Time flys when you're having fun...

Wow, I can't believe it's nearly been a month since my last entry! How slack am I? I have no idea where I left off or even where to begin now...It's not that I have been exceptionally busy or anything it's just taking the time out to sit here and do this, as sometimes it can take me an hour to write this blog...there are just so many other things that constantly need doing! I don't even know if there are still any followers of this anymore due to my slackness...Oh well.
First of all I just wanted to say very BIG HAPPY 40TH to Tracy for a couple of weeks back. Glad to hear you had a great time and just want you to know that we love you heaps.
Now back to what's been going on here...well this is all going to be a bit muddled up I think but I'll try and get it all right...
Ian and I have decided to go on a major health kick, which at first the kids weren't too opposed to, until they got sick and tired of eating fruit and veges all day, every day. I got my hands on this book called, 'Slim for Life' by Jason Vale, and it has either brain washed me or really woken me up to what we are really doing to our bodies in a big way. If you haven't read it, please do as you will be totoally amazed at some of the stuff we are consuming which probably should be deemed illegal! Seriously! Ian and I have been wanting to do something drastic like this for a while and now that I have read this book and tell all of the facts to Ian, we are hooked! Yaz is telling me that I have totally ruined her enjoyment of food as I tell her about all of the parasites she is feeding when she is eating white bread etc...but it's important to know!...Anyway I won't go on about it, but do yourself and your bodies a favour and give this a read.
At the moment, all of us are in great health! No issues, no complaints...and I am touching wood as I type...
Yaz's football team made it into the semi's but unfortuantely lost their game on the weekend. It was close and had extra time etc...but it's now all over for this season for them. Bails has also finished Rugby and he still continues with his swimming every week though whereas Yaz hasn't got anything lined up yet...we are looking into getting her into a touch football comp but have to find one somewhere...Bails is however taking up Wrestling! Not the commercial type that he watches but the Olympic sport. We were told that we could go down to the place where they hold it in Brisbane for a trial, and we've been down twice now and it wasn't on for whatever reason! Third time lucky this weekend though hopefully. He has been so excited about starting too.
We have had to purchase a new washing machine as ours died. Ian was going to try and fix it but we decided it wasn't worth it. We got a lovely front loader and it came with a free iron worth $90 too! I was a very happy lady walking out of that shop after out purchase! That makes me sound sad doesn't it but I have seriously been really enjoying doing the washing and ironing since!...maybe I need a hobby...
Mum is moving in a few weeks, out of the house that she has lived in for 30 years! It's good and bad I guess. She seems O.K. about it though, I've certainly shed some tears for her and our family home and the pets buried in that back yard...She is moving into another home not too far from where she was, and it will be a more convenient location for her for the bus service and shops etc...and she will be nearly directly opposite some good friends of ours so that makes me feel O.K. as I know they will look out for her. I will go and help her move in a couple of weeks, just head down on my own for 2-3 days. I can't stay up here knowing what she's doing as I feel I should be there with her anyway...yep, still having trouble dealing with the fact that we don't have family around. I can't seem to get over it.
My heart goes out to my friend Robert, who had surgery last week to remove a brain tumour. I am praying for you and know that you will pull through this as you have so many people that love and care about you x
This weekend is Fathers Day and we are going to see Jimmy Barnes in concert in the evening with our good friends, Nicky and Sean. Ian, Sean and I are big fans, Nicky not at all unfortunately but I know she will enjoy it as the atmosphere alone will be incredible! Not sure what we're doing during the day, no doubt a big brekkie will be in order, maybe head down to the water with some friends or something? I'll post some photos of whatever we do anyway.
Shane and Julian come up next month so we are all looking forward to that. They will be up here for a week and a bit so I will get a little bit of my family fix...
So that's about it, well not really as I have missed out on so much but that's probably all the important stuff that I've remembered anyway. I know I will get off this and in a couple of hours think of something quite significant that I should've put on here...oh well.
Will definitely try again next week to tell you all about Ian's Father's Day. If you're reading this, thanks for hanging in there and being loyal xxxx

HUMAN AFTER ALL!

Well, I guess all hope was on little Bailey for being the only one in this family without any issues...well he has proven to be human after all, he ended up getting the flu! Not surprised really after all of us being ill with something and to be totally honest, everywhere you go at the moment you find people sneezing, coughing etc...it's a very unhealthy period for most of us I think?! He ended up having three days off school and just being so full of cold and he still hasn't lost his cough either. He did go back to school today however but it certainly took it out of him. He wasn't able to play rugby on the weekend either and won't be going swimming tonight. So that's all of us now that's had something. I am sniffling and just bearing a sore throat now so I may now be coming down with it...I hope not. I went into work this morning and had to wear a face mask for my clients who didn't mind, made me feel silly but if that's what it takes to prevent sharing my lurgy with other people and still being able to work, then so be it.
So not much has really happened as we've kind of been stuck indoors. I had to have time off work with Bailey during the week. Yaz played soccer on the weekend which Ian took her too as I stayed in with Bailey...oh I know something else that happened! Our washing machine is now not working so on both days of the weekend I had to go to the local Laudry Service to do my washing! Bailey came with me on the first day and we were so bored. We ended up walking to the shops and getting a drink and then waited for nearly an hour for the machines to finish. Ian and I are deciding whether to bite the bullet and get a new machine or he's thinking about fixing this one himself...my very handy man that he is!
What else is there?...Ian's still not back at football. He may return soon but I'm not sure yet. His leg is feeling quite good now though. I went back to the gym this week after having about three months off and I have been so sore all week, which just made me realise what muscles haven't been worked for soooo long! As soon as this sniffle goes I'll head back in there.
Yaz has a 'touch football' tournament this coming weekend in a place called, 'Toowoomba', which is about 2 hours west of Brisbane and at this time of the year, it is freezing!!! I will be taking her on Sunday as Ian will take Bailey to rugby so we have to leave at 6am to get there on time. It's an all day thing too so we are getting all of our warmest gear out to help cope with the windy town of Toowoomba. I took Bailey to it last year and we froze! At least I know what to expect this year.
I am just about to sign up for an introductory course into 'Oncology Massage'. This should be really interesting actually, full on... but interesting. It's not until October but I shall secure my place now as I don't want to miss out.
I can't think of anything else...this coming week will be interesting for one or two reasons, if I can talk about them next entry then I will...stay tuned! xxxx

Good News!

