It’s my birthday week! Woo Hoo! There has been a whole heap of listing, my actual birthday, some brace free time, family catch ups and an Ikea building day… what more could a girl want?
You know its going to be a good birthday week when it starts with an alpaca themed gift… including a matching alpaca wool alpacas with your alpaca loving sister. This was apparently meant to appease our desire for real alpacas at my dad’s place, but I think it has probably just fanned the flame.
On Monday we celebrated my actual birthday with brunch at the Hatter and the Hare, which is brunch winner and a half and then spent the afternoon enjoying my gifts… making way for the new cabinets because we are renovating the laundry and building my new compost bin. Dave thinks these might actually be the worst presents he has ever brought me, but I am very excited about both. We also learnt that Isaac really likes fire.
I have always really liked the idea of composting, but had never really done anything about it until now, so we will see how it goes. The laundry reno is also something that I have been wanting to do for a very very very long time. Our current laundry set up is just not very practical, there is limited storage, we can’t fit both the dryer and the washing machine in there… which really just seems silly. The reason we have decided that it’s time now now though, is not just because I would like a prettier and more practical one. It is also going to give us a lot more space to store all the things we don’t want Isaac to be pulling out of the kitchen, laundry and bathroom cupboards, like our cleaning products and medications. Last week we ordered all of the cabinets which meant that this week we could pick up them up and start assembling. We managed to get all the cupboards in and attached to walls and floor and now we just need to finish the bench and splash back and get some plumbing assistance… which is actually a lot, but I feel like we’ve made quite a bit of progress pulling the old laundry out and making the cabinets.
Birthdays are also a good reason to catch up with people, and this birthday was no different, After Sunday nights birthday dinner we also went out for dinner with Mum and Andy and spent the day at the park with my Brother, Sister in law, Nephew and Brother in law, thanks to the school holidays and some annual leave. It’s going to be a lot of fun having park dates with those guys as the boys get older.
Isaac and I also got to cross some pretty big things off our lists this week too. On Sunday, I didn’t express any breastmilk for the first time since Isaac was born… I have officially hung up the pump and crossed no. 88 off my list. Now that it is finished I am both a little bit sad that it is over, but also totally relieved that is done and that I never have to look at the pump again… well at least for a while. I am also really proud of how long I was able to stick it out for. As a mum of a preemie, there isn’t actually too much you can do for your bub while they are in NICU and but expressing is one… so while it’s probably not the way I would have imagined feeding my baby… it worked and I am very thankful that I was able to do it for as long as I did.
On Tuesday the three of us went back to the hospital with Isaac for some appointments, but also took the opportunity to take a gift up to NICU, to thank the staff for all that they did to help all three of us survive the first three months of Isaac’s life. The team up there on level 5 at the Monash Children’s Hospital are incredible, they are not only excellent at their jobs, but they are also kind & compassionate and they take you and your baby in your most vulnerable space and make you feel like things are going to be ok and that you are safe. I am convinced that they are actually angels living on earth
Finishing Feb also meant I was able to cross 
On Tuesday we learned the fate of the blue car… unfortunately it cannot be repaired (which was number 34 on the list)… well it could but according to the insurance company it isn’t worth it… it is what they call a total loss cosmetic damage thanks to the hail storm we got stuck in, in December. But all was not lost… instead of having to get a new car now, which we can’t really afford, we were able to keep the car and insure it… we just have to drive around with it a little… well actually a lot dented. So even though it isn’t getting repaired I am still crossing 
And we finished the week well again with a winner Saturday… we started with Parkrun at Westerfold’s celebrating our friend Bram’s 200th run… Dave ran with Bram, while Isaac and I walked with Rachel and Grandma Meg… who is a super grandma for pushing the pram complete with oxygen canister up the hill… what a huge effort. And then Isaac and I brunched with Rachel and heard all about her new house, we liked her country house, but we like having her closer to us even more because we like her a lot!
This is the first week all year that we haven’t crossed anything off the list… but that’s ok… we have been spending a lot of time watching the Winter Olympics instead… which are flipping amazing… I think I have decided that I enjoy them even more than the Summer Olympics and I think it is just the risk of death or injury that sucks me in… These athletes are so incredibly brace… maybe a little nuts… but incredible all the same. Isaac seems to like them too.
The Most Curious George 