Stay Tuned ...

We have arrived home safely from our trip. Disappointed but safe.

The road trip part was actually a lot more fun than I allowed myself to believe it could possibly be with three kids under seven. The rest ... well.

Let's just say there's a few things to tell. The good, the bad and the floods.

I'll fill you in soon I promise but right now I need to have a shower and get myself into bed for a good night's sleep ...

Our Weekend ...

We tried to pack as much into our weekend as possible and I think we succeeded!

The van that we will be spending four out

of ten days travelling in for our Christmas

road trip.

Saturday morning we helped Grandma prepare the van that we will be taking on our road trip and farewelled her until we see her again on Tuesday (eek! That's tomorrow).

Saturday lunchtime saw us learning how to use the SUP boards. We all had so much fun and it was even better that we got to spend some extra time with our good friends before we head off.

The Wee One. True to form, nobody 

could show her how it was done.

Miss AJ. So clever doing it all by herself

after only a few attempts.

Saturday afternoon was relaxing with DVDs and popcorn followed by CJ and I actually sneaking in our own DVD that we have been trying to watch since I bought it about three weeks ago.

Sunday we prepared for our family Christmas gathering at my Uncle's house. It is always lovely to get all the cousins together for some quality time. They all get along so well and it makes my heart sing when they are all together. Not to mention the joy it brings to my grandfather to see us all together. His happiness alone makes it a worthwhile gathering!

Sunday afternoon was spent watching another DVD while CJ made his signature fried rice. All the girls went to bed early and we weren't far behind.

Mmmm, cake!

This morning I have started the cleaning. The last thing I want to do when I arrive home from our road trip is walk into a house that requires cleaning. The downside is that my children continue to be, well, children which means mess.

So I've decided I will finish the vacuuming and mopping tonight once they're all in bed.

All the presents are done (well save for this little dilemma here which, now that we've all had some sleep still seems like a good idea), the animals and mail collecting are allocated to friends/family, washing up to date and all that's left to do is pack a bag for ourselves!

It's shaping up to be a great Christmas. Let's just hope the road trip doesn't spoil the fun!

The Great DS Battle of 2010 ...

We have a HE-uge problem here with our Miss AJ and one DS Lite.

We bought it for her as a birthday present for her 7th birthday. We knew we would lose her to it and we tried to set some fairly standard rules of when it could be played.

And then. Then came the games that had levels and required saving. All. The. Time. So, of course, when we would ask her to turn it off she would spend another half an hour trying to get to the next "save" point.

Couple this with a little girl who is, to put it mildly, a slightly obsessive over achiever and you have one serious recipe for disaster. It's not so much the taking time to save it after being asked numerous times to turn it off. It's not that the house could be burning down around her and she wouldn't notice. It's not even the fact that she chooses days where her sisters are not allowed to watch her play it.

The big problem here is the fact that it distresses her to the point of becoming hysterical. If she can't do something or the computer beats her, she gets so frustrated. We try to intercept at the beginning when we can hear her starting to get annoyed. A slight "Ohhhh." sets us off and after we hear a second or third one we tend to give our first warning that should she get upset the game will be turned off.

And then it escalates and she cannot seem to see reason or heed our warnings. And then. Then comes that moment when her frustration levels rise and we advise it's time to turn it off.

That's when the war breaks out.

And tonight we have hit breaking point ourselves. Where, in the past, we have taken the DS off her for a certain number of days or we have felt that turning it off was in fact punishment enough - because she didn't get to save it - we have tonight advised her that she will no longer have a DS.

It just seems so unhealthy for her to act this way. Don't get me wrong. She does it with a lot of things. It's obviously in her nature, built deep within her psyche. It is her intelligence beyond her years coupled with the emotions of a 7 year old. Her teacher this year and I have discussed it at length, her inability to accept that she's not always going to be the best or know all the answers. Her teacher, bless her, has already flagged her for NAPLAN and the likes next year because if she doesn't recognise a concept she's pens down and refuses to do the test.

And. I don't know what to do about it. I don't know how to explain to her that it doesn't matter without making her feel like I'm saying "What's important to YOU doesn't matter." Because that's what she'll hear.

Add to that her lashing out with things like "I'm not part of this family." and "Nobody here loves me." and, well, I'm way out of my league.

I believe we have handled it well tonight - read with minimal yelling and no swearing when in all honesty that's all I wanted to do - and I tried to keep my voice calm, failing a couple of times but managing to regain control of myself and the situation.

She is still crying, feeling as though she is a failure at being a good family member, being a good child and, of course, not succeeding in her game.

