I admit it, I was resistant to the carpet. I started our renovation with visions of gleaming hardwood floors throughout the house. But then the bills started coming in and something had to give. So I sacrificed the hardwoods in the bedrooms in favour of a shower screen – a gorgeous single pane of glass that was worth every penny.

I now love the carpet. The stubborn taurean in me hates to admit it, but I like the warm squishy feeling beneath my feet in the morning – something I’m sure I’ll appreciate even more in the dead of winter. I also love that I can put Samuel down on the floor and not have to look around for a blanket.

The only downside is the vacuuming, but at least with carpet you can’t see the little dust bunnies in the corners. I know they’re there but I can’t see them and I truly adhere to the adage “out of sight out of mind”.

I know why people love autumn. The colours really are very beautiful and this year we have been lucky enough to have good weather well into October.

Although I am an optomist by nature, I can’t help thinking about the rain and cold that is just around the corner. The leaves in the photo above are now brown and have fallen to the ground – along with about half the leaves from the silver birch in our front yard.

It is going to be November next week – NOVEMBER. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it and then christmas and then… I can’t even think about 2009. 2009!!!! And my baby is nearly 6 months old already and I think I may be freaking out a little by the swift passage of time and….

OK… calm down. You see I am not a fan of winter and this is the feeling it invokes – an end to sunshine and daylight and playing outside. OK, maybe I’m not always an optomist. Hey – look at the pretty leaves.

Samuel getting a rare moment of revenge. I think he was trying to suck on Thomas’ head. Seriously – that child will eat anything.

Lately my life has been a lot about this – piles and piles of laundry. Gone are the days when I could get away with one load a week. Now, thanks to the addition of one child and the inevitable pitfalls of potty training, I am doing at least two loads a week and sometimes more. I hate that it takes up so much of my time – especially now that I am back at work full time. And I am well aware that it’snot going to get easier. With two growing boys I can see a lot of laundry on my future.

What happens when you send your 5 month old child to daycare and don’t leave a change of clothes? He comes home in whatever is available – even if it’s pink. If I squint I can pretend that he’s a girl. 🙂

Kei made Japanese curry for dinner and put it in the shape of a grumpy face on Thomas’ plate. We have really arrived as parents.

I know what you’re thinking – it’s hard to look tough in a Wiggles shirt. And if you think he looks like he posed for this photo then you would be right.

I managed to peel this shirt off Thomas’ body about three days later to put it in the wash. It’s now hidden in one of his drawers until he remembers he has it again.

Another Saturday and another birthday party. This time the birthday girl was Rafaella and the guests were mainly friends from daycare.

Once again Thomas offered to help unwrap the presents – well pushed his way in to “help” unwrap the presents. I enjoyed catching up with fellow daycare parents. I love the great little community that we have joined since Thomas started at this daycare.

Sadly Kei was relegated to painting duty at home. The good news is that we were finally able to move Thomas upstairs – photos coming soon!

We have a little monkey living in our house and his name is Thomas. He loves to climb. And in the absence of a rock wall or a rope ladder he will climb the next best thing – me. I have become a human rock wall.

I am making my own baby food. Yes, I may be a little crazy to add one more thing to my list of things to do but it really is very easy and we usually have food left over from our organics delivery each week, so it makes sense. So far I have made a batch of plums and a batch of apples.

Of course Samuel is not eating solids yet. He is making do with copious litres of milk and formula. I can’t keep up with him on the milk front so we are having to supplement at daycare. Such a different experience to the one we had with Thomas. I always had a surplus of breast milk in the freezer and I even found a huge unopened can of formula in the cupboard the other day that we never needed (about $30 worth). Instead Samuel sucks it down like his life depends on it.

I am starting on the baby food making early in the hope that I will have a freezer stacked with food that can last him at least a couple of weeks after he starts on solids. Although the way this kid is eating I may have trouble keeping up with that too.