Off to the Farm

Were off to Rockys Parents farm, catch ya all after the long weekend :)

Jets First Brush with Fame

After yesterdays post i thought i better get my act together & scan this page out of the last edition of Essence magazine:Its Jets first ever brush with fame, he is modelling his wonderful minky bubblebub for their discussion on Cloth vs Disposable Nappies - YAY! Its not like its hard to get pics in, i just sent it in because i new that topic was coming up, very pleased he got in though. Click on the pic for a bigger image.

ABA Renewal Bargain

I recently renewed my subscription to the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) & to my pleasant surprise the renewal came with a gift! There was a couple of things i could choose from but i chose the children's book The Biggest Bed in the World by Lindsay Camp. Its a really sweet story about an ever growing family that co-sleeps.

I highly recommend subscribing to the ABA if you are a breastfeeding mum or mum to be. Its a fantastic organisation. When you initially subscribe at the moment you get the book Breastfeeing...naturally free as well which is a great resource (i got it when i joined last year), not to mention Essence magazine which comes out every second month. Essence is packed full of great natural parenting articles, last month they even did one on cloth nappies - there is a pic of Jet in it modelling his fave minky bubblebub (ive been meaning to scan it & stick it up here, ill get around to it one day).

I absolutely love attending my local ABA meetings too, its great to regularly meet with like minded mums - im even thinking of training as a breastfeeding counsellor & Rocky is going to train as a community educator. He already does talks at the BOB's (Basics of Breastfeeding) seminars which are held for all the preggy mums, usually about 3/4 of the partners show up & they are sitting in a room full of very hormonal women talking about breasts which im sure isn't very comfortable for them, so they really respond well to having another bloke to ask questions to.

Anyway, thats my rant for the day. Ill finish with a joke that a fellow ABA'er sent to me yesterday - One saggy boob said to the other saggy boob: "if we dont get some support soon, people will think we're nuts!"

Help - no idea what im doing!!!

Knitters i need your help! My latest project is turning into a total disaster! I was trying to follow this ribbed soaker pattern but i wanted to use both balls of wool at the same time so it would turn out kind of speckally coloured. I also wanted the soaker to be a bit thicker than a regualr one (even thicker than a regular ribbed one) so i thought this might be a good way to do it?

Anyway, both balls of wool are the same, just that elcheapo stuff from lincraft thats 100% wool, 8 ply i think. I cast on 40 stitches then did 17ish inches of k2p2 (with one row 4 rows in of k2 yo p2tog for the drawstring).

Only one of the legs is done in the pics which is why it looks even more funny than it normally would. I think i should have made the leg holes bigger & picked up more stitches too, i only picked up 28 & it looks a little funny!

The main prob appears to be that its to short at the back, the front seems to be ok though so i think if i added more length to the original piece (which was just a rectangle) then it would get to long in the front. Im thinking i should maybe put some short rows in there but im not sure if that would work & im also not sure where. The nappy he has on underneath isnt even a fitted, its a baby beehinds magic-alls wich are pretty trim at night i use a bamboo baby beehind with a massive booster so its lots thicker than the one he has on.

Anyway, im after your suggestions. Should i frog it & just try a different pattern or should i undo the leg ive done, the sides & cast off & keep knitting, maybe adding in some short rows??? HELP!?!

Oh & excuse the grumpy face, jet was chuckin a tanty while i was trying to take pics, i think he is a bit sick of being the guinea pig for my knitting 'creations'.

My Dream

I want to find a home (not just a house!), somewhere we can bring up our kids, thats on a couple of acres (2-10ish) just off the freeway, max of 45 mins from the airport with a house/cabin on it, 2 bedrooms minimum, can be loft style, lots of trees, river views would be great but i dont want to push my luck (any further), & this is the clincher, for under 300k. I know its probably impossible but im putting it out there.

At the moment rocky is away part of the week because he works 12 hour shifts so the commute is just to much, he stays with a mate in sydney, if we lived closer he could see jet every night. Also id love to have a little bit of land. Plant lots of fruit trees, id love one of those massive mango trees, oh oh & and avocado one, a chicken coop (with chickens of course) & a couple of lamas, maybe even a goat.

So thats my dream! just puttin it out there so the universe knows what i want ;)

Anyone else have a dream to share?

Ribbit, Ribbit

This was my first attempt at stripes. The front kinda looks ok:

But the back went a bit funny! Somehow i moved my marker over so the rows werent even, not to meantion the short rows i had to do which i kinda changed colours half way through, not sure if that was a good idea:

You can kind of see a line up the middle of the back, thats where i would wrap the colour i wasnt currently using when i got to it. Im thinking maybe that i should just break the yarn & work in the ends rather than doing that cause it started looking a bit funny.

