Campbell is 4!

Will update with some photos another time, but I need to send out big birthday wishes to a big four year old! (Drat! Can't upload at present cause Adrian just setup a computer for me and is still getting my regular programs and bits loaded.)

Happy Birthday Campbell!

Campbell is 4 now. How exciting! Adrian, Caleb, Zali and I joined Sheree, David, Campbell, Finn and Grandma for a yummy cooked breakfast, presents, play, lollies, play, knocking Christmas tree over (thanks Zali), talking, laughing, sleep, more food, Pop n Top (I just beat Sheree 3-2), cake, cuddles and kisses.

The four years seem to have whizzed by. Crikey. Best wishes for a wonderful year and be good to your parents! Hope you had a lovely day! Love always to you.

Off

We are off this morning to visit the family for Christmas. Sadly our plans had to change cause Campbell and Finn are not well, so we are not heading there for a germ-share visit. The car is mostly packed, I am heading off to shower in a minute. Lordy it is sticky hot.

I was up with Zali last night so I am tired and need to be bright eyed for the drive - doh! Meanwhile the kids have nodded off while I was packing upstairs. It went eerily quiet and when I checked they were snoring. Makes packing easier but I hope they like sitting in the car for the journey, we have had quite a bit of grumpy this morning. I normally travel at sleep time so they nap and only notice a short drive.

Better keep going. Sorry Miss Karla for having to postpone our play, will catch up soon.

Adult Work

That is right, today I am doing adult work. Paid work. Appreciated work. No-one is hanging off my dress burying their vegemite stained mouth on me. No-one is grunting at me. No-one is saying 'Mummmmmy, Mummmmmy, Muuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmyy! It feels a little strange.

I have been told that I look lovely (I have a dress on, makeup and diamante sparkling), I have been thanked and given a present. That also feels a little strange. Could definitely get used to it, but I think if I was a regular here, perhaps the compliments wouldn't be coming so think and fast. I will just live in the moment and enjoy it.

It is very quiet. I miss hearing 'It's a Hi5 Christmas' though. It is a lovely DVD with great songs . . . hmmmm, does that sound sad? I am playing it just as much for me, the kids do benefit as well though. Caleb is learning Christmas carols and constantly asks where Santa is, Zali loves dancing to it and I love us all being happy.

I do like a bit of time away from the kids but it doesn't take long for me to miss them. I miss the cuddles and kisses and hanging out. Hmmm. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, is that the quote I am looking for?

The noisy staff here have left. They had breakfast and games in the main boardroom, which also dribbled out into the reception area. They have all jumped on a bus and heading somewhere north to a boat, or water, or someplace that has food and drink. I don't need to know, I only need to know where the breakfast leftovers are. The gorgeous Ida gave me that important information, so I am set.

I feel a little full. This relief reception gig is *tough*! Miss Ida did a delivery of punch, chocolate danish, ham & cheese danish, sliced fresh fruit, crackers and an assortment of cheese. There is a box of chocolate covered cashews sitting next to the computer that I have been instructed to eat. The pressure - you have no idea. I don't think I will need to raid the leftovers for a while yet. I also think the vegemite sandwich I bought with me for lunch will not be vacating it's warm and comfy position in my bag.

Let me think. There is one other person on our entire floor. The place is quiet. The phones aren't ringing much at the moment and I am a lady of leisure. I get paid for this. He he. It is only one day a year, but I think I will make myself available for it next year also. The management and staff have a whole day Christmas party/End of Year Celebration. Not bad at all.

I wanted to update about the last few weeks, but I think I might read my magazine instead. Or surf the net. Perhaps I should have bought in my scrapbooking.

Kiss kiss.

Sleep

Sleep rocks. Any person who has children who sleep for long naps during the day, you don't know how lucky you are. My kids seem to be 45 minute sleepers. Sometimes, on a real tired day, they might get up to 1 hr 15 minute sleeps. I am very happy with this longer sleep.

The last few days, the angels have slept. And slept. Today Caleb slept for nearly 3 hours. Yep, three! Zali slept for just over 2.5 hours at kindy - wholly! Yesterday both of them slept for 2.5 hrs. I got *so* much done! Sleep totally rocks.

I think I might go get some myself.

Zipping

First off it was 'where has the year gone?'. Now it is 'crikey where is December going?'. The days are slipping by so fast. Doesn't help that I was sick all weekend and spent the majority of it in bed. Total waste of a weekend.

I have re-injured my back, I think in the same spot as last time. Really don't want that now. Grrrr. I am sitting here in pain, but wanted to drop in, before I drop off to sleep and rest my squeaky-out-of-warranty body.

I have lots of catchups this week, plus have a day of work, then take off for the Christmas celebrations with the Telfer family. All the last minute things need to be done in the next few days, and the list is building. I have so many lists going on I can't even find them all.

Had a lovely dinner tonight with Kerry, Damo and Riley. The kids and I went over mid afternoon and the two hubbies joined when they finished work. Caleb and Riley went nuts for most of the afternoon, Zali had some 'precious' moments then liked the party, we opened presents and I lay on the floor trying to groan softly (my back was very ouchy!) I enjoyed it. I think Kerry enjoyed her beer. : )

Gotta take pain killers and go rest. Be good to yourself.

What Mum Wants for Christmas

This is from today's Kidspot Daily email. V. cute.


Dear Santa

I've been a good mum all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and sold 62 packets of lollies to raise money to plant a shade tree in the school playground.

Sorry I had to write this on the back of a receipt with my son's red crayon, but I'm in the laundry room between wash cycles and who knows when I'll find any more free time in the next 18 years!

Here are my Christmas wishes:


I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache after a day of chasing kids (in any colour except purple which I already have) and arms that don't flap around in the breeze, but are strong enough to carry a screaming toddler out of the confectionery aisle of the supermarket.

I'd also like a waist since I lost mine somewhere in the 7th month of my last pregnancy.

If you are giving away big items, I'd like a car with fingerprint-resistant windows and a radio that only plays big people's music, a television that doesn't broadcast talking animals and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the vegetable bin where I can talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a pair of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools. Oh, and a recording of Tibetan Monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "take your hands off your brother" because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog!

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning. And would it be too much trouble to declare tomato sauce as a vegetable? That would clear my conscience immensely.

Well Santa, the beeper on the drier is beeping and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and help yourself to the biscuits, just don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours always

Mum

P.S. One more thing, you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children happy, healthy and always believing.

Can You Beat This?

I swear my day could be made into a comedy. It must be funny, in a few days, I hope I will laugh. Now, well, I am a tool.

This morning was ok. All things went normal and I enjoyed a fun morning with Caleb at Little School. The parents visited and had morning tea, as well as playing and watching and learning what the kids got up too. They have so much fun, no wonder Caleb loves to go. They all love the Yakka Yakka room. A big black room, air conditioned, filled with a pool of coloured balls, a climbing wall, jumping mattresses and jungle jim and slide. They went nuts. I think all the mum’s wanted one at home to use before nap time.

I did some Christmas tasks and watched a bit of Oprah. Caleb came home and we left to get Zali. Here it starts.

On the way over to check our mailbox, I realised I had left my house keys in. the. house. In the car was Caleb, Grandma and I, so I couldn’t use Grandma’s keys either. Picked up Zali at kindy and went I tried to start the car, it wouldn’t. Great, I thought, locked out of our house and car broken. I tried a few times and she wouldn’t tick over. I let the red beast rest for a while, on the fifth (and last before I called the RACQ chaps) attempt she ticked over. Thank. The. Lord. Caleb sitting in the back saying where is the battery? Why? When are we going? Why? Shut the door Grandma, let’s go! Why?

