Another Week

This is our newest project. Our gorgeous new built in robes. This photo doesn't do them justice. Because we have an old house and the rooms are so big, these robes are bigger than they look in the photo. Also the ceilings are very high and the robes go nearly to the top. I wish I had taken a before photo of all the clutter in the room to show the difference. So a fair part of today was putting everything into the robes. It's amazing how much room we have and how many old clothes I found that I had forgotten about.

This week sure seems to have flown. The kids are right back into the school routine now with homework each night and trying to fit sport and activities in as well. Ashleigh bought home a note this week. She wants to play the violin!!! And Nikki wants to be in the school choir so I guess that is going to be something else to fit into the schedule. I think these things are done in school hours so they should be able to fit them in.

Bonnie is doing well. She still has the collar on her head which I am glad of because she is doing her best to scratch those stitches. They must be very itchy by now. Her wound is healing nicely and the stitches are coming out on Thursday. She is running around like normal so I'm praying that they have got all the cancer and we don't see any more lumps appear. She has managed to put a tear in the plastic collar so I just hope it stays in one piece for another 5 days.

I weighed in this morning to a 1.2 kg loss. I am totally in control of my eating which I feel great about. I have only managed to exercise about 4 times this week so I hope to improve on that next week. Counting down the weeks until our Qld holiday - 34 weeks to go. I'm going to make sure I give it a huge go at losing 30 kgs before then. I have now lost 3.9 kgs since 1st January. Had one week that set me back, but heading in the right direction now.

I got an email from Virgin today announcing a 3 day sale of certain flights. I jumped straight on the website and booked my weekend to Melbourne in May. I got the lowest fares I have ever had at $48 each way. I just hope I can get some really cheap airfares to Cairns when the October sale comes out. It sure pays to get emails from the airlines because I haven't seen this latest sale advertised anywhere yet. It sure pays to get in early.

I'm getting up very early in the morning because a friend is picking me up at 7.30am (on a Sunday - yuk) to go to the Torrens Island markets. I have never been before but it is a market for fresh fruit and vegetables that are so much cheaper and fresher than the supermarkets. Our food bills have risen so much with all the healthy eating so I'm looking forward to seeing how much I can save by buying from the markets.

Have a great Sunday everyone.

Wedding Photos

The happy couple :)

I don't think we have changed a bit in 12 years. Maybe Steve's hair has a bit!!

Looking back, this photo has so much meaning. Steve is shaking my dad's hand. I love the look on Steve's face. He looks so proud. My dad is no longer with us so this is a very special photo. Steve's dad is on the other side of Steve.



This is my neice on the left who is about to turn 18 and my best friend's daughter who is 20 this year. That makes me feel old.
After discovering our wedding album this afternoon, I thought I would post some photos for fun. Sorry about the numbers on the photos. They are out of the sample album we got. I have no idea what I weighed when I got married but I would have been at least 20 kgs lighter.

Lots of News

I had foils put in my hair today. Silly photo I know but I wanted to show you the colour.

Well my baby lost his first tooth today. Why do I feel sad about that:( It's been loose for about 2 months and it was at the stage where he could put his tongue on it and it would go backwards and forwards. And that's how it came out!! He is so proud. Looks like the tooth fairy will be visiting tonight.

The next big news is that I lost 2.2 kgs this week!!!

I'm a bit surprised it was that much after last weeks good loss, but I'm not complaining. I have been totally on track this week and it shows. I am so into the natural eating thanks to Kate and Lisa Jane. I don't know why it's taken this long to click but it feels good. I am going to stick to the points plan because it works for me but if I have a blow out, I don't intend to beat myself up over it.

Steve and I have just finished cleaning out 2 old wardrobes in our bedroom because we are having built in robes put in on Friday. I was dreading doing it but it wasn't as bad as I thought. Between us we have 4 huge bags of clothes for goodwill. I had clothes in there from 20 years ago ranging in sizes. So alot of it has gone. I figure when I get to goal there will be a spending spree anyway. The girls found a couple of pairs of high heel shoes and have claimed them for the dress ups. I never wear heels anymore. I also found our wedding album, so I might just scan a couple of the photos and put them on the blog later. Nikki laughed and said how different Steve looked. She didn't mention me but I have put on about 20 kgs since our wedding.

Now for my whinge of the week!!!!

Friday night is takeaway in our house because Nikki plays netball and Ashleigh plays cricket so we decided to go to Maccas. Nothing wrong with that. Plenty of healthy options there. Well they have introduced a healthy kids meal. Has anyone tried it?? It's 10 small pieces of shaped pasta with vegetable filling (if you can find it) and a small sachet of pasta sauce with a mill drink and a sippa (straw with little beads of flavouring) So tell me why it cost $5.95 instead of the usual $3.95 for the chips, nuggets and softdrink option. And it didn't fill any of my kids up. They were still hungry when we got home. Why is healthy food so expensive???????]
I had a tandoori deli choice roll which was very nice but that was $5.95 as well.