Anyway, i frogged it all! i was trying to knit it on double pointed needles because i didnt have the right size circular needles (long story there, but basically i bought needles from lincraft marked 4.5mm that were actually only 4mm then went back & got another pair that really were 4.5mm but you couldnt knit with them because the needles were to long & the bit that attaches them was to short - really weird!!!).

Im now attempting to knit a soaker, but no stripes this time, i decided to make it thicker & use both colours at once...stay tuned to see if its a total disaster ;)

Pattern Projects

Heres two tiny tiny knitting projects. I was experimenting with the different stitches to make patterns, I haven't been game to attempt a pattern on anything else yet though!

Squares:
Love heart in seed stitch:

They aren't anything fantastic but its a start, i am only new to knitting after all!

Tip #1 - Dont put coins into your front loader washing machine

This is the most expensive 50c piece ive ever owned, it cost $259!

Rocky was being very helpful by doing the washing but he didnt realise that my jeans still had a coin in the pocket (see this is why i never use cash, you dont see credit cards getting stuck in washers), the jeans didnt actually need washing either - bonus! The washing machine worked a nice little pattern into the middle of the coin though :)

Hug-a-Bug Giveaway

The latest giveaway on Reviewed by Drea is for a Hug-a-Bug wrap! looks so cute i wanna win it!!!

9 Months & Counting

Ive been breastfeeding Jet for just over 9 months now! Breast milk is the most complete form of nutrition for babies. A mother's milk has just the right amount of fat, sugar, water, and protein that is needed for a baby's growth and development. Most babies find it easier to digest breast milk than they do formula. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that babies are breastfed exclusively for their first 6 months & that breastmilk be a part of their diet until at least two years of age. I plan on breastfeeding Jet until he is two!!!

There are so many benefits of breastfeeding, it protects your baby from illness and infection, provides the best food & nutrition for your growing baby, aids the development of your baby's eyesight, speech and intelligence as well as promoting that special loving bond between mother and baby.

Babies who are not breastfed have a higher risk of cot death & increased likelihood of allergy not to mention cost a whole lot more, infant formula, bottles, teats, sterilisers, none of those are cheap. Babies that aren't breastfed are also more likely to fall ill, costing more to the family and the community in medical bills. The production of formula also has an environmental impact in terms of fuel, energy and resources needed in production.

(these facts are taken from the Australian Breastfeeding Association website)

Visit the Australian Breastfeeding Association for lots of fantastic info on breastfeeding.

...cause you can never have enough

Bubblebubs that is!!! I finally got around to taking some action shots, these are probably the worst action shots ive taken but in my defence the floor was covered in toys (& just general mess) so i was trying to take them on the couch, camera in one hand while the other hand was attempting to stop jet stacking it onto the tiles (successfully im sure you'll be glad to hear).





& heres close ups of all 3 minky bubblebubs:

Baby & Kids Market Score

Mum & I travelled down to the Second Hand Baby & Kids Markets in Ryde today, we spent around $150 & heres what we got:
Heres the details, ive stuck prices on the things i remember:

Toys:
Sheepskin Teddy (one of those flat ones) only $1!
Stand-up Table (balls whizz round on it or something) $15
A4 sized ABC Foam Sheet $1
A4 sized Numbers Foam Sheet $1
Foam Clock $1
Fire Truck that you press & it scoots along the floor $2
Snail filled with shapes that stack (makes a noise)
ABC Foam Puzzle (that fit into each other - Massive Bag!) $1
Bucket of Cotton Reels
Walker $5
Wiggly Caterpillar
Blow up Cylinder shaped thing with balls in it
Suction on Driving thingy

Clothes:
Swimming Clothes - 4 x Jumpsuits, 2 x Rashes, 1 x Speedos & 1 x Hat
7 x T-Shirts
5 x Shorts
1 x Suit (Jacket, Shirt, Vest & Pants) $10
Hand Knitted Jumper (top of the pic, its stripy, very nice) $1!
3 x Jumpers

Shoes:
1 x Sandals
3 x Joggers (one of these pairs is sooooo cute, looks brand new & i only paid $3!)
1 x Gumboots
1 x Slippers

Books:
Francesca Naish: The Natural Way to Better Babies
Francesca Naish: The Natural Way to a Better Pregnancy

Other:
Rear View Mirror to see kids while in car $2
Mini Boules Set for Kids

Im pretty happy with our score, most of the things i paid under $5 for & those two books alone are normally $30 each - truth be told i already own both of them but i got them to give to a friend...not that shes planing to get pregnant just yet, but hopefully it will push her along a bit ;)

I highly recommend these markets, they run a couple of times a year in VIC, QLD, ACT, NSW & WA so if your in one of those areas you should check them out. Basically mums just go & get a stand there & sell all their used baby & kid stuff, there are always great bargains & lots of variety. If you want the big stuff like prams & cots though you have to get there early, they start at 9 & there is always a massive line when they open. It a great way to recycle old goods rather than just consuming new stuff all the time - so good for the environment as well as the wallet! Go to http://www.babykidsmarkets.com.au/ for more info.

