HAPPY NEW YEAR! Reflections continued...

Happy New Year to whoever may be reading this!  I hope that 2010 brings you plenty of love, joy, hope and enjoyment.

I started off the day on a good foot - the kids cooked me brekky!  I have been finding it really hard to sleep past 5am most mornings of late, because of my back/leg aching.  This morning I was blessed with waking at 6am!  Better than a 4am start, which is what I lived with yesterday!

So, here I am at 10:30am, completing my story that I started last night before I headed off to bed.

July and August saw me very very busy!  They went past in a whirl of activity - study, attending lectures at the uni, getting kids off to daycare, more study, 'work' at the hospital, celebrating mine and Mickey's birthdays, making sure the older kids had done their homework, study (again), keeping house (the older kids have their daily chores, but, lets face it.....they just dont do as good a job as me!), study (yep - more!), spending quality time on weekends with Pete and the kids (I kept Sunday as a 'sanity' day - where I would not pick up a book or go online for anything), etc, etc, etc.  Lots of late nights and early mornings, but all worth it in the end!

September was pretty much the same thing......just as busy!  I found myself slotting into a routine, though.  The kids were well and truly into their routine and things went smoothly!  They were aware of when I had to be at the uni and when I had to be at the hospital with the help of a timetable on the fridge.  Heaps of organisation has been happening here!  I spose you have to when you are busy, busy, busy!

October saw the end of my 2nd term of uni and the start of 2 weeks of exams (actually 4 exams over 4 days, but it was 2 weeks in the making).  The good thing was that I had the hardest one first and the easiest one last.  I am pleased to say that I passed all of my courses.  Not with flying colours, like I would like (I could have done a little better with Human Physiology if I had've studied a little better), but I passed all the same!  As a bonus, because they have changed the whole Bachelor of Nursing, I do not have to do anything over this term (uni is essentially 3 terms throughout the year - March to June, July to October and November to February - not much is offered in the 3rd term, because it is over Christmas and people tend to lose focus a little...wonder why?  hehe). 

My last day of prac turned out to be just 4 1/2 hours long (a total of 176 hours were to be completed).  I worked it so that I could have a little extra time to study for my exams.  This day proved to be a little busier than usual (for a Thursday) and I found that I did not leave as early as I intended!  It also proved, again, that I should listen to my instincts and talk up when I feel that something is going to go wrong!  In short, I had a patient faint on me.  Our notes told us that she was to be assisted by two people at all times when mobile, but the enrolled nurse that I was working with thought that she would be ok.  My instincts thought better, but I thought that, because the nurse I was working with had a little more experience than I, she would know better.  I ended up behind her, breaking her fall with my right leg under her bottom and preventing her from falling back onto the toilet, onto the toilet roll holder or wherever else she may have hurt herself in that tiny, tiny bathroom.  No time to run outside the bathroom and hit the 'Nurse Assist' button just outside the door and not much room to move to put her gently on the floor so that I could.  I was trapped and no one heard my calls or me hitting the walls.  It seemed like it took ages for someone to come back in!  By that time, the patient had woken, again, and we got her to the shower chair.  I felt fine after, but it wasnt until that night that I started to feel the affects that it had on my back!  I found myself going to the emergency room, once again, and being referred to the physiotherapy department for treatment.

So this is where November finds me - totally UNbusy, with the end of uni for the year, and having the boys at home an extra 2 days a week (I had to put them into care for 4 days while I was doing my courses) and attending physiotherapy.  I had the pleasure of being treated by a student who had almost completed his training.  I apparently gave him a new challenge!  He soon worked out that I am also having problems with my sacroiliac joint!  This also affects the sciatic nerve, causing the pain (and this time numbness in my outer 3 toes).  After a couple of sessions and doing the exercises that he gave me, I felt a little better - better enough to reclaim my elliptical cross trainer from my friend and get onto it every day for at least 20 mins at a time (once in the morning to get me moving - slow - and once at night to get my fitness up).  November is also when I found my crochet mojo again and I began whipping up Christmas presents by the dozen!  I planned on finding a job as well, but with my back/leg being the way that it is, I reneged until I feel better - just focus on getting my fitness up and then look at doing something like that.

