Reflections and Resolutions

For the last few days I have been thinking about what 2007 meant to me and what I hope to gain from 2008. 2007 has been a blur; a complete and utter blur. It seems like it was only yesterday I went to bed and woke up to 2007. Sure it’s been a good year with the kids and all but it’s also been a difficult year; probably one of my most difficult to date.

At the outset I would have to say working fulltime and raising two young children at the same time is much easier said than done. It has tugged at my heart strings on many many occasions and I have questioned my role as a mother countless times as a consequence. I know now that it was something I had to do. It was something I had to do for my family’s financial future otherwise we would never get ahead (or stay afloat). I know my kids love me and I hope they will one day realise that sometimes you have to make sacrifices in the present for rewards in the future.

Taking a fulltime job was merely a stepping stone to future part time employment. I know that sounds stupid but I knew that if I could get through this year as a full time mum I would have the option of working part time in 2008.There are really no part time jobs in my industry so this was one of my only options. The decision is paying off with my employer granting my request to work part time (4 days a week in early 2008). As soon as a colleague returns from a secondment (date to be advised) I will get my wish to work 4 days and for that I couldn’t be happier.

Speaking of financial standings I would have to say that despite me working full time, this year has been tough in that stake. I hate that I’m working so hard yet we barely manage to stay afloat. I know we are building a house and as a consequence paying money out everywhere but life is still hard – mortgages, childcare, petrol, general living – it’s hard! Trev and I have struggled in that regard our whole marriage. My pregnancies with the kidlets were a major financial struggle for which we are still recovering. I hope and pray that 2008 will provide an end to the struggles (as much as one can wish for without winning lotto).

I’m scared of the big looming mortgage yet excited that we will have our own place. God knows our family needs it. I have written about our struggle in that regard previously so won’t delve much further other then to say the early part of 2008 couldn’t go quickly enough…we want to get into our much loved house.

2007 has been a difficult year for Trevor and me…not one of the best. The financial struggles and the stress of working hard have taken a toll. We don’t go out much because we don’t get the time and umm err well there are the children – someone needs to look after them. I have decided that in 2008 we will focus on us a little bit more, even if it’s just a DVD night in the new house, once a week, in front of the big TV – chill out time for us.

Working fulltime has really played havoc with the ol’ body. I was doing so well when I went back to work in March but lack of time, and poor habits have lead to some weight gain. I hope that in 2008 I can regain the discipline I had for my health. My sister is getting married on 26 July 2008 and I want to be the best looking matron of honour I can be. Then there's my 30th! I have to look gorgeous for that. I want to be happy with myself inside and out and hopefully in 2008 I can succeed in achieving that goal.

Speaking of myself…I want to do something for me other than getting healthy. I want to do something that interests me other then looking after my children. I want to learn photography or at least get better. I hope to do a course sometime in 2008 and generally have fun with my new found hobby (together with my friends of course – Karen I’m ready?! – hmmm just need the camera first).

Lastly, I long for the third and final instalment to our family. I hope that in 2008 things will start cooking (with little damage to the oven’s health) and that in early to mid 2009 our third little poppet will arrive

Those are but some of my reflections for 2007 and some of my hopes for 2008. I guess we’ll see how I go. Hmmm wonder how I went in relation to my 2007 resolutions? Off to take a look…

My dancing, bobble head baby...

I wish I could make time slow down if only for a moment. My children are growing up so fast. It’s going by at such a rate that sometimes I feel like I’m missing it. I don’t want to miss anything.

I was looking at a photo of Byron holding Lily when she was around two weeks old. It wasn’t Lily that I was drawn to but Byron. He looked so young. His face was so ‘baby’ like. I guess, looking back, he was only a baby himself albeit nearly 3. When I look at the photo now, I see a little toddler boy whereas I probably didn't see that at the time. Now he is well past that stage. He is four going on 15.

Lily is 16 months old today. She is only two months shy of the 18 month mile stone. What happened to my little bubba girl? I must admit, the older she gets the more completely in love with her I fall. I am simply besotted by her. Almost everything she does makes my heart beat that little bit faster. She is too cute!

