one of those days

I was so tired when I woke up, last night really drained me and whats worse is that I have a huge 2hr drive in front of me ugh!

Once I got to school’s prac day i was so glad I pushed myself through the horrid morning. I learnt so much again today, I got to work on a 4yo mare standard bred, she was a real sweetie. We only got to do a 20min massage each side due to the heat as it wouldn't be fair to the horse if we got them too hot etc. I was shown how to do leg stretches and wow it was awesome to learn how to do it properly, usually I'm so nervous at the back legs of a horse I don't really know and here I am up close holding that back leg and hoof with ease, the whole day was super and it really gave me that extra push I needed to make me realize that yes I really want to do this course and do well, at times when there is a such a gap between classes I feel that the interest wears off slightly so I'm wrapped I'm this excited all over again about this course.

We got to finish early seeing as it was only getting hotter and the flies were unbearable. I called Damian to see how the house inspection went and he said they were in and out within 10mins. When I got into Frankston the car started to play up, it felt as though the petrol wasn't getting through. By the time I got through the many intersections it stalled right on the Heatherhill road intersection and I just rolled up on to the median strip. I called Damian and he said to tap the fuel container under the car, then let it cool and try again, after 15mins the car started up and I headed off I only got 500m down the road and the car stalled again, there was no charge in the battery so I told Damian to come and get me. It didn't take too long for the cool change to come through, we got rain and all and was a nice relief. Damian and Craig jumped the car and they followed me back to Jacinta’s. They are so good to us, she watched Josh and had a cold beer waiting for us when we got there.

We headed off to get Lilly from Nana Junes and then out to feed the ponies, we had a cheats dinner of charcoal chicken and chips, kids hopped into bed and I sighed ‘thank goodness that day is over!’

I snapped a pic of Lillian’s pony ‘Prince’ He is the easiest horse to photograph and well he’s such a pretty boy so its also fun to do …

home sweet home?

I spent the morning writing up letters to the real estate and consumer affairs about the state of this house. It seems that I'm entitled to a rent reduction and some form of compensation which would be nice especially after all the trouble I've had to deal with around here ugh! :(

Lilly and I walked down to the Real Estate and handed in the forms, I hate to have to go round it this way but I've waited long enough so it had to be done. I was actually really impressed by the Real Estate’s reaction, they were understanding and very good about it all, I just hope it stays this way!

I was contemplating whether or not to go out with the girls but I was super keen for school this weekend so opted to stay home. Seeing as I was being such a good girl I decided to have some scrapping time and came up with this for the January Jumpstart Challenge over at Scrap Girls.

I did get some late night text messages from both Jacinta and Bec, they gave me a good laugh before I headed to bed.

My photo for the day is of the front of the house we are renting, I have a feeling that with everything that is going to happen from here on in isn't going to be good and we may not be here for much longer :( …

pranks

A day of getting organized for us, as I've got school this weekend and the kids are back to school Monday.

I did however manage to get a layout done. Its for the January Jumpstart over at scrap girls I wont catch up in time but the tasks they have you do are great so I'm enjoying playing along.

Jeannie came round for dinner and drinks, we stayed up way too late but it was a great night, Jeannie played a joke on Damian by leaving him a new status update on facebook, he had no idea and she said that's what ya get for leaving your computer on and signed into facebook LOL

My photo for the day is of Josh’s lego he bought well some of it as its a huge set, he spent over 6 hours playing with this so it was money very well spent! …

just about done

The kids and I had a big day planned, lots of running around and a to-do list a mile long. We headed out to their school first and picked up the lay-by with their school goodies, I was so peeved that the school bags were not in stock, they have been on order since last year but apparently have been stuck at the docking yards for weeks ugh! We bumped into Lilly’s teacher for the year and she was so excited to see her, Miss. M is just so lovely and she took Lilly into her class room and showed her around, the smile on Lilly’s face was from ear to ear, I still cant get over how lucky we are to have such a wonderful teacher for the year.

We then headed to the plaza and Josh was able to finally look at Lego and games for his play station. I was very impressed by the way he spent his money he had over $120 and bought a car racing play station game and also a huge Lego city pack. I also remembered to get Lainie’s birthday present and got her a swirly charm for her Pandora, I was also sneaky and bought myself a horse charm as I'm determined to get it filled up by the end of the year.

We then made our way to Mornington so I could take the kids to a shoe factory outlet and get them some new school shoes. Lilly got an adorable pair of Mary janes and Josh got his usual suede skate runners. It cost $60 for the both of them which works out to half the price I would pay at a normal shoe shop so i was pretty happy with that bargain.

We stopped into Stock feed’s so I could grab the ponies some more food and we finally made our way home.

Josh headed straight for his play station while Lilly pranced around the house in her new school shoes which I thought was a good idea as I want the shoes to soften up so that she doesn't get blisters.

Damian had spent the afternoon cleaning his car and it was spotless and I got to take it out to the paddock as Lilly and I still had a big job of cleaning up the ponies mess. It was the first thing Damian asked me when I got home - ‘My car is still clean isn't it?’

Lilly was extremely restless for the rest of the night and refused to go to bed she was over tired and very moody. By 10pm we managed to get her into bed and she was asleep within 5 minutes.

My photo for the day is of our cat Mishca, she is a Birman and ever so cute! …

aussie aussie

Its a public holiday around Australia so that we all get to relax and enjoy the day and celebrate everything that is wonderful about Australia.

It would have to be the first time in as long as I can remember that we haven't gone out to celebrate we decided after the big day and night that we had for Joshua's birthday that we would take the opportunity and spend the day together.