And while I know she needs to learn how to deal with this kind of stuff, especially when it comes to her school work - she does computer-based homework and we see her get upset when she gets it's wrong. I know it would be the same if she did it on paper but the difference would be not getting the instant response. If it were paper-based she would get it back from her teacher the following day and could/would probably discuss where she went wrong. That instant cross on an answer from the computer can send her into a screaming hysterical mess in nanoseconds and a restart of the exercise until she sees that big 100% on the screen (again this is the child that won't settle for 99%. It has to be 100%) - I just don't know how to teach her that she's not always going to get 100% in life and that, while it's great to strive for it, as long as you know you have done your best, that's what really counts!

But back to that DS *sigh* I swear they need to do a personality assessment on the child before you are allowed to purchase these kinds of things.

At least then I could blame it on the company and say "Well you know. They said you couldn't have one."

It would be nice to have a scapegoat every now and again instead of always being the bad guy around here.

PS. Oh and let's not forget that this now brings us to our next decision wherein the DS we have purchased for Schmooey for Christmas can be taken back because AJ is no longer in need of hers but a) what if we change our minds and give her another chance believing that maybe, just maybe she will understand now - and I know that's bad and we should stick to our guns but sometimes (very rarely) I find it hard because I want to believe that the lesson has been learned - and b) what if I can't find the bloody receipt? All I know is that we need to decide pronto because poor old Schmooey will wonder why Santa (or her parents when we decide who is giving the gift) have forgotten her Christmas day.

And I'll be rummaging through the bin tomorrow to find said receipt. Me! Of all people. Throwing out a receipt. I NEVER do that. I am usually the one who keeps all the Christmas receipts for everything I purchase until next Christmas. Seriously, what was I thinking?

My Dilemma ...

It's a recurring one at the moment. I have three girls. Seven, four and two.

And herein lies the dilemma. The four year old needs to be the same as the seven year old which, in turn, leads to the two year old wanting to be the same also.

I am faced with this dilemma every year now at Christmas time. What to get them. There are certain things I can get for all of them that can still be age appropriate but what about the seven year old who wants to be different. Wants to stand out from the crowd a little?

And yet, when it suits her, decides she'd also like what the two younger ones are getting?

Confused? Me too.

An example? Would that help? Baby Born dolls. When AJ was two or three my mother bought her a Baby Annabelle doll because it cried and made all the right noises. She liked it. Didn't love it but then she's not a really doll kinda kid anyway. Then when Schmooey was two she received a Baby Born doll for Christmas. This coincided with my brilliant idea to start toilet training Schmooey after Christmas and the shock of a new baby being added to the mix had subsided. You may or may not remember that my mother sideswiped that idea when she bought Schmooey knickers when I was 36 weeks pregnant! Yes! You heard correctly. Thirty. Six. Weeks!

Could be why I feel like I've been toilet training Schmooey for the past two years solidly. Oh hang on. That's because I have!!!

Fast forward (or rewind if you like) to a month ago for The Wee One's birthday where I decided to get her a Baby Born boy doll to add to the mix. The two younger ones love their babies so it was a good idea. I searched high and low for that damn little boy and paid a good price for it too (well my sister-in-law did).

Let's not go into the fact that today, only a month and maybe one week later, they are all on sale at KMart for less than half what I paid for said baby boy and the baby boy I had searched high and low for is in every. Single. Store I visit. Now.

So, with the doll now being so cheap, do I buy one for the seven year old, who may or may not love it for more than a week? Let's not forget that this is the same seven year old who's faith in Santa is waning so to give her a sack full of her requests is tempting if it means keeping the dream alive for another year.

Oh and then. Then there's the tumbler dog and cat. Of course they only made two kinds. Never mind the person with three kids who needs a different one for each of them). So who do you give them to? The two older ones? The two younger ones?

Can you see the torment? And don't get me started on trying to keep the dollar value the same. I swore I would not be extravagant this year. We made a plan to spend just a little bit on the girls this year. They have soooo many toys and so much crap it's not funny. They do not need another thing. I do love filling the Santa sack but thought I was doing well and keeping to budget. Until they all changed their minds on what they wanted after I placed the layby at the toy sale! So some of it has been returned and some of it has stayed but I've still tried to not spend anymore than we had planned. Without success.

So what do you do each Christmas? Do you buy the same for everyone (if they are like my girls) or do you just buy what you think each should get and blame it on Santa later? Because, let's face it, there really is nothing that they want they we need three of! That's just a whole world of chucking stuff out later right there!

