An..... eventful new years

Well we started out ok with our New Years Eve preperations... Food organised ? Check! Gas in the BBQ? Check! Guests arriving ? Check! Everyone as doing great we had just had dessert the kids (17 of them) were watching the last few minutes of the "Smurf" movie when ..... Hezekiah has a fall of the deck and onto the rocks surrounding the garden bed, and he's hit his head... Crap! There blood which I always get a bit excited about and not in a good way. So Allen and I abandon our guests and make the normally 20 minute trip into the hospital (we did it in less than 15). He got seen right away (thanks to all the drunks that held off till about 2am). They had a look did some obs. Cleaned the wound, and decided he needed to stay a minumum of 4 hours observation incase he had a fit or became unconsious. So Allen abandened me and went home while I stayed at the hospitl watching Hezekiah sleep on the bed and watching the nurses and doctors. It was pretty quiet I must say I was expecting some more excitement than that at a hospital on the busy night of the year. They did have one very drunk woman come in she blew .029 but she was passed out and couldnt get a decent reading from her. Another guy was bad too and he spat on one of the paramedics and (she) was NOT happy about that!
We finally got released at 2.30am and got home 15 minutes later the roads were deserted. All the kids were in bed my house was cleaned (thankyou guys) and all the rubbish in the bin. It wasnt my best start to the new year and seeing Ive only had about 3 hours sleep I actually feel ok... Im sure I'll crash after lunch. Happy New Year people and heres to a fun and prosperous loving New Year.

"Mac" the class budgie

This is Mac he's the class budgie, he got to stay with everyone from class this year, and we got a second turn, the kids loved him and were constantly trying to get him to talk, he made a heap of noise each morning singing away and our 2 cats thought he was very...interesting. Niamh actually cried when we took him back to school. It was nice having you stay Mac maybe we'll see you here next year when Niamh goes to kindagarden

poppies!!!

Every year as I drive around I see the poppies growing and every year I say I'll take some photos and then their petals start falling off and I have to wait till the following year. This year I grabbed the camera when we went to Xaviours pressentation evening and I took a few quick photos. I love the way I can see whole fields full of them at this time of year. Beautiful.

Christmas carols at Kanangra

Every year the children get together and sing for the elderly at Kanangra. This year was the first time for Niamh and Gabriel. They were super cute trying to remember all the words and the kids did a great job. The oldies loved it with some of them joining in. Sarra did a great job playing on the clarinet, as did Becky and Hannah playing the piano together.


Gabriel trying to remember the words

Niamh singing

they are all so cute :)

singning for the oldies

some of the Christmas deorations at Kanangra

Happy Birthday Nimah

Christmas time is always a busy time but its even busier when you have a child who has a birthday the same week as Christmas!
Niamh had her first "friends" party with some kids from school and church invited. It was a fairy princess party and Jasmine kindly (for a 20$ fee) did all the party games for me so I could finish the food and entertain all the mums. All the kids had a great time and I was hapy that we decided that just a girls party this year and then a bigger one next time.


Some trampoline fun

Some pressies

the fairys queen and her princesses

pass the parcel

teddys in cars

some of the yummy biscuits

Teacup biscuits

yummy cupcakes with crowns :)

yes in the cups are fruitsalad I was the only one who ate it :)

Niamh and Miesha

Christmas time is always a busy time but its even busier when you have a child who has a birthday the same week as Christmas!

Niamh had her first "friends" party with some kids from school and church invited. It was a fairy princess party and Jasmine kindly (for a 20$ fee) did all the party games for me so I could finish the food and entertain all the mums.

Thailand trip

this was where we swam with the tropical fish

there were alot of boats

speed boats

Coming into Phi Phi Island

me at dinner at the italian/thai restaurant :)

Dr Fish, ticklish!

Alien Vs Preditor its everywhere..

Yes I know that Ive been back for a month! I have been busy getting house and garden ready for spring ( photos will be taken this week.... maybe)

Our trip was fantastic! We ate out every night, I loved the people, the weather the smells, the sights, the lifestyle. I'd move there if I could convince my husband it is a good idea! ( he thinks Im mad) I loved it so much that I am planning to go back in the next 2 years, with hubby and all the kids! Now that I know where to eat what to buy where to go what to do and how much to pay for everything.

So if you can be bothered reading everything then here is what we did each day we were there, and the occasional photo :)

Day 1. We finally arrive in the heat! Its 10.45pm and our limo is nowhere in sight? Im too tired to call the hotel and yell, so I turn right and walk down past all teh locals who are following me asking if I want a taxi. I get to the profesional looking outfit and ask for a taxi, 15 mins later our car arrives and I direct him to our hotel. After another 45 mins we finally arrive, the receptist (who is a young guy) is very appologetic when I tell him that our car never arrived, he is also telling me that the hotel is over booked and that he doesnt have a room for us! What!? Im tired, hot and need a shower and bed, he ticks away n the computer and tells me they have a room for the night and we will be swapped to the penthouse room the next day. Finally we get to our room drop our cases and fight to get in the shower first them lights out....