December saw the completion of many projects that I started.  Things continued on as usual (unbusy usual).  Pete went away a few times for work, the kids completed their years at school (all quite well, I am proud to say) and Bubba Pete got excited about starting at Prep next year!  It saw us buying a new Christmas tree, decorations and presents.  December was great for the festive spirit and made us feel alive, again.  We spent Christmas day with my family at Boyne Island.  We drank, ate, drank some more and really relaxed!  A good time was had by all, but it was over WAY too quickly!

December made the last year, with all it's ups and downs, seem all worthwhile.  I am really proud of what we achieved together and individually this year!  I know that 2010 is going to be just as challenging and eventful!  Things are going to get a lot busier around here, but I just KNOW that we are going to get through things.  We will lose faith at times and things will seem too hard to do, but we will be together and we CAN work through the good times and hard times together and come out trumps in the end!

I hope that 2010 will be as exciting for you as I know it will be for us!

Time to reflect.....

It is that time of year again. When we say good-bye to the things that we have done in the past year and say hello to the things we hope to do in the year coming. Therefore, it is time for me to reflect on what has happened to our little-big family in 2009. A lot has certainly happened, when I think about it! Here is a month-by-month reflection for my own good, as well as yours!

In January, we were still living in Gladstone, a little town in Central Queensland. We happened to be living at my Nana's house (she, sadly, passed away 2 years ago now) and having a ball, even though we didnt have much space inside the house. Fortunately, the yard is MASSIVE and the kids found solace in knowing that they had that to play in each day instead of spending their time inside. The summer was hot and sometimes unforgiving, but we got through it without a front door and the breeze that it would have provided, IF we were able to open it! Nana's stuff was in the front room, ultimately blocking the front door...bad mistake that one! I spent some time outside under the trees up the back crocheting a jumper for Weez - my first big crochet project, besides a blanket! *Once my old computer is fixed, I am going to HAVE to find you the photo of it! It is just gorgeous and Weez LOVES it!!*

January was also the month that I was accepted into university! Yep - I am finally on my way to my dream job - a nurse! I have hit a few bumps along the way (which will become apparent in just a little while), but I finished my first year with no failures and I am quite proud of myself and my family!

The beginning of February saw us packing up, once again, and heading off to greener pastures here in Rockhampton, Central Queensland. We lived with Pete's Mum for a little while in her little house while we looked for a house to buy up here. After a couple weeks of looking at run down pieces of crap that needed a heck of a lot of work, we stumbled across this house, which had just come on the market the week before and wasnt even advertised yet! I fell in love straight away (mainly because the boy's room was so big) and it took Pete a little to see it's potential, too. But we are here and we have many, many plans for this place!





But that is not all! Our move meant that the kids had to start a new school! One of the things I love about this place is that it is just across the road from a primary AND high school, so it was easy to just slot them in there. With us living this close to the school and the university, Pete also suggested that I should take on full time study! That meant 4 subjects per term! I wasnt sure how the kids would cope with the extra responsibility of picking up where I left off most mornings, themselves, but I thought it was worth a try, at the very least!

March saw Bubba Pete turn the big 4 and Will turn 1 (my babies are growing up!!). All the kids settled in well to their new schools and daycare and I settled into uni life as best I could (for a 'mature' student).

In April, I was half way through my first term at university (VERY excited!) when I suffered, for the first time this year, an 'incident' with my back. You see, in October last year I was struck with a problem, where I could not move very much at all. I thought that it was my sciatica playing up again and didnt think much of it, until I had to borrow my friends computer (I was doing the STEPS course through CQUniversity) and headed over to her house with 6 kids in tow and ended up perched on her couch while lying down...unable to move another inch because of the pain. The doctor that I saw in the emergency ward referred me to get a CAT scan done on my back, which revealed a bulging disc between L5 and S1 (down the bottom of my spine, between the freely moving bones and the 5 fused bones that eventually lead to the tailbone). This pushes on my sciatic nerve, causing the pain that runs down the back of my leg and up under my foot. Ultimately, this episode was caused from sitting on my butt and studying at the computer!

