Last Time Around

 

So I was 38 weeks + one day in these shots, and boy, oh boy, am I feeling it at this stage!  If I look bloated and puffy and dead…  Well, don’t mind me, because I am bloated, puffy and dead!  : P

Still, it was worth it for this!

 
~ *  Hi Mamma!! * ~

xox,

bonita

She's here!

She finally made it!  ♥


Isabelle Patricia Joy was born Thursday last week after a loooonnggggg 4 and a half days of prodromal labor.  So far I am tired, sleepy, tired and oh, so hungry{!}, but very, very happy.

Our little family is taking a while to adjust to the new baby, but Theodore is a super big brother.  I love how sweet he is whilst interacting with her ~ cuddling her, inspecting her hands and feet, patting her head if she's crying; they are so adorable together!

(✿◠‿◠) ~ ♥


In the mean time, I missed out on a couple of pregnancy style outfit posts because of all the pre-baby drama that I might put up while I wait for life to settle down again....  Failing that, I'll see you on the other side of the newborn sleep-deprivation fog!

xox,

bonita

Hit the pause button...

Sorry for the long absence everyone ~ I'm just popping into say that life has pretty much ground to a halt while we wait for this little one's arrival.

I do hope to be back soon, and I'll definitely let you know when the baby decides to make an appearance. 

xox,

bonita

A Matter of Math

Annd that’s the big secret.  I did write out a lovely post to accompany the announcement, but it was in my head and now I’ve forgotten what I was going to say... 

xox,

bonita

P.S. ~ Yes, we are very excited! > U < ! !

P.S.S. ~ I can’t wait to show you the cute vintage maternity patterns I picked up!  Of course, it remains to be seen if I can actually get around to making them up, but I will have a go at it.  : )

Wordless Wednesday ~ 2nd August Ed.

    

    

xox,

bonita

Wordless Wednesday ~ 4th July Ed.

    

    

xox,

bonita

A-Not-Quite Wordless Wednesday ~ June Ed.

We celebrated my little man’s first birthday this weekend.  I can’t believe how incredibly fast this last year has flown by!! It’s amazing to look back and reflect on how much Theodore has grown and changed over that time.  Back before he was born it seemed so hard to picture the happy, joyful little boy that he’s become.  Happy birthday my darling son ~  we love you.  ᵔᴗᵔ  ~ ♥

xox,

bonita

Housekeeper ~ Outfit Forty Five

Hair Bow  ~  Diva    Pearl Studs ~  Christmas Present{?}  Pearl Flower Pendant  ~  Valentine's Day ‘11  Top  ~  Thrifted  Belt  ~  JayJay’s   Bracelet  ~  Dotti   Skirt  ~  Thrifted   Socks  ~  Best&Less; embellished by me with the lace   Saddle Shoes  ~ Amazon; you can purchase them here

~ * ♥ * ~

This is a really basic outfit, but I thought I’d show you the sort of look I go for if I am home for the day, and let’s be honest, can actually be bothered dressing properly!  When I don’t bother I opt for the Mom uniform of trackies and a plain top, but otherwise this outfit is my go~to style.  Simple skirt, easy knit top, and a belt for a little bit of extra oomph!{And to hide the mess that is my post~baby belly… > <}  

To be sure, you usually would see me swap out my saddle shoes for my slippers, but I thought that would look just a bit too scruffy, so shoes it is… : P    I thrifted this skirt along with my navy skirt & another purple one.  The three are made out of the same jersey material in the same style and shape and I love them!  I wear the teal and purple one at home because even though you can’t really see it in the pictures they are a bit worn and plooky so they are my around~the~house vintage. : ) 

I am also quite enjoying my pony tail hairstyle as well ~ I think it helps to keep the ‘grandma’ outfits a little more fresh and youthful ~ kind of like a teen 1950’s style.  I know it’s the standard “don’t know what to do with my hair” style, but I think when I am so dressed up anyway it does help to balance out the dressiness.   Which begs the question, is there any point to trying to dress down the dressed up style?  I don’t know.  I really like some of the casual vintage wear I’ve seen around, like cigarette pants, high waisted jeans, bandannas in the hair, etc. 

