Mama Chameleon

2009-11-13T13:01:00.002+11:00

Ah hello my little blog....I have starved you! hehe....I am only briefly on to note yesterday's events as they are significant to me.
Yesterday I saw professional portraits of a friend's children. This time last year, I saw earlier photos of the same kids by the same photographer and I thought "Wow, I could never EVER do that.'
Well, yesterday I still thought 'Wow!', but I also thought things like:
'Hey,I know how he edited that!.....'
'I have a photograph like that!...'
I think if I did it at the same time of day, I could do that pic!...' and even:
'Sheesh, ease on the vignetting already!'

This encouraged me and got me to thinking. So as I drove the kids to school at 3:00pm, I chatted away to God, as I can be prone to do.....
'Lord, I have really come quite a way this last 11 months in with my knowledge of photography and editing and I only desire to know more about it. You know I am timid and would NEVER seek photography work (This is true.....I have had 5 jobs in my life, and never asked for a single one....they have all just been handed to me! Timidity is not a good quality I know, and I am not endorsing it...simply demonstrating it)
Lord, I will never go looking for anyone to photograph, but if this is something I am meant to be doing in any capacity, please let someone ask me.'
Why was I having this chat? Well, really the editing and the photography does take a bit of time, and even though I have learnt a lot, I didn't want it to overtake other things God might have me do....if that makes sense....
So anyway, got home with the kids, fed the kids, went for a run, came back and checked messages. And guess what? At 4:03 a friend from church had sent me the following request on behalf of her parents:

I have sort of a favour to ask. Our grandparents wanted to have a nice family picture of us to give to us for Christmas. They haven't got a nice one of all of us and they thought if they paid to have a "professional" one done a meyer or one of those places they could give it to us for Christmas.The problem is we are not too keen on the whole portriat studio type thing especially with all the kids. and seeing so many of your fantasic photos you do, we were wondering if you would like to come to the park somewhere and take a few family shots?? Please note that we will be PAYing you as the grandparents just really want to do this for our presents. If you can possibly do it we would be very excited, your photography is so lovely!!!! If you can't do it though please say as we understand and no pressure, bek

Isn't that awesome? Such a quick response as far as I was concerned! So I am saying 'Thanks God' and 'Thanks Griffiths' family!'

2009-08-02T21:33:00.007+10:00

A beautiful gift

This morning, a couple of ladies and I were chatting innocently away, when I said to one of them "Judy, I love your scarf. It looks like it might be from Kenya...." as I tend to do when I spot African-looking things.

'You can have it.' she said, touching it threateningly (a very African thing to do actually. Never admire something belonging to an African, as, depending on the culture, you are likely to have just unwittingly forced them to give it to you!)

Egads!

I protested in much horror, but Judy deliberately unwound the scarf and pressed into my hands.

"I was really moved by today's sermon on giving. And I determined that if anyone admired this scarf today, I would give it to them." she insisted.

There was no dissuading her. So now I own this gorgeous Kenyan scarf. (yes it is from Kenya!)

I decided to try to and do it justice photographically it in my friend's honour. Thanks Judy, it is extra special because of the story behind it!!!

2009-07-26T13:26:00.005+10:00

Roly, Roly, Roly......It was one of those nights at church. *sigh* We go to the evening service as well as the morning service where there is Sunday School. The evening service is more relaxed, there are more musicians, and while there is no Sunday school, the service itself is shorter, only about an hour long.

I bring along a little bag of quiet Crayola activites for Topsy to do, but well, I forgot that bag tonight....

You might have forgot your Crayola bag of crafts too:

1. if you had dinner (Italian spagetti and beef meatballs and Thai pork meatballs in satay sauce with rice) to pack into the car as well as the four kids (plus drop one girl home), as well as picking up an extra kid on the way!

2. if you were trying to be 10 minutes earlier than normal because you needed to buy the coriander (cilantro) that was to be part of the Thai pork meatballs in satay sauce.

3. if, just as you had the car packed with food and kids, you realized you could not find the keys to the car anymore (yes the ones that you had used to get into the car in the first place)

4. if after looking for the stupid key for ten futile minutes in the dark and rain, (there went the coriander dream) you had to drag your sopping wet self back insideto call Hubby out of church to come home with the other key, and then call the other kid's parents to tell them we couldn't pick him up..... ( no, i was not feeling in the least bit godly after that!)

So..... no Crayola bag to tide Topsy over.

Now, you have to understand that Topsy is the musical one in the family. He is also a big News Boys fan.

He often 'becomes' Peter from the Newsboys at home ( 'Hi, I am Peter from the Newsboys. I have no hair, I have black eyes and black nails.' )

At the evening service during the singing, sometimes he will go up to the musos and quietly open his imaginary guitar case; sling it over his shoulder, tune the thing and then play the song with them. He just does what they do and is fine.

It is only really a worry when we sing 'Blessed Be Your Name". You see, the Newsboys cover that song, and we have them on DVD covering that song.

Topsy does a mean imitation of Peter dancing to 'Blessed Be Your Name' . It is a very odd knee-wobbling dance, and seeing as we are no dancers, that is the only dancing Topsy sees. So when the song 'Blessed Be Your Name' comes up, Topsy snaps into Peter mode, and does this dance which makes him look like he needs an exorcism and fast!

That is when the plug is pulled, and he becomes Flynn working on his Crayola activities again.

Tonight Topsy was doing the drums, but then some song set him off into Peter mode, so he had to get his guitar. Then drums again, then guitar; here, there, here again.....

Whatever was going on, it was distracting me from concentration on praising God, so I pulled the plug.

But then he wriggled, he sighed, he tried to wipe my face with his spare T-shirt. He started to whine about wanting to go to the quiet room.........

I would have taken him to the quiet room when it was time for the sermon, but now I was not about to reward his behaviour. Instead, he spent some time in a temporary wrong choice corner in the cold car (punished me as well, shivering out there)

He came back and was fine, but grrrr, sometimes..........sometimes.....

Anyways, guess what?

Last night I had one of my big crazy ideas. This was it: If we are hoping to go to Kenya for a holiday in 3 years wouldn't that be ample time for our church to prepare and save money for a group to do a 2-3 week mission in either Uganda or Tanzania? We could be part of the mission first, before our holiday!

My vision is to have some of the older keener youth group kids be able to come too, and be part of running a kid's and youth program or whatever else the church group does! Wouldn't that be fantabulous?

So I have given the idea to Hubby because turning big ideas into a reality is his thing. And training for long term goals is also his thing. So I am certainly praying that a core group at church will catch the vision and be excited and inspired!!! Those who go will come back probably far more challenged, blessed and changed than those we go to minister to!

The first couple of frugal things I am going to try are:

1. go back to shopping at Aldi, where there is only one brand of each item and the overall price is cheaper.

2. Once a Month cooking.... heard of it? So in theory, you spend one day cooking a month's worth of meals to freeze. Hmmmm for the experiment, should I go whole hog and try the month, or should I go for caution and do a fortnight of meals. Hmmm, Ok I will a month. That being this Saturday, maybe. Oh sweet Mama, what have I signed up for. Though I think this will work better in winter than in Summer when we like to BBQ.

2009-07-25T13:02:00.003+10:00

I am at the end of a 3 week vacation off school in which much was going to be accomplished. Yeah, right.....!

The biggest most pressing job of the holiday was the social skills program for the teenagers with Aspergers, the program I was supposed to both start and finish. Haven't even peeked at that yet, and it is Saturday afternoon. The last Saturday afternoon before school. Eeeks.

Oh well, I took a bucket load of pictures, and played games with my kids, and relaxed, so not all the time was wasted.

So a little bit has changed since I was last on here regularly. And this will affect my blogging fodder!

1. I have a great camera

2. No longer am I a SAHM, 'cause I am a teacher's assistant 4 mornings a week.

3. I have traded Kid's Club in for Youth Group, day and time wise fits our family better.

4. I walk 20 minutes 6 days a week for my mental fitness.

5. The kids have grown. So here they are:

Spindles (11) and Roly (nearly 14)

Diva (nearly 10)

and Topsy (4)

6. and last but not least: I am going to be planning our 2012 trip to Kenya, US and Scotland!!!! So our frugal living efforts and planning efforts should be bloggable, no?

Today's thing to tackle: I am really wanting to start a Bible Memory segment up for our Youth Group. Cool Bible Memory games and techniques with a comp between boys/ girls with a cup for the winners at the end of the year. My Dad helped me memorize Bible verses from a very young age, and while I found it a bit of a drag sometimes, God's Word was certainly writ on my heart. When I went though a bit of a shocker in Year 11 and 12 and wandered right away from God's truths, those same verses came back to me all the time. I really want to pass that on to the next gen. I have been so slack doing it with my own kids, but no time like the present. :)

I also need to come up with something to cook as I and another family are catering tomorrow night's church dinner. Potato and leek soup with homemade bacon and cheese rolls crossed my mind, as did Thai pork meatball in lime-coconut satay on rice; or meatloaf with my world famous potato bake.

Better go and work it out, huh? so fun to be blogging again! Yay!

2009-04-20T13:07:00.001+10:00

The Pizza Craving Curber- Pizza Salad

Yes this is another of my inventions! I never craved pizza till I was told I couldn’t have it. Now, this Pizza salad is my best friend…. I will post a photo if I can ever manage to remember to take one before I scoff the thing down.

*½ red onion finely chopped
*1 capsicum finely chopped-fry these first two ingredients together till transluscent
*½ chorizo sausage- fry till done, then chop up finely (or use a handful of bacon or ham, whatever your favourite meat is for pizza)
*handful of chopped mushrooms- fry on high heat till just done
*handful of sliced olives
*handful of favourite grated pizza cheese ( I use goat cheese with a sprinkle of parmesan, because it is low fat)
*½ a lettuce chopped
*garlic yoghurt sauce to taste (mayonnaise if you are not on low fat options)

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, then eat with relish!

2009-04-19T18:08:00.001+10:00

Just had to jot this one down for posterity. I can’t really claim to have ‘invented’ it, but when all my favorite ingredients popped into my head in the form of a casserole, I quickly got my oldest minion (Roly) to be my apprentice before the vision vanished. Roly was apprehensive about baking a ‘made up’ casserole (specially when I said it would be called Roly’s Rustic 5 Cheese Chicken Casserole, as he is not fond of cheese in any form) but when he smelt it in the oven, and later when he tasted its exquisite creaminess, the sweet basil and potato, and the gentle spice of the chorizo, he was sold. It is a firm new family favourite, except for poor old Spindles who has a mental thing against basil, and honestly must have toyed rather sadly with his dinner for a couple of hours! Even though I had taken any basil out of it.

Michelle’s Rustic 5 Cheese Chicken Casserole

Casserole
1 kg cooked chopped chicken
3 chorizo sausages fried and chopped up fine
1-1 and 1/2 cups of your favourite grated cheeses (we used feta, tasty, Parmesan, Mozzarella and Jarlsberg)
4 cups of chopped and roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes
6 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 onions, chopped and fried till transluscent
1 600ml carton of cream
1 300ml carton of sour cream
2 tbsp chicken stock powder
a handful of basil torn into smaller pieces
Breadcrumb Topping
1 large Turkish bread Or enough to comfortably cover the top of your casserole dish when chopped!
4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp chopped chives

Casserole Instructions
Mix up the cream and sour cream and chicken stock powder in a large casserole dish.
Throw in the rest of the ingredients and mix it all together gently so as not to break up the potatoes.

Breadcrumb Topping instructions

Chop the bread up and gently toss with the olive oil and chives in a saucepan over low heat for a couple of minutes.
Then sprinkle over the casserole.Bake at 180 for about 30 minutes or till hot through and topping is golden and crunchy looking.

2009-01-23T16:41:00.003+11:00

Tastebud Screamer

-well mine scream for this cake at least! The pic above is the piece I longed for but resisted.

Diva made it today only because we were out of butter. Here is the recipe for you my dear sis!

Deep Dark Chocolate Cake

1 3/4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine dry ingredients.
Mix together eggs,milk,oil,vanilla. Stir into boiling water. Add to dry ingredients. Mix well.
Pour into a 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 40 minutes.

2009-01-17T20:59:00.007+11:00

Connections

About 2 weeks ago our family went on Summer Camp. It is week long program run by the Anglican Mission organisation, CMS, for people to come and hear a fantastic Christian speaker and to meet and interact with missionaries who are home for a few months.
So for 7 days (less for us this time, because Topsy got sick and wasn't able to get into the doctors at the mountain town) we bunked up in a one room unit, ( yes we all lived in that one room, with an ensuite) though we were fully catered for. The unit is part of the CMS accomodation complex right next to the auditorium which is super hard to get into! It is just so convenient everyone wants to gt a place.
What happens at Summer Camp?
Well thousands of people from all over come. There is a kids' program that is very well planned and executed. It is exellent at each age level, that runs from 9 - 12pm. The missionaries we hear from visit each age group and interact at their level in a really hands on way culturally. And in that time frame for the adults, the theme this year was The Cross and Eternity. We would sing maybe hear an interview, then listen to an absolutely fantastic speaker talking on part of the Bible linked to the theme. After morning tea, we could go to one of 6 different seminars each day for an hour, where missionaries from all over would talk on all different topics: eg Googling God, Taking Kids With You,Upsides and Downsides, and Do We Still Need To Send Missionaries?
I lapped it all up, I must say.
Then after lunch we could do whatever. Our family went to the pool a few times, and caught up with friends at a variety of different places.
There was always a fun informal program at night with interesting and often funny items put on by the visiting missionaries.
Where we were staying, someone would set up a video for the kids, and the adults could watch the night prgram live on a TV link in the dining hall instead of going all the way back up to the auditorium.
I would put Topsy to bed , see the kids off to their movie and go to watch the talk in the dining hall. Hubby always crashed by that stage. Then there would be a supper ( late night snack to the Amnericans) served in the dining hall to all the people coming back to hear a specific missionary or couple or family share about their experiences. I loved going to that as well! LOL!
One of my highlights of the week had to be a conversation I had witha 13 year old boy one afternoon at our accomodation. He was also a missionary kid in Kenya. Left at the age of ten. And for the first time in many years I had a real reminisce about favorite old haunts and very similar experiences. We really connected. The age gap disappeared!
Next year though, I think we will rent a house with another family. Our little unit got incredibly hot, and I think that rather than the video at night, the kids can start coming up to the night stuff. They would find it really fun and interesting.
Hope you are still awake after all that! Heehee!
Just leave you with some pics I have taken lately.

Granny and Topsy baking. Topsy puts on his yellow chef's outfit ad become Greg (Wiggle) the Chef.

My big boy: Roly

Early morning reflections

Great Mates

Learning the ropes of the water pistol

My princess. The reason there are more shots of her and Topsy than the others? They are much more willing victims!

My most uncooperative victim!!! Such a waste of such handsomeness!

A cockatoo at CMS Summercamp

A something bird at our bird feeder. It is up high where the cats have no hope!!!

Cousins trying to barter at the $5 silly gift exchange! Not great pics, but I love the expressions!!!

2008-12-27T14:13:00.002+11:00

Bet he never heard that one before!

Santa is not something we really utilise at Christmas. Growing up, I had the funnest Christmases possible for a child, but Santa wasn't a part of them, so it doesn't come naturally. We see him a lot in the shops and sings carols about him, but that is about the extent of it; till this year!

Topsy really took to Santa this Christmas season. Every time we saw Santa at a shopping mall, he wanted to go talk to him. But the lines were so long, I never stopped.

But on Christmas Eve, I could not endure his wistful face going past yet another Santa. We got in line, and Topsy's excitement was evident as he hopped from one foot to the other.

Finally it was his turn. He gave me one backward glance before cautiously approaching Santa's soft red lap. There was some conversation exhanged, then the photo was taken. And one happy boy left Santa's presence.

Later I asked him what Santa had talked to him about. 'Did I be a good boy this year?' began Topsy.

