My NEW place and yours...

I am participating, yay! I have renamed it though to My new place and yours given that we are in the new place now. 

So what has the lovely Kate got in store for us this week, it's a peek outside your bathroom window. What a raining miserable day to be looking out the window, well in my part of the world it is. 

We have 2 bathrooms, this is the view from the main. 

As you can see, beautiful grey skies to match the grey concrete of the houses behind us, a lone palm tree gives us a slight break from the harsh lines and cold colours of the fences and buildings. Thank god i don't have to look out this window all day. 

And the ensuite, or Aaron's bathroom as i would rather share with the kids than him and his man poo's!!! OK totally just grossed you out now but despite the now gross image you have of our ensuite it actually has the best view out of the two bathrooms. 

I love greenery. Vines covering the colourbond fence make all the difference, too bad they don't help with the smells my husband leaves behind in there. 

~xox~

365 day de-clutter

It's a simple theory really and i am going to try my hardest to follow it. I may not be able to give you pictures and descriptions for all the things i say goodbye to but i will try. 

What am i talking about. Well we all have so much "stuff" so much stuff we don't need, i want a happy home and i think over the years i have held onto too much stuff and held some stuff so highly that it can take over. What do we need all this stuff for? 

My rules, over the next 365 days i am going to get rid of one thing each day. If i buy something i am going to get rid of something before i bring the new thing into the home. Stuff isn't what is important any more. I think this de-cluttering exercise will be cleansing and soothing so here goes. 

The first thing to leave my home is a gorgeous tray and bowl set i was given. It comes from Bali and the swirls you can see are actually cinnamon. It smells divine! 

I have NEVER used it, i love looking at it but am too scared to use it because i know i can't clean it like normal trays but can't remember the correct way to clean it. It sits in my cupboard, in darkness. When we moved i put it out on the bench but the bowls soon got filled up with letter box keys, bobby pins and other miscellaneous things. The person that gave it too me is no longer a friend and in fact she turned out to be someone quite poisonous in my life so it is quite nice to get rid of this. 

It's been a long time...

It's been a long time since i posted

It's been a long time since i was happy with myself

It's been a long time since i wasn't tired but today i am not

It's been a long time since i truly tried

It's been a long time coming and it's here... 

We have moved house. Am i happy, yes. Am i sad, yes. Am i glad we did it, YES. Is it still hard, yes. Was i delusional thinking as soon as we moved things would be better, yes. Am i in the right frame of mind, almost. Do i love my children, yes more than life itself. Am i crazy, yes, not always in a good way either. Am i getting back on track, i think i am almost there. 

~xox~

My place and yours...

Kate i am so sorry i haven't participated as i would have liked to but life is just so hectic and i really am going to try and participate much more... 

So here is this weeks My place & Yours from the gorgeous Kate at Kate & Michael +3 and the theme is..... PINK!!!!

Given that i am a bit of a girly girl and i have a daughter PINK is ever present in this house so it wasn't so much as finding something to put up it was more choosing which things to put up, i could have kept snapping PINK things all day, even my camera is PINK. BUT lets get one thing straight, ;-), PINK is NOT my favourite colour and i do believe that you can have too much PINK. :-o Did i just say that out loud!!!!

Miss R's room is pretty much all pink, pink pillow, pink bed spread, pink ponies, pink wall butterflies and the list goes on so the pink things i have chosen are 2 things i use on an almost daily basis and things i can't live without... 

My 2011 diary. My daily schedule gets written up, important dates are in here as well as birthdays. This little book is what keeps my house running on a day to day basis. 

Then there is my iPhone arm band, running would be sooooooo boring without this little baby of mine. 

~xox~

Letting go comes with some challenges

Yep, it's not that easy to just let go!!!! The first hurdle was the masses of paper work that is required to declare yourself bankrupt, you really need to be certain you want to be bankrupt because that paper work is not for the faint hearted... 

So it's in, i thought there would be a weight lifted off my shoulders but nope, it's still there. By tuesday 14th June i will be officially bankrupt. Certainly was never in my life plan but none the less i am here so will deal with it. 

