The last day of 2007

It is the last day of the year and the little baby is still happily enjoying its time in the belly. I have had a few mild sensations on and off the last few days but nothing near to what is yet to come when the labour kicks in.

We have made no fancy plans for tonight, even though it will be our last New Years Eve without kids for a very long time. We will just pack a picnic bag and head up to Kings Park when it cools down tonight.

This morning we had a lovely brekky with different fresh fruits. See the picture below, what do you reckon the white area of the kiwi looks like? It's almost like a map of Australia!!!

Aren't kiwis from New Zealand ;-) ?

Also, posting a picture from this morning of the tummy, last pic taken of it for the year.

Yes, I do have pants on....

To all of you, have a lovely NYE and all the best for 2008!!!

Christmas Day and the heatwave

Perth residents could be excused for saying "this was the hottest Christmas Day that I can remember", because it was for some. By 1pm the temperature had risen to 39 degrees Celsius, nine above average, making it their hottest Christmas Day in 39 years!

I'm happy to announce that we survived the heat by spending the late afternoon on the beach, with what felt like the rest of Perth's residents. As the AC at home couldn't keep up, we decided that the best place to spend the evening was in the cinema!

Lunch at Shawn's parents was a relaxed event with the usual exchanging of gifts and lots of food.

Christmas Eve

As most of you know, Christmas Eve is when the Swedes celebrate x-mas. This year was no exception and even though it was a hot day we could enjoy a nice seabreeze in the garden in the late afternoon.

As Liza's parents are currently in Perth visiting, we decided to spend the evening together at our house. So Liza, Adam, Nisse and Lill came over in the afternoon and we enjoyed some glogg and gingerbread cookies.
Later we had a small version of a Swedish x-mas buffet with meatballs, potato dishes, pickled herring, eggs, beetroot salad, crispbread, sausages and of course snaps. Drinking snaps is an old tradition in Sweden! Snaps is a small shot of a strong alcoholic beverage taken during the course of a meal. Dozens of songs are to be sung during the meal, and every song demands a round of snaps, ensuring a fun and sometimes quite tipsy event :-).

It was a great evening with lots of fun (even though the closest I came to the snaps was to smell the empty bottles)...

Almost X-mas...

I have done my last day at work (to embark on the journey as 'stay at home mum') and Shawn has played his last game before Christmas = holiday mood!

The meatballs are rolled, the fridge filled up with foods and drinks and the Christmas tree is finally dressed.

The weather Gods are in a good mood too because the temperature is slowly rising. It seems like the weather man will be correct about the expected 36 degrees tomorrow...yep, it will be a HOT day. Hopefully the food and the heat won't get me into labour, we would love a few more relaxing days before bub arrives! But it's just a matter of time now until the baby decides to come out and introduce him/herself. Judge for yourself by the pictures below...

Go Lionel, Go Lionel!!

The elderly always says that time goes quicker and quicker the older you get. But I already find that time flies so I'm wondering how I'll be when I'm old....

4 years have passed since Shawn and I got together, and last Sunday we celebrated our anniversary.

At brekky, Shawn gave me a little present, a pearl neckless for mummy to be.

Later in the arvo, he packed a picnic bag and drove us to the Sandalford winery in the Swan Valley 45 minutes outside Perth. It was a special night in the valley this Sunday as a major outdoor concert event was going to be held at the winery. There at the vineyard next to the lake we enjoyed the picnic, whilst watching a very mixed crowd with old fans starting to drop in.

At 7.30 the concert kicked off with one of our old favorites, the incomparable Lionel Richie!!! (For those who have no idea who Lionel is, you can sum up his resume with a close to 100 million albums sold, 22 Top 10 hits, five Grammy Awards, an Oscar and a Golden Globe! )

Joining Lionel as special guest artist was Australia's disco diva, Marcia Hines, nowdays probably mostly famous as the "kind judge" on the TV hitshow 'Australian Idol'.

It was a awesome concert with lots of singing along and many laughs! What a great surprise my sweetheart had up his sleeve for our special day!

Thanks for a lovely evening on the green Shawn!!!

A tiring and crazy week...

...as I ended up spending a few nights in the hospital!

After celebrating "Lucia" with the Swedish Club on Sunday afternoon, I found myself with no appetite and feeling uneasy. On Monday morning I started to vomit. At first I thought it was just a bit of morning sickness but I couldn't keep any fluids down at all. So got a bit worried and called the midwives who said it's quite common for women in the later stage of pregnancy to get tummy bugs. They said to call back if I still couldn't retain any fluids by 6pm.
By 4pm I was really dehydrated, disoriented with fever and sore kidnies. For these reasons I ended up in the hospital with IV therapy.