We went through the McDonald’s drive-thru (because we couldn't turn the car off) and took some dinner home. Sitting on the back verandah we ate dinner and fended off the mozzies the best we could. Zali started to drink the sweet and sour sauce instead of eating chicken nuggets, and by this stage I didn’t really care. Surely something that is sweet and sour should contain nearly five food groups?

Forgot to mention there were kiddie size ice-creams on the way home. Well, I think they ate some, the majority seemed to be on their clothes, the seat belts, their hands, rubbed into her legs and up their nose. To clean them up (we had no wipes, clothes or anything else useful) we had to use two serviettes. One for each messy kid. Of course the next problem is I am busting to use the toilet. No possible way I could wait. I had to go to the side of the house and ‘go’ near the wall. Like a three year old. Like I tell Caleb to. And use the serviette in lieu of a sophisticated product like toilet paper, the ice cream serviette that is. Could you imagine how *fun* this was?

Did I tell you I also had a big headache and would have sold a limb for a couple of Panadol?

Caleb had to wee, no problems, he runs off to the fence to assume his usual afternoon wee position. A few minutes later he had to, erm, do something nastier than wee. Oh. Lord. Off to the side of the house we go. He drops his load and says ‘whoa, big poo!’ Yep. Actually at this point I was laughing so hard I had tears. Could this afternoon get any worse. Thankfully we have a big fence. What would you have thought walking past someone’s house and they are poohing in the yard, do we have any standards of personal hygiene? I wanted to yell out ‘we are locked out of our house!’, just in case anyone saw us. Back to the situation and the fact we have no toilet paper. Grandma fishes through the pram and finds a couple of tissues, a small girl’s nappy and one nappy sack. Again, thank-the-lord! Least he could be cleaned and I could dispose of the evidence.

Five minutes later Adrian arrives home from work. It felt like we were being rescued by the Australian Navy from the deserted island, it was *such* a relief.

The kids had a bath, I had my Panadol and now we all need a comfy chair. Bugger, I better go and call my mechanic. Fingers crossed he can come in the morning.

Wedding Part C

The night kicked on. There was a torrential down pour at one point with a very nice breeze and the gorgeous smell of rain. There was a small hiccup with the wedding cake.

It was a, um, *insert special name here that drongo can't remember!*, made up of profiteroles filled with a coffee cream and custard cream. Hmm, I think I had better confirm that with the bride, note to self.

For some reason some bright cookie put it on the table for the ceremony in the afternoon. It was a warm day. This cake needs to be kept cool. When it was found to be leaning more than the Pisa and hanging on by a shrapnel of toffee, it was taken away and chilled.

However the lumpy thing could not be saved and ended up being re-plated. See below. Doesn't really have the same niceness does it. Didn't matter of course, it tasted absolutely d.e.v.i.n.e. Each plate had one piece of each flavour accompanied by double whipped cream and coulis. My lord the tongue is quivering just thinking of that precious plate of goodness.

The pair had their dance. I said it should have been like Robert and Amy's wedding dance on Everybody Loves Raymond. This is a cute photo, the little lovebirds!

Then everybody had fun. We danced and drank and talked and played. Belinda, Gemma and I with our 'come hither' looks. Sexy huh? Belinda was the Master of Ceremonies for the night. She did such a fantastic job! She rocks, really. Gemma is fun. But I won't mention her glass of red wine and my dress. Nope.

The cutie is Melynda. She has been friends with Mel for a long time. She is funny and easy to play with. This was the first night she had left her baby (4.5years!) so her and hubby were making it a good night. She wants to have a post-wedding hens night!

The two bridesmaids. Scrub up alright hey?
Bunch of crazy girlies here. From left: Belinda, Melynda, Mel, Gemma, me and Erin (Mel's sister).
Plus Sonia, all having a good time.

It was a beautiful and fun day. We all enjoyed seeing Mel and Brent get hitched. It was pretty cool just walking upstairs to go to bed too! Can't wait to see the professional photos, they should be cool.

Mel and Brent left for their six week honeymoon a few days later. Mexico, New York and some places in Europe, a white Christmas and then home to this heat. Phew.

Important!

Since I updated my picture up the top, it really makes me smile when the page loads and I see my crazy kids. That is the way it should be.

I have so many things to talk about, but I have to send a friend some photos first. I have other stuff wanting attention also, I don't know if I will ever catch my tail this month. It is a crazy busy tiring hot demanding month of seasonal delicacies. Don't bother telling me that doesn't make sense. I know already.

There is one thing I need to say because I needed to say it yesterday . . .

Happy Birthday to my sweet friend Janene!

We cannot believe it has been a year since the last one (which I remember vividly) - even Adrian said 'was that a year ago?' It was a lovely breakfast and even better being able to see you (and my little soft spot for Baby Amy). Please don't let this next year go so fast, I'm counting on you!

You are a wonderful woman, mother and friend. I won't say lover cause I don't know and don't want to know, too much information! Back to it . . . it is so fantastic to see you happy and content and loving life. I wish for that to continue and I think you have another beautiful year ahead of you! Love you!

Added later: Ok, popped back however I can't focus my eyes on photos. My eyes are blurry and need to go to bed. There will be the last wedding photos up tomorrow sometime.

Wedding Part B

Here is the view from our apartment to the right (the one I deleted last night, oops). Nice. Remember you can click on the pics and it will load a big version.

Due to wind, rain, dark scary clouds, the decision was made to move the ceremony to the reception venue. Ebb @ Maroochydore. A beautiful restaurant nestled on the river. The ceremony was to be held at Point Perry, a stunning view up and down the coast and out to the deep blue ocean. Both were beautiful places and the main event still occurred. Mel and Brent were married. I love this photo of when we had finished walking down the aisle and the look of pure happiness on Mel's face. All the preparation and work and sweat had all been for this perfect moment.
The vows were sweet, Mel's two sisters said a poem and the ceremony was finalised with the special 'first kiss'. I stood quite still, lip occasionally quivering, batting the eyelids to keep the tears at bay, deep breathing to keep myself together. It was perfect and beautiful and sweet and about two friends getting married. These two people are very special to me and it really was a fantastic day, and an honour to be involved in.
Cripes, trying to sign the official papers while every single inch of me was shaking, now *that* is a challenge. How happy do they look!
This is the six of us. And Mel's Dad has his head blocking Brent, but this is the only photo I have of the group. Can't wait to see the professional ones! Left to Right: Sonia (Mel's friend), Joel (Brent's youngest brother), Garth (Brent's younger brother), Brent (groom!), Mel (bride!) and me (spunkrat extraordinaire). (Note: how come spunkrat didn't clear my spell check? Honestly!)

The official newly-crowned Mr and Mrs. Awwww, aren't they cute!
The old married couple all dressed up. That really is us under all that finery.
My speech. I was trembling (again) and trying (badly) to hold back the tears. Didn't work. M&B came and supported me. I wished they would have held my notes still, between the trembling hands and teary eyes, they were hard to read. I was told I had a few people in tears. My job was done.

Next post I will show you the yummy cake and some afterward/party type photos.

I am tired and want to go to bed. I am the taxi for the husband who is currently out celebrating Christmas with his work colleagues. I will be a cross, tired wife if he rings me at an undesirable hour.

Wedding Part A

My eyes are a little tired and blurry, but here is the story . . .

Once upon a time a prince and princess were preparing to be married. Ok enough of that, my fairytale telling skills aren't too flash so I will stick to the real stuff.

I met Mel for a couple of dress fittings in the week before the wedding. It was fun and exciting! Paul Hunt made her dress, he was a lovely bloke and produced just what the bride wanted. This gem was taken on Wednesday morning for a final fitting and try on off all accessories. Mel picked it up later that afternoon and then the LWD (little white dress) was whisked away the next day when they headed up to the apartment.