So this weight that is still holding me down, i keep wondering when it will be gone and i have made some educated guesses on when it will be gone but to be honest i don't think it's going to be this sudden feeling like everyone keeps telling me it will. I think this weight has been pressing on my shoulders and whispering in my ears for so long i don't know that it will just disappear. I am starting to get the feeling that as things slowly but surely start falling into place weight will slowly be lifted. I also think that this weight has been there for so long that i don't remember what it's like not to have it there. I think it will be a gradual thing and with every day and every new challenge faced the weight will start to lift. 

I can officially tick one of my boxes now too, and that box is WE HAVE A HOUSE!!!!!!!! Woo!!! It's gorgeous, it's brand spanking new and only 1 street back from the lake, it's not exactly where i wanted to live but when you are in our situation and renting you have to take what you can get and i got this. :-) So our new address with be 2/43 Jones Ave, Warners Bay!! Here is the google maps shot which was taken before the house was finished but at least you can see it's location just click here. 

Yep, a little bit of weight did lift from my shoulders when i got that phone call. 

So here is my list of challenges that we now face. 

• Moving
• Aaron getting a job
• Clearing out the old house
• Handing back the keys to the bank :-(
• Establishing our new life and new routines 

Can't wait to tick all of those things off the list, my educated guess is that with each one some weight will lift and with each one i will be closer to being truly happy

~xox~

The time has come to let go!

We have make the very hard decision to declare bankruptcy. 

It all came down to a couple of things and those few things all revolved around the kids and what we want for them, a beautiful life really. 

We are constantly stressed and on edge, we have NO life because we are both working our guts out every hour we can and we have no money at the end of the day to do anything with the kids. Yeah i know you don't need money to have fun with your kids but when you have no money to even drive them to a different park you know things aren't good. 

The weight hasn't been lifted yet, i still have this pit in my stomach as we fall through the next part of our life. I hope we land softly and i hope we land where i have put the X, where ever that may be. 

The next challenges are finding a house, yes we are moving. The bank have said we can keep the house but long story short, it's not worth it. I have never rented before so am kind of looking forward to learning about the whole rental market and what it feels like to live in a house you don't own. 

Then there is the challenge of Aaron and work, hmmm, not going to go there lets just say what will be will be. 

So i know i will be at peace with the decision but can't say i am at peace with it just yet. 

Maybe i will have more time for blogging now and be able to post more than once a month. 

~xox~

Lunch with my little man...

Today is Friday, Pre-school day, YAY!!! 

Normally i run around frantically getting everything done and then B and i crash out about 1pm for our afternoon nap together, god i love our naps together. Anyway today is a beautiful Autumn day so i thought we might have our lunch on the grass out the back together.

While sitting out there eating enjoying every minute looking at my gorgeous boy being so well behaved i thought, hmmm this would make a beautiful post in my blog and i could get some great pics of him. So off i run inside to get the camera. 

By the time i get back B has shovelled almost the entire bowl of hummus into his mouth with his hands, his beautiful clean clothes are covered and he has it smeared all over his face... *sigh* that's B for you and i wouldn't have him any other way!!!

Right now i have stripped him off and he is having a ball running around naked yelling crazy noises at the top of his lugs... Not long till nap time, phew. 

~xox~

My Place and Yours

Yay Kate from Kate and Michael +3 is going to continue on with My Place and Yours. 

So this weeks theme is What's on your bed... 

My bed spread comes from my sister and was a christmas present like 3 years ago... It was perfect at the time but is starting to look a bit worn and dated and i am thinking that will have have to be this years christmas present again. 

It's pale green, almost mint, with white embroidered flowers on it. There is no way Aaron would let me go too girly but this seemed to fit into his criteria, it is his bedroom as well after all. 

And of course, what bed wouldn't be complete without matching throw pillow's to go with it. 

I LOVE my bed, if only i got to spend more time in it. 

~xox~

My new favourite pants...