I was reading Erin's blog last night and she had a post about Subway. I have been very disappointed with Subway the last few times I have gone there. I have to ask for more salad because they have got so scabby with the fillings. Give me sushi or cold rolls anyday.

Off my soapbox now!!

Our Sad Doggie

Bonnie had her operation today and she came through very well. I'm sure she coped better than we did. The vet said the lump is 99% likely to be cancer unfortunately but they are hopeful they got it all. We were given the option to get it analysed but we had already spent nearly $400 and it was going to be another $100 to get it tested. There really is no point because like the vet has told us she is a 13 year old dog and if it has spread, they won't do anything anyway. And we wouldn't put her through it. She is still very active and has come through the operation with flying colours. She's walking ok and is eating so she'll be fine. We just have to keep a close watch on her and pray no more lumps appear.

As you can see from the photo, Nikki has set up camp on the family room floor and is sleeping with her tonight. There was no way I could talk her out of it. She is normally an outside dog, but the vet wants her inside for a few days so the wound doesn't get infected.

In other news, Jarryd had his first swimming lesson on Tuesday. He has been using a floatie ring in our pool and is quite confident in that, but the time had come for swimming lessons. Don't you get slack with each child. Both the girls had swimming lessons before they were 5 but Jarryd has been very scared of the water until now and I wasn't going to waste my money until he was ready. Anyway, he got out of the pool after the lesson and asked if he could come again the next day. So I guess he enjoyed it.

I am on track for a good weigh in on Saturday. My food has been on track and I have exercised 3 days out of 5 this week. I feel very positive about how things are going. I am eating heaps of fresh fruit instead of processed snacks which I feel passionate about. There is lots of talk in blogland about this subject and I am enjoying reading a few blogs who are eating this way so I can get some ideas. Lisa Jane, I am going to pinch some of your recipies so keep them coming.

Out of my 3 children, Nikki has always been my worst eater. She only used to eat apple until I got her to try mango which she loved. She also only eats potato, carrots and corn and refused to try anything else. My other 2 eat heaps of fruit and vegetables, but I guess you always get 1 in a family that is a fussy eater. She takes after her father. I have been talking a lot to my kids about healthy eating and I think it is slowly starting to sink in. I made a fruit platter the other day and I asked Nikki to pick something on it that she would try. She has tried watermelon and strawberries and hates them. Can you believe that???? Anyway she reluctantly tried a grape and guess what - she loved it. So much so that she has been packing grapes in her lunchbox every day this week. I think it's starting to sink in at last. Though I wasn't very impressed that our food bill was $250 this week!!! Healthy eating does come at a cost, but hey I'm not complaining. Much!!!

A Perfect Afternoon

We had the best afternoon today. My sister and her son came over and we took the kids to a duck pond that is about 10 mins from our place. It is such a beautiful place and the kids had a great time.

There are heaps of walkways and bridges around the pond and it was lovely to walk around with the kids. We took 2 loaves of bread and the kids fed the ducks and unfortunately the seagulls who wanted some of the action.

And the best thing, it was free. We spent hours there and not only was it a beautiful and peaceful place, we all got some exercise in the fresh air.

Kids are in bed now and are all looking forward to their first day back at school for 2007.

I love this photo. My kids with their 2-1/2 year old cousin.

There is one part of the pond that has the most spectacular water lillies. They looked plastic they were so perfect.

Happy, Happy, Happy

I am happy. Can't you tell - lol.

I lost 1.4 kgs this week. I have been very good and it showed on the scales. I treated myself to a yummy lunch of sushi and cold rolls.

We went to our local Westfield shopping centre for lunch and to update my mobile phone. We were sitting in the food court and I was looking around. There were lots of healthy options which we chose, but do you know where the biggest line was.

KFC!!!!

I guess this probably comes as no surprise to a lot of you but I was amazed. With all the yummy and healthy food around, it just goes to show you can't make people eat healthy. Granted, people might just come shopping once a week or whatever and only have KFC then and eat healthy the rest of the time. But I know what I would prefer to spend my money on. You could even smell the fatty smell from the oil. Yuk!!!!!!

My phone contract ran out in November and I have been meaning to upgrade my phone since then. I had a 2 year old nokia and it was very basic. My new phone is very cool, even has an mp3 player and it didn't cost me anything. Just had to resign for 2 years on a $19 plan which was even better than the $25 plan we were on previously.

So it's been a good day.

I just heard on the news that there was a huge brawl at the Australia Day celebrations at our local beach last night. Possibly had something to do with the Australian flag. How pathetic are some people. I guess that's what happens when a group of young louts get together with too much alcohol in their systems. We had made plans to go down there for the fireworks display but ended up staying at the party we were at longer than we thought. I am so glad of that. I wouldn't have wanted my kids seeing that behaviour. It's amazing to think that we were down there the night before and it was such a perfect night and then this happened the next night.

My kids with Maddie, one of Nikki's friends at the sideshows. Jarryd won the snake hanging around his neck.

Ashleigh on the Bungy Jump with Nikki in the background. They had a ball doing somersaults. Must have been great exercise because they were very tired after.

