Melbourne Belated

I mentioned here and probably somewhere else on my wide interweb presence that the girls and I were going to Melbourne in the first week of the school holidays to hang out with my youngest sister (Fiona – known as Fi or Feebs) and her family.
I’m finally getting round to writing a brief, mostly pictorial, post about the trip.
There was some of this….

…and a little of this.

We took the female children to Build-a-Bear for some of this…

…yes, I know…it’s a dragon not a bear, his name is Norbert.
This one is a bear though…although you can’t tell yet because it’s still unstuffed.

Then we belatedly celebrated Hannah’s birthday…

We also went and saw this…

…well actually we saw the whole exhibition not just the banners but there was a ‘no photography’ rule in there so the best I could do was the banners.
And on the final day I took the four older children to see Harry Potter 3D at the IMAX theatre.  It was the highlight for Aislin (here in Quidditch robes).

All in all a busy, but extremely satisfying and enjoyable, week.

The July update…

…because I’m not going to be any more optimistic than that.

The mid year term holidays are upon us, I’ve taken some time off and we are heading to Melbourne on Sunday to spend a week with my sister and her family. We have some rather exciting plans for Melbourne but I hope to blog about them so I won’t spoil the surprises by blabbing here today.

I’m recovering slowly from my shoulder injury, I have some more movement and a bit less pain.  I call that progress.

Work continues to be just that…work. That’s all on that topic, after all, I’m on holiday.

My girls are still gorgeous. Hannah continues to amaze me with her creativeness and intense commitment to anything she does.  Aislin just amazes me. Her Harry Potter obsession is not lessening, in fact here we are on a shopping trip.

As you can see she is in full Hogwarts regalia (and yes, she has a wand)…my little Gryffindor. She’s eccentric, but I like that…it just confirms that she is mine. Fortunately she has a best friend who is equally HP obsessed so she has someone with whom she can share her freakiness.

I have to say, as I sit with here my morning coffee, posting to my blog I am filled with a sense of nostalgia for the days that this was a more regular occurrence.  I miss those days.

Busy Eve

…and I don’t mean someone called Eve who is extremely busy (no jokes about your mother thanks Dave).

Tomorrow I go back to work after my 12 day break.  I can’t say I’m looking forward to it.  It will be busy…right from the minute I get there, my job is always relentlessly busy.   It’s certainly better than being bored, but I’d settle for a nice steady daily workload…the stress becomes a problem after a while – panic attacks at 3am are really not pleasant.

Tom and the girls are still on holiday for the rest of this week which certainly eases the pressure a little, for the next few days at least.  Next week will be business as usual.  In anticipation of this I am planning ahead, I have to be super-organised as we spend 11.5 of our waking hours out of the house.  It doesn’t leave much ‘at home’ time for household/family stuff…never mind resting.  So making sure we have freezer meals ready, washing and ironing is done, schedule marked with which days are sports uniforms, guitar lessons, swimming etc. so we remember to take the correct clothes and equipment with us as we leave the house at 7am.  It has to run like a well oiled machine.  It usually does for the first few weeks then everyone becomes exhausted and forgetful and it falls apart a bit.  By the end of term our schedule is decidedly frayed around the edges. But we survive.

I keep telling myself it won’t be like this forever.  

 

Peaceful…

…that’s been the last few days.  Although Thursday was spent clothes shopping for the children (why do they grow out of everything simultaneously and seemingly overnight?). It was actually an enjoyable day despite the whole shopping thing.

On Thursday night we attended the Holy Thursday Mass, and on Friday morning we did the Stations of the Cross at the girls’ school.  Each class had made a Station (some made two) so it was lovely for them (and us) to participate in that using the Stations they had helped create.  In the afternoon we went to the Passion Mass. 

Dinner last night was Atlantic salmon, scalloped potatoes, asparagus and cauliflower – there was some wine also.  In case you were wondering.

I’ve been on holiday for over a week and only just managing to feel ok about not doing anything.  I’m finding it so hard to relax these days, even with meditation – being so constantly busy during term time it takes me a long time to slow down…I probably will be quite mellow by Wednesday…just in time to go back to work. 

Today is looking to be another peaceful one, quiet day at home, reading, napping and perhaps watch a movie later.  Tonight is the Easter Vigil Mass so once again we’ll toddle off to St Matthews – it’s all fire and candles tonight.

Tomorrow there will be chocolate.

Australia Day

Today is Australia Day. Yay.

It is the national day of beer and barbeques and sport. I’m not going to have or attend any barbeques. I’m certainly not watching any sport and it’s unlikely I’ll even have a beer.

Yesterday was Robert Burns’ birthday.