It was very frustrating for Josh on the other hand as he couldn't understand why all the shops would be closed and why he couldn't go down the street to shop for new toys or games that he got with his birthday money.

I decided to get out in the garden and harvest as much fruit as I could before it all over ripens as i want to make some jams and sauces. I only harvested 2 branches from the plum tree and my basket was so full and heavy that I decided that was enough for  the day, I also harvested some more nectarines and apples. Some of the apples weren't all that flash but they were too good to throw away so Lilly and I bagged them up and thought they were be perfect for our ponies.

Lilly and I headed out to see our ponies and clean their paddock, I was worried about taking Lilly out to help clean as she usually lasts half an hour and then wants to go home but I was so proud of how hard she worked, oh and the ponies loved their apples!

My photo of the day is of my son josh in his Aussie hat that his Nana and Ronpa gave him …

 

Oh and I forgot to post my photo for Sunday, its of my cookery book, I have had this since I was at school and has served me very well. I was going through it the other day as I want to make an apple tea cake using the apples from our tree …

b’day boy

I still cant believe my little man turned 9 years old today. He is growing up so much and I'm ever so proud to be called his mum!

He had a tonne of phone calls all day and was quite happy to ride his bike and play with his sister for most of the morning, that was until he got a call from his mate Toby. He wanted to come around for a play and within no time at all he was here. The boys kept themselves occupied while Lilly and I started to get organized for the mini party we were having that evening. We did a quick shop at the supermarket and then made a start on the most important thing for the evening … the birthday cake! Joshua wanted chocolate of course and I decided to make my no fail milk choc mud cake. It took over 2 hours and I was so worried it wouldn't cool in time so we cheated and popped it into the fridge. I then made a start on making my favourite crispy Thai salad and then spruced up the shed ready for everyone to arrive.

Toby’s dad came to pick him up and then I made my way out to feed the ponies and grab a few things down the street which I forgot to grab when shopping earlier in the day.

Jacinta and family were the first to arrive as we had invited them to dinner but seeing as Damian was late getting the dinner ready we had to serve it while everyone was here. I was really happy as pretty much everyone turned up except of course for my Dad but that's a long story, my sister was late as her son Kai wasn't feeling all that well and was getting dropped off later. We held out until he got there so he wouldn't miss out on singing happy birthday to Josh. Here are some of the pics …

Jacinta, Craig and kids stayed for a few hours after everyone left and we had a few drinks and chatted away, they are such great company and I'm ever so lucky to have re-kindled my friendship with her as she is a one in a million kind of friend!

a bit ewww

I woke up after 11am which was needed after the night I had and pretty much lazed about on the couch all day watching movies.

I was meant to be going out again tonight with Jeannie but I knew there was no way I could do four nights in a row, I sent her a text seeing if she was still keen to go out and thankfully she wasn't in partying mode either.

I did take a photo for the day but seeing as I have been super lazy I haven't even taken it off my camera but will add it to tomorrows post :)

open your eyes

Well the title says it all I just couldn't drag myself out of bed. I was so tired from staying up so late at Jacinta’s so I decided to get as much sleep as I could seeing as I was going to be having another huge night tonight.

I stumbled across a blog that shows you had to do a myriad of hair designs for little girls so I decided today was the day to put it to use and show Lilly why she should keep her hair long. She keeps telling me she wants to get her hair cut but after growing it for so long I'm hesitant on having it chopped off. Her explanation is ‘Its ok Mum it WILL grow back’ very true I know but I thought after a super cool hair do she may just change her mind. The blog you’ve just got to see is  ‘The Story of a Princess and her hair’ Here’s what I came up with for Lilly …

Of course she loved it and I'm sure will be asking me to do her hair more frequently now.

Bec and Nicole turned up around 5pm and I quickly headed off to feed ponies and to drop Josh’s blanket off as he was going to stay at Jacinta’s again. I didn't get back in time and Damian had to take Bec and Nicole round to the hens party while I dashed inside to get ready. Damian then dropped me off at 6.30 so I was still early. I was devastated I didn't take my camera as there were so many photo opportunities but Bec didn't fail us and brought hers. We had a good choice of cocktails to drink, my fav was Delusion which consisted of Melon liqueur, triple sec and pineapple juice, also had a few fruit tingles, Summer Hummers and some a shots. We were served by a young topless waiter and by 11.30pm you could say that we were well and truly amped for a huge night. We organized rides to the Conti hotel and partied the night away. It was a super night until one of the young girls started on one of Bec’s friends and it ended awfully, I called Damian and he came to the rescue to pick us up, apart from that mishap it was a fantastic night.

just might happen

The people who put in an offer on the house we are renting are meant to be coming today to have a final inspection, I wanted the place to be spotless because if they are to be my new landlords then I want to make a good impression! So I fussed over the house for most of the morning. I was meant to go and watch Jeannie’s dog Simba in her doggy paddle class but Jacinta messaged and said she was popping in for a cuppa. I heard the dogs barking outside and a few beeps of a horn and when I looked outside to see who it was I got a shock to see Jacinta riding on a scooter …

The Real Estate and possible new owners turned up around 3pm they stayed for a good hour and asked loads of questions, I felt in some ways bad reeling off all the down sides to the house but if it was me buying a property I would not want to buy such an expensive investment and not know the good and the bad. They seemed like lovely people and I secretly wished they would buy so that this whole annoying experience of having drive bys and people coming through the house over and done with.