She follows Byron around like a love sick puppy. When he isn’t there she is lost and likewise, he is the same with her. She babbles away in her own little language. I generally understand what she wants by her hand and facial movements but in terms of vocal ability there are only a few words I understand. These include, puppy (everything with fur is a puppy), duckie, bottle, ball, bubbles, mummy, daddy, ta, hello, bye bye, night night and something reassembling Byron (although it’s different every time).

Speaking of puppy she has learned to bark like a dog. She blows her mouth up, puckers her lips like a fish and says “woo, woo, woo, woo”. She hasn’t quite mastered the sounds other animals make.

On the book front she is getting much better although she prefers to read the same books over and over and over again. She isn’t quite into new books, although I try my hardest to introduce them. When I do, she promptly gets up and goes over to get a book she is familiar with. I guess she finds comfort in the same ones. Her faves at the moment are "Night, Night Baby”, “Dear Zoo” and “Dear Santa” (she hasn’t yet realised Christmas is over). The common theme with all these books is that they have flaps! If I try to read her one without flaps she puts her hand all over the pages trying to find the flaps. I think "Spot" will have to get a work out before the fad runs dry.

The cutest thing she has learned of late is to nod yes. She learned to say ‘NO’ and shake her head a while ago. Now she nods when she agrees with you or you say yes. The funny thing is, when she nods she moves her head back and forward, neck and all. I guess the only way to describe it is like one of the ELVIS bobble head characters you might see in the car. It is the cutest thing and I could watch her nod all day long.

Another one of her new attributes is dancing. She has never really been a dancing baby but of late she has started moving around in circles when she hears music or you tell her to dance. She has also taken to stamping her feet from side to side in a dance like action. My favourite is the arms that she swings around to the music whilst her body stays still.

She has reached the sponge stage of babyhood/toddlerhood (can’t let go of babyhood yet) where she saps up everything. She watches everything you do and copies it all. Byron is a big influence here and not always for the best. She loves him to bits and when he does something she likes to copy. The latest is the squeals. When he squeals, she squeals louder and longer. When he screams, she screams louder and longer. Unfortunately Byron, who knows not to start her off and has been told not to a million times, copes the brunt of the discipline, although, I’m steadily getting stricter with the little Miss. Speaking of which, she hates NO. She looks at you will those big eyes and slowly the bottom lip will drop, the eyes will weal up and the tears will flow. She’s good, I giver her that. Melts my heart every time!

So there you have it. My dancing, ‘wooing’, flap loving, bobble head baby is 16 months old.

It's all over!

I am one of those people who prefers the tree, and all accompanying Christmas paraphernalia, come down pretty much straight after Christmas. If I had the time I would probably take the tree down on Christmas night.

I love Christmas when it’s here but when it’s over I don’t need any reminding of it so I prefer to get all associated stuff out of the way as soon as possible. Today it all went. I would have taken it down yesterday, Boxing Day, but alas the shops were too accommodating for my liking. Plus removing the tree is something I prefer to do when the children aren’t around.

So today was the day. It’s all over for another year. That’s it!

In other exciting news…I think I might have mentioned the TV hit the wall a month or so ago. We were hoping it would have lasted until we moved but no such luck – it officially died on Christmas Day! We ended up going to get another one today despite really not having the money for it (25 months interest free was inviting…although we only needed four months! We’ll be paying it off when we sell and move into the new house). I guess if it’s any consolation we got a great deal being sale time and all. Trevor is wrapped with it, our first Plasma. In our circle of friends we were one of the last to make it there so much so that one of Trevor’s mates commented, “welcome to the 50” club mate!”. Can’t understand why we waited. It’s awesome. Now I just have to find the time to watch some movies. Hmmm that will require less computer time which may be difficult. How will I manage!??

Christmas Day 2007

Today I celebrated my 30th Christmas. I have awoken to the magic that is Christmas a grand ol’ total of 30 times. This is Trevor’s 31st, Byron’s 5th and Lily’s 2nd. It doesn’t matter how much older I get it seems to be as exciting as the year passed although sometimes the focus switches a little. In previous years obviously it was all about me - what exciting things I gave, received and of course who I had the pleasure of spending it with. In recent years however it has most definitely been about my kids. They really are the centre of my Christmas Joy. If they’re happy, I’m happy (which is why Christmas 2006 sucked – Byron had gastro and he was miserable). I get greater joy out of watching the children opening presents then I do opening my own.

