Farewell my faithful friends

These clips were taken on our way back from holiday last week. And yes, my kids look tired and scruffy because they were tired and scruffy. Those are two indicators of a GOOD HOLIDAY!

The first clip features him rocking out to non other than the delightful Miss Hannah Montana. The second features him and BS (big sis) actioning "Push It" from HSM. (stage fright does set in, see if you can spot the "deer in headlights" look)

A little light entertainment as an antidote to the plethora of icky sicky posts!




And yes, my title is true. I wil be hanging up my blogging fingies. After much deliberation I have decided to take the Five-Browns off the cyber-shelf.

Be sure : I will still be hanging out in cyberland - commenting on all your adventures. Who knows, maybe I will reinvent myself (?) and surface again one of these days!

Many thanks to those who have shared in our daily lives, who have commented faithfully and who have shared their lives with me.

Much love and a BIG hug to you all!

xxx

Last {Wo}Man Standing

That would be Rachel.

Yup, by 3pm today, Russ was home; curled up in bed, green as our grass. And by 5.15pm Faith was projectile vomiting across the family room and, 30minutes later, in my newly valeted car. Poor thing but no tears. All pragmatic and serious about this yucky vomiting business.

You know what I love about kids? They are totally over it as soon as it is over. You know what I mean?

They vomit.
They say stuff like "isgusting" (Levi) or
"that is so yuck mom" {Faith} and
then they dash outside to jump on the trampoline.

Seriously, I vomit and then lie in wait and horror for the next round. Quivering heap; that is me.

I didnt mention that on Friday Levi projectiled, but only once, so I thought he had eaten something suspect. He was fine after that, his normal chaotic self. 24 hrs later -I was stuffed - then Russ - then Faith. Only now have the lights come on --- the little blighter set us all up.

All that grossness aside, I thought I would post some fun pics from Saturday, before the dreaded lurgy came and pooped all over our happy home.

Russ got the kids a kite. Delight in the simple things - love it!

Cant wait til we are all bouncy happy peeps again!

Man-down

That man would be me. I woke up at 3am and it hasnt stopped til about an hour ago. 24 hour gastro bug. At 9am this morning I could barely speak and could not get my body to move at all...I cannot remember the last time I have felt so weak and ill.

Fortuanately Russ is home and was able to take care of the offspring. He did a sterling job until about 1430. Then it sounded like hell was paying a visit to my home. Every kid was crying or yelling. There was loud bashing of doors (yes, Levi) and more yelling. I couldnt hear the male parental unit in the mix at all.

I hauled my bones out of bed - buoyed by the fact that I didnt feel nauseous anymore. I stormed downstairs to find my family room TRASHED, TOTALLED and destroyed. Cups, plates, juice bottles, toys, books and dvds scattered everywhere. The kids were running a-muck and Russ was curled up in a fetal position on the couch!

I am like "what the HELL is going on?" . And he is all like "Levi wont go down, he just yells" .

So I do my best Witch Hazel impersonation and yell at everyone to go to their rooms. Levi is re-bottled and put down by Russ. Levi yells like banshee and I go in and read him my 2yr old riot act. He is quiet and asleep within minutes. MOM'S not MESSING ABOUT!

Russ is gone. I have no idea where, but he has found a hole in the house and disappeared along with the kids. I think I may have scared {or annoyed?} the crap out of him aswell.

Kudos to him for holding the fort til I was strong enough to be the reinforcement! It aint an easy job.

Journaling Junkie Submission

My first DT submission for Journaling Junkie :
8.5 x 11

They REALLY do grow up too fast!

How many times have you heard that? I have heard it UMPTEEN times, especially when my kids are behaving like little trolls. Some well meaning person pats my hand and says

"enjoy these days honey, they GROW UP SO FAST".

This is when I flash my rictus smile and try not to gnash my teeth too loudly.

But today, I confess, I feel the pain of loss of the baby years. In preparation for some serious scrapping, I am sorting photos and preparing them for various projects. Allow me to share just a few of my precious Rach at 2yrs old.

her fav thing was hanging out in the "bakkie" with daddy

I remember this day like it was yesterday. Teaching her the "which hand" game!

her first day of playgroup!

early morns; getting her dressed was a challenge!

The tent and "big teddy" . She loved this teddy but he went south when she got lice 2yrs ago and I washed him in HOT WATER and spun him. He burst. She cried. I felt like sh*t.

Sleeping ON Big Teddy. I told you she loved him.

