The New Ballet Dress

Mim loves her new ballet dress. She thinks she is a prima ballerina or a contestant on So You Think You Can Dance!



And look at the length of her legs!



We couldn't get Mim back in the dance school she attended last year. It's just not physically possible (even if I wasn't working) to pick her up from school at 3.20 and have her at dance class in Hamilton by 3.45. Luckily, the other dance school has a Saturday class so we've booked her into that. I called the original school and let them know that she wouldn't be continuing because of the logistics. Two weeks later I got a call from the same woman, asking if Mim was going to be doing classes this year. I had to explain that I'd already let them know she couldn't because we lived/schooled/worked in Coleraine and it was just not physically possible. "Oh, that's a pity, Jemima showed a lot of potential, " was her remark. "oh, don't worry, the other dance school runs a Saturday class, so I've booked her in there. I think it's important that she keeps doing ballet" was my reply. She sounded very put out at that. But her company does not cater for anybody that lives outside of Hamilton so hopefully she'll take that on board when organising classes in future.

Mim also wants to do gymnastics, but classes are in Hamilton at 4pm, again not a possibility at this stage.

First day at school

The day had finally arrived...... Mim was finally allowed to go to school. I'd spent the previous week covering her books and reading folder, taking up her trousers, ironing uniforms and packing her bag. Everything was ready the night before..... except I couldn't find the new lunchbox I'd bought her, grrrrrr! (It was found a week later, on the floor of the lounge room, hmmmmmmmmmm)

We thought we'd let her sleep in til at least 7.30, but she was up (barely awake) and putting on her uniform at 6.30. I encouraged her to leave her PJs on until after she'd had breakfast and cleaned her teeth, just in case she spilled something.



I had to take Caitlin to the bus stop at 8 so called into work to get some hours up. Michael was able to go into school a bit later this morning, so he could help take her to school. At 8.40, I raced home and Mim was waiting, all kitted up. She looked very cute, more so when she put on her school bag and it was almost as big as she was!



We drove in convoy to the school gates, where Michael was able to have a photo with her, give her a kiss good bye and head into town. She turned and wandered on up the path, with not a care in the world, as if she owned the school! (I got to follow, carrying the school bag). We found her desk in the classroom and unpacked her bag and took some photos. We had to take some photos of Mason as well, as his mum had left the camera on the bench in her hurry to get three boys plus Noah out the door! Then it was time for assembly.



The principal, Mrs Gregory, told an inspirational story of the building of the Washington Bridge, how it took 13 yrs to do, and that's how long the new Preps would be in school for (don't turn them off school on their first day!!!!!!) All the little Preppies were shuffling, moving around, talking to each other..... except for Mim, who spent that five minutes standing very still and staring at Mrs Gregory. She's going to be that kid in class who's always well behaved, sits up straight and uses her manners!!! (Hope she'll do it at home too).



I attended the Tears and Tissues morning tea afterwards, although there were no tears from any of us. I knew most of the mothers from Kindy, and we introduced ourselves to the one new mother. Then back to work.

At 2.20, I arrived back at school to collect her. She chatted happily about what a good day they'd had, they'd been read a story and did some playing. I dropped her off at the daycare unit, where she knew Noah, Mason's little brother.

I picked her up at 5, she said she'd had fun playing. Charleen, the carer, told me how Jemima had helped clean up the toys... I told her she should have given her the vacuum cleaner and let her go!

I had to go back to work to finalise some things, so gave Mim the option of heading down to the milkbar with Caitlin for a drink. She said yes, but changed her mind and stayed with me. We went to pick up Caitlin ten minutes later. Walked into the store, she saw the blocks of chocolate and asked for one. I said no...... and the trouble started. She started sulking, and then arguing and didn't want to walk back to the car, so Caitlin and I walked without her. She caught up to us before we crossed the street, crying that it wasn't fair!