On Friday I drove up to Maroochydore. Great drive, since I was by myself and had free choice of music, I went back into the CD collection and grabbed a Garth Brooks. I sung my little heart out. I think other drivers might have thought I was a bit nuts. I was grooving and bopping and singing so much I made myself a little carsick. While I was driving. Confirmed, I am a nut. I was actually getting hoarse I was belting out the words so strong and proud. Honestly, I do hope the car was soundproof.

I checked into our apartment. The Duporth on Duporth Ave. Very. Nice. I took pictures of the whole apartment but I won't bore you with the pile. Instead, I will focus on the view. It was pretty spesh. Looking left I saw the mountains and hinterland area.

Looking right I saw the ocean become the Maroochy River. That is a balcony you could perch yourself on for a few hours, nice cool drink in hand. Sigh. I can picture it now.

It was a spacious three bedroom apartment. The main bedroom had these views and shared the huge balcony. There was a TV, large walk-in robe and flasho ensuite (double vanity, separate toilet, shower, spa bath, enough room for waltzing, if you so desired). The lounge had comfy chairs and a large screen television and was next to the dining table. The kitchen was beautifully equipped, and all we used was two cups. We were hardly there. Very long hall joined the other two bedrooms (which both joined onto a small courtyard), main bathroom, toilet and laundry. It was ducted air-conned and *delay exciting news for added impact* had awesome automatic blinds. They rocked. Honestly, I think you could not appreciate their cool-ness until you see them. The blinds were a talking point all weekend, the bride and groom were equalling impressed. If those lotto numbers ever come up, I am definitely getting automatic blinds. Side note: I just deleted the right hand view from the balcony. I think I will go to bed and do more tomorrow.

To finish off part a, here is the bride herself and the spunky bridesmaid. Obviously the hair and makeup wizards were still working their magic.
We nibbled and we sipped pink champers, darrh-ling.

Ohhh.....

There is one thing you *must* try this Christmas . . .

take yourself down to Wendys and get a tub of Cherry Christmas.

Oh. My. Lord.

If you like the good old Cherry Ripe, you will *love* this ice cream. You see, with any purchase of Cherry Christmas you can complete an entry form to win an ice cream cake. Reading this sign I thought, self, what is Cherry Christmas? I asked for a sample. Make sure you do that to have a wee taste, then ask if you can take the whole bucket, please. Then invite me over.

It is cherry ice cream with bit of chocolate, coconut and cherry. Trust me though, if I first read that ingredient list I would not have had any. Cherry ice cream doesn't really ring my bell. Go on, spoil yourself, try it! Let me know what you think.

Ooops, better get some paper towel to wipe up this drool.

Have You?

Ever been to the Honey Factory on the Sunshine Coast? No? Us either. Thought we would check it out. I think it might have been nicer, say, 20 years ago.

It was very quite, nothing was open, it was old and a little disappointing. I believe the dirty-old-rust-bucket-looking-things sitting quietly were called 'children's rides'. There were large aviary-type cages dotted throughout, that were empty. There was a little house where Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs hung out. The Dwarfs were a scary.

The last time we visited the Big Pineapple we were disappointed. It is old and rundown, things were closed, bits were dirty and there was no life. I remember going there when I was a young (good looking of course) lass and it was fun. There was life and people and things to do. You had trouble finding a seat at lunchtime and the parfait, man, that was my cup of tea. We haven't been back since those memories were given a beating. This Honey Factory reminded me of that. If it was back in the day when I was the younger, but equally good looking, Gail, it probably would have rocked.

The kids didn't really notice. There were ducks. They got to run. We ate cheezels.



The birds were pretty keen to see us, thinking we had some tucker. I went to the Cafe and got a few pieces of bread and bought a couple of bags of feed from the reception counter.

There were ducks, scrub turkeys . . . and a lizard.

Turns out everyone likes Cheezels. More than animal seed and bread. They had a snack of normal stuff, but it must have been the bright cheery colour of the wonderful creation called the Cheezel. The lizard loved them. See?

Lizard didn't like the scrub turkey. Anytime it merely glanced at an object resembling food, the lizard ran in to frighten and/or grab the food for itself. Nasty little lizard.

My two animals like Cheezels as well. Glad I got the tiny ones. Actually, it would have been funny to see the lizard attempt the normal size Cheezels.

Note: no animals were hurt or mistreated during this outing. As responsible humans we did not feed the lizard and/or bird life Cheezels. They stole them. Then I wanted photos to prove it.

I got my . . .

The week totally got away from me. I feel pretty slack about my lack of posts, but I am sure it will improve! I hardly touched my photos and plan on finding a few nice ones to show you this weekend. Really.

Guess what? I got my first Christmas card today! Holy Santa! I was pretty impressed that I know where my blank Christmas cards are, that I have thought about starting a Christmas card list, that I thought about going to the Post Office to get some card stamps. I think next year, my goal will be to get out my cards before Karla! I will have to write it down for October I think.

Janene and Amy visited this morning. Amy is over four months now - wow, how fast has that gone! Janene is ever so calm, happy and loving being a Mummy. She is a very loving Mummy indeed.

I had better make some plans to see Baby Quincy before Christmas, otherwise she will be hitting four months and I won't recognise her!

I have, a few minutes ago, had news of another impending baby for 2008. I am so happy for them, can't wait to meet that little bundle. Congratulations again!

Maybe all these babies will quench my thirst for a while, so I can just cuddle and return. After the past holidays with my two, erm, angels, I am not quite so sure about further additions.

Cripes. When I post my catchup news, I think it will be long. Maybe I will have to do it in instalments. You know, with a cliffhanger each night. Except my life isn't that dramatic or exciting. Oh well.

Toodle.

Back

This is what has kept me busy . . .
Mel and Brent married on Saturday! Yippeeee!

I will give you the full details and photos this week, just wanted to pop in and say hi.

We arrived home on Monday after our two weeks at the beach. Then the whole past week was 'Wedding Week'. Everything was fantastic, but now, things will calm down and resume to our regular programming. First task is the unpacking from our holiday. I am tired of tripping over the big suitcase at the end of my bed!

Sincerely hope everyone has had a fabulous last few weeks. Crikey - how close is Christmas! That is freaky. Man, the shops are already starting to get busier.

Chow.

Sun Tan?

I apologise for my slackness in updating. This past week been very busy again. Will just throw a few dot points around as I don't have much time.

We are in Caloundra at the moment. Came up yesterday for a beach holiday. Adrian is up for one week, then Grandma comes up for one week. That way there is someone home to look after the animals and house etc. Me and the kids are here for two weeks - that is very cool. If I don't kill them, that is.

Zali has a huge swollen lump on her lower gum causing some grief, plus a back biggie that is only half through. Hence, she is a little miserable. Caleb, my little tanty boy, is well, having a few tanty's. Forget the terrible two's, don't know who thought of that! It is definitely the Terrible Three's! If he makes it to four with both of us still sane, I think we both deserve a big present!

We headed off to play in the sand first up this morning. He did *not* want to wear his rashie. 'I want annunie shirt!' (another shirt). Over and over he said that, and over and over we said he must wear the swim shirt to be able to play in the sand and water. Eventually I said to try it this morning and if he still didn't like it, he wouldn't have to wear it again. Fast forward to this afternoon and when we finished a swim in the pool, he didn't want to take the rashie off! Remind me, is it the woman's prerogative to change her mind, or a three year olds?

Anyway, busy week preparing for Mel's Hens Night last Saturday, 3 November. I made ribbon lanyards for name tags and take-out boxes personalised for each lady for them to take home. Took me q.u.i.t.e a while for that. Was a lovely evening and I think we all had a great time. I picked up a diamante tiara for the Bride-To-Be who happily wore it all night. I got some photos (haven't seen them yet) which hopefully will turn out well, but not sure when I will get to download them. Most importantly Mel looked happy and was surrounded by lovely ladies to help her celebrate her upcoming nuptials.