In May, my 'baby' girl turned 12 and I finished my first term at uni. The break between terms did not feel that long, however, since I had a couple of exams the 2 weeks following end of term! I did, however, pass all my exams (thank goodness) and I now look at my family in a different light - I no longer feel the need to exclude myself from 'life' anymore because of my kids - yes, I DO have a couple more than most, but they WILL get in together when needed and do things TOGETHER!!

June saw my other 'baby' girl turn 6 and, with renewed energy and faith in my family, I enrolled, once again, in full time study at university. This term, I started 'Prac', where I had to go to the hospital and 'work' a certain amount of hours in order to pass a subject. I was placed at the Mater Hospital on the other side of town and did not have the option of working morning or afternoon shift, like so many other students. Morning shift it was, so I headed off at 6:15am on my scooter (our new addition to the family) to make it in time for my 6:50am start. It was interesting, to say the least! I soon learnt the politics of a hospital is no different from anywhere else! My original placement was up in womens/maternity (why oh WHY do they make women who are in labour go UPSTAIRS to get to the labour ward???). I was told that I was basically useless there, because I could do nothing for or with them (we arent meant to do anything more than what we have been taught at the uni). A couple of times I was rostered on with a 3rd year student and, of course, she is able to do much more than I, but there was also a lot of women going in for 'women's' proceedures that I could have been helpful with! So I found myself taking blood pressures, emptying linen skips, etc, etc, etc......basically until I thought that I would die of boredom! All because they could not get out of their little box and give me a darn chance! Well....that is my thoughts, and that's that!

After speaking with my supervisor, I was transferred to the surgical ward, where they had HEAPS for me to do! I found myself busy making beds, taking blood pressures regularly and generally learning a heck of a lot more off those nurses than I would have up in womens/maternity! A couple of the nurses that I spoke to about my problems upstairs just looked at me and gave me a quizzical look. It wasnt until one spoke up and said, 'Well, they are a breed all their own up there.....they think they are special, because they bring life into the world and we dont' that I understood. Sort of makes me think twice about becoming a midwife.



Well....it is late and I am rambling and making HEAPS of mistakes with my typing! I had better head off to bed and finish this tomorrow. Until then....Goodnight! And Happy New Year!!

Our house!!

Time to introduce you to our house, methinx! Well.....this is it! It aint much, but it is home and we love it......well almost! There are just 3 bedrooms. Pete and I share (funny that, hey? For a married couple! LOL) the bit larger than average sized main bedroom. The girls are sharing their average sized room, but the clincher for us buying this house was the boys room! having 5 boys has been a problem in the past....trying to fit them into an average sized room has been a pain! No longer, though! Their room is massive! At just over 6m long and a little under 3m wide, there is PLENTY of room for all of them in there!

Of course, with Pete and his passion for 'improving' things, the front of the house doesnt look like that right now......we dont have any grass out the front! Pete decided not long after we moved in to 'fix up' the front yard and got a bloke in with a bobcat and levelled everything out. Hence no grass. The back yard is the same, but for totally different reasons! There just has not been enough rain lately to water the grass! And sprinklers can only do so much.

Inside needs a bit of fixing, too, which is being done slowly but surely. I kept complaining about not having a linen cupboard, so Pete fixed that by taking the wall out in the hallway, taking a little room from our room and making a large cupboard! It is excellent! I thought that it would become a junk cupboard, but it hasnt! Next on the list is to fix the girl's bedroom.....or will it be the bathroom.....or the kitchen...? I guess I will find out when he gets to it, hey? LOL

Yes...this house is a fixer-uper, but it is home for the moment! Convenient to schools (right across the road), shops (5 min walk to the nearest supermarket) and just around the corner from uni!

Sheepishly stepping back into the room

Well it seems that I have totally neglected this blog! Time for me to revive it, methinx!

There is simply no excuse for me writing here! All it would take is a couple of minutes perhaps a couple of times a week and I can vent my frustrations, furies and anguish over posts!

