What shall I be when I grow up?

I have this question going through my head over and over lately.

I asked it out loud last night, and the response from Dad'n was less than thrilling.

What shall I be when I grow up?

"What do you mean, what do you want to be when you grow up? I hate to break it to you Hun, but your thirty, and you're a nurse."

Well there you go hey, glad he cleared that up for me! Pfft. What does he know.

Is this the whole mid life crisis thing setting in ahead of time?

Is it itchy feet with one child heading off to school on the horizon?

It's definitely something. And it doesn't seem to be leaving me alone in a hurry.

So really, Dad'n did have a point.  I am thirty. And I am a nurse. But I feel that was so BC (before children). I don't completely feel like that person anymore and I don't enjoy it like I used to. Not to mention shift work being unfriendly to work around the family, school drop off / pick ups ect...

There are a few idea's that get me excited... Heading back to school is definitely one! But then the realities chime in and bring me back to earth and I am left right back at the beginning, asking what I shall be when I grow up?

Anyone else out there asking this same question?

xx

Dear Boo.

Dear Boo,

 

Last night you said something. It was something that brought me to tears and left your Daddy speechless.

 

It was something so important that it has made me write you this letter.

 

I want you to remember it forever.

 

Here is how is went...

 

Boo: I'm going to marry a Prince one day...

 

Mummy: Of course you are baby, I wonder where you will find him?

 

Boo: Oh I will just find him...

 

Mummy: Well whoever it may be I'm sure they will be just as amazing as you deserve.

 

Boo: Yep, he will have good manors, he will be kind, he will never ever be rude to me and he will treat me good. Just like Daddy. I want one just like Daddy.

 

Mummy: Yes Boo, just like Daddy (insert tears here as I walk out of the room).

 

Just as I said Boo, remember this forever.

 

Your Prince just has to treat you as you deserve. The way you knew, even being just four years of age.

 

Love you always and forever,

 

Mummy xx

 

 

 

Holidays, hospitals and beyond... Day one!

So many different things happened on our holiday that it felt two weeks was actually two months.

There were so many high's but I will never forget the low's for as long as I live.

On our official day one, Ace was admitted into hospital.

This would have to be up there on a parents worst nightmare list.

Being overseas, and your child becoming seriously sick. It happens to other people. Not us. You know that feeling?

Ace had an infection.

He was fighting extremely high temperatures, and was having difficulties breathing due wheezing and a croupy cough. After our admission, he then followed on to have two febrile convulsions. It was then they started testing for some nasty things, including Influenza.

All his test results returned negative to anything nasty and it was just obvious that he was fighting an infection. I've never thanked who ever was looking over us as much as I did at the moment.

It all escalated so quickly. I mean he was swimming in the pool fine in the morning, and then this was him now, we couldn't even wake him at all?

 

  

The hospital was amazing. Thank god!

But language was definitely a barrier. Doctors and nurses were all speaking Thai and that was so frustrating for Dad'n and I when we wanted to know how and what they were treating Ace with.

After all had settled and Ace was a little more stable, everything was explained to us in English, but until that point, our anxieties hit levels that were out of control.

Being a Nurse, Dad'n would turn to me wanting to know what they were giving him and what they were doing. My response of "I don't know" was only adding to our anxieties.

As quick as Ace went down, he seemed to come back up.

The next morning, Ace and I snacked on Pringles and Pocky sticks for breakfast. Thai breakfasts were not what we were craving at all. Savoury porridge with minced meat on top, which I am sure was lovely... But not for us.

It was so surreal. He was sitting up in his hospital bed like not much had happened. I, myself, looked like I had aged 20 years minimum, but that was okay. As long as my little man was okay!

As I look back and reflect on it all, there are some things that stick out that helped us get through a sucky situation.

Having family travelling with us... Obviously.

We had support for Boo and we had support for ourselves.

Our travel insurance... They were amazing!

If you are in the market for a policy for your holiday, have a look at AAMI. Their support left us speechless. We had doctors calling us asking about Ace's condition. They offered to liase with his treating team so they could fully translate what was happening if they language was becoming to much of a barrier. They covered all medical expenses before we left the hospital so we didn't have to outlay money for the rather large bill! I can not speak highly enough about our experience. It was such a blessing.

