Daddy's Little Girl

Technology has advanced so much - to the point that scans now come in 3D/4D for babies....for those who cant figure out what things are looking at a 2D scan, these make it all that bit more easier, not only that it gives you that WOW factor as to what your little bundle of joy could potentionally look like outside of the womb. I dont know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Ive seen some people have their scans before, one girl I know of had one done very early in her pregnancy and her baby didnt look very nice in it....they have to be done a particular time when all the features are pretty much done developing, hands, feet, nose, mouth, eyes and ears...

I had a referal for a 3D scan from my GP and I had this done two days after my dad's 55th birthday (6th June 2011 - 9yrs and two days after I first saw my eldest niece in a scan) when I was about 26wks gestation I think it was. Because of how things were with me and Simon I kept it very well hidden, but after I had it done I sent him a pxr with a photo of our daughter in it, I got an OMG! reply to which I thought hmmm ok yea he's VERY angry at me for not telling him about it...(after all he has missed out on two scans already, the first one purely because I started chundering and had to rebook the next day, and it clashed with his job interview, and the second one after that was on what would of been my little angel's 3rd birthday and I just couldnt handle how things were going in my life with all these changes) - it turns out he was just shocked I think at Technology and how they got her in 3D. I felt slightly bad, as they listened to the heart beat during this scan, only it isnt on the DVD recording on it all....Simon at this stage still hadnt heard it...(he later did a couple of weeks later for the first time).

Because Si didnt come to this scan, I booked another one a month later ironically on my sister's 29th birthday (13th July 2011), few days before the recommended cut off period to have them.... this one was purely just photos and video footage, nothing dignostic to it like the last one which as it was a non referal/self referal scan...not one requested for. I think he was blown away at his little girl...watching her moving around in there...seeing her little hands, feet, nose and mouth...the further through we get on in this pregnancy and each little thing he gets to expereince, such as seeing her little face up on the monitor, hearing her heart beating away on the dopler, feeling her kicks and hiccups...it becomes more and more real to him....and he falls more and more in love with his daughter each day. And while we are both scared of pending parenthood I know together we will help each other through it each day, one little step at a time....to give our little girl the best life ever..!!

Amelia-Chloe @ 26.5wks Gestation

Amelia-Chloe @ 31.5wks gestation

Baby Shower: Games and Favours

I posted already a while ago the invites I made up for my baby shower, and possibly the baby word scramble I put together (deprived from a game I found for sell online but I made it for New Zealand like with some words, and taking out a few words and replacing them with others.)

I printed these both out on cardstock - my invites went out in pink envelopes with a wish list inserted with it to give guests an idea of what they could get if they decided to bring a present - things that are still on the list of things we still need to get, but of course not limited to just those things. I sealed them with a little sticker that said "It's a girl" - it was a slightly time consuming process as my printer decided it would start playing up and not print straight anymore, as much as I tried to correct the alingment it just wasnt working so we had to go out and buy a new printer..! (this one has a fax built in with it, which ive yet to test out but our fax started effecting our phoneline about 8 months ago so we had to get rid of it...and YES people do still use them..!!)

I also made some scratchy cards. Which I posted a tutorial too, it was so much fun trialling it out. I cant wait to see how they work on the actual day. My biggest project has been my favours. I had a friend who has a little girl who is 7 months old, and she has been collecting baby food jars for me since her daughter went onto solids....with a few I had left over and a few my sister had, I had enough to get busting out and altering them all into favours to give to my guests. I sterilised them all in milton, and the lids I boiled up with a bit of water and baking soda (since according to milton's box it says metallic items cant be put into the salution). I couldnt find paper I liked, so I printed out a design I had download a while back which I have used on my invites. I cut it down to size, and with a bit of ribbon, scrapbooking paper, and some cute little elephant charms I put them all together, and finished them off with a personalised message.

