Rugs

I am always looking for the perfect rug, actually I need about five to really finish off various rooms in the house, but I never seem to find what I want at the price I can afford here. Typical! I need a few smaller rugs for the bedrooms which are really just finishing touches, but also a couple of rugs to help resolve my decorating issues in the main living areas.

Next problem, I need really big rugs, like 3x4m, so I'm already up against it to begin with. In my constant battle with deciding on colour schemes and the direction I'm going with my decor, I think one of the best ways to lock in a look is to have a rug as a jumping off point and from there your colours and style are pretty much decided for you. But I don't want to spend $3k+ on a rug, particularly when I need several and the options here are few when it comes to anything desirable for the $500 mark.

Ikea is usually a great place to get cheap rugs, but they don't have the size I need in the colours I want.

Of course, there are countless fabulous and affordable rugs online, but they are not exactly cheap to ship. So even if you find an online retailer prepared to ship rugs internationally I'm almost too scared to find out how much freight will be.

Has anyone had any experience shipping rugs from the US or anywhere else here?

Safavieh always comes up with the goods, and a search online today proved no exception. Their rugs are often for sale on Overstock too. I found a heavenly selection today at their website, any of which would be a great asset to my house. I stayed below the $1000 mark. They do ship, so I might have to bite the bullet and at least get one for the foyer, so I can tick one room off the list.

Which do you like best?

Soho Rug

Lauren by Ralph Lauren

Cambridge

Chatham

Courtyard indoor/outdoor

Newport

Courtyard

Soho 2

Soho 3

Martha Stewart chevron

Ralph Lauren Cameron

Soho 4

Tom Filicia

Wilton

Wyndham

Wyndham 2

Dhurrie

By the way, I just can't seem to get anything done! Despite the fact that Amelia sleeps a LOT of the time, the days just disappear and I get to the end and think "what the hell did I do with my time today?"

She's not a demanding baby at all, and is very settled and relaxed, but after feeding, settling, putting to bed, getting her up, nappy changing, some cuddling, rocking and enjoying, there doesn't seem to be much time left for anything else. I don't even have the other two around to blame it on.

My grand plans for finishing off the house are disappearing by the minute, and the house looks more like a bomb site every day. There are piles of washing, mail, bills, homework, ironing, shopping, breast pads, toys, baby stuff from one end of the house to another. Furniture is randomly placed everywhere, paintings and mirrors lean against walls with no place to go, piles of empty photo frames choke up shelves, fabric samples and paint chips are strewn across every surface, half read decorating mags lie discarded on tables, brochures and quotes sit idly by.....

So who knows when I'll ever get around to doing it all.........but bub's already four weeks old and I can hardly believe how quickly it's gone. It terrifies me how fast, and she's moved up a size in clothes from 0000 to 000 already. So sad, they are newborn for such a short time. So it will all have to wait, because time won't.

How sweet it is....

Charlie left this little note for his baby sister this morning before he left for school - my darling boy. 

Image by M Hartwright

A new obsession

I realise there is a great risk I will start to bore you all senseless with umpteen photos of Amelia asleep, awake, asleep, lying down, being cuddled, asleep, in her cot and then asleep. But I'm sure you'll forgive the motherly obsession with my new daughter and the inspiration I am finding in her rather than interiors or our house! 

She turned three weeks old today and I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. I just want her to stay this tiny forever, because they grow so quickly and are that precious little newborn for such a short time. You know the size when people coo and admire them in lifts and shops and in the street and ask you how old they are, and you get a buzz saying mere weeks. 

It has been a very relaxed couple of weeks of school holidays and the ultimate test starts tomorrow when school goes back and I am put through the ringer with the logistics of getting out the door to school, kindy and back again. We are all coping well and I'm feeling rather pleased with my abilities to remain cool and on top of things (although I think Amelia's calm disposition has more to do with that than my skills as a mother), but ask me again in a week and I'm sure it will be a different story. 

This week I have discovered Instagram which I was resisting because I just didn't need another social media obsession to take up more time. But I finally relented when Tessa from Down That Little Lane explained it to me when she and her family came for breakie on the weekend and took the most divine pics of Amelia. So I signed up and of course I'm hooked. Here's some of my first shots.

Poppy made a mobile at kindy with sticks and plaster shapes, which she decided would make a good dog necklace. I found him sitting patiently at the back door like this with it draped around his neck. Lucky it didn't strangle him.

I've also found that Instagram is a great way to pass the time when breastfeeding. During the day I sit in the living room facing this coffee table and the sea of blue and white, so I spend the 30+ minutes one-handedly snapping vignettes from my seated position. Again, probably something you'll see a lot of over the next few months!

I have so many rooms in the house that I am yet to show you and am very aware of my lack of posts about the house and the big reveals. But being a perfectionist I have been waiting for them to be finished completely before showing you. At this rate, that could be the end of the year, so I will endeavour to show you some more of the house every week. I have soooo much to do, the list of jobs to get things completed is about ten pages long, so I'll do the best I can.

Weekend Roundup and Thanks

Firstly thank you to everybody for the wonderful messages of congratulations on the birth of Amelia. So lovely of you to take the time to send your kind wishes and I so enjoyed reading your comments and thoughts on the whole birth, hospital, motherhood experience.

I feel very at ease this time around, well third crack at it you'd hope so. But having been there done that twice before, it's nice to just be able to cruise through these first few weeks knowing that the concrete soccer ball boobs, itchy stitches, maternity pads, constipation, incontinence and flabby belly will soon be a thing of the past!

