Not much happening 'round here today.

Had a really early start to the day. Ashleigh had a doctor's appointment at 8.15am at Norwest so we left home at ten to eight. It was a bit of a shock to the system given we are normally just eating breakfast at this time of the day.

To top things off - it was F.F.FREEZING!

We applied for a rental property on the weekend. There was about 30 other people looking through the house at the same time as us. They received over 20 applications for this property so I'm not holding my breath. We'll be VERY lucky if we get it. It was a great house though!

Here is a photo of Lauren and me.


I haven't taken many photos lately. Been so busy living life.

We've got a quiet night tonight. Aaron's working until late so the girls will most likely be in bed by the time he gets home. I think we'll just have something simple for dinner tonight.

Bye for now!

I feel as though I accomplished a lot today. I've been a bit stressed lately but I'm slowly getting things under control again.

Looking forward to the weekend.

I went to my Weight Watchers meeting this morning. I lost 1.1kg this week!! That's a total of 2.6kgs in 3 weeks! Not bad. Still got another 6kgs to go. I have to say I had a bad day today - I ate a lot of junk food and chocolate (because in my book - chocolate ain't junk food!). I'll be good tomorrow - promise!

"Sugar" died this morning (Lauren's goldfish). I think it had a disease when we bought it. Half of it's tail fell off the day after we bought it and it has progressively gotten worse. Towards the end his entire tail had fallen off and it looked horrible! I think he's going to have to have one last swim down the toilet bowl tonight while the girls are in bed.

I woke up this morning absolutely wrecked. I can't remember the last time I was this tired! I don't know why I'm so tired but last night I fell asleep in the middle of Medium and that's one of my all time favourite shows!! I hope I'm not coming down with something!

I got a whole bunch of photos developed last week with the 15cent deal at Harvey Norman so I've got heaps of photos to sort through. That's a job for next week I think. Too much to think about right now.

Anyway I'm going to get ready for bed. Take care all!!

Big Mistake ....

Yep, I made a big mistake yesterday.

About 2 weeks ago Aaron heated something up in the microwave and it exploded all through the microwave so I thought I'd sit and wait to see how long it would take him to clean it. Days went past - he heated up his porridge every morning and still it didn't get cleaned so I said to him:

"You know, fairies aren't going to come along and clean the microwave for you - you made the mess - you clean it".

I got the usual response, "Yeah, yeah".

So, finally it got too much for me to bear (after 2 weeks mind you) so I cleaned it. Yesterday I said to Aaron:

"Did you see that the fairies cleaned the microwave for you?"

Well, you should have seen Ashleigh. Her eyes opened wide she said "DID THEY??"

She ran over to the microwave and looked inside "Wow, that's amazing". "I saw them you know Mum". She looked in the microwave about 3 more times - totally amazed!

Then I asked her to make her bed - you can guess the response I got:

"The fairies will make it for me Mum".

What have I done???

So our house sold last week and now we have to look for somewhere else to live. Two years ago I would have been devastated to leave this house/street but now I think I'm ready for something new.

A lot of people have moved out of our street over the past year. Brian and Denise, Gloria and her family (Jim's still here but not for long), Andrew and Ursula and the people down the end of the street (not sure what their names were). It's funny. We were the 2nd people to move in to this street so we've seen people come and go and now it's our turn! I wonder what the future holds for us?

A cop and his fiancee bought the house so that now makes 4 police on our one little street! At least it will be safe!!

It's going to be hard trying to find something to rent that is reasonable in price and close to Ashleigh's school. Hopefully we will find something by October!

One of my favourite shows is on television as I'm typing this - Shawshank Redemption! I love that movie!

Aaron's at a mate's house - he has just recently gone through a messy break-up with his wife and he really wanted someone to talk to so Aaron's gone to do some male bonding - not sure how that will go (for those of you who know Aaron you'll know that he isn't all that good at listening to people's sob stories - he really needs to be in the mood).

We're having a Christmas in July next week with the family. Never been to one before let alone hosted one so anybody who has any ideas out there I'd love to hear them!

