The Fyfie Tales

Ze Blog Haz Moved!

2008-10-23T11:27:00.002+11:00

Just letting everyone here know, I now have a new blog. I have finally graduated from blogger!

My new blog can be found at www.sharonfyfe.com.au/blog.

It has taken me nearly a month to get around to sharing the new address... sorry! I have been flat out with the kids (who have spent most of that time sick!) and I still wanted to do a bit more tweaking with the new blog... but that may have to wait a while.

Sorry!

2008-08-30T15:25:00.003+10:00

I can not believe how busy one can be, and seem to achieve absolutely nothing!

I have had a heap on business wise - another photography friend and I are doing a display in a couple of weeks to attract some local clientele, so in preparation I have to get prints ordered, business cards and some postcards ready, I have not even thought about going back to finishing my website... ARGH!

The two business card designs I am working with at the moment:

THEN there was Hannah's Birthday on Thursday. My precious girl is 3! She had asked AGES ago for a Wiggly Party, and with everything else on, I had not had time to arrange a proper party for her. So Wednesday I went shopping and phoned (the mother of) one of her friends to see if they could come over for a cake. I was feeling a bit bad about not organising more (she was going out to dinner that night with my family, and tomorrow we are seeing DH's).

So Wednesday night I cleaned up and decorated the rumpus room. Thursday morning DH worked from home, so he headed upstairs before the kids woke and shut himself in his study. When the kids got up we went about our morning routine as per usual, then once the kids were fed and dressed I headed upstairs with Toby, let DH know we were coming, then called Hannah to follow us.

This was the room that she was greeted with:

I had a fantastic photo of her reaction, standing looking up at the balloons, but the camera settings were completely wrong (I forgot to change them after taking the above shot) and it was completely blown out, beyond being selvage).

Anyway, I think it is safe to say that she never noticed the absence of guests at the party (which is just as well, given her guest list was made up of Wags, Dorothy, Henry, Captain, The Wiggles, and... Jesus - huh?) and as it turned out, just the one friend over for about an hour was enough to leave the rumpus looking almost exactly like it had the previous day before I started cleaning... lol!

Other photos from the day...

Hannah put the hat on him...

hehe - Puppy Toby.

Hannah's choice of cake decoration - I didn't have any say in the matter - although given I had planned to make her a fancy charactor cake, I am not complaining.

Oh, and her presents: 2 Wiggles jigsaws, a Wiggles domino game, a Wiggles spinner puzzle game thing... a Wiggles toy hamper, a Wiggles remote control car, a Wiggles guitar (from Nanna) and... a Barbie. lol! (also some books from my brother, and my mothers housemate, and a teddybear from the friend she had at the party).

OK - I am supposedly working... lol. Best get back to it.

So much to blog, so little time!

2008-08-16T23:58:00.003+10:00

I hate to think how far behind I am with posts at the moment. I am not even going to try to catch up.

So I am making a shortcut to the last week.

Last weekend we sold our house. Which was very exciting, because it meant that I could get my new camera and lens. Yes, my excitement for the camera far outweighed my excitement over the house. *blush*

So Thursday I went for a drive ALL the way across town to pick up my new baby. Canon 5D and 24-70mm L series lens. I never DREAMED that I would own something with that beautiful red ring, but with my Tamron playing up, I needed something more reliable. Still, it would never have happened without the sale of the house (which, BTW, was for 55k more than we were originally budgeting on - hence the splurge).

Anyway, Thursday, picked up camera, drove home, then had MIL over for lunch, so I did not have a chance to play until she left sometime after 3. Toby was asleep, so Hannah and I went out into the fading and VERY dull light to have a play. Well, in as much as Hannah will ever let me. A game of "let me take a photo of your..." managed to get me a couple of seconds of posing, though.

So - now I have a second body... my old 350D as a back up, something I can use if I need a little more range (my lens range of the full frame sensor is a bit limited!) Or so I thought. Apparently someone else has an interest in photography that just can not be fullfilled with either of her current cameras.

I wanted to take some photos of Toby to try out some new newborn props, and knowing how good Hannah is at interfering in photo taking (either wanting a turn with the camera, or else playing with the subject, or just getting in frame), and since there was no way I was going to let her try my 2kg, 3.7k camera/lens combo, I set up my 350D with my 50mm f1.8. She had a blast, and actually managed to take some reasonably composed shots! (when I reminded her to look through the "eye bit." I will post some of her shots later, if I get the chance.

Mine taken at the same time:
This one the focus was almost deliberate. He only lay down for about 1 1/2 seconds, literally, and I knew I did not have time to work out how to move the focal point on the new camera to the other side, and it was too far away to re-compose... so I just went with the focus on the hand stroking the fabric instead.

AAAANNNNDDD... because I know they will be itching to see them... some more previews of the shoot I did today.

Daddy and Jasper:
Mummy and Jasper (I have known mummy for as long as I can remember - over 20 years, I think?)
And Minnie... or Maxie? I can't remember which was which...

Sneak Peek

2008-08-16T15:58:00.001+10:00

I had the absolute pleasure of photographing this adorable little guy this morning. 8 days old and oh so sweet!

He was not interested in sleeping for me, unfortunately... but he did behave himself well - at least most of the time.

The mysterious mind of a 3 year old

2008-08-07T16:03:00.003+10:00

Hannah was playing outside, and I heard her crying, so I looked outside to check what she was doing.

She was sitting in the middle of the trampoline. Butt naked. Why was she crying? She was scared of the kangaroos.

huh?

As to why she was naked... I am yet to get an answer on that one.

Since I didn't post a photo with my last entry... this is one from the Montsalvat PB shoot that I did with Cazz, Melissa and their respective kidlets a couple of weeks back.

AAARGH!

2008-08-05T22:20:00.002+10:00

DH decided that since I completed most of a computer science degree, I should be able to build my own website, rather than spend $200 on a template.

What DH completely missed with that logic was the fact that I have never used Flash before. Half the reason I only completed "most" of the degree was that I did not really like Java, and without actually having any idea what the programming language Flash uses is, it is quite Java-ish. Give me C/C++ any day.

2 days later, and I am starting to get the hang of the new programming language. I have to have it up before Saturday, so that gives me, what... 3 more days? 2 if you take out Thursday, when we have people coming over. *sigh* I am getting there... slowly. Yesterday I built a lot of the framework, and today I have fine tuned it, and am currently about 80% of the way through the contact page. Then I just have the gallery, and I need to work out what I am doing with the home page...

You make me feel like dancing...

2008-08-01T21:43:00.003+10:00

The Oxford Dictionary describes dancing as "a series of steps and movements that match the rhythm of a piece of music."

Stuart put some music on for Hannah a couple of nights ago, and we all got sucked in to a rather exhausting evening of what can only be described as extreme outburst of unknown energy. We all had an absolute riot, but we were so exhausted by the time we finally got the kids shipped off to bed - especially given it was 11pm! *gasp!!!!!* (one must add here - after a rather ratty day, Toby ended up going down for a nap at 6.30, and then waking at 8.30, which is usually their bed time, and for some unknown reason, Hannah had slept late that morning as well, AND there was no clock in the room, so we all kind of lost track of time with both kids routines being out)

I did manage to catch Hannah in action - she actually saw me with the camera, and LET me take her photo! I was not risking distracting her with the flash, though, so given the available light, the photos are really not good quality.

A colour one - just to show how stunning her dancing costume really was...

And the latest addition to Hannahmania... (which Hannah was quite upset about not being able to wear herself, despite her numerous other dancing skirts!)

Cupcakes and the forgotten one.

2008-07-29T23:16:00.003+10:00

I am attempting to do "something" with Hannah each day while Toby is having his morning nap. Usually I would be finishing up some cleaning, sitting down for a break, doing some photo editing or sewing, having a shower... and Hannah would be entertaining herself, following me around chatting, watching TV...

It isn't really fair on her. She gets lots of time with me when Toby is awake, but I am always distracted, or there are meals to be prepared, nappies to change, etc. By the time Toby goes down in the afternoon I am tired, and not usually at my most patient.

So now I am moving Hannah time up to the morning.

Today we made cupcakes! From the outset my plan was to make them as bright and colourful as possible so they would look good in a photo. *blush* sad, hey. But we had fun. Hannah got to serve them to both Nanna and Daddy (and actually managed to limit her consumption to only 2 for the day!). Oh - plus the beater licking.

And the forgotten child. Poor Toby. He gets a bit lost in his sisters wake. At the moment he is trying so hard to move around. He burst into tears the other day because Hannah and I were crawling around on the floor, and he was not able to follow us when I chased Hannah into another room. He had rolled over onto his front, and was up on his hands and knees rocking forward and crying.

So. Here he is, in all his post-lunch glory. Scuse the odd bit of food... some areas were a bit hard to clean up in photoshop. lol!

Hannahmania is open for business... again!