I taped the rest:

The interpretation for those who need it: 'What do you want for Christmas and I said 'A Yellow plug for my kitchen.'

My practical boy, getting something useful that is his favorite color.

2008-12-26T16:20:00.004+11:00

Surefire Ways to Embarrass Your Teenager for Dummies: A tutorial

I thought I should sound like an expert at it, as apparantly I am quite adept; at embarrassing my teenager, that is.

And today's method of embarrassment? Take your teenager and his siblings on a fieldtrip to get rid of all the surplus garbage from Christmas that won't fit into our own garbage bins.

Here is how I did it:

Piled all the kids into the car. Loaded each lap with a large green bag full of garbage. Then drove around looking for half empty public bins in which to put one bag. Please don't email me about this. I only put one garbage bag in each public bin.

Well ,this field trip was apparantly the ultimate embarrassment and very 'hobo' ( not the dicitionary meaning of the word, rather, slang for 'not cultured')

I thought the car smelled OK, but you wouldn't have gathered that from all the gagging going on around me. I thought it was a fun little adventure, a quest to rid our neighbourhood of a smell that would only worsen and linger for several days till next Wednesday. But apparantly I have not got my finger on the pulse of what constitutes fun and adventure. And apparantly no teen has ever had to endure what I put my child through on our little jaunt.

Till next time!

Next week's tutorial: public shows of affection with your teen!!!

2008-12-21T20:58:00.017+11:00

a bit of a sticky beak!

We have moved! It was a strange feeling actually. I was very surprised and felt rather guilty at not feeling euphoric about the move. After all, loads of people would give anything to be in their own home. All I felt for several days was flat...... I think it was a minor grieving process, having left a place that held a year of family memories,and moved into a strange place, a blank slate. But that numb feeling is gone now and all I feel is grateful and blessed. We intend to fill the blank slate up with lots of beautiful doodles!!!

I will have to get inside shots at some stage once I have totally unpacked, but I thought you might like to check out some pics of our new backyard. We have a yard that meanders nearly all the way around the house but probably the front yard is bigger than the back and once we are finished all our final unpacking jobs, I will probably make it a habit to sit out there of a morning with a book while the kids play and explore. Such a fun place for inquisitive minds! :) (sugar ants to feed and observe, trees to climb and areas to hide in. )
Sorry about the photo overload! And I have to preface this with saying that the photos more than do the place justice, in fact the reality is almost a let down. It photos well! Heehee!

Picture these following two pictures stuck together, with the first one being on the left hand side and the next being on the right.

'Sploring

One of our 13 trees! :) There are more, but they are small and I am not counting them, yet...

The boat finally has a home!

The fish pond

2008-12-08T10:27:00.004+11:00

Special Memories!

Last weekend Diva, who started singing lessons this term, sang at her first recital. She did NOT want to perform at ALLL. And on the day of the recital, she went into a phase where she could not even talk, which, if you know this girl at all, is unheard of!!!

But when it came time she sang beautifully. Waiting to hear if one of the teachers got an audio of her singing 'My Favorite Things".
I had been so nervous for her, but it all went away when she sang, and though I tend not to be a crier, I couldn't stop the tears from leaking down my cheeks!!! Well done, Diva!

She has confidence in sunshine....

Did I do good?

Then on Thursday night at the final presentation night of school, both Roly and Spindles received a Christian Character Award in their class.
Roly's award was for 'a strong faith and valuable contributions to discussions on the Bible, a hopeful, congenial attitude to others and being a positive person in class.'

Roly's teacher announcing the award.

Waiting in slightly embarrassed anticipation!

Posing with the principal

Spindles' award was for 'being considerate of others, polite and respectful, and enjoying learning more about God and sharing his knowledge with others.'

Spindles' teacher announcing the award:

I couldn't be more proud!!! :)

And finally, I had to write down Topsy's performance at his 'last day of school Preschool Party'.

He wasn’t expecting me to come. And when I walked in the door, he was lined up ready to perform a song with all the other kids.
His whole body lit up when he saw me. “Mummy! Mummy!’
Despite his joy, Topsy remembered he was part of a performance so he stayed put and contented himself with blowing me several kisses that he obviously put his whole soul into sending.
Topsy's eyes were huge and totally focused on me. When he was handed out his little star on a stick for one of the songs, he stepped forward one step and wiggled it, just to show me he had one, then quickly stepped back. He blew me more kisses, without using his hand to send them as it was otherwise engaged with holding the star.
As they performed, Topsy kept his huge eyes fastened on mine and rather than sing, his eyes made sure I was focused only on him as he dangled his star in my direction. It was as if he was absorbing the energy from me watching him. So cute, had to write it down.

2008-12-06T23:14:00.004+11:00

School's Out!!!

Here are some pics of Topsy trying to be patient after setting up the annual School's Out party for our family.

'Hmmm, it all looks good... Mummy surely wouldn't notice if I snuck a taste of just one little thing.......'

'Let me count and see what I can get away with. Well , at least 3000 crackers....'

'Awww only one cake! That's a bit cheap!! 3000 crackers and one measly cake!!!'

'2 packets of yumy biscuits. They might do nicely'

"Hmmm, it's a big choice!"

'I'll just sneak a napkin too, so I don't make a mess.....'

'Awwwww, Mum, you caught me and I wasn't even up to the fun part yet!"

We are all exhausted but delighting in the thought of all this time off!!!

We move in just 6 days.......eeks!!!

Here is our front yard... or should I say soon- to-be front yard.... (not that these pics give you too much real indication of what the place looks like really. All the houses we saw when we were looking looked so different to their photos!!)

and the back yard.....

I am thinking a lot about family dinners at present, and might blog a bit more on the topic soon. We do the family dinner round the table thing each night, and I love it, but there is still plenty of room for improvement, most of which is due to lack of planning. So that is what is on my mind. I am going to be doing some experimentation in the next while!!!

2008-11-20T16:48:00.005+11:00

Trampoline Time and Wrestling

Strategy for the two- on-one match:

You want a piece of me?

My homey?

OOooof! Strategy worked!

Plain old fashioned jumping

The workings of a mid-air somersault

2008-11-18T13:40:00.003+11:00

Dandelion: Day in the life- a photo story! (Heehee!)

The chosen one

Contemplation

'Float well, fair seedlings'

'Ffffffffffffffffff'

The next victim....

2008-11-17T19:16:00.004+11:00

Guess what I got.........

I haven't looked at the manual yet, but I am a happy girl!!!!!!

2008-11-16T21:52:00.005+11:00

Just when you think you have your kids figured, you learn something new and surprising about them!

Spindles is the least attention seeking in our clan; the quiet achiever, the peacemaker; he doesn't like to show vulnerability. In short he is predictable. Or so I thought.

The past couple of months, we have developed a routine of playing Scrabble a couple of times a week and at least once a day on the weekends. It is our thing.
But not until today did I realize his pattern of play. Yes, this old girl is a bit slow.

So here it is. When it is his turn, Spindles often puts forward absolutely ridiculous suggestions of words that wouldn't exist in any language, let alone ours. Then he checks the dictionary, and attempts several more crazy combination of letters, before settling for something short and unhelpful like 'as'.

So all this time I have just thought he needed a LOT of help. And I check his letters, and find he can put down a very satisfactory 5 or 6 letter word, which when I point out to him he will not put down. And I put THAT down to him being independant and only wanting to put down words he can come up with himself.....

until I noticed that...

Spindles routinely beats me by about 20 points, and I am pretty good with the English language, thank you very much.

Know what he is doing? Waiting till he can fit a word over the triple word boxes, or a word using either the 'x' or the 'z' smack onto the triple letter box. And if there is no way HE can possibly do it, he actually attempts to block access to those places so I can't get a look in.

His whole Scrabble gameplan is just getting by till those options turn up and then he strikes like so many bolts of lightening, and gets 3 or so 25+ scores in a row, and leaves me in his dust.

Is that normal?

I knew he was competitive when playing games with his siblings, but with his sweet little Mama? :)

--------------------------------------------------

My Chrisco order arrived this weekend. Chrisco is a hamper company where you order hampers and pay a small amount every fortnight all year. Then it arrives near Christmas. This is my first time doing, having seen a friend (Hi Wendy!!) get hers last year.

I did not order any pantry packs, as I knew we would waste a lot of the stuff, so we opted for plain and simple. I ordered the meat and seafood pack, the fruit juice pack and the ice cream pack; things that would come in handy for the Christmas BBQ season ('cookout' to some of our American friends?)
We had been given word that someone would have to be at our residence all day to receive the perishable goods on Saturday. Diva and I were out shopping when the hampers arrived, but everyone else patiently waited till I got home to unpack our goodies.

Here are some pics:

In my excitement I forgot to get a photo of the fully unpacked meat. It totally obscured our table.

As for moving to our new house: looks like moving day will be Dec 13. Fun times!!!

2008-11-03T10:52:00.002+11:00

Made an offer on a house......

.......agent is getting back to us within the hour!!!!!

Pure Gold

2008-10-23T22:20:00.003+11:00

While we were vising our parents on the October long weekend, Mom passed on to me some things from the family home where Uncle John lived all his life (now that he has died, the house is being sold). And she gave me something else that I hadn't seen since my childhood. Something that evoked quite a lot of emotion in me actually. Pure gold:

These are some of the memory verse cards Dad used to go over with me, and I will have you know they are double-sided!

As a child, every night before stories, (both a Bible story and a couple of chapters out of something like Narnia or Lord of the Rings), Dad would go through at least one side of one of the cards, with him givinging me the reference, and I saying the verse. Robyn had her own cards also.

I can't remember how exactly we learnt all those verses, though still today some of them come to me in tunes! :)

Sometimes I found those verse a drag, if I am honest. I remember feeling that I was too old to do memory verses when I was on holidays from boarding school.

But let me assure you what a fantastic legacy it was that my Dad gave me. He really enabled me to 'hide God's Word in my heart (from Ps 119:11)

And when I went through tough stuff, which we all do, and when I couldn't even face the thought of reading the Bible or praying because I knew I was outright rejecting God's will for me; all those memory verses that I had learned became like God's still small voice prompting me personally (probably was, don't you think?) All the promises and love and challenges in those verses refused to go out from my brain. I am so grateful for that.

I have tried to do the same with my kids several times and only through the lack of me following through, it has not been so successful. But the visual reminder and emotional upwelling after seeing these precious cards has re -energized me to start again. Trying to do Bible passages this time.

I have gone for the very basic Psalm 23 as a first go. I have to say I started with low expectations and had them go over the first couple of verses the other night, before going out to visit a friend.

When I got home, Roly, who had shown no interest in learning the passage earlier, was still awake. In breathless excitement, he told me the whole Psalm (23 that is, not the entire book!) Yay!! Boy did I underestimate them!

So onward we go, while their brains are little sponges, absorbing and learning truths and promises that will only come to mean more to them as they grow in experiences and in their faith.

Thanks Mom and Dad for your faithfulness in pointing me to Christ! XXOO

2008-09-18T23:08:00.008+10:00

The Cataclysmic Consequence of Color Confiscation

(Plus Photo Overload!)

Topsy loves to experiment. He also gets fixated on a particular thing and then loves it with all his heart.

Each bath time I give him four bottles of colored water (blue, green, red and yellow) that he uses to create all sorts of new colors in a cup then pours into the bath. At the end of bathtime, the water looks like he passed very loose stool into it. Too much info I know!

We have bought the large bottles of food coloring; you know; the ones that resemble vanilla essence bottles. He calls them his 'Vamilla Colors', and talks about them all day.

Well yesterday, whilst enjoying his bath, Topsy also emptied a whole new bottle of shampoo into the water.

This is not the first time that has happened, so Topsy's life as he knows it came to a screeching halt. Dr Phil says that every child has a currency. Guess what Topsy's is?

His "Vamilla colors' were banished for 24 hours. Well!!!

There was no sulking. No temper. Just grief, and bewilderment, as to how freeing the shampoo could bring about such devestation into his life.

I had told him, that he would not receive the colors till the next day. Several times during the day, Topsy walked out to me yawning and miming how he had had a huge sleep, and now it was the morning of tomorrow! Time for the return of 'Vamilla Colors".

I do not think shampoo will be tampered with again any time soon.

This morning when he came into our room, he whispered as rehearsed: 'Good Morning Mummy, can I have my Vamilla Colors? I gave them to him, and he snuggled in next to me and said sleepily;'I love my Vamilla Colors, They make me so happy.' :)

Here is what he created using the colors and a bunch of white carnations:

I took the kids to a flower show this afternoon. Here are some pics.

(who knew this child was actually nominated by his peers as class peacemaker?) :)

We are going on a three week holiday now. May not blog for a while. XXOO

2008-09-14T21:09:00.005+10:00

Look what I bought at Aldi today!

Of course once I brought them home, Spindles was desperate to try them out.

A batch of rolled sugar cookies were whipped up and all the kids got busy choosing their favorite new shapes. Here is Topsy having a go by himself.

Ready for the oven:

I wasn't quick enough to get photos of the finished product!

2008-09-04T20:22:00.002+10:00

It's Spring at Science Time

Today in Science Time at Questacon Topsy and his friend learned all about flowers!! :)

Thanks for taking the photo, Liz!!

2008-09-02T20:20:00.008+10:00

Today was surreal. I got the job offer from the principal at school yesterday.

Here it is:

Permanent part-time: 2 hours a day 5 days a week. 9-11am. Taking out kids who struggle in literacy and numeracy and givng them some tutoring.

I said the 5 days was out, but I would talk to Hubby about 4 days.

The number of days took me a back, but after talking to Hubby, it really impacts Tospy less than any other option. Tuesday mornings he will go visiting with Hubby. And on Wednesdays he may even stay in his normal routine and go to playgroup with my friend and her daughter! Otherwise he can go to preschool with me for two hours.

I am really excited about this, but I have felt kind of low all day. Maybe the fact that I am still sick, but also it the end of an era of me being home and ALWAYS accessible for family and friends. So just a bit blah at present. Go figure.

On the sunny side of life:

3 books that I excitedly researched and ordered when I thought I might be a casual teacher (make that 'casual teacher extraordinaire!!!!)' have arrived in the last two days. Books that we couldn't get in Australia, so I know they wouldn't be in most causal teacher's bag of tricks, and that deal with themes from my homeland: Kenya!!

They are:

Handa's Surprise which is for preschool - Yr 1 has a myriad of teaching activities and printable resources online. Topsy loves it and I had to read it over and over today! He loved the surprise ending.

Mama Panya's Pancakes has some info about life in rural Kenya and the famous recipe for Mama Panya's panckes. It has some good themes about sharing and being generous despite having little.

For You Are a Kenyan Child shows some aspects of traditional rural Kenyan life and uses some Swahili repetitiviely so the reader learns the words and their meaning.

I love the illustrations in all the books, and can't wait to use them in a classroom context. In the meantime, we are loving them.

Robyn, I thought it might be fun to bring the books along to the long weekend, read a couple and have them help us prepare the pancakes to go with an African feast. Or something like that. :)

And Liz, this one is for you! I found these maps called the Kids World Desk Map. They will cover the desk and are the texture of a giant mouse pad. Such detail they have; things you will see in each country, what they produce...(even sharks and other sea creatures in the oceans!) $14.95 at Dymocks. My kids, and I think I already told you this, have used them so differently. Roly plays with his army men on his. Diva takes her everywhere, hence it is a bit battered. Spindles just sits and loks at his, a lot. He probably knows every item on the thing and what country produces it. And Topsy? He didn't get one! :)

2008-08-26T20:39:00.007+10:00

The Finer Things......

I was very excited to find three messages on our answering machine from the principal of the kids school on Saturday. She basically asked to set up an appointment to discuss a more formal part time arrangement. I am hoping that means 'permanent part time' which would mean no double guessing what day I'll get called in, and also mean holiday pay. Wooo hooo. I will have to specualate for the rest of the week, though. We didn't get the messages till Saturday, but she'd been calling on the Friday, hoping to see me before she left for a week. I'll have to hold my many horses till next Monday. I am not ready to be a career woman with Topsy so young. Just one or maybe two days ( while he is at preschool) will be enough.

