wow!!!

Life sure is a roller coaster...

My daughter went missing on Wednesday. She was meant to be in after school care immediately school was out, but she didn't get there. I was of the understanding children were picked up from their class to go to the after school area, but apparently they're not. Somehow she got confused and didn't turn up at the facility...

It was 1.5 hours from the end of school to her being found - I was beside myself as I was an hour away and her father was stuck at work - never mind the fact it was 25 mins after she was let ouf of school that we received the first call saying she was missing....

I can't say too much here because I put a very inoccuous comment on facebook just asking a question how this can happen and yet no one take responsibility for her going missing and now the child care facility is threatening to sue me for defamation!!! I can't believe that my child goes missing, the school say the facility is responsible for her, the facility state is the the school that is responsible for her - no one is apparently responsible or accepting responsibility for a 10 year old girl missing on the streets for 1.5 hours when I'm paying for her to be in an adults care!!! Yet here I am being the open threatened with being sued for asking a question - no names etc mentioned.. nothing - in fact some people have been trying to guess what institution it is and got it totally wrong - I don't advertise what school or facilities my children attend for safety's sake.. and yet apparently I'm the one in the wrong!!!

Sorry if this is so dis-jointed - I need to get it out but don't want my words to be twisted again **sigh**

I'm awaiting a call from two local solicitors who are willing to take my case on as I am not retracting my question or saying that I was wrong - let alone putting up the public apology the facility is demanding - My gosh someone should be apologising to me and my daughter!!!

So much has happened, but I'm toos cared to even tell anyone the truth until I've spoken to a solicitor - how can the world be so screwed up that someone can be sued for simply stating the truth and especially over something as severe as their daughter going missing!!!!

frustrated - yes

Angry - yes

Scared - yes

Exhausted - totally

Day of New Starts :)

Yeppers - it's Monday, new week and **sigh** time to become accountable again...

Today is my first day on the "infamous" Flylady LOL Infamous because apparently it's going to make me *gasp* organised and clean!!! Augh - do I really want to become organised and clean?!?! Deep down I do really, but oh my reputation of being a happy go lucky slob may just take a flogging hahaha

I'm a weird beast, I don't like making changes like this but know it has to be done - total contradiction I am LOL

The other new start is back onto bodytrim - get some more kilo's off before summer really hits... So today is day 1 out of 3 days on pure protein.. Lots of BBQ chooken and eggs and meats and BBQ'sd and sooo looking forward to hitting veggies and salads on Wednesday hahahaha

Okies, flylady report - day 1 of beginner baby steps... What I need to do is clean and polish my sink so much that I can see my reflection... Hmmm Okies, sounds easy enough ;) And I'll upload piccies to keep myself accountable LOL

I do have to say that I suffer BIG TIME from CHAOS - Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome LOL I totally admit to that and want it rectified so will keep at it and see how I go. I have been experiencing the email routine for the last week so kinda have a feel for what is coming, but have to start with the baby step routine to ensure that I don't overwhelm myself too much to start with (something I'm pretty prone to doing - boots and all syndrome that one LOL)

So for today, off to clean and polish the sink and will upload piccies to prove that I have done it ;) one baby step out of the way ;)

Christmas Carol for 2009

I just found my new favourite Christmas carol ~ My 2009 Christmas Carol ~ (no idea how to put youtube clips in here properly so the link will have to do) Ahhh LOVE it hehehehe

Visitors from Victoria :)

Steve and Sheens came over this week for a much awaited holiday and we caught up :) It's the first time our kids have met and to say they got on like a house on fire is an understatement!!!

~ The Bricknell and Dalton kids ~

They were meant to have been here in October for their daughter, Jessica's birthday but Steve broke his foot (duh) and considering it was a driving holiday they kinda had to wait until it healed a bit ;) So Tuesday (just gone) evening they arrived and I had a birthday cake waiting for Jess :) She loves cats so I did a yummy scrummy mud cake shaped as a ginger tabby...