2008-07-22T21:33:00.002+10:00

Well, it has only taken... ummm... ages. Hannahmania has finally re-opened.

I stopped sewing back when I was pregnant with Toby. Too many complications, it was just too hard to know if and when I was going to be able to sew.

This time around, all items will be sold through the shop. Custom orders were getting too much last time. I will be selling a number of new designs/items as well as bringing back the very popular striped pants.

Sneak peek of the first item added - more to come over the next few days!

Something a little different.

2008-07-21T13:05:00.006+10:00

Have you ever seen anything this cute!

From Knitspirations at WAHMania. There are other designs in their store, and some seriously cute beanies as well.

I am in the process of preparing to re-open my own store, but I keep on adding new designs/items leaving a pile of almost finished items behind me. lol! With any luck, I will have enough ready to list by the end of the week.

(Photos swiped off the WAHMania site with permission of Knitspirations)

The beach and the river

2008-07-14T22:57:00.004+10:00

Yesterday I was itching to get out and take some photos of something non-kid related... so I convinced DH and the kids to the beach for sunset.

It was supposed to be Brighton Beach, but we were running late, so I had to be happy with St Kilda. More people around than I would have liked, but at least the sun put on a rather lovely display.

On the way home, we stopped at the lookout at the top of Yarra Blvd. I did not have my tripod, so this is a little shaky, but not too bad. I had to spend ages editing out the streetlights from the Eastern!
Going back a couple of weeks ago - Our Corowa trip. I still have not edited all the photos, but these were a couple I took of the kids by the river (on the dried up river bed). Hannah found a rusted trolley that had become exposed with the river dropping so low, which she seemed to enjoy sitting in.

So long!

2008-07-10T10:53:00.002+10:00

How slack!

Well, I really could not justify not posting today. I had my first competition results at DVPS last night. I was fairly happy with the images that I put in, and was hoping for maybe a merit or two.

Well.

My absolute favourite photo (the one that had been untitled, which I ended up just using the girls name for), the one that I was sure would do fantastically, was given 9/15. I think the lowest score given on the night was an 8/15, so really, not a great score. I was a bit disappointed, and given what he said about the image, I was a little surprised it scored so low, as he seemed to only really have one negative, everything else was quite positive.

But, that is life.

The one of the baby feet (Wished for child) and the one of Hannah both scored 10/15. Neither were perfect shots, so I was happy enough with those scores.

The last one up was the one of Toby. He had picked out a couple of slight faults with the image, and after my last three, I was expecting about an 8 or 9 for it. Well, apparently I was in for a bit of a surprise when, not only did it score 14/15, but it also got first place!

Now I have said all that, I really did actually like the judge. He was really nice, found great comments about all the photos, and I think he did a really great job, even if a couple of the results were not what I expected.

Meanwhile, the subject spent the 2 1/2 hours that I was out at home screaming for his father. As it turned out, the poor boy just wanted his mummy to come and put him down to sleep. Poor daddy having to deal with the screaming child for all that time! I have promised that next time that happens I will come home, but being my first competition AND getting first place, I did not want to miss collecting my certificate just to go home to look after an unsettled baby when there was a chance that he would just continue screaming for me instead.

Conversation/monologue of the day from Hannah:

"Mum, you get up please and come downstairs and help me. Help me downstairs. I need you for only 3 hours. No mummy stop being funny [laughing]. You need help, mummy."

Only a mother...

2008-06-19T12:40:00.002+10:00

can get so excited by another persons toileting habits.

We put of TTing Hannah for a LONG time. First because I was pregnant, then because we had a new baby, were moving, were putting all our spare time into doing up the old house... There were so many excuses.

Honestly, she could have been TT'd just after she turned 2. She was able to use the toilet when she was interested in being in undies. We just were not interested in the extra hassle.

But last week I finally decided I had run out of excuses. We were home for a couple of days, nothing on that was going to cause any major interruptions, and she is definitely ready.

After a couple of days of asking for a nappy, she has since given up, and is going really well. We might get an accident once a day (often, but not always, poos) usually when she is tired, but generally she is doing fantastically! We do have a bit of an issue with her playing instead of getting down to business... seriously, you take everything else away, and she will still find ways to play! Singing, playing with her feet, twitching around... *sigh*

The big moment that has brought me to posting though... most of the time I am taking her to the toilet, telling her when she should be going. A few minutes ago, though, I was sitting on here chatting with her dad on MSN, and suddenly I see her going past my door saying "I just going to the toilet mummy!"

By the time I got downstairs she was sitting on the toilet in the middle of a wee! I was so excited, as was she! Because she took herself, she even got 2 stickers. lol.

Meanwhile her bedroom door is starting to look quite pretty. She has a laminated chart that has 5 circles on it, and when the circles all have stickers, she gets a small prize (usually a choc-drop, although I am planning to get some face painting bits, so I will start painting a flower or something on her cheek instead) and then all the stickers go onto her door.

My sick boy.

2008-06-10T18:43:00.002+10:00

I was going to come on and post some photos of our trip to the miniature railway yesterday, but instead I have spent the day looking after a stroppy sick baby. :-(

Toby felt a bit warm when I got him up from his nap yesterday evening, so I took his temp - it was 39 degrees! So off to the Dr today, and he has an upper respiratory tract infection, and is on antibiotics. Poor kid is so miserable. His temp was up even further this arvo - 39.5 degrees. I felt awful for holding off panadol until we got in from the Drs (cos there is nothing worse than showing up with a sick kid who appears perfectly healthy thanks to a well timed dose of panadol).

Anyway, might try to post the photos later if Toby sleeps well enough.

We has a tooth!

2008-06-08T17:46:00.002+10:00

I was just giving up on them ever coming through, when I noticed something sharp when Toby was chewing my finger earlier!

I swear this tooth has been cutting for about 3 weeks now. He has not been bad with it, but he has been grizzly and a bit fussy/unsettled. Last night he was up every hour or 2.

Only about 15 more baby teeth to go!

Photo lull...

2008-06-07T00:19:00.002+10:00

The only image that I have taken in over a week. My photo entries for the DVPS comp (Open Subject) I was a bit stuck for non-child photos, and with a sick household I have not had much chance to take anything new.

From top to bottom:
"I sitting for photo - I have my lolly!"
Untitled (any suggestions?)
Wished-for child (the meaning of the babies name)
Toby

Since there is not much of interest in the post, I will add in the conversation I had with a tantrumming toddler earlier...

"Hannah, come into the bathroom and wash your hands please!"
"No! I go to Toby!"
"Hands first, then you can go play with Toby."
"No!"
"Hannah you are so exasperating!"
"No! I NOT exaspeRA-TING!" *add foot stamp and pointed finger*
"Hannah, believe me, you really are." *trying so hard not to laugh at her*
"NO!" *bursts into tears* "I NOT exasperating. You're exasperating!"

I cracked up laughing, and gave the poor kid a cuddle, at which point she decided that it was a good joke too, and proceeded to perform for the video on the phone.

2008-06-04T12:44:00.002+10:00

I am just loading some bits off my phone, and I could not resist sharing some of these. For a child who hates cameras, she LOVES being recorded on video on my phone!

She was a bit nuts when I took this one...

I am sitting here...

2008-05-18T17:00:00.002+10:00

with my beloved daughter sitting on my lap, giving me kisses and cuddles.

I am the luckiest person alive.

I am off to enjoy it.

And the other post...

2008-05-16T00:12:00.002+10:00

These images are a bit out of order... but ah well.

I have recently, with the small patch of lovely weather we have had, discovered a park not far from where we are living. I set out on Tuesday with the intent to take the kids for a walk, and I was wanting to find one of the lovely maples that we can see out the upstairs windows to make use of all the lovely autumn leaves.

As it turns out, all those lovely trees are actually on peoples properties, not on the parklands that cross about 4 blocks just down the road (mostly tree edged sports fields). But in searching I did find the playground tucked behind some tennis courts. With the kids it takes about 10 minutes to walk there (that is travelling at a 2 1/2 year olds pace) Given how hilly the area is, it is actually a reasonably comfortable walk... not flat, but nothing too steep either.

For this photo she was on someones nature strip. It was getting late in the afternoon, and the lighting was SO lovely - hence the orange hair. lol! (I bribed her with Tic Tacs to sit and look at the camera, so now whenever we are walking back from the park she will randomly sit down on the ground and say "I have Tic Tac please - I sitting down!" Oops.

Toby's first swing. He was completely obsessed with his sister, and would not look in my direction, no matter how much I called.

Oh, I made that beanie, too.

Toby on his half birthday. He was getting a bit tired, so he would not sit... but I was determined to get something. As per usual, using his forehead to lift his head up.

We have a yard full of these things... and Hannah is doing her part to ensure the seeds are well distributed so we will have many more to come.

Just playing in the back yard at our old house.

I love my Boganvillia. I will miss it when we sell the place. :-(

That is about it, really. Just a bunch of random photos for this one.