Happy Australia Day

I have been a bit lazy this week updating my blog but nothing much has happened. I've been back at work for 2 weeks now and it doesn't even feel like I've had a holiday. Oh well only 36 weeks until our big Queensland holiday!!

I had to put Bonnie's surgery off until next Thursday because I really want to be around the day after she has it and that wasn't possible this week. I really don't have a good feeling about this lump. It's not bothering her though. For a 13 year old german shepherd, she still can still give the birds a run for their money.

We are going to some friends tonight for a Australia Day BBQ and then there are fireworks at Semaphore which we are going to try and get to.

Last night Nikki had a friend over from Melbourne for a sleepover and we took the kids to the Semaphore sideshows. They have been there all the school holidays and I have been promising to take them for ages. Every time we were going, it was either too hot or like last Saturday night, it was pouring with rain. So last night was perfect. I had lots of 2 for 1 vouchers and it made it a bit cheaper but I still managed to spend around $60. We met up with some friends there and all the kids went on the cha cha. My kids loved it but one of the other kids who is older than my kids had his eyes shut the whole time and we could tell he was hating it. When he came off, he looked very white and I thought he was going to be sick but he came good. We had a good laugh though!!

We even went for a walk on the jetty and got to see the comet that everyone is talking about. It was such a perfect night. One of those gorgeous balmy summer nights.

I have been reading lots of blogs lately talking about the word "diet"
I really think that has been my downfall with my weight loss. I set myself goals and struggle to get there. I really think the only way this is going to work is if I can change my mindset to living a healthy eating lifestyle. Does that make sense??
When I deprive myself of treats, I end up going on a binge and undo all the good I have done. In a way the weight watchers plan does this. I know there is negative talk about ww but their way of thinking is so true. There is nothing you can't have. You just can't have the bad foods all the time.

Saying that, I have had a very good week this week after last week. The proof will be on the scales tomorrow morning but there will be a loss. There hasn't been enough exercise this week unfortunately due to things happening Tuesday, Wednesday and last night but I will step that up this week.

I have found so much support in the blogger world especially Lisa Jane and Kate. We've had some crazy chats lately but I want to thank you for your support in this journey. I am very determined to see this through. One thing about me is that I never give up. Thank god or I would weigh about 200 kgs - lol!!!!!!!

Have a fantastic Aussie Day weekend everyone.

Back to Work

My life of leisure has come to an end - lol. I started back at work after 3 weeks off on Monday. I was really dreading it because I was enjoying doing nothing and sleeping in every day but surprisingly it was quite easy to get back into routine again. Routine is taking the kids to mums before work so we have to be out of the house by 8.30am which isn't too bad. Luckily mum has made it easier for me and picked the kids up a couple of days last week.

We did have some sad news at work this week though. A customer that we have been dealing with for many years took his own life a couple of weeks ago. It was a huge shock to us but imagine how it would have been for the person who found him at his workshop. He shot himself!!! He was probably in his mid to late fifties. God only knows what was so bad in his life that he felt that was the only way out.

Actually it's been a week for bad news. We found a lump on the tummy of our 13 year old german shepherd. It looked like a cyst so we took her straight to the vet who has diagnosed skin cancer. And possibly an aggresive one because it has come up so quickly. She is going in to have it cut out next Wednesday. Then what to do???? We could pay another $100 on top of the cost of the operation to have it analysed but if it is aggresive skin cancer we couldn't afford the treatment if it could be treated. Also she is a 13 year old dog so why would we put her through any form of treatment. The vet did say if it was bad she would go downhill pretty quickly so I guess we would know then anyway what to do.

We had a great weekend away last weekend. I love going over to Stansbury. It is a pretty seaside town about 2 hours from Adelaide and all Steve's family live over that way. Country people sure know how to party!! They put on a huge spread for tea which included a whole lamb on the spit and lots of bbq meat and chicken. There was every type of salad you could imagine and more. After that dessert was brought out and the huge table was full of pavlovas, cheesecakes, chocolate frogs in jelly for the kids, slices and mousses. The was also a huge fruit platter which I made a beeline for. I was very proud of myself for not indulging in the other desserts. But worse was to come. (for me anyway) An hour or so later, out came all the nibbles like chips, dips, cheeses, mettwurst, nuts and the list goes on. All the things I have absolutely no control over - lol. But I didn't drink so that was a plus.

Steve's brother Neil (who's 40th it was) plays drums in a local band and they played for a few hours. They were really good and it was an unreal night. The kids had a ball and by the time we left at around 1am, they were absolutely exhausted. Apparently they had to kick the local copper out at 8am. And guess who forgot her camera AGAIN - BUGGER!!!!!!!

Now for the weigh in this week. Bit of a disaster really because I managed to gain 600g. After being pretty good at the party, it all went downhill from there. I know I shouldn't use TTOM as an excuse but I have been craving sugar so badly this week. I have had a couple of blowouts so I have no-one but myself to blame for my gain. Also the weather has been horrible - a couple of 38-40 deg days and then days where the humidity was 94% and I used it as an excuse not to walk. I didn't walk any day this week and it has shown on the scales. So I have set myself a challenge this week to walk at least 4-5 days.