I'm touching wood as I type, but we have had some really good news! As any of my readers are now aware, we have had some health issues going on between all of us , bar Bailey. Well ,Yaz has had the all-clear with her hip. Apparently it is loose ligaments and her hip will stablise as she gets older and grows into it...sort of. She just has to keep exercising and she is NOT to pop it out as her 'party trick' on purpose. So no operation is necessary and we are all so relieved. I get myself so wound up and I'm silly because I google to try and find diagnosis's...which is probably the worst thing you can do as you get hit with the worst case scenarios of the conditions! You don't even want to know where I got to in my head with Yaz's hip...but let me tell you I had sleepless nights of worry. Ian tells me all the time not to google it as he knows how worked up I get about things but I guess I like to know everything so that when I am at the Dr.s, I'm all clued up on what they're telling me! I also had some good news with my Haemotologist. My white cell count had gone up, slightly but enough for the Dr. to delay a bone marrow test...phew!!! Apparently I just have something called Neutropenia which comes in three stages-mild, medium and severe...guess which one I have, the severe one of course! It will always come and go and nothing in particlar sets it off so I now have to have 3 monthly blood tests just to keep an eye on the levels as I dropped to quite a critical stage at one point where if I got the slightest infection I could have turned septic!...lovely!!! So at least I know what the deal is and there really isn't anything I can do to prevent it but I just have to be sensible in managing it and getting plenty of rest when I know it's low again, which I can always tell as I just get completely zapped of energy, get headaches and under my eyes turn black, even if I get more than enough sleep! So we're all really happy that we're all O.K. as such and no more worrying...for now anyway!
Ian's hamstring is slowly getting better. He's been very smart and hasn't even tried to have a run around on it. I will try and break some of the scar tissue down now as it's not as painful anymore and get him on the mend as best as can be.
We were really sorry to hear about Dad's incident and pray for a speedy recovery and hope that you rest as much as possible and take things a bit easy! We're thinking of you and really believe that an Aussie holiday will make you all better! ;)
Bailey is in the middle of a dilemma...what to play for a summer sport. He doesn't want to do cricket anymore and we have thrown so many ideas at him and he's just not that interested! He is slightly keen on either tennis or touch football so we will try and get him into one of those. He will also be going back to the kids gym classes next week, which is only once a week and he will also be continuing swimming once a week too. It probably sounds like we're pushing him into doing something but we just want our children to give everything a go so that they know for themselves what they like and don't like. Also his metabolism is a little slower than normal and so he needs to burn things off quicker. Maybe I'm just being paranoid about Australia being the leaders of childhood obesity but we just want our kids to be as healthy and active as can be...for their own benefits. Yaz will try and get into touch footy for summer too and wants to pursue swimming again, which I'm really happy about as she is a fantastic little swimmer but we never pushed her into doing it, she had to want to and now she does. She has given just about everything a go and now knows what she likes and what she's good at.
I have also started back at the gym after having about 3 months off. I did my first workout today and felt physically ill after. It will take me a while I think to get to any decent level again, but I'm not going to push it as I know it's not worth it.
I still haven't got photos of Yaz's new haircut, I'll try again this week.
Yaz had her athletics carnival at school and did exceptionally well in it, despite having the flu! She was off for three days and wasn't right when she had to compete but she didn't want to miss out! She came first in high jump, triple jump and long jump....all with an unstable hip too! She's quite miraculous really!
Bailey had a 'Learning Celebration' at school last Friday. It was a little showcase of the work they've done this year so far and they put together a presentation. He did a speech on why Australia is the Lucky Country and I was very proud of him as he spoke clearly and had memorised almost all of it so had great eye contact with the audience. I'm just so proud of both of my children. They put in so much effort into everything and both really want to achieve high!
I think that's about all of the important stuff. We just want Dad to know that we were concerned and again, hope that you're taking it easy. Let's see if next weeks can be a 'drama-free' entry...it's certainly been a while since I've had one of those!
Wishing all of you good health and happiness xxx

POURING!!!...but not a drop of rain in sight!

When it rains it pours here...in this family anyway!...nothing to do with the weather! There seems to be one thing after another at the moment with no end in sight! Where do I begin? I'll write about all of the good stuff first before I even start on the dramas...

It's been two weeks since my last entry...sounds like a confession doesn't it?...and we have had Mum here visiting which has been simply splendid! She has been trying to do everything for me and won't sit still for a second! She has cooked and made her lovely fudge, cupcakes, rock cakes, etc...and I'm sure we have all put on about 3kg in 2 weeks! I think that was her plan...to fatten me up as I had lost a few kg recently from not being well. We haven't been able to do too much as I have been working still but Mum says that she came up here just wanting to spend time with us all. She has taken the kids to the movies and we have been down to Redcliffe a couple of times, having lunch, going to the markets etc...She goes home on Tuesday and the time has just flown by! I can't believe it has been two weeks already!!! Mum is really well though and looks great. I'm still trying to convince her to make the move up here...

During Mum's stay I was out two nights with pre-booked events to attend. One was the Wrestling with Bailey which Ian refused to take him too. I wasn't looking forward to it but we had a great night and it was really entertaining! Bailey had an absolute ball and maybe his excitement and enthusiasm was all I needed to enjoy it. The other event was seeing French and Saunders with Yaz, tickets that we both got from Ian for our birthdays. We went last night and it was hilarious! They were soooo funny and we just loved the show so much. I still laugh at some of the stuff they did...very worthwhile indeed.

So...back to the 'other stuff'...Ian played football last Friday night...even though I told him not to due to his recovering chronic knee condition...anyway if he had listened to me he wouldn't have torn his hamstring as bad as he did! He was only on for 10 minutes and it went on him. You should see the bruising! If it wasn't up into the groin area I would've taken a photo of it and shown you! His whole leg at the back is black! He has also obviously been in agony from it too with lots of inflammation. He has had to take the whole week off work as he can barely sit let alone drive, pick up heavy items and get on and off the back of his ute...and use the clutch in the ute! He's been elevating it and icing it and I personally thought he should see a physio but he won't...and just when he is thinking of heading back to work tomorrow, he's now come down with a sore throat and cold! Yazmin has also been to the Dr.s...she has the ability to literally 'pop' her hip out from the socket, quite easily. One side more than the other but both sides for sure. She thought this was normal and actually didn't bring it to our attention until a little while ago. Anyway, we were out shopping the other day and the right hip dislocated and she was in agony! She couldn't pop it back in like she normally does with ease, it took her a while and she couldn't move! So I made her an appointment with my Dr. who sent her for an x-ray straight away and the results of the x-ray are that she has very loose ligaments that aren't supporting her hip joint properly and it is getting slightly worn from the constant grinding happening. Yaz's hip is also starting to give her pain too and the Dr said that if we don't get it sorted now, she will inevitably get arthritis at a very early age. We have to take her to a specialist, in which I will make the appointment tomorrow morning. I don't know what's in store for Yaz, hopefully just an exercise regime in which she has to strenghten the supporting muscles but there is always the chance of an operation too...will keep you updated! I had my Haemotologist appointment at the hospital during the week and they sent me for more blood tests to rule out basically anything and everything...from auto-immune diseases to leukaemia. I had 11 vials of blood taken and will get the results in just over a week. If my white cells are still drastically low and everything else comes back negative, then they will send me for a bone marow test to get to the bottom of it. I am keeping everything crossed that my test will come back normal as I am actually feeling really well now, so hoping that whatever hit me was just a virus and that it's all over...will keep you updated! I feel like a bit of a contortionist at the moment having everything crossed for everyone's ailments! Touch wood...that Bailey remains as healthy as he is as there is not a thing wrong with him. Even Mum got a little sick being here, had a cold and a cough...just visiting us makes you sick now!

Yaz had a lovely haircut the other day. She has been umming and ahhing about getting the chop for a while now and finally did it. It sits just below her hairline, not quite shoulder length and is slightly layered all over with face defining layers also. She looks absolutely stunning!...and about 3 years older! She had gorgeous hair before and I wasn't sure if she would like it but we said that we wouldn't know unless she got it done and thankfully she loves it. She is soooo pretty anyway and really could get away with anything! I will take a photo of it for next weeks entry. Bailey got his cut too as it was getting quite lengthy and he is now short at the back and has a lengthy side fringe which looks really cute. Yaz tried to convince him to get a Zac Effron style but Bailey wouldn't have a bar of it.

This coming week is back to reality with Mum leaving on Tuesday, the children back at school on Tuesday, Ian back to work-hopefully, and my life of working, cleaning, cooking, taxiing my kids around etc...I'm not complaining though as I love my life and my family and wouldn't have it any other way...well maybe having a heathy family would make things easier but then we wouldn't be who we are and I wouldn't have this weekly drama to write about for you. Wishing you all a happy and healthy week and if you could throw some our way we would really appreciate it...also if you could keep everything crossed for our ailments too we would appreciate that also xxxx

Interesting?....not really...