Doesnt she look like Faith in this pic??

Ever the tomboy, still backward capping today!

Ever and always my baby girl. (sob sob)

So from a true pragmatist. Watch each day closely. The good ones, the crap ones and everything in between cos it really does go way too fast.

Now I am going to go cry in my pillow. Russ is away and the kids are asleep so no-one will see!

Lazy-assed me...

I did it folks. I surrendered to the utter luxury of home shopping. I simply "click clicked here and click clicked there" and my monthly shop was magically delivered at 1730 today.

I still think the R55 they charge for delivery is a STEAL. I would be sure to spend more if I set foot in the store....or in once of the other stores in the mall.

I have never professed to be a very self-controlled shopper. If I like it---I shall buy it----so the best defense is avoidance at all costs.

I must say, this shop also jumpstarted a MAJOR kitchen cupboard overhall! I havent done large shops in years so I now need storage space for all the milk, sugar, rice, juice, loo paper, blah blah blah. Am very happy with the results. Will post pictures one day cos I know you all dying to see my kitchen grocery drawers. {not}

I had to laugh as I unpacked my "plastics fantastics" drawer....this pic is a testament to my 4 year long search for the perfect juice bottle for the 2+ age group.



Sorry about the domestic post. Utterly horrendous. Hope to be back with more snot and hyperactivity soon.

Seriously...you sure you dont need a nap?

Once again, clearly a boy thing.

My girls always either retired to the couch or their bedrooms after playgroup. They required "quiet, alone time" for at least 2 hours each day. Faith still heads upstairs to listen to stories. (as you will see from this clip)

Levi, on the flipside, is so wired he makes me woozy! This is today, just walked in after school with my littlies.....

(You need sound on this one folks)





Levi needs to unwind by jumping, banging, yelling, shaking, stomping, singing, rolling and bouncing for an hour. Then give him his Rooibos tea and lay him horizontal....he is out for 3hrs (if I allow it!)

Its a boy thing

*** WARNING: IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH AND/OR YOU ARE
NOT A PARENT -DO NOT READ THIS ***

I am driving home from dropping the girls at school. Levi is contentedly jabbering away in his seat behind me. He suddenly makes a loud "blowing nose" noise. I check my mirror and say:

ME: Yuk buddy, dont do that. (how dumb am i?)

He continues to blow air through his nose like a jumbo taking off. Glancing up, I see two large snot (clear) tracks appear.

ME: Levi! Cut it out boy, really man that is just gross.

He literally shrieks with laughter and DOUBLES his nasal blowing efforts. They pay off in abundance and the tracks are now beyond the top lip...

Okay now the bile is rising and I literally feel like I am going to throw my own chunks. I feel hot and woozy. I dont do snot. 3 kids down and I STILL DONT DO SNOT. I reluctantly glance up again and see his hand sneaking up to his face to investigate the substance and spread the wealth of his efforts....and I yell:

ME : Dont touch it Levi - OWIE - hot like the fire, remember?

He moves his hand at the speed of light. (backstory - he burnt his hand a few weeks ago and he totally gets the whole concept of "hot like fire!" )

A mom's gotta do what she's gotta do. Its was either LIE or I was sure to pass out in the drivers seat.....

Not tonight honey.

No post tonight folks. Reeling from the impact of normal routine and homework and loud noise and yelling and feeding constantly hungry kids. Ever notice how they get hungry like a tag team? I seem to permanently be feeding, juicing, changing, referee-ing and correcting.

Oh yes; parenting, that's what they call it.

No energy to blog. My mom has lent me this book and I plan to crawl in early and READ. I did my Martha Stewart impersonation this arvie and cooked for us (and a friend who is needing TLC)

That is enough validation for me to wave a cheery goodnight to everyone at 8pm!

Preparing for an Early Start

I am already beginning to work on my list of believable excuses for Rach being late for school this term. I havent really raised my bones outta bed much before 0930/10 for the last 10days!

Crikey, up at 0630 and having to get them all up and moving in the dark and freezing cold. Oh fun.

The upside is that I will get a few mornings a week to get my house back in fighting shape. I always let the reins go a bit in the hols lest I become the screaming domestic nag. So its not unusual to find my family room host to paint, puzzles and tents all on the same day. And the next and yes, maybe even 4 days later....!

Oh my - did you hear High School Musical 3, Senior Year is COMING SOON? The excitement in the air is palpable in our home....

Way to much FUN

Its 10pm. I have just got home from a day of pure indulgence and my entire family is asleep.

