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!

Weight loss

2 weeks ago I started on Lite and Easy. Easy it is....all delivered to the door lol. Im paying for it out of my redundancy money. Just a little bit of it of course! Last Saturday I went to stand on the scales at the end of week 1. and the battery had died.. heheheh so I weighed in this morning - 2 weeks after starting - and Ive lost 3½ kilos. Very inspiring! Im waiting for daylight savings to start so I can go walking in the evening after B gets home!

I am taking the Chocolates and the TLC to a fete tomorrow! All day, by myself so I better take a thermos of Coffee to keep me going.

Should be fun!

Sea Sick

Well, now I know! I get seasick!

Had a good break up the coast at Nelson Bay with my bestfriend and all 6 of our kids. On Wednesday we had organsied a Whale watching cruise which is where we came unstuck. C was severely seasick from about 5 minutes into the cruise....it took me longer...about 45 minutes into the cruise. Her youngest slept most of the time, my youngest did laps of the dining/lounge area, between checking up on me, other people and her sister who wasnt seasick but was scared due to the rough water The older 3 kids were fine. After my demise, my older girls came inside every 20 minutes or so and took R outside to see the veiw, which of course reminded her why she stayed indoors in the first place.....but it filled in the time. I SAW A WHALE!! Yes, even though I felt ill. The 'voice' got very excited and said - Oh yes, look out the window, 9 o'clock...a whale!! I lifted my head, looked out the window, saw a Whale diving back into the water...then put my head back down onto the table.... I SAW A WHALE!!

Thursday there was of course gale force winds predicted as we headed to the beach. We were of course thankful that the Whale cruise wasnt that day. We lasted about 20 minutes on the beach...the kids splashed in the water, we all swallowed sand then decided to head back to the house for lunch.


As we headed home Friday, it was of course perfect weather for a day at the beach.

My older 3 are with their dad for the long weekend and as its still School hols here they won't be back till Tuesday night. Its very quiet here this weekend!

Finally finished cleaning out the garage...Ill take the after photo tomorrow!

School Hols

Ive booked a little holiday for me and the girls. C is bring her 2 as well. We are booked to do a Whale watching cruise on Wednesday...of course it is currently pouring with rain! Grrrrr

Made good progress with cleaning up my crap in the Garage. Still a lot to do but I can tell the difference already.

This is the before photo


If its still raining in the morning I may keep R home from Preschool. Need to take the other 3 shopping and it would be easier without her but undecided. She was vomiting last night and was very quiet today although still able to fight with N as usual.. lol

Will wait and see.

I got the job at the Accountants and I start Tuesday week....woohoo!

Call Back

The Accountants called and they want me to go for another interview Monday...looks promising

Finished at the Bank last night...had some food, did a tiny bit of work. We have arranged to all go out to dinner next Monday night in Parramatta..should be fun! My retrenchment money was in the account this morning.....Ill just sit and look at it a while before I start moving it around, be a while before that much money is in account again.

Going back in to work one more time this afternoon to sign all the paperwork.

Im nesting today, can't seem to sit still. Done the bedroom including Vacuuming, now doing kitchen...sad!!! Getting a bit side tracked as Billy Connelly is on and old Parkinson episode...Ive seen it at least twice before but the guy is Hilarious no matter how many times you hear the same joke. Renée is being pretty good today. We will nip up to the shops a bit later after we've had lunch.

Grrr

You can't choose your family but you can choose your friends! That about sums it up.

Ive chosen well with my in-laws anyhow!

MIL and SIL rang for N's birthday yesterday....no one else! At least she was happy with her gifts and the cake. She wanted a Dolphin...gave me 24 hours notice of course...as I was doing it I thought it looked like a Rabbit but she told me it looked great and thats all that matters!

Had job interview today for Accountants in Penrith. Very nice people, just hope they like me!