A few weeks, I joined up to the Wine Selectors wine club.  Previously, we had been with another company who had decided to make the only accepted payment method a credit card, and still trying to get one here!!!!

I was contacted by a very scottish sounding man, think Sean Connery and to be honest, I thought it was him to begin with! lol, who informed me that they accept Bpay!!!!  Yay! Having mourned the passing of our previous club membership, I thought I would hear him out this time (it was the voice!!!!) and by the end, I knew that I wanted to be part of the club, so went through the registration process!

Now, this phone call took 45 mins!!!!  And they had called me on my mobile!!!!!!  Wow!

The info pack arrived as they said it would, so all good.  A few days later, our first case of wine was here, all good again.  A few days later......NO INVOICE.  Grrrrrrr.  I have waited for it to arrive before opening any of the wine because I wasn't 100% convinced I could pay by Bpay, as it is not stated that you can on their website.  Had our case of wine sitting there teasing and mocking me!  Not fair!

Yesterday, the blasted invoice finally arrived!!!!!  YIPPEEEEE!.  I got straight onto my bank and paid it, then once the girls were in bed, Les and I had our first glass of red wine in about 10 months!  Just the one mind you, because if I have too much, not only to I get warm and fuzzy, I wake up with a rotten.........RASH!  You thought I was going to say hangover, but I don't get one from wine! lol.  The rash is a form of allergic dermatitis and that is a very long story, rather embarrassing too.

The wait was worth it though, and while we only drink infrequently, and are responsible about it, the collecting of the wines is going to be just as fun as the drinking of them.  I love collecting things! lol.

So, after wining to Les for almost 2 weeks, we finally got to have a wine together.

But it can't be much longer now.  Will be calling the hospital on Monday is Puggle doesn't shift herself.  Yeah, haven't gone back since the last round of blood tests, but I know my body better than they do, besides, there is a 2 weeks wait for the Midwife Clinic and 6 weeks to get into see the obstetrician!!!!

I'm getting constant pain either in my belly or my back, and now I'm just waiting to see if they coordinate to get things going.  Probably doesn't help that I have spent much of my time on the couch the last few days just doing cross stitch and using my laptop.  Sorry for the neglect of Minti.

I now have a lot of washing to catch up on, but will get there slowly.  The rain hasn't been much of a help,and neither has the dryer since it spat the dummy a few weeks ago.  Rotten machine, still blows warm air but the drum doesn't spin around.  Oh well, I do have the inside clothes rack and am now making use of it instead.

Our girls have hit a completely feral patch!!!!  I've been sleeping on the couch the last few weeks as we have had the heater on in there at night and it needs to be supervised or little fingers will play with it.  It is also the only place I can get comfy at the moment.  Don't worry, Les isn't lonely in bed, Laurel has taken over my side most nights so he's copping the kicker! Hehehehe, I can't sleep in the same bed with her now as she takes up all of my side of the bed and kicks me in the kidneys and head most of the time.

The last couple of mornings, Ayla has come into the loungeroom making demands, even though she can see I'm asleep.  Hhhhhhmmmm, waking me up like that makes me very grumpy, and it is then very hard for me to get into a better mood for the rest of the day.  She almost missed out on going to school today her behaviour was that bad, something she doesn't like missing out on.

Well, best keep moving.  Washing machine should be finished soon and I will need to brave the ice cave under the house to hang it up and get the next lot on.

After the busy few days I had, the last couple have been rather, well, let's just say non productive, but I can't sit still for long!!!!

I noticed last night as Les was kicking me off the couch and into bed, that my stomach is much slower in digesting food now.  It had been about 3 hours since I had eaten anything, and I had rotten reflux that threatened to have me seeing my dessert for a second time.  This morning, still the same, so I'm not feeling the best.  Having a Kermit Day, you know, as in feeling rather green? lol

While the domestic chores have been left for now, I did manage to get a lot of stuff set up on my laptop.  Finally asked for my minti password so that I can use it from any computer now, which is good.  I even worked for a while on my book, but not being able to concentrate for more than a few mins at a time and super fidgety, didn't get as much done as I had hoped.