Amelia's 11 yr old cousin and newly appointed Godfather James is devoted to her and a great help.

Cousin Thomas and brother Charlie also love giving her cuddles.

Sister Poppy smothers her with love - literally! Can't leave them alone together....

Amelia is being an angel, is such a relaxed and easy going baby, it has made the transition so much easier. I'm just enjoying her so much and I'm trying to savour each moment and every little thing about her from the sweet smell of her and the little mewling noises she makes, to the way she snuggles into my neck and lays her little hand on my chest as I feed her in the early hours.

We have spent the past five days at my parent's farm having a lovely and relaxing time with the family and getting wonderful and welcome help from my parents managing the older kids, who had a great time with their cousins. Nothing like your mum cooking a delicious dinner every night when you're trying to juggle two kids and a newborn. The kids enjoyed a bonfire on the weekend and Amelia joined in the fun, all rugged up to face the Southern Highlands cold.

I am going to ease myself back into the blogging world, so will be popping in sporadically over the next few weeks until I get into the swing again. With school back next week it will be a test of my organisational abilities to see how we manage the transition from family of two kids to one with a newborn. Getting out the door in the mornings will be a challenge.....so I will be doing what I can, when I can here. I'm also trying to finish off Poppy's room and Amelia's room so I can show you photos, but have a little sewing to do for each and heaven knows when I'll get around to that!

Introducing....

Amelia Rose Hartwright

Born Monday 25th June, 2012 at 3.33pm

weight 3.5kg and 53cm long

Our gorgeous girl was born last Monday, with a minimum of fuss (on her part) or effort (on my part). Due to my high blood pressure and threat of preeclampsia the OB agreed to induce her at 38 weeks, which is what happened with my first two. I would be lying if I didn't admit I was pleased to have the last two weeks knocked off, and being able to make plans and be organised for the birth vis a vis the older kids made things more manageable.

BEFORE.....

We checked in to the Mater Hospital on Monday morning, bright and early.  By 7.30am the obstetrician had broken the membrane and after some initial checks I was told to get up and walk about for a while to try to get things moving along. So we went down to the hospital cafe for a coffee. After about 30 mins I was having contractions about 3 min apart and told Tom I thought we should go back upstairs. When I stood up to leave, the floodgates opened and I had one of those movie moments, dropping what felt like a bucket of water on the floor of the cafe. I shuffled out trying to keep my legs closed and hide in the hallway, while Tom tried to discreetly mop up the floor. But I was laughing so hard, it just kept coming out and running down my leg!

DURING....

After that things slowed down a bit, and by 11.30am labour hadn't kicked in so they decided to put me on the oxytocin drip and speed things up. I had the epidural put in at the same time, and then lay back and waited for things to get moving. Had a bit of a doze for a few hours on and off, while things quietly and painlessly started happening. Labour was in full swing by about 1pm, although I was deliriously oblivious to all this. So amazing what the female body can do.

AFTER....

The midwife came in about 3pm and I was fully dilated, so she called the OB to come back and told me to get ready to push. One, two, three and she was out at 3.33pm. So peacefully, calmly and easily - it was just such a beautiful and memorable experience I will treasure.

Here she is only moments old.

As she was two weeks early, she was still covered in a thick coating of vernix. Looks like she's about to tackle the English Channel.

Having the Apgar test, being weighed and given that nasty Vitamin K injection.

Already preparing to be a thumb-sucker like her sister.

Charlie and Poppy arrived about an hour later and were so thrilled to finally meet the baby they have waited so patiently for.

A few days old and she had her first bath, with no fuss at all.

Those middle of the night feeds are exhausting but I do secretly enjoy the solitude and time spent with that precious little bundle. They smell so good.

Had such a wonderful and relaxing stay at the Mater, the most amazing hospital. I have had all three babies there and could almost be convinced to have another just to go back! It is such a brilliant hospital with first class facilities and just the most wonderful nursing staff. The experience I have had every time has been perfect, and I had always cried when I left.

Poppy has claimed Amelia as strictly her baby and nobody else's. 

Getting ready to leave. I was very emotional and teary preparing to leave the bosom of the maternity ward, knowing this would be my last stay. With all those gorgeous, caring, nurturing midwives and nurses who do such a wonderful job looking after new mums and babies. Leaving the security, comfort and attention you get is quite overwhelming. 

Strapped in to face the new world.

At HOME....

Sleeping in her cot for the first time. She looks so tiny.

Out in the big world and ready for her first walk.

With proud as punch big brother.

And adoring big sister.

I can't tell you how extraordinarily blessed I feel. I am so fortunate to have had such easy and complication free births and to have produced three healthy and beautiful babies. The medical care I have received from day one, be it my OB or the midwives in the delivery suite, to the nurses in the maternity ward and everyone in between, has been of the highest standard, and all of them so kind, caring, nurturing and interested. It has made each experience one that I treasure and am so grateful to have. How fortunate we are to live in a country where we have access to this kind of care.

I have a beautiful family with the most divine children, each one a precious gift, and the most wonderful husband I could possibly wish for. All this to me is extraordinary, given I was still single at 35 and thought this had all passed me by. At the end of the day, these experiences serve to remind me that there is nothing more important than family and that houses, possessions and the right paint colour are mere distractions when what is really most important is loving these special people with all your heart and being grateful for such blessings.

Melx