Dear diary

Well another week has come and gone, and very little has happened since this time last week. We had Miss K's 18 month immunisation and the lounge room got painted, but you all should know that already since you're such loyal fans who read absolutely everything I write.

My niece got her birthday present yesterday, which is such a relief because it means that I can finally tell you that she got to go ride a horse. Now for all you adults out there this may not seem like much, but to a horse mad 9 year old this is a big deal. According to my big sister she actually cried when she found out where they were going. The weather  yesterday was cold, wet and windy, all which make horse riding rather miserable. Luckily for me I was sitting at home in my nice warm lounge room not growing icicles on my nose, but my poor big sister was not so fortunate, and she was sitting atop a 6 foot tall beast. I got to see some photos and videos from yesterday and I can say with great authority that my sister was not born to be a cowboy. My niece however was a natural at horse riding, and wants to do it all again.

Miss K has been cranky and clingy and all kinds of frustrating this week, she wants to be picked up, then she wants to get down, then she wants a cuddle then she wants to be left alone, then she wants mum then she wants grandma. It's hard to keep up with her wants when they change so quickly, but we're just riding the storm. I have her 18 month check up tomorrow so we'll find out how much she's grown in the pas 6 months and see if I can't get some help with her begging people for food. You'd think I don't feed her the way she goes on when other people bring food into the room, and it is starting to get frustrating. She is walking more and more each day, and has gotten to the point where she would rather walk than be carried everywhere, which is a day I have longed for for 18 months now, but now that it is here feels like the end of something I will actually miss. Of course my back is grateful for the break, but I do love the hugs I got when I was toting her around.

Now for any of you who have been paying attention, earlier this week I wrote about Jill Meagher who was murdered last week. (For anyone needing their memory refreshed, you can check the post out here) Well today there was a march on Sydney Road in her memory. I had heard about it from a friend living in Melbourne who was planning on attending but hadn't thought much more about it. Until the photos of the walk started popping up on Facebook. Now for anyone who isn't familiar with Sydney Road, it is a length of road several kilometers long, and it is joined to a free-way which links Melbourne to Sydney. So you can imagine that it would be a pretty busy road. Well today was no exception, except instead of cars clogging up the lanes it was people. Check out this image of the march

That is a shot of just some of the more than ten thousand people who showed up to show support and protest violence against women. Now I lived in Melbourne for more than 2 years and I have never seen that many people all in the same place at once. The march stretched across over 4 city blocks in length. I hope that her family in Ireland got to see this photo and feel the love that all of these people brought with them for this poor woman. 

Well I'm done for another week, I am getting a new computer this week so I plan on spending this evening backing up the hundreds of photos I have of my family before I get rid of this relic for good. Have a good week and tune in tomorrow to see how I went on my 30 day challenge last week.

Dear diary the covered in paint edition

I know, I know I'm two days late with this update, and a day late with my 30 day challenge update. But I have been flat out the last few days so unfortunately non-essential tasks like blogging tend to take a back seat when things get crazy. But I'm here now so let's let the updating begin.

If I make no sense tonight I apologise in advance, I spent the day painting our lounge room and despite my nap this evening after Miss K was put to bed my eyeballs still feel like they are about to fall out of my head so this blog may dissolve into one long nonsensical tangent before too long. I could tell you the weird dream I had while I was napping today, but I think that's just asking for trouble. I will however tell you that I am so tired that I just tried to make mum a coffee in my coke glass instead of her mug. Using the last of the coffee. I'm so tired I have become as slow as Homer Simpson.

So painting. Today mum and I and my little brother finally got stuck into our lounge room and painted all of our horrible stained, pitted and marked walls, transforming our lounge room into a pretty pink and green room. I don't have photos atm, as I only picked up my camera once today to take a photo of my nephew helping mum cut in the first wall, and then forgot completely to take any more, so maybe in the next few days I'll remember and take some shots for you. I think the most exciting thing about our new lounge, besides the fact that this is the first time the walls in here have been anything other than creamy white is the fact that we have a feature wall! It is a stunning hot pink colour, and it stands out against the mint green walls fabulously. Now all we need to do is figure out how to fill the now empty walls with lovely decorations.

