Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Christmas time is beaut!!

I love this time of year. Seriously it's just so wonderful. It makes me so happy!!



First of all, I organised Secret Santa for a bunch of friends - and yesterday Sir E helped me by drawing names out of a hat. I know who I am buying for now and it's so exciting. I have a month to come up with some good stuff for her!! I love dreaming about what I could get her and how I could make it really creative. I can't say who it's for because she might read this blog, but I am so excited about it!!

Second of all, I'm excited because I love all the Christmas decorations that are going up everywhere. It's a tad earlier this year for some reason, but I have a whole month more to enjoy it! I love the corny christmas carols - mate I even listen to a Christmas radio station online for the entire month of December!!



Third of all I am excited because I love to give. I love to give gifts to my friends, family. Especially my Mum. I know it's a good gift when she bawls her eyes out. Can't talk much more about this, because I know Mum reads this blog occasionally! But I reckon this year will be a rip snorter of a howl. Perhaps I should enclose a hanky as part of the gift tag??

Fourth of all I just love making Christmas stuff. Gifts, cards, food. Mop was talking about all the special things that I make when it's christmastime and I must say it was very exciting to think that it's all upon us once again. I really need to finish my E-book so I can get on with it all!

I love, absolutely love Christmas.
When I was a kid, Christmas was soooo cool. We usually had it at Nanna and Pop's house. They lived in a cottage so it was crowded, snug but still great - especially when we were all there - aunts, uncles cousins etc. Nanna had all these old ornaments that she hung on the tree the night of my birthday. She popped the tree on the table, so gifts would all fit around it. The worst part of Christmas day was waiting. In fact that is a tradition I threw out the window with glee when I married - as soon as we woke up we did presents. When I was a kid, we had to wait until after lunch!!! OH THE AGONY!!!!

Roast chicken, roast veggies, steamed veggies, bread sauce and gravy for lunch and christmas pudding for dessert with custard. YUMM. Mum still does that for her Christmas dinners - she's hosting this year. I will probably move away from that - I like to make different stuff.

We are having Daz's rellies over for Christmas Eve and there are going to be sooooo many of them. ALL the cousins, aunts, uncles, second cousins... it's going to be soooo huge! So fun too. The cousins are mostly insane. I love them dearly! They are fun, they crack good jokes, they are loud, rowdy and I have been accepted as one of them. It's a good feeling to be friends as well as loved by your extended family. I just hope I don't get kissed all day. The worst thing about Daz's family as they all kiss me!! YUCCCKK!!! I am SO not a kissy person. Especially when a certain female family member has more facial hair than Ned Kelly. :) Ahem.. LOL



SO now... the most important part of Christmas.. my wishlist.
I'm not expecting much this year because we are only just turning a corner financially.. but this is what I would really love.

Perfume - Moonflower from the Body Shop.
Vegetarian cook book
All Saints DVD's.
Fabric to make quilts with (not for me, but still.. I'll enjoy it!!)
An overseas holiday. *snort* Not going to happen, but I can still wish!
Earrings and bling.

And considering it's my birthday 4 days before - I get a double whammy. I will be turning 30 this year. Shhhh... I plan to pretend it's not happening. I'll be busy doing a Christmas service in church... I won't be turning 30. It's not happening.. I'll stick my fingers in my ears and say LALALALA. Not turning 30.

When does midlife crisis time kick in?? I may just go and do something really radical... like... spend some time and money ON MYSELF!! Now that would be radical!!

An update

It's been a rough few days - and nights. Poor little Milly is cutting her two top teeth. Last night she screamed from 7-11pm, then from 1-3am. I ended up rocking her to sleep. I tried walking her around outside (she preferred to look at the lights and the police helicopter that was circling around) I tried everything. It was a hard night and I am exhausted.
She's been really clingy as well. It's kinda nice because she wants me. She has been a "Mum-mum" girl alot. She just wants to be with me. Kinda makes it tricky cooking dinner with a Milly Moo on my hip. :)
I can tell she's in pain, she's not her happy little self. I've never heard her cry so much. Poor cherub.

What better way to soothe her gums than to sink your teeth into your brother's apple?? Poor boy nipped off to the toilet and while he was gone, Milly quickly climbed up to the table and swiped it.





