Be afraid....

Bec passed her Learners Test this afternoon. She now has to drive 120 hours in all kinds of conditions before she can sit her driving test. The 120 hours needs to be done in the next 3 years I believe. She can do them sooner but she can't do the driving exam before 12 months from today. Does that make sense?

....in other news.....Sarah came home from swim carnival and in a very dissapointed voice announced she had come second in the Breast stroke and now would be forced to compete at whatever the next carnival was! (I believe its Zone) She was only swimming today because all her friends were and did last year (when she didn't) I guess she forgot how good she could be. Imagine if she had trained!

Swimming

Spent today at Nic's swimming carnival. She didn't do as well as she normally would. Not sure what the problem was. The girls don't do much training and have always just been talented with the swimming. We have previously been to the pool leading up to carnivals for some practise but thats all. We didnt really get a chance to do that this year. She is quite happy within herself though and doesn't seem at all concerned she won't go on to Zone this year. It got quite warm here today but then just as the carnival was ending, the clouds started darkening and then late afternoon we had yet another storm.

Took Sarah shopping as she needs a swimsuit for tomorrow. Deciding at the last minute to compete, then realising she only had a bikini.

Sarahs team one at Basketball again, second week in a row...woohoo!!

For those with teenagers....

Home

Stayed home. It was quite warm early on but we had yet another massive storm starting around 6pm. We have had no damage from the last 3 storms and Im sure we are gonna be hit eventually. Touch wood it won't get us but it keeps hitting neighbouring suburbs so its not far.
I slept most of the morning then cleaned up the kitchen as my family kindly saved the mess for me after my time away. Sweet aren't they.
Renee went to her first dance class. She did 45 mins of Jazz and then 45 minutes of Ballet. She really needs to pick one as I can't see how we can afford both. Might have to try as she keeps changing her mind as to which was more fun.
Still raining outside and tomorrow Nics swim carnival..grrrrr. Guess Ill be standing under an umbrella with a stopwatch. I haven't helped out for the last few years so figured it was about time. Nic said the only thing they will stop the carnival going ahead is if there is lightening. There was plenty of that tonight, not sure what is predicted tomorrow so I will check.
Should be a fun day!!!

Feb 4-5 What a Waste

Got kids off to school Monday and left Brett a list on what to do when etc with the kids. Got picked up around 12 and headed off to Terrigal for the annual staff conference. Absolutely shocking weather on the drive, also shitty weather at Terrigal. The beach up there is so beautiful usually but not really when its torrential rain. No after dinner walk on the beach this time.
We had lunch at the life saving club, our group of 5 plus a couple of others were the only ones on time. Why people can't time keep properly I will never understand. We then had to move on to a sports centre and play games. Team building I believe its called.
The 'waste of time' part of the conference for me was waking up this morning feeling like death! Quite nauseas straight away which I thought was cause I only had about 5 hours sleep but after breakfast I was feeling dizzy and very ill. I went back to our room and missed the first session of the business end of the conference and called Brett who came and picked me up. He actually drove over and hour each way to come and pick me up. He's a keeper lol. Anyway, while I did have a few drinks with dinner and afterwards Im positive that was not the cause of my being sick. I was struggling to get through dinner as it was. Anyway, its Tuesday night, Im still feeling icky and Im not sure if Im going to work tomorrow, Ill decide in the morning.

Did the same as yesterday

a big fat NUFFIN
Well, did some food shopping. Had garlic bread and diet coke for dinner. That kind of day.
The weather is shite and I think we may soon need to build an ark.
.....In other news....Bec is sitting her Learners exam at 1.30pm on Friday. Cross your fingers she passes as its $35 each attempt!

Nuffin!

Did pretty much nothing today. Warmish outside, so we did nothing inside. Makes sense to me.
Sarah stayed overnight as she was still in a bit of pain from her fall at basketball which I didn't mention previously. Dropped her at her dads after buying yet more exercise books which I, in a moment of weakness/not paying attentioness offered to cover for her. She left me directions to the Winnie the Pooh contact up on her desk. If I run out apparantly I can use the purple contact also up on her desk.
Am back to trying to decided whether or not to do a TAFE course this year. I have this dilemna with myself every few years. There are a few I would like to do which are all computer related. Also a couple of Uni courses too but if I go ahead I will start with the TAFE ones (OTEN which means I can do them from home) and then these act as credits for Uni. Im just worried that if I start this I will just be proving to everyone how stupid I am. Not a lot of self confidence. The ones Im interested in are not too expensive and can be paid in 2 instalments. Also can be done in my own time.

*sigh* Not sure what to do.

Sweet 16

Bec is 16 today!!! Woohoo. Now apparantly she can apply for her learners permit. Thats all she talks about!! She will probably do the test sometime next week.
She loved her pressies, I had to wake Nic and Renee up as Bec had to leave at 7.40. My brother who has not managed to remember any of my girls birthdays for YEARS rang at 8.10 to speak with her, had to tell him that she starts school at 8! Told him that he did however get browny points for ringing! He said he would send her a text message, which he did and Bec was impressed.



Picked up a Chocolate Mud Cake on the way home and we sang happy birthday when the girls were all home from school.
Nic and Renee have finally got their proper classes. Renee is happy to really be Year 1. Im not familiar with Renees teacher but both Bec and Sarah had the teacher Nic has this year and Im quite happy with that.
Nic has her swim carnival next Thursday and Sarah's is next Friday. Sarah is actually swimming this year so Im keen to get there but I have to do the Vegie Co-op shop but hopefully Ill have time to see her swim.
Girls are with their dad this weekend so hopefully we can have a very quiet weekend. Brett is going to pick up his mums exercise bike so maybe we can start doing a bit of exercise.
I need to do a bit of menu planning this weekend and sort out what everyone will be eating while Im away at Conference.

Not a good day at all

For some reason today was quite stressful. Getting up early is proving hard but Im determined to keep doing it. I find that Im much more organised in the morning if Im up before the girls. Not that Im doing much productive but its not such a rush. Driving Bec to school is definately getting 'old' She is going to have to agree to walk halfway or use the bus pass we applied for and got. She is the first one to ever have a bus pass!
My boss was making coffee and I asked her if I could have something stronger...she said perhaps 10.15am was a little early. We decided we'd make a list of those that were causing us to crave alcohol. Very therapeutic....and there wasn't even an ex spouse on the list!!
I was getting very frustrated with the Office of Fair Trading and with the head d*&$head at CLM. The case worker was on leave and the bimbo doing her job was doing her best impersonation of a banana. The head d*&$head at CLM was not returning calls. Im finding the whole thing soooooo stressful and I just want to cry. Finally reached d*&$head and he said oh yes we refunded you, I said I assumed the returned money was a result of my issueing a dispute with the bank and he said oh no that was me. Then I said 'are you taking my money next week' and he assures me they won't. I do not trust them at all. I will know by Wednesday if I am rid of them. He then had the nerve to say ' I hope we can do business again further down the track'

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Breathe

It was another stinker of a day and I wanted to take my annual first day of school photos which i did but this time indoors. The girls rolled their eyes but by now should know this is one of the few things that I will insist on.