Santa at our place doesn't ever seem to do a very good job and I need some serious support!

This is part of Seven Cherubs' Mother Heart Linky over here! Go see!!!

I Should Be ...

Typing and getting this workload off my back before The Wee One's kindy concert this afternoon but I really desperately wanted to post these photos because a) we had such a lovely weekend and b) because I want to.

We had a full weekend just gone with White Christmas at Movie World - ending with a very distraught Schmoo because none of the characters high fived her. Sylvethster mithed her by thaaat much - and then finishing off on Sunday with Carols by the beach.

What you will not see here is any sign of the meltdown I had at 2am Sunday morning after finishing a typing job for a company I subcontract to, closing it down and then not being able to find it for TWO hours!!! The first hour was spent with lots of positive statements under my breath to the tune of "it has be to on the computer somewhere. You saved it." And "it will be here somewhere. It will be here somewhere." Followed by a second hour of "Where is it. It HAS to be here. I can't find it. I'm never going to meet deadline!" And then another half an hour of uncontrollable sobbing and waking up CJ to tell of my tale of woe.

The good news is I did eventually find it but those two wasted hours resulted in me being in the office all of Sunday instead of hanging out with my family as planned to finish the extra work that should have been completed the previous evening.

What you will also not see is evidence of the UFC-style head slam I received from The Wee One while CJ was trying to fight position her to get a photo. All well meaning intentions but resulted in one very sore Mumma and a headache for two days!

BUT, all's well that ends well and it did. End well. Eventually. Even if we did arrive an hour late for Carols and thankfully had friends who managed to get there on time save us a spot!

And we are now in the mad rush that is the countdown to us leaving for a road trip next Tuesday - I swear I am the only one who actually sees the pitfall that is travelling over 16 hours with three children under the age of 7 and, according to everyone else, it's going to be all kinds of fun (except for my sister-in-law who has experienced this kind of trip first hand and has suggested that I feign a sudden illness rendering me unable to travel) - therefore losing a week in the countdown to a Christmas that is racing towards us faster than the speed of sound!

Right. Really need to get back to work before The Wee One wakes up and it's time to shoot off for the last of the school/kindy break up parties! Hallelujah!

And who in their right mind says it must be a healthy plate that is brought to said party at this time of year! Umm, oookay. Thinking you should be considering yourself lucky if you get a plate from me at all at this rate!

I should add though that I have loved all the girls' teachers this year so it is with pleasure that I attend said parties and give out thank you gifts for looking after my children - and if you do the math, looking after AJ for probably longer than I do in a year - and making their days fun. Thank goodness they're good role models!

And YES, Australian Government, they should be paid more. I mean who in their right mind would look after that many children each day??? I take my hat off to them and quietly suspect they're all a little crazy!

We Interrupt This Program ...

Yes, apparently, the whole Christmas thing coupled with the not having it here and, therefore, leaving in about 6 days has managed to take up every last minute I had to play on here. Of course, there's also that little thing called work that keeps creeping up on me each day too which really is just slightly inconsiderate during the festive season. ;p

Sooooo, to my blogging friends. I am reading. Well, truth be told, I'm skimming with the intention of reading at a later date (and with the way things are going the backlog is going to be far too large for me to actually follow through with that good intention).

I am going to try to get at least one post here this week (that I've been trying to post since the weekend) and I will be back!!!! I'm sorry I'm not leaving comments but I'm sending you bloggy love across the www! Mwah!

Had to share this little gem of a photo though. She is sooo in the Christmas spirit!

Back to your regular viewing ...

Girls' Night ...

Some of the mums from AJ's school organised a dinner tonight and I was fortunate enough to be invited! After having a very late night (or early morning depending on your perception) due to my naive notion that making a photo book for my mother-in-law for Christmas would be a 30 minute, an hour at the most job*, I almost had the apology speech at the ready for when I hit the wall and decided on a no-show.

I am. So. Glad I went! Even with only a 20 minute window to get ready it was so refreshing to know I was going out. Alone. As a grown up. Not anybody's mother or wife or daughter. Just as me!

Of course there was the occasional school stuff that came up but, for the most part, we were a bunch of giggling school girls ourselves kickstarting the festive season by celebrating. The end of the school year. Friendships. Great food and a few drinks!

And I learnt something tonight. Well, that's a little bit of a lie as I've known it for a while but I just need to keep reminding myself. I love having a great bunch of girlfriends to hang out with. I love meeting for coffee and losing myself in conversations for an hour or two. I love being invited to a dinner, a tupperware party - heck, any kind of party will do - a coffee date, a play date. Anything that keeps me socialising.

