Trunked

I'm finally able to do it!  I finally have stories to tell you the stupid things my child says.  And then you can tell me how NOT cute it is.  Then I'll argue until I'm blue in the face that it was in fact the cutest thing you could have ever seen.

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I prepared LQ for what was happening next as we drove home from a family get together.

"When we get home, it's books and bed time, LQ"

"No.... I watch daddy play racing Mario"

"No, LQ.  It is time for bed when we get home."

"No.... I watch daddy play racing Mario"

[repeat at least 5 times]

finally I change the pace -

"LQ!  You will be going to bed when we get home.  I'm the Mummy and I say so!"

"No!  I LQ and I play with daddy"

"LQ... Mummy trumps LQ.  Every time."

"No I trunk Mummy!"

Dal:  "I'll trunk your faces"  - End of conversation.


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We sit on the floor.  We are playing guess the shape with dinosaurs.  I pause for dramatics.  "hmmmm...."

LQ, the computer whiz, questions me.  "Are you loading?"


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A favourite game at the moment is "wake the baby".  LQ and I poke and prod my tummy in an effort to get Little Bob Jnr to move around.   LQ puts her mouth up to my tummy and yells "WAKE UP BABY!!"  I am thinking this may not be a good tradition to continue for much longer.

LQ is very aware of the baby and is very willing to talk about him to anyone who asks.  We asked her how the baby gets out of mummy's tummy.  She just shrugged.  We told her how he will come out and she laughed hysterically and said "No!  THAT is SILLY!"

Warning: May inhibit blogging

I love my antidepressants.  They have done wonders for me.

But like every drug, they do have some side effects.  The side effect that I've noticed the most is the lack of desire to blog.

There's been a few things happen in the past month that were worthy of blogging.  To be honest, "back in the day" I didn't really need anything to write about.  There were posts about LQ sitting in a box for heavens sakes.  But now even when big events like finding out the sex of my child happen, I can't seem to find the energy or desire to write about it.

I am certain that once the pregnancy, the new babyness and the need for anti-depressants have passed, there will come a time when I feel the need to write more than once a month.

But for now I hope you can ride on through this slump with me and meet me on the other side.  As an update to my life:

We found out we are having a boy.
I was lucky enough to have to do a driving exam to get my Arizona licence.  I passed with flying colours.
LQ has turned into a bandit.  She insists that all bandits are good.
I celebrated my 30th birthday.  In Tombstone.  Watching street shootout re-enactments.
LQ refers to her stuffed toys as "the guys" or "my guys".  "Put boots on the guys, mummy"

I hope your June is a good one.

Newsy news news news

I've made the title of this post sound like I've actually got exciting news to tell.  Not really.  Just a whole bunch of little things (maybe not even a whole bunch) to catch up on the three weeks I've not written anything.

First things first.  You can stop worrying about crazy Hel.  Crazy Hel went and got some drugs that turned her into "content with life" Hel.  My OB gave me a prescription for anti-depressants.  I sat on that prescription for three weeks, in the hopes that my good mood was here to stay.  As it turned out, it was not, so I filled that prescription and to cut a long story short, LQ is no longer at risk of being blamed for spots on the floor that don't actually exist, among other things.  Sure there are spots on the floor now, because "content with life" Hel is also "Don't Mop the Floors" Hel.  As a disclaimer:  I am completely aware of the risks of taking anti-depressants while pregnant, but as I have assured both Grandmothers of the fetus there was much reflection, praying and pondering on the matter and the pros outweighed the cons by a million miles.  The decision was not made lightly (although I speak light of the matter now).

Speaking of "don't mop the floors" Hel.  She comes in other varieties of "I don't do any housework" Hel.  Last night Dal tentatively brought up the possibility of having a cleaning day next Saturday.  I honestly thought he couldn't see the inch thick grunge that had built up behind the toilet.  Not to worry.  It will build up again after our spring clean.

"Creative" Hel has reared her wonderful head again, but "Procrastination" Hel keeps pushing her down. LQ just recently had her fourth birthday party.  I had wonderful, wonderful visions of many happy children being wowed by the awesomeness of LQ's Cowgirl party, but most of those visions never came to fruition.  I'm glad I had the foresight to order some party crap before it was too late.  It didn't turn out too badly.  I forgot to play some games I had organised to have and forgot to put out the "Wagon Wheels" (look it up yourself -Arnotts Wagon Wheels) that Mum had sent especially from Australia.  But because of my super drugs, I laughed about it instead of crying for three days and wondering if my child would be scarred for the rest of her life.

We find out in two weeks what the sex of the baby is.  Want to place bets?  The odds are good.

Well, I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry.  It's time for "I don't make dinner" Hel to get to work.  I'm thinking of making mashed potatoes for LQ and calling it a night.

Meanwhile...

.... back in Hobart my brothers are inventing new dance techniques.  Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you "Rancing".