OK... a slight delay.

2008-05-15T11:44:00.002+10:00

I kind of ran out of time to get back and finish the story. And TBH, I am not actually all that keen to. Thinking back over the time in the hospital, there were a lot of frustrations... all par for the course. But I find more than the upset of having a child in hospital for 3 weeks, I just feel angry when I remember the little things, the slip ups that set him back a little... All I wanted was to have Toby with me, and anything that held that up was downright devastating.

So I will be brief.

It was a while before I got to have him out of the SCN again. We had to wait for him to come off the glucose drip, and then for him to be weaned off the warmth of the isolette. That in all took about 2 1/2 times as long as it should, due to midswives forgetting to decrease the drip/temp at the right time... so instead of being about 12 hours, it took over a day. When you are desperately waiting for a chance to take your child and just cuddle them, without having them attached to drips, and having to remain in the SCN, with midwives watching over you... and when you are counting down the hours until you are sent home, away from your child before they are even a week old... Any delay was near unforgivable.

Finally he was allowed out. I begged the night staff for a chance to take him out, just for a few minutes before his next feed. I was given 20. 5 minutes later the morning staff came on, and came and collected him. As soon as he was gone I burst into tears. I had not even taken him out of his crib, because he was still asleep and not quite due for his feed. I was trying to be so good, and for it I was robbed of the chance to finally have a cuddle with him outside of the SCN.

Hmm... I did say I was a bit angry, didn't I. I will try to tone it down.

Anyway, after 5 days, I was discharged. Surprisingly, I coped quite well with that. I had devised a routine that never had us away from him for more than 2 feeds. Within about 2 days of being discharged, I was driving again. I did get permission from my GP... but as I was having such a good recovery, and with Toby in hospital, it just was too hard to wait it out.

A couple of days after I was discharged, Toby started to get snuffly, and came down with a cold. 2 days after that, his sister presented with it as well. In a round about way, a point was made about the fact that we had had her in the night before she got sick when she had a slight cough. We had not thought it was anything - just her being a little tired. I think what irritated me more, though, was that Toby was already sick at this point. We had no way of knowing that she was carrying anything when she showed no signs of being unwell.

The cold really set Toby back. He did not feed well, and that made it worse. We were only able to try a couple of suck feeds a day, and the rest was just straight down the NG tube. It. took. a. lifetime. before he was taking full bottles. Nearly 3 weeks, to be precise.

Most of the next couple of weeks was just a long monotony of going in and out of hospital. Hannah hated leaving her brother behind. She kept wanting to take him with us.

Once it became clear that Toby was going to be in for a little while, I mentioned something in passing to the Paed about how I would love to have him home for our anniversary, Dec 1st. By the last few days of November, he was getting close, but he was not quite ready to come home.

So the Paed arranged for Toby to take day leave for the day (completely off her own bat). It happens with SCN babies if there is a special event on... but not at our hospital. She had to really push to get the hospital to allow it. Apparently it was the first and last time they were going to allow it. She basically told them that she had already planned it with us, and that she just needed them to provide the form to sign him out.

It was a lovely day. We went home for a little while, and then we went out and had fish and chips in the park for dinner.

A couple of days later I was able to room in, and he was discharged the following day. We finally had our baby home. 3 weeks and 12 hours after he was born, still nearly 2 weeks before he was due.

There is a heap missing from that story... the jaundice (which he had until he was about 10 weeks or so), the blood tests... they seemed almost daily! But that is the bulk of it.

The child in question calls, though, so that is where it is ending for now. BBL with some stuff from the last couple of days.

This one is shorter... Or not

2008-05-10T10:48:00.004+10:00

The weekend preceding the birth I was in and out of the hospital for monitoring. I had had a show, and was feeling quite crampy. My Ob loved having his patients hooked up to those monitor things at the slightest niggle. I saw the same midwife both times, and leaving the second visit she had said that from what she saw she did not think it was going to be long.

Monday. There I was, home from the shops, sitting on a towel (as was standard by that stage) the bed talking to DH. It was about 7.30pm.

I had just started to say something to DH, but got cut off (cos, naturally, what he said was more important) and while he was prattling, I felt the tell tale "pop" and then dampness. I politely waited until he had finished what he was saying before I piped up with... "Ummm... my waters just broke... I think... either that or incontinence has reached a new level..."

Now I do have to backtrack here a little (already). The thing I had been interrupted from saying. It was to go something like this...

"You know, this would be the perfect time of night for my waters to break, or me to go into labour. We could get Hannah down to bed, have mum come around to be with her, then go into the hospital, get everything sorted overnight, then in the morning, bring Hannah in to meet her new brother."

As always, Toby was desperate to obey.

As it happened, it did not quite go that smoothly. Hannah did not want to go to sleep. Given that we wanted to make the transition as gentle for her as possible, we just all packed up and went into the hospital together. DH saw me settled in, we were waiting for the Ob, the test that came back from the the towel looked to be amniotic fluid, but they were not 100% certain (the flow had stopped for the trip to the hospital, so there was none on the pad I was wearing). Meanwhile DH and Hannah headed home, put Hannah down to sleep, my mother went over, then DH came back into the hospital.

While he was gone the Ob arrived. They got me onto the bed (the midwife on at the time was actually the one who was at Hannah's delivery) and did some more tests to confirm that my waters had actually broken. Given the re-commencement of leaking as I was getting up, the tests were a bit unnecessary (It was decided that I had a hind water leak) Given all the issues, they called in the team for an emergency C/S.

Somewhere in all this Stuart arrived back, and while I was being prepared for the op, he was suited up in that lovely blue hospital gear.

So into the theatre, spinal block in (I think it was a spinal), and soon they were hacking away ready to FINALLY get that bloody baby out. I was actually extremely calm... more annoyed that I could not see anything of what was going on than anything else.

They cut through the layers, and when they got to the uterus and made the incision... well, with the amount of fluid I had there, there was a fair bit of pressure. It went all over the floor, and all over the Ob... and they still suctioned out another 4 litres. Wow.

I should add here that through the entire operation up to this point, my DH - my wonderful support person - was sitting talking to the Anaesthetist, about 1 1/2 meters back from the bed, leaning back in the chair. Naturally, a conversation about computers was far more important than the birth of your second child.

That said, I actually found it highly amusing, because it was just so bloody typical. In some ways it distracted me from the fact that I was laying on the table, unable to move...

Once that was all sorted, the baby was pulled out. 11.40. Had he been 20 minutes later, I would have had an extra day in hospital. *sigh*

Being prem, they first had to make sure that he was breathing fine on his own, and all that. He did have a blue moment a minute or so after he was born, but they never actually needed to put oxygen on him. It just passed on its own. They also had to check that his oesophagus was clear, as at this stage we still did not know the cause of the polyhydramnios. During all of this, he managed to wee on the midwife... twice. Clever boy.

All that came back clear, and he was wrapped and bought over for a cuddle. As it turned out, his APGARs were 8 and 9 - exactly the same as Hannah's.

Next he was taken out and weighed, and admitted to the SCN. My big fatty boy was a fantastic 2690g at 35 weeks, 3 days. By comparison, his sister was 2125g at 37 weeks 5 days.

Meanwhile, I was stitched up, while the Ob and the others present were chatting away about holidays. My Ob believes that the best way to spend your holidays is at home just enjoying your family. Travelling is just a waste of time. The others were picking on him a bit about it. Personally, I have no idea how he would know, as I heard through his receptionist that he had cancelled his last lot of holidays, because some of his patients kicked up a stink about him not being available. Poor guy.

Once I was all stitched, I was into recovery. Nothing much exciting happened there... Just hung around chatting to the midwife (why I had had when I was in with Hannah, and she was the one who got her feeding well enough to be discharged the same day as me).

After about half an hour I had recovered enough feeling to be taken through to my room, via the SCN. By this point Toby was in an isolette with a glucose drip, as his blood sugars had dropped. After a few minutes in with him I was taken through to my room, and DH went home to relieve my mother and take care of Hannah.

By 4am I was sitting up on the bed, begging the nurse to let me out (well, not quite begging... but I was itching to get up and about). She said that I would have to wait for the morning staff (it ended up being nearly 10 before I was let out). She did, though, sneak Toby in for a visit when they had his drip off for a few minutes.

He was so perfect. Naturally I had to pull the camera out, and get some photos - which given soon after that he was stuck back in the SCN with a naso-gastric tube, and it was to be days before we would have any time away from the SCN with him, and weeks before he had the NG tube out and was able to come home, I am really glad that I got.

Well, that has taken all my free time yesterday, and most of my Mothers Day morning to compile. DH's Mothers Day generosity is wearing a bit thin, so I will have to cut it off there... I will try to get back later to cover Hannah's first visit, and some of the nicer moments of the hospital stay.

Its going to be long...

