23 June 2007

The Countdown Begins

I’m starting maternity leave on July 13th. I think the time will go really quickly, because I’m delivering some training courses next week and the week after, then just have about a week and a half to wrap up loose ends with projects. I have to study up this weekend on the training course material… someone else prepared most of it. I don’t want to be standing there going, “Um, so the hydrodynamic theory is that, um…”

I do feel a little exposed because my studies in college didn’t really focus on this stuff (I only had 2 classes in fluid mechanics) and I’m only in the “water industry” due to the high demand for engineers to plan and design water and wastewater systems. Everything I know, I learned on the job by teaching myself!

The weather here is getting really cold. It’s a little warmer today, but a few days ago it was super chilly thanks to some stiff breezes. The cold made me dash out and buy myself a pile of clothing (some op shop stuff and some new maternity stuff). I am feeling anxious about breastfeeding in this weather! July is the coldest month, though, so hopefully I’ll only have about a month of this type of weather before things warm up again.

I still remember making myself a cave out of our spare room when Anya was still a tiny baby (guess she would have been 2 months old). I had the heater on in here at all times and then could breastfeed and sleep in comfort. I don’t know how that will work this time. Obviously I won’t simply be nesting in one room, with having to look after Anya as a toddler as well!

My latest Anya news is that she now weighs a whopping 15 kg. Plotted against World Health Organisation growth curves, this takes her into the stratosphere… see blue line below. I haven’t measured her height since April. I probably should do that to see if she’s had a growth spurt that way too, or if she’s just incredibly dense. Ha, ha.


11 June 2007

Mothers Group 2nd Birthday Party


My mothers' group is still meeting -- apparently this is quite unusual! We had a group party for all the kids today. Susan organised the venue booking and made the birthday cakes while Terri and I made up the party bags (Chinese noodle boxes with pens, stickers, toys and small treats). Rather than one big cake, there was one decorated cupcake for each child, and they were all decorated differently. You can see them at the bottom of the photo.



The party was a great success. We had it at the Everton Park Hotel (for you non-Aussie readers out there, that's a pub!) It doesn't seem like a hotel would be a kid-friendly party venue, but it was fantastic. They have a large fenced playground, video gameroom (more fun for the dads than the kids at this stage), and musical carousel. (You can spot my reflection in the carousel's central post, upper left in the photo.) Anya's favourite spot was the pretend shop. That's her at the cash register and Terri sitting to the left, with Terri's daughter Sienna at the back table and Will as the customer at the right.