The toilet and I are becoming best friends again.  Thinking of getting a wireless network connection so I can take the laptop in there! lol.  No kidding, it can take me 20 mins just to pee now!!!!!  Oh, and the toilet paper is disappearing rather rapidly, but there are 3 ladies using the toilet now.

Oh, by the way, I think it is 1 year since I joined minti!!!!  And the site has survived! lol.  Gosh, I've been reading over past blogs from way back then, and I can tell you now, I don't recognise the person who wrote them.  I feel like Minti has given me so much, and no matter how much I try and give back, it will never make up for what I have gotten.

Hope the week is treating you all well, I'll let you know if anything starts to happen, though been quiet on the Puggle front for a day or too (not her moving though!)

After a couple of weeks of doing the bare minimum with the washing, I finally got stuck into it yesterday and almost completely caught up with it all.

4 loads washed and hung out, another 4 brought in, folded and mostly put away.  Nice weather, so I had to take advantage of it.  This meant that the couch was sorely neglected, so was my computer.

Yeah, I was exhausted and felt like going to sleep everytime I came inside, but it had to be done.  With the laundry under the house, it is so nice to be out in the fresh air, just me, and working away at my own pace, which was like a tornado! lol.

Yesterday, I grabbed the stanly knife and got stuck into cutting up some of the boxes under the house that we are trying to get rid of.  Up until getting the knife, I have been ripping them up by hand, which isn't the easiest but good stress relief.  The idea of getting rid of all the junk under there is so that we can have a play area for the girls.

I thought that maybe with all the bending and stretching and climbing up and down the stairs, Puggle might decide to arrive.  Nope, stubborn monkey! lol.  Though, she did have a really good kick and wriggle session when I finally did stop!

Today, we went shopping.  Yeah, brave me with 4 kids and a husband in tow!lol.  Actually, I had a ball as the girls were really well behaved.  I got some new perfumes, pjs and track pants for Les, some DVDs for the girls, $500 worth of clothes for me for only $100!!!!!! and $120 worth of clothes for Acacia, as her winter wardrobe is either too small or too big for her.

Our oldest 3 went on the merry go round ride at the shopping centre, and had a ball!  Gosh, I can't believe what an amazing shopping experience it was!!!!  Could have done without the mistaken identity by the security team though, nearly gave me a heartattack!  Turns out,there was another lady roughly fitting my description who was caught on camera stealing, and because I was closest, grabbed me.  Thankfully, the shop assisstant said not her and pointed to the woman they were after! lol.

We got home and let the girls play under the house while Les, my pack mule, carted all the shopping upstairs.  Tears and tantrums when finally time to go in, but then they got to watch their new DVDs while I went through all the new clothes and tried all mine on.  Very happy me, but need a bigger wardrobe again! lol.

Another load of washing done too, but Ayla needs her uniform for Monday, so was a must.  Missed it yesterday as by the time she got home, I was all finished.  I do her 5 sets at the end of the week so I can keep track of them all.

Now, i'm really , really tired, and should be on the couch relaxing, and I will be shortly.  Maybe 2 busy days in a row will scare Puggle out! lol.

The title says it all.  Puggle is occassionally busy trying to make her grand escape, but since things got going yesterday morning, it has slowed down to just a view vicious sessions a day now.

Let's call it the 'warm up, wind down' phase.  I still have contractions every now and then, and they are pretty bad when they hit.  My plug is coming away still,but has been for the last 2 weeks.  I thik though, that I have a slow leak in my waters and like with Acacia is only happening when I go to the loo.

Puggle is sitting on my nerves now (and the rest of the girls are getting on my nerves too!) and it is hard to do anything.  I already have a pinched nerve in my back that often paralyzes me when I move the wrong way (just my legs, but takes some effort to move top half of me to get it to stop).  Sleeping is hard and uncomfy as is sitting or walking around. 

Sleep is all I want at the moment.  I have a constant pressure headache now that makes me light sensitive and noise sensitive.  Have had it with the other girls,and it is caused by the extra pressure being placed on the brain via bubs head! lol.