When we got home she continued the ranting. She wouldn't get changed out of her uniform, or take off her shoes, or unpack her bag. She just lay on her bed crying, "it's not fair, I want to be as big as Caitlin. I wanted to be born first! Why didn't you let me be born first!" I tried explaining that I had no say in who was born first but she wouldn't believe me. "If you wish for a baby, then you get one! Why couldn't you wish for me to be first!!!"

Luckily the tears stopped after half an hour and she'd calmed down enough to get changed. She wouldn't speak to either Nana or Mumma when they called to see how the first day had went, though. But she did do her homework. She had to read her book to me, which she did very well. She then spoiled the impression that she could actually read, by closing her eyes and "reading" the book with no mistakes!!!! Smart arse!

It was early to bed for her that night (8pm is really early for her). And she was looking forward to school again.

A Weekend in Sydney

As Margaret was a bit too 'under the weather' to be traveling back to Brisbane on her own, I organised to fly up to Sydney that weekend to visit Michelle and Olivia.. and Mark too. The local doctor wanted Margaret to delay flying for another couple of days, but she wanted to get home as soon as possible and see her own doctor.

So I organised us onto a Sharp flight from Hamilton to Melbourne and then Virgin flights to Brisbane and Sydney. I arranged to leave work early, at 4pm, to get to the Hamilton airport for the 5.30pm flight on the Friday afternoon. I thought I had everything covered....... but of course not!

About 1.30 on the Friday afternoon, I got a phone call from Sharp airlines to say there was a problem... the plane was no longer leaving from Hamilton, only from Portland which is an hour's drive to the south! They could arrange for someone to drive us there, but Margaret and I would need to be in Hamilton by 4.30. So I madly arranged to leave work at 3.30, race home and grab my suitcase, get changed and Michael drove us into town. The mini bus was waiting, we jumped on with another woman and drove off to Portland.

aerial view of Portland

As soon as we got to the Portland airport, our bags were checked in and the plane was boarded. Usually (well at Hamilton anyway), the Sharp people ask if we need a taxi at the other end, they didn't at Portland and we didn't think of it in the rush. We got to Essendon airport only ten minutes after originally scheduled and disembarked. They brought out the suitcases.... and ours weren't on the trolley! I had to track down the attendant and ask them to go and check the plane. By the time the bags were brought out, all the cabs were gone so I had to ask them call for one! We waited for another ten minutes before it arrived so checking in at Tullamarine was a bit hurried. Margaret's departure gate was almost down the end, and she had to use the toilet first and have a sit down to catch her breath so her flight was already boarding by the time we got down there. But at least we got there in time!

(She arrived safely in Brisbane, but still out of breath, so a wheelchair to the front gate was the best option)

My flight left about 20 minutes later and I got into Sydney about 9.45pm. My bag was one of the first off the carousel so I was outside reasonably quickly waiting for Michelle to pick me up. Unfortunately she was stuck in the traffic heading for the pick up zone. Sydney Airport, you may need to rethink how you've organised that!!! It doesn't allow for traffic flow at all! Still she made it there, collected me and we were off to Mary's (collecting Mark and then via Maccas of course).

Sunset, somewhere over southern NSW

Olivia is gorgeous. She was asleep on Mary's lap when we arrived, but I still got to have a cuddle.



The next day, Michelle and I went to Chatsworth Shopping Centre. I'd forgotten just how rude people can be in shopping centres but it was good to be able to look in a variety of shops. I found a beautiful little white ballet dress in Bloch, a dancewear shop. Michelle has threatened to get Mim a pair of tap shoes for her birthday (I've found a large drum set for Olivia in Dick Smith, if you do!!) The sales lady was cooing over Olivia, and trying to sell Michelle a little pair of ballet shoes for newborns!!

Michelle's parking ticket would not read in the machine, despite several attempts by herself and the security guard, so she got let out of the gates for free, yippeee!!