This year started later then I expected it would. It was I who woke up before they did to the sound of some children riding their new bikes out side. I looked at the clock and could hardly believe it was after 7.00am. My children aren’t early risers – like the break of dawn – but they are genuinely up by 6.00am to 6.30am. Anyway, I digress. I ended up waking (or being rather loud) so that the kids would wake up. Lily woke up first and then Byron shortly thereafter. With one wipe of his sleepy big eyes he was off and down the stairs. We eagerly followed.

His first words were, “O-H M-Y G-O-D I think Santa has been!!!!”

He was so excited and overwhelmed. Lily thought it was funny and wanted to hop straight on to Byron’s new bike. Opening all the presents was great fun. Even Lily got into the spirit. She opened every one of her presents by herself with a little rip start from me. Byron loved the bike but his favourite present was the very last one he opened which was a talking Scooby Doo plush toy and four Scooby DVDs.

This year Trevor didn’t bother buying me any presents which is a bone of contention but I won’t spoil my lovely entry (let’s just say his wallet got stolen on Friday from his work truck and as he had yet to think of me for Christmas, which is a tad upsetting in itself, he didn’t bother after that because he had no ‘money’ or access to money plus I guess I didn’t just want any old thing for the sake of it). I purchased myself a gift (Nintendo DS Lite) and popped it under the tree. My mum, the gorgeous mum that she is, spoilt me rotten as usual so I most certainly didn’t go without on Christmas morning. I got an emerald necklace, shoes, clothes, a beautiful ‘wishes for my daughter’ trinket box full of 365 wishes, one for every day, one of those digital photo frames, stuff for the new house and um well heaps more - I told you mum was a gem!

After we had finished opening and playing with some presents it was time to get dressed in the new Christmas clothes (we always wear what we get for Christmas) and headed to mum’s for breakfast. Going to mum’s for breakfast is my most favourite thing about Christmas morning. I just love the company and the delectable food. This year was no different. The attention to detail mum gives to the little things – like the table (and the kids table) makes it all the more special.

The food was amazing as usual. There was bacon, eggs cooked so perfectly you’ll compare them forever more to any future eggs you'll eat, tomato, toast, croissants, lamb cutlets, baked beans, mushrooms, fruit and chocolate. It was so scrumptious and set the tone for the day.

After breakfast I played Santa handing out presents from the mound so huge under mum’s 7ft fat tree. Again, we were all spoilt.

Following our very busy morning we came home, dumped the presents, picked up the next lot and headed around to the in-laws to say hello (no food this time). Trevor’s sister and her girlfriend were down from Alice Springs. It was so lovely to catch up with them. We stayed for a few hours, did some presents and then headed off to our next port of call – dinner at my step-mum’s place.

My step brother and step sister were back from overseas so my step mother decided she would like to have a late lunch/dinner at her place this year (she and dad aren't married anymore but we used to do Christmas lunch there every year they were married (13 years) and it was always fun). The company was great as was the food, but geepers, by the end I couldn’t fit any where near the required in take in which is of it self a damn shame.

By the time we got home it was dark and the kids were crazy stupid and tired. It was time for them to go to bed – It's ironic that Byron didn’t even get to ride his new bike on Christmas day given we were so busy. Next year we are having Christmas at our new house so there will be plenty of time for kids to play with their new toys.

I was simply exhausted but alas there was no early bed time for me. I spent the rest of the night trying to get any semblance of my lounge room back it was so over come by gifts.

All in all it was a great day! I’m sad it’s 364 days until the excitement begins again.

I wonder what next year will hold (maybe a half cooked baby *wink* *wink*).

Christmas Eve

With out a doubt I would have to say that Christmas Eve is my most favourite day of the year. The anticipation and excitement of the day is all empowering. The exhilaration and expectation etched on children’s faces is priceless. I simply adore it. Now that I have children in my life I love it even more. In addition, every year I look forward to the hustle and bustle that comes with last minute shopping – as much as I try with all my might to have every present wrapped and accounted for I almost always fail. There is always someone left to buy for (usually my dad).

