Riding, Riding, Riding...

Mim rode her "new" bike today for the first time. Of course, she still won't pedal up a slope, so Mummy has to push her up, and then run with her down the slope yelling at her to backpedal to slow the bike down! By the end of the day, I think she got the gist of slowing herself down by NOT taking her feet off the pedals and yelling "Ah ah ah ah ah ah".

Beautiful Puppies

Was woken at 7.30 this morning by barking. Michael yelled out "shut up Gomez" but the barks were a bit too deep for him. Looking out the window, I saw two black bull terriers sniffing around the gate. Went outside to investigate - one was definitely all male and the other had obviously had puppies in the not too distant past.



Rang the council, who put me on to the owner, Nathan. The dogs , Jet and Lady, had disappeared last night and he was worried that someone had stolen them as it looked like they had been unclipped from their leashes and the back gate was still closed. He was stuck at Sandgate having his brakes fixed, but would come by as soon as he could. He lives at Stafford, so the dogs must have had a good trek through the night.



Michael tied them up out the front and we got some water for them. Gomez came running out of the garage, took one look at them walking towards him, turned tail and ran back inside with tail between his legs (sensible dog!). I set up a camp chair and quietly read my book.

After a while, it looked like rain so I brought the dogs into the garage and tied them up there. Mim came down and cossetted them, followed by Caitlin. Had to send both of them back upstairs so I could read in peace. I spread out an old blanket on the ground, they both flopped down on it together, all curled up and had a rest.

I could tell that their owner was male, the minute Michael poked his head into the garage, Jet was at the doorway, fawning at him.

I felt guilty about only reading so went inside and packed a box of books - when I poked me head out into the garage, I found that I had lost my seat!! Talk about making yourself at home, Jet!


Nathan picked them up at 11, the girls were sad to see them go. Mim wanted to keep them, until Caitlin pointed out how sad we would be if Gomez got out and somebody kept him. Nathan said the dogs had already cost him $1000 in fines, they had been doing Houdini for some time now.

New uses for Christmas presents

Mark and Michelle gave Michael a beautiful wooden box to keep a bottle of wine in.

I couldn't resist!



R.I.P. Barbie!

Getting back to (at) Nature

Spent a fair amount of time today gardening. Trying to get the gardens looking respectable before we leave. I trimmed the hedges (yes, I know they are a bit wonky, what do you expect from someone who can't cut bread straight!!), pruned a few shrubs (ok, um, more like a number 2 comb, but they'll grow back). Still have to decimate the greenery down the unused side of the house! When vines are growing in through a window, you know you need to do a bit of work there!

I had a helper for a little while. She looked really good in her Canberra hat, her Melbourne shirt (and what Michael calls her Shitney pants)!!



I grabbed a palm frond off the ground to cut it up for the gardening bin, and stopped. There, along the spine of it was a small snakeskin! Obviously a small tree snake, but a snake none the less. And I don't like snakes (so, why the hell am I moving to rural Victoria!)

Merry Christmas!!

I hope everybody had a very Merry Christmas.

It was a mixed day for us. Mim didn't want to wake up at first, despite Caitlin (who now wants to be called "Lin", not Caity) telling her that Santa had been. Eventually she became conscious and they traipsed outside to find their stockings filled. Caitlin got her first set off mini coffee cups, she was tickled pink with these.



Things started going downhill when we went downstairs for the girls to see their bikes. I'd bought Caitlin a new 60cm bike (her knees kept knocking the handlebar of her old bike). I'd also pulled Caitlin's older bike with training wheels out of the shed and tidied it up for Mim. Mim did not want to see the bike. She started a tantrum so Michael sent her to her room. It took over half an hour for her to come out and say sorry. And then we couldn't get her off the bike!!!

Family arrived for lunch, which wasn't eaten until much later in the afternoon. We did "Tree" (handing out presents). Mim was very happy with her PJs from 'Santa', her digital camera (Little Tikes supposedly indestructible one), her "Cycling Sally with Sam" remote control doll on bike with dog (Carla and Eliza, say it like Rev. Samuel Seymour would have!), a Barbie laptop which makes really annoying noises. And the piece de resistance:

Her very own computer. She can now play her games in her bedroom and not on our computer downstairs. Her computer does not have internet access, so I feel a lot better leaving her alone with her games.

Margaret got given a pair of pink gumboots with this note:

(thanks, Dad!!!) Read Break and Enter if you don't understand.

I got a beautiful ring from Mum and Dad, amongst other things.

During lunch, Mim was being a right royal turd - so she was sent to her bedroom (again). I stood in the doorway for a few minutes telling her to close her eyes - that was all it took. She zonked!
Too much excitement and late nights over the past week. We went to check on her an hour later. She'd obviously wet the bed, but hadn't stirred. Half an hour after that, we discovered her asleep on the floor!


