OH MY GAAAAAAWD!

3 whole months! I know, that's shocking! But in my defense, I've been really busy!!! And well, just plain going insane!

Wow...where to start? Well, I'll start from recent events.

Nathan went into hospital last week to have the lump in his neck removed, which went all smoothly, despite the fact that he thought the gown he was wearing was ORANGE after his surgery :P (see for yourself what I'm talking about lol)

We are now waiting until the 10th September for the results of what the lump was. Not overly worried about it, as the original biopsy was all clear...we'll see I guess.
He got the stitches out yesterday, which I was going to do for him, but it was a weird one. I'm guessing it's called a running stitch or something cause although the wound itself was about 3 inches long, there was just one long stitch that went back & forth about 8 times....doesn't seem to be too badly scarred, but we'll see when the swelling goes down completely. I know Nath is just glad it's out!

Ummmm...what else. Oh yeah, I've been spoiled rotten lately! Got myself a brand new car! A gorgeous Ford Territory. I've wanted one for AGES, but didn't like my chance of Nathan the Holden Nut buying me one...well he gave in! And here it is

Oh so lush! I love driving it! Particularly loving the leather interior...very comfy :)

Speaking of leather & being spoiled :P I also managed to get a new lounge!

We badly needed a new one...and I certainly didn't go for the smallest one I could find ;) Didn't even think to measure the lounge room, but it JUST fits! To the point there is not a single millimeter that could be spared :P

And because all good things come in 3's, look what I scored for our wedding anniversary that was on the 7th!

Ok...so spoiled doesn't even begin to describe me at the moment! But thinking I've done my dash for a good few years lol!

In other news....Connor has had a bit of a bad run :( Has been having seizures again, which is scaring me, because we've put his meds up & he had the worst one I've seen last Wednesday :( None since though, so hopefully the are taken care of for now!
We have also, with a heavy heart, started the process of getting him diagnosed as Intellectually Impaired, which sounds awful, and the thought of it is, but it's all to try & get him enrolled in the special school for next year, which I know is the best thing for him, but very hard as a mother to be told that your son has an intellectual impairment!
And just when he's been doing so well too :(
But now I'm looking at it as the next step in his life that is going to make things easier on him & us! Which I could really do with!

Rhiannon is cruising along well. Nothing really seems to get to this kid. She's doing fantastic at Kindy, and I'm so glad she got a spot! She can't wait for prep next year, and quietly neither can I ;)
She's also doing amazingly well at dancing! She's picked up the steps relatively well. I'm looking forward to the concert at the end of the year! They all look so cute in their little uniforms!


Oh yeah, the most exciting bit? After saying in my last post that nothing could top a holiday, I took myself away for a weekend at the Gold Coast at the beginning of July! Total BLISS! Spent too much money, drank too much vodka, and oh, got my tongue pierced :P Yep...sure did!

Yes, possibly a mid-life crisis, but I don't care :P lol

Also had the absolute privilege of meeting Kristie & the gorgeous Tara on their little trip up to Qld at the end of July! Kristie started out as a distributor waaaaaaay back when BHB was new, and is now a very dear friend! It was so lovely to meet them in person!

And the girls got on fabulously too :D

Well, this has taken me waaaaaaaaay too long to write...between phone calls & kids interrupting, I've about lost my typing mojo :P

B
xx

Change is as good as...

Well no, actually! Nothing could top a holiday right now! I imagine somewhere hot & steamy! I HATE winter! Just not me...give me the sweating, stinky heat of Queensland anyday!

But...holiday is a no go at the moment, what with life & all getting in the way of that :-|, so a change it is!

I've gone from this...


to this...


All in just 3 1/2 hours too!

It's quite a bit lighter than the photo, but didn't take the pic til late this afternoon, so not great lighting! Will get Nathan to snap some of me tomorrow :D

So I'm felling all refreshed! What with the whole health scare we had recently, figured I needed to spend some time on me!

Speaking of which, all is good in the neck region of my hubby! Got the biopsy results back, and the verdict is "non specific lump" which is doctor talk for "We've got no f****** idea what's caused this massive lump on your neck, so we'll call it this special name so you think we sound smart"
Bloody knobs that they are!
I've convinced Nathan to take some 'herbal hippy shit' as he ever so affectionately puts it, and low & behold, the lump is beginning to go down! *gasp* Who would have thought!!!! :P

Other news....hmmmmmm...not much really!