Jacinta, Craig & kids turned up while Damian took Lilly to Nicole’s. We got ourselves ready and headed to Retro. We were told the last time we were there that we would be able to bring the kids in so that they could see the band play but we would not be able to stay for long, there was a bit of confusion at the door and it looked like we would have to go home but after the band members came out to see us they remembered who we were and said that it should be fine if we were to only stay for a few songs. The kids loved it and it was amazing to see the look on their faces when they heard a real band belt out some fantastic tunes, we stayed for nearly an hour. Jacinta said to head back to their place for a few more drinks so we stopped at home to get Josh his scooter and a change of clothes as he was going to stay the night there and also picked Lilly up from Nicole’s.

We ended up having such a great night, we chatted all night long and before we knew it was 3.30am and we had to head off.

go retro

Joshua and Lillian were both meant to go to child care today, the kids rode their bikes there while I walked Sasha. It was water play day and when we arrived Joshua asked if he was allowed to ride his bike while the other kids played water games when the carer explained that it wouldn't be fair he instantly turned into one of his moods and told me he didn't want to stay so I double checked with Lilly and she was keen to stay so we headed off.

I pretty much cleaned the house, fluttered around on the computer and then got ready for my job interview.

I headed off to Bunning’s as the interview was to start at 3.30pm I have to admit I was quite nervous but was determined not to get my hopes up too much. The interview went really well. There were 9 applicants in the room and we went through a screening process which is they have 2 observers that note everything down and one person conduct the interview. I thought I handled myself pretty well and the hour flew by so quickly. I headed home feeling quite happy and positive and was looking forward to my next email from them.

When Damian got home from work he told me he had already got Josh’s birthday present, we decided to get him a razor pro scooter, we knew he would love it and then that's his outdoor toys pretty much done. We discussed giving it to him early so that he will get some good use out of it before school goes back so we went and asked Josh what he thought. Of course he wanted it early and we were wrapped when we saw the look on his face it confirmed we had done the right thing.

I managed to finish off another LO which was for another challenge at scrap girls called the first and last challenge, you had to use an item from the first and last scrap kit you purchased from SG. This is what I come up with …

While I was finishing off my LO I could hear power tools working coming from or shed, I knew Damian was out so I instantly got up to check as I didn't know what exactly was going on, when I peeked out the back door I spotted Josh working away on a project, so I quickly grabbed my cam …

He told me he was making jumps for his scooter, he’s getting quite handy with the power tools and knows how to work them better than I do!

I got a text message from Jeannie and she was bored and wanted to come over so I quickly went out to feed the ponies and set the shed up so we could sit and have a few drinks out there. When it hit 10pm Jeannie got the urge to hit the town so we decided to go to Retro. Jeannie loved the set up there but the band was a little slow and the place wasn't that busy so it closed up at 11.30pm we were shattered so decided to walk down to rye pub and see if they were still open. No luck there either so we opted for the pokie area as that had the only bar open we only had 2 drinks and decided to head home.

scrap with black

Another day at home today, its been nice to have a few days at home with the kids and relax. So seeing as I had nothing planned for the day I decided to get some more LO’s finished :-)

First LO to be done was my 4th page for the Project SG Challenge.

 

Then after looking through some challenges at Scrap Girls I stumbled across the Saturday colour challenge which was to use a black background, this is what I came up with …

 

My photo for the day is of my laptop seeing as I have been on it most of the day haha …

mmm coffee

I was up nice and early as my sister was coming to pick her kids up. Kai and Aaleaya were so excited that their Mum was finally coming home and kept checking out the window every 5 mins to see if she was here, the minute they didn't look she turned up! Both kids bolted outside yelling ‘Mummy, mummy is here!’ It was so cute as they ran up to her for big cuddles. We chatted for a bit and they headed home to spend some quality time together.

The kids and I chilled for the day, they mainly watched movies then played outside on their bikes which gave me some time to sneak in another LO for the Project SG Challenge …

I also started on the next page and hope to have that finished tomorrow :)

My photo for the day is of my coffee machine that Damian bought me for Christmas, seeing as I've been lazy all day I've consumed way too many of these delicious cappuccinos …

busy scrapper

I didn't get much of a sleep in this morning, Lilly was practically jumping on my bed! We had breakfast and pretty much potted around for the day. It was a good chance for me to catch up on all my washing and also get my LO’s up to date for the Project SG Challenge 2010 at Scrap Girls.

Here are the first 2 pages I've created …

Lainie popped in and gave me my Birthday present, the cutest little horse charm for my Pandora bracelet.

I had my phone interview with Bunning's which went well however I was told there was over 150 applications so I'm not going to get my hopes up even though this is a job I would really love and would be more than happy to work for.

Joshua’s mate Toby called and was back from his Christmas holiday and wanted to catch up with Josh so they were going to go to the cinemas to see the Tooth Fairy. By 3pm Joshua was getting very impatient as the movie was meant to be starting in 15mins and they hadn't turned up to pick him up yet. By 4pm Toby and his Mum were here and she said the boys would have to go and see the late showing of the movie and if Josh wanted he could have a sleep over, that was a silly question as I knew he would definitely say yes!