I didn’t go to a Burns’ Supper, nor did I have any haggis but I did have a small whiskey last night (medicinal of course).

Today is also my late Mum’s birthday. Happy Birthday Mum.

Australia Day 2009

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!!!

Today is the day to.......go to the beach...

...have a barbecue....

...watch the fireworks.....

..wherever you are, whether celebrating or not, be sure to have a great day!

A nothing day...

...today. Well, not entirely nothing. First there was swimming (yes I know I'm not supposed to take pictures, what can I say? I'm a rule breaker - recognise anyone? No, didn't think so). The girls both successfully completed their levels and were happy.

I sat under a tree and read while they swam (that's the tree not me).

As we left we stopped at the kiosk to buy a celebratory ice cream. I noticed that they had Monaco Bars, something Cathy has been blogging about here, here and also here. So I thought 'ok, I'm going to get one of those and see what all the fuss is about'.

Now I can see why people mounted a petition to bring back the Monaco Bar...and kudos to Nestle who listened to their customers and brought it back. All I can say is that it's a good job I didn't discover the kiosk had them on day 1 of swimming lessons.

Oh and it's very hot today.

The end.

Strawberry days

We've had rather a lovely week. The girls have had swimming lessons every morning (no photos, cameras not allowed) so we've been getting up, having a leisurely breakfast, getting ready and heading to the pool. It's been warm except for yesterday, so T and I sit in the shade of a tree and watch the lesson, chat to each other or read our books. It's all very relaxing.

There are all sorts of farms and orchards in our area so on the drive home (only 15 minutes) we stop and buy locally produced fruit. My favourite is the strawberry farm where we buy big punnets of fresh strawberries, the ones they consider 'seconds', usually because of size or shape, but I think they are best ones.

The girls always eat a couple before we get home and the smell of fresh strawberries fills the car.

So far no-one is sick of strawberries.

Christmas in pictures (and a few words)

I've been meaning to get this done for a week and today I finally got around to going through the Christmas holiday photos. Here is a small selection for your viewing pleasure.

The captions are clockwise.....(no, they're not...Dave pointed out my error - thank you Dave - they are actually left to right).

1. Queuing for a parking space pre-Christmas 2. Tom took the girls for a sushi lunch while I did some Christmas shopping 3. Finally in the car ready to go (and yes, that is the cat, she came too) 4. The makeshift driftwood Christmas tree at the beach house (I love it) .

1. Christmas Eve mass with their cousins on Tom's side (the boys in the picture, not the holy family and shepherd, I'll refrain from making any comments hinting that some people in Tom's family might think they're Jesus Christ...oops, too late) 2. Lighting candles for loved ones lost 3. Whisky, shortbread and cherries for Santa (the girls like to give him something seasonal hence the cherries, they can't believe he'd actually enjoy whisky) 4. Christmas morning, presents!

Post Christmas beachery, it was very, very windy... 1. Hannah in danger of being blown away attached to a Body Board 2. Tom had a surf then gave Hannah her first surfing lesson 3. Aislin battling the wind to get back to me and a warm cuddle 4. I didn't do anything but this.

Another beach on a different coast with more cousins (this time my family). It was even more windy and this time freezing cold which didn't seem to affect the children as you can see. 1. It was very choppy out there 2. Aislin and Emily running away from the waves 3. Hannah, Aislin and their big cousin Jacob 4. The sensible one, Alexandra, she didn't go in .

Afterwards they were freezing cold and windblown, we went to a cafe for hot chocolate. 1. I think they're adorable (even if Jacob does look a bit bored, it could be because of the 15,000 photos his mother and I took). 2. They talk nearly as much as their mother and I do, it's nice they like each other so much. 3. They think they're hilarious (they're not, well only sometimes). 4. Important spoon balancing skills while your cousin has her second hot chocolate.

So there you have it, a pictorial guide to our Christmas break.

That'll do for today.

Settling in

I'm struggling to get back to any kind of routine after the festive season. It took me ages to unpack all the bags after our holiday and I still feel that everything is just a little disorganised (except my bathroom cabinet which I cleaned out yesterday). Of course we have another 3+ weeks of school holidays so it will be some time before we get back to complete normality ('normal' being a relative term around here).

Next week is shaping up to be very busy, the girls will be doing daily swimming lessons and although Tom is still on holiday he has some contract work to complete and I have a number of things I MUST do for the business. We'll be battling for computer time and fighting over whose turn it is to take the girls to their swimming lesson, should be a fun week.

