Mother Of The Year.

Well, lets just say if there was a mother of the year award I would not be winning it this week! It certainly has been a week of ups and downs in The Rampling home and some days I have felt as though I was always one step behind...

This week I managed to forget to pack formula in Audrey's school bag, didn't pack myself any dry clothes for after swimming lessons, let her sleep in our bed twice, accidentally broke her favourite toy, forgot to buy formula (and only realised at bed time so had to call Luke while he was at work and ask him to bring us some), let her eat way too many baby num num biscuits and watch way too much TV and just before I sat down to write this I managed to break her new drink bottle!

Do you ever have those weeks where your confidence as a Mumma gets shaken? I know the toy picnic basket and drink bottle can easily be replaced and I have learnt to always have a back up tin of formula and double check all bags before leaving the house. But I do worry that letting us slip into bad habits such as having a cheeky sleep in our bed or letting her eat too many sweet biscuits will affect her development. Audrey isn't crawling yet but over the last few days she has started "bum scooting", saying "ta" and pulling herself up on the furniture. I do try not to over stress about her crawling as I am a firm believer that babies will achieve their milestones in their own time, but is my parenting hindering her? Most weeks her diet is perfect, she sleeps regularly and in her own bed and I am not running around like a chook with its head cut off. But every now and then things just crumble and nothing goes to plan and these are the weeks where I am left feeling like a horrible Mumma. I have often wondered am I alone in feeling this way?? I would love to hear some of your stories of "less then perfect" parenting, if for nothing else, to make me feel better about a week of bad parenting in our house!

Love, Elle.

Ta.

Don't worry guys it is Wednesday not Sunday but I just had to share something with you all....

Lately when I give Audrey her toys or some (much loved) food I have been holding the item in front of her and saying "taaaaaaaaa" "taaaaaaaaaaaa" "taaa Audrey" and normally she just stares at me with a quizzical look. Tonight whilst enjoying our nightly ritual of a bubble bath she decided she just had to have her green frog who was bopping up and down behind me. I retrieved the floating frog and placed it in front of her "taaaaaa" "taaaaaaaaa". Audrey reached up, grabbed her frog, looked me in the eye and said the tiniest little "ta", my mouth hit the water!! Surely not?? So I found her favourite pink duck and showed it to her "taaaaaa" "taaaaaaa", Audrey reached up again and the same little "ta" was whispered out her gorgeous little mouth. I was so proud I yelled out to Luke to tell him about our polite and clever bubba.

I know it is only something small but I am just amazed and delighted by every new skill my beautiful daughter learns...

Love, Elle.

Working Nine to Five, What a Way to Make a Living.

Excuse the title of this post but whilst writing it all I could hear was Dolly Parton's "Nine to Five" in my head...

As some of you may know I have returned to work, I couldn't believe how quickly the time came for Luke and I to swap roles! I returned after having nine months off and Luke became a stay at home dad. Going back brought with it a mixture of emotions; guilt to be leaving Audrey, excitement to be seeing the great group of people I work with (well most of them), sadness that my time as a stay at home mum was over, and most of all confusion. For years my role was easily defined by a position description and business card but then came a new role for me, I became Mumma! I couldn't quite figure out how I was going to be both Elesha the career girl and Mumma. I felt I had become a completely different person at home to work and wasn't sure how to merge the two. As a worker I was goal driven, hard and often hot headed. As Mumma I am a complete softy, I enjoy craft and mess and the only goal I set for myself most days is to get out of my pj's by 10am...

It took me a little while but I soon realised I had nothing to worry about, I could be both Elesha and Mumma and better yet my softness from mumma-hood rubbed off on my attitude at work and some of my organisation worked its way into our home life. I settled into work doing the basic teller duties three days a week, I enjoyed having some "Elesha" time and my mind felt like it was starting to come out of its 9 month hibernation. Then a few weeks in, an opportunity presented itself. My regional manager called to see if I would be interested in a role in our lending department. It is a role I have always enjoyed and found interesting but could I really take on the added responsibility and the additional day? Could I leave Audrey in the care of someone else for another day? Would I remember how to do the job considering I hadn't been in the role for over a year? So many questions floated around my head but I knew the real reason I was feeling uneasy... I actually really wanted the job but I felt guilty, shouldn't I want to be at work less not more?? After talking with Luke I soon realised there is nothing wrong with wanting to achieve at work, I could still have a career and be a great Mumma. I accepted the job and i am happy to report after my first week in my new role I am a little tired (that extra day was a killer) but feel great about my decision.

Love, Elle.

Ten Things...

I have been Mumma to Audrey for nine months now and this is a list of my top ten MUST haves for making life a little easier....

1. A Good Camera - to capture all those special moments, especially having family far away.

2. Muslin Wraps - as a new born they are great for the obvious as they have a natural "stretch" but now if we are out and Audrey falls asleep they are the perfect, light cover for her pram.

3. A Dryer - I know its horrible for the environment and our electricity bill but it has saved our life on many occasion when I have forgotten to wash uniforms and only remembered at 11pm the night before!

4. Nappi San - for all those 'accidents' and food mishaps.

5. An Emergency Stash of Dummies (or chu chu's as they are called in our house) - Audrey is a dummy girl and I have decided they are like socks, they just disappear..

6. The Bumbo Chair - from an early age Audrey wanted to sit up (probably due to her projectile reflux) and not only was our bumbo used at feeding times but it also encouraged her to learn to sit unassisted. Plus it is easy to chuck in the car and travel with.

7. A Magic Bullet - we did have a steam and blend machine but I have found the magic bullet is actually better as you can change the consistency of their veges etc as they grow older (not to mention they take up a lot less room in the kitchen).

8. A Comfy Feeding Chair - we spent a lot of time in our feeding chair (especially at night when she was a newborn) and our big, comfy chair provided the perfect space for cuddling and bonding time while feeding.

9. A Spare Bib - Audrey is a puker so one bib is never enough!

And most importantly...

10. A "Take Each Day As It Comes" Attitude - cause you just never know what you are going to get!

Love, Elle.