At one point the doctors were a bit concerned as the baby's heartrate was too high and their monitor showed that I had contractions two minutes apart. But after a few hours with the drip and antibiotics, bub and contractions settled as the fever declined.

I had to stay for a few nights as they wanted to keep us under observation and to do some tests. I had no clue that certain tummy bugs can cause nasty urinary tract infections and even premature labour! Thank God, I'm feeling much better, however, I'm extremely tired from this little drama and the drugs that were pumped into my system the last few days.

I had never stayed in hospital before but as I started to get better, I felt as I was in prison and was so unhappy. The ONLY thing I could concentrate on was that I wanted to GO HOME! I missed Shawn soooooo much and our own home with all the comforts.

When I was discharged and came home, the house was spotless and upstairs in the bedroom was a little surprise....Shawn had put together the babycot!
I was stunned when I lay my eyes on it. I sat down on our bed and just stared at the cot. The reality of the baby's arrival hit me and I was overwhelmed with feelings. Very soon, someone, a little person that we yet don't know, will move in with us and moreso, he/she is here to stay!
I love the cot, I think it's so pretty and looks perfect next to our bed...

Peace at Birth

Our thoughts and conversations about how to prepare for labour are popping up more frequently now as the tummy gets bigger. It's only 5 weeks to the estimated delivery date and as we all know, this is an e s t i m a t i o n only and little bub will arrive whenever he or she is ready. Therefore, it's well on time to start thinking about what's coming...

Tummy picture taken yesterday, 5 December 2007

I want to trust and believe in my body and the job it is designed to do but am well aware of that the confidence in the body can quickly be thrown out of the window if the pain gets to me!
One of the midwives at the Birthing Centre talked warmly about a woman who works privately with a non-medical approach to childbirth. She has designed a CD that can be played over and over in the labour room. It is created to assist the release of all prior programming about labour and birth which can then enable a woman and her partner to establish an inner confidence and trust in the labouring and birthing process.
Many might say this is all just bull**** but considering that the Birthing Centre's strongest drug is gas...we have decided to get the CD :-).

Updates...

Last week Shawn was in Adalaide to play cricket, and came back on Thursday. That evening we drove down to Fremantle for some dinner at the beach and the craziest thing happended; I ordered steak! I never eat a big piece of meat but for some reason, that's what I wanted to eat! Bub must be growing...

In Fremantle after dinner

Over the weekend, there has as usual been lots of cricket but also time to buy a cot, a midwife appointment and relaxing dips in the ocean in the evenings.

There has also been election here on Saturday. The 2007 election for the federal Parliament of Australia took place after a 6-week campaign in which 13.6 million Australians were enrolled to vote. (You get a fine here if you don't vote! )
The opposition centre-left Australian Labor Party, led by Kevin Rudd won the election against the incumbent centre-right coalition government, led by Liberal Party leader & Prime Minister John Howard who had been in power since the 1996 election.

Lets see what Kevin has in store for us!

Thank God for Steve!

After two long weeks with discouloured hair, today I finally got to meet the man who was going to change my life to the better. Steve is Nooshin's hairdresser and she has always talked warmly about him.

So, there I was, meeting Steve this afternoon, and when he hears about the hairdisaster he says: "I don't know how they managed to stuff it up like this, seriously, this hair colour doesn't suit you at all, your face looks completely washed out!". "Thanks" I said, "you're the only one so far who is honest enough to agree with me on that." To me, this was a great start of the appointment, there and then I knew he would be different.

After three hours, Steve had given me a new haircolour and a new fab haircut that will be easy to manage as a new mum, hence no blowdrying or styling required. He was amazing and so artistic in his way of dealing with the hair, that I was watching him working rather than reading the magazines. This was the beginning of a new relationship and he is now my offical hair guru!

A Baby Shower doesn't have to be pink or blue

On Sunday we held a little 'get together' in the backyard, a combined baby shower and housewarming. The afternoon was lovely and the weather was perfect. About 30 people turned up, most of them at the same time so our little backyard was crowded to say at least!
Shawn kept the bbq going, cooking up some of his famous chicken wings and skewers, whilst I mingled and showed people around in the new house.

We (or I was...) were so concerned that we didn't have enough food and drinks, however we ended up packing doggy bags for people and I also brought the final leftovers into work to get my colleagues to finish it off :-).

I had decided to do a traditional Swedish "fika" as dessert so 7 different type of cookies was served which of course was waaaayyyy too much after the buffet in the garden. Luckily cookies are freezable, so we have heaps of pastries to enjoy whenever someone decided to pop by to say hello. So feel free to come by at any time if you're having a sweet tooth!

Since time flies when you're having fun, we totally forgot to take photos. But we had a great time, and we also received some beautiful gifts from our guests. Thanks heaps to everyone!

