Christmas - New Year Lull...

It's that funny time of year where nothing is really happening, but so much is... Shops are closed that usually would be open and then there are others that are open that really suprise you... That week inbetween Christmas and New Year where things jsut seem to drift by in the waning excitement from Christmas onto the excitement and buildin tension in the wait for the next year to begin...

This is the lull, the little sparks of tension that I'm talking about.... Christmas excitement is widning down, but you know just around the corner is the new excitement of 2011 starting...

And 2011 is going to be a HUGE one for us!!! So many new things to experience, learn and so many more areas in which to grow and find ourselves :) This is the year we will find out feet and start making inroads into our lives in South Australia. This is a year of great positivity and energy... This is OUR YEAR!!!!!

Yes I'm excited for it to start.. I'm really excited to see this year pass and a new one start. I know in reality it's simply a date.. it's nothing major... but I'm allowing it to signify the change from our journey starting and ending to our growth and settling beginning :)

It's also the year (God willing) that we will finish our family :) Welcoming a new little one into our hearts and home :) We've already started looking at names and working out logistics etc... Our car will be enough for now, we have more than enough room in the house for another family let alone 1 more bubba LOL And we are getting onto our feet financially and emotionally to feel strong enough to have no fear about what a new one will bring in relation to any stresses on finances and emotions. We're ready for this to happen... we're strong enough for this little one to enter our lives and we're excited that they will be joining us in August :)
As I said, we've been looking into names... Our girls name we're set on - it was what Dommy was to be called - I might change the spelling back to the more original gaelic spelling - I think... I research all our childrens names to try and find the most authentic and original spellings and definitions... but I'm thinking I might swap a little on the spelling for our girls name - I think... I guess we'll see closer to the day and if we get to use a girls name!!!! Our boys name we kinda decided and settled on today... With so many boys and males on both sides of the family we're fast running out of options that will fit in with our boys names!! But we've found one and I love it!!! Now to see if I still love it in approximately 222 days time!!! LOL

Anyways, with this lull so many things have been going on and around in my head... So many thoughts and things to look forward to and excitement to try and reign in... I really feel positive about the changes and lessons we've learned in 2010 and can't wait for 2011 to roll around so we start a new year in our new home and can continue to put these lessons to good use and continue to move foward :)

Bring on 2011 - I can't wait!!!!

Happy Holidays!!!

I trust everyone had a spectacular Christmas Season - whether you celebrate Christmas or not it truly is a magical time of year :) We had a different one this year being that it is our first year away from family back in Tasmania. We didn't have any traveling or commitments other than a chat on skype so we had a rather relaxing day - even all my stress about getting the Christmas lunch feast together and edible at the same time was for nothing as it all simply worked :)

It looks like we've started a new family tradition for Christmas Eve... We drove the full 5 minutes from our house to a local cherry farm and picked our own cherries to top our pavlova with. It was a great afternoon - all be it hot (the in town weather thermometer said it was 34*C!!!)

and before we knew it it was time to swap our family presents on Christmas Eve - we do this so the children aren't too overwhelmed by the big day when Santa comes and spoils them (if they've been good enough) Everyone went to bed happy and excited for our big Christmas day...

And Christmas morning arrives, children all up and out of bed oohhing and ahhing all before 5am **yawn** I remember the excitement of Christmas morning as a child myself and I love that they are sharing that little bit of magical anticipation themselves :)

and as I mentioned earlier, after a chat on skype to family it was time to eat!!! And well, I kinda prepared too much LOL But then isn't that the Christmas way?? Chicken, ham and turkey with veggies, finished off with pavlova chocolate log cake and icecream - where's the pudding?? Well even now it's still in the fridge LOL We forgot about it!!! ROFL

So I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to 2011 as much as I am. It's going to be a great year - I just know it!!! 2010 was our year for change and 2011 is the year for us to start afresh and make a new beginning and start moving forward :)

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2011!!!!

Seasons Greetings!!!

I'm being politically correct LOL Sad eh that some people can be offended by the phrase Merry Christmas - but oh well ;)

This year has so far been one hell of a ride and as much as it's been painful at times I can look back and see how far we've come and how much we've grown, learned and accomplished :) It's really been the year of the Journey this 2010 - and it's going to be a little sad to see the end of it... With Christmas merely days away it's a time for us to look back and contemplate where we have come and where we are - It's a time to be making happy memories and remembering those that have came into (and in some sad cases left) our lives.

This year has brought many joys, some sadness and a lot of unexpected growing pains but I'm so glad it's been a year that we have experienced. It really has been a time of growth and re-assessing where and who we are - and it's a starting point for us.

