Isn't this a gorgeous hibiscus. I got the plant for $2 at a closing down sale at our local nursery.

An Update at Last

We had such a busy weekend, I didn't even get a chance to get on the computer. Saturday was a perfect day. Not too hot and not too cold. The sun was shining so I decided to take the kids to the International Kite Fesitval at Semaphore. We drove down to our local beach with the bikes and scooters and we walked the 20 minute walk to Semaphore beach where the festival was being held. The only thing was it was really windy. Great for kite flying but not so good for riding bikes and scooters. The kids whinged most of the way which I ignored and told them they would get blown home on our way back. It was a fantastic afternoon.

Saturday night was a friend's surprise birthday party. It was his birthday last weekend but he was working in Perth and didn't get back in time so it was postponed a week. Because his birthday is on St Patricks day, the theme was green. Green everything including a very potent green punch. Not sure what was in it but it was very nice.

Sunday I was up early again to do the fruit and veg shopping at the markets and then some friends dropped in for a coffee mid morning. After lunch we took my mum to the airport. She's off to Canberra for a week for a very well deserved holiday. We worked out that she hadn't had a holiday in nearly 4 years. Mainly because my dad was so sick for 2 years before he passed away and then she just couldn't get away. So she is having a well deserved break.

Then we went to catch up with my best friend Lee who is over from Melbourne for her mum and dad's 50th wedding anniversary. It was so good to see her and her family. We don't get to see each other very often so we had so much to catch up on.

I had a bad weigh in this week. I put on 400g which was very expected. I haven't had a good week. I hate using the excuse TTOM, but I just crave sugar so much the week before. There is definitely a pattern. So back into it again as of NOW. It's only just over 27 weeks until we get on the plane for Qld.

Speaking of our Qld holiday, I have just finished booking the airfares. I wasn't going to do it for a few more months to see if I could get some cheaper fares but because we are going in the school holidays and we wanted a direct flight to Cairns, I really didn't want to miss out. Then I was checking the fares of the return flights from the Gold Coast and Jetstar have $99 fares from the Gold Coast to Adelaide. I really don't think I will get them much cheaper than that so they are now all booked. How exciting!!!

Steve had his head shaved on Friday to raise money for leukemia. He normally has a number 1 or 2 anyway but it was a bit of a shock to see him bald - lol. He did manage to raise a fair bit of money so I am very proud of him.

Daylight saving finished yesterday and I think I am in mourning. The nights are already getting colder and we have had our jackets out the last couple of nights and now losing that hour of daylight at night is very sad. I hate winter. I am definitely a summer person. I'll have to try and walk as soon as I get home from picking the kids up from school instead of after tea. It's going to be hard on the days I work all day. Let's hope we have some nice Autumn days so I can get out and walk as much as possible.

What a Weekend!!

Just a quick post tonight. I'm exhausted.

Firstly I lost 200g this week which was a bit surprising. I have been pretty good and have kept up with the exercise 5 times a week, so frankly I was a bit annoyed with such a small loss. Oh well, I guess it all adds up.

I have spent the whole weekend washing bedclothes, pillowcases and kids hair. Yes we have head lice in our household. Ewwwwwwwwww.

I know there is nothing you can do to avoid it, but what a pain. I noticed Jarryd scratching on Friday and upon closer inspection I realised he had it. I checked the girls and Nikki has it as well. Thank goodness Ashleigh is clear so far. She the one with the really long hair so I dread it if she gets it too. When I went to the chemist, they said it is a really bad time of year for it. It makes me itchy just thinking about it!!

I've only ever had to deal with this once before when Nikki was in reception. So not a very fun weekend here.

I will catch up with a longer post during the week. I still have a load of washing to put on the line and kids lunches to make for tomorrow. Oh the joys of motherhood.

Photos of our Busy Weekend

I love this photo of Ashleigh. This shows where we go nearly every weekend. I sit under the umbrellas and have a coffee while the kids play on the playground.

I love summer!!!

I finally got some sunset photos. It was a gorgeous night tonight. Ashleigh has become my walking buddy and we have some amazing chats on our walks.

This is our local pub. Bit hard to see in the dark.
I had to take this of the girls and boys toilets. They are both done with mosaic tiling. Lots of work went into them.

Jarryd got this remote control toy for his birthday.

This is what Ashleigh did with the party hats from the party we went to yesterday. Very inventive!!

Jarryd's school friends party at Hungry Jacks.

New Photos

Nikki with her cousins, April and Maddok.

How's this for a cake. It is a Wendy's icecream cake. Yummo!!!
And a picture of Jarryd and my mum.

Steve's sister took this photo of Jarryd a couple of months ago. I think it's a pretty good one.

This is the view I see when I am walking along our beach track to the jetty. I took the camera the other night to capture the sunset but it is setting earlier every night and I missed it. So I will try again this week.

