Jeanie in Paradise

Tick tick tick...

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 04:44:00 +0000

Sleep in? Tick (5.15 folks - yay)
Breakfast? Tick
Swim in the ocean? Tick
Coffee while V surfed? Tick
Spoke to all female members of immediate family? Tick
Vacuumed? Tick
Lunch? Tick
Made nectarine upside-down cake? Tick
Ate some? Tick (mmmmmmm)
Tried to nap? Tick
Fail? Tick
Cut out bassinette sheets? Tick
Blogged? Tick

To do:

Sew bassinette sheets
Have afternoon tea with brother and his family
Write Christmas cards
Wash windows
Have a baby

Wonder if the list will be completed today?

From Paradise's most pregnant woman...

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:37:00 +0000

This is starting to mess with my mind.

We were discussing the philosphy of it on the way in to town today. I was a little blue this morning, having a lovely mental beat up about what I have done, should have done, could have done, should be doing, etc, etc - about this baby transitioning from unborn status.

On top of that is the tick-tick-tick of worries that maybe this baby wants to stay put for a reason - and please, never go into an overly pregnant woman's worry sector because it is a dark and horrible place.

V is scoring an A+ on sensitive guy at the moment, and after an hour or so forbearance took me out of the house for a drive to collect the booty from the raffle.

I came back in a better frame of mind (and a few bargains from a few op shops - cheap therapy) - still haven't silenced those insideous little voices, but at least they are back in some context.

Anyhow - you didn't get full-term photos because - well, because you didn't - so here is one

and here are 41week 2day photos...

Can hardly tell I am pregnant, can you?

Oh - that...

Another Gorgeous Day in Paradise

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:53:00 +0000

There are a few partygoers in my previous post comments section - who would have thought Copenhagen discussions would end in a carouse?

Anyhow, no baby here still - in fact, the latest is if we don't have a baby by the 21st, we will have a baby by the 21st!

Had a lovely swim in the ocean this morning, got my cup of coffee (and it was GOOD) while V surfed, met with my dad in town while he and we were doing our various chores, ticked off EVERYTHING on our list (do you know what that means? All the Christmas shopping is now DONE) and got home in time to contemplate a nap (yeah, right) and get the phone call to say we have won a charity raffle - a laundry basket full of Christmas goodies.

Life is good.

I do hope everyone else is having a blessed Wednesday.

Amongst things that don't bring on labour

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:44:00 +0000

###DISCLAIMER###
Debby - you may go straight to the comments section and talk about Copenhagen. I really don't think it is in your best interests to read this one. It involves a word starting with the letter S and is something you really don't want to read about.

Today, Nana (my mother), who has been with us for a week to look after 'Salina should I have the unborn whilst school was still in, packed up and took 'Salina out to Granite Glen. She will return when the baby is born.

This means tonight is the first - and possibly the last - child-free evening for some weeks.

You know what this means?

Curry...

V and I were in the kitchen, preparing for our feast.

I had cubed and salted eggplant and chopped many vegetables. V was doing the same with pork.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Eddie go past. I automatically checked his bowl and added some dried.

Some 5 minutes later, our early chores in the kitchen completed, we moved into the living room.

Suddenly V turned around and told me to get out of the house!!

What he had seen and I had not was Eddie was playing in the living room with his latest toy - obviously all the craze at the moment - a baby brown snake...#

While there may have been a nanosecond of two of indecision about me leaving my mate in the path of danger and endorsing a policy contrary to my feminist leanings*, common sense prevailed and continuation of species was ensured. I fled downstairs and out to the front of the house, so I could remotely monitor the battle between freaked out husband, snake and cat.

I could hear V. There was the occasional utterance of a colour phrase or two regarding the stupidity of ginger cats, placement and awkwardness of furniture and piles of "stuff" in the living room and advice to the reptile.

Then there was a long silence.

"Honey" I piteously wabled, mentally working out what I should do in regards to all number of catostrophic possibilites.

A pregnant pause.

"Honey" a little bit louder.

Finally I hear a drawer and the reassuring snap-snap of the tongs - long-handled tongs, I would have surmised based on the ~~tonal quality~~ fear-factor inherent in the situation.

V came to the window and explained the situation and momentarily bemoaned the lack of following through an earlier idea of actually acquiring the local snake-catchers' numbers, all the while checking over his left shoulder for the baby brown to stir from behind a large desk.

Mid-sentence, he swivelled and was gone from view.

Eddie appeared around the side of the house, cool as a cucumber. He came and rubbed against my legs like it was perfectly normal for the two of us to be sharing the front yard of an early evening.

A strange hissing sound came from the house. I contemplated whether snakes really did hiss as per the cartoons - all snakes in my history have not, but that is not conclusive proof.

Then again came the hissing, and it was definitely not of the herpetic variety. A strange smell accompanied the sound.

