Happy Birthday Caitlin!

Sorry this post is a bit later than I'd hoped to write it.

Last Wednesday, Caitlin celebrated her 12th birthday. It was a quieter affair than previous years with a small present opening in the morning, pancakes for breakfast and a dinner at the pub. She got a hairdryer, earrings, an Emily the Strange shirt and a CD. She'd gotten a few more clothes and a trip to Dreamworld whilst we were in Brisbane, plus a sewing machine from Mumma so she hasn't done too badly this year.

It's hard to believe that it's only been 12 years since her birth, yet strangely,that time has flown by!

I can't post any embarrassing baby photos of her, that would require too much energy to hook up the scanner, so here's a shot taken of her on her birthday.

How green was my valley?

We've had a few days of decent showers, our valley is very green.


Storm approaching



View from our lounge room window - doesn't get better than this, no matter what Caitlin says.

Wedding Fever

Yesterday, when it was a maximum of 13 degrees, Mim decided that she wanted to have a dress rehearsal for her wedding. She donned her white party dress and used some fake flowers as her bouquet. When asked what she was doing, she replied that she was practising for her wedding to Jackson.



"Do you want me to wear this dress to my wedding, Mummy?".
"No, darling, it will be way too small for you because you can't get married legally for another 14 years" (God, that doesn't sound that long away!!!!!)
(And when we were in a shoe shop today, she kept pulling shoes off the shelf saying, "These will go well with my wedding to Jackson")

After persuading her to remove the "wedding dress" and "go put on something warm!" she emerged with a long sleeved shirt and shorts! She insisted that she watned to make her own lunch, "It's my lunch, but you can help me, I'll tell you what to do". We compromised, I put jam on the bread and grated the cheese, she put on the honey. And she cut it into 'squares'.

What a Rip Off!

Remember muesli bars, and how they used to be great as a snack.

Last term, we bought Caitlin a packet of Uncle Toby's BodyWise bars, to take for morning teas.



You know why they have under 100 Calories per bar? Because they are the size of a Barbie turd!!



And they cost as much as the regular muesli bars and come in a box the same size. Must cost a lot to package all that air!

Busy, Busy Week

After a weekend of washing clothing, it was time to go back to work on Monday. I had a helper. Caitlin had a PFD (pupil free day) and decided to join me at work. She came laden with her DVD player and movies, her ipod, pencils and pad. The morning wasn't as busy as Monday's usually are, thank goodness, so I showed her the good things, like how to spin blood! She also went for a walk down to the local newsagency, cum takeaway place, and the local post office.

Dr J invited her home for lunch and to meet his wife and son. She willingly went, so I worked through lunchtime. She arrived back with Dhruv, Dr J's son, who is about the same age. The two of them wandered down to the store a couple of times and bought milkshakes and did whatever kids do these days (no, not that!). It was a long day for her, and I know she wasn't in a hurry to repeat it, even though she enjoyed the curry that Dr J fed her for lunch.

Wednesday, Caitlin was ill. She had a cough that she couldn't shake. I offered to take her to work, but she said she'd rather stay home in bed. I took Mim instead (why pay daycare fees) as I knew that Dr J would finish by 10.30am, so thought I could get away after lunch. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men! Let's just say that there were a few administrative problems that needed sorting out, sooner rather than later.

I mentioned to Mim before we got there that this might be a good time to have her injections. "what are injections?" she asked. "Needles" I replied. Instant tears and "I don't want needles, why do I have to have needles, waaaaaaahhhhhhhh". So, I let the matter drop. Anyway, during a lull in business, Mim went and talked to Dr J and he showed her the needles in their plastic. Mim then decided that she wanted her needles, but it was too late, Dr J had to leave. "Waaaahhhh, I want my needles!" There's no pleasing this child!! To appease her, I made an appointment for her to have them on Friday, on our way to Warrnambool.

Thursday was a day well spent, vacuuming, washing floors, washing clothes, etc etc etc. Mim decided at 5pm that she was hungry and tried to help herself to some chocolate. As I was in the process of lighting the fire, Caitlin went to stop her. The next minute Caitlin comes in in tears, howling that Mim headbutted her on the nose and Mim is standing there, defiantly clutching her chocolate. You could see the wheels turning in her head "uh oh, I'm in trouble now, how can I consume this chocolate before I get it taken off me". Not quick enough though, the chocolate was confiscated, she was smacked and banished to her room and I got Caitlin an icepack for her nose.

No permanent damage on the nose, and later that night, Mim asked me if I would like her to set the table for dinner. (I think someone knew they were in BIG trouble).

