Well Hello Sailor!!!  This is a photo of the fleet visiting NYC......spectacular site watching them come up the Hudson River....just something else to see.  Don't you just feel for the mums & dads that serve on these ships?  How they must miss their little ones and miss their families??  How they protect our way of life every day??  How they put themselves in the path of danger so we are all safe and we sleep well at night??  These men and women are so brave.  They deserve nothing but the highest respect from us.  Anyone that dares say anything negative about them should stand in their shoes for a day or so.  Go live their lives.  It is so easy to forget what danger they face every day just so we can go about our every day errands, school, go for that run in the park, go ride your horse, take your kids to a movie...whatever we do.  I salute our troops.  I am in awe of their bravery. 

I thank them for making my little boys world safer.  

This is my horse Joshua.  I called him Josh.  I bred him and broke him and trained him.  He was a wonderful loving, happy, eager to please, fun loving horse....He was a pure Arabian and he won at many many shows.  He was my friend.  During times of extreme darkness in my life he was there.  Always a friendly soft nose in my face....a nudge in my side, a look that would just make me laugh.....I swear I would get to the stables early in the morning for our ride, and during winter, when it was still dark outside, he would be all snuggled up under his blankets and laying down in his stable.  He would absolutely refuse to get up. No joke.  Would not budge.  I mean you could sit on this horse while he was laying down and he would just look at you as if to say "you can sit there all you like but I ain't gettin up"....  If I was late to feed him, he would push his butt up against the stable door so that I could not get in.  He would turn his head just enough so that I could see the disgust on his face.  Do you think he would move this butt???? No.........Not until he was ready.  No slapping that butt would move it.....I would just end up having to laugh.  He was simply teaching me a lesson.   Josh was one of those horses that would gallop up to you in an open field.  You would call him and his head would pop up and his ears would go forward and he would call out to you and come at you at a FULL GALLOP.....hahahahahaha.  It was truely an exercise only for the brave because he would gallop right up to you and then suddenly slam on the brakes so he did not hit you.....He thought this sooooooo funny.  Ah Josh.  When he passed away it broke my heart.  Our pets are our family - Yes??  What would we do without them...He was so wonderful in so many ways......I still miss him today.  Hopefully he is galloping around in a huge sunny field filled with wonderful green grass and lots of other happy horses to play with......oh and maybe a couple of human souls to mess with just for fun.......

My Little Comedian

It is 9.10pm and  am sittng in my sons room trying to get him to go to sleep - the past couple of nights have been a nightmare.  He will not go down to sleep - he babbles hysterically - it is not crying, it is babbling.Hysterical babbling......"dadadaddadaahahahahdadadamamamamama" yelling this.  

I am not a let them cry it out fan.  I am not emotionally equipped to do that.  I would drink us out of every wine and liquor in our apartment and then go get more......Then I would become more emotional and my husband would want to jump off the balcony.  Not pretty.  

So, I sat him up in his crib, and he stopped his babbling immediately..........ahhhh peace.   But now he is currently  peering at me thru the slats....actually quite funny as he goes from gap to gap to get a better view......but if I laugh at him I am done for.........so I am trying to ignore him....so friggen funny tho........hahahhahhaaaaaaaaaaaaa oh goodness I need a glass of wine....
Last night we did this until around 9pm when he finally did go to sleep, and then slept thru until 6.30am.  Nice. 

 I think he is starting to suffer from separation anxiety of some sort at nght.  He is quite happy to go down in the morning for his nap - this is what I don't get.  Why is he happy to go down in the morning yet the night is such a different story.....???

So I figured that I would just sit here and answer emails while he works out whatever it is in his head that he needs to work out.  He is being so funny right now - just gooing and gahing me - and peering at me....honestly....WTF???  HAHAHAHAHA.  such a friggen comedian.