An interesting week I guess with not a great deal happening...maybe not really all that interesting actually! If you read last weeks entry, you would know that the childrens school was closed due to having 1 positive swine flu case...well we all got messages Monday afternoon saying that the school had now been cleared and the children could all go back the following day...do you think they were impressed? Not at all...although in saying that, with the holidays only have just begun, Yaz was complaining today that she would rather be at school than not do much in the holidays! The children bought home their reports on Friday and I must say, both Ian and I are very impressed indeed with both of them. Their remarks and grades were excellent. I never do doubt that at report time though. I know they are both fantastic kids who are well behaved and do as they're told...at school!
So with them being back at school, the week went back to it's normal self, with normal day-to-day things happening. Ramses had his stitches out on Tuesday and all was good there.
Ian had another week not playing soccer due to his knee...did I mention last week that he had injured it again, this time it flared up quite significantly? I think it did. Anyway I think he is taking it for what it is and being sensible about not playing on it...still can't get him to the Dr.s about it but I will. It's unfortunately only a matter of time before it becomes a permanent pain in the bottom for him. His ear infection seems to have also settled right down which is good. So apart from the knee, no real complaints with Ian and no other news really. He's still just doing his same job and being the wonderful man that he is.
Yesterday I went to the Mind, Body and Spirit Festival with Nicky and we had a great time. I could have spent soooo much money but all I bought was a mood ring for Yaz and I and some heat packs for work. I also got Bailey an Earth ball and unfortunately couldn't find anything for Ian...not his type of thing! We enjoyed wondering around looking at all the different stalls with crystals, jewellery, body products, books, courses, candles etc...with some very unique characters. I got spiritually blessed in the way of healing and we went into a couple of seminars where we meditated and had some kind of medium-ship done...nothing too extra-ordinary though. It was great though but the whole time all I could think about was if Ian had gone and how much he would have laughed at what and who was there with his wise cracks etc...Unfortunately I had this in mind when I was meditating and had to control myself so that I wouldn't laugh out loud!
Yaz had a soccer match yesterday afternoon which they unfortunatley lost in. It was quite chilly at the ground and since I had come straight from the festival I was only dressed in a 3/4 length dress and boots and wasn't warm enough at all so I took Bailey home just before half time where the hot chocolates and marshmallows came in very handy!
Today has been a mega chill-out day and we have done nothing, apart from some housework...but I am still in my pj's and it is 5.30pm...bliss! I was supposed to go grocery shopping but I will do it tomorrow instead. Mum arrives tomorrow morning so we all can't wait for that. Have to be up at 5.00am though! That will be interesting as I never see that time of day! I will hopefully have some photos to put up next week of our time with Mum.
On a final note, we would just like to wish the beautiful Jade a very Happy Birthday and hope you spent the day doing everything you wanted to do. Love ya xxxx

SWINE FLU HITS!

As the title reads, Swine Flu has hit our community. The outbreak over here is spreading like crazy. There is no way it can really be contained and now we are in the midst of all of the hype. The first we knew about it was Friday afternoon. I was at work, just finishing with my last client of the day when I got a message telling me that the kids school was being evacuated as there was 1 reported case of a student, positive to the flu. The school is now closed for this coming week, which leads straight into the school holidays the following week, so all in all, the children now have 3 weeks off school! They're not worried in the slightest, although Yaz is a bit eager to get some exam results back and their school reports were supposed to come home, but apart from that, they're pretty much cheering! In saying all of that though, Bailey wasn't allowed to play Rugby today as the children are now supposed to be in quarantine for the next week. Yaz, however, was allowed to play in her soccer match yesterday, as long as none of the school students showed any signs of the flu. I am not sure what will happen with work this week as I guess Ian and I are considered to be at risk now too, but we are all fine with no symptoms at all but I guess if I make my clients aware that my children MAY have been exposed, then it is up to them to make their own decisions about being at risk. I personally don't see what all the hype is about. I know it is a bad flu but there is only 1 reported case of death over here at the moment and that was because the poor man had other immune deficient problems at the time. Really any flu is risky and this is just another type we now have to try and fight. I will have to phone Bailey's swimming tomorrow to see if he is allowed to go there. There are so many schools closed at the moment due to this and if that many people are at risk, then it's useless trying to contain it because there are too many communities already exposed. Half of the time people that have it don't know they've got it anyway! I know of so many people that have been ill lately with sore throats, bad colds, chills etc...but just stay at home and rest it out. Even the local hospitals are saying it's ridiculous with all of the panic and are telling people not to bother going into them, which is what we've been advised to do by the Government. In saying all of this though, I do pray that there are no more fatalaties and I do hope my personal point of view isn't too blaze about it all, as if it so happened that I got it, I would probably end up in hospital due to having a very low immune system, which of course I don't want to happen. We'll see what the next couple of weeks brings but there's no point in panicking anyway. Mum is coming up next week by train and she said she will be wearing a mask all the way up. I told her that she is coming straight into Swine Flu territory so maybe she will be masking it the whole time she's here?
As you can guess I am sooooo very excited about having Mum come up. She arrives next Monday morning around 6.30am in Brisbane, so it will be a very early start for us. Can't wait!!!!
So apart from the Swine flu news, I just want to congratulate my cousin Matt in England who won the U.K Royal Mail Award last Friday! We are so very proud of you as it is a huge achievement. Well done.
Also I would like to wish Dad Laslett a very Happy Fathers Day for today in England! I hope you had a relaxing day surrounded by your wonderful family getting spoilt!
I would also like to congratulate my beautiful friend Nicky for graduating from college and is now a Massage Therapist! Well done to you and I know you will LOVE this industry! You'll be a guaranteed success!
Ramses went to the vet during the week just for a check-up. Alls good with him and his stitches come out this coming Tuesday. So just 1 more day of struggling with him to get him into his carry cage...I always come off second best!
Ian was at the Dr.s this week too! Now you know Ian's not well when he actually asks to get an appointment with a Dr.! He has been suffering on and off for a few months with terrible ear aches. He got some prescribed drops for it a while back and has been using them occasionally when it flares up but it got to the point where he was in quite a bit of discomfort and pain, so anyway, it's still basically the same infection that keeps on coming back and he has to use the drops constantly, even when he doesn't feel any discomfort for a while until it is completely cleared up! Glad it was nothing else anyway. He seems to be on top of it at the moment.
Apart from that, the only other thing we have done this week is we went to Nicky and Seans for lunch today which was lovely. We ended up playing trivial pursuit, boys against girls...boys won! Didn't they make us know it too! It was fun though. We ended up playing a bit of cards afterwards too until it was time to come home.
So I'm not really sure what this week brings apart from Ramses getting his stitches out. On the weekend though there is a Mind, Body and Spirit festival in Brisbane which Nicky and I are going to. I am really looking forward to that actually. I'm in my element surrounded by all of that type of stuff!
Hope you all have a happy and healthy week anyway xxxx

In stitches...

