Time to dust off the old blog!

Wow! It's been nearly 2 years to the day since I last posted and what a crazy ride it has been since then.

Where I left off last time... we had made a snap decision to sell our home after a relatively new house had been listed for sale that we fell in love with. However, with our then current home not being sold we couldn't commit to purchasing the other house and as a result ended up missing out on it. Not long after though we sold our house (that we had renovated) and purchased a block to build on. I created a blog for our build (which was also been neglected) but you can find it HERE if you'd like a quick run down of the build. We had limited internet access while we built, so please excuse the lack of blog posts and fanciness. We have now been in our new home for 14 months and we love it. We are still in the process of finishing off the landscaping, sorting out rooms etc but it's all coming together slowly but surely. Over the coming week I will take some photos and create a blog post about our new digs! Also in the past 2 years I have begun a nursing degree and will soon be entering my 3rd and final year which is scary. Uni, as well as my family have taken up most of my time which is why this poor little old blog has been pushed to the side. It was only after I saw one of my gorgeous new in real life friends had a blog up and running, I was inspired to dust mine off and get back into it.

I'll leave it there for now and will be posting regularly from now on. I will also be giving the blog a facelift, so expect to see some changes (and a lot more of me from now on!)

Dani x

Life: Everchanging

Another large gap between posts and more craziness has happened.

We've sold our house that we purchased last year to renovate. We've done the basic reno's on the house and only had the kitchen to do. We were planning on staying here until I went back to work when our little guy started school. However, a simple phone call from a Real Estate agent telling us that he has a larger, 4 year old house for sale got our minds racing. Off we went to inspect the house and immediately fell in love. The problem being.... our house wasn't sold, it wasn't even close to being ready for sale and as I said before... we had no intention of moving. We listed the house for sale internally with the agent and told him to work his magic... if he wanted commission for both houses he needed to get moving!! Unfortunately the other house sold in the meantime, we weren't prepared to make an offer without having our house sold first. We got caught last year with 2 mortgages for 6 months and we lost a lot of money paying both. So it was a tough lesson to learn! Anyway.... fast forward a few weeks and we had an older couple come through the house who loved it. They came through a couple more times and made an offer. SOLD! It was really that easy! I can't even begin to tell you how excited and relieved I am. The property market isn't flying right now, so I am very thankful and feel very lucky to have sold our house that easily! While the negotiations were happening on our house hubby and I had to decide what we were going to do next. I made it very clear that I didn't want to renovate again, too much time and effort and now having 3 kids and all the other stuff that goes on with life, I wanted some quiet time. So it took some convincing but I managed to talk hubby into building!! We have put a deposit down on a block and a house and it's all getting quite exciting! I'm going to start a new blog for the whole process. So will create that shortly and link you all up to it once it's set up!

Our little 8 week old & a hospital stay

This is going to be a bit of a long post.... my little guy Harry was admitted to hospital for a few days the weekend following my last post. I'm still quite emotional about it, so I'm hoping writing it down might bring me some peace.

Harry had been sick (along with the big 2) since the Tuesday with a runny nose, so it was nothing to really worry about until Saturday morning when he started projectile vomiting all his feeds. He was working quite hard with his breathing by mid arvo and with that we were getting concerned so I took him to the weekend clinic.  The Dr checked Harry out and was a little puzzled as he had a clear chest, had a raspy cough, a temp of 38.5 and you could see his poor little belly working hard and just under his ribs was sucking in as he breathed. He thought it was possible he had croup but wrote us a letter and sent us straight to the hospital. The nurse on the desk begins to triage us and comes around to check Harry out and tells me his chest is clear and it's most likely just a blocked nose. I then get "So this is your first baby?". I snapped back "No, it's my third". I was feeling anxious enough about my almost 8 week old being sent to hospital without her making me feel like I was wasting their time. I know my babies and I know when they need medical attention. Anyway... we were called in almost immediately to the Paediatric side of A&E and the nurse and doctor we had were just wonderful. They were very thorough and sweet and were quite concerned with all of his symptoms. They took blood and inserted an IV in case he needed fluids or medication. It was heartbreaking to watch.