Damian turned up not long after and he had Kai and Aaleaya with him as Mel wasn't getting home until after 1am so they were going to have a sleep over. I snapped a cute photo of Aaleaya while she was here …

I headed off to Jacinta’s for dinner and a few drinks. It was a girls night in as she had invited Jeannie and Amanda. We also had to get the baby shower sorted, we organized the menu and invites and also polished off a few drinks. By the time we had finished chatting our heads off I headed home about 10.30pm.

goldys on the loose

Another sleep in for me! However I got a bit of a shock when I went outside, both of my dogs were gone! Damian said he saw them when he got up but we were baffled as to how they got out, Hunny our old Golden Retriever cant even get up in to our car without someone helping her so there was no way she could jump the fence, I know Sasha our other Golden Retriever can jump the fence but she has been so good lately, there were no holes dug under any of the fences so the only way Hunny could have got out was if someone left the gate open. I wouldn't have been surprised at all if someone came to look at the property and left the gate ajar whilst looking, I wasn't happy at all. Within a half hour I heard Hunny barking out the front but there was no sign of Sasha.

Josh was off to Sam’s birthday party so i got him ready and we headed off. I was worried about how he would go seeing as most of the kids were going to go for a swim but there was no way Josh could with his sunburn :(

I came home and yep had another lazy day, it was actually nice to sit and do nothing all weekend especially seeing how busy I have been over these summer holidays.

By 2.30pm I had a call from a lady that had found Sasha she was at the milk bar. I was so thankful she was ok as the traffic down here lately has been crazy and I would have been devastated if something happened to her, I went and picked her up and she pretty much slept all day.

Before I knew it I had to head off and get Josh. When I got there I noticed he had a different top on, apparently his sunburn had been weeping, Michelle & Tim put dressing bandages on and mentioned that he just wasn't himself, poor kiddo. We fed the ponies on our way home and had a nice relaxing night.

I had way too many coffees and stayed up until well after 3am, I'm shocking like that but I was so happy to have finally finished my first week January LO’s and finished sorting all my files into the excel sheet. I’ll post the LO’s as soon as I have uploaded them as I just want to be sure I'm 100% happy with them.

My photo of the day is of the bougainvillea in our garden …

Pizza all round

I couldn't believe that I slept in until 11.30am, that is so unlike me! I saw that I had a sms from Jacinta, she wanted to see if Jacob could come over and play so i replied yes of course. She dropped him off and the boys played famously, they rode their bikes over to the bike track at the park then over to the milk bar.

I pretty much sat on my toosh all day, I got to sort through a lot of my scrapbooking files and get some good progress done on my January LO’s.

Mum and Nana popped in and picked up Kai and Aaleaya’s clothes, Nana had me in fits over my tattoo. She always carries her camera in her bag and said “Here Kell let me take a pic so I can show my friends at craft” ha-ha she is such a classic. I was pretty happy that they liked it though.

Damian had bought bits and pieces for his car and organized to head round to Jacinta and Craig’s so he could help install them and hope that it will make it run a bit smoother. Not long after he left Jacinta rang and wanted to see if we would like to go there for dinner, sounded like a good plan to me so I got us all organized and we headed off, we fed the ponies first then had to go back home as Damian wanted more beers and a change of clothes. I also packed the kids bikes.

When I got to Jacinta’s we organized what we would do for dinner and take away pizza was the choice. She had also invited Lainie, Dan and kids over. Then I popped round to Eloise’s to pay for Jess’s hens night and I was finally able to relax and enjoy the night with some great friends. We got pizza’s from Lazy Joe's and then Jade and Jason come over as well.

By 11pm we decided to head home, I stayed up until all hours of the night working on more LO’s and also sorting all my files into an excel spreadsheet, boy oh boy is it time consuming!

My photo for the day is of our potato stack and all the potatoes are ready for harvesting …

ring ring

I was running on empty this morning, my alarm went off at 6.20am and I had to get straight into, packed the kids bags, lunches and got their clothes ready for the day, I then headed straight to John & Jen’s to pick them up got them dressed and then headed for Tootgarook Primary school so they could catch the bus and head off to Adventure Park. Josh didn't want to go again but he seemed extremely tired and looks to me as though he needs a few good nights of decent sleep! Once we got to the school and he saw that Tristan was there he was fine and excited that he was going to spend the day with his cousin.

I headed home and thought I really should head back to bed but when I saw my washing pile I decided to knock a few loads over. I got a text from Ky who agists her horse in the paddock next to mine and she wanted to let me know that the round bale of hay had been delivered, it had totally slipped my mind so I got myself organized and headed out to see my boys. They looked extremely happy that they had a load of fresh hay and I quickly cleaned up their paddock, however I didn't get it all done due to the sun beating down on my back and didn't think it was a good idea for my new tattoo to get burnt so I had to pack up and head home.

I was so tired when I got home so I decided to have a quick nana nap before I had to get the kids, typically my phone rang just as I was drifting off, it was Damian asking about the items he needed to collect from free cycle. I got a good hour sleep before my phone rang again it was Josh, they were back from the water park and he wanted to come home as he was extremely sun burnt. Seeing as the school is only just around the corner I decided to walk our dog Sasha to go and pick the kids up.

Damian was in the mood for cooking so he made us home made burgers, yummy! I had satay chicken burger while Damian and the kids had beef burgers. We sat and watched “The Island” on T.V. then headed inside for a quiet night on the couch.

My photo of the day is from one of the nectarine trees growing in our yard, quite a few are ready to be picked so that will be my job for tomorrow…

skin deep

I woke up excited as ever this morning, today is the day I finally get my long awaited tattoo. Its been over 15 years since I had my last tattoo and I've had this design for so long but always seem to put it off as something always pops up, bills, kids clothes etc etc. My appointment was for 10.30am I managed to get A.J. to crèche and Lilly up to Lainie’s by 10am, the boys stayed at home seeing as Damian wasn't feeling all that well, Kai was meant to go to school care but he refused, I think he thought staying at my place swimming in the pool with his cuz was  a much better idea.