For those of you who couldn't make it, instead of pictures, please see below for what was on the menu. This is all just to tempt you and make sure you'll come by next time we throw a party- especially those of you who are overseas freezing your butts off as we speak :-)!

Life is full of surprises

Spent Sunday and Monday indoors as the temperature rose to a staggering 39 degrees. Never knew that you can get a heat rash even though you're not in the sun, but I got one on the cheeks, which luckily is fading as the weather is cooling down again.

The nursery is ready and the only thing missing is some baby room furniture and the baby itself of course. It's a weird feeling knowing that a third person is permanently moving in with us very soon...

This afternoon I had an experience that completely stunned me, and I'm still a bit stunned actually....
When I was studying at university I had a fall out with a good friend. She treated me, without any reason what so ever, really really bad. A few weeks after the fall out, I got the opportunity (the one we always wish for and never get) to tell her how I felt about what she did to me. She pretended as if I had just told her that the sun was shining, smiled and walked off. I couldn't believe it! How could anyone act without regret or shame when someone just told you that your actions really hurt them?!? I was extremely upset and it took me about two years to fully except it and get over it (I know, I'm a bit slow...).

As I was walking on my way back from lunch today, I bumped into this old friend. We were heading the same way and she started chatting to me.
She told me that she is about to move interstate soon and that she was happy to see me. She continued and said that I always seem to pop up in her conversations and she has been wanting to apologise for her bad behaviour. She said that she felt terrible about how she treated me, that it had all to do with her own insecurities and I didn't deserve what she did to me. She asked if I could accept her apology.
"Of course" I said. "It's all good. I was very hurt by what you did and it took me a long time to get over it, but of course I forgive you". Then the most unexpected happened: she started to cry!!

I didn't know what to do, I was so stunned, standing there in the middle of the street with her crying her eyes out! So I said with a smile: "Don't you know not to cry in front of a pregnant woman? Because then I start to cry too!" Sometimes being pregnant comes in handy...
It seemed to do the trick, she stopped crying and smiled and said: "Well, you don't understand, this really made my day. This has been buggering me for so long and I didn't want to leave Perth without apologising to you...you're a really good person and I'm so sorry for what I did".

Well guys, what do you say? How often does these things happen in real life? I have certainly gained some trust back in the human race, and that there still is a chance for us to make earth a better place!

Updating the blog with a picture from today, with some friends from work.
(For all of you who have requested pictures of the "ginger look", here you go :-). If you don't think it's that bad, keep in mind that my hair was originally almost as dark as Carmen's, who sits on my right side.)

Cath, Janet, Carmen and I at Neds Cafe for lunch

9 weeks to go

I think it has finally hit us that the arrival of little bub is not so far away. Mainly because little bub is not so little anymore, or at least I'm not... pictures below are taken this very morning.

The last week there has been a drastic change in the quality of sleep, for both of us, hence why pictures are taken 'headless' (and also because of the ginger hair colour...). Shawn has told me that I usually grunt when I toss and turn in bed, move the preggy pillows around and try to find a more comfortable position. Most of the time I'm not in deep sleep anymore and therefore I have started to hear the grunting myself and I can tell you, it's not a pretty sound...

On another note, tonight we're going to try out our new BBQ for the very first time, exciting stuff! Heading down to the markets soon to get some bits and bobs for the dinner and when it cools down tonight we're gonna light the BBQ up.

Maria's modelling career is over

For the last few years I have been a regular model at Toni&Guy for colour and cut. I have always been really pleased with the results as I can choose the colour/style while the stylist practices certain techniques.
Yesterday I had an appointment for colouring. Since summer is around the corner I thought it would be nice to go a bit lighter by lifting the base colour a few shades and then put a few highlights in as well. Normally it takes between 2 to a maximum of 3 hours, since the stylist is in training. This is all good, especially being pregnant and having a day off, it gives an opportunity to relax a little. However, I think yesterday was my last modelling session ever....

Something went wrong and the colour didn't turn out as it was supposed to. (No it's not because I'm pregnant as they use other products on the hair when expecting.) But instead of admitting that it had gone wrong and they were going to try to fix it, they just apologised for it taking so long. It's really quite amusing that they tried to play it cool, especially since I, by looking in the mirror, easily could figure out that something was wrong. My hair was of the same colour as a carrot....

Well, time passed and my parking ran out so one of the girls had to run out on my behalf to issue a new parking ticket...

Started to get hungry...

Some more time passed and we were up to the third colour application (at this point I was looking like Gwen Stefani), and the parking house was closing for the evening. This time I had to call Shawn who had to come down to the salon to get the keys and re-park the car and hand me some fruit to eat. I was starving!!

Finally, after a total of 6 hours (!!!) in the chair and five different colour applications, I was able to leave the salon. "Very fashionable!" the stylist said as I walked out through the door.