Most of my wage will either be saved or help pay off the mortgage we are about to take on, but do you know what little luxury I am looking forward to indulging in?

Really nice sandwiches.

Not everyday, but when I feel like it. And sometimes I will make a sandwich with smoked salmon and creme fraiche. I want to experiment witha variety of breads, relishes, mayonnaises. To find that perfect mix of tangy, sweet, smooth and savoury all on the one sandwich. MMMMMmmmmm. And don't even get me started on having grilled vegetables and brie on soft thick slices of dense potato sourdough bread. Don't EVEN.

Hmmmmm. Could this be monthly cravings speaking? Maybe...... *sigh* Darn it. Oh well, a gal can dream, even if I probably won't feel like sandiches at all come payday! So indulge me. What is your dream sandwich to bite into?

*In other totally trivial news, we were offered a dishwasher on Sunday. The boys and I picked it up on Monday! I installed it excitedly all on my own that very night , Hubby having taken himself to bed early, as he is recovering from having a cyst removed. He looks like this!

I installed the machine correctly without a manual, might I add. Though I waited till Hubby arose this morning to have him confirm it was all good to go. We turned it on and then stood back to watch that baby do our dishes.

There was a lot of noise, and 5 very long minutes in, we were relieved to hear water filling. And then it began pouring out the front all over the floor......

.....The fix-it man showed up when Hubby was out, (of course, isn't that always the way) and he soon confirmed that the machine is a D-U-D. In soooo many ways. :(

Once he was done, he told me the price of his 5 minute visit. And waited expectantly. Therein lay the problem. Hubby was going to deal with the money part. And he was supposed to have been home at that very momentfor that very reason. But NAY.....

I could only think of one way out of having to admit that I had no cash on me.

In the country, when a person does a house maintenance job, they leave an invoice and then home owners pay later.

So I politely asked him for an invoice. He politely wrote one, then held out his hand for the cash.

Gulp.

"Oh, so I pay now?..." hehehe

As he stood there, I tried to phone Hubby who very helpfully did NOT answer his phone.

So what eventuated, was that thekids and I hopped in the car and, driving REALLY SLOWLY so as he knew we weren't going to make a break for it, we led him to the local shops, where I withdrew money for him.

Ugh and major bummer. It's back to the drudgery of hand washing for me.

*Roly saw the school counsellor today. He is stressed to the point of sleeplessness over the immature and selfish behaviour of his supposed best friend. I had him go to the counsellor, because my motherly wisdom (though impressive) drew a blank on this one. Roly has done all the right things. he has told the boy what is hurting their friendship, and that it has to change. But the boy refuses to admit he is doing anything wrong (OK an example: the boy throwing pens at Roly in class-hard; with Roly and the class witnessing it, and then having a fit because he swears he didn't do it.) Well, in the words of Dr Phil "you can't change what you don't acknowledge." So there! We are all disappointed in this child. He started out really nice.

OK I will end this novel (sorry about that) with a clip of Topsy.

All day he has said 'Mmmmhmmm' to just about everything. And I realized that I say it all the time. I wanted to capture him doing it. Of course when trying to film it in action, I had to tease each 'Mmmmhmmmm' out of him!

2008-08-19T18:14:00.003+10:00

Right back at ya!

Well, the following adventure was a first for our family.

Cold- afflicted Topsy was trailing around after me this morning, helping. At some point he said, 'I got something in my nose.'

I patiently gave him a brief refresher on how to blow his 'boogies out' into a tissue. He has real problems with the 'blowing out' bit. It tends to be much more of an inhaling experience for him.

'Mummy, I got something in my nose.' he repeated quietly a few minutes later.

I am not proud of what I did next, but it is the truth. I flexed my trusty ( and yes all you worriers, it was VERY CLEAN) littlest fingernail and leaned in to pluck out any offending 'dried up ones'. It was then that I saw and realized that Topsy indeed had something stuck right up his nose.

An alphabet bead to be exact: One just like this.

A pink letter G glistened snugly from his nasal passage.

My mind began to flip through all the possible ways I could get it out.

I held down his other nostril and told Topsy to blow his nose into a tissue. He bravely inhaled for all his worth. The rounded part of the 'G' disappeared from view.

I fetched tweezers. Nope. Far too big for his tiny nose.

I even bent one of Diva's hairgrips and advanced upon him with it, but visions of us making the nightly news due to it all going horribly wrong prevented me.

I showed the hapless Topsy to Hubby, whilst throwing on some going-out clothes and preparing myself for a four hour wait in emergency, let alone the trauma of retrieving the bead.

While searching for Topsy's shoes, Hubby said, "Hey, before you go why don't you try this out:

He'd googled the problem ( as you do!) and the first article he opened was titled 'Jack's got a bead stuck up his nose!"

I quickly scanned the article, then I

1. brushed my teeth,

2. lay Topsy down on the couch with his neck elevated on a pillow, head hanging down a bit

3. plugged his non-offending nostril

4. opened his jaw and blew two big breaths CPR-like into him.....

.....and that sucker popped out like it had come from a candy dispenser!

PS During a re-enactment this aftenoon for the kids, Topsy was very reluctant. i thought it was the CPR thing, which I would only have described, but Topsy was afraid that the bead had to be back in place for the demo..... LOL!

2008-08-18T09:18:00.002+10:00

Sneeze etiquette

Interaction between Topsy and I this morning in the car after I realized he probably wasn't well enough to go to playschool:

Topsy: *sneeze* 'Oh my gosh!
*sneeze* 'Oh my gosh!!
*sneeze* 'Oh my gosh!!!
*sneeze* 'Oh my gosh!!!!

Me: Topsy! That's not what you say when you sneeze. You say 'Bless you'. ( not wanting to further complicate things by explaining the little detail; that someone else actually says 'Bless you' for the sneeze-ee)

Topsy (matter of factly): You don't say "Bless you'. You say: 'Oh my gosh!!!!'

Note to the reader: We are not even a real 'Oh my gosh' family. Much more likely to hear 'Wowzers', or 'Wackely Do' or 'Wackely Stackelys!!!'

2008-08-14T22:38:00.002+10:00

Hope This Old Dog Can Learn New Tricks..... As Well As Any Old Ones She Might Have Had In Her Repertoire!

(Yup, I am ignoring the fact that my last post was a shameful 3 months ago, and diving right back on in. :))
This morning, Topsy and I cheerily headed to our traditional Thursday morning destination: Questacon. It is a wonderland of sorts, where kids of all ages (0-99) can get their hands on science- literally. Topsy loves all the fun things he can do there so it is our weekly thing. The highlight is going to Science Time, a half hour interactive program for small kids run by Topsy's much adored BJ. She is always dressed as a clown, just without the face paint; her face is bright and animated, her voice makes you feel like you have been given a great warm hug. All the kids love her.

Well as we entered Questacon, we saw BJ waving wildly at us, sans clown suit. She was instead dolled up in a flight attendant outfit!

It turns out that someone else would be doing her Science Time gig, as she was getting ready to do a different show a little later on, showing kids how planes get up in the air!

So, after we learned all about science at home and played with all sorts of amazing things, including Musical Coathangers at Science Time, we popped in to see BJ's show.

Topsy would not even look at her at first, his hands firmly covered his eyes; BJ's clothes were unfamiliar, and her voice was so different ( she is an actor after all!) to her normal 'BJ' voice.

But finally BJ managed to get him to drop the hands, and she even coaxed him up onto the stage to be....... (drum roll!)

......Isaac Newton. ( of course!) :)

In other news:
In the holidays, the principal of the kids school asked me to hand in my CV so I could start to do casual teaching on the days that Topsy is at preschool there. Since then I have spent hours and not a small amount of dough, getting myself ready to be a casual teacher of the highest calibre!!! I am deadly serious. I have seen getting prepared to teach as kind of as a part time job in itself. I have had a lot of fun doing it.
But the principal took me aside yesterday to sadly let me know that I am actually unemployable. I am a three year trained teacher, but now they have to be four year trained! Argghh! The school who emplyed me last year must have been just a little bit naughty.......
So I have made some queries, and it looks like I will be a student again. That way by the time Topsy is at school, I will be able to get work a couple days a week.
But, get this. I am actually working at the kids school tomorrow . ot in the classroom.....I will be manning the front desk. Gulp. Should be fun, though. The principal is full of great ideas of how I can work at the school while I get my degree updated. She wants me to be involved in puppetry with the Year 7 students, along with another (read: Qualified) teacher. Puppetry is a real interest of mine, so it sounds like a lot of fun.
The kidlets are all well, and house hunting will soon begin in earnest.

I am hoping to get back into the swing of blogging and commenting. Missed you all.

2008-05-02T20:24:00.004+10:00

Ouch

Spindles' mysterious rash was discovered to be shingles today, and he has been ordered to stay home from school for a week. It is very painful. The way Spindles describes it seems to feel a bit like frostbite!

And in this diagram you can see how shingles cause pain. The once dormant cells (from when you had chicken pox) wake up and reproduce in the nerve cells, causing inflammation in the nerves. Ouchy!

The doctor we went to see said that the shingles are probably an indicator that there is something else wrong with Spindles. We will investigate that but possibly with a different doctor. He was very ancient, and kept us there in silence for quite a while before speaking to us, then when he did attend to us he seemed surprised at first, as if he had forgotten we were there!

He was very surprised that Spindles actually did have Shingles (I told him of my suspicions before he examined Spindles), as it is really an adult illness. Thankfully it is a mild case. And I have a slave for a week! Hehehe.

2008-05-01T13:08:00.007+10:00

Zoo Trip

It is autumn here and pretty cool, and Topsy and I went to the zoo.

We had a great time. Most of the inmates refused to look at me during photos....

...so I had to go along with it and work with what they gave me!.

2008-04-24T13:18:00.009+10:00

(NEW pics at Mama C- the Parallel Dimension! )

Ours was the only city or town the Olympic torch was coming to in Australia. So politics aside, I wanted to take the kids to see the culmination of the torch relay, at Commonwealth Park, where Ian Thorpe would be lighting the community cauldron with the torch.

Commonwealth Park is only 12 minutes from here, and I anticipated that, plus added an extra half hour to park and walk across the bridge to the Park. We ended up leaving home an hour and 10 minutes early.

Several things slowed us down:

1. The gifted hand signals from a myriad of gloved policemen, directing us through many and varied detours.

2. Being disoriented from the many and varied detours. we couldn't see our landmark, the Captain Cook Memorial Jet anywhere. It was only after parking; getting everyone out; the backpack on; setting up the pram; navigating several blocks of heavy, detoured traffic and taking a long hike over a bridge, that we saw the jet. But oh the horror! It was to the left of us, not where it should be, to the right. We were crossing the wrong bridge!

Back we trotted, over the bridge; navigated the several blocks of heavy, detoured traffic; found our car, dismantled the pram, stashed backpack, and buckled up ( are you getting a visual? Well, you should have heard the us! No swearing, of course, 'cause we don't, but we were not a happy bunch. I was not a popular mother at that moment.) But at least we now were longer disoriented! :)

3. Due to all the added security measures, getting to the Park was a long slow process. See the backs of Roly and Spindles? Well, moments earlier, that little path had been three lanes.

Thorpie had been and gone, and the cauldron well and truly lit by the time we got within earshot. Visibility was poor, because of all the crowds of pro-Chinese supporters who had arrived at the right time.

We basically took a couple pics and left! This makes our exit sound like a fast one. It wasn't. At one stage I had to stop and let over a hundred police cross the road. We went along Commonwealth Park's scenic drive a couple of times, due to unfriendly traffic not letting our lane merge into the real exit.

Still recovering.....

Police presence

Nearly at the cauldron...

Beijing Games supporters

Nearly there....

Could just make out the cauldron with as zoomy as my little digital would get. See it in the middle of the pic?

On the way out!

2008-04-21T22:48:00.003+10:00

Camping for Dummies

So if you are going to embark on a camping tip, some prior planning and preparation need to take place.
I knew we had left it to the very last minute when we were crazily assembling the two tents in the living room the night before, to make sure that all the bits and pieces were there. We had two tents that went up obediently, but the poles for both flysheets (the extra layer that comes with some tents to protect the inside of the tent from rain.) were damaged since our move.

Otherwise, the rest of our packing went smoothly, and I had everything packed into the car the night before.

See, this was our big jaunt (sans Hubby, who is not on holidays) to the city of Melbourne to see my sister in law K,her Hubby, their two little girls and their new gorgeous baby. The kids and I thought we would camp at a nearby carvan park a couple nights, spending the daytime hours with our family, and then spend one night at their home.

The good news was that we got to the Big 4 park without a map, and without too much hassle.

The bummer was that in our tent assembling, we discovered that all the poles for Roly's tent were still in the living room at home!!!!! Roly was hugely disappointed, as the tent was a Christmas present that he had been hanging out to use.

Without the poles to set up the flysheet on our tent, I just draped it over the tent to hopefully give us a bit of added warmth for the night ahead.

On the way to and from the heated pool, I noticed two differences between us and the very few other campers. 1. Their sites were all on soft grass, whilst we had been allotted a big patch of hard pressed earth that had bent several tent pegs despite us wetting and softening it first. 2. Their tents all had neatly stretched flysheets, while our drooped sadly over our tent.

The great thing was that our tent was roomy enough for all of us, including the portable cot for Topsy.

Not so great was the fact that our camping collection lacks any folding chairs.

After buying a ready-made dinner and eating it on a busy Melbourne street, to absorb the Melbourne culture, we came back home and settled down for the night.

Roly insisted on sleeping in the car, as he had been deprived of his tent.

The fantastic thing about not having a folding table, chairs, and more than a dim lamp for lighting, was that we went to bed really early and told stories to each other for ages.

Not so fantastic was the reality of one's back being bruised by the hard ground. (note to self, take ourcamping mattresses next time!) Diva and I just about froze as well, as we had chosen not to layer.

I found the night so physically uncomfortable, I woke up resolved to tell K and A that we might come stay with them a night early. (By the way thankis Mom and Dad for your offer to upgrade us to a cabin. Much appreciated.) But the boys shouted me down. They loved the whole experience: grilling our toast over the little portable gas stove, toasting marshmallows, changing and getting ready for bed in lamp light, and the storytelling. They wanted theirvpromised length of camping time.

Diva, not so much.

She opted to have a sleepover with her cousins, and that was good, as she developed croup that night.

I plundered her sleeping bag and pillow, wore many more layers, borrowed some extra bedding from K and A. It was a much better night.

So, it could have been disastrous, but it was actually a really fun and memorable time. The fact that Topsy took to it so much surprised me. Every time we were away from the campsite, looking at the sights, Topsy would be asking to go back to sleep in the tent.

And the time spent with precious family was joyousl. We see them far too rarely, and I loved watching the cousins all interacting so naturally; loved cuddling new beautiful baby Alice; loved waching her two older sisters be simply their gorgeous selves; and LOVED 'gasbagging' with K. Too short, but lots of lovely memories fresh in our minds.

2008-04-16T16:43:00.015+10:00

We had a staff meeting at the Botannical Gardens this morning. I took the opportunity to continue to take the digital off 'auto' and experiment with the settings.
It sure is fun, but my main complaint is that sometimes when I am outside it is so bright I can't see how the photo really turned out till I get home and check it out on my computer.

2008-04-12T22:27:00.004+10:00

Wedding pics

The wedding we went to was lovely. here is the groom (Hubby's cousin) waiting for his bride to arrive.
And here she is after the ceremony.
And the food at the reception was so scrummy. Lovely to catch up with lots of Hubby's family too. :)
Here are a couple pics of our family at the reception. Roly is on the right below. Note that he and his sister used the ribbon on their table decoration as head pieces. Spindles was not around at photo time.