I'm hanging on for Dannii, I so want her to have her little man first.  She's been waiting in pain for weeks, and I've only had 1 1/2 days of it so far.

Thinking of everyone and hope they are all well.  I can't spend much time here at the moment, as my legs go to sleep quickly!

Yeah, not supposed to be due for another month hey?  I got news for them who told me that!  Puggle is almost here!

It is now 5:10am in my little world, and I have had reasonably strong contractions since 3:30am, just as I was finally crawling into bed!!!!!  Arrrgggghhh! lol.

I should have known though, i got the reverse indigestion feeling at about 1am, and that has always been the signal for me to be packed, ready and on stand by.

So, why aren't I sleeping?  Because I'm in pain, Les is snoring way too loud and Laurel is hogging my side of the bed again!!!!!  There is always the couch, but as soon as I lay down, I suddenly get itchy all over and end up spending the next 20 mins scratching away!

I'm not sure if I will have time to let you know when I leave for the hospital, things move very quickly for me once they get going, and I think things are starting to step up a bit now. 

At the moment, I have the constant need to be on the loo, constant back ache and then the ouch stop pinching me contractions that are about 10 mins apart (or they were) and lasting upto 90seconds!!!!  I know I still have a couple of hours yet, but then again, I only just made it to the hospital with Acacia!!!!

Hope everyone has a good start to the day.  Not sure how to take my start, or should I say, lack of being able to finish yesterday! lol.

At Ayla's school, they have had a 30 day drawing exercise, where they drew a picture every day for 30 days.  Getting her school bag ready for the new term, Les finally dragged the booklet out and I had a good look at it.

Despite what the teacher was saying at the last lot of interviews about Ayla's lack of ability with a pen/pencil, the work was very well drawn.  It seems that in a few short weeks, the issues have been resolved.

Plenty of colour has been used in her drawings and lots of happy faces too.  She even had a picture of me in there! lol.  Now, a child psychologist would say you can learn alot about a child's mental well being from their drawings.  Bright colours and happy faces means a happy well adjusted child, darker colours and straight mouths or frowns is an indication that the child is unhappy or 'at risk' of abuse.

I'm pleased to say, that I am so thrilled to find an abundance of colour and smiles, especially on the picture of me, which means that Ayla is a really well adjusted young lady, despite my dragoness ways! lol.  So, more proof that i am at least on the right track with her.

Ayla has improved vastly in many areas.  She can count to 100 without making a mistake, can write very clearly her own name and is even starting to write other words!!!!  She is only 5!!!!

Her reading skills are coming along nicely too, and while she doesn't read words, she reads letters and we are able to tell her what the word is.  The alphabet still seems a little complex for her at the moment though, and there are 2 more C's in it than I seem to remember.

Sadly, my oldest daughter still thinks she is the boss, but I'm slowly getting there with that too.  She hasn't bitten Willow for a while, but I wish she'd stop the hitting and kicking too, which happens when we are out of sight!!!!!  Ayla's cheekiness was getting beyond a joke, but now when I 'fire up' about it, she often cries, which to me indicates that she is finally starting to understand that the behaviuor is not acceptable.  Let's hope her younger sisters take note! lol.

All in all, my biggest baby, is growing up!  I can't believe just how tall she is! And she is so excited about having another baby sister too!

Well, i've gloated enough, so best get back to the bedtime routine!

So, it seems that Fi aka Lonely28 sent a search party after me today.  Ok, so I've been a little on the quiet side for a couple of days, but I am still here!  Still as big as a house and oh so over it!!!!

Puggle is doing her best to arrive.  My braxton hicks are super strong now, and even just a cough or yawn will bring them on.  They are now all through my back and spreading to the front, so taking it to mean we are getting closer, but not going to hold my breath.  I've been told I don't look very good doing an impersonation of a Smurf!

I have the contacts for a couple of members and will text them when things start to happen.  I will also post it here in my blog and in the Bulletin Board (time permitting) when I do go into labour, and I will also try and remember to put it on that funny little line on MSN by my user name so you can see it there too.  I don't get on MSN these days, can't sit still for long now and my computer chair keeps trying to drop me through the floor!!!!! It is a newish gas lift and doesn't seem to like me anymore!