Oh, I got a new washing machine! How lovely is my husband! My washing machine has been CRAP from the day we bought it. DO NOT BUY A MAYTAG MACHINE! E-V-E-R!!!!!!!!!!!!! Soooooooooooo not worth the $$$$$ you spend on them!
Anyway, back to my lovely husband! My machine has been playing up yet again, so Nathan comes home from work on Thursday & says, I'm going out.
Me - where to?
Nathan - Nowhere, but I need your car
Me - where to?
Nathan - to get you something
Me - what?
Nathan - what do you neeeeeeeeeed?
Me - a couple hundered thousand $ would be handy
Nathan - no, a washing machine!
Me - well that was my next request, but with a couple hundred thousand $ I would have been able to take care of that one on my own :P

But anyway, he comes home with a sparkly white washing machine! My dream machine no less...well anything shy of a Maytag would have been my dream machine :P
It's soooooooooooooooooooooooo nice :D
I love my husband!!!! *heart*

As a side note...I'm searching for the perfect vest! And have come to the conclusion that I need to make it myself! I've never been one to understand a vest...I mean, if you are cold, wear a jumper! But I have this growing desire to wear a vest this winter!
So like-minded-knitters, send through your favourite vest patterns! Pretty please!!!!!!!!
One wouldn't want a girl going cold this winter now would they!?!?!?!?!?!

Anyway, enough babble
I'm off to bed.

Night all.
B
xx

Hello old friend!

Wow! It's been a month. Slack slack blogger am I!



In my defence, life has been slightly more than hectic here lately (yes even more hectic than my life generally is!!!!!)


Where do I start? Well, how bout I start with recent happenings & go backwards...



Nathan has a lump on his neck, that was concerning both of us, so he finally went to the doctor 3 weeks ago. Turns out it has nothing to do with the nasty tooth he has that needs to be removed, and is infact a lump growing out of his neck *gasp*

So far he has had a blood test, ultrasound & CT scan, and none of them can give us an answer of what it is. The CT scan revealed that it is coming from much deeper than first thought - straight from his muscle, and it seems it may even go right to the centre of the muscle *gasp gasp*

The good news is the head CT was clear, and his lymph nodes are all within normal size, so if it does happen to be something not so desirable, it is at least only in the primary stages!

The not so good news - cancer hasn't been ruled out completely.
We know that it's no longer just a little cyst, which was the first asumption. Because it's coming from the muscle, it is indeed a tumor, but whether it is benign or cancerous, is yet to be determined, and hopefully will be next Thursday with the fine needle biopsy. So everyone keep your fingers crossed for good results!


Connor....where do I start? He has had a few seizures of late, but that is a result of him gaining quite a bit of weight from the new diet he's on. (well, not so new now! Been at it for 6 months!)

Seems for now however, we have kind of fixed the problem! We all ended up with a vomiting bug last weekend (well, all except Nathan!) & Connor didn't eat for 4 days...I mean NOTHING...so he lost 3 kilos, which means that his meds are right again LOL! The world works in mysterious ways!
Hoping he doesn't regain it too quickly, because that will most certainly mean a med increase.



The girls....well, Rhiannon is going fantastically at Kindy & dancing. Costing us the earth, but loving both of them! I'm actually very surprised at how well she is picking up the dancing. She had little to no co-ordination before beginning, and is now one of the most focused girls in the class on a Saturday morning.
This, however, hasn't protected her from the cruel world of being a child! This morning she was paired up with a new girl in the class (normally she teams up with Kimberley, but they were seperated for some reason...Lori & I can't figure it out, they don't play up at all...but anyway) and apparently while they were dancing, said new girl decides she wants out, so she turns & tells Rhiannon "you can't dance properly" and then stomps off to the door to whinge to her mum that she doesn't want to be in there!

The teacher promptly put new girl in her place & told Rhiannon not to listen, she infact can dance very well! *gush with pride* So big fat raspberries to the new girl!!!!!!!!!!!!! :P



Ayla...well, she's very clingy of late...and as I type, is standing at my legs whinging! I'm OVER it I tell ya! I love this baby to death, but there's not a moments peace when she's awake!
Ok...so 2 hours after typing that bit about said clingy baby, she's sound asleep & I'm back!
She is very very funny most of the time though ;)
Her all time favourite thing to do is help unpack the groceries! Her eyes light up when she see's the green bags strewn across the kitchen floor! She does a little happy dance, and proceeds to unpack one item at a time. She is pretty spot on with what goes where (ie. cupboard or fridge) but this weeks shopping proved to be a little confusing for some reason! Right or wrong, she wanted the 3 pack of paper towels to fit in the door of the fridge, and fit they would not! She wasted a good 15 minutes of her night trying to get them in that door, but they just wouldn't go!
Still having what most would call 'settling issues'. She still neeeeeeeeeeds to feed to sleep, which is fine with me, but there seems to be no end in sight. I'm sure Nathan is scared to death that she will still be needing to be fed to sleep when she's 10 LOL! At least once a week he will say "we really need to teach her to put herself to sleep, the other two were well & truly by now"
Now that's something I don't do...nor like to do...compare the 3 of them. They are all sooooooooooo different!