2008-05-09T19:43:00.004+10:00

My baby boy is nearly 6 months. On Monday to be exact.

I figure that it is about time I actually put together his pregnancy/birth story - 6 months is plenty long enough. But between now and then we have a massive amount of stuff on, so I am starting now. With any luck it will be finished by the time he is one.

So. Lets start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. *sigh* that is so lame. What is worse is that I have left it there.

DH and I disagreed somewhat on when we were going to have a second child. Well, given that we disagreed on having the first child, that is no big surprise (by the by - Hannah came about after a lot of procrastination on DH's part, ending finally in one careless night in Bangkok. She was not conceived then, but I pointed out that if he was willing to take a risk, he was willing to have a child... The next month I fell pregnant).

I wanted a 2 year age gap. DH wanted 2 1/2 minimum. We compromised on starting TTC at a point where we would have at least 2 years and 3 months. I do not do pregnancy well, and we knew that we could face complications. That won me the sooner start. As it happened, both our kids were conceived first try, and both pregnancies survived, despite their hiccups.

The month we started trying DH was not well. Being the obsessive person that I am, I was charting, and although there was a slight chance, I suspected we had missed the boat. I had not relied on how stubborn my kids are.

A couple of weeks later, and the obsessive testing started. Actually, I think it was more like about 8dpo... *blush*

Yes - I admit it - I am guilty of one of those "is this a line?!?!?" posts on EB. After such an easy conception with Hannah, I was terrified of being disappointed with this one.

(After much playing in photoshop to make the faint smudge as strong as I could)

Thankfully, I was not to be disappointed. After far more tests than I care to admit to, I was finally had a line strong enough to actually believe was there. I took it to the Dr and went for a blood test. Inconclusive. Given I was barely 4 weeks, that was OK... by the time I had the results I had done a digital test, and had my answer.

Pregnant with a 18 month old.

Thankfully the MS was never too bad - I did not get beyond just being queasy. Energy levels were fine... life was good.

About 6 weeks pregnant I started bleeding. Heavy enough that I had reason to be concerned, not so heavy that I actually was. I had spotting/bleeding with Hannah on and off, so I had just taken it as being part and parcel of my being pregnant.

Checked in with the Ob, had a scan, measuring a little behind, but no biggy. Come back in a week, here is a prescription for progesterone in the mean time. A week later, another scan, and there was my little heartbeat. All was good(ish) again.

This time around the bleeding was a lot heavier than it had been with Hannah. All up I spent nearly 6 weeks on bed rest. How I did that with a toddler, I am not sure... but we got by.

Finally around 14 weeks, things settled down. So much so that we actually planned a trip overseas (after consulting the Ob). At 19 weeks we took off to Singapore and Malaysia for 2 weeks. The day we came back, DH quit his job, after accepting a position with one of their customers.

Life cruised along for a while. Hannah turned 2, I got a bit fatter, DH started his new position.

Somewhere around hereish (could have been earlier or later) I also found out that I was anaemic... although that was no surprise - my iron levels are always low, and naturally they are worse during pregnancy.

26 weeks and I woke up in the middle of the night with cramps. They passed, then came back a couple of minutes later... Oh crap.

I got up and went to the toilet, then lay down again. Over about the next hour they gradually died off. Threatened prem labour, back onto bed rest for a couple of days, then take it easy from there on it. About that point we decided to put Hannah into care one day a week (which she loved/s).

After that the pregnancy started to get uncomfortable. Then downright painful. Come 32 week scan, and we discovered something new. I had too much fluid. WAY too much fluid.

There were a few things that could have caused this... one being gestational diabetes (which I had come up clear for at the test), another being a possible digestive blockage with the baby... or it could have just been one of those things. It was decided when I next spoke to my Ob that I would be booked in at 36 1/2 weeks for a C/S (we had also discovered that Toby was breech, and with the excess fluid (polyhydramnios), and also having a bi-cornuate uterus, I was a high risk for prem labour, and it was better to have the CS planned rather than go into labour first and risk cord prolapse or placental abruption, which are both risks of polyhydramios).

By about 34 weeks I was really over being pregnant. I could not find relief in any position. The pain was just constant. I felt sick, I felt tired... I was just over it. I had a torn stomach muscle, which meant that even breathing hurt. As it turned out, this was at least in part due to Toby having his head wedged up under my ribcage - so much so that when the Ob check it on the ultrasound, he was not actually able to find it, and had to determine where he was with the location of other body parts. Thanks for that, kid. You have just absolutely set in concrete your position as the youngest child for life. As much as the outcome is worth it, there is no way known I am going through that again.

Here is where I start to bleed into the next instalment, so I will keep some parts brief.

35 weeks, 3 days. I had been feeling crampy for a while now, and I was just getting a feeling that something was about to happen. It was a Monday. Wednesday and Thursday DH had some massively important work stuffs on that he was not able to miss. Knowing this, I did something a little naughty and went shopping. Naughty? Well. See. My logic was that if something was going to happen in the next couple of days, I wanted it to be that day. A day or 2's difference in gestation was nothing much, and I was feeling so retched that I was ready for it to be over. Plus we were still short a couple of items, and if something was about to happen, then better to have everything ready.

So, went and shopped - all nice and uneventful. Go home, pottered around for the rest of the day. Come about 7.30 in the evening, I was sitting on the bed (on a towel) talking to DH, when I felt a little gush...

Now I am going to be nasty and skip forward to the last part that is relevant to the pregnancy, and skip the birth story. That will be in the next post.

After Toby arrived, and they did all the checks to make sure that he had no problems causing the fluid, he was taken to the SCN (being prem) and as part of his monitoring, they were keeping an eye on his blood sugars. As it turned out, they dropped shortly after he was born. From this (and his size - he went from being a little small for dates through most of the pregnancy to being ahead for dates at birth) that I actually did have gestational diabetes.

So. My pregnancy summery.

Already known issues:
Bi-cornuate Uterus
Narrow Pelvis

Issues that arose through the pregnancy:
Early pregnancy bleeding through the first trimester.
Anemia
Threatened early labour @ 26 weeks
Breech baby
Polyhydramnios (excess fluid - over 4 litres!)
PROM
AND... Undiagnosed gestational diabetes.

I absolutely adore Toby, and he is worth every second of that pregnancy. But there is no way known I will EVER go through that again.

Coming soon: Birth Story.

You want me to what?!?

2008-05-07T19:01:00.002+10:00

We have seriously dodgy kitchen chairs. Some of the seats are not properly attached, and when Hannah climbed on one this evening, it slipped, and she got caught half down the back of the seat.

Hearing her call, I rescued her, and gave her a cuddle while she got over the scare.

After a couple of minutes, I asked her if she was OK now, and was told no, she was sad, so we resumed our cuddles.

Next thing she pipes up with "Mummy, kiss my bottom!"

Sadly, she meant it.

You make my heart smile

2008-05-05T16:32:00.003+10:00

I love that expression... and lately it has taken on a much deeper meaning. There is nothing that brings me more pleasure than watching Hannah and Toby together, and there is just something in seeing their adoration for each other. Aww. Warm fuzzies.

He sits!

2008-05-05T14:49:00.001+10:00

Well... Kind of...

It's a start. lol

Just a ramble today...

2008-05-01T17:21:00.002+10:00

I have been catching up with a few old friends via the Facebook chat thing lately, and I have really started to realise just how much my kids are the centre of my universe. Every single time I start chatting to someone who I have not seen in a few years, the kids manage to rate a reference within the first 3 sentences. Usually something like "Toby is asleep, so I am just taking a few minutes to myself" or "The kids are being really ratty today." And you can guarantee that within the first 3 or 4 minutes there will be a link to a photo sent for the poor person to gush over...

But then, with kids like mine, how can you not.

Hannah and I have a game at the moment - the "I love you" game.

It goes like this:

Me: I love you Hannah Banna
H: I love you Mummy Mummy
Me: I love you Hannah Banna
H: I love you Her Her
Me: I love you Dorothy
H: I love you Wags
Me: I love you Captain
H: I love you Murray
Me: I love you Jeff
H: I love you Anthony
Me: I love you Tomato
H: I love you Capsicum
Me: I love you Lettuce
H: I love you Cucumber
Me: I love you Onion
H: I love you Asparagus
Me: I love you Monkey
H: I love you Giraffe

And so forth...

I am forever amazed at her ability to follow and grow on the game. I can run out of things on a topic, and she will still be going. Then there are the times like just now when I go to start the game and I get "No mummy, stop. No I love you, please, play a different game!" *sigh*

She also has these fantastic conversations and arguments with herself.

Please Hannah, can I have some toast?
Here you are Hanny.
Thankyou Hannah!
Your welcome.
Hannah, want to come and play?
In one minute. I'm eating.
Oh, OK.
*eats*
No - don't hit me, Hannah!
Sorry Hanny.
That's OK Hannah.

