I made this for MIL for Christmas. She is a scrabble enthusiast and it names all the grandchildren. I thought it was kinda cool.

Dear memory,

Next time I fill in my leave application and go to tick the box that says ‘7 weeks off with your children 24/7’ please speak up to remind me of the insanity that I am currently experiencing.

Fran

Been a busy month already.
Here are some highlights.
. Mum and Jess catching some cuddles.
The gorgeous sunflowers that we grew in our front garden and that the cockatoos are devouring.

Kareoke at Michelle’s 50th Birthday party. We were singing “on top of the world” by the Carpenters.

Holly turned 11. Can’t believe that! Here she is with Amy giving her some birthday cuddles.

Day trip out to Wombeyan Caves. Had a ball.
US!
My beautiful friend Michelle on her 50th Birthday. Great party and great girl.

Preparing for Justin’s 40th Birthday bash next weekend. So much looking forward to seeing all the family from near and far, and all our friends (new and old). Just need a few more chairs, and knives and forks! Am also searching for those rings that you put on your wine glass so that you know it is yours!

Have a great weekend…I got a 3m2 skip so am intending to fill it to the brim with all the junk that has accumulated over the past year. Good times!

Day three of the new year already. We’ve spent the last few days lazying around, swimming and eating, and missing our visitors. Jusitn and I have both come down with a sore throat and blocked nose, so the R and R is very welcome. I can hardly talk my throat is so sore.

We had a great holiday with James and Sascha staying here between Christmas and new year. The cousins got to play all day and be around each other which was so nice. Zoe and Amy are besties, and Thomas and Emma were so cute, with my big girls carting them around and entertaining them.

Emma is the funniest little girl. She loves hugs and cuddles but not from Mum, Lisa or me! If I went near her with any intention of picking her up she would run to the nearest person and clamber up their legs. Even to Justin. In the end I learnt not to be offended!!

On New Years Eve we had the family over for dinner. All 13 of the kids were here, only missing Kate and Rohan. I love big gathering like this.
This is about 9 or 10 of the kids in the pool. William and Emma were too little!
Libby was thoroughly enjoying her tea party with Amy. They even had chocolates served.

It is going to be another hot day here in Canberra. The kids have friends coming over for a swim, so had better get the ice blocks into the freezer!

Happy New Year!

Last post for the year…time for it seeing the last one was October.
I am writing this on my new Mororola XOOM (an android version of an ipad). It is so very cool and will take pride of place on my new kitchen bench so that I can have music, email and recipes on hand whenever I need it. Justin has loaded music and books on it today, so I reckon I am set. Now just need to play around with it and get the hang of it.

October.
What a great month we had with Holly taking out the regional championships of physie in Wagga. We couldn’t believe it when they called her name for first. She had certainly danced beautifully, but you never expect the top spot. She was overjoyed and her teachers were delirious. It was thrilling for her, and mum and I were very proud.
The next weekend we were off to the ACT Catholic netball Carnival (which incidently we are running next year). I was coaching two teams and had high hopes but we were placed in A division so sadly got thrashed every game. Nonetheless my kids did a good job and we held our heads high and had a great day.

While all this was going on Justin was ripping out the old kitchen and prepping the area for installation of the new one. It all happened fairly smoothly except for one evening when I was putting the dishes in the dishwasher that was out in the laundry sitting high up on the bench. It all toppled over and crockery smashed all over the tiles. I was pretty overdone, so just plonked myself down on the ground and cried. As well prepared as I was for the renovation, being in the midst of it was still stressful and I hate being in an uncontrolled mess. I could not wait for it to be finished!

Jess was inducted into Rainbow Fish Guides at this time too. She got a welcome ceremony and some badges to sew onto her uniform as well as her first guide badge for completing her fitness criteria. She was elated and has certainly enjoyed her time with the guides so far. I really think this is her thing.

Kids had a little bit of fun dressing up for Halloween. They even went to a few houses in the street, and as unprepared as Aussies are for Trick or Treaters, they came away with a bit cash!
November
Holly and I caught a bus with 20 other physie teammates and parents to homebush Olympic stadium for the teams competition. I was a parent helper so able to go into the coveted backstage area to help get the girls ready and assist with the hair and makeup. It was really great fun and quite the experience to see a major scale competition. Holly was in two teams (9-10’s and then 11-12’s) and both did very well, but it was tough and they didn’t get a place unfortunately. It was a great learning experience though and we both came away all the better for it. Got home that night after midnight so it was a very long day for us both.

Two weekends later we were back in Sydny for the National Physical culture championships. With Holly coming first in the region this was the next stage of the comp. Having seen Homebush a few weekends before gave her some idea of what she was up against, but the level of skill was mind blowing and she didnt make it into the final. Both Justin and I were extremely proud of her. I even shed a tear or two as she was led off into the waiting area. We had stayed the night before in a little motel in Strathfield, went out for dinner and had some quality one child time! Very rare occurance. While the other sections were dancing, Holly had to stay backstage, so Justin and I utilized the opportunity to get along to Ikea and bag us some bargains. Hoot – it was fun. We filled up the car and poor old Holly had to squeeze in on the way back. We got replacement crockery which was the ultimate bonus!