I haven’t quite got into the sporty/casual vintage just yet as I really don’t have any pants that would work, but I think I would like to try it someday!  *sigh*  If only I could some how acquire ninja sewing skills over night… There is so much I still have to learn!!! = x =’  Anyway, I’ll stop sulking over my decided lack of sewing skills and just DO some sewing!  Husband is helping draft my circle skirt pattern {yes, I am behind, but I didn’t have the materials I needed until Tuesday this week} and I shall hopefully catch up with everyone else next week.  I have to draft my pattern, cut out my fabric and then do whatever Casey has planned the week.  *Whew!*  I really don’t know where all my time disappears to, but it vanishes as swiftly as a footprint washed away by a wave….

The biggest testimony to the swift passage of time?  Theodore!  He is fifteen weeks old as of yesterday, which is 3 months and one week old already.  o___o   It’s crazy how big he is getting, and I am enjoying every day with him.  He smiles whenever I come to pick him up from a nap, giggles and laughs at his dad{and me!}, has tummy time without screaming now and can even roll over onto his back! 

He also has the biggest bald spot on the back of his head and likes to squawk like a strangled rooster now that he has discovered he can pitch his voice, but he is a really happy baby most of the time and that just fills my heart with joy.  And look how cute he is when he’s asleep! 

He looks like a little frog!  > ω < ~ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

xox,

bonita

Update at one week ~ one week?! Really??!!

So at 1:35am this morning my baby turned one week old…  Gah.  They say it goes fast, but when the days are blurring together due hectic sleep patterns; it goes SUPER fast. 

My little man has already grown too big to fit on my lap properly, and his feet are huge!  While he was growing this is how I spent my week ~

~ * ♥ * ~    Yes, he already smiles at me!!   > U <    ~ * ♥ * ~ 

Actually it was incredible because when I saw him for the second time he was fast asleep but when he heard my voice he smiled…  I will remember that precious moment forever.    It was so amazing. 

Anyway, this is not really a Mommy blog, so I’ll keep the baby gush to a minimum and sign off with the obligatory cute baby photo.   This is a picture of his first tummy time. 

Is he not just the most beautiful baby ever?  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  {Yes, I am biased.  > u < } 

xox,

bonita

Ssssh! The baby is sleeping….

After ten months of waiting and waiting and waiting and ~ well, you get the picture….   Theodore Kenneth James* is finally here! 

Our little boy arrived Friday, 3rd of June at 1:35am.   He was 54cm long and 8.77 pounds {or 3.8 kgs}. His name means “Gift of God” and his middle names are in honour of Husband & Grandpa’s middle name and Granda’s middle name. 

I will be away from Depict This! for a while as Husband and I get to know the newest addition to our family, but I hope to see you all soon.  ^  u  ^   Now I have to go; I think I hear Theodore stirring.

xox,

bonita

*These are his first and two middle names, I have excluded our surname for privacy.  : )

Us Two + You = New Love

Baby, you are our precious gift from God and we cannot wait to meet you!

xox,

bonita

Where we are at

La,de,dum,de,da…..  I know I do not do a lot of really personal posts on Depict This! but I just have to get this off my chest.  I hope you do not mind.  If you do, well, you can always come back later when we are back to normal if you like!  The topic is pretty predictable anyway. 

It’s all about Baby at the moment. 

Baby was due Friday, 20th of May 2011.  But Baby has decided that it is too predictable to be born on his/her due date so at the moment we are essentially over baking! 

It’s funny because my midwife thought from very early on that we’d never make it to our due date.  There were a lot of signs that we wouldn’t!  Practise contractions were happening regularly from 24 weeks onwards {I would have five days without them, and then five nights in a row with them}.   The baby dropped into my pelvis at 34 weeks which is early for a first time baby.  And then of course there’s been all the fluid scares. 