 He has his butt in the air right now and is sucking on his sheets......it is so bloody hard not to laugh at this little comedian....now he is lying on his tummy talking to me and perring thru the slats at me.........I am biting my lips not to laugh at him........Where do they learn this??????  He is so tired.  But so determined not to sleep......

G'day folks,

Good morning New York!!!  I mean does a spring morning look any better than this???  That is downtown NYC taken from my terrace.  What a day.  Makes you happy to be alive eh???  Would not be dead for quids.  The Hudson is sparkling in the sunshine.  New York welcomes us with open arms.  Life is good.  

Cheers.

This is my nephew and his "girlfriend" - they have been dating for a couple of years now ... this photo was taken at Jindabyne Rodeo - in Australia.  It was at Christmas time - I went home to Oz to visit my family - we went to this rodeo which was just great fun.  My nephew came over to my sister (his mum) and asked her for some money so he could buy his girlfriend some hot chips (otherwise known as fries)....which he promptly went off and bought!  They shared them as they watched the bull riding.  My husband called them and they turned and just smiled and he took this photo.  I love it.  Just the best.  Oh did I mention that they are 7???  Oh just adorable.  They have their wedding planned.  I am not kidding!!!!!

I cannot wait to take my little boy to the farm.  I cannot wait for him to see the Kangaroo's in the front "yard" when he wakes up in the morning......to go out and feed the chooks (chickens) in the morning......to watch the shearers shear the sheep and see the lambs playing.  It is going to be a blast.

When people ask me what I miss about Australia, these are the things I miss.  Hanging with my family just for the fun of it.....my nephews...my neice....my sisters.  The morning sounds.  The smell.    Don't get me wrong - I love where we live now.  We have a spectacular view over the Hudson River and on a day like today it is just sparkling in the sunshine.....the boats are coming and going - on a weekend all the sailboats are out and it is quite a sight to behold......in the evenings the sunsets are spectacular.  The sun bounces off the buildings and the water and turns everything golden.    Just beautiful.  Driving out to see my horse, it is just gorgeous at the moment.  Everything is so green and lush.  So opposite to where my sis lives....everything so dry - yet so beautiful.....

We live in such a beautiful world.  I am so excited to introduce my son to it all.  He has so much to look forward to!!!!

Two Little Boys - ANZACS

ANZACS.....

Growing up in Sydney, Australia, this song was one of my favorites as a kid.  Has a great theme to it about friends......I thought I would share the lyrics with you:

You can paste this into Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmL3m2zcoOI .

This is a great song with a wonderful story and meaning to it........

Two little boys had two little toys 
Each had a wooden horse 
Gaily they played each summer's day 
Warriors both of course 
One little chap then had a mishap 
Broke off his horse's head 
Wept for his toy then cried with joy 
As his young playmate said 

Did you think I would leave you crying 
When there's room on my horse for two 
Climb up here Jack and don't be crying 
I can go just as fast with two 
When we grow up we'll both be soldiers 
And our horses will not be toys 
And I wonder if we'll remember 
When we were two little boys 

Long years had passed, war came so fast 
Bravely they marched away 
Cannon roared loud, and in the mad crowd 
Wounded and dying lay 
Up goes a shout, a horse dashes out 
Out from the ranks so blue 
Gallops away to where Joe lay 
Then came a voice he knew 

Did you think I would leave you dying 
When there's room on my horse for two 
Climb up here Joe, we'll soon be flying 
I can go just as fast with two 
Did you say Joe I'm all a-tremble 
Perhaps it's the battle's noise 
But I think it's that I remember 
When we were two little boys 

Do you think I would leave you dying 
There's room on my horse for two 
Climb up here Joe, we'll soon by flying 
Back to the ranks so blue 
Can you feel Joe I'm all a tremble 
Perhaps it's the battle's noise 
But I think it's that I remember 
When we were two little boys 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmL3m2zcoOI

Watch this on YouTube.   This is a great Australian entertainer that we grew up on...........