Christmas Eve this year was technically a ‘work’ day being a Monday and all, but there was no way on this earth I was working on Christmas Eve. There was simply too much to do. I had people to see, laybys to pick up, toys to assemble and presents to wrap and all before 5.00pm when it comes time to head out to our usual Christmas Eve get together.

Being a ‘work’ day Trevor had to work but Kindy was open so I seized the rare opportunity to have the children ‘minded’ for a few hours while I attended to the things I had to get done. I’m so glad I did - there was no way I could have braved the shops with the two children in tow…absolutely no way!

When Trevor returned home from work we hopped straight on to the fun stuff – attending to the assembling of toys. I made a point this year of taking things out of packets where I could to make it easier for the kids on Christmas day (damn Fisher Price and its wire ties on toys). I assembled her little dolls pram and twin babies; the school bus wooden toy box and my favourite – the little red wagon; just like the old school ones. My father in law was roped in to assembling Byron’s bike a few days ago which meant no hiding required as there was no way Byron would see it at Grandma’s house.

After a few little screw mishaps with the wagon (which required some unassembly and reassembly in some parts – not my fault of course!) all was ready to go. I rushed back to kindy and picked the kids up but not before strategically placing Christmas presents over the house to avoid discovery. My bedroom was the main port of call.

After picking up the kids we ducked out to do some last minute bread and milk shopping because in my haste I had forgotten the basic staples of life. Later that afternoon we watched some Christmas shows on TV, listened to some Carols and just generally relished the excitement that comes with Christmas Eve. Byron was super excited about what the evening would hold. Lily just went along for the ride.

As the evening rolled in we got ready and headed out to the usual Christmas Eve bash we attend every year with mum and her partner and his family. It’s kind of a long standing ritual now (although next year it will not be the case as mum and her partner are heading over to Europe for Christmas *sob sob* but that’s a whole other story).

So began the company, presents and delectable food…



Our Christmas Eve get together is all about the kids. My mum’s partner has 3 grandchildren similar in age to my two so he makes a point of it being about the children which I simply love. There is nothing more beautiful then seeing the joy and magic etched on children’s faces which happens (I think) more on Christmas Eve then at any other time of the year. The kids had a blast and were of course spoilt rotten!

By the time we made it home the kids were all tuckered out and ready for bed. Sadly, there were no biscuits or beer for Santa this year – ratty children didn’t allow for that (next year in the new house there will be bigger and better things). After my munchkins were tucked in bed I popped the Corals by Candlelight on TV, plopped on the floor and continued my last minute preparations for Christmas. I placed the gifts just so under the tree or in this case around the lounge room) in preparation for the morning. After I’m done with the final preparations I love to sit back, turn off the lights and watch the tree lights if only for a few minutes, and that is what I did this year, following which I headed to bed at what could nearly be described as Christmas morning, for dreams of Santa and magic.

(...spolit as usual - I try every year not to but I just can't help myself!)

On that note...

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

The Perfect Wrapping

Do you ever get the warm fuzzies inside when you see a present wrapped just so? As odd as that might sound, it is the case for me. To me the perfect finish for the perfect gift ends with the wrapping. I simply can not understand why one would go to all the effort of selecting the perfect gift just to wrap it haphazardly. It doesn’t make sense.

I have a strong affiliation for bows and ribbons (I have to place one on all the gifts that go under the tree - however Santa doesn’t do bows) and beautiful paper which makes the job of creating the perfectly wrapped present so much easier. Plus, I have inherited the ‘wrapper’ gene from my mother who I must say is the BESTEST present wrapper in the world. She puts just as much thought into her presentation as she does for the gift which speaks highly for her because her gifts are always perfect!

I cannot do the gift wrapping in store (except maybe David Jones or Myer at a stretch). I prefer to spend the time to wrap my present in my style. I really look forward to that at Christmas.

Like I said, my mother puts so much effort into her presentation and I guess I just wanted her to know I see it; relish it; and appreciate it all!

(I told you she was good!!! The above is only but a snippet.)

(...my effort!)

Another cake…

I think I’m obsessed. I may be in need of some ice-a-cake anonymous therapy. What are your thoughts?

