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!