Protect-a-Bed Competition

The latest comp i have entered on Adventures in Babywearing for a matress protector from Protect-a-Bed :)

Question - What do you do with your peice of pear while rolling around on the ground?

Answer:

Rockys New Mal

Rocky's new hobby is surfing & here's his most recent ebay purchase - an 8 foot Mal. Jets checkin it out to make sure his dad got a good deal.
Jet has started stickin his butt up in the air, getting a little closer to crawling!

Ive Been Very Naughty.....Again

3 Large Minky Bubblebubs arrived in the mail today. Couldn't help myself, they were 15% off (they are the old hemp ones) with free postage. Im a sucker for bubblebubs! they are officially my all time favourite nappy :D (now to try & hide them from Rocky).

Check out the size of that foot!

Other updates: Our washing machine was making a really funny noise after DH totally over filled it on the weekend. The service guy came out today & its going to cost $250 to fix - bugger! its still under warranty but theres a coin stuck in there somewhere which requires him taking the back off so he can get the front off so he can get the drum out (apparently). oops! at least it wasn't my fault (although i believe it could have been my coin).

The Baby & Kids Secondhand Markets are on again this weekend in Ryde. Mum & I are going down to grab some more bargains. Mum loves looking for clothes for jet, they are always really cheap there & im after some toys that he can use once he starts pulling up on stuff. You never know, i might even find some MCN, last time i found 2 x newborn bubblebubs for $2 each, bargain!!!

Jets New Bath Bucket

We used to bath jet in a large nappy bucket but he kinda grew out of it, so we got him one of those baby baths, but his back would get all cold & we aren't ready to just put him in the bath because it would waste soooo much water & i love having my shower while he has a bath, makes things allot easier especially the nights rocky is working! Anyway, at the flora festival we saw these buckets, they are made of some kind of flexible stuff & claim to be unbreakable. Its absolutely perfect for bathing him in & he loves it (especially hangin on to the handles). Heres some pics:

**Update: Just for anyone who is interested in getting one of these buckets to use as a bath the brand is tuff tubbs & we got the 45 litre bucket**

Maestro Jet

Flora Festival & Rockin' Baby Comp

Mum, Margaret (a family friend), Rocky, Jet & I braved the threatening weather today & went to the Flora festival & it was fantastic! Such a great day out. It was absolutly massive, we were there from about 9 - 2.30! It did end up raining but not to much & most of the stands there had there own cover so whenever it got heavy we just had to duck under one.

The highlight for me was visiting the alpaca wool stand. The alpacas are so cute, i would just LOVE to have a couple one day. There were a couple of really loverly ladies there too spinning alpaca wool & they have a wool spinning society which meets in lake haven. They said if i go along then they will teach me how to spin my own wool - YAY!!!! One of them had a jumper on that she had spun the wool for then knitted herself - how rewarding would that be!

Rocky had fun chatting to everyone about everything, but especially permiculture, & mum bought another orchid, she is great at orchids, right now there are stacks that are blooming in our back yard - i should take a pic! We also bought a rasberry bush for $3 & a blackberry bush for $5.50 bargain!

Also today i entered into another one of the fab comps on Steph's Adventures in Babywearing site. Its to win a Rockin' Baby Sling!!!

Vincent Shoes Comp & Breastfeeding Stuff

I just entered another one of the comps on the Adventures in Babywearing blog. Its to win a $50 gift certificate for Vincent Shoes. Wish me luck!!!

I also came across a couple of breastfeeding links i thought were interesting:

* This one is an add campaign for breastfeeding that got canned in America.
* This is a segment that once upon a time was shown on sesame street - very cute.
* This is a link for a breastfeeding add which i believe is currently showing somewhere in Australia - there should be more like it i reckon!!!

Cant find the needle in the hay stack

I finished jets longies before we went on holidays but i cant for the life of me find my yarn needle, i know its around here somewhere! until then though no action shots cause there are bits of wool hanging every which way! Just wanted to let you know what my excuse is for being so slack ;)