I really wonder about the other side of her personality... she can be quite a trouble maker at times. lol! DH has actually had to tell "them" off for arguing in the car before.

And not to leave out poor Toby! Well, he has been a bit ratty today... just not happy when he is awake (save for 4am this morning when he was perfectly happy to be wide awake and chatting... *sigh*).

We are working on sitting at the moment. I would love to get him a Bumbo, but unfortunately finances are just not stretching that far at the moment. He can sit up to maybe 30 seconds at a time if he is perfectly balanced by me first. Not bad for a kid that hates being on the floor!

For all his rattyness, the one thing I will give him credit for is he sleeps, and he is predictable. He is up between 8.30 and 9.30 in the morning, asleep again between 10 and 11, asleep for 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hours, then basically is up for up to 2 hours (absolute maximum that he will do) and sleeps for 45 mins - 2 hours at a time for the rest of the day. He goes down for the night between 8 and 9, wakes about an hour later for a quick feed, or just to be re-settled, then I do not hear from him again until sometime between 1 and 2am. I never expected to have a kid who was that easy to predict.

Well, that is my nattering about stuff that I am sure no-one but me is interested in, but hey, that is what Blogs are for.

A new hat.

2008-04-29T14:51:00.002+10:00

Toby was desperately short on clothes (like he had 5 outfits that fit him!) so I had to pick up some new ones. and while we were out I got Hannah a new hat.

I took the kids out into the yard when we got home to take some shots.

As usual, Hannah was not all that co-operative. lol!

You would think the baby would be the one who didn't understand "look at the camera and smile" *sigh*

She was upset because mum wanted her to sit on the top step, not on the same step as I was trying to take the photo from. lol!

Sewing again!

2008-04-25T18:25:00.003+10:00

It has taken a while, bit I FINALLY have had the chance to do some sewing! I have been itching to get into my sewing room, but with everything else on, I have just not had the time. Hannah is rather short on clothes that fit, though, so it was either sew, or find money that we don't have to buy some.

This top was actually just a test run of a pattern.

You can see my slackness - black stitching, because I could not be bothered changing the thread... rolled edges, because it was too much work to set up the sewing machine... lol

And this is Hannah having enough of mum taking photos.

Gasp a post!

2008-04-23T23:52:00.007+10:00

So slack. But finally! A post!

We have been flat out getting the old house ready, painting, re-flooring, cleaning up gardens... so that has been taking over all our free time. Hannah has been enjoying it, and actually manages not to be too much of a hindrance!

We have 3 rooms still needing a second coat, and the bathroom still needs both walls and ceiling painted.

We have had some really good news, though! There is a housing co-op that owns the place next door, and they are looking for more houses in the area! If we can strike a deal with them, it would be fantastic news for us, and hopefully lead to a nice, quick sale!

Anyway, photos. These were actually taken last weekend, but it has taken me this long to get them off the camera. *blush* Not very exciting, just some snaps.

Been a while!

2008-04-18T23:08:00.003+10:00

Sorry to all my loyal fans. We were 3 weeks without internet! But I am happy to report that we are happy and settled in our new house (and about 90% unpacked!) although still somewhat busy preparing the old house for sale.

Just one photo today, of my dear boy. Toby is the most delightful baby! He spends most of his time asleep, and when he is awake he is so sweet and charming. I have really lucked out with both my kids. *wub*

He is now over 5 months old! I can not believe how quickly that has gone! He is starting to use rolling to move around, which is making things a little interesting (then there are the times that his sister uses rolling to move him... *sigh* thank goodness second children are made so hardy! lol!)

No Photo's Today!

2008-03-15T17:55:00.002+11:00

Yes, this obsessive blogging has been put on Hiatus. With less than 2 weeks until we become the proud owners of a nice BIG house, and still most of the packing and cleaning to do - not to mention all the work we need to finish to get the house cleaned up and ready... At the moment the plan is to paint most of the house, pull up the floor tiles and replace them through all the wet areas, sand back and re-finish the window sills... all in the space of the next 4 - 5 weeks! Madness I tells ya!

So that leaves little time for taking photos, and even less for blogging them. Most of the ones I have taken in the last couple of weeks are still sitting on the camera.

Well, this is not packing. *sigh*

Day 53

2008-03-07T23:49:00.003+11:00

Hannah, Toby and I invaded Aunty Lauren's today, with the camera, some basic props (including my new mat) and a huge platter of mixed Sushi and Sashimi. YUM!

After a serious pig out, both by the sushi eaters, and the milky ones, I stole Baby Marian to set up for some photos. She played so nicely!

Day 52

2008-03-05T01:14:00.002+11:00

Hannah was being all camera shy, so todays photo was a bit boring. This was the only shotshe was looking at anywhere other than the floor! lol.

I decided to have some fun with photoshop. I wanted to see how green I could make her eyes without them looking 100% fake... but I think I went a tiny bit too far. lol!

Day 51

2008-03-03T23:57:00.003+11:00

Oh! We skipped a day! Not any reason, other than that I was too lazy! Busy day today, though. Cleaning, washing... with Hannah's help, of course!

(note the undies - we were also having a toilet day. 1 wee in the potty by her own initiation, and one accident before we went back into nappies in the afternoon! (we are taking the lazy approach to TTing. If she wants undies, she can have them, but we are not forcing them on her, because frankly, I can not be bothered chasing a toddler around to get them on the toilet/potty in amongst looking after a young baby, and moving house!)

Day 50 - Photo shoot

2008-03-01T23:57:00.003+11:00

Photo shoot day today. Finished editing about an hour and a half ago... then had to do most of the editing for half of them again, because I saved over them! STOOPID! Much quicker to re-do, because I knew what I was doing for each one.

Nice to have them all finished on the same day! Hannah had a day bothering daddy (who somehow managed a nap despite that!) Toby, being the easy sweetheart that he is, slept most of the day... so I got to just push my way through the whole job! Which means I have tomorrow to clean and pack... We have less than 4 weeks now until we move!

Day 49

2008-02-29T17:25:00.002+11:00

Hannah and I were outside playing with her camera today. She was so cute running around snapping photos. Unfortunately I lost a couple when the battery cover came open... but she was happy to run around some more taking more photos!

Hannah now has her own blog which I plan to keep up to date, with her help.

Day 48

2008-02-29T01:31:00.002+11:00

Lolly pop, lolly pop, oh lolly-lolly pop...

I set up the back drop (because I wanted to use the frame to hang some of Stuart's shirts, as it had been raining on and off...) dressed child in a black top, gave her the lolly pop...

Then the sun decided to come out, and shine through the window off to the side, resulting in some nasty lighting. Lolly pop had been brought out, so I just had to grin and bare it.

Not normally my style, but I could not resist using selective colouring for the first shot.

Day 47

2008-02-28T12:32:00.002+11:00

I forgot to post this yesterday!

Just a couple of Toby taken with the black backdrop again. Who can resist a nekkid baby!

Really weird looking Toby. lol!

Day 46

2008-02-26T22:58:00.003+11:00

Catch up!

These are actually a couple of days old... but this is the first chance I have had to put them up!

I love getting Hannah involved when I am taking photos, and for these ones she decided she was picking the subjects, and where they would be taken.

Daddy was asleep. He is sick (read absolutely dying from the same cold that Hannah had, and I am just shaking off the last of).

Hannah wanted a book read to her...

Day 45

2008-02-25T23:23:00.002+11:00

Last of the wedding photos... although sorting through 200 photos (of which I have over 100 to pass to the B&G!) I am not sure that I really want to see another photo any time soon! lol.

VERY happy with the results, though!

I just loved this one! ROFL!

Day 44

2008-02-24T23:46:00.003+11:00

My reward for a day of editing wedding photos was to skip forward and pick out one of the flower girl photos to try some different photo shop actions on.

I really want to find a location like this that has open access (this spot is in a closed off garden at the church). The lighting is lovely, and the background is beautiful for photos!

Day 43

2008-02-24T01:15:00.003+11:00

One of my best friends sisters was married today!

I was kind of going to do photography... but thanks to a bit of miscommunication (They thought I was, I thought I wasn't... then I had a baby, so they thought I wasn't going to be able to anyway) they got someone else they knew with a fancy camera to do the photos. I was to be taking some photos too, anyway, but not being the designated photo taker, I was not given much opportunity to get in to take any.

This is the first shot off the camera (actually, it is the 4th - but the first 3 were of the very white cars and their white ribbon which just got lost against them, so I skipped to the first one with people...)

Will post more when I have had some sleep!

Day 42

2008-02-22T19:24:00.003+11:00

Using all his forehead muscles to lift his head... lol!

Day 41

2008-02-21T23:57:00.002+11:00

Huh?

I picked up a cheap underwater camera today. And I mean cheap... lol! But it will be good for a bit of fun, and Hannah loves playing with my camera, so I am hoping that she will take a shining to this one instead. It is a lot more robust, and something like 1/80th of the price!

