We're going on a jet plane!

Yup, and the kids are very excited!

Like, SUPER EXCITED!!

They can't wait, so while I sit here finishing off my coffee before I get back to cleaning and packing, and procrastinating, I thought I would let you know what we are up to.

The details still make me sad, so the quick of it is my Grandfather passed away, and he lived in Victoria, so we are heading down to see the family.

Did I tell you how excited the kids are?

Well, usually any trips from here involve us departing pretty early in the day. So Little Miss 4 told me last night to wake her up early so she could get dressed before we go (we are not leaving until after lunch), and Master 6 did not really want to go to school today (don't blame him), in fear of missing the flight.

When I asked Little Miss 4 if she was excited to see her Oma tomorrow, she said no, I am excited to go on the aeroplane! I sure do hope the trip lives up to their expectations.

I have already changed from a smaller bag to my big suitcase, so I do hope I have packed everything we may need, and given the climate we are going to for the next week, I am sure I don't have enough 'warm' clothes. Oh well, opportunities!!

The things Kids say!

Today DH mentioned going skydiving whilst we are on the coast for the Tough Mudder event in August. While this is something I do want to do in my lifetime, and I was prepared for about 7+ years ago, I don't have the confidence to attempt it at this stage in my life.

So, in our discussion this evening, with Master 6 participating (we told him he had to be 18 to go), I had walked out of the room to do something. In the background I hear DH say, 'I will just buy Mummy the ticket and then she will have to do it'. (To make things clear, this is how DH got me to go bunjy jumping when we were younger - a non-refundable ticket!). As I walk back into the room, DH is laughing, and he explains to me that Master 6's response to buying the ticket was:

Puffed up chest, 'you can just give me the ticket and Dad can tell them I am 18, then I can go skydiving!'

Oh my, I am definately in for a few heart attacks with this one!

Going on.......

Wow, I can't believe it has only been a week since my last blog, it feels like so much has happened!

Well, to start, things are always busy, it just feels like we got a whole lot busier this past week! I attended a P&C meeting, and I actually committed to being the secretary, better practice my penmanship skills! I did state specifically if I couldn't handle it though, I would resign, but I am hoping I enjoy my new position as it is another job/skill I can add to my list.

The kids have gotten fully back into sport (well, kinda) since the new term began. Master 5 does tennis which only began again last week, and he also does touch footy which he loves, and both children attempt golf. I got them all ready to go to golf on saturday morning, and then had a feeling it may not be on due to the mass number of activities happening on the weekend. Luckily I have a friend taking her boy too, so I sent her a message to confirm. My suspicion was correct, which gave me a couple of hours to clean house, before heading out the the may day fair held the same day. We spent a couple of hours there before the kids threw yet another tantrum at each other and we quickly left missing out on numerous rides.

That night was a local game of footy, in which we are involved with the club (hubby trains with the team, and I do the 'partner' thing and help out with whatever the girls need done). We were asked to tend to the gate this game, and it was a different way to spend some quality time with my Man. We watched the rest of the game, DH won some money in the footy doubles competition, we had a few drinks, our team won the match, and we went home.

The previous night (sorry to do things about face!), there was a rodeo on in town. We do enjoy a good rodeo, as do the kids, and so we went and had some family time out. DH had to work all weekend too, so he did miss out on some events.

 



The kids found some of their friends at the rodeo, and all the kids enjoyed the evening, from what I could tell!

Moving on, I am starting into a new field of study. Will fill you in with more details in the not too distant future. But a lot of my time has been occupied doing research for study and an upcoming venture I am sure will keep me busy when Little Miss 4 starts school next year!

I am also helping out at the school on a rostered basis on friday mornings with the preps and 1's doing rotation work. Not sure what that entails yet, but I am looking forward to it!

We have all been recovering to some degree or another from varying ailments. So, we have been avoiding the intimate social situations lately. And just when I thought things were looking up, Master 5 has come down with a cold. The poor sod keeps telling me his nose is sick cause snot keeps falling out of it! I must say he does make me smile.

Last night I was packing away some stuff in our dining room pantry. I opened the top door and a tall glass fell out. I didn't realise it was there, and it landed rim down on my middle toe, and grazed the skin open on the next toe near my toenail. It hurt so much I had to contain myself from letting out any profanities in front of my children. Instead, I nearly ended up in tears. The kids felt so bad for me, Master 5 even gave me his favourite teddy (he always sleeps with), to keep me company until Daddy came home!
Needless to say, I did my workout this morning then went for a walk (which I was hoping to speed up to a jog), but ended up almost limping home cause my toe was hurting. I just hope that it heals quickly so I can fully get back to serious workouts! Only 16 weeks to go until the big event -_-

I mentioned earlier, the kids attitudes towards each other has been less than desirable lately. Well, it got to the point, I am forcing them to co-operate. Master 5 now has to share Little Miss 4's bedroom until thursday, with no access to his own room. This means they have no place to get time out from each other, no place to banish each other from and thus forcing them to co-operate. Tonight is the first night they are sharing, and I just hope they go to sleep soon, they are getting along like they used to and it is nice to hear, instead of the angry little sods they had become. I do think it is due to Master 5 being jealous of his little sister getting to spend those long school days at home, by herself, with me.