That afternoon we went to Catherine and Dom's for afternoon tea, and to meet Erica. The poor little dear had a bad case of nappy rash.

Me with Erica
Michelle and Olivia

That evening was a wonderful takeaway pizza from Livio's. I still think that he makes the best (and garlickiest) Margherita pizza in Australia! Olivia still preferred her milk on tap, as long as it was still wrapped in plastic... none of that natural nipple in the mouth, thank you very much! She's a young lady who knows what she wants!

Asleep at last!

MOKMOK, OKLOK and MOKLOK (mother of OKLOK)

Michelle dropped me off at the airport, leaving Mark holding the baby. The flight to Melbourne was uneventful, even though I had to sit next to two smelly teenage boys! I had an hour to kill between flights, so I headed to the Essendon DFO and had a look. Didn't even make it into the main part where the clothing was, will have to do that another time. Found Howards Storage World and enjoyed browsing there for a while and then heading back to Essendon airport.

The flight home was uneventful as well, and we touched down at Hamilton ten minutes early. Michael and the girls picked me up. Mim got her ballet dress, Caitlin got some folders she had requested and I got Michael a thing that hangs over the door that he can put his wallet and phone in, so he won't keep running around the house looking for the damn things.

almost home, the Grampians

coming into Hamilton airport

Yes , I've been slack!

I've had two people at me to update this blog... which I've been trying to do for a month now! But things keep getting in the way (like Facebook, although I've stopped playing Farmtown, Farmville, Fishville and CafeWorld).

A lot has been happening over the Christmas holidays.

First we had Uncle Bah (aka Mark David) come to stay with us for a week. Caitlin enjoyed playing grownups and going for coffee with him at Darriwill Farm Cafe (just ask her about the bit of lemon slice she had with her cream!) Whilst he was here, Tim and Alice came over to shear our sheep, giving him an appreciation of just how much muscle is involved with stripping some cantankerous ladies! In payback, Tim left one of the ladies with a fringe (tee hee).



Mark took the girls to Toyworld to choose their Christmas gifts. They were given a budget of $50 each. Mim took one look around and went "I want that, and that, and that, and that......". It was like letting a kid loose in a candy store! She ended up choosing a Hair Salon Barbie ($60) so Caitlin got cash to that amount as well. (Good to see you are sticking to the limit you set them, Mark, LOL)

And Mim had her final Kindy day, complete with lunch, concert and showing of the Kindy video. Merryn, the loveliest Kindy teacher ever, made each child a display folder of activities and paintings that they had done during the year, and also a DVD of a slideshow of photos set to music for each child. She showed the DVD of all the Kindy kids after the lunch, and there were a few damp eyes in the audience.



A few days after Mark had left, Margaret arrived, on the same day as my work Xmas party. I took the girls to it and let Michael do the taxi service. Sue had organised a lovely catered lunch, music & drinks up at the racecourse with a jumping castle for the kids. Santa arrived after lunch and gave each child a large (and I mean LARGE) bag of lollies. Followed by a piñata for the kids. It was a great event, even though I was still unsure who most of the people there were! I also had to fish the lolly bag out from underneath Jemima's pillow when she went to bed that night,.. and the next night,... and the next night!!!



making apricot balls

Then came Christmas. We tried to keep present numbers down this year, following the example of Meegan (who later admitted that she had failed in that attempt!! I don't blame you when you have young kids, it's too difficult not to splurge.) Caitlin got mostly clothing (that she had chosen) plus money (which she is saving to buy herself a Nintendo DSI). Mim got her Barbie and various other paraphernalia.

I got what I have hankered for for a long time.... a Kitchen Aid!! And because it is fire engine red, it'll go faster!



Lunch was lovely, roast chook, roast pork (and crackling) and salads... and the best part was ALL of the food was gone after Boxing Day. No ham left in the fridge on New Years Day!