Long Weekend of Fun

It's Adelaide Cup weekend here and it's also Jarryd's birthday. We have a very full weekend. Today it was Jarryd's family party. Just with family I think there were about 10 adults and 12 kids. We had a wonderful day and because it was 38 deg, the kids all went in the pool and spa. It was wonderful. I didn't have to organize any games or think of things to entertain the kids. We did play pass the parcel though. I think that is mandatory at any kids party. He was very spoilt as usual. We are giving him a nintendo ds on Monday (his actual birthday) so he got mostly money to go towards a couple of games I have bought. The games alone are $40 - $70 each.

Tomorrow I will be going to the market in the morning and then meeting a friend for coffee and a beach walk. It's going to be cooler so it will be nice to walk along the beach tomorrow. Then a blogger friend Tania is having a birthday party for her little man who is turning 1. How is that possible Tania? 1 whole year already.

Then Monday Jarryd is having a Hungry Jack's party for his school friends. So it's a real party weekend.

My weigh in today was interesting. I stayed exactly the same!! I guess I will look at it as maintaining because I really made a couple of bad choices this week. But I also backed it up with healthy eating most of the time so I guess that's ok. At least I didn't put on.

Ashleigh got back from camp yesterday. It was so good to see her. I was really surprised how much I missed her. She had a wonderful time doing some fantastic activities like yabby fishing, exploring caves, going for a boat ride and wombat and kangaroo hunting in the dark. She didn't have a shower the whole time she was away (3 days) and didn't brush her hair at all. So I threw her in the shower when she got home and washed her hair - lol. She also managed to lose a pair of sandshoes. Luckily they were an old pair that they had to take that probably would have got really dirty. I'm sure they will turn up next week when all the lost property is brought back from the camp.

Nikki's ankle still isn't 100%. She played netball last night because they only had 5. 6 with her. But she probably shouldn't have played. I strapped it up but she was really restricted with her running and dodging.

I have made the decision to work Fridays. I was only working 26 hours a week and always had Friday's off but unfortunately our budget is blowing out every week with all the extras like school camps, rates, Jarryd's birthday, Jarryd's swimming and the list goes on and on. Steve is working so much extra just to get a half decent wage. Oh the life of a mechanic. The pay is crap. So with me working school hours on a Friday it will take it up to around 32 hours a week and an extra $100 a week in our pocket. My boss has been great and is very happy for me to work extra hours so I am very lucky to work in a place that is so flexable. There are 3 of us part time girls there and we all work the hours we want. There aren't too many places that are so flexable for us working mums so I am very lucky. It also helps that everyone there gets on really well and most of the time it is a great place to be.

I have to leave you with a comment that Ashleigh came out with tonight at the dinner table. She said.........
'Mummy when I am 18, I am going to have a boobjob!!!'
What the??????
What was she watching on TV that put that idea into her head? - lol. I told her that god might bless her with really big boobs so she will just have to wait and see. She is 8!!!!!

Happy birthday Kelly

We had a lovely day today. It was my neice Kelly's 18th birthday yesterday and we had a family lunch together at a hotel and then back to their house for cake. My kids were fascinated with Kelly's pet lizard. I think Ashleigh would like one!!

It's so hard to believe that my niece is 18. Where did that time go?? It's like the saying goes 'Blink of an eye' How true.

Another busy week here in the Lehmann house. Had a bit of a reprieve from the sport last night because the temperature got to 40 here yesterday and Ashleigh's cricket was cancelled. Nikki would have had netball but she sprained her ankle at school and was in a lot of pain so no netball. I was very annoyed because it wasn't cancelled due to the heat. They apparently put the games back by 1/2 an hour. Big deal!!! It's ridiculous to expect kids that age to be playing in 40 deg heat on an asphalt netball court in the full sun. So much for their heat policy. It's because they have already cancelled a couple of games this summer due to the heat and their programme is now too far behind. I'm not sure how long Nikki will be out of action. Her ankle is still very sore today so I'll see how she goes by Monday.

I had another good loss this week. I lost 1.4 kgs. I had a great week with eating and exercise. Things are definitely starting to click. I have kept up the walking 5 times a week and I actually enjoy going out each night now. Especially when I do the beach walk.

Ashleigh is going on camp on Wednesday. She is so excited. Tomorrow is packing and labelling clothes day. I also need to get her a new pair of sandshoes because they need to take and old pair and another pair. Her sandshoes she is wearing now are just about worn out so I don't care if they get trashed. Sounds like there will be lots of outdoor dirty activities like yabby fishing, going into caves and walking through riverbeds so I'm sure it's going to be a very busy time for her.

Jarryd is counting down the days until his 6th birthday. Only 9 more sleeps now. We are having a family party next Saturday and then his school friends party on Monday. It's a public holiday here for Adelaide Cup on his birthday so that worked out well.

I'm off to bed because I have to get up at 6am tomorrow to go to the market. Steve is playing golf and I need to be back before he goes. Thanks for everyone's comments lately. It's great to have so much support and to meet new friends here in blogland.

Another Fun Weekend

Well another weekend has come and gone. And I didn't win lotto so it's back to work tomorrow. We have had a very busy weekend and this is the first chance I have had to get on the computer to update. Thanks Tania for the reminder!!

Firstly and most importantly I lost another 500g this week. Things are still going very well with my food planner and I feel a sense of freedom that everything is already written down for the week and I don't have to track. I know the points plan works for me but I hate tracking so following my own weekly plan is working well.