I fell into the facebook trap a little over a year ago and that has become my place to catch up with old friends, family and neighbours. That was soon after we shut down our business, moved house from my lovely patch in Boyne Island to Gladstone and, subsequently, back up to Rockhampton, where Pete is now working for his Uncle again! All for the better this time, I feel. Things seem to be happening up here! We now own a house (right across the road from a primary AND high school) and I am going to university! All that has taken up most of my time! I am studying a bachelor of nursing and did the first year full time (4 courses over each term). It was pretty full on and they say that it wont get any better from here, so it looks like I will be heading into part time study and applying for plenty of jobs for next year!

The kids are growing up soooo fast! Bubba Pete is heading off to Prep next year and Moo is heading off to high school! Lenny has just turned 14 and J-Man 10 (makes him too old for Santa in this house...hehe), Corky 11, Amy 6 (and excited to be heading into grade 2 next year...doing REALLY well with her school work, too, I might add!), Mickey is 3 (NOT looking forward to Bubba Pete heading off to school next year, coz they are soooo close!!) and Will is 18 months! they grow up WAY too fast!

And that is about it! Just a quick catch up today! I have HEAPS to talk about - kid- and crafty-wise!

Been sick!!!

I HATE being sick!! And the last few days have just reaffirmed my position on that stand. I PLANNED to get a whole heap of study done, but that flew out the window Sunday afternoon, when it was really apparent that I was sick with something and not just suffering from a hangover (which I would be blowed to put a cause to, since I havent touched a drop of alcohol in nearly 4 weeks!!).

Sunday I got out of bed at my usual time, but was back in bed feeding Will at about 7. I woke around 9 feeling a lot better, but not totally. I pushed through til lunch, but went to bed as soon as the younger ones went, themselves.....not to resurface at ALL!! My throat was KILLING me and I couldnt swallow properly; my head was aching like it was about to explode; and my whole body was aching, so I just wanted to lie there, sleep through it all....tempting death from starvation, if it came to it! Come midnight, though, I was up and taking some pain killers...finally!

Monday was a public holiday, so there were no chemists open or doctors and that meant relying on what we had at hand here or what we could get from the local corner store. It was a terrible day, which involved me sleeping lots and the kids and Pete screaming at each other - mainly because, I think, he cant handle ALL (yes, we had J-Man and Corky last weekend) by himself!! Oh! We also had Pete's nephew (a troubled 15 year old), so there was someone else to add to the mix! They all survived....all in one piece by the end of the day, so that was good!

Tuesday, shops, doctors and schools were open, so off we went for the morning drop off run and I headed to the doctors! Turned out I had TONSILLITIS!! I spose I still have it, but she gave me some really good antibiotics that have kicked the sucker in the ass and showed it on its merry way! Just cant drink with them, though....had myself a small Bundy Rum the other night (as sort of a celebration drink) and felt the effects only 1/2 way through it! Next time I will put on my thinking cap and have a caffeinated coffee or something!

Yesterday was a great day! I got most of the study done that I wanted to get done on the weekend, surfed the internet a little for some things and just generally spent time to myself! It is great to do that, when you arent sick! I had the boys at home today, but tomorrow I will be in town, spending some money at the new Lincraft store!! Well, for some of the day, anyway!!

Photo of the day!!

This was taken with my phone camera, so the quality isnt too great, but it looks fantastic as my wallpaper on my phone!! Gives me a little chuckle every time I look at it! Mickey is such a little dork!

05/04/08

Well, this is Will's due date (according to the doctors!). How he has proven us ALL wrong!! LMAO. Just goes to show that a baby will come when he/she WANTS to come! I thought I took some photos of us this week, but cant seem to find them, now!! Oh well....trust me - he has not grown too much for anyone to tell!

Pete is due to take off on Monday to do some drilling jobs for his Uncle out west! So, the kids and I will be spending a couple of days to ourselves - YIPPEE!! This means that he will be away for some of the holidays and we will have Corky and J-Man for some of that, so we will see how things pan out for us! I might get left home with 8 kids all to myself! Wont THAT be fun? LOL. Luckily, my ex-SIL is planning on surprising the kids with a small trip up here, so she will be here to help me out!