When I arrived at the tattoo studio, I was informed that James (the guy who was doing my tattoo) had gone to the post office and I should grab a coffee and relax, it didn't take too long and he was back although he had to head back down to the post office as there was a mix up. When he did get back from his running around it was 11am, we went through the sketch of what I wanted tattooed and he explained to me he would have to make some adjustments so that as I age it doesn't distort etc He said he would need another half an hour to trace the final design so i went off to get a huge coffee to calm my nerves. I was in the chair and ready to go about 11.30am. Once he placed the trace on to my back I had a quick look in the mirror and that's when the adrenaline hit, I was wrapped at how it was going to look! I honestly thought that it was going to be extremely painful and that I might need a few breaks but after the first 5 minutes I was fine and weirdly enough didn't even think about stopping, anything to do with touching my back usually sends me off to sleep and I thought for a few moments there I was going to drift off haha Once James finished the outline he had to take a phone call so that gave me the chance to nick out for a quick smoke, when I got back in the chair he started the shading and joining all the cross over points, filling in details etc, this part of the tattoo didn't hurt at all compared to the outline. By 2.30pm it was all over and done with, I couldn't believe how quick the time went by! Now for the big test, viewing in the mirror … and the verdict … freaking awesome!!! Oh my goodness I was one happy girl!

I headed straight home to show Damian as he was my biggest concern, he does not like tattoos on girls and I think this is one of my main reasons for not getting anymore work done over the past 10 years LOL He was still in bed and I had to plead with him to get out so he could have a look. He said from what he could see (as the tattoo was covered in plastic wrap and tape for protection) he liked what he saw, that just made my day!

I headed out to get Lilly from Lainie’s house and had a much deserved beer. Even Lainie like the tatt which is great because I don't think she is that keen on them either. Lilly and I then headed over to feed our boys and then finally got back home. I got Damian to take some pics of my tattoo seeing as I was going to leave the dressing off while we were out and re-dress before bed …

I had to really hassle the boys to get out of the pool, they looked like shrivelled up prunes as they had been in there for hours but Kai and Adam were getting picked up at 5pm. Bree and Adam’s Dad didn't get here until 5.30 so that put Damian and I a little behind time as we had to get ready to go out for dinner. Shannon turned up not long after and then Jacinta was here to pick us up, finally we were off to have a great night out with friends.

We went to the Retronome in Rye for dinner and to see the live band. When we walked in we were like ‘Wow this is like stepping into the 80’s"’ They had done such an amazing job on decorating. To be honest we were a little worried about how the night was going to be because it was so quiet there, and felt a bit sorry for the band as there was only a few people inside listening to them, we were being snobs sitting outside drinking and smoking for ages, then after a few too many drinks we were up and inside hitting the dance floor. They played some awesome tunes and we loved it, so much so that I want to go back there as soon as possible! We headed back to my place for a few night caps and were in shock when we discovered Shannon was not there and he had taken the kids!! It seems that we took too long to get home and he took the kids back to his place.

two is enough

Wow I didn't realize how difficult it would be to get 4 kids up, fed and dressed before 7.30am! Somehow I managed it though and I'm now a firm believer that all Mum’s with 3 or more kids deserve a medal I honestly don't know how they do it each day.

I had Lilly and Josh to their school holiday program just after 7.30am, they were off to the city for some ice skating, then headed to Kai’s school as he had bike/scooter day. Luckily I didn't get there any earlier as the Rye school care didn't open until 8am. I then headed to Rosebud to drop Aaleaya off at crèche. I was home by 9am and with no kids it felt extremely strange.

It gave me an opportunity to catch up on some scrapbooking, more sorting and deleting and also had a few good chats online.

I got the urge to head to gym and have a good workout, I thought it would be a good way for me to release all the stress and anger I had from yesterday LOL It actually worked a treat! I completed 10mins on the treadmill, cross trainer and bike then headed downstairs and completed 3 rounds on the circuit machines, it took a good 1.5hrs and I had worked up a sweat like never before so I knew I had done a good job.

I didn't realize how late in the day it was and I was so panicked that I was going to be late picking all the kids up. I got Kai first and he seemed pretty happy to be heading home with me, more so I think he wanted to play with Josh LOL Next I grabbed Lilly & Josh from Tootgarook school and I was so interested and excited about hearing the news on how their day went and if they were able to skate. As soon as they saw me they couldn't stop talking, telling me how much fun it was and that once they were use to it they did really well, it made me so happy as Joshua really didn't want to participate in the activities these holidays.

I dropped the kids home as Josh also had a friend from school staying over and he was due to be dropped off around 5, it was 5.30 when Adam’s mum called to check where we lived and to let me know she was on her way, I quickly headed down to get A.J and by the time we got home Adam had turned up. It was a mad house you could say, the kids were having a ball of fun and letting everyone know all about it. I really thought by letting them stay up a little later than usual and non stop playing that they should all drift off to sleep easily however this was not the case and it was well after 11pm before they were all asleep, I managed to get a good hour or so in of uninterrupted online time then headed to bed.

make a wish

Well another year older! 32 years old today, still cant believe how quickly time is flying by. I didn't get to have the best of Birthdays as the real Estate was bringing someone through the house so I had to spend all morning making sure it was presentable. Damian forgot to tell the kids that it was my Birthday so by lunch time I was getting pretty upset that no-one had said Happy B’day or got a hug, kiss etc.