The end of the year has also brought us immense joy as we celebrate the fact that we will be completing our family come August of 2011 - yes we're expecting a new bundle of joy!!! He/She is doing really well with a lot of monitoring to ensure that all is progressing well. I had another scan yesterday which confirmed we have a gorgeously beautiful heartbeat at around 150bpm and a little splodge around 7 weeks and 3 days in gestation. This has been unexpected news for some as no one knew we hadn't quite finished our family yet - but here we are, and we're overjoyed that after experiencing 2 late losses in the past 12 months that it looks like this little one is hanging on and determined to join us :)

So with great joy and happiness from our house to yours :) we really do wish you all the very best of this joyous season - many laughs, hugs and in some cases happy tears :)

Make the most of this beautiful time of year... be merry, be happy and above all be safe!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

From my happy (and growing) family
xxx Treens, Nathan, Aleksandir, Kahli, William, Domenik and *splodge* xxx

Tomorrow.....

tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow.... I love that song from Annie, and today I'm pretty much in a state where everything is hinging on tomorrow... Tomorrow our car is booked into vehicular hospital for repairs, tomorrow is my last payday before Christmas, tomorrow I have some more tests so I get a clearer picture on what is going on with me of late... so TOMORROW is a big day for me....

I'm praying everything will have a positive outcome - we will be back up and running with our car (the poor neglected things that hasn't been serviced etc since we moved over here **gasp**) I will get the final Christmas shopping completed and we will have happy children come Saturday and that all will be well with me and I have some definite answers!!!

So bring on tomorrow :)

It's only a day away......

Slap Cheek is in da house!!!

Of all the times to get sick the car chooses this week as does Dommy!!! The car is booked into hospital next Wed - until then we're going to be taking advantage of the gorgeous South Australian weather and walking a lot (hmmm it better stay gorgeous!!! LOL) as for Dommy - he has slap cheek :(

I thought he had an allergic reaction to some of the grasses that had shot up in the warm wet weather we've had of late, but it didn't go away... He developed a lacy kind of rash on his thighs and upper arms - it's looks like a mottled sunburn that blanches when pressed... Anyhoos, yesterday he came up with bright red cheeks - they've been red for a while, but I put it down to teething or not being well with the gastro we've all had... He's also had some funky stuff happening in his nappies so I knew he was not 100%... but after Dr googling and calling nurse on call (or whatever it's called here) it appears we definitely have a case of slap cheek... And with the car out of action and he no longer being contagious it's probably not worth the walk into town and the $60 to get it confirmed by a dr either - so wait it out as best we can and take lots of piccies to embarrass him with at a later day mwahahaha ahh evil aren't I LOL

Update re School Situation....

Well.... I didn't go to the school Monday morning. instead I rang the education department and asked their opinion on what to do from here. They agree with my gut feeling (that had been brewing all weekend) that going to the school would achieve nothing other than to get my blood pressure up - they hadn't taken duty of care with a long standing incident with Kahli so why would they with this situation when my children were not returning to the school??

So where do we go from here? I'm putting EVERYTHING in writing - from what Kahli has gone through to the fact the school refused to assist with getting my kids referred to the education provided psychologist (which I found out last week should have been done!!! grrr) and then to what Aleks endured on the last day of school.

The person I spoke to was disgusted themselves. There is nothing that can explain why my kids have been treated this way, and one can only assume that the school isn't used to parents wanting to be involved or standing up for their children! Regardless, my eldest two children have both been let down by the school, teachers, school counselor and principal who were meant to be there to keep them safe, not just physically but also emotionally as well. They have FAILED in their duty of care. And to top it off - the teacher that allowed the teasing and bullying of Kahli to continue was slated to be William's teacher next year!!!

So I have been writing drafts of the letter, I'm trying to keep emotions out of it and be factual as possible... it's not going to be a short letter, I will put in there about how Kahli's behaviour at times hasn't been the most exemplary - however this is still no excuse for what has been happening to her.

I doubt we'll hear anything more from the school. I will finish the letter of complaint asking for details of the outcome, but wont be holding my breath LOL. I'm so relieved that we took a stand though and have moved our kids to a new school.. It's a smaller school, they wont get lost in the system and hopefully will be more comfortable in a school that has zero tolerance to bullies and has a caring attitude towards their children - and a school that will let Aleks work at the level he needs to, not simply float along being accelerated through the classes to help boost their numbers, not because he is at the adequate level to move onto those classes!!! It's looking good for 2011, but I'm not wearing rose coloured glasses, it's going to be a tough start for the kids moving to another new school... but things are definitely looking better :)

Soz...

Sorry according to the song is the hardest word, but it's one I seem to be saying lately!!!

Mostly due to lack of action. I've been sick - sick enough to turn up to the doctors and now be at the beck and call of radiologists and pathology vampires... Oh it's nothing serious - it will all work out in the end, but for the moment I'm a human pincushion and have a diary full of appointments from last week and well into the new year!!!

Once everything is confirmed and we're well on the way to getting things sorted and settled I should be ok to share a little of what is happening, but at the moment I've been struggling but am starting to get back on top of my life ;) This week I intend on catching up with things, next week will be starting to move forward again and the week after will be celebrating Christmas and making beautiful memories (well we try to do that every day but Christmas is something that little bit more magical!!!!)

So I'm sorry again for lack of action, communication, scrapping, creativity etc etc etc... I promise I WILL be back creating, sharing and posting soon ;) I'm a work in progress and at the moment a lot of work behind the scene is going on to get things back running at full steam again :)