Well this week has bought poor little Ramses into the all important headlines...He has had to under go a little operation, due to being beaten up...again! Poor little thing. After being cooped up for the long weekend at the cattery, he came home and just wanted some freedom. So after spending an hour or so inside, he then ventured outside, late afternoon...and didn't return home until around 11.00pm! Very late and very naughty!!!! It wasn't until the next day that I noticed that he had a slight limp and a stiff neck, which I tried to massage out. I began my search over his body to try to find out what was going on but he kept flinching when I got to his front leg. As much as I tried I could only very slightly glimpse some pinkness on the inside of this leg, knowing that it was a wound of some sort. The next day he didn't even ask to go outside and was very quiet indeed and still wouldn't let me go near him. I held him down a little just to see again what was going on and this is when I noticed a big flap of skin hanging down and his muscle underneath exposed! I was completely horrified! Anyway, to cut a long story short, he had been in another fight obviously, went to the vet who then scheduled him in for the follwoing morning to get his wound cleaned and stitched up. During the operation they also found a few other scratches etc...over him. All went well though and he now has about 5 stitches in his front leg but obviously feeling alot better for it as he's playful again and back to his usual self. We have now banned him from going outside until mid-morning, and then out no later than 4 or 5pm. He doesn't seem to have an issue with this at the moment...
Bailey is one happy little camper today as he finally got some tickets to see the WWE wrestling when they tour in July. He has been devastated that we never got tickets initially for him and I think has looked on-line every week since to see if any more tickets had been released. Due to his enthusiasm and not wanting to give up, he asked to check again this morning and thinking that there would be no different result, he went on and came rushing in to us a million miles an hour, eyes as wide as anything, saying that there were some tickets available NOW! I double checked and he was right. I don't know if they released some later tickets but we were able to get 2 tickets to the wrestling...in which Ian insisted that I go this time...don't think it was his 'cup of tea' last year. The tickets aren't brilliant but the fact that he is going is enough for Bailey...looks like I'll be going to the wrestling...never in a million years would I have seen this day coming! Although I think at that time, Mum will be up visiting so I could always send her along?.....joke!
As you guessed, Mum is making plans to come up in the next two weeks. This is going to be like Xmas to me as I've really needed her in my life so much lately, more than usual. She will come up for the school holidays, probably for the two weeks hopefully. Although I feel bad as the first weekend, Bailey and I will be at the Wrestling on the Sunday night and then the following weekend Yaz and I are going to French and Sauders on the Saturday night! Ian is left to be the perfect, gentlemanly host...which I have no question that he would be any different anyway. I think Mum also wants to see how I am as she knows I haven't been that well lately so she has been worrying about me, which I know is only natural but I certainly don't want to stress her in any way. She is happy that she will be here when I go to my Haemotologist appointment in July. In the meantime, since I am kind of freaking out about getting a bone marrow test, I am trying to boost my immune system up by obviously eating extremely healthy but also taking some supplements to help me along the way too. I met up with a friend during the week whom I haven't seen a great deal of lately and she basically told me how I have been looking very drawn and pale and tired for a while now, which I am hearing from quite a number of people. I am just over being like this and hope that whatever is causing this will all be over soon, not just for my sake but for everyone around me sakes.I am thinking positive about it and know that it will all be O.K. At least now I have a month of not being prodded or scanned etc...so I think this little medical break will do me the world of good!
Ian has a niggling knee injury...again! Due to playing football Friday night. It's swollen up as usual and is causing him alot of discomfort...again. He really needs to see someone about it as it's not going to get any better any time soon, or at all as we think it's wear and tear cartilage damage. Something not to be taken lightly. We are like an old married couple at the moment with our little medical stories and aches and pains. I'm just hoping that we go through it all now and then live a very happy and healthy life after all of this is sorted out!
Both of the children are fine...touch wood...the way things are going I don't want to jinx them!
Since moving into this house, there are things that I realise that I haven't unpacked yet, like my 'birthday diary'! I know it's all boxed up still in the garage...with about 20 other boxes still piled up...so if I happen to miss anyones birthday or be late in sending anything, I apologise sincerely. I'm hoping that this hasn't happened yet but if it does then it just means that I haven't come across my book yet and I can't remember everyones exact birthdays...I used to but not anymore...it's Ian now reminding me of them and that's very unusual!
Anyway, I think that's all that really happened during the week, apart from the usual work, school, sport etc...One week I will have nothing to write about as everything will be uneventful, no medical worries, no dramas...just a normal week at a normal pace...don't know when that week will be but it will be soon...and then you'll find me raving on about something totally irrelevant just to make a weekly entry...I shall look forward to that week x

Our weekend away

Today is Monday 8th June and we have just got back from a beautiful long weekend away from up the Coast, at a place called Sunshine Beach. It is such a beautiful, wonderful place that none of us wanted to return, well only to pick up Ramses from the cattery but that was all. The weather for the whole weekend was warm and sunny and perfect, hard to believe we are in Winter really! We stayed in a lovely apartment which was just a short stroll to the lovely beach. We were just 5 minutes out of Noosa which I am now thinking that this is my favourite place on the coast...Mooloolaba coming a very close second. We didn't get up to too much, just spent time on the beach, went into Noosa for a whole day, went out to dinner, went on walks and checked out lookouts along the way. The Friday was our wedding anniversary which is the main reason why we went away. Here are some photos like I promised from last week.





































There are loads more so I will add them to the Picassa Album that is linked to this page to your left. Overall our weekend was perfect. Putting Ramses in the cattery was the most stressful part. Ian and I took him down there on Friday morning and as soon as he was put in his little cage, he put his head under the blanket, peeped up, scared with his big eyes bulging, and then his head went straight back under. This really upset me and made me feel soooo guilty leaving him. I was crying and the lady told me I had separation anxiety and not to get upset in front of him as he would feel my emotions. I'm glad Ian was there to comfort me as I was very upset, poor thing. We were so excited about picking him up today and when we got there, the lasy told us that he had his head under the blanket the whole weekend and didn't make a sound! He thankfully ate but just kept to himself. He was very happy to come home, a little bit wary at first but is really settled now and has been back and forth, in and out all afternoon.
The week leading up to our weekend away was very stressful as I had all of those Dr.s appointments and tests etc...I have another specialist appointment this week and am waiting to hear from the hospital as I have to see a haemotologist as my white cells are very, very low and I may have to have a bone marrow test. This is so deja-vu of twelve years ago when I got sick for a few months. Hopefully it will just be another virus and nothing more. So I guess I got a bit overwhelmed with it all and ended up not feeling well enough to work Thursday and Friday, which always makes me feel bad for having to cancel appointments but I do have to look after my health at the moment and be smart about it.
This coming week should go very quickly indeed with it being a short week and will give me some answers with what's going on with me. Will let you know more when I know more. The weekend away was good for all of us for sooo many reasons and gave us all the physical and mental break we all needed. Back to reality I guess now....

Peace be with you!...

