leadlight

Leadlight - Noun
A decorative window made of small sections of glass supported in lead divider bars, or cames

Today this happened. And it wasn't cheap! But we couldn't be happier with the finish (well after a coat of paint!)

The side panel was really badly damaged and falling apart. And the front door had just had some plain glass in it. We wanted to repair and replace what needed to be done. The end result is wonderful! Such a shame it gets hidden behind the fly wire/security door (yes, that's on the list to replace - way down the list, along with having the front of the house re-pined)

This is what it looked like while we were waiting for the repair. I forgot to take a pic of the badly damaged glass.

Edwardian [1901 - WW1 ]

Floor Plan

The period also known as Federation. Houses built at this time draw on both Victorian and Queen Anne features. The follow a similar plan to Victorian houses. Many Mid Victorian ornaments are still used, but are less ostentatious than in previous decades. (Via Heritage Victoria)

And so that's what we are working with but with 21st century luxuries. The front of the house we are trying to keep as 'original' as possible and the back of the house (which is an extension anyway!) will be some glorious modern renovation with an industrial feel (in my mind it works anyway!)

So far we haven't done much! We have only been here since December and you lose so much time during the festive season and then businesses closing down for holidays etc...

We have a long list of things going on. Some done. Some waiting on  things. Others on a list.
One thing so far that we have done and that we absolutely LOVE is having x 2 original Certificates of Title for the property professionally framed. There is tow of these and they have been framed with glass on the back on them so you can see all the old details of owners & transfers etc... They are hanging on the wall in the front entrance. It was a SUPER EXPENSIVE exercise but worth every penny we think! (Sorry, no picture of the back, getting the 2 frames to be square and straight was no easy task!

Hello out there...

End of August 2014. Auction day!

Of late I have had quite a few people say to me "Start your blog again!"
This is something I have been toying with for a while. I thought about starting a whole new one. But I wasn't sure that seemed quite right either.
This blog was a half secret from quite a few people for a long time. I wasn't ashamed! I just had it as a little something for me (& the big wide world!)
So! Here we go again!

What's been happening? 
Well for me, we finally purchased a new home (old home) in Melbourne and I am now (still) happily married with a 3.5 yo little girl! (Abs has been around as long as this blog!) and we now home Lach's! our cheeky adorable little 1 yo boy! (I promise I will finish his birth story!)

Join me on the road to our mini renovations of our home, watch my beautiful children grow, maybe a few recipes along the way (not all about the Thermomix! I PROMISE!), some shopping and sale bargains and a sneak peek into the world of my life.

I think the blog needs an overhaul and a facelift, so if anyone can steer me the the direction of someone to help with all that I would be forever grateful. Technology and I just don't mix!

Until Tomorrow (or the next day)

Sammie 
x

Lachlan O - A birth Story Part 1

I'm going to start this one all the way back at my 20 week scan.
My husband and I both had an inkling we were having a boy. We really didn't care either way! Sometimes I really wanted a boy, and other times a girl. A girl so that Abi had a sister and got to experience the sister relationship. I have a sister (I have 2 bothers too!) but my sister and I are close. Best friends you could say.
Anyway, we went as a family. Abi didn't care much except had been adamant whenever you asked her "baby sister or brothr Abi?" the answer was always always SISTER!
She didn't care much for the scan preferring to play the ipad.
The sonographer we had was lovely. Are you sure? Are you sure she kept asking! YES! We are SURE! And there he was! Our little boy! He's a big one she exclaimed! But perfect. My DD was changed from the 24th of Feb to the 20th.
A few weeks after that scan we received a letter from the hospital detailing that there was some dilation detected and that I was to head back to the hospital on the 27th of December for a growth scan. Nothing to worry about we were told.

The 27th of December I though! Pft! I'll be on holidays! So I rang and could only change the appointment to the 24th at 4pm. 4pm on Christmas Eve! NO WAY! SO I decided to book in to a Private clinic and get the scan done there. Nothing to worry about they said.

So that we did. Off to a private clinic. My mum came with me, no point Erin being there! Nothing to worry about they had said. Mum had an appointment and had to leave before they called me in. So it was jsut Abi and I.
The look of concern on the faces were enough to send me into a tailspin. They were terrible. Didn't explain anything. Just said they would send the details to the hospital and they will call me.
They never sent those results. I chased and chased all day! Finally they do through and the obstetrician from the hospital called me to explain. He was amazing. I was fraught. We went in the next day at 9am (Christmas Eve) to meet with them and become a 'high risk pregnancy'

What was detected was classed as very dilated ureters and to put it simply the kidneys and bladder were not in great shape. I was 32 weeks.
Having all this detected in utero was amazing and a blessing really. That sonographer at 20 weeks did a good job.
We had lots of meetings and also sent to The Royal Children's Hospital to meet with the head of the Nephrology team (Renal)
We were given lots of information and were told that we wouldn't know the severity until he was born.
I am so thankful for a fairly newly formed friendship I have made in the past year and as luck??? would have it her husband is a renal Doctor. She's a Doctor too and together they have been a pillar of support and strength for my husband and I from both a friendship point of view but the 'medical' side and the understanding of that has been something you can't pay for.