Oh,I got a new keyboard and mouse, so I have been trying them out.  At first, they didn't want to work when Les tried to hook them up, but they do now and are wonderful!  Both mouse and keyboard are wireless with a radio frequency connection, so they don't have to have line of sight to work.  No more cables to wrestle with though I do have to be careful putting the keyboard drawer away now, I almost sent it flying last night! lol.  Les got one too, and we have been joking about how funny it would be if we could mess with each other's 'work' without going through the network! lol.

My bags are finally packed, so now it is just a waiting game.  Got some really nice new baby blankets yesterday to use as bunny rugs.  Our other ones have been used to death! lol.  I think I went over board though, $60 worth and Les thought I was getting the same ones as last time, but I went for much nicer ones that will hopefully last a bit longer and be more comfortable.

Not much else has been happening.  My writing is coming along nicely, though haven't done any for a couple of days.  Cross stitch still happens occassionally, which is what I will be doing tonight and the house?  Forget it! lol.  Washing can wait!

Hope everyone else is happy and well.  And please remember, just because I don't log in for a day or so doesn't mean I have been abducted by aliens.  I do check my email a lot so if you contact me through the Minti Mail system, I will get it.

Right, off to the couch to veg....might check the activity page again before I go! lol.  Hhhhmmm, could still be here in 2 hours time!

I've heard a lot about the benefits of the gym ball/ birthing balls, so started to form a plan of getting one and seeing if I could get the same results.  Said plan forming, I shared it with Les, who, the next time he was out, bought one for me.

It sat there for about 3 days before I finally got so uncomfortable last night, I decided to pump it up.  Les had better luck though, took me 30 mins and still got nowhere.  I guess men are just more full of hot air than we ever thought.

Ball pumped up and ready for experimentation.  Ok, now to try not look as though I am drunk.  Oops!  More unwanted wobbling.

Cut a long story short, I spent about 2 hours (on and off, had other things to do) bouncing and rocking away on the ball.  OMG!  I had not had relief like that for quite some time.  While I still have to use my own body weight to keep my from ending up on the floor, I could feel the pressure being eased off my back and pelvic region!  It was heaven!

Once I got comfy with just sitting and gently moving, I decided to experiment a bit further.  Poor knees, I now have to get a soft mat so that I don't end up with carpet burn.  This very simple, very plastic round thing is going to be great for when I'm in labour!  I tried many different ways of stretching and getting relief, and I think that as long as I don't feel any added pain, anything with this ball goes.

I even dragged it to the couch, had my lower back on the ball and upper back on the couch and oh!  What a way to get rid of back tension!  It was heaven! (seems to be the theme here! lol).

I can see why it is supposed to be great for burning fat though.  After just a few minutes of what seemed to me to be just sitting there trying not to act like a drunk pirate, I was sweating like the proverbial pig!  Oh wow, might work for darling Les, who's tummy seems to be outgrowing mine! (but there's more of him to keep me warm at night!).

Yep, I decided I finally needed to have a shower and les thought he would have a play with my new toy.  Notice I said My new toy?  Yeah, as much as I like sharing, I still had that 'mine' mentality going and had to stop myself from pushing him off it.   I told him so too, and he just laughed!  Bet he wouldn't have if I had pushed him off!

Les' verdict is that it will help to ease his backache too!  Great news for me!  No more spending hours knotting my muscles up! lol.  No, i love rubbing his back, but it isn't always enough.

So, I see I managed to give the long story after all.  Oops!

any preggy lady who is in pain, get one of these balls!  You don't have to be the most coordinated person in the world to use it and it really does work!  Take away your computer chair and use the ball instead!  It will mean you can spend longer here before needing a break! lol.

This afternoon there was a knock at the door.  Flower delivery for yours truely!  Wow!  They are gorgeous!!!!  A beautiful selection of lilies some in flower and many more flower heads yet to open, all mixed in with a nice arrangement of decorative branches.