Miss K had her 18 month immunisations yesterday and I was so proud of how she handled it. Normally when we get her jabs done she gets two done, one in each leg, and I'm usually the one who has to hold her down while two nurses ambush her at the same time. It is because of times like these that she has earned herself the nickname air raid siren because the scream that comes out of her is deafening, and makes you want to dive under the nearest desk. Well yesterday was completely different. For one she only had one needle, and the put it in her arm this time, so she got to watch the nurse stab her. I was expecting this to make things even worse, but for some reason it had the opposite effect and Miss K sat very quietly and didn't so much as whimper as she was getting her medicine. She did go ghostly white once everything was over, but I was prepared for this and had packed a fruit juice in her nappy bag for a quick sugar fix. Why do needles send you into shock?

Also on Miss K, she is walking so much now, she even decided last night to do laps around the lounge room before bed. She would get herself up into a standing position at the door, then walk the length of the room and back to the door again. If she fell down, she would crawl straight back to the door and try again. I am so pleased to see her so determined to perfect this skill, and it is paying off in spades as her balance and speed get better every single day. I have decided during these school holidays to look into enrolling into a Gymbaroo class in a nearby town for next term, my nephew went to the same one when he was a toddler and it did his balance and co-ordination a world of good, and as Miss K loves climbing all over everything I think she will have an absolute ball.

Well I think that's all the exciting things from this week listed, I'm hopefully going to be catching up with some old friends of Miss K's father tomorrow, I haven't seen them in over 9 months, since they moved towns and had a baby so I am so excited for the chance to catch up and finally meet their beautiful new son. The next blog I do will be an update for the 30 day challenge so stay tuned for that one, but for now, stay awesome.

Dear Diary the more buttons edition

Ladles and jelly spoons welcome again to another Sunday round up. I'm going to start today by once again drawing your wonderful attention to the little sidebar to the right of your screen. There is another button there for you to click, this one takes you to my brand spanking new twitter account! And it didn't take me weeks to figure out how to link the two up this time. I'm getting even better at this. One day I will rule the world with the power of widgets.

So yes another week has passed and as I started the count down a couple of days ago, I should let you know there are only 99 sleeps until Christmas. I looked back at that blog post, (for any of you who haven't read my thoughts on Christmas yet, check out this post here) and it all looks pretty dismal. I should probably clarify that I don't hate Christmas, and even before I gave birth to Miss K I got involved in all of the tree decorating and the family dinners, but it was done with a level of sarcasm and indifference that would make the Grinch proud. However these days, because I don't want my nieces, nephew or daughter to know that there are people out there who don't think that Christmas is all that and a bag of potato chips I bite my tongue. I've even started shopping for Miss K's presents and am madly looking up Christmas check-lists to see if I can't find some way to make the silly season a little more relaxed this year.

So it's been pretty quiet around here lately, I was madly studying for the first part of the week, desperately trying to get my homework submitted as close to its actual due date as possible. I still can't get my final assignment to balance, so I decided it was time to call in the experts and I've sent it to my teacher, to see if she can't figure out where the heck I went wrong. I know it will be something stupid that I should be able to spot, but I'm at one of those places where I can't see the woods for the trees so I am hoping that her trained eye can help me out here. I'm expecting an email any week now.

Now my baby brother Ben and his partner came down for a visit at the beginning of this week, and when they finally went home that evening I thought it would be the last we would see of them for another few weeks at least. Well I have never been so wrong in my life, because they are at my little sister's house as we speak having some Sunday sippers. Now we haven't seen Tristan yet, as he had to wait until after work to catch the train down, but Ben came over for a few hours this afternoon and had a play with Miss K. This time I remembered to bring out my camera and I got some gorgeous pictures of them.

Miss K trying to get Ben to play the harmonica. His face cracks me up every time

Ben trying to get Miss K to play the harmonica. She was more reluctant to play so those little lips stayed tightly clamped at all times.

Ben got some even better photos on his phone while I wasn't looking, so as soon as he can upload them on my computer I'll be sharing them with you.

Miss K and I went out to lunch with an old friend of mine today, we decided to go to McDonalds as the one here has a semi decent playground area for kids, which meant I didn't have to deal with a bored one year old while I tried to play catch-up with my friend. It was a pleasant afternoon and Miss K won so many hearts while we were there we walked away with two new friends at the end of the day. There were two little girls in particular, similar in age to Miss K's cousins, and she followed them around like a little lost puppy dog the whole time they were in the play area. I am so glad that Miss K is such a social little girl, I certainly can't work a room as well as she does.