I had my first bridesmaid fitting on Saturday morning. Went well and I have another when I get back to Brissie in a few weeks. Can't wait to see the real one, it will be so pretty - the first calico version was a little dull (ha ha).

Um, I don't know what else to mention. I am pretty tired, catching up from a few bad nights and busy days. No doubt I will remember when I don't have internet connection again. Oh, I don't really have internet at the moment, so chat from me will be minimal.

Kerry, catch up when we back. Caleb will be very happy to see Riley in a few weeks, I think he will miss the 'action' of kindy and little school.

Ida, thanks for checking on me. Sorry I been slack with updating! Did you end up getting a trike for Macey?

Janene, Jim and Amy came over for dinner last week, which was lovely. Meant I had two lots of cuddles that week, and I can totally say that Amy will be SO excited to have more cuddles in a few weeks. She likes me. Or it might be that I have a funny freaky type of strange face. I can make her laugh, giggle, smile and look a bundle of happy. It is beautiful. I believe she normally does it for only Mummy and Daddy, and maybe once for Nanna (need to confirm this, J, forgive me if I have written wrong).

Ok, Zali is a bit cross, she has now woken up twice since bedtime, my fingers are crossed for a big sleep tonight. Take care and will chat soon. Our lives return to our normal in December after our holidays and after the wedding.

Love to all.

Self

Well, I have been a little self absorbed this week. I have forgotten to blog a few things. My mind just seemed to be flitting between Zali becoming a Mad Cow and Caleb's day at hospital.

Happy Birthday Macey!

Macey turned one on Monday. Macey's Mummy told me they ate plenty of cake. That is the way it should be!

Happy Birthday Jared!

Jared turned one on Wednesday. He has cute eyes, he will be a winner with the girls!

I can't believe how fast the year has gone, unbelievable.

Thursday was a remarkable day in the Jeffrey household. Little Ben started to walk independently. What a fantastic achievement. Very happy and proud for you! Won't be any stopping you now, kiddo!

My thoughts are with Loretta and hubby. They have a big challenge ahead, but in the end Kobie will feel better. In the end. Between now and then though, my thoughts are with them all. I wish for them to get some sleep, I wish for Kobie to fill up his belly, I wish for wonderful things.

Some times we get caught up in our own little world. Which, of course, is very important. I think it is nice to also think about others. They may be going through a rough patch, they may be struggling due to a variety of reasons, maybe they are having a miserable day. Knowing that someone else is thinking of you, getting a smile, a hug, knowing someone cares . . . all beautiful things that cost us nothing. Now *that* is priceless.

Guess what? It is only four weeks until Mel and Brent's wedding! Aaarrgghh! It is coming so fast! Next week we celebrate with the Hen's and Buck's nights, will be lovely to go out and have some great company and an enjoyable evening. Between now and then I will have to work out some conversation starters that don't involve my children (you know, cause that is my entire life and the main thing I talk about!) and enjoy some 'adult time'. Cripes.

Mel had her measurements taken for her dress! Aaarrgghh! How exciting! I am going to have the first fitting for my dress next week. Eeek! Things are happening!

Baby Amy is three months old already! Cripes. Time goes so fast. Haven't seen her for a few weeks so I am guessing she is *desperate* for some Aunty Gail cuddles.

Monday I am heading over to meeting Baby Quincy! Can't wait. Better make sure I have charged batteries in the camera. She is three weeks old on Monday. Surely she has her Mummy and Daddy wrapped firmly around her tiny finger by now.

Have a lovely weekend.

P.S Hospital went well. Long day. Tiring day. Starving day. Caleb did great for a while, then got tired and hungry. Mummy got tired and hungry too. Procedure went well, waiting now for the toxin to work it's magic. Physiotherapy starts in a few weeks. Between now and the middle of December we need to go back to the RCH for a hip x-ray, a chat with the Occupational Therapist about his arm, the post-botox follow up with the paediatrician and a fitting (and taking) of his new 'boot'.

Through in a holiday at the beach, a wedding and all that hospital excitement, well, we are going to have a crazy two months.

25.10.07

I am so tired but can't bring myself to go to bed. My insides are churning. I am a little numb and that is the only thing to stop me from bawling my eyes out. I feel so conflicted inside I am making myself ill. I am gearing myself up for a very hard, emotional and long day tomorrow. However, I need to be strong and confident and happy and loving and a million other attributes tomorrow to be supportive for my son.

Until I walk away from him in theatre, and cry like a baby.

He is older this time, he understands more. He knows what he likes and doesn't like. I don't think he is going to like being couped up in a hospital all day. Especially when he cannot eat or drink. My heart feels sad that the poor little boy has to go through occasions like this. I wish I could take it all away from him.

Mad Cow?

The week has certainly had more downs than ups!

Zali has caught the hand, foot and mouth disease from Kindy. She isn't too bad, just a few dots on her hands and feet, a little blister on the front of her tongue and some dots on her legs. It sounds very awful, but now I have seen it, it ain't too bad. Thankfully they don't get sick, just dotty. It is very contagious, which is why I had to pick her up from Kindy - she blew up on Tuesday and we went to the doctor. She won't be going tomorrow either, she needs time to let it pass. That is all you can do, there isn't a treatment other than time.

My main fear is Caleb catching it. The doctor said he may have had it previously (unknown to us!) which would render him immune. Our fingers are so crossed for this the bone is nearly poking from the skin. Why? Caleb has his next round of Botox on Friday at the Royal Children's Hospital and he needs to be well. If he is sick they will not do it, as he is totally asleep with a General. It would take months to get another appointment, but at the end of the day his health and well-being out way any delay in the procedure.

He hasn't come up in any spots yet, and it has been a few days since he would have been exposed to it, which is great.

But. Back to Tuesday afternoon, and he is quiet and still and lethargic. I start to worry. He doesn't eat, he is sooky, then proceeds to throw up a small piece of food (on the carpet- ew!). Fantastic, he must have something other bug. Things are ok from then on, he sleeps well through the night and wakes up this morning quite bright. He heads off to Kindy and has a decent day. His communication book detailed he was 'not his usual out-going self', as I had indicated to them.

At the moment is seems fine and has eaten afternoon tea and dinner. All promising.

Would you please cross your fingers that Caleb stays mostly well for Friday. And keep us in your thoughts as Caleb and I spend the *entire* day at the hospital. First appointment is 8.30am.

Sore

This idiot, who is supposed to be resting and taking care of her back, spent a while crouched on the ground tidying up the study. But, it is nice to have some of my stuff (crap) sorted and tidy. I picked up two 2-drawer storage cabinets in clear plastic that fit under my tables today. I will be able to fill them up during the next few days and my area will be looking spiffy!

My goal then is to organise all my scrapbooking stuff. I have let it pile up. There isn't much of one table left and it has dribbled over to the computer table. Problem is I like to look at it. Sometimes I do more looking that scrapping, it still makes me feel good though!

Just checking in. Not a great deal happening. Miss Zali has a cold and (or because of) is teething. She is suffering, sore and grumpy, not impressed with food and just miserable. It sort of comes and goes depending on if the Panadol is due. When it does come, it really comes. She is crying and letting everyone know she is in pain. Poor little thing, it must really hurt. I tried to explain to Caleb today that Zali cries because she doesn't have any other way to communicate. That was fine, he understood that Zali was sick. It wasn't a problem until he was asking for an ice cream cone for dessert and I couldn't hear him over Zali's crying. He was cross at her and said 'Shoosh!'

Caleb, Zali and I went to Quinn's third birthday party yesterday. Nice day, quite warm by the end though. Got a few photos on the camera, but you should have seen the birthday cake! It could have fed 100 people! Quinn's dad is a baker and made a *humongous* mud cake with a fondant icing and drawn-on full body rockin' Buzz Lightyear! It was a lovely morning. Riley and Oscar were there so it was all systems go. Zali had a few issues with her balance, and walking, as the grass was sloping. It was quite amusing at times, but I figured I shouldn't laugh as I didn't know many of the people (there was their family there as well).

