Cankles, knitting beanies and 10 more days and counting until he is home!

Well we are only 10 days out now until my darling husband comes home. It sure has been a real full on experience to say the least!! I honestly believed that I was stronger than I am and have found it much harder than I ever expected! I think the stress has finally caught up with me physically and for only the second time in my pregnancy my blood pressure has been high (the first after a fight with my friend that still hasn't been mended!) and between that and my very large, fluid filled cankles I ended up being tested for pre-eclampsia. Thankfully it was all clear, but I know now I need to try to get my emotions under control (yeah, really easy for a 33 week pregnant lady who is missing her husband like crazy and contending with 4 kids that miss Daddy!!!) to try to look after myself physically. I also need to get over my hate of having a messy house, although I think living in the mess makes me as stressed as the cleaning up makes me tired!!

So, anyway, we are down to 10 days today until Darrian comes home and I cannot wait. I haven't spoken to him for 5 days as he is out bush and it will be at least another 5 until he will even have an opportunity to speak to me - and then he comes home 4 days later!!!

Trying to keep busy, have sewn together a couple of flannelette blankets for baby and finished off my little beanie (my first knitting attempt in years!!). Hope this baby's head isn't too huge otherwise it might be a bit small. My next one will be made just slightly bigger!

I had some stress this week (yes more I know!) trying to work out what to do about a birthing pool as the only time I have tried to use one was with Jack when I was in labour and it amped up my contractions so quickly that I had to jump straight back out. I therefore have been a bit hesitant to purchase one and a lovely friend has offered this week for me to borrow hers! I am so thankful to her as at least I will have it on hand to use if I want to!

So many things to do and only another 6 weeks or so to do them in! Need to start making lists and checking things off - this baby will be arriving before I know it!

Off to do a small amount of tidying and then might hit the couch! A weekend of sitting in front of the airconditioner and watching the V8's!!! Yay!!

Alphabet Blocks and growing bellies! Oh and being a single mum for 31 days!!

Since I had the sewing machine that actually works now, I decided to finish off these blocks that I had cut out. They were quite time consuming but hopefully the baby will like them when he is old enough to start playing with them. The other kids have given them a pretty good run so far!! I actually had to put them away as they were getting played with (and grubby) from the other 4! At least it is another project off of my half done list!

And my belly just seems to be expanding daily! Worried about how big this baby is going to be, or maybe just how big I am going to be!! The above photo was taken at 30wks and 4 days so stil ages to go before this baby arrives! A bit frightening really how massive I just may get!

Well as the title suggests, I am now a single mum to 4.75 children for the next 31 days whilst my gorgeous husband is at Kapooka doing his 4 weeks basic training for the army reserves! At the moment it still feels like he is on a business trip and I think that the kids feel this way too as they haven't said much about him not being here. I am sure in about a weeks time we will all start noticing it though! At least once this 4 week stint is over it is much smaller blocks from here on in! and I know he will love it and will be having fun - just miss him already! Counting down the days eagerly and I am sure now that school is back the days will fly by!

Am madly trying to finish the bassinet blanket I am knitting and I think I have given up on the crochet boots - just don't seem to be working right. I might try knitting a block blanket for the baby out of the bamboo cotton blend yarn! It is too lovely to have it go to waste. Might also start trawling etsy for some more patterns of things to make from it! So many projects - so little time!

The ever growing belly of #5!

Can't believe how big I am getting now. In the 3rd trimester (this photo is me at 28wks & 3 days) and apart from the yucky heat we had over the weekend and a few aches I am feeling not too bad. Baby is very, very active over the last few days which is nice, love feeling him move around. Feeling very big though and cannot imagine how huge I am going to be by the end of this pregnancy! Started having a bit of a panic about birthing this baby and although I am so excited about having a homebirth, there are moments that I question myself on wether I can actually do it! I 'know' that I can as I have done it before, just that whole reality that this baby has to come out at some point is starting to freak me out a bit! Hoping that being able to birth at home will make it much more relaxed and hope it happens overnight so that the kids stay asleep and I don't have to worry about them! Will wait and see I guess, baby will come when he is good and ready.

New year and the thought of "maybe I should be blogging more?"

Well, as usual, I have been very slack when it comes to blogging. One of my first thoughts of new years resolutions was to get on here and update more often, but guess what....already I am falling behind. Half way through January almost and I am already falling behind!

So all I can do is try a bit harder and maybe use a photo journal of one achievement each day to record on here (even if I only do it once or twice a week!). So my first photo for this year is my 'market day' bag of felt foods that I listed today on ebay. Fingers crossed interest starts picking up again after the christmas/new year frenzy has died down a bit!!

Really hot here today in Adelaide, got to 42.8 in the city and I think up to 45 at Elizabeth so no doubt we were somewhere in between. All been sleeping out in the loungeroom the last couple of nights and are bunking down in front of the airconditioner again. Roll on tomorrow night when it is going down to 16 degrees and we may be able to cool down the house! Being 28 weeks pregnant in this heat is not too much fun! But at least bubba is nice and protected and safe in there - just poor Mummy that suffers!