I'm excited....

I don't know how the kids are.. but I am excited!!! Really that is too dull a word to explain how I feel!! I just tried to have a little nap on the couch.. but I couldn't sleep... thinking thinking...

We are heading North into the sunny Riverland tomorrow afternoon for a week. Jack has a BBQ lunch at work, the kids and I will meet him over there and we will take off from there.... exciting!

We are taking two cars.. we have so much stuff to get Paringa, it won't all fix in one ute. Jack is driving up his WB (1981 Holden V8) ute. The kids are already arguing how gets to ride with him!

I will be pleased when we get there.. I am always a little anxious travelling. Just want to get there and put my feet up for a couple of days before Santa comes!

Will try and update over the next week, by Ma and Pa only have dial up!

Thank you all for your support over the last twelve months and please travel safe!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Better not shout, you better not cry.....

Coz... My grandmorther is coming to town....

Yep.. How Lucky am I!!! My grandmother, who is in her 80's.. (high end.. I think..) is spending a week with my Mum in Horsham, and they are coming up for an early christmas tomorrow.. I am so excited!!

My Grandmother lived only 30 minutes from me until two years ago when I aunt moved from Hopetoun where Nanna lived. Nan didn't want to be left up there alone, so she moved into a Village Life complex in Ballarat. It was quite a bit of adjusting for her, but she seems to like it.

My grandmother is from the Mallee... dry and hot!! The climate at Ballarat has made her stiff and sore. Being the golden haired grandchild I am, I brought her five jars of her favorite arthritis cream this morning to take back with her.

My grandfather passed away in 1984, so she has been on her own for a long time. Always has to have a craft project on the go to keep her hands busy.. god love her!!

I know that I am lucky to have a great grandmother for my kids.. and they suck up to her. Little Hugh was giving her cuddles and kisses... doesn't take them long to work out the system..

Nan came to swimming lessons with us this morning and the kids are waving to her and getting out to give her cuddle.. my kids will be the talk of the dining room at Village life!

Tomorrow we will have a light tea, exchange presents with Nan and Mum and then head in for the Carols at Warracknabeal..

Hope everyone else is having a great weekend and a special thank you to Sarah's class in NZ, who prayed for rain for us.. how sweet is that!!!

Take care and enjoy this next week!!!

NEARLY... losing it....

I handle day to day stresses quite well.. even if I do say so myself. But.. I nearly lost it at 1 this morning.... let me give you the run down...

Monday - I had a meeting at school (on healthy eating for kids.. great info..) and come home at 10pm, find the house empty.. front door open, tea dishes still on the table - no Jack or kids.. Ummmm.. think worse cases. broken bones etc.. ring Jack's Mobile and can hear in ringing in the ute.. Pick up the phone and ring the neighbour (at 10pm at night!!!) and get no answer. It occurs to me to check the call log on the home phone.. My Dad rang and left a message, then a number I don't know... I ring it (Again at 10pm at night!!!) and get the owner of the land that one flock of our sheep are. Relief... as he wants to know how Jack went pulling lambs from the dam! So - I knew where they were!

We fenced off the dam months ago to avoid this. Those not aware, no Dams where filled this year due to the drought and the are all almost empty. As you can imagine, quite muddy and boggy and sheep get stuck if they aren't fenced off. We have been pumping the dregs of the water into a tanker with a trough so the sheep can get water. Jack pumped water on Sunday, BUT the water has gone off and was making the sheep sick. It didn't smell brackish or anything, but we lost two sheep and the ones that got suck in the dam where looking for fresher water... fuck the drought.. So Jack jumped in and pulled out the lambs that where stuck and moved the sheep back to our neighbours for fresh water. Jack apparently had thick mud up to his chest.. fully clothed. I took his car into town so he only had my car. In his wisdom, he jumped in clothed, so the mud would stick to the clothes and not him. He peeled them off and got home without mud on the inside of my car (good thinking Jacko)... anyway.. the kids where at the neighbours and didn't get to bed until nearly 11pm!! Jack trucked the sheep to the market on Tuesday .. Gone to be roast christmas lunch!!

So.. that was just the start of it.

Tuesday, I was collecting Emilie from Take-a-break (occasional care) and I have a canopy on the back of my ute. It has a HUGE blind spot. I know it is there, I have to check each time I reverse out of a park.. well this time I didn't and run into another car. A eldely lady who has recently lost her husband. How bad do you think I felt! She was quite shaken. The damage to my car was quite minimal but I got all four panels down one side of her car.. bugger..

Yesterday morning, I go to hop into the shower.. turn on the tap and not fucking water. Some of you might recall a couple of months ago we run out of water and had to get water tankered in. Well... a pipe fitting popped over night and emptied our tank... I was still quite calm at this stage (still am really.. ) Jack had a little bit of water in another tank, so pipe fittings replaced and hooked up to the other tank and we had water again..