~ The Cake ~

I didn't realise until after I took piccies of it how it kind of looks like it's sticking it's thumbs in it's ears and sticking it's tongue out hahaha - cheeky puddy tat hahaha

~ 15 Candles to Blow Out ~

~ Cutting the Cake ~

Anyhoos, they travelled around the state in a camper van for the week - and I think got a BIG suprise about how long it took to travel and how little time a week was to tour Tassie LOL So many mainlanders do that, I love my state and would give anything just to have a month off- paid of course to take off and tour around... I'm contemplating hiring a camper like they had and jsut going that - maybe a week at a time.. do a week on the East coast and Hobart, another week down the West and far north west and then another week for the north, and then another week in the midlands and highlands... Sounds like a great plan for a holiday - I wonder if I could pull it off - hmm **ponders** ;)

Tonight they came and said goodbye before heading back to Victoria tomorrow... It was good to catch up - would be nice to have more time - actually they're talking about coming down next year and camping in the Cradle mountain area so maybe we can get something organised then ;)

Aurgh!!!

What a day - ending with a thumping headache.. to be honest a day I'd rather forget but I shall overcome ;) Anyways, things can and will get better... just need to sleep the jackhammers out of my cranium....

Walk a Little Slower.....

Photographed and compiled by me, 31 Jan 2009

~

Getting Orgamanised.....

Orgamanised is one thing I'm not (yes it's another word I've made up LOL) I've joined flylady and am getting the emails - I've told myself that I'm receiving emails to get the routine and will start it next week :P Ahhh pathetic hey ROFL basically it seems to revolve around polishing your kitchen sink - I think I can manage that - once it's emptied hahaha

But the big orgamanising today is this laptop - All my things from my other computer have been "sucked" over and now I have to sort, trash and re-position everything... going to be a looong day going through thousands of photo's in particular LOL It seems every program I go into for my piccies saves the om,ages so I've about 4-5 copies of each image hahaha.. ahhhh lots of trash at the end of the day being deleted ;) i can also re-add my downloaded presets back to lightroom, which means I can get the piccies I've taken the last few days processed ;)

Oooh another thing I want to get done today if time will allow is to blog about Dom and Kahli's birthdays - I was really slack in October and missed them being blogged - especially Dommy's first birthday <3 it's a must do ;)

Just have to say, I currently have Kerrianne on the box waiting for Lee Kernaghan to come on and I think the quality of their infomercials have got worse - OMG sooo pathetic and obviously read Hahahaha like I would believe some of the stuff they're trying to offload - must be hard times for them to get decent product advertisements LOL

Rememberence Day....

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them.

In dedication to my great grandfather who fought in the first world war, my grandfather who fought in the second world war, my uncle who fought in the Vietnam war, my cousin who is currently serving for the Australian Airforce and all men and women who have served and who are serving in the armed services..... Thank you for everything you have sacrificed and believe in - to you all we owe our lives, our lifestyle and our future xxxx

Lest We Forget

~

Compulsary Hero - 1927

~

The Real meaning of Christmas

the BlogThis challenge this week is to discuss what Christmas means to ourselves and our families....

I adore Christmas, I get tingles of anticipation from the roots of my hair to the tip of my toes planning and looking forward to this special holiday. I love everything about it from the way the earth smells in the run up to Christmas (the heat on the Australian soil and the dry clean smell of eucalyptus in the air) the squeals of delight as kids run around their homes knowing that school is out and 6 weeks of holiday is ahead of them - I just adore this time of year, the joy, the atmosphere - even down to the last minute rush at the shops and jostling to get to a checkout - all the time smiling because deep down I know how lucky we are to be living in Australia and have the freedom to celebrate this season as well as being blessed enough to have finances to allow us to celebrate in our own style...




