It finally happened!!

Today the day I thought would never arrive finally arrived - Keira went to the toilet on her own!! Yay!! :)

I had started to toilet train her in November just before when she turned 3.  It was unsuccessful :( She threw the potty and wet her pants. I thought she wanted to stay in nappies because the twins were still in nappies? I don't know the reason - all I knew was that she didn't want to do it so it simply meant she wasn't ready or maybe I just gave up too easily. I didn't peservere with it because I also had to attend to the twins, work and everything else. I thought it would be great to wait until we were in NZ seeing as we would have family assistance for 3 weeks to help with the twins so we could focus on Keira and toilet training. We were semi successful. She got used  to sitting on the toilet bowl but she only did anything when we put her there every 10 or so minutes. When she did go on her own, she rarely did anything but at least she started going to the toilet on her own.

After settling in from the holidays, I approached Keira's Child care to start solid toilet training together this week. I bought her nice under wear with butterflies and pretty colours which she really liked and she wanted to wear them. Two days in with wearing undies all day at child care she had no accidents. Today when we arrived home from child care Keira asked me to open the back door which led to the toilet and I realised that she wanted to go to the toilet. I opened it for her and for the first time I heard her wee in the actual bowl. Of course I made a big deal giving her high 5's to encourage her that she did the right thing and to keep doing it. I left her in undies and two more times after that she ran to the toilet on her own and successfully peed in the bowl :) :)

Oh happy days!! It's only the beginning but I'm glad we're finally there and being 3 years old and two months - it is true when they say that kids will go when they are ready to go! I hope it continues to be successful. It couldn't have come at a better time as I am so busy with work at the moment organising the Liverpool Relay For Life event. I have 7 weeks to try and raise $30,000.00!! At the moment we have only raised $500.00 - yelp!! To say I am getting a little stressed is an understatement but at least I was able to celebrate a little victory today  :) Well Done Keira xx

2013 - to be the Best Me

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013

Seeing as we spent the first half of our January 2013 on holidays in NZ and the last half trying to settle back into a routine - I have decided that my New Year and New Beginnings starts in February 2013!

I love the first day of every month and Mondays because they mean new beginnings to me. They usually mean trying to start a new goal for the week or the month.If I fail at it, I always have the next week or the next month or the next year. As with every year I have my usual list of resolutions which include lose weight, be healthy, excercise, read and study the scriptures, go to the Temple more often etc

This year it's just to be the best ME I can be. To try my hardest to be the best mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, employee and person.

Another thing I want to work on this year is being more confident with my descisions. I am a person who always says yes and tries to impress others and make them happy, some times at the expense of my own little family but to be honest it causes me a lot of stress trying to do that all the time. I know my decisions won't please every one but I have to learn to be ok with that as long as my husband and children are happy :) One month into the New Year and I have already failed at this much to my disappointment but it is my WIP (Work in progress).

On my list of bests - is to be a better blogger!! I aim to blog at least once a week - maybe more if I can as I have a lot that I want to record from the past few months especially of our first trip overseas as a Party of Five :) If I'm good I want to publish a blog book at the end of the year.

This is the latest photo of my little family on our second last day in NZ on 13th January with my wonderful father in law, Halo and mother in law, Lilly.

So far in 2013 there already has been lots of highs and a few lows but overall we are happy and we have a lot to look forward to :)

Back again...

I know I have been MIA! Apart from being a busy working mama - our laptop portals aren't working which means we can't upload photos from my iphone or camera :( The main reason why I started a blog was to have a photo journal with minimal writing!

I will try to get some pics of the last few months up soon but for now I'll be posting just words...

We've had a busy few months and just recently we celebrated Keira's 3rd birthday and 11 days later the twins 1st birthday. We had a park party for the twins and it had to fall on one of the hottest days of the year! We still had a great turn out and they had a lot of fun. I'm glad it's done and dusted though as we look forward to our first party of five holiday to NZ in 2 weeks!! We are going for 3 weeks over Xmas and New Years and it'll be the first time in 2 years all of Damo's immediate family will be together again so everyone is really excited about that. We are looking forward to spending some quality family time and no doubt we will have a lot of fun and good times to look forward to.

I'll be busy in the next few days putting together our Party of Five 2012 Family Photo book that I ordered and needs to be completed by Feb as I got it on special. I also ordered a book for each child as I decided that I'll do a yearly book of photos seeing as I have so many pictures of them. So, in total I have 4 photo books to complete hopefully by the time we leave for NZ so that they will arrive by the time we get back.