BUT!!! Last night at 1am little Laura come into our room and jack just lifted her into bed but she was spewing.. everywhere.. so I go to run the shower to clean the vomit out of her hair etc.. NO WATER!!!!!!! This was nearly getting beyond a joke. My daughter was covered in vomit along with two beds and no water to clean it.... So I was cuddling her while Jack was hooking in the last tank in his jocks at 1.30 in the morning.. finally get her in the shower. Laura is all cleaned up and I went to deal with the sheets. Into the laundry I find Jack's clothes still soaking in wash trough from his previous mud swimming, sheep saving exercise two nights prior.. I had to deal with an inch of mud in the bottom of the trough before I could deal with spew sheets.. arhh..

Laura is better this morning. Jack stayed up with her until past 3am, Emilie not long ago spewed and I have her on the couch with a bucket and a tanker load of water will be arriving shortly...

.. no tim tams.. no chocolate.. just lots of cuddles for sick kids..

The Good news... Lambs and ewes made good money at the market

I had my hair cut and coloured at a new hair dressers in Horsham yestesday and it is the best colour I have had a years (Since my friend retired from hairdressing in fact)

Christmas shopping is finished, wrapped and packed...

I lost 500 grams at weigh in

and with all of this happening.. I can still smile and tell people I am having a great day:) Hope you all are as well....

"Beta" blogger my arse....

Finding this new "beta" a real pain in the arse.. perhaps I need to spend more time getting to know how it all works.. I don't know how many deep and meaningful comments (ok.. A few d & M's.. but comments all the same) I have written, just to be told that I couldn't log in to post them... So Guys.. I have been stalking you and not commenting.. sorry...

How is everyone's pre-christmas dinners, drink etc going??? Everyone eating well and making great choices... anyone??? anyone????

Me??

Nup! I leave with the best intentions, but eating WAY to much. Nothing stupid like cheesecake (mmmm cheesecake), but just too much! And it has been to fucking hot to do anything at all that even resembles exercise... But I think the christmas parties are almost on the end of the run, just christmas to deal with now!!

With Temp's in the 40's, it has even been too hot to take the kids to the pool!! It has cooled down heaps, back to the high 20's... much better!!

I have one more christmas layby to collect in Horsham on Wednesday, then that is it for our shopping and presents.. ALL DONE!! I have begun the wrapping, I hate wrapping! It isn't that I hate wrapping, it is that I don't have anywhere to store the presents once wrapped. They never it back into the cupboard as well wrapped. We are heading North to Paringa (near Renmark in SA) for christmas with Jack's family, so they all have to be packed in boxes anyway (note to self.. need some boxes) There will be a HEAP of kids up there. 11 kids, with the ages 8, 8, 5, 5, 4, 3, 3, 3, 2, 1 and 9 months and another one on the way... BIG christmas. CAN"T WAIT!!!!!! Kids make christmas... I got Jack a few little things as well as tickets to A day on the Green in Clare, in the Baroosa Valley on the 20th Jan. The Church, The pretenders and Paul Kelly are performing. Jack LOVES these bands.. so it will be great!

I am also going to the hairdressing in Horsham. I have issues with haridressers... they keep on moving. So trying yet another one in Horsham. Fingers crossed, as I am VERY fussy with my hair colour!!!

Hugh has started to shove things up his nose.. anyone else had trouble with this?? A trip to the Doctor to get some out, and I have become quite good and removing it myself. Why????? He is still cute through....

The kids are so into christmas this year.. the whole Santa thing etc. We where in Kmart on Saturday morning before swimming lessons and this old guy, with a white beard and a fat tummy came up to the kids in the trolley (Yes, I had ALL three kids standing in a trolley) and was chatting to them. I came over and he told the kids to be good etc. and Emilie then told me, wide eyed, that he was the real santa, shopping for all of the good kids for christmas. He wasn't dressed like santa, but I have to admit, he did look like a santa character... puts a little more meaning to the whole secret santa.

I came accross a very interesting blog the other day, totally different to ANY other blog that I read. Jail Byrde... A real story of a wife with her husband in jail, living in Melbourne with all of her family overseas. Makes me realise just how uncomplianted my life is... sure, I have shit days but they pale in comparison...

It almost rained last night. We had a terrific lighting and thunder show, but no rain to follow for us. There was some areas that got some, but our tanks are still looking for some. We had the Sheep Hills Christmas tree last night. The local christmas trees have been going on for years. Everyone brings food to share, games, santa etc.. great night. Last night the CWA ladies (Country Womens Assoscation) had donated to them a heap of tinned food, toiletties etc to be sent to the drought area. I am always touched when people who aren't particiuly affected by the drought directly, think about the country folk stuggling. It can be the smallest thing, but will mean so much more to someone else. They put the family names of everyone there in a draw and 6 families received a food and tolitiles bundle, the other (us) recevied a $25 voucher at Safeway etc. Jack and I talked about it on the way home and we will put our voucher into someones mail box who might need it more then we do. Pride has a lot to do with famrers refusing help. "I'm right mate.." attitude, which is to be commended, but even through $25 isn't much to most of us, it could be a roast for christmas lunch.. So a little surprise in a letter box, with no way of knowing who is from doesn't dent anyones pride.. Sure the drought has affected us, but we still have other income.. most don't!!

Ok. better go and vaccuum... I LOVE vaccuuming.. I have a Dyson and makes my daily vaccum so much more fun...