Then there was banging, then there was banging and hissing, then there was banging and hissing and snap-snapping.

Eddie completely ignores this and attempts to lay a whole heap of love on me.

A finale then silence.

Emerging on the balcony was a victorious V, tongs aloft with the snake. As he came downstairs and across to where the snake was disposed of, Eddie attempted to walk off as if there was nothing at all concerning in this scenario.

I grabbed the felonious feline and carried him upstairs, ready to rouse as soon as I had him safely locked within.

I quickly cooked up the base ingredients of the curry and then added the magic Hot Singapore Curry Sauce and covered the curry to cook through.

Dinner was delicious, the cat is completely freaked out, for some reason imagining the snake is still in the house.

# It was not the same type or types previously seen.

* I saw a tea-towel in a dollar shop today. It would have been worth a blog and may be in the future, but the short version is it was branded "Feminist Tea-Towel" and wasn't. V got the full version of the vent...

Oh - and the hissing - Fast Knockdown apparently is an inspirational choice for snake-bamboozling.

Breaking News!

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:23:00 +0000

No, not baby related.

We went to the beach this morning - and they have opened a cafe there!! For all the time I have been here, the buzz has been "if only there was coffee available" because honestly, the little beach nearest here is gorgeous and requires very little to take it to the level of perfection - but good coffee might just be that straw.

This means that AFTER the unborn arrives, I will be able to walk over there with 'Salina and the thenborn and 'Salina can swim and I can sip on the foreshore and supervise.

Bliss.

3am Sunday in Paradise

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:48:00 +0000

Is still pretty beautiful in a completely still and not a hint of breeze sort of way.

Take it from me.

Stress-free

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000

You know, up until a week ago, I was completely unphased by this whole "you are going to have a baby" thing. It was going to happen, I was zen.

Then (a) people suddenly felt they had to ask ALL THE TIME when I was due, whether I was over it etc, etc (b) I had an appointment on due date and they said the ominous "you see the doctors next week if you haven't gone to see the next plan" and (c) I really thought something was happening - and then it wasn't...

That made me all antsy and want it to happen, and want it to happen RIGHT NOW - and lord, if b1tchy and grouchy was a precursor to labour, then we would be talking babies and not lack thereof.

It all came to a head this morning, and I had a little meltdown with V. Its amazing what a good cry will do. We are back to zen - I think it is the best approach.

I hate it when people get to me... Especially when they really don't mean to be getting to me at all, just being polite.

Still in one piece

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:41:00 +0000

Yes, here, still "intact".

My new deadline is 4.15 this afternoon - that gives me a chance to see 'Salina after school, V to finish work YET STILL gives me an out to not go to the school concert.

Yes, I want to see my daughter perform.

However, performing a routine where they all wear black, have one glove on and to a song and performer that I really never could "get" - I start to quibble.

Watch 9 performances of varying age groups to the same performer who, frankly, doesn't have a great deal of differential in the material on offer? Teetering on the "do I have to whine".

All of the above and present a speech in my official role as head honcho of P and C?

Well, if they are of the calibre of speeches I have been pondering for the last hour or so, I am sure the 150 odd families who can be bothered to attend a school concert but cannot be bothered to be interested in anything to do with the P and C except whinge about what they don't do would wish for me to be anywhere but also.

It appears I may be getting grumpy.

Not into overtime - yet

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:44:00 +0000

Got a shock yesterday, finding out TODAY is actually the due date for the unborn. I had been working on the premise that I still had a day - or two - up my sleeve.

Not that it makes a huge difference - it is not here, but it is a day closer.

Having got my head around the fact that there WILL BE a baby here, I am okay with that set of facts.

In fact, I think it would be cool if it decided to start around 11.45 this morning - that would kybosh any further P&C official activities for the year yet allow me to rush through all those Christmas gifts that I have not yet bought (which is approximately the total amount of Christmas gifts I have to get this year less 2).

However, if baby comes through on that order, I am scared for my future. I would not know what to do with such a compliant child!!

If not, I have until next Tuesday to talk sternly - otherwise the doctors are threatening to do the talking for me, and I really don't want that.

So anyway, you will be kept updated.

Bathing - the adventure of a 39 week 2 day pregnant woman on a Friday night.

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:17:00 +0000

There was nothing on the tv, and after a harsh morning cleaning (the tuckshop) and the overwhelming (olfactory) urge to bathe, a decision that the black hole in entertainment between 'Salina's bedtime and Outrageous Fortune coming back onto Free-to-Air television in Australia (to see what that may mean to me, I have a thing for Outrageous) (oh, and if I were in Auckland I would definitely do this) would be best filled by running the tub and submerging.

So the bath was filled (yoga positioning required. Lean forward and gently toward the taps, hoping desparately that the centre of gravity would remain in the legs section of the torso and not suddenly tip into the leaning bit - gravity truly sucks sometimes), using the occasional dabble of the right foot for temperature control. There is a conscious thought process on the advisability of adjusting the temperature too finely, as the above step of balance is to be taken seriously with every nudge of the taps.

