What a Blessing ...

I was driving the girls home from school this afternoon and I went over Ashleigh's line for the Primary Presentation with her which is "The Priesthood is the power of God.  I am blessed by this power when my Father gives me a blessing when I am sick". 

I then took the opportunity to explain to her what this means.
And then at the end I said "That's what happens when Daddy gives you a blessing"

Then a little voice from the back seat said "or Poppy". 
Lauren had obviously remembered when she was really sick with a vomiting bug last year her "Poppy" had come over to give her a blessing as Aaron was away. 

I think of how lucky my kids are to have experienced getting a blessing from their poppy. 
I never had that experience and I am so happy that they got to experience it.

Precious.

I've Never Been Down This Road Before...

We've been so busy the last few weeks.
Ashleigh had her dance school concert last week and it has been weeks of extra rehearsals so we didn't seem to have any spare time up our sleeves.
We can all breathe a sigh of relief now as her classes are finished for the year!
Here's a photo of Ash in her acrobatics outfit striking the pose she had to hold at the end of her performance.

She did so well despite her injuries!
Yes, our little Ash has a tendancy to attract bad luck at the worst possible time!
First, she lost her front tooth the day before Aunty Mandy's wedding and she was flower girl so I had to tell her to smile with her mouth shut!
And then at her rehearsals (the day before the concert) she broke her toe.
She was determined to do her part anyway and didn't want to let her team down so she went on stage and performed to the best she could!
She only started halfway through the year so she was 6 months behind the rest of the girls in her class but she did so well and we were so proud of her going on stage - she was so nervous!
Unfortunately her toe was trodden on a couple of times (backstage) before she went on stage so she was in quite a bit of pain and was unable to do her cartwheels as well as she would have liked.

Both the girls have their school end of year performance in a couple of weeks.
Last year Lauren danced in two dances - one for her class (the support unit) and another with the main stream class she was integrated with.
She absolutely loved being up there on stage!  She was a natural!

Aaron's been working long hours lately.  He seems to enjoy the challenge of his new job.  Everyone seems to love him there (as usual).  He's on a bit of a health kick - exercising more and watching what he eats.  He has lost a few kilos in the process which is great.

And me, I've been busy working 4 days a week from home.  I work school hours (at least I'm supposed to) which is good.  My bosses go away for two months on Wednesday so it's going to be a lot quieter and I can't wait!!

Today, on the way home from church, we had to pull into a side street as we realised Lauren's car door was open so we needed to pull into a quiet street so she could open her door and close it  properly.  Ashleigh said "I've never been down this street before" and then Lauren said "Yes you have, you just did".  Duh!

Anyway, here are some photos I took of the girls today.  They are looking so grown up now.

Bras and all the rest!

So this past weekend I had to have a little girly chat to Ash.

She has already started to morph into a young lady - and she's only 10 and a half!  I don't remember developing boobs until about 12!  Must be all the hormones in food these days! :) 
I presented her with her very first "bralette" (well that's what Bonds call them) and had a chat about the joys of body changes!
It went pretty well.  She listened intently, screwed up her nose a few times whilst contemplating the upcoming changes her body will go through over the next few years!
At the end of our "chat" I gave her a little Puberty Survival Kit in a cute cosmetic case!
She was so excited.  I could see on her face that she was excited about becoming all grown up!
Me ..... not so much.  I am going to miss her childlike qualities as they slowly disappear over the next few years!
And, let's be honest, I'm not really looking forward to the mood swings and temper tantrums!

Here she is with her fave cousin:

On another note .....
My hubby has embarked on a whole new lifestyle change.
Already he has lost 10kg.
This has really motivated me to also lose some weight before summer.
I have stacked on the weight lately and am really noticing that it's stopping me from doing so many things I used to do so easily!
So, less eating and more exercise is on the agenda for me!

Where Have I Been!?!??

So much has been happening lately.
I've neglected this blog ..... again.

