Toothy pegs!

I am very excited for my little girl today who let her first tooth pop on through at 5 months. At the same time my maternal functions are shuddering at the thought!

Upon checking Jackson's details, he beat her by one day! Now that is just freaky - teeth in sync!

My gorgeous girl!

I took a photo of my gorgeous little girl yesterday and I am absolutely in love with it. So of course I had to share! She is 5 months old tomorrow.

The second child syndrome

It is so true what everyone says about having more than one child. You capture every moment of your first child's waking moment on camera, spend money on professional pics as a wee bairn and of course they need everything you come across while out shopping.

Come the next child, the poor thing misses out on everything!

I am determined not to be like that with Madeline, but can already see it happening. I don't want her in years to come to say to me "why are there so many photos of Jackson around but not me?", "why did you never do this with me?", etc. Unfortunately it just happens without you even thinking about it!!

Getting bugged by the bugs

When your kid starts day care all you hear about is the amount of bugs they pick up ......... followed by how great it is for building their immune systems.

The first part couldn't be more true with any and every bug finding their way home! Can you tell that I got struck down with another bug this morning ........ so needed an opportunity to whinge!!

17 months on I'm still waiting for the last part to happen. Just as one bug goes another lands and spreads around the family! It wasn't so bad until we added another little Keen to the family, who picks up these bugs. Her first was at four weeks, which turned into bronchitus. It isn't nice having one so young sick!

Whinging aside, what is interesting though is that there were reports that came out just a few weeks after Jackson started daycare, which suggested that kids attending day care or playgroups are at a lower risk of developing leukaemia.

Good or bad I just wish these damn bugs would go away!!

Entertainment Value of Master 2

As Master 2's ability to converse and understand increases significantly everyday, the entertainment value also increases!

I have caught him breastfeeding his teddy twice - but added to that he actually lifted his shirt and also burped him afterwards. Far too funny!

He also tried changing the nappy on Madeline's doll (not that one exists!), as she had apparently done a poopy! (see the video below)

I also caught him out of bed one night, but found it very hard to get angry at him as he was talking into his door chalk, which he was using as a phone.

Oh the imagination of a two year old! I am sure this won't be the last of these funny moments either.

Throw away the key!

Last week I wrote about a couple in the US who tried to sell a five year old girl to child pornographers, which horrified me. Sadly, I have since read plenty more terrible crime stories against children, with a toddler and child found dumped yesterday in a garbage bin in the US; a mother who mutilated and cannibalised her three week old son in the US and a mother in Australia who encouraged her 13 year old disabled daughter to engage in indecent acts, photographing her naked and sexually penetrating her with a sex toy.

As a mother, it makes me sick to think that people can actually carry out these crimes on such innocent and unknowing children. Actually, whether a mother or not I would still be just as horrified. These gorgeous beings have done nothing wrong other than simply been born. Let these parents rot in jail and throw away the key!

The losing battle

I'm losing the battle ................ losing the lovely hour or two of peace every day when the kids sleep. Bed is no longer something that Master 2 is looking forward to during the day anymore. Boohoo says mummy!

But I have discovered an alternative. Since Master 2 wouldn't sleep the other day I thought we may as well make the most of the day. As soon as we started driving, sure enough he was sound asleep. So now around 1-2ish every day we go for a daily drive around the area and as soon as he nods off, I return home and resume whatever it is that I do.

How long will this last for I wonder!

Logical conversation with Master 2

I love having conversations with two year olds - pure logic!!

Me: Are you tired?
Master 2: Yes

Me: Are you really tired?
Master 2: Yes

Me: Do you want to go to bed?
Master 2: NO mummy!

Oh the joys! Mummy could do with some sleep though! ;0)

Lock them away for good I say!

I would love to know what makes people do the insane things that they do. I just read an article on ninemsn about a guy in the US who tried to sell his girlfriend's 5 year old daughter to child pornographers in exchange for an apartment and a used car. Who does that???????

Thankfully the judge saw sense and has locked him up for 30 years with an additional 10 years of supervised release after his prison term. If I had my way, he would never be let out ....... or thrown into a mental institution for the rest of his life.

The girl's mother is also serving a 20 year prison sentence after pleading guilty to one count of selling a child.

If frustrates me so much when there are so many people out there that desperately want children and can't have them. Then there are people like this couple in the world who should never have been given this fantastic gift of life.

What gives me some light relief when thinking about this is that hopefully the little girl will now be in much better care with lots of love poured on her. Added to this is the hope that this couple will have a pretty rough time in jail as people like that are targeted by other inmates for the terrible crime they committed against such innocent little beings.

Career vs children

Career vs children - the million dollar question (well it would be nice if it was!!)

After taking 12 months off work to spend some quality time with my gorgeous little boy Jackson, I hit the "what is best for my career and what is best for my child" dilemma.

Prior to Jackson entering the world in April 2007, I was working in a demanding Asia Pacific marketing role for an IT company, which involved long hours and lots of travel - both OS and locally. When it came time for my maternity leave to finish this year, I was faced with a big dilemma. Do I go back to my job? Do I work at all? Do I work part-time? Can I travel with a child? Do I put Jackson into daycare? What is best for Jackson? What is best for my career? What is most important to me?

Sound familiar?

While I have worked very hard to get where I am in my career over the past 11 years, spending quality time with Jackson is now the most important thing to me.  I have always wanted to be a mum and being there for him means the world to me!

After much soul searching, my decision was made easier by the fact that since I went on maternity leave, India had come into the mix in a big way - not only lots more travel, but also much longer hours with India 5.5 hours behind Australia. Working longer hours and traveling wasn't an option for me .................... and I certainly do admire anyone who can do it successfully with little ones!! 

So I did something that I always said I would never do ........... I started my own business providing marketing communications services - and much to my surprise, the work just flowed on in!!

My dad has run his own business for about 30 years and I have always seen the challenges that go along with it, particularly people not paying on time.....or at all.  And it is something I too have faced in the two short months since I started my business.

But at the moment, it is perfect for me - it gives me the best of all worlds: having the flexibility to work from home and contribute money into the family; keeping my career open; and also having the quality time with my beautiful son.  I guess I am fortunate enough that I can do this with my career, where many people's jobs won't allow them this luxury. 

I do sometimes miss the comraderie of working in an office with my colleagues, but having the quality time with my son is something I would never give up. I do feel lucky!