At around the time of Lachie's (still not named at that stage!) diagnosis we were were also told the rental property we were living in was to be sold as vacant possession and we had to be out by the 16th (i think?) of Feb! It was one thing after the other at the time and getting hard to cope.
We were lucky enough to secure a new place basically straight away (thanks to a local real estate agent that is a client of dads!) and we planned to move on the 10th of January.
And that's right when the hot ht hot heatwave hit Melbourne. OMG! It was bad. There was lots of swimming at mum and dads and with hot water that couldn't be connected and an evap cooler not working properly we didn't even spend a night in the new house till a least a week later!

Because we have decided that we really only (think) we want 2 children and I HATED being pregnant with Abi I decided to do a maternity shoot. Just for myself. I have the pics but don't think I'll ever get any printed and definitely wont be displaying any!
The shoot was booked for the 18th of Jan. 35 weeks! Perfect!
I'd had a pretty shitty start to the year so had kind of put it to the back of my mind and had given it no thought. The day rolls around and I actually went and had my makeup done! I was feeling really crap. I just couldn't pin point what it was. The shoot was nice. I didn't feel comfortable. I felt like I just wanted to curl up into a ball and sleep. Sleep somewhere cool. I was over the reflux and heart burn and the lingering in the back of my mind about what was going to happen when Lachie was born was really concerning me. (Yep, we had finally had a discussion and decided if it looked like a 'Lachie' then that would be his name!)
Feeling crap and the heat still bad we headed to mum and dads again that afternoon to swim. Home and to sleep I wasn't sleeping well and was getting bad period pain type cramps.
The next day being Saturday my husband always works (his industry) and I was fine with him going off to work. I called the hospital while he was still at home and they suggested I head in for some monitoring and didn't want to risk anything with my living 30 mins from the hospital and my first labour being a short one. So I dropped Abi up to my mum  and dads and headed on into hospital! I drove myself! I'm crazy! Mum was wanting to come with me but I don't know why I just wanted to be on my own.

So off into hospital I went. I was hooked up to a monitor and the obstetrician confirmed I was 3 cm's dilated and was being sent upstairs and being admitted.
By that night the pains were subsiding. I had sent my husband home to look after Abi and I just wanted to be home too. So I was discharged and told if it was to change at all to come straight back on in.

That night the cramping was pretty bad. But I just kept it to myself and let my husband and Abi sleep. All the next day I ate icypoles and layed on the couch and rested and slept on and off. It was still hot.
But early evening it was getting uncomfortable and Erin suggested we time what we thought were contractions? (Doesn't this all seem odd! I'd had a baby before you would think I'd know! But she was an induction. no pains prior to waters breaking and then it was all over within 2.5 hours!)
So these what we thought were contractions seemed to be 8-10 mins apart. I was not feeling great at all so we jumped in the car (I had finally decided to pack a hospital bag that morning!) and dropped Abi to mum and dads and headed to the hospital.

In triage they kinda went 'hmm..... think we will take you straight to delivery' and off we went.
I had the worst midwife! OMG! She decided to tell me I wasn't in labour but had a UTI!
I was left alone for a long long time and she 'tisk tisked' me when I'd move and the monitor was shifted and beeped for her to come and fix it.
10pm - SHIFT CHANGE! WOO! and a lovely midwife came on board. Still waiting..... Finally after hours the OB came and said oh um.... Your 8-9 cm's dilated! I didn't think my waters had broken and it seems that she had just by checking.
I was left for longer and longer and the time kept ticking on. I wanted to push! I wanted this baby out and was told not to!
Finally they agreed to check and got the fright of their lives! FULLY dilated! I knew it! Quiet achiever they said! (Well I was quiet up till about then!)

The main concern was that I was technically giving birth to a premie baby and they needed peads and specialists there ASAP. They needed the machines could he not breath on his own, they needed to very quickly run us through everything and what was going to happen after he was born. They needed to speak to us about him being transferred almost straight away to NICU.

Ok.... This is really long. I'm going to stop there for a bit. I promise it wont be months till I continue. But I need to gather my thoughts again. just a day! I promise!

14/52

Oh Abigail.... Such a dag and too much character! Miss rock star wearing her sunnies after dark (& upside down...) "pose mummy, take a photo" 

Chubby cheeks and growing at a rapid rate! Loving just mummy - Lachie days for the extra long cuddles allowed. We miss Abs though! 

Not that I need any excuse or prompt to photograph my children! But I need to get the SLR out and dust it off! Thank goodness for IPhone 5S' great camera!