This is my sisters property - 2000 acres about 1.5 hour drive from the closest town - and I mean a tiny town that consists of a school of about 20 students, a post office and a pub (of course).  It is in NSW, Australia.  We took this photo last Christmas....we were chasing a mob of Kangaroos on an ATV - (otherwise known here as a 3 or 4 wheeler) - awesome fun.....bloody things are so damn fast!!!  We were on a hill top.  Everything you see in this photo is her land.  You can get lost out there....if you lose sight of the homestead, it can be a bit scary.....They know the land like the back of their hands - but us????  Yeah right.....pulease!!!!!  

They are in serious drought.  I mean these are folks that go out and shoot their livestock so that they don't die of thirst.  Not kidding....With all the rain that NYC and New Jersey has had lately it makes me think of this dry and dusty land - so hot and so beautiful.  My sis is something else. She has 3 kids, 8, 6, and 3.  She runs 2 farms like this.  She is quite an inspiration.  She is always on the go.  

We head home to this gorgeous place in December.  It will be my son's first visit.  A very exciting time for me.    We will be having Christmas dinner in 100 degree heat in a little farmhouse in the middle of nowhere....AWESOME......My poor husband???  He will be having shearing lessons in he shearing shed.......no joke.....hahahahahaaaaa

Working.....

So I am really new to not earning an income and it is really strange and really hard to get used to. I never felt guilty about buying anything or doing anything when I was working as well.  It was not even a second thought.......but now I find it really weird and I do feel guilty and it is a strange feeling living off someone else, even though my husband is great and just laughs at me when I mention this....he thinks I am being silly - which I am.  But still this lingering guilt.  With time I am sure this will all go away - well I hope!!!  I mean who wants to feel guilty about hanging at home with their little ones???  

In any event, I was scrubbing the kitchen floor this morning....on my hands and knees literally scrubbing, and I have decided to try and do some work from home - something that may bring in some kind of income, which will ease my irrational emotions and also put some extra cash in our pockets which is always welcome!!!!   But this is not as easy as it should be.....I mean you would think that these days of blogging, emailing, twitering or tweeting whatever they call it (and I have to admit I signed up today out of pure curiosity) that working from home should be a no-brainer.  But no such luck.  

Anyway - my little guy is 6 months old......he is trying desperately to crawl.  Gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth, giggles away and then collapses.  Absolutely delightful to watch.  Makes me laugh every time.  He just seems to grow every day - bigger and bigger and his personality is emerging.  He is quite the comedian.  Thinks he is hysterical.  He sneezes and he laughs at himself, which makes me laugh which makes him laugh.  He gets mad when I don't feed him fast enough.....I mean where do they learn this????  

One of my favorite times with him is in the evening.....I love to give him his dinner, give him his bath and then snuggle with him in our bed for his last bottle of the day - he snuggles right up against me, with the pillows supporting him....and he drinks his bottle and falls asleep.  So cute.  Just a lovely mummy and baby time....I know I know, so many people would say this is a bad habit, however, I feel that it is just our time at the end of the day.  He knows and I know and it is just our quiet time......

We all need a little quiet time?  Don't you think?