Seems her nap did her the world of good. She spent the remainder of the day and night taking photos with her camera. Had to confiscate it last night when I saw flashes of light coming from her room after lights out - had to explain that you can't take photos in a dark room!



Another Christmas over. Wonder where we'll be having the next one?

My poor pussy....

Imagine trying to have a quiet rest on a table. Until Evil approaches. Evil decides that you are too hot and need to cool down, using the dog's water!!!!


We are not amused!

Why I don't sleep well ...

This is why I don't sleep well:



Just imagine how much worse it's going to get when we have to downsize to a Queen size bed.

Wiggles Concert

On Sunday, Mim and I went to the Wiggles concert at the BEC. As always, it was a wonderful concert. I think there may have been a bit of ad libbing going on, as Anthony and Sam got the giggles for about half an hour. Charlotte really enjoyed it for the first half hour, and then flagged. Owen, on the other hand, seemed to take a little while to warm up, and then got going.

Mim enjoyed dancing to a lot of their songs. I really like the Twinkle Twinkle song, where they turned off the lights and asked all parents to turn on their mobiles and hold them up - who needs cigarette lighters!

Caitlin's Last Day at School

Caitlin was very upset to leave her school. She's had wonderful teachers during her time there, (apart from one incompetent relief person) and has made some friends. Her best friend, Hope, wasn't there on the last day, so I couldn't take a photo of them together.

(Mrs Whateley)


(Mr Fogarty)



To make things worse, she'd gotten the position of Vice-Captain of Barton House, which she won't be able to fulfill.



So next year, it's high school!

Caged animal

In preparation for our move to a yet as unknown house in Hamilton, I managed to pick up two pet carriers from a kind Freecycle person. One is for a cat, the other for a small dog. Should have just requested two cat carriers, as the larger is like a dog run for Gomez. However, we found something else that could be transported to Victoria in it!

Very Disappointed

We received the news yesterday that we didn't get the rental house we wanted in Byaduk. It's very disappointing!

Actually, it's not that we didn't get it - the agent finally got in contact with the landlord who said that he wanted the property available for when his son got back to Australia, so really he was only thinking of a 3 month lease! WTF! The poor agent was mortified - she'd had no idea. What sort of an unrealistic landlord is he. I'm really angry with him for stuffing us around for almost a week - now the real estate office closes today until 7 Dec, and we have to be down there around 23 Jan for Michael to start school.

We are now madly looking at houses on Domain and RealEstate.com.au, but there's not a lot of choice. Some of them look ok on the web photos, but I know from visiting three of them, that there's a lot of hidden problems. Like kitchens without room for fridges, only one powerpoint which is taken up with a portable hotplate because no stove! Looks like Michael gets a rush trip down in early Jan to house hunt, or we put in an application sight unseen. And to add to the problem, we've got Gomez and Morticia!

Here's some pics of Brisbane Hill, the 1870s bluestone cottage in the middle of a property that we had wanted:

The property the front drive


The lounge area

I know that it needed some maintenance and there would be problems with getting our stuff in, internet connection, etc, but it was large, there was room for most of our stuff, with extra bedroom and it was away from everybody - a proper Tree Change.

Oh, Woad is me

What happens when Mim and Charlotte go out the back to play, unsupervised?

A Kelly doll becomes Queen Boudicea, or an extra in BraveHeart. (Mim claims Charlotte was responsible - but I have my doubts. After all, Charlotte hasn't locked her grandmother out of the house!)

It's official ...

We are moving to Victoria!

Michael got the job at Monivae College, Hamilton and Caitlin is now booked in there to start (high school) Yr 7 in January.

Hmmm, now the fun part of packing up a 4 bedroom house full of "stuff", and transporting it done to Hamilton. For those that don't know where Hamilton is - go to the South Australia border and drive east for a bit over an hour!

Michael and I did a rush trip down there Wednesday afternoon, spent Thursday morning signing his contract and looking at properties to rent, before flying back Thursday evening.

OMG!!

Photos from Zie's Party

Here are some miscellaneous photos from Mackenzie's birthday party, back in November:


The (Not Quite) Birthday Girl and the kids at play


A very very yummy cake (notice the help being given to Mummy)

consuming the very very yummy cake!




Jemima's new party dress.

Break and Enter

Imagine if you will, Mim playing over at Margaret's. Then Margaret saying to her, "Mim behave yourself while I take the rubbish out."

Margaret took the rubbish out the back, put it in the bins and wheeled them around the front for collection. Then returned around the back .... to find the back door closed. She tried opening it to find the chain had been put on. "Jemima, undo the chain"! Mim couldn't. Margaret couldn't fit her arm around to unlock it.