Anyway, I'm going to get cosy in bed - it's quite cold tonight. Nighty night!!

Random Thoughts ...

Random thoughts I've had today .....

1. I wish I had've intented Google.
2. When turkey feels slimey it has gone bad.
3. I should have bought a house 5 years ago.
4. Everyone has the right to make mistakes.
5. Nobody's perfect. We can try, but don't try too hard, it's impossible.

Hope you all have a great day!

Guess Who ...

I have to say I absolutely love old photos. What is it about them? They seem to have been able to capture so many more emotions than the photos of today. Is it the black and white or sepia that make them so much more appealing? Who knows?

Anyway, here some photos of my family - grandfather Eric Bailey (my Mum's Dad), my Mum and her brother Paul and Mum when she was a little girl - very cute!






Got a very busy day on tomorrow. Lots to do so I'm going to get a good night's sleep tonight - I hope!

New Photos

I noticed I haven't posted any photos of the girls for a while so here's one for you!




They are growing up so fast. Ashleigh started back at school today. What a day to start back at school - it was f, f, f, freezing!!! And tomorrow's supposed to be colder! Brrrrrr - winter is definitely here!

I've started scanning some old photos from Mum's childhood photo album. I'll post photos once I'm done.

Not much else going on at the moment. Hope everyone is well!!

Happy Birthday Georgia

Today is Georgia's Birthday - Happy Birthday Georgie. Hope you have a great day!

Had a pretty good weekend. On Saturday we went for a drive into the city to see the big US aircraft carrier that is docked at Wolloomooloo (did I spell it right?). It was an awesome sight. It's a bloody big boat! There was about 50 aircraft on it - more than I expected and the place was packed!! I'm sure Kings Cross was well visited over the weekend!!!

We also decided we'd walk across the Harbour Bridge while we were there. We haven't done it before and thought we would do it. I stood as far away from the edge as was physically possible - I absolutely HATE heights!! It was really freaky but fun! Sorry guys, I forgot to take my camera so I didn't get any photos.

We had lunch with Belinda, Flynn and Jake today at McDonalds. It's always great going to Maccas for lunch - the kids can play while the parents sit and chat! Ideal!!

Nothing else going on right now. We're taking Ash to the optometrist tomorrow. This will be the last time she has a lens change in a while - I hope!

I'll leave you with an email my friend sent to me:

1. What time did you get up this morning? 9 am (I'm loving school holidays - sleep in)

2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Knocked Up (too much of the "f" word)

4. What is your favorite TV show? Lost

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Cereal

6. What is your middle name? Louise

7. What food do you dislike? Olives

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Savage Garden (an oldie but a goody)

9. Favorite sandwich? Turkey, cream cheese, cranberry sauce, avocado - YUMM!

10. What characteristics do you despise? Selfishness

11. If you could go anywhere in the world for a vacation, where would you
go? Asia - cos I've never been

12. Where would you retire? Dunno - too far away

13. What was your most memorable birthday? 21st

14. Favorite saying? "I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse and chase the rider"

15. When is your birthday? 16th May 1975

16. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night

17. What did you want to be when you were little? A school teacher

18. What is you favorite candy? Toblerone - yummy!

19. What is your favorite flower? Lily

20. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? 27th January 2008 - Amanda's wedding

21. What church do you attend?  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

22. What are you listening to right now?  TV and the girls playing Mum's and Dad's in "Nana's room" (which is our spare room)

23. What was the last thing you ate? Minestrone Soup and Crusty Bread

24. Do you wish on stars? No

25. Do you believe in Angels? Yes

26. What is your pet peeve? Bad Drivers

27. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Belinda (sis-in-law)

28. Favorite soft drink? Diet Coke (I know how bad it is Amanda - sorry, I love it)

29. Favorite restaurant? Pent Thai

30. Hair Color? Dark Brown with blonde foils

31. Siblings? 1 sister, 2 brothers

32. Favorite day of the year? Christmas Day by far - even now!!!

33. What was your favorite toy as a child? Charmkins or CPK (Cabbage Patch Kids)

34. Summer or Winter? Winter

35. Hugs or kisses? Hugs

36. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate - silly question

37. When was the last time you cried? A couple of days ago watching an episode of Oprah - separating conjoined twins

38. What is under your bed? Probably lots of dust!

39. Who is the friend you've had longest? Deborah Stewart (nee Deb Saikaly)

40. What did you do last night? Stayed home and made pizza

41. Favorite smell?  My clothes after they've been washed with Radiant.

42. What are you afraid of? Heights

43. How many keys on your key ring? About 6

44. How many years at your current job? Too long

45. Favorite day of the week? Saturday

Random Thoughts .....

