A Lament for the dying Naptime

Well, it's official.  Isabel has now cut her nap times from two to one!  She thinks she is such a big girl staying up for more than four hours at a time.  I didn't mind so much when we went from three naps to two.  But going to one nap time is a big step for me that I think I'm not quite ready for.

I am still getting used to the whole idea and still sometimes sit around in the morning waiting patiently for her to look tired.  It takes me half a day to realise that she's not going to have an early nap.  I think it's on those days that I'm more tired than Isabel and want to take two naps myself.  She's just too busy these days, still having a chomp or two on anything that's at her height (dvd's), calling out to daddy, banging cupboard doors, eating breakfast, picking grass, helping mummy and lots of other "busy" things.

Schmerdy - A note about my post "A note to Isabel"

Dallas just mentioned that the above mentioned post was a bit depressing.  After inquiring as to what made it so depressing, Dallas pointed out the line "the lack of interest in my own life".  Hmmmm..... well I guess that could be construed as depressing.  We have a word in our household - it is used to convey a feeling of general malaise.  This word is "Schmerdy".  So if I were to feel "schmerdy" about something, then I really don't care either way. 

I would use schmerdy to describe how I was feeling when I wrote that post.  It wasn't meant to be depressing.... just schmerdy.  After a kind word from Lisa and a sunny day (on Saturday), I am feeling less schmerdy about my life and more..... well, we don't have a word for that yet.

P.S.  The picture of the man came up in my google image search for "schmerdy".  I believe his name is Anton Schmerda.

What to do on a Rainy Day..

It has been pouring down with rain here in Sydney since yesterday afternoon.  Along with the rain came a drop in temperature by about ten degrees!  So Isabel and I decided (together) that we wouldn't venture outside at all today.  It was too wet and WAY too cold.  But a girl can only play with her toys for so long before she starts to whinge.... and we couldn't have that sort of noise around because daddy was studying at home today.  Which meant that this afternoon Isabel and I were occupied by "inside" activities.

First - We coloured.  Actually, I coloured and Isabel "sorted" the pens, crayons and pencils

And then we washed some clothes and put them in the clothes dryer - Isabel particularly liked the taste of Dallas' nice clean sock

 

  

And then we cooked daddy some chocolate chip cookies - Isabel sorted the eggs.  I was a bit nervous about it, but then she accidentally stuck her finger in the dough and then it was on.  I gave her a beater with scant cookie dough on it to keep her quiet.

  

  

  

 

Some advice for Isabel (for when she's 30)

Well, I've decided that my blog is REALLY boring.  Boring to me anyway.  I look at it and see "me, Isabel, myself, blah, blah, blah, blah."  I don't know if there's anything I can do about this lack of interest in my own life, but I thought I'd just write down a few things that I've been thinking about lately (not just a monologue on the happenings in the Petersen household).

As I was laying in bed the other night and Isabel constantly kicked me in the face, I had a thought that it might be nice for me to write a note to Isabel for when she's a mother.  I've realised that as a woman, I'll probably forget a lot of the early years of my children unless I write it down.  This is not disparaging to women, I have just experienced the lack of memory from my mum and I also realise that you'd have to forget a LOT of things to even think about having another child.

So here's some notes for Isabel

• You can read any number of books that give you advice on raising and having children, but it's ok if you don't follow the "rules".  As my mum so perfectly put it the other day "You may have read the books, but your child hasn't"
• It's ok to let your child sleep in bed with you, especially if it's the only way you are going to get some sleep.  In the long run, I guess it's not going to be the best, but it's better to get some sleep than stay awake all night trying to do the "right thing"
• It's ok if you don't provide your child with constant attention and stimulating games.  Sometimes I find it's best to get your energy back by ignoring the child.... just make sure you can always hear her - if there's silence, it usually means she's doing something wrong
• Don't feel too bad if you are still in your pyjama's when your husband comes home from work or school.  You'd probably feel better if you did have a shower, but I prefer to be napping when possible instead of doing all the things I should be doing (shower, dishes, laundry, etc).  Just don't make it a habit

I'm sure I'll think of more little tidbits along the way... maybe I'll post them, maybe I wont.  It just depends on whether I start to get bored with that too.

Happy Birthday Dallas

Today is Dallas' birthday. Dallas decided at the end of last week that we would celebrate him all week long this week and has dubbed it "Dallas Week". To start it off, I gave him one of his birthday presents last night. He couldn't stop giggling. I got the idea when we watched the movie "Knocked Up". One of the main characters was wearing a shirt with a picture of himself on it - we both thought it was fantastic.

Thus begins a week of Dallas. I'm sure he'll especially enjoy his birthday (today) and the surprises that are in store. Unfortunately Dallas is working today, tomorrow and Wednesday, so we'll have to wait until Thursday to spend a day with him.