I am such a social creature but every now and again I try to withdraw and, although I do feel it's good for me when it happens, it is obviously within these friendships that I find my grounding. Without them and withdrawing for too long can create a very negative cycle.

And again, I am reminded of balance. Such a hard thing to find at times and the extremes are never the best option although sometimes forced upon us.

I feel connected again, only a little bit and I have more shifting to do to get back on track and find that balance that I'm looking for this week.

But ... it's a start. And it reminds me that while I am being a mother/wife/daughter, I also need to be myself. And being myself is also a very important ingredient in the balance I strive for.

*The book is coming along nicely by the way! Just a few more photos and we're done. I love it so much I want to keep it for myself!

This post is part of Seven Cherubs' Mother Heart Linky. Jump on over and have a look! :D

She's Easing Me Into It ...

This has been Schmooey's attire a couple of times over the past week.

In a uniform from

AJ's old school. She can't

wait to pick up her new ones!

She was anxiously awaiting to attend school this morning with her big sister but, unfortunately, AJ's usual teacher wasn't there. Add to that the torrential rain that hit as we pulled up to school and me having two toddlers in the car and, well, I just called a no show even though the teacher had said Schmooey was welcome to stay.

So tomorrow and Friday Schmooey is apparently going to school with AJ and she is sleeping in her uniform tonight so she's ready for tomorrow.

I don't know. Do you think she's ready for Prep next year?

She's Going to School ...

Today marked the end of Schmooey's kindy days. They finished with a class party where the kids sang a bunch of songs for the parents and Santa dropped by for a visit.

When AJ started at her new school this year, I hedged my bets and placed Schmooey on the waiting list for the kindy up there in the hopes that just maybe she would get in so she could establish some friendships for Prep next year. And I am so glad I did.

I was told she was number 20 on the waiting list. I had also been told that you had to enrol your children at birth to get in up there. That's how much the kindy is loved by the locals. I almost didn't put her name down but was putting The Wee One's down for 2013 (still can't believe how far in advance one needs to plan these days. Can't see my mother having done this back in the day) so thought I'd put it down just in case.

We then proceeded to change Schmooey from one kindy to another and then, just as we were about to move her back - the new kindy could not accommodate for The Wee One and it wasn't worth the extra travel - we got a call from "The Kindy". The kindy that she would NEVER get into on such short notice. They had a place, actually two places and the choice was mine even as to which end of the week I wanted her to partake in. Can you believe?

So off she went to her new kindy at the beginning of Semester Two. She has loved it up there from the get go and has some lovely new little friends that will be attending school with her next year. I am so pleased it has worked out for her.

It has been A LOT of extra travelling but I believe it was well worth it!

What I can't believe is that my second born baby girl will be starting Prep next year. Five. Days. She's gone all week! What will I do without her? I know I still have The Wee One - who will also be changing to a different kindy next year. Very sad to be leaving our very much loved kindy that we have been involved with since AJ was 18 months old but she has been accepted somewhere closer to home (and is quite a good kindy as well) which makes my drive that much easier - but Schmooey is my gourmet buddy who eats real salads with fetta cheese and spinach. She is my easy going kid who just hangs out with me and rarely complains - although four has not been so nice to her or I and she is a tad whiny right now - and who will put herself to bed if she requires a nap.

She is my contemporary dancer, yogi, singer, make believer, puppy entertainer and dressing up extraordinaire.

She is growing up. She is so excited to be starting school next year. So much so that she has taken part in Audrey's classroom over the past week, school uniform and all.

And so we have come full circle and I feel like in a few weeks from now I'll be starting this ride all over again.

I think knowing that there are only two classes so the chances of some of her friends being with her to enjoy the journey and knowing that her older sister and cousins will be there will hopefully make it that little bit easier when the time comes.

Or not.

Life's Little Frustrations ...

You know how "they say" if there is a trait of someone else's that you really hate dislike then most likely it is something in yourself that you also hate dislike?

Well. It has come to my attention over recent times, and more often over the past 12 years or so, a trait that I know I have that I try to change, usually without success, and that trait is carried by most of the people in my family.

The trait? Not putting things back where they belong.

Now I should say that it's not the particular trait that bugs me so much as the reply I get whenever I ask where something is.

You see, when I put something somewhere and someone asks me where that something is - you following? - I can, 99.9% of the time, tell them in an instant where to find it. The other 0.1% of the time you can bet your ass that someone else has moved it and that's why it's not where I put it!

But you see, this is the part I hate. Oh sorry, we're following the more passive aggressive really dislike program today.