I struggled trying to find inspiration for them, google wasnt OVERLY friendly to me, but I had found a few blogs and stuff with similar things on them - couple of them had photos of the baby on them with dates, Im not sure if this date was the date of the baby shower or the actual birth date...but the photos seemed to be of the baby after birth.....for me the closest thing I have to a real photo of my little girl is one of her in a 3D/4D Scan we have had done (ive had two done) - so I popped that one with a little message along with the date of my baby shower.

I also brought an 8oz baby bottle to create a game, I did this game at my friend's baby shower I hosted last year only I used a standard narrow neck bottle for it with mixed M&Ms in it. For mine I decided to throw in a challenge of using one of those bottles that have the hole in the middle of them (I dont know what you call them) and I put in plain M&Ms and MINI M&Ms... I sat there counting each m&m into the bottle too..!! Writing down somewhere how many were in it...I really wanted to have PINK and GREEN Pebbles as that is the nick name our daughter has...but that wasnt going to work, I was going to use Pebbles but it just wasnt going to work out cost wise...m&ms seem to be the next closest thing...they all look the same, candy coated chocolate..!

Recycled Baby Food Jars - Altered for Baby Shower Favours

Details on Lid and around Neck of Jar

Personalised Message on the Jars

Guess How Many Lollies Game

Baby Word Scrambled Game

Scratchy Match and Win Lotto Tickets Game

What happened to RSVPing?

Its only a WEEK until my baby shower - and I have been working hard on getting favours and games sorted out for it, very hard task to do when you dont have final numbers so I made to roughly how many invites I sent out. And I have learnt today 2days off the RSVP date I put on those invite that well I have made 3 times the amount Im more than likely going to be needing. Im really upset about it all, I was floored to be honest and I also started to have an anxiety attack over it all, been a few months since I had a major one of those last one would of been about the time some psycho nut bar girl tried to put a major wedge between my daughter and her daddy and seperating the two and taking them away and trying to distroy our little family.

Anyway - I discovered today that some of my so called "friends" really arent friends at all like I thought, slightly peeved at how the world is turning into one where no one RSVPs to things, its highly rude infact and I dont know if it more annoying and a pet peeve to me because I work in the sector of Hospitality that deals with Events, Functions and Banqueting where I know first hand how much hard work goes into the planning and organisation, the preperation, decorating and set up and also the catering not to mention the money spent on it all. I can work a function where I have 900 people for dinner, thats 1800 entree forks, 1800 entree knives, 900 dessert spoons, 900 main forks, 900 main knives, 900 side plates, 900 red wine glasses, 900 white wine glasses, 900 water glasses, 900 ramikins, 180 sets of salt and pepper grinders, 180 sets of oil and vinegarette bottles, 90 table number stands, 27000 candle holders, 900 nakpins, 90 bread baskets, 180 butter plates with 900 rounds of butter on them that have to prepped, polished, folded and set out by me and my department. So yes I get a little anal over RSVPing to events with people....after all your not really paying for anything except for an optional gift, no one most certainly not me expecting you to spend up large on a present....a present after all is just the thought that counts at the end of the day. So yes I find its just slightly rude when people DONT RSVP to something....

All I can say is thank god I didnt start buying food and drinks..!! My biggest fear was having a repeat of my 21st and over catering cause I sent out invites to people and they didnt RSVP and that was people who specifically asked me for an invite...(thankfully my work place at the time came in late after they finished work and cleaned the food all up and the drinks too). I had created a list of foods I was going to have...but at least now I am only going to be catering for a few people - people who I know now really are my friends and will be there for me as my daughter grows up. There are a few people I invited who I know couldnt make it for real true reasons, for example they are overseas or going away....they have to work a 660 pax function (thats my co workers I invited) and some have other prior arrangement for that day. But a selected few I have now started to think about the number of times I have gone to things they have put on, and how Ive gone out of my way travelling to them for such things or taking time off work to attend to have them not RSVP.....to have ME chasing them up and then having them going oh sorry yea cant come. Ive decided now if I get invited by them to something again, I dont think I will bother going now...