2008-04-10T18:18:00.007+10:00

Farewell Faithful Lucy
1996-2008

( And yes, she has got both a sausage and a toy in her mouth in the photo above. Vintage Lucy....)

Today, a quick drop- in to the vet with Lucy turned into much more. Her ear was obviously bothering her; I thought it must be a flea. The vet found a grass seed, but also found that Lucy had a serious heart murmur. He said she would probably only last another year, being at least 12 in his estimate, but that she could start an intensive treatment once she stopped being capable of going for walks.

I nearly let my jaw hit the floor once I heard him mention that the surgery for the grass seed would coast $400, specially as she was now scratching and rubbing hard at the other ear as well!

I signed the consent forms for her surgery, then left.

And then I began to do the math of how much the two ears and her heart treatment would cost. to keep Lucy alive for an extra year. And we could not do it, in any way.

With a churning gut I called the vet, and said there was no way we could get Lucy treatment for her heart and that we felt that euthanizing her was the only option. How guilty I still feel about making that decision, even though we could not have footed the bill to keep her here the extra year. It still feels awful

So at lunch time, the kids' faithful friend was put to sleep.

Here are some pics of her and the kids saying goodbye at the vet's. She was overjoyed to see us, but distracted by the irritation in both ears. (she did have grass seed in both, it turns out)

Understandably, it has been a surreal and terribly sad day, with a great many tears. Diva was especially close to Lucy; her heart is shattered.

It's funny; I called her 'dumb dog' more than I called her "Lucy', but so much of our day is linked to her, and it keeps surprising me when I don't see her little face pressed against the window, looking in hopefully for her walk.

By the way, any who are photo minded and are keen to give me constructive criticism, check out the photos at

Mama C- the Parallel Dimension!

2008-04-08T06:50:00.004+10:00

Not gonna happen in my home!!! :)

If you needed a translation, all you non-Aussies (and let me say, this is a country singer so he is pretty liberal with his 'Aussie' accent), let me know!

I have started an online photography course. I want to become really adept with my basic digital, so that I can justify getting a digital SLR sometime this year. So I am reacquainting myself with aperture, ISO, shutter speed etc; skills whichI don't get to practise on my digital. Instead I am fine tuning these skills thanks to Shutterbee, a website that simulates an SLR camera,where you can fiddle with the aperture and shutter speed to learn what works best in what setting. Pretty cool.

Here are a couple of my practise,experimental shots.

Flowers for being sick

Vase in the sky

Flower

Vase full of sky

2008-04-04T07:53:00.004+11:00

Of course it WOULD be the day of school photos that Diva is sick. There really is no way I could even bring her in just for the photo. She is simply too ill. Wednesday night it all started with her vomiting. The next day there was much vomiting in the morning and diarrhoea the rest of the day. I thought she was improved last night, but she stumbled in to us, hot and shaking, for a glass of water at midnight.

The boys got the 'School Photo Talk' on the way in the car. You know the one. It goes something like this:

Before the photo session, one must go to the bathroom and check:

1. that one's hair is neat

2. that no morning tea remains lodged in one's smile, and ...

3. that the aforementioned smile is photoworthy!

Petty you might be thinking?
Then background information is necessary.

A couple of years ago I opened up the school photos envelopes with relish, only to see a horror before me.
I had spent a lot of time that morning on Diva's hair for the photo day, and she had gone to school looking divine! But after taking off her school jumper, then having to pull it back on for the photo, one braid stuck out at a Pippi Longstocking angle. And the front of her hair was a halo of static hair from all the pulling off and on of the jumper!

Spindles hair was fine but for a cowlick at the side that stuck up like an unfortunate 'do from a certain movie. Ironic isn't it, that Spindles has not had a cowlick either before or since! Grrr. He still insists that the photographer wet his hair down with a comb, and that it was an unfortunate itch on his scalp (that he attended to at the last second) that caused the particular offence! spindles has a delightful smile in real life, but sometimes it doesn't translate for the camera. He looked a bit pained and strained, sadly.
And as for Roly... well, with my careful fixing of Diva's hair, and wetting down of Spindles', Roly seemed ready to go, with his hat on and bag by the door. I gave his teeth a look over, but in the pre-school rush I didn't take his hat off to give his hair a look.
Well I got a look, when I saw his school photo! The front had been done, but the back was all bedhead and messy. And he was all shrugged down in the picture, so he didn't even have a neck!

A real waste of $75.

The pics were not even worth keeping, though I never threw them out because I am sure they will have use as collateral at some stage! *wicked grin*

Overheard:
Topsy to the policeman who was at our street to look at the damage to the next door neighbour's car:
'A naughty man broke my Mummy's car.'

Ummm, not so much need for speech therapy, methinks. :)

2008-04-01T22:38:00.002+11:00

We're Movin' Out!!!!

It has come much sooner than we anticipated! We only planned to stay in this church-provided home for a year, then we hoped to start paying off a mortgage of our very own. :)

But at a meeting tonight, Hubby learned that we have to vacate the premises by Oct 23. So we really need to get a giddyup on finding out what we can afford and where!

Yikes!

Packing again..... *groan*

We'd appreciate prayer on finding the right place.

2008-03-30T15:44:00.008+11:00

Earth Hour Evil

Earth Hour coincided with some discounted footy tickets we got at the Royal Canberra show earlier in the year. In fact, the tickets said 'Support Earth Hour: turn off you lights at home and come to the football!'

It was an opportunity that we probably won't get too often, and it was also the Canberra Raiders (their color is green, but you can't read the green on my green background!) vs the mighty St George Dragons (our team!!!), so a bit of a no-brainer really!

Hubby and our three oldest (there were only 4 tickets) left to get to the 7:30 pm game, and I put Topsy to bed and only just got my candles out (and the kitchen sink full of hot soapy water) with 2 minutes to spare before Earth Hour began.

The time passed quickly. I was thankful for that because mine was the only car on the street, and I felt a little anxious with all that darkness!

The kids and Hubby came home late; full of excitement at seeing a live match; half frozen due to the chill in the air, and a little gloomy that the mighty Dragons lost after such a promising start.

It was only this morning that we saw what someone did during Earth Hour to my car!

This is really the straw breaking my back, I tell you. My car rego is due in a couple of weeks, and changing a car's registration over to a different state is costly enough, let alone fixing things that shouldn't be broke!

Plus the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that someone with ill-intent toward my property was in such close proximity! Gulp.

2008-03-27T20:49:00.003+11:00

We were talking about wacky cakes last night at Bible Study. Actually we talk about food a LOT at Bible Study! :) And it got me to thinking about my Mom's wacky spice cake, and got me to salivating!

It took a lot of research on the www but I finally found a recipe, and with Topsy's enthusiastic assistance we made the kid's first taste of wacky spice cake. Mmmm good!

Hubby has been away again all week, but is back tomorrow. It has been a fast paced week. We were honored to have Hubby's brother and his youngest son David stay with us on Saturday night, after a family birthday party where we got to catch up with tons of Hubby's family we haven't seen in too long. His relatives all live around these parts (except for you Kirsty! *waving*)

And then we snared Hubby's parents Nanny and Poppy for Sunday and Monday night.

I took FarAway's advice about the gym, by the way. Now I only do the treadmill 20 minutes( a little higher and faster than before, though I have got used to it, and no longer cling to the handlebars quite so desperately !) instead of 45. And then I do a weight circuit, which is fun. I am really enjoying going, thus I manage to squeeze 5 sessions a week.

Roly and Spindles Update: Roly has settled into his new group without expressing any further interest in the girls in it. We are going through a book by Bob Schultz: Boyhood and Beyond- Practical Wisdom for Becoming a Man, which is fantastic. (The book I am doing with Diva isn't nearly as good, so if anyone has any ideas of an equivalent, please tell me) I was just telling Spindles tonight that I think it is great that they are both in separate friendship groups at school, because it gives Spindles the opportunity to emerge and shine as himself much more, away from Roly's big personality.

Quote: The kids are rather concerned that Topsy will not know that his real name is Tops, because we always call him Topsy. So we have trained him to answer, when asked his name "my name is Tops Taylor". The kids test him rather a lot on this!

Well this morning on the way to school, he was nibbling a snack, when Spindles snuck the 'what's your name' pop quiz on him.

And Topsy was having none of it!

'What is your name? ' Spindles asked.

'I not know, Spindles.' Topsy said with his mouth full. ' I eating my crackers!'

2008-03-21T19:56:00.004+11:00

Well, I have had a most excellent Easter Friday! We started off by having traditional Good Friday breakfast: hot cross buns, or in our case hot cross/choc chipbuns! Does the US and Canada have those? They are a cinamon and spice bun with sultanas and sometimes orange peel in, with a distinctive cross on the top. Nowadays, to make them more palatable to kids, you canpurchase fruitless ones and choc chip ones as well).

Our church service was very moving: kept simple, with only the relevant Bible readings interspersed by songs and a time of prayer. The kids all stayed in, and I have to say that Topsy was just excellent, helping me to concentrate on the sevice by sitting quietly. Of course the others were great too, but I expect them to be at their age!!! The only noise Topsy made was when Michael (the minister) was saying 'In a minute we'll take time for morning tea together,' (to which Topsy said to me in a very loud whisper 'We having morning tea, Mum!) Michael continued: 'but don't forget that on Sunday morning there is the dawn service, and we will be meeting up the top of Ngunnawal Hill.' (whereupon Topsy whispered even louder: 'we be climbing the hill, Mum!')

When we got home, the boys read all the bounty I got them from the library, while Diva and Topsy played a big cubby house game in the living room, (a game which the boys later joined.)

After lunch and a rest, we baked a cinnamon tea cake (very Australian),and the kids played, Hubby slept, and I took the dog for a 2 Km jog (my first jog ever, I think!).

Later while Topsy was playing on his own, the older kids and I played Cranium Cadoo! And we moved on to EyeToy Sports, the playstation game that makes you be active, and even Topsy can play because you use your physical body to do physical challenge!. We all worked up a sweat!

Dinner was just a reheat of chicken burgers, so while it cooked, we took turns belting out our favorite 80's songs (Eye of the Tiger for my boys!) on SingStar.

We have all just done a big clean up, as Hubby's aunty is having a 60th here in Canberra tommorow and we will have family staying with us overnight. Yay!

Hope you all had a blessed Easter.

2008-03-19T23:14:00.003+11:00

I am going to have to start reading a whole different kind of parenting book now!
Yesterday, Spindles asked if he could walk our dog with me.
When we had set off, and I just asked how he was going, I could hear there were tears in his voice. He said that things between him and Roly have changed.
They used to be in the same friendship group at their old school.
But here they mix in totally different crowds. Spindle's group plays handball, and Roly's friends (both goups), well they all like girls, and in fact there are several girls in their group.
This is such a hugechange for Roly (who was totally allergic to girls the last two years), so Spindles is not coping. He said that Roly also mentioned to a mutual friend from their old school, that he is interested in girls.
With that heads up,I had a little meander down to Roly's room later that night to see where he is at with all this.
He said that there is a lot of 'going out' and then 'breaking up' that goes on in his class, and that a couple of his friends want him to 'go out' with one of a couple of the girls in their group. He asked how I would feel about him dating and taking a girl out.

Oh Lord, give me wisdom!
I know what I want for Roly.
I want for him to always treat girls with respect, and to never start going out with a girl under the influence of others, only to break up a couple of days later, and have her wonder for ages, what was so wrong with her.
I want him to only seek a life partner who shares his faith.
I want to lock him up in his room and homeschool him till he is 23!!!!!!!!

:(
Well, in a very calm voice I have told him that Dad and I will get back to him on our guidelines when it comes to him dealing with girls.
I think I was 17 when a boy took me to a movie.
We will certainly encourage him to bring friends home to meet us, maybe it may sometimes be a girl, and they could talk out on the tramploine where I can spy see them . At some stage we will let him go to movies with a group that may include girls, but I am quite convinced that at this very young age, he kind of needs protection from himself, and to have the decision taken out of his hands.

We need to be firm, without trampling all over his heart.

I will take any of your ideas with open ears and mind! And keep Spindles in your prayers. he does not take change well! he still thinks he will live at home with us forever and ever!

2008-03-16T22:44:00.005+11:00

Topsy Update:

I really should update some of Topsy's happenings while I remember, as he is too young ever to recall any of this stuff.

We have got a very, very sociable child in Topsy, which is goes great with ministry, as long as the sociability is not encouraged to become precociousness.

Some examples:

At the defense pool yesterday, he wanted to be off on his own getting to know other people. It is a pool with a ramp, so there is a lot of shallow areas. He sat there and decided to chat to a mother and daughter.

Of course I had to be privy to what he was doing. So every once in a while he would yell over to me: 'Mummy, I taliing to my friend!" Then to prove his point he would look at the two 'friends ' and say" Hi!' This he did over and over, which had them and me, in silent stitches.

Then last night at SKy Fire (fire works over Lake Burleigh Griffin, that we went to see. Above is a photo a professional took of it!), two of Topsy's 'friends' (sweet teenage girls sitting next to us) farewelled a friend "Bye Libby, see ya!'

Topsy stood up and waved happily at her disappearing back. 'Bye Dibby! See ya later!'

And my personal favorite: Today at church lunch, Topsy's favorite person (our main minister Michael, who gets everyone call him Michael) disappeared for a while. And then he did an announcement over the speaker system without actually being visible. Well this baffled Topsy. So he went around all the people eating lunch in small groups, asking, with his hands outstretched questioningly "Where's my Michael?'

LOL!

Not in the same vein, but an episode to remind him later: Tonight at church dinner (yes today was a busy day! And Topsy was tired and hadn't had a nap), Topsy cut in line and put one hand into the grated cheese.

This is something I am cracking down on at home, 'cause like all toddlers, he really likes to handle the food on serving plates.

The man who had helped prepare the food, let out a wail of mock protest. I withdrew the greedy fist, and took my child away for a private and swift smack bottom!

Well, he was inconsolable! He sat in my lap, and wept, and wept, and wept........

....for twenty minutes! And it was not a hard smack, I assure you!

I asked him what was wrong, when he could finally speak. And he gulped out.: 'say sorry to man.'

I took him over for the apology: (the man of course, was absolutely horrified to think all that sadness was over Topsy wanting to make things right).

'Sorry, man'.

And then the rain vanished, and the sun returned! Though the crying had so worn him out, he nearly fell asleep in my lap after, and we had to go home to bed immediately.

2008-03-07T13:24:00.007+11:00

Before....

After....

Hmmm. The expression just about says it all. It's Ok... A bit of a neither-here-nor-there style really. I may go back for a bit more off in a while, after some reflection.

2008-03-07T07:56:00.006+11:00

Hair today................

Yup, goin' to the hairdresser today. I think I am going to have this unruly mop cut to shoulder length. I'd love a short bob, just above my jaw line, but I am not brave enough. Although you can't see it, that hair of mine goes down mid-bra, and I really don't have the kind of hair you can style nicely for staying down. It is not thick, or nicely wavy or really straight. I am sick of keeping it up, so off it comes....

Watch this space.

2008-03-04T12:50:00.005+11:00

If you didn't read yesterday's post, please do that first before reading today's so that everything is in context.

Bossy aren't I?!

Well, armed with a bag of books and coloring pages that I printed from the Wiggles web site (to 'contain' Topsy) we went, with some trepidation, to the Ethiopian restaurant.

I was especially stressed because Topsy, though he rested quietly in his room for 2 hours, actually didn't have a nap. So he was crabby and loud.

The restaurant was small, but it was classy.

I had already fed the kids, in case the food was too hot, so Diva and Spindles only ordered a meat samosa each. Their order came first as it was from the entree section.

Poor kids, the chili sauce that accompanied those samosas were the mildest thing about the dish! Both Spindles and Diva nibbled at the pastry, then gave up. So Roly bravely downed one, with the aid of a lot of water, and I ate the other.