Damian sensed that my mood was off and asked if I was ok, sometimes that can be a bad question to ask someone if they are down as I crumbled and ended up in a teary mess. To make matters worse there was no show from the Real Estate so I phoned them at 3pm and queried why no one had turned up or at least called to say they weren't coming, it seems as though there was a miss communication and the viewing time was for 3.30pm, I was so livid as I had cancelled my B’day lunch with my friends and had been waiting round wasting my whole day.

The Real Estate lady finally turned up and the man who was to look through didn't show until 4pm, by this stage I'm getting so frustrated and was about to flip my lid! The R.E. sales lady was quite rude in telling me that I was not allowed to use the spare block of land that is joined to our rental block, and also proceeded to tell me that interested buyers are allowed to walk into the property to look around. When I told her that upon signing the lease agreement I was informed that I was allowed to use the spare block and that I had to maintain it, she said that I was given false information and that she was going to look into it, she also said that if she is right then I would have to move the pool, the trampoline, swings etc, so i said fair enough I wont mow the lawns, and if people are allowed to walk on to the property then you will have to erect a fence due to my kids and animals, as I've already had people just come in without notice and leave the gate open, I could feel the tension between the two of us rise so I walked off and went to get ready.

Mel came and dropped Aaleaya and Kaitiaki off as she was heading to Q.L.D. She gave me a list of to-do’s and before ya know it she was off.

I had several messages from Jacinta asking if I wanted to go to her place for dinner and drinks, I thought it would be a super idea for me to get out of the house and forget about the worst B’Day that I've had to date. Within a few hours of socialising with my besties I felt better than ever and helped make me forgot about how bad the day actually was.

My photo for the day is the cards I got off Mum, Nana, Damian & the kids …

sort & delete

Another shocking day of extreme heat is forecast for today and by 10am I had the fan on inside and the kids were hassling me to go into the pool. I had put chlorine in the night before so wanted to be sure it was ok for the kids to swim and made them hang out for a bit longer so I swayed them into watching some movies first. After the second movie we were all sweating and couldn't take it any longer. The pool was icy cold and was just the thing for us to cool down. No sooner had I got out but I wanted back in as the heat was unbearable. After checking the temp online and saw that it was over 40oC I headed straight back to the pool. I really felt for our animals, poor Sasha and Hunny with their big fluffy coats were really panting and just couldn't find any relief, I had to keep checking on Hunny as she was looking rather bothered and I didn't think she was coping too well at all. Ozzy our cat found his perfect spot right under the fan and didn't move the whole day! The chickens hid under the house and didn't make an appearance until late afternoon it was the most uncomfortable day we’d experienced so far this summer.

Sasha trying to escape the heat by lazing about on the cold tiles …

Late afternoon I managed to venture inside while still damp from the pool and got some relief from the fan blowing on me and I decided it was well overdue to clean up my laptop and delete as much stuff as I didn't need, also had time to organize a lot of my files. Didn't take too long and I was heading back to the pool.

Damian called and said that his car had broken down, of all days I couldn't think of anything worse, stuck on a freeway in this heat and the car aint working. There was nothing I could do as I had no fuel and we had no money until the next day, it was the most frustrating thing to be sitting here waiting and wondering what was happening and all the time knowing it would be at least another 6 degrees hotter where he is. We called everyone we knew and it seemed that everyone else was in the same boat with money and couldn't help us out. Thank goodness for my Mum, she lived about half hour from where Damian’s car broke down and went to pick him up, I was so worried he was going to dehydrate. Mum took him back to her place for a shower and fresh clothes and also gave him dinner. Damian’s Dad met him at his car and was able to give him a jump start and finally Damian was able to come home! The poor bugger didn't get back till after 11pm and he looked so drained. Turns out that it is either his fuel filter, fuel pump or something to do with the oil, probably a combination of all and the heat just pushed the car to that point of breaking down.

After a hectic afternoon and evening we were finally able to get some peaceful and much needed shut eye!

tweet tweet

As soon as I woke up I could feel the heat from outside, it was going to be a scorcher!

Mum rang and said that Josh was keen to come home early, she said everything was ok but he wanted to bring his bird home, I secretly think that yes that was half the reason but he knew it was going to be hot and wanted to swim in the pool all day LOL

I spent most of the morning getting the house organized and also ready for people to view, I'm so sick of people coming around here it aint funny, on one hand I don't want them to sell but on the other hand I want it to be sold and over and done with. An hour before the people were due here I get a call from the Real Estate to say they had cancelled grrrr there goes my day, could have done something else but no sit here waiting for someone not to show, frustrating to say the least!

Mum, Ron and Josh turned up and we had one extremely happy and spoilt boy come home. Mum and Ron had not only bought him his budgie and a cage they also bought him clothes, a how to draw book, sketch pad and loads more. The budgie is so cute, and so small. Josh wanted to call him Alvin (after the chipmunks) but he changed his mind as he is now known as ‘Budgie Boy’ …

The kids swam for the rest of the arvo and I was able to catch up on some internet time and was so over the moon when I read the Scrap Girls newsletter and saw that I had won 3 prizes!!! First up I won the weekly LO contest for Cherish the Moments …

Then I won a gift certificate for participating in the Tree of Doom, and then won another gift certificate for winning Task #1 in the Holiday Hoopla competition …

Alphabet Cards …

So with all those prizes I scored a $30 gift certificate and was able to buy these goodies from Scrap Girls …

just keep at it

It was weird waking up with no Josh and even more weird to wake up while Lilly was still sleeping, she is usually up quite early but but 10am finally made her appearance.