Apparently an icecream container in low light is not the best place for taking photos, though.

(taken on the waterline - the circle is some kind of blemish on the cameras lens)

Day 40

2008-02-20T21:45:00.003+11:00

No new photos. Taking a sicky today!

This is one from the city trip a couple of days ago.

Day 39

2008-02-19T20:53:00.003+11:00

Awww. Just wish his sister would do it too!

Day 38

2008-02-18T21:03:00.003+11:00

Just the one photo twice, because I couldn't decide between the B&W and the colour. She was looking up the spear at Melbourne Central.

There are more photos from today, but I am soooo tired and it is too hot to sit near the computer any longer.

Day 37

2008-02-17T15:06:00.002+11:00

A day at the park - we met up with a friend of Stuarts from work, and his family. We had a fantastic time - especially Hannah, who I am fairly sure has a new best friend. She has not stopped talking about S all day!

I actually left my camera at home. I thought I was fine, as I had forgotten to get Hannah's hat, and was going to go home on the pretence of grabbing that... only Stuart had picked it up and had it in his back pocket! So I just gave up and admitted that I was just going to get the camera. So sad - I can not manage one outing without it! It was so nice to have somewhere that is not the backyard to take photos of the kids, though.

Toby was being his usual charming self. He LOVES the camera (thank goodness one child does). He was just sitting there looking around, then as soon as I pointed the camera at him, he was all smiles and grins. Awww! I so love my boy!

S. is so adorable! And such a sweet kid. I don't blame Hannah for being besotted with him! lol.

REALLY annoyed that the beam was there, but I had a ladder next to me, and I could not get around it before she ran down. It was only really a half second pause. I do love her hands, though!

A. has me dreading having 2 mobile kids! I had forgotten (repressed?) just how quickly and mindlessly young walkers can move! For the moment, I am just going to appreciate having a child that is happy to lay in his capsule, just emerging for the occasional feed.

She is such an adorable little girl, though!

Hehe - I made them pose for this one. I have it all sorted, though... Hannah and S can get married... Toby can marry Marian (from the other day...) I can really see the appeal of arranged marriages for mothers! lol!

Day 36

2008-02-16T22:32:00.002+11:00

A few photos today! I decided to set up the new black polarfleece with the basket. Once I could stop the wind blowing it over (we are a bit short of space inside, so I had to set it up outside) it worked really well!

I could not decide between colours and B&W, so I included both. I can not believe how well the fleece worked! Not bad for less than $10!

I LOVE this one! Even though it is not really anything special portrait wise. Typical Hannah.

Lesson of the day - when you are photographing something white against a black background, you really need to shoot manual, and auto for white balance does not work that well either. Teach me to be lazy! DO really want to get a grey card, though! Next investment!

Day 35

2008-02-15T23:50:00.003+11:00

Playing with a new prop! I have been wanting a nicely sized basket for a while, and I noticed this one at the Reject Shop a couple of weeks ago - only I was with Stuart, and he always sulks when I spend "more money" on bits like this. I was out with both the kids today, Hannah was happy, Toby was sleeping... so I snuck into the shops and picked up my basket. I also got some black polar fleece, which scanned at about half the amount that it was marked at! Woohoo!

So total spending today <$20.

Anyway, Toby was just waking and was not happy about being made to wait for his boob. lol! Not the best model. Might try again tomorrow when he is in a better mood.

Day 34

2008-02-15T02:29:00.002+11:00

ARGH! Late posting, AND no new photos for the day! Have to borrow another one from the shoot. Poor Toby has really not been a happy chap, his reflux has had him screaming half the day... so not really able to find time to get the camera out.

Day 33 - Photo shoot

2008-02-13T22:01:00.002+11:00

I am ZONKED! So really quick.

I had a photo shoot on today. Two LOVELY kids! Unfortunately mine who accompanied was not so lovely. Poor Toby's reflux is playing up, so instead of being the nice, quiet, sleeping baby that he was supposed to be, he spent a good portion of the time that we were there screaming. Poor kid!

Anyway, I am on my way to bed, but I thought I should put something up!

Day 32

2008-02-13T00:12:00.000+11:00

VERY busy day... wore the kids out!

Day 31 - 1 month!

2008-02-12T00:24:00.000+11:00

LOZZY HAD HER BABY!!!

WELCOME TO THE WORLD, MARIAN CHRISTINE!!!
CONGRATS LAUREN AND ED!!!

I had the delightful honour of photographing a less than 7 hour old baby today. I don't think I got to do that with either of my own kids!

I am so happy for Loz and Ed. They are the most beautiful people... Marian has picked the perfect family to be a part of.

And with only 3 months between Marian and Toby... lol!

Day 30

2008-02-10T23:58:00.000+11:00

My father made a trip down from Corowa this weekend. I only usually see him a couple of times a year, and this is his first trip since Toby was born.

Hannah adores him, despite the lack of time spent with him in person. She loves talking to him on the phone, and singing nursery rhymes for him.

My father works for Uncle Toby's, and their production plant has recently started producing some Nestle products. In his grandfatherly role, he decided he was required to provide my kids with some of the joys of this new situation... aka lollies. For some reason, he decided that what a 2 1/2 year old and a 3 month old really need is 3kg of Smarties, 1.5kg of killer pythons, as well as an assortment of other lollies.

I decided that they all had to be re-bagged into more suitable portions... but not until I had had a little fun...

And before anyone worries, I did get some photos of Toby and dad together, but due to Toby being a bit cranky, and then asleep, where was not a lot of oppertunity to get anything special, so I might grab some more tomorrow...

Day 29

2008-02-09T22:18:00.000+11:00

Just a couple of quick snaps today. We had a friends funeral this morning, so we did not have a lot of time for photos.

I was trying out some polar fleece as a backdrop, but the kids were not really cooperating that well (plus the piece was a bit too small). That said, from what can be seen of it, I like the effect of the fabric! I am going to have to get a black piece to try.

Oh - Hannah's hat matches Toby's outfit. lol! It was a bit big, and looked kind of out of place on him, anyway.

Day 28

2008-02-08T23:15:00.000+11:00

Doesn't she look sad in the first pic? That is because mum has now resorted to watermarking her photos, and she is not happy about being branded with a copyright notice.

OK - she was really sad because I had begged that she let me take just a couple of photos before she had her milk and went to bed. *blush*

Sadly, though, with all the theft that is going on at the moment of photos, I have decided that watermarking photos is the way to go. :-( And on top of that, I can not find my old watermark! So I am just using one that I knocked up in about 30 seconds... lol. It suffices.

Anyway, today I decided to make my own backdrop frame, after being inspired by the fabric of a couple of days ago. We went to Bunnings, and I got some aluminium rods (square ones) to use as feet, and some dowel rods (round ones) to use as uprights and a cross beam. Some plastic joiners, and viola, a new backdrop stand.

And this one... because Hannah wanted a green bath, and I could not resist!

Day 27

2008-02-07T20:50:00.000+11:00

A child with a box. A box they fit in. What more do you need!

These are supposed to hold toys, both in transit, and after we move. Hmmm. Will be interesting to see how well the toys remain in them!

Day 26

2008-02-06T23:56:00.000+11:00

I was packing fabrics today, ready for the move, and I found this one. I decided it would make a nice backdrop, so I had to have a quick play. Unfortunately my model was asleep, so I had to leave him wrapped. Would have preferred him stripped down some. The white wrap is a bit too high contrast.

Day 25

2008-02-05T21:22:00.000+11:00

After a very exhausting morning, both kids crashed upon arriving home. Not wanting Toby to disturb Hannah (he sleeps in the cot in her room in the day) I put him down to sleep in the couch instead.

Day 24

2008-02-04T19:32:00.001+11:00

Hannah woke a couple of hours early this morning... so she was home when DH left (never goes down well!) Then she and Toby tag-teamed (or doubled up) being ratty all morning. Toby managed to stay awake for almost 6 hours straight! He had about a 30 minute nap after about 4 hours...

Needless to say, the whole day ran badly. We managed to get to the bank right on 4pm, just as they were locking the doors (thankfully they let us in!) after leaving over an hour before. Stupid me went the wrong way, and got stuck in Kew/Camberwell trying to fight my way through traffic, just as about 7 different private schools finished for the day, half of them having only just started back for the year this morning. It took me over an hour to make what should be a 15 minute trip.

I then managed to get back to the real estate agent with about 4 minutes to spare...

So - after all of that, this photo was taken while Hannah was sitting on the fence (after I got her out of the car) waiting to have her sandals put back on, and Toby was behind me screaming in his capsule. I had the camera on me, and there was just no way that I was going to try to go outside again to take another photo.

Tomorrow we are going to catch up with some friends, so hopefully I should be able to get something a little more interesting! *blush*

Day 23

2008-02-03T19:46:00.000+11:00

Just one photo again today. Stuart was given the task of getting me an orange gerbera for the style challenge. Instead he got me a whole bunch. Awww!