The man who had spoken to me on the phone served us. He was dignified and had a very cultured accent. He was totally impressed at the kid's manners. Even little Topsy thanked him whenever he appeared with a plate for us!

And Topsy sat still for the hour and 2o minutes we were there, without a high chair to 'contain' him. Hubby colored in the Wiggles sheets for him, and that kept him amused for a very long time.

Oh and there actually were the 'sampler' platters I had enquired about! We ordered one platter of assorted meat wots, and one of assorted vegetarian wots. Roly had a dish of his own that he loves, called Yegeb alicha (mild lamb). I expected our food to come out like this:

but this is what we got:

We ordered extra injera, which is what Spindles and Diva especially love. And it looked less like this:

and a lot more like this, except in brown baskets:
Very yummy. Viva Injera bu Wot!!

2008-03-03T13:23:00.006+11:00

Oh please please please please please come to our restaurant! *Edited*

I have been just dying to eating Ethipian food since....... well the last time I ate it!
Of the three Ethiopian restaurants here, only 1 is actually open on a Monday. It is the only one we have never sampled.
My friend gave me their card which looks like this:

A bit of a blur, but this is what it says:

We
Present: Authentic Ethiopian Cuisine and Modern Australian Dishes.
Do:Banquet, Private Functions, Lunch boxes and Takeaway
Are: Open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

LOL!!!

So, I called them up to see if they do a sample platter, if they have a high chair, and to make a 6:00 pm booking ( for 6, 2 adults and 4 children) as they open at 6:00.

No-one answered so I left a message and my number.

When I got the call back this is what the restaurant owner said in a stern tone:

There are none of those sampling platters that I mentioned. Each dish must be ordered individually.

There are no high chairs.

and in regards to children...... well..... Was I aware that the restaurant is extremely small? And that in restaurants, very hot food is carried about?

In view of that, in regards to children, I must make sure that if any children come, they are to be contained at all times!!!!

And with regards to booking a table for 6:00 pm, well the restaurant only opens at 6, so could I please not come till 6:20 at the earliest!!!!

I was going to call back and cancel, but I haven't. My tastebuds are pulling me. Plus maybe his offensive tone was simply lost in translation.

I'm obviously not holding my breath on this experience but I will let you know how it was!

Quote (sort of): Topsy is newly obsessed with some of the kid's music I loved as a kid. Anyone here used to listen to Agapeland stuff? Well Topsy loves the Music Machine :Fruit of the Spirit tape. He calls it the 'Kids one' and sings the songs all the time. This morning it was quite obvious to me that he was not really thinking about the words. He stood wet, naked and shivering from his bath, moaning and complaining out the lyrics: 'Showing me your gentleness. How I love you!'

My rissole (meat patties) recipe:

2.2 pounds (1 kg)Mince beef ( I sometimes mix beef and lamb)

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 egg

1 packet of chicken soup

generous slosh of worcestershire sauce

two generous dollops of SMOKEY bbq sauce

two apples grated

1 carrot grated

1 zucchini grated

mix together and grill.

2008-03-02T17:21:00.003+11:00

This weekend was a 'playdate 'weekend, where the kids have a friend over. I usually like to tee up a friend for each of the kids (not really including Topsy in that), so that no one is left out. On Monday, Roly gave his invitation to have a play this Saturday and possibly sleep over. The child's parents never got back to us till Friday night! I'd given up on the boy coming by that time, so we were pleased that Roly's friend could come. And then Spindle's friend's mother didn't want to intrude, she was adamant about that, so he only ended up coming over for a couple of hours. Ain't nothing ever simple!!!!

Diva's little friend ended up inviting her over to her house , so at least that was straightforward.

The kids have chosen really sweet kids to be their friends.

The only hitch came this morning. Roly's friend stayed overnight, and came to church with us this morning. I was going to run him home, before coming back home to entertain a lovely family from our church familoy who have 11 kids.

So I got the boy safely to his home ( about 20 minutes away), only to find that his family was not there.

'Oh, they must still be at church', he said.

'Where is their church?'

It turned out he was speaking of a biker's church (stepdad is a biker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), Oh and it was only another 10-15 minutes drive away! Eeeks! I was already short on time, and I didn't have my mobile phone on me. So we began to drive in the direction of the biker church.

Long story short, it was all seeming way too hard. So I turned the car around and went in search of a public pay phone. The stepdad answered his mobile, and told me just to drop the boy at the house, as they were only 5 minutes away, and he could just play in the backyard.

I felt really uncomfortable about it, but as I was now late, I did just that.

Then the family we were having for lunch and I all pulled up at our house together.

What did I feed them all?

*grilled sausages and hamburger patties ( I make yummy patties, *blushes at the self compliment, but it is true, I do!*)

*marinated chicken wings

*a huge potato bake (tripled the recipe)

*4 big garlic breads

*lettuce and tomato salad

The family brought lots of drinks and a huge box of assorted chocolates.

We had several hours of great conversation, then we all went to the flying fox park on the lake for another 45 minutes, till it was time for Hubby to go back to church to get ready for the next service.

Time to pull up Topsy's behavioral socks!

2008-02-28T12:26:00.003+11:00

I have realized in the last few days that, maybe due to our focus on settling in, we have let Topsy get away with a lot more than we normally would. On the days he bucks his nap, (though I do make him lie down and rest, whether he sleeps or not) he becomes grumpy and extra mischievous (read naughty) as they day progresses. We can all say the word 'brat' and immediately conjour up a mental picture of some awful child we are relieved doesn't belong to us. I DO NOT want Topsy to be that image in any one's mind. I really want a child who is a joy to be around; I want my cute and adorable Topsy back. And note to self: that requires WORK. Um, duh! So right now at our house, Iron Fist Mama rules!

And I have already seen changes! No brats in this household please!

Oh, did I say how much Spindles loves handball now? He wants to play it every spare minute he has. LOL! Didn't that work out well?

I have been to the gym every day this week. What do I do there? Well, first I put my headphones on, plug them into the TV, and find a channel that help will make the time go faster. I climb onto the treadmill, crank it up to the highest hill level I can take, and hold down on the speed dial till I can't see my feet anymore, 'cause they are going so fast. And then, my friends, I hang on for dear life, and go hard for 45 minutes. It is actually quite fun. Though I had better look pretty darned fabulous in amount a month!

Catchup

2008-02-25T19:46:00.010+11:00

I keep thinking about things to blog about, but then I totally forget to blog it anyways. Grrr. Let's just hope it all comes back to me, as I start to write!

Here are some little tidbits to get the memory ball rolling!

School for the kids is going great. They are all settled and content. Spindles has settled happily into playing handball even!

Diva entered a race for the swimming carnival, and went through with it, even though she was anxious and going to pull out just before it occurred. It was a backstroke race ( my best stroke) and she went great.

Roly was sick for a few days last week.

Hubby is away all this week on an endurance week out bush with the military academy he is chaplain to. The student soldiers are deprived of food, water and sleep, in order to bring them to breaking point This is so that when they are in real combat conditions, they can already anticipate how much it takes to bring them to their knees.

I am certainly praying for Hubby, as I think it will be a trumatic excercise for him. Though he is not going through the ordeal himself, he is there as the person who supposedly puts back the pieces of the broken soldiers . I was horrified to learn that a man whose wife attends our church, actually lost his sight on this same exercize last year. That is how traumatized he was. And he has not regained it. Gulp!

So much has happened activity-wise for us in the last couple of months, but you know our favorite thing is our new 'backyard' that we found. Come and have a look.....

It is only a 50 second drive away from our home, and then with a hop (over the gate), skip (up a bit of ahill) and a jump (over all the branches on the ground), voila:

The kids have really loved planning and starting to build shelters for themselves. Helping each other out. We have come here every evening since we found this haven!

Roly outside the beginnings of his shelter.

Spindles has a different architectual style.

Some nice rocks.

This is Topsy outside what will in actual fact become the communal hall, but what Topsy calls 'my big house!' This is where he bases himself with his Wiggles playdough......

......or his dolly and accessories, depending on the day and what takes his fancy! :)

Diva is still not undecided about the style of shelter she will build.

In the meantime she is a bit of a hermit crab, inhabiting a pre-existing shelter that collapsed.The Taylors like their rocks!

Our view of Lego Land from the hill. And as we drove homefrom the hill tonight, I decided to go past another nature reserve. It is lovely. The trees are much more ideal for climbing, and there seem to be great bushwalking trails.

To finish off, I have to say that one of the best things I have done all year is create this:

My household organizer. It contains everything my once disorganized fingertips were forever seaching for in vain in all my mess of papers. That mess of papers is now filed.under 7 broad topics.

Phone Directory

Family stuff

School stuff

Home management

Travel and Activities

Shopping lists, Menus and Recipes

Health and Fitness
I am sure a lot of you already have one, and are thinking,' Come On Mama C, get with the PROGRAM! Well, it works for me. And the kids love it too. They spend an inordinate amount of time looking at the menus and recipes for the current week, as well as perusing their chores lists!

Oh and a couple for you Mom! Here are the kids in their martial arts outfits (put on over clothes for Aunty Fiona and Nanny's benefit).

2008-02-14T14:34:00.006+11:00

This morning I took Topsy to the National Museum of Australia for a Grandma's and children's painting day. It did adertise the event as grandparents but as it also mentioned 'and other carers', I thought I would qualify. When we arrived, I wasn't made too welcome by the organizers, as it is a monthly outing they organize for grandparents who specifically provide day care for their grandchildren.

Whoops! I had built it up to be a big fun morning for Topsy, so I was mightily relieved when they let us in anyways. Topsy spent a fun but short time doing one painting,

and then I smuggled him out to see the kiddy areas at the museum.

Meanwhile the kids settle in more each day, Praise the Lord.

And what does my new week look like? While this is probably not a question at the tip of your tongues, I will share anyways! :)

Sunday-9:30: church ( I only teach every second Sunday morning)

- 12:00: every second week entertain for lunch

-6:00: dinner at church and socialize with 5:00 and 7:00 congregations

-8:00 pm : drop my three oldest to church so they can have a half hour play with the children of a large homeschooling family who live out of town and only travel in for the night service.

Monday -nothing set in concrete! Yay!

Tuesday- 9:30- 11:30 amGAPS (Gungahlin Anglican Parents) were mothers bring their kids to a child friendly Bible study

Wednesday: 9:30-11:30 playgroup

3:15-5:15 Kid's Club (we run a Christian program for the kids a the local public school)

6:00-8:00 Growth Group (Bible study at our home. So far three other families signed up, and I think that is plenty. Last night I cooked the dinner. We had:

burritoes with savory beef, guacomole, rice and beans (so good, can I say!), refried beans, sour cream, lettuce, tomato, cheese. so yummy.

Thursday: nothing

Friday: nothing....yet.

Saturday-nothing.

My Valentine's present is a membership to a local ladies only gym (so excited, I can't even tell you!), so I will fit that in somewhere.!

2008-02-07T20:01:00.000+11:00

Painting the Town Red

Grass is passe' here in Gungahlin. So last season! Probably due in part to not being able to use a hose to water their gardens, most homes opt to have no grass at all in their front gardens. Instead beautiful native plants, set in red gravel, line the pavement in amazingly artistic designs.

Our front garden features some grass, some native plants and lots of red gravel.

I never even thought twice about the authenticity of the red gravel. Then yesterday on the way to school, we passed a man, all suited up, spraypainting the naturally yellow gravel at several new homes, and turning it a deep shade of red!

Who knew that was a job?

Quote: Bossy Topsy after hearing me chuckle to myself over something in the car:

'Stop Laughing Mummy. You is Mummy, you is not Santa Clause.'

!!!!!!!!!

2008-02-03T13:37:00.000+11:00

You know you live in Canberra when you find yourself....sharing some tar with the Head Honcho !!!

On a family outing yesterday, we noticed that our very own prime minister (Aussie equivalent to the US president ) was in the car next to us. We tried to get a close up, but this was all we could manage!

Here is a couple of views of Canberra from some lookouts we went to that morning!

THe white building between Roly's fingers is Old Parliament House, and the building directly above it ( with the triangular thing) is the New Parliament House.

2008-01-31T11:54:00.000+11:00

NEW DIGS

Today's offering is what we call a quick 'sticky beak' here in OZ:

Come and see where we live now!!!

In Moonbi we had the Big Chicken, here in Gungahlin we have the Big Mistake! Believe it or not, this mangled reminder to drive carefully cost $750,00, and they actually ran out of money for the highway it is on and had to only resort to building one lane going north instead of 2!

So you drive past dozens of houses all the same.....

....till you get to our house!

Come on in. Don't look at the office; still unpacking there!

This is the living room. Rather cozy.

The living area is more spacious.

Down the hall are the kid's rooms.

Spindles:

Roly:
Diva:

Topsy:

And let's go outside!

Not as big as our old backyard!

Here are a couple pics of the kids' school.

2008-01-24T15:23:00.000+11:00

'It's OK dear, I'm a psychopath....'

Well it is high time I updated this blog.
We have successfully moved from our country home and parish to a new suburb in Canberra.
It was a crazy time leading up to the move, thankfully all a bit of a haze now. The craziness of it all , took away from the emotion of leaving, so we weren't really able to grieve in a sense. Too much happening all at once, and after the removalists and cleaners came in, the place was stripped bare and felt alien to us anyways.
Of course, the 9 hour trip to Canberra in 2 cars had to have its share of drama. Our two terrified and alert cats (apparantly drugging your cats for a trip is now considered inhumane!) gave us plenty to think about. We had always borrowed a friend's cat cage for vet visits and were unable to source one to buy, so we had yowling cats clawing their way around the car and my head for the first 15 minutes of the trip, till we got to Tamworth and managed to purchase wire baskets that we fashioned into cages in the car boot. After 3 escapes and stops to put the dumb animals back in their cages, Hubby and I managed to work out a way of totally incapacitating the stupid cats (yes, they made me mad!!!!), and we managed to stay sane despite the yowling.
Oh and my car also decided to turn on its emergency light (the one that the manual told us means 'Go to a mechanic now!!!!") So we pulled over with a yucky feeling in our guts. We all prayed, then I turned the car off and then restarted it. The emergency light went off and has not reapppeared since.

:)

We arrived late that night at our new house, to be welcomed by our new church's founders as well as the minister and his family. A brand new gleaming house, fully stocked fridge, freezer and pantry. Yeeha!!!!!! Such a blessing.
Hubby and I really knuckled down to unpacking once the removalists arrived next morning, and we are pretty nearly unpacked.

Though we are settling in,I still feel like we are living in some futuristic movie. This suburb is full of little Lego houses, all pretty much the same. Lots of McMansions too, All the gardens are exactly the same too. Low maintenance, with orange gravel and native plants. They look great but it is surreal! Street upon street of the same houses.

We have joined Questacon (check it out on google ) and the zoo. Every evening we walk our dog to the park, as we have no backyard to speak of. A couple days ago we found a fantastic park just a couple minutes drive away that has flying foxes as well. Such fun. And a lake with ducks and swans.
And of course I have my Aldi close by. :)

On Tuesday school starts.
So far we have found the transition great and relatively easy. At church there are African families, though every time I see them it nearly makes me cry; for lots of reasons I guess. In fact their are a number of international families. And there are lots of kids who have been welcoming to our mob.
We are getting plenty of invitations out for dinner, which we are taking up.

Oh and the title of the blog?

Well today as we were driving to get school supplies, I saw a little old lady hobbling along the busy highway itself ( in peak traffic too) with her cane.

I always stop to help injured animals, so a human in danger was a no-brainer.

I screeched dramatically off the highway, left the car running and raced over to get her out of harm's (Super MamaChameleon!!!).

The old lady smiled vaguely as I explained gently that she was actually walking on a busy highway, and that I wanted to aid her.

'Oh, I'm a psychopath, dear' she informed me with a gentle smile.

I jumped back physically, and nearly wet myself, visualizing her attacking me with her walking stick in full view of my helpless children.