So here's what's new:

We have a new addition to our family:

Her name is Coco and she's just adorable.
Ash is such a good Mum to our 'baby'.

Here she is "chillaxing" on the carpet!

Lauren adores her also! Look at the joy in her face!

Her favourite part are the ears - they're sooooo soft!

Don't tell anyone but I think I love her as much as Ash and Lauren!

She's so cuddly! And such an easy pet to have. She doesn't make any noise, I can lock her in her cage when I want to go out. Her poos are teeny tiny! AND she's kitty litter trained! Brilliant!

For the first time EVER we went away for the Easter weekend and had the best time.
We went to Port Stephens with friends of ours Steve and Ruby.

This is a photo of Birubi Beach. It's absolutely gorgeous. Beach as far as the eye an see!

This photo was taken at the Lighthouse in Port Stephens. Amazing view!

The girls got to drive around the golf buggy!

We stayed with Steve's parents who live in a resort on a golf course.

Their backyard has this gorgeous lake alongside it! It's so peaceful.

And of course we went dolphin watching while we were there!
The weather was perfect - sunshine and warm weather the entire weekend.
So visibility was great! And there were about 3 pods of dolphins there that day!

Here's is a photo of Ashleigh and Steve and Ruby on the back of the boat.
Ash is holding on for dear life - in fear that she will fall off the side and become shark bait!

So we've been busy having lots of fun!

Aaron loves his new job and I'm enjoying being a stay at home mum at the moment!

Today is Lauren's birthday and this year I decided to simplify things a little. Instead of making numerous batches of cupcakes I BOUGHT a birthday cake and stuck a few flowers on it for her to take to school. So much easier and she's just as happy! We're just having the family over for dinner for her birthday. And then I'm taking her to Lollipops Playland with her cousins. That's what she wants more than anything. And finally, here are some more photos from our trip to NZ:

Here's everyone enjoying a dip! I had to stay on land with Lauren - she wasn't a fan of the water and to be honest, neither was I overly keen!

Here's everyone enjoying a dip at the waterhole in Kati Kati.

Ffffrrrreezing!!

Loz and Mike at the pier at Kati Kati

Home Away From Home

We're back from our trip to NZ!
We had a fantastic time but it's always nice to come home.

I'll fill you in on the details later but here are some pics for you to enjoy ....

Ashleigh enjoying the clean, NZ water!

Ash and Aaron on their way back from putting out the net to catch some fish!

Lauren likes it in the boat on dry land better than on the water!!
This is obviously a photo taken at low tide!

Ash swimming at Waihi Beach

Big rock at Opoutere - OK, so I forget the real name of it but "Big Rock" sounds good to me!

Nay and Kirsty swimming at Waihi Beach with Ash!

The view from the "bach" at Opoutere!

What Will 2011 Hold For Us??

If the start of the year is any indication of what 2011 will hold for the Browns it should be a good year!

We brought in the New Year quietly this year – we swam and dined with good friends and played games! It was such a good night!

This is what our New Year’s Day looked like:

Babysitting a new born baby girl and dog sitting 3 doggies!

Ash was in her element! She did such a good job of taking care of baby T.R. She’s a natural! She loved feeding her the bottle and rocking her to sleep. Lauren even had a turn at rocking her to sleep!

I’ve decided not to make any New Year’s Resolutions this year (a first for me) as I never seem to achieve them! Although last year I did achieve a BIG one! I read the BoM from cover to cover! Such a good read!!

I hope you all have a great 2011 filled with happiness and endless opportunities!!

Post Christmas Celebrations!!

Christmas Night we received this little ray of sunshine:




His name is Toby and he has fitted in nicely with our family. The girls were more excited about dogsitting Toby than their Christmas presents!! Ash has fallen in love with him.

Then last week ....

The terrible two had a sleep over!!



On Monday ....

We spent some time with the Hasletts as we didn't get a chance to see them on Christmas Day. Look at this gorgeous bunch of kids!!