Four incidents  ~ three visits to the hospital {one while we were in Perth!!  0 . 0 } to check that everything is alright.   My midwife thinks that my hind waters have been leaking.  It’s a good thing that it isn’t the main waters, or the baby might have been too early/induced.   But the last time was last week and well, it would have been great if it had of been the real deal.  At 39 weeks we were so ready for it be!

I think poor Husband and I are getting worse sleep at the moment than we would be if the baby was actually  here.  The reason for that being that most of the false alarms are occurring in the wee hours of the early morning and lasting for up to three hours or more.  Add that to the fact that they are occurring every two or so days and it just equals tiredness.  Oh, and healthy dose of “meh”.

Example:  Saturday night was another false alarm with fluid leaking, but I didn’t bother to tell my midwife because a).  it was much less than the last two times and b). it was 3:00am in the morning.  She would only tell me to try and get some sleep.  So that’s what I did.  Although I had to be in the bath for a few hours before I could get said sleep!  Husband kept me company {amazing, darling man that he is} and we had a late night chemistry lesson. 

~ * ♥   Chemistry for Bonita….  Ka~BOOM!  ♥ * ~

I learnt that chlorine in solid form is salt, and in it’s natural state is gas.  I also learnt that rust and tarnish is always caused by oxidisation, and that hydro fluoric acid is so dangerous that if you get any on your hand or something the safety procedure for dealing with that is to chop your arm off…. 

Mmm.  Fun times.  

So that is where we are at at the moment.  Playing the waiting game.  Of course, I am ever so glad that Baby is healthy and happy and really, I would put up with all of this and a thousand times worse to keep it that way.  But it does mean that my mind is sort of AWOL; hence the random blog post.  

In the mean time, I will go eat a pineapple.  I hear that’s supposed to bring on labour!  

xox,

bonita

P.S.  ~  Here’s a random picture of Spongebob Squarepants.  Because I can.  

…. And because it made me smile.   ^ u ^ 

Artistic Shenanigans

~ * ♥  My Baby and Me; How we live together! ♥ * ~

~ * ♥  What I did in Perth  ♥ * ~

I have been up to a bit of scribbling over the last few weeks ~ a few pictures have turned out really nicely, and I am quite pleased with them.  Unfortunately, I could not do them justice because I don’t have access to a scanner, so I have held them back for another post.

In the mean time, do you like my little illustrative comics?   I have a lot of fun doing these quick sketches.   Oh and for the update ~  three days until we go home!!!!!!  

*squeeeeeeeeeeeeee*       > ___________ < !!!      I am so excited!

xox,

bonita 

The Goals for 2011

Or to be more accurate ~ my New Years resolutions.   I want to share these with you, maybe you can keep me accountable on a few of them!   I also want to make sure that I set achievable goals and resolutions and not overload myself with expectations as I am prone to….  > . >’

So without further ado…  

My personal goal:  To be the best mother I can be.

~ * ♥ * ~  For me this doesn’t mean making sure baby is looked after perfectly, because frankly I have no idea whether I can do that or not.  I guess it depends on what your standard of ‘perfect’ is!   So this resolution is more about the child’s character.  I want to be the sort of person I want my children to grow up to be.   I say this because I believe that children learn by example. 

So this year I strive to be more disciplined and less procrastinating; especially when it comes to house chores and cooking!   I can be organized, I know that.  It’s when I get lazy that the organization falls apart and I am sick of that happening!   Less computer, more chores.  My 2011 mantra perhaps?

My skills goal:  To practise sewing and by the end of 2011; to have sewn myself a day dress.

~ * ♥ * ~  Pretty self-explanatory.   I wanted to learn to sew last year, and I started to, but then I lost track of things and I stopped.   I keep on forgetting how much I enjoy it and spend too much time mucking around and wasting time on other things.  This year I plan to change that by practising at least once a week.  {I am also trying to do a least one drawing a week too; with a similar goal to practise art but I made this resolution before the new year. : ) }

My business goal:  To set up my b dot depictions studio website properly, to get my business cards done and to go to at least one fair with my photographs this year. 