'Pardon?,' I stammered?

'It is OK', she repeated in her thick accent, 'I am a psychopath'

Then I saw that she was pointing at the road, and stared at it.

"Oh, you are walking on the CYCLE PATH!' I said. 'Right!'

Uh, DUH!!!!!

hee heee *blush foolishly*

2007-12-06T22:40:00.000+11:00

What is a Chrisco hamper, you ask?

Dana asked about Chrisco hampers, and I was a little surprised, as I was sure it was an American invention! :)

Chrisco (double click the word to see an example) is a company that puts out a catalogue of hampers, as in a wide selection of goodies, from which to choose.

Then, once you have selected the hampers you want to receive early the following December, the Chrisco comany direct debits a set from your bank account every fornight. At the end of 26 fortnights, you have a ton of food supplies that come just when you need them, the cost of which you barely noticed leaving your wallet all year.

One buddy told me that her family hardly shops for 3 months after getting their Chrisco hampers, but for the bare essentials.

So I am giving Chrisco a go this year. the regular hampers don't really appeal to me, as a lot of the stuff we wouldn't really buy normally. That is why I chose a plain meat hamper, a fruit juice hamper and the children's icecream hamper, all things we will want for our hot Christmas season.

Anyway, more later; just back from the kids end of year concert and am utterly exhausted. (I was up late last night wrapping presents for 8 teachers and 2 school bus drivers, and writing letters of heartfelt gratitude to the teachers. Then coaxing my nearly comatose Hubby to hold up a limp hand and sign his name to each letter! *chuckle*)

At the end of the concert, the precious staff all congregated on the stage to sing Before the Throne of God Above. I must admit I cried.I defy you to listen to this song and not be moved! Though I know that MamaMentor's Mary could do a much better clip to go with the song.

2007-12-05T12:12:00.000+11:00

I am not really an emotional person(as far as having extreme highs and lows, or crying at the drop of a hat), but this morning as I drove into our kids school, a real wave of sadness washed over me, and I think I actually had a mini-panic attack driving home.
Tomorrow is the kids' last day of school there. And what an amazing blessing the school community has been to us. It seems so surreal that they won't be going back. So surreal. To have a school that has backed up the Christian teaching they have been getting at home has been something I have taken for granted a little, but I am indebted to the teachers for their Christ-like attitude in all areas of interaction with our kids.
Two of Topsy's friends are over for the day today. Because our Kid's Club wrap-up party is on this afternoon, they all helped me whip up a huge double batch of plain cookes that the kids can ice and decorate (and of course, ultimately, eat!)
I will be sadder than I can put into words to bid farewell to the Kid's Club kids. Another ending. though I know that the new minister will keep it going.

Hubby's parents were up on the weekend, and very kindly turned a blind eye to all the chaos that is us at present. We had a big Christmas dinner with them.
We feasted on:
Glazed Ham
Roast turkey
green bean casserole
Sweet potato casserole ( big hit)
peas
carrots
And for dessert: steamed vanilla pudding
and apple pie.
all very good.
Oh and Linda, we ate that yummy broccoli salad the night before. so good. My new signature salad! :)

Other quick tidbits:

What I am Reading: : Financial Parenting ( a most amazing book that doesn't just deal with teaching our kids about being wise with money, but covers all sorts of Biblical truths and how to apply them to family life, with practical atcivites and fun things to do with your kids to re-enforce it all. I am just loving it!

About to read: (when Hubby is finished, and we do a swap) : Thrilled to Death (how the endless pursuit of pleasure is leaving us numb)

Buying: Both our cats have turned into awful birders, as in they are very good at it. In fact the yellow one, catches them to bring and lay at my feet.

I am the kind of person who can't drive past an animal that has been hit on the road, without checking to see if it is alive, so we have all these poor half dead birds in boxes, that we keep and try to revive. Sounds funny, so have a chuckle but the reality is that I get so stressed by it that I have considered having the cats put down.
Well, thankfully Google gave me a kinder solution: The Cat Bib. So far, it is working well. Only a couple of baby birds have been caught since.

Wasted money on:expensive, but poor imitation of the real deal flea treatment. This stuff was only slightly cheaper than Frontline, but it did not work. I ahd to resort to also using flea shampoo and washing all three animals.

Puss #2 got a little frantic

and swiped me across the lip accidentally.
Lucy was a breeze after doing the cats....

This shampooing didn't work either, so I had to fork out for Frontline anyways. Grr.

Trying out: Chrisco. I am trying out ordering my first Chrisco hampers, paying a little off all year, and then just before Christmas 2008, I should have a full pantry! I ordered a meat hamper, a fruit juice hamper and a cold ice-cream hamper ( we have very hot Christmases here!)

Planning: A garage sale!

2007-11-20T20:59:00.000+11:00

Hi all, I am now another year older and hopefully wiser.
I have really missed my old routine of regularly blogging and then checking in on you all each day.
I can't say what is stopping me.

I guess the reality of our move is hitting me quite hard.
And I am totally allowing all the feelings and concerns wash over me, in a sort of experimental way.
Then I am handing each little worry or pain over to God in a way that I haven't done in years. The blessing of peace and reassurance of God's faithfulness to be has nearly overwhelmed me.

I have a real renewed interest in learning more regarding my faith; so books on Hubby's shelf that I would have walked right past a month ago, now I get them out and start to read.
And don't get me started on prayer! I have rediscovered heartfelt and real prayer, not just for myself, for others.

Funny what a crisis can do, huh! And it really isn't a big crisis as far as most people might be concerned.
So, praise the Lord! And may He continue to mold and shape me for His purposes.

What have I been up to all month?

SORTING THROUGH OUR STUFF FOR THE MOVE! which means:

-bagging some for goodwill
-selling a bunch on ebay
-pricing everything we will garage sale
-labelling everything else by room for the packers.

DOING A BIT OF PERSONAL SPRINGCLEANING

-moving to a new place gives us that amazing chance to have a fresh start. To begin again with a clean slate. So I am really looking over this old girl with a magnifying glass. Inspecting and examining things well overdue. For instance I am currently working through and trying to rectify why I find parenting my boys so much easier and more natural than my precious little girl, who is a breeze in every way: so innocent, so God fearing, so personable and loving.
I am currently pondering and planning how to be the best Mom ever for her. :)

SEEKING A DVD ON THE DUGGAR FAMILY

The Duggars are a family with 17 children. I have long been fascinated with them, but I cannot seem to find any of their four documetaries on DVD. If any of my American blog buddies know if there is a place in the States that does stock their DVDs please let me know.

Well hopefully talk more soon.

Love and hugs to you all!

2007-10-27T20:10:00.000+10:00

How did I ever used to fit blogging into every day with my active little guy? It all seems a bit overwhelming at present, with the sorting, throwing out and cleaning that goes with our massive move in just a few weeks!
I am actually enjoying the sorting part. And I am being ruthless. I look at each thing and say to myself, "Do I really want to open up a box and see this in Canberra?
And then most of the time said item gets put in the donation box instead!
We are back from a three week holiday and back into the swing of things.
Topsy decided to start toilet training on the holiday so now he does most of his business on the toilet like a big boy!
Here is a family pic of us, taken at a wedding a couple of weeks ago

And here is Topsy doing his absolute favorite thing: 'playing' the bagpipes! After seeing Robyn's hubby Paul playing in the holidays, he has really been taken with bagpipes. The bagpipes in this video are actally a fridge magnet!

And TL wondered how the kidlets are dealing with the idea of moving! Thanks TL. They are all doing well, now. They have come to terms with the fact that it is going ahead, though I know the reality will be hard, at least no one is in denial.
Take care all, and I hope to leave a comment with y'all soon!

2007-10-01T07:35:00.000+10:00

Hi all!
So sorry for absolutely no commenting on your precious blogs! I miss you all. Life is a bit crazy.
We are officially moving to Canberra, but are on a 3 week holiday at the moment.
Take care, and know I think of you all!
Hugs!
Michelle

2007-09-12T20:40:00.000+10:00

A Loss, River Play and the First Task

A year or so ago Hubby gave one of our crafty parishoners Diva's quilt. Her task: to repair the love-worn quilt. This quilt was made for her by her gran. Gran, who has since left this world, made a quilt specially for each imminent baby. All my kids cherish their quilts.

Anyways, time passed. And one day this lovely lady dropped in a quilt for Diva to have; one that she had made. We thought that was so sweet.

I really thought nothing of this, until a just a couple of weeks ago, when a troubled thought crept into the shadows of my mind. So last Sunday, I casually asked if I could please have Diva's quilt back no matter the condition, so I can at least frame parts of it.

She looked horrified, and stammered: "Oh I'm sorry. I threw it away

Now honestly!!!!

I never said another word about it. I am still speechless, to tell you the truth.

Hubby is adamant that he told her this is a family heirloom that needed repairing, NOT replacing!

How could she make that kind of mistake?

I was devestated, so you can imagine Diva's reaction. All three of the oldest kids were in tears. (all being so very sentimental)

So am still a little in GRRRR mode with that whole situation.

This Friday, Roly and Spindles will have 5 ( that is if they are all allowed to come) friends over for a sleepover.

Should be fun. We will pick them up and drive them straight out to my friend Rachel's riverbank home to play near the river and climb the hill and the trees there.

After dinner, all of us will be driving back into town to see Diva perform at a school recital.

The weather is so beautiful right now. The mornings and dusk especially. I could just get a spoon and eat them up.

We have taken to going for late afternoon walks, and then parking ourselves on a piece of lawn just before the first star appears. Then we sing 'Twinkle Twinkle' to it for Topsy!

And Roly starts his first task ( from the 12 tasks) next Tuesday.

He and I will be volunteering at a soup kitchen in town from 5- 7:30. We will let you know how it goes.

Here are a couple of overdue pics.

The eclipse.

The kids bundled up in their blankets watching it from the trampoline.

I know that probably all you clever gals already have a set of these. But I just found these toothbrush holders and I love them.

Talk more soon.

2007-09-08T23:02:00.000+10:00

Emergency Blues! :(

Just returned home from an unpleasant couple of hours in Emergency.
Roly has been complaining off and on of a weird tummy ache all week.
Tonight he was wary of eating dinner cause his tummy was sore.
Then, a couple of hours later, he went into painful spasms that saw me getting him to hospital as quickly as I could. Not nausea, not wind, not constipation. Just tummy pain!
He was OK once we got there (isn't that always the way!), but while he was having his obs done, he started spasming again. Tears-pouring-down-his-face pain. It was kind of like a contraction, with a peak which then subsided, but it then just turned into a constant gasping pain just behind his ribs.
The urine test showed a small amount of blood.
The doctor first tried a spasm relaxant, which did not work, then ant-acid, which also did not work, and then Pain-Stop! That also did nothing for the pain! Each of these treatments had a 20 -30 minute wait after they were administered.
Finally Doc came in and and started to talk about blood tests and the more nitty gritty testing that we would now have to move onto.
He gave Roly's chest another good prod, and Roly fairly shrieked when he touched the lower abdominal areas!

Then all of a sudden, I could tell that Roly was going to throw up. The docter went sprinting to get something for him to vomit into, but he was not going to make it back in time. I grabbed an empty toy box, and .........
The doc thought he could se breakfast, lunch and dinner in there, when he finally returned. He was extremely grateful for the the toy box saving everyone a nasty mess to clean up.
Then Roly's pain went away completely. The next set of obs showed nothing, so we were released with strict orders to return if anything went downhill. The doctor thought it could have been a severe case of colic, or a viral thing starting.

20 minutes later, I pulled into our driveway and.....Roly gave a gran as he started spasming again!

So now he has had a hot bath and is asleep on the couch, so I can sleep out there with him in case he needs me. The pain seems to have settled, but the ice cream bucket is under the couch, just in case.

2007-09-07T13:49:00.000+10:00

Diva's Party

Diva finally had her birthday party- long overdue. Her best friend's mother suggested we do a joint party, for our two girls. And it worked out very well!

The other Mom made the cake and I provided party bag lollies and party food. She bought a pinata and did a treasure hunt. I did a pass the parcel ( you know the kind where there is a little prize inside each layer) for the girls and another one for the siblings of the party girls!

The only downside was that we kept our list to a minimum because it wasn't our house, but at the last minute several other girls who only knew the other girl came as well. But it was a great party.

The birthday girls

Spindles just before bringing the pinata crashing down! The only person not to have a go of hitting the pinata was Roly!

Dining al fresco!

The half-hour treasure hunt. They never go for as long as you think they will!

The birthday cake. The other girl's Mom is reknowned for her brownie-like slice ( slice is Oz speak for bar!) So she made this rustic '*' cake for the girls out of her slice. Yummy!

Topsy had a great time with someone else's prize!

The party was held at Diva's friend's property. What a view behind the party guests!

As is always the case, the favorite thing was the simplest. The 20 cent rocket balloons the kids got in their party bags just before they went home were so much fun to let of in such a big area!

2007-08-31T13:29:00.000+10:00

I shouldn't laugh.....

Poor old Roly. He is stressed out.

He does an extension class at school and for one of his assessments, he has to take on a famous personality, and make a speech as that person at the last school assembly of term, in front of the whole school (preschool to year 12).

While we were away for a few days last week, all the 'good people' (his words not mine) got taken, and Roly came back to school to find only one person left.......

Mahatma Gandhi.

................................

Ok, so he was a great man who did huge things for his people, but a sensitive 12 year old does not want to be addressing his school in a loin cloth!!!

He tried to find out what he should wear as his costume, and the helpful, and straight faced reply was: 'Oh, why don't you see what you can do with a sheet!'

Heehee!!

I have really tried to get Roly to look at the positives. He has tried out for the school play the last two years, unsuccessfully.

This is his chance, his moment to prove to himself that he can do this.

We can get him looking a bit less like Gandhi and a bit more like he lived in Jesus time. That will deal with the exposed feeling.
And if he writes out a great speech and really really knows it inside out so that he can perform it with feeling, he has a fantastic opportunity here!

I think that once he has done it and recieves the applause, he will want to do it all over again.

It is all in the attitude, don't you think?
Makes me think back to when I started piano lessons in Year 12.

I had to play in a school recital. My recital piece?

10 little Indians.!!!
I was soooo embarrassed. And I certainly wanted no one knowing I was going to be playing at the recital, let alone know that my song was such a baby piece! In fact I even stuffed a bit of it up.

The very next term, a really cool and sweet guy in our class also started piano lessons. That term, he had to play at the recital.

10 Little Indians.
And at breakfast on the morning of the recital, (it was a boarding school), he stood up on a table and personally invited the whole school to come hear him play.
And he had a ball. And so did his audience. He made it cool.

So go Roly! Wear that loin cloth with pride. Own that loin cloth!!!

2007-08-30T14:32:00.000+10:00

A surprise

This morning when I when to do some online banking, I noticed that I had recieved a deposit of nearly $800. Huh?

When I clicked to find out from whence this joyous gift had come, I saw that it was a deposit from the school. The same amount I recieved per fortnight of my four mornings a week last term.
My joy turned to abject disappointment as I realized I would have to call the school to tell them they had mistakenly paid me for a fortnight of part time teaching that I had not actually done.

I got in touch with the payee person, and explained his error. He listened carefully, then said, 'No Michelle, there is no error. We had you down as a full time employee when you did your six weeks for us last term. And that money is your overdue holiday pay.'

Holiday pay, peoples.

I got holiday pay, from a 6 week job!!!

I get to keep the money!!!!!

Thanks Lord.

2007-08-21T18:34:00.000+10:00

Topsy had his first paying haircut today! I figured it would be much easier to let the hairdresser do it, especially with the kids motorbike chair. I showed Topsy pictures from last time (as above), to prepare him for what was to come, and as we drew close to the salon, he kept saying 'Wow, wow wow!!!!

He loved every minute of the haircut. His eyes just about popped out when the hairdresser placed a Wiggles cutting cape over his head. 'Egg' he said in wonder, "Egg!'

