can start planning the decorating of the boys rooms. I'm thinking really bright citrus colours. I'm not sure about the trim, we have stained timber, but I'm not sure if I want to keep it or not. I change my mind every day. I definitely want new doors (and have to sort that out before I resign from work, *wink wink*) and new carpart, and new built-ins. I'm quite excited about the project, perhaps not the painting itself, but the finished products!

The Aftermath

Preschool went really well. Riordan had a great day, chatted lots to the parents dropping kids off and to the teachers, played lots (apparently "you can tell he's got an older brother"!) and generally fit right in. I was expecting him to dissolve into a puddle of tears when I picked him up, as Bowen used to do no matter how good of a day he had had, but Riordy didn't want to leave! He was very content playing in the tub of rice and weird, grainy looking blue stuff. Which he promptly spilled on the floor in his eagerness to show us.

I had wanted to do some groceries before I picked up my boy, as doing most things with only two little men is usually much easier, especially when one is strapped to my chest. Bowen just really, really wanted to see his little brother, so we grabbed him first. Big mistake. The crying that would have been the result of saying no to Bowie would have been much easier to cope with. They ran riot. The combination of over-tiredness (Riord wouldn't have a sleep at school, the only low point of his day), excitement in seeing his brother and the amazing acoustics (to a two year old) of the shopping centre resulted in them running wild, in a way that they normally never do. I was pretty embarrassed, all the reverse psychology in the world didn't work, and all my efforts to contain them were hampered by Austin hanging, albeit serenely, off my chest! We eventually bought the two essential things that I came in for, and got the flock out of there.

Things didn't improve at home. Riordan was past the point of tiredness that lets you sits quietly; he was manic. The fights and dramas eventually culminated in him weeing, yes, weeing, on the doors that lead downstairs. I hit the roof, took him upstairs for a bath, and gave him one more chance to behave (because I am really a sucker for his long-lashed eyes). He quietly sat on the lounge, watching some drivel on the TV just to calm down. Things got very quiet, and I went for a peep to discover this...




He was absolutely exhausted, and it was only 5.45pm! That's what a big day of playing will do to you. I just left him, knowing that he would probably not surface again. He did stir, and came and sat on my lap for another sook. He flopped to the floor in a huff, got very quiet again and this is how he ended up.

Hmm, love that big stain on the carpet. It's dishwashing liquid, that Riordan helpfully poured all over it. You wouldn't think that something that cleans would stain, would you?

He went to bed for good after that, and didn't surface again until 8 this morning.

Now we get to do it all again next Wednesday!

Another one bites the dust

Riordan is spending his first day at Harold Wheen Preschool. I tried to take a photo to remember this day forever, and to embarrass him when he's older, but he was feeling, umm, 'mischievous'. Bowen, on the other hand, was happy to comply.

I finally managed to ambush Riordan and snap a pic, I'm afraid this is the best I could do!

Riordan was quite happy to go into school, he looked around and started playing a Thomas puzzle. We also saw a couple of kids he used to go to swimming lessons with, so there was a bit of familiarity for him.

Bowen and I went to leave, and that's when things went a little pear-shaped. I said good bye, and he said, "Coming". Ah, sorry babe, this is it for you today! He didn't want to he consoled, but I couldn't hear any screaming from behind the door, so I assume things went OK. I might ring and see how he settled...

So, he's fine. Forgotten all about his mum.

My sister is getting married in a fortnight, and her hen's night was on Saturday. It was pink themed, and while I love the colour pink (the more boys I give birth to the girlier I get) I really wanted to wear my blue dress. I have these hot shoes that I just got and I really wanted to show them off. I kept to the spirit of things and wore a pink top, my skinny jeans and my hot, hot shoes. ( I am trying to post a pic of my shoes but it won't work!!!!!) You'll have to imagine them, very high, very black, a few little studs. Mouth watering.

I rocked up to my fellow bridesmaid's house, Darren in tow (for the bucks night), only to find NO ONE in pink! Just me! Even Carrie was wearing black.

The night was fun, not hugely eventful. We went for dinner, then to Panthers and the whole night I just thought, "Gee, I'm glad I'm not single." I have no idea how I would meet someone today. Probably the same way I met Daz, through a friend of a friend, but there would be no way I would be trawling through nightclubs. I just felt soooo ooooold. Carrie had more than a few squashes while she was out, I was a good girl as I knew Austin was waiting at home for me to feed him at sometime, probably multiple times, through the night.