I've been exhausted for a while. I stopped sleeping well when Daz got sick, and it's been just bad since then. I'm tired, cranky - and I think yesterday I hit the end of my tether when I wanted to pick my whinging son up and chuck him over to the pitbull terrier in the neighbours yard. Poor kid. Didn't have a very good Mummy day yesterday.
A plus is that we started the ball rolling in getting him enrolled in Montessori. He'll have one or two mornings a week playing with other kids and not wandering around, whinging, whining and missing Mop. Mummy isn't very fun to play with - he'd rather be bossed around by Mop. LOL

His toilet training is going really well. Poo's all in the toilet and probably a wee accident once every couple of days. I'm thrilled with how well he is going - and the savings of money spent on nappies!! WOOT!!
I am getting frustrated with his lack of trying to dress himself. It's a battle every day to get him to help get dressed. Though today I saw he put his own jocks on without him screaming "STUCK!" before he even put a foot in a leg hole! He often walks around with no jocks or pants on because he wants me to dress him all the time. Sorry bud, not going to happen. So independant in some areas and totally not in others.

Me, well I am really excited. I have a friend who is going to give me a Yummy Mummy make over. Help me stop looking like a daggy ol bag and give me some style and some tips on what to wear. Ziz is a very classy lady - and I am so thrilled she can pass on some of her tips to me! She is very clever and has worked out my style and what my body shape will look good in. Very very clever lady. Funny thing is that she lives in Melbourne, so she'll be working her magic via webcam. *giggle* Gotta love modern technology.

I've been working on my E-book - which will be a Yearly Organiser - trying to get it out for 1st December. I am working so hard and am really happy with how it's going so far.

We got an invitation to Daz's work Christmas party. It's a family affair which is lovely. It's apparently very kid orientated so that's lovely, and Santa gives each of the kids a present too which is nice. Not sure how I am going to explain this guy to E - Mop has already expressed scorn about Santa and how he isn't real. LOL I quickly explained that he is real to other kids and that she shouldn't tell anyone he isn't real - let them discover that on their own, otherwise she will ruin their Christmas.

Mop is getting very excited about Christmas. She is doing alot of Christmas activities in school and she's got the countdown thing happening. She's her mother's daughter!!

Ok well I better head off... I need some shut-eye.

I've been tagged!!

Little White Dove has tagged me! I haven't been tagged in a while so this should be fun!

The Rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. List 5 things that could make your life very different should it come true.
3. Tag 5 other people.


1. If I went back to work now, I would desperately miss my babies and would be utterly miserable without them. As much as I am getting a bit sick of being at home all the time, I would miss the Milly cuddles and kisses, Sir E's constant "What you doin?" and his giggles. I would miss the school holidays with Mop chattering on and playing all sorts of wonderful games. I would miss the sounds of "In the night garden" in the morning - as much as that show annoys me. But, you gotta do what you gotta do eh?

2. If I didn't choose to be a Beauty Therapist - a job I would never go back to now, I would never have met my husband. I was his make up artist in a musical that he was in.

3. If I didn't become a Christian 14 years ago I wouldn't be here. My life would either be over or extremely miserable. I wouldn't be the person that I am today. I am glad that I live this life and would not change anything about it.

4. If I could go back in time, I would change the way I spoke to my Mum as a horrible, nasty hurting teen. My biggest regret in my life is how terribly I treated her. She doesn't hold it against me and she loves me so much, but I still regret that.

5. If I won a million dollars, I would pay of my mortgage and give the rest away. There are so many that need help in this world, and I would like to make a difference in their lives.


Right, now for my 5 people I tag!!

Donna
Jac
Gail - there ya are Gail - a bit of a nudge to get blogging again!!
Melissa
Mel

It's just not our day.

Last night the drains packed up. Literally. We had water running down our hall way. Water ankle deep in the shower. It just wouldn't drain away. The toilets don't flush well. I pity the plumber when he gets here. LOL
I had to shower at Mum's this morning, because I didn't want to cause a flood. Ah well. Lucky Mum didn't mind.

So we now await the plumber. Hopefully he can sort it out asap.

Yesterday I had a horrible Mummy moment. It was 2:30pm - I thought to myself, "right in half an hour I need to go pick up Mop." Then I got engrossed in hunting around for some scrapping stuff for my brother and SIL's Christmas present. WELL... 3:36 pm I look at the clock again and scream in horror! I run out the door, screeched up the road and run into the school, absolutely mortified!! I find Mop sitting folornly in the front office.
She saw me come in and jumped off the chair, relief in her face - "Mummy!! I didn't think you were coming!!" she said to me. I wanted to cry. I felt so bad. I was terribly late. Half an hour late!! Mop understood what happened and didn't hold it against me. Later that afternoon when we went food shopping, we ran into Mop's teacher. Mop explained why I was late and seemed to think it rather funny. I was so embarressed and really upset about it. That won't be happening again any time soon!! I am watching the clock now as we speak - 2:53pm - I need to leave in 7 minutes.

Last night Milly woke up crying. Today we discovered why. Her two front teeth have broken through her gums and they are finally out. Thank goodness. Her nappy rash has been horrible. That will clear up now her teeth are out.