Lauren is starting to put some words together now and making an attempt to make a sentence. She has started saying things like "Good, Mummy" when I ask her if something is good. This morning she said "open door" - I was so happy! It's better than just "good" and "door".

I started up Weight Watchers again yesterday. Went to my first meeting in over a year. I hope to lose 10kgs this time around. Wish me luck!

Got some great news, Amanda (Aaron's sister) has announced her wedding date - 27th January 2008! Yipee - finally an excuse to go to New Zealand!! I love weddings so I'm really looking forward to it! Can't wait Amanda and Richard!!!

Anyway, not much else going on at the moment. Aaron's playing with matches at the moment - simple things! The house absolutely stinks! Lucky the fire alarm hasn't gone off! I think he missed out on the opportunity to play with matches as a boy and has decided to make up for it now!

Bye for now guys!!

Week One!

Well, we are halfway through week one of school holidays and so far so good. We have been keeping busy.

Ashleigh came out with a couple of 'funnies' the other day. First one:

She was sitting on Dad's lap with Lauren and Dad said: "Straight hair (pointing at Ashleigh) and curly hair (pointing at Lauren)". Without skipping a beat Ashleigh then pointed to Dad and said "No hair". LOL!! (Mum, this means Laugh Out Loud)!! Very funny!!

The second one:

We were shopping for some boots for Ashleigh and she said to me "Mum, I want some pointy boots - not pointy like a toothpick but pointy". I had to laugh - very specific instructions she gave me!

I ran into an old friend from school today at Kellyville Pets. It was great to see her again! I'm sorry I ever lost contact with her but that happens sometimes. Why does it happen? I guess we just get so busy living our life that we forget to pick up the phone and call people. That's something I need to work on!

Anyway, that's it for now I'll leave you with a couple of photos of the girls. The first one is a photo of Lauren's crazy, curly, LONG hair!! The next one is a photo Ashleigh took of herself, holding the camera from a distance. It's a bit out of focus but we get the idea! And the last one is of the girls colouring in their colouring in competition to get a free goldfish from Kellyville Pets. They have called them "Sugar" and "Spice".

Well, I can honestly say that my day sucked!! I haven't been out of the house all week and it's starting to really bug me. Ashleigh was sick the first half of the week and last night Lauren came down with a vomitting bug! She vomitted all night last night and she has been vomitting all day today! She has been absolutely miserable. I have NEVER seen her this miserable. Everytime I got up to go to the toilet or do some washing (I had about 10 towels worth of vomit to clean) she would burst out crying and follow me. I have just put her to bed because I couldn't take anymore of her crying ..... oops I spoke too soon, she just started crying!! I'll leave her a while and see if she stops. Fingers crossed!!

I just hope we both get a half decent night's sleep because I'm so exhausted.

Aaron's in Melbourne too so I've had no reprieve.

Aaron and I are going out for dinner tomorrow night at China Town and I CAN'T WAIT!!

Anyway, I'd better go get her it sounds like she's going to vomit again.

Bye.

Rain, Rain and More Rain!

That just about says it all!! Like the saying goes "When it rains, it pours". Well that's certainly the case these days. I must admit I do like the rain and the cold weather. It makes me feel alive!!

Didn't do much today. Ash was home sick again today. Really not well. She had a temperature of 39 degrees again and stayed on the lounge most of the day. Hopefully she'll get better soon!