I confess I love the satisfying feeling that comes with seeing the finished product. I love it. I think I’m good at it (by amateur standards - no expert of course). Ok, so I don’t particularly love seeing the kitchen in disarray; mixing bowls strewn everywhere; an array of coloured icing all over my hands, clothes and face. I could probably do without the sore feet that come with standing barefoot on tiles for an extended period. Then there’s the sore back that comes from bending at an awkward position. Hmmmm, the extra calories that come with ‘mandatory’ testing to ensure the cake mixture/icing is just so, probably aren't needed.

I could do with out ‘all of the above’ but then there would be no cake. No cake for me to sit back and ooohhhh over. No Nicole masterpiece. I do love seeing it take shape. I love Trevor telling me how good it is – “that looks great babe”. I love Byron’s expressions when he first sees it which, of it self is evidence that I have done something right…it must look like what it’s supposed to!?

Today we had a Christmas dinner at my sister’s place. I volunteered (as I did for my mother’s group party) to bring the cake. Any excuse. Given I made a Christmas tree cake two weeks ago I thought I would try Santa. I thought he turned out pretty good – the effect was there and he seemed to be a hit for dinner. You’ve gotta be happy with that!

That's it for a while. No more birthdays on the horizon. No more special events to write home about. I might start thinking about what I can make for Lily's 2nd birthday in 8 months time. Geepers! Only 8 months to go!!

My Water Babies

I look back on my childhood and fondly remember the time I spent in the pool. Now we didn’t have an in ground pool or anything but we did have an above ground one for a while which regularly got used. I remember summer holidays and going to the beach. Mum used to make a point of taking us to Amazons Water Park every year when we were younger and it was so much fun. I can only hope my kids have as fond a memory of water as I did. Trev was a great lifesaver back in the day (ie. teens and early twenties) so I guess there’s hope for some talent, especially if genes play a part.

I would say at the outset that for the most part my kids, in particularly Lily, are water babies. I’m not sure why seeing as though we don’t have a pool and the only regular swimming they undertake is at lessons once a week – it must be the genes! Lily has been doing swimming lessons since she was around 12 weeks old. Byron has been doing them on and off since he was around 15 months.

Last Sunday when we were at Byron’s mothers group little Christmas party (when we should have been at the Wiggles) the kids went swimming. Byron had a blast and begged and begged for one very last swim (it’s a small consolation I guess that Byron had fun on Sunday notwithstanding missing the Wiggles). You couldn’t keep Lily away from the water. She tried her dandiest to get there, which is a pretty scary thought when you think about it.

Lily is what I would term a natural. She has no fear what so ever of water and loves (and I mean loves) to swim under the water. She tries as often as she can to pop that head under. She has now taken to diving in the pool from a standing position, which I think is very clever.

Byron is progressing along nicely too. He can now play around in the pool without ‘help’ although constant supervision is a must. His swimming technique has improved immensely over the last year which I am very happy about.

It’s a comforting thought to know that my kids are learning swimming and doing well with water techniques. I guess now I have to make a point of taking them to the beach to get them accustomed to that. I don’t think Lily has even been (naughty, naughty!).

For what it's worth, Lily is definitely one to watch…

Frame Stage...complete!

We have a frame!

*happy dance*

I can hardly believe that we've made it this far. It feels like it has taken an eternity to get to this point (although it probably hasn't in comparison to others). It’s such a relief to get to this stage before the Christmas break (if truth be told I just wanted to have something to visit on my Christmas break – a slab was no where near as much fun).

We have had the frame part for a good week now but they were waiting on the trusses to arrive. I’m pleased to advise they arrived yesterday. So now, we have a framed house complete with roof.

It’s rather exciting walking around the place imagining your family living there; your furniture placed just so. Seeing it on paper is completely different to walking through walls. My soon to be brother-in-law nabbed some plaster’s chalk from another house being built and drew in furniture. That was strange. At first there were some disappointments with the size of a few rooms but we're past that now. I guess that's to be expected especially when you have only seen what is on paper.

It’s our first real home and I just can’t wait to get in there.

Next is the roof. Apparently, that is to go on sometime around the 9th, 10th and 11th of January. I can’t wait!