On Tuesday ....

The girls and I braved the crowds and headed up to the shops.
We got a parking spot right near the entrance!
We had sushi for lunch and then decided to go to the movies while we were there.
We saw "Megamind".
I was a little disappointed, Ash loved it and Lauren slept through half of it!
Then the girls had a sleepover at their cousins house and Aaron and I went to dinner with friends - then back to their house for games! Had a great night!

Today ....

Babysat the girls and received two more little bundles of joy - Rekki (the yorky) and Beau (the white fluff ball with Lauren). We now have three dogs and the girls are loving it! Liv and Soph shared in the joy!

I have to say Rekki is my favourite!!

An Answer to Prayer

It's amazing how our prayers are answered.
Sometimes the answer comes in the most subtle of ways.

Yesterday I said a prayer that I would be able to better understand our daughter and know how to deal with her difficult personality.

Later on that day, while I was at work, I was talking to a lady who also has a daughter around the same age and she mentioned that she had similar problems with her daughter - her response put my mind at ease and helped me better understand how to deal with situations that arise with my own child.

I later realised that this was the answer to my prayers. That lady's advice helped me know what to do and put things into perspective for me.

Is It Bedtime Yet?!?!?

Having a bad day today.
I'm about ready to strangle a child!

I thought kids were supposed to get easier the older they get!?
I couldn't be more wrong!

Let's hope tomorrow's a better day!

It's a Dog's Life!

We got some very exciting news yesterday ...


We will be taking care of these two little gems for a week after Christmas:



Their names are Beau and Rekki.
The girls will get to have one dog each which I'm sure they will love!!

Sherwood On Parade

Last week the girls had their school concert - Sherwood On Parade.
They both did such a great job.

Lauren danced in two dances - she danced in the mainstream kindy class and the Support Unit class dance. She did such a great job! Everybody commented on how well she did. They all said she was the best little dancer on stage! I think she was too!

Ash also danced in two dances. She did a fabulous job. She wasn't shy at all and she was shaking her tail feather like nobody's business!

I was so proud of them both! Here they are in their outfits:

Lauren danced to Sunshine Lollipops and Rainbows!

And here she is again in her Police outfit - she danced to The Heat Is On:

Ashleigh was the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland - hence the cat pose!

You Wish!!

This morning I asked Ashleigh to turn off the tv.
She did it straight away without arguing with me - even though her favourite show was on.
Then I asked her to get dressed - again, she did it straight away with no complaints.
Then when she was eating breakfast she got up to get herself a drink and while she was at it she grabbed two cups and poured her sister a drink as well - without having to be asked!

I turned to her and said "OK, who are you and what have you done with my daughter?".

She looked at me enquiringly. I explained that what I meant by that was, she was being so nice this morning (when normally she's miserable first thing in the morning) and that it was like somebody had replaced my normal Ashleigh with a happy, nice one.

Her response was ...

"You wish!!"

Smelly Flower!

Last night we decided to go for a walk after dinner.
Along the way we came across some gorgeous white daisies.
The girls picked one each to take home.





When we got home Lauren went straight to the bathroom.
I didn't think much of it until she came out with a very wet flower.
She said "the flower stank Mummy so I washed it with soap and now it smells pretty!"

Simple solution to a smelly problem!!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas....

Well, it's that time of year again and on the weekend (Sunday to be exact) we put up our Christmas tree!
It was just like every other year, the girls and I decorated the tree whilst Aaron looked on with disinterest but that's OK ... we do a much better job without him!







This year I added some huge Christmas baubles out the front of our house to welcome visitors as they come to our home as well as a big star in our front window to remind us of the true meaning of Christmas!




And this is the latest addition to my Christmas collection. My Jim Shore Santa! He sits on our piano and I think he's gorgeous!!
I try to keep with the whole Birth of Christ theme at Christmas and keep decorations of santa to a minimum so you will notice this santa has the nativity on his belly.