Also on Miss K, she is walking more and more each day, and yesterday she even managed to get herself into a standing position from sitting without using a piece of furniture to help her. I know that she is only doing what every baby does but it is ridiculous how excited I get every time she learns something new. Mum and I took her shopping to K Mart last night, and she walked around the shop the whole time. I expected her to get tired of walking very quickly but she refused to let me carry her anywhere, insisting that she could do it all by herself. Not that I'm complaining of course, because all that walking meant that she slept through the whole night.

The 30 ways in 30 days challenge finished this week, with mixed results and I have decided to try doing another challenge with a similar theme, but to tone it down a bit this time so that I don't get so completely overwhelmed and lose interest. There will be more information coming up tomorrow. 

Well that's it for another week, I am now going to go watch Mrs Browns Boys with mum and hope I don't fall asleep on the couch. Don't forget to check out my Facebook page and my lovely new Twitter page and feel free to like them both. 

Dear diary The deadline edition

So I know this update is a day late, but I have been up to my eyeballs in bookkeeping homework for the past few days, so things like blogging, talking to people and housework have been forgotten lately. I have seven assignments due in two days, and I have only completed six of them. Plus the seventh one is about the size of a small novel so I've been panicking this week. Nothing like the last minute to get you motivated to finish something. It's like high school all over again, but without the crippling body image problems.

So it's been sort of quiet around here lately, except for the wind howling outside, the trees and power lines being knocked down, and the constant rain. But luckily we've been given a reprieve from the horrible weather today, and it's looking like the next few days will be even better. It makes me impatient for summer to get here so that I can enjoy the sunny days and playing in the water with Miss K. But before summer can get here, we have spring, and this spring I'm hoping to start growing tomatoes and strawberries. I've bought two lots of seedlings, so as soon as I've read up on how to take care of strawberries and tomatoes I'm becoming a farmer.

Miss K has been incredibly chatty this week, I cannot believe how much she grows from week to week. I know a few months ago I was worried that her language skills and willingness to talk were lacking, but she is making up for lost time now. She still only knows a few proper words, but that hasn't stopped her from communicating with anyone she can find to listen to her. The other day mum got an ear bashing after I left Miss K with her to run up the street and do our shopping. Today I got one when I put her to bed. I know in a short while I am going to complain that she never shuts up, but right now I am loving the sound of her pretty little voice. As for learning to walk, she has taken it upon herself a couple of times to just stand up and take off which is so exciting to see. I know we'll have a walking baby in no time.

Of course not everything is wine and roses with Miss K, especially given that she is amping up for her terrible twos. She has recently discovered the art of throwing temper tantrums, and boy can she throw a doozy. She throws herself on the ground in the most dramatic manner, and the noises that come out of her would wake the dead. Of course I have to laugh at her when she starts up because it's so funny to watch this little thing acting like a diva. This never goes well because she hates it when I don't respond to her, but she'll learn soon enough that emotional blackmail doesn't work.

I felt terrible last night though, because while I was making her bed, the unthinkable happened and Elmo went MIA. (For anyone who hasn't met Elmo yet, hop on over to this post here for his proper introduction.) For anyone who knows Miss K, you will know that sleep is impossible unless she's got her teddy pressed up to her face. So it was panic stations last night when it got to bedtime and I discovered I had lost him. I tried giving her another Elmo doll to cuddle up to, but it just wasn't the same and she took forever to get to sleep. Luckily nature took over in the end and she finally crashed, but I made the decision to hunt Elmo out as soon as I got up this morning, so that I didn't have a repeat at tonight's bedtime. Luckily for me he was just hiding under her cot, so by bedtime tonight he'd been bathed, spent a day in the sun and was ready for snuggle time. Her face when she saw him was lit up like a Christmas tree. If I was an insecure parent I'd say she loved him more than me.

Well that's about all I have time for tonight, of course that wasn't my whole week, I did do other things beside study, I visited friends, bought Miss K a big bag of clothes for $5 at a second hand store and went out for tea at an old friend's place, but if I told you absolutely everything we'd be here all night. So until next time I'll leave you with a picture of my biggest achievement for this week. I finally managed to put Miss K's hair up into a ponytail for the first time this week, and I was so proud of myself for finally doing something girly I took pictures. Enjoy.