Onto business matters (because I would say me next, but that's all I seem to do now...kids & business ;))
VERY exciting times around here for BHB! I have managed to (somehow...still a bit baffled at how this one happened) land myself a retailer in a far away land. I'm not going to reveal where it is, because I've got a competition running atm, the first person to guess correctly where (what country) our new retailer is located, will win themselves a BH Original Ring Sling! This comp started last night, and I've had HEAPS of entries so far...some of which are:
Europe
The US (neither of which are valid...needs to be specific ;))
London
Canada
Malaysia
France
ummmm...think that's the majority of what people are saying...but alas, no winner!
So if you think you know where we are headed, send me an email (bearhugbaby at optusnet dot com dot au) with the name of the country, and you'll win yourself a Sling! How easy can you get ;)

Other news...***NEW SITE***NEW SITE***NEW SITE***
I got a bit sick of there being kind of 2 different sites...the info part & the shop part, so yesterday I got busy & made it ALL ONE! And I must say, I'm very happy with how it turned out! Even tempted to pop the template up on the Cube Cart forums to see if I can make myself a $ or two :)
So, anyone still following my blog, even after the long-winded absence, let me know what you think of it!

Well...for now, I'm going to leave you with descriptions (because the pictures are still on my camera, and it's a good 10 steps between me & it) of the PJ pants that I made for the girls...I used these fantastic instructions (scroll down a bit to the Comfy Pants) to make up a pattern, and I can tell you, it is MUCH easier than I first thought to follow! Tomorrow I attempt to do the same for me, but I told Nathan I need to find a HUGE newspaper for my pattern ;P

On that note...I bid you farewell
B
xx

Must blog!!!

I neeeeeeeeeed to put this into print! It's one of those things that I will think of later in life, and won't be able to remember, so I MUST put it in print :)

Rhiannon was chatting away the other day about when she grows up she wants to have 2 girls & a boy baby just like mummy! But she is going to have all 3 of them together as babies (do I see triplets in her future?)
Then she went on to tell me that the babies' daddy will be a bit shorter then her daddy & his name will be Pete!
Now, normally I wouldn't read anything into it, but what posseses a 4 year old to state the name of her future husband!?!?!?!

She went on to tell me all about her wedding she will have and described that she will have pretty glasses just like mummy & daddy had at their wedding to drink the wine from. Still baffles me that she can remember an event that took place when she was just 20 months old! And in detail! Smart girl that one!!!

In other news....hmmmmm....Connor has another appointment with the Specialist on the 1st to get the results of his hair analysis. Not sure what the plan is when the results are given, but I guess we'll see!

Ayla is a delight! She makes me want another bubba, cause I know this gorgeous stage of being a sponge of knowledge is very close to being over :( They grow up waaaaaaaaaay too fast!!!

Ok...now I know why I don't blog much, I now have a toddler grabbing my arm saying "mum mum, boo boo" (translated to I WANT MILK ;P)

Best be off
B
xx

The flip side

Welcome to a new year!
Hard to believe it has come around so quickly!
My baby was born LAST year! :( She is growing up so fast!
Walking everywhere now, not a single crawl in sight! That happened really fast. There wasn't really a stage inbetween the first steps & proper walking where she crawled as well, just kinda started walking! It still makes me laugh when she walks cause she's too tiny! I'm used to my kids being big when they walk LOL

Rhiannon is going good. Having her 'moments' but on the whole is good. Her biggest problem at the moment is not listening! She drives me nuts with saying what after she is asked something, even though I know she has heard us. It is a habit, and one we are going to get her out of!
Christmas for her was a HUGE milestone! We finally got her to give her "Green Pinky" to Santa in return for her presents, which she did happily after a nice big hug. Left him out with the beer & bicky we left. She was so grown up about it all. And she hasn't asked for him once since! She has been taking longer to go to sleep at night, but is still sleeping like an angel!

Connor is going good. He is a lot calmer now days. Nathan didn't give him his vitamins one morning when I went out, and it was the worst day we've had in a loooooong time! So they must be doing something!

I think I'm coping ok with the holidays, mind you, Nathan only went back to work yesterday after nearly 2 weeks off, so haven't really had to go it alone too much.

Work wise, I have a fair bit planned for this year. Sending out information to several people who are interested in becoming retailers, so hoping to increase my stockists.