Aaron even put up some lights on the outside of the house - without complaining! He's finally coming around!! Who cares about the electricity bill - right?!!?!

In other news, one of our swordtail fish in the front pond had babies last week!

I know it's hard to see but the baby is right down the bottom of the bowl - the little orange speck!

It's one of the few breeds of fish that give birth to live young!

We have lots of baby fish swimming around our pond and they're so cute.

Ash managed to catch 5 and have put them in a bowl in her bedroom.

It's interesting to see them grow! They started off almost see-through and now they are turning gold and getting bigger and bigger every day!!

We noticed that now one of the other females in the pond is pregnant and will be ready to give birth shortly. We are going to have more fish than we know what to do with!

Santa Photo 2010

Last year I was devastated when Boxing Day rolled around and I realised I didn't get a photo of the girls with Santa Claus.!

I couldn't believe it! How did I manage to forget such an important event!?

This year I wasn't going to allow it to happen again so I got in early!

It's not even December yet and I've already got the girls photo done with Santa.

It breaks my heart though - I think they're getting a bit too big for Santa's knee now!

But, this year I'm a lot more organised for Christmas.

I've got everybody's present except for two which I think is pretty good!

I have to say, it helps when you've got money to spend .... this time last year we didn't have an excess of funds so it made it difficult to buy things for Christmas. It was a very lean Christmas for us last year.

This year however, I've spent a bit more than I normally would but boy am I having fun doing it!!

You really appreciate having money when you've gone without for so long!

To fill you in what's been going on ...

It's been a very emotional week in the Brown home this week.
Sadly, we had to say goodbye to our beloved cat Thomas.
He has been a part of our family for 6 years so saying goodbye wasn't easy.

It all started with Lauren having a really bad winter for the third year in a row.
She has had really severe respiratory problems and finally this year it twigged that maybe it was the cat.
Maybe, just maybe she was allergic.
Her asthma has been getting progressively worse (3 attacks this year which resulted in us having to visit the doctor) and she would be up all night with this horrible chesty cough.
Also Aaron's skin allergy has been getting worse to the point that he was having to take hayfever tablets every day. He has been tested and it came back positive for an allergy to cats and dogs.
And finally, my hayfever has been really bad and Ashleigh's too.

So I decided that maybe it was time for the cat to go.
Not only that but he has been really grumpy with the girls lately.
Lauren wouldn't leave him alone and even Ashleigh was picking him up all the time and driving him crazy. All I would hear was the cat meowing loudly which resulted in me screaming at the girls to "PUT THE CAT DOWN!!". It was all too much for me!

On top of all this, he was killing all of our gold fish and he'd start meowing at 5.30am EVERY MORNING!

So enough was enough!

I decided to call the RSPCA to see what my options were.

We'd tried advertising him in the local paper, put a flier up at the local shops and even advertised him in the Daily Telegraph but I didn't even get one phone call.

The RSPCA put my mind at ease - after explaining all of the above to them they said that maybe it would be best for everyone concerned (including the cat) that I brought him in. They don't have many cats at the moment so the liklihood of them finding him a home was high.


With this my heart rejoiced then came the question that threw me ...

"Can you bring him in tomorrow?"


Aaron was in Queensland and Mum and Dad are in the States so I'd have to do it on my own.

I decided that once I'd made up my mind he was going it was best to get it done quickly so I agreed.


So last Thursday I took him in to the RSPCA - he meowed the entire car ride over.

And to cut a long story short I was an absolute mess!

I was a basket case. I was trying so hard to hold back the tears as I was handing him over (I'm starting to cry now as I'm typing this) but I was just so upset.

I mean, he'd been part of our family for 6 years!

Anyway, it's still a bit raw - Ashleigh is only just now starting to go to sleep without crying herself to sleep.

She even wrote on her Christmas List "Thomas Back Please".

Talk about heartbreaking!


