This week passed and I truly don't know how! So much so that I realised I haven't blogged at all or read any blogs.... I have now been to all my reading list and got up to date with my fellow bloggers.

Greg is right now at his nanna while we are getting ready to go out on a date....looking so forward to it as we haven't done it in a longggg time. Ok so why wasn't around this week?

1. getting ready for a massive garage sale this Sunday which I hope it will be a success.
2. buying shelving for Greg's room, which now looks wonderful (pics next time)
3. my dog volunteering which I wished to do to twice a week but for now will remain once weekly
4. mother & baby club which Greg is sooo enjoying and now has started to clap for real :)
5. visiting my nanna who is so sweet and love her to bits

Anyhow, this week was packed and I can't wait for next week...not only it will be a new month, but hopefully it will be less hectic!

I wish you all a nice weekend now am off to get ready so me and my man can have our quality time!

so much to teach and show

Sometimes, I am at home reading a book or an article on parenting and it overwhelms me how much there is that we need to look at and take care of so that our children are brought up whole, happy, confident.....



It seems impossible that I/we can do all of that.... and yet, I know we can and we will. Maybe it won't be perfect but we will give our best and that is all our child(ren) need...knowing we did our best for them. Knowing that there are so many others likewise going through all this gives me strength...I know I can come online and read your posts and feel safe knowing that we are doing right and not alone in this journey. That through all of the blogging world I can find support and help when needed :)

Thank you for being there and for helping with our parenting journey!

It rained, but we had loads of fun!

It was quite last minute this party....I hadn't intended to really do one, but than I couldn't not do him a little something with his sweet little cousins! So we did the party. IT rained a lot yesterday...maybe to remind us that a year ago it to was raining! Today it's a nice sunny day again and we will go out later on to try our new tricycle given by nanna Rita :)
Greg enjoyed his day, looks like he knew it was HIS own personal day - he woke up at 4 am, napped only for an hour all day and loved every second with lots of smiles and laughs and hugs.....I can say that it was the best day I had for a long time and the party was the best ever I attended.
Here we are cutting the cake! In Malta we also have a tradition called quccija

Basically on their first birthday you select things which could mean trades like for example book for librarian or writer etc you put these on the floor and it is said the first 2 objects he grabs will be his work when he grows up. There is only a video of this, but Greg grabbed the rosary- so he can be a priest and the credit card-banker? I will await anxiously to see if these predictions will come true!

And here are some more pics....

hmm ma said its cake


ugh disgusting!

now wine...thats much better!

The birth

A year today just as I write this post I was induced and contractions started more or less straight away. Between now and 6.25 pm Gregory was born! I never imagined my delivery to be so quick...I had hyped myself to over 24 hrs of labour and since the doctors decided to induce me (they said the baby was too small at 2.5 kg and the placenta not working well!) I had also started trying to get to terms with the idea of having IV and not being able to have the natural birth I had hoped for.

However, my sweetest Greg you decided that since they wouldn't let you in mummy's tummy to simply get it over and done with and come into the world as quick as possible. As soon as you were out, I demanded to have you and tried to breastfeed you although I forgot completely what I should do. You were probably not the best looking baby with all that waxy stuff you were born with, however, your face was gorgeous and I simply couldn't stop looking at you.

I didn't feel exhausted, I simply felt at peace with you in my arms. I felt extraordinary that I had birthed you, that I had done well, that I refused all kinds of pain relief, that you were finally in my arms....It was the moment I felt most proud of myself and my achievements. You were so small and yet I could already see your potential in those curious, alert eyes. The names we had chosen for you flew out of the window the moment I laid my eyes on you...I simply knew they didn't fit and after 24 hours or so of thinking and searching I found the perfect name Gregory - meaning watcher- because that is what you did from the moment you were born watched every single little thing that came in your line of vision. Till now you still do that, you are still discovering and enjoying every discovery and yet you have come so far now-- you walk for one, you only nurse to sleep, you say a few words, you tell me with all your might what it is you want or need and don't accept no for an answer......I feel the pain of seeing you grow knowing that too soon you will fly from your nest and yet I can't help wonder at your perfectness, I can't help feeling pride every time I see you smile, chuckle, laugh, walk, talk, eat and sleep peacefully in our bed cocooned between me and your dad- happy, knowing we are there to keep you safe and warm.