10 reasons why I Love Dallas (out of MANY)
10. He takes Isabel when I can't handle it any longer
9. He has an infectious laugh (not dangerous infectious, though)
8. He has a really sexy smile
7. He's a FANTASTIC husband and father ("Hey Isabel - get over it!", "shush your mush, Isabel!"
6. He's really great at gift giving and makes it look effortless
5. He buys me treats when he's out (which means he's constantly thinking of me)
4. He's really GREAT at organising fantastic holidays. He always involves me in his planning even though sometimes I don't appear to be listening
3. He encourages me to take a shower when he comes home from work and I am still in my pyjamas
2. He uses different kinds of humour to suit our moods ie. silly humour at 1am when we have been watching "The Office" for one too many episodes. He makes me laugh a lot!
1. He tells me I'm sexy even when I am a mess (eg. when I resemble a yeti more than a female human)

I never thought I could love someone as much (and as long) as I do Dallas. I'm so glad he has proved me wrong. Happy Birthday Dallas!

Catching Up

It seems every month I have to do one of these posts to catch up on all our news.  As I'm sure you've gathered from my previous posts, I've been a bit sick, so I just haven't been feeling up to creating posts that didn't complain about my situation.

So here's what's been happening in the Petersen's lives:

• When the Kuhns were here, Dan got sick on the Friday, so the girls had a girls day out to Manly Beach - Isabel ate some sand
  
• on the Saturday the Kuhns left in the morning - Dan was diagnosed with tonsillitis - the Kuhns came back to give Isabel her birthday present - Isabel and Helen flew to Hobart in the evening
• Dallas attended his brother's wedding - Isabel got a new aunty and Helen and Dallas got a new sister-in-law
• Helen and Isabel helped Grandma and Grandpa Cluff move into their new home in Belrive
• Helen was cold in Hobart, so didn't really do much that whole week, except got to the chocolate factory of course (there's no channel ten in Hobart, so I missed "Neighbours" and "Big Brother")
• Helen, Dallas and Isabel all flew into Sydney on the following Saturday morning
• Isabel got diarrhea, we went to the doctor
• Helen got the flu, we went to the doctor
  
• Dallas had to work
• Helen cancelled a baby shower that was supposed to be at her house
• AND THE BIG NEWS - Danielle (our boarder) arrived from Canada. (more on this story later)
• Brodie is visiting us at the moment and Isabel LOVES going through her bag 

So there you have it - it's been an eventful couple of weeks, with the promise of more to come.  Isabel and I are feeling MUCH better although still not completely cured.  It's Dallas' birthday on Monday and Isabel and I have bought him some pretty awesome presents.  He has to work on his birthday, so he has proclaimed that all next week will be "Dallas week" - which means we have to watch a movie of his choice every night next week.

On death's door

I really feel like I need some sympathy from my friends, so I'm going to tell you how sick we've all been.

Isabel has been sick since we got back from Hobart and Mesa and has been a little princess.  She got a bad case of diarrhea - we went to the doctor who told us there was nothing wrong with her and to wait it out.  Unfortunately while waiting it out, Isabel got a wicked nappy rash that progressed into a wicked nappy rash with abrasions.  The poor little girl screamed bloody murder whenever we changed her nappy (she still feels quite uncomfortable) and because we had to change her nappy often it was not a happy time.  Then on Wednesday I started to get a sore throat.  That turned into a full blown flu virus that has had me feeling like death warmed up.  My whole body was aching all day Thursday and most of Friday.  Unfortunately, Dallas had to work on Thursday and had to go to Uni on Friday, so my two worst days were spent dragging myself around the house trying my best to look after Isabel.  It's a good thing she's such a great sport and is really good at playing by herself.

Poor Dal has been sick, too and has managed to drag himself to work and school.  He is back at work again today.  I had a baby shower organised to be held at my house today, but I reluctantly canceled so everyone else didn't catch this horrible disease.

So, all in all, it's been a REALLY miserable week and I've decided NEVER to be sick again.  Not until all my children move out of the house anyway.  There's nothing worse than being a sick mum!

Kids - who would have them?!

Dallas and I arrived home this last Saturday morning and had a nice time catching up.  Isabel soon put an end to the nice time by getting diarrhea and becoming the precious little princess we all know that she is.  Saturday and Sunday night were spent waking up every 2 or 3 hours to Isabel crying inconsolably.

Dallas was a trooper.  Not only was he suffering from jetlag - he also got a touch of what Isabel had, but he managed to get up more times than I did on both nights.  I just didn't cope so well with the lack of sleep.  These photos were taken early Monday morning.  Isabel and Dallas had just finished laughing at my lack of dressing skills - you can see for yourself why.

Out of Commission

The Petersens have been out of commission for the past week because we've been away from home.  Dallas is in Arizona for his brother's wedding (the happy event occurred last Saturday) and instead of staying home by myself, I decided to take Isabel down to Hobart (Tasmania) where my family has relocated.  As part of the relocation - Bigpond decided to deprive the family of any internet connection until Thursday evening.  The Cluff's have been connected for just over an hour and we have three computers going simultaneously while everyone trawls through their hundreds of emails.

So here we are, two more sleeps until we fly back home to Sydney and until we get to see Dallas.  Both Isabel and I have missed him terribly and we can't wait to see him.