Friday, Caitlin had another day off school with her persistent cough so Warrnambool was out. We went to Dr J though, to get Mim's needles. She was so happy to be there and happily talked to Caitlin whilst Dr J prepared the two. "Hold Caitlin's hand now" I said. "Look at Caitlin now" Dr J said. It was funny seeing her face go from happy to an 'I don't like this" look. "Shall we start the needle now?" Dr J said as he pulled the first one out and put rubbed her arm. She had a few tears and a few "ow, ow, ow, ow"s. She didn't want to have the second needle, but acquiesced and it was over and done with quickly. There was no screaming, no great waterworks and she was smiling at Dr J again within 30 seconds.

Later, in town, Mim's comment was, "I like needles, but not the pointy bit!"

Jobie Mayhem

Caitlin got to attend a meeting of JDs whilst in Brisbane, and caught up with all her friends there.



Mim just created mayhem. But she did like dressing up as a princess, with the cape and 'tiarara'. She spent most of the night running around with some of the girls, and then they all played a game of "roll a six on the dice and eat as much chocolate with a knife and fork before someone else rolls a six". She came running up to me, with chocolate all over her face, screaming "I won, mummy, I won!" Goodness knows how much chocolate actually made it into her mouth but she was still hyped up after 10.30pm!



And after the supper provided, in a fit of superhuman strength, I managed to wrench the handle off the door of Margaret's car. (Actually it just broke in half in my hand, but it was still a bit of a shock). We managed to get home and I picked up another handle from Scifleet in the morning.

A Liberal Supporter?

Nah, don't think so!

How do you know when you're a regular pub diner?

How do you know when you've become a regular diner at the pub?

Mim was spending time with Charlotte whilst I took Caitlin to the dentist. As it was lunchtime, Carla asked Mim if she would like a sandwich.

The response Carla got, "Not now thank you, I'll put my order in later."

I believe Carla's response was something along the lines of "I'm not running a cafe here!"

Knuckle down, Naomi!

As I was putting Mim's socks on, she asked where her heel was. So I pointed it out to her.

She then asked where her knuckles where. I made a fist and pointed out the knuckles.

Mim said "Naomi (a girl from daycare) said that wasn't my knuckles! Am I going to have to show her?"

Dreamworld .... What was I thinking!

Caitlin wanted to go to Dreamworld one last time to use up her Max Action Pass. I agreed to take her and her friend Hope (Mim was still sick so didn't take her). I even agreed to go on some of the rides with them.

Big Mistake!!

They conned me into agreeing to try the Big Five Thrill Rides. I was able to get out of the WipeOut as I'd been on it before (when Caitlin was about 6) and didn't like the way it jerked your neck around. But I went on the Cyclone, the rollercoaster that loops the loop and has a very steep drop and the Claw. Did not like the feeling at all! Wooshing up and down and being upside down. Could feel both my stomach muscles and throat muscles clenching.

We went on the River Rapids and the Log Ride. Got very wet as Hope insisted that Caitlin and I sit in the front of the log! Yep, not a good idea to put the two heaviest people in front!

The girls headed off to do their own thing and I settled down to watch the tigers and dry out. I was happy sitting in the cafe, sipping a (hideously expensive) hot chocolate and watching the big cats play. Also got to see the tiger cubs that were about 4weeks old, very cute.


We had lunch early and had fun paying out on the Dora the Explorer that was wandering around. Michael's theory is that Dora looks like a younger version of Ugly Betty. This one just looked like a 6 foot tall overweight kid. "Geez", said Hope, "what's with the Map. Hasn't she heard of GPS yet!"

The girls then decided that we had to do the other Thrill Rides. The Tower of Terror was okay, the worst part was being flattened into your seat as the ride hit 160km/h in 7 seconds.

Then they took me on the Giant Drop. Know why it's called the Giant Drop? Because you shit yourself at 120m up in the air!

You get strapped into a seat and winched up into the air. You think, we must almost be at the top, but no, you keep going further up. The view is spectacular ... but there is no way that you can enjoy it with your feet dangling in empty air. You can see the rain coming in over the mountains in the distance, you can see McDonalds a number of kilometres away (so Caitlin tells me), but all you can think about is how you are getting back to the ground. The seat lingers there, giving you plenty of time to think "what happens if the motors controlling this break now, what happens if the safety harness comes off, how quickly will I die...". And then the seats drop about an inch. And you think Oh Shit!

And then you free fall most of the way down. And you think (or yell) FFFFUUUUUUUU....AR OUT! And you lose control of all bowel and bladder functions. And you leave fingernail marks in the safety harness. When the ride slows and you finally get back to ground, you can barely get out of the seat. And then, if you are under 25 you laugh maniacally , say what fun that was and line up again. If you are over 25, you say WTF WAS I THINKING!!!!!

After being subjected to this nutcase form of entertainment, I decided that I'd spend the rest of the day just walking around.

After we had gotten home, I told Michael that my feet were hurting from walking around all day. In usual Michael-lack-of-sympathy style, he replied "Well , your bum was be sore too, it's all swollen."

I can safely say that I never want to go skydiving!!!!!

Home again at last

Home at last, thank goodness, after our long drive to Brisbane and back.