For anyone who has never tried to do a little girl's hair, it is similar to trying to groom a dog. Getting them to sit still is damn near impossible

Miss K's hair...and her foot.

One proud mum

So today I have a special treat for all of you my wonderful readers, today we get to watch a small movie.

I am so excited to be sharing this with you guys, what you are about to see is the first recorded steps of Miss K. Of course she has been walking in bits and bobs over the past few months, but in the last week she has grown more confident, gained better balance and is able to walk larger distances. (And she will walk without being bribed with chocolate.)

My favourite part of the video is the bit where she face plants on the couch at the very end. That there is classic cinema. And when she first starts walking, that limp just reminds me of Hoggle from the Labrynth. Another classic movie. But in all seriousness I am so proud of my little girl, and I watch this little video at least ten times a day because it makes me smile every time I see it. Oh and that little hand movement she does while she's walking, I'm not sure why but that gets thrown in every time she goes for a walk. I can't really explain it, because that's our sign for all gone or stop it, and occasionally she uses it when she means hello. So either she's saying she doesn't want to walk or she's waving to the couch.

So there you go, Miss K can (finally) walk. Now all I need to do is convince her that it's easier than crawling and she will be (even more) unstoppable.

Dear Diary the Fathers Day edition

Well another week has come and gone, and this one was so uneventful it almost seems unnecessary to write a diary entry today. If it wasn't for the fact that today is Father's Day I wouldn't really have much to talk about.

Miss K got to see her dad this morning for an hour, we were going to take her to the local McDonalds for a play on their equipment, but I forgot there was going to be a car show in the same area today, so given the lack of parking for three whole blocks leading up to Maccas (And these are bloody great big blocks too) we ended up going to the park instead. Miss K got to show her dad that she can take a few steps unassisted now, and she had so much fun playing in the pine bark around the equipment. Plus the weather this morning has been just glorious, so it was quite pleasant sitting back on my picnic table watching all the kids and their dads playing.

It's Father's Day for my dad too today (strangely enough) so tonight most of my brothers and sisters will meet up and take him out to tea at a pub in town. It's our favourite place to go for special occasions, especially in the warmer weather because there is a small playground outside where the kids can go to blow off some steam, but it will be too cold for anything like that tonight. But the food is delicious and the staff there are lovely so I'm positive it will be a lovely evening.

Miss K is her usual cheerful self at the moment, I haven't had to put her in my bed again since earlier last week thank heavens, and despite still swimming in boogers she maintains her usual sunny disposition most of the time. She has become somewhat fussy about her food over the past few weeks, which has come as a bit of a surprise for me, especially since before now she would eat anything you put in front of her. But all of a sudden she has started refusing meals if she doesn't recognise something, or the texture isn't one she is used to. With that in mind I cooked a recipe for macaroni and cheese yesterday that I found on Pinterest. She has had instant mac and cheese in the past, but this would be a lot different. For one there was a lot less salt in my recipe which probably meant it would be a lot blander. It was also grainy because for some reason that's what happens when you add pre-grated package cheese instead of grating it yourself. So I was holding my breath when I gave her the first mouthful and praying like crazy she wouldn't spit it out and start throwing a temper tantrum because I really had nothing else as a back up. But to my relief she loved her macaroni and cheese and even helped me finish my plate.

I mentioned earlier that Miss K walked to her dad, every day she gets just a little bit closer to walking on her own. She has gotten to a point now where if I put her on the ground standing up she can stand there unassisted, and she will take a few steps on her own, but she goes much further if there is someone close by for her to walk to. But a couple of times she has taken a few steps without anyone having to prompt her, so now all we need is for her to realise she can do it by herself and she will be unstoppable. Everyone keeps telling me that soon enough I will regret encouraging her to walk, but what they don't realise is how hard it is to watch other kids much younger than her already able to do this, and not worry that this means there is something wrong with your child. I know that every child develops at their own pace, and Miss K has already shown that she will do most things at a later age than the average child, but for once I would love for something to come easily for her.

Well I guess that's it for another week, I'm sure any of my regular readers may have noticed my page looks a little different now. I've been playing around with my layout to try to make this place look a little more like my own personal space, and not so generic. There may be more changes in the future once I have learned a little more about what I am doing, so stay tuned. As always there is the Facebook button at the top of the page, for anyone who hasn't done so already feel free to like us there and get direct links to any new posts as well as regular updates on Miss K and myself as they happen. So until next time, peace, love and tacos.

