Michael Bublé Sing-Along -

Michael Bublé - Everything

great song!

IT'S ALL UNDER CONTROL (NOT)

What could be worse than 4 bored children on school holidays with constant rain? Well I'll tell you!!!! Four bored children on school holidays with constant rain and broken toes!!
Yep, stupid bed post got in the way of my sprint to stop Sage from emptying the last of the (once full bottle ) of liquid soap all over my bedroom!

I'm just sitting here (next to my crutches) listening to their arguing, and banging, and screaming, and the best I can do is bellow out this futile threat " THAT'S IT, YOUR ALL GOING TO COP IT!!! " The occasional kid walks passed me ( just out of reaching distance) with a 'and what are you going to do about it look'. GGRRRRR

One of a kind

With my Grandfather passing away, My Uncle Kerry has been down from Queensland staying with my Nanna.
If my sons are half as good to me when I grow old as Uncle Kerry is to his Mum, I will be one lucky lady. He adores his Mum, as she does him and treats her like an absolute princess!


He has always been my favorite Uncle and now he is Sage's too! She has talked about him non stop lately and we are both going to miss him when he goes home to Queensland. :-( Hopefully we can go over to see him, Auntie Chris and Josh soon though.

Little Casey

All kids are special in their own way, but I have a real soft spot for my cousin Lisa's little girl Casey.I went to see her the other day and as soon as I walked in the door I was greeted by this little princess running and jumping into my arms and giving me the biggest hug!! Awwww.


About an hour into the visit we hear " OHH CASEY!!!" coming from Taleah, her big sister. Casey had disappeared into her sisters room and put her make-up all over her bedroom rug and her face. Poor Taleah wasn't happy, but Casey was as she sat there all made up and posed for the camera. Lol!

Time To Say Goodbye

I haven't posted for a while due to my Grandfather passing away. I have been pretty busy going backwards and forwards to my Nanna's house. He was quite ill towards the end and had had enough. No-one should have to suffer and I'm glad for him it wasn't too bad towards the end and he went peacefully in his sleep.

No funeral is nice, but it was a really nice service. It just broke my heart to see my Nanna hurting. How do you even begin to adapt to a life without someone you have spent half a century with???

She is the most amazing lady with such a positive focus on life, I'm hoping this trait will get her through!! Love and strength to you Nanna, I love you!!

Remember this song?

Love it!

MISS MEAN

Zak has had a relief teacher for nearly a week, his regular teacher has been away sick. According to Zak this teacher is mean and makes them do way too much work.

Well, Zak told us a very similar and convincing story about last years prep teacher too. Apparently she made him do pages and pages and pages (Zak's words) of writing every Monday, about what they had done over the weekend. So, after approaching Mrs Prep with Zak's concerns and viewing Zak's Monday writing book, only to find half a page of writing for each task (on big fat lines , I might add), one can understand why I took Zak's recent comment with a grain of salt.

Until I met her..........

This woman is from the 'Old School'. She is about 60, no nonsense, no smiling and a no time for distractions type of person. A minute in her presence and you feel like a naughty 7 year old child again.

Zak and I arrive to school late this morning, after my water feature decided to water the carpet in my lounge room (not happy!).
As we approach Zak's classroom , I see all the kids sitting cross legged on the floor with Miss Mean standing in front of the blackboard. One look at her and I'm scared! My mind is racing to try and come up with a quick and efficient way to explain myself without annoying her ( she honestly has that effect on me) I was thinking of getting Zak to knock on the door while I ran, but I managed to get brave ;-). Squinty eyed and oh so slowly, I knock on the door and gently open it. She just glares at me , I quickly correct my posture, (because I was slouching )and begin my rehearsed speech for being late, which came out like this " Umm, ummm hi, I'm sorry for being late but my carpet watered my lounge room and I had to clean it first, I mean.....". She says , completely ignoring my dribble " Zak, put your bag where it belongs and come and sit down." So I make my way into the bag room with Zak and help him with his jacket (not something I usually do , but I felt guilty for leaving him with one of Hitlers descendants). Miss Mean then says " Zak is quite capable of doing it himself!" Wanting to call her names by this stage,but with a class full of children present and being too chicken to follow through anyway, I kiss Zak instead take Sage by the hand and make my way out the door. Like any other seven year old I wait until she is out of sight and then mimic her out loud (but not too loud), I've been known to be slightly nutty first thing in the morning :-), I then mumble all the things that I wasn't brave enough to say to her face!! It was at that moment that I felt a tap on my back , I turn around and my nightmare materialises in the form of ....... yep, Miss Mean - standing there dangling my keys ..."Did you forget these?"

Sage's Admirer

Well last week at snack time, after her music lesson,
Sage had an admirer approach her. He gives her a big grin
and plonks himself down right next to her. Totally unimpressed
by him, she turns her head and continues to eat her cracker whilst
pretending he doesn't exist.




