~ * ♥ * ~  Again, self explanatory, but this one is really important to me.  I feel like my business has been stuck in the one spot for the last four months of 2010 simply because I didn’t know what I was doing.   I want my studio website up because then I feel I can actually work on the studio products and promote my services. 

I can not seem to move forwards without that all important web launching pad, so this is a crucial part to the goals I can achieve for 2011 business wise.

~ * ♥ * ~ * ♥ * ~ * ♥ * ~

So those are my new year’s resolutions.  I hope I can actually stick with them!   I sometimes manage to get half way to my goals and sometimes I forget about them altogether.  But I do think that it’s a worthwhile thing to set goals and work to achieve them.  Of course, you can do this anytime in the year and I don’t think you should put off making a resolution as soon as you realize that you need to!

I have also heard that one of the best ways to help improve your blogging {if you are interested in that} is to make goals and resolutions for your blog.   It seems to me that there are a lot of serious bloggers out there that do want to achieve certain levels of performance with their blog as it is their income/day job.

I personally refrained from making any particular goal for Depict This! {besides to keep up my 3 a week posting schedule} simply because this is something I do for fun.   I don’t want to fall into the trap of trying to get x number of readers, or x number of sponsors.   My business is my studio, blogging is a hobby and I want to keep it that way. 

What do you think?  Should all bloggers have specific goals to try and achieve?  Do you have any blogging goals in your new years resolutions?

xox,

bonita

3 Things they don’t tell you…

Until you are actually already pregnant!

1.  Your hips will hurt.  All the time.  Apparently as the baby grows and your body is constantly shifting, your hips, and most likely your back, will bear the brunt of the changes, making them permanently sore and tender.  And speaking of tender ~ the chest area?  It’s a no go zone.

2.  Morning sickness.  Some women are blessed and never get it, some women can’t get out of bed because the nausea makes them feel like they’re on a boat….  Oh, and the name is a fallacy.   Morning sickness can visit you morning, noon or night, and sometimes decides to hang around for all three!

3.  You will feel like you have been hit by a steam roller, a cargo train, and a tanker ~ everyday.   Energy?  What’s that?

And basically that’s the summary of how my pregnancy is progressing.  Yay.   : |    But to end this mini rant on a positive note, all though I might be putting up with a host of uncomfortable sensations, it’s totally worth it.  

When you feel the baby move and kick inside of you, you conveniently forget about all the other things ~ there is a baby growing!  How cool is that?  And I am so grateful that I have the chance to be a mother.  Finally, I think I am growing up. 

xox,

bonita

Baby Talk Part II ~ The Trials and Tribulations of Being the First Mommy in your Circle.

So you’ve done it.   Out of your artsy, singleton, cool hipster circle you are the first to settle for the Husband, House and 2.5 Children.

You’ve crossed the line to official adulthood, even if you still feel like you’ve got a long ways to go until you get there.  {When I grow up, I’d like get a novel published!}

Now what do you do?  

I’ve read quite a few stories about Moms who are the last of their circle to get with the baby program, and how awkward they found it.

“Little Jimmy has pink eye…”  

“Oh, um, that’s not good.”

*silence*

“And Chelsea is getting to be such an excellent ballet dancer, I am sure she’ll get a part in the end of year production.”

“How wonderful.”

*more silence*

“……”

“I think I’ll go get another drink.”

*escapes*

Just like that invisible lines are drawn in the metaphoric sand.   You vs. Them.   Married vs. Single.  Children vs. The Goldfish. 

Want to know why?   Baby Talk.   That’s why.  Being the last ~ being the first, it seems to be much the same boat.   The one christened “The Only Equals So Lonely”.  Because when you are the only one in your circle to be that stage of life you are pretty much stuffed when it comes to conversation.