E is not well. He is off to the doctors this afternoon with DH who is also as crook as a dog. E seems to have an ear infection. He's flat, moody, grumpy and yesterday he didn't want to walk around, he wanted to be carried. Oh and he snuggled up on me for a cuddle and a rock - twice!! He hasn't done that in ages. It's kinda nice when he is all snuggly.
DH has some horrible virus, which knocked him out for 2 days. I've never known a person to sleep for 2 days and 2 nights. Poor little/big guys.

I need to leave in 4 minutes.

I'm doing really well with Christmas preparations. If you check out my craft blog you will see what I am up to and what is being made. Pete and Deb's clock is mostly made, just need embellishments.

I went to Gawler with Mum yesterday and guess what we found? A quilting store!! I was in heaven!! They have beautiful fabrics that I can't wait to get my hands on. First things first - Christmas present making and E's quilt.

Right, I need to go.

Catchya later

Nanny is the best!

Look at Milly smoodging my Mum would you?? Just moments before Mum had walked in the door, and Milly saw her and crawled as fast as her little arms and legs could move straight towards her. Then started "cuddling" her Nanny.

Nanny is also the best because Mop has been not doing her bookwork very neatly at school and also has been in a right strop and been speaking rudely and disrespectfully to me. So... we are using the incentive of going to Nanny's for a play day if she can do her book work neatly. Today her bookwork was excellent. :) And if she is well behaved all well then Nanny will take her to BB's for a "coffee" - so far I haven't heard one word of rudeness or narkiness. Ahhh I love blackmail.

Another progress report

E's toilet training is going well. He had a few accidents today - but none yesterday. But a big breakthrough - he pooped in the toilet!!! YAY!!! He was so proud of himself! He even sat himself on the toilet to go, without me helping him!! He's really getting the hang of it!

As I told Donna, I'm being a good parent by offering jelly beans for poops. They are beans - which are vegetables. LOL

Christmas shopping is well underway. I have most of the kids stockings finished which is great - that means they are sorted for this year. :) Fun fun!!

Progress report....

Well I am settling back into life slowly. I am enjoying being relaxed and doing things as I do them - and not killing myself to get them done. We are unpacked, the clothes are washed and life is resuming as usual. I plan to go on a shopping trip with Mum tomorrow - the poor old girl was sick the whole time I was away so didn't get out much.

We are on day 3 of E's toilet training and I am really happy with how he is going. After the rough start on Friday, we have had 2 accidents since then. One yesterday - which was at the shops and I think because he didn't know where he could go to the toilet. And today he pooped in his pants, because he is scared of pooing in the toilet. He says when he needs to go and runs straight there. This is brilliant!! I guess my ignorance of training and the pressure I felt from certain people wondering why she wasn't trained at 6 months old made it a hard and long job.

We went to Big Dub and bought E some Bob and Thomas jocks. He is very proud of them. I caught him today at nap time getting them all out of his drawer and lining them all up. Very cute.

Mop starts school again tomorrow - term 4. She's excited. She no longer has Wednesdays off so it will be full time school for the girl.

Milly Moo is going to be the death of me. At 10 months old she is a climber. She pulls herself up on furniture - and starts doing the splits because she is slipping - but will she let go?? NOOOO... LOL She chucks a fit if you don't let her climb all over the couch and try and launch herself off. Silly girl... but ever so cute.

Well I better go... :)

Toilet training has commenced

As of 10am this morning, E will no longer be wearing nappies during the day (unless he needs to while we are out) and is now the proud wearer of jocks/training pants.

We have a sticker chart, a Zoo Poo book and a box of jelly beans to reward the poos.

So far today this is how it went:

1. Full wee in his pants
2. Half a poo in his pants - finished the rest in the toilet, and was horrified with the mess.
3. 10 seconds after a new pair of pants, he weed again.
4. A dribble in his pants and a rush to the toilet
5. No dribble in his pants, and a "Mummy, Toilet!" and rushed off.

Will see how it progresses...
I remember it took AGES for Mop to toilet train so no hopes of having him trained by the end of the week or anything. LOL

Bye bye Magna

God is very good and gracious to us. We have been freaking out for a while, with the threat of losing our home being very real to us. 2 weeks before the deadline and drastic action, our prayers have been answered.

A man rang yesterday about our car - but since I was out bush with no reception, I couldn't speak to him until this morning. He came to see the car tonight. He took it around the block. He opened his wallet and made an offer. We tried to get him $500 higher - but only suceeded with $200. Never mind. We were just so greatful to sell the car and survive. Shook hands, he handed over a deposit and drove on home.

I was chatting to his wife while the test drive was happening, and we were doing the Mum chats and talking about "stuff". The cost of living came up and she complained about the cost of groceries and making ends meet. I commented that we struggle with that too.

