Falling Down

Whilst this is a song by Duran Duran it is also what I did around midnight last night. I went back downstairs to hang out some shirts of Becs but I didnt turn on the light as I went down the stairs, there was a couple of things on the stairs and I managed to trip and slide to the bottom. Thankfully my butt is well padded!! Didn't work today as in a bit of pain down my right side, I have a lovely bruise but otherwise Im ok. Thankgoodness our stair case goes around a bend, it would have been scary sliding down the whole lot, only slipped about 8 stairs. Im so annoyed with myself - TURN ON THE LIGHT STUPID!!

Kris emailed me this afternoon - WE HAVE DURAN DURAN TICKETS!!!

WOOHOO!!!!!

Tuesday

Can't think of a witty title so Tuesday it is. Realised today I had to be in 3 places at once on Thursday night so Ive delegated. Bec will get a lift home from Soccer training, Sarah will need a lift to and from Basketball and I will take Bec to Soccer training and then stay home with the younget 2. Brett is working late and then going to the launch of something computer related at the Ent Cent in Sydney. Bec has 3 short Soccer games this Sunday also so we need to get her registered before then. Although they are only friendly games she still needs to be registered to be convered by the Insurance.
The Menu plan is changing a tad as there was Savoury mince left over so tomorrow night I will just make the Pastries with the mince instead of the usual chicken. Thursday night will be Pad Thai and so on.

Genetics

It was only a matter of time before one of my girls started squinting, bumping into things or falling over. Well maybe just squinting! Bad Genetics have now shown themselves in Nicola who today had her eyes tested yet again and THIS time my theory has been proven correct and she will have glasses by the end of the week. She is soooo excited. January 2007 her eyes tested as long sighted but now she is short sighted. Even when reading the letters she was squinting, just to prove it to the Optometrist! I will share a picture once we have them home. Cost of $200, we should get some of that back from our Health Fund so not as stressed as I could have been. A couple of others in her class have Specs so she is not worried in the least. Sarah said they may actually make her look intelligent. Sisterly love...gotta love it!!

Menu Plan Monday

This weeks new recipe is not until Saturday, the first day of Autumn down under. Sounds yummy!

Monday - Sausages and potato bake (already eaten)
Tuesday - Savoury Mince
Wednesday - Pad Thai

Tursday - Lasagne

Friday - Crab cakes (altho no teenagers will be home to freak out like last time)

Saturday - Chicken balls with couscous salad

Sunday - Roast Chicken (hopefully made by husband)

More great recipe ideas can be found here at laura's.

Weekend

Laid back weekend. A lot of sleeping in (mainly by me) a bit of food shopping and thats it. Was quite hot this weekend so Brett did a bit of the lawn but not till later in the evening. Bec did some night driving on Saturday night which she said was scary! Also on Sunday afternoon Brett had her backing up our driveway, those in the know will realise just what a job this is.

I managed to chop my finger with the knife on Saturday night and it is still hurting.

Brett told me that by pouring pepper onto the wound the blood would stop flowing. Has anyone else heard this???? It worked but boy DID IT STING!!! He said I was lucky he didn't use salt. So, does he know what he is talking about or did he just want to hear his wife scream in agony??

GUESS WHAT??

Im going to see these guys next month!!

WOOHOO!!!!!

One of those days

There is no post for yesterday cause 24 hours later I have no idea what I/we did and its all just a blur. Bec had soccer training and Sarahs team lost their Basketball match. Ummmm..thats about it.