Dear Diary the bitter-sweet edition.

Well it's that time of the week again where I tell all of you my wonderful readers about everything Miss K and I have been up to over the past seven days. Well really most of it will be about this weekend, as I managed to cram more in the last two days than I did in the rest of the week. (Stupid gastro)

I am finally better thank heavens, I only really needed one day of bed rest and sulking before I was up and moving again, but my appetite and energy took a lot longer to return to me, I've only really been eating properly for about three days now, and even then my portion sizes have been smaller than normal while I get used to food again. I was determined to make up for having to cut my adults night out short on Monday, so this weekend has been full of social calls and outings, but luckily because they were all during the day time Miss K got to come with me. We crashed a Nutrimetics party yesterday, and by crashed I mean we tagged along with someone who was actually invited to the event. This is the second shopping party we've crashed in as many weeks Miss K and I, both with the same friend. Last week we went to a Tupperware party with her and both times we have been made to feel very welcome despite the fact that we knew no one there and they were all meeting us for the first time. I even decided to splash out and buy some perfume after yesterday's party, as I always feel there is no such thing as too many bottles of smelly stuff.

I also finally got to eat my cupcakes yesterday as Miss K and I managed to get our choc banana cupcakes baked in the afternoon while my brother and sister were visiting. Of course Miss K's help only went as far as licking the spoons once I was finished with them, but she was happy to be my dishwasher for the day. I was quite proud of the cakes as they tasted delicious and they didn't look too bad either. It was my first attempt at piping frosting on cupcakes and while it doesn't look completely professional, it wasn't a bad first attempt. I took some photos before I ate them all, so that I could share them all with you.

Tell me one more time they look like poo cupcakes and I will hurt you.

Sadly my photography skills are still lacking, but my cooking skills are pure awesome

Today I took mum and Miss K to the Sunday Market in the next town over. Miss K's dad and I actually used to run a stall at this market before Miss K was born, and it was sad to see it as a shell of its former bustling self, but I'm hoping it was just the horrible weather that was keeping everyone away. I remember spending most of our Sunday there every week for a few months the year we met, and we made friends with some of the other wonderful stall holders, but they have all moved on to other markets now days and I was sad to see I didn't recognise any of the stall holders when I went today. There was such a sense of family with the stall holders there, you would pass each other's stalls and wave hello or stop in and chat if you were close, and they were all so helpful when we first started there, telling us which stall holders to avoid selling to as they always resold your stock at ridiculously up-marked prices.

After we were finished at the market we went and visited with my big sister for a coffee, and Miss K sat with her uncle and had a cheese sandwich. For some reason he was able to get her to take small lady-like bites, which is something I can never get from her, and she sat very straight and proper on his lap the whole time without squirming or reaching around for things out of her reach. I can't help but laugh at how flirty my little miss gets, even with her own uncles. After lunch and a nap we went to visit with some old friends that we met co-incidentally through the markets. We bumped into them at the market and I was saddened to discover they are moving closer to the city tomorrow to find their fortunes in the big smoke. So it was decided I had to go over to their place for one more coffee before they left. The house was sadly empty of furniture when we got there as everything has been packed up and stored in anticipation of their huge shift tomorrow, so we sat on the floor in the kitchen chatting and drinking coffee, and Miss K played with the family's son and daughter who quickly became her biggest fans. The son, who is almost 2 is such a lady killer, he sat with his arm around Miss K, feeding her dry wheat bix and kissing her occasionally. Miss K of course is never one to refuse food so she loved all the special attention she was receiving.

They also have a large dog there, a labrador cross and it is huge. I mean huge. It could probably stick its head on my desk as I typed were it here right now. Luckily despite its size it is the gentlest dog you could meet, and he is fabulous with children, having been around them since he was a puppy so he wasn't too concerned when Miss K decided to crawl over his tail suddenly, nor when she decided to pull herself up on him. I was more surprised of Miss K's reaction to the dog, especially as she hasn't had much to do with dogs in her short 17 months, but she adored him and kept rushing to him to give him pats and hugs, and she didn't even mind when he licked her. The dogs owner was of course around at all times to make sure he didn't trod on any of the babies, as the oldest child in the house is not yet four, but he is such a well trained dog there really was never any concern anyone would get hurt. It was actually such a sad moment when I realised it was past our dinner time and we needed to get home and ready for bed, I had to keep the good byes brief so that I didn't lose it and start crying in front of them, but I have promised as soon as they are all settled in to their new home, Miss K and I will be up for a visit.

