Are you happy now Mummy?

some days I think I must be the worst Mummy in the world!

This morning started much like any other except the boys didn't drive me mad! They actually came in to say good morning (Corey managed to learn that 5am is NOT playtime so I was still in bed when they got up for the first time in a few days)! We had a leisurely breakfast and read a book and they played with duplo while I washed dishes. Ok that's a good start to the day. After I put Corey down I thought I'd come out and just check my email...the boys came out and started playing and then asked for their chair and computer...I explained I couldn't get their computer (the old dinosaur) working because I am missing a cord so I have to wait til I can buy a new one, but we assembled the desk chair I had sitting in a box for them. So they are playing happily on the chair and I'm sitting at my desk looking at this and that...then I suddenly realise that Owen has been drawing in PERMANENT texta ALL OVER the kids NEW desk and even on MY floor! I lost it....I yelled, I screamed, I told them to get outside, I basically threw a tanty any 2yr old would have been proud of!

I tried to clean it off - it wasn't coming off very well but a bit was coming...thought some eucalyptus oil would do it but didn't have any. So I locked up and we all went inside. Had a calm chat with Owen about being sad that he had been so naughty but had to also apologise for not paying more attention to him!

So started getting dinner ready (pork and apple 'sausage' rolls)...no eggs! Eek don't you hate that...so we went to coles to get some and some eucalyptus oil. Boys were reasonably good so came home with biscuits too and all evening Owen kept asking me if I was happy now...

well Owen the eucalyptus oil worked a treat. Desk clean, floor clean, sinus's clear lol!....so yup much happier....really was it necessary to chuck a tanty over it?! Will try to do better next time mate...I promise.

The difference between girls and boys

just a quickie as I should be in bed already - I have been slack I know!..

conversation with Owen this morning...

O - Mummy, girls are sad.
M - are they? why?
O - because they don't have a pen*s

hmmm really boyo....!

and a little woohooo........got home this arvo to find not 1, but FOUR parcels on my doorstep! A free sample of uhu adhesives to review, a part for my nephews train track that my kids broke and I finally found on ebay, a little order from www.rememberwhen.com.au (some lovely sei velvet alpha stickers) an order from www.smudges.com.au (hey how was I supposed to resist $14 twinkling h20s and heaps of other cheap stuff)..and in the letter box...the icing on the cake....a letter from kmart saying my dishwasher is in! (It was on special half price a while back and not supposed to be able to raincheck but they did and said they couldnt' guarantee it so I didn't know if I would get one or not) wooohooo!

Swimming

Now as a new Mum to her firstborn I had decided early on that we would do 'water familiarisation' type lessons early on and just keep going. I took him at 9mths but he just wasn't ready to keep up with their program...they wanted him to wait and then to come in the pool etc...just not ready so we put it off...then we had another baby and it just put in the too hard basket...and a third - come on how am meant to be in the pool with one and out with two? So good intentions down the drain and it got put off and put off.

Well at xmas last year (yes over 6 months ago) we went to the swimming pool in Adelaide...Brett was asleep so left him home with Daddy and just took Corey and Owen. WELL when we get there Owen decided no way on God's Green Earth was HE getting into that large body of water!....a bit of coaxing and a bit more and we almost had to physically DRAG him out again come time to go home! So for the last 6 months I've been listening to Owen telling me "I want to LIVE at the pool with the green frog" (pool had a green frog slide in the middle of the kiddy pool) and other such gems. Physio looked at him because he apparently can't sit still at kinder/daycare (lets face it he can't sit still ANYWHERE ANYTIME)...she seemed to think he had weak ab muscles (don't we all?) and that swimming/bike ridding would help...so I thought about it for a couple more months....

so anyway I bit the bullet and made the call. What time were you thinking I was asked....lol well kinder 3 mornings a week and daycare all day one day and speech therapy every second week at 10am...when can you fit us in says me lol! I think I could hear her head spinning over the phone but she comes back with 8.30am OMG one more day that I have to be out of bed waaaaaaaaaaay too early in the morning!

Now I explained that Owen has some developmental delays and she says thats cool and I booked both boys in for a four week trial...I then tell both boys that they can go to swimming lessons soon and start explaining the importance of doing what they are told to do! Then I get a call. We think we should put Brett off starting a few weeks so that Owen can get a bit of confidence up with teacher etc. CRAP! Makes sense but how to explain that to a nearly 3 year old! Ok Brett they say you can't start swimming til you are three, you can come and watch for a bit (woohoo he took that well because he is soooo excited about the prospect of a birthday and turning three - even if he thinks that ALL birthdays occur at Aunty Sue's house - more on that another time)!

So after a couple of weeks of imagining all the horror of the long looked forward to (by Owen) and dreaded (by me) swimming lesson we get there on time (but minus camera doh!). Early even. Owen looked at pool and instead of a look of worry I expected to see his eyes were lit up with sheer delight at the prospect and he started shedding clothes (swimmers on underneath). So then he sits himself down on the edge of the pool next to another boy as the teacher got in. Here is me watching to make sure brett doesn't jump in (mind you he actually sat nicely nearly the whole time) and watching Owen thinking he is going to turn into his usual hyperactive silly self any minute now....and it didn't happen...not once....He did as he was told by the teacher for a full half hour...and the best bit of all....he didn't stop SMILING - and I don't mean a little smile...I mean a 'fall off your face if it gets any bigger' type of smile for the whole time. And no sooner had they finished than he tells me he wants to go to the toilet (woohoo making progress there too) and then he spends the next 30-45min telling me how good it was and asking if he can swim again tomorrow!

so there you go - he behaved himself and he grinned the whole time - what a joy it was after all that worry...he can't wait til next week and neither can i - although i'm a bit concerned about how my camera will cope in a warm/wet environment i'm determined to give it a try because I so need to capture the expression on his face!