Cranky

My friend wrote to me after reading my last post.  She only reads my blog when she gets bored at work, so I know she truly does love me.

"I can see the crazy factor rising a little Helgs!"  End quote.  Yep... she calls me Helgs (a friend from almost ten years ago now) and yep, what she said kind of describes my life perfectly.  Dal will attest to that.  I am certain if he wasn't so nice he'd have disappeared some months ago now.

I am all sorts of crazy, but mostly I feel just cranky.  And so when I think that it is time I really should update my blog, all I can think of is cranky things to talk about.  For example I would really like to complain about birthdays or tell you of my eternal hatred for my hairdresser or vent about the seemingly lack of discipline that occurs in Primary every week (let me clarify - the Presidency is wonderful... it's the teachers that seem to be scared to tell their class to "shoosh!").  I really don't want to write all that stuff down because I don't want to seem stuck in the mire, although I am.  And I don't want to seem petty, although I am.  And worst of all, I don't want someone to be offended by my crankiness, although I'm sure my hormones have already offended more people in my life than I care to think about.

I skyped with my mum for over an hour yesterday... mostly complaining.  Then I made her cry.  I guess I just had too many stupid/petty problems for one person to handle.  Actually... she cried because she's got a husband who is just as much a nut job as me.  Thankfully he can't get pregnant... so we are all safe from that beast (hi Dad!).

I think, though, that if I did start writing all my thoughts, all that would end up happening is a full public meltdown a la Charlie Sheen style (maybe not so drastic, but it wouldn't be pretty).

So instead of documenting my mental decline, I thought I'd finally share with you the story of how Dal and I met.  I think I've given you bits and pieces here and there, but never the full story.  I think this is a good idea because so many of the famous bloggers have already done it and I am all about riding a fad until it's been flogged to death.  Also, my newest follower suggested something similar while commenting on one of my old posts.

I'm just hoping that it doesn't end up being the crankiest love story ever told.

Mottled Monday

Just a few bits and pieces.

For three days straight now, I have asked LQ what she wants for lunch.  For three straight days she has had a clear idea of what she wants.  For three straight days I have given her EXACTLY what she has requested.  For three straight days she has seen what I had for lunch and proceeded to whine that THAT is what she really wanted.  It's enough to drive me INSANE!

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Friday was a rough day.  It was the end of a long week of LQ being sick and the truck not starting - in other words I was stuck at home ALL week aside from the time I tried to walk in 90 degree temperatures to my mother-in-law's home (that's another story).  I was desperate.  Back to Friday.  I'm not above saying I had a meltdown.   The truck actually started, got me all excited and then quit working.  I felt my chest constricting, I couldn't breathe properly, my mind got muddled and I started pacing the kitchen.  I sent a message to Dal about feeling trapped.  He called me up and I immediately collapsed into a sobbing mess.  LQ thought I was sad because she had eaten frosting with two spoons without my knowledge that morning.  Poor kid.  A nap was in order.  It wasn't until MUCH later in the day I ventured outside again.  There on my doorstep, poorly hidden under the doormat, was a package.  For me.  From a friend who knows.

Opening any package is fun for me.  It breaks up the day.  But this package was filled with amazing goodness and a whole heap of love.  I took this picture after I had already eaten half the block of chocolate and LQ had taken a packet of double coated Tim Tams into her room.

A thank you just doesn't seem enough for the lifesaving properties that this package had.  I actually cried when I pulled the drinks out of the box.

I have been gorging on chocolate the entire weekend.  SO much better than drugs!

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Dal and I have been spending our weekends looking at real estate recently and we've just put offers on a few homes.  One lender owned and the other a short sale, so don't expect anymore information for quite some time, but that's some exciting news from our grownup lives.  On a related note:  Can I just tell you how cranky it makes me feel when I walk into a home someone has said that is recently renovated and it is glaringly obvious that they've done everything cheaply and poorly.  Why bother doing it at all?  Poorly renovated homes just means more work for the next sap who wants to renovate.  Can you tell I've been scarred by my recent renovation project?

Entitled: An Obsession

Hello my friends.  First I want to thank you for the love you gave me on my "Mostly" post.  Since getting it out on my blog and talking to my Obstetrician, I have been feeling a lot better.  But that's a different post.

This one is about my dearest LQ.

I'm not sure I could love this girl any more than I do.  I am certain she has reached her cuteness peak.  Everything she does has me giggling to myself or laughing out loud.  She shakes her little booty at me, she shimmies across the floor.  She sings constantly to me, Dal or herself.  She says things like "Daddy, you sick!  Take a nap!" and "mmmm b'donalds (McDonalds), deyishous!".  She is good a fake laughing when we are laughing at something she does and most importantly of all when I'm cranky or just generally not in a good mood she will say "Happy face Mummy!  Show me your happy face".  Let me tell you about that happy face.  Not once have I ever said that to her.... that's all LQ.

