Phew! So, I’ve had a few weeks off from the whole blogging thing, but that doesn’t mean I’ve not been taking plenty of pictures of my boys! This is a total show-off-fest of my family - gotta love them, even the cat!

I can’t take credit for this shot - J’s pretty damn good with the camera himself. Max had his first proper shot on the swings in the park a couple of weeks back and absolutely loved it. Here he’s watching Zack on one of the rocking horse thingys.

Ok, so it’s blurred, but I still love this pic.

What can I say, I love that guy!

A rare shot of me with my boy.

Watching a movie together.

Just chillin’, havin’ some milk, watchin’ the game…

The Mohawk. I just can’t help myself when he’s in the bath!

The fluffball turned one at the end of August. Yes, that HUGE cat is only just 1 year old… still thinks he’s a kitten though!

Zack and Max are always up to mischief now that Max is CRAWLING all over the place!

I gave Max his first haircut. Not too short, and he still has his curlytop, it’s just not as much of a mess as it was before! He’s much happier now that Mummy isn’t tugging at his hair with a brush about 5 times a day!

Two of my handsome guys. Max was desperately trying to look around me to see Winnie the Pooh on the tv. Our poor wee guy is a telly addict already. Oh well!

Caught! I turn my back for a minute and Zack is trying to get my umbrella out of the buggy - typical!

My favourite of them all. See that look of complete adoration in Max’s eyes? Heart! Melting! Big! Puddle!

Well… that’s my weekly winners done, so if you want to see more Winners then head over to Sarcastic Mom for more!

Waiting patiently,
try, try again. Finally
I’m employed again!

Starting a week on
Monday, decent hours - good
wage. About time too!

Huge weight lifted from
me. I can relax at last!
For a week at least…

I thought I’d try to make sure I update with how my boys are doing once a week, so from now on, every Monday, I’m going to post up details of what my boys have been up to.

Zack started nursery last week and so far it’s been a booming success!

Before going to nursery:

After nursery:

Needless to say it’s making life a lot more peaceful around here, although he was pretty upset at not getting to go over the weekend. He’ll learn in time though.

How have your little ones been doing? What’s new this week for them? I’d love to hear - comparing notes makes me feel sane when I hear that it’s not just MY 3 year old who’s being cheeky/annoying/noisy and ohsocute at the same time!

This post has been taken (with permission!) from Veronica over at Sleepless Nights.

Ivy is beautiful and Ivy is sick. Ivy is only 2.

And yet, at age 2, Ivy has seen the inside of a hospital more times than anyone should have to. Ivy has a rare immune deficiency IgG. Because of that, she has Pemphigus which is an autoimmune response to the IgG  [please note, these are photos of Ivy's pemphigus blisters and they may be a little graphic for some people].

These are horrible conditions that no adult should have to deal with, let alone a child.

Ivy is currently on Prednisone and Mycophenolate to help control her symptoms and blistering; however, these drugs suppress her immune system, on top of the deficiency.

Ivy’s mum says “…she was never good at mounting a response to infection but the meds make it worse.”

She frequently ends up in hospital on IV antibiotics, just to help control the infection in her ears that never seems to completely disappear. She cannot be exposed to a simple virus in fear that it will land her back in hospital for days at a time.

She can’t go to the playground to play.

She can’t attend playgroup.

She can’t head to the supermarket with her mother.

She might never be able to go to regular school.

She is only 2.

However, there is a treatment that would give Ivy a good chance at normal life.

It’s called IVIG (intravenous immunoglobulin) and it is a transfusion of immune cells that would bolster Ivy’s own immune system and help her fight infections in a normal way.

Think about it, a chance at a normal life. A life that doesn’t involve frequent hospitalisations.

Unfortunately, the officials at the Australian National Blood Authority have denied the request for Ivy to have this treatment. This treatment that could very well keep her out of hospital. So far, all appeals have been in vain.

As Ivy’s Mum says on her website:

“My little girl is going to have a life of hospital admissions and illness, some chronic, some life threatening, because some guy in an ivory tower decided she could survive without this medication.”

How is this fair?

What if it was your child? What if it was your sister’s child? Do the rules change for daughters of the officials? How come someone with a big stamp gets to say yes or no to this little girl’s chance at a normal life?

It shouldn’t be like this.

All I am asking for is 2 minutes of your time. If you could just head over here and sign our petition, we might be able to get enough support to convince the National Blood Authority officials to change their mind.

Ivy is only 2. She deserves a chance to be normal.

Please, a minute of your time could make all the difference for Ivy.

Sign Petition

If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.
(Hardly seems worth it.)

If you farted consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.
(Now that’s more like it!)

The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet.
(O.M.G.!)

A pig’s orgasm lasts 30 minutes.
(In my next life, I want to be a pig.)

A cockroach will live nine days without its head before it starves to death. (Creepy.)
(I’m still not over the pig.)

Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories a hour
(Don’t try this at home, maybe at work)

The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male’s head off.
(Honey, I’m home. What the…?!)

The flea can jump 350 times its body length. It’s like a human jumping the length of a football field.
(30 minutes..lucky pig! Can you imagine?)

The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds.
(What could be so tasty on the bottom of a pond?)

Some lions mate over 50 times a day.
(I still want to be a pig in my next life…quality over quantity)

Butterflies taste with their feet.
(Something I always wanted to know.)

The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
(Hmmmmmm……)

Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people.
(If you’re ambidextrous, do you split the difference?)

Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump.
(Okay, so that would be a good thing)

A cat’s urine glows under a black light.
(I wonder who was paid to figure that out?)

An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.
( I know some people like that.)

Starfish have no brains
(I know some people like that too.)

Polar bears are left-handed.
(If they switch, they’ll live a lot longer)

Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.
(What about that pig??)

Now that you’ve smiled at least once, it’s your turn to spread these crazy facts and send this to someone you want to bring a smile to, maybe even a chuckle.

In other words, send it to everyone !
(and God love that pig)

Awesome.