My sick horse

My other baby, my horse, who truely is only a baby in the horse world has been laid up now for nearly a month with a sore foot (in the horse world, known as a hoof).  His name is Tee and he is truely my other child.  He became lame about a month ago just prior to a show we were to compete at (of course) and we called the vet....long story short this vet misdiagnosed my poor horse and he had to suffer more than he needed....he had an abcess in his hoof - quite a regular thing for a horse to get, however, the vet first decided he did have an abcess and put a poultice on his foot to try and draw it out.  After 2 weeks this did not work and he was still lame and in pain. I was getting very worried.  So we had xrays done.  The vet said nothing was there.  That he just had  a sore foot and we should put him on painkillers and anti-inflamatory drugs for 5 days and put a special shoe on (put on with glue rather than nails) and he should be good to go..........NOT.  5 days later my poor horse could not walk.  Seriously.  I was in my kitchen crying.  I mean he is a huge bay thoroughbred, gorgeous and gentle, and standing there holding his front foot up....looking at me as if to say "help mummy"....So enough was enough.  I called in a specialist.  He got there 2 hours later.  First thing he did was pull off that stupid glue on shoe.  This was an enormous pain in the butt to do.....but this vet was AWESOME.   Finally he pried this thing off and a huge spurt of black gunk came out of the bottom of my horses foot - not kidding.  Completely disgusting.  Needless to say this vet fixed my horses foot and he is now on the road to recovery.  My horse will be fine and we will be back at work and showing on May 22nd.  But this whole process is yet again a learning curve for me.  My horse has no words to communicate with me, it is all thru touching, the looks, the behavior, the understanding that comes when you listen without your ears.....Our babies are the same - yes??  They have no words, they are unable to express themselves our way.  They have to express themselves without words.......

There was this wonderful moment with my son and my horse......I swear my son, who is 6 months old, knew that Tee was in trouble.   We were sitting on a chair beside Tee while the (good) vet and his assistant worked on him to fix his problems.....My son was so quiet, he sat on my lap, never took his eyes off Tee, and gently patted my leg every now and then - as if to say to me - "It is OK mummy, he will be OK"........it was so sweet and so genuine.  This huge horse and this little boy, communicating.

Tailgaters.....

Why do people insist on tailgating????  Do they really think that if they sit so close to my butt that I can see the color of their eyes that I am going to drive faster?  What are they going to do - play bumper cars and push me along???  

I think of myself as a pretty considerate driver - I spend a lot of time in my car, and I always have my son with me, so I am pretty careful and aware of who is behind me and how close they are etc....for obvious reasons........

If I want to pass I pass and then get back in the right hand lane and let the faster traffic go.....but there is always some wiseguy that has to be on my butt.  I am so sick of it.   I mean I am in the right hand lane and clearly I am not going fast enough!!! 

 I do not sit on the speed limit - I usually drive over it or keep with the flow of traffic - but I don't drive like a lunatic.    I can be driving up to the toll gates and some guy will be right on my butt - I mean, what would he/she like me to do????   How fast is fast enough?  Some people just seem to like to ride on every single cars tail.....you know them, you have seen them....in and out of the traffic.... I get so annoyed by it.   You know the feeling, when you are driving long a road that is just a normal suburban road and someone is right on your tail.....I honestly want to stop and get out and ask them what they are doing!!!!

The other day I was driving home.  We were on a two lane road and there was traffic in both lanes.    I was in the right hand lane and a black Hummer was so close to my tail that I was nervous.  I could not see his headlights.  If I had to stop suddenly he would drive right into me - right into my son in the back seat.  He had nowhere to go.  I had nowhere to go - there was traffic - hello!!!  So anyway he swerves out of my lane from behind me and cuts into the lane beside me, then cuts me off and then goes back again.....you know the scene.....then he finally drives off like a madman.   Anyway I came up to the toll gates, and there he is in the CASH lane in a huge line of traffic waiting to pay the toll.....I have EZ Pass - and I slowed down to pass right by him, and the urge to stop, honk my horn and wave at him was UNBEARABLE!!!!!!  Oh how I wanted to wind down my window and say "HAHAHAHA SEE YA!!!!" and drive off.....but I was a good girl and just laughed all the way home!!!!

Cheers.

Magazine ads these days.....are you kidding me???

OK so I am sitting here reading the current InStyle Mag.....and you have to be kidding me...What is going on with ads these days for clothes etc???  I mean did you see the ad for the H&M dress?  I am not sure what they are trying to do here - and forgive me, but I cannot imagine a woman designed this ad.....I mean the girl is dripping wet, the dress is hiked up around her butt, and she is coming out of the ocean......PULEASE.  What woman out there is going to do this?  This is a mans fantasy and it is just stupid.  It is not going to make me race out and buy the dress!!!!  Is it you???  