After about an hour the doctor came in and told me that there were inflammatory markers in his blood but that the blood test couldn't tell them where the infection was. She said that she'd spoken with the Paed Dr from upstairs and she wanted further investigations done. I was ok with that, whatever was needed to get my baby better. That was until they told me that further investigations meant a lumbar puncture. That stopped me in my tracks. The positive outlook I had was now gone. The Dr could see how I was feeling and she told me that I obviously had the option to say no but if it were meningitis it was best to know. I don't even remember saying anything, I think I just nodded my head agreeing. She explained the procedure to me and told me that to do it they would take us around to a resuscitation bay as they had all the equipment there and if on the odd chance something did go wrong he was in the best place. At that point I wanted to take my little man and run. My head was spinning and I was feeling terrible that I couldn't protect him from what was to come. As soon as we got into the resus bay I burst into tears. Here was my perfect little man, an IV in his arm and about to have spinal fluid drawn from his back. They weren't going to give him any anesthetic, only sucrose drops (which they had got me to drop into his mouth while they were taking blood etc earlier). I knew it was for the best but it honestly broke my heart. I sat there next to the curtain, fluffing my stuff, organising and reorganising it while they did the procedure. I had the sweetest nurse come in and she tried to get me to go for a walk and have a breather. She knew I wasn't coping and I'd held in my tears pretty well until she told me that I wouldn't be a bad Mum if I needed to have a break and that it was ok to do just that. Not even 5 seconds after she'd finished telling me that, it was all over. Relief swept over me and I immediately went and scooped up my little man and snuggled him so so tight for a while. The next step was to collect his urine. We'd been trying since we'd got into A&E but it just wasn't happening. In the end he had a needle inserted into his bladder to collect some and thank goodness for that it was pretty much the last horrible thing he had done to him.

 

 Left- Just about to do the lumbar puncture.        Right - Post lumbar puncture, an exhausted little man. 

From there the Paed Doctor came in and told us that Harry was being admitted and that he would be on antibiotics for 48 hours which is when all of the tests would be back. A million thoughts were racing through my head... many that weren't so rational. My hubby had had a procedure done on the Friday so was meant to be resting but was at home with the big 2. So I was concerned for them all that I wasn't there to help but obviously was not going to leave my baby for anything. Hubby was amazing and went from "patient" mode into Daddy mode and I tell you what... he's damn amazing that man. 

So before we were taken up to the childrens ward Harry was hooked up to fluids to make sure he stayed hydrated. Once up there his antibiotics were started and my beautiful Mum and brothers brought in clothes etc for me and sat with us until 11pm. Once they left  we settled in for the night. Harry was just so exhausted that he slept from 12am until 6.30am. Hubby brought the kids in for the day on Sunday. He's a man that doesn't show a lot of emotion but as soon as he saw Harry with machines beeping and drips/cords attached to him he was quite emotional. It is horrible seeing your baby who is only 8 weeks new so sick and connected to such things. The kids were amazing and I can't believe how fantastic they were with Harry. They asked questions and weren't scared of anything.

 

Monday came and all the tests were coming back clear which was great. Harry wasn't vomiting as often and it wasn't as forceful as they had been and his temp had come down. It was looking like it was just a very nasty virus and nothing sinister. The IV kept getting blocked though as they had put it in the crease of Harry's arm, so that was taken out Monday arvo.  Harry had started tolerating feeds again and we were set to go home on Tuesday morning, they just wanted him to stay one more night to make sure he was doing ok. It was such a relief and it was amazing to see our little guy back smiling again. 

Tuesday morning came and I was out of bed like a shot, dressed and packed up, waiting for the Dr to give us the all clear. Around 10am the Dr came in and told us we were free to go as all of the tests were clear. They were the best words ever! I was hanging to get home to my hubby and the big 2! 

 

We received such great care whilst in hospital. We couldn't have asked any more of them. 

Nurses truly are angels!

We have been home for nearly 3 weeks now and Harry is happy and healthy again and we are so glad to be home!

A long time between drinks...

It's been a long time since I've checked in here & there has been quite a few changes in my life since I last blogged...

A quick snapshot...We sold our old home & bought one to renovate! It all happened on a bit of a whim (Thanks hubby!) and we ended up with 2 houses for about 7 months. So while we were living in our old house we were able to complete most changes to the new place without any real disruption. The renovations are almost complete, just the kitchen and laundry to go. So there are plenty of photos to share!
We have also added a new addition to our family... a gorgeous little guy Harry! He was born in August and has just gone 7 weeks old. The big 2 absolutely adore him and he is such a little treasure!

I am very much looking forward to giving the blog a revamp and sharing with you all once again!