As for Miss K, she is cruising along nicely. We realised this week that she has been saying da da a lot lately, and that when she says it, she actually means Grandma. I'd never thought of it much as when she was younger Grandma was bumma, but lately whenever mum leaves the room, or if she's in her cot and she sees mum making coffee in the kitchen she starts yelling da da da da at the top of her lungs and we finally clicked the other day she's calling for her Grandma. She also learned how to say Grandpa this week, (ba pa) and she's learnt my niece Eliza's name (zee zee). Apart from that most of her chat is still unintelligible babble, but it certainly is plentiful, she is rarely quiet these days and if I can't hear her it's usually a pretty good sign she's up to no good and I need to find her NOW. She is still not taking more than a couple steps unassisted, no matter how much we encourage her, unfortunately there is little I can do besides keep encouraging her and making sure she isn't given the excuse to keep slacking off which means I have to stop carrying her everywhere. My back will thank me for this.

Well that's another week summed up nicely, as you can tell there was very little organising done this week thanks to the gastro, but hopefully I'll be able to get back into it this week and keep fighting the good fight. Well until next time, stay awesome readers and of course don't forget to like my Facebook page for regular updates and much more. Unless you are one of the wonderful people who have already, in which case you are welcome to go about your business as normal.

Dear Diary the eventful week edition

Well it's that time of the week again, and what a week it has been. There have been some major changes this week for both me and Miss K and I am bursting at the seams to share them all with you.

So today I'm going to start with Miss K for a change, and it has definitely been a big week for her. We are currently trying to encourage her to start walking by herself. At the moment she is happy enough to walk as long as someone is holding her hand. My sister and I sit on the floor with her and we can manage to get her to walk several steps between us, as long as there is chocolate involved. But once the chocolate is all gone her motivation to walk disappears and she resumes crawling everywhere. She shows signs that she is ready to walk, but she just hasn't gained the confidence yet. But tonight was a big night for her, she managed to stand all by herself for a full 20 seconds before she realised that she was standing unsupported and freaked out. Then she dropped onto her bottom like a tonne of bricks. So that was a pretty exciting moment for me. It was also the first time I managed to contain my excitement when she stands up alone, as I usually start making noises which just brings her attention to it and makes her fall down. So a huge step forward for both of us. Another big development for Miss K is that she has finally discovered the word no. Now at bed time or when we share a shower she starts shaking her head madly and yelling no. It's very cute and fun to watch, but with all the jiggling, it is getting just that little bit harder to hold her. She has also started saying grandpa this weekend, but coming from her mouth it sounds like ba pa. Again very cute and I get her to say it as much as possible.

As for me, this week has also been a big week. As mentioned earlier in the week I'm starting a 30 day challenge to see if I can't get better organised and on top of my housework. I won't go into everything on this post because it is big enough to deserve a post of its own, but needless to say this week has been a huge learning curve for me, but I haven't given up yet and I feel that I may be on my way to being a better organised and tidier person. That's not to say I haven't hit any stumbling blocks along the way, for one Miss K is spending more time in her bedroom at the moment, just because most of her toys have been moved in there, but the extra time in her room has come with extra cleaning for me as every time she goes in there she absolutely trashes the joint. And just in case you think I'm being over dramatic when I say she trashes the joint, I actually took pictures of it the other day as evidence.

See? Trashed.

So from being a room that I had to give a small tidy and dust to once a week it has now become a daily job. Occasionally I get Miss K to come and help put her toys away for me, and once I even managed to tidy it up while she was fast asleep in the cot. But I am beginning to feel this is a losing battle, and I'm at my wits end as to how to stop her upturning every single box in the room. It's all good for her as she can't fold yet so I can't get her to help tidy up the bibs and body suits. But I'm now beginning to regret buying so many of them as I have to re-fold each and every one of them every night. 