This past week has been busy but without too much happening... Monday was Bailey's 1st day in his new swimming class. He is now doing laps, one after the other and I think he found it very tiring, but he did it without having to stop. He was very red-faced at the end though but he enjoyed it too which is the main thing. He also has one of his mates now in his class which also adds to the excitement. Luckily he has a good swimming instructor who is kind but firm and won't allow them to mess about in the pool, not that Bailey would anyway. He always does as he is told!
Tuesday I had a specialist appointment and have been sent off to go for a few tests of sorts which I am off to this week and will know more in the following week. One thing after another...
Wednesday there is nothing in my diary. All I can remember is that Bailey went rugby training in the evening and I ended up in bed quite early as I had the worst headache. Apparently Yaz said that she tried asking me for help with her homework whilst I was in bed and I was like a dragon lady! Sorry Yaz! Don't actually remember too much about that...I was also supposed to go through some stretching with Ian to help him loosen up before his Friday soccer match, but that didn't happen either! I also had to go for some blood tests which left me with a huge bruise as my veins didn't want to be prodded and they had to use a child's needle to get the blood out. Will get the results for these this coming week.
Thursday I met a friend for coffee in the morning and then went shopping for a b'day pressie for another friend, then came home and did the housework and cooked dinner before going off to work that afternoon. Yaz was suppposed to go soccer training but had a headache and ended up staying in.
Friday I worked all day without a break for lunch or even a sip of water, picked the kids up from school and had to do some groceries, then had to rush home and put Ramses in his cage to take him to the vets for his yearly vaccinations which was a drama and I am now sporting some lovely arm scratches! Ian played football in the evening in which they lost 1-0. He came home and told me the score and obviously I wasn't really taking anything in and asked him if he scored...uh der! I do listen...just had an air-head moment...they seem to occur quite regularly lately! He is a little stiff and sore after the game so I will have to try and loosen it all up for him. Bailey came out of school feeling unwell and got worse as the night progressed. He is so cute, when he gets the onset of any cold/flu, he says, " Mum I don't feel well because my nose is hot...", how adorable is that?! That's his way of telling that he's getting ill.
I got a lovely surprise at work though. I massaged this lovely lady, who I have seen before and we got on really well. Anyway, her massage ended up being an hour and a half instead of an hour but obviously I only charged her for the hour as it was me that took my time etc...Anyway, when i finished work, the girls at reception handed me a bag which had a couple of gifts in it. It was from my client who I just mentioned and they were a 'thank-you' for giving extra time and care. She bought me a book we were talking about during her session and some incense. This was just such a beautiful thing to do. Totally unnecessary but it really touched me. Lately I've been thinking and feeling more about Universal enrgy etc...and healing crystals and more natural therapeutic approaches,(or hippy crap as Ian puts it), and this lady is into that also. It really inspired me into delving more into this. All weekend I have been joking around with Ian talking about the Universe and inner-goddesses etc...just to wind him up and he thinks I've lost the plot! We are so chalk and cheese when it comes to beliefs but that's O.K. It certainly makes life interesting. I have had the yearning of wanting to learn more so maybe this is the area I will go in to...I promise I haven't turned wierd or anything and I promise I won't end up in some cult...It's just an area of my life that I've always wanted to explore and expand. I have always been drawn to alternative shops and alternative therapies. I know it's not up every ones alley but that's O.K. too. We are all individuals....
Anyway, moving on...
...Saturday Yaz had no soccer so we just chilled. I did some groceries and went to the video store where we borrowed a whole heap of weeklys. Yaz took some horror films to her friends house that she stayed over at last night. Bailey and I watched one of his in the afternoon. By this stage he was really unwell with a sore throat, fever and extreme dizziness. I messaged his rugby manager and told them that he wouldn't be playing today. Ian did some stuff around the house and fixed the strimmer etc...then had his shower and got ready to go and watch some football match that was on at 12.00am at some guys house. He went to the bottle shop and got his supply. He then got all dressed, shoes on ready to go but had about 1/2 hour wait until he went so he sat on the couch...that was the end of him...he never ended up going anywhere. He was knackered poor thing. So he got changed and Bailey, Ian and I watched another of Bailey's dvd's together and Ian fell asleep. He ended up watching half of the football match on tv afterwards but came to bed at half time. It may have been a different story if Man-U were in the game...
So today was another chill-out day. We all got up mid-morning, I went and picked up Yaz from her friends, went to the shops for groceries...again...and am just about to embark on a mountain of ironing.
This week ahead is kind of exciting as on the Friday we are heading up the coast for the long weekend. Ramses has to go into a cat boarding place. I'm not too keen on sending him there as he's never been to one before but there's nothing else we can do. We tried getting a place where we could take him but the places were booked months in advance. It's actually surprising how many apartments, houses are available for taking your pets too! Definitely something I will look into in the future when we go away. No doubt the week will go quite quickly. I have two medical tests to go to so can't wait until I get those over and done with. The Friday is also our 11th Anniversary so of course Iam looking forward to celebrating that with Ian and the kids...probably stuck in terrible long weekend traffic but we'll be together!
I realise I haven't put photos up for quite some time now so I will make sure we take some over the weekend and put them on here the following week. This blog probably won't get done until maybe the midlle of next week now for all of you die-hard followers...all 1 or 2 of you!...if you dare to come back after my hippy-ish spiel...don't worry everything will be normal I promise. I just want to" heal the world, make it a better place, for you and for me and the entire human race"...(sorry, wasn't that from a Michael Jackson song?)

A Wash Out!

This week has been a total wash out in many ways!
We have had an extra-ordinary amount of rain, causing million dollars of damage in Queensland and Northern NSW. The only positive thing is the once desperate, dry dams are now completely full. We didn't get too affected in the way of damage or anything like that, but the kids school got evacuated in the late morning on Wednesday as the weather conditions were deteriorating and the pathways were flooding and they wanted the whole area to be evacuated as a precautionary procedure. The children were thrilled to bits! I picked them up just on midday and one of the teachers said that they expected the school to be closed for the rest of the week. The weather however didn't deteriorate and it cleared up enough for them to go in for the rest of the week, much to their disappointment. All sporting activities were called off, well for Bailey and Ian anyway. Ian's football wasn't on Friday night and Bailey's game has been called off today. Yaz however still managed to play her soccer yesterday where their team won, 2-1.
Bailey however had two little triumphs in sport this week. On Monday, before the 'wash-out', he had a school sports carnival and he came home with a first prize ribbon and the biggest, proudest smile on his face for winning his 80metre sprint. Then on Tuesday at swimming, he got assessed to go up to the next level and got through, so now he goes into an 'Intro class' as of tommorow, another beaming smile from our little boy. He had a good week.
Tuesday was a school strike as the Queensland teachers stood their ground as they are underpaid compared to the other States in Australia, and so they should as well. The children spent the day at home with me and we just had a relaxing day, in fact I can't even remember what we did. Probably just stayed in our pj's all day...kind of like today. It is 1.30pm and we are all in our pj's still. I love these days! So the kids have had a good week really!
Ian had to battle the rain all week with work though and I must admit I do worry about him driving around, not only in the terrential rain, but the danger of the roads etc...Thankfully he is always O.K. and I am just my normal worry-wort self!
It's been a week where I've been able to watch a couple of dvd's. I have just finished watching 'Australia' for the 2nd time with Yazmin. I am just in love with that movie and cried again in all the same spots. Yaz enjoyed it too but thought it was a bit long...I also watched a dvd that I borrowed from a friend, 'Revolutionary Road'. It was a great movie too, but very sad and tragic.
Thursday night I went to a seminar about another kind of therapy. It was very interesting and I would really like to study it but it's the whole time thing and whether or not I want to stress myself out again and put my family through it too. I didn't realise when I was going through it, just how much pressure I was under when I was studying and working and still trying to run the household and take the kids to sports etc...I can't believe I got through it with my sanity actually. I am at the stage where I feel like I need to venture into something else as there is so much to learn and I think that once you're in this kind of therapeutic industry, you want to know everything there is to help people and I kind of feel a bit bound into just a tiny smidgen of what's out there. I know I can't do everything and I am very content at where my business is at, but I have this unexplainable yearning to do more for people....We'll see what the future brings anyway as I'm sure something will happen if it's meant to!
Friday night Bailey went to his friends for a sleep-over. He had a good night as always and they were up bright and early the next day getting maximum time into the hours they had left until I picked him up.
Last night we had some friends over for an Italian feast. Their daughter Victoria is in the same class as Yazmin, the Italian Immersion program and they will be heading off to Italy with 26 other students next year...can't believe it. I'm glad she is getting this opportunity but I'm not going to want to say good-bye...Anyway, I stayed in all day and cooked! I made a minestrone soup, a traditional lasagne, fettucine bosciaola, chicken risotto and Yaz made her famous and beautiful tiramisu. The only thing that I could really eat was the soup and the risotto as I don't eat pasta, but everyone else got stuck into it. There was so much food and there is still quite a bit left too. It's certainly very filling food! So basically I cooked the food for the girls and their up-coming Italian adventure. The fund raising is just about to begin at the school in many different ways and then everything will get finalised and before we know it, they'll be packing their bags and asking for speding money to hit the shores of Italy!
We are heading up the coast in a couple of weeks over the June long weekend. We are going North about 2 hours up where it's just like paradise. It is our Anniversary over the weekend which is one of the reasons for getting away. The other reason is that Ian hasn't had a break of any sort where as the children and I have been to NSW, so it will just be so nice to have some family time away. Unfortunately we will be missing out on a friends 40th B'day celebration where there are a couple of the girls jumping out of a plane. It would have been great to stand very safely on the ground watching them fall safely to the beach below but I'm sure I will hear all about it afterwards anyway.
I am so looking forward to Mum coming up in a couple of weeks as I'm really missing her at the moment. I miss her all of the time obviously but have been very homesick lately, so she will be welcomed with the biggest open arms and who knows, I may never let her go again!
On a final note, Happy B'day to my dear friend Tanya for the 29th. We wish you all the very best and will be thinking of you and missing you....To all of our family and friends that we are no longer physically around, we love you and really miss every single one of you...please never forget that xxxx

The Circus is in Town...