I love you!

wordful wednesday

Today we had the 2nd meeting at the mum & baby club and it went really good. Gregory seemed happy when he realised where he was and quickly went down to play with toys. He also tried to interact with children today which I enjoyed seeing. He was smiling and laughing and banging things so much that I couldn't but understand his enjoyment of this weekly get together. I had fun to talking with mothers airing concerns or simply passing over ideas to each other. We also had some cupcakes to celebrate his birthday with all the kids :) he seemed a bit confused of the fuss.... here are the pics of the day!

smiles

Am in bed next to my sleeping puppy. Its been a busy week so far. Thankfully after a week of rain the sun was out shining today...it felt like Spring and loved it. Looks like the sanctuary dogs loved it to as they all lazed in the sun quiet. I enjoyed it more than usual my time there today - maybe the Spring weather did it all as I felt calm, relaxed, at peace......I cleaned their water bowls thoroughly and patted those which snuggled near and played with the ones that offered balls to be thrown for them. Time passed quickly there, it was exhausting and yet felt completely happy.

Now looking forward to tomorrow...its time again for the mum & baby club and we will share cup cakes for Greg's birthday :)

Hugs to you all, may happiness envelop your sleep and warmth snuggle you in bed. May you wake up full of praise and smile throughout your day!

Perfect Fridays

Friday is my best day of the week. Although its cleaning day in our house, the process is normally relaxed....Greg plays with his toys or whatever catches his attention or sits by watching me wash the floors and after we play and eat and sleep ...well he does, I am here blogging....I realised what a wonderful morning we spent and that yes it usually always is on a Friday and felt more happy and at peace.

This Friday, we started the day with me doing yoga and he chuckling at my poses and running inside wardrobes. Next we took breakfast and tackled the laundry - well kinda as been raining non stop and only now the sun came out! Following that was dusting, sweeping and washing floors. Greg played and napped through this and we than snacked and while he played I continued my deep cleansing by sorting clothes to keep and to give. We had lunch, a bath, some more play and now he has his long nap while I catch on blogging :)

He should wake in an hours' time and that is TV time :), dinner cooking and well more play what else? It feels good, we found a good routine on Friday....and only now I am seeing that. tgif and i hope you pass a great weekend!

let's have a stroll

Here's a short video of my man walking :)

Mother & baby club

Today, for the first time I joined the mother and baby club organised by the Cana Movement. This movement, works with the Roman Catholic Church on a voluntary basis and also does the marriage preparation courses required by Church and other parenting courses among other things. The club is for children aged 1-3 years and it happens once a week.

They have toys to play with snd slides and swings. They learn interaction with other children while playing, they learn to eat together and sing and talk and more...... I enjoyed meeting mums from my same area with children within my age group and most importantly Gregory enjoyed it a lot! I will have to take the camera with me next week and take you a few pictures and next week it is also his birthday :)

The only thing I didn't quite like is that all children whatever age are together and the older ones can be a bit rough with the younger children, but otherwise it was a nice experience and also VERY tiring! So much so that Greg fell asleep as soon as I put him the car seat and hasn't woken yet and actually even I tired out with trying to keep track at him there so he doesn't hurt or hurt others while trying to converse with the ladies.

However, enough on me, now I would like to congratulate yaya for her finally joining motherhood! Yaya and her husband have tried for 7 years or so to have children and have been finally been given a boy by adoption. So please give Yaya your best wishes of love and happiness.....hugs to you girl it would be sooo nice if I could actually hug you for real!

Now I better go and start preparing for Greg's first birthday!

Gregory is walking

Two weeks before his first birthday!
Last week, he started doing two steps unprompted by us and by the time weekend arrived he was doing 5. This morning he crossed a whole room all by himself to come near me without me calling him or anything!