Anyway, about an hour later my phone rings. It's the guy who is buying our car. His wife had a chat to him I think - he felt terrible for talking us down and wanted to give us the amount we asked for.

My jaw literally dropped to my chest and I almost choked. WHAT?? I tried to tell him that we were happy with the deal we made - but he insisted on giving us the full amount.

We are just so blessed!!

Home again!

SATURDAY
Today we left Adelaide at the most ungodly hour of 5am. The kids were excited about getting up while the sun was still in bed. We hit the road towards our first stop for the night – Coober Pedy.
On our way, we hit some pretty strong winds, which reduced our fuel economy drastically!! We ended up doing about a third of the kms on a full tank than what we could do! Not happy jan!! Thankfully God heard our prayers and the last leg, where we were petrified we wouldn’t make it to the next town on a tank of petrol, was much better – the wind died down a bit and we made it!
We set up camp in coober pedy, and boy what a dust bowl that place is!! No water anywhere, and soooo ugly too!! Holes all over the place, mines etc. Oh well... I don’t have to live there thankfully!!

SUNDAY
Today we left a bit later than we planned, because our travelling companions had never packed up camp before, so were running a bit behind. We made great time however and arrived in Alice Springs around sunset. It’s so lovely and warm here. We set up camp and enjoyed the warm balmy evening with a glass of chilled white. Mmmmm.



MONDAY
We spent the morning at Desert Park – and it was lots of fun. We learned so much about the desert and saw lots of cool plants, flowers and animals. It was a great way to wear out the kids!!






That evening, we headed over to a friend of mine’s place – Kim and Kevin. I met Kim many years ago on a parenting forum (EB)and we have been chatting and interacting online ever since. Kevin cooked the most amazing steak I have ever had. And we enjoyed some belly aching laughs. Then Kevin bought out his amazing dessert – a banana pudding with butterscotch sauce. YUMMM!!! More laughs, more chatting. The night flew by. The kids played well with Kim’s girls. I believe Mop even scored a friendship jewel – which she is thrilled about.

TUESDAY
Souvineer shopping in the morning, and we spent the afternoon at the Telegraph Station. It’s bizarre – a beautiful lush, shady, cool area in the middle of a hot, dry desert!! The kids had a great time playing ball, playing in the drink fountain and having a picnic lunch. We went back to the caravan park for a swim and a relaxing evening.

WEDNESDAY
Happy Birthday to Luke – who is the son of our travel buddies. He turned the big 14 today. We went out to the West Macdonald Ranges and saw some cool stuff. We saw Simpson’s Gap – which was this huge river bed in the middle of a gorge thing. Was really quite spectacular. Then we went to Ellery Creek – which again was a beautiful waterhole. The kids wanted to go swimming but were a bit frightened by the sudden depth and also the extreme cold was a bit off putting to Mop.
Lindsay dared me to hop in by saying if I did, she would. And me not wanting to pass up a dare started stripping off and jumped in. Lindsey and I were crazy!! It was soooo cold. I lost feeling in my body, but it was so refreshing. (said in the way that Miss Bingley says “Miss Eliza, may I convince you to take a turn about the room with me. It’s seeeew refreshing!) Milly, poor baby was very hot and grouchy, so I got out and immediately picked her up, wet and cold. She snuggled into me and settled down quite a bit and cooled down lots too!





We also went to a spectacular gorge with another water hole. That one wasn’t as nice as the Ellery Creek one, but Elijah loved splashing around with Daddy, and Milly sat on the very edge splashing and enjoying the deep shade the gorge provided.



We then followed Nick to a 4wd track and tried our hand at 4WDing. To be honest, it wasn’t that hairy – it was like driving around the tracks on Tyrone. There was one kinda eek moment when we were going up a hill and I was excellerating but not going anywhere! LOL

We then went back to town to have dinner to celebrate Luke’s birthday. I didn’t see this, but while I was walking down Todd Mall, I had my hand bag on my shoulder, and holding Mop and E’s hands. Daz was a small distance away. Nick and Lindsey were walking a fair way behind us, and watched these 2 youths on bikes size me up and edge up to me, they looked around to see if anyone was watching, then saw Nick behind them, so they bolted. Nick reckons they thought I was an easy target – what would I have done, protected my kids or protected my handbag. Nick knows alot about criminal behaviour. He has some family that are crooks, and he sees that stuff. Glad I was ignorant about it at the time. I won’t be walking down Todd mall again in the dark. That’s crazy stuff. What low life would pick a woman with kids as an easy target?? They might have been surprised and found a furious Mama Bear turning on them.

THURSDAY
Today we headed off to Uluru. We arrived mid-afternoon and have been delighted with the place. It’s such a nice campground. We decided to stay an extra day so we can enjoy and relax more. We went to Ayres Rock to watch the sunset but were bitterly disappointed. Clouds spoiled the show. Got some great photos of the sunset though!!