My anxiety attack today from all of this centralised about how I invted people and they didnt RSVP, and me chasing them up about to have about 33.3% of those people say NO. I then had a heart breaking vision of my little girl sitting at a table, little party hat on her head, cake in front of her with a candle burnt out and melted into the icing of a cake, table/room fully decorated for her birthday and NO guests at all....if thats how people are towards a celebration towards her pending arrival what are they going to be like when it comes to special events like her birthday...(thankfully Im not religious and she isnt having a Christening!!).

SO I ask - what happened to good old RSVPing to events?? With technology these days, sending an email, a text, a facebook message or even picking up the phone the old fashion way not enough to say yes or no?

Happy 25th Birthday Dane...!!

Happy Birthday to my amazing and talented accountant Dane..!! Im still older than you by 21 days....though I think you might just be a little bit more smarter than me....just a little bit...hope you had a great day. Thanks so much for all your support and advice and continual friendship over the past couple of years we have known each other, its much appreciated..! Your a knight in shining armour and a life saver..! xx

Happy 1st Birthday Emma!!

A year ago my youngest niece Emma was born..!! Its been a whole year now watching you grow up, learning new things...your such a gorgous little princess..!! Aunty's Princess Emmy..!! Hope you had a FANTASTIC day..!!

Lots of Love from Aunty B.

xxx

National Culinary Comps 2011

Last weekend was the National Culinary Fare - they were earlier this year due to the Rugby World Cup coming up in September of this year. Due to being pregnant, I didnt enter the class I have done for the past two years running, its a very costly class for me as my designs I go all out with instead I entered into the Mystery Box Table Setting - it was a class I watched my first year at the Nationals in 2009 and Gina wanted me to enter it last year but due to the status of Innovative Table Setting changing from Junior to Open it was more expensive so I didnt enter it last year as planned. However due to costs of Innovative this year I decided to go with just entering a class where I only had to pay the entry fee.

My class was 9am on Monday 18th, and the plan WAS to get up or at least leave at 7.30am to get ready and head over to the showgrounds however both me and mum slept in waking up at at 8am instead, this meant a huge rush to getting dressed and ready and off into the car. We hit heavy traffic half way there, and took the main road after getting stuck on the motorway. I started to accept that I wasnt going to get there on time, I had to get my stuff out of the car, and check in at registration and then go to the arena - by the time we got to the showgrounds it was 8.55am, and by the time I got to the arena it had JUST gone 9am and they had already started before 9am......! I burst into tears even though I accepted it on the way over I wouldnt get to compete. I cried even more when Gina saw me and gave me a hug....THANKFULLY I was allowed in by the chief judge, it just meant I had 5mins less to everyone else. Im forever greatful to him for allowing me in..!

I managed to get my table set and do something with what we were given in our mystery bags - I didnt know how much time I had so I went as fast as I could, I tried to be professional at the same time and show that my arriving just a little late did not effect me at all. As it was a finished before everyone else did, but it because I knew I wasnt feeling well....I had the TVNZ crew from TV1 News who just barged on in and decided heeey lets just sit down on Bronwyn's chairs for her setting she is trying to set up, and lets oh put our coffee cup on her table....and lets just get this angle of the girl next door doing something amazing with wire on her vase and block Bronwyn's way to her table she is in the middle of trying to lay cutlery and glasses down on...yea..ohh thats right - they ended up getting kicked out for that..!!

By this point I had started to feel it was just all against me - to add to all of that, I had NO entree forks in my set up they supplied, as a result I didnt lay the entree knives down...and I had a main fork instead of a dessert fork....which I put down anyway...it was fustrating as I was trying to get the judges attention to say hey hello I havent got all my cutlery here....AND i also had a different vase to everyone else..!! My mind was going what on earth is going on here??? I did my best with what I had though and got something set up..I wasnt overly happy with my napkin fold as the napkins just werent started enough for that fold...it was after I had done them that I thought hmmmm should of just gone with a simple roll and made napkin rings out the wire I was given. The Oprah Fold wasnt working.