I AM SO SICK OF THE EXCUSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quick Update

We are about to go away for the weekend for Steve's brother's 40th birthday party but I wanted to pop in quickly and post my weigh in result.

Drumroll................................

I lost 2 kgs this week. Goes to show what exercising and tracking can do.

Beckie, thanks for your help with posting links to my blog. I will have a play with it tomorrow night when we get back.

Changing Settings

Thanks to Kate, I have just worked out how to get the right date and time on this blog - lol.

Thanks Kate.

Now just have to work out how to put links on my blog.

Steve's New Toy

Steve picked up his new motorbike on Tuesday night. Now I know nothing about motorbikes but apparently this is exactly what he has been looking for. It's in immaculate condition. I think we were lucky because the seller was looking for a quick sale to pay off his credit card. I don't think he had ridden it very much. So this should keep hubby happy for a few years.

I used the opportunity to ask if I could have a trip to Melbourne in April for my birthday and he agreed. Good timing I reckon - lol.

We've had a few hot days again this week and the kids have been in the pool again. At the moment they are at the pictures seeing 'Happy Feet' with Katherine our next door neighbour. I'm just waiting on a text message to go and pick them up.

I can't believe how quick my holiday is going. I'm back at work on monday. How is that possible?? I'm really not ready to go back to work. We have no routine here at the moment. Kids have been going to bed around 11pm and not waking up until 10am. I love the holidays!!! Big shock next week though as I have to take the kids to mums before I start work which will mean us getting up at 7.30am.

I have been very good this week with my food and exercise. I have walked every night which I am really enjoying. I take one of the kids each night around 7.30pm. It's such a good time because it's cooler. I love checking out everyone's gardens and getting some ideas.

I'm looking forward to weighing in on Saturday. I'll be back with a result.

Ashleigh is Steve's apprentice bbq chef. She always cooks when Steve is cooking a bbq. And might I say, he cooks a mean bbq. Here they are cooking bacon and eggs for breakfast.

Jarryd is getting very confident in his floatie - lol. Last year he wouldn't even go in the pool. Now he is jumping off the side. He is going to have swimming lessons very soon. He told me he won't have them until he is 10!!!

Tooo Hot

Thank goodness for a cooler day!! It's only going to be 31 here today. The last 3 days have been 39 and 40 deg although we got some rain yesterday which cooled things down a lot but also made it really humid.

We have spent most of the week in the pool which has been wonderful. On Thursday we had 12 kids and 5 adults in the pool at different stages. I felt like I was running vacation care - lol. The only grizzle I have with kids coming over for a swim is that they get so hungry and not many of the kids ever bring anything to eat. Why is that?? So I brought out very little on Thursday. I had some microwave popcorn and some frankfurts and that was lunch. I'm sure they were all very hungry when they went home.

Steve had to go home to Stansbury on Tuesday for his nana's funeral. She was 89 and had been in a nursing home for a couple of years. Still very sad because she was a wonderful lady. She had 10 kids and there were a lot of family there. I didn't go with the kids because it was a gravesite service 2 hours from Adelaide and it was very hot. I'm not sure how the kids would have coped with it. Steve went over on his motorbike.

Speaking of motorbikes, Steve has been looking for a new (second hand) one for a while now. He went to look at one in the paper today and he rang me to ask how much we had in the bank for a deposit. He is so happy. It's just what he has been looking for. He has always ridden Kawasaki bikes but recently he has had other bikes which I really don't think he has been completely happy with. So he is back to a Kawasaki again. Don't ask me what model but I will post a photo when he picks it up later in the week. So hopefully we will have a happy daddy in our house instead of a grumpy daddy - lol.

Like a lot of people, I have started my weight loss journey afresh with the new year. I weighed for the 1st time today after 5 weeks and I have put on 3 kgs. How come it is so easy to put on weight and so hard to lose it?????? Anyway it wasn't unexpected. I have been drinking and eating far too much but I don't regret enjoying myself over the christmas/new year period. It is only 39 weeks until our Queensland holiday so I really need to get back into it. I have been walking again every night even in the heat. Nikki came with me last night and she was exhausted when we got back. It was raining but we still went with our umbrellas. Actually it was very nice but very humid.

I only have 1 week of holidays left. Where did that go?? I must admit I have been very lazy and haven't done very much with the kids, but because it has been so hot they have been in the pool every day and haven't even asked to go to the pictures. I have a few friends to catch up with next week and then I will be back at work. Not looking forward to that at all. I love the school holidays. No routine at all. The kids have been staying up at night and sleeping in every day. Boy am I going to be in trouble when we have to get back into school routine. Oh well, a few more weeks yet.

Better go, the kids want to get into the pool again. It's supposed to be cooler here tomorrow and Monday - in the mid twenties. It will be nice to open up the house again.

I thought this was very creative. Jarryd made a teddy bear's face with a skipping rope, a lanyard and the bottom out of the glow stick tubes all by himself.

Ashleigh is my little fairy princess.

Wow it's 2007

It hit me today that it is really another year - 2007. I remember like yesterday thinking wow it's going to be the year 2000. That was 7 years ago!!