Sarahs basketball started again tonight and I was just in no way feeling up to driving through the shopping traffic and back again so rang ex and asked if he'd kick off the season as we take it in turns. No probs there thank goodness....BUT THEN as if my day wasn't bad enough...we got a phone call just as we were leaving to take Sarah to her dad to say that the game time had been changed and it was now due to start in under half an hour. Who does stupid things like that???? ....and we live a half hour away from the stadium!! Anyway, there wouldn't have been enough time to take her to ex and then for him to drive to game so I dropped everything and we just left. Bec was asleep as obviously 2 days of Year 11 was too much for her lol so I had to leave Nic sort of in charge but Brett was due home soon. We actually passed him 2 streets away from home. Lucky the team one their game.
Managed to get Bec's presents wrapped for tomorrow.
The scheduled meal went out the window tonight as well. Supposed to be burgers but by the time we got back from Basket ball I wasn't going to start mixing...so Renee had a tuna sandwich, Nic and I had pancakes, Sarah had toast, Bec had fried eggs and Brett grilled himself a cheese sandwich I think.
Bedtime will be soon...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
Tomorrow will be better, tomorrow will be better, tomorrow will be better!!

Day 1

School opened today for 3 of my 4. Woohoo! About time! Not that the holidays went to badly of course.

I was out of bed by 5. OMG.45am. Brett offered to give me a wake up call at 7am when he was at work but I thought it was easier just to get up and stare at the television firmly gripping my coffee as I slowly arrived at a new day.

The girls were up early, even Sarah who didn't start today. Bec now starts school at 8am most mornings and has varying finish times depending on the day of the week and if it is Week A or B. Apparently this week is just Induction and next week is Week B. She has 4 or so Photography classes in Week B so she is excited. Nic and Renee were ready to go to School by 8am which for Renee is an absolute miracle. She is still nervous about going up into Year 1 but we keep telling her she can't go back to Kindy again cause she knows it all. Nic told me that she, herself, can't believe she is in Year 5. *sniff* me neither

I went off to work as normal leaving Sarah with a list of chores. I phoned home around 11am and she said she was watching an Entertainment special on Snoop Dog. I asked her if she was bored and she said yes.

It was 'ugly' hot today and this afternoon was still bad. I offered the girls ice creams without Renee having to beg. I still need to take my annual back to school photo as Sarah didn't start today and then tomorrow Bec starts at 8am again and there is no way the other 3 can be ready by 7.30. Bec said it would be too hot to do it after school tomorrow so lets do it next week! I said 'do not interfere with my photo'. She just laughed and I said as it will be hot again tomorrow that I would happily make it an indoor photo. I think I won the argument. Renee was in a bad mood and was even fighting with Sarah which is unusual. I'm sure she was just both hot and tired. Thankfully its only a short week this week and the weekend is nearly here. I'm away at a work conference next Monday and Tuesday so Brett will be home to deal with any 'moods'! I will be on the beach (working hard of course!)

I inherited ended up with my dads camera a while after he died (1990) He used to take fantastic photos with it which I know is due to both him and the camera. My brother gave it a go a few years ago without much success. Brett and I are going to see if we can get it sorted so Bec can use it now that she is studying photography. Its obviously not digital but I'm sure it would be something to use even just to fiddle with lenses and such. I'm going to get some film tomorrow, we think that the batteries I thought it needed are only for the flash so hopefully it will work once loaded, then of course it will need developing the old fashioned way (ie. waiting, waiting, waiting) If we can get it working we will give it to Bec but I won't mention anything to her yet just in case.

Speaking of Bec, I have done her Birthday shopping. She seemed disappointed that I had finished, I guess her reasoning is I still have tomorrow available to shop!

ITS A SCHOOL NIGHT!!!!!!!

.........need I say more!

Your Inner European?

Your Inner European is French!

Smart and sophisticated.You have the best of everything - at least, *you* think so.

Who's" Your Inner European?

Menu Plan Monday

I have decided that once a week I will try a new recipe, whether its something Vegetarian just for me or something for the whole family to try. This weeks newby is tonights Cajun Chicken.

Lunches

School goes back on Wednesday (woooooooooo!!!!) so I would like to try and make something other than Vegemite Sandwiches. This week Im going to prepare Chicken and Corn Wraps. Creamy pasta salad, hawaiian pizza scrolls and Tuna patty rolls and some variations of these depending on which child/adult its for. These four ideas are from the Feb 2008 issue of Super Food ideas which I think I bought in Woolies. Brett has already made the Wraps, Scrolls and pasta salad. The Scrolls were a hit with the kids.

Afternoon Tea - Birthday cake on Friday!!

Dinners

Monday (tonight) Cajun Chicken Pasta which I found here. I will probably follow exactly except Im not doing the pasta bit. Ill explain later (depending on whether I failed or not)

Tuesday - FEC Chicken (Basically home made schnitzel - they all love it) and salad

Wednesday - Mince parcels

Thursday - Burgers & Salad

Friday - Egg and Bacon or 2 minute noodles (Renee)

Saturday and Sunday aren't planned yet and as its just 3 of us, we could end up with beans on toast, quick and easy!!

Nip over to Laura's site for more menu ideas!

Before I forget

During my usual Blog surfing I came across this little Meme (which pretty much means imitate/copy, a game to copy)

Create your own Band and album cover. I found this @ Quack This, so thanks Noname.

1. The first article title on the page is the name of your band.
2. The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.
3. The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
4. Use your graphics program of choice to throw them together

Post your result in a comment or email as I'd love to see!

If you put it on your own Blog please remember to link back to Flickr with your original cover art picture.




Band Name - Utgard-Loki
Album Title - The failure of years
Cover Art - http://www.flickr.com/photos/41873449@N00/2208410467

Just your average day.

Its hard to know what to put in the title each day. Not every day does something happen that stands out. A few for today could have been - 'Teen slams door' 'Too many Kahlua's' 'School shopping nearly done' 'The things I do for my teenagers....'

I put one of those map things to track visitors to my Blog. I even know who the 2 Aussie visitors are. But look ------> someone in America came to my Blog. Yes, its sad that Im excited. I mean, I know Im fascinating but I realise it will take a while for everyone else to know.

As I mentioned, the school shopping is nearly complete. Just need to get ungrateful teenager Bec a new school bag and other ungrateful teen Sarah 'can I have some more phone credit' some shoes. She didn't come to today's shopping adventure as she went to the movies with her peeps to see Juno. She said it was quite funny. Kmart was 35% off stuff which included the bag for Nic and shoes for Renee. I still need to buy something else for Bec as she will turn 16 on Friday.

Not much else happening, Ive got some auctions underway on eBay to entice the embellishment buyers and the rest of the store is discounted. The Embellishment Castle is in major need of stock updates which may have to wait until next weekend when I'm down to one child.

Which reminds me, aforementioned child Renee came excitedly to us this afternoon as she had created a boy and girl on Sims2 and she had proposed and they were getting married (mary'd in her accent) she was so excited. Her groom to be was called Kyle. I went up to check on her later and by that stage she was shopping for furniture as her and Kyle preferred separate bedrooms...maybe things had gone down hill since the wedding OR maybe, that is the key to a successful marriage!

Australia Day....

......and how did we celebrate? Ummmm........! The last few years we have gone to Parramatta park at the buttcrack'oday to watch the balloons being blown up and watch them go up up and away with some loonatics balloonists sailing off into the sunrise. I did suggest it, silently hoping that it would not be greeted with too much enthusiasm. Needless to say, we didnt go. We are still pretty tired from our Holiday and then going straight back to work. Good excuse huh! So we did bits and pieces of housework, Brett made some great wraps for lunch which only 1 child would eat. All the more for us. Motherinlaw was here for dinner and we had a pasta dish made by Brett from same magazine as the wraps and I made crumbly burgers. They weren't supposed to crumble.