Day 2 Our first full day in Phuket! We had an average breakfast (no buffet!) and head out in a taxi ( all the cars are taxis for hire) and see whats going on, whats available, where to book all our trips and how much everything costs. We walk around for a few hours we buy a fan (cause its hot! and a hat again cause its hot and my head is baking. We are the whitest people for miles I'm sure the locals can see is coming from a block away. hehehe. I have taken heaps of photos, and whats the facination with "AlienVS Preditor"??? I found a great Aussie guy who I booked all our trips with, he's been living in Phuket for 15 years now and gave us some tips on how to pay for stuff :) Had a foot spa at a place called Dr Fish, it tickled like crazy, and we were sitting in the window of the shop it was heaps of fun and man those fish did an awsome job!

Day 3 Our first trip ! We set the alarm for 6.30am ( yeah I know way too early). We went to Phi Phi island today, We set out early and went to monkey island and did some swimming with the tropical fish, lots of people were throwing bread into the water for them to eat, we swam for an hour before heading back to the boat and onto Phi Phi for lunch, we had to pay 20 baht to get on the island. Lunch was ok and there were not enough tables so we sat with our lunch on our laps before snagging a table (good eyes Jasmine). Walked around for a bit and had a pinapple slushy befor heading back to the boat. We both got really burnt! Ouch! Dinner was nice at a Thai/Italian restaurant. We saw alot of dancing dudes and I took a sneaky photo of a big one! We took a tuk tuk back to the hotel it looked like it was out of "Pimp my ride". lol!

Day4 We slept late today we were still tired but I wanted to get out of the hotel. We went in a taxi to the butterfly park, it was nice very quiet lots of butterflies and orchids, nice fish pond full of huge carp. I tried my hardest to take some photos but they are faster than they look. From there we went to the zoo... Bad move! The animals were treated so badly :( Tigers that were so thin and tiny cages :( We got to the elephants ( which have been my favorite since I was a child) were swaying they were so stressed and one walked right up to me and he was bleeding :( That did it for me I bust into tears I told Jasmine thats it we are leaving, we walked out the front of the zoo and our taxi had gone! We caught another one back to the hotel ( with me crying the whole time in the back). I got back and told the girls at reception what had happened I was still crying and my eys were all puffy and sore. Iwent to my room while they tried to sort it all out. they came by later that day and had the driver in tow they gave me my money back and the driver said sorry for the mix up ( he said he was waiting for us to call him???). I decided in my infinate wisdom that night to walk the 10km into town via the beach, good idea right? Wrong! there we were we were doing fine till we hit rocks, the locals were laughing at us climbing over these things we walked accross some guys back yard fence to avoid more rocks before finally finding sand again Yippee!! The whole walk took us 30 mins and we were both sweating like crazy when we finally got to the footpath. Mental note no more walking along the beach into town! We had dinner for about 3$ for 2 people then wandered about the stalls till we got another tuk tuk back to the hotel.

Day5. Went to James Bond Island tour today. Awsome day! We left at 9am picked up from the hotel by the tour people the ferry was a nice trip we stopped for a swim at a beautiful beach and had lunch on the boat the sun was great and we met another Aussie on the boat he was from Sydney on a 6 month trip around Asia. The day was great we saw inside of caves on a canoe we went for a walk on James Bond Island and walked around the floating village before watching the sun set on the ferry on the way back to the pier. We went to dinner at No 6 restaurant. It was nice but actually had better at the cheaper place last night.

Day 6. Elephant ride today! They are so beautiful, its really hot so they took her around to cool her down with a hose. Im on the back with Jasmine I got wet she managed to stay dry, The driver ( for lack of a better word) got off and asked if I would like to "drive" It was hot and for 45 mins we walked up and down the trail through the forest. I was glad to get back I was holding on so hard that I thought Id injured my thigh! We had an icecream and waited for the rest of our car to finish and head back to the hotel. We went out again for tea and found a great local place that sold the best ribes and spring rolls! So good!!!! Will definatly go back again tomorrow night :)

Day7. Church, and guess who forgot it was fast sunday? It was raining this morning so much cooler and we caught at taxi to Phuket town to go to church jasmine was nervous and I was just worried that we would be late. The bishop was very nice speaking in both English and Thai. It was very special with the feeling in the room that was amazing. We went to visit the budahist temple today as well and we walked around and looked in each of the temples and looked at al the pictures and statues in them, it was interesting, and I learnt alot.