We had a family new years eve. The last few years we have spent drinking in the new year either at our house or friend's houses but this year it was just Steve and I and our beautiful children. They were so excited about staying up past midnight and seeing in the new year. We went down to Semaphore to watch the fireworks display. We took some chairs and rugs thinking we might go down and watch it from the beach, but we found a great spot on the lawn by a playground which wasn't too crowded. Most of the crowd was on the other side of Semaphore. Our kids were given glow sticks by santa and made lots of different bangles, necklaces, frisbies and belts. They looked very colourful. In fact most of the kids there had glow sticks so it looked great in the dark.

We had a great spot when the fireworks went off. They were lighting them from the beach about 100 mtrs in front of us. We really enjoyed it. There were some great patterns but guess who forgot to take her camera.

We had a fairly quiet week last week. Quite a few visitors because the weather was hot and the kids had friends over to use the pool. I'm really enjoying doing very little these holidays. I did have a big clean out of Jarryd's clothes to make way for some hand me downs we got from his cousin. I managed to get 4 bags of clothes that Jarryd has outgrown to pass onto my nephew.

I had to laugh at the kids new year resolutions. Nikki has decided not to talk back. Yeh right, that lasted 1 day - lol. Jarryd has promised not to do any pop-offs in the same room as us which he is very good at doing. Ashleigh didn't really have a resolution. As for me ~ well the usual is to lose weight. I need to get back into it as of now. Christmas and New Year are over so I have no more excuses. I have drunk far too much and might I say, I did enjoy having a drink with friends but now I need to get back into the swing of walking every day and eating the right things again. After all it's now only 40 weeks until our holiday.

So I hope everyone has had a great new year's eve and are looking forward to the new year ahead. I hope it is a happy and healthy one.

And Nikki's masterpiece.

Father christmas put these cool bath crayons in their stockings. These are Jarryd's drawings. They also got tablets to change the colour of the water.

This is my favourite decoration on our tree.

My brother gave Nikki and Ashleigh this stunning fairy night light. They really love it.

Jarryd has all the characters from the Ice Age 2 movie and this completed his set. Crash and Eddie.

Just some of the things the kids got for christmas.

It's Over for Another Year

Well christmas has come and gone once again. All the build up, shopping, cooking, wrapping presents and sending cards and it's over so quickly.

We were all very spoilt again. Father christmas did make it to our house. The children must have been good this year - lol. Nikki got a nintendo DS, Ashleigh got a Little Pet Shop Get Better Centre and Jarryd got a fast talking Lightning McQueen from the cars movie. In fact, he got lots of cars stuff this year - a towel, dvd, t-shirt, jocks, stickers, textas and other cars from the movie. We gave him a simpsons scooter. Nikki got a camera from us (the old film type!!!) which she was thrilled with and a huge 100 pack of gel pens, dvd, beanie kid, makeup, clothes and lots more. We gave Ashleigh some fairy books, a barbie set, dvd, clothes and beanie kids.

I gave Steve a ticket to the Roger Waters concert (Pink Floyd - I think), a $50 I-Tunes card and lots of chocolates. I got very spoilt by Steve and the kids. I got a floating lilo for the pool, a Robbie Williams cd and front and side shades for the car.

We had a lovely lunch with my mum, grandma and sister. We caught up with my brother and his family christmas eve and had a bbq and seafood dinner. Then we drove 2 hours to Stansbury to have tea with Steve's family which was great to catch up with everyone over there. It's been far to long since we have been there and we all love it over there. I just wish we could have stayed longer but Steve had to go back to work today so we came home late yesterday afternoon.

The only problem with christmas presents is finding room for them. We had a bit of a cleanup today because the house looked like a bomb had gone off in nearly every room. Because christmas day is such a rush for us, we walked out of the house and left it as it was when the kids opened all their presents in the morning. Unfortunately the fairies didn't come and clean up while we were gone.

The kids have lots to keep them occupied for the next few weeks with all their presents.

I have 3 weeks off - one week is nearly gone already. I have a good friend over from Melbourne with her kids so I'm going to spend some time with her and also lots of other people with kids we can catch up with. I also intend to spend a couple of days doing absolutely nothing. How often do you get to do that?????

Not sure what we are doing new years eve yet. It's going to be hot so we might have a few people over here to use the pool and have a bbq.

I think I have put on about 5 kgs - lol. Not really but I have eaten lots - mostly good stuff but too much of it. And also a few chocolates have crept in. I'll start afresh in the new year and get right back into it. There is something about the new year to kick start things again.

I've posted a few photos of christmas but I'm disappointed again with the red eyes in some of the photos. I really must remember to see if there is a way to stop it from doing that.

Not sure if I will be back before new years eve because there is a bit on in the next few days so if I don't I shall see you next year.

3 More Sleeps

I can't believe it is only 3 more sleeps until christmas. We are so excited in our house. I am fairly organized. All the presents are bought and wrapped and under the tree. Just have the food shopping to do and I will tackle the shops sometime tomorrow.