Ok i am in love... Yep totally smitten, head over heels in love with the kids new fisherman pants...  I love buying things from local people, home made one off pieces and one of my favourite little home made sewers is FrankieSmall. Her stuff is awesome and such amazing amazing quality,  her website doesn't have too much listed as she mainly sells at local markets but check out her blog. Oh and she is such a beautiful person, one of those people who melt your heart when they smile at you, even if you are still a complete stranger to her. 

The pants are a bit on the pricey side at $40 but like anything of hers the quality is just outstanding. The best thing about these pants though is they will last my kids for years to come. How??? Well take a look at the material on the bottom. That actually folds down so the pants become even longer as the kids grow. 

Secondly the waist, it's folded over in true fisherman style pants but there is velcro hiding under there to secure them, as we know how gentle our little ones are, this means there is about 10cm of growing room in the waist!!! That is massive. 

Then when the get bigger again you can roll the legs back up and wear them as shorts, because of the massive waist extension it means they should last them for years to come. 

But the best part of all is how absolutely adorable they are... 

~xox~

My Place and Yours...

Hello Owl has decided to move on to bigger and better things and so that means that MYPAY has been put to rest... 

As i had only just started playing and really love the idea of being able to look back at certain pictures of my place in the future i have decided to keep going. Not too sure where the Your's will come into it but certainly each week i will be taking a pic of something at My Place. 

What better place to start that the computer. My link to the outside world, my connection to my online friends, my blogging space, my escape!

Perched on the draws every day is the same things. An empty vase, just begging for some fresh flowers, my camera and cord, my phone and my diary. I didn't clean it up as i wanted to look back on it exactly how it is. 

I usually have the curtain open so i can see the outside world but had to close it for the picture. 

I am inspired now to fill that vase. Next pay day i am going to get me some flowers. 

~xox~

GumBoots...

The little man got his first pair of GumBoots this week and who knew they would become such a favourite... 

Bright blue with cars and trucks, typical boy GumBoots all ready for a wet winters day to go splashing in the mud. 

Running the new GumBoots in takes some serious climbing, they aren't complete until they have at least a couple of scratches on them. 

The brand new GumBoot shine is starting to wear off, but love for them isn't. 

Boots and all it's bath time, mum wasn't too impressed with the bathing of the GumBoots. 

A day sleep just wasn't happening without my boots. 

What better way to start to day than a bare bum and GumBoots. 

It's safe to say he LOVES his blue GumBoots

~xox~

Me today...

This is me today...

When i went to get dressed this morning i really wanted to wear this dress, it would have to be my fav summer dress this year. I picked it up on one of my spending binges and it cost me a whole $4!!!!

I also learn't a valuable lesson after looking at this picture on the computer and that is to clean the mirror before i take pictures in it. 

~xox~

Out and About, it's PARTY TIME...

Mel, Where would i be without you. 

Can you believe i actually went out? NO, i can't either, i actually left my babies with my mum and went out for the night. OK ok, half the night as we were home by 1215am but still it's a big step for me. 

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."

This is Mel and i ready to hit the town, crazy thing is we have never actually been anywhere together without the kids... Mel is my babycenter friend who somehow ended up now being my best friend and since we met whilst pregnant with our first bubba's we have only ever done things together with our bubba's so this was a great experience. 

Since meeting on Babycenter and becoming friends i don't think a week has gone by where we haven't caught up, not sure what i would do without her now. 

Oh and we did drag our husbands along for the ride as well. 

~xox~

Set free...

Today was the day, after almost 7 weeks being tied to a bed Miss R was set free... 

She knew Michael our home care nurse was coming over and she knew he was going to take traction off but she didn't completely understand what that mean so anxiety took over and as soon as he arrived she was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with what's next, overwhelmed with fear, overwhelmed because while at 3 your are very grown up your comprehension of the world is still limited so to her, normal was now different and anything outside of her bed was suddenly foreign again. 

I grabbed my baby girl and hugged her tight, my heart was full of excitement that was very hard to contain, while her's was full of fear. She was hysterical, she was kicking Michael and crying saying she wanted to leave it on and stay in bed, Regan is the furthest from a violent child so for her to be kicking Michael took me off guard a bit. 