New Year's Eve was spent in the traditional way - dinner at the pub. Caitlin and Margaret went home early, but Mim, Michael and I enjoyed the 'live' music (played by three pensioners) until just after midnight. Mim had fun dancing with all the regulars and was even given her own pair of devil horns by the postmaster's table. The only downside she has was when one of the other kids yelled at her, because Mim had been encouraging her to come and dance. The other child was told in no uncertain terms to Go Away and stop being a little beeaatch.

January brought in more cool weather and some trips away for Michael, Margaret and the girls, but I'll blog that separately. Work became really busy, with January being the month in which farmers want fertiliser spread over their paddocks, and fertiliser prices increasing in lat January, so hence the delay in posting. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!)

Meeting the extended family

Whilst Margaret was visiting over Christmas, Michael took the family (minus me, I had to work) to visit Margaret's family and "the old farm".

They drove up to Murrayville, in the Mallee, stopping for a picnic lunch at Wyperfield National Park. Mim had difficulty in eating her sandwich.... every time she waved away one fly, two more would take its place. Finally she had help, Caitlin fanning her while she ate her sandwich.

They visited 'Gracedale', the farm that Margaret grew up on. The farmhouse was burnt down a while ago, but at least the toilet is still standing! And a couple of sheds. It was hot and dry, forty plus degrees.

They stayed at the Murrayville Pub and Margaret caught up with some of the family... the Colonel, Blue, Megsy and various others with names that were not on their birth certificates. Margaret hadn't seen some of these people for fifty years. It only took one ring around to create an instant dinner for twenty at the pub.

The name fest continued the next day with a trip to see Splinter and Doreen at Ouyen.

Michael developed a bad headache on the way home, so Margaret had to drive, which of course made Michael feel worse! But they arrived safely home, glad to get into the air conditioning.

A few weeks later, they did another trip away, this time going over to see Margaret's brother George at Waaia, near Shepparton.



The girls had a great time learning to ride a quad bike. Mim became a little hoon. Uncle George controlled the throttle and Mim steered.... luckily George cut the throttle before she hit the verandah!!



Michael and the girls stayed at a hotel in Shepparton and Margaret overnighted with her brother. They arrived home late the next day, very tired.

Olivia Kate

and then there were three.....


the little red-headed princess

Born Sunday 6 December 2009, on what would have been her great grandfather's 89th birthday. She was 6lb 15oz and 52cm long.

Michelle finished work on the Friday before, and had planned to do lots of resting, catching up with friends and various other tasks (like installing the carseat) before baby was due on the 15th. That never happened!

chilling out

"bring me my food now!!!!!"

Back, at last!

My father has told me to get back blogging as the old posts were 'getting boring'. So I'm back.

There have been two significant events occur in my life in the last 6 weeks.

1. I got a new job!!!!!

2. I became an aunty (again)!!!!

I was not happy with working at the hospital. Whilst the hours were suitable for looking after Jemima, I didn't like the bullying behaviours of one of my colleagues. And she was not going to change. Staff had put up with her behaviours for the past decade, so the likelihood of anything changing was minimal. So I started applying for other jobs.

Late in November, I had an interview with a local company for a 'Assistant Records Clerk'. And I got it! It is a full time position at Vickery Bros, a company that supplies and spreads fertiliser. Despite being a 'local' company, they service a large portion of southwest Victoria and into South Australia. It is a great place to work, really friendly and laid back. I'm really enjoying myself.

On 6 December, Michelle gave birth to a beautiful little red head, whom they have named Olivia Kate. Little Livvy already knows the importance of being dramatic (the genes inherited from her grandmother, Dame Mary) and stubborn (Michelle swears that she did not pass on this gene). She insists that meal times are whenever she wants, and naps whenever she chooses. Just like a baby:)

One of the drawbacks of getting this full time job is that I can't visit Livvy over Christmas, like I had planned. I'm still trying to work out when I can get up to Sydney to spoil her rotten.