Stay tuned...

The Perfect Performance

Yesterday Byron had his first ever little concert – his kinda dance performance.

I had known about the little performance for nearly two months and had made sure, that in between my busy working week, I didn’t miss it. I took the whole day off and geez it was worth it. I couldn’t wipe the smile of my face. Watching him do (or tyring to do) a pirouette with pointed toes was absolutely priceless. All the littlies were delightful.

I loved how one of the little kids just stood there in the line, chewing his fingers doing nothing – off with the pixies. I loved how some of them had no clue what they were really doing (I think Byron was in that category) but yet had smiles as wide as could be, indicative of sheer enjoyment. I loved how the kids wouldn’t take their eyes of the teacher making sure they didn’t miss a beat.

His little show went for half an hour and comprised of 5 little songs. I loved the ballet and the 'never smile at a crocodile' song but my overall favourite was the love song - '1, 4, 3, 2 say I love you', I had happy tears along with all the other gushing mothers (and fathers) in the audience.

Watching my kid up there giving it a go is the best thing ever. He was such a cutie pie. I was gushing with joy and to a great extent still am (I have watched the little video of the performance on my computer no less then 5 times). I’m so looking forward to all the fun events the future holds with me as spectator and my kids as the stars.

I’m such an idiot!

I could kick myself, cry and scream all in the one breathe.

I’m so angry with myself it’s not funny.

We had front row tickets to the Wiggles, which I pre-purchased back in June. I thought the concert was on Sunday 23rd but it wasn’t...IT WAS YESTERDAY!

I missed the concert. I simply cannot believe I could be so stupid?!!! Argh!!!

I’m so disappointed. Our saving grace is that we didn’t tell Byron about the concert. We were going to surprise him and tell him on the way there. Thankfully he doesn’t know that he won’t be going. Thank fully we won’t have to deal with the tears and tribulations of missing such an important event.

Aside from throwing $90 down the drain, I’m bitterly disappointed that I won’t get to see his face and feel his excitement. I’m truly sorry I missed it.

I’m such an idiot!

*sigh*

Mental note: trying to remember all the important events of this year’s festivities, work and everything else which has to be remembered, in my head, isn’t a good idea. I think I need to employ a better strategy.

Monsters, Madness and Scooby Doo!

Byron has a new interest. He likes monsters and spooky kinda things. If truth be told, he has always expressed some interest in all things spooky for as long as I can remember. It took us a whole month after Halloween before he would stop talking about it (and we didn’t do Halloween – it was what he had seen and heard on television).

If he sees monsters in books it evokes discussion. Similarly he will talk incessantly about them if he sees them on TV. Did I mention that he also sees them (or so he thinks) in his room at night – I get the impression he mightn’t be so fond of the ones in the cupboard.

It seems we have found the perfect television show that is akin to his new found interest, and that is Scooby Doo. It was just by chance that we came upon the show. It was a day when the ol’ favourite Spongebob had finished and alas the boy wasn’t happy. There was nothing he wanted to watch on Nick Jnr or Disney Playhouse so we just kept on flicking and came upon the Flintstones (my ol’ fave). He watched happily but regrettably it ended shortly after. We just left the station on and he kept watching with Scooby Doo on next. From that point on, he hasn’t looked back.

It’s the only show that has him mesmerised. He is literally in love. It’s Shaggy this and Scooby that. He talks about the mummies, monsters, and everything in between. He tells us about the plot and sings the theme song. He has loved television shows, like Bananas in Pyjamas, Spongebob and Little Einsteins, but never on this scale. I guess the show just interests him.

In a way it is refreshing that a show made in 1969 can elicit the same type of joy, if not more, than a show created today. I loved Scooby when I was a kid. I remember my brother having Scooby sheets as a youngster.

Whilst we have no downstairs TV (it blew up) he happily sits in our room before bed and watches an episode or 2 (there is 2 straight hours of Scooby at night but he doesn’t know that). I love how he calls out my name, for reassurance that I’m around, when the ‘scary’ bits come on.

Fingers crossed, he enjoys it for years to come, like I did too.

I’m an Aunty again!