Of course you never think it will happen to you, but this time, for us... it did.

Will we continue travelling with the children?

Absolutely.

This would of happened where ever we may of been. I will however research the hospitals a little more of where we will be travelling. I would like to have a better understanding of where we would have to go if we are somehow unlucky enough to frequent an international emergency department again.

So, that was "day one".

At least it could only get better from there!

 

Being a tourist in your own backyard...

There is something that Boo has been dying to do since we moved.

We always seemed to say "another day" or "we haven't got time"...

But today we did it.

We rode the Ferris Wheel!

I must say, I am glad we finally did. It was pretty cool!

 

Such a stunning day.

Finished off with an amazing lunch with Ganma & Pa on the waterfront.

Life's pretty good here!

Next month...

Next month, our move will have been two years ago. Two years!

I love what it has given us.

I love what it has given our children.

I love that this is not our holiday.

It is our home.

It is our life.

A forced transition starting now.

As the title states, a forced transition is occurring in the Bower Birds Nest, effective immediately.

Upstairs, making my self a cup of tea, yes our kitchen is upstairs, and heard a huge thump.

The thump was followed by some serious tears. As I ran downstairs to investigate, my fears turned into reality. Ace had just climbed out of his cot and fallen onto the ground. He met me at the bedroom door hysterical. Okay, but hysterical.

I know, kids do it all the time. I've just heard some horror stories lately of little babes getting seriously hurt from this :( It's so high.  My inner Mummy panic was pushed to full throttle.

Operation remove cot sides today and transition into toddler bed starting now.

Raising Ace really has been so different and such a new experience. He makes he feel like a first time Mum over and over. What's the go? Boo would have quiet happily stayed in her cot until she was 5 and now this little feisty monkey at 20 months says game over, I'm out!

I keep saying it's a boy thing... actually, I'm saying it a lot! It just seems SO appropriate in our case... such a bruiser boy.

So anyway, I'm sure this transition will be completely different to what we experienced with Boo. If my vibe is anything to go by, there shall be some interesting posts coming up about our night and bed time antics with a certain little boy.

Has anyone got any fab tips that helped ease the transition? I think this Mumma will need all the help she can get.

To be continued....

Exactly one year ago...

We packed up our life and did the whole "sea change" thing.

One year... I can't believe it. Well I can, but one year is a long time!

In some ways it seems that this has been our life forever. Then I look at photo's of our old home it feels as we were just there. Weird.

Was it the right decision? Absolutely.

Moving was the best decision that we could have made for our family. It has opened up so many lifestyle opportunities for us and brought us all closer than ever. I think my favourite one would be seeing what a close relationship our children are building with their grandparents. The bonus of living two minutes away from them.

Our journey one year on is really just beginning though. Within the next 4 or so weeks, we will be starting to see our family home being built before our eyes. A very exciting time for us. We have planned and designed this home to be everything we want and need. We are SO excited to see the plan come to life. I cant wait to share it all with you.

This year hasnt all been rosy though. I did have many doubts and down moments with feeling like I didn't belong. I came to the conclusion that it was all just a part of our new beginning, a part of moving forward and leaving what you know behind.

I think a big part of it was not having a "home". Yes, we were able to find a beautiful rental that anyone would be happy to live in, but it wasn't ours... it wasn't home.

The path to finding our "home" has been a draining one for me. Offers being put in on houses, sales falling through, things I am not made for. I fall with my heart and my head often doesn't think. Lucky somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that the universe would deliver what was meant to be, and that it did. Everything that fell through, fell through for a reason.

So bring on our second year, it will be a wonderful and exciting one awaiting the completion of our new nest. Hopefully it comes around quickly... or I might have to have serious words with the building supervisor. Lucky I am married to him, I might have some pull ;)

Leaving you with some happy snaps of our first year down the coast.

 

Don't you just love a satisfying Sunday...

Today is Sunday.

It has been a satisfying day!

I love it when Sundays are a good day. It makes it feel okay that the week is about to start again.

It was an early start, which I must admit I wasn't too impressed with. Ace decided he wanted to start his Sunday at 4.30am. Hmmmm. Bit early! The rest of the day has just been lazy. But it hasn't been the lazy type that you get grumpy that you have wasted a day...