The cat decided to vomit on the carpet today! We have tiles as far as the eye can see and he decided to throw up on the carpet!! Stupid, ruddy animal! Just what I needed when I had a sick kid and a throbbing headache!!

Funny thing happened tonight. I got a phone call from this guy who had rung the wrong number. Guess what his name was? John Bailey!! I laughed and told him that I had an Uncle John Bailey - he didn't see the irony. I think he thought I was a bit crazy when I explained that I had an uncle by the same name! I don't think he really cared to be honest. Oh well.

Tried to take some photos of the girls today. Lauren was OK with it but poor Ash really wasn't in the mood but she still managed a smile. The poor thing!

Thanks for the t-shirts Grandma Stanley!!

And thanks for the present Aunty Mandy and Jared (I mean Richard). Ash loves the MLP and the photo album etc. Thanks so much.

I can hear the rain pouring down - I hope Aaron drives home safely tonight!

Better run! Night ya'll.

Just an Observation ....

Today when we got home from Ikea I sat down in front of TV to relax. I had only just sat down when Lauren comes up to me repeating "Mum ...... Mum ...... Mum ....." I tried ignoring it thinking she'd give up and go away but that only made things worse and made me more frustrated. Then Ash comes up and starts playing with her toys right at my feet talking incessantly.

So then I tried moving to the kitchen to start cooking dinner then they BOTH followed me into the kitchen and just followed me around .... not doing anything in particular, just getting under my feet. As if I wasn't sick of them by my side enough!

Then Aaron took over dinner so I tiptoed to the spare bedroom to do some ironing. Not 2 minutes later Ashleigh had sniffed me out and decided to call Lauren in to play on the bed while I ironed. They screamed and carried on. THERE IS NO ESCAPE!!!

Then I got to thinking, I wonder if there is EVER going to be a time when I actually miss having them around?? It's a little hard to imagine right now because I'd give anything to have a weekend alone with Aaron without the kids hanging around.

Does that sound selfish??? I just really miss the peace and quiet and just being able to do whatever I want - BY MYSELF!!! No shadows following me to the toilet. No faces at the shower door waiting for me to get out!!

Seriously, I really wonder if there will ever be a time that I long to have these times back - to have them under my feet? Hmmmmm......

Busy, Busy, Busy ...

Today is the first day in AGES that I have spent the whole day at home. I can't remember the last time I was at home all day!! It's actually quite nice. I've caught up on housework (well nearly, there's always the ironing that gets left until last) and I've already planned dinner!!

We found out a couple of days ago that the owner wants to sell the house so we may need to move. The good thing is we've got until November before we move. Bit of a bummer though - just when I start to get settled we have to move!

Aaron's been working really long hours lately so he has just fallen asleep - at 6.30pm!! It'll be interesting to see if he sleeps right through!

I walked into our bedroom the other day - the girls were watching tv and I found them having a tender moment.

Lucky the camera was nearby!

Lauren discovered she can pull funny faces.

Now she does it all the time!

Not much planned for the weekend. It's supposed to be raining so we may just have a quiet one at home!

Growing Up Too Fast!

Six years ago today a little girl was born and it changed our lives forever - for the better. She came into the world quietly (she makes up for it now) and without too much fuss. She was born 6 days early at 6am and today she's 6!! How time flies!

Ashleigh celebrated with some friends from school. It was a really lovely party.

We made fairy wands:

Ate some lunch:

and played some games:

We said a little prayer last night that the rain would stop for her party and we were blessed with no rain and even sunshine!!

Now we're just waiting for the family to come over for dinner and to have another little party! Two parties in one day - she's going to sleep well tonight!

Happy Birthday Ashleigh - we hope you have a great day and we love you very much!

Aquarium

Ashleigh had a school excursion to the Aquarium at Darling Harbour yesterday. She was so excited to tell me about all the animals she saw. She told me about the sharks, the penguins, the seals, the fish, the seahorses and then there was this:

"I also saw the ummmmm..... what do you call them Mum? They are green and they look at each other."

Now, I ask you, could you answer that question? I certainly couldn't. And when I couldn't answer her she got frustrated with me - like it was my fault she couldn't remember!! After a few minutes she remembered and here is what it was:

LIZARDS!