Too Blessed to be Stressed...

I've heard the phrase before, I've seen the speil...I've even felt it was true but then I let stuff get on top of me again.......but you know what?

my house isn't exactly tidy, my garden is overgrown, my boys are constantly LOUD and drive me to distraction at times, I have more work than I like to think about and less money than I would like (lol so did I describe your life too?)

but you know what?

my boys aren't angels but they still make me smile EVERY DAY. It might not be perfect but it is MY HOME, MY BOYS, MY business and MY LIFE...and frankly I think I might be the luckiest woman alive.

My boys aren't angels - far from it but they wrap their little arms around me and say 'I love you Mummy'. What more could a girl want?
and yet I have more...I have a home and a business that I can work on around the kids. I have a hobby that is more a passion and a part of who I am which also gives me the means to express myself creatively and in writing. I have - through my hobby - met the most fabulous people many of whom have become my friends.

truely I am far too blessed to be stressed (and I'm off to build a duplo house with my boys)!

headaches and tummy aches

backstage glitches at top50 are causing headaches lately - seems I have spent most of my week contacting the hosting people to fix one thing or another - it is driving me a bit crazy - not really stressed as such just going batty because I would like to get stuff done and can't.

got car stereo fitted and fitted myself a new aerial (they quoted me $30 for the aerial and $22 to install) i squashed a coathanger cost me nothing works fine! So nice to have music again when I go for a drive!

Had plans to go out and do a couple of odd jobs tomorrow morning while owen is at kinder but kids have tummy aches and aren't terribly well - poor brett fell asleep at the breakfast table and I popped him into bed. He got up at lunchtime but fell asleep over lunch....took them to dr as a precaution but he says just a virus, keep up the fluids they will eat when they are ready etc etc. Got him to check Corey too due to concerns about his lack of growth over the past 3-4 months. Have a referral to pead to double check that all is ok but in drs words he appears to be thriving - guess it doesn't hurt to check as if there is something wrong and i didn't I would never forgive myself.

and the exciting bit - I was on my way to bed about an hour ago but stopped and scrapped! woohoo! have been struggling for inspiration a bit of late but I got some new papers the other day when I popped into www.lostintime.com.au and they were just perfect for a photo I was struggling with when i was out scrappin with friends last weekend tis a simple enough LO but hey it works for me...I really havne't scrapped much at all in the last month - in fact I think this one will make two for the month!

well thats it for now a garbled mess...more later when I'm not on my way to bed!

oh one more thing...have mp3 player...no music...looked at itunes but to be honest I just don't know where to begin.....would love to hear where people download music and any suggestions on stuff to listen too...I like most things (except rap and heavy metal)

Excitement Backstage

As everything goes on as usual over at www.scrapbookingtop50.com.au the excitement backstage is getting difficult to contain! I have several things 'in the works' to make top50 even bigger and better and I can't wait until I am able to share them all (mostly likely one at a time and over the next few months)! But stay tuned for some very exciting happenings over there!

At home all is looking good too. Boys driving me crazy but I beleive that is what boys do - mine are especially LOUD and ENERGETIC but really its just a boy thing i think!
Have signed them up to start swimming lessons starting next week at 8.30am in the morning - YES I AM MAD! but really around all the other things going on when exactly else was I going to fit them in! She rang me today though and said they want to start Owen first and leave Brett a few weeks til Owen gains confidence with the teacher...this makes sense but the poor sad little boy that was told he couldn't start straight away....I actually told him he wasnt' allowed to start until he turned 3 - which is only about 3-4 weeks away OMG WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN!

got my new car stereo fitted today and fitted an aerial all by myself (oh so ok it looks somewhat like a coathanger - it works and I doubt anyone will bother snapping it off)! Now if I can just find some time to download some music for my mp3 player then there will be music in my world again!

I got a gold star...sortof

Well I worked out how to be in several places at once today. I skipped playgroup and I got a friend to pick up Owen so I could go to my post op checkup - took the other two with me. So we park car (eventually) in 2hr limit...we go in a little early for my 10.45am appoitnment...expecting it to be a longish wait...these things always are..

Guys sees boys and says he will put a note that I have little ones with me in an effort to be seen faster....didn't work (or at least heaven knows how long I would have been there if otherwise). Got chatting with lovely man (cause Corey was smiling/laughing at him)....at 12 start to think about finding out how long as I may have to go move car. Nurse asks my name, says it has been there for AGES and 5 min later I'm seen woohoo! Dr says I get a gold star for healing so well (but not to overdo it in the next couple of weeks as muscles still knitting back together - wonder if that is easier because my muscles were so bloody slack in the first place lol)! She didn't actually hand over my gold star though...I was robbed!

Got out of there and back to car then realised that I didn't have friends number to call her...she wasn't home yet (with Owen) so came home (should have jsut waited) oh well boys fell asleep and she says wait til they wake up then go get him...got HEAPS of work done as they slept for like 4hrs!

Big weekend of scrapping coming up...cybercropping at www.scrapbookingtop50.com.au this friday night....come and check it out with thanks to our sponsor www.foreveralways.com.au !

Lots of plans which will hopefully be set in motion over the next few days....pop into top50 and introduce yourselves...dont' forget we are giving away tickets to sydney paperific show too!