Tomorrow we have still more back to school shopping to do. 2 need shoes, 2 need bags, one still needs a pencil sharpner and 2 need to figure out how to pay for all this stuff that will need replacing by the end of Term 1 anyhow!

Look at my map - I have a friend in Melbourne!!! Woo...hoo...!
x

Words every mother loves to hear....

Well this one anyway! 'Mum, I love swimming' These words were uttered by Renee who has always sworn she was never going to swim. The older girls were born with fins and gills so it has been quite a shock to have a non swimmer. Renee tried swimming at Wet and Wild up on the Gold Coast after we bought her some floaties and it went quite well. Took her and Nic to the local pool today and while Nic did some laps and played with friends we found there, Renee took to the toddler pool where she could reach the bottom and started dog paddling, doing a bit of breast stroke and also floating on her back. Waaaay more than she has ever done. I didnt tell her what to do, just let her figure it out for herself and that seemed to work. No idea whether she will be as good or competitive as her big sisters but as long as she can eventually swim to the edge of a pool and climb out I will be confident she wont be a drowner!

Nic and Renee had Little A's tonight. Last night for the season as the local Council has given the ground $250K fo refurbishment and the clubs that use the oval weren't about to say no. Soccer sign ups start next weekend so that should take care of winter sport for the 2 youngest.

Johnny fix

Bec and her friends went to the opening day (evening) of the Sweeney Todd starring the heart thob of our house, Johnny Depp. Pretty much all she said was she probably won't be able to eat a meat pie ever again. She also had no idea it was gonna be a musical. So, shall I get the DVD for her for this Christmas???

Many Birthday Kisses

going down to Melbourne today. M and K, happily married, share many kids, many debts loads of sex AND have the same Birthday!!! Hope you guys had a wonderfuly Birthday today! Neither of you look a day over 40!!!

xxxx

Im a Flamingo!

You're a Flamingo!
Pink is your favorite color! Always looking to shock others, you
are absurdly thin and absurdly outlandish in your tastes. People come from all
over to see you, but as long as you've got a swimming pool, you're pretty
satisfied wherever you end up. And boy, do you love shrimp! When you really get
going, you can sound like Forrest Gump talking about shrimp...
Take the Animal Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.
(Quote) - You are absurdly thin - (end Quote)

Love it!!!!!

Where have all the pens gone?

I need to write a cheque for the long suffering Orange Juice man. I thought I was using a pen but it was a pencil disguised as a pen! I have found 4 lead pencils in the last 5 minutes, which of course never happens during the school term when someone is trying to do their homework and needs a pencil. Where have they gone? Maybe the Orange Juice man will have one on him in the morning.

Monday Menu Planning

Monday - Spaghetti Bolognaise (just finished eating as its Monday night already!)
Tuesday - FEC Chicken
Wednesday - Chicken & Tarragon Meatloaf & Salad
Thursday - Chicken parcels & Salad (This will again be made by Bec as she is being allowed to go to the Movies to see Sweeney Todd on the day of release even though money is tight! - I can pretty much get her to do anything when Johnny Depp is involved)
Friday - Homemade Pizzas.

Nip over to Laura @ The Organizing Junkie for more great weekly menu ideas.

January 13th - January 19th - GOLD COAST, QLD

Coming soon.....

I remember when I was a kid

and if we were going on a holiday, and we went on a few, that someone else would do the organising and packing. Now Im grown up and the mum, I am 'someone else'.

Everything is packed and ready to go. Snacks for the trip up ready, drinks in the the freezer to whip out in the morning and put in the car. It will be quite hot in Sydney tomorrow, typical we are going North where it has been raining for over a month. We looked at the Foxtel long term forcast. Rain, Rain, Thunderstorm and more rain. I can't quite remember the old saying from an advert for Queensland. Something like - Queensland, Sunny one day, Beautiful the next (you get my drift!)

Oh well, off we go!

What day is it?

On an off during the day I could have sworn it was Saturday, both of us home plus the kids, very confusing.

Went to Medicare and claimed some money back. The lady said if the receipts are too old, they just send them to head office, so you still get your refund just takes a little longer.

I rang the caretaker of the unit we are staying in next week. Arranged for him to leave the key out cause we won't arrive on the Gold Coast until around 10pm. The plan is to leave home around 9am, get to Taree to have lunch. Next stop Coffs harbour and then one more stop for dinner when we are all hungry. The kids have been sorting out the Ipods, organising what to take, as there is a great chance the weather will still be bad, we will take Boardgames, books and DVD's as well but Im hoping they won't get used too much. The girls have worked out the sleeping arrangements themselves and as usual have gone with one older girl and one younger. They seem to know the right combinations.

Tomorrow Im going to have to pack the ebay orders that haven't been paid for cause no doubt they wouldnt be happy to wait an extra week for their stuff even if its taken THEM 2 weeks to pay. We will find an internet cafe nearby hopefully so we can check bank accounts plus do some bill paying. Sadly life goes on even if you are on holidays.

I broke my Meal plan tonight, we had take a way tonight of Chinese. Renee won't eat it so she had Weetabix and then later Vegemite toast. Baaaaaaad mummy!. Ill make sure I cook tomorrow night as we can't really afford the takeaway.

Senior moment

I tried to send a fax yesterday at work. I dialled the number, pressed send - nothing happened. Probably would have helped if Id placed my document in the feeder huh!

Decided I won't work Friday after all. I need to go to Medicare and put some claims in, hopefully I can still get some money back from a GP appointment back in September 06. Worth a try.

The girls need swimmers and such for the Queensland trip but Ive convinced them to wait till we get up there. A workmate has given me some addresses of discount/warehouse type places which we will visit next Monday. Brett and I decided tonight we will got to Movie World and Wet 'n' Wild Water World with our Escape passes. Brett really wanted to go to Dream world as the have that new Wayne Gardner Motor Bike ride! Sadly (not!) it wasn't included in the Escape Pass!

Getting back to working

is really hard after the holiday period! Id like to think its not my age...Im sure its not. Anyway, 4 more days and then Im off for a week! Woooo!

A bit crafty..

I bought a couple of Kaiser Clocks last November at the Penrith craft fair thingy (I think it was November anyhow) Finished this at the end of November. I was going to give it away for a Christmas gift but the recipient has been very receptive on previous craft things so I decided to keep it for myself! I love it. The dragonfly is a Kaiser Flourish and the flowers are MM Blossoms and the featured children are my own!

Unfortunately, the clock doesn't actually work! The 'workings' on neither clock work. Yes, we tried different batteries as well. So at the moment it is just a decorated square piece of wood.

Menu Plannning Monday

I used to do this a fortnight at a time and found it saved loads of money and time to know in advance what we were eating each night. Thought I would give it another crack!

Whilst surfing the internets world of blogs I came accross Im an organizing Junkie and saw she does the planning and is encourageing others. I also thought this way I would at least remember to post something once a week!

Monday Menu planning

Monday - Shepherd pie with peas and baked beans

Tuesday - FEC Chicken Schnitzel with salad (FEC - Flour/Egg/Breadcrumbs)

Wednesday - Sausages, chops and potato bake

Thursday - Chicken parcels (One of my teenagers will do this)

Friday - Homemade Pizza

Saturday - Chicken rissoles and salad

Sunday - Hopefully takeaway of some sort.

