Splash!

WOW, I can't believe I sleep 10 hours last night. It helped to have the fan on coz it's so hot already - 27 degrees at 9am.

Gonna jump in the pool now, me thinks.

Library Day

Weather zone may say that the maximum temperature near my house was in the mid-30's but my car told me at was 36 when I picked the kids up from school, 38 about 45 mins later after we'd stopped off at the shops and then 42.5 after we'd finished at the library. I just don't know who to believe, but I know it's f#%$ing hot!

The library was the second of recent trips with the smiley monster and, despite him being so full on and reasonably uncooperative all day, he was actually much better than the first time. I'd told him last time that if he didn't behave then he wouldn't get to borrow any books and he hadn't behaved then so only the impossible princess and I borrowed books. He seemed to really understand this as he's mentioned it several times since and again when we got to the library and then he was well behaved enough to choose some books to borrow this time, which he is stoked about. I've read him two of the borrowed books tonight but one of them he liked so much I had to read it to him three times!

The oldest two have survived their first week back at school (or part-week) and are all very positive about their teachers and the things they are experiencing. They're all at such wonderful ages and I marvel every day at their little personalities.

The moon is a beautiful waxing crescent shining through my window right now. The night is peaceful and I'm grateful for air conditioning, which I do my best to avoid putting on until night time. Looking forward to an early night to bed to read before falling asleep. Good night.

Saturday Night At The Movies

Going to the drive-ins tomorrow night. I love the drive-ins!

The Art of Consistency

Well, last night was just lovely. I was so prepared it wasn't funny, but in reality that was only because our guests ended up being late. And, we were expecting four people but ended up with nine plus a four month old baby and our existing five, so that was a bit of fun, but I set up the trestle table at the end of our dining table and it was all good. I am so grateful that it all worked out wonderfully. We had plenty of food - I'm such a fan of over catering! - and the company and conversation was wonderful as well. They are such lovely people and they do the whole family thing so well.

Much happier today. Took the smiley monster to the shops and he really lived up to his name. Got home a little after 10 and The Starchild was already home. He's helping our neighbour move as they are retiring to Diamond Beach in the next few months but have negotiated access to their new place so will be able to stay there. The Starchild will be driving up and back today. They've been great neighbours and it's been wonderful for them at how their plans have worked out. I'm looking forward to meeting the new people though. I think it's a couple with one child and another on the way.

Have painted, done some "school" work, played on the swing and done a few things in the garden with the smiley monster and I'm pooped already. I feel better today and am thinking that I need to work towards consistency in more of my life.

Practical Musings

My feet are sore but are they aching from too much running around or from standing still for too long and not moving forward when I should be? Yes, very deep, aren't I? In actual fact, they are probably just aching from a combination of the tile floors at home where I am spending more time these days, shoes without enough arch supports and the extra 20kg I'm carrying around.

Escapee

Having a bit of a down day today. Started out being acutely aware that my motivation and will power issues were dominating my activities. I'm still very busy, but my priorities are out of whack. Re-assessing what I want and where I want to be but mostly looking at what is stopping me from taking action when I know and truly believe that this time in my life is a huge opportunity. Meh. Whatever. My glass is just half empty today, that's all.

But I found some motivation this morning and worked out what I wanted to get done as was five minutes from escaping to the cottage open day when The Starchild stops in for 5 minutes and we end up in an argument and I'm left in tears feeling way lower than I started. It wasn't about any one thing, just a few things building up, I guess. But, thanks to some the bodacious and sagacious gracious advice, I realise that I shouldn't let myself blow this out of proportion. So, The Starchild and I will make time to sit down together and talk a few things through. Unfortunately this won't be until tomorrow at the earliest as we have visitors tonight and he will be too tired with his 2am starts to talk after that. But then again, it is probably a good thing that there is a little time for me to think about what things I really want him to understand.

It was nice to get to the cottage and I have paid my deposit for Stroud. I was trying not to think about Stroud as I thinking it would be too difficult for me to go but then I stopped and thought about how much I really enjoyed it last time and how good it would be again and decided that I would go. And now I'm starting to get excited already!

Back to the cottage on Sunday for sisterhood day, which I am also really looking forward to. I can't believe I have escaped the house so many times this week!

A Little Bit at a Time

Kman had first day back at school butterflies that turned into tears in the school car park. Last year it was the impossible princess who ended up in tears because she wasn't sure whether to leave her bag in the quad or to take it to the assembly where they announced the classes. I kept reminding her today that the lesson from that was that some people left their bags and some took them and it was all good either way and then this year they held the assembly in the quad so it didn't matter anyway.

With no problems last year for Kman, it was a little surprising that he was upset but he is such a sensitive little soul. I know that if we are late or not organised then the widdies absorb the anxiety of those things but we were very well organised and our timing was very good and the morning was all happy. But still there were tears and still they break my heart.

Even now I don't know the best way to interact when he is being overly sensitive. On one hand I want to smother him in kisses and hugs and take him back home with me, which, of course I would never do, but the instinct is there. On the other hand I think it would be better just being tough with him so that he learns to toughen up (which is usually the path that The Starchild takes). I guess I end up somewhere in between. I give him the reality that its something that he has to face, tell him kindly that all will be ok, pass him a tissue and don't allow him to wallow in the car, despite his concerns that his eyes look like they've been crying.

Of course, he was fine once we were there. We sat down for a second and then he spotted a mate and off he went (with the odd sheepish glance back over to me from time to time).

I have to say it was also lovely catching up with the other Mums. We had a pretty close group of Mums when Kman was in Kindergarten. I wasn't working then and was new to the area so the contact was good. Then I was pregnant so that is always good for conversation. Then I had the smiley monster so same deal there. A lot of the families also had a second child going to school in the same year as the impossible princess and I was working again when she started school so I didn't really make new contacts then. I wonder how things will be in 2011 when the smiley monster starts school. Such wonderful things to look forward to!

So, I've gotten them off to school, done a grocery shop (without any kids - oh, relief), put all of the groceries away (without any kids, and I guess that one works both ways) and will have to leave again in two hours as there is one more thing that I have to get from Greenhills today, then I'll be back up at the school. Then swimming lessons at 3.30pm, then picking up the smiley monster from care, then dinner and the rest of the nightly routine. And The Starchild has just gotten home so even less chance to do anything productive. I don't know when I think I'm going to be progressing this business! Just a little bit at a time, I guess.

The Necessity of Discordianism

Well, the To Do list looks wonderful, although still two things that didn't make it into today's reality. Tomorrow will have a greatly different focus and I'm teetering between going crazy on "work" stuff or sprawling out on the lounge watching DVDs and eating ice blocks all day. Ha - like that would happen!

The house is increasingly prepared for visitors on Thursday: the Virgo Nurses' fiance's family. Lovely people and they have been so welcoming of us at many of their events so it will be very nice to have them in our home.

Congratulations to everyone else out there who has successfully survived another round of school holidays. May we all heave a sign of relief and begin to recreate order from chaos in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Fare thee well, Discordia. For now, at least.

LG - Life's Good

Another day with every window in the house open. It's a lovely way for the house to spend it's days, me thinks.

Very ambitious To Do list today but ploughing through it - much like I was ploughing through the kids hair as Back To School haircuts were one of the items on the list.

Just about ready for tomorrow. Will iron (no, haven't done that yet - didn't really have long enough ;-p) and prepare lunches and that it. Well, as far as I know, anyway. Binn's oldest is starting High School so I need to drop the smiley monster off right on time so as not to make her late. Gone are the days of sleeping in for another few months at least. By then I should be a crazy-ass, self-driven, full fledged entrepreneur and won't want to sleep in. Yeah, right.

Still a few more things to do but all paced very nicely throughout the rest of the evening. Hoping our Jelena will win tonight but won't see all of it due to stupid addiction to NCIS. Looking forward to all the good shows coming back soon (as opposed to the 'evil' ones that therefore must be on now). Don't understand why 7 have two fully functional channels and still have to run the same show on both and then something else interesting in the late time slots when I should be asleep. I hope they don't make me sign petitions again like I was forced to last year when they put Lost to 10.30pm!

Oh well, if that's all I've got to complain about then life must be pretty good.

Back By Popular Demand

These little friends of mine have appeared previously in my blog as I drew each of them but as no one knew I was out here then I have been requested by the bodacious and sagacious gracious one to list them again - and who am I to deny an Aries woman!

This is my Undine. She was my first drawing for a very, very long time and I was happy with how she came out. Of course, she is far from perfect in many, many ways, but she is also symbolic for me of taking another step along my path.



This is my Gnome. His proportions leave a lot to be desired, but I guess that's true of most gnomes (although I'd never say that to their face).



This is my Salamander. He is not how I wanted him to be, but I was glad he was done.



And this is my Sylph. She's my favourite and she took me hours. Again, not a perfect drawing but I do love her, which is the main thing.




So, not only am I blogging in public, I am also offering my personal creations for critique. Boy, I have come a long way very quickly!

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.

Back from BBQ lunch.
Watching tennis.
Napping on the lounge.
Kids and menfolk were fishing (or at least pretending to) out the back for a time.
Lovely day with lovely company.
But, oh, so muggy!
Watching the impossible princess riding her bike out the front now.
Kman watching Myth Busters.
The smiley monster playing Thunderbirds.
Life is good.
Oi, Oi, Oi!

Weekend Waffling

OK, yes, I admit it: I have been blogging away in anonymity for a little while now but felt I was ready to step out into the light. Very glad for the presence actually, and for the warm receptions - thank you, ladies all.

Back from Sydney; glad to be home. Widdies are pretty revved up and it's hard to get them to sleep in the heat (even though it's cooler today, it's still so muggy inside!) so they're having some quiet time playing in bed before lights out.

First contact from Odin since his mid-December visit. He's been having a tough time, as always, but he's too tough to actually complain. He'd met up with many other vets since moving to SWR but one that he served with in Vietnam died a recently and he's been trying to deal with that. He said it was sudden going from normal aging to dead in the space of a few months from what he described only as some 'Agent Orange cancer bullshit'. I can't help but feel that he is somewhat jealous. I know he is in pain and has so many things wrong with him (serious stuff but nothing with any major impacts on day to day life as such) and I know all the drinking is his way of speeding up the process but still he keeps going and going and going. He reminds me of one of our cats. She was the runt of the litter and her mother (my first cat) barely let he feed and weaned her very early. She had a crazy personality where one day she loved people and the next she absolutely hated them. She would get skin irritations and suffered from stress and anxiety but 15 years on and she is still with us having outlived her other three siblings and living to be man years older than her mother who has been gone about six years now. Funny how things like that work out.

Shared wedding preparations with the Virgo Nurse. She's so organised and they are going so full on with a Michael Jackson impersonator (which we're not meant to know about but she can't keep a secret so she's told us and hasn't told her fiance hehehe) and now also considering a comedian even though the schedule is already jam-packed. They got such a good deal on the venue but are spending so much on cars and photgraphers (there will be THREE of them and that's not including the one doing the video). It's going to be an Australian-ised Coptic Orthodox affair which they had to get special permission for many things that they wanted, such as having The Starchild walk her down the isle although some things were not negotiable. Father George had to raise it at the monthly diocese (or whatever their equivalent is) meeting and he was a little worried because he had already said 'Yes' to most of the details but their head guy was actually stoked at the changes and is planning on having it on the front page of their next newsletter as a wonderful integration of their traditions and Australian culture. Very nice.

The nine live cat with clipped wings is his usual self. Pretty good visit and the overseers were more relaxed than ever before. Shine was operating, which always makes things so much better for everyone. Even got to take the smiley monster out for a wee break and then back in! No problems there at all surprisingly.

BBQ at the outlaws tomorrow. They'll be going to Tassie later this week, which is fantastic! They've wanted to go for so long and to actually be going and have it all planned and happening is just wonderful.

That's about all. So much to say about so little but waffling's in my nature and that's just what I do when I have so much more time on my hands I guess.