There's one thing that hasn't changed as LQ has grown into the beautiful little girl that she is.  Her love for puzzles.  It started well before she turned two and her love has not waned.  To show you how much she loves puzzles, I took a picture of all the puzzles that she owns and as a comparison you can see in one of the pictures her small drawer filled with her dress up costumes.  There's no contest... that girl could do puzzles all day if I'd sit with her.

Entitled: A Love Letter

The 30 minutes before you arrive home is always the longest part of the day.

I hear your noisy truck (we need to get that fixed) come around the corner and pull in to the driveway.

I stand up a little straighter.

In the few minutes that it takes for you to get to the door (the bin needs to be taken out) I am frozen.  I am unsure as to what to do with myself while I wait.

The sucking and whooshing sound that the opening of the door makes will forever make my heart beat a little faster, help my body relax and inject just that bit more energy that I've been craving all day.

That door opening is a sign for LQ, too.  Her little body leaps from whatever position she is in.  She flies to the door.  "DADDY"!

Her excitement is just a snippet of how I feel about your homecoming, but I play it cool.

LQ gets cuddles and I get the same sort of kiss I got from you when we were dating.

I know you love me.

I hope that you know how much I love you.  I hope that the waiting dinner shows that I love you.  I hope that the made bed shows that I love you.  I hope that my face shows how much I love you.

I  hope my entire life shows that I love you beyond any words on a silly blog post could ever convey and how much I love having you all to myself each evening (usually).

Mostly

I mostly stay at home.

I am mostly tired.

I am mostly cranky.

I am mostly hungry.

I mostly don't make dinner.

I am mostly sick.

I mostly feel lonely.

I am mostly depressed.  Prenatal depression bites.

I mostly cry at night.

I mostly let LQ eat what she wants.  Cold hot dogs anyone?

I mostly let myself eat what I want.

I mostly wish someone else could magically save me from myself.

I mostly know that that's not going to happen.

Most of all, I do not want any advice.  I just mostly need a hug.

Life isn't always roses and sweet tea

Of course after I sing LQ's praises for the other day, I wake up today from my nap to find pee puddles right by the toilet and LQ asking for wipes because she had poo poo bottom.

I finally found the wet underpants, but am still puzzled as to where (if there were any) the "poo poos" have disappeared to.  I suggest no one visit my home until I work that one out.

Is that a light at the end?

I enjoyed my little Sunbeam class on Sunday.  Even though the entire class showed up.  These poor "beams" have had nothing but First-Trimester-I'm-so-tired-and-cranky-I-am-seriously-considering-falling-off-my-chair-to-get-a-quick-recovery-nap Hel.

Heh.... add an extra "L" on my name at the end of that sentence and it wouldn't really change the meaning of it much at all.

So when I enjoyed six of the little preciousness-es on Sunday, I really thought I was back on track.  Actually a few of the stars aligned right for me to think that.  I started thinking creatively again (creative brain has been working overtime in the inner nursery), I sewed LQ a skirt (first real project since January) and I.... wait for it..... MADE DINNER (and it wasn't burnt cheesy toast).

Yesterday I was on top of my game.  Playing educational games with LQ and tidying the house simultaneously.

And then today happened.  My body shut down at around 10.30am and didn't kickstart again until 5pm. 4 hours of that I was napping.

This is where I say I have the most incredible LQ in the history of LQ's.  Two of those napping hours she just pleasantly sat on my bed watching PBS kids.  The other two she napped with me.   I do feel bad that she doesn't get out on days like these (yep I've had one or two already - it killed me not to be able to complain about it on my blog), but the guilt is not so bad that it's motivation to get out of bed.  There would have to be some pretty wicked mother guilt to achieve that.


And now I've complained about that... I just quickly clicked over to my google reader to see what was going on in the world... and my heavily pregnant friend who is due in April has been put on bed rest (pre-eclampsia) for the rest of the pregnancy.

There's always someone who has it worse - or likes to one-up me.... ;)

Shake It!

We've decided that LQ needs a job.  She does have one talent that we think may be useful.  Watch.

What is making Hel happy this week?

Finding grocery store shelving for a total of $5 from the thrift store.

And this has been making me happy (and sick... and really tired.... and nervous) for about 10 weeks now, but it makes me happy to show it to you now.

fun times

LQ has recently started changing colours.  She closes her eyes and when she opens them again she will be purple or brown or any number of other colours.  It's an awesome talent to have.  I'm just not sure how to use it yet especially as she's the only person who can see the changes.

We were driving home from the store the other night and I told LQ that she was crazy.  "I not crazy, mummy.  I cool"

Anyone in need of the a cool, orange kid?

This

has made me happy this week.



The shelf and night light cost a total of $20 from Ikea.  An impromptu lunch date with my precious daughter was a bonus.


and this.









LQ earning her first dollar.  For emptying the entire dishwasher.