Yeah, my girlfriends are so not dying to hear about my indigestion issues {These days I am relying heavily on Mylanta which is an Antacid.  ‘Nother words ~ OLD people medicine!}, or that I had to buy a bra TWO sizes bigger than my regular size and it’s only been three months!!

And all this new found knowledge that I have on the female body during this time?  Oh, you can definitely keep THAT to yourself!!  When Sister number Two, who is studying human biology, and I got into a friendly discussion about *mumble*  cervixes *cough* and their nature all I heard from Sister number Four was “EEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!   Can you NOT!???” 

Mind you it turned out I was right {Google is good for something!} but in the meantime I found out that Sisters Two, Three and Four pretty much do not want to know all the scintillating facts that I have uncovered through hours of trawling the Wide Webs for information.   {Well, my doctor wasn’t coughing up the goods ~ I had to find out this stuff somehow!}

So what do we talk about? 

The topics that they know.  Single boy dramas, runs in with the local Lady Loves to Make You Miserable, uni trouble, travel, work ~ all the things that used to be the centre of my conversations oh, about a year ago?

It’s not like I have forgotten what life was like at that stage, and of course I love hearing about all the things that are important and even the not so important to them.  Basically because if they didn’t share this stuff then I’d be really upset because we don’t talk anymore!  Ugh.  Don’t want to even go there.  It is not a happy place to be.

But it’s also hard because the things that are important to me now, like babies and houses and housekeeping ~ not so much on the conversation role.

So I guess I kind of feel like it ends up being one sided sharing….   What do I do?  Wait until they catch up to my stage of life and then share all the stories? 

Or just start another blog so I can share all that stuff there without totally disgusting you guys?

Of course I talk to my Mom a lot more these days, and it’s great because One: she’s interested in that stuff being a Mom herself {even to three adults and one teen} Two: she’s a first time grandmother, just like I am a first time Mom so that definitely exciting!

It’s just that I miss being able to connect with my friends.  I miss feeling like they get it.   I miss sharing what’s up with me and having them relate with stories of their own.   And that, everyone, is one of the downsides to being the eldest and being the first to doing almost everything.   It not always that fun.  In fact, sometimes it is down right lonely.

xox,

bonita

Baby Talk

Ultrasounds.  EDDs {Estimated Due Date}.   OBGYN.  Stirrups {NOT the horse kind >. > }.  Fatigue.  Stretch marks.  Indigestion.  BHs {Braxton Hicks Contractions}.  Round ligament pain.  Head aches.  

……………….

It’s inevitable.   A life changing event sneaks up on you and before you know it, anything that previously occupied your brain space has been completely erased for the time being and replaced with brand new concepts.   Before you know it you are spouting all kinds of babble that not everyone will understand.

And this is where things get tricky….

I have tried to keep the baby talk to a minimum, but seriously, do you know how hard it is to hide the fact that you’ve lost your singleton student cool?  Even worse, that that cool has been substituted for a stuffed toy, pastel bubble baby mom, well ~ not cool.

You would never know, but slowly my blog reader has morphed from fashion/vintage/creative type blogs only to include *gaspshockHORROR* mommy blogs. 

No longer am I voraciously devouring and back reading blogs such as Keiko Lynn ~ who’s chic doll like style I adore, or Lulu Letty ~  with Maria’s lovely whimsical dreamlike vintage inspiration that is ever a favourite. 

As much as I still love all these blogs and more{and their amazing authoresses!} and still read them regularly, I find myself drawn more and more to mommy style stories.    And boy, they are just as endless as the fashion blogs! 

There is Suburban Turmoil ~ the authoress Lindsey writes about everything from soccer games and bad coaches/parents to the heavy pressures and expectations that all moms face to Be The Perfect Mother to the maggot/ant infestations she wages war with.

Or Baby Rabies ~ where wrestling with ruffles is just another obstacle on the road to the perfect nursery, or the gnawing ache of an empty womb is just part of the baby rabies disease.

