Nesting: The Man's way.

Pic from Flickr - no copyright
Help!  Only 5 weeks to go until bub number 2 arrives and my husband and I are both in nesting mode.  I was sick in bed on Saturday with a cold, leaving Hubby and Toddler Cuggles to their own devices.  I'd normally be at work on a Saturday anyway, but when I got up in the afternoon... the house was sparkling!  How did  he do it with a toddler underfoot?  He won't tell me the secret and assures me there was no TV involved.  I'm sure I heard a tanty at some stage, but nothing disastrous. 

Hubby had vacuumed and mopped all the floors, polished the furniture (something I never do), tidied away all Little Miss Cuggles' toys, clothes and general kid-stuff and oh yeah, rewritten my menu plan for the week!  (I let it slide because of how the house looked, because Toddler Cuggles hadn't come and jumped on the bed or disturbed me all day and because he chose only Donna Hay recipes.  He is wonderful at times.  (So far I've resisted the temptation to blog about when he's not!).    

Will do another post about how I've been nesting soon.  For now, it must be time for a cuppsy.

Happy Anniversary Mr Cuggle

It has been 4 years and 1 day since this stolen kiss between you and I Mr Cuggle.  I love you dearly.... even if you are pain in the neck sometimes!  Like when you agree to go to Melbourne for work on our anniversary.  You were forgiven the moment you kissed me sweetly on your way out at 5am yesterday, leaving me a love note like you always do.  Counting the hours til you get home this afternoon ya big boof.  

xxx

I have 2 Mums

First there's the beautiful woman who gave birth to me and raised me.  She taught me how to sew, to have good manners, to value family and to always be honest.  I got my sociable nature from her, my brown eyes and warped sense of humour.  She forgave me for all the horrible things I yelled at her when I was a teenager and she drove me to Brisbane with my flatmate-to-be and her Mum when we left home at 18.  Our most important possessions were packed into a Ford Telstar with the 4 of us girls for the 5 hour drive to Brisbane.  She cried when they drove away, I was too excited and saved my tears for later.  Mum is still interstate and I have my own family now, but we see each other as much as possible and talk on the phone.  She is vibrant and generous and I'm proud when people tell me how much we are alike.  I love you very much Mum.

My second Mum is on loan from my husband, but I think I'll keep her.  She tried in vain for a long while to teach me to cook and reluctantly I started listening about the time our baby was born.  Between her and Donna Hay, I'm doing alright.  She's also taught me how to menu plan, to organise our paperwork (and how to bring a wilful man into line!).  She has done so much for us since the arrival of our daughter I can never thank her enough and I know my Mum is grateful too.  She is a strong woman who I admire and am lucky to have as a Mum in Law.  Love you too Gran.

Big kisses for my 2 beautiful Mothers.  XXX

Thanking Mr Wonderful

How do you thank a beautiful husband?  Hubby Cuggles has been coming home from work, cooking dinner, cleaning up the kitchen, washing the clothes, tidying the house, keeping up the house cleaning, attending to Toddler Cuggles when she wakes in the night, and falling into bed, exhausted, at midnight.  That's usually just when I ask for a drink of water.  In the morning he gets up, empties bins, puts more washing out, makes all our breakfast and changes Toddler Cuggles nappy before having his shower, ironing his shirt and hopefully getting to work on time.

Yes, we have had lots of help from friends.  Yesterday the girls changed all the sheets, put another load of washing on, hung more washing out and made all the food and drinks for the day.  When Hubby Cuggles got home there was a little less to do, but still it must seem never ending to him.  I know how to thank the girls, but how do you thank the Man in your life?  I have written him a love note which I will tie to the dog's collar so when she wags her tail and runs out to greet him tonight he'll receive my letter via puppy post.

When I can drive again I'll go out and get him a present or organise a baby sitter and take him out to dinner or something. 

Tell you what though Mum's, I know it's been questioned many times before but doesn't it make you think (again) about how the hell we do all this stuff during the day while looking after kids and some of us working and running businesses as well?  Perhaps I'll need a present too!!

Lucky break!!?

Being a BIG procrastinator, I hadn't been able to decide on which topic to blog about as a first post for the new year.  Then I broke my foot (well, chipped a bone) on Thursday.  I thought that's as good as any place to start, here's a nice picture to illustrate....

It was my turn to host our regular Thursday playgroup and all I did was step off the back deck, onto the grass, with a bucket of water to fill up the kid's pool.  It's one step down, onto a flat surface yet I fell over and some say they heard a crack!  Still cannot believe I did it.  The moral of the story is, I'm doomed to crutches for a while and all the girls have put themselves on a roster of mornings and afternoons to come over and help with Toddler Cuggles and whatever else needs doing.  They all have at least one and many of them 2 small kids of their own, including newborns, but are still willing to find time to help.  That's why I cherish their friendship so dearly.  Whenever any of us are in need, the rest gather round without hesitation. 

Yep, it is an absolute pain in the butt to be incapacitated, especially at this time of the year with so many goals and desires and 'to do' lists, however it has really made me think about how grateful I am not only to have such great friends, but to generally be a fit and healthy person who takes it for granted that this is only temporary.   

There is a small perk to this situation - all cuppsy teas are made for me and brought to me.  : )