Day8. yep we have been here a week and the hotel finally put up a sign telling us that there is a free shuttle to town and back 4 times a day! Lol! We went into town for Jasmine to pick up her dress that she has ordered made, we spent a long time going over differnt styles and colours before she found something that she liked. We went in to pick it up and she hates it :( Its not what she ordered at all :( I hate seeing her like this :( We did some shopping before heading back to the hotel we are off the to see Fantasea tonight.

Day9. Fantasea was fantastic! it was massive the place was like a giant theme park with a restaurant and theatre in the middle. The food for dinner was great we both had dessert first thenwent back to have everything else, the show didnt start till later so we wandered around the place looking at different shops and park rides etc, they even had a mini zoo in there! There were elephant rides here too which were great to watch and feed the animals for 100 baht. We got back really late but it was worth it.

Day10. Our last day and we spent the day packing and swimming, we managed to get all our things back into the carry on luggage that we bought with us, so we didnt have to buy another bag :) Off to bed early tonight and setting the alarm early so I can get the bill payed and the taxi is booked for us to get to the airport on time. I spent a bit of time outside today just soaking up the air and watching "ivan" doing his rounds about the pool.

Day 11. Goodbye Phuket .... I'll be back and next time I'll be more prepared :) And next time we are bringing the whole family!!

Hair cuts

Today was day one. I knew that Gabriel needed a hair cut when his hair was hanging done around his ears, so out came the hair clippers and he was done quick enough. Then came Hezekiah, his hair was so long on top that I could have put it in a ponytail. So up on the stool I sat him and begain to give him a haircut. His hair is so fine that it was like trying to cut fluff. His hair has also gotten alot lighter in colour going froma red to a more strawberry blonde. He looks like a little boy instead of my baby :( Yes I know he will be 2 in January but he still has a bottle each night befofre bed, wrapped up in his "blankie" and has his dummy in while hugging his "lambie".
When I lost the baby before Gabriel I had a dream that I was watching a little blue eyed blonde boy, in my dream he turned and looked at me and giggled Ive never forgotten that dream. When I feel pregnant with Gabriel I thought well here will be my "dream baby boy" but it wasnt him. Then when I feel pregnant with Niamh I thought maybe it wasnt a boy in my dream that it was a girl? When I saw her I knew she wasnt the one either. I saw him today, that little giggling boy in my dream he looked at me today, he kissed my face and I kissed him back. Hezekiah was that dream baby, I see it now with his hair all cut short. My dream baby is asleep now. shhhh

kids phases

My kids have gone through phases, be it the teddy phase or in Jasmines case the "blankie" phase. Phases with toys, tv shows food etc. My little ones (5,3) are going through a new phase. Its interesting to watch, they are going through a "Jack Sparrow" phase, yes Pirates of the Caribbean phase. We have been through the "Wiggles", and Toy Story and even Hook got a pretty good run for a while, Ben 10 is a hit still but its Jack who Gabriel has decided is his "new favorite". So once again we have the tv on and are watching the movie... thankgoodness we have 2 tv's!

Asthma

With 2 people in the house with Asthma we are pretty prepared we have a heap of medication for both Allen and Gabriel and I bought a nebuliser machine a few years ago when Alle was having a tough time with all the smokers in the mall in Launceston. The nebuliser and the neb's that it takes have been used alot this winter for Gabriel, and last night I was up again. Its frightening for me as his mum to know he is having trouble breathing and he will cough and cough until he is sick, and then cough some more. Last night he started coughing at about 10pm and it was constant, every minute for almost 4 hours, he was covered in vicks including the soles of his feet. I had the humidifer going in the bedroom pumping out the smell of eucalyptus throughtout the house. I gave him a neb at 12am in our bathroom and then packed him off to bed with enough pillows that it looked like he was sitting up in bed. He kept up the coughing until finally falling asleep. I worry about his asthma and is it going to stay with him for the rest of his life like his dad Allen. Its all quiet right now, heres to a good nights sleep tonight

In sickness and health

Its been a very stressfull week, with all the stuff going on with our car and trying to talk to banks to get a loan to get another car (Ive never done that before we've always paid cash). Ive opened new accounts with banks waited to hear whats going on with our car (its still a the shop), waiting to find out whats going on with the loan etc etc... Thats when the kids got sick, yep Gabriel started with the vomits then baby Hezekiah, then back to Gabriel (you can see where this is going right?) Then Xaviour got sick and then passed it on to me, yep Im hoping its lucky last. Allen picks the new car up on Monday woohoo! The Kia is getting fixed then we'll sell that and buy Allen a cheap run around car that we dont have to worry about. Ive been super stressed and I think thats why my immune system failed me and Im still on the couch in my p.j's. I think I'll feel better when the car is here and I can stop stressing. We got a new Mazda MPV it seats 7 which means we can actually fit everyone in the car :o) Its got full leather seats and a dvd player with headphones for the kids. Now our trips to Devonport and Hobart won't be so noisey :o) Its got a nice size boot too to put the shopping in, and Allen got me a GPS so I dont get lost ;o) It also means that when we go over to Melbourne we can go on the boat and take our car! Can't wait to see it in the driveway.