We leave for Queensland early on Monday (14th) morning which will be around a 10 hour drive so that is why Sunday night will be takeaway, one less thing to worry about.

Otherwise, spent a pretty lazy Sunday at home. Didn't really find out how hot it got until I went out at 5 to the supermarket and it was still in the mid 30's Im sure. Renee spent most of the day on Sims2 which will no doubt end tomorrow as I had a text message from Bec and she wants to come home from her dads a day early!!

Clarke Christmas

Bretts family came over including his grandma. Bec, Sarah and Nic were with their dad so missed out. Had a good day. Renee played with S & R. Bretts sister is on a tight budget (insert poor uni student) and did a fantastic job framing pictures for everyone. I cried when I opened ours. It had the girls plus her boys plus Bretts older girls. No sarah though as she couldnt find a decent photo of her. Plenty of food left over as usual. Never mind, we will just have to live on Ham for a while!

Robinson Christmas

Spent the day at my Brother M's house over on the other side of Sydney. Takes around an hour and I ALWAYS get lost one street away from his house. I always take a wrong turn that close. Anyway, we took both cars as we don't all fit in one. Had a good time. M and S are great company and the kids all get on great. This year his brother and sister were also there. There are 2 other brothers and 1 other sister, not my siblings, they are M's natural siblings. His sister had her 2 kids there so Bec wasn't the oldest anymore. We had a leisurely lunch, opened presents and ran in and out of the house while it did and didnt rain. We are getting very strange weather at the moment.

Schools out for Summer/Christmas party #3

All 4 girls are done for 2007. We have 2 more family events before Christmas next Tuesday. The older 3 will be with their dad for Christmas eve and then back here sometime on Christmas Day. I think they are back and forward a few times these hols, but ex only lives in next suburb so not a major problem. Plus we are off to Queensland on January 14th...wooooo!

Third Christmas party was my work one, for the staff. Daytime one and spouses/signifcant others not invited. We always do the Kris Kringle thing. This year I got a wedding picture with mine and Robbie Williams face superimposed on the bride and grooms faces. Very funny! Nice food, good Comany, plenty of laughs. Work is now closed until January 7th (1 week longer than usual) but S and I will be going back on Jan 2nd as we can catch up on fiddly things that get left behind with the usual day to day stuff. Plus we need the money!!

Christmas Party #2

This wasn't a Christmas Party as such, it was the clients Christmas Party for the firm I work for. Not compulsary for staff but it would be a good idea if you went (if you know what I mean!)
Wasn't a bad night, good food, chatted with a few clients, watched Santa grope a few people and left around 11pm.

Presentation Day (last one!)

Went to the High School again, this time for the regular presentation day. Sarah received an award for Mandatory Technology. No idea what she learnt, but obviously she did well!! hehe

Year 10 Graduation Ceremony

Year 10 is over and Rebecca successfully passed her School Certificate! Woohoo! Her marks were quite good, especially compared to the trial results she got a month ago. phew

The ceremony was good, they were all called up individually to receive their certificates. Typically I was having a blury photo day so I took a pic later in front of the tree! She is now on hols a week earlier than her sisters.

Year 10 Formal

Hair appointment, makeup appointment then photos all completed by 5.30pm on a school afternoon!!

Bec looked beautiful, even her dad said so. Took her to her friends house and 3 girls drove off to the formal in a Red Monaro (I should be impressed apparantly but a car is a car) Took the Nic and Renee to the High School to see all the kids arriving. Was great fun to see them looking all grown up.

When I picked her up, Bec said it was great fun but over too soon. Sure sign of a good party! One more day to go and she has finished Year 10 and also finished at this High School.

2 Down, 2 to go

Nic and Renee had their presentation days today. Both girls received an award which is kewl.

Photo was taken late this afternoon which is why Renee looks a bit scruffy.

Tomorrow night is Becs Year 10 Formal so it will be a hectic afternoon.

Recovery

I definately don't bounce back from concerts like I used to. Saturday I was exhausted, but still had to go shopping with Bec to get her nails done and also find her some shoes for the Formal. Formal is 3 sleeps away. Sarah brought a note home saying she is getting an award next week so has been a successful year for all 4 girls.

Packing ebay orders tonight, that is the downside of sales lol. Have some auctions on at the moment but will probably not do anymore until after we have been to Queensland in January. By the time the listings end and people get around to paying we will be off on hols.

Managed to find a Baby Alive doll for Renee for Xmas. Also spotted a Digital Photo frame for Bec, a spur of the moment thing. She is proving the most difficult to buy for this year. Nic is easy, anything Veronicas and anything High School Musical.

Dancing Concert

Went down to the Sutherland area to watch step daughters in their end of year concert. J & L did well as usual, they do all sorts including singing, drama and Irish dancing. Renee has now asked to do dancing next year. I think Little Athletics has run its course so we might swap over. Chatted with the girls for a while afterwards, was good to see them again. Brett has said that 2008 is the year to sort out his access, finances willing of course.

Im Awesome

Well, for a couple of hours tonight I was! I took Nicola to see The Veronicas at the Hordern Pavilion. I'm not a huge fan but Nic is and its part of her Christmas gifts so I made the ultimate sacrifice hehe Just her and me which was kewl, Renee wanted to come but she was just way to young. Anyway, we had great seats, it was very loud and I must admit they are pretty good. Took some photos afterwards of Nic in front of the stage, then we queued forever to get her a tshirt and she used some of her own money (still left over from her b'day in September) to buy a poster. The concert finished at 10pm and we left the Hordern at 10.40! We had to go past the back bit of the Hordern and just happened to see one of The Veronicas walking back inside. There was crowd by the fence and we waited with them for a while. Dean Geyer who is apparently from Aussie Idol a few years ago was one of the support acts (we missed him) and he came over to the fence and Nic got his autograph and hopefully a pic (I'm too tired to check the camera now). Then one of The Veronicas came out and Nic got the autograph, and then finally the other Veronica! So Nic saw them in concert, then up close plus got autographs. By the time The Veronicas came out and over to us the crowd had dwindled to about 10-15 so it was easy to get the autographs. They are so tiny lol Back to the car by 11.14pm and home just over an hour later (grr road works) Anyway, at this moment in time in the eyes of Nicola - I am awesome!

Christmas Party #1

Ive actually got 3 'parties' to go to this year. Thats 3 more than any other year!! I went out and bought a new top and pants and after party #3, these items will become work clothes!

A trip on the harbour was the destination for Bretts work party. This is the Harbour Ballroom. Guess who forgot they get seasick!? I went downstairs to the loo when we first boarded and it was soooo hot and stuffy down there, I raced back up to the top deck as quick as I could cause I knew if I stayed downstairs Id never last the night. I went back inside for the meal and just kept going in and out. Gorgeous views, Bretts workmates are pretty kewl and hilariously funny at times. No wonder he likes his job!

We definately have the best harbour in the world!!

Trimming the Tree 07

(Pics from the weekend)

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas!





This decoration was made by my
motherinlaw, many years ago.





Finishing Touch!

Woohoo, 2 days in a row

Busy at work. Everyone is winding down their business for the year so of course don't want audits lol


Maz popped in with Sandy for dinner. We'll catch up with Sandy again on Christmas
Eve.


Tomorrow Bec if off into Sydney for lunch with her Food Tech class and Nicola is
going to Windsor for an Art day so needless to say, I can't go to work.