Getting in to the bath is itself convoluted and requiring several steps.

First, ensure that you are far enough from the plug end to allow room for the eventual placement of legs after lowering - this also means not so close to the slopey (sp?) end of the bath that the tailbone may impact above the bend.

Once correct positioning has been reached, attempt a squat - as you pass the point where your knees may get close to collapse, take the weight off one leg and try to extend it forward WHILE balancing on the other and extending your arms to catch the side of the bath. Continue the downward trajectory until such time as gravity takes over and you plummet.

The "getting into the bath" stage should take place when the water level is not going to be too adversely affected by the Archimedes principle under pressure.

Once in the bath, you are able to use your right foot to adjust the water temperature and turn off the water once the plumb line has been reached. This is a good thing, as there is a very non-pregnant chance in Hades that you would be able to reach down to your ankles and adjust manually.

Now the bath has been run and horizontalish as been achieved, soaking, reading and wallowing may be contemplated. Ignore the water temperature, as once the water is off there is no factor that can be influenced in that matter until removal of body from the bath. Therefore it is adviseable to stay in the water until 7 minutes before unbearable to take full advantage of all the effort that has led to this point.

Once upon a non-pregnant time, the deadline used to be 2 minutes to allow for 2 minutes ablutions before arising, effortlessly and Venus-like, from the waters.

At 39 weeks 2 days pregnant, washing is not the mindless activity that thence it was. You will need all of the 4.5 minutes you allocate for this task just to attempt to reach all frontiers with soap - rinsing is somewhat easier, as you can throw water in the general direction.

With the last 2.5 minutes, exit strategies must be used.

First, sit up.

(ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha)

Please use whatever handholds the bath offers to achieve this - there is no pride available in this step.

Next, cross legs - again with the yoga, I know, but it is a step that is required when your ankles have no flex left and you have to get to vertical somehow.

Now, grasping the end of the bath, try to twist your legs around to one side of your body, hopefully ending up with both of them facing the same way and in correct order. You may need to rock a bit to achieve this, as momentum can be your friend but can also get you stuck if your timing is off.

With both legs to the side (left is my preference) you then need to attempt to raise your torso enough to get said legs to a position approximating beneath you.

Now, lean forward to place your palms on the bottom of the bath and raise yourself onto all-fours. Move through whatever tortures are required to get to Downward Dog and, using the sides of the bath, bathroom fittings and whatever furnishings within reach until vertical is achieved.

Congratulations!!

Still here...

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:12:00 +0000

So here is the 39 week picture...

The bump probably didn't appreciate the steam burn I gave it last night (note to self - time and motion strategies must be employed in the kitchen with proper workplace health and safety regulations... or don't try to hold a vege steamer under one arm against the bump when bending down to get some tongs out of drawer).

I was at the school most of the day yesterday (and the day before) - my hips have started to mention that it might not be the best idea to stand up for most of it.

After today and tomorrow, that is IT for the volunteering at the school. I am meant to be at the official graduation of the Year 7 class on Tuesday and the Concert is on Wednesday where I am meant to do a speech, but that is surely incentive enough to contemplate having the baby earlier than the end of term! Lesson for young players - find a post to hide behind when you go to P&C AGM meetings...

Late last week, 'Salina got to go to the disco at school. It was meant to be crazy hair day, but she has been blessed with a mother who completely forgot the "can I have some pipecleaners for my hair" request within seconds and so had to go the putting curlers in her hair.

I don't think it turned out too bad in the end - although she has been blessed with genetically straight hair that will fall into dead straight within minutes of being curled, so I don't know how "crazy" it was!!

V had a shocker yesterday - he didn't go to work as concrete was being poured on site, so he decided to be Mr Handyman. Its not a natural role for him, but he is stoic about undertaking such when he sets his mind to it (and has done all of the research and has the right tools).

First he decided to do the yard - snakes are turning up a bit too regularly in the cat's playtime regime. He and the whippersnipper had 10 minutes of joy together - and then the whippersnipper decided that a main part would just fall off.

So he then decided to concentrate on the plumbing. He had to dig down to the water mains, as the council apparently feel that 20cm of mud is ideal for covering such things. The second tap he went to fix the washers on decided that rather than unscrew where the screw bit was, it would far rather snap at the connection to the post - and do so right through the tap, indicating the tap was actually weaker than the screws holding it on (and indeed weaker than the thread)...

After a trip into town for another whippersnipper, new fittings and advice from the plumbing shop, he returned, fixed that and moved onto the upstairs taps. The kitchen washers are apparently very safe - behind the tiles and a good few inches behind the wall. There were 10 minutes there where I had to cover my ears.

He turned the water back on and all worked wonderfully well - except for the new fitting on the busted tap, which blew off immediately - and every time he tried for the next hour.