I feel I should say something about the future, this being a brand new year and all. I have no resolutions for 2009, I don't really 'do' resolutions - I can never keep them - but I have a lot of hope that this will be a much better year than 2008. I also have some personal and business 'goals', things I'd like to achieve rather than things I resolve to do (or not do). Most of all I hope to make 2009 a happier year by enjoying the journey a bit more, taking it all a bit less seriously, having more 'fun' (whatever that is) and getting away for short breaks more often. I don't expect this year to be any less busy than last year was, but I'd like to handle it a bit better by remembering to stop occasionally.

This year I will try not to be a slave to stress and worry and sadness.

And I'll keep blogging, my second blogiversary is coming up, can't quit now.

Wishing you....

....my treasured blog friends the happiest of years. I hope, in 2009, you thrive in peace and prosperity and write lots of posts for my entertainment.

A big cyber hug to you all.

Resolutions are horrible things so if you make any only make nice ones, like 'laugh more' (except you Dave, please don't laugh at all) or 'eat more chocolate' or 'take a nap every day'. At least those resolutions are easy to keep.

Missing in action...

..but now I'm back. We spontaneously extended our break and arrived home about 2 hours ago (so about 7pm, New Year's Eve instead of last Sunday). I have fed the children and put them to bed and I'm now unpacking (where did all the stuff come from?). Later I shall have a glass of something and see in the New Year with Tom. Then I shall sleep for about 12 hours (yeah, like that will happen).

Over the next couple of days I'lll read your comments and visit your blogs and write a post or two about our holiday break. Bet you can't wait.

I hope you all had a good Christmas, it's nice to be back.

Amazing!

Due to the wonders of modern technology you are reading this while I am on holiday. Clever isn't it?

That is assuming my scheduling worked. And that I am actually on holiday and didn't have to cancel it all due to lack of interest. And that you are here reading the blog.

I should be about 2 hours into the journey. I'm probably sick of listening to The Wiggles by now and just about ready to cut my own throat. However, the beach house is getting closer and soon we will be there and then we can unpack the car, put up the makeshift Christmas tree and open a bottle of red.

Good times.

Packing and preparing

Today will be spent sorting, organising and packing for our week at the beach house. I have about 20 lists (I'm a list maker) but the only thing I'm really worried about is forgetting a vital Christmas present and having a child think Santa has let them down.

We have a quiet week planned down there, the girls will spend a couple of days with their Grandparents and I intend to spend much of the time lying around reading interspersed with the occasional beach walk. Thursday will be the obligatory family Christmas lunch then back to the beach house for more relaxing.

Oh and there's some cricket thing happening too, my job is to provide crayons and throw shrimps at a barbie apparently.

During my absence there will be a few random posts scheduled all over the place to keep you guessing. Unfortunately as there is no internet connection where I am (not even a phone...what bliss!) I will be unable to visit my favourite blogs so you'll get a break from my comments. I will catch up on our return though so you're warned.

No more pencils, no more books...

....I won't finish that little rhyme because I won't make derogatory comments about teachers on this blog (after all I was one myself) and also because I would hate to offend Cathy. Also I love teachers. Especially teachers I know (like Cathy) and my daughters' teachers.

Have I sucked up enough?

Ok, on with the show. It is now officially the SUMMER HOLIDAYS!!!!

As you can see from this picture taken 5 minutes ago.

I picked up the girls today and attended the short 'end of year' assembly (not the official one, that was last week - just a quick 'have a great summer' type assembly). It gives the kids the opportunity to do the official countdown to the final bell and make a lot of noise and get thoroughly worked up with excitement before sending them home with their parents - some kind of teachers' revenge I think.

During this assembly one of Hannah's classmates was invited to get up and tell everyone about the school's under 10 cricket team. He looked a bit bewildered for a minute then got up and said 'well....we've lost every match so far'. Apparently they can never score more than 60 and the other teams always score more than 100 (that still seems like a lot of goals to me). He got a big round of applause anyway.

We are home and have cleaned out the school bags and stored them away until next year. I now have a mountainous pile of art work that has come home with the girls as well school books and numerous sets of pencils and felt tips. It's fantastic because I was hoping for some more clutter just before Christmas.

Here I am!

Well, where did the weekend go? On Friday afternoon it seemed like we were heading for a weekend like any other, little did I know that the universe was conspiring against me. On Saturday morning Tom announced that he was going to have to work, he's currently doing some environmental consultancy work (as well as his normal job) and had a project with a looming deadline and needed the computer all day. I didn't realise he actually meant ALL DAY. He even ate lunch at the desk. At 11pm I gave up on getting a turn and toddled off to bed. So bang went Saturday's post.

When Tom finally came to bed he was feeling a bit guilty about abandoning us all for the day and since it was the end of the holidays he suggested we took the girls out for the day on Sunday. So we did. ALL DAY...again. We finally got home, cooked dinner, ate dinner, organised the children and read them stories. Then I did some general tidying, ironing and preparation for the week and thought 'blog post!' and came through to the office. I read two blogs, opened blogger to start a new post and the computer crashed (it's been doing it a bit lately). I stared at it in dismay for a minute, considered rebooting and trying again but decided to just accept my fate and went to bed.