My Uncle Steve (my Dad's youngest brother) and his missus and kids have made their way up, today! They are staying across the road at Dad's this weekend and then looking at heading into town for the next couple of days and staying at Nana's place. The only problem is that Uncle Steve suffers from bouts of asthma and Nana's house is close to QAL and gets all the dust and stuff and it aggravates it! Hope he doesnt have any problems on this trip!

31/03/08

Well a week has come and gone and little Will is basically in his own little routine! Just fantastic! I cant believe how well we have all adapted to each other and how he has fitted his own little self into 'us'! Of course, I am not counting on him staying in this routine....give him a couple of months and it will change! Here are some photos of the kids with him at the hospital.


Not much done, this week....not even housework! Oh, well, you get that, hey? Problem is....my sciatica has returned and I am unable to sit for long periods of time....and stand, for that matter! But, I expect it to go when my hormones settle down, again, just like last time (when I was preggers with Dominic). It is just a PITA, though! Quite literally, but more than that! Sitting on the toilet is even a bother! Gives me a good excuse to go lay down, though, coz that is just about the only way for me to 'reset' it!

My favourite photo of the week!

We are doing well with the breast feeding this time round, too! I am enjoying my full boobs, too! LMAO!! Not the saggy, baggy ones that I have had for soooo darn long! I just hope that I can continue breast feeding him as I am really enjoying it this time round. I feel such a bond with him.....not that I didnt feel it with any of the other kids, but this one is different....probably because he is my last and I have vowed to enjoy him as much as I can! Little piggy, though!! He makes such a racket when he is feeding! Must remember to record it on my phone one day....it is just soooo cute! Great for his 21st....hehe.

I am still around!!

That's right, I have not gone entirely insane with all these kids and they have not sent me to the funny farm.......just yet! Things have been really hectic here over the last couple of weeks and finding a routine in amongst it all has proven to be just a little out of my reach. Hence, my internet time has been cut away almost entirely and I have not been able to visit the places I love to visit!

I have decided to do a little catch up over the next couple of days with back dating some posts, so keep your eyes peeled for what we have been up to! Honestly, I have been spending a little time on Word and making up some posts when I can, so I can copy and paste them when I get a chance. So plenty of photos to be uploaded and posts to be posted!

Not much crafting going on here, though! I hope to change that over the coming weeks. The boys need new winter jammies and Moo has just shown me her dull wardrobe, so making her a few things will also be on my list of things to do! Corky is about the same size as Moo, now (except for around the butt), so the things that I make Moo will also fit her....if not now, then a few months down the track! Lenny is quite liking the idea of new clothes made by Mummy, too, so he has his order in for a few things, too!

Slack, slack, slack!!

For those of you who follow my blog I am truly sorry for my slackness in February!! Short month and a lot has gone on, but it truly is no excuse to keep you all up to date on what is happening here!!

We are all fine, but I have been having a few problems over the last week or so. It seems this baby will be the straw that breaks this little camels back! I have had enough! With just 4 weeks to go, I feel fat (though I dont look it, I know) and frumpy most days! Expected, I know, but just a little annoying!! Bub is sitting really low and has been making me feel really uncomfortable!

ETA - I just realised that I have not written much about this pregnancy here!

I have also been in and out of hospital for the last week or so with some shows. Freaked me out the first day (last Wednesday)! It wasnt just the show that freaked me, it was the amount of it! I jinxed myself, I think........"I havent had any problems in all my other pregnancies, except sciatica with Mickey, so this one should be a breeze, too!" PAH!! I was expecting the sciatica to come back, but that hasnt...touch wood! Just OTHER things are worrying me (and the doctors)!

