Happy Feet ...

They say dancers have the happiest feet of all and while the feet themselves may not always be happy - let's face it, pointe work? Ummm, my feet were never a big fan but I was always happy - the people those feet belong to always have a smile on their face while they're cutting a rug!

This is why CJ and I were so inspired to learn Swing. When you see the way the great Lindy Hoppers do it, you just want to know their secrets. And although we are no way near as good as this - although CJ is a bit of all right on the dance floor and there are always girls lining up for a dance (won't tell you what I call him ;p) - it is so much fun to get out and have a dance at a social night.

Now that Gumboot Girl is a little bit older, I am really hoping we find the time to get a bit more serious about it because I'd love to look that good when I'm busting a move!

But the best thing about this style of dance is that I really believe anyone could give it a go. So all those men out there that want to take their ladies for a spin, you really need to get on this program! I promise it will be nothing but fun - once you get a few moves under your belt. ;p

NB: There were so many great videos of Dax and Sarah (they have a blog too and will be adding their videos very soon I hope!) to choose from that I found it really hard to pick just one especially as the tempo and style are different. Have found a few nice little moves I want to learn in the meantime though.

Freedom ...

It can be a lot of things to a lot of people. But this ...

This has provided Gumboot Girl with a whole new world. Places she could never get to before and things I now need to move higher in the pantry if I don't want her to grab them.

She takes this everywhere in the house. The bathroom, the bedroom, the kitchen. Especially the kitchen. Because, well, that's where the food is.

She is so independent that youngest one of mine. Where Punk Chic would let you do everything for her all of the time, Gumboot Girl will try everything herself first before asking for help. And hoping like crazy she doesn't have to.

Funny how they're all from the same mould yet so amazingly different!

Dream Date ...

Last week when I was feeling poorly and was on my best of concoction of pain killers to date, our lovely friends offered to take Gumboot Girl to Dreamworld with them.

It's no secret that their little boy and Gumboot Girl have a "thing" going on. They often speak of each other and always want to speak to each other on the phone. And heaven forbid if we turn up at each other's houses without them.

So, although my Gumboot Girl is still quite little - not sure I would have ever let Miss Tween out at that age but then we may not have had the same group of friends back then either. Come to think of it, we didn't have many friends back when Miss Tween was a baby so it was unlikely anybody would have even offered - we knew our friends were the responsible chaperone type who wouldn't let these two get up to any hijinks!

And so spring has sprung a little earlier here with the two lovebirds sharing a couple of hand in hand strolls. They both have a daredevil streak and enjoyed all the rides and then, of course, there was ice cream.

This could just be my favourite photo forever!

So thank you again to our dear friends for taking our girl with you - the other two were majorly jealous - on such a great date!

She still tells people about it a week later.

A Funny Thing Happened ...

Well. Except that it wasn't actually that funny.

You see. Today I had a lot of plans. A lot of appointments. My two older girls woke up complaining they weren't feeling well and I brushed them off, telling them they had to go to school anyway  - seriously though. I knew they were just trying for an Oscar. Not really sick at all or I would have kept them home. I swear it. I'm a good mum like that. Well most of the time - because I had stuff that I needed to do today.

So we pack ourselves into the car early as is our usual Tuesday routine to get to the kindy, drop off Gumboot Girl and pick up the other kids we car pool with.

We make it to school. Early for a change - usually we're just on time if not a few minutes late. I have no excuse except other car pooling mother and I get lost in conversation most mornings - and I am quite proud of myself.

I say goodbye to kids, have a coffee with a friend and head to Robina to start the first of my To Dos. Today is going seamlessly. Right on track. What a dream run ...

And then, the phone rings. To say Gumboot Girl has been hit in the face with a lego block and they're not sure but think it may require stitches or glue.

So I cancel first appointment, call doctor to advise of my pending visit and turn myself around to head back to the kindy where I find a little girl painting happily with seemingly not a care in the world. I ask if we should take her to see a doctor and am told that she would like to go to a doctor but she might just finish her painting first. Thank you very much. See? Really concerned about her possible facial disfigurement.

Self portrait for Daddy. 

See? It's not that bad.

We walk around the corner to the doctor and the nurse says it's nothing but she'll get the doctor to look at it. Meanwhile I am quietly cursing the kindy for being so bloody careful and calling me away from my stellar run of To Dos day!