Alright. Time to read my magazine in bed and head off to sleep. Last night Zali was awake a few times with being unwell. Hopefully tonight is better, we are used to a good nights' sleep now.

Chow!

Sheesh

Sheesh! Where did that week go? Will do a quick recap.

Been living like a bit of an invalid with my back. It is improving but I am *supposed* to be taking it easy and being gentle on it. Would someone please tell my kids?

The kids saw their great-Grandma and Grandpa on Sunday, which was nice. As well as Nannie and Pop and the family. I missed out due to my back. I will have to wait until next year.

Normal kindy and little school stuff. Zali is heaps better with kindy. It is great. I put a request in today to change her to Wednesday instead of Tuesday. Caleb gets a little itchy without her on Tuesday and I will get a few hours peace on Wednesday.

I have got a bit of new scrap stuff. I am in heaven. I have the stuff all around me so I can see it, this excites me very much. However the room is a mess. I sort of don't know where to start to organise things. Hmpf, it can wait, no rush.

Erm. Buttons had her teeth cleaned. Adrian is away for work again this week. I have had a lot of headaches (but hang on, he isn't here? he he. I can get away with comments like that cause he doesn't read this!). Yep. That basically wraps up a quiet period, hopefully things will improve more over the next few days.

In the words of Rove ..... say hi to your mother for me.

Ow!

I have injured my back. First I lifted lounge chairs (looking for Caleb's arm), vacuumed, mopped and played on the floor with Caleb. After a few days of that stuff, my back gave in. I have sprained a ligament in my lower back. It is painful. I am on Voltaren Rapid tablets, I am currently strapped up and regularly have the heat pack working its magic. The physio said not to lift anything for a week. Oh. My. Gawd. With a one year old and three year old I think I would have a better chance winning the lotto.

Mum helped me out today. Adrian flew to far north Queensland, that is how far he runs when asked for help! Joking! He had to go away for work, but the timing is *just* great. Tomorrow both cherubs are at kindy, thankfully, and I am having a total rest day. It will annoy me that I can't sit at the computer and scrapbook my day away, but I need to recover from this injury. If I don't give myself time to heal properly, the physio said it would become a recurring problem. That is a problem I do not need.

Okey, off to rest again. Maybe I should say off to try and sleep and not be woken up a trillion times with pain.

P.S. Caleb back at little school today and he was happy. He was asking when the bus would come from, roughly, 5am.

Brand New

Welcome to the world baby Quincy!

Sharon and Rob had a baby girl this afternoon at 3.52pm. She was 53cm long and 3.3kg. Wonderful. Third girl!

When Rob rang me with the news he sounded so happy, proud, amazed, dazed - all the feelings of a new Dad. Nice.

Dying to visit and meet Q, but I will give Sharon a few days recovery before I go bouncing in. That means I *must* go shopping for something pink and cute. Poor me, the things I have to do.

Relief

Not many of you know that we lost Caleb's Second Skin arm splint. This is made to fit his arm and he wears it for 12-16 months at least. We haven't had this one for too long, and it has been three weeks since we last saw it.

Grandma looked everywhere. She felt responsible because she took it off Caleb's arm. It always sits in their bathroom upstairs or on the change table downstairs. But it wasn't.

For three long weeks I have been hoping that it would appear. I was too scared to make a huge deal of it and tell everyone involved, I was putting it off. I felt useless and irresponsible and stupid. How could we lose such an important (expensive!) item. We thought that maybe it got caught up in rubbish and it was long gone. I had even made a rough estimate of it's replacement cost in our budget.

Today was the last day of searching. It takes a few weeks to make and Caleb has his second round of Botox injections in a few weeks . . . they wanted to see his arm splint and check out how the arm is managing. I needed to start the ball rolling to get a new splint for this appointment, Caleb also needs to be wearing it (most importantly), and lastly, the company that donated for this splint wanted to have an afternoon tea sometime in the near future. Tomorrow I was going to ring up the manufacturers to organise a new one.

Grandma and I lifted the lounge chairs and everything in between. I think I have injured or strained my back doing so! Grrr. I packed up some of the million and one toys to put into the toy cupboard and dragged them over. I was going to turn that cupboard upside down to make sure the splint wasn't in here. Caleb likes to put a lot of things in here. It is a small cupboard of which he has access and likes to monitor.

In one small dark crack, behind the books and crayons and next to the blocks sat a little, lonely, scared and cold arm splint. Thank. You. ThankYouThankYouThankYou!

Talk about a sigh of relief and a LOAD of our minds. Unbelievable. Caleb would have put it away 'somewhere safe' thinking he was being a helpful little lad. In future when *anything* goes missing, that is the first place to look.

Small side note: Grandma did look in there originally, but cause it was dark and her eyesight isn't the greatest, she didn't actually see it. I should have looked for it earlier than today, I was just scared of confirming that we had lost it.

The final word? Relief.

Project Haircut

was a success!

Friday afternoon Caleb, Zali, Mel and I headed over to Carindale. Thank you for helping Mel! Caleb still wasn't fussed on getting a haircut, but, it had to be done. Thankfully the place we went to at the beginning of the week were busy, so we dropped in to Price Cutters and could get two appointments (in approx 30 minutes).

We walked around and shopped and browsed for a bit. Caleb ran and jumped and had a ball, in this huge adventure playground other people call a shopping centre.

I was worrying so much about the haircuts, I made myself sick. Couldn't eat any lunch, the calm sit down and eat ice creams and chippies afterwards was where I could just chill and wind down and take a breath.

Back to the action. While we were standing waiting, Caleb and Zali were both starting to get bored. The kids had been driving me crazy all day and by this stage, as well as working myself into a tither, my patience was on short supply.

The hairdresser, Alex, called us in. Caleb fussed around and didn't want to get in the chair. I sat him up there, then Alex took over. He talked to him and encouraged him and then sprayed water on him. Caleb giggled. It all turned into a game when he was given the water bottle and sprayed everything in sight. All good. Alex talks constantly and is fantastic. He is just perfect to cut children's hair (prob. adults as well but that wasn't the purpose of Project Haircut), and made us all feel at ease.

However, Alex is very keen on himself! He will tell you, don't worry! I think he likes the end chair in the shop so he can perve at all the women walking past. Caleb was spraying Alex and me (and the entire shop) so said he would point out a nice lady who was walking by for Caleb to spray water on so they could have their own wet tshirt party. I said he was a bad influence. Caleb was just sitting there giggling spraying water and being sprayed.

Zali got her haircut next. She sat up high on the chair, and had the look on her face like 'what. is. going. on. here?!'

She did fabulously for her first ever haircut! She smiled and clapped and loved seeing the world reflecting in the mirror. Meet Alex, who thinks he is god's gift to women. When I asked him if he minded being in the photos, he said 'no worries, make sure you show all the girls!'

This photo shows perfectly what went on. He really did talk to Zali, he told her that she isn't the only one who can talk 'baby language' and made all sorts of odd baby sounds. As I said, he was really good with the kids. So glad to accidentally find him. He helped made Project Haircut a success and we will go back when Project Haircut II launches.

We headed off to Maccas for a treat. Zali had an ice cream (dropped half of it on the highchair leg) and a few chippies. Caleb had half an ice cream, half a burger and a chocolate milkshake. They were happy, Mummy was happy. Happy that they both had haircuts, happy that it was a fun experience, happy that now I could take a breath, un-knot my stomach and start to calm down. Mel was definitely calming to have around and helpful with the kiddies, very much appreciated her!