Luckily it eventually worked AND the new whippersnipper did enough jungle clearing out the back for him to be able to feel that some of his efforts weren't for nought.

'Salina and he did the Christmas tree last night (I have a "not until December" rule imposed in this house and I AM the Christmas dictator) and balance was restored in the universe.

And finally, Eddie has done nothing untoward since the last snake - probably because someone left him this comfy laundry basket to sleep in.

Of course, it is now alternately bucketing down and threatening to bucket down here which may kybosh swimming at school and therefore impact on the smooth running of our Pizza Day for the kids (we were going to have it so well organised, with only 1/2 the school there at a time... Wet day rules = ratty kids...) Rain also means that V won't be working today, so I might gently nudge the vacuum cleaner into his line of sight.

Baby is far better off in utero for another day or so (if it listens to its mother). We have organised for 'Salina (well, 'Salina and her friend have organised) a sleepover on Saturday night and then Mum is here from Sunday, so as long as I get my Christmas shopping squared away we are almost organised to have another child!!!

Do you DO mornings?

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:25:00 +0000

Most mornings, I wake up and I am AWAKE!! There are exceptions, but on the whole it is the approach I take to the day.

Be assured, it was not always so and I can do a fair imitation of the morning grumps.

(In fact, there are living witnesses - mostly related to me - who can attest just how real that imitation can be)

My father is a great believer in mornings. "Best part of the day" he bellows. He is no defender of the freedom of sleep-ins, and probably wouldn't know what to do if one were enforced upon him.

He always had a few strategies to get company for breakfast.

My bedroom was first off the hall on the route from his (and mum's) room to the kitchen. He had learned over the years to do his level best not to disturb Mum's rest (too much) and so would thoughtfully wait until he was outside my door before exploding into the HARRUMPHS, sneezes and coughs that cleared his airways.

I was not a big voter for his "best part of the day" bill when woken by such methods.

On occasion, it would be a requirement that we surface and face that day on Dad's timetable, and he would take delight in rousing his children from sleep.

There was no gentle pass into the world of wakefulness on offer. Instead he would come in singing "Oh what a beautiful morning" at top pitch - or "Good morning, good morning".

I KNOW there is nothing worse than a hearty morning person greeting a non-morning person with gusto and cheer.

If that did not work, he would get a damp (as in the pretty blooming wet end of the damp spectrum) cloth from the bathroom and bring it in to "assist" you in "washing your face" - because apparently a cold wash to get the sleepy dust out of your eyes wakes you up.

And yet he lives.

Over the last 20 years I have discovered my own morning rituals. Ones that DON'T involve singing or wet washers, luckily. Ones that HOPEFULLY are slightly respectful of those who like to slumber.

For some years, I was a workaholic. This entailed spending more time at my workplace than where I paid rent. To do this AND maintain my social life, hours were lopped off the morning rituals and I managed to develop first name relationships with several cab-drivers.

Then I moved on to temping (so as not to fully embrace my addiction) and often would have many miles to drive to start work at various places. Temping is a much more rewarding experience if you smile and are in a decent mood - it can be a bit of a minefield which workplace you enter, but then again, apparently hiring a temp can be a minefield in itself!!

When I had 'Salina, one of my sanity-savers was bundling her up in a sling and taking her for walks - long walks that often covered her wake-up at sunrise until about 8, when she would breakfast and have her first nap of the day. If P was at work, it eradicated the loneliness - and if P wasn't, it eradicated his bear-headedness at being woken by such chirpers.

As she grew into a toddler and I into a single mother, those moments in the morning that I could grab for myself again worked for my mental health. Even 10 minutes and a cup of tea can make the difference between dealing with a toddler and HAVING TO DEAL with a toddler.

V leaves for work between 5.30 and 7 most mornings. He is fairly good in the mornings - so long as he can follow his own rituals, which I can respect. 'Salina tends to rise early as well (of her own volition - I don't think I have ever employed the wet washer method) and so often - such as this morning - she has done all of her morning chores by 6.30am.

I have found that I tend to waken early without any prompting (I do occasionally dream of sleep-ins, but they are like lotto wins for me). It is a rare morning when 'Salina or V beat me to the punch.

Those few moments when I organise my day, drink my tea and have the world to myself - precious.

I used to fight it - now...

I have found that when I wake early, I can be quite moanful of the fact that it is so darned early - OR I can choose to get up and seize the day.

And do you know what?

The latter strategy does actually set me up for a much better day than the former.

What works for you?

Hold Your Hats

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 03:39:00 +0000

I know - posting twice in a week!!!

But that is because Eddie has done something twice this week.

The first was on Sunday.

'Salina and I had gone down to the beach for a swim. V finished painting her room and then came down to join us. As my burn threshhold is set to something well prior to theirs, I returned first.

