As you can see I have not updated since the 16th!

L-I-T has had not just croup (which took at least 3-4 days to get over - I know this doesn't seem long but it is long for her) but also gastro. ARGH! She so hates being sick - I would not be surprised if she swallowed it in order not to have it pass out of her! Poor little thing. And she'll not throw up into a bucket or any kind of basin so I just have lots of towels hanging around and hope I can catch it.

I am still folding the towels... LOL. After a good napisan wash of course.

But she seems to be really picking up now a week later.

And this weekend she will be going into a bed! I have bought it (and a mattress) as well as a trundle. Since I am not at work tomorrow I will be off to get a doona (probably wool) and some sheets. Since I won't be putting it up until the weekend I will take her out on Saturday morning to choose the doona cover. I think she will be pretty excited... :)

Well, here I am after travelling half the day! I am so tired. Got to catch up with Chrysalis on the way and that was FUN!

Conference tomorrow and then I get to play digiscrapping so looking forward to that. Have to train it into the city for the conference so not so happy with that but I'll live!

Catch you all later!

That pretty much sums up my life at the moment! My poor baby has it again. We seem to get it every six months. Although this time she is on antibiotics as well as the steroid. Poor thing.

Thankfully her nose is running so hopefully it will loosen up more soon. I have cranked up the vapouriser and she has managed a couple hours of sleep this afternoon - am hoping tonight will be a lot better than last night where I was up several times and in the end took her into my bed as I couldn't hear how well she was breathing.

To top it all off I was snoozing on the couch and there was some salesperson at the door! Nothing like a knock to wake you up! Grrr.

Anyway, the house is a mess so will take this opportunity to have a bit of a tidy up before she wakes up.

I got home tonight and the babysitter said "you're home early!"

Blast, I said to myself, I could have gone for that coffee after all... :)

I went out with a few girlfriends to see The Devil Wears Prada and, despite what David and Margaret (from the Movie Show) say, it was really quite enjoyable. Funny in bits and poignant in bits. And not an upleasant way to spend a comfortable two hours.

Had some retail therapy this afternoon. Bought clothes for both myself and L-I-T so we will look super cool and groovy this summer. As opposed to extra baggy and misshapen...

Spent some time also with XDH and he seems to be doing okay. I must remember not to worry about him - he's big enough to do that for himself.

Anyway, hopefully tomorrow will not be so busy or so tiring. And that DD eats her tea... oooh, I can see those pigs going past my window testing out their wings... LOL

Goodnight!

So this won't be long.
Some days you just feel overwhelmed with what has happened - even if it is just everyday little things.

Work has been busy the last few days and I have been burning the candle at both ends. I know that the little one is waking up at 6.30 am and yet I still stay up late and read!

Parenting is hard work too, isn't it? It's been brought home to me in the last few weeks (since I've been on my own) that challenging behaviour and stubborness do actually gallop in our family... She is such a good girl but needs so much attention at the moment. And I want my time too, of course!

I must remember to take time for me on the weekend.

I will repeat that to myself all day tomorrow...

And with any luck it will work! LOL

(Well, almost...)

She actually put previously refused food to her lips and tasted it! Decided not to eat it of course, but hopefully we are getting somewhere.

It was very yummy Chicken Soup (the Women's Weekly Toddler Cookbook strikes again! :) ) I enjoyed it at any rate.

Apart from that I learned today that 2 1/2 and 3 year olds can be very noisy when running around a billiard table. They also live charmed lives - neither of them injured themselves (and the table is still standing - lol).

Well, mince and rice is all there is, child... and she ate it, grumbling occaisionally. It all went south, however, once she got put in the corner for shrieking at the dinner table. ARGH! Came back and spat it out after the first mouthful. I mean, what's changed since before she got put in the corner??? Apart from the temperature of course, but since she has things pretty much stone cold anyway I'd be surprised if that was it.

Oh well, she ate half of it...

Anyone got some good ways to stop kids spitting?? I thought I had it licked but it seems it might be rearing its ugly head again adn this time it might be a boundry issue.

Actually, I think pretty much everything is a boundry issue right now.

Tomorrow is my day off, so lets hope it is better than this evening. Talk about defiance!

Pleasant dreams to me... :) And to you all.

Well, it is my first night on my own since Wednesday and it feels a bit wierd. Good though. XDH has done his business and gone home - thankfully L-I-T seems to be fine so she must be getting the hang of it. It must be hard for little ones to cope with such momentous change. Mind you, he wasn't home much before he left so perhaps there isn't all that much difference after all... :)

I finally got my 3-compartment laundry hamper today. Isn't it funny that the small things can brighten your day? L-I-T helped me put it together (the clever chickie) and it has all the washing in it now. It has a tendency to fall apart but my sister assures me that that small problem can be rectified by white electrical tape...