Xx

{ childs play }

Well, we're getting closer to finishing the cubbyhouse! We have put the final coat on the cubbyhouse which was a bit of a circus at the start. We went to the local hardware store and found the paint we wanted, "Medium Texture" by Dulux. When painted on, it gives a rendered finish, perfect! We were then told we needed a "medium texture" roller to roll it on with. Mind you this roller came with a $30 price tag and that was just the 'cover'. We were then told we needed to trowel it and then wipe it with a wet towel afterwards. So with the paint and gold plated roller in hand and the info fresh in our minds we came home to get started. First roll with the gold plated roller and we both nearly dropped to the floor, it made it all patchy and the spots it rolled on resembled something similar to Hershey Kisses! No wonder you need to trowel it to get the effect. So I promptly threw down the roller, picked up the paint brush and painted the whole thing with that! It. Looks. Awesome!!!!

Here is the latest photo of the kids play area, which is finally coming together!

So now The Man just needs to finish the rails on the verandah, the inside walls and the windows! So hopefully it will all be done by the end of this week and then the fun can begin!!!

I am off to try my hand at crocheting again! I failed miserably the other night, this could be a long process!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

D xo

{ crocheting }

So I have decided to learn how to crochet! I came across a beautiful crocheted beanie the other day that I thought would look stunning on Wondergirl this coming winter. It was on the pricey side, so I had a wonderful  idea to make one myself. I started googling and found a few tutorials on YouTube and tonight at the supermarket bought myself a crochet hook and some yarn!! So I am sitting here all super excited, everyone is in bed and the housework is done so I can get on with some serious guilt free learning! If anyone has any helpful tips, please be sure to pass them on! I will take any help I can get!

The cubbyhouse is still a work in progress (Pic below) We have had some shocking weather which has held things up a bit but we got a few things done today! I primed the outside walls and The Man started building the little verandah, we have the paint all ready to go for the final coat. Very excited about putting that on!! So the curtains and bunting have been held up once again but we will get there!

I am going to love you and leave you all and head off to learn the basics of crocheting! (I hope)

Night all,

Dani x

{ resolutions & devastation }

I have been meaning to post for a couple of weeks about my New Years resolutions but haven't had a chance, so today I thought should be the day. However, before I go on with something that now seems less than important I would like to mention the devastating floods that are ravaging our country. Words cannot even begin to express the way I feel. I am lucky enough to be many many miles from them but many people I know are in QLD and northern NSW and my heart is breaking for them, their families and friends. The death toll stands at 12 and there are roughly 60 people missing. The images are haunting and seeing the sheer force of the water makes me tremble. For those of you who aren't in Australia, here are a couple of images of just some of the devastation.

My heart goes out to everyone affected by these terrible floods. I pray that all those missing are safe with just no means of contact at this time. I also wish to commend the CFA, SES, Ambos, Police and anyone who in anyway has helped, is helping or is going to help. The recovery from this will take many years and many hands. I hope in some way we can all help. I will add a couple of links that I have found for donations and also info numbers if you need them.

HERE is a Facebook auction of some beautiful little treasures that have been donated.

Disaster Recovery Hotline: 1800 173 349
State Emergency Service: 132 500


So, it's another year and another set of resolutions! To be quite honest, last year I don't even remember making any... maybe it was a good thing! I know I am a little late in doing them (I haven't started yet) but better late than never right? I have been thinking about my resolutions for a while and they aren't anything exciting and there are only 3 but I hope that they are something that inspires me and helps me to complete some tasks that have been shoved to the side for quite some time!

1. I would love to sew 1 project per month. (Ideally I would love to sew more but a lot of the time, time doesn't seem to be on my side)
2. Complete 1 scrapbooking page per week. (I haven't done anything for the kids and Wonderboy is nearly 4!!)
3. To be a healthy Mummy! I would love to lose weight and the C25K challenege I was going to do has been put on hold due to a "very unstable pelvis" as my gorgeous Osteo told me on Tuesday. *sigh* I will get there though. I need to cut back on my food and watch what I eat. I am a sucker for good food, so it will be a challenge!
4. To chill out more and not let housework take over! I want to relax more and spend more time with the kids. So far this is something that I have been acheiving everyday!

So in talking about #1 and me telling you I would be back in a couple of days with my bunting and curtains for the cubbyhouse, well they have been put on hold for a few more days! We have had constant rain for the past few days which has resulted in the cubbyhouse coming to a bit of a holt. So hopefully with the rain having eased today we can get moving on it this arvo when hubs gets home. I take that back... here is the rain again! Time to head off to get ready for a beautiful little girls 3rd birthday party around the corner!

Have a wonderful day all and please keep everyone in QLD and Nth NSW in your prayers.

*mwa*