I felt slightly embarrased, till we realized he was trying to show us Greg, the yellow Wiggle!

This is before:

And look at my little boy now....

And here is a quick video of him in action. Foolish pride makes me point out that the black rubbish bags under our tree are actually not rubbish but some bags of clothes donated from a parishoner waiting to go into Hubby's car and trundle off to Goodwill. :)

He has never been spiky before. I love it, though it will actually take some getting used to!!! I think I will miss the Boy-Bob for a tiny while, and that's OK!

Mine!!!!

2007-08-15T22:38:00.000+10:00

How do they magically learn that word? And how is it a word that they latch onto so easily and seem to understand so well?

These days every word Topsy utters seems to be preceded by the word "Mine!'

If Diva gets into the car when we pick her up from school, he will smile angelically at her and then will grab her hat, and say 'Mine hat!'

He generally says it to claim items that he know very wel are not his in the least!

Whereupon, we give it back to its rightful owner and say, "no, it is ......'s. You need to say please if you want a turn.'

Do you remember this stage?

I had nearly forgotten! :)

Oh and tomorrow I will be marching into the school with Roly to report another child shooting him twice with a pen dart. As in, a child-made missile using a pen. The boy had earlier demonstrated shooting it right through a mattress. It really hurt Roly.

The boy actually also brought along a pen gun with a screwdriver tip to school! And it happened the day before as well!

So I will certainly be making sure there are swift consequences. Last year the same boy held Spindles down and spat his mouthful of chewed up apple into his face.

NICE.

2007-08-09T20:32:00.000+10:00

Happy birthday, precious Bodie!
He is 12 today.
I have had to make do with an older picture as the camera played up. Grrrr.
Thankfully the video camera captured him opening his presents this morning.
It was a nice relaxed day.
Roly got some great books, Playstation games, and the Disney version of Trivial Pursuit.
He has been hankering for a pet, and our compromise only just got here in the post today!

It is a NASA created ant farm; where the ants tunnel into, and live off this nutrient-rich gel. . We haven't found ants yet; it might be too cold for them!
We went to the kids' favorite 'all you can eat' joint for lunch, though no one was particularly hungry in the end.
Bodie was grumpier than one would have expected on his birthday, and quite short with his sister especially (though just quietly, she is going through a bit of a 'patch' herself at present! :))
The reason for this was revealed a little later on.

Roly never got his birthday cake, nor did he eat his special birthday dinner. He vomited violently at 5:00 and never ate another thing! Poor kid.

2007-08-07T20:53:00.000+10:00

Here is an exclusive first look at our Diva- now 8!!!

She had a great birthday today.

We worked on some of the crafty presents she received, and danced and sang with Bindi Irwin's CD! Diva later climbed into her favorite tree to paint a watercolor of her view!

She is very excited to see what real Sea Monkeys look like in a few weeks time when they have grown big enough to be seen!

Topsy's favorite song is Happy Birthday (or as he gustily sings, 'Happy Beee') He only tried to insert his own name into the song a couple of times today, and implored us to keep on lighting the candles so he and Diva could continue singing and blowing! This is a poor sample of him beginning to sing the Happy Birthday song. My better video is an acutal video using my video camera, that I will have to copy onto my digital to be able to show anyone online!

After lunch and birthday cake we all went to the local indoor playground till closing time.

We get a break tomorrow, and then get to do it all again for Roly!

2007-07-31T20:01:00.000+10:00

Well, we are just about better! Phew! That was not fun!

Topsy is the only one with a slight fever still, but he ate today and actually got off his couch.

It has been a really hard couple of week for Topsy. He has looked sooo sick, not that he complains at all. He has been very clingy, and asking me to 'sit' with him all the time (and when I was sick too, that was fine by me!) The two of us just lay on the bed watching Barney and the Wiggles.

You know, I had some funny things to write about our illness last week, but as I started to write, I have just decided I won't, 'cause I can't tell them right and they probably won't seem all that funny to anyone else! Arrgghh.

My brain is actually to foggy to continue. I am sorry guys, but I will leave you with a couple of pics of something I bought to do with Diva (might I add, she has decided it is not something she is going to be good at!!!!)

Don't laugh. It is certainly not a MamaMentor creation, i know, but I am rather proud of my eighth of a square! It is supposed to be part of a quilt, but I think I will extend it to just be a scarf!

The funniest part was the 10 minutes it took for me to work out how to do the slip knot in order to begin to cast on! The step by step instructions had me boggled. i tried over and over, laughing helplessly as my young daughter lookedon in pity and horror!

We had to resort to the instructional video *!!!!!!* to work out the slip knot and after that it was pretty smooth sailing

Here are the 3 brothers, the PJed older 2 doing Topsy's fvorite thing with him!

They did not know I would be happy snapping, so this photo captures them attempting to flee! haha! Escape is futile!

And these are the new posters Diva has added to her door. Diva loves animals and finds Bindi the Jungle Girl fascinating.

She calls her new pink room: The Den!

2007-07-28T09:13:00.000+10:00

This is just a quick thankyou post going out to my parents!
The past two weeks, our family have been feeling miserable! Beseiged by at least two separate colds and apparantly 2 different strains of high temperature viruses, I have been viewing life through a very dimm wattage.
Hubby was away this past week and a half doing his Master's in Sydney. So the other night when I probably should have taken Rolly and Diva to the emergency room at 2:00 in the morning, I myself was sporting a temp of 39.1 (102 for the Americans)and really couldn't think of who to contact at that time of night to have come and sleep over with the other two. So we didn't go, we just struggled through the night together.
The past three days have really been a depressing blur of being freezing cold, then suddenly unbearably hot; wracking coughs; just waiting next to the clock, waiting for it to again be time to be able to dole out the next lot of medicine that gives us all an hour or so of real relief.
Neither Demazin nor Dimetapp have been able to touch the slimy green factory of nasal mucus that is our family! I think that if I saw Topsy without two shiny rivulets teeming from his nose, I would notnot recognize my own child! He has honestly had a runny nose since the first week I started teaching, all the way back last term!

Any ways, you get the picture? Or shall I go on....
LOL!
Well, anyways, Hubby returned home last night to our great happiness.
And he came bearing gifts, from himself but also from my parents!

With my present, my Mum wrote that she wanted me to relax and have a cappuccino and an Oreo. The cappuccino, the cup and the oreos were all provided in my gift.

SO I did sit down and relax and drink the hot drink provided by my parents!!!

Thanks so much! It was such a thoughtful gift!!!

(I think my camera lens has some thing smeared on it, hence the romantic haze in the pics!!!

2007-07-20T22:27:00.000+10:00

I had big plans to post all about our trip to Sydney, and I will post a few of the pics and some vidoe footage, but it is a bit of an anticlimax being so many days after the trip.
You see, we came home with 3 days left of our holidays, and fell sick, the lot of us (bar Hubby!).
So the past 10 days have been consumed with trying to recover. The kids missed the first two days back at school. Then they all went back on Wednesday, only to have Roly and spindles stay home Thursday with hacking coughs.
Actually as I write this, Diva is asleep on Hubby's side of our bed (he is away on a conference) with a vomit bucket next to her. She hasn't used it yet, but has felt sick all night.
And little Topsy has been awake though wanting to be in his bed, on and off for the last two hours (it is 10:45!!!) He just s wants a drink of water, his blanket up near his chin, and his Andrew Lloyd Webber CD started up again. His nose is streaming, his cough is really fluidy and congested! His nose has been runny for about 9 weeks now! Seriously it has! The doc says he can't do anything for him cause it is viral! Grrrr.
We are much better than we were this time last week though so that is something!!!

So I'll start with the present and work backwards! This holidays, diva and I painted her room pink. It used to be this color:

And now, voila:

We also had a wee helper, who helped with the second coat of paint when Diva was at school!

His little 'umm hmmms' indicate that he is very happy! Oh and there was not a lot of paint on his roller at the time!! heehee!

And today, I got into the boys' room and gave it a real going over. Most of my blog buddies are Super Neat, but I have hoarded all my life, and have not inherited one little ounce of my mother's good house cleaning genes!
spindles and Roly are both pack rats,and hate to say farewell to any of their possessions, even dearly belovedold shoes that do not fit any longer!!
so i got into their room, and got two massive garbage bags worth of clothes, two smaller bags of toys, and three recycling bags worth of books that the boys haven't played with for years! All have been donated to the Salvation army. 3 huge garbage bags of rubbish also walked out their door.
This may not look neat to you, but for my boys' room....WOW!!!

Their room is quite tiny, so the bunks/desk beds are to save on space. Did you notice how both boys have hangers and hooks hanging off the underside of the bunks? Weird!
and the joyous thing, was that Spindles who is a real saver, was reunited with his $40 birthday money missing from nearly two years ago! Whjere was it? Stuck in a book in his bookshelf!
Boy was I popular!

Ok, I also mentioned ages ago now about Roly's coming of age.
Well, he will be doing a range of tasks to make his rite of passage into being in his 13th year!
I havd planned to make a bit of headway with finetuning the ideas this week, but not feeling a 100% interfereed with that, so here is a general and certainly not finalized list.

2. start a job for money- saving (go and chat to someone who is a good saver)
3. acting lessons
4. suvivor skills
5. do the prep for taking communion
6. Bible memory (fruits of the spirit, Phillipians 4:6,7? Any suggestions?)
7. set up a quiet-time plan
8. cycle to Tamworth (14 km bike ride)
9. served a two course dinner for guests at our home
10. volunteer at the local soup kitchen
11. Geocaching adventures with GPS system

As for number 1, well that is the most important one.
Family.
Bringing together his extended family, and having their input into his life at this crucial age. I have added the whole summary or very loose plan for his interaction with each of his parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles, so feel free to skip this bit. But the idea is for him to bond with each one, and glean from their wisdom, especially the men. (their will be a special time with siblings too, but not concrete yet!!)
Where it says' strand of string', the idea is that he gets a strand of material from each family member that will be woven together as a friendship bracelet on his 13 th birthday (the end of his 12 tasks) to serve as a reminder of the people who love him unconditionally and pray for him the most!

1. Family component

1. 2 night trip with Dad
-talk about Bodie’s interests and Dad helps Bodie come up with goals to set to accomplish his and fulfil his dreams
Bodie asks Dad questions about growing up
-Dad shares what he wants and prays for Bodie
-campfire talk
-a strand of string

2. overnight with Grandad
-make something together or do a task
-Bodie asks Grandad questions about growing up
-testimony and being a Christian husband and father.
-Grandad shares what he wants and prays for Bodie
-campfire talk
-a strand of string

3. day with Granny
-make something together or do a task
-Granny teaches him to cook a simple recipe
-testimony and being a Christian wifeand mother.
-Granny shares what she wants and prays for Bodie
-how to treat a woman
-a strand of string

4. overnight with Poppy
-make something together or do a task
-Bodie asks Poppy questions about growing up
-testimony and being a Christian husband and father.
- Poppy shares what he wants and prays for Bodie
-campfire talk
-a strand of string

4. day with Nanny
-make something together or do a task
- Nanny teaches him to cook a simple recipe
-gives him something symbolic
-nanny shares what she wants and prays for Bodie
-how to treat a woman
-a strand of string

6.Day with Uncle Ari
-hike and talk
-testimony and being a Christian husband and father.
-what he wants and prays for Bodie
--a strand of string

7. afternoon with Aunty Kirsty
-testimony and being a Christian wifeand mother.
-what she wants and prays for Bodie
-what she does as a Christian woman and mother.
-what qualities she appreciates in Ari
-strand of string

8.Day with Uncle Phil
-hike, geo cache, laser zone? and talk
-testimony and being a Christian husband and father.
-what he wants and prays for Bodie
--a strand of string

9. Afternoon with Aunty Fiona
what she wants and prays for Bodie
-testimony and being a Christian wifeand mother.
-what qualities she appreciates in Ari
--a strand of string

10. Day with Uncle Campbell
-talk with examining a car motor!
-what he wants and prays for Bodie
-a strand of string

11. Day with Uncle Paul
-activity (laser zone?) and talk
-testimony and being a Christian husband and father.
-what he wants and prays for Bodie
--a strand of string

12. afternoon with Aunty Robby
-testimony and being a Christian wifeand mother.
-what she wants and prays for Bodie
-what she does as a Christian woman and mother.
--a strand of string

13. overnight with Mom!

Ok, I have definitely outstayed my welcome!
*hugs*

2007-07-03T18:45:00.000+10:00

Guys I have a question for you.
Roly is turning 12 in August, and to mark his year before becoming a teenager, we are wanting to set him 12 tasks, one for each month of his twelfth year.
We have some tasks in mind already, some spiritual, some active; but do you have any ideas of a task he could do? Something memorable, something that will bring personal growth? Several mini- tasks could make up 1 big task.

Oh and check this vid out of the Guitar and Marionette. Very clever and funny!

2007-07-02T22:47:00.000+10:00

Well, I can't use the excuse of work any more for lack of blogging.

Could I perhaps convince you that having the kids home on holidays is taking up my time. That is certainly true, but also I think I have got out of the habit of blogging! Must get back into that.

Life has gone back to normal for me, and how happy I am!

It is a quiet holiday so far. We are going away for four nights on Thursday. Going to see my folks in Sydney. It was originally a trip to stay with a very dear friend and her brood while her hubby was away, but that has kind of had to change. I will only see her on Thursday evening, and then they are off on a holiday of their own.

We will also hopefully see my sis, robyn and family on the way home (Uh, Monday some time, Robby!?!? Will you be there?) And our visit coincides with my nephew's birthday celebrations, so we will get to see my sis and bro- in- law and little Reuben. And my in laws. so a very fruitful trip!!!!

I have to say that the stint of teaching really gave me lots of ideas and extra passion for kid's ministry. I am working on implementing different ideas and techniques. The kids we are reaching through Kids's Cloub and now consequently through Sunday School ( I go and pick some of those kids up) have had almost no Bible teaching. Several of these kids have been suspended so many times that they have had to go to an intermediary placement for several weeks. But they are coming to Kid's Club and Sunday School by their own request and are keen to learn.

I have been most surprised by my newly kindled interest in puppets. After seeing how our community's kids interacted with a puppet ministry team from Sydney, I thought, 'surely we can do some of that, on a smaller scale!'

So we have a puppet theatre being made, and four puppets have been ordered.

Here they are:

This is the one Diva chose. Meet Susie the Spring fairy. Suzie short for Sue Dafed. Yes, she is a Spring Fairy with Hayfever. She is only a little girl and a fairy in training.

Meet Multy, the Jester. he's the FUNNY one. Spindles chose him and is developing his character.

Roly's Hound dog is yet to be named or really developed, but here he is:

But as I am so totally excited about the opportunities this might give us, I have spent a bit of time getting to know my puppet, whom I will pick up in Sydney this weekend. I am still mucking around with his name (Oh and he is not yellow, nor does he have that hat. He will actually be purple with orange around his eyes.)

He is going to have a gruff but childish voice. I have written the first script for when we introduce him and his 'flatmates' to our evening service, with a lot of input from the kids, and we laughed so hard, reading it out. Hopefully the kids puppets, which are coming from the States will be here any day, and we can start practising for real. At present, my guy will be the main puppet, and then as the kids practise and get more condfident, they will get solo go for some skits. We plan to use the puppets for only short skits at present to introduce a theme or topic.

Better go to bed, now. More later! *hugs*

2007-06-19T20:33:00.000+10:00

I love a Surprise package!

No time for real posting! But this vid hit our news and I thought I would share.

This is an American Idol type comp in Britain (Britain's got Talent), and this unassuming guy just blew the judges away. They took one look at him initially and seemed to think he would be someone just there to say 'I was on the TV!'
Then he opened his mouth....
I love this song and I cried!

THis little girl is with him in the final. 6 years old. You have already probably heard her, but if not....

2007-06-16T21:11:00.000+10:00

Whew! I waded through 2 hours of parent teacher interviews today!