Michael and i stopped and had a quick chat and agreed that it has to come off so lets just get it done and within a minute it was off. She was still scared and snuggled in not wanting to look at either of us, so Michael left after doing the necessary checks and i ran a big warm bubble bath. 

She was still crying and begging me to leave her in bed but i knew she had to come out of the bed and regardless of when i did it, it was never going to be easy. So all of us stripped off (Bossy included) and hopped into the bath. While carrying her there she had her arms wrapped so tightly around my neck i felt like i could have let go and she would have held herself up. 

We hoped into the bath and the fear and anxiety melted away with the warmth of the bath and my baby girl returned, not the girl that was in traction but the girl before that. It was such a relief to see her so happy again and this pic shows just how happy she really was, even with those puffy eyes from crying so much. 

We have our x-rays and hospital appointment tomorrow and hopefully after that we will be given the all clear to return to some kind of normal life. 

xox

My Place and Yours

So i am going to join in...


Each Tuesday Hello Owl  post a new theme of what's happening in her house. It could be anything from the front door to the kitchen sink..anything at all really. So i thought it's time i played along. To check out Hello Owl's My Place and Yours simply click here. 


This weeks theme is green. So off i set with my camera to capture something green and you know what, i don't have a lot of green inside the house and given that it's pouring down rain at the moment going outside wasn't the best of options. 

So i chose a wooden cut out of B's name. It just sits on his floating shelves in his room collecting dust but i really like it. A guy that works with mum made it for him when he was tiny so it's quite rough around the edges but that just makes me like it even more. 

Beautiful Flowers - Uncle Benny is home!!!

5 months away in Afghanistan, serving his time for our country, leaving his family and friends behind. 

He walked in today as big and strong as ever the same Uncle Ben that left us. After 5 months being away i wondered if he had changed at all but everything that is familiar about him was there the minute i saw him, and he is home and that is all that matters. 

Watching my sister say good bye to him in November was one of the hardest things ever. I could tell all she wanted to do was scream and drop to her knee's and beg him not to go but she stayed strong. She cried and told him she loved him and to stay safe and that she would miss him but even as a bystander i could feel both their hearts ripping apart. 

I can only imagine the immense happiness they both felt finally having each other back in their arms, together. It was beautiful seeing them stare into each others eyes today, even while we were all around, those loving gazes were very much there. 

Uncle Benny walked in the door carrying a big bunch of pinky red roses, his big muscular arms and shoulders so very solid were softened by the beautiful gift he carried for Regan. Always the sweetheart and always the gentleman he had bought the perfect gift. 

After almost 7 weeks in traction i didn't think there were any new gifts left to give Regan but this was it, her first ever bunch of flowers, flowers bought just for her, something so special, something so mature for my little girl but something so cherished. 

She hasn't let them go and keeps asking me if they will grow bigger, i don't know how to tell her they will die but just like seeing the heart ache of Benny leaving and the joy of him coming back she will learn that all this is just part of life and we need to cherish the beautiful things while we have them. 

xox

Little Foreign Mental Patients

Toddlers are (in the words of Lauren Norton) "little, foreign, mental, patients. 

OMG so so funny and a great way to describe these little people we have running around at our knees. In the nicest possibly way this sums up who toddlers are. 

I keep bursting out into laughter thinking of this statement, i was trying to put Bossy to bed today and was laying next to him singing "twinkle twinkle" but kept having to stop because i would just look at his cute little face, think of this saying and burst out laughing. B didn't think it was too funny and would give me an evil look as if to stay stop bloody laughing you idiot and keep singing my song so i can fall asleep. 

So to back it up here is a beautiful pic from my lovely son pulling the face he pulls best. 

At least i know that he will lose that title in years to come, as R has done, but for now i am going to belly laugh at him every time he does something "special" and think of this saying. 

~xox~

Wow, how neglectful of me.

So much has been happening since my last post, i guess the most significant being that R broke her leg. :-( Will sit down and write about it soon but can i just say she has handled it better than anyone could have ever expected, she really is an angel. xox