This is the first photo, taken last Saturday, of Zali walking! She is totally loving it. She walks around as much as possible now and is really happy with her new skill. Very cute.

Monday afternoon I pushed Caleb and Zali on their trikes (my poor arms) down to the park. We met up with Ida and Macey for a play. Everyone enjoyed themselves, but do you think white trousers was a good idea?

They were pretty filthy, the bark happily left them with black feet, knees, hands, faces and everywhere in between.

I have a whale size headache and tablets don't seem to be working. Now I have shared some photos (finally) I am going to bed. My plan is to wake up headache-free. Good night.

LC

The London Club. That is where I had dinner with Mel and Sonia. We checked it out as a possible venue for Mel's hens night. It was cosy and fun. Decorated tastefully with nice staff and nice food. Driving in towards the city was pretty exciting for me, due to normally being at home with my kiddies and having quiet evenings. Mainly the lights, I loved all the pretty lights from buildings and offices and the bridge and the shimmering reflections bouncing off the river. Through to Teneriffe, I drove up and down the street to find it, and it was near the beginning of my search! It is really hard to see street numbers in the dark and when THEY AIN'T DISPLAYED!

It was a nice evening and lovely company too. Was home at 9pm - yep, and I was thinking 'man, it must be soooo late!'

The kids had a nice day at kindy, I did a little scrapping, had my Sumo Salad (wasn't overly great, won't be in a rush for another), generally a nice day. EXCEPT for Caleb throwing the biggest wobbly. He was hysterical. When we got home from kindy, he turned into a howling moaning crying snotty crying hysterical banshee. The only thing I could pin it too was a very tired boy? Nothing, absolutely nothing we did was right. I let him splurge all his emotions and frustrations for a while. The neighbours probably thought he was being murdered or something. Finally, he had the option to sit on me and calmly watch some Hi-5 or go to his room to chill out. He picked the nicer option and sat with me. He did calm down, and eventually I could get him to laugh. He went back to being normal Caleb after that and the world was a good place again. I don't think we will be inviting that 'other' Caleb back again!

Okey, off to read a few pages of my new scrapbooking magazine and then rest my weary eyes. Good night.

Eating?

Well I hope not. When I walked in the house this morning after a doctors appointment, I let the dog outside, turned around and the cat gave me a glare. We were standing in an area of tiles, you know, the easy to clean flooring? On the one lonely little mat near the door, Cat proceeded to throw up. Then ran, her work was done. Great to be home, isn't it! And why did said cat do such a nasty? Cause she ate a little lizard, her insides mustn't agree with that delicacy. Neither does mine.

However, my insides do like the cup of tea and green apple that is calling me. I think I can smell morning tea . . .

Before I toddle off and hassle the kettle, an update on our little boy.

Caleb had a hearing test yesterday at the Mater. Third attempt. Again, his right ear had blockage. The chart thing is supposed to show movement, his printout had a flat line. We moved to the puppet show. When you hear a noise, a puppet lights up and dances. We played with coloured blocks in between to get his attention away from where the puppets danced - we needed a specific reaction of looking if and when he heard something. Next step was to focus on the single ear, so a little tiny soft earpiece was inserted in the ear and we continued. The results showed that his right ear has some hearing loss. It is upsetting because it is *another* problem we now add to the list and have to 'manage'. The audiologist is recommending we get a referral to see a Ear Nose and Throat specialist and see what we can do. After the letter arrives I will head off to our GP and get that ball rolling. The long term blockage of his ear can be causing some damage to the area, and we don't want that. The positive side is that his other ear works fantastically, thus he will not have any difficulty with speech and language development. Which we know, cause lately HE-DOESN'T-SHUT-UP!

Today both little cherubs are at kindy. Nice. To make up for the 'project haircut' debacle, I will be having my Sumo Salad today for lunch. Nice. Well, I hope so after this build up!

An update on Project Haircut. Another attempt is scheduled for 1500 hours tomorrow. I am taking backup (Grandma) and Zali to have her first haircut also. I need assistance cause there *has* to be photos taken of Zali's first haircut. I am hoping that Mr-fussy-pants will be more agreeable when he sees Zali cooperating. Oh please Lord, please make her cooperate!

Okey, off to scrapbook a little before heading to Carindale for my salad. Have a spiffy day!

No Coffee

Adrian and Zali drove to Toowoomba Sunday lunchtime. Cause it was too big of a drive for Zali to turn around and come back, they stayed for dinner and bath and drove home at night. Arrived home safely around 8.30pm. Zali went from sleeping in the car to sleeping in the cot, all good. Caleb went from just woke up in the car to mummy lying in his bed to get him back to sleep. When I thought all was good I snuck out. Minutes later he was beside me and said 'let's go downstairs'.

Downstairs we go to watch some television. He sat clinging to me for ages. Numerous times we thought he was asleep and he would turn around and look at us. He was tired but needed some cuddles and reassurance from Mummy. Least he didn't have a huge cry, like previous times when he is away from me. It is like he suddenly realises that Mummy hasn't been there, and he lets it all out. This was a bit better, but Monday he was still tired and was pushing the boundaries. He spent more time in his room for undesirable behaviour than ever before, but about time the threats are continuously followed through. Evening bath turned manic with both of them tired and . . . well, lets move on, shall we.

Monday was a nice day though. Janene and Amy came over in the morning. Janene was looking stunning, glowing with happiness and truly loving being a Mummy. Amy had grown and was sticking her skinny little neck up. Always nice to have bubby cuddles. When they left, Caleb kept asking 'where is Amy?'

In the afternoon we met Ida and Macey down at the spaceship park. Otherwise known as the Carindale Recreation Reserve. The kids had a lovely play and feed. They were totally filthy. The bark is dirty and messy and Zali might as well have dived in and swam through it. She was covered, but having a good time. Caleb plodded around and played with some other kids. Macey crawled all over the place, investigating and chewing a few pieces of bark. After a banana snack we all went home. Ida is back at work today, first day back from maternity leave and turning up for two days a week. I won't say working, she might be doing coffee and biscuits more so! he he. Hope your first day went well Ida!

The kids went all nasty around dinner and bath time, then Zali was in bed and Caleb not long after. Thankfully we could sit in peace and watch Home and Away. I need to watch all this week because something bad is going to happen between Alf and Sally. Can't miss it!

Right now Zali is at kindy and Caleb is asleep. This is the first Tuesday for Zali, we are trying two days a week and she how she settles. Caleb and I went to his normal playgroup. There weren't many there so he was bored. On the way home we discussed going to the 'big shops' (Carindale) and having a haircut, then sitting down at Maccas for lunch. I wanted to try something from Sumo Salad. Yep, all good, he was happy. We drove past home and got some money and headed over to Carindale.

I was excited, how nice, just the two of us hanging out. Quick painless haircut, sit down and eat and watch the exciting happenings going on around. Oh maybe I would have a latte also! This is going to be a great day, I thought.

Enter Mr-I-don't-want-a-haircut-now and the tides turn. He digs his heels in and no longer wants a haircut. Did I mention he looks like a cross between Crusty the Clown and a golliwog? His curls are so long the ringlets could strangle an adult, and it is so thick and bushy. I try and persuade and bribe and threaten. He squirms and fights and kicks his feet around. The young girl stands there, with too much attitude for my liking, and says 'if he moves I could cut him or myself'. Good on you, love, you are a great help.

We move away from the dodgy little salon to some nearby seats. We sit there for what seems like forever. I told Caleb he cannot move until he gets a haircut. He can't sit on the other chair, he can't dance on the mat, he can't have his apple or walk or run or see anything. Nothing is happening until he gets a haircut. Two options: you can have a haircut, we go and sit down together and have a nice lunch or we go home and you will go straight to your room. He tried to get out of both options for a while, then I put my foot down. Make your choice. Ok, so we going home. I start walking and he starts stomping his feet and letting out a slight moan. I wait, he whinges, last chance to make a choice. Right off we go. Second tanty takes place. Holding hands we then exit the centre and ride three travelators to the car. He has mini tanty's before each one. In the car, no Wiggles playing, no talking.