Been a while

I can't seem to stick to the Blog thing. I love reading other peoples and stuff does happen during the day that I would like to remember as my memory is S*&T!

Whats happened since February?

Im now 40 lol. We've had 3 Birthday parties including mine. Bec is already planning her 16th for next February.

The girls are doing great at school. Both N & R are receiving awards at the end of School presentations so that should be kewl. Bec will graduate Year 10 in 2 weeks and then school is done for her. The others have 3 weeks left.

I am taking N to see The Veronicas this Friday as part of her Xmas present. I bought tickets for Bec and S for Kelly Clarkson for Christmas although the concert isnt until March next year.

Chez is pregnant with #3. She is also 40. No way could I do the baby thing again. I have every intention of getting slightly clucky with her bub though.

Three quarters of the Christmas shopping is done, we are seeing Matt and family on December 22nd and then Bretts family will be here on the 24th.

Oh and we are still broke

Swimming

Went to Riverstone pool today for the Swim Carnival. N did very well yet again and will probably go to District for Freestyle and the relay. I managed to convince her to swim Backstroke as she didnt want to, it only cost me $3 lol. She seems to enjoy the swimming. This year she swam 100m freestyle and came first in the Junior girls section. The District Carnival is around March 14th I think.

Finished the school shopping yesterday afternoon at Westpoint. Both N & S got new school bags and S finally got some school shoes. Must remember to get D to pay half of a lot of the school stuff like I did last year.

R is now bored with School. She is apparantly tired of the teacher reading stories and also says they only have green paint in their class. N asked her what she did today at lunch time while she was at the swim carnival and she said she went to the library with friends and played checkers!!!

No car day

DH took the car in to work with him so as to give to new owner after work. We don't pick up new car (used car) until tomorrow night so this means 2 days of walking to and from schoo. Grrrr and TYPICALLY it was at least 35'C this afternoon. Getting to school took about 35 minutes as R only has little legs. I remembered to wear a hat back to school in the afternoon when picking up the girls and for the trip home made N put hers on. We stopped a number of times coming home and poor R was sweating like crazy. Even with a hat and a bottle water I still managed to get a killer of a headache so doped up on a couple of Nurofen Plus and had a lie down. If tomorrow is going to be as hot I think we may have a day of School.

Bloody Homeside still haven't deposited the extra money we borrowed. They have of course set up the new Mortgage account etc.....gee there's a surprise. This will be the last time we bother with Homeside. This is not the first time they have mucked us around but it will be the last.

Having no car today meant I postponed my midlife crisis hair cut till Wednesday. Thursday is Swimming Carnival and Friday is the infant assembly and then lunch with J & C. Looking forward to that. The L's are coming to stay this weekend to help us finish painting the downstairs of the house. Should be fun.

Need to get a quote from a gardening place to come and clean up the yard and do a bit of weeding before my 40th B'day party. Also need to get one of those skip things as we have a huge indoor clean up to do as well. If we end up moving it will be a big help to clean out sooner rather than later.

Invites to my party should go out in the next few days. Ive given DH all the email addresses. Funny how times change. Everyone I want to invite is on the other end of an email. Although DH said if someone doesn't have internet they aren't welcome in his house rofl. Well its my house too!!!

Im a Soccer mum

Bought a new car Saturday morning. Just under $7K. The lease payment on the Honda was just killing us so its bye bye Honda, hello 1995 Toyota. Not very exciting but it will (hopefully) get us from A to B for the next year or so.

Finally signed up N for soccer. She will play on Sundays with a girls team but sometimes may be asked to fill in on the mixed team. She is very excited. We may also sign R up in a couple of weeks. They have a muster type thing for the little ones where she can play a little and see if she likes it. It won't clash with Little A's so she should be ok. I realise I will have to get out of bed on the weekends before Midday but I guess this is a sacrifice Im prepared to make.

R went to her first School friend Birthday party. Not bad for only 3 days at school but this was a Preschool and now School friend. She had a good time. The mum plus the grandma said she was great fun and they couldnt believe how chatty and confident she is. I guess R being tiny is quite deceiving.

Went up to MIL for dinner. Her sister/husband were there and one of their daughters. Also my FIL. Had a good evening. R was a bit of a pain after she saw a moth. She is still very tired from starting school so we forgave her a little bit. She did insist on being carried throughout the house which was annoying.

Didnt do much today except washing and tv watching. The buyer of the Honda is getting the car tomorrow and we aren't getting the Toyota until Tuesday evening so it means 2 days of walking for me and the kids. S is very angry as this means she has to walk home from Basketball training on Tuesday afternoon plus we can't go School bag and shoe shopping tomorrow afternoon. I did offer on Friday evening to give her the money to purchase both these items over the weekend while she was with her dad but she chose not to. B on the other hand did accept the money and bought herself quite a nice bag! Grrrrr @ Teenagers

Im annoyed about the car too cause I had a hair appointment tomorrow but I can get my Mid life crisis hair cut on Wednesday instead.

Holidays??

Gee, Im less busy at work. Did the vege co-op shop today. Another lady and I spent $389.50 on Fruit and Veg and then went back to her garage to divide it between 13 families. It was exhausting!!!! By the time I had driven back to her place, me stopping on the way to answer phone (see yesterdays post grrrr!) she had unloaded most of the boxes which is bad as she is about 4 months pregnant! I had the watermelon on my car lol. It took us about an hour and 1 coffee to sort everything out. We had Carrots, Zucchini, Bok Choy, Apples, Rockmelon, Salad leaves and much more. We ended up with 2 boxes of stuff per family....maybe I will be able to follow my dream of being a Vegetarian by the end of the year.

S had her first Basketball game of the year last night. They won 14-12 (woohoo) and Smanaged to fall in the first few minutes and graze both her knees. She also ended up with a headache which did wonders for her general mood (NOT!) Her dad goes next week and then we alternate. I must remember not to take R as its hard to watch the game and keep an eye on her at the same time. The daughter of the coach seemed happy to play with her last night, she had a electronic toy called something like 'DS' or similar. R just calls it a thingamijig and is demanding one for her birthday which isnt until July so maybe she will forget about it by then.

Made the trip out to get Dh's bike back from the repairers. Now he is a happy camper although he is now going to sell this bike and get something better and low maintenance. Even the repairer told him it would be a good idea.

When I picked R up from Day 3 she started to cry and rub her tummy, my first thought was oh no she can't be sick, but she looked at me accusingly and told me she was starving because I didnt give her enough food today. I must admit she had less than the last 2 days as we are pretty much living with Old Mother hubbards cupboard till the weekend but she had exactly the same amount of food she always took to pre-school. Guess she must be using it all up quicker this year!! I promised her she could come shopping with me this weekend to fill up the snack box.

Took R to little athletics tonight. She is so tired and grumpy from school so maybe it wasnt a good idea but she did enjoy it. We missed the last 2 weeks and I really want her to get a medal at the end of the season for all her efforts so don't want to be told we didnt attend enough times. All the kids get a participation medal which is really kewl.

R has a Birthday party tomorrow plus we are car shopping plus we have a dinner BBQ at Maz's house tomorrow night so a busy day it will be!

....and the phone rings again!!