I don't think I posted that I did reach my goal of 60kgs on my 35th birthday in Aug! Actually it was 60.7kgs but the 60 was still there and I fit into a size 12! I have since put on a kilo and am close to 62kgs which is a shame :( however, my health kick starts again on MONDAY!! To be continued...

Back to work today......

This is just a quick post to document my first day back at work today after 12 months maternity leave. I work part time as an Events Coordinatorr for Cancer Council NSW. I work 3 days a week to coordinate 2 Relay For Life events a year. Pretty sweet deal for me but it's not an easy ride as I have two challenging events to coordinate which keeps me very busy!  

I am writing this on my lunch break and so far it has been the dream first day back at work ....it's only been 3 hours although my day started much earlier at 7am!!! 7am!! I can't even remember the last time I woke up that early. I was supposed to have a trial run last week when my babies started child care but of course that didn't happen we just slept in until 8.30am (which is still quite early as we are used to waking up between 10-11am!)

My prep actually started last night. My dear husband Damien cooked a lovely dinner and prepared a salad for my lunch. I got all the kidlets bags and clothes prepared for child care as well as my own clothes and bag. Keira and the babies went to sleep at 9pm. I fell asleep putting the babies to sleep and I woke up at 11pm to have a shower to find Damien had washed the dishes from dinner, packed my lunch for work,  vacuumed the floor and cleaned the kitchen spotlessly :) He was still awake chopping up fruit for my morning tea.  He told me that after looking after him and the babies for the last 12 months, it's his turn to support me as much as possible. Awww how sweet.

At 7am, I woke up and so did Keira and Lucas. Damien also woke up to get the kidlets ready while I got ready. Montana woke up last and we managed to leave the house by the aim time of 7.50am. I dropped the kidlets off at child care - only Lucas was a little sooky when I left but he has his top teeth coming out. I was on the road by by aim time of 8am. With minimal traffic and finding the perfect parking spot, I was outside my work place in Parramatta at 8.45am for a 9am start. I actually made it to my first day on time! Amazing!

Everyone was very welcoming... it's like I had never left. The handover is going well. Lots of things to do as I have an event in 3 weeks but I am excited to get right into it lol Yes 12 months break from my event Relay For Life has done me good but I wonder how long this enthusiasm will last for..........hopefully until the end of the day at least :)

Twin-isms: Growing Pains

My poor twins have had a bad month of growing pains - teething, colds, chest infections and nappy rashes. This means I've had two very irritable, clingy and upset bubbas. Many people look at twins and think it's so cute to have two little babies to hold, hug, kiss and play with and yes it is cute but not when they both want their mama who only has one pair of arms :(

 

This experience is actually worst than when they were first born and I had the dilemma of who to pick up first as now they both can see me and they can reach out to me or  crawl and cling to me bawling when I already have one baby in my arms - now that is really heart breaking! 

 

Sometimes I wonder if being a twin is a good thing? It means they always have to share their cuddles and time with mum and dad while singleton babies get spoiled with parents fighting for a cuddle. I have to admit that when I am on my own, the only time I get to enjoy one of the twins is if the other is asleep or entertaining them self. I love the one on one time with one baby when I don't have to rush and have the other baby looking at me crying and making me feel guilty that I am holding one and not the other.

 

For the past few weeks,  I have spent most of my days in our bed nursing the twins and playing with them while watching children's DVDs.  It's not very productive but there was a time when the twins got really upset when I left their sight. They didn't like being in the play pen and just wanted to be held all the time so our bed was the only comfortable place where I could hold them both. Lately, they have been ok on their own. After an initial cry they end up playing with a toy or find something to distract them while I quickly have a shower or have a quick bite to eat.

 

There are days when all is calm and I may be busy doing some kind of house chore when suddenly I just hear them giggling really loud - oh how I love that sound! When I turn around to see what they are giggling at, they are smiling me but I know I've missed it. I guess those are the times when being a twin is really special.

 

So, while the twins experience their first growing pains - I am still being positive by making the most of the precious times when  I have my two babies cuddled up next to me - it is the sweetest feeling and one I will make the most of while I can because I know one day they will want to be in their own bed and while I look forward to that, a part of me will miss their cuddles and closeness.

 

I've been chatting to a few twin mamas from around the world on Instagram and I'm so relieved that I am not the only one facing this dilemma. Apparently the first year is the hardest and the mothers with older twins say they wouldn't want to trade places with me for the world! They have assured me though that once they hit the toddler stage - it's very fun seeing them interact with each other - still challenging but not as much as the first year.