December
Just when I thought everything was going to calm down it becomes the christmas season and then there are dinners and get togethers with people from all facets of your life, plus concerts and parent teacher interviews etc etc. One awesome concert that I did see was Carl Barron. He is so funny and Em and I were crying from the laughter. Such a good night. Amy also featured in her first Physie concert. She took it up in term 4 and is showing great promise!

Kitchen…all finished and it looks wonderful. I am so pleased with how it has all come together. It is amazing really when you choose colours from a tiny swatch and pray for the best that it all will match and look awesome. I’m relieved to say that ours does and I am thrilled with the result.
The oven is a masterpiece and at first I was daunted to use it, but the first roast has gone in and it didn’t blow up!. I had to make 100 cupcakes for the yr 6 graduation and ice them with decorative swirls. That was an overwhelming job, but it all came together and looked terrific on the night.

Kids all survived another year of school and got totally fantastic reports for second semester. I was very proud of all the improvements that they made… they have all been granted permission to move on up into the next grade in 2012, so that means yr 6 for Holly, yr 4 for Meg, yr 2 for Jessica and kindergarten for Amy. All in the one place again this year, but this time all week long. Yeehar. Let the good times roll!

Christmas was a delightful affair this year. We had lunch at Maureen and Tom’s and then went on to Matt and Penny. Right now we have James and Sascha and the three kids staying with us here. The pool is getting a good work out, neighbors and coming to and fro and it is a good time of year to be at home with loved ones. New peeps moved in across the road where our friends Kathryn and Anthony lived. Moving onto a new life in canada, they put their house on the market and we were very hopeful of some nice people moving in. They are, and miraculously have a daughter who is eleven the same age as holly, so they are working out well for us!

Justin has totally become the handyman of Canberra. He has renovated the laundry area, painted the rendering around the pool and painted the laundry pergola and walls. It looks brilliant and will be super for his 40th birthday that we are celebrating in January.

Next year will be exciting with the kids all at school, both Justin and I celebrating our 40th birthdays and our 15th wedding anniversary. We are planning a little holiday to Vietnam to celebrate all of this and would love it to be about 8 nights with some bike tours and lots of yummy food to indulge in and discover.

So that is the wrap up for the end of 2011. Just made a great dessert to take to Penny’s for lunch. Happy new year. Xxx

These are the signs that the girls put up just so Santa would know where they were!

Goodbye beloved oven. Thanks for your awesome size, perfect temperature and 4 tiers. Thankyou for the thousadnd meals you’ve baked, the thousand or more cakes and biscuits that you created for us, family/friends and cakes stalls. The last 5 years have been great.

Farewell old kitchen. Xx

On a running high. Just did 10kms in 52.41 which is a major personal best and massive achievement for me. Getting that treadmill was the best decision I ever made. It has kept me right on target for fitness over the winter (I never would have been at this place if I’d taken the winter off). I am on a major endorphin rush right now!

Next goal is to get close to 50mins for 10kms. If I find a flat route that might just do it. My hilly route is tough! I love it, but it is hard yakka 😉

Not sure if I wrote before that Holly came First in her annual Physical Culture Competition a few weeks ago. Going off to the Gold Coast was a great learning experience and she has certainly taken it on and performed really well for the club comp. Next stop Wagga in a few weeks for the regional competition and then onto Homebush in November for the teams comp.

Last weekend we went for a bike ride around the lake and stopped in at Old Parliament house for the dress-ups. It is now the Museum of Democracy and a very interesting place to visit if you ever get the chance. These girls love this place and these olden day clothes. Here, Holly and Meg are farming peasant women, driving the Queen (Jess) and Princess (Amy) in a Roman chariot. We have all our times lines out of whack, but they had fun!

And here is the Castle Cake that I made for Amy when we had the family over for birthday celebrations last weekend. It won’t be winning any prizes but they all loved it…even the chickens ate the leftovers!

We have 4 new chickens that have just started laying in the last few days. And Amy and Meg got a guinea pig each for their birthdays. Their names keep changing, but they are very cute and much loved. Will get a pic of them and their palatial hutch next time.

Just cracked the 5kg mark today. Since returning form the gold coast in August I’ve had an aim to lose 5kgs and it has been an up and down 9 weeks, but I am happy to say that today was the day!! Only got .6kg to get to goal weight and then I’m going shopping with Kate in Melbourne. Got the plane ticket already so have to keep on track! End of Birthday season so should be good to go before the Christmas parties begin.

Have a great week.

Meg had a couple of girlfriends over for her birthday, we went to see the smurfs movie and had this delicious cake for afternoon tea. 9 years old now. I remember 9!!

Happy birthday beautiful girl. You are such a bright light xx