Home, I take his packed lunch to his room, along with his water. Do not leave this room until I say. And I want quiet. And I walked off and watched Oprah and ate my lunch. When I checked on him he was asleep. Other than feeling stupid myself with the whole scenario, I am shatted off that I missed out on a bought lunch and coffee. It wasn't even a fantastic Oprah episode.

Nearly time to go pick up my little girl. Fingers crossed she had a better day.

I hope to post some more photos soon, I just need Adrian to stop stuffing around with his computer so I can plug in the cord to download the camera. There is an issue with my machine and the cord. My machine must have the attitude of a three year old boy, u-huh.

Walking

Zali is walking. As of today. In the past week she started to do a few steps between Grandma and I, as we called to her. It was all a bit of a game, she would dive when she was close to us to be caught and cuddled. In the past few days she started pushing 'things' around the house; her Dora car, the activity station or her little trike.

Today when we had the gorgeous Mel and Brent visiting we were showing them her new 'skill'. She did more and more walking, getting braver and braver. By the end of the night she was standing and walking and clapping (herself) all the time. She is loving it and is mighty proud. So are we. She still likes to take a dive at me/her lounge/carpet, just for fun.

I knew it was coming, but it happened quick. On Thursday talking to my sweet friend Kerry, she said 'in a week she'll be walking!' I said 'yeah', but actually thought, man she has been walking for so long hanging on to things, I don't think she will ever let go permanently and do little walkies. Kerry was right!

The first wobbly jerky steps are. just. so. cute! I am unable to download my camera at the moment, but I did get a couple of (bad) shots today. Sadly I didn't get any from during the week cause I couldn't hold the camera and catch her! Hopefully tomorrow I will take her outside and see if she will work for the camera.

She also had an easy day without Caleb. She got some time and space to move and trip and walk without being shadowed. It is so exciting, can't wait for tomorrow!

Talking about Caleb, he is currently in Toowoomba staying at Nan & Pop's place. Zali and I drove him up on Friday. Dad is going to get him tomorrow afternoon.

We were very happy to meet with Sheree, Campbell and Finn at McDonald's on Ruthven Street. The kids were excited to see each other, and had a lovely play at the McDonald's playground. Caleb asked 'where's Daysid?' I replied 'Uncle David is at work today'. When I hear him say 'Daysid' I think of a Daisy. We had lunch, made a mess with ice cream cones, and finished off with another little adventure at the playground. I did ask for kid size cones, but the lad filled them up pretty high. Poor Sheree had to hoover down some ice cream from each of the cones so they were manageable for the kids. She did an honourable job, I don't think she got brain freeze but I am sure her eyes watered a little from so much cold so quickly!

We said goodbye and headed out to Telfer's shed. Caleb got comfortable pretty quickly and Zali was tired. After half an hour or so, (then having to grovel to get a goodbye cuddle and kiss from Caleb) Zali and I headed back to Brisbane. It was a long day. I was falling asleep on the way home, but cause Zali was having a sleep and not wanting to wake her, I kept driving. Sheesh.

The kids did go to kindy on Thursday. Thankfully Zali woke up well, her eyes looking good, so both were piled in the car and off they went. It was really nice to have a few hours to myself. I picked them up early afternoon, where Zali's carer said 'She's a real mummy's girl, isn't she!' A-huh, story of my life!

Kerry and I had decided to pick the kids up early and head across the road to McDonald's for an ice cream (hmm, this is starting to sound like a habit, this ice cream business). Caleb, Zali, Kerry and Riley enjoyed their cone. I had a decaf coffee (erk! Not again, they are yuck!). The kids had a play at the playground, running around like crazies. Happy Anniversary on this day for Kerry and Damien. They were lucky enough to have Riley looked after so they could enjoy a dinner out. Hopefully we helped tire him out so he was a quiet and tired little boy in the evening.

To finish I need to send my best wishes and love to Liz! It was her birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday Lizee! The lucky duck spent her day at the paper crafts festival at Exhibition Grounds, doing a class and buying lots of nice goodies. That is a pretty cool birthday!

Time for some play for me now. Just a little, still tired and up early as usual for the markets in the morning. Least with Caleb being with NannyPop (that is what he calls them), he won't be coming in at 4.50am asking to come to the marskets. Have a sleep in, Caleb!

Love to all.

P.S. I just viewed this post to have a check before I hit publish, and it is too long to check right now. If I have made any mistakes, please forgive me. Oh, and sorry it is long, hope I don't bore you. Actually, if you have gotten down here, good on you! Full of stamina, you are! I'm off to play.

Them

Cripes what a week (note to self: it ain't over yet!). We haven't left the house due to Zali's conjunctivitis. It is much better tonight and my fingers are crossed she wakes up all better. Tomorrow is kindy. Thank the lord. Thank. The. Lord.

Caleb has been a bit stir crazy. And annoying. I do feel sorry for him, wanting some action and excitement and we can't do much with a sick sister. He is loving his swing and outside play, and DVD's.

Today I loved my bed. My turn to be sick. I felt awful in the stomach, weak, head was spacey (different to normal spacey I mean!) and very dizzy. Constant dizziness actually. Moving my head was difficult. Adrian stayed home from work and looked after the kids. I spent most of the day in bed, I had a sleep for 2.5 hours. Nice. Feeling a little like I been hit by a truck with no obvious bruising.

Oh, did you hear about that poor little child being bashed by his father. This totally makes me sick. That the child had just been returned to the family from foster care is more heartbreaking. He only had a short life but it was obviously a rough one. I honestly cannot fathom how anyone could do this to another person, let alone a toddler. What a tragedy. Disgusting, pathetic tragedy.

Other than being sick, Zali is turning into a little girl. Very much losing all baby-ness and is becoming a little person. It is really nice. She is taking a few steps on her own, loves to walk holding my hand and prefers to walk up the stairs with help also. She is chatty and cheeky, she is playful and cuddly, she adores her 'piggie' and enjoys playing with her brother, especially chasey. She is a lovely girl and it will be fun to watch her grow and develop in the coming year.

You know, hearing horrific and unimaginable stories like the toddler bashed to death by his father, really makes you want to hold your children and never let go. I love them *so* much.

To close, I want to give *you* a big big big hug.

Point Form

• the cat must have been extremely excited (not) about seeing the vet cause she did some nasty in the cat carrier. nice. there and back. nice.
• her health is good, the vet said she had the best teeth she has seen for a while. cool.
• her grooming. hmm. it seems very rough, and they left her tail on. grrr. that was supposed to be trimmed. long fur hanging around the 'danger' end is not desirable.
• last day of little school for two weeks. he had a nice day. he is already asking if he can go on the bus again and see 'lachy and zac', his friends at little school. u-huh.
• had two hours of intense scrapbooking with an online crop (cybercrop). it was so fast and made a huge mess of my stuff with a scavenger hunt of scrapbooking items. sheesh.
• groceries, sleep, eat, play, read.
• caleb wakes up at 4.50am, walks into grandma and says 'i come to marskets?' she normally gets up at 5am to wake me up. off to the 'markets' we go, basically all caleb wants is the warm hot choccie and raison toast at the end.
• grandma, caleb, zali and i went for a drive to bunnings (etc). caleb went to sleep so i had to stay in the car and read junkmail. zali went to sleep in the pram soon after. they both had tiny sleeps then we went for a drive out to redland bay. do you know how far that is with mr-million-questions-who-won't-shut-up? oh my. actually, have something funny to share. we checked out the endeavour prize home, which has a pool with clear glass fence. caleb saw the water and went running out saying 'big water, big water' and walked smack into the fence. grandma and i couldn't help but laugh. he even had a little red spot on his forehead. in his defence, the glass was clean and had no markings to indicate to little excited people that it was there. but it was funny.
• i mowed the front and back lawns. i haven't mowed in ages. it felt good and it feels even better seeing freshly cut *green* lawn. i also dropped in shed's padlock key in the grass (yeah, don't ask me how!). the only way i found it was when it went *thonk* in the mower's blades. instead of being straight it is more 90 degrees. oops.
• today, caleb drove me crazy. c r a z y. he constantly wants you with him to do e v e r y t h i n g. zali will crawl off and explore or play. he either follows her to take over whatever she wanted to do/is touching, or whinges and whines about wanting food/play/wiggles/hi-5/food/bikes/swings/blah. he is cuddling/tackling/following zali constantly. i think he is bored, jealous and three. if we can survive the week, it will be a true miracle. at this stage, i don't have much hope for next week.
• and joy of joys, zali's conjunctivitis has returned. insert expletive here! it was only a month ago she had her first dose. which means we won't be able to leave the house tomorrow to go to playgroup, crap oh crap. the three of us are locked in solitude. uh-oh.