When I ask where a certain something is I get the same knee jerk answer every. Single. Time.

"I don't know!"

Before they even have a chance to process the question they blurt it out almost like a defence mechanism. And if it was something they weren't supposed to have in the first place. Well, it gets said even more adamantly.

Drives. Me. Fucking. Crazy!

The Wee One has taken to saying it now also which in itself, while sounding cute, is a real knife twister into the already over boiled melting pot that is my tolerance level to this "game".

And so, in conclusion dear readers, I don't think it's necessarily the putting back of things into their spot that frustrates me so but more the fact that I am ALWAYS the one running around like a freaking lunatic trying to find whatever it was that I needed as I am walking out the door to get to where I was going when I'm already late!

Psych assessment anyone?

Move along now. Nothing to see here.

Hey Santa!!!

Today was the day I chose for our "mad dash to get a Santa photo" before the end of the school year!

I do this ever year! And while I'm not one to brag. Well, okay maybe just a little. I have to say if there is one thing I'm bloody good at, it's the Santa happy snap!

We're on an eight year roll here with not one bad photo. Sssssh. Don't want to get too cocky for fear I'll jinx myself though.

The only thing I will add is that this is not your traditional Santa photo and I thought I may have escaped having to be in a photo with The Wee One - there is a photo of me with both the older girls when they were 18 months old - being that she is a different age to the other two but I was prepared just in case as I did manage a no show last year.

And being that there are now four of us, well. Sorry Santa but you don't get a seat this year! As one of my good friends put it "That's right - it isn't always about you Fat Man!" That there, had me laughing so hard for the best part of my afternoon so I had to edit and put it in here too for your reading amusement!

I knew as soon as we went over to Santa that The Wee One was not going to sit with him. I asked if she would like to sit with AJ but she said no. So, because I love a good Santa photo and am dedicated to the task at hand, I didn't bother with the "let's just try and see if she sits on your lap. Oh whoops, she's now screaming!" approach but decided it was just easier and waaaaay quicker to get in there myself.

The result. Yet again, we were in and out within about 15 minutes - always pick a late morning, early afternoon for those playing along at home. They are always really busy of a morning for some reason. And always, always do it before the end of the school year. TRUST ME! - and we're all smiling!!!

It may not be your traditional photo but as long as there are no tears, I'm taking it as a win. And it's actually quite nice to have one a little different for a change (even if Santa does look like he's out of a job)!

I love it when a plan

comes together!

I look at this photo and fall in love with my girls over and over and over again!

You Be The Captain ...

I took my oldest on a date the other night.

Ready to go

We went to see Kasey Chambers. AJ has been belting out Kasey's songs since she was two or three years old so when I told her we were going to see her in concert she was very excited. Add to that the thought of it just being her and her mum and it was a lot more exciting than before.

This was AJ's first "real" concert so imagine her surprise when the lights dim and this guy walks out on stage and starts strumming a guitar and singing. Turns out it was Kasey's dad but that wasn't enough to impress AJ. She had come to see Kasey so what was this guy doing here?

And then, to add to her impatience, Bill introduced another one of the band members, Ashleigh Dean, who sang us a few of her songs. I should stop there and just say how great I think it is that Kasey's support act were her band members. Giving them a chance to promote their CDs and talent. Unfortunately, AJ didn't really feel the same no matter how hard I tried to explain that this is what happens when you go to see a live band. They almost always have support acts.

And then to her shock, the "support band" left the stage and the lights came back on for a 15 minute interval.

But it was all worth the wait in the end. I did think we would be leaving after about the first five songs when AJ declared to be too tired to enjoy it anymore. This is while Kasey was singing Not Pretty Enough and had seemed to have lost AJ's enthusiasm. But then ...

Then Kasey and the band decided to play around with a bit of bluegrass music and AJ pepped right back up again. She replayed some of Not Pretty Enough in this style which is when AJ turned to me and said "Why didn't she just play it like this to begin with. This music is great!"

So it seems I have a true blue country bumpkin on my hands.

Waiting oh so patiently

And a very cute one at that.

We drove home and my very grown up but still little girl fell asleep on the way. She was smiling as she went off to bed that night and has not let her new Little Kasey Chambers doll out of her sight since.

I just hope to always have the luxury of spending one on one time with my girls. So hard at their ages now because the younger ones always want to do the same as their big sister but, as time goes on, I know they will become their own people and have their own interests and beliefs.

And that, for me, is one of the most exciting parts of this journey!

This post belongs to Thursday Mother Heart Linky over at Seven Cherubs!