The doctor walks in and actually cleans the area and the real truth is revealed. It is a long cut and it looks worse when cleaned than what it did before. And the doctor confirms that some glue and steri strips will most definitely be required.

Waiting for doctor to get organised.

She was already scared. :(

My baby girl cries and grasps at my hands but lies as still as can be. The quieter the doctor is the more my little girl cries. Until finally it's over and she's allowed to get up!

Not happy Jan! Or Arty or

whatever your name is, you

mean doctor!!!

Five to ten minutes later we are out of the surgery and headed to buy a blue drink. Because, you know, they fix everything, right? You did know that, didn't you? Well they do except it hurts her to drink it so we come home, she has some panadol and is now sleeping peacefully on the couch.

The smile that lasted about

a minute and then the crying resumed.

I quietly thank the kindy for being so damn careful and caring about my child enough to be worried about scarring on her face. From the bottom of my heart.

My poor little monkey!

Lego - 1.
Gumboot Girl - 0.

PS. And my last appointment was cancelled because of the multitude of pain killers I am taking for my headache and my practitioner sees no point in me attending until I am free of the drugs! Guess I was meant to stay home today!

My Inner Artiste ...

Or not.

Gumboot Girl said No, No, No to house cleaning today and insisted we paint instead. Well, what was I to do? How could I say no? It's not like the alternative was going to be any more fun although I will admit that for a few short very short millisecond I considered that it just may be, you know, being that I'm not *ahem* particularly arty!

So here is what I did today instead! Add in Gumboot Girl's encouraging words that I was a "very clever, Mummy!" And look what can be achieved ...

Now if I were three years old. That would be considered gifted my friends!

I will say that, with my girls growing so damn quickly, I have found myself enjoying these little moments more and more. I'm trying to give more of myself to these moments because all too soon they will be gone. Distant memories. But memories I hope my girls will look back on fondly.

Truth be told, this week as my headache starts to finally ease, I'm trying to make up for a week or more of feeling agitated and impatient with my girls. My doctor, bless him, was saying how headaches are underestimated for the impact they have on a person when they are unrelenting as mine has been and I have to agree.

The constant dull ache I have had for over two weeks now, while not incredibly painful, has slowly drained my energy with its permanency. The fact that there have been times today when it has not been  so prominent is filling me with a hopefulness that soon it will be gone for good!

I can only hope. But for today I will try and remember to give more time to my girls because for them, it really doesn't matter if our house is sparkling clean as long as when I am with them, I am there, giving them my full attention, no distractions.

What have you been up to today? Have you stopped to smell the roses?

Proudly Sponsored By ...

The chemists of Australia today.

My benchtop looks like a chemist.

I have had a headache for a little while now. Going into my third week. I have tried acupuncture, massage, chiro and osteo. I have tried sinus treatments, nasal sprays, heat packs, sleeping positions.

And now I'm onto my next concoction of pain killers. I hope they work. I hate thinking what all of these pain killers would be doing to my body. I try not to think of just how many I have taken in the past two weeks.

I will admit I have not had much time for rest so maybe things are taking longer than they should but I can't help but think of all the things that need doing while I'm trying to relax on the couch. So this new lot of pain killers is quite possibly a blessing because. Quite simply. I can't get off the couch when I take them. Not for a couple of hours anyway.

And this little space here has been so neglected of late. But I really can't think of anything worth writing about it. Which is sad because there are usually all these thoughts running through my head about topics I could write about. Most of the time they get tossed aside but usually within that there will be one or two good ideas that I will use. But at the moment. Nothing. Crickets! Actually possibly not even crickets.

But we have fun times up ahead and the lead up to those events are taking up more of my time while I organise them.

We have been having fun too but we just seem to get so busy at this time of year. Throw in a couple of sick kids and this annoying little symptom of mine and, well, usually when I think about writing here, I think of a million (okay, that could be a little bit of an exaggeration) other things that would be neglected if I took the time to be here.

So I leave it until later. And later doesn't seem to come. Well, not until I'm all hopped up on a cocktail of pain killers anyway. ;)

So I'd like to thank my sponsors.

And my husband for giving up his weekend to take charge of the house because there's no way I'm going to be of any help at all in the next 24 hours!

PS. I'd also like thank a very special family for a) taking Gumboot Girl today and b) giving me an awesome blog post for tomorrow. Or maybe the day after.

We'll have to leave that in the hands of our good friends, the pain killers!