I spent Wednesday night up in for observation, Saturday morning until lunch time and Sunday evening for a couple of hours. They asked me to come back in Monday for observation, again and a scan and they kept me in overnight, again! Scan showed nothing conclusive and it just happens to be 'one of those unexplainable things'.....yeh.....great bloody help! So taking it easy and relaxing and all that is prescribed - yeh right....with 5 kids in this house.....I DONT THINK SO!! LMAO

Bubby is ok - heart rate fine and moving just as much as ever (doesnt mean anything with the movements slowing when it comes to labour, because Mickey was moving the whole time!). I was having Braxton Hicks on Wednesday (machine was going ape!), but they have settled down real well and I hardly have any anymore. This is probably the only pregnancy that I have noticed them, because I HAVE to! Any slight tightening and my mind is turned towards them! My cervix is closed, so he may not come for any time soon.....I hope! I mean, I would be comfortable, at the moment, because MY dates are different to theirs, but if he does decide to come early, then the docs and midwives wont be so accommodating, I reckon! They might try to put it off! LOL.

Alright!! Enough about me!! I will actually go in and add another post about the stuff we have been up to in February!

Just a quick catch up!

No pics today, sorry!! Just a quick catch up on things that have been happenin around here.

Where do I start? Well, Weez is doing well in Prep. She is sooo excited every morning to get up and get going! With this being her first full week, she was feeling the strain a little this morning, though! I suspect tonight will be an early night for her! She had her first trip to the library to borrow books, yesterday, and came home with 'Helpful Betty' (I think). It is all about a hippo that likes to help out her friends, but ends up being a little too helpful, IYKWIM......great topic for her, at the moment, because she is trying to 'help' Mickey all the time, but he is refusing and there ends up being a fight and something wrecked!

Moo is doing well at keeping up with her at school and checking up on her in the lunch hours. They even took a little trip down to the library and bought some books (50c each and the money goes back to the school, of course!). Moo is also enjoying being able to ride to and from school without her big brother hassling her to hurry up! LOL.

Lenny is settling into the high school routine very well. I must sit down with him and organise his books a little, though, because he gets them mixed up and writes in the wrong ones! Good homework, though - re-writing the stuff into his proper books! LOL. I think a lever arch folder will be a good investment at this time! I was advised that he may not want one, so didnt buy one! Shouldda listened to my instincts on that one!

The boys and I are enjoying our extra time together! Tuesday saw us over at a friend's place for the morning.......she has a little boy, just 4 weeks older than Mickey, so it was an excellent morning and not too many fights, either! Bubba declared when we got home that we should do it again! It is just a pity that the weather has been a little too 'blech' to do much more!

This morning found us at the doctor's for Mickey's chicken pox needle (and two repeats, because there was a 'problem with the fridge for the last batches of needles'!). Poor Vegemite just doesnt like needles.....or having his ears, throat and temp checked! He really worked himself up a right treat! All good, though, he dove into the lolly jar and picked himself out THE biggest snake and another and soon devoured them! Good thing Pete was there, though.....my belly is just too big to be able to hold him properly! Strong little bugger was nearly too much for Daddy! LOL.

Weather wise, things have been pretty dismal! It stormed on Sunday night (like, really loud, wake-you-up storming) and that rain continued for most of Monday.....I got drenched taking the kids to school and daycare! Tuesday was hot and muggy and just darn uncomfortable!! Yesterday was a pretty mild day, with a few showers about. Still hot and muggy, though!! Today is a stinker!! Much like Monday, but worse, I reckon!! The sun is really bitey - feels like it is actually eating your sking, when you are out there for even just a few seconds! So, I think this afternoon will be a quick trip to the library after school...just until the sun goes down and the front yard is covered in the nice (?) shade! Ihave been meaning to go and get myself a library card, anyhow, so just might be a great opportunity for that, hey?

My new car!!

Sorry I didnt get back to this the other day! I was too busy running around like a blue-arsed fly! Being Monday, I had HEAPS to do and not much time to do it in!

Anyway....my new car is here. It is new for me, anyway! It is an old Maxi Taxi (Toyota HiAce) that Pete found advertised in the local rag for a sweet little bargain.........he reckons! Meanwhile, a Taxi is BOUND to have done heaps of k's and the motor should be just about f'ed, I reckon.....but he will see when he pulls it all down and has a proper look at it. He pulled most of the head off it the day that he got it and there is sludge just about all through the top! Yeh.....we will see just how good this thing is!! LOL.