What does Xmas mean to you and your family? Christmas to us means spending time with family, lots of food and spoiling the little ones in our lives. It's about giving of gifts, showing love and simply being in each others company :)

Have you got some traditions?? We have lots LOL - you ready????
~Christmas Run-Up~
*Our Christmas tree used to go up Dec 9th on my birthday - but I usually get impatient and want it up on Dec 1st LOL
*We will attend Carols by Candlelight at the Burnie Soundshell, it usually means parking blocks away and walking together down crowded streets with heaps of excited children running around in the cool Tasmanian summer evening - such a special time....
*We also go Christmas Light spotting (although there aren't that many around now - too many vandalism's)
*My best friend and my families will come together to spend several days making Christmas decorations and food - lots of cooking :) We will have lots of laughs, food and fun - oh and mess to boot ;)
~Christmas Eve~
*My children do their own gift swaps - kinda lets them have a day with something new before Santa spoils them LOL
*Then in the evening we attend the Wynyard Christmas pageant and
*come home to the kids getting some new pyjama's from mummy and daddy (that way I know they are decently dressed for Chrissy morning piccies haha)
~Christmas Day~
Santa has come with the goodies, they brats are usually up around 3-4am **yawn**
*Lunch and dinner with alternating parents and in-laws.. this year it is dinner with the in-laws and dinner with my parents (always a BBQ)
*Early night - yes I'm hallucinating, but we always say we're going to get one hahaha

What will you cook?! Me - nothing hahaha the in-laws and parents do it all. We do take a salad and desert to mums for the BBQ table... I've not even planned it this year - very slack!!! I'll possibly make my layered Mexican dip and take a rice salad and pavlova overloaded with cream and juicy ripe straberries and raspberries fresh from the local berry fields **drool**

Who will you spend it with? FAMILY and FRIENDS!!!!

Got a favourite Christmas memory? Traveling up to Campbelltown (Tasmania - inland from Launceston - Midlands region) to my paternal grandparents - It's not so much a Christmas memory as such but the whole time we spent with family that we didn't see much at all... . I loved that they lived on a property in an old rambling farmhouse. My pop would move the sheep from paddock to paddock during our time there and I would watch and smell - I can still smell it today, the heat of the animals, lanolin on the wont, drying grass in the background... It's one of the last times I saw my grandfather healthy - he passed away from cancer not long after this memory and time we spent with him after this holiday was minimal so it's a very precious memory for me... I also remembering being given crayons that Christmas and instead of drawing with them I watched them melt in the sub - it fascinated me watching them go from a solid drawing implement to little piles of molten wax LOL



How are you decorating?? Our tree will be adorned with decorations I've collected over the years and with little trinkets my children have made and collected for the tree :) and topped with a star of David so we can honour the true meaning of Christmas... As for lights, I did deck our house with lights one year but it's such a HUGE job that I think I'll skip it this year - unless I get a huge burst of energy somewhere to actually sort the tangle that is our outdoor lights out ROFL But mostly the house will have the tree, we will have carols playing all day every day (jsut because I LOVE them!!) and we will ahve our indoor statues and childrens drawings hanging everywhere :) Lots of home made love <3

Lobster....

That's me at the moment! Yesterday we had a birthday party for Little Jackson to attend in Ulverstone and as our car is still "in hospital" we had to walk down the big hill and catch the bus to Ulverstone. It was a 35 min walk to get downtown - and an hour bus ride...

I slipped and slopped but forgot a hat so the slapping didn't occur - but still within 10 minutes of being out in the sun I was turning red... After a long walk downtown and then the afternoon in the sun (I will never understand the movement that removes the shady trees from parks - there was none in sight for us to shelter under!!!) I am now a lobster - actually probably more like a beetroot to be more precise, my left shoulder is purple hahaha - sorry, not funny really, very very sore :( I kept applying sunscreen too, so I'm a little perplexed why I got so burnt...