Then there is the Blue Water ad.  For goodness sake......I mean a chic lying back in a (yet again) wet shirt with a come hither look on her face.......now is this going to make me buy this scent????  Once again I cannot imagine a woman designing this ad.  Come on girls!!!  Where are our women advertising execs???  We need to kick these guys in the butt. 

I am sick of these ads.    Now the ad for Tresor is wonderful - Kate Winslet looks wonderful and it is classy and sexy - now that is a perfume I would buy.....not because of Kate Winslet but because of the way it is portrayed.  

Then you turn the page and are met with the Guess Ad.  Aye Aye Aye.  Do you want your daughter dressing like that?

I am not an old woman nor am I a prude.....but I think we are crossing the lines of decency everywhere.  When I was growing up - you NEVER saw ads like this.  Girls were empowered thru sport, education and self respect.  Guys never saw a women portrayed this way - it is not a good thing to teach our youngsters.

I just think that there has to be a line somewhere - and how do we draw it???

Little people are just like baby animals....

Relaxxxxxxxxxxx - I am not saying anything bad here.  

I have a horse.  I have ridden all my life and I have a horse, his name is Tee - he is a baby in the horse world, only 5 years old and just like my son, learning every day.  We compete in dressage - an olympic sport - not that we are at that level.  

My point is, my son tries to communicate with me.  I try to communicate with him.  My horse, has to learn how to communicate with me, or we would never be able to do what we do.  The way we teach my horse is thru great patience and understanding.  The smallest improvement or when he gets a move correct that we are teaching him, is met with great praise.  He is never punished when he is getting something wrong, his needs are met with before he realizes what he needs, if he is naughty for some reason, the reprimand is kind but firm.  He therefore is a sweet natured horse who tries very hard and who brings me immeasurable pleasure.

I try to think of my little boy the same way.  He is unable to communicate with me.   He tries very hard.  I try to keep ahead of his needs, whether it is a nap, a bottle, attention, a cuddle, playtime.....   My reward is that he never cries.  

I am not in favor of letting a baby cry.  To me, it is that they are so desperate in their communication attempts that they finally just resort to crying - as that finally maybe, gets their mothers attention.  Many women will disagree with me on this.  Many will agree.  I have spoken to my pediatrician and she tells me that crying is learned behavior. 

I don't put him down to sleep and let him cry himself out, I don't leave him if he is crying.  To me he sounds distressed.  I ask myself at those times, if I was at the barn and my horse was in distress, would I just walk away and leave him??? Not on your life.  He is distressed.  He needs me.  Nothing is more important at that time.

Now I am not saying my son is perfect, sometimes nap time is something he absolutely has no intention of indulging in.....but I refuse to make it an issue....Yes, I pick him up - huh shock horror - I pick him up out of the crib and pop him on the bed and fold laundry - I try and find a mundane chore that is not interesting for him, so that he relaxes and realizes he is not missing out on anything....then maybe about 30 mins later, when he is rubbing eyes etc, I try the nap again.  Invariably, the 2nd attempt works.  

I just don't feel that a baby should be distressed.  Whether they are the human kind, or the animal kind.   We are the adults.  We know better.  We need to let babies be babies a little bit.  Nothing is written in stone.  Sometimes we just have to go with the flow a little and find the path of least resistance and then maybe find some peace for everyone.....

The things they don't tell you.........

OK, so how many of you new mums/moms are waking up out there half way thru the night feeling like you have just taken a swim??????  

The first time this happened to me I thought I was dying.  Noone, I mean noone, mentioned this to me.  I mean people would be happy to tell me all the other disgusting horrible stuff you SOOOOO do not want to hear, I mean, toooooo much information, but do they mention or warn you that due to your hormones having a party, you will wake up drenched?  NOoooo.....  The first time this happened I thought I was getting sick.....then it happened again the next night....and again and again, so that is when I started doing the walk with the fingers on my keyboard....desperate to find an answer only to see that there were dozens of women out there asking the exact same question.