Imagine Margaret having to climb through the kitchen window to get back in the house (good thing she's so skinny), growling "Mim, I'm going to get you for this." Imagine Margaret having to put one foot in the sink to safely dismount .... but the sink still had water in it!!!!!

I know I shouldn't be laughing - so much could have gone wrong. Margaret could have broken her legs or hips - she is 77! But the mental picture is just too much. Apparently this week was "one of those weeks" for Mim.

A busy few weeks

I've had a busy few weeks and haven't had the time or energy to post.

As previously posted, my sister's brother in law died in the beginning of November. Dad and I went down to Sydney to attend the funeral and to help clear out his unit. We left on Friday noon and arrived back on Tuesday night. Clearing out the unit was interesting, to say the least! Michelle tried to warn me about the state it was in, I thought "no biggie, I've seen my clients' places, it can't be worse than that". I was soooooo wrong! There was so much stuff! Not just rubbish (there was a fair amount of that too) but stuff. Computer bits and pieces, books, paperwork, mercury ... I mean, WTF! Who keeps mercury in glass jars in their house! But Robert was a whiz kid when it came to computers, electronics, gadgets, astronomy, lapidary....

Before I left for Sydney, I visited my grandmother in hospital. She, like Robert, had cancer. She was doped out on morphine and slept the whole time I was there, but at least I was able to say my goodbyes. Her condition improved slightly whilst I was in Sydney, but then went downhill again. I saw her again on the Tuesday when we got home. She woke briefly that time. She died a week later. She was a strong and beautiful woman, and I'll miss her.

Went to her funeral last week. It was just like Nana; short, to the point and no fussing around. Afterwards we had biscuits and tea in the little catering room. The bird serving the tea looked like something from the 1980s! Would have been in her 20s, yet had the big blond hair layered and lacquered, it wouldn't have moved if she were hung upside down in a cyclone! Bright pink blush up the cheeks, blue eyeshadow, plenty of mascara - it was all caked on. Michael reckons the mortician was getting job lots on makeup for the cadavers and staff!

The next stressful event happened on Wednesday. Was called into the boss' office about 11am and told that I'd be working in another section as of Monday, so could I finish up any outstanding business on my position and make sure I had a handover from the guy that I was replacing. Oh, and they didn't know who was taking over my position so I couldn't do a handover yet. Yeah!!!!!! Left at 6.30 on Wed night, and still have a fair bit to do. Will have to see my replacement tomorrow morning and give him fair warning of what to expect!

Oh, and we also went to Zie's birthday party, but I'll post more on that some other time! When I get time to download some of the photos.

More Mimmerisms

Michael saw a job in Balmoral, Victoria that he is considering applying for. Asked Mim one morning "Would you like to go in live in country Victoria, and have horses and cows and your very own baa baa lamb?"
"No", she said "I want to stay with you guys!"


Margaret was trying to get ready to pick Caitlin up from school. Mim decided that she wanted her doll pram which was stuck behind some other toys.
Margaret "Jemima, go to the toilet now please, so we can leave"
Mim "Well, you get the bloody pram out while I go to toilet!"
Poor Margaret, she decided to ignore that outburst.

Margaret "Jemima, you are a Bossy Bertha"
Mim "Well you are a Berthy Bossa!"

Moving Target

Before we went away to the coast, I had to purchase a new swim suit, so we headed down to Target one night. Mim kept running between Caitlin (who was checking out the kids bras) and myself at the tog section. I told her to stay with me, or she would get lost/'misappear' like last time (see earlier blog). But of course, she didn't listen.

After two minutes of not seeing her, I located C and asked where her sister was. "Dunno" was the response. Off I wandered, calling her name.

I then heard crying from the next section "I can't find my mummy" was the distressed call. Rounding the corner, I saw her in a Target employee's arms who was trying valiantly to comfort her. I called out again and the girl brought Mim over.

"See what happens if you don't do as you are told! You 'misappeared'!"

"But Mummy, I was trying to find something bootiful for you."

(bloody hell, the child can justify anything!)

And yet more Mim Moments

Margaret was preparing a cooked lunch for Mim. She'd taken out some steak when Mim demanded sausages. So Margaret grabbed some sausages from the freezer and defrosted them. She cooked them with some vegetables and served it at the table. Mim only took a few bites and then "I want brown curry!!" (Margaret was ready to spit chips!)

Margaret told Mim that if she didn't eat all her lunch, she wouldn't get dessert. Mim ignored her. So Margaret served herself a bowl of strawberries, but used one of Mim's bowls. Mim just glared at her and said "That bowl's too small for you!"