I am so proud of you puppy! and whenever I see that huge smile of happiness on his face- smug with achievement I feel like I am in the air :)

Now only his teeth are still missing....maybe I should contact the lost and found department!

me, myself & my hair

Thursday my cousin and I went for a complete restyle of our hair! It was exciting as we haven't done that since secondary school/highschool or something like that!

Here is the end result for us...I am happy with my new cut and feel that tiny bit more confident! me & my cousin minutes after our hair cut experience

me the following day

...doesn't it seem so much better though just coming out of the hairdresser... ah well I either have to learn quick to keep it nice or erm go there everyday?

How about you, when was it that you restyled your hair last?

book review: book you hate reading to your child

Mamakat's writers workshop this week had as one of its topics a book review .....in reality I don't hate reading it coz its ugly but simply coz I have read it so many times that I practically know it by heart and whenever I grab the book for him to read I start yawning so much I find it hard to concentrate. Has this ever happened to you?



Other than that the book is fantastic and its Dr Suess's In a People House. This was originally a book my mum had bought for me and my sister and apart for us two, it also have undergone my sister's children attention before ending at my house. So although it can get boring, I love the book....its a love/hate relationship...what else can I say.



And how about you any books which you truly hate or just can't take it to read any longer?

wordless wednesday

First

This year holds a lot of firsts!

• My first year as a SAHM



• Gregory's first birthday in 2 weeks (21 Jan)



• My first blogging anniversary (1 Apr)



• My first year as a volunteer at the dog sanctuary

For me that is a lot of firsts when normally I don't even think about them! It's quite exciting and I can't wait for it all to unfold and show me further the way I am meant to take in this life of mine!

Our lives are journeys that never end, its up to us to define if our journey should be difficult or not, worth living or not, exciting or not.....with our daily decisions, we change the course of our lives and the way we usually look at it. We can push our comfort zone to understand ourselves more or we decide to stay stuck in that way of life for fear of what otherwise might hold.

Each day is a miracle, will you live it?

balancing act

Somewhere along the way, I lost my perspective! I forgot that I was a woman and wife, not just a mother....but concentrating just on that I couldn't do a good job either of being a mother and my patience felt on the brink all the time. Just last month, I wrote an article about balancing this for my mamascircle website and it dawned on me that I had completely lost my own balance and was swaying out of control like a ship in a storm. It was such an eye opener for what was happening around me....coz really I knew something was wrong but couldn't put my finger on it and then here I was writing this article and it all clicked into place.

I decided to go according to what I wrote, so right now I am indulging my womanly needs with shopping, a new haircut and daily yoga. I am as my new year resolution mentioned trying to communicate more with hubs and apart for that being a bit more attentive of him and will restart our once a month dates! and I already see an improvement in my motherly skills....although my patience is still brittle, its already started to get slightly better and Greg is laughing more. The challenge is to make sure I keep all this in mind everyday so that I keep the balance as much as possible and to continue bettering (does this word exist?) all areas of my life for the much needed harmony.

sorry the mess....

...but have been trying to find a new template...I think this is the one!....for the time being anyway hahah

Welcome to 2010

It's already the second day of the new year and I hope your first day was a nice as mine :)

In 19 days exactly my little puppy will be a year old.....I am still trying to figure out how it passed so fast! Right now we got a big problem with him! I think he is frustrated coz he still lacks the ability to communicate properly and coz he still ain't walking. Anyhow, we are having a few bad days with him being all the time whiny, wanting to be held or else screaming his head off...any suggestions on how I can deal with this situ is welcome as not sure if I should let him scream/cry or not....instictively I don't but I wonder if these can be tantrums which are giving him the bad idea of how things should be dealt...so many questions and so few answers!!!!

Otherwise I am excited with this new year as it gives me opportunity to re start things from scratch :) and I have loads of things in my head to keep me going all year round LOL...now all I gotta do is make a list of reality and how I can implement each......