This morning Shawn said to me with a grin on his face: "Good morning Ginger! ". I think that more accurately describes my new look...

Getting sorted...

Time's flying, x-mas is just around the corner and there is lots to be done before then! The nursery is in a complete mess (never got around it last weekend...) and the living room area needs some "cheering up".

So last night we went to our favorite store (no need to mention it's IKEA) to pick up an armchair with a complementing footstool. As it's painful for my hips to sit in the sofa, I've been longing to get this chair.

When Shawn, the handyman, opened the package to put the chair together it became clear that we had received the wrong coloured frame! Later, back at IKEA's exchange counter, he was told that the colour we want is out of stock and won't be in store until early January!! Until then, our dear friends Moa and David are the knights in shining armour as they are lending us their armchair whilst they are in Sweden for the next three months! So all good in the end :-).

(In January we will have the same coloured frame as on the picture but with a dark brown leather seat, as leather is easier to wipe down than textile...yep, we're aware of the mess that is about to come...)

Time for Daylight Saving

Tonight we are putting our clocks one hour forward, it's time for daylight saving again! I love the fact that you can come home from work and still enjoy a few hours before sunset, it's in the late afternoon when it starts to cool down and you want to be outside.

Been over to Liza and Adam's tonight. Had a great time with lots of chit chat. Shawn is in Hong Kong playing cricket so it's nice to have some company in the evening.
It's funny how much I miss Shawn, even though he only left on Thursday morning. Even though it's hard to be apart, I think it's an important reminder of that you should not take your partner for granted. Being apart makes you realise how much you care, and you learn to better appreciate the time you actually spend together.

The weather prognos for the weekend is rain, rain and more rain. The temp has almost dropped to winter tempature and I had to turn on the heater today! Tomorrow will therefore be spent trying to sort out the nursery which is in a complete mess. Saying that, I'll also make sure there is some downtime relaxing in the sofa (not many weeks left for lazy afternoons....).

Bub is growing and so is mummy...

Added is a ultrasound picture from week 18. The woman at the hospital said that he/she had a beautiful spine and of course mummy was very proud :-).

Also adding a picture of my belly from week 26 + 3 days, Oct 6 2007. The photo is taken in Shawn's parents garden.

back in business

It's been a few months since the last post, however from now on things will be different :-). Maria is added as a author so I will make sure there will be updates including photos.
Today I'm adding an ultrasound picture taken in June 07, when I was in week 12. Little bub has of course grown heaps since then and we will having another ultrasound in week 32, which is only 3 weeks away from now!

Happiness!

It has been a strange few weeks since the last post. The feeling of father hood is there but it has not yet sunk in. I think due to the distance between Maria and myself, I have not been able experience being the supportive partner I will have to become. Once we are together again I am sure it will start to become real.
I have watch a dvd entitled "The Secret". It was on Oprah and by my surprise I new someone who had a copy. It was very strange to watch this DVD. The secrect, if you must know, is the law of attraction. You attract things you want in your life through your thoughts, feelings, emotion and actions. Sounds simple right? Well to be positive and happy ALL the time is very hard but its getting easy. Know want you REALLY want is the easy part. Seeing yourself and with it, believing you will get it is a little harder. But by far the hardest part is to integrate it into every part of your life. When you feel tired or down normally it spirals into a bad day, but today I felt this happening and turned the day on its head by acknowledging how I felt and making the effort to be happy, greatful, and positive. Since watching the secret I feel more good things are happening to me. Some will say coincidence but has anything good ever happened to them!!! I count 3 things that have happened as a result of changed thinking. I know its not wishful thinking, its positive energy!!!

Thats it from me and my inspirational blundering!!
Good night and Sweet dreams to all.

ps. I'm very Happy!!

The Happiest Day of My Life

I am going to be a DAD!!!!
Maria went to the toilet and did the pregancy test. What was my worst fear was also a dream come true. The minute that passed while waiting for the test to tell us what we both already new was not a nervous one for me. But when Maria said "Yep, thats what I thought......Its Positive" I couldn't keep the smile off my face. The whole next day I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

It is amazing feeling and to be apart from you partner when you find out is a very strange feeling to say the least. You can't give each other a hug or kiss. You can't jump up and down and shout. All you can do is say great news.....congratulations.....How do you feel about that?

Well now the real work begins! :-) While Maria is throw up and feeling nautious, I am on the other side of the world doing what I love. That hardly seems fair, but I miss her incredibly and even it sounds like she is dieing, I want to be there dieing with her. Due to genetics i'll never fully comprehend what she is going through but its harder not being physically there by her side to support her.

There ends the First Ever blog of the Calrey Family. May there be many more!!!!