I plodded round the house for most of the morning and was thrilled when I got a call from Josh, I could hear in his voice his excitement … ‘Mum, Mum … Guess what?! Nana & Ronpa bought me my very own budgie! He is so cute Mum and I cant believe it, I called him Alvin and I get to bring him home’ I was nearly in tears just listening to his excitement and how happy he is, I don't think any birthday present is going to top this one.

I then got ready for another gym session, Uncle Paul & Aunty Lisa popped in for a quick visit then I had to make the dash for gym knowing I was going to be fighting traffic as the Rye Gift is on today.

At gym today I was all pumped for my last one on one class with the trainer and then after today I'm pretty much on my own, I know that Rosa (the trainer) will be there for me if I need but I had to use today to my full advantage and I did! I started on the treadmill for a good 20mins, worked on the cross trainer then the power bike. I headed down stairs to start my circuit and completed a full 2 rounds on each machine at 15 reps per machine. Rosa programmed the chin lift as my last so that I would push through and really give it my all. By the 20th chin lift I was really working a sweat and didn't think I would make it to the 30th but after hearing her say your mind is stronger than your body push through it and tell yourself you can and by golly gosh I did it, mind you my poor arms were shaking on the last 2 but I did it woohoo! I'm going to weigh in every Monday and record my weight and body mass, Rosa expects that i should lose at least a kilo a week. My results for my first week are utterly shameful actually I'm really embarrassed and don't even know if I want to record them on my blog but Rosa thinks its a good idea because its all out there for anyone who reads and will hopefully keep me at it, not only that but will be so good to look back on. I know its not Monday but seeing as I weighed myself today I will put the results in and wont weigh myself again until the following Monday. So here we go … My starting weight is … 75.1kg and my body mass is 38.5% which makes my BMI 27. I think I will also take a photo a week so off I go to get my tripod set up!

As you can see its the usual female problem areas and I'm going to keep looking back at this pic for motivation. I haven't been this big since I was pregnant, now that in itself is a scary thought!

I headed home had some lunch and pretty much fell asleep, I think all these late nights and then a session at gym today just pushed me over the edge a bit but after a good 2 hours of uninterrupted rest I felt pretty amazing. Lillian must of had the same idea as she was asleep too, but Damian was on a mission today and wanted to get our vegie patch finished. He placed a wire fence around it as our chooks aren't letting the plants have a chance to get established, as soon as everything has taken off we will let them back in to fertilize or us. Once Lillian woke up she was straight back into colouring her book in again so I had to grab a pic of it …

Not bad for a 5 year old huh :)

The fresh pet mice I buy for our dogs was ready to collect so I headed off to do that and fed the ponies on my way home. We had an easy dinner and an easy night.

A bit of R&R

After such an eventful day yesterday a nice relaxing day at home with the kids was in order. They were both meant to be going on the school holiday program again but Josh had a tumble on his bike yesterday and his arm looked quite sore so i didn't think swimming in a heated chlorinated pool was a good idea, I also decided to keep Lillian home as I didn't like the idea of her going by herself due to her age plus she wasn't that keen on going once she knew Josh wasn't.

Lainie’s husband was picked up by his apprentice and headed to work, not long after Damian left, which just left Lainie, the kids and myself. we plodded around for a bit then Lainie headed home. I let the kids pretty much do what they wanted today as I knew it was going to be hot and didn't want to hassle them too much. Josh opted for some play station while Lillian was content colouring in pictures, she amazes me how talented she is for her age, she is already staying in between the lines and holds, pencils perfectly.

After lunch Scott called in for a visit and that's when I decided to get off the computer and get organized for the afternoon and evening ahead. Damian finished work nice and early and was home by 2pm. The weather heated up so quickly that we all jumped into the pool to cool off, we stayed in there for a few hours and then before we knew it the sun was behind clouds and it cooled off nicely.

Mum and Ron came to pick Josh up as it’s his turn to spend a few days with them, he was very excited and what's better is that I know what Mum and Ron were going to surprise him with!!! Seeing as its his 9th birthday in 2 weeks they wanted to get him a pet budgie, seeing as his beloved pair of lorikeets died a few years ago he has really missed having birds. Mum & Ron asked last week if we approved and would allow them to get a cage and baby budgie for him, Damian wasn't that impressed but I knew I couldn't say know as I know how much Josh loves all animals and I know he will love and take care of this bird the best he can.

Once they left I headed out to feed my ponies, it was about 8.30 by the time I got there and seeing as it was nice and cool and no flies about I cleaned the paddock up as much as possible before it got dark.

For the rest of the night we just watched movies and relaxed it was one of those great days!

My photo for the day is my bikini top haha, it has served me well I've had it for a few good years and it teams up nicely with any bottoms or shorts I may wear …

Splish splash

Had my morning coffee and decided it was time I needed a new desktop so I participated in Scrap Girls desktop challenge, found HERE. This is what I came up with (click on image for credits)…

I then got straight into cleaning and getting set up for the day. Lainie rang and organized to come over earlier as her girls wanted to play and get in the pool. I was still in my PJ’s by the time they got here LOL An hour later Julie and her girl Matilda turned up followed by Jacinta and her boys. The kids wanted to get straight into the pool and within in no time at all they were fighting and we had to split the girls and boys up and give them a 10min swim at a time while the others played on the trampoline. Amanda popped in for a visit which was nice as she hasn't been here before, she looked so burnt from the beach the other day … ouch!