Problem is? This is a long wheel based car! There is NO bonnet in front of me when I drive (yep...have gotten too used to the big, bulky hood of the Landy out in front!). AND the kids will be sitting directly behind me!! Yep - the good old Maxi Taxi with the front seat of the back facing the wrong way! Just GREAT!! I can see it now....driving along and the kids are all playing loudly in the back and I pull over for a break and walk into the bush......not for the toilet or anything, but to try and get away from the racket!! LOL. And that is just for a trip into town (20 minutes away)!!! Imagine me on a long trip, say, just up to Rocky (bout 1 1/2hrs away) or somewhere!! LOOPY LOOPY LOOPY!!!!

Just to clarify - yes, there is a lot of noise in the car from the kids in the Landy, but not nearly as loud as what would be in the HiAce! The Landy gives off a lot of engine noise and there is no air con, so the windows have to be wound down......bliss!! I can sit beside Pete for a long time and not have him talk to me, coz he would have to yell! No...seriously...he would have to YELL!!

So....my old Land Rover County is going to be sold! Such a lovely car and I feel all powerful in it, because of it's height and the pure square, bulky, boofness of it. Will just have to get used to everything being on the 'proper' side now - ignition, indicators & wiper controls, etc. Being of European design, they put things back to front on their cars! Back to front to what us Aussies are used to, anyways!

I must say, driving a Landy has been a real experience, though! Pete has gotten to know yet another car and how it works, but there seems to immediately be a friendship with other Landy owner/drivers! I will be driving along and they will automatically wave to me! Just a flick of the finger off the steering wheel most of the time, but a wave and friendly all the same! I found myself doing the same....once I worked out the difference between a Landy and a Cruiser (Toyota Land Cruiser)! LOL. Yes, they are very much the same in size and only a little the same by shape, but when I dont have my reading glasses on, they all look the bloody same to the untrained eye!! LMAO!! That is MY excuse and I am sticking to it!!

Quick catch up!

Just thought I had better come in here and catch up with the last couple of weeks! No....I havent been forgetting to post things - just been too busy!! With school holidays well under way and Pete doing minimal work until February (just enough to feed us, really), my days have been full of interesting fights to referee, things to find for the kids to amuse themselves (if I hear "I'm bored!" one more time, I am seriously going to consider shooting the kid that says it!!) and just general life things!

Not much crafting has been getting done, as a result! CM have a challenge this month to reuse the Chrissy stuff - like wrapping, cards, etc - so I have been thinking about what we could do with what I WAS able to salvage - mainly boxes that the kids stuff came in.

I was able to teach the girls the basics of the sewing machine and Moo and I got in and did a couple little projects together last week (tissue pockets). Corky wasnt here, so she is ITCHING to get back into it this week! Yesterday was a pretty full day, so we will try to get into something at lunch time, when the babies go to sleep. Now, both the boys are interested in giving sewing a go! I tried to teach them all crocheting last Christmas, but that didnt last long...so we will see how long THIS lasts, hey? LOL.

Busy weekend!! I became an Aunty TWICE!! My SIL (Pete's sister) had her little girl on Saturday night and my best friend had her little boy on Sunday night! Ok, so not such a busy weekend for US, as such, but I could not sleep Saturday night and didnt know just WHY until the phone call came through at about midnight!! I am planning on making them both a set of burp cloths each and a travel nappy holder to match. I will have to send SIL's up to her, but she is in a private hospital and this is her first bub, so she wont be out of there for another couple of days. My best friend should be out today.....providing all went well last night!

Great start to the week!!

Well....it is the start of the holidays and we DO have Pete's kids here.....BUT......Pete is away for the next couple of days!!!!! He has taken the two older boys (Lenny and J-Man) with him and is working a whole 6-7 hours away! LMAO......not something I would normally be happy with, but, for some unknown reason (could be his bad mood on the weekend) I AM glad!!

The babies are at daycare, today, and I DID have heaps planned for the girls and I to do, today - like start teaching them how to sew (giving them an early Chrissy pressie), painting some things for Chrissy pressies and the like - but, it turns out that Pete needs me to do some work, this morning, so they are being put off......just for a little while. We are headed into town this arvo to visit a friend, so I plan on cruising through the paperwork and having it finished on time, so we CAN get some things done!