Anyhoos - great day with friends was had - we almost didn't make it though... We got to Target (at the bottom of the hill) and I went in to purchase a birthday card for Jackson (who incidentally was turning 4) I got to the checkout (with some chocolates as a treat for us to munch on the bus) and remembered Nathan used my bankcard the previous day - I sent Aleks out to ask for my card and Nathan tells me he left his wallet at home!!! Talk about palpitations!!! I was panicing as I usually don't carry cash with me and we kinda needed cash to purchase the bus tickets to get to Ulvie and then home!!! Luckily my sister came to the rescue who lives in Ulverstone and had some cash she could loan us once we got there to get home, but the tickets were still a worry... Until the bus arrived and we had the most lovely bus driver :) I had just enough to make it to Ulverstone on concession tickets.. to the very cent!!! She let us all travel concession!!! She was really really good!!! So good she even made sure we caught the connector bus back up the hill to save us a huge walk home - And so good that I've submitted a compliment to the bus company for her - she really did save the entire day for us - Thumbs-up metro driver :)

Then to today again another walk was on the cards, we had to get some food into the house so the kids and I were all packed up for a walk to Woolies.. again in full sun (for some reason summer seems to have sprung early and we're not coping LOL) It took 40 mins this time to get there and a smidgen longer to get home again... My gosh but my muscles protested!!! So a not so relaxing weekend, but a lot of quality time with the kids and as a family :) made it all worth it and we're about ready to be tucked into bed :) Now I wonder though how many muscles will protest when it's time to get out of bed ROFL

PS: forgot to add I am now on my new laptop!!! I have all keys working yaaayyyyy!!!! I'm getting used to the smaller screen (gone from 15 down to 13 inch) but it's bigger internally and so much quicker - it does mean I will have to upload piccies from Jackson's party at a later date as not everything is set up here yet :) oh and did I say that it also has all it's keys :P

Blog This....

Oh dear - I'm so terrible with this already ROFL I was just searching around for inspiration for my dream home and I looked at the Blog This website and I'm too late!!! I really HAVE to get organised!!!

I'm off to fly lady now - I succumb.. I must get organised and back in control of this roller coaster!!!!

Best Made Plans and All....

Yeps - I've done it again, said I'd do something and not get to it **Sigh** no excuse or reason really either... well there probably is but I'm not going to hide behind it (at the moment LOL)

Actually it was two things - the fly lady one and a photo a day - although I can still take a photo... might get the camera out and see if I can get anything - no idea what... going to have to wrack this shriveled brain of mine (major headache and empty feeling at the moment) I was meant to be going to Lisa's to spend the night tonight but we decided to postpone until next week due to my befuddled brain **sigh**

Hmm what's happened today... Not much outside of housework to be honest. I made some cupcakes (or cuppicakes as Lisa's kids call them) which spilled over the side of their paper cups - lovely abstract art pieces they were LOL Still the kids demolished them ;) I do have to say how much I'm starting to love the weather - not for the going out and enjoying aspect but for the fact I can dry Domeniks nappies in one day **yay**!!! Sooo happy about that, getting a full day of sun oto them to destroy any nasties ;)

Oh and Dommy has FINALLY cut his eight tooth this morning, and with a poopy side effect but that's to be expected. I'm running around like a headless chook after him to make sure any soiled nappies are removed straight away to avoid any contact blisters or further ulcers that have plagued his butt since he started teething. William was the same (somethig to do with their gut and not absorbing/digesting food correctly) so I'm pretty used to it but our GP is panicked because he hasn't seen anything like this before so we're trying to clear everything and prove that we are not neglecting out little boy - it's a side effect of him having severe allergies and digestional issues - feel like screaming at times but hey - such is life :)

Oh my - headache is not letting up so going to have to sleep this one off methinks - will be back tomorrow to research fly lady a bit more and hopefully get some piccies - actually definitely pics tomorrow as we're expecting a new Genesa Forge bee embroidered nappy so will have to do a bit of a show of in front of the camera with the bib and hat/antennae set ;) I don't know many other people who buy clothes to suit a nappy or the same with shoes - LOL me does **blush** I'll be so sad the day Dommy toilet trains hahahaha

Today is....