Welcome to the World
Bronte Ann

...a little sister to Ashlie, born today at 11.05am weighing in at a tiny 2.6kgs.

Awwhhhh how I wish I could give you lots of kisses and cuddles and Byron and Lily could too. Alas, the joys of living interstate. *sniff* *sniff*

Wishing you a life full of happiness, laughter and love. Sending big cuddles and kisses your way my sweet niece.

Aunty Nic xx

Moving in a completely different tangent, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to note Byron’s antics of today. I think its high time Byron refrains from wrestling with his little friends at kindy...there are reasons why it's forbidden. I don’t want to see any more carpet burn on his back or fat lips for that matter.

When did it arrive?

The last few weeks have flown by in such a flurry I have no idea where the months have gone. I simply cannot believe that Christmas is only two weeks away. If truth be told, I did know it was well on the way, having put up my Christmas tree in late November. The thing is, when I put up my Christmas tree it was still 5 weeks until Christmas and now it’s two!

In two weeks I’ll have to manage to work fulltime in the busiest of working weeks (everybody wants everything now – before Christmas). I’ll have to do the remaining of my Christmas shopping – hmmm I don’t think ‘remaining’ is the right word since that would denote I have done most of my shopping which is a lie. I’ll have to get in the Christmas spirit some more because it seems a little bit low at the moment. I need to get a Santa photo with the kids (I did get one earlier but I’m not a big fan). Then there are the parties and functions to attend, in between normal life.

*sigh*

We had our mother’s group party today which was a blast. I really do love my mother’s group – they are a fantastic bunch of ladies and the babies (or should I say toddlers) are the cutest around town. They still include me in all the things and events even though I don’t get to go very often, if at all (fingers crossed that will change in the New Year). They also make an effort with Byron too which is wonderful as I'm the only one with two children in the group.

We had a big feast and the children each got one present, worth $50 – one parent got one child to buy for. Lily got a dolly set and a pink chatter phone. Byron got a big construction set, following which he so aptly said “Santa doesn’t need to bring me one of these now because I already got one”. I was on cake duty for the party. I volunteered for that role. I was a little disheartened when all the birthday duties were over for the year that I was just dying to make another. I made a Christmas tree and was pretty happy with the result if I do say so myself.

...Now to enjoy what's left of the silly season.

My Favourite Photo

I have literally taken thousands of photos with my camera over the years since Byron entered my life. Consequently, I have thousands of photos. There are some that I hate (mainly the ones of me). There are some that I like. Some that make me laugh. Some that make me all gooey with love and then there are some that I just adore.

Without a doubt though, I would have to say, this photo rates as one of my all time favourites.

(My Byron at 15 months)

I can not explain why I love it as much as I do. Maybe it's the simplicity or the 'naturalness'. I don't know! I simply adore it. Thanks to the lovely Karen it's even more beautiful then it was originally.

It's a house!

We have a slab. It's no longer just land but part of a house!

I'm so relieved it's started. Next, there will be a frame and then a roof and then...one day a home; our home.

I can barely contain my excitment.

Just had to share...

Bring on tomorrow...but don't rain!!!!!!

*happy dance*

Oh, and one more thing...special mention to my sister Natalie and her now fiance Ross. They got engaged last night, on her birthday. I'm so happy for them. The biatch got a 1.25ct ring *green with envy*. Now I have another wedding to go too. Woohooo!!!

Photography

I acquired some editing software this weekend (the lovely Photoshop) and oh my! I’m in love! It's truly amazing the type of stuff you can do in these programs. No wonder all the pros' photos look so damn good.

I was out with the camera this weekend and shot some more pics. Here they are…(special mention to the lovely Karen for her black and white ‘pop’).

Not bad, considering I don’t have a DSLR.

Keeping with photography, we got some professional shots taken today. I can’t wait to see how they turned out. We travelled out to some beautiful gardens so there should be some half decent shots if location is anything to go by. The location was great but I can’t say the same for Byron. He was so cranky; didn’t want to take photos and when he did, put on this cheesy horrible fake smile. Lily was a right angel on the other hand until the end.

Mental Note: Do family shots at the beginning…not the end! I don't think we got any half decent ones at all. *sigh*

Finger’s crossed some turn out well.