I decided to risk one of them to get a couple of photos of Hannah.

Other than that we have been mostly just looking at furniture, and starting to get our head around what we need to do before moving. MUCH cleaning to do.

Day 22

2008-02-03T00:01:00.000+11:00

They got it a little wrong - it was not an auction, but sale by set date... but I think they just put up whatever sign they had handy to stop people wandering in on the open inspection.

Not the most exciting photo, but it is the only one I took today!

Day 21

2008-02-01T22:17:00.000+11:00

Well! What a day!!!

The house I posted about a couple of posts back (with a link to plans) is ours! Or will be in a couple of months.

SO stoked! I really am in love with the place.

We found out at 6.30ish tonight (the offers had to be in by 6). I was actually surprisingly calm! I think my biggest emotion was frustration at the amount we had spent on getting the place checked out, as I was sure we would miss out on it, and so it would have been money poured down the drain.

Anyway, we went out to dinner - bought noodles from a local noodle place, and ate them at the rotunda in the parklands nearby. My favourite way to eat out in this weather!

Hannah is getting continually worse at posing... so this was the best I could get... lol! The annoying thing is that she LOVES looking at pictures afterwards!

Day 20

2008-01-31T22:16:00.000+11:00

Not much today - just a couple of kiddy snaps. We were a bit busy, and Hannah is so rarely co-operative! *sigh* Meanwhile, 20 hours until we find out if we have the house!

Outcome 1

Outcome 2

Really corny, but sweet... lol! Hannah wanted to join Toby on the cushion he was on.

Outcome 3

Day 19

2008-01-30T22:55:00.000+11:00

Very much insaneness today! I have spent the day talking with the RE agent, talking to building inspectors, meeting with the bank... all so much madness!

Hannah was in care for the day, which was a good thing in the circumstances, but I did not have time to set up for any nice shots of Toby, so I was missing my more mobile model.

I did take her out for a walk in the evening, though. She flat refuses to look at the camera any more, but we were playing a new game... she crouched down, then JUMPED up again. I got ONE shot at this photo before she lost interest! Thankfully the focus worked out well! Also have been playing with the presets and actions a bit again.

Outcome 1

Aaaaand one of Toby boy. I was just mucking around while he was on the change table (right under the window). I am TRYING to get the confidence to use higher ISOs - this was taken at 800.

Outcome 2

AAAAAAND our big news for the day - we put in an offer on the house last night, and found out today that they are interested enough to bring the sale date forward to Friday. Unfortunately we are not the only people putting in an offer... but hopefully ours will be in with a good chance!

If anyone is interested... this is a link to the house plans.

Day 18

2008-01-29T23:57:00.000+11:00

A bit late posting today - we were flat out this evening (all day, really). We were inspecting, then putting an offer in on a house! We will find out tomorrow if it has been accepted or not. The house really is perfect for us... I so hope it comes together!

Earlier in the afternoon, I had a friend over today with her three boys. A, B and C (actually, technically C, B and A) are the most delightful kids. Friendly, helpful, and absolutely gorgeous!

C (oldest) nicked off inside before I really got a chance to get any photos of him (I only got a couple of him with his eyes closed, pulling faces as he blew bubbles)... so he only appears in the group shot.

B (middle) was a great model, save that he kept staring at the camera and giving huge cheesy grins! lol!

A is the baby of the family... and if Toby turns out even half as easy going as he is, I will be stoked! He is such a beautiful kid! Would not keep still, though! But when I could catch him for half a second, he was such a pleasure to shoot - big blue eyes!

I have been playing with some new actions and presets that I got today... very fun! I can not believe how much they can enhance the colours in the photos!

Outcome 1Outcome 2

Outcome 3
(his eyes were picking up some of the colour of the equipment)

Outcome 4

Outcome 5

Outcome 6

Day 17

2008-01-28T22:06:00.000+11:00

Just a photo of Toby. Sitting on my mothers lap. His face was a bit orange from the reflection off the bricks, so I went B&W. It is a little bit of a shame, because there were some nice colours in it.

Ah well.

Outcome 1

Day 16

2008-01-27T23:21:00.000+11:00

Today Hannah and I went for a walk up the street to take some photos, just for something different. Hannah was actually happy to play along (in brief stints) and pose for me!

This shot was taken against a lovely green fence, but it was a bit rushed, as I was standing out on the road, and a car came. I would have liked to be a bit further back. By the time the car passed, Hannah had given up.

Outcome 1

She posed so nicely for this one! (I am a bit addicted to the B&W RAW presets at the moment!)

Outcome 2

Typical 2 year old. We were on our way back from our walk/park. We got to meters from the house, and she decided that she wanted to go over to the servo and get some chocolate. When mummy said no, she sat on the ground and refused to go on! lol! So... mum just made the most of it and snapped a couple more photos!

Outcome 3

This one was me just having some fun with the camera at the park, and then fun with photoshop at home. It was a bit of a challenge as a one (wo)man show... I had to pull the swing right back, let go, get down on the ground, take the photo, get up, push...

Outcome 4

Day 15 again.

2008-01-26T19:37:00.000+11:00

OHOH! I just discovered ACR presets. I am in love!

Outcome 2

Day 15

2008-01-26T14:49:00.000+11:00

Toby gets a look in today!

I ran out of space - I wanted a wider crop, but I did not have enough space. Damn small rooms! On the up side, we are looking at buying a new house! So between that and the new lens... lol!

I might add some more photos later.

Outcome 1

Day 14 - 2 weeks!

2008-01-25T22:51:00.001+11:00

How to save water by Hannah Fyfe

Strip naked
Find a leak in the guttering
Get a bucket
Collect water in bucket
Deposit water on plants
Repeat from step 4

As well as watering the plants (because apparently the pouring rain was not enough to do that) you also have the added advantage of a shower as well!

Outcome 1

I used a vintage action today, just for something different. I think the colourings suit the weather well, although I do want to try the action on a photo to give an actual vintage look. (OK - that makes sense to me...)

Day 13

2008-01-24T22:53:00.002+11:00

Just the one storyboard today. About time something good came of these blocks! Normally they are just scattered over the floor, with many muttered swear words whenever they hide under a discarded towel and get stepped on. They really hurt!

Day 12

2008-01-23T23:52:00.000+11:00

Very brief tonight. I told myself that I was going to bed at 12pm on the dot, and it is 7 minutes to now... I need to get some cleaning done!!!

Last minute photo - actually beyond last minute photo. Hannah was supposed to be in bed. Just happened to be lucky that she decided not to go straight to sleep.

The photo was taken with an ISO of 1600, f/2. It HAD to be B&W because the white balance was that far out that even adjusting it to the coolest setting possible in DPP, it was still yellow. The reason being that as well as the crappy lighting used, the room is also painted yellow, so lots of yellowness being bounced around everywhere.

Hannah and her absolute favourite person in the whole wide world. :-) She is such a daddy's girl!

Day 11

2008-01-22T23:01:00.001+11:00

Bath time!

Long day today. Awake from 5.30 with Toby, then Hannah was up from 6.30, ARGH! So I made both kids nap at the same time, and had one too!

Ended up at bath time without anything to show for the day... so wet kids it was!

At least Toby got a look in today.

Outcome 1

Outcome 2

Day 10

2008-01-21T23:55:00.002+11:00

My mother (much like me) absolutely deplores having her photo taken. She normally flat refuses, but being the lovely daughter that I am, I did not give her any say in the matter.

Sorry mum, but I absolutely adore you, and I think you are beautiful. I am not going to let you deprive me and the kids of photos of you.

Hannah (who loves her Nanna to bits!) spent the afternoon there while I took Toby to his Paed appointment. I still had my camera with me from the morning trip to the ducks (following) so I took it in with me when I went to pick her up.

Outcome 1

At the lake near us there is the most fantastic team of ducks! (I had to look up the group name - by the by, did you know that it is a "flamboyance" of flamingos?)

Anyway - the ducks! They are amazing! They are so friendly... to the point that Hannah had to feed them from the safety of my lap. Not that she was safe even there - they were still snatching the bread from her hands - one also kept standing on my foot!

Outcome 2

Outcome 3

This is a new duck to the group. He is stunning - the photo does not do him justice! He has the same markings as a normal drake, but instead of being on brown, it is on white.

Outcome 4

Day 9

2008-01-20T23:14:00.001+11:00

Today was... Shopping!

I took my 50mm prime, but it was a little narrow for what I was trying to do. BUT!!! I have bought my 28-75mm f2.8 off Ebay! So I should have that by the end of the week. :D

Day 8

2008-01-19T23:55:00.000+11:00

Today was spent at my mothers cabin in Icy Creek (near Noojee, east of Melbourne). Beautiful area.

I did have some slightly technically better photos, but I thought for mum I would put up some of the ones that told a bit about our day instead. After all, that is what photos are about!