It's been cloudy, and definitely not the warmest. We got fish and chips for lunch. Both babes had a lovely long afternoon nap soon after. I went back to bed and followed their lead. Dad'n got to enjoy watching some football and even managed to bake some muffins for us (our Dad'n is a bit awesome like that). I got woken up by the sound of super heavy rain on our tin roof. Afternoon coffee from my new coffee machine with a side of a Choc Muffin.

Babes now chilling out in the toy room and Dad'n and I milking our lazy day by relaxing on the couch... iPad attached to my lap ;)

Oh yeh!

Now to think about scooping up the the babes to put them in the car, and make our way over to my parents for a roast!

And that my friends... Is a satisfying Sunday in my little world!

Thankful thursday's "A picture is worth a 1000 words"

Joining in today with KateSaysStuff's "Thankful Thursday".

I was so excited with the prompt of "A picture is worth a 1000 words". Photo's just my favourite. I cant get enough of them. I am always lurking to capture a moment.

They truly can say 1000 words. They are my memories. <3

Picking some of my favourites was very hard though, there were SO many.

And one for a smile. Ï think this one can say more than a 1000 words. Probably not nice words though ;) Cheaky girl. Poor Ace. He is getting his own back as he ages though.

What are you thankful for today?

Sibling love... not a smidge of rivalry in sight.

Today I am thankful for being able to sit back and admire the way that my babes are interacting as they are growing up together.

Seriously! It has been melting my soul with love watching some of their " quiet moments".

Yesterday, there was a moment that Dad'n and I were fortunate enough to both witness that left us both speechless. It was a moment that you dream you will see when you find out you are expecting a sibling for your only child. What happened you ask?

Well... Dad'n and I were in the kitchen (which has a direct view over the lounge room) and Ace was kicking around on the floor. Boo was also in the lounge, fiddling with a new bubble blower machine that she had received only minutes earlier as a "sap-wise" which is Boo lingo for surprise. Ace started crying, as he does, and before I could walk around from the kitchen I was stopped in my tracks by Boo racing to Ace's aid. She started rubbing him on the back saying "sokay Ace... sokay", translation : its okay Ace, its okay ;) While she was rubbing his back she was trying to give him her brand new bubble blower that she had only JUST got, just to make her baby brother happy.

When you are expecting with a smaller age gap (21months) and your first child is still so heavily reliant on you for their needs, its sometimes a little worrying thinking of how your child will react to the new addition. Maybe there will be jealousy or maybe they will become possessive over their things... or people. Yes, there are days that Boo wants me to put Ace down just so she can have a cuddle and that is completely natural. I find it relatively is easy to balance myself between them both. But when you have moment's like the one mentioned above... I think their sibling relationship is off to a great start.

So what am I thankful for? I am thankful for sibling love... and not a smidge of rivalry in sight. (YET) HeHeHe. Maybe I can update this post in the years to come ;)

Linking up today with Thankful Thursday at KateSaysStuff.

One of the many reasons I know he is the right "one"

Every now and then I have these realizations of why Dad'n was definitely the right "one", and this was one of them.

First a bit of background information to help you paint a mental picture. Who am I kidding, we all know there will be a photo included in this post somewhere, it is me after all! Anyways, apparently Dad'n can look a little intimidating to some. I have never seen this, obviously because I know who he is, but my sister pointed it out to me not to long ago, that to a complete stranger, Dad'n might look a little scary. I just think he looks hot ;)

On with the realization hey! Every night at 6.30pm there is a familiar scene that plays out in the Bower's Nest. We have all finished eating dinner, babes have had their bath, I am in the kitchen starting to wash up and Dad'n is getting comfy on the couch with Boo & Ace to settle them down on their home stretch to bed at 7pm. The channel gets changed to 126, 9.9 times out of 10 it's already on it.... Bless ABC2. I then watch on as this gorgeous man of mine makes all the appropriate sounds, calling all the characters by their right names and sings along knowing all the right words to In The Night Garden. Of course, Boo thinks this is the best thing in the world, and so do I. You really can never judge a book by its cover!

What I have just told you about is definitely one of my favourite scenes in the Bower's nest. He is my favourite man & he was definitely the right one.