A-huh

Grrrrrr. Zali didn't go to kindy today as she was unwell. Her nose needed to be wiped all the time and she was not happy. A-huh. That makes two of us. She was miserable and cranky and whingeing and crying all day. I am so over today. I don't know what the problem is exactly, other than a slight cold. I am slapping the Bonjella on her gums, she has had Panadol. She didn't eat normally, so there is an obvious sign that she isn't well. She took ages to go to bed, just cried in misery. She would have been overtired as well, so things couldn't have been much worse for her. I am so wound up, I think I need my cup of tea and a scrap page to play with to help me wind down. Cause that I what I had planned for today.

I picked up a cat cage from our vet this afternoon. Molly is going in tomorrow morning for her annual needle and checkup, then going downstairs to the 'parlour' for grooming. She AIN'T going to like her adventure. Last time we took her in, she walked around in the car. And did some 'nasty' in the car because she was scared. 'Nasty' is hard to clean up and, basically, not nice.

I will leave it there. Need my cup of tea. Desperately.
Chow.

Elvis is Alive!

We left Toowoomba Sunday and headed to Crows Nest to visit Sheree, David, Campbell and Finn. What I didn't know was that Elvis had moved to their house!

Okey, so David just needed a haircut. But he had the whole full front hair thing going. The family was getting all their hairs cut on Monday, so, Elvis has left the building.

Caleb was busting to get out to the trampoline, he was asking for it not long after we arrived. We all wandered down the back yard and the boys had a great time on the jumpy-jump. David laid across the tramp and was obviously begging for a stacks-on moment, thankfully the two boys came to his aid.

The boys giggled and jumped and jumped. And jumped.

Zali crawled around and investigated. Maybe she should have investigated the whereabouts of where those humongous mozzies were hiding. Sheree just *had* to smack a mozzie on me, yeah, she *said* there was a mozzie. There was one the size of an elephant sucking the good stuff out of Finn, but that was the last bit of pleasure the mozzie had before I got him a good one.

Finn thought it was a good time to do the mowing. If only he could whipper-snip also!

Oh look, Zali found something to play with, um, I mean, eat!

The photo is actually in focus. David was bouncing the boys and they were leaping all over the map with limbs flying everywhere. The loved it.

Sheree and David made a yummy dinner for us. David made a great Diane sauce for the steak, Sheree made a great, thick, cheese sauce for the veggies, plus we got some hot chippies to dip in the yummy Diane sauce. We were full. Oops, and here comes the trifle for dessert! Sure, we all had a serve of the delicious concoction and yep, through on that cream. Mmmm. Ohhh, I can't walk . . .
Thanks to both our hosts over the weekend, we had a great time.

Today Sharon visited. She is *very* pregnant. She looks great. She is tiny, with a *huge* belly, it is very much all baby. She has less than three weeks to go. Can't wait to meet him/her. Another baby to have cuddles with. We were talking so much I didn't even think to take a photo, doh! Good luck for the last few weeks.

Zali has a bit of a cold. Runney nose and bit miserable. She really must be sick, she slept for two hours this morning - holy! Caleb had a lovely day at Little School. Friday is the last day before the school holidays. I don't think he is going to like school holidays because he really enjoys going. Hopefully we can catch up with his bestie, Riley.

Had my cup of tea already, think I will read my Woman's Day. Had to get a few salad items at the shop today and splashed out on the current issue. Mainly cause it came with a goodie bag. Plus, it has Sarah O'Hare/Murdoch's baby heartache. And Ricki-Lee's wedding exclusive. All very interesting reading that I must attend. Take care.

Mixed Bag

Alright. I have lots of photos to share. Been busy over last few days so I will just start at the beginning.

Friday morning Zali and I visited Janene and Amy (and Angus and Kadey the spoodles). I didn't get fantastic shots, here I was holding Amy with one hand and balancing the camera with the other. My shakey hands need two hands for stability - oops. She is still so little, I keep expecting to see her bigger. I have no idea why, but it is fine that she stays little. It is so lovely to hold and cuddle her!



We went to Caleb's Little School for lunch. They had a Cultural Day and families were invited. They had decorations and entertainment and kids. It was enclosed and vibrated off the walls! They had heaps of food from other countries. Sushi, lasagne, hot dogs, a greek spinach pie thing, meat pies, croissants, asian food, curries, and things I wouldn't know the name of. It was great! And don't forget sweeties . . . pavlova, an assortment of sweets from other countries that, again, I wouldn't know the name of, and a totally to-die-for greek vanilla slice thing. Oh my gawd! I could have dived into a vat of that dish and died happy. It was made my Caleb's teacher's mother. Will have to include her on the Christmas card list!

With people everywhere, no where handy to park the pram and two lumps (kids) perched on my lap as I sat on the concrete, it was not an ideal situation for me to take photos. Damn. Caleb enjoyed himself, Zali enjoyed herself, it was great seeing everyone and it was a lovely function. The food was great and we were all very looked after. All good. Zali and I left and Caleb came home on the bus as normal.

This is him when he got home, since I can't share anything from Cultural Day.

I enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea with Mel. Hanging and chatting is great, isn't it? She even helped me feed my little hungry monsters. Thank you Mel!

Saturday morning bright and early we were in the car and heading to Toowoomba. We visited to celebrate Teagan and Alex's birthdays. They don't *exactly* like having their photo taken, but here they are. I believe Alex described it like this . . . 'it looks like I am going to eat her'. . .

We had a nice weekend. Caleb had lots of people to play with (so he was in heaven), Zali played and got dirty, Adrian slept and I got to read some of my magazine. Debbie did a great job with dinner, Teagan helped too, and the boys cooked the meat on the BBQ. I ate spring rolls. I am sure Teagan said I only ate two. I am sure. Zali ate her first spring roll. She was quite taken.

The cake was yummy. An icecream cake from Cold Rock. White chocolate and Ferrero Rocher icecream with Tim Tam mixed through. Every bit of it was edible, except the black line around the outside, that was the dish!

To check if indeed it was all edible, Teagan touched it. Because she did, Caleb had to as well, and stuck his finger in the cake. Well . . . if you can do it!

Little Miss Fast Fingers was somehow allowed near the cake. Here is the evidence of her fast handy work.

Last one is just for fun. Pop was also taking photos of the cake proceedings, and Caleb thinks if he sticks his face right in your camera and says cheese, he is helping you to get a great photo! He had just done that, thought of himself as funny, and was moving on to his next bit of mischief. At least he makes himself laugh.


There are more photos from when we visited Sheree, David, Campbell and Finn. I will do them tomorrow, see you then!