Friday, September 29, 2006

All quiet on the Western (Australia) front

All will be a bit quiet now here in toaster land. We are heading west on Sunday for two blissful weeks without kid swaping and with lots of swimming and resting. Thomas' big requests is that we eat our breakfast together at the table with the milk in a jug (he stayed with his Granny last week) and we have promised that that will be no problem.

I have never been to WA (none of us have) but I admit that I am ignoring all indicators that it is a place with things like internet and mobile coverage and telling all and sundry that we will be OUT OF RANGE for days at a time. It is going to be JUST US, and no interruptions.

We have mapped out our trip and start at Cervantes, followed by Geraldton (which I am sorry I just can't be bothered linking too) and then will whip up to Ningaloo reef (ditto) and then make our way slowly back to Perth for our last two nights in a swanky (two bedroom) apartment.

Last night we downloaded the full details of the donor and he sounds and looks nice. (Isn't that handy) and I dreamt of young Olive (as in no bigger than an olive but making a big impact already) last night. By the time we get back it will be week 14 (YAY! YAY! YAY!)

It will also be time to tell my mother (not so YAY).

But right now it is time to go on holidays

Thursday, September 28, 2006

JUST THREE MORE SLEEPS

It is in capitals for a reason! Just three more sleeps until we go on our holiday ... three more sleeps until we jump on that plane for WA.

Two more sleeps until my boy comes home from his Dad's and then I don't have to share for 27 sleeps (while his Dad jets about overseas having a honeymoon!).

Hoo-bloody-ray!

Just two more sleeps, just three more sleeps

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

We came third ...

The excellent thing about my new job (and it is in fact the best thing about my new job) is that I am close to Thomas’ school. Which meant that today (School Carnival Day) I was able to take an early lunch and pop down to the carnival and enter into the parent and child race. Thank the goddess – we came third. I say that not because I am really all that competitive but my child is and I did want to do a decent showing for his sake. I admit I did make sure I wasn’t in the race with Gary (Dad) and Lily (child) who are completely lovely people but I knew would beat me by a mile. I figure I am good a strategy! I also got to watch Thomas and a mate win in the pairs race (they hold hands – so cute). He already had a couple of third place ribbons when I got there.

But the best bit? Seeing Thomas walk up to a little girl who hadn’t got any ‘place’ ribbons (she did have four ‘I ran in the race’ versions) and, without prompting handover one of his third place ones with a "here you go Belle – have one of mine." Her tears stopped and I told him I was more proud of that than anything.

14 weeks of crossed fingers update: 11 weeks today and off the blood thinner after a trip to the ante-natal clinic who said it wasn’t necessary.

Monday, September 18, 2006

All sorts of magic

10 weeks on Wednesday.

Isn't that amazing. Time moves so strangely during these waiting times. 5 weeks feels a long time ago - but at the same time that magical 14 weeks is drawing so close.

Last night Thomas and I went to Quadworts - which is held here at my workplace once a year. An old sandstone University with a quadrangle it is the perfect location for an outdoor movie viewing of the latest Harry P*tter. In fact it looked very very very like Hogw*rts at 6:30pm with the lights all off and Thomas is convinced that I do in fact work at Hogw*rts - my value has just increased incredibly in my 7 year old's eyes! It was a lovely evening with about 8 other families from school. Kids dressed up as Harry and co. University students teaching them spells and how to train Hipp*griffs. It was magic and maddness and exactly why I like living in this part of Sydney.

Monday, September 04, 2006

It is just a wee bit stressful

Gaye is now 7 1/2 weeks along. Which means the little one is around 1 cm now. Last week we went to the blerky IVF clinic and had a scan which showed a then 6.6mm blob with its little heart beating.

There is only one

It's little heart was beating

It is due on 18 April

We are booked in to the birth centre for a tour in just two weeks.

Gaye is experiencing (and it has to be said celebrating) nausea and tiredness at a great rate and her body already looks different to me. It is completely beyond me how someone could possibly be pregnant and not know they are pregnant or at least notice the changes in their body.

Last night Gaye was worried she was spotting - all is well this morning- so I went out and bought two huge tombs today on pregnancy (mine are all in storage somewhere and at this rate of house buying we may never get them out) to compliment the funny and enjoyable 'up the duff' whenever she gets worried. And we do worry. It is just a little bit stressful (despite the assurance from Dr Blerk at the IVF clinic that the 6 1/2 week scan was the right size and the heartbeat was strong and this means a 95% chance (where does she get that stat I wonder?) that all will be okay from now on.

It is just another period of waiting really (a bit happier waiting but waiting none-the-less) and we all know that waiting really is stressful

Wombats, parachutes Aliens and beer

There are four words you don’t usually find in one sentence.

We spent this last weekend at my folk’s house. My folks live in Canberra, which with a 7 year old is about a 31/2-hour drive. There was much excitement on the way down in the car – which there always is on the way to Canberra because we are going to see Thomas’s cousins Ann and Denis who Thomas loves beyond compare.

This time on the trip down we saw a plane filled with jumpers doing their thing out of a plane. It looked completely amazing as about a dozen parachutes flew in the air at sunset. Thomas madly trying to capture them on his new mobile phone (it is my old one and it isn’t connected to a service!).

Once we got there my very excited parents who had found that morning a wombat in their yard greeted us. This is not a common occurrence in Australia regardless of what Steve Irwin would have you believe, and in fact none of the adults could ever recall seeing a live wombat outside an animal farm or zoo before (dead ones beside the road are common).

When Mum rang and said they had found a wombat I thought it would be small but it was huge probably half a metre long and about 40 cms wide. Thomas was put on Wombat duty and kept going outside to check on him (we were all convinced the wombat had come to die as it was very old and mangy looking) every 15 minutes. He wandered off during the night (yes Mum and Dad had rung the wildlife people they said to leave him be) sometime – no doubt in the direction of the nearby reserve, which would be quieter, and without a very excited 7-year-old boy checking on him every 15 mins.

On Saturday night Gaye and I were about to head out to dinner while Thomas was put to bed by his grandparents when a neighbour rang to say “there seems to be an alien ship above the city” which needless to say brought us all out to the front garden to have a look. After looking around aimlessly at stars for sometime we gave up – only to have Thomas point out a large object with flashing lights on the horizon. The flashing lights were on the top and bottom, blue and red in colour and binoculars did not help establish what the thing could be. We sat out there looking at it for sometime – with Gaye singing songs from War of the Worlds.

It turned out to be a blimp (or limp as Thomas told his Dad last night).

We spent Sunday morning with my Dad cooking him a Father’s Day breakfast and giving him gifts (a tea towel with all of the kids from Thomas’ school on it and a Dixie Chicks CD) before driving home to Sydney and preparing cheesecake for Thomas’ Dad and his partner to come around after work and have desert for Father’s Day. Thomas present to his Dad this year was a fabulous card that said ‘ My Dad is as tall as an elephant, faster than the speed of light, as wonderful as a fairy, faster than Ms B (his teacher), cooler than a rock star by Thomas” and some beer which we had specially labelled with "Thomas’ Dad is the soccer coach" and a picture of Thomas at soccer.

“News” on Wednesday is going to consistent of Thomas showing photos from the weekend on a powerpoint display (News is way different in 2005 than in was in 1975!) but he has asked me if I can stay cause he just doesn’t think anyone will believe his weekend!