I left home the second time this morning at 8.10 and didnt get back till 5.20. No wonder I fell asleep around 6. Took Bec to School, came back for other 3 girls, dropped off 2 to be taken to school by friend, picked up another 2 teenagers (..cause I don't have enough of my own..) and took the 3 girls to the Zone swimming. Then drove on to do the Vegie shop (for the last time..Im dropping out of the co-op) then once that was all divided up I went back to the pool. Because I still hadn't had enough of swimming pools, after school I took Nic to a different pool for her Zone swim training. Sarah didnt do to badly at Zone. She was 5th overall in Breast stroke, they came 3rd in the 15 yrs relay and she came about 9th overall in freestyle which she wasn't expecting to have to do anyway (girl who qualified has been off sick all week). I love going to the carnivals and cheering on the girls, their friends and just the school in general. Not sure how they went but a lot of the other High Schools go right up to Year 12 and therefore have more swimmers but we only got to Year 10. Had a good chinwag with one her friends mums who I always run into at either Swim Carnivals or Presentation days. Very friendly lady. Her girls are fantastic swimmers too. Much more dedicated than my lot.
It was such a hot day which I didnt really notice until sitting at the pool while Nic did her training. Talked to a few of the parents while sitting in the shade. Nic has some nice friends and it was nice to chat with the mums.
Renee went to a friends house after school and when I went to pick up Nic at school I had to have a quick word with the mother. Her daughter and Renee have been friends since Preschool but the friend is much more boisterous than Renee. Renee wanted to join the choir this year (like last year) but the friend told her not to. Apparantly Renee was also going to join the Junior dance group on Thursday but again, the friend told her not to. Renee didnt actually tell me about the dancing but told Sarah. So anyway I did hesitate to say anything but after the bullying episodes with Sarah when she was in Primary School I wanted to nip it in the bud in case it escalated. I know they are only 6 but our family has been bitten before so to speak. Anyway, the mum was horrified and thanked me for mentioning it. She knows what her daughter is like and was sure that it was because she wanted to play with Renee and also didn't want to give up her lunch times, and I totally agree that is what it probably was. So anyway..by the time I picker Renee up the mum had spoken to the girls about it and they are now both joining choir and Renee will probably join the dancing. Phew! Glad it ended well. Renee and her friend idolise each other and were thrilled to be in the same class again this year. Somehow we need to teach Renee to stand up for herself a bit more and the other mum said her daughter needs to know she has to let her friends do other things and they will more likely 'come back' to her and no one loses.
This enrichment class of Nic's is certainly testing the kids. She has TWO assignments!!! Yes, she is already stressing about them!

Chicken

Bl&^dy chicken still hadn't defrosted totally but enough that I could cut it up into schnitzel sized pieces. I REALLY need a microwave. We have managed so long without one since the ant invasion and I only missed it for telling the time but with all the cooking Im doing now we realy need the reheat or defrost option!

Busy afternoon with basketball and dancing etc.

...and in other news, Renee announced that she is the vice SRC member for her class. Which means she only needs to go to meetings if the class member is away from school or as she said 'if he just wants to play at lunchtime I will go the meeting' Should be interesting.Bec said she thinks she has training tomorrow night. Last year she had 2 nights a week training so I wouldn't be surprised. I still haven't registered her yet and this club seems a bit unorganised compared to Nic's but at least they have decided to play the girls in a local comp this year rather than having to travel to the other side of Sydney every Sunday. Guarantee her games and Nics will clash. Guarantee. Nic has put her name down on the list to play soccer at school for rep sport. She is a bit obsessed. Soccer and Carlton in AFL.

Enrichment

I had to apologise to Nic for doubting her abilities. She told me she was in a class made up of top year 4 and 5 from last year and I thought she was mistaken. Even when a couple of her good friends weren't in the class I still had doubts. I went to the info night at the school and sure enough, they have created a special enrichment year 5/6 composite class...and she is in it. Lots of testing and previous results and such is how they chose the kids. The teacher is one that both Bec and Sarah had along the way and Im quite pleased with the whole thing. I guess Nic has just been carrying on her merry way getting to the same place that Sarah and Bec were but without us noticing. This year is Basic Skills for Year 5 so Im looking forward to seeing how she performs. Not until August though.

Had to swap the meal plan around as the chicken didn't defrost. Had the Spaghetti and Tuna instead. Sarah of course reheated some Spag Bol from last night. I had a boiled egg last night. While I was cooking the mince I just went off the whole idea of eating it. Brett was amused that I would cook the family a meal and not eat it myself...highly suspiscious he reckons. They all said it was yummy so its not as if I cooked them a bad meal!!!

Menu Plan Monday

Busy week
Monday - Spaghetti Bolognaise
Tuesday - FEC Chicken
Wednesday - Tuna Spaghetti. My feet don't touch the ground on Wednesday after school and this meal is perfect as it takes about 3 minutes prep.
Thursday - Sausages and Potato Bake
Friday - Tarragon Chicken Meatloaf
My meals seem to be the same each week and look quite boring....I really need to have something new each week. Last weeks crab cakes were yummy. Check out Fridays Blog Entry for my teenage daughters reaction. More great meal ideas over at Laura's!!