I had absolutely no idea how many times the phone rang at home during business hours. I remember DH mentioning his surprise once before but today was ridiculous. Telemarketers, wrong numbers, friends ringing on the off chance, even sms messages on my mobile from Teen 1 for timetable info. Its much less stressful at work!! Chatted to a friend from my previous job and we have arranged to meet next Friday for lunch at another friends house. I haven't seen Friend 2 for over 12 months....how shocking...Im really looking forward to it. Also organised with Friend 1 to get information about Soccer registration. N decided she wants to play Soccer this coming season (whenever that is!) so we will sign her up on Saturday. The $110 reg covers shorts, socks, Insurance etc...although Im not sure what 'etc' actually is but Im sure Ill soon find out as I enter the world of Soccer. Having 4 daughters, I never thought it would be world I would visit...how sexist of me!!
R survived Day 2 of School. There are now 12 kids in her class with another day of Kindy intake tomorrow.
I booked in at the hairdresser to have my Mid-life crisis hair cut on Monday @ 10.30.

Day 1

I woke R up at around 7.30am and the first words out of her mouth were 'am I going to School today' I said yes and she started waving her arms about 'yeh yeh yeh' Took the annual first day of school photo of the girls outside and with slight co-operation from B it went well. MIL arrived after other girls went to school and we headed off to School for our 9.50am start. Met the deputy head who is new this year and then we went to R's classroom. Met her teacher who is N's teacher from Year 2. Nice but firm. Perfect for R. She settled down to do some colouring so we left. I wasnt upset until saying goodbye. She was sitting with her back to the door and didnt turn around as we left which is what she used to do in preschool as a coping mechanism as she looked very overwhelmed. She was very tired after school and didnt have much to say but is keen to go again tomorrow. One of the girls from Preschool will be in her class when she starts tomorrow so that will be good. She was nearly asleep at 5pm but we gave her a bath and she played on the computer a bit before dinner. I think she was asleep in 5 minutes when her head hit the pillow.

1 more sleep

My baby starts big School in the morning. I was actually crying on the drive home as Im now on holidays from work for a week and a half which is only because she is starting school. She is so excited. Very annoyed that she couldnt go today with N. N said that she will know her Year 4 teacher by Thursday. Also they have finally got a couple of more male teachers. Bring the total to a massive....3! Also the swimming carnival is next Thursday, during my time off..woohoo! I think this year I will also volunteer to help with time keeping. N has said she will try 100m Freestyle, plus 50 Free and 50 Breast. Doesnt want to do the other two. Last year she was fine with Backstroke and we talked her into Butterfly so maybe she can be talked into 1 more this year!

At 9.50am Iwill be a mass of tears!

Ants in the Kahlua

Decided to have a drink with dinner, highly unusual, made it myself (also unusual lol). Has one of those measure things on the top, poured into a glass, poured the milk in, quick stir and WTF!!????

Little black things floating in MY Kahlua!!

We are having an ant invasion here, tiny tiny little ants apparantly brought out by the heat. Managed the long trek to the booze cupboard and into my Kahlua! Those pouring things (Im sure they have a technical name) have little ball things in them and ants couldnt really get past them so Im told the ants are probably not actually in the bottle.

Im not convinced.

2007 is here!

School holidays continue. School goes back January 31st. All four girls!! Renee starts 'big' School at 9.50am. She is very excited. I on the other hand have schedule a week and half of holiday from work so I can mop my tears up in Private.

Business is slow. Still umming and ahhing about giving up! Depends on my mood. Ive put the whole store on sale and have 2 sales in the last 24 hours.

Ill update again later.

Robbie....

Brett got me Rudebox by Robbie Williams...need to be prepared for December 9th!!

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!

You drink coffee when????

You Are an Espresso

At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

HOT!

So bloody hot!

Tomorrow is supposed to be worse!!! At least Ill be at work in the AirCon considering our is shit and doesn't work anymore...grrrrrrrrrrrr!

Took Renee to the final day of School Orientation today. Also bought her a couple of uniforms plus a hat. Just need School shoes and she is ready to go. She starts January 31st @ 9.50am.

Pass the tissues please.

Movies anyone?

Your Movie Buff Quotient: 40%

You're a very typical movie goer. You like movies, but you are by no means a movie buff. You've seen many of the biggest blockbusters, but you haven't really started digging in to the classics.

Are You a Movie Buff?

New Shop

Well, since Bigpond decided to no longer support an inet store (or whatever the reason was) I have had to use SiteShop. Im sure its a good system but the support from the Bigpond technicians is abolsute CRAP. I was trying to add a new category the other day but there was no 'root' parent category to list it under. I rang for help...the guy put me on hold...the 'root' magically appeared...the guy came back and had the nerve to tell me I didnt scroll far enough. WTF!!!!! Of course, whilst adding the 'root' he also managed to get all the Categories to appear twice...GEE THANKS!!!

So I am now on the lookout for a new shopping cart system and hosting. I have 3 quotes so far...all pretty reasonable ones from people on Businessmums.com. Im taking my Domain name and running as far away from Bigpond as possible!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

She's 5

My baby turned 5 on the 12th! The School enrollment forms are on the noticeboard...I haven't filled them out yet...Im in denial.

Winter

Grrrrrr I hate it!

We FINALLY got the AirCon/Heating back up and running. $1500 later which I had to borrow from my mother and that phone call took a few strong drinks to make!! School holidays have just finished and Ive managed one day at work this week. Renee was sick Tuesday, Nic yesterday and then Renee again today. Bec sounds really bad this evening so will no doubt be off tomorrow (but I don't work Fridays) She had a week off last winter with a shocking dose of the Flu so hopefully this won't happen again. I wish Id remembered to get her a Flu shot. Neighbours dog has been wandering around the yard the last couple of days. With the recent spate of Dog attacks on kids its got me worried. A told us ages ago she actually hired the dog for protection so it obviously would do some damage to a child. Brett will go over and let her know the Dog is loose (as if she doesn't know) and if I see it again Ill just call the Council or Dog Catcher (is there such a thing in Sydney??)

WOOHOO!!!!!!

Robbie Williams
Presented by Chugg Entertainment

TICKET PRICES#:Gold Reserve $149.95*Silver Reserve $99.95** Transaction Fees Apply#Please note that these prices are subject to change.
GENERAL PUBLIC ON SALE DATES:Tue 6 Jun, 9am - SydneyWed 7 Jun, 9am - Brisbane and Adelaide** LIMIT OF 6 TICKETS PER TRANSACTION **
Robbie Williams has confirmed he will tour Australia and will end his world tour, Robbie Williams: Close Encounters, here!
Music's man with the Midas touch shattered the Guinness Book of World Records for the fastest and largest number of concert tickets ever sold in one day - 1.6 million when the European leg of his world tour went on sale in November 2005.
Record-breaking ticket sales are expected for what will be the biggest stadium production show to ever tour Australia! 57 semi-trailers will be on the road to transport staging, production and the six 400amp generators needed to power the pop-hunk's super-sized show in Australia.
TOUR DATES*:
Tue 5 Dec - AAMI Stadium, Adelaide
Sat 9 Dec - Aussie Stadium, Sydney
Wed 13 Dec - Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane.

Confiscated Vegemite

For some reason my teenage daughter and my nearly teenage daughter struggle at the basics like putting a screw lid back on a jar! I have pick up the jars sooooo many times and caught them before they hit the floor....until this afternoon. The $10 jar of Vegemite hit the floor, like I said it would!!! I tend to buy the large size, thus saving a dollar or 2. Once the girls were sitting down for dinner I informed them I was NOT replacing it for a week and they should start liking cheese on their sandwiches!!!I went grocery shopping when they were in bed tonight and did buy Vegemite but after I made tomorrows sandwiches I hid the jar!!!! Nicola quite likes Peanut butter but Im pretty sure she cant take it to school so I decided to buy the Vegemite but keep it hidden.