(BTW - V's threshhold was about 1/2 an hour before he thought it was. 'Salina has inherited the sort of genes from either her auntie or her father that sort of only hits red in direst of circumstances OR under her eyes.)

(That was an aside. I have an "aside" habit.)

Anyhow, I returned to wash off some salt and sand, and about to head towards the stairs that lead to the back door, spied Eddie playing with something.

Something long and thin - and still moving...

I got close enough to identify "snake" (albeit obviously a baby, but I can be a bit of a baby about snakes) and then scarpered back to the front steps and locked all doors - Eddie has a habit of bringing his playthings in to the house, and frankly this is the sort of sport I would like to discourage - especially in this particular instance.

I was thoughtful enough to text my husband and child, warning them of the danger...

When they returned, we found Eddie had sported a fair bit of the play out of it (although not to death, so he isn't a felon - yet. Apparently snakes are all protected species)

I handed V the long-handled tongs and armed myself with the camera and the poor blighter was captured (in the laundry - enough incentive to neglect my new toy for a few hours) and released back into the wilds of across the road.

As you saw from my photo, I wasn't very brave in getting close-up shots!

So fast-forward to today. I was working from home, and V came home from work early. He went downstairs to grab some coke - and found Eddie in the garage with a new toy. Another snake.

This one definitely still at a far livelier stage of play, and at the appearance of V made a move to escape. The best hiding spot he could see was a pile of bags (containing 'Salina's worldly possessions, as her room is being painted and recarpeted) and so he scampered.

Eddie contemplated a chase, but V with a broom dissuaded him. Eddie eventually came to where I was (by now by the back stairs after a yell to "come hold Eddie" from V).

V - with trusty rake - started sorting through the bags. Finally, in one (filled with painting supplies and canvasses) he struck gold, and manouvred it to the front lawn. He upended the contents and the snake did an excellent job of hiding under everything until there was nothing left to hide under - so he turned to go back into the bag - rake stopped him.

Then her looked at what was holding the rake and decided he would chase that instead. (insert girly scream from wife here)

V did a dance with the snake and the rake until the snake saw a garden bed to hide in.

So - guess which garden bed will NOT be weeded this afternoon? And guess who WON'T be doing it?

See - that is better than belly stories.

oh, and for those who want asides - the first snake was - we believe - a yellow-bellied black snake - or for those who like their snakes less fancy, a common tree snake. Perfectly harmless unless you are a frog.

Today's snake was either one of them OR it could have been a whip snake. Potentially poisonous. V thinks the former - not for the venom aspect, but because the whip snake reaches only 80cm, and he thinks this one was HUGE!!

If it is the former - the fact that we have a nest somewhere for Eddie to forage freaks me out.

Oh - and if YOU want to freak out to local snakes, here is a link...

Guess What?

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 04:04:00 +0000

On the weekend we:

got our new washing machine!!!
'Salina's team won 12-1 in softball
went swimming at the beach
came home to a present from Eddie
ate well
and didn't have a baby

I have nearly finished all work projects (and associated bookwork) so I am about to inform my boss I am going on maternity leave - I believe there is some nesting to do.

27ish weeks

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:52:00 +0000

Very, very, very, very, very slack, I know.

Didn't even get here on the right day for a weekly photo update.

Am meant to be slowing down and "nesting" aren't I?

Just that every day seems to fill up with those "few little things to do" and once I do those few little things, I hardly have time to contemplate my nest.

Today we are doing another push on painting 'Salina's room, buying (and hopefully receiving delivery of) a new washing machine, getting the baby's carseat installed, trying to fix a few little "improvements" on my last big worky thing (and being on call for their meeting if they need any questions answered), trying to fix a nasty gordonian knot in one of my last little worky things and trying to finish my other last little worky thing... Its a good thing that I have 28 up to 27 days (perhaps) to fit all that other nest stuff in, eh?

Anyhow - photo and sign out...

36 weeks - that is still a month to go!!!

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:29:00 +0000

Firstly - a big HOO-BLODDY-RAY I have finished the project that has been my life for the last few weeks!!

Only got a few tiny tasks to tie up before I am officially on maternity leave (ha ha ha ha ha - self-employed = doing sweet fa and getting paid accordingly) - and then I plan to:

Rip up the carpet in 'Salina's room (which has been cleared of clutter in anticipation of this move for a few weeks now...)
Paint and recarpet 'Salina's room (well - supervise V and 'Salina doing so)
Rearrange furniture throughout the house so the office becomes the bedroom, the bedroom becomes the nursery and the spare room becomes the office (see above)
Get carseats installed in the vehicles
Clean the house, room by room (so that I can leave it another year - I am a blitz cleaner, not a housekeeper)
Organise Christmas for the family
Work out what I need for baby that may be missing from what I got
Get fit (ha ha ha ha ha)
Get my head around the fact that I am going to have a baby
Pack a hospital bag
Nest
Rest

So you see, I am going to need all of that month.