We left home at 4.30pm on the Friday afternoon and drove to Echuca, arriving just after 9pm, dining in the not so fine establishment of McDonalds. We had been lucky enough to be given directions by Wazza which allowed us to avoid Bendigo, thus shaving about 40mins off the trek.
Mim and her i-podge

We stayed at Echuca/Moama Holiday Villas. They were simple, clean and the service was wonderful and friendly. Would definitely recommend them to anybody wanting an overnight stay or base point in the area. Gomez slept in the car quite happily, after I'd walked him around the block.

We left Echuca at 4.30am Saturday morning and drove, and drove, and drove.

Sunrise near Jerilderie

Stopped for fuel in Jerilderie, breakfast (Maccas) in Forbes and a very late lunch (KFC) in Moree. Stopped for fuel again in Bogabilla, just shy of Goondiwindi. Pulled into Margaret's driveway just shy of 10pm on Saturday. Not a bad drive, and the girls and Gomez were very well behaved.

Spent Sunday celebrating Michael's birthday. Mum and Dad came over for a BBQ lunch.
a very scary birthday boy

Caught up with people from PT on Tuesday morning, whilst Caitlin and her friend Hope did some window shopping in town.

Spent time with Carla, catching up her life whilst the girls played. Caitlin (and Mim) learnt how to play Carla's new Wii, and now Caitlin wants one for her birthday. Mim is quite good at the balancing games, and Caitlin likes the ski jump game.

little angels Grand Central kitchen

Had dentist appointment on Wednesday morning, Caitlin needs a mouthguard for sleeping to stop grinding her front teeth. Went to optometrist on Thursday, need to change the lens of my glasses. So spent Thursday afternoon to Tuesday afternoon wearing contacts full time. Yuck.

Took Caitlin to Dreamworld on Sunday, but will blog that one separately!

Had Caitlin's check up for her heart on Monday, all is doing well, she'll always have a heart murmur and we need to keep an eye on one of her valves which is in the wrong position but is working normally. Great news to hear. We were lucky to get to this appointment, there was a long saga behind it full of computer programs losing appointment details, swaps from the Prince Charles hospital to the Mater, etc. Luckily, we got a letter on the day we left for Brisbane, reminding us of an appointment for her when I'd been told on the phone weeks previously that she didn't have an appointment and there were no vacancies. Sigh. Still, we got to see the wonderful Dr Rob Justo who, with Mr Peter Pohlner, was responsible for her being alive today.

Mum gave Mim a present, her very own i-podge (well, it's just a cheapie MP3 player but Mim doesn't care). She also gave her a portable DVD player. It doubles as a present for Caitlin as well, so Mim is not "borrowing" Caitlin's i-pod or DVD player. It was a gift well received!

Mim and her DBDB

Left Brisbane around 8.30am on Wednesday morning. Stopped for petrol again at Bogabilla then again at Jerilderie. Lunch was on the run (I'd packed some breadrolls) and we reached Gilgandra around 6.30pm. Stayed at Gilgandra Motel, half the price of anything at Dubbo and would recommend it. They were happy for dogs to stay in the car or be chained up outside the room (but it was a bit too cold for Gomez to be outside overnights. The owner of the motel is a Vietnam Veteran as well as a Freemason, so Michael was in his element.

Dined at Tattersalls Hotel, Gilgandra. Excellent pub food, meal for four cost under $60. Michael's steak was melting in his mouth. Mim ordered sausages and then she and the waitress discussed what vegies it should be served with. They agreed on the carrots, corn and beans, but no peas (and of course, chips).

even truckers hate caravans!
the long paddock

Left at 4.45 Thursday morning and pushed on to Narrandera before stopping for breakfast and to dress Mim. Then a refuel at Jerilderie (again) and a horrible experience at Rotten Ronnies, Echuca for lunch. We drove into the driveway here at 6.30pm. We were back down at the pub for dinner by 7!

Somewhere between Jerilderie and Echuca, there were roadworks occuring and we had to stop at a single red light. There we sat for a few minutes before a voice piped up from the back seat, "this is boring, Dad, just go!" Michael advised her that he couldn't go until the light turned green..."so, say Change, you bastards and see if it will". She did, it did and we were on our way. Let's see if she tries it again at the one traffic light in Hamilton!

"Change, you bastards!"

The other amusing highlight was breakfast at Narrendera. We were finishing up some toasted sandwiches for breakfast and flavoured milk when Michael asked Caitlin if she needed to use the facilities: "Need to wee?" (shake of her head), "Need to poo?" (shake of her head), "Need to blow gas out of your freckle?" (she almost spat coffee flavoured milk all over the table).

All in all, whilst it was great catching up with family and friends, I'm so glad to be home. I'm very glad to be back sleeping in the king size bed rather than in Margaret's double bed. Michael was just too close for comfort in there!

changing this for this