Vale - Robert

Mokie's brother-in-law, Robert, passed away on Tuesday after a short battle with bowel cancer. Mokie and Michelle have put their own lives on hold for the past few weeks and have been dividing their time between going to work, going to the hospice and sleeping. Now comes the joy of clearing out Robert's unit and commencing executor duties.

Tomorrow, Dad and I will be driving down to Sydney to assist with the clearing part. Robert was a hoarder - there are numerous bits of computers, telescopes and other electronic gear to be gone through. Robert was also a mad genius, having written three online books on scientific stuff. He's also got his own star!



So, good luck girls - I'm leaving you in the care of your father for a few days and I'd advise you to be on your best behaviour! Especially you, Mim!

Novotel - North Shore holiday

We had a lovely two days away at a North Shore Beachhouse on the Sunshine Coast. Unfortunately Meegan had to pull out due to ill health, but Carla, Charlotte, Mackenzie, Michelle, Maya, Sam, Henry, Jemima and myself all had a good time.

We hit the beach each day, either early or late, for the girls (and Henry) to splash around in the shallows. As it is not really a swimming beach there were very few people there, only walkers and a few surfers. Great for just sitting in the sand and letting the kids run wild!



It was a great house for letting the kids do their own thing (except the now crawling Zie). Henry camped out in the downstairs rumpus with his Fireman Sam DVDs, Mim and Charlotte tagged around after the bigger girls, and us old chooks got to have some adult time now and again.

I took Mim down to the beach late on Friday afternoon and took some photos:


Saturday morning, before check out, we hit the shores of the lagoon for a mini swim and play. Was hoping to get a good photo of Mim and Charlotte in their Kevin07 shirts, but Charlotte did not want to play to the camera (which is unusual for her!)

More Mimmerisms

Me: "Mim, go and sit down and eat your toast or you will get a smack!"
Mim: "Hohoho, we'll see about that!"



Mim: "I have a baby growing in my tummy!"
Me (thinking WTF!) "No you don't, you have to be 20 before that happens!"
Mim: "but I want a baby in my tummy!"
Me: "And what does your father say about that?"
Mim: "......................Daddy says NO"

School fete

The school fete has come and gone for another two years. I helped out by baking cakes and slices and even tried some caramels.

These are the items before Mim tried to "make snow angels Mummy" in the icing! Luckily not too much damage was done.

I got to spend two hours in charge of the Toilet Roll Chuck stall. For some reason, it was quite popular! Michael spent his two hours looking after the beer tent - yes, they had a beer tent at a primary school fete! The girls got unlimited access to all 5 rides, and Mim had her face painted.

Caitlin got her hair glitter sprayed - luckily she was wise enough to use a separate brush when she got home, although I would have just laughed if Michael had gotten glitter all through his hair!

Growing up - Mim style

I can't keep up with all the little things that Mim does that either make me howl with laughter, or despair.

A week ago, she went running down the hallway towards her bedroom. M was standing near the doorway and held out his hands for a cuddle. She stopped dead in front of him and sighed "I can't deal with this at the moment" and raced into her room. M just turned and looked at me with a "What the ...!" look!

This morning I was getting the girls ready for school. I told Mim to wait at her table whilst Caitlin was buttering her toast. " I can't wait forever!" was the response.

Monday evening 8.30pm, I'd been downstairs on the computer with Mim. She then headed upstairs. I proceeded to turn off the computer and followed her up 5 minutes later. There was no noise from upstairs, usually she sits in front of the TV. So I peered into her bedroom. There was a body under the doona, with the covers pulled all the way up. My Goodness, I thought, she's put herself to bed at only 8.30! I crept in and slowly peeled the covers back. This wicked grin looked back at me as she tried to hide the now opened packet of snakes, that until 5 minutes before had lived on the top shelf of the cupboard! Half of them were missing.

Mim loves the dog. The dog can be ambivalent about Mim, he sometimes even gets the shakes when she approaches him. After all, there's only so much being dragged around by your collar and being forced to sit on her lap that one can take. So, we were very surprised one morning to find this:
As soon as she started stirring, he was out of there - and she was none the wiser!

Welcome to the new addition to our family

Here's a big welcome to the new addition to our family, as yet unnamed.


On Tuesday, we picked up my (sorry, our) new (slightly used) Renault Scenic. We are now a two car, one bike family. This means I won't be stuck at home Thu/Fri, Margaret can have some time off from school runs and I can go away for a weekend, or visit Michelle in Sydney without the great hassle of leaving M without a car.

In the honoured tradition of this family, the car needs a name from the Addams family. Would appreciate any suggestions. We've already got Pugsley (Peugeot), Wednesday (Scooter), Gomez and Morticia (dog and cat).