You can hardly tell this is a pregnant woman, can you?

Still, very hard to get past me in a narrow corridor if I haven't lined up quite right.

The most agonising part of the whole body change thing I am going through.. (oh, and I did book a wax for next week so the fat legs above the cankles can shimmer instead of stun)

The one I prepared earlier...

This whinge is brought to you by the letter I

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:49:00 +0000

You would think, after a near all-nighter the other night and brain-drain yesterday, when I flaked in bed at 9.40pm last night, I would stay there, wouldn't you?

I mean, it is what NORMAL people do, isn't it?

But no, insomnia came along and whispered to me at 10.00pm. Yes, so tired I dropped off and got a whole 20 MINUTES before I woke!!

By 10.30, I gave up. The good news is that I got a heap of housework done and caught up on a taped show that otherwise would have been buried before watching.

I didn't turn on the 'puter, because I knew that my brain wasn't quite up to logicking and therefore worktime would be wasted.

I got back to bed at 12 - but not before accidentally leaving a window open to allow Eddie to sneak out.

That would mean that my Eddie alarm-clock had been deactivated for the morning, but unfortunately couldn't turn off the old sun one, which is now set for 1/4 to 5...

So today - I am still on this last job... It should be rolled so quickly, but then one little problem emerges and it can take hours to pinpoint.

I do have high hopes of finishing today - although of course I have to go out twice for school things and V is home, which is NOT conducive to coding (love him dearly, don't need someone to offer me a rub or cuppa while trying to figure loops and breakpoints).

Then all I have to do is rearrange the house, clean, get Christmas gifts, install car seats, finalise stuff for end of year at school, pack a bag and get my head around having another child - after that, the baby is allowed out but NOT BEFORE.

Might even try and squeeze in that whole get fit, get beautiful and organise world peace while I am at it!!!

(Speaking of which - BB sent me a pic of the well-turned ankle - see end of post...)

I think it has turned - kicks are in different part, but still fairly transverse. I caved and bought a few mangoes yesterday (still cannot justify to my inner miser the $2.50 price tag) and am going to dole judiciously. V doesn't like them - unfortunately I taught 'Salina good taste and so will have to share a little.

(Oh - and the greatest pain of pregnancy is the complete lack of footwear available in my cupboard that offer anything in the way of style - actually, that is a general problem but can blame it on pregnancy - gotta get the mileage.)

The spirit is willing

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:15:00 +0000

but the mind is currently coding.

I have discovered when I am doing a programming job, the power of speech and human reasoning gets moved aside while I logic out problems.

It is something that means it is far easier for me to work on projects in a vacuum - or failing that, at a place where no-one else expects anything from me or wants to communicate with me.

I can work with interruptions - except it will take an extra 2-20 minutes at the resumption after each interruption to get back into the headspace where I am tinkering with my little programming problems.

~~Sometimes i~~It also takes my mind shifting down through the gears to understand the nature of the interruption and dealing with the outside world - which equals time and a lot of blank looks and misunderstandings.

Not exactly conducive to family life, working from home when anyone else is in the vicinity or holding roles in school committees. Also not a great fit with volunteering (because there is no-one else to step up... Save the lecture, I give it to myself)

The good news is, there is one time of day that works well with such strains - it also means that your spouse has hogged the whole of the bed when you finally get there!

However, after pulling up stumps at 2 this morning, I can say this project is so close to finished, and after that all I have to do is clean a house, rearrange all furniture, organise Christmas and nest - then I will be ready to have a baby, I think...

35 weeks

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:41:00 +0000

Well, it was during the week, but I have been flat out here - hopefully finishing up the last big work project today, and tidying up the littlies early next week.

I will despair of the lack of income (like it was rolling in) but perhaps those "nesting" things you are meant to do - like pack a bag for hospital and setting up space for the new baby - will float to the surface. Otherwise we'll just have to roll with it, I suppose.

It seems all I have done is apologise for not going round and visiting all my Bloggies throughout this pregnancy, but I really hope to do a bit of that with the nesting.

Sweet dreams, hey?

Anyhow - latest bump shot and will (hopefully) be a more wordy (and nesty) blogger next week...

(oh - and I do have a top to my head, just that 'Salina was more concerned about not getting a red hand on the photo - something that happens with movement and a slow shutter speed - than framing)

Happy Birthday 'Salina

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:50:00 +0000

10 years ago about right now I was being given some heavy drugs after a horrible night of labour going nowhere (don't you wish there was more information on posterior position?) and finally gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.

She yelled for the first few hours!!

After that, the ill-advised sleeping pills I had been handed upon going to the hospital 20 hours earlier took effect and I crashed - to be woken by the wonders of learning to breastfeed (she had to learn also) and newborn nappy changes (NOTHING prepares you for that).

The good news is that MOST of the intervening 10 years have been wonderful.