Julie, Matilda, Mitchell & Joshua …

Jacinta, Jacob, Amanda, Kenzie & Lainie …

 

We decided to save the BBQ for when our men got here once they finished work, I finished off the salads then headed down the street with Julie and we also stopped to feed my ponies.

It was all systems go when I got home everyone was here and we were all enjoying a few beers and a few good laughs. Damian cooked the food and we all settled in for a good night with good friends. Jacinta, Craig and their boys headed off first, then Julie’s man Glen got itchy feet and headed off, Julie followed not long after as her little girl Matilda was so tired. Just before they left we found this cheeky boy Oscar trying to catch some zzzz’s in her pram …

Lainie & Dan decided to stay as the drinks were going down way too easily LOL Dan decided to entertain us by zooming around on Josh’s 3 wheeler bike, gotta love the expression on his face HAHA …

Lainie & I were the only ones up by the end of the night and decided to have some cowboy shots as a night cap, certainly did the charm as I was sound asleep in no time.

Its a start

Woke up a little late and had to run around like crazy as the kids were off to the school holiday program. They were off on the bus to the MCG for a tour. Josh was excited about seeing up close where the footy players get ready before a game and also looking through the memorabilia, where as Lilly didn't quite understand what she was going to see but was very excited about going on a bus with the big kids. Seeing as we were running late I had to take the kids to the Rosebud Primary School.

I made my way home and decided to have a quiet morning, well at least until I headed off for my first session at gym. Getting fit and healthy was one of my new year resolutions and I'm pretty happy to have made a start.

I also had to write up a formal letter to hand in to the Real Estate. I've been renting here for 5 months now and only a small amount of repairs have been made, its the large, expensive and some what dangerous ones that need to be done and fast. I printed off the letter and also a copy of the Celtic design I want tattooed then made my way to the gym.

I was instantly impressed when I arrived at the gym, the whole place looked amazing after the re-furb and every piece of equipment was state of the art and brand new. I had my fitness assessment first which consisted of sit and reach for flexibility, my height, weight, body mass and even fluid mass. I have to say I was so disappointed on how much I have let myself go and was really shocked to get my results. I have a lot of hard work ahead of me but my goal is that in 10-12 weeks I will be back to my old body size and fitting back into the clothes that I love woohoo. Rosa the fitness instructor showed me how to use the equipment that I will be needing to use to see the results I want so I did a complete circuit. The only one I didn't really like was the chin ups, wowzers it really made me realize just how bad my arm strength is!

I headed home for some lunch and a catch up on the internet then headed down to the Real Estate to hand in my formal letter of complaint and then off to the tattoo shop. I called my sister as I couldn't find the tattoo shop and also arranged for her to have kids for me tomorrow and I’ll have her kids tonight so she could catch up on some work. The tattooist was packed full and after a good 20mins I was booked in to get my tattoo for next Thursday. I'm excited but nervous as its going to take an approx 3hrs and the design had to be enlarged more than I thought due to the fine details.

I then headed to pick my kids up from their day out and they looked so tired, they perked up a little when I told them we were going to get Kai and Aaleaya so they could all come back to our place and have a swim and dinner with us. The kids played in the pool for a good hour then it was a struggle to round all four up so they would at least eat but we got there in the end. Mel came round about 9.30pm to get the kids. not long after she left we were all in bed.

My photo for the day is my Pandora bracelet, I had to take a pic of it and send it round so that Mum and others don't buy me the same charms for my birthday coming up LOL …

sun, sand & surf

I actually got to sleep in this morning! Made myself a coffee and went out to see my girls (our 2 Golden retrievers) While sitting out on the veranda I saw Julie pull up in her car, she had just dropped her daughter to crèche and popped in for a cuppa. So we had a good catch up and then after receiving quite a few text messages thought I better get into gear and get ready as we had planned to go to the beach with Jacinta, Amanda and kids. Josh must have been so tired from the night before that he didn't wake until 10am. by the time we got ourselves ready and packed and said goodbye to Julie we headed out to Lainie’s to pick up Lillian and then head to Jacinta's.

Had a cuppa at Jacinta’s and got to see all the work they have been doing around their house, they certainly have been working ever so hard and its looking amazing! I cant wait to see their new front fence as the wooden posts they had delivered are massive and beautiful. I also go to see Tiny's (Jacinta’s dog) puppy. She only had one puppy on the 21st of December and ohh my he is ever so adorable! They have named him Bolt and he is a chubby ball of cuteness.

We headed off and met Amanda at Mornington Beach. We waited a while and it seemed as though Amanda wasn't coming, it was only when she called that we discovered we were at the wrong beach ugh! Luckily Amanda didn't mind coming to us as Jacinta & I had fully unpacked and kids were already swimming. Us girls got to laze about while the kids paddled in the shallow water, they found starfish, squid and were having so much fun together. I got to snap a pic of Amanda in her bikini’s with her gorgeous baby belly, I cant believe she only has another 9 weeks to go!

After a good 3 hours I felt it was time to head home, I could feel I had been in the sun too long and Lillian was getting so tired she was about to fall asleep, we said our goodbyes and headed home.

When we got home we saw that Damian had been ever so busy he had already erected our pool and was filling it! Not only that but he had also finished rigging up the new watering system for the garden. The kids were so excited about the pool and wanted to get in even though it was only a 1/4 full, we let them in for a quick splash.

I got a text message from Julie as she wanted to come round for a few drinks, I was keen as well so waited for her to arrive then we both headed out to feed my horses. I made a quiche for dinner and we got to sit and relax out in our shed while we chatted the night away.