The Vegemite only comes out at night!!!

Grrrrrr to all teenage girls!!

Rant about Teenage Duaghters

While my older girls were with their dad tonight I sent Brett up to their rooms to dismantle the Internet. Other times when we have turned it off, R has still been able to get the net in her room cause one of our neighbours has wireless internet and R picks it up hehe. So Brett removed a cable (or something) as well. She is NOT impressed!!Apart from the usual bad mouthing, rudeness etc, they won't lift a finger!! The 2 girls are 14 and nearly 13 and have 1 chore they need to do twice a week! HOW HARD IS THAT!!! All they have to do is unload and load the dishwasher after dinner on Monday and Tuesday, preferably before 8.30pm!! When I was there age I had been dusting the house, plus cleaning the bathroom and my parents ensuite including freakin toilets!! Plus R has a Science experiment she is meant to do over a period of 11 weeks. We are now at week 4 and she started tonight with the help of Chez. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.Anyway after months and months of not following through I finally had enough.. Im so tired! I work during the day now (not full time) and realise how much easier it was when I was working at night! Im taking Thursday off work as I told them at work if I don't have a day at home to tidy up I will end up killing someone!! lol Also tonight R asked me if her best friend could stay over Thursday night and I said no (Partly because her room is a pigsty) and she said why and I told her I didnt need a reason and she stormed off...I turned to Brett and said did I do good, and he nodded lol! On the other hand I have an 8 year old that frets when her younger sister messes up up their shared room or the lounge room is messy. I promised her tomorrow I would tidy up a bit in there. She loves to clean and tidy things. Hopefully she won't lose this feeling.
Im quite prepared to compare teenage daughters pigsty bedrooms if anyone else is game!
Oh and this is day 3 of a low carb/high protein diet which might also explain my mood hehe!

Weekend over!

Busy weekend but not a lot to show for it...usually the way. Bec went and watched a school friend play a League game them went to and party and stayed over. Sarah today went to the Movies with a boy from Primary school that goes to another High School. There was originally a group going but it ended up just being the two of them. Managed to get some video footage of the girls practising on the Long Jump pitch down the road. Renee can walk there and back without too much complaining....the promise of an ice cream at the end is a good bribe (incentive)

Back to work tomorrow, the kids are going to Cheryls while Renee will be at Preschool.. Tuesday is a Public Holiday - ANZAC day and we will probably get cracking with the painting...need to take some before photos first though.

Shop till you drop

Took girls shopping to Westpoint. I really hate shopping...honestly! I feel claustrophobic in shopping centres..have felt that way since I was pregnant with Renée lol. I dislike this particular shopping centre so I was doomed from the start! Bec got her sports pants and S couldn't find joggers she wanted so got phone credit. I decided last week to buy the girls a CD Single each for easter and actually bought them today! Timing is everything. Nic got a CD from some guy that was in Idol last year (I think?) and Sarah of course got the Delta single that she sung at the Comm Games. Bec couldn't find one she wanted and opted from some Shampoo? Strange but she was happy. She also bought herself some thongs from one of the surf shops...she is still nervous about using her keycard but manages alright. She has now become intrigued with Flybuys and picked up the flyer to read about it. I thought she would be too young but the guy who served us in Target seemed to think not...maybe he thought she looked older than she is!!
No plans for tomorrow but I would like to wash down some door frames and the window sill in the kitchen ready to paint but Ill have all 4 home tomorrow so prob will be refereeing rather than anything else lol

Just another day

Working daytime during the School hols is such a hassle when there is no family around! Today Bec decided to stay home and Renee was in daycare so took the other 2 up to my SIL for the day. Bec rang me at least 6 times while i was at work lol. Hmmmm while home alone she used the Gas cooker and the Oven. Might have to rethink my plans next week. Not working tomorrow so while Renee is in daycare I can go out with the older girls. Bec needs new sports pants and Sarah needs either Joggers or credit for her phone lol

Back to work!

Easter is over. Back to work. Very busy with both Shaz and Liz on hols. Plenty of phone calls to make...Im pretty much used to it now!

Girls are back from their long weekend with their dad. Back home and fighting already...woohoo, its gonna be a long 2 weeks school hols!!!

Easter Monday

Not a bad day at all. Up early and off to Penrith. Got a flat tire on the way!! Thankgoodness it was a public holiday or I would have been dealing with it by myself. Thankfully I had my trusty tire changing man with me!!

Went to meet up with Da and watch while he bought a Laptop! Then off to the Plaza where I managed to get 2 pairs of shoes!! Renee wanted a toy but settled for a donut. Wow, if only they were all that easy to please!

Back home again and Brett nearly got the ceiling finished. One more coat of paint. Its amazing how different a white ceiling is to a grey one!!

Playing Catch Up

Been a while!!
Where to start.... Carnival season is obviously over! Nic swam at Zone. Her relay swim was spectacular! The School group were on their feet yelling...she was 3rd swimmer and caught the team up from 3rd to equal first...I had tears in my eyes!! They came first in their heat but because the other heat was faster, their school team missed out on the Area Carnival...Im going to get her some training before next years Carnivals!! Sarah swam well at the HS Carnival and went to Zone as breast stroke reserve. So of course, come Zone time, she sat by the pool all day!! A lot of the team was made up of her Primary School mates so she still had a good day.
Nothing much else has been happening really. Nicola has joined the School choir which neither of the others ever did, plus she tried out for Netball (unsuccesful) and is her class Vice SRC rep. She has really jumped in quite well to Primary School life.
Work is good. Im really enjoying this job and I think Ive settled in quite well. Hopefully next year with Renee at school I can work an extra day. Not paying Preschool and Daycare fees next year plus working an extra day we should be able to loosen our belts next year (Only one notch though)!

Swimming Carnival (Part 1)

N competed in her first Swimming Carnival today (She was sick last year) All I can say is WOW!! All my girls have fins!!. She had 7 swims!!! She will probably make it to District for Freestyle, Butterfly and possibly reserve for Breatstroke. Nothing seemed to phase her today. She didnt nominate Butterfly but I asked her to have a go as there was only one other girl swimming. N went in it even though she knew the other girl would win. Brilliant!!!

The High School Carnival is on Friday! R already said she won't be swimming this year. I told her I was very dissapointed but it is her decision in the end. S will be swimming of course. First High School competition for her!

Birthday Girl

R turned 14 on February 1st. How dare my children get older...I am, after all, 27 (still!)
I think she had a good day. It was the first day back at school also for the school year. Got her most of the things on her list. Her stooooooopid father and his wife decided that her Birthday is too early in the year 'we've just had Christmas' and gave her some Shower Gel, a Shower sponge, a Kit Kat and a Picnic Bar. WTF!!!!!!!

I was really angry and she was angry! Not upset, ANGRY, which I think is worse! I felt so bad for her that I went out and bought her another present hehehe! That Johnny Depp Willie Wonker DVD. She was quite Chuffed!