Darren got home at about 1.30, after catching a taxi from the city. He and the boys had been to a strip club, and quite enjoyed themselves, from all reports! The less I hear about it the better...

A Sense of Relief?

The strangest sensation has come over me today. I was contentedly folding nappies this morning, when I realised that the insatiable urge I once had to try and create a girl child has finally left me! I am totally satisfied with my little XY's, and if a fourth baby was to ever choose to join us, I would probably prefer a boy!

It has been niggling at me for some time now, feelings of jealousy when I see mixed sex families (that's a weird label Sam!), and irritation when people ask if I am 'going back for a girl'. But now, totally gone. I will happily live out my life indulging in my love of all things pink by buying lovely birthday presents for little girl friends, and lots of girly stuff for myself.

Scratching the itch

I'm such a sucker. I've been really slack at following all my favourite blogs, but I just went and had a sneaky peak Averil's and all it made me want to do is write in my own...

I've gone out and gotten myself a job, bizaarely enough. I have no intention of going back to my old work. I'm afraid the doors will have to count themselves in the future. I've enrolled in my conveyancing course, and it starts at the end of the month. I'm a bit nervous about it, and how I'm going to fit it all in. My new job (although I hardly think it could be called that!) is working at game days at CUA stadium, home ground of the Penrith Panthers. I was just looking for something that would get me out and earning some 'flash cash' to put towards all the renovations we want to do around here, and 'Merchandise Attendent' seemed to fit the bill. It's only every fortnight or so, so it's not like every weekend is going to be consumed with work, and quite a few of the games are at night, so there isn't any need to rely on anyone else for childcare.

I also think I've found Riordan a preschool to attend one day a week. The boys are a little like twins at the moment, neither of them knows a life without the other, and miss each other desperately when they aren't together. We started Playgym last week, which my little man took to straight away, but I really think that he needs the chance to interact with other kids without Mummy or Bowen around. I'll have a look around tomorrow and if I like the looks of it I'll pick up an application form.

Toilet training is coming along so well. Today Riordy had his first poo accident for days. He's pulling down his own pants when he wants to go, and then pulls them right back up again! I still remind him if it's been a while, and I think I'll be doing that for some time yet, but something in his brain jus clicked over the past week or so. Even though he's been able to wee when he wants for months and months, before Austin was even born, it's like he's only just started to recognise when he needs to go.

Austin has passed the seven month mark. He's started to crawl, if you could call it that. He does all his baby yoga, plenty of downward dog action and some squats, but the way he actually propels himself forward is so different to his brothers. They both started going backwards first, then gradually, at around 8 months, started properly cross-crawling. Austin kind of throws himself forwards. Imagine a frog, swimming in a creek. Their arms stretch forwards, and their legs come up behind them, kind of in a breaststroke. Replace the frog with a soft, gooey little boy and the creek with some pretty tragic carpet (which I obviously didn't pick) and you might get the idea. It's hilarious, and I've taken plenty of video of it.

Bowen must have needed some alone time last week. The stresses of being an older brother obviously had gotten to him. Thursdays are the boy's usual sleep over night at Nanny's. Friday nights usually see one of them stay over, and this week it was Riordan who desperately wanted to be home with Mummy. Bowen usually can't stay away from me for much longer, so I was expecting him home all day Saturday, but no, he wanted to stay at Big Nanny's still. Even Sunday, when he should have been pining for Mummy, he chose to go grocery shopping with Mum and Nan over coming home! Even then he was asking if Mum was going to work the next day (his little code for asking to stay over) and acting all disappointed when Mum said she was! I have to admit, I felt a little put out that he didn't want to be at home, but I can understand how nice it would have been to have all the attention aimed squarely at him. Maybe I should ask for a sleep over this Thursday...

Back to the Blogosphere!

It's been a really long time, so I'll do a short post today, just to get my toes wet. I never plunge straight into anything!

It's been five weeks since we've moved into the new house, but we've only had an internet connection for two of those. After many phone calls, and two visits from a friend who used to be a Telstra technician, we worked out that it was the new cordless phone, sucking all the power out of the line. Enter one filter and we have the World Wide Web back at our fingertips!