Anyway, Thomas, we hope you find a new home soon - someone who will love you and care for you as well as we did.


Here's the photo they have up on the RSPCA website:

To Do List

I got weighed today at Weight Watchers.
I did pretty well.
I lost 1.6kg! And I was wearing my heavy shoes - Darn it!
I'm so happy!

Here's a list of things I'd like to do in September:

Try 40 degree yoga - what's that I hear you ask? It's where you do yoga in a room that is heated to 40 degrees celsius so you sweat like a pig! Apparently it's the best exercise you can do for fat burning! Anything with that description is something I wanna try!!
I also want to try a Zumba class. One of the local community centres is offering a free class and I'd love to try it - even though I'm about as co-ordinated as an octopus on roller skates!
Learn a new recipe.
Teach Ash to play the piano (or at least start)
Do some Spring Cleaning!
Finish reading a book!

And to finish, here's a little conversation I had with A. this morning on the way to school:

To set the scene, we have "I've Got A Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas playing on the radio.

A. gives a little giggle under her breath.
Me. - "What's so funny?"
A. - "Oh nothing, I was just thinking about something".
M. - "What?"
A. - "I was just thinking about a bus getting up on two wheels - growing arms and dancing to this song".

And they say she's got ADD! Huh!

Things That Make You Go Hmmm....

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous the last couple of days.
It's been about 18 degrees, sun shining and the sweet smell of blossoms in the air.

With the change in weather I decided to look at my priorities and sort some things out.
So, I re-joined Weight Watchers on Thursday.
I weighed in and nearly died of shock.
I'm the heaviest I've been in nearly 7 years!
And I feel it.
I've been so lethargic and down on myself.

But today I feel good.
I've been watching what I put in my mouth.
I've reduced the amount of chocolate and junk food I eat.
I started walking again and I'm loving it.
I just hope I'm not disappointed when I weigh in next week.
But I won't let it stop me if I don't do well.
I need to lose 15 kilos to be happy.

I've tried losing weight on my own in the past but never really succeeded.
I need to be accountable for my weight loss (or lack of) and Weight Watchers does that for me.

We found out a really good friend of Aaron's died on Wednesday.
It was so unexpected and came as a complete shock.
My heart goes out to his wife and 8 kids.
It's going to be a difficult ride for them in the coming months.
When things like this happen it makes you appreciate your life and the ones you love!

Little Performer!

Life has been a bit miserable for us the last few weeks ...

29th July:
It all started with Lauren getting a gastro bug.
She is the worst patient!
She just sits around and moans all day and keeps everyone awake at night.

2nd August:
Lauren starts getting over it.
But then I caught it.
Aaron was in Queensland at the time so I had to play nurse to Lauren whilst running to the loo myself every 5 minutes and generally feeling horrible!

4th August:
Aaron arrives home around 6pm to a house of sick people.
He plays nurse to me for the night.

5th August:
Aaron falls victim to the dreaded gastro bug!
Of course, being a man, the world was coming to an end and he didn't get off the lounge or out of bed for 3 days straight!

8th August:
Lauren came down with croup!
She spends all day and all night coughing up a lung with a high temperature!

11th August:
Aaron gets over the bug.
Ashleigh came down with it.
Lauren still has croup.

12th August:
I got a full blown case of gastro AGAIN! I've never experienced pain like it in my life.
And I've given birth - TWICE!!

I just hope we get over it soon! It's driving me nuts!

On a happier note ...

Lauren had her first assembly performance a few weeks ago - "10 Little Bees In The Garden"
She did such a great job.
You can see the video here.

Here are some photos of her dressed up as a bee with her friend Teah:

Me (looking terrible - no make up on) with Lauren. I was so proud of her!

And here is my favourite photo ever. Lauren with her good friend Nolan.

Notice they're holding hands - so sweet!

There seems to be a pattern forming - here she is with Nolan at the Athletics Carnival a few weeks before hand!