 

I can't believe that in 8 short weeks our twins will turn 1 and Keira will be 3 and for some reason it just sounds so much easier than having a 2 year old and 10 month old twins!

 

A sad Montana had a bad morning :( but after some teething medicine and a nap she was herself again :) This pic was edited with Iphone apps Snapseed and Vintique

My boy Lucas really is a Mama's boy as there have been times when he won't go to anyone except me or he'll be fine if I'm not around but as soon as he sees me, he only wants me.  This pic was edited with Iphone apps Snapseed, Noir and Romance

Captured: a twin bond moment. Love it!

 

We have come to the realisation that our twins are the happiest when we go out! No wonder everyone comments to us about how well behaved they are because when we are out in public they usually are!

Photo A Day September: Part 1

This is Fat Mum Slim's Photo a Day Challenge:

 

Day 1. You, now: All three children are napping, clothes are washed and hung and dinner is cooking but my hair is messy and I'm wearing daggy shorts so no selfie of me today!This is me taking a moment to catch a bit of Spring sunshine :)

Day 2. Father: Montana only has eyes for her father today on Father's Day. We went for a family outing to Chipping Norton Lakes.

Day 3. Far Away: Another beautiful day so we returned to Chipping Norton Lakes to go for a walk. I really wanted to walk across the bridge but it looked too far away!

Day 4. Inside my mailbox: Keira found her (not so well hidden) birthday present of Princess shoes and accessories and put them on for the day. She always loves checking the mailbox for mail because it is the perfect height for her :)

Day 5. Bright: Sisters sitting in the bright sun on my parents front lawn watching my brother leave so it was good timing to get this shot

Day 6. Every day: We are blessed to watch our first born Keira grow up into a sweet little lady. Even when she is being cheeky, she makes us laugh EVERY DAY :)

Day 7. Natural: Keira, the little adventurer climbing the back yard tree bare feet in the natural light

Day 8. At Night: We went to our friends Tatiana and Lino's farewell BBQ - who are leaving to travel the USA and Mexico. We had a great time eating, dancing and karaoke :)

Day 9. What we do most Weekends: We hang out with family and friends. This weekend, Lilly slept over and we were enjoying the sunshine on the front lawn while she showed off her gymnastics skills :)

Day 10. Black and White: Experimenting with new app Snapseed (black and white grunge) of this pic of Keira in the back yard tree

Day 11. Hero: Most 9 year olds would prefer to hang out with their friends. Our niece Lilly begs her mum to sleep over our place to help us look after her little cousins. She changes the twins nappies, feed them solids, holds them when they cry and plays with Keira. Although she finds it toug,h she never complains. We always appreciate the 'extra' arms that is always needed here. Lilly is a hero in our eyes and she'll make a great big sister when her twin sisters arrive in a few weeks!!

Day 12. Together: My poor twins have been teething and irritable lately but it's amazing how comforted they are when they are together. Even though they do their own things they like being next to each other - most of the times ;)

August Highlight: Nana Lilly's Visit

Nana Lilly (Damo's mum) came for a one week visit from NZ to meet her new twin grand babies Montana and Lucas and of course visit her other Aussie grand kids Keira and Lilly.

It was such a memorable moment when mum finally met our twins in person for the first time and gave them the kisses and hugs she had been wanting to do from when they were first born.

Another memorable experience was when we left the babies with Damo and I took my mother in law to the 24 hour Kmart at 3am in the morning where we shopped up a storm. Afterwards,  we picked up McDonalds breakfast to bring home to the family at 5am.

Lilly slept over and shared a bed with Nana and you could hear them chatting in bed as they went to sleep and chatting in bed again when they woke up. The next night Keira shared a bed with Nana who read her bed time stories. Such special moments which I'm sure both girls will remember one day.

Unfortunately, Nana's stay went by far too quickly but we all had an enjoyable time catching up, laughing, shopping, eating, eating and more eating - that was just us adults. The kidlets got spoilt with lots of hugs and kisses!

We look forward to seeing Nana Lilly again and the rest of the family when we all go to NZ in Dec :) xo

Here are some pics of my children and their Nana Lilly: (Note I took the pics of Keira and Lucas while I was holding Montana hence the frame being out of alignment)

Lilly with her two Grandma's Nana Lilly and Nanny Kate:

My children with their two Nana's  my mother in law and my mum:

 

 

My dad jumped in this pic: