Little al is 23

Its my brothers birthday today so i called him straight away, poor thing had to work! I had to laugh at a few of his well wishes on facebook especially the one from Amanda, she calls him little Al as he is a replica of my Dad haha. I really wanted to go to gym this morning but I knew the plumber and the handy man were coming back this morning so I opted to stay at home while they were here, I just feel too uncomfortable with people I don't know on the property. The handyman was all done by11am and the plumber had the roof finished just before i had to go and get Lilly. He said he would be back on Monday to finish off sealing a few areas and to keep an eye out for any leaks but hopefully it should be ok, fingers crossed.

Lainie and I tested the girls out for our meeting place but they went straight past it and in to the car park, so we are a little worried what Monday will bring, hopefully they will remember to stay put until we are there!

Lilly and I came home and chilled at home until we had to head back out and get Josh. It was a back and forth day today as the primary school was putting on a BBQ and we had to head back out yet again!

The BBQ went well I was half expecting it to rain as the clouds were so dark but it held out, it was a good meet up however didn't really get to chat to anyone new LOL

Damian didn't show up as he had to work late, I got the kids in to bed early as they have a big day tomorrow. I just sat on the computer and had a few quiet beers which is my photo of the day LOL ….

mess is the best … not!

I was keen for another session at gym so dropped the kids off early to school and headed straight there. I did another 2 hour circuit and felt full of energy for the rest of the day so i was happy!

I received letters from the tribunal in regard to the house repairs and spent the rest of the morning back and forth on the phone to them making sure i was filling the forms out correctly.

The plumber came around and dropped off the tin for the roof and said he would be back tomorrow to finish the job off, then to my surprise the handyman came around and knocked down the fernery, I couldn't believe it I had only just finished filling out the final repair claim form and here they all are to fix everything, its such a shame they wait 6 months and then at the very last minute send people in to have it done, however after being on the phone again to the tribunal they suggested I still fill in the forms and have them sent off as it will cover me just in case the repairs are not completed 100% and may not work.

I headed off to pick Lilly up and we came home for a rest, she was so tired again and ended up falling straight asleep. I felt awful about waking her up to get josh as she really needed a good sleep. We fed the ponies and headed home, the kids rode their bikes for the afternoon and it was another early night for us all.

My photo of the day is of my daughters room, this is on a good day, I get so frustrated that she makes such a mess in her room, she gets one toy out and never puts it away when she decides to play with another, within an hour her room is a complete mess :( …

work it

I dropped the kids off nice and early and headed straight to gym. I did a 2 hour circuit and felt pretty good once I was done. I also booked in to do a spin class for next Monday, should be interesting!

I headed home to clean up and have a rest because as time went on I was feeling more and more drained from the work out I did. I decided to make my favourite smoothie which gave me the pick up i needed …

Ingredients …

• 1tsp Spirulina
• 1 Banana
• 2 Tblsp Organic Yoghurt
• 1 Tblsp Honey
• 1 Tblsp LSA (Linseed, Sunflower, Almonds-Crushed)
• Rice Milk

I didn't have to pick Lilly up today as Lainie’s girl wanted her to come over and play for the afternoon so I was able to relax until I had to get Josh. We stopped in at Lainie’s to get Lilly and then headed straight to the swimming pool so Lilly could have her assessment.

She did really well considering she hasn't had many lessons at all then we dashed home as Jacinta and family were on their way to have a dip and relax seeing as the days are just getting hotter and hotter!

The kids played really well in the pool and Lilly ended up going back to sleep on the couch, I really think school is knocking her about a bit, I just hope she gets use to it really soon!

Jacinta and family headed home around 6pm and we had dinner and an early night.

give me some shade

A new start to the week and the kids are back at school. Lilly is up and ready before everyone else but I know this isn't going to last too much longer haha.

I came back home and had the place spotlessly clean in no time then took Hunny to her first doggy paddle lesson, she did so very well and I was so mad I didn't take my camera arrgghh! Hunny managed to do 8 laps and she seemed to have enjoyed every minute of it. I only had an hour to relax before heading out to pick Lilly up from school, this is the last week of collecting her early and then next week she will be doing full days.

I headed straight to the gym and paid for the rest of my membership and then headed home, it was really starting to heat up so i made sure the pool was clean and ready for when Josh got home.

We picked Josh up and fed the ponies. When we got home the kids headed straight for the pool.

When Damian got home I got him to put up the mesh over the kitchen window as the sun glare and heat is unbearable when cooking in the kitchen …

glorious food

The kids are super excited about going back to school today, especially Lilly as its her very first day at school! She was up just after 6am tapping me on the shoulder saying come on Mum I have to get ready for school. Josh was really looking forward to being back in the same class as Toby, Sam and Jake. I was fully ready and organized until i get a phone call saying that someone has found our dog Sasha so I quickly bolted down to Rye to get her however I could not find the house and got totally confused. I headed home to find Mum, Nana and Ron there waiting for me, I was now behind and panicked we were going to be late but we got there just in time. Lilly walked straight in as if it were no different than yesterday and with a huge smile on her face I knew she was going to be fine and she was going to love it. She had a lot of kids in her class that she knew, Ryllie, Georgia, Tessa and Pakin so settling in should make it easier having some friends around. I didn't get upset but did feel so very proud of my little girl. I said my goodbyes to Mum, Nana and Ron and headed off to Jacinta’s.

Jacinta and I headed to Sorrento to have breakfast at Buckley’s Chance, its by far the best Pancake Parlour their food is divine. Jacinta ordered us the biggest breakfast ever and we both struggled to finish it but ohhh my it was good, and again I didn't get a photo of it ugh! We headed back to my place to go through my aquarium books as Jacinta is thinking of setting one up for Craig for his upcoming birthday.

I squeezed in an hour of cleaning and then headed off to get Lilly from school. I got to meet a few Mum’s while I was waiting and one seems just lovely, she has horses so instantly there was a talking point LOL

We headed home to relax and clean some more before I had to pick up Josh, they had a swim in the pool and then bang Lilly was on the couch complaining of a sore tummy, she was so agitated and then it happened the uncontrollable vomiting, boy oh boy was she sick. After an hour she had a wash and then a little drink of water, she fell asleep on the couch. Within 10mins Josh gets up and yep more uncontrollable vomiting. It took quite some time for Josh to go to sleep but he slept soundly which is just what he needed. Lilly however woke up about 3am and was bright as a  button, she was even hungry so I gave her some toast and she headed straight back to sleep, finally I was able to get some much needed rest.

Here are a few of the photos I took today …

 

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.

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…

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!

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 …