Happy birthday to my wonderful little girl.

On a Platter

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 06:56:00 +0000

Happy Halloween (or whatever the greeting is - we are not learned in the art of Halloween here, to the bemusement of V)!

I do have a child, however, who has a birthday and an imagination suited to take advantage of this festivity - as always, 'Salina-style.

Five of her besties from school came over for a sausage sizzle and then FILLED the bathroom with make-up and hairstyle needs - an eerie premonition for adolescence.

Anyhow - the final product:

(She is a head on a platter - geddit?)

We took them around 2 local blocks for a total haul of 3 houses (the first 3 - 2 had been worded up), quite a few either "oh, is it Halloween? You girls look great, lets see what is in the pantry" or "oh, is it Halloween? You girls look great, sorry we have nothing" and one gruff "We are religious and don't do Halloween."

Still, there was more than enough sugar products to keep them all amused - and hatching even greater plans for Halloween '10.

The Last Post in the Electrolux Ecovalve Saga

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:49:00 +0000

Long-time (okay, long-suffering) readers will recall that me and my washing machine haven't always had the most harmonious relationship.

Waay back in July 2005, I was doing my washing while working on the computer when the power went out. The power went out because the old battle-axe that was my top-loader in my previous life had decided that not only would it cease to work, it would do so in an explosive manner and the safety switch had determined it - and everything else in the house (including my computer) should receive no more juice for it to work up into combustive manner.

Luckily, I had done my tax early that year, and the relationship with the Electrolux Ecovalve began.

Pretty soon after I moved to Paradise, it started to play up, and during an ongoing liaison with the LERF it has sort of behaved - right up until the day after the warranty expired.

Since then, it has been a steadily more unreliable partner in the washing stakes, complaining when the water wasn't draining quickly enough (that happens when the laundry tubs have tiny outlets), when the load was too heavy (a call that happened with lighter and lighter loads as time went by) or when the Moon wasn't in the right house.

Add to that the fact that the computer board within no longer took any notice of what programme you have dialled, it would only do one wash program (even if you asked for drain or turned it off).

By last week, it had gotten to the point where I was having to restart it 3 times per load - which when extrapolated against the time it takes anyhow to do a load meant that my 3 loads every two days meant I was washing all day, every day (it seemed) and getting my 10,000 Steps in on the back steps alone.

And then - and then on Friday, with a more than usually full laundry (great decision, that strip beds one, hey?) it got one and a half loads into the quota for the day - and decided it would thumb its nose at me, curl up its toes, emit a few piteous alarmed beeps and die.

As it hasn't worked properly for so long, it is more the financial and laundromatical aspects of our relationship being over that is causing any trauma.

We have decided we are going to save and invest in some quality engineering (possibly German) this time around, and in the interim the 28 year old Simpson has been hauled back into action.

I mean, it might be a brute, but it is fast (aka on laundry on SPEED), it tries hard and it is far better than handwashing - oh, and its lid-sensor has been deactivated, so only have to go down and encourage it once per load.

So please - sell me the vices and virtues of your laundry equipment - we have an idea of what we might want, but willing to be swayed with your reviews.

On pink clouds, orange cats and stupid birds

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:59:00 +0000

This morning was another beautiful start to a beautiful day.

Eddie gently (ahem - poetic license involved) nudged me from my slumber. The 5am sky was bright, tinged at the edges with fluffy pink clouds.

I like to be the first to wake. I like to drink my cup of tea (I know, second child, I allow myself a little latitude) slowly and alone.

My mind takes this time to arrange my day. It is the only time that I truly feel I have any control of it, and it is a fantasty that I can spin for hours.

Of course, I am generally joined after not too long by V and/or 'Salina. V is a "give me a double caffeine hit before small talk" sort of morning person, 'Salina has two morning modes - wide awake and bouncing or "why the heck am I out of bed?" lethargy.

But this morning - this morning I had just made my tea and sat at the computer to contemplate the emails and twitters and blogs that were available for respite through the day - I would say my "set for the day" meter was at about 35% when...

Well, one of the morning rituals is, of course, letting Eddie out after an evening of being locked in the house. I wait until it is daylight for this, as I figure it gives the local wildlife - especially the birds - a fighting chance. The fact that he is orange and therefore doesn't blend too much with foliage and lawn combined with the tinkly bell that accompanies his every move ups the odds even more, and his tally is rather paltry.

Paltry, but not zero. There are birds who are designed with self-preservation strategies and then there are birds who just ain't. Occasionally he chooses the latter...

This morning, he chose the latter. Of course, rather than capturing prey and dealing with it in the wilds of the back yard, Eddie is a social animal and would far rather share the delights of his expedition with the humans he most loves. Cue the sneaking it upstairs, bringing it into the living room and let it loose for a little sport.