As you can see from the photos, the kids spent another weekend in the pool. We sure have got our money's worth this summer. I can't remember a weekend the kids haven't been in it. I thought I would post the other photo to show the view I have when I sit under the pergola and watch the kids. I love our outdoor area and spend lots of time out there, watching the kids or reading the paper in the morning with a cup of coffee.

Today I went for a huge walk with the kids. I walked to the beach, Nikki was on the rollerblades, Ashleigh on her bike and Jarryd was on his scooter. It took us about 20 minutes to walk there and then we met a friend and her girls and we walked another 20 minutes to another playground along the coast. Coincidently, there was a kiosk where Karen and I had a coffee while the kids played on the playground. Then we went down on the beach and the kids had a swim. It was a perfect day but a bit windy so we only stayed down there for about 1/2 hour. Then we had to walk all the way back, but the kids were fantastic. No whinging that they were tired at all so it made it a very enjoyable day.

I am still market shopping every Sunday morning. On average I spend about $20 - $25 and bring home a huge trolley of fresh fruit and vegetables. I love the atmosphere and all the market gardners are very friendly. And I am finding everything keeps for so much longer if the kids don't get to it first.

Jarryd is very excited and counting down the days until his birthday. He turns 6 on March 12th and he is having a Hungry Jacks party this year. We have had home parties every year so far and this is what he asked for this year. It is usually a much cheaper option than the home parties and with no mess for me to clean up so I'm happy too. I can't believe my baby is about to turn 6. I would like to keep him 5 forever. I love that age.

I had a lovely surprise last week when I went to pay for Ashleigh's dancing. She got a trophy last year for dancing and when I went to pay, they told me she is free for this year because the trophy comes with a scholarship. How good is that!! Dancing keeps me poor not only with the fees and the costumes but both girls have grown out of their tap shoes again this year. Lucky we can hand one of them onto the other but new tap shoes are around $60.

It's warming up again here this week. Supposed to be 40 again by Friday but I'm not complaining. I love the hot weather and am dreading winter. The days are already starting to get shorter and we only have 1 month left of daylight saving. I love walking around 7.30pm but that will have to change soon when we run out of daylight at that time of night.

And it's only 32 weeks until we go to Queensland so I guess I can handle a winter because after that it's holiday time - Yahoo!!!!

Tooth Fairy is Visiting Tonight

Yes Jarryd lost his second tooth today. He is getting to be quite an expert. The first one was hanging before it finally came out but this one wasn't that loose during the week. He has been wobbling it for about 3 days and pulled it out all by himself today.

I weighed in this morning and lost another 800g this week. Another good week of tracking and exercising. I also had lunch and dinner out yesterday and made some very good choices.

I went to a thai restaurant for lunch yesterday with one of my bestest friends. I had a yummy thai chicken salad and enjoyed every mouthful. I wish I could replicate the flavours in my own kitchen. Somehow they never taste as good. I could live on thai salads. They are my absolute favourite restaurant meal. Then last night, Steve, myself and the kids went to Fasta Pasta for tea. Nikki and Ashleigh usually have sport on a Friday night but they were both cancelled due to the hot weather. Usually Friday nights are takeaway because we are always running between sports so it was nice to have a family meal together somewhere different to Maccas or KFC.

And today for lunch I caught up with a fellow blogger Tania for lunch at a Tavern on the marina at North Haven. I wish I had taken my camera because it was just the perfect setting looking out over the marina. I had honey prawns in chilli noodles and it was very nice. Tania has a 1 year old son who has similar allergies to Jarryd but her son Lachlan has a wheat allergy as well which would be a hard one. Tania was telling me about the bread she buys that is $6 a loaf with no wheat in it. Hopefully he will grow out of his allergies very soon.

I must remember to take the camera when I eat out because I enjoy looking at everyone else's photos of their food. It's funny I've eaten out 3 times in the last 2 days which is very rare for me apart from our Friday takeaway.

We are off to a housewarming party this afternoon in the 40 deg heat. I hope she has air conditioning. I'm sure it was going to be an outside party because she has a huge backyard but I hope we won't be sitting outside in the heat.

Steve has done a fantastic job of vacuming the pool this afternoon so I am really looking forward to getting in the pool and spa when we get home. It's supposed to be 40 again tomorrow and then a cool change?? back to 33 on Monday and staying in the mid to high 30's all week. I guess February is usually the hottest month here in Adelaide.

Look What I Got

Aren't I lucky. I got home from work tonight and my darling husband had bought these gorgeous flowers for me.

The girls at work were all commenting that the couriers must have got lost with all our flowers today because none of us got anything except one of the girls who got a card this morning.

Steve left at 5.30am this morning and I'm afraid I wasn't getting up that early to give him his present. I got him a nice bottle of red wine and some chocolates.

I went for a walk to the beach tonight and there were so many couples there watching the sunset. How romantic!!

It's going to be a very hot weekend here 38 Friday and 40 both Saturday and Sunday. Thank gooodness for the pool. I imagine we are going to be very popular this weekend.

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.