FRIDAY
Today we slept in, then mosied on down to the Olgas to check them out. It was a hot day, so I stayed with Milly in the car with the engine running, while Daz took Mop and E for a walk into the gorge. Ummm... 1 ½ hours later they reappeared, dirty, grimy, sweaty but very choofed with themselves. Elijah had a wonderful time exploring and was free to do whatever he liked. He likes that.







We relaxed the afternoon away, and waited for the sunset – which again was another no show. We took the kids swimming after dinner for a little while and the water was lovely and warm and the kids had a wonderful time. Wore them out good and proper for dinner.
Down at the pool we had a little breakthrough. E started having a tantrum because we were leaving, and he wanted to stay and swim. He started to scream and I tried to explain the pool was closing for the night – and he kept getting more upset. So I calmly said that if he wanted to swim again the next day, then he has to stop screaming and be a good boy and come back to the caravan. He stopped immediately and apologised. No further incident. Normally I would have had to drag him out screaming and kicking and having a huge meltdown.

SATURDAY
We finally got to the Uluru Cultural center where we learned about the Aboriginal stories that surround the big rock. We looked in the souvenir shop and art gallery. Then we headed down to the store and topped up our groceries. I never expected a full supermarket in the middle of the dessert!!
Lindsay made us a delicious lunch – a Tuna Pasta Salad – which I will be making in the future. It’s absolutely divine! The kids wolfed it down too!
We basically relaxed all afternoon, and readied ourselves for the sunset – our last chance to see it and a dinner down at the resort. We chose one that sounded family friendly – since the kids ate free.
We headed down to the rock – and right before the sunset a HUGE cloud went in front of the cloud, blocking our final chance to see the spectacular colors. I was pretty disappointed. Oh well – I guess I will have to go back another year. Perhaps when the kids are older and can do more of the hikes.





We went to the resteraunt where we were going to have dinner – and were horrified it was $47 per head. So we made the executive decision to go back to the supermarket and have a BBQ. I think we spent less than $47 for a feast!!

SUNDAY
Today we packed up the caravan and headed straight out to Kings Canyon. Our campsite overlooks the beautiful canyon. I was a little concerned about the warning signs about dingoes all over the place. I warned Caitlin, and she decided to spend her time indoors and out of reach. LOL.
We took the kids down to the pool for a swim as the glow of the sunset lit up the Canyon. Very pretty!
Later that evening I nipped off to the toilet, I came out and there was a dingo rolling around on the grass 1.5 meters away from me. Then I saw the rest of them, scouring through the camp looking for food. I must say the thought of wild dogs in my camp doesn’t thrill me.

MONDAY
Today was another very restful and wonderful day. This morning we did the King’s Creek hike which the kids loved doing. It took us about 35 minutes to get to the center of the Canyon where we saw some beautiful cliff faces. It was a lovely walk and I took lots of pics. On the way back E wasn’t so happy, he must have been tired, because he kept falling over and hurting himself. He has cuts and brusies all over his arms and legs! We decided to give the Kathleen Springs Hike a miss because of Mr E’s temper.















We spent the afternoon resting and relaxing. Then that evening headed over to the boardwalk to see the sunset on the Canyon. We weren’t disappointed this time!
I was absolutely mortified that evening when I left Milly strapped in her pram outside of the caravan while I nipped in to grab her towel so I could bath her. I hear a knock at the door – a member of staff came to warn me about the Dingoes... and how they can rip apart prams to get what they want. I was horrified! Milly was not left unattended again mind you!
Mop came down with the dreaded virus that our travelling companions have had. She had a bad night, restless with fever and just generally unwell.

TUESDAY
Today we spent the day travelling to Coober Pedy. Nothing exciting happened – apart from seeing a Dingo fossicking through people’s camping stuff for food. I was glad to get away from those dingoes I must admit. Now we are in Coober Pedy and alot colder!!
We have some money issues – mainly to do with the leasing company and having to pay out of our pocket for fuel. If they company doesn’t pay us overnight, we will have to leave a day earlier, which is no big deal in the grand scheme of things.

WEDNESDAY
10am – no money in the account. So we went home.
Some wonderful things happened while we were on the road.
There was a limit we exceeded on our Star Card – which is bizarre, so we couldn’t pay for petrol. Daz checked the bank balance again and lo and behold the money was there from the leasing company! PHEW!
While Daz was in KFC getting our dinner, he saw that the Reserve Bank of Australia dropped interest rates by 1%. This is excellent news!!
And I got a message from a man very interested in our car and wanted to make a time to come see it. Totally good news!
We arrived home at gone 9pm – the kids were showered, bedded, we showered and hopped into bed. It was a long day but a good one.