Other then that, not much else is happening. Just the regular SAHM type things! Knitting up a storm, but finding I start something & can't finish it because I get bored. SO looking for little projects that don't take long LOL

Ooopppsss...I smell a smell!

B
xx

End of year already!

And Christmas already! 2007 has gone much faster then we would have liked! So much has gone on.

January saw the birth of our 3^rd gorgeous baby, Ayla Belle. She has gone from being a tiny helpless bundle, to a walking, chatting, absolute delight in the space of 11 short months! Celebrating her first Christmas is going to be so much fun!

February saw Connor starting at a new (mainstream) school within the Special Ed Unit 2 days a week, while continuing at AQ (Autism QLD) Therapy Centre the other 3 days. He seemed to settle in to the new schedule quite well.

Although we’ve had some very rough patches this year with Connor, we seem to be turning the corner somewhat with the implementation of a new diet and vitamin therapy. Still waiting for huge changes, but I guess these things take time!

Rhiannon has been a delight (most of the time) and turned the big 4 in November. Along with turning 4 came the realisation that she is able to stand her ground, and speak her mind! With parents like us, I’m not sure where that came from ;-) In an effort to try & get Rhiannon some outside stimulation, we have put her name on a waiting list for a private Kindy, but don’t like our chances of her getting a place. Looks like it’s time at home with mum for just 1 more year.

Business wise for me, all is going great guns! 2007 has been a great year for our business, my busiest yet. Lots of new things took place, as well as some improvements on old things. 2008 is shaping up to be bigger & more exciting, which no doubt, brings with it hours upon hours of hard work!

Nathan is going well at work. Plugging away & working hard, as he has always done, although we often talk about when will be a good time to take on our own business for him. We’ll see what ’08 brings.

Although the last 12 months has gone by super fast, there isn’t really any ground breaking news to report. We are all happy & healthy, so can’t really ask for much more.

To finish the year on a positive note, take a look at my new blog - Little Miss Knitalot
I'm very happy to say I have made up, tested & written my very first pattern! I LOVE my new bag, and hope everyone else will too!

Merry Christmas to all!

B
xx

OH MY GAWD!!!

I'm part of the IN crowd ;)

Yep...I got an invite to Ravelry, and OMG I'm in LOVE! I don't know where to start! I'm a little overwhelmed to be honest!

Ok...must scoot & get to deciding what I'm going to knit first! Oh the possibilities!

Help us rais some money for the RCH Foundation!

I know that Christmas can be a tight time money wise for many people at Christmas, and I wouldn't ask unless I knew the people of this fantastic community were such a caring bunch of people!

You may know that Bear Hug Baby has been donating $2 from each sale since March 2007, and we have helped raise quite a lot of money since then that goes directly towards the Royal Children's Hospital Working Wonders Foundation!

Now we are asking our past customers & anybody else who would like to help to dig (even just slightly) into the Christmas money tin & donate just a small amount to this fantastic cause!

You can read a little bit about our connection to the Royal Children's Hospital by visiting our Everyday Hero Link

Thank you for even taking the time to read this announcement. Every single cent helps!

Give your children an extra big cuddle tonight, and thank your lucky stars that they are not spending Christmas in hospital!
Merry Christmas
From The Bear Hug Baby Team

__________________

DIG DEEP THIS CHRISTMAS & HELP US HELP SICK KIDS!

Leave the poor bloody tree alone!

I'm all for putting in a sign to display a house for sale, but don't nail it to a poor defenseless tree!!!!!!!

Oh, btw, the house across the road is for sale ;) Will be interesting to see how long it takes to sell! Maybe the psycho neighbours will be gone sooner then first thought ;) They are renting, so here's hoping that the new owners want to move in themselves :D

Off to do something productive ;)

B
xx

Happy birthday to me ;)

How sad am I!?!?!?! I'm saying happy birthday to myself LOL!

Well, it's sad, but true, I'm no longer in my mid twenties! I'm officially 27! And don't feel a day over 20! Honestly, I don't feel any different today to what I did 7 years ago! Is that good or bad?!?!?!

Well, I was spoiled rotten yesterday (which was actually my b'day)! Nathan was a gem, and got me a gorgeous bunch of flowers, and booked me in for an hour long massage. LOVE that man!
Then we went shopping for some more goodies (read, wallet, bag & shoes ;)) & then out for our first dinner without the kids since our wedding :-O Yep, 2 1/2 years since our last dinner alone!

The thing that got me the most was the gorgeous card from Nathan.
On the front it read - To my wonderful wife, you're the best in the world
And on the inside - ...and I'm the luckiest!

Awwwwwww....he's such a sweetie when he wants to be...

Ok...well, that's all I've time for, cranky baby at my feet!

B
xx