All I seem to have done in the past couple of weeks is chase tradies. Fences, electricians, foundation repairs, screens... it's all slowly coming together, and, fingers crossed, we should have most of the big stuff sorted out, or at least booked in and confirmed, in the next month.

The boys are loving their new house. So much more space for them to run around, and they disappear for hours in the overgrown garden, playing in the dirt, looking for 'creatures', moving sawdust and rocks from one place to another. We've had a few tumbles. I was bathing Austin one night and I heard Darren call my name out. He knew where I was, and I couldn't leave the baby, so I didn't worry too much about it. Next thing I hear him thumping through the house, a howling Riordan in his arms. They came into the bathroom and, to my shock, Riordan had rivers of blood running down his chest. Thankfully, it looked much worse than what it actually was, and after a rinse it had even stopped bleeding, so there was no trip to casualty that night. There's also been plenty of bruises and bark off knees, they both look just like rough and tumble little boys!

Austin is a little gem. He's the happiest baby I have ever seen. He'll just sit serenely and engage with everyone, I love taking him out because I lose count of all the compliments I get about him. My only explanation for his chilled out personality is having two older brothers, he doesn't have the chance to get upset! He's a far cry from the grumpy little man I thought he would turn out to be, he underwent a big change somewhere along the line and turned out perfect!
We've been doing Baby Led Weaning (but I like to call it Baby Led Solids as it takes away the breastfeeding connotation). It's been going fantastically. Austin will try anything, and absolutely loves mango, hummus, watermelon, sweet potato and chicken. I have no idea how much he is eating. His poos have changed, so I know that something is getting down even though it looks like all the food ends up on the floor. Here is Austin having some chicken schnitzel.

Mmm, hummus...

And number one favourite, mango.

My much neglected blog...

Ahh, my much neglected blog. All sorts of stuff has been happening while I have been busy elsewhere, and it's time to update. I'm snatching five minutes while Darren is taking the boys to the tip (little boys just love trips like that!) and ignoring all the other chores that are calling to me with their siren song (which is a song of guilt, my siren must be a mother).

Baby News!

I will start my entry with some baby news! No, it's not me. Could you imagine? I wean two babies before I really want to, in order to conceive their sibling, and then have a 12 month gap between number 3 and 4? Not likely! I am pleased that my body provides it's own natural contraceptive for once in my life, and don't intend on even thinking about considering possibly adding another joyous bundle to our lives. No, the new bun baking belongs to my baby sister! Hooray! I finally get a neice or nephew to shower my copious love upon. Carrie is hardly my baby sister, she'll be 30 when her baby is due, but she'll always be my little sister. The baby is due on the 8th of July, meaning there will be only 12 months gap between Austin and the new baby, which I am really excited about. Not only will the boys be getting a cousin, but one so close in age as well.

The new baby is coming a little before it was intended. Carrie is getting married to her long-time partnew Joe in February, and she didn't plan to be 20 weeks pregnant at the time. The dress is already bought (on sale, so non-returnable, hopefully it will alter nicely) and I think she might have been intending on toasting her new marriage with some champagne (maybe a little more than 'some'), but now she will be the Designated Driver Bride!

On a purely selfish note, I am actually quietly pleased not to be the pregnant one for once. I really feel like for the past 5 years I have been missing out on fun stuff because I have been carrying precious cargo in my belly. I would fall pregnant again in a heartbeat when the time is ready, but for now it's nice to be able to go on the rides at Luna Park, instead of being the one watching the bags!

I don't even care what sex the baby is. A boy would be lovely, a playmate for my three. A girl would be fab too, I could finally indulge in my obsession for pink!

The Big Move

I am officially homeless. We moved out of our little house, where my three babies were conceived and bought home to, and are now staying at Mum's until we move into our new house, which we will hopefully settle on the 21st. The movers are booked for the 22nd, so it had better all go to plan. I was surprisingly unsentimental about moving out. Our house was wonderful for the 6 1/2 years we spent there, but we knew from the beginning that it was only a stepping stone, and we would someday move on. We only ever intended on spending 5 years there, and I think that if I had known we would have been able to get a new mortgage on one wage, we would have been out before Austin was born!