Now begins all the washing and unpacking!

Milly's first hair cut.

Milly had her first hair cut 2 days ago. She had lots of long bits and her hair was constantly getting in her eyes. She cries her eyes out when I try and brush it and put it in a top knot. So I trimmed it.

She is much happier, and she looks very cute. This is straight after I did it.




On Saturday morning we are heading off for a camping holiday to Central Australia. I won't have internet access while I am away so it will be kinda quiet on the blog front. Don't miss me too much will you?

I'm really looking forward to getting away. I am so incredibly tired from being so busy all the time. It will be good for me to have no stress and just to chill with my family.

I have stacks of quilting books from the library to read and to learn from, I've downloaded about a million digital scrapbooking kits to digi-scrap with - should be good.

Well best get on with packing and cleaning.

See you in a few weeks!

Here comes the bride!

Well Steve and Jas are now married and it was such a beautiful day. I have some photos here to share. Not lots because our camera was lost for the reception. Not to worry, my brother has heaps and will share. I'll post those later on.

For now you get my dodgy ones.

This is the church - it was taken at the rehersal the night before.


The wedding was beautiful! And sooo emotional. I think I spend half of it crying! Jasmine of course howled like a baby most of the way through it. She is a very emotional girl - and it's adorable. She was/is such a beautiful bride and such a beautiful person. I am so glad Steve chose someone so wonderful and so special to marry. I am very blessed to have two such lovely sister in laws.




Anyway.. back to the wedding. Vows were exchanged, - Jasmine howled through most of hers - we videoed her trying to suck it up enough to say them. SOOOO funny!! She's so cute!! Rings were exchanged. Anyway... Then Steve did something so special - he squatted down to Molly - Jasmine's little girl - and said vows to her.




He promised to do the best he could as a step father, to look after her, provide for her, to nurture her and care for her and to help Mummy (Jasmine) raise her. It was such a precious moment - then he presented her with a gold heart on a chain as a reminder of what he said that day. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house. Debbie (other sister in law) had tears streaming down her face. My older brother - Peter got me. I saw him tear up, then his body shook with sobs. WAAAAHHH!!!




Then Steve announced that it was tradition for a husband to present his wife with an eternity ring on the birth of their first child. He said that they have Molly - so he slipped the eternity ring on as well. It was lovely.



Then they were announced as Mr and Mrs. Such a lovely ceremony. Loveliest one I have been to for ages.

This is my Mum speaking to Jas for the first time as a daughter. I bet my Mum was howling. She loves Jas lots. :) She has a soft spot for her, especially as they were single Mums for the first three years of their daughter's lives. They get each other.







The ceremony was good fun and very cool. The speeches were awesome. Very heartfelt - and of course Jasmine cried all the way through them! LOL. Peter who is painfully shy was totally cool! SOOOO funny!!

The bridal dance was very cool too. They did evolution of dance - and in case you have never seen it, even though it's not them, they did this:

I even got up and boogied. It was a really lovely evening. The kids danced the night away.

Milly slept on and off, but spent most of the time playing with the baby-sitters. Jas organised for some girls to come and play with the kids and keep them out of our hair. Milly had a wonderful time laughing at them for some bizzare reason.




Mop played with the kids, ate lots and danced lots.



Sir E totally flirted and enjoyed being a ladies man. He was the only little boy there - and he knew he looked like a total stud in his three piece suit!



I had a very proud moment. Jasmine's sister is mentally disabled. She has the mental age of a 12 year old even though she is in her 30's. Very sweet girl, quiet etc. Anyway this sister was dancing at the corner of the dance floor by herself. My son, the flirt, came up to her, grabbed her hands and began dancing with her. The smile on her face was so precious and he grinned at her and was shaking his booty. It was such a precious moment for me - because I want to remember that moment forever. Her smile, his smile - them dancing and him treating her like he treated everyone else. Such equality is a rare find in adults. No one else danced with her. :(

Overall it was such a great night and I am so happy for them both!

This is a table cloth my Mum made for the signing table.

Daddy's a comedian.

I'm sorry - but the video I took isn't working for some reason...

Will try again later.

Making waves

Milly Moo is waving. Yesterday she waved to me across the room. I thought it was cute, but praps just a fluke. Today she waves to everybody!



Milly Moo is also on the move. Crawling easily now. Better start baby proofing once again. LOL



Other pics:

"How bout I beat you up now, before you start on me"



All three of the cutes!

A death and a panic.

A valued member of our family died today. Well... not totally dead.. just part of it. The most important part. The dishwasher's pump is dead. Thankfully we are within 10 days of the warranty so we can get it fixed! YAY!! :) The LG guy will be like Jesus, resurrecting Lazurus. DISHWASHER! COME FORTH!!