Bad luck comes in threes

Ok last Easter was a DISASTER when it comes to things going wrong and things breaking or breaking down, we had 7 yes 7 items at home that bit the dust including the washing machine, the vacume and the transmission in my car grrr!!!! On Friday night while driving back from Launceston I noticed the car wasnt going into gear properly, lots of reevs no power ??? It seemed ok for the last few days..... till yesterday when I was on my way to pick up Niamh from day care and the car wouldnt go into gear at all just reeved and sat there , oh no! Allen took it to the same guy who fixed it last time who informed us that its no longer under warrenty (12 months) Big suprise (not), and he'll have a look for free! Wow how lucky for us looking isnt fixing! Considering the 1500$ price tag last year I am not happy its playing up again :o( Then this morning I knocked the dial off the toaster grrr!!!!!!!!! Only one more to go Now Id like 3 good luck items starting with a new car!

Thailand here we come!

The hotel we'll be staying in

patong beach

An elephant trek

Its only 5 weeks till Jasmine and I go on our trip! We are going to be in sunny Phuket for 9 glorous days. We are staying at a new hotel its only 6 months old :o) Free breakfast and no kids to organise, no set time to get up, no washing to do, no meals to cook, no dishes to do or any housework!!! It will be my first REAL holiday :o) We are super excited and are now getting our lists together of what to take and what to bring home :o)

The main reason for Jamine and I going away on our own was the simple fact that Jasmine is moving to Melbourne next year, and we just don't know what will happen in the next few years and we may not get this opportunity again to spend together so we are going to enjoy every minute! We plan on going on an elephant treek and Jasmine wants to go parasailing ( no Im not doing that!) and a visit to pi pi island. Im sure we'll do some other stuff too and yes there will be lots of photos taken but just as a tease these are some I found on the net.

Big Girls business

Ive noticed a change over the past few weeks and even though I am proud Im also a bit sad .. No alot sad. You see my baby girl is growing up a little to fast for me lately. I know that she has just turned 18 but shes always going to be my baby girl. The last few weeks Ive watched her look at University in Melbourne instead of here, Ive watched her box up her toys from her bed that have been there since she was a little girl and last night she threw away some pictures that she decided were too young for her now..
She has been talking about her big "move"and I don't want her to go :o( I watched her this morning helping make the little ones their breakfast and help get Niamh her baby sister dressed for the day and as I watched her I could see a young woman not my little girl :o( Time has gone by too fast for me and I want the time back to be with my little one with the long red hair and beautiful blue eyes staring up at me.
We are planning a trip away in September just the 2 of us together and I know that it may be the last time we get to do this before she leaves



Jasmine was in "sing Elon"for a few years they taught her alot

Jasmine at her grade 10 leavers dinner

Her first day of High school

Jasmine and "pap"he's my dad and they have a very special conection he was there when she was born so he thinks shes pretty special :o)

Jasmine at the holiday house doing a bit of body surfing and freezing.

Jasmine with Niamh just a few months old.

Jasmine and her best friend Ellie at home here for her 15th birthday

Jasmine with Gabriel feeding the pelicans at Phillip Island

Jasmine and I watching the Disney night parade (I was almost 8 months pregnant and after spending about 9 hours walking around in 35 degree heat I was kind over it)

Jasmine during our Disneyland trip this was her completing her Jedi knight training. Yes she was the oldest and yes she was literally jumping up and down!

Jasmine and Xaviour with "cars".

Jasmine and Gabriel when he was little

Jasmine at about 12 it was taken on Christmas day

Jasmine was about 10 here and looking very grown up but still giggling

Jasmine and Niamh at the green.

Easter Sunday

Hot cross buns

Cadbury eggs yummo

The Easter Bunny

Easter Sunday means chocolate for breakfast! Ok maybe not.... At least some hotcross buns! I bought 5 packets of hotcross buns and Ive been good in NOT buying them till yesterday I mean they had them on sale the week after Christmas! So after eating 2 for breakfast we went off to church, the kids got more chocolate bunny's there and we had Niamh cracking the wobblies because she wasnt allowed to eat it in my car, I gave it to her as soon we got in the door I mean I have to pick my battles and thats not one I was willing to bother with. SO after Niamh and Gabriel had eaten a bunny and some eggs plus a few buns they went banana's and have finally crashed for the night :o) Hezekiah ate half my egg and would have eaten more if available. Jasmine and Xaviour made out like bandits with heaps of eggs and chocolate and me after eating one bunny and half and egg this afternoon am felling sickly. Maybe there is a chocolate limit for each day? Happy Easter