I really miss having my things around me. Mum's house is great, and we spend so much time here that it's like a second home, but there is nothing more unsettling than not having your own, familliar things surrounding you. Darren and I haven't even been sleeping in the same bed! Austin takes up so much room, and while you don't notice it in our divine king size haven, in the queen-size spare bed it is starkly obvious. Just too squishy! Whenever I mention we are moving over Christmas, even murmurs things like, 'oh, you'll be so busy' and 'ooh, just before Christmas?', but I can't think of a better time to move. With the public holidays you gain so much time, and the babysitters are all available for when little boys need a break!

The Boys

The boys are going fine. Bowen is in his last week as a 3 year old. He has seemed so much older and wiser than 3 for a long time, that in most our minds he's been a spiritual 4 anyway. It won't be a huge change for him. He's very excited about the prospect of being a year older, and is now counting down how many sleeps until the big day. He also seems to be gaining more confidence now, and standing up to his little brother more.

Bowen is shaping up to being the family philosopher, and if his planned career as 'doing what Daddy does' doesn't pan out, he could easily find a job at a calender company, writing those little sayings for each day. My favourite one so far is, when told to stop letting his brother 'walk all over him':

"You can't walk all over people, you'll fall off!"

Now, I think there's something in there for everybody...

Riordan is just getting more and more gorgeous everyday. He is a real heartbreaker, from his golden curls and long-lashed blue eyes, down to his golden skinned toes. The dimples don't take anything away from his looks either! He can get away with murder with a bat of his eyelashes, and I lose count of how many times a day Mum and I say, "Oh, he's just so gorgeous!"

Toilet training is going OK. I haven't really been too full on with it, Bowen was already in undies by this stage, but for some reason I just haven't felt the urgency with Riordy. It must be that first child syndrome, if I keep going with this apathy as I have more babies, Austin will still be in nappies when he goes to school! He's pulling his pants up and down to do wees, but usually has to be reminded, and poos are still a bit of an issue, he's still learning his urges and waits until the last minute (i.e. the turtles head is poking out) before he says anything, which usually results in him losing his load well before the toilet/potty.

Austin is fast growing up. My littlest man is now 5 months old, and growing rapidly. He's 8.25kgs, not sure how that compares to the big boys (their Blue Books are packed away, in a box far, far away!) but he's a heffalump. A definite Mummy's boy, I've had to leave a work Christmas dinner to come home to him, and cancel the 'big' Christmas party as he just wouldn't have been able to cope without me. Imagine complete and utter hysteria, and you will be somewhat close to what he's like.

Sleeping is our main issue with Austi-man. He's a gem through the day, will self-settle without a whimper, but at night he needs his nipple or he won't even think about going to sleep. We are going to Tresilian on the 14th of January, with my main aim to have him go to sleep in his own bed of a night. I am more than happy to keep co-sleeping, I adore it in fact, especially now he's big enough to just lay in the crook of my arm, nipple in mouth, and only wakes to swap sides. I can cope with that. It's the fact that he can't be put down for any length of time before I go to bed that is my problem. I don't get to spend any 'alone' time with Daz, and that's not good for a partnership. My ideal night would be all boys in bed by 7.30pm, then to sit with Daz until 9.30, then Austin waking for a feed or two through the night, but going back to his own bed afterwards. I don't think it's asking too much.

We haven't even broached the subject of solids. I know from all my years of experience (!) that they don't help a baby sleep through, or anything like that, and although he's a big boy, he can wait a few more weeks. He's showing plenty of signs that he's ready, and I give him the odd taste, but there's no hurry.

Austin has been a sick little puppy this week. Riordan had a virus last week, just a temperature and off colour for a few days. Austin has got it this week, and it's quite scary when a 5 month old is burning up in your arms (he got to 39.7 degrees with an underarm thermometer) and you can't do anything about it. Antibiotics for an apparent ear infection, and plenty of the good boob juice has him much better (he started to get sick on Wednesday) but he is still doing horridly runny, frequent poos, which has given him a terrible bum rash. It's airing out as we speak.

Me

Same old, same old. I'm gearing up to start Uni next year, I'm still not sure exactly what I have to do, and how to do it, but it will all work out somehow.

Weight wise, things have settled right down. My jeans and scales are packed, so I have no idea how I am doing, but I feel quite happy about my body, although I wonder if my belly will ever recover. It's generally flat, but when I bend over it's a bit of a sight. Three overdue babies have somewhat 'loosened' things up, and only time will fix it.

Phew. I needed that purge, and I promise to myself it won't be as long between entries!