But like any good little man he knows he has to work hard to win her over,
so he goes in for the lean......


















Sage shrugs him off several times....


















until..... (I never thought I would say this)


















Yep-
she gives in!!!



















He wins her over and they finish their snacks in harmony.
Awwwwww young love!


















Pity next weeks music lesson is at the nunnery

A week at the gym.

I have had this sent to me a couple of times now, but it just cracks me up. Wanted to share it with those who may not have seen it before.....

ONE MAN'S STORY...
If you read this without laughing out loud, there is something wrong with you. This is dedicated to everyone who ever attempted to get into a regular workout routine.
Dear Diary:
For my fortieth birthday this year, my wife (the dear) purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for me. Although I am still in great shape since playing on my college football team 25 yrs ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try. I called the club and made my reservation with a personal trainer named Belinda, who identified herself as a 26 yr. old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear.
My wife seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.
MONDAY:
Started my day at 6:00 am .
Tough to get out of bed, but it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Belinda waiting for me. She was something of a Greek goddess -- with blonde hair, dancing eyes and a dazzling white smile.
Woo Hoo!!!!!
She took my pulse after 5 minutes on the treadmill. She was alarmed that my pulse was so fast, but I attributed it to standing next to her in her Lycra aerobics outfit. I enjoyed watching the skilful way in which she conducted her aerobics class after my workout today.
Very inspiring, Belinda was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, Although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time she was around.
This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!!
TUESDAY:
I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Belinda made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air, and then she put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. Belinda's rewarding smile made it all worthwhile.
I feel GREAT!! It's a whole new life for me.
WEDNESDAY:
The only way I can brush my teeth is by lying on the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot. Belinda was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered the other club members.
Her voice is a little too p erky for early in the morning and when she scolds, she gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying.
My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Belinda put me on the stair monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Belinda told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. She said some other shit too.
THURSDAY:
Belinda was waiting for me with her vampire-like teeth exposed as her thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late; it took me that long to tie my shoes. Belinda took me to workout with dumbbells. When she was not looking, I ran and hid in the men's room. She sent Lars to find me, then, as punishment, put me on the rowing machine -- which I sank.
FRIDAY:
I hate that bitch Belinda more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of t he world. Stupid, skinny, anemic little cheerleading bitch. If there were a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat her with it. Belinda wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the f&%#(#* barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich.
The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?
SATURDAY:
Belinda left a message on my answering machine in her grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing her made me want to smash the machine with my planner. However, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the W eather Channel.
SUNDAY:
I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year, my wife (the other bitch), will choose a gift for me that is fun --like a root canal or a vasectomy.

Living Doll

Sage was sent to her room for 5 mins for being cheeky today (surprise) , when I walked passed her room I found her sitting on her shelves. I quickly grabbed my camera, have a look at the look on her face in the first photo when she saw me standing there. When I asked her what she was doing she said " I'm sitting in time out like a doll."
The second photo was when she knew she wasn't in trouble.

We took some more photos after that , I actually liked her selected props.

PS The jeans under the dress was Sage's touch






(click photo to enlarge)

PPS Fringe gets cut tomorrow :-)
we were going to grow her fringe out, but she
refuse's to keep her clips in.

BUMMER!!!

Well as you probably know from one of my previous post's
(click here if not) 'Mother in denial', if there was one test that I
wanted him to fail this would have been it!!
But the selfish little sod went and passed!


That's fine, he's got 14 years to get to know the Kmart car park ;-)



( I really am very proud of him)

Storm needs help!!

Occasionally, I will read some of the stories on the 'Chin Wag Forum' which is part of eBay. It is a place where people can go to talk about an issue they may be having, or to ask others question's or for their opinions about a particular subject.

A couple of weeks ago this story caught my eye, it was posted by an Auntie who had rescued her little niece from another state. Her niece had been severely neglected by her father who is always drunk and stoned. This little girl , Storm (who is now 10) was abandoned by her mother when she was a nine month old baby and raised by her dad around his biker mates and has had a very tough life.
For the last four months Storm has been living with her Auntie , Uncle and their children in a loving, stable environment for the first time in her life and desperately wants to stay there permanently.
This was fine with her father until he found out that his government benefits would stop! He is now threatening to turn up and take Storm back. Storm and her Auntie are anticipating this happening daily and are living off their nerves, as he has a history of violence. Unfortunately there is not a whole lot that can be done to stop him until after the fact and this family needs legal advise fast ..... However, there is something that we can do to help Storm ...


This was the post that made me read on.........


Well after a 14 hour round trip yesterday, we finally have her!!!!!!!And am I glad we have done this!!!!!She as grown a lot since I last saw her that is for sure She has bought her whