HOT! HOT! HOT!

That pretty much sums it up!

We are supposed to get a cool change sometime tonight but it doesn't feel likiely at this stage. It was still almost 30 degrees Celsius at about 6 pm here tonight.

The girlie has had a temp all day as well as colic last night. I am hoping that it is the heat and teeth rather than anything serious. She seems to be much better since her cool bath (even though she hated it!) and has finally gone to sleep.

Anyway this heat has got me exhausted so I am off to bed. I finished Spin Cycle this morning so I think I will move onto The Devil Wears Prada tonight, just for a bit of fun. I can read my book group book tomorrow.

Oh my goodness!!!

She ate some potato! I am still in shock! It was only about half the size of a five cent piece but I am sure that is progress of a sort LOL!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch - we are in the midst of stocktake at work - argh!!!! I do so hate stocktake. Backache, armache and the feeling that you never want to look a novel in the face again... Still, we'll find out how many books got nicked this year... :)

I have my Christmas list sorted out (not going to post anything here cause my mum reads this! :) )so that is a weight off my mind. Next to work out is the Christmas card list and then I have to write them! So much to do!! Only 2 1/2 weeks left!

That means there are only 2 weeks left of work (8 working days for those of you playing at home!). Pippee! Pippee!

Girly... yet elegant...

...is the look I was after.

I do like my new bedlinen.

And the best thing about it is that I got to choose it. No-one else has to have any input in it except ME!

"I'm in a big bed!"

Yes, it has finally happened - my little girl is now in a big bed! And very excited she is too!

She has slept in it for two afternoon sleeps and once overnight so far - she managed to fall out once last night reaching for Zoe (a small furry puggle-like creature - photo to follow at a later date) but has not been so bad the rest of the time. I bought a trundle as well, so she has fallen onto that. The trundle is not only handy to break falls - it also doubles as a step. Yes, that's right, the bed is TOO HIGH! After all my checking and double checking at the shop it turns out that this mattress is about and inch higher on this bed than the other one. And she can't get in it.

Oh dear.

She also doesn't know that she can get out of it anytime she wants - an idea I do not intend to disabuse her of... :) But I'm sure she'll work it out herself soon enough.

IN OTHER NEWS:

It turns out that the main character of Spin Cycle is a librarian. Curiouser and curiouser... :) This book is getting closer to home all the time! :)

Thanks to Fleurie for setting up some more links on the side of my blog. I will update them soon (ie. when I have time to figure out how to do it...LOL)

There are only 3 weeks to go till Christmas. That means there are less than 3 weeks to go till holidays!!!!! I just have to get through stocktake first. Hmmmm... Stay tuned to see if I survive...

ARRGH!

I just spent 1 hour and 36 minutes on the phone.

While it was lovely to have such a great conversation with a great person, I have done no folding, no dishes and missed Agatha Christie. And my ear is still sore... :)

Still, I did get a nice cup of tea. And I got to have an adult conversation with and intelligent and learned person, so all is not lost.

And the writers muck with the endings of those Agatha Christie specials anyway. Fancy inventing new characters and new motives into an already full plot!

Tonight is the girlie's last night in her cot. Yes, I have gone out and bought her a bed. I intend to take her out tomorrow and buy a nice doona cover and some nice sheets to go with it and then we will come home and put it all together. She likes helping do things like that. I might nip into the store quickly before she does and hide the Wiggles' sets first though.... :)

I have been able to do some more reading recently. I have found a new author, Sophie Kinsella. Her books can only be defined as chick lit, however the book I read, The Undomestic Goddess was lots of fun and a really enjoyable read. And not too cringy - unlike Bridget Jones' Diary! Currently, my bedtime reading is called Spin Cycle by Ilsa Evans. I haven't gotten very far into it but it seems good. Partly because I have a fairly intimate knowledge of the part of the world she has set it in. It's very weird to think that you know exactly where the character is when she's having lunch... :)

Anyway, I am going to go and read it now - the dishes can wait. I, too, can be an undomestic goddess.... :P

Tired...

...and that pretty much sums it up for me... LOL.

The girlie has had croup and gastro in quick succession - which has meant a LOT less sleep when we were both only just getting over daylight savings time starting. (Doesn't that always knock you round?)

Work for other teachers is starting to wind down (well classroom-wise anyway) but for us in the library it is starting to wind-up with a fiction stocktake looming! Yes, we get to find out just how many books have made it past our security system in the last 3 years! :)

On the upside, some lovely people from church came and not only mowed my extensive lawn (well huge dandelion patch might perhaps be more accurate) but also whippersnipped the edges. It really made my week. I even got inspired and went and weeded around the lavender out the front. Now I just have to keep it up and weed other bits too.

And tonight I got to scrap! It's a day of protest tomorrow and apparently I am protesting. Or not, as the case may be. I am certainly not protesting a day off work! Even if it is unpaid. It means that I can do some housework (sadly? without my usual aid of a small but enthusiastic helper) and also have some time to myself. Hence the fact that I have ignored the folding and the washing up tonight. And scrapped instead...

But I will head off to bed now and get some well-earned rest. And hopefully I will be allowed to sleep through... :)

"I don't wan' it...."

So how to come back at that??? From a two year old???? Before you've even set tea on the table????

I don't know what all the rest of you would say, but this week I have been "Mummy the Mean" and am about to become "Mummy the Even Meaner".

I have decided that I am tired of preparing two different meals (all she will eat for dinner is corn-on-the-cob, plain pasta, plain rice and egg and toast) so this week I have given her pretty much what I have had. So the menu has been meat and 3 veg, vegie soup and toast, pasta and meatballs and rice and stir fry. I didn't give her the sauces for the pasta and the stir fry because I am nothing if not kind and know that she really actually doesn't like tomatoes (established early on) and satay sauce is really a bit hot for her (as well as containing peanuts).

Tonight was a delicious tuna pasta bake lovingly prepared and much enjoyed by both me and XDH. Of course, true to form, the girlie would not even try it - pushing it away before we had even said grace. So, as I have done all week when she has refused food I said "Well, that's what we're having and that's all there is" and she got down from the table.

What she doesn't know (and this is where my new title comes in) is that I made enough so that we could have the leftovers tomorrow night. And since she hasn't touched hers I have no cumpunction not to serve it to her tomorrow night.

I wonder how long both of us can hold out?

Knicker girl...

Today, as I was having my shower, the girlie was very quiet so I ducked my head out to see her trying to put on my knickers from the pile of dirty laundry. I exhorted her to remove them from her person in many different ways, but the only one that worked was "They're dirty and they need a wash." She left the room to put them in the laundry - or so I thought. The next thing I know she has brought in a clean pair from the washing basket and is putting them on - then pulling on her pants afterwards. Talk about observant!

Had trouble with her spitting today. I can only assume that is has something to do with her recently acquired skill of brushing her teeth (after which you spit into the basin) or that she has seen a kid at daycare do it. Either way it is pretty yucky. We had a few incidents with it today but she eventually got the message after I had a light bulb moment and actually explained it to her that you only spit in the basin.

On the upside - she put her pyjamas on all by herself tonight. Woohoo!!!!

As we were making the bed tonight, DH mentioned that there was too much floor in the bedroom... but he seemed happy about it :) LOL.

I am going out to scrap tomorrow - two classes of 3 hours each. And I don't even have to come home for lunch!!!!! I must be really excited about it because every time my mobile rang today I kept expecting it to be cancelled! And I have my bag packed and ready to go!!

Glasses of water today = 5
Stargate episodes watched = 1
loads of washing = 4
folding done = 0 (how sad... :P )

Scrappy day...

I scrapped!!! Haven't done that for ages. It is cybercrop weekend at Chookscraps and this was challenge #4 - make a card using your scrapping supplies. The star took 2 1/2 hours to get right - and then I had to replicate it in nice paper!!! Grrrrr.

Got to finish Chasing Charlie Duskin this morning. DH got the girlie her breakfast so I got to lie in a little bit. It was a good read and I enjoyed it but I think it would have been better if I'd been able to read it in one sitting!!!

Have moved onto Love on a Branch Line (aptly retitled by my family Lust on a Branch Line - see the BBC series and you'll understand why! :) ) I have read it many times - it is right up there on my much read list along with Pride and Prejudice and Cold Comfort Farm.

I still have four books to go on the CBCA Book of the year list (and I have heard they are the depressing ones) so I had better get onto it soon.

The girlie's language is coming on in leaps and bounds. Every day she comes out with new words and concepts. She has even started reading books to herself in the morning while we are rushing around trying to get ready!! She has started to sing in tune (to a certain extent) and that is very exciting too!!!!

the dreaded fridge

I cleaned out hte fridge today. I found lots of stuff to toss:

2 jars of salsa
2 almost empty bottles
2 empty cream cheese containers
7 jars of jam in various states of uneatenness (some I have just chucked - I am too scared to open them... :) )
1 half-used bottle of magadophilus capsules with use by date of 07/05 (there's $35 I'll never see again...)
1 half empty jar of yukky hoi sin sauce
1 unopened airline container of apple juice
2 packets of fast food s/s sauce
4 sick looking chillies
2 jugs of cordial from whenver I last had a cold
2 mushroom bags
1 egg from who knows when
1 piece of dried broccoli
2 pieces of paper towel that DH had soaked in vanilla and put in the fridge to get rid of a smell at some stage

I also folded all the clothes (the sheets and towels will have to wait, however) and managed to change the sheets on our bed.

I also drank 8 glasses of water. It probably doesn't add up to 2 litres, but it's better than none!!

On a more personal note - I asked the girlie what did Mummy need and she said "a cuggle"... :)

Not Mummy

Today the girlie let us have a bit of a sleep in - she didn't wake up until 8 am!!! Which is a nice change from 6.45...

DH went in to get her and as he came in she said "Mummy!!!!", to which he replied "I'm not Mummy".

"Daddy!" she said and then he brought her in to see me.

"Cuggle Mummy!" and I did as I was bid.

She proceeded to point and name everything (as is her want in the morning).

"Mummy, Taggyn, pirrow, co(t), not mummy..."

We laughed.

Always read the label...

I can't believe it!! I have put off disinfecting the girlie's favourite bear because I didn't have any Pine-O-Clean and didn't want to use bleach or to wash it in the machine because I thought it might have cardboard joints. And of course these would 'melt' if they got wet. But what do I see as I am painstakingly giving it a sponge-bath tonight? "Gentle Machine Wash"...

Grrrrr....

Anyway, I have done heaps of cleaning today - swept, vaccuumed, and mopped floors - cleared and wiped the bathroom benches, washing and folding (of course), made dinner and sandwiches for tomorrow at the same time and I even got to read a bit more of Lost Property! Which is turning out to be rather good.

DH, meanwhile, has been taking photos of colour-cordinated M&Ms...

hmmm.....

Lovely day

We had a lovely day today. We were invited out for lunch, and although it was a late one, the girlie behaved herself impeccably (well mostly!). She was a bit silly when we got home though.

Have decluttered one side of the kitchen (yesterday) and washed all the sheets and done most of yesterday's folding. The other half of it is still ont he line as I think it is too cold to go out there and bring it in tonight. We have enough clothes to be going on with. I have also managed to clear a path to the wardrobe in our bedroom and have been finally able to put away DH's shirts in it instead of having them hang over the doors.

Queen's Birthday holiday tomorrow so I can get stuck in and clean for the week so I won't have to do any of it again until I come home from holidays!!!!!!! Well, that's the plan anyway. Just have to get off my behind and do it.

Have just started to read Lost Property by James Moloney. I keep thinking about it on and off so I figure it must be pretty good. Moloney draws his characters really well so that they jump of the page at the reader. I'm looking forward to reading some more of it. Haven't finished Chasing Charlie Duskin yet, so should probalby get back to that one too.

Decluttering 101

Well day 10 is here and I am still Flylady-ing - picking and choosing a bit as there is only so much time in the day. But the house is getting better tiny bit by tiny bit. It really helps that DH is doing the dishes every night - one less thing for me to worry about. Today's challenge was to set the timer for 15 minutes and to travel round the house picking up rubbish - I couldn't belive how much I got done in 15 minutes! I also did a 5 minute foray into the master bedroom and even that short time made a difference.

I got 2 parcels today - one I was expecting (some display folders to store my scrapping stash in - they are brilliant!) The second contained an anti-frizz kit that I won for updating my details on a website - from memory I think the prize was supposed to be a pamper pack... I'm not sure that anti-frizz shampoo and other such items amounts to pampering. Oh well, never look free hair products in the mouth.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the girlie may just cost us a lot of money. She has taken to galloping around the house making horse sounds and today she showed far too much interest in the tap danicing on playschool... So at the moment it's either a pony or tap shoes... hmmmm.... Mind you she seems to like cars so she might just earn some money as a mechanic... You never can tell.

Flylady day 9!

Last night I wrote up my morning and evening routines - couldn't find a binder so I wrote them in whiteboard marker on the back of some old laminated notices from work! I stuck them about the kitchen bench so I'll be more likely to see them there.

Did a washing roster so I am not washing all weekend too. Hopefully it will cut down the folding time if I do it in little bits.

Today's lesson was on how to declutter. It takes a bit of setting up but it should be great once I get it going. I like the idea of doing just 15 mins a day.

I also stuck to my guns and didn't put the computer on until the girlie had gone to bed. Makes for a later night but at least I am not tempted to read emails instead of getting tea on the go on time or playing with her.

Mind you, today all she wanted was for me to leave her alone and put the Wiggles on! :)

Day off tomorrow!!! Woohooo!!!!! Only 4 student contact days to go!!!!!!!!!!!

I scrapped!!!!

I discovered something today. The Wiggles on video is a great getting-dinner-ready-with-as-little-stress-as-possible tool. She stands in the middle of the lounge watching it - mesmerised - dances a little jig (or round and round, whatever takes her fancy), and then goes off and does a puzzle or something nice and quietly while I finish chopping. Wow!

Haven't flylady-ed much today - just put my clothes out and now I am supposed to write routines down. Hmmmm....

The girlie has taken to babbling in sentences. When I say 'pardon?', she usually repeats herself exactly - so I assume SHE knows what she is saying!!!

I finished a layout last night - the first since the cybercrop. Am going to do a facing page with photos from that particular month for the girlie's first year album.

folding, folding, folding...

I feel like that is all I have done today and there is still some left - but I think it will only take me 15 minutes so that is not so bad.

DH has even said he appreciates how the house is gradually changing - he might even jump in and help!! :) Seriously, he does do the washing up every night and that is great.

We went out for coffee this morning and then to the library. Borrowed a Wiggles video for the girlie and she was so excited - gave me a huge grin when she saw the case let alone the video on the screen!!!

She is trying to copy almost everything we say - I will have to get out a tape recorder soon!

It's Friday!!!!!

And what a good day it has been!

Today was quietish at work so I got some stuff done. The backup finished just in time for me to leave on time. I got a reminder email at luchtime to clean out my handbag - and I did it!!!! I think it took a bit longer than 5 minutes but it is done and I found a few things I wasn't sure where they were - and that can only be a good thing...

Got to the post office to find that my scrummy ribbon from Scrapapple has come and I just can't wait to use it!

The girlie was pretty good this evening and DH was home early so things GOT DONE.

I have folded all my towels and sheets from the mega disinfectant wash and will put them away tomorrow when I have sorted out the cupboard to find room for them.

All in all not a bad night. and seriously looking forward to Saturday Coffee tomorrow!!

Anti-procrastination day

Today's challenge was to do something that you have been putting off. In my current state of cleaning frenzy the only thing I could think of was cleaning the bath/shower. So that's what I did. And now it is nice and clean!

Of course, I could also have fed the lemon tree, dead-headed the roses or watched Monsoon Wedding but cleaning was on my mind... :)

Had coffee with Suzie today.

The girlie is starting to use more and more recognisable words. "whoopwee!" is creeping in to replace "oh dear" at times and "joooosh" (pronounced like the queer eye boys do) for "juice" instead of "aha". Why "drink" is "aha" I will never fathom.

We all seem much better today so lets hope it stays that way.

I did it!!

I have a clean kitchen sink! It's almost shiny!!! I can't belive I actually did it!

On the other hand, gastro has reared it's ugly head again - I am okay so far though thank goodness! And the other two don't seem to be nearly as bad as they were last time so hopefully this might be the end of it.

I've read/finished a couple of books this weekend, The Glory Garage by Nadia Jamal and Taghreb Chandab and The Apricot Colonel by Marion Halligan. Although I found some of the writing clunky in the first one I found that the stories were so interesting that I read it right to the end in one sitting. Colonel took a bit more reading as the style is not one I usually read. There are no quotation marks for a start. But I enjoyed it anyway.

Am currently reading Chasing Charlie Duskin by Cath Crowley (from the CBC Older readers shortlist) and so far it's pretty good.

I aim to read at least all of the older readers list by the time the winner is announced mid-August. Gotta at least know why I don't agree with the judges! :)

Anyway, I am off to relax now that I have done all the gastro washing and shined my sink! :)

Urgh... :(

Well, after a recent bout of gastro for us all I have decided that this house is just too messy!!!! So I have decided to have a go at FlyLady to see if it will work for us. Even though it is American I know that lots of people have used it and it works, so let's just have a go.

We are all better now - The Girlie was he first to get it on Thursday night. SHe threw up all over me and our bed. ARGH!!! The poor thing was in so much pain adn had no idea of what was going on. We have been so lucky that she hasn't really gotten this sick before. After a restless night she bounce back on Friday (while I felt VERY sleep deprived!)

Then DH and I both came down with it on Saturday morning. What a way to spend the weekend. Thankfully DH's parents came to look after us - what a fantastic thing to do, especially considering it is a 5 hour trip to get here!!! They washed the dishes, disinfected the loo and the bath and looked after the girlie. Oh, and did the garden! Thanks Mum and Dad!!!

We did 3 loads of Napisan washing (I don't think I have washed so many sheets and towels at once in my life!!!) and finally things feel almost normal. Back to work tomorrow!

Hopefully that's the last we'll see of gastro for a while.

What's washing???

Woohoo! I scrapped!! It's been so long since I actually finished something I'd almost forgotten what it was like!

I have tomorrow and Wednesday off so I will catch up with all my washing and housework then... or we'll be underfed and running naked... :)

Weekend!!!!

Why are teenagers such toerags on rainy days??? Is it because they are kept inside at school and at home so that pent up energy has to go somewhere??????

At least it is now the weekend and DH will be home tomorrow and there is an impromptu cybercrop on this weekend! YAY!

And I even got to go out tonight for a progressive dinner. It was fun. I love going out with just ladies - we can talk about so much stuff that men just find boring (or don't get - one of the two!) It was also nice just to get out and not to have to worry if my child was hurting herself, someone else, or destroying something!!!

Well, my scrapping magazine finally came today after I have been eyeing it off in the shops for a week so I am going to go to bed and read it.

New words today: baby (instead of wahwah) and dog (instead of woofwoof). Woohoo!!

The rain is STILL here!

Tonight the girlie discovered her birthday clothes that I have yet to put away. She got very excited to find some new pants and tops in a bag, but even more excited to find a new hat!!! It fits okay when her hair is done like a palm tree but it is too big otherwise. Still she loves it.

It is still wet and windy. Most of us at work wished we could be back at home in our pyjamas but we soldiered on regardless. Mostly without complaining. Unless you count all the times (which was every time I met someone) we complained about the cold, the wet, and the wind.

Parent/teacher interviews today. Thank goodness I could get home early and not stay for the evening session! Knew I had a baby for a reason! :)

New words today: "car" and "t-shirt" - both without prompting and used to name things.

Rain Rain go away...

And fall up north where they need it!!!

It hasn't stopped raining today. If it hasn't been pouring then it has been spitting. I suppose at least it hasn't been hailing.

Despite having an undercover washing line I think my washing is all still almost as wet as it was when I put it out there. Hopefully it will dry tomorrow because otherwise we will be left with wearing oversized trakky pants and t-shirts with strange designs emblazoned thereon... Not really suitable attire for even leaving the house in - let alone going to work.

The girlie woke up a couple of times last night and then thankfully slept in until 7.45. Unfortunately today was the day that S. rang at 8 am and said "should we go out for a latte before playgroup?" Who am I to pass up coffee?? Even if, although upright, I am still asleep while making the decision...

We did drawing at playgroup today. The girlie usually loves to pplay with all the toys while the others do craft, but today she eventually decided that she wanted to draw too. Maybe she will like it after all.

She also wouldn't go to sleep for ages this afternoon - and when she finally did it was a bit late and she slept til after 5pm! Too late to let her sleep I know - but I had heaps of washing to do. Then of course the milk is after its date so we have to go out and get some more after tea - so she didn't get to bed until well after 8 so I suppose that made up for it.

DH is in town for training again this week so I did all the washing up and made lunches so I am set for the morning. I even made the shepherd for tea tomorrow night! How organised is that! I haven't done the potato yet though - would have liked to have gotten it done so I could just pop it in the oven but it was just not going to happen tonight.

Here's to dry washing a a full night's sleep.

Atishooo!!!

Between shelving, book club, reading classes and NOISY kids the day went pretty quickly. I don't feel like I got much work done however.

I still have a cold - not quite a terrible one though so I don't feel amazingly bad, just slightly bad. Full nose and a bit tired and a few sneezes and coughs. Must remember to drink more fluid tomorrow.

Got a parcel in the post today. Is nice to have some new stuff to play with!

I had planned to eke the girlie's birthday pressies out over a few weeks but unfortunately I didn't put them away quickly enough. She saw the Weebles box so I had to get it out and set it up. It plays the most annoying music. My sister (who bought it) should look forward to a noisy toy coming her daughter's way sometime soon... :) :) *evil grin* The girlie does enjoy it though. She wanted to put it away in the box when she'd finished. Thankfully she let me convince her that it didn't really need to go back! I must remember to hide the box tonight because I really don't want to have to put it away and pull it all out again every time. It requires assembly so it would be a bit of a pain.

Grandma sent some new puzzles home with us too so we have had some fun with them tonight.

The girlie also ate 3 servings of pasta, a tub of yoghurt and most of a rye cruskit. I have no idea where she is putting it all!

Day off tomorrow - I am looking forward to putting my feet up when the girlie goes to bed!

Traveling here, traveling there...

Finally home!!!!! After 5 hours (3 of which the girlie slept! Woohoo!) of driving to a Wiggles soundtrack - we made it.

Only to find that it is blowing a gale, the hot water is just warm, and the cat has not only slept in the girlie's cot and on her couch, but has thrown up on my stitching chair!!! Still, I suppose that's what you get if we go away and leave him for 5 days - we might as well have been gone FOREVER!

Busy day yesterday - being Easter and all that. Went to church (which finished early) had lunch and then put the girlie down for a 'sleep'. Took her at least an hour to get there!!! Then we had to wake her up to go to my sister's for tea (which was late due to dough rising difficulties) and she was not impressed. Still, she got a pressie so she shouldn't grumble too much! :)

Talking about pressies - she has certainly go the hang of them now after three separate celebrations! Knows all the easily torn spots to get it open in the shortest time possible! And she likes the innards more than the wrapping now!

Anyway, it has been a long and tiring day so I am going to go to bed.

Goodnight.

Long time... no see...

Well, so much for my resolution to blog every day! Here I am almost a month inbetween entries! (Not that anyone but me and taximan read this but that is not the point - it is the principle of the thing... plus my memory is not what it once was (ie. pre-child) so I really ought to write things down.)

So, what has happened this month? I was going to say "not much", but really, the everyday things do add up to something.

• Went to Horsham to visit friends via Halls Gap. We thought it was a good time to inject some funds into the local economy after the January fires. It was so eerie to travel through the area with the skinny black tree trunks looming on each side of the road.
• The girlie got croup the day we left.
• Spending time in Horsham was good even though DH had to go home early. The girlie and I stayed so that I could go to a scrapping class but it was cancelled at the last minute. Damn and Blast.
• Got home on the Wednesday and DH and I took each other out for our anniversary. The girlie came too and was surprisingly well bhaved. I say surprisingly for, while the meal was excellent, it certainly took its time coming to the table!!! Maybe they had to kill the beef on site...
• The rest of the week was a flurry of cleaning up (or not), adn then DH went off for training again.
• Single-parenting is not fun. But it is nice to know that it will be over at the end of the week.
• I read Julie and Julia (by Julie Powell) and thought it was a pretty good read. Was interesting to see how blogging had led to writing a book. And how it had led to a whole new career of cooking a writing - even though Julie Powell has no formal qualifications in food! Mind you, cooking one's way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, while utter madness (or leading to it), would probably be an ad hoc qual in anyone's book.
• I haven't scrapped or stitched - even though I have gotten things out several times to start. This annoys me.
• My parents have visited. As usual it had its ups and downs, but was generally good. Especially the food.
• The girlie turned two!! How did that happen! And managed to get a cold all on the same day. Poor thing still has it. The vapouriser has been working overtime.

So now it is Easter Saturday and we are in the Big City and I have finally been able to SHOP! We bought coolant and sneakers and coffee and presents and looked at mobile phones and kittens and puppies and fish and a parrot. And I even spent money on MYSELF! I bought myself a Xyron Create-A-Sticker. I so rarely do this that it is an EVENT that will go down in my personal history. And it wasn't nearly so expensive as I thought it would be so I don't feel bad about buying it at all.

What I do feel bad about buying is the stuff I bought in the scrapping shop I went to this afternoon. You know when you go somewhere sometimes and you feel really uncomfortable but you stay and buy something out of politeness?? Why do I do that???? I bought some nice stuff, that I will even most likely use, but the place just felt wrong. Hmmmm.....

While we were shopping we met very unexpectedly with one of my best friends from uni. It was so wierd. We haven't seen or heard from each other in at least 5 or 6 years. It was wonderful to see him but I had forgotten how much presence he has!

No piccies today - we haven't taken any.

New words: They are legion... :) 'Puzzle' is one that is getting a good workout at them moment. And my mother taught her how to sing 'The Wheels on the bus'. She just loves to imitate so we will have to be very careful from now on!

Pink!

I have pink toes!! Went and got my holiday pedicure today. So nice to have someone else trim your toenails for you!

Not much has been happening the last couple of days - except that I haven't been doing as much housework as I had hoped to do. I'm probably recovering from work and it's just taking a bit more time!! :) Maybe I should ask if they can extend the holidays...

The girlie was really good yesterday - there was not palygroup so we went and had a coffee and she sat in a big chair! She was so good while we were there - not so good afterwards but she was tired and I kept her out a bit longer than I had intended.

Sent her off to daycare today - might as well use it if I'm paying for it! She has fun there though, so I'm gradually getting over my guilt!

So tomorrow is clean up day in readiness for our trip away. Washing, washing up and packing... urgh.... gotta be done though.

A parcel came in the post!

After 11 days my parcel has finally made it here! Woohoo! And the really good thing about it taking so long to get here is that I'd forgotten some of what I ordered so I got a nice surprise!! Haven't played with it yet, just taken it out of the box and gloated.

Took the girlie to the chemist today to get her photo taken. She was so giggly in the car that I thought finally we'd be fine once we got there, but no! Put her on that platform and she clams up with a big frown. I thought her eyebrows were going to disappear!! But between us all we got some smiles out of her so hopefully they will come out on film. I took her off to daycare after that as I needed to get some stuff done and I figure I'll have her all day tomorrow and most of next week when we go away so I will put her in for her normal days this week.

I didn't get heaps done around the house but it was nice to be able to get tea ready without a toddler pulling me away from my chopping board - not that she ate any of my absolutely marvellous Tuna Pasta Bake! I hope she sleeps tonight and isn't too hungry. I expect that she will eat all of her porridge tomorrow morning... :) I managed to clean the bath (it has been annoying me for a week now!) and to sweep the kitchen floor, as well as most of the washing up. And I could make as much noise as I liked!!! Not that I did - it was just nice to know that I could. :p

Waa-waa (doll) had to get in the bath too tonight - it took a lot of work to convince the girlie that doll had to have her clothes off too. I really didn't want to have to dry a cardigan and the doll's bikini in time for going to bed. Apart from that it would have been pretty nigh impossible.

The girlie still loves her 'new' sheets - wonder how long that will last! She was so tired tonight that she read two books with me and hardly even interacted with the story. I asked her if she wanted to go to bed or lie on the couch with Mummy and she smiled and me, yawned and said "Mum" and cuddled in to watch 'Dancing with the Stars'. It was so nice and gave me that lovely warm fuzzy feeling. :)

No new words today (none that I noticed anyway!) just lots of practice of ones she already has. Walking home from daycare took three times as long today, not only because we stopped to talk to people working in their gardens, but also because she had to name everything she could on the way home!!

Snug as a bug

Labour day to day. Usually it's just a day off (and a well-needed one at that) so it is very weird to think that I don't have to go to work tomorrow. Instead I get to go to the chemist and have Tamsyn's photo taken in front of what looks like a cot sheet. Light blue with Easter chicks on it. Goodness knows what I'll get her to wear that even remotely co-ordinates. Still, it will be nice have a good photo of her.

It was also nice to have DH home today. It's amazing how much easier it is to deal with your child when she has two parents to bounce off!! We ad a pyjama morning as it was so blowy outside. Also I just wanted a lazy morning - especially considering I was the one supposed to be still asleep!! Still, someone's gotta get up to them and it might as well be the porridge maker :)

We made the girlie's bed up today with sheets and a quilt made by DH's Great Aunt. Such beautiful colours and craftmanship - a truly lovely piece. And durable enough to go in a toddler's cot! The girlie 'helped' me make the cot up - I used Winnie the Pooh sheets so I think that helped. She was so excited she wanted to get in straight away - and then wouldn't get out again! I was so worried that she wouldn't take to sleeping without a sleeping bag but there seem to be no problems so far - let's hope there are not too many midnight wake-up calls! :)

I did some cross stitching today for the first time in what seems ages. I'm still working on my fairy and it is exciting to see it coming slowly together. I do enjoy it, but I am hoping the eventual arrival of my parcel will snap me back into my scrapping groove because there are some things I really want to do with my album - I just don't feel like doing them. And it's no good forcing the issue because I will just be unhappy with the result.

DH seems to have come down with a horrible cough - I hope he (and I) manage to sleep alright tonight. Might have to resort to Benadryl soon if it doesn't let up.

New words: Bird is getting clearer and clearer, and I am almost sure she knows when to use please! I got "peacemum" several times today - after prompting, of course!

So late!!

So late tonight - so just a quick one from me!

A stinking hot day today! We decided not to go to church but went and had a coffee instead and then played at the park. Didn't stay long there as it was so hot! The girlie was NOT impressed but she came quite gracefully when I mentioned fish and chips!

Cybercropped tonight - didn't get my paper one done but managed to do a digital LO. Some of the stuff the other scrappers come up with is amazing! I really should practice more so I actually know what I am doing!

New words: "Oh dear!" - sometimes it even means what it says!!! Most of the time is just a song to accompany her around the house... :)

Odd socks

Well scrapping is not coming easy tonight so I will update here and see how I feel afterwards.

Had an excellent coffee this morning and then went off to the Dahlia festival with a friend and her two kids. We had a great time - even though her DH had taken the pram out the back of her car and forgotten to replace it. Oooops!!!!!!

The kids loved the park afterwards even though we had to cut it short cause the wind coming off the water was very cold.

Had a windfall today at the Thrift Shop - even better since I wasn't intending to go there at all today! Tamsyn and I found one of those Tupperware-type shape sorter balls - with ALL its shapes - for just $2! She's been playing with it on and off ever since.

DH came home about 2.15 and I must say it is nice to have him home. He is pretty tired from all his gallavanting about but he was awake enough to bath the girlie so at least I didn't get soaked tonight! She was so happy to see him!

Have not done ANY of the scrapping challenges this weekend yet - hope I have enough inspiration to have a go tomorrow. Have done the non-scrapping challenge however, which was to upload a pic of you in you pyjamas. Couldn't find my Bananas in Pyjamas pjs so my bright green crazy cat ones will have to do. Plus the cat socks as an added bonus. :)

New words today: 'boo' [Brooke].

I'm on holidays!!!!

It's a bit sad when the mature age student thinks that they're way older than you - even though I know I only look half my age it would be nice to be thought older than 27! Still, as everyone keeps reminding me - it will be nice to be thought younger when I am older.

So, off for two weeks now - not sure exactly what I'll be doing. This is the first holidays for a few years that DH hasn't been able to just leave whenever he wanted to so I will have to leave him here with the cat if I want to go away. I wonder if they'll both survive?? :)

Looking forward to having a little bit of time to myself really - but of course I will want to use it to clean the house. And when I don't clean the house I will get upset that I 'wasted' my time. Why do women do that?? Why do we beat ourselves up for not using the time we've earned for ourselves for its intended purpose??

'Cause we like living in a clean environment and no-one else is going to do it so we might as well...

hmmm....

Cybercrop on tonight - am not inspired to scrap one iota so may end up in bed very soon reading Poroit to find out just exactly how much they tweaked the plot in the David Suchet version. He's a great Poirot, I just wish they'd stick to the book! Mind you, Agatha does sometimes use far too many characters for easy television viewing.

STILL no parcel... hmph!!

New words today: "in" (grin) when I want to take a photo. Very handy that!

One day more...

Only one more day until the holidays!!!!

Woohoo!!

A six week term is nice - unfortunately we have a 12 week one next to make up for it. Thanks Mr Bracks.

No parcel today :( I shall be really peeved if it isn't here tomorrow. How long does Australia Post need???

New words today: 'gla gla' = glasses (of the spectacles variety) and 'gla' (the type you drink out of).

Oh, and corn chips go down very well, thank you :)

Before & after

Don't you hate it when you wash up late at night (cause you can't bear to get up to it in the morning) only to find that when you are putting it away you have to re-wash half of it again because you were to tired to wash it properly the first time??

So what happened today??

1. 6.30 wake up call on my day off...
2. 7 am - finally gave in and got her up
3. 7.30 breakfast (bobbiye!!! [porridge])
4. 8 am - looked in my purse and realised that the hairdresser was coming at 9 and neither of us were dressed and I only had $5. ARGH!!!!!
5. 8.15 off to ANZ
6. 8.30 Why do more people use the ATM at this time in the morning??? There's a queue!
7. 8.40 home. Let's clean up before she gets here...
8. 9 am - hairdresser arrives, cuts my hair and then spends ages cutting the girlie's. It looks good though.

Playgroup was very noisy but she seemed to enjoy it.

No mail today :( Maybe my parcel will arrive tomorrow.

Oh no!!!

It's begun - the great race to see who can get there first. Now nowhere is sacred... my bag will never be safe again.

Not to mention that seeing the girlie on the table wasn't a double take moment by itself.

Never again will anyone be able to tell me that kids don't reason under the age of eight - it takes logic to realise that if you move the chair to a certain point and make this sequence of movements you can climb on to the table. And go through Mum's bag - the prize of prizes.

She did some great things today - she worked out how to do a particular modular puzzle, it was so popular that dinner was very short and the bath nearly didn't happen. She's picked up a few new words (thank goodness!) - Eehah (Leah), Pa, bo bo (box), and a couple of signs are getting a bit of a workout - chicken and book. It's so funny to watch her make up sentences using both forms of language - especially when she makes up either the word or the sign herself and you have to work out what she means. Currently the favoruite sentence is Do-Dah (bear) [or insert noun of choice here] is asleep, using the sign for sleep. Usually occurs after she has thrown the toy to the ground in disgust. At what I am yet to discover. Perhaps they were rude??

My day at work was again busy in the morning and realtively relaxed in the afternoon. I love quiet afternoons - we can get so much done when there are no interruptions. I even managed to pick up my parcel from teh post office. So now I have my photos and my scrapping magazine (and some bills but we won't talk about them!) and now all I need is for my new goodies order to arrive and my cup will runneth over.

An ordinary day...

Was woken up this morning by the cat. No, he doesn't jump up and put a wet nose in my ear, or paw at my face, or walk all over the bed...

...he stands in the shower and meows... ...loudly

and it reverberates.

I'm not quite sure why he does it, but I'm glad he did today because, although my alarm went off, the sound was turned down and there was no way I would have woken up otherwise.

So, thank you cat...

And today was an ordinary day - busy, no hectic, morning, relatively relaxed afternoon. I got to take the smelly chicken back and get a refund, but didn't make it to the post office on time to collect my parcel (why is it that that always happens?? The one time you get a parcel you don't get there on time.)

You win some you lose some every day - nothing special about today. But it was a good day.

And of course it wouldn't be an ordinary day without a messy child at the end of it - I expect that that means she enjoyed her day too.

Beginnings...

Well, I have decided to start a blog. They say it helps with scrapbook journalling, but I also want to let people know what we're doing... So here I am, typing away.

Today we went to church, as per normal, and then we went off to the park. I had forgotten that it was the arrival of the baton relay here so I was very glad that I had the camera with me.

We caught up with a friend while we were there so we ended up having a really good time. It is always nice to spend time with people you haven't seen for a while. J- was looking after three children who kept Tamsyn entertained. They also got to sit on the seat of a police motorcycle - this went down very well! We saw the baton come down to the foreshore on the tram - a great spectacle - while the children waved like mad!

Tamsyn was such a good girl today and the new behaviour technique (a la Supernanny!) seems to be working very well - let's hope it continues! She is so much fun it is hard to be cross with her for long.