Imagine your teenage daughter going for a quick practise drive with your husband, just around the streets in your suburb. 15 minutes later you hear both police sirens and ambulance sirens. VERY disconcerting. Obviously, it wasn't my guys but still......

7up

Fairly quiet day again. Lovely. Did some stock taking, not my favourite thing. Why oh why did I decide to sell Eyelets hehe. Brett downloaded a 30 day trial upgrade for the website so I get to play a little earlier as I was going to get the upgrade later next month. It has a bulk stock loader, I assume its a bit like turbo lister. Can't wait to use it.

...and 7up? Its an English program that started filming a group of kids from different backgrounds back in 1964 and every 7 years they go back and catch up with the kids. I first saw it back in my 'old life' and saw a few weeks ago that it is now being shown on the BIO channel on foxtel. Over time some of them have dropped out and then are back again so I assume each 7 years they are still approached. Tonights episode they are 42. I found it fascinating!!

Still struggling to work out my Menu for the week.

Weekend 1

Got loads of housework done. Very exciting. Im happy cause this means I can do the ebay/shop stuff without feeling guilty. Bec had her dinner with friends tonight and it went well. They saw the movie but were in the front row at the cinema so all seem to have sore necks. Not as many went to the movie so not as expensive as I thought it would be.
Brett cooked Roast Chicken for dinner. Very tasty! (Brett AND the chicken yes!)

Mammogram anyone?

During my net surfing today I came across this ladies description of what it was like to have a Mammogram - complete with pictures!! ABSOLUTELY HYSTERICAL and as I know from first hand experience (last September and November) its very accurate description. Enjoy!!

In other news......Nic has made it to the Zone swim carnival. I have no idea how. I told her I was surprised as she hadn't had the most succesful swim carnival this year but she just looked puzzled...so I said Congratulations instead. Sarah swims again next Friday and Nic swims again on March 11.

Didn't do much today. Fell asleep on the couch but as my feet were cold it was a very uncomfortable nap. Bec's school hours today were 8am to 11am...never like that in my day. I made Crab Cakes for dinner. I don't like Seafood. They were yummy. I served them up to Bec who said nothing. After she had eaten one I asked if she like them, she said too much corn, then I asked her if she knew what she was eating. A look of panic on her face, then I said Crab. She started gagging. I told her they were crab cakes. She told me she HATES Seafood and didn't eat any more. She looked like she was going to throw up. It was very funny!

Tomorrow she is having dinner with 16 of her closest friends in part 2 of the Birthday celebrations. They are going to Hogsbreath for dinner. I had booked for 16 people and then she said it was 17 so I had to ring back and I told the girl on the phone that Math was not my daughters strong point. Anyway after that they are all off to the movies to see Jumper. Only about 14 of them are going to the movies which is good cause that is the bit we are paying for.

Obviously the husband of a crafty lady!

Valentines Day

Not a busy day at all. Had morning tea with Annie and checked out her stock. Ill have to go shopping over there around the end of March (when I next have some $$)
The girls loved their cakes for recess and Brett and I had one each last night before I hid them till I made the lunches this morning.
Sarah has made it to the Zone swimming. The carnival is next Friday and once again I will miss it due to the Vegie shop. Twice in a month I do the shop and not again until around July and I miss out on 2 swim carnivals...grrrrrr!
Another day at home by myself tomorrow...woohoo...need to do some housework so I can do some ebaying/shop updates on the weekend...woo..hoo?
Payday tomorrow but AGAIN Bretts work stuffed up his pay and didnt process the 'rise' bit of payrise. Not the first time either. When I got back from Basketball this evening (they won again!) he said 'do you want the bad news, or the bad news?'
Managed to get dads old camera loaded with film...it was quite amusing to watch Bec trying to figure out loading a camera with film. Not something she had ever done. It got stuck and the camera wouldn't wind on but Brett fixed it when he got home so Bec can have another play with it tomorrow. No flash at this stage so only daytime shots for the moment.