Hannah following DH and mum down the track near the lake...

Hannah on the chair near the lake...

Hannah holding one of the titchy frogs we found... (For perspective, that is a 2 1/2 year olds hand!)

I would have had a couple more, but I was playing with camera settings, and forgot to change them when we moved out of the heavy shade. *blush*

Day 7 - We made a week!

2008-01-18T18:13:00.000+11:00

Today my aim was photos SOOC. I was allowing minimal exposure correction, and white balance correction, but that was it.

Hannah LOVES these clips. Useful, because it meant she let me put them in.

Today's photos are not all that special - I had Toby in arm at the same time, and he was rather unsettled. I ended up taking him inside and settling him, and by the time he was down, she had started taking them out.

So, this is the best of what we did get...

Outcome 1

Outcome 2

And this is Hannah's new camera pose. At least she was still long enough to have the photo taken, but I think I would prefer to see her face...

Outcome 3

Day 6

2008-01-17T20:57:00.000+11:00

I thought I was stuck for today... Toby had hit shots today, so he was more unsettled than usual... which meant both he was out, and I didn't have time to chase Hannah around in hope of a photo.

BUT! Then I looked over, and there in front of me was a sleeping toddler!

The photos are in the wrong order - but I loved the first one, so I wanted it in the most prominent spot. She actually started sleeping with her head against the couch. After I had taken a couple of photos I tried to stir her... but she didn't want to wake, and snuggled up with her teddy on the floor instead, which provided a much better photo opportunity.

Photo 1
How fantastic is this photo! And what I love about it is it was 100% deliberate! I planned the framing, planned the lighting (well - by opening all the blinds and tugged Hannah's legs around a little so she was on a better angle) planned the DoF... about the only thing I didn't plan was the pose.

Ah what time to plan allows!

The post processing was correcting the white balance on the RAW image, and then a slight colour boost.

Outcome 1

Photo 2
This one was mostly to show that she was sleeping. I tried it on about a dozen different angles, and this was the best one... others the lighting was not right, or it showed too much mess. lol! I am just wishing I missed the tag! I do love the tail over her eye though!

Post processing - correct exposure and white balance on the RAW image, and the same colour enhance.

Outcome 2

Photo 3.
This was the initial position. How adorable! This is included more for the story than for photographic finesse. Please excuse the mess in the background... what can I say - a 2yo with an occupied mother can make a spectacular mess! And no idea why she was sitting on the container from the M&M cookies. (Mum is a bit addicted to them!)

Post processing - exposure correction. That was it. TBH, I was just too lazy to do anything more.

Outcome 3

Day 5

2008-01-16T20:45:00.000+11:00

Being lazy today - no originals. There is not much done, just a little strengthening of the colours.

This was my choice for the day. Mostly because there is nothing bad about it, and it has both kids. I would have liked a little less shadow on Hannah's face. Toby was going nuts, as per usual.

Outcome 1

I was SO annoyed with this one! I really love the shot - but because she was moving, the focus is slightly out, and so it is a little bit soft.

I also cut off her chin. lol! Oh - and note the blue paint from childcare.

Outcome 2

This was when she finally got her Dodie (dummy) off me. I had been using it to bribe her to stay still... *blush*

I love the sharpness! I am just not 100% sure of the crop.

Outcome 3

I am just stoked that I got some front on photos of Hannah! Normally it is just the back of her head!

Day 4

2008-01-15T21:12:00.001+11:00

... And still going! I am really enjoying this!

Today I was just playing in the back yard with Hannah. She really is not capable of stopping for long enough for me to get a posed photo of her. Just not working.

Best I could do was a few of her putting her shoes on. Highly unexciting. She was wearing her favourite dress, though, which is nice and bright.

Good chance for some nice bright colour shots.

I could not be bothered with putting the originals up today. They are not much different. I just put a light colour enhancement over it (although surprisingly slight).

Day 3

2008-01-14T23:27:00.000+11:00

Today we had a meet for the online photogroup. You would think that a day out with the purpose of taking photos would produce some fantastic results! Hmmm... not with a toddler and a newborn apparently.

Today we have one photo. To make it a little more interesting I ran a couple of different conversions.

The photo itself was of my beloved daughter, who apparently has no ability to maintain body heat (hence my jacket) and yet is still fully intent on running straight into the water.

The only processing standard to all the photos was a slight (.17) adjustment in the exposure. In the first photo I played a little with bumping up the saturation slightly, the second was just a B&W conversion, and the third was a slightly tweaked Acid conversion.

Slight random enhancements

B&W

Acidic

Day 2

2008-01-13T18:48:00.000+11:00

Toby's turn today. My poor photo neglected child. We would have taken more photos of Hannah in her first 2 days than we have of poor Toby in his first 2 months.

Photo 1.
Not that he was that keen on having photos done. Hmmm. I was having some issues with the lack of light in the room - I needed to allow as much as possible in, so it was a bit harsher than I would have liked.

Editing was just slightly increasing the contrast, and slightly decreasing the saturation.

Outcome 1

Photo 2.
This one he was a tad more willing to be involved in.

I ended up grabbing his cradle mattress, which has a white sheet over it, and using that to reflect some light back. The only issue was that I only have 2 hands.

Other than the same processing as the first shot, I also cleaned up a couple of spots, and the birthmark on his back.

Outcome 2

Photo 3.
Well. My plan for this shot was cute little frog legs tucked up in the corner of the photo... but Toby was not co-operating. But the aim is to try.

This was the best of a bad bunch. At least he is not flashing anything, even if he does have blurred feet.

Same post processing as the first.

Outcome 3

Day 1

2008-01-12T22:26:00.000+11:00

Here we go again. More good intentions.

So. The plan is, a photo a day. Or more, a subject a day. Or many photo's/subjects a day. Really depends on my mood, and what comes out of the camera. On a really bad day (ratty kids, bad weather, or whatever) I might have to resort to re-editing old photos... but I would prefer not to.

I have been too long without putting effort into my photography, and I really need to get back into the swing of things!

Todays subject - FEET! Why? Because Hannah would not look at me, or stay focused on anything long enough for me to get a photo of her face. Toby was fast asleep inside, in a poorly lit room, and I was not willing to disturb him. And I figured that I should start out with something that involved at least one of the kids! So I decided I wanted to get at least a couple of different foot shots.

Photo 1.
This one was taken on the back step. She was sitting still, drinking a drink, so I took the chance. On the RAW file, I increased the exposure slightly (for some reason my camera seems to leave photos rather dark when left to decide on its own), then I increased the contrast and reduced the saturation.

In Photoshop, I darkened the edges of the shot (new technique I am playing with) and tweaked the curves a little.

Outcome 1

Photo 2.
This one I made her pose for (in as much as you can convince a 2yo to pose!)

Basically identical processing to the last one. I really like the use of the darkening (buggered if I know what the technique is called!) as it draws the focus away from the poorly focussed area in the foreground, and compliments the existing shadow in front of the step to really highlight the area under the feet.

Outcome 2

Photo 3.
This one was taken standing at the edge of the path. Again, deliberate positioning, and again almost identical editing.

The lack of focus in the bottom of the photo is a bit annoying. I am wishing I was a bit more careful with my DoF... but there was not much time to fiddle with settings. I got one shot in before she ran off again.

I am really happy with the lighting in this shot (actually in all of them). That is the one thing that I have never really got the hang of properly, and I want to start to pay attention to. In the past I focussed (no pun intended) on the composition, and if the lighting worked, then yay.

Outcome 3

The Fyfie Tales

Ze Blog Haz Moved!

Sorry!

So much to blog, so little time!

Sneak Peek

The mysterious mind of a 3 year old

AAARGH!

You make me feel like dancing...

Cupcakes and the forgotten one.

Hannahmania is open for business... again!

Something a little different.

The beach and the river

So long!

Only a mother...

My sick boy.

We has a tooth!

Photo lull...

I am sitting here...

And the other post...

OK... a slight delay.

This one is shorter... Or not

Its going to be long...

You want me to what?!?

You make my heart smile

He sits!

Just a ramble today...

A new hat.

Sewing again!

*Gasp* a post!

Been a while!

No Photo's Today!

Day 53

Day 52

Day 51

Day 50 - Photo shoot

Day 49

Day 48

Day 47

Day 46

Day 45

Day 44

Day 43

Day 42

Day 41

Day 40

Day 39

Day 38

Day 37

Day 36

Day 35

Day 34

Day 33 - Photo shoot

Day 32

Day 31 - 1 month!

Day 30

Day 29

Day 28

Day 27

Day 26

Day 25

Day 24

Day 23

Day 22

Day 21

Day 20

Day 19

Day 18

Day 17

Day 16

Day 15 again.

Day 15

Day 14 - 2 weeks!

Day 13

Day 12

Day 11

Day 10

Day 9

Day 8

Day 7 - We made a week!

Day 6

Gasp a post!