Our holiday

So, we had a lovely little holiday over the Easter school holidays. I don't like to announce on here that we are going away, so it will always be after the fact that you hear about it.

This was seriously one of the most relaxing holidays we have had since having children. Them getting older each time we go sure makes a difference. We didn't do much, mostly just relaxed and bummed around. I think I read three books while we were gone - not bad considering it was only 5 nights!

Here are some snapshots.

MATH and the kids in the tunnel at Underwater World. We have an annual pass here so will get there a lot more often over the coming 12 months.


Mr Stubborn after an exhausting swim in the pool


The cousins getting ready for their piscatorial adventure. Nothing was reeled in, but there was lots of bait stealing.
Once the novelty of fishing wore off, the tortured the yabbies that they'd pumped earlier by having yabby races.

He is 5!

This post is just under a week late due to being rather under the weather. Nearly 100% again though, so watch out ;)

Well, as my title says, he is 5! The Middle Man that is. It was last Tuesday to be precise.

Yet again, I was struck by how proud I am of the the family we have created. For some reason I tend to get very nostalgic on the kids birthdays. But, I want to take this opportunity to thank the gorgeous boy for all he has brought to us. Many, many laughs, some scary bits when he was about 2.5 and was very ill, lots of love, cuddles, smells and the ability to buy Lego guilt-free. Of course there is lots more, but that is what comes to mind right this very minute.

Darling boy, I was so worried when I saw you for the first time and saw a penis. Eh gads, I thought, I can't "do" boy. But let me say, that you are the best thing since sliced bread. You are just what we needed.

Love you lots. xxxcutting the cake - he ordered a carrot cake

kissing Miss Perfect 'cos he touched the bottom

They just keep growing

Today marks the 7th (or is it 8th?) year since the arrival of Miss Perfect. Very cliché I know, but man it goes quickly. I have been having some vivid flashbacks today of the snuffly little noises she made the first few hours after she was born. Strange flashbacks to be having, but I am so glad that I have remembered them.

Who would have thought that I'd have such a beautiful, well mannered, mature, intelligent, caring, gorgeous, helpful, adorable young lady on my hands?

Thank you, little lady, for making the past seven years a wonder.

Love you lots. xxx

I stole the idea for the birthday picture from another blog that I lurk in - no appropriate behaviour , have a read, its a corker!

She can't be mine

Seriously. As if any child of mine would write this:



I am baffled, I truly am. And yes, we have pointed out that if she loves school so much, perhaps she should spell it properly.

Oh my god, what if I am raising a nerd, ? What if I am raising a bunch of nerds? I'll be out-nerded.

If you have any suggestions as to how I could anti-nerd them, without making them not like scool, please leave a comment.

Because you asked, and other news

Ellie, these are for you. Please excuse the feralness of the original chair coverings. As I said in my previous post, what were we thinking with cream seats? I am pretty sure it was less than a month that we'd had the chairs before they started getting destroyed. And, I will admit that we do not sit at the table every dinner time.

Before:

After:
And Ellie, I thought of you when these cushions were purchased. My lovely mother-in-law bought them for me yesterday during our Ikea tripPlease excuse the drops of water on the couch.

Yesterday Miss Perfect start gymnastics. It is an hour long class, and I don't think the smile left her face the whole time. Let's hope that the enthusiasm stays and that she is not bored in the next 3-4 weeks which is what has happened in the past with after school activities.

She was very proud to get a t-shirt from the gym, it is a tad large so she has decided to wear it as a nightie. Last night she was showing The Middle Man and Mr Stubborn some of the things that she did, one of them being that back arch that we could all do when we were young. See how the boys are trying to copy her.
In other news, MATH hits the big four-oh in two weeks. I have been madly trying to come up with ideas to make it special. He has made it perfectly clear that there are to be no surprise gatherings of people. So, instead we will be packing up the family and heading to the beach, along with other family members. I have part of his present but am still shopping around to get the best deal on the other part of the present.

I just haven't

I just haven't blogged, well, because there has nothing to blog about, until now.

And, this is not very exciting either, but I have finally managed to re-upholster our dining room chairs. They were embarrassingly dirty from numerous spillages over time. When we got them, they were upholstered in cream. What were we thinking?

Now, they are a not very fashionable blue. But they match our unfashionably blue couches, and, should hide the stains a bit better than cream. Again, what were we thinking?

The next task is a trip to everyone's favourite, IKEA, to buy some fabric with which I am going to cover some painters canvas and put up on the wall. I could paint something myself, but don't have the inclination to. Plus, when I get sick of the fabric, I just take them down and re-cover with something new, with no regrets.

So ends a productive weekend. Lets get back to the daily grind tomorrow.

Forgive me blogger

I have been very slack again, nearly two weeks since my last post. But I figure why blog if there is nothing to blog about?

So, life is boringly normal. I have been working on our budget over the last couple of days, and have found a way that we can survive on MATH's income alone, and still save some money! Yippee. This doesn't mean I will stop working, no way, it just means that I can set my mind to paying off my tax debt from last year without feeling guilty that I am not contributing.

An update on the squids, because I know that you are wondering.

Miss Perfect has taken to Grade Two like a duck to water. They have a "Spelling and Dictation" test every Friday, and she has got ten out of ten every week. Her reading is amazing. She brings home these books to read, I have a quick skim and think to myself, oh crap, there will be lots of tears involved with this one. So far she has amazed me, barely skipping a beat. I can't believe in that just over a month she will be seven!


The Middle Man has taken like a duck to water to school as well. He seems to be very happy and has made lots of new friends. I am beginning to worry that we may need to hire a hall for his birthday party! (well, not really). He is full of love at the moment and calls me his Sweet Mummy, and also tells us numerous times a day that he loves us. The best one is when he says - you look sooooo sweet mummy. Awwwww.


Mister Stubborn continues to amaze, frustrate and entertain us. He is a typical three year old. Full of attitude one minute, then apologies the next. He is a caring little soul though, and could see me getting quite upset whilst talking on the telephone to my mother today, and was saying "don't cry mummy, don't be sad". I wasn't crying. Yet. His beautiful little words calmed me down.


And, just to show you that we are not completely weird...


And this one because I thought it was lovely that Miss Perfect took a book about trains from the Home Reader basket so that she could read it to The Middle Man.