Our weekend was GREAT!! Saturday started off a little rocky, with Pete getting shirty at the kids while we went out to garage sales and the like, but all was well after a very quiet drive up to Yeppoon (quiet, because the babies were asleep in the back and the kids were in the very back of the car and we couldnt hear them, coz my car is a little noisy when going long distances - picture no air con, windows down and wind rushing through the car!). He seemed to get over himself and enjoy the afternoon.....even though he SAYS that he HATES getting together with his family. The kids had fun in the pool, although Bubba pushed the limits a little and stepped off the edge to the deep end (they were in the shallow part - more like the spa bit, but not actually separate from the main pool)......just checking that he COULDNT reach, like Mummy said, I spose!

Yesterday, we had lunch with my Dad, Bro and SIL. Bro and SIL are moving out from across the road (they have bought their own house over the other side of town), so I saved them some bother and made them some lunch, because I could not help out any other way.....something about me being pregnant and picking up heavy objects PLUS all the kids wanting to follow me over there!! After lunch, I went over to my friends' place and spent a little time with her. Her parents are up and are like parents to me, so it was great to see them, too.......the pool was just a bonus.

No crafting done on the weekend. Just a few quick and easy sewing projects on Friday night. But the social time with others (besides direct family) was excellent!!

Don't ya hate it?

When you have HUGE deigns and inspiration to do something and actually follow through with it and complete it, but it just doesnt happen, because you get sidetracked by something else?

My crafting for the week was sposed to be dictated by the list to the left, but I havent completed ONE single thing!! I ran out of material or time or.........you know the drill! Not happy, Jan (I wonder who, exactly, Jan is. People just dont seem to be happy with her AT ALL)!

My friend FINALLY had her baby girl on Monday, so I have been busy making things for her and her big sister.

There are some burp cloths (based on the tutorial found here, but made with towelling nappies with some extra padding in between the decorative fabric and the towelling).



And a crayon holder for big sis. I WAS going to give her the one I made the other week, but was not completely happy with it, so it will now go to Weez for Chrissy. Yes, this one IS much like the last one....same fabric and tutorial, just different uses.....but I like the combo so much, that I just HAD to try it another way!



D's placemats are coming along well. I have made the two layers....just have to get some thin batting for between the layers and some bias binding for around the outside and they will be ready - well in time for Chrissy!

I went through my stash this morning!! I cleaned it up and sorted it all out, folding the fabric and working out just how much I had of each and exactly WHAT (and just what I didnt think that I would USE!). I found quite a few from Big W that still have the cardboard around them, so they are now in the wash (I have probably had them for YEARS!). Also, I can now see what I want, when I want it - the joys of see-through boxes! No more rummaging through the boxes until I find out what I can use and what I cant!

Hmm....seems the running theme for me having a blog is to neglect it! Since I have never been one for keeping a diary (although I have had heaps, I never keep them up), this doesnt surprise me one little bit!

Lots has happened in the last couple of months, though. As you would expect, the kids have grown up sooooooo much and I just cant keep up! I have been bitten by the crafty bug and have many, many plans to make HEAPS of stuff for Chrissy pressies, this year! This will be my first handmade Christmas, so it will probably be a little interesting, to say the least!

I have also found out that I am pregnant.....again!! So excited! And, of course, we are hoping for a little girl, this time, to even out the numbers. I am due March 31st.....one day over and I could have myself an April Fool! Seems the time to have a baby, though - a couple of my friends are pregnant, too! It is a weird feeling, being preggers with friends.....I am not used to it! But, I find that I am able to keep a track of them as well as myself (one friend is due in a couple of days and I will be 1/2 way in a couple of days - weird, hey?).

Pete has started a job out at the Smelter (Alumina plant) and is doing shift work (4 days on, 4 days off). He is still running his own business, just in his days off. Yes, it is a little more stressful, but at least we dont have to rely on clients money coming in to pay the bills!

That is about it, for the moment - well, enough that I can catch this up, anyway. I will be on a little later to catch up a little more and share some photos!