I no longer like Wednesdays

OMGoodness! Im exhausted. Pick up from School, take 1 back for dancing, go pick up 1 from basketball, take her friend home then go home, pick up one from dancing, take 2 to ex's house...drivingdrivingdriving...Then I had to cook dinner!!!

This will be my life EVERY DARN WEDNESDAY!! Its not even as if this is just a seasonal thing. Dancing and Basketball is all year round. These kids better look after us in our old age!! I may start making my list of demands now!

Nic did end up coming to work as she was all sniffly and had a sore throat. I thought she'd be home tomorrow but they are doing some filming for their Friday assembly item and she had planned all alone to be at school tomorrow. Im staying home tomorrow and Friday so I can find the furniture under the mess that is my life. Im having morning tea here which Im really looking forward to! Sourcing new products is always funs....and she makes a great coffee!

Just finished making recess for the girls tomorrow. Happy Valentines Day!!

Quiet

Quite day. No soccer training after all as the grounds are closed due to all the bad weather we have been having.
Hoping Nic can hold out another day before needing time off school with her cold. I need to work at least 3 days this week otherwise payday will be very sad indeed.

Food

Soccer season has begun with the commencement of Bec's training this Tuesday night. I don't think games begin until after Easter (seems a bit far away so Ill check) but the schedule hots up as they all start training. Its hard to work out dinner plans at this time of year, altho this is only my second Winter season with all 4 girls in a sport.
Mondays are free (waaahey!) Tuesday is Soccer training, Wednesday is Basketball training and Dance class, Thursday is Soccer training x 2, Basketball game x 1. See, I have to be in 3 places at once because OF COURSE the 2 soccer players play for different clubs!!!

Anyway, here we go for this week! New recipe is on Friday. I have NEVER cooked seafood before except fish. Im not a seafood eater except fish. The things I do for my husband.

Monday - Tuna Spaghetti (now obviously eaten)
Tuesday - Cajun chicken. Very successful the other week.
Wednesday - Sausages/Chops and Potato bake
Thursday - Chicken parcels. What a romantic Valentines meal (maybe I should make them heart shaped)
Friday - Crab and corn cakes topped with guacamole. plus mashed potato. Im not sure if its actually Avocado season down here so it may end up having some kind of salsa instead of guacamole
Saturday - Roast Chicken and all the trimmings.
Sunday - No idea.

Had a call from my brother who said 'Im at the cemetary with Margaret (his motherinlaw) she has a funeral to go to, where's dad? Yes, dad has been gone for 18 years this September and my brother had yet to visit. He pinpointed his location in the cemetary and after 15 minutes I managed to direct him to where our dad is buried.

I will be back later with my Menu Monday contribution.

Enrichment

Well apparantly I underestimated Nicola's abilities and she IS in the smarty pants class this year. The composite class of year 5 and 6's is a special enrichment class which takes the top from last years year 4 & 5's. Im so used to the high achieving Sarah that I was totally blown away by Nicola. I even apologised to her for doubting her when she originally told me!! The info night at the school was very interesting.

Bec had her first soccer training of the year tonight. Seemed to go well, Im sure she is fitter this time than when she first trained last season. Nic is all registered but haven't heard when training is yet.

Chez called to tell me L has made the zone swimming her first year into competing at school level...woohoo!! Pity we don't live closer and could go and watch each others kids lol

Driver

Not a lot going on. Went to the Library to return the boring books I borrowed 3 weeks ago. Actually it was 4 weeks ago as the Librarian kindly informed me with a shocked look on her face that my books were due back on February 1st! O M G !!! My books were a week late!!! Then I had the nerve to ask if I could reborrow 2 of them as Nic and I hadn't finished reading them. I borrowed 4 books last time and only 1 of them was any good and I borrowed it by mistake in the first place. Non fiction book called 'Irish' I thought I should get a little background info on the Irish ancestors. Turns out it was more a history of the Irish in Scotland lol. Still quite interesting. I read it when Im in the smallest room in the house if you know what I mean. Told you there wasn't a lot going on!!

Actually, Brett took Bec out for her first drive. They were gone 2 hours!! She went quite well apparantly. She enjoyed it and Brett has no grey hairs nor the sudden need for alcohol so all is good.

We need these for the office

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!