Yes, the circus has arrived in town and casuing excitement amogst lots of children...including mine...well not Yazmin as she has a thing against clowns and the circus really isn't cool to go to! Anyway, I got some free tickets through work so Bailey and I went along yesterday and had a great time. His beautiful face just lit up and was wide eyed throughout the whole thing. He laughed and got frightened over a certain acrobatic stunt and was truly amazed by the juggler! It was a good afternoon and his first circus too.
During the week I don't really think much happened, just the usual work, school etc...Yaz came home from school sick one day and hasn't really felt right since. There is a terrible amount of bugs/viruses going around at the moment and people are dropping like flies! I probably will end up taking her to the Dr.s soon just for an overall check-up as she does seem to suffer a lot of headaches. Unfortunately she may have the migraine jean that I have and may always be a sufferer but it still wouldn't hurt to get a Dr.s opinion. I have recently found a new Dr. who seems to be very thorough and on the ball and has helped me a lot. Good Dr.s are very hard to find these days. The natural therapies industry is growing quite dramatically at the moment and I can seriously understand why.
A very big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to DAD Laslett in England! Hope you had a wonderful day and had the day off work? We were thinking of you, as always xxxx
The weekend was quite busy. Yaz had two parties to go to on Saturday. ONe was a sleepover...again, not a sleepover in the fact that they got NO sleep what-so-ever! The parents were knackered the next morning and planned to snooze the day away, which is exactly what Yaz did. She got into bed at 11.00am and didn't surface until dinner time around 6.30pm, stayed up for a couple of hours and then hit the hay again for a good nights sleep. I guess more and more sleepless nights are going to come her way as she grows up...sleepless for us too when she's finally out on the town in just under 4 years! I'm certain I will be 100% grey by then!
We had some friends over for dinner on Saturday night, the first to have dinner with us at the new house. I made some thai food which actually turned out rather tasty! The last time this couple came over I had made a curry and it was disasterous so I think they came with a very open mind but the food was good and everyone enjoyed it. I haven't been able to have a drink for a long time now and I had a couple of wines on Saturday night and I think I'm over drinking. I just don't really enjoy it anymore and I think I consumed more water and coffee than what I did wine! Ian on the other hand made the most of it and him and Mike certainly left a lot of empty bottles on the side for recycling! Still, it's been quite a while since either of us has had an opportunity to drink so one of us had to make the most of it.
Friday night Ian took the night off from soccer and we went to watch the Rugby League at Suncorp Stadium. Yaz didn't come with us...mid you she doesn't come to a lot of things with us anymore...anyway, Bailey and I caught the train into the city and met Ian there. We had a great night getting Maccas for dinner and watching the game. Bailey and Ian went for 1 team and I went for the other so basically I copped it as my team lost. Two against one is never fair! Yaz went to a friends house after school on the Friday and they went to the movies to see 'Angels and Demons' instead.
Tomorrow is a school strike so the kiddies will be at home with me. They are very excited about having a day off.
That's about all I can think of for now. At least I didn't leave it for another week! Take care everyone.
xxxx

Mothers Day x

Today is Mothers Day so I would just like to wish my beautiful and ever-so-missed Mother a wonderful day and I love you very, very much. Your gift was gorgeous thankyou and the little verse made me cry...as always! Happy Mothers Day to all of the other Mums out there too. A very belated Happy Mothers Day to Mum in England as I believe your Mothers Day was a couple of months back and we didn't realise, so this wish goes out to you too. I had a lovely day. Got my pressies in the morning,( a cd, dress, sweat shirt, dvd, chockies and a water bottle from Bailey that he chose from the Mothers Day stall at school...sweety pie!), then went to Bailey's football match, then had a picnic down by the bay. The day was beautiful and sunny and there's just something about being by the water, it's so serene and calming! Thankyou to my family for spoiling me! I love you all dearly!
It's been a fortnight since my last entry as I tried doing it last week...usual story about the bad connection. I've worked out now that the earlier on in the day that I do it the better connection I seem to have so I will try and do it every Sunday afternoon now instead of Sunday night.
Last weekend we had a long weekend. Bailey didn't have any sport but Yaz did on the Saturday so we went down to that game. Saturday night we went to Nicky and Seans for dinner. Sunday night we went to Mike and Charmaynes for dinner and Monday we just stayed in catching up on everything else. Long weekends are great! It aslo makes the following week go extra quick too.
During the week I wasn't that well so I had to go to the Dr.s for a couple fo tests. Today both Ian and Yaz are not feeling 100% either and there seem to be a few people around getting ill. It must be that time of the year for all of the different types of influenzas to hit. I hear Australia had it's first victim of the Swine Flu, coming into the country from a trip to America. How must the poor lady feel about being the first reported case bringing it in to Australia?! Not really something you want to be remembered for!
The rest of the week has just been the same old, same old. Bailey had a friend over and Yaz went to a sleep over...well you can't really call it a sleep over if they don't sleep can you! She's been knackered ever since!
Ian played his usual football Friday night. Click on the link to the left to read the match report. He always gets a good mention!
Great news from overseas...cousin Matt looks like he is coming over in January! I am soooo excited! I think at the moment he will be staying with us for a week, so really can't wait and will give him a week he won't forget. There are so many beautiful places to show him. It's going to be soooo much fun.
What else, what else, what else....this is the problem with doing this after a week has passed because I don't remember everything. Oh well.
Hoping that anyone reading this is well and happy. Bit of a boring entry this week, sorry.
'Till next week xxx

Bad Habit!