It was after I finished my setting that I thought argh...I should of made a runner and sashes with the paper supplies and plastic table cloth...and should of added a bit more height with the white bowl given - but then I saw that a couple of others had done that and didnt want to look like I was copying them. I was just over it after that - I did the best I could, and I decided then it would be a good time to collapse.

I hadnt eaten, I hadnt had anything to drink for a few hours... and Amelia was just starting to wake up and move a bit. I was removed and sat down, given water, food and a paramedic checked me over. After an hour I was all better and went home for a few hours before going back for prize giving. I had figured out I would get either a merit for entering or a bronze medal. And I was right with getting a bronze. Im not sure on the score numbers as it wasnt put up...I think possibly because its a class that compulsary for those doing Waiter of the Year. So I dont know where I ranked per say in the class over all.

This class is usually one that later in the day and usually the same day as Innovative Table Setting but this year it was different. I guess I had a point to make - that pregnancy wasnt going to stop me from doing what I love and have a big involvement in. Next year I plan to do more, enter the same class for a bit of fun, maybe do Innovative Table Setting as well....and start getting into judging.

Tutorial - How to Make Scratchy Cards

While Im on a slight roll getting things organised for my baby shower which is only two weeks away, I finally decided I needed to get some more games together. In a bid to save money I have been using photoshop alot to create alot of designs for games and printing them off. I found on Trade Me and a few other sites while looking for game ideas scratchy cards for baby showers and I decided I wanted to make them for a little spot door price - so it was with the help of google that I searched the idea and found a few different methods to make them. Some had people actually buying already made scratchy stickers that you can stick down on your project others had actually methods. I found one that had quiet alot to it and seemed expensive (ie paraffin wax and embossing powder) but this one is a simple easy and cost effective way to make them.

What you need to make your scratchy cards is:

• Card with design on it
• Clear Contact Paper (clear duraseal)
• ACRYLIC Metallic Paint
• Dishwashing Liquid
• Scissors/Trimmer/Punches

STEP 1: Print your design out onto cardstock, it pays to do a test run to get your size right on a piece of printer paper - this gives you the opportunity to figure out what size you need to cut your Clear Contact Paper too for your scratchy part to be over. (I used the Fiskars Lever Punch Circle Medium to cut out mine) Once you have done this, adhere the contact over the image/word you want to be hidden to later be scratched out.

STEP 2: Mix together in a paint palete or container TWO parts acrylic paint with ONE part of washing up liquid.

STEP 3: Paint over the clear contact - allow to dry and apply another coat or two if needed to make sure the image/word can not be seen.

Once fully dry they are ready to scratch away...!!

Antenatal Classes

Last week saw the end of me and Simon going to Antenatal Classes, we started them 4 weeks ago on the 21st of June, really scared and worried about what to expect from them. I had booked them in May some time, and I was really worried I would be all alone at them, while everyone else was couples being all happy lovey dovey towards each other, all excited and stuff....well I wasnt that far off with it being all couples, infact all the couples in our class were married..!! However we were all expecting our first baby...there was one other girl there who had a lady come with her but I dont know what her story was.... Lord only knows what people think of us, they probably assume we are married...who knows...the first class was a bit scary, especially when it came to introducing ourselves to the class. I had no idea how I was going to handle it or what I was going to say. Seemed like all the guys were introducing themself and their wife.....but I must say I was so proud of Simon for taking the bull by the horns and getting it over and done with!! It was short, simple and to the point without going to much into detail.

Each week we got given a some information that we covered over three hours, from birthing options and vaccines right through to bathing baby and breastfeeding. We watched a few DVDs including a couple of birth ones and one of shaken baby syndrom - that one made me cry, though you know its going to happen but when you see the baby being shaken it really cut me up a bit...think we were all shocked in the class over it.

Over all I think we learnt a few things we didnt know about before, or had only a little bit of knowledge on. We managed to bond a bit more - especially for Simon with his little girl as he has been away for 3 months. It was his chance to feel her hiccups and kicks....though he seemed to miss most of them, she will be all still and quiet when I notice it and he would put his hand on my belly.