I went to this meeting at the hospital when I was pregnant - we had wanted to have a natural birth at the birthing center and to do this you had to go thru this day program with them....where they told me so much fun that I left there terrified, horrified and dreading the entire experience.....with all the yukky stuff they told me, they never mentioned anything about hormonal sweats....I wish someone had let me know, then I would not have been so worried about something that is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about.

So if you are waking up feeling like you just took a swim, you are FINE.  It is just another thing your poor body is doing to get back to normal.  Seriously, our bodies rock.  No, I mean it.  You need to look at your body and think, you rock!!!

You know what they also never told me???  How terrified I would be - not of raising him, not of being with him, but of how much you love this little parcel that is there looking at you, how it fills your heart and breaks it into a million pieces and how you just want to cry.....

If I can give you any advice, it is to lay back, ignore EVERYTHING except your new little bundle of love, and just relax and enjoy him or her.  Everything can wait.  Do not worry yourself with anything.  Just enjoy yourself.  I think us mums forget to do that.  Let the phone ring, or the washing wait, or whatever it is, it can wait.  Just take that time to enjoy yourself.  We forget to do that sometimes - and you know what?  We are allowed.

Cheers.

New mums or moms

When I was pregnant with my son, everyone I spoke to had to tell me their horror story.  Why is that???  I was so determined not to listen to them and blocked all the negative nonsense out....

New mums or moms, you have nothing to worry about - I am not going to tell you that it is a walk in the park, however, it is not as bad as everyone tells you.......albeit, I did not have an easy labor and had a c-section (this was a surprise) but everything worked out fine and I have a healthy happy boy and I am healthy and happy.  I am not going to go into the whole story because I don't want to talk about that now.  I just want to pass on a happy note to you to let you know that all will be OK.  The c-section is not as bad as everyone says.  I have a tiny scar well below my bikini line - I have no "pouch" that women talk about.  The pain is tolerable - I mean they give you awesome drugs!!! 

I cannot comment on vaginal births.....but all I know is those women got to go home faster than I did and I was jealous of that.....I had to hang around the hospital and I was bored and wanted to go home to my own bed and my own shower etc.  

Let me say that the first shower you take when you get home is FANTASTIC.   Let that hot water cascade down your back and relish in it....nothing feels better.....honestly.  

Another hint for you - WALK.  Yes, even tho it is uncomfortable and painful, go for a walk every day.  I did.  I did the "shuffle" out in the park.....pushing bub and myself every day.  It is the best advice I ever received.  Gets you out of the house and into the fresh air.  Gets the blood moving. Makes you feel like you are normal again.   Just start with 15 mins..  Gradually build it up.  But you must go for a walk every day.  Trust me.  It works.

Breast feed if you can.....I could not actually do the boob thing, it hurt me too much.....but I did pump - yes pump it up ladies!!!!!  The pump is a little uncomfortable when you first start, but once you get the hang of it - it is awesome.  Helps you loose weight and gives the baby the breast milk....best of both worlds!!!!  Without the sore nipples!!!!!!   yayayayaaaaaa!!!!!

But you will be fine!!!!!!  All will be AOK.  If I could have found more positive blogs about experiences I would never have gone in so worried.....

My new website

I am a new mum who is tired of surfing the web looking for sites that have answers to my questions - and it may take an hour or two to find anything I need.......so I have created my own website called "mumreport.com" and on it are all my favorite and my friend's favorite resource websites and we thought we would share them with you......please feel free to email us on susan@mumreport.com or respond to my blog....if you do not want credit for your idea, let us know and we will not publish your name, however, otherwise, we will say thank you for your insights and help.

This blog is for the purpose of idea exchange.....helpful hints....etc.  Feel free to post your ideas.  Keep it clean and friendly please.....

Look forward to hearing from you all.....