Hump Day!!!!!! And we're still without a vehicle and could possibly be so until the middle of next week - but I'm trying to tell myself it will be doe by the weekend - positive thoughts right :P

I've been hitting the housework - it's be suffering with the hectic life I've had the last few months being out and about a lot, so a HUGE spring clean is in store... I'm actually starting to wonder if I should look at joining the Fly Lady craze again - I looked at it a few years ago and got inundated with confuzzling USA timestamped emails so quickly flicked it - apparently now you can time it for Aussie conditions - that's what I need ;)

Ooooh and more time with my camera too - I'm trying to stick with a photo a day again so I can get more experience under my belt - so far this month so good ;) I've got to upload them onto my photo challenge blog ;) I purchased a little cow suit and matching suhat from Noo Designs and had a 5 min photo session with Dommy last night and am really thrilled with two of the shots - me being a perfectionist can still see faults but oh so pleased with the first one :)

Dommy Moo Cow :)

He was having an anti-hat day so it came off pretty quick LOL He hated the hat for some reason, but at least he held back on a tantrum (of which he is becoming quite proficient) and just moseyed around in the long grass which is about to be mowed and the old autumn leaves that were still on the ground ;)

Dommy :)

Right now I feel quite stuffed, we walked (the kids biked) to the Shorewell shopping centre to get s few groceries from the IGA to see us through tomorrow - this no transport is a little harder here than our last house in the centre of town... It's close to a 2 km one way trip - one way beig uphill too **yeowch** my muscles are feeling it - especially as I was also pushing a 10kg pram with a 10kg bubba and bags ;) but we made it - we have bread and basics and hopefully I'll get the energy to either walk that little further to Wollies tomorrow or catch the bus downtown if I feel really adventurous hahaha

So with that I'm going to do a little research into the mysterious flylady and see what happens for us Aussies now-days :)

Not going to say it.....

....but it has been a while since I posted - I really have to get myself together!!!! Well it's probably going to happen this week as I'm housebound - no car... it kinda did a timing belt last night at the bottom of the mount street hill - at the lights - the busiest place in Burnie Augh!!! To top it off we were on our way to Yolanda (my niece) 13th birthday party and I had the older three kids in the back all dressed up in Halloween costumes...

Kahli the Witch

William the Grim Reaper

and

Aleks the Wizard

We were stuck there almost an hour before help in the form of my father and Andrew (my brother in law) arrived.... then 15 minutes later my best friend arrived with her big white shiny tarago to whisk myself and the kids to safety LOL Sooo a Timing belt is apparently what you need to start the car properly - when you turn the ignition it is what helps spark the car to life... We could turn her over but it just wouldn't "catch" soooo frustrating; fuel - check, battery power - check, oil - check, nice and cool - check; the damn thing just would not start - auuugggghhhhhh Anyhoos As tomorrow is a public holiday it will be at least Tuesday before we can get the car into a mechanic (if there is a spot!!) and then hopefully they have a belt there - if not we could be in for a wait to get the part **sigh**

So to sum it up - Happy 13th Yolanda :) Her birthday was actually back in September but saying it again to make sure she heard hahaha. Kids were happy and Dom was changed into his bee outfit (he won the romper - and a matching bib - from Noo Designs ) so we had 4 little kiddies all dressed up :)

Dommy the Bee

I got lots of photo's and there was lots of food. The kids played basket ball with Matt (my cousin) Mark (Nardia - my sister- husband) and Adam (my brother) and at one stage Nathan and Aleks played basket ball with Dommy - It was hard to tell if they were working on getting the ball through the hoop at times or Little Dom LOL So a good time was had by all - even though we were 1.5 hours late LOL And now it's a case of wait and see with the car... It had to be towed off the highway to home (thankyou mr RACT man :)) Guess now it'll be a chance to get some housework one with no "I'm not home" excuses **sigh** ahh the joy - NOT!!! LOL

Okies - PICCIES!!!!

Bee-ootiful :)

Bee Happy :)

Bee Gentle :)

My Dark and Mysterious Grim Reaper :)

My Auburn Haired Witchy Poo :)

My Studious and Clever Wizard :)