We are now feeling a little more at ease with the pending birth of our first child - and I think our educator did a brilliant job of teaching us and filling out confused, scared and lost minds on information and answers to our qestions. Its also great to know that we can simply send her a text message with anything questions we may have still. We have also promised to bring our daughter in after she is born..!

Thank You Card

So I got a little crafty on Tuesday night and got a thank you card made. It was our finaly night of Antenatal Classes and I wanted to thank our wonderful educator for the past four weeks of things she has taught us, I wanted to get her a present but didnt really know what to get and time was running out, I only just got the card finished when Simon turnt up to pick me up and go to class..! My mojo is totally lacking and missing...!! And I realllllly want it back..!

Meanwhile here is the card I made.

In memory of my Lil' Angel

I thought of you and closed my eyes,
And prayed to God today.
I asked what makes a Mother,
And I know I heard him say:
A mother has a baby,
This we know is true.
But, God, can you be a mother,
When your baby's not with you?
Yes, you can he replied,
With confidence in his voice.
I give many women babies,
When they leave is not thier choice.
Some I send for a lifetime,
And others for a day.
And some I send to feel your womb,
But theres no need to stay.
I just don't understand this God,
I want my baby here.
He took a breath and cleared his throat,
And then I saw a tear.
I wish that I could show you,
What your child is doing today,
If you could see your child smile,
With other children who say:
We go to earth and learn our lessons,
Of love and life and fear.
My mummy loved me oh so much,
I got to come straight here.
I feel so lucky to have a mum,
Who had so much love for me.
I learned my lessons very quickly,
My mummy set me free.
I miss my mummy oh so much,
But I visit her each day.
When she goes to sleep,
On her pillow's where I lay.
I stroke her hair and kiss her cheek,
And whisper in her ear.
"Mummy don't be sad today, I'm your baby and I'm here."
So you see my dear sweet one,
Your children are Ok.
Your babies are here in My home,
They'll be at heavens gate for you.
So now you see what makes a mother.
It's the feeling in your heart.
It's the love you had so much of,
Right from the very start.
Though some on earth may not realize you are a mother,
until their time is done.
They'll be up here with Me one day,
And you'll know that you're the best one!
~Author Unknown

My sweet little pepi - its 4yrs ago today since you left mummy and daddy to go up to Heavan, I asked myself everyday just what me and daddy must of done wrong to not have you here with us today, but I know deep down in my heart you left for a reason, and gave us a second chance to do what we had not yet done but have been able to do now. I know your up there in Heavan now watching over your baby sister.....Ive had days this year where I have thought and asked myself why did you leave, but she didnt....everyday I think of you, I have never stopped loving you....and everyday I pray to you to watch over your Daddy so.

We love you so much and miss you too - that will never stop happening, even though we may not show it so.

RIP Keiran Stefano James "Gummi Bear" Denham-Bell.

6th June 2007 - 4th July 2007

Happy 25th Birthday to ME!!!

Im a quarter of a century old now....thats kinda scary....the past four years have been a bit of a blur for me, the past two I have spent competing in the Culinary Comps and this is the first year since 2009 that Ive not spent doing so, well I am competing just that they are at a different time this year compared to previous years due to the RWC.

Its also hard to imagine that a year ago I was planning on having a big party for my 25th......only here I am spending another big birthday pregnant again..!! That wasnt fully what I had plan, so instead of having a 25th Im having a Baby Shower in a month's time.....I here by declear a big 30th Party....(says me who keeps saying she wants a 5yr age gap between her daughter and a possible next one....do you hear that daddy dearest?? Mummy wants to have a party for her 30th....so anywhere after Amelia's 5th birthday I am happy with being pregnant again...! lol) - having said that 30th bday party two months before Amelia's 5th Birthday Party...ohh yea so not going to work...darn it!! lol

Must say - nice to see my Dad forgot my birthday again this year.....but its so easy for you to remember your eldest daughter's birthday 10days later...I dont understand you anymore..I really dont.

Thanks to all my friends and family who have been sending me birthday wishes, and to my boss also who emailed me....Im craving Black Forest Cake big time....