Go figure - an Aquarium and they've got lizards! I can't imagine why I couldn't guess that!!

Then there was this one about half an hour later:

"I really liked the ummmm.... what do you call them Mum? They go up and down and they're big and round."

I'm not kidding you, these were her exact descriptions. After a while she remembered:

It was JELLYFISH!

I cracked up laughing. I just loved the descriptions she gave!!

Anyway, that's it for now. Sorry, no photos today.

Take care everyone!!

Just thought I'd post a photo I got from my cousin recently (thanks Hannah!). It's a photo of Ashleigh H (my cousin's daughter), Ashleigh B, Casey (Ashleigh H's sister) and Olivia my niece. This photo was taken at the family reunion in April - the girls are all pressed up against the side of the enclosed trampoline!

Aaron's at work today and won't be getting home until about 4am! Poor guy - I don't know how he does it!

Bye for now!

Control Freak!

Why do I find it so hard to let my kids make their own decisions sometimes? Another one of my flaws I guess.

Ashleigh went to a Build a Bear birthday party today and I really wanted to stay with her to make sure she chose a good bear - not a daggy one! How shocking is that? Yet despite my strong desire to stay I thought "No, you have to let her decide for herself - she will chose what she likes."



You should see the bear she chose! Absolutely hideous!! Maybe I should have stayed after all. But the main thing is she LOVES it!



I do this a lot and I have to pull myself back and remember that I need to let her do things her own way. She makes her bed in the morning and I go in there and well let's just say it's not the way I would do it. Despite wanting to go and do it all over I leave it and praise her for the good job she's done. I don't want her growing up thinking that what she does in life isn't good enough for me - I don't want to be one of those mothers.


Anyway, it's the weekend and Aaron's not working today - YIPEE!! Have a great weekend!!

Canvas Complete!

Done! I finished my canvas today. I love the end result. I just need to wait until it completely dries before I can seal it. What do you think??!!

It was hard getting a good photo because the flash kept reflecting off the gloss on the middle canvas but you get the idea.

Lately, I've been really concerned about Ashleigh lagging behind at school but I was talking to a friend the other day about Ash and she told me something I really needed to hear ....

She told me that it's important to remember that school isn't for everyone. She knew of a boy who was REALLY bad at school and often failed subjects but when he got out of school he became a mechanic and now he can pull apart a car (or anything electrical) and put it all back together again and know exactly where each part goes.

It's reassuring to know that your kids don't have to excel at school. It's so easy to get caught up with wanting them to be the best in everything they do but at the end of the day as long as they're happy that's all that matters!

Who knows what Ashleigh will be good at - but one thing's for sure, whatever it is, I know she'll do it well.

Lauren's hair is starting to get real long again. Her curls are starting to take over. There's one curl in particular that is so adorable - it hangs down the front of her face and it springs up and down whenever she runs. It's so cute.

I'd better run - we're having beef stir fry tonight and I've got to get some more vegies!!

Silly Things!

Isn't it silly some of the things we do for our children.

For example, in the cooler weather I stick the baby wipes under my underarms to warm them up before I wipe the girls bottoms when I change their nappies. Can you imagine how uncomfortable it would be to have a freezing cold wipe touch your private parts?! No thanks!!

I vowed I would NEVER spit on a handkerchief and wipe my kids faces - now I do it often!

I tell my kids to never talk to strangers but I do it all the time!

We let our kids feed themselves when clearly they shouldn't .....

Anyway, we try to do what's best for them!

I went shopping a couple of days ago with my birthday money and I desperately needed a new pair of shoes. The woman in the shop assured me that ballet style shoes were the "in thing" so I bought these shoes.

They are insanely comfortable but I'm still not convinced they are "trendy". What do you think?

Ashleigh had her school dance on Wednesday night and she had an absolutely blast! She loved dressing up as Minnie Mouse! Very cute!

Anyway, I'm off to the Fantasia opening tonight with Jodie and I'm REALLY looking forward to having a night out!

Bye for now!