Well, I am sure that is enough for now, there is always more laundry to be done so I had better go do it! Stay safe everyone.

The view from up here!

There is some magnificent country out here. For some time now I have wanted to take a picture of the mountains on the other side of the highway from our town. It is a rather nice sight to see.
Today, DH and I went for a run/walk up what is locally known as 'boot hill'. Aptly named, the tree at the top of the hill holds memories of shoes lost (or mabey worn out!). On our way back down, I made DH stop so I could take this picture.

What a beautiful day to go for a run!

ANZAC Day

What a day!

DH manages proceedings in our little town for the ANZAC dawn ceremony and morning service. I must say, I am very proud of him and the effort he puts in to this day.

Last year was his first try at this, and things went rather well, except the fact he spent most of the day back and forth to our closest town to march in their proceedings, and to attend the breakfast and lunch  the RSL our here put on. Unfortunately in our little town, there were no lunches or anything, so this year we changed that.

So, instead of heading back to town, we organised (with the help of some very special people) a 'rum brekkie', as it is called, for the locals to attend. This seemed to be a big hit, and we very much enjoyed our long and busy morning.

Now that all the ceremonies and services have finished for the day, DH is enjoying a few more drinks down the pub, with Master 6 in tow, while I have a rest with Little Miss 4. You see, there are a few tummy bugs going round, and for some reason last night, while we were out to dinner, Little Miss 4 began throwing up. Once I cleaned her up, we waited for out meals, but she threw up again so we got our dinner to take away (luckily we live in a mining town, and this is common practice for the venues to do this kind of thing).

Now, it did not stop there, she had another go in her sleep on our way home, and then several times throughout the night (into a bucket thank goodness), making it one very long and restless night. She even woke once at midnight and after she settled, asked me if it was morning already! I don't think I got more than 3 hours sleep before the alarm sounded to go get ready for the dawn service :-(

I am so thankful for this hours sleep I have not long woken from, while Little Miss 4 is still down for the count. Soon it is time to go have a celebratory drink with DH for ANZAC day, because I didn't have the stomach to have one at 6am this morning over brekkie with him! So I leave you with this picture of my DH with our proud children.

Tough?

Not necessarily, just very lucky to have a supportive Husband and Family!

DH and I heard about an event last year which we wanted to enter. It was first held in Victoria and Sydney, and this year a date has been set for Queensland. It is an endurance team event covering approximately 20klms and 25 obstacles. It is called Tough Mudder.

January this year (2013), we decided it was crunch time and committed to the event. We have now paid our fees and have been in training since January. I must say, there are only 4 months to go and I am getting a little anxious!

I first saw some of the obstacles and thought I would need a great deal of upper body strength, but seeing videos of the event held in locations across the world, all I need to do is fall into the muddy water and swim to the end!
This is not a competition to see who can cross the finish line first, it is a challenge within ones self to see what you can achieve. DH and I are attempting TM as a team, and have recruited other people to join us. But even if those other people 'chicken' out, we will still attend.

This is completed in teams (unless you are a hard core competitor), because some of the obstacles are a little big to 'get over' by yourself! Needless to say, I am looking forward to facing these challenges, and seeing what I can push my mind to do, because in the end if you tell your body you can't do something, nothing will be your result.

In my training I have lost a little bit of weight, which was ultimately not my goal, but a necessary evil to achieve my desired result. My workouts consist of a variety of weight and interval training, and after this mornings upper body workout, for the first time in my life, I have started to gain definition in my arms! Hopefully, soon, people won't see me as the skinny chick! I will keep you updated with our progress, and will blog about our experience after the event.

To be continued......

Childhood indulgences.

A few days ago, Master 6 decided it was time for his teddy to have a birthday. This teddy, Harry, Master 6 got when he was born from some dear friends, so in my opinion Harry is just as old as Master 6.

Nope, master 6 believes his teddy is 8!

Which promoted Little Miss 4 to have a birthday for her 'Baby' (a soft bodied doll she sleeps with every night).

So, together they discussed when this party would happen, the gifts they would give, the party food, the party decorations etc. Oh my!!!

I value the power of imagination, and don't like to deny my children their little made up games (hence the ongoing saga of the Feather Fairy, which has not visited since I last blogged about it!).

Not one to deny my children their fantasies, I baked a cake today for afternoon tea, with which we would have some simple party food and as such their 'birthday party' for their toys. Unfortunately I forgot about a meeting I wanted to attend this afternoon, got held up on a phone call on my way out to the meeting, and had not cooked dinner before I left so the idea of an afternoon tea party quickly slipped away.

Luckily I am good at compromise and convinced my Children to have the cake for dessert (I did decorate it with sprinkles, so a little more party like!), which kept them happy. And as such, we gave the Harry and Baby their birthday party. I now pray no other teddies need a birthday just yet, I really don't need all those extra calories I get when there is a mixing bowl which needs licking!