All good for the most part too.

It was a testament to just how VERY different my two oldest boys are, (I know all siblings are different, but as those who know them would agree, these two really are VERY different!) that out of the four teachers I saw from their stage, that only 1 actually realized they were brothers. The other three were astounded!!! They thought they were really good friends with the same last name.

No, actually, I am wrong. One teacher had found out at the beginning of this week, when she picked up Spindle's sports jacket and it had Roly's name on it. When she asked if he had bought it from Roly (we have a swap shop for uniforms at school), he said "No, Roly is my brother!"

LOL! I find that hilarious!!

Now, ages and ages ago I was challenged to share several things about myself.

Here goes (to the three people who still read my slightly abandoned blog! :)

1. When I was about 12 I ate a side salad in a Kenyan hotel. (disobeying my parents, who always told us to leave a salad, 'cause we didn't know if it had been washed well.

As a result, I developed Hepatitis A, and boy was I sick. I turned yellow, even my eyeballs jaundiced and I missed a bunch of school. I remember that I was so weakened by it that it took me three months before I could kick my feet up to my bottom (it's a kid thing!) The up side was that I was given a ton of American candy and delicious instant porridge sachets by well wishers.

2. That first night that I began to feel sick with the hepatitis, I was so hot. I quietly went and lay on the cold tiles in the bathroom floor, without telling my parents, because in my fevered delirium, I thought God was punishing me for being bad!!!

3.My first language was actually 2 languages. I learnt English at home, but all my friends were Somali, so I was fluent in child's Somali!

4. My longest crush on someone was on Boris Becker. The mere thought of the young German tennis player made me wobbly at the knees! I had a photo album made up of him that went everywhere with me. *blush* I even practised hitting and serving the ball like him for hour in our backyard!

5. My favorite genre of books is crime fiction. Every book I read is so formulated, I can pretty much tell what will happen in the end, but I still read them! This is a conundrum because any real life crime has me deeply distressed, and I pray regualrly for people I hear about in the news who have been kidnapped etc. The thought of crimes being perpetrated on thousands of children around the world that I cannot assist keeps me awake at night.
I wonder if it is maybe the closure that a crime book brings in the end, the baddie getting his justice that keeps me reading.

6. I had my first car accident whilst driving a Road Safety van with the words Road Safety emblazoned on every available space. I was in the wrong lane to turn right on a roundabout, and hence I crashed into a little old lady doing the right thing! Passersby chuckled unsympathetically at me, standing there in my Road Safety uniform by my Road Safety vehicle. Even the police cracked a grin! It was a humiliating experience. I recieved a Christmas card later that year from the dear old lady which began 'We met accidentally....

7. My dream in high school was to be a photo journalist. You know, like for National Geographic! I worked on the Yearbook committee and all! I applied to and even got a place at Pepperdine University, which I only just realized in in Malibu! LOL!

But it was not part of God's plan!

8. My wedding ring has not fitted on my finger for years. For maybe 4 years! I have only managed to get it on in the last month. Yeah!

Talk soon!

2007-06-14T19:36:00.000+10:00

Oh My! I only have 5 days left of teaching! It has been a blast, and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. Actually doing it successfully has been a morale boost. I love taking on a challenge that is far off in the future (so far off, that saying yes to doing doesn't seem to scary until it is a week away!), and actually being able to cope with it when it does eventuate!
But I will be very happy to go back to my old life!! I just hope that this energy will continue after the job is finished.

Last week, the school asked me to stay on as a teacher, for the same hours, but now with extra curricular expectations and parent/teacher interviews. I explained how hard it would be , and they said that if it helped, I could choose whatever day for stage 1 (years 1 and 2) to have as a homeroom day (that is, my day off, when the kids stay in their homeroom and don't come to different teachers for numeracy or literacy). So saying no made me feel even worse!
I would love to have you think they were being so flexible because I am just the best teacher around, but no! LOL! Diva's teacher has unexpectedly had to leave at the end of this term, due to her hubby being transferred with the airforce. And it is a case of last-minute teacher seeking, and 'better the devil you know'.
But I felt wanted anyways!

As for the rest of life?
Topsy gave us a diabetes scare. He has been drinking a lot for winter, and falling asleep early and in odd places, so I took him for a prelim finger prick, which gave an abnormally high result.

Then on Tuesday he had a fasting blood test, which the nurse botched, and I had to come back for 2 hours later.
My hungry child endured more unfruitful poking and prdding till finally the child specialist they called in from his day off managed to draw blood!
GRRRRRRR!

But the result was good, so he is not diabetic! I think my sister and Mom breathed a bigger sigh of relief than me, as I was in a bit of denial, and did not do my usual research on the internet to find out how having a diabetic child wouold change our lifestyle.

so, thanks Lord!

Roly and Spindles were in the Eisteddfod with their class today. Eisteddfods are competitions that involve testing individuals or school groups for singing, dancing, acting and musicianship.
This part of the competition was for spoken verse.
The kids recited two poems and they won! It was such a boost for them!

And Diva has decided that she would like to be homeschooled. After presenting her arguments for this, we saw her point and agreed.....

....being homeschooled on Saturday will be a fantastic idea! LOL! Though when she came to me with the request, I must say, I felt a little sorry for myself. I do it all week, and every Sunday: please give me one day's rest from it!!!!

Oh and I have lost 10 kgs. Please be happy for me. It mean I did not need to buy any more new work clothes! I could wear the dressy clothes I bought before I got pregnant with Topsy!

I have missed being regular with posting, but something had to give: family or posting.... so well...!
I have enjoyed reading what you are all up to!
*hugs*

2007-06-01T21:44:00.000+10:00

End of my third week! Hurrah!

And as far as I can see, the next three weeks will be great. Not too taxing. no new concepts to teach in literacy. which is great.

The funny thing is that, because the last theme we did (poetry) was two weeks long, I just assumed that the next theme (procedures: recipes, instructions for a game, steps to get ready for bed etc) would be two weeks long too!

Never assume anything, right?

So I crammed a whole heck of a lot of things into the last two weeks.

I should explain that I get an hour and 15 minutes with these kids. In that time they do 25 minutes of spelling activities, 25 minutes of reading activities, and 25 minutes of storywriting.

So the teaching time I have is only about 15 minutes before they write a very short 'story' (or in their case a sentence) in their story writing book.

In this time, in the past two weeks we have:

1) learnt a new game by following a set of instructions,

2) learnt to draw a cartoon figure using a set of simple instructions,

3) done a procedure for doing a leaf rubbing,

4)written out our own procedures for getting ready for school, and

5) for getting ready for bed.

6) Done a funny exercise to learn that clear simple instructions are the best.

7) Looked at how disastrous giving vague, wrongly sequenced instructions can be.

8) I read a story accompanied by a set of wrongly sequenced illustrations. Then the kids cut them out on a smaller worksheet, and resequenced them correctly.

9)They also set out a procedure of their own making, listing the materials they would need, and then the set of simple steps.

And then today, with the promise of 5 parents coming in to help, I set up the grand finale for the procedure fortnight; a morning of fun procedures that required all 5 parent helpers on board: first we would follow a set of instructions to make and decorate paper helicopters. And then we would be making and eating funny face biscuits.

So my excited cherubs filed in and looked around expectantly for the parent help. Um, only one granny showed up! Go the grannies!

After the spelling test, we got stuck into the paper helicopters.

The kids were perfect; the paper helicopters behaved themselves and did exactly what they were supposed to.

After the helicopters were finished, we sat back down to hear the procedure for decorating out faunny face biscuits. Due to food allergies, I had had to send out a letter of warning to parents saying that we would be eating plain biscuits, frosting, jellybeans, lifesavers, and 100s and 1000s.

We went outside to make the funny faces, to be kind to the cleaners.

The kids all had a paper plate with their name on it that had a biscuit with a blob of frosting and a plastic spoon.

After spreading the frosting, they used the lifesavers for eyes, the jellybeans for nose and mouth, and the 100s and 1000s for hair.

When everyone had completed their funny face biscuits, they came back inside, and I read a story for the last 8 minutes, while they ate the biscuits, and finished decorating their helicopters.

A resounding success.

The only hiccup was the amount of kids torn between eating their biscuit themselves, and wanting to save it for Mum.

I told them that on the last day of school we will do it again, and bring sealer bags so they can make biscuits to take home and share.

And guess what? After all that, when I enquired what theme I would be teaching next week, because my program does not elaborate; the teachers said "The procedure theme goes for another 3 weeks, 'cause it is so intense!"

Uhhh, you're telling me!!!!

LOL!

In other news, both my older boys came back from their separate adventure excursions (aeach on different ones, Spindle's first one!) today in great spirits. They had a ball. A totally positive experience with lots of great male role models leading the bonding and adventure activites.

Tonight we had a clelbrations feast because the kids reports came in, and each of their techers said that they had done their very best all term. What more can we ask for *chest puffed up in pride*
And Roly, my brilliant child whose concentrations span used to be so bad that he once wandered out of his classroom altogther, and was found sitting on a bench daydreaming, has improved out of sight in the area of concentration and organization.
His true potential can finally be tapped as he is able to focus and work.
Yay!!!
Thanks Lord! Thanks fish oil! Thanks Mozart and alternative therapies!
Thanks patient, consistent teachers, and thanks Roly for persisting!

Now, here is a pick of what Topsy did when I said 'touch your eyes!':

Ah yes...... 'nuff said!
And this is what he looks like when he says 'bath', or in Topsy speak: 'Ba, Ba, BA!'

And every night during his bath, he hops out and runs stark naked around the house in search of Diva in the hopes she will play his favorite game 'tea with the Queen" with him. Tonight she did!

2007-05-26T22:52:00.000+10:00

*EDIT*

Lilli P (hi there! waving at you!), to answer your question, I have not done any more book clubs. At present my sanity cannot handle it. One person still has not paid me for the last book, so it was costly, especially up front. As well, good baby sitters were expensive, and I paid the extra so it made it more feasible for the others (though they would have happily paid the extra, so that is my problem not theirs. Also the organization and discussion was very much enhanced by my partner in crime, Rachel, who has left. So no more book club at present. If we start up again, it will be in the evening.
OK. Back to my post:

Grading those maths tests took a lot longer than I anticipated. I mean, they are only in Grade 2! It took me about an hour and a half! Then I did the spelling tests marking, and initialed and dated all their addition and subtraction worksheets, reading worksheets, before beginning preparations for next week.

That was tonight though, after a nice day.

After seeing the inside of a certain blogger friend's fridge, my subconscious called out for me to do the same so I toiled away this morning till every mouldy item in my fridge was banished, and every surface shone! Such a good feeling.

After Topsy woke up from his nap, we drove in for the last hour of Life Fest. The first ten minutes we wandered around, going, 'where do you want to go?' The though of splitting up was not an option was not going to be a possibility with the massive crowd.

Spindles suggested looking for the the free cotton candy. We couldn't find it, so decided to ask the next person we saw with cotton candy, where they got it from. The hapless girl we saw next, happened to be lost and weeping, so after we took her to the information counter, she pointed us in the direction of cotton candy. The line was huge, and took about 20 minutes for us to reach our glorious sticks of cotton candy.

Then of course we wasted 5 minutes looking for more water to put in our water bottles, 'cause the cotton candy made the kids SO thirsty.

The finale was a release of white doves, which they were giving to kids to hold till the appointed time. That was a high point for Roly and Diva.Quite a few birds got away early as you can imagine , but Diva's was especially quiet, and Roly probably just had his in a tight grip.

oh I forgot to say that this morning, I saw a big labrador out on the road, looking lost. i knew it was Funny Farm's run away, so i calle out "Reilly! Reilly!"

Well, he bounded joyfully over. I brought him in so he wouldn't get any further from his home, and dialled up Funny Farm.

'No, hold on' No, I can see Reilly, he's not missing', she assured me.

LOL! The imposter in the house wagged his tail happily.

The dog pound was closed, so I locked the dog up in our yard, and put all our pets in the house, while we went to Life Fest, in case he would fight with our dog. I thought I would keep the dog till Monday and then call the dog pound.

Then this evening, a friend walked by, and said, 'Hey, I think that dog's picture is on a wanted sign in the local store.

I raced over, and sure enough it was.

Whan I got home and dialled the number, I realized by the child doing a rap as the answering message is one of my kid's club kids.

He called back tonight in paroxisms of joy that his beloved Chester is found! chester will be going home tomorrow!

The boys are on a sleepover. The mother is a bit of a dragon I think. Military folk, and there son is the perfect guest, so of course I used every meal and interaction with my boys these last two days as last minute practise of 'Our Best Manners'!

Fingers Crossed!

As I left them, they were already in a bit of trouble for talking in the house. the baby was sleeping!

2007-05-25T20:25:00.000+10:00

Yeah for the weekend!

I had today planned quite well, teaching wise. It was to be a trouble free day really with both numeracy and literacy classses having to take assessment tests to see how they are taking in the material we are teaching them!

Numeracy went really well, but after recess, and after the literacy got done their spelling test, and I had them all on the floor at my feet looking up at me expectantly, I realized that in all the mass of tests on my desk (I mark all the Grade two tests in all the classes not just mine), I could not find more than 5 copies of the worksheet to go along with what I wanted to get across to my kids.

If this had happened last week, I would have coped so badly. As it was, I felt a hot flush creeping up me. I looked at the time and realized with a bit of joy, that I only had twenty minutes left. So after a little time of summarizing our week's accomplishments, I handed out some 'under the sea' coloring sheets (they have been doing sea creatures in their home rooms) and read them

And it worked a treat. I think their little heads were so full from the stress of the tests and also it being the end of the week, they just settled down quietly and colored like crazy while I read Mrs Armitage and the Big Wave by Quentin Blake. The effect was like rocking a crying baby. They loved being read to. I think I will do it every Friday from now on!

Tomorrow the kids and I ( Hubby is away) will be going to Life Fest. It is an event with entertainment, food, games, animals rides- all free, thrown by the combined churches in our district. I will try to get some pics of our time there to show you. Then the boys are going for a sleepover to a relatively new friend's house.

Have a super weekend, all!

2007-05-24T20:10:00.000+10:00

Just in case you forgot: this is what our munchkins look like! (plus baby cousin Reuben)

Bring on the weekend! I am so ready for it to be here! And I am not really one to long for the future too much. This has been a really good week. The teaching thing is starting to feel natural. The kids are actually learning the concepts I am teaching them *gasp*. That was a huge happy surprise for me! LOL! And because of the nature of the job, I actually come home invigorated and still full of energy. very different to the last casual teaching job I had!!! I barely had the strength to rise off the couch to fetch myself a glass of water then, let alone fend for my family! Morale has a huge lot to do with the difference!

Roly was home two days with a really bad asthmatic cough brought on by his cold. Topsytook his spacer machine and stashed it somewhere, and I stubbornly refused to get a new one, because I knew the minute I did, we would find the old one. So I taught roly to use his Ventolin like an adult.

He went back to school today and when they got home from school, he and Spindles were bursting to tell me about the Refugee simulation game they played at school today following the African theme.

The teachers combined a simulation game I gave them and added some really cool ideas of their own, and the students had a ball. They really learn from the hands on stuff!

Last week, the class had to make a miniature African village using sticks and real cow manure!!! Hilarious. But it came up really well.

Diva and all the kids actually are enjoying coming up to give me cuddles at recess. I am sort of glad I am not her teacher, so I don't have that responsibility, but it is fun seeing her so much through the day.

Topsy is recovering from a cold. He is just the cutest thing you ever saw at night church, where he stands very quietly next to his Daddy (just while Hubby leads the songs and the kid's activities), and then dances for all he is worth to the songs. We have a couple of folk who raise up their hands when singing, and when he sees that he drops his maracas and lifts up his hands too!

He is also getting much more clear in his speech, trying every word we throw at him.

Well my dears, that is us, short and sweet. Hope to get in some pics over this weekend and maybe get in another quick post!