It started when I left home around midday and went to Jo's. From there we meandered on over to Stef where we unceremoniously consumed large quantities of cake and coffee. And we scrapped. In celebration of her birthday....like we need a reason huh?

But it did not end there, oh no! Jo and I pootled off (not a Mel phrase - who gave me that phrase?) around 4pm and ended up at The Cav where the indulgence spread further with a Kuaui dinner and a screening of Sex in the City!

You need to be very impressed that I managed to convince my "nouveau" friend to slum it watching a circuit movie like this....I LOVED it! Made me laugh and even shed a tear here and there. But that may have been more due to the fact that I feel like I am swallowing golf balls made of cut glass right now.

Bring on the Vitamin C.....6000mg should do the trick, yes?

The fight against premature ageing

My mobile phone contract is due to expire next month and my DH (bless him) got me this baby. Today. And it does a whole lot more that just make calls, sms and email. Yes peeps : take a looksee

It supports/sports
- S60 3.1 Edition (Symbian based phone)
- GSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850/2100 MHz.
- 3G, HSDPA, or WLAN connection

- 2 megapixel camera
- FM Visual Radio
- Video streaming and playback with H.264 (MPEG-4), 3gpp, and Real codecs
- Video recording in H.263 (3gpp) and MPEG-4
- 2″ (240 x 320 pixels), active-matrix color display supports up to 16 million colors

- Push to talk feature
- Email with support for POP3, IMAP4
- Email client
- (x)HTML web browser
- GPRS/EGPRS (Class A, multi-slot class 32)
- HSDPA (high-speed downlink protocol access) up to 3.6 Mbit/s (3G)

- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, Infra Red

- Quickoffice (Word, Excel, PPT)
- Adobe PDF Reader
- Printer support
- Zip Support

You get all that? Yup, me too.... I refuse to lie down and age. I have to figure IT ALL out. Tonight. Heaven forbid I become "the mom" who cant program her own mobile phone.

(small confession: I did get Jo's son (14) to download some music for me....just to give me a running start, you know?)

The Truth Spoken in Jest

Lots of unpacking to do....more from us later.

Oh and I left my download cable in Mcgregor so no pics til me dad couriers it back to moi!

Your Opinion?

So I was idly watching " Yummy Mummy" on the Home channel today and ended up getting all hot and bothered by a panel discussion....

Here's the thing : I had *3* elective caesars. I dont regret it and I totally rate the pros of this procedure. The only downside I can think of that your short term recovery is a bit longer BUT this is outweighed for me by the fact that my body is still *in tact* in the long term.

Many of my friends and relatives have asked my opinion as to whether they should go natural or caesar. I cannot answer that for you. For me, it was never a difficult choice. And I stand my it.

This panel yielded a bevvy of coiffed mommies swearing that they could never be friends with or even share a room with a woman who chose her *personal comfort* over the well being of their babies.

Huh? Did you lose brain-matter to your hairdryer honey? What happened to a womans right to choose what she believes is best for her body and her baby? What happened to the fact that 17% of women die in childbirth or have lifelong serious complications? Its not as simple as "thats the way God intended" anymore.


God intended many things for His people. We are the ones who messed with the Master plan.

Freezing our asses off

Still here in Mcgregs. Been raining on and off but not hard....I hear CT is flooding and I am dreading what I will find upon our return home....our fireplace flue sprung a leak the day before we left and I had to put towels etc around the base.

Oops. I think I may have a seriously flooded family room when I get home. Nicely pooling on my laminate flooring for, oh, like 6 days? Niiiice.

Am trying to think what I will replace the floor with when insurance pays us out. The raw maple we used 2yrs ago is no longer available. Ah well. This is all another days' problem.

Right now we cant go home because the tunnel is closed due to mudslides at the entrance. Quite frankly I dont fancy driving in this weather anyway, especially as we are towing a trailer.

Think we will hang out a bit longer. Word on the street is that we may have snow on the Mcgregs mountains by morning. would love to experience this first with my kids - especially as it would be my first time seeing snow aswell! (strange but true...)

For now we are taking our gaps when the rain abates - Levi, in particular, needs to be "walked" like a puppy. He is taking out his frustration on the doors of this 100yr old home. And on us. Regular outburts of annoyance and throwing of himself onto the floor. Pouting and puffing. All quite amusing really.

Otherwise we are reading, drawing, sitting around, doing puzzles, watching tv, cutting up mags, painting, arguing, sleeping and eating.