Woke me up immediately, as you can imagine. Then he chased it into 'Salina's room. 'Salina has pretensions of being afraid of birds, so this was a lovely way for her to go from "sleeping" to "screaming". The domino effect of this was to rip V from horizontal to vertical. So the scenario - pregnant lady chasing cat chasing bird around the house with accompanying music of child eeking and husband adding a baseline of "what the..."

The time was 5.30am.

We rescued the bird, chastised the cat and - and that is how our Saturday started.

How is yours going?

Turtles, tourism exhibits and tummy

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:17:00 +0000

On Sunday, we went for a walk down to Paradise* centre as there was a gathering called "Joggers for Loggers" - not about timber, as one might imagine, but Loggerhead Turtles, one of the turtle breeds that chose a beach just up the coast for laying eggs (and therefore hatching).

There could even be a few under the water in this picture!

Of course, the term "Fun Run" is a bit of an oxymoron as far as I am concerned, and so we were more going for "fun swim" and "fun catch up with girlfriends" reasons than the free grub if you got all sweaty over the 8km on offer!!

Paradise* is a fairly elderly beach village (well, elderly in local terms which is fairly recent in other parts of the world), and still has some of the origial beach dwellings along the esplanade. While this wall is not a true "Kanaka Wall", it emulates the style found throughout the area.

"The Kanaka Wall is a well-preserved piece of history. Kanakas were Melanesians from the South Pacific Islands who were indentured to work in Queensland cane fields during the period from 1879 to 1904. Part of their work was to clear volcanic rocks to allow cultivation of fields. The rocks were packed together to form fences and these could be seen all over the district."

What the above fails to mention is "indentured" actually means a form of slavery - one of the nastiest pieces of local history is that of blackbirding, where many were stolen from Pacific Islands and brought to the region for cane cutting and land clearing purposes.

Of course, Paradise*, like many other beachside sleepy-towns, is growing more and more of these things as it uproots the old fibro shacks and grow with fertilising words such as "luxury" and "resort". If you want a few hundred apartments for your investment portfolio, I could even do a whole post on the "For Sale" signs.

This is the hustling centre of tourist activity of Paradise*. The Ice Cream options are fantastic at the Scoopery, not our favourite Fish and Chips outlet (but apparently does a roaring trade in excellent Pizzas) and a rather swish cafe - there is more activity around the corner, but I don't have a camera that takes shots around corners!!

This part of the beach has been developed beautifully for tourists, with shady picnic spots, a fantastic Turtle Park and a pedestrian/cycle path that goes for about 10km (part of the day was the opening of the new section that goes right around to Mon Repos). This is the boardwalk section.

Notice in the background the volcanic rock walls used to create beautiful safe swimming spots.

While there were organised Turtle Sculpting activities further along the beach, 'Salina (nor her friend, Mad') is not really a follower of organised activities (especially when there is some serious splashing or sandcastle building on offer).

I sat in the shade and ~~dozed~~ built my own air-castles while these two frolicked.

On our walk home, I contemplated showing you just how suburban Paradise* can be, but I could find no outstanding examples of mundane - those that fit were not really something I felt the requirement to photograph, and those I felt worthwhile of photographing would not have been an average enough representation. So instead I give you a street I walked.

I was knackered by the end of that morning.

Of course, this is what I was lugging around.

* Please note, Paradise is the term I use for this blog. My town isn't really called Paradise. No, really, it isn't!

The Letter

noreply@blogger.com (jeanie) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:31:00 +0000

Humble Abode of Jeanie
Paradise QLD
Tuesday, 20 October 2009

Dear Mr C

On Saturday afternoon, I was grocery shopping in your supermarket as I regularly do.

Accompanying me was my 9 year old daughter, who enjoys greatly selecting things from your stationery display to spend her pocket money on. On this occasion she chose a notebook, valued at $1.72. Not a huge purchase but an important one in her mind.

To encourage her independence, I suggested she make her own purchase in the Express Lane while I put my groceries through one adjacent. She gladly queued behind the 2 customers prior to her.

As it became her turn to be served, two teenage boys appeared from an aisle and reached over her to place their purchases on the counter. What shocked me most was the checkout operator in the Express Lane at the time served these boys immediately, completely ignoring my daughter and her purchase.

As she was upset at this behaviour, she immediately came over to where I was putting my groceries through.

I realise her purchase was minimal, and she is only a young child and therefore possibly not as important a customer in the mind of your checkout operator as his peers.

However, I also understand that one of the tenets of retail is good customer service, and I feel that this incident on Saturday failed to fall into the category of “good”.

Had there been a more senior member of staff available, or had it not been as busy in the store I may well have been tempted to complain of his shortcomings in offering such service at the time, but I refrained.

I do believe, though, that such advice may be better coming from you and perhaps as a reminder to all staff. I do realise it is a slight infringement, and definitely not a sackable offence – but I also realise that this could be a learning moment for your operators.

I leave this in your hands.

Yours sincerely

Jeanie