On the family front my little sister is settling into her new home nicely, I think she's loving living so close to work as she can now be on call for whenever they need her, instead of needing at least an hours notice to start work so she could figure out how to get there. She has actually moved into a flat very close to where I was living before I moved back to mums house, and apparently my old neighbours in the block of flats next to mine were having a party last night that was so loud she could hear them even though they are several blocks of land away from her. Glad to see some things never change. I've told her if she hears a really loud television set being played it would be my old next door neighbour who is as deaf as a post and used to have her telly blaring all day. I never had to watch telly when I lived there because I could hear hers perfectly, even with all my doors and windows closed.

Well that's me done for another week, my little brother is coming down tonight for a quick visit, and I'm waiting to hear from him as he'll probably be wanting a lift from the train station. It just means I can't get into my pyjamas until they get here. The things I do for my family.

Just a quick reminder as well, you can now find me on Facebook here so come on over and like my page, you'll get updates as soon as I've posted another wonderful blog for you to read, I also get to update on what is happening with both me and Miss K more regularly there so you get to see more of us. Don't miss out.

Dear Diary (the late, late, late edition)

OK so this is why I never could make my own diaries last more than a week. I'm terrible at remembering to write in them. This diary entry is in fact a week and a half late. I'm going to put missing last weeks dear diary entry down to the fact that my week was so boring I fell asleep every time I even thought about trying to put it into words. I can't even remember really what I did last week to let you guys know, so you'll thank me for sparing you the mundaneness that was my life two weeks ago.

It's not really true that I can't remember what I have been up to the last two weeks, because the simple fact is I've been studying. Almost non stop. Miss K is rather disgusted at the enthusiasm with which I have thrown myself into becoming a student, because it means that she is forced to have her tea parties and walk up and down our lounge room by herself. That's right, I said walk. My little girl is having a much more exciting time than I am at the moment, which is why this dear diary entry is dedicated to her.

Where to begin though, that is the big question. I did say that Miss K was walking above, but I probably should note that it isn't unassisted yet. For Christmas last year I bought her a walker with all kinds of fancy buttons which plays a large number of irritating songs, and speaks in a most condescending voice to anyone who happens to push a button.

Miss K playing with her walker on Christmas Day

Now for the longest time Miss K played with it by sitting down and pushing the buttons, and any time you tried to get her to use it as a walker, she would crack a massive temper tantrum and make the eardrums of anyone within a 50 metre radius bleed. But I finally decided it was time she learned about the wonderful world of walking, and showed her how to use the walker to get around the room. Well now there is no stopping her, except if she comes across a wall, or a mountain of toys, then it's mum to the rescue to redirect her and the walker. But this new method of transport has opened up a big world for Miss K and she really is flourishing.

Another big milestone for us this week is the fact that Miss K can finally feed herself. This was such an exciting day for me when she finally started accepting her spoon from me and eating from it unassisted I almost cried. It's times like this that I really realise how big my baby is getting and how quickly the time is flying. It won't be long until I don't even need to load her spoon with food and hand it to her, and I think that will be the point I will have to stop calling her my baby. 

Another thing that Miss K has discovered, much to my disappointment is the wonderful world of dancing. I have recently discovered an awesome TV show called Dance Moms, which airs on pay TV here in Australia. My little sister is obsessed with the show and got her hands on the first two seasons for mum to watch, and as a result almost everyone in this family is now obsessed with it, including Miss K. She loves to sit and watch the show with me, and I've noticed that ever since we started watching it, Miss K loves to get up and boogie whenever she hears music. And it's no longer just the bobbing of the head that she used to do, there is foot stomping, and swaying her body and moving her hands. It's too gorgeous for words, but it does fill me with a sense of dread that one day my little girl is going to ask me for dance lessons. I'm sure if I hadn't spent the better part of my teen years watching my little sisters dance and hearing my mum rant and rave about lessons and costumes and competitions I would be more excited about this, however I am very familiar with the world of dance, and have been long before anyone decided to turn it into a reality show, and that is the reason for my dread. But there is every possibility that Miss K has rhythm in her blood and the decision just might be out of my hands. All I can do is wait and see. And ban her from watching dance shows. 

But for now it is very late and I probably have lots to do tomorrow, the only way I can find out is by going to bed. Stay awesome my lovely readers and thank you as always for your patience in waiting for my posts. I'm sure you always feel a sense of excitement whenever you see I've posted another one, or maybe that's just the exhaustion talking. Peace out!!