The best part is that I am officially on holidays now. I have 3 weeks off. 3 weeks with absolutely nothing planned. Steve only has the public holidays off so we are only going over to Stansbury for christmas day and will come back boxing day. I intend to spend lots of quality time with the kids. We might go to the pictures - lots of kids movies on at the moment, the beach, parks and catch up with friends. And hopefully lots of sleep ins.

We broke up from work today. We had a nice staff lunch and then a few drinks. It was very casual and relaxed and I even got a $100 coles myer gift voucher from my boss. I have no idea what to spend it on yet but I'm sure it won't be too hard to think of something. We also had a dinner last Saturday night in the city which was great. All the food and drinks were paid for. I love this time of year. It makes all the hard work during the year worthwhile.

Ashleigh is almost over the chicken pox. She definitely isn't contagious anymore but still has a few spots that are slowly disappearing but she may still have a few in the christmas photos.

We have my brother and his family coming over for tea christmas eve because we won't see them christmas day this year. Then we will have lunch on christmas day with my mum, grandma and sister and her little boy and then we drive 2 hours to Stansbury after lunch to spend christmas tea with Steve's family. I don't mind driving on christmas day. We have done it for the past 3 years. There is very little traffic on the road. Everyone travels out on Boxing day.

I doubt I will get the chance to post again until after christmas, so I will post some photos of the kids and their chrissy presents.

I wish everyone a very happy and safe christmas and new year. I hope you all have a wonderful family christmas.

We've got chicken pox again!!

It's been 18 days since Jarryd's chicken pox came out and I really thought Ashleigh might be immune. Just after I took the photo of Ashleigh with her dancing tropy, I noticed a spot on her back. After she had a shower, there were a couple more and this morning quite a few more. Bugger!!!

In a way I am glad she's got it because she is the last one in our family to have it, but the timing is rotton. It's the last week of school this week and she was looking forward to a class party tomorrow. Also the company Steve works for is having a children's christmas party on Sunday at the Semaphore water slide. I just hope she is past the contageous stage by then.

Oh well on a positive note, she should be ok for christmas day which is 2 weeks today.

We get to keep this trophy at our house for 12 months. We are very proud of our little girl.

It must be silly season

I'm sorry it's been so long between posts again but I haven't had one night home this week. It's been crazy.

Quick run down..........

Monday night I caught up with some friends for tea. We used to go out for tea once a month but lately it's been once every two or three months. We had a great night catching up. We went to a stonegrill pub and for anyone who hasn't had stonegrill, you really need to try it. It's where you cook your own meat or fish or chicken on a very hot stone at your table. It's fun and very tasty. After tea I put $5 in the pokies and won $95 so I was very happy with that.

Tuesday night was the Robbie Williams concert here in Adelaide. I didn't get a ticket and a work friend and I decided to go and sit outside. It was a balmy night but the wind came up and it got a little cold. I forgot to take a jacket but it wasn't too bad. During the first encore, they opened up the gates and we got in. What we saw was amazing and he looked soooooo hot. It came across that he was really enjoying himself and so was the huge crowd. I haven't heard a bad word about the concert and I know heaps of people that went.

Wednesday night was the dancing trophy presentation night. Every girl got a trophy so it was a bit drawn out but a good night, especially since Ashleigh got one of the pepetual trophies. It's huge and has her name engraved on it. She gets to keep it for twelve months. I was so proud when they called out her name and she was so cute. She wouldn't let it go. She was dancing around with it after the presentations. I will take a photo and post it later. It's nearly bigger than her.

Thursday night was the school end of year event. Usually these things are very boring and drawn out, but this year was fantastic. Every class had a different era from the twenties to the naughties (00's) and it was amazing. Music from every era so it catered for everyone. Nikki was the narrator from the 30's and her class had a few dances to do. Jarryd did 'Singing in the Rain' from the 50's and Ashleigh did 'Rocky' from the 70's. A very enjoyable night. Unfortunately I forgot the camera because I had 5 mins to get changed and to the school when I got home from work.

Friday would have been netball but Nikki's team had a bye and because it was 38 deg, Ashleigh's cricket was cancelled. I did manage to finish off the last of the christmas shopping during the day. Yahoo!!!!!!

Today it got to 41.5 deg and we spent the day in the pool. We've had a few of the kids friends here as well. I also managed to write out my christmas cards. It is still quite hot and one of our air conditioners has decided to spit the dummy. So I have moved the kids out into the family room because it is far too hot in the front of the house where the bedrooms are. Steve has gone out to his work christmas show so goodness knows what time he will be home. I decided not to go because partners had to pay $60 and it's our work show next week. It would have been too hard to get babysitters two weeks in a row.

I have decided to have a break from weighing myself until after christmas. I don't want to stress about what I am eating and drinking so I'll try and do the best I can, but I'm not going to miss out. Christmas comes once a year (thank goodness) and I want to enjoy myself. Life is too short. I know I have put on a little bit but it will come off again in the new year. I still have that goal of looking good in bathers for out Qld holiday. Only 42 weeks and 6 days to go.