I think I apologise every week about not doing this blog...it's certainly becoming a bad habit of mine!...maybe I should just make it a fortnightly event and then I won't have to apologise anymore! Life just seems to be very busy lately but then not much is happening at all...if that makes any sense?! I can't even think of why I didn't do it last week. I know we weren't out and I haven't written in my diary for a while either so I'm relying on memory here and let me tell you there is nothing coming out!!!!
So what have we been up to? If I tell you about the weekend just gone, then maybe I'll get other snippets of the past fortnight I can add on at the end. Well this weekend was ANZAC Day on the Saturday. Normally we get an extra day off during the week if it falls on a weekend but they have canned that this year...such a shame! We love our public holidays!!! Anyway everything closes until about 1pm on Anzac day, so in the mroning we just did a few household chores before heading down to Movie World on the Gold Coast. It was a great afternoon...apart from Yaz making me go on the Superman ride with her which I vowed never to go on again after the last time. It just goes down on the steepest, vertical, face down slope and I just can't stand it, plus it goes at over 100km an hour. The good thing is that the whole ride lasts for less than a minute so I just shut my eyes and hang on for dear life and then it's all over. After Movie World we headed into Surfers Paradise for a cuppa and have dinner. It was such a beautiful night and it was absolutely packed down there. We had a walk around and looked into some shops etc...and sat on a bench over looking the beautiful beach. What a lifestyle! We all just love Queensland soooo much. Our next adventure is to move closer to a beach...
Today we have just spent the whole day at home. Yaz and Bailey both had a fair bit of homework/assignments to do, Ian had some TV viewing to do and I had some book reading to do...very important Sunday stuff! I love these days!
Friday I had a parcel in the mail arrive and it was a personalised, autographed cd from Ronan Keating! My lucky, lucky brother Dale met him at a promo at his work where Ronan performed and met everyone. Dale was so lovely as to buy me is latest cd and get Ronan to sign it for me. I'm just in awe and very envious of Dale. It is such a great cd too. He also got one for Mum as she is a huge fan as well. Mum and I had a whole conversation on the phone for about an hour just talking about how beautiful the cd was etc...Thanks Dale...YOU ROCK!
OK, this is the part where my brain was supposed to have come up with something...umm...oh yes, I had an interview with Baileys teacher the other week and she said,'The only way I can describe Bailey is that he is the perfect student in every way!'...well it can't get much better than that can it? She said some really lovely things about him and how well he is doing and what a lovely friend he is to his mates and everyone in the class and how much he participates etc...Yaz bought home her report and we were very proud of her too as she got some fantastic results in all areas. She seems to be handling this Immersion class soooo well! We are so very proud of both of our children for their achievements and efforts in school. Yaz also bought home her recent art work, it is a canvas landscape painting and it's just beautiful! I tried to take a photo of it just then with my phone but it didn't turn out very well. I'll get one with Yaz's camera over the next couple of days. She certainly has some talent in the art department!
Bailey scored his first try of his rugby league season today. I unfortunately didn't see it as I was at home not feeling 100% but Bailey told me all about it with a huge beam on his face and Ian told me about it too. Their team lost but he didn't care...he scored!
Work has slackened off just a little. I have been waiting for this as everyone is feeling the economy crisis biting a bit. It's still going well, I just had a couple of spare appointments last week and I haven't had that for a while!
I am very proud of my cousin Matt in Felixstowe as he has made it into the top 3 of the Royal Post staff Awards in England. That's an absolutely huge achievement! He is getting interviewed during this coming week and will go to a posh do on London for the awards night. We have everything crossed for him to win, although in my eyes he's a winner and we're so proud of him! Well done Matt!
We have had a pretty decent downpour of rain lately which has been great for our drought situation! I think our dams have now gone over the 50% mark which has been a long time coming. Mind you in some areas of Queensland the rain bought flooding and disaster, always the way isn't it?!
During the week Bailey got bitten or stung by something, not sure what, and his forearm swelled up like Popeyes! It was bright red and ever so hot too. I took him to the Dr.s the following morning and he was put on some anti-histamines and an ointment also. It soon cleared up in 2 days. He wasn't sick or anything with it, we just couldn't believe the heat and swelling!
At the moment, Ramses has about 3 cats after him. Every night they come around our house and meow that low, drawn out meow they do and Ramses does it from inside back at them. The new kid on the block is getting bullied! I hope it settles down soon. Ramses goes outside and sometimes they just sit and stare at each other. No fight has broken out yet, he came close once or twice though.
I think I remembered enough for an entry today! There's always something that comes to me just as I'm about to go to bed and it bugs me that I forgot to put it on here so I suppose that same thing will happen again tonight.Another bad habit of mine is that I lay awake most of the night annoyed about those types of things and then I'm knackered the next day! My mind is alwasy so lively and ridiculous in the early hours of the morning. I wish I knew how to meditate to put myself in a dream-like trance and just drift off peacefully!
Hope you all had a great couple of weeks anyway. Make sure you check out the photo link often as I do update them when I can...it hasn't been done for a couple of weeks mind you but I WILL update them when I can!
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The Move!

Hello to anyone reading this after I have abandoned this site for a couple of weeks now. Well I am still here but have just been way too busy to spend a second on the computer. We have finally moved to the house down the road! For the last couple of weeks, we have been cleaning, boxing, packing and hardly sleeping! We questioned ourselves for a while as to why exactly we were making a move to a house so close by but now that we are in it, we are VERY happy! The storage space is incredible!!!! The whole move went well, no breakages, no arguments, no problems. Ian and I did the majority of it with some help on the Friday from Sean who came over for the afternoon and helped us with really bulky, heavy stuff. He was a great help who had an abundance of energy! Mike also came over to help Ian and Sean with the pool table in the afternoon also. Bailey watched these men in action shifting one big thing after another and commented on how very strong they were. He was very impressed! We basically just bought over car/ute loads at a time and just dumped it in the garage and then back and forth etc...then once it was all over, we headed back to the other house for the final clean-up. It took longer than what we thought, mind you we were very fussy about doing everything immaculately and the house ended up looking cleaner and newer than before we first started living there! It took us a whole week just to get the basics all unpacked. The kitchen was the first thing that we set up. We slept on mattresses for a week too. In the middle of all of this we were both still working our long hours and taking the kids here and there...Now that we are here, we love it! Our wardrobes are double the size of what we had and the rooms are a fantastic size too. Ramses has settled in well also. He was a little wide-eyed and frantic for the first hour but settled in immediately!

It has definitely been worth it. In all of the unpacking, I have been sorting out things as I go and cannot believe the amount of hoarding that we have done over the past two years! I am going to take alot of this unwanted stuff up to a market to try and sell. We thought about doing the whole e-bay thing but we don't have time to sit on the computer and do it all. I am a bit worried that because we have extra storage, it means we can hoard more stuff! I want to stop that habit right from the start and have been quite podantic about where things are going and putting things away properly and getting rid of anything not used at all.

Apart from the move, Yaz had her 14th B'day. It was pretty non-eventful as unfortunately it was in the middle of the move, but we took her and her friend out for dinner and I made her a 'Jack', (from Nightmare before Xmas), b'day cake. She insisted that she didn't want a cake but as if I could let that happen!

Well today is Easter so Happy Easter to you all! Back to work tomorrow, for me anyway. The kids are now on holidays for a week and a bit. I will try and take them out as they have been put on the back burner recently due to Ian and I being busy. We haven't done much this weekend, just still unpacking and relaxing as much as possible and eating really naughty things! The perfect weekend really!

The computer is very unreliable at the moment so I might have to end it here. We apparently don't have much coverage from our provider which we have only just been told about. When we first signed up we were told we were completely covered. When I phoned them the other day to arrange the change of address etc...I was told that the area we are in doesn't have coverage! When I told him that we were only around the corner from the other house, he basically said we should never have signed up in the first place but a bit late for that information!!! We are just seeing how the coverage goes over the next few weeks and may have to change companies...again! So if I am not on here or aren't answering emails like I used to then this is why. On the whole scheme of things though, it's not that bad. We still can use the internet on occasions...briefly... but it's only the computer at the end of the day. There are other ways of communicating that probabaly don't take up as much time and more reliable too!

Dressing Up!

It's always good to dress up, whether it's just in something new and nice or whether it's in character for a party. Well this week we did both! We went to a Murder Mystery night at our friends Nicky and Sean's last night for my birthday. It was a scene out of the 1920's where there was a murder on a train and we were all suspects. I had to go as a renowned French Fashion beauty, Ian was the husband of the victim and was an ex-military guard, Yaz was the American half-sister of the victim and Bailey was a humble Scottish engineer. We had so much fun trying to put on the appropriate accents...Ian kept asking me if I was German...I've never been one to put on an accent...We had a gorgeous three course meal which was just divine. We sipped champagne and escaped reality for a few hours which was so much fun! After the meal and the game had finished, we listened to Sean's music collection, most of it being from the 80's so it was excellent. We didn't get in until about 2am so were all pretty tired today.