I also had a WIggles workout tonight. Have you seen how much moving those guys do??? I usually pop a tape on while I am cooking tea for L-I-T and she is quite happy to watch it by herself but of course really loves it if I can get in and dance with her. She pretty much just shoots of the couch to join me and we have a lot of fun. Must remember to stretch first next time though... :)

I realised while I was cooking how much freedom I really have now that XDH has moved out. I can now cook things exactly how I like them. Not that he likes them all that much different but there were a few things I like that I didn't do. So tonight I put garlic in the mashed potatoes. YUM YUM!

[In case you were wondering, I served up meat and veg (mashed potoatoes, carrot, peas and corn (kernels) ) to L-I-T tonight. She didn't eat it. How surprising... :P]

For those of you following the saga - she didn't eat it today either. But at least she let me explain the process to her so we are making progress. She even put a piece of pasta on her fork so I tell myself that this is a good sign... :)

Tomorrow it is chops and vegs so let's see what happens. Any bets??? :)

And Monday will come all too soon. :P

I got to relax today. This is not a common occurence in my household. Either I am too busy, too pooped or feel too much MotherGuilt to just sit down and enjoy myself.

I am not sure why today was different. Church was later, so got to take my time getting ready (we were still late though - I think they must have a camera sitting outside our driveway so that they know when we will arrive - conspiracy theorists eat your heart out... :) ). This was helped by XDH still being here (he has a work car this weekend and business to take care of in town on Monday so has stayed here for the weekend, much to our daughter's delight!) and actually getting up and getting T-I-L out of bed BOTH mornings without having to be nagged. She still gets into bed with me, but at least I'm not the one having to go get her. AND he made her breakfast. I got all my towels folded last night so they only had to be put away this morning. So I had done most of what I set out to do and could just relax this afternoon while T-I-L was in bed.

And what did I do to relax you ask?? I wound DMC floss onto bobbins (a task started in the couple of weeks before T-I-L was born) and watched Murder on the Orient Express - the old version with all the well-known actors in it.

I also planted some dwarf bearded iris I bought at the market yesterday. It will be August before they bloom but I am already looking forward to it!

There is still much to do in my house to get it to the state I want it to be. The last couple of months have been rough and it shows. But I know I will get there. Eventually.

So let us relax on Sundays for on Sundays the tea is plentiful and the MotherGuilt will be non-existent... :) And if there is nothing good on TV there is always the DVD player.... :)

So how to come back at that??? From a two year old???? Before you've even set tea on the table????

I don't know what all the rest of you would say, but this week I have been "Mummy the Mean" and am about to become "Mummy the Even Meaner".

I have decided that I am tired of preparing two different meals (all she will eat for dinner is corn-on-the-cob, plain pasta, plain rice and egg and toast) so this week I have given her pretty much what I have had. So the menu has been meat and 3 veg, vegie soup and toast, pasta and meatballs and rice and stir fry. I didn't give her the sauces for the pasta and the stir fry because I am nothing if not kind and know that she really actually doesn't like tomatoes (established early on) and satay sauce is really a bit hot for her (as well as containing peanuts).

Tonight was a delicious tuna pasta bake lovingly prepared and much enjoyed by both me and XDH. Of course, true to form, L-I-T would not even try it - pushing it away before we had even said grace. So, as I have done all week when she has refused food I have said "Well, that's what we're having and that's all there is" and she got down from the table.

What she doesn't know (and this is where my new title comes in) is that I made enough so that we could have the leftovers tomorrow night. And since she hasn't touced hers I have no compunction not to serve it to her again tomorrow night. I considered breakfast but even I am not that mean... :)

I wonder how long either of us can hold out?

Yay!!! It's Friday!!! Woohooooo!!!

And XDH is here so I can sit here and check out this site without a little someone trying to help me type... :)

And so far I like what I see...

I have been warned that it is addictive so I am on my guard. I already have several of those! All harmless of course :) Anyone who does craft and reads Terry Pratchett will know exactly where I am coming from.

So how can I sum up my Friday?? Busy - as per usual. How come Fridays are always so busy?? Or perhaps I should say frenetic. And when you are looking forward to the weekend and really would rather be sitting outside reading a book it is very hard to get motivated.

Still, the weekend has arrived and I intend to make every minute of it count.

But first I have to spend some time with my freshly washed daughter. Slinky Malinki awaits!! :)