The good thing is that everything stops this week until the kids go back to school at the end of January. No dancing or netball or cricket and soon no work for me for 3 weeks. We break up on Dec 22nd and I don't have to go back until Jan 15th.

So much for a quick update. I will be back soon with some of our latest photos.

I had to post this photo of my jacaranda tree. I planted it when we moved in 8 years ago and this year we finally have some flowers. I am so proud - lol.

The photos don't really show too much but he did have alot on his back, tummy, face, head and backs of his legs.

Latest News

Jarryd is recovering well from the chicken pox. I don't think he has had a really bad dose. I guess it could have been a lot worse. The first night I gave him a carb soda bath to help with the itching. (Mum's old wives tale) but I think it made it worse not better. He had a dreadful night. Crying and scratching all night. We got very little sleep that night. Over the weekend I gave him some clarantyne which did wonders. No scratching at all.

We've had lots of hot weather here and the kids have spent nearly every day in the pool. On Sunday I took the girls for a walk. We had a street fair on at Semaphore and I parked the car at our local beach and walked along the beach. It took about 25 mins and it was quite warm although there was a nice breeze blowing. We walked up and down the street and then walked back to the car and the girls whinged all the way back!!! I outdid them and I was very proud of myself. Sure I was hot but I felt good.

I had a loss of 2 kgs this week which takes the total to 7.6 kgs in 7 weeks. I must confess I haven't been walking anywhere near as much as I should be, but life is just too busy at the moment. I have been doing as much as I can.

I got most of my christmas shopping finished on Friday. Mum had Jarryd and I was on a mission. It feels good to get it done. Now I just have to wrap everything and write cards. The kids have been getting cards from schoolfriends so I guess that will be the next thing. Sit them down and get them to write out cards. I hate that job. But it is nice to receive christmas cards so I always make the effort. Why is it always left to us women. I don't think Steve has wrapped a present or written a card in the 14 years we have been together. Or shopped for that matter. I'll be lucky if he takes the kids out to get me something - well I will have to remind him. Hopeless but lovable.

We are going strawberry picking this weekend (postponed from last weekend) so I will take the camera and post some photos. Yum!!

We've got Chicken Pox!!!!

Jarryd has chicken pox. Bugger!!

I was sort of expecting it. 3 kids in his class have had it over the last 2 weeks. I have been checking him every day and he was clear this morning but when I picked him up from mum tonight, I saw a few spots which are rapidly multiplying. Lucky I have tomorrow off and also next Tuesday. Steve will take a couple of sickies as well but I know Ashleigh will be next.

Steve got chicken pox when Ashleigh was 1 week old and passed them on to Nikki. Ashleigh didn't get it because she was too little and being breastfed.

So I guess the next few weeks will be so much fun - not. I have bought some calemine lotion and bicarb soda which is apparently good to put in the bath to help the itching.

I'll be back on the weekend to update.

Putting up the Christmas Tree

The kids have been hassling me for a couple of weeks now to put up the christmas tree, so today was the day. How come it is so easy to put up the tree and the kids are so enthusiastic to help but when the time comes to take it down, they lose interest very quickly - lol.

Trip to the Magic Cave

On Friday mum and I took the kids to see Santa. It was my 1st day off in 2 weeks and the kids had a pupil free day. I thought there wouldn't be too many people there but I thought wrong. We lined up for over an hour. Luckily mum was with me because she took the kids on all the rides while I stayed in the line. They had free merry go round and horse rides. It is a lovely experience and the kids always look forward to it but I think next year we will go in on a Monday. The staff told us that Monday and Tuesdays are always quiet. Typical!!

We finally got to see Santa and Nikki has asked for a Nintendo DS, Ashleigh asked for a Littlest Pet Shop Get Better Centre and Jarryd asked for Lightening Mcqeeen from the Cars movie. We had a great time and the kids went on all the rides many times. Ashleigh took a liking to David the talking tree. She couldn't work out how she could ask him questions and he would talk back. When I took the photo of her talking to the tree he called out 'Cheese' Too funny. She went to talk to him about 10 times so I'm sure whoever was talking into the microphone thought she was so cute. She even went and said goodbye and she would see him next year.

Oh the innocence of children.

This is Ashleigh's other costume. Unfortunately we didn't get a photo at the concert so we took it at home.

Nikki and Ashleigh's costumes. The colourful one Ashleigh is wearing is the one I had to sequin. Unfortunately you can't see all the sequins in this photo but it came up very sparkly on the stage.

The girls had to have a crazy hat for the opening number so we created some flower hats. This is Ashleigh's.

Where has the time gone??

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted. It has probably been the busiest 2 weeks in ages.

Firstly my weight journey. Last Saturday weigh in I lost .3 but this week was a bit of a disaster. I put on 800g. I think my busy lifestyle of the last couple of weeks and lack of exercise have caught up with me. I'm glad the last couple of weeks are behind me. I shouldn't use it as an excuse for gaining weight but it hasn't been a normal two weeks. Also one of the reasons I haven't had time to post here.