There are stories about pregnancy, birth, newborns, babies, toddlers, children, teens ~ there are stories about the perfect dreams come true, and the world’s worst nightmares ~ sometimes all in one hit.  

And I must admit, I find the realness of living day to day with these Moms a great inspiration to me.    I found the fashion blogs to inspire my creativity, which is a gift I am really grateful for, but these mommy blogs inspire me to think about who I am and how I am going to raise the child that DH and I are expecting.

What will my priorities be?  How will I deal with the day to day ins and outs of choreslaundrypukeandpoop as one mom put it?  Will I succumb to the pressure to Be The Perfect Mother only to find out {much to my chagrin} that I never can be that?  And of course, the most pressing question in my mind is ~ will I be able to keep my house neat and tidy??? 

xox,

bonita

P.S. ~  I have more to post about on the subject of Baby Talk.  Keep your eye out for Baby Talk Part II ~ The Trials and Tribulations of Being the First Mommy in your Circle.

Bug me ~ Outfit Nineteen

I wore this outfit when I went to lunch with my Mom on Thursday.   It was definitely a throw~it~on ensemble as I woke up at 11:40am {yes, I get to sleep in during the week} and I had twenty minutes to be ready before I left.  

I think I got dressed somewhat like Superman or the Mask does, but the result was ok so we were all engines go! 

If you are wondering about the long sleeves ~ spring time regressed this week and ran away as Old Man Winter came back in full force.   Unlike the balmy, sunny, occasionally rainy weather we have been experiencing over the last few months, the end of this week has been simply miserable.  Cold, windy and grey with not even the saving grace of rain to get us through.   

As a result I am wearing spring converted winter outfits!   I.e., summer tops that have been made warmer with layers of thick wintery clothes like jeans and boots.  That’s Canberra for you though.  If the weather so much as sneezes in Jindabyne {the Snowy Mountains} we catch the cold from down south.  

 

The bugs, however, did not seem to notice the lack of sun  ~ there were caterpillars in the daisies, some sort of six legged critter swarming the flowering tree behind me and lots of ants and such like.  The flies are not out in full force yet, but we will know it when they are as this spring has been so wet.  That always means a bad fly summer in Australia.   Ick.   > <

    

Accessories   ~  Hair bow {handmade by b dot depictions}   Pearl necklace  {antique shop}

Watch  {thrifted for $5.00 ~ it’s a favourite of mine}

Long Sleeved Top  ~  Tightrope      Floral Dress/Top  ~  Tempt

Jeans  ~  Primark {UK}     Boots  ~  Ladies Market {Hong Kong}

~ * ♥ * ~ * ♥ * ~ * ♥ * ~

“Gosh Boni, you are so erm, THICK around your waist…   What have you been doing to yourself?”

“Actually, it’s not exactly a case of what have I been doing to myself.”

…..  *blank stare* …….  

“Really it’s quite simple.”

“Really?”

“Yes really.  DH and I are having a baby.”

~ * ♥ * ~ * ♥ * ~ * ♥ * ~

I am pregnant.  I just thought I’d let you all in on the secret juuusstttt in case anyone was wondering about the suspicious bump.  We decided early on to keep the news under wraps for a while, in the event that something went wrong.   But now we’ve hit the 12 week mark, DH and I feel that we are ready to announce it to the world.  

He’s all “Can’t wait to put it up on Facebook” and I am all “Can’t wait to blog about it”!!

If you are interested, the Baby is 12 weeks 6 days old, measures around 5.5 cm and can kick, wave and jump about.  It’s all very exciting.

xox,

bonita  

 

P.S.  ~  Yes, that is the reason why I get to sleep in a lot! 

P.P.S. ~  A reader kindly brought to my attention that the above conversation might be construed as a real one…   Sorry everyone, I actually made it up in my head!  >o< 

P.P.P.S.  ~  This batch of outfit photos where taken by my lovely sister~in~law also known as my Sewing Guru.  Thanks Guru!