So here I am today, writing a post about not writing posts. Riveting isn't it?

Anyway, moving on....although I was unable to post on Saturday I was productive in other ways, I still have some of my manic energy and so I did the 'seasonal clothes shift' with the girls wardrobes. I put away any winter stuff that will still fit next year, I bagged anything that was still in good condition but didn't/wouldn't fit ready to take to Vinnies and chucked the rest. Then I got out the summer stuff and checked it all in case they'd grown more than I expected. They had. Then I made a (long) list of what we still need. That took the best part of the day because it also involved a general cleaning out of the drawers and wardrobe, there were piles of clothes everywhere. It's all tidy and sorted now (you're enjoying all this aren't you?).

On Sunday we did some of this.....

And this......

'scary, scary' hee hee, and also this.......

I've got no idea who that is saying 'wheeee' at the start, it isn't me - I'm way to cool to say 'wheeee'.

Then just to show how perfect my life is, sometimes a princess reads me a bedtime story - even if her tiara has slipped slightly.

Finally, because Dave faithfully returned to Bridget's Flame several times over the weekend only to find nothing new to read, here is a gratuitous picture of Shane Watson apparently having 'more fun than he's ever had' which in my book merely illustrates that he needs to get out more.

Thanks to Fox Sports for the picture.

Preparing and What I did yesterday

The girls go back to school on Tuesday, commencing the first of the 'summer terms' - different uniform, sandals, sun hats every day. This morning I thought 'I hope those uniforms fit'. So we got them out and tried everything on. They were fine. Hannah needed new school sandals so we went and bought those today. Boring brown school sandals. $85. All the nice shoes we could have bought for $85, but no...they were the ones we needed. And did I mention.......$85!!?

We also went to the pet shop and saw the puppies. I'd love a puppy. Just saying.

Then we went to the supermarket which was a hoot (no, I'm kidding, it was supermarket shopping - same as always).

Now we're home. We had lunch and now I have work to do (yes, the kind you get paid for). I'd really like to put my feet up for half an hour but I'd better not.

Speaking of such things remember how tired I was yesterday? Well, I don't know what happened but despite being so tired I started a couple of jobs I've been intending to do for a while.......and couldn't stop. I was like the energiser bunny on speed...I was still going at 11pm!! Tom was worried that when I did eventually go to bed I wouldn't be able to sleep I was so strung out and manic.

I.......

- Changed the sheets/quilt covers etc

- Vacuumed and dusted the whole house

- Did 4 loads of washing, the whole washing line was full plus two small dryer loads

- Completely tidied, ordered and organised the top drawer of the filing cabinet (got 4 supermarket plastic bags of papers – I really need a shredder)

- Tidied and organised the bills folder, did a new fortnightly budget spreadsheet and another financial spreadsheet

- Folded most of the clean washing and put it away

- Took a cup of tea to bed at 11pm and read until midnight.

This is all as well as the usual daily bits and pieces, supervising children, making lunch, making dinner, bathing children etc. Once I went to bed I did actually fall asleep easily and slept well. I've got no idea what caused the wild energy burst, especially considering I was operating on less than 3 hours sleep, but whatever it was I'd like some more of it.

Well that didn't last long

After yesterdays blue skies and bees, today we have grey skies and cold.

See....

Compare it to yesterday....HUGE difference!

It's also raining.............on my weeds.

So indoor activities are the order of the day. The girls got busy making 'stained glass windows'.

A fish....

a flower....

and a dragon......

I have to say the dragon is freaking me out a bit, looks like it just emerged from the very bowels of hell. I'm not telling the girls that though, don't want to cramp their creative style.

Now we have to think of something else to do because the natives are getting restless and Aislin just blew a raspberry at Hannah then cried when Hannah said she was disgusting. We might have to pop out and buy wine first, because I feel certain Mummy's going to need her little helper tonight.

Blue skies and bees

It's a beautiful day, perfect temperature, perfect blue sky and the buzz of bees.

Here's the sky....

Here's a bee...

There are actually hundreds of bees on that shrub but you're just going to have to take my word for it because I couldn't get them all to stay still long enough for a photo. They were quite unco-operative, dashing - in a rather wobbly way - from flower to flower, buzzing their heads off.

Drunk on pollen I suspect.

On my desk

As it is school holidays I am not at my desk, but on the table we have......

Cluedo....

.....Junior Scrabble....

..and Snakes and Ladders...

Most enjoyable.