Christmas/New Year Round up 2005

17/12/2005
Mum and Tony came up from Tassie and we gathered at Matt and Sue's place for a Robinson Christmas Lunch
18/12/2005
Put the tree up at our house. B had the kids working hard including Renées cousins Scott and Ronan. Maz and Peter, Sandy and Marlon and Uncle Mark completed the watching crowd
23/12/2005
B's ex came over with the girls. She said the only way he can see them is if she came too...So B called all his family over as well. The girls are great, B misses them and he is going to take her fat arse to court early in 2006. I drank about 5 Kahluas in 2 hours, I probably only ever drink 2 a year.
24/12/2005
Christmas Eve is the usual Day the Clarkes have their Christmas Gathering. R, S & N were with their dad so it was a relatively quiet day with just Renée and her cousins Scott and Ronan
25/12/2005
A quiet start with just Renée at home rummaging through her sack. The other girls arrived after lunch and dived into the gifts. R was VERY impressed with her new Mobile Phone!! Our house is now full of music, CD's and clothes.
31/12/2005
New Years Eve we went up the mountains to Cheryls house. Stayed until around 2.30am. Longest Ive stayed up on New Years Eve in AGES. Kids had a great time. It was very hot so they were playing with water guns and hoses etc well into the New Year!
17/1/2006-27/1/2006
Drove down to Melbourne to stay with Kylie and family for a week or so. Very Hot. Didnt do a whole lot except seek refuge from the heat. I made a Calender for Mum and also 2 Mini Albums to send to Auntie Ann and Auntie Jan in England. Just photos of Christmas! On the second last day we went to Adventure Park in Geelong. Fantastic Place.
31/1/2006
Schools in! Renée went back to Preschool today as we held her back from starting school. Her teacher said she must have found her voice whilst on holidays cause now she won't stop talking!
S started High School. She is in the top class as expected. She was pleased to have homework. Even on Day one teachers recognised her as being R's sister...lol
1/2/2006
R is 14 today. She seemed pleased with the Presents she got plus she is having a party next weekend. She has managed to cling to her grades and is in the Top English class this year. Also she is doing Drama, Sewing and Food Tech as her electives.
2/2/2006
N has the same Year 3 teacher as R had for Year 5. Her best friend J is also in her class so everything is right with the world tonight!

Presentation Day (Part 2)

Went to the High School for the presentation. R received 2 Certificates, plus a Medal as she came first in the form for Design and Techonology. Plus she got a Spotlight Gift Certificate. Pretty kewl. She has done well this year, big improvement on last year!!

Does this mean Im lazy?

Greed:	Medium
Gluttony:	Medium
Wrath:	Low
Sloth:	High
Envy:	Very Low
Lust:	Low
Pride:	Medium

The Seven Deadly Sins Quiz on 4degreez.com

Presentation Day (Part 1)

Tuesday was the Primary school presentation day and I ended up with an ENORMOUS headache! Lol

Have you ever been so proud you cried? lol R came along cause S was getting an award
and told me not to cry, I told her that when she is a mother she will understand.

Anyhow, S got the Dux award at School!!!!!!!!! Im still in shock even though we had sort of narrowed it down to that one, even her friends were convinced as not many of the other academically bright kids do all the sport S does and our School has always said its an allrounder type award!

There was a photographer at the ceremony who took her photograph and said next week there will be a feature on school presentation days and S's photo will be in the Blacktown Advocate!

I dropped R off at the High School and she was still mumbling…’OMG my sister got Dux!’ roflmao!! (she is secretly proud I know but will never admit it of course!! What is it with sisters???!!!)

R is getting an award on Thursday for D&T which Im not sure what it is exactly but I will know after Thursday.
Considering her shaky start to High School last year Im pleased she is being rewarded as she has really
made an effort this year and is enjoying school…and yes I keep telling her Im pleased and proud. She even
said I am allowed to go the ceremony!!

Please pass the Panadol

High School

Had the High School info night for S. Went pretty much the same as 2 years ago for R. Also managed to get her Uniform and Book pack for next year and got change from $200. S was pretty bored with the whole thing lol I asked her if she is excited about High School and she said nope! She starts Jan 31st and the rest go back on Feb 1 which means R starts Year 9 on her 14th Birthday.

B and R jr went to the dancing on Saturday and had a good time. R jr spotted a lady singing and said 'who is that big fat lady' turns out it is B's ex wife hehehe. R jr didnt know this of course as she is only 4 and thankfully J and L weren't in earshot as it is afterall their mum....anyway still wish Id been there. B and MIL got some great photos of the girls.

The tree is up!!! Had B's family over and all the kids and B decorated the tree while the rest of us sat around eating....seems fair enough to me!!!!!

Ho Ho Ho

Spiralling out of control

Is that how you spell 'spiralling'...Ive no idea

Anyway, thats life at the moment. Still struggling with day shift rather than evening shift. I used to get a heap more done. Now no one is home during the day and even though Im home after school time Im exhausted. Oh well, Welcome to the real world eh??!!

The choc party season is over thank goodness. Sold most of my stock at the fund raiser on Friday night. What is it with older people and ginger? Will I like ginger when Im in my 70's?? Anyway, no use getting any more stock in now with heat on its way! Im thinking of paying off the rest of my kit and starting fresh next year earning the full percentage commission and really having a proper go of it. Ill reassess at the end of next year whether its worth the trouble.

Keep getting calls from the people that run the stitches and craft shows to see if I want a stall in August 2006 at Rose Hill. Its such a big and expensive step. Ive called C and we will discuss it as I told her I had plans for her in August!!

School only has 3 weeks to go! Woohoo!!! Im gonna cry like a baby on the 19th on S's last day of Primary school. Ill have 2 in High School next year...surely Im too young!!

Im just trying to load up my ebay store with the Eyelets that don't sell very well. Ill keep about 9-10 packs and then sell the rest off in bulk lots then get new stuff in. Brads are selling really well so Ill get more varieties of those I think. Hopefully Ill get it done by the end of the weekend.

Going up the mountains to do a Card Making course on Saturday. Will take N with me, but told S nd R they could stay home if they preferred. B is taking little R to see his older 2 in their dance concert. I would love to go too as we haven't seen them ALL YEAR (stomp stomp!!) but at $25 a ticket we just can't afford it. At least this way R will see her other sisters at least once this year!!!

Back to ebay!

Fete's and weight loss

Ive done 2 fetes since I was last here..lol That first one was an eye opener...NOTE TO SELF don't try and do 2 different 'themes' at a fete, by yourself. I sold a bit of Chocolate and I sold a bit of Scrapbooking so it wasn't a big loss. I will add the links to the side of the page when I figure out how. Did our Schools fete last Saturday and sold about $300 worth of Chocolate...got rid of some of the Chocolate Ginger that doesnt sell at parties lol!! woohoo

Ive now lost 5.1 kilos in 4 weeks. Ive been waiting for Daylight savings to start so I can walk in the evenings when B gets home. Well, Daylight savings is here so Ive got no more excuses.

My cousin in Portsmouth, England got in touch through Schoolfriends reunited ( or whatever its called) Havent seen/heard from her since 2000 and she sounds keen to keep in touch which is kewl.

R missed a whole week of school last week due to having the Flu. Doctor said she has a really bad case and there wasnt much more she could do for her. She rose on the weekend and went back to School on Monday and is back to being her usual teenager with attitude.

Melbourne Cup was today. Did I back the winner! NO! Do I ever back the winner? NO!

Thats about it for now, off to make muffins and do tomorrows lunches!