Ok I am really tired and in odd humour, so bear with me.

My panic moment. Very late Thursday night, I get a SMS from the wife of the Youth Pastor of the church that I was going to go share next friday. The message said "You still ok for tomorrow night?" Umm.. I was confused, so text back with "You said the 19th, please confirm". Turns out the date was wrong - and I had to pull it together for the next evening.

I did. I pulled it together. I rocked up, prepared and I totally blitzed it. I swear my head was like the size of the sun when I left there. I was treated like royalty. A really nice girl looked after me the whole night, I was complemented, and then complemented again by people saying that they had heard someone complementing me. I got given a beautiful box of flowers and some chocolates. I have never felt so valued and appreciated for doing something like this.

I shared my testimony. It was hard. I only cried three times. But I was able to speak into the lives of some abuse victims. I've done my bit, now God can do His stuff.

I also met a girl who is going to start her masters in counselling. I was so excited. We had heaps to talk about and we have agreed that if we run into each other again, we grab a coffee and chat some more. I want to know everything there is to know about it all. She said something really funny - not funny as in ha ha, but funny as in odd.... "You will so get a job easy. you have such incredible life experience. I'm 23, they won't even look at me. I've barely started life." Amazing how having crap experiences and 6 extra years makes me more employable?

I don't want to get my hopes up.... but today a man and his wife came to look at our car. I am praying that we get a phone call saying he wants to buy it.

Nothing much else happening. We are getting ready to go on our trip. I have the dress for Steve's wedding. I found a shop that makes clip-on earrings. (This is a huge deal!! I can't have pieced ears because of keloid scarring.... and have not found any decent clip on earrings that weren't the old lady variety.) I totally went nuts on bling for the wedding outfit.

Today was 26 degrees. Sunny. Warm... I am soooooo looking forward to summer.

And that is the ramblings and disjointed thoughts that I have for today.

Under Where??

A rather amusing incident, which I don't want to forget. And of course to amuse my loyal readers.. LOL

Mop's teacher came out of the classroom after school and waved me over. I was thinking "great, what she done this time??"

"Umm... Mop lost her knickers"

I stared at this teacher.. "WHAT?"

"She was playing on the playground and the teacher on yard duty grabbed her and bought her in, saying she had no knickers on."

I thought perhaps she had forgotten them.

"I don't know...Mop said she flushed them down the toilet."

I was confused. "Say what?"

This teacher looked as equally confused. "She won't talk about it, just said that she flushed them down the toilet. And she was really upset about having to wear a pair of the school knickers." (They are Bratz knickers, no wonder! They are a no-no in this house.)

The teacher asked me to talk to her, since Mop clams up with her. Before I even got to the school gate, I found out the story.

Mop's knickers accidently fell in the toilet. She didn't want to stick her hands in there and get them out. She didn't know what to do... so she flushed them. LOL Another "teach your kids to be independent and problem solve" bites me in the bum yet again!

Kinda amusing really... Kids are the most bizzare creatures.


Father's Day lunch was a hit. Totally fun. I have some photos from the day.

Steve and Jaz - They get married next weekend!!


Granny and Grandad - they have just moved to the big smoke.


This is my Mummy and Dad - note Dad has glitter on his forehead from one of the kid's Father's Day present. LOL


This is my other brother Pete and his Kooky wife Deb. LOL


And just some general photos for you to have a squizz at:

E pushing around his little sister.


"Look Mum! I'm doing a headstand!!"


Milly and Mummy


Righto, well I think that's all for now.

When will it end?

I'm gonna have a bit of a gripe.
I really hate sickness. Especially in the kids. The poor things. I really feel for them.

Milly has a cold, I think she is cutting teeth and has a sore bum - AND conjunctivitus again.

E is getting over conjunctivitus and is miserable - with a runny nose.

Mop complains about a sore throat, and I feel for her, I've had one for two weeks.



I don't mind one of them sick - but when it's all at once, and they all whinge at the same time, and want my attention at the same time it gets a bit much. But it's really TOO much when I am feeling crook too. And I am sick of coughing up a lung every five minutes. Mum said something funny - she said "cough it up, it might be a gold watch.... or a housebrick!" I had to chuckle.



Oh well... thankfully this doesn't last forever. Next time I am going to isolate the sick kid, they can stay in their room for the duration of their sickness so they don't spread it around their family...... That won't work will it? LOL

Onto a brighter note. Tomorrow is going to be 20 degrees!! I'm planning to shave my legs so I can wear some 3/4 pants or a skirt with sandals. I am soooo sick of wearing jeans and trackies.