The girls had their dancing concert last Sunday and had extra rehearsals during that week. Our usual week consists of netball practice, 2 netball games for Nikki, cricket practice and game for Ashleigh and dancing for both of the girls. So add a couple of extra dance practices and me having to work extra hours, it has been a tough couple of weeks. I am so glad dancing is over for the year. The concert made it all worthwhile because it went so well.

We had a few too many take away meals and I haven't been walking for over a week. So no more excuses!!! I have to keep focussing on our Queensland holiday. I have to fit into those bathers - lol.

The dancing concert was unreal. I wish I could have taken photos of the girls performances but they don't allow cameras in the theatre. The pictures I have were all taken backstage by the girls. It was a huge day and the girls were exhausted. They had to be at the theatre at 9am in the morning for rehearsals and we didn't get home until 6pm.

Steve went away that weekend on a motorbike rally to Portland in Victoria. He didn't get back until Tuesday morning so it was even harder having the 3 kids totally by myself for 5 days. I don't know how single mums do it all the time, but then again, I guess in some situations they get to be without the kids when the fathers have them on weekends.

I had to work extra hours last week which I hated. One of the guys in the office is on holidays and the other girl in the office had a very sick mother and had 3 days off to look after her. So I had to cover her. The extra money was nice but I wouldn't want to do it all the time.

Our kids had a pupil free day on Friday so I took them to the magic cave to see Father Christmas. I am charging up the camera so I will post more about that when I upload the photos.

So I am looking forward to this week being a little quieter and back to normal. I intend to make every effort to walk every day as I was doing and enjoying. I'll be back later to post some photos of our visit to Santa and the kids putting the christmas tree up.

This is Jarryd's masterpiece. How cute!!!

The kids had a great time drawing on the road. Nikki didn't quite spell christmas right - lol.

The photo doesn't do this float justice. The flowers were spectacular and all fresh.

Pageant day

We had the best day yesterday. It started at 5.45am when I got the kids out of bed. They were so excited. It's a tradition to take them to the christmas pageant and we wanted to get up there early to get front row seats.

It didn't start until 9.45am but the time went so quickly. We took game boys, colouring books and food and drinks so they were very busy. Another tradition is taking chalk and all the kids do drawings on the road. We go to the same spot every year and have got to know some of the families around us quite well.

It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining down. We have a great spot under a tree so we are always in the shade and there is a cafe behind us so we can get coffee. I have put some of the photos here. There were about 50 floats so these are just a few of my favourites. Unfortunately the camera battery died just before father christmas came along so I didn't get a photo of him.

Onto weight loss matters. I lost 600g this week which takes the total to 6.1 kgs in 4 weeks. I'm still walking alot. I walked the kids to school on Friday and then I spent the whole day christmas shopping. I was so tired when I got home but I still managed to walk to get the kids from school which is a 1/2 hour round trip. My feet were aching Friday night.

I have done well with my christmas shopping. I know it's still 7 weeks away but I have been watching the catalogues and I don't think I have bought anything at full price. Steve is going to be easy this year. He has already bought a ticket to the Roger Waters concert in February (Pink Floyd). That was $100 and also James Hird the essendon footballer is releasing his book at West Lakes in a couple of weeks so I bought him a ticket for that. It's pretty good value because you get the book and James Hird will autograph it. Also it's at a cafe so food and drink is included as well all for $40. The book alone is $45. I guess I will be driving him and picking him up that night.

I'm not sure what's wrong with me this year - lol. I usually do my christmas shopping the week before.

Yesterday was a very full day. Not only did we have the pageant, Jarryd had a birthday party in the afternoon and then we had a family friend's 7th birthday party at night. I made the kids have a sleep in the afternoon, which they all did after telling me they weren't tired. Thank goodness they did because we didn't get home until 11.30pm. They wouldn't have made it if they didn't have a sleep because of our early start to the day.

We are off for a walk to the beach soon. It's another gorgeous day here. Steve is playing golf so I'm going to take the kids to the beach and have a coffee while they play on the playground.

I'll be back later in the week.

I walked........

in the rain!!!!!

Something I would normally use as an excuse. It decided to rain for the first time in ages as I was coming home from work tonight. As I was very limited in my time to walk tonight, I decided to grab the umbrella and set off. Luckily it wasn't windy so it was quite nice. Also the smells from all the gardens screaming out for rain was amazing. Unfortunately it didn't last very long. We so need a big downpour. SA is on water restrictions for the first time in ages. I can't remember the last time it really rained. A few spots here and there, but nothing that helps.

Nikki came back from her school camp this afternoon and she is exhausted. I don't think she had much sleep the last 2 nights. Sounds like they had a fantastic time though. I'm glad she's home. I was really surprised how much everyone here missed her the last 3 days. Ashleigh and Jarryd both commented that they missed her and couldn't wait until she got home. I hope they remember that next time she annoys them - lol.

I'll be back on the weekend to update my weigh in result. We have a huge day on Saturday. It is our annual christmas pageant saturday morning and we plan to get up around 6am so we can get a good spot. I'll post some photos. Then we have a party in the afternoon and a party at night. So it's going to be a busy weekend.