On the card, it says 'Because We Care'.  That's it.  No mention of who they are from, but I have my suspicions.......

Top of the List and decreasing in order of likeliness:

1. A certain Minti Member who may or may not have paired up with another (or more) members.  The reason is because it is the sort of thing they would do, right down to not signing the card.  I'm talking about someone who gives a lot to their local community and is taking on more all the time.  Someone with a great sense of humour, and who is hounding Les and I to come for a visit.
2. Another Minti Member who lives a bit closer, but not entirely sure.  They are sweet and generous of heart etc, but like many of us, finding this inflation rather taxing and if it is them, they should know better.
3. Our housing group.  They have already made it very clear that we are one of their best tennants, and are pushing us in line for this other 4 bedroom house closer to Ayla's school.
4. Telstra.  Sounds weird, but plausible.  They have ready access to my address etc and I did launch a complaint with them about a service the other day, which was responded to very quickly, given that I threatened to take the matter to the ACCC.

Now, you might notice I didn't mention any of my family.  Well, that's because they don't do this sort of thing unless it is a special occassion.  Besides, they are too busy living their lives to be concerned with sending me on a goosechase! 

So, to the wonderful person/s who sent these gorgeous flowers to me, I thank you deeply from the bottom of my heart.  I just wish I knew for sure who the culprit is so that I can say to them that they really didn't need to do this as I already know they care.

I do hope they put their hands up and confess though!!!!!  Like before I go into labour! lol.  Though, that might be too late, as things are starting to progress even further.

I just want to say to everyone that I care and understand and will always do my best to offer whatever support and advice I can, no matter how silly it may seem.

Some of you may recall my blog post from a while ago about how frustrated I was that I couldn't get into my writing groove.  The frustration was immense, almost to the point I wanted to cry and delete my already hard typed and written works.  Thankfully, I didn't and just as well.

All day yesterday, I was itching to get my laptop out and take a look at what I already had.  Having little monkeys around makes it hard to get into my 'work' during the day as, while I love having little helpers, this is my work and I'm going to be selfish about it.  Got that girls MINE!!!!!!!!!

By 9:30pm, all the youngest members of our troop were safely tucked up in bed and I could finally get my poor laptop out, not an easy thing to do.  There was a pile of my craft stuff on top not to mention 10 inches of dust!!!!  Ok, so a healthy coating of dust, which I believe is actually good for a long disused computer.  Don't ask me how, but apparently a thin layer of dust helps to protect against other damage like scratching and sun damage.

To the couch my laptop and I headed, along with my toolbag of writing.  Open lid, push on switch and yeah......um......had it really been that long since I last used this poor device?  That battery was completely flat!!!!!!!!  Just as well I have the charger, so Les plugged it in from his study and then I held my breath to see if the poor machine would explode.  Nope, booted first time with no worries, and continued to behave for the remainder of the night.

I found the files I wanted and got stuck in.  My novel is coming along nicely, and the section I worked on last night went from 3 pages to 7 pages!!!!!!  Wow!  OMG!!  I more than doubled what was already there!!!!!

Working on my book again felt so good, almost too good.  I didn't make it to bed until 3am!!!!!!!!  I was just having way too much fun 'working'!  And yes, my writing is my work.  Les wants that BMW, so I have to earn it for him, though he does more constructive writing than I do, go figure!

Now at 11:30 am, I am itching to get back to it!!!!!  Oh how mesmerized I was by my own words!  Hey, the writer has to get lost in their own work before they can expect a reader to.  Am I right?  I'm sure other writers will back me up on that one.

Any ways, the whole point is now I can't seem to stop!  I know I blog alot here, but this is different, it isn't a novel but a sharing of my life.  My book is another baby of mine, one that I have to watch grow and change under my direction, and the help of the Editor in Chief (Les), just as I have to watch my own girls grow too.

I think my writing groove is finally back, and while I will still keep touching base with you all, what I really want to be doing is relaxing on the couch pounding away on my laptop.  Yeah, I know, Minti will go in shock and ban me for life!