I've been invited to our "parent church" to go speak to the youth - give my testimony to be exact. It's a girls only affair so that will be good fun. They are having a "blast from the past" theme - where they are going to dress up in fashions from the 20's to the 80's and have a parade. I am soooo going to have a great time!


Daz and I are in seperate beds at the moment.... no we aren't on the rocks. Daz can't keep quiet at night, and I really am suffering with lack of sleep. So he has moved into the lounge temporarily and I have the bed all to myself. I am loving the sleep and the silence. It's funny... I have the whole bed, but yet I sleep on the very edge of my side??? I guess I am used to having Daz in the bed taking up lots of space. :) I kinda miss him though. I often put my hand out half asleep to touch him.. and he isn't there. :( I don't miss his "talking" though!! :)

Well that's it from me. I might grab the miserable Milly and go curl up and have a rest with her... the older two are watching Bear and are happy as pigs in mud. At least two of them are happy.

blah blah blah blah de blah

Hiya,
Not much really happening on the home front. I thought I better update just in case Melissa444 was checking my blog. HI MEL!!! :)

Let's see....

E hasn't had a meltdown in a while which is really awesome! It's making our lives easier. He saves them for Church. Great one son! He is soooo ready to learn to read. He knows his letters and phonetics. I'll sit down with him one day and start showing him out to join letters together to make words. He's going down the same path as his big sister - trying to read before they turn 3.

Mop is settled well into school life and is really enjoying it. For the last few days she's gotten a bit of an attitude on her "Don't you speak to ME like that!" - I bite my lip, send her to her room for being so insolent... then laugh quietly. She argues and argues her point, even if there is none. She claims the opposite of what you just said, even if it's wrong - and there is no telling her. She's 5 - God have mercy on me when she is 15!! She is a real chip off the ol block.

Milly is as cute as a button. She learned to splash in the bath last night. SOOOO funny!!! She's crawling forwards now when she has a reason to. Like on Monday, she headed forwards straight for the bin. Clever clogs! Daz has just informed be that she is busting out of her size 0 clothes.... GREAT!! It's impossible to get size 1 winter stuff now. Better start scouring Ebay.

Me - I'm in the process of Spring Cleaning, rearranging the storage space to be more efficient for 5 people. I love Spring Cleaning!! Throwing open all the windows, giving everything a thorough clean and tidy. I was up this morning at 5am, not by choice mind-you. Daz has been talking in his sleep lots lately, and I just can't sleep when he does. Anyway, this morning I got heaps done in the kitchen while the rest of the household slept. Hopefully this afternoon I can catch a Nanny nap.

My eggs are starting to feel the need to be released once again. It will be quite a task to convince Daz that having another baby is a good idea. I don't really want to "convince" him - I would rather him WANT to. I know we need to stop sometime, but I just don't feel like the family is complete. I guess we will see as time goes on. Plenty of time to add another one later I suppose.

I'm also a tad ticked, for ages now I've had my link to Domestic Guru in my sig on EB. Got a PM from the Sig police telling me to take it down. Because I am selling E-books, it's now classified as a business... forgetting that 99% of the content is FREE!! :( So I can't help people on forums anymore by directing them to this site, because it would be considered advertising. But I can't argue with the person who made this decision - because I am making a very small profit from my website. Hardly enough to brag about, just enough to help cover costs and make a phone call or two. LOL

Speaking of E-books, I released my Spring Cleaning and 4 month Organiser a few weeks ago. I am so proud of these two books. They look amazing.

On Sunday is Father's Day - I'm hosting a lunch here on Sunday with the family. It should be good fun! Just waiting to see if the weather will be good so we can eat outside... if not, oh well. Mum is taking me to visit Pops at the cemetary on Father's Day, so it will be nice to see where he is buried and to say hello. I've not been ready to go for a while, the very thought of it filled me with dread and I used to feel like I was drowning. For the last 6 months, I've wanted to go visit Pops, but didn't know where he was buried. It was hardly something I took note of on the day he was laid to rest. I was too busy trying not to kill certain family members for being such insensetive prats.

On Saturday I am heading out with Mum to buy THE dress for my brother's wedding. With some advice from Ziz on what kind to look for, I am going on a hunt. I was thinking of going for a green dress, not bright green or aqua, just a brighter kind of olive if that makes any sense. I hope I find something. I have the kids clothes for the wedding. E looks ADORABLE in his three piece suit. I'll take pics on the day of the kids in their finery and you can see them for yourself. Only 2 1/2 weeks until the wedding now.

Saturday night Daz is going to hit the town for the bucks night. He should have a great time. I'll spend that time cooking for the next day. Hopefully there is a good movie on TV that night too! :)

Well I best get going, MOPS on this morning, and I need to pack snacks and bags etc.

Urrrghhh... thank goodness coffee is at MOPS. I am going to need it!!