So today is my Birthday. 37yrs old! I was woken by a phonecall from a good frined in NSW, then a few phone calls later and a few texts, we just got on with the chores of today...still getting everything ready to move...and then this afternoon we headed into Brisbane where there is a yummy dessert cafe. Ian wanted to take me out for lunch or dinner, but I much rather the dessert part of any meal! We all had something very rich and filling and absolutely delicious! I got some new clothes for my b'day which in the photo you can see one of the items. I love getting new clothes!!! I just had to put on something new today, as I said it's always fun dressing up...So we were going to have a nice steak meal tonight but we are all so full that I think it's just going to be nibblies instead...and I will make sure that I hit the gym tomorrow!

That's the most exciting part of the week, the rest of it is just work, packing, cleaning etc...I just want to say a very big thankyou to everyone who sent me their b'day wishes whether it be by card, phone call, email, text etc...It is all very much appreciated and it all went towards having a great day.xxx

No Time, No Connection...

Once again, I have left the blog for a few weeks due to the fact that the times that I have tried to get on it's the same old story...bad connections continually cutting me off. Or the fact that we have been so super busy lately in every aspect of life that I haven't been able to put aside my 'blog' time. I haven't even really been writing anything in my diary either so I'll be going off my memory...not a good start!

We are currently in the middle of packing things up again and on the move. Still in the same area, just a few streets away actually, just going into something a little bigger with more storage, bigger kitchen etc...I can't wait until we are in there but it's just the hassle and time spent packing, moving, unpacking etc...that I don't like. It will all be worth it though...hopefully. The street is very quiet and backs onto bushland again, so great for Ramses. So for the next few weeks we won't be going anywhere or doing anything exciting.

Today we spent the day down at Seaworld on the Gold Coast. Apart from leaving a little late and hitting heavy traffic, we had a fun day going on rides and seeing attractions etc...So everyone is feeling a little knackered right now, including me and I knew that if I didn't jump on the computer and write this straight away, then it would be another week left untouched!

Bailey has started playing Rugby League and is absolutely loving it. He has had two games so far, unfortunately they lost both but that doesn't matter. His coach is actually one of my clients and an ex-footballer so he is going to be a great influence on Bailey. It should be a good season.

Yaz hasn't actually played any club matches for soccer but had a gala day on the weekend where they played two short matches. She had to step up and play for the women's team as they were short and at the end of the game they asked if she would like to play for them. We turned down the offer, 1.-because Yaz wasn't particularly interested, and 2.-because she has no spare time for extra training etc...

Happy Birthday to Shane for the 3rd and Klaudia for the 11th of this month. My b'day is this coming weekend and my friend Nicky has asked us over for a 'Murder Mystery' night which should be good fun. I think we're all going to get dressed up into character etc...so I'm really looking forward to it. On the actual day, Sunday, we will have Bailey's rugby game and then just probably just continue packing etc...I wasn't too fussed about doing anything this year and if Nicky hadn't made her offer then I probably wouldn't have bothered doing anything at all! I would have just enjoyed completely chilling at home...surrounded by boxes and a list of cleaning jobs etc...yes this move is the most important thing at the moment and we want to get it all done so we're in no rush for when the day comes around which is around 3rd April. Then we have Yaz's 14th B'day a week after mine. Not sure what we're doing yet, probably not much this year due to everything else but I'm sure she'll end up getting spoilt as usual! Still can't believe she is going to be 14!!!

Work has been exceptionally busy which is fabulous! I was kind of expecting it to die down with everyone concerned about this recession but if anything it's gotten busier to the point that my clients can't get appointments for 3 weeks! Never in a million years did I ever expect to be this busy. I'm truly overwhelmed...in a good way! I just have to make sure that I look after myslef and get regular massages to keep me in good condition as it really takes it toll on your body.

Ian is back into the football season too. I went and watched one game and I haven't seen him play for about 2 years and was amazed at just how quick and talented he still is as he is always saying that he doesn't play well etc...He is awesome on the field and really outshines any of his team mates! I have put up 2 links on this blog page on the left hand side which will take you into both Yaz and Ian's weekly football results and write-ups. I'm not sure how Bailey's works at the rugby but if they do write-ups too then I'll put a link up for that too. Again, if anyone has any trouble with my links not working please leave a comment at the end of my blog entry and I will try to sort it out.

It looks like Mum is moving too. The house she has been renting for the past 30 years has been sold we think. She has been offered another place though near to where we used to live in the Blue Mountains so she is very happy with that. We are too as I was concerned about where she would end up. The other good thing about it is that our good friends live practically across the road from her so I know that they will keep an eye out for her.

Like I warned you before, I am trying to rmemeber everything we have done as I have been slack putting things in my diary and so I truly can't remember anything else! The weeks are just flying past and it's hard to keep on top of it all. We are all well and healthy though which is the main thing and hoping that you are too. I will TRY to do this next week, if it's not on here then it's probably the non-connection! Please be patient with me :-) xx

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It is Sunday evening yet again. I really don't know where the week goes! It has been a bit of a topsy turvy kind of week actually. I ended up getting a stomach bug late Monday evening which basically had me ill and laid up until Thursday, although still not feeling 100% from it yet either! It truly knocked me for a six and I had to cancel so many appointments, which I hate doing. Anyway, no-one else got it which is good, although Ian has complained of a tummy ache a few times but luckily it never progressed from there.
There seem to be quite a few bugs and illnesses going around at the moment. I am thinking that it must be the humidity, just a hot, sticky breeding ground for all types of germs and bugs! Even though we are having our fair share of rain at the moment which has been so lovely and refreshing, it is still so humid! I can't wait for the next month to go by, not that I ever wish for time to go fast, but it does make it near to unbearable sometimes. Sorry I'm whinging, especially since there have been so many tragedies of a high level lately...I'll not say another word...sorry!
Today we went to 'wet and wild' again and had another good day. We went with some friends of ours as their daughter turned 10 during the week and this is where she wanted to spend her birthday as such. Yazmin however has come home quite burnt and not well due to the fact that she didn't put any suncream on!!!!!! Silly girl!!!!! I had a very serious talk to her this morning regarding skin cancer etc...but it obviously didn't make any difference. The sun up here, well anywhere really is just too dangerous to take these chances. I was speaking to a Dad at cricket this past weekend who has just had a very serious skin cancer cut out from hi head and he was very lucky they found it when they did otherwise he would be making some very gloomy plans at the moment! This man always covers up and uses sun protection of every form but he still got affected. It really is just so scary. I think I will take Yazmin and Bailey...also myslef and Ian, along to the skin cancer clinic where you can get an examination to have everything checked out. If we do it on a yearly basis then hopefully nothing sinister will ever happen to us!...plus we don't want Yaz to end up having old, leathery skin at an early age either!
Last night we went to our neighbours for a b.b.q. and had a nice night. They have three boys, one Bailey's age and they get on tremendously. One of the boys is animal crazy and he has two childrens carpet pythons and two bearded dragons. They are just adorable and I played with them all night. The snake was just sooo cute and he was going through my hair and flicking his little tongue on my nose etc...I was just in awe. Ian won't let us have one though...I tried to get him to hold it too but he wasn't interested...I don't get that?! I guess he's just not as animal crazy as I am. Bailey had a go but was a little apprehensive. Yaz stayed home as she had her friend over for a sleepover and she just isn't into socialising with her parents anymore....yes that time has come and I guess I have to deal with it!
Bailey is still having his guitar lessons and was playing U2's-'Pride' over the weekend. I got it on video on my phone but I'm not smart enough to be able to download it onto the computer. It was so cute and he was singing along too.
Yaz started soccer training this week too. I don't think she suffered too much. She thought she was going to be quite unfit but I think she managed O.K....well I haven't heard her complaining so that's a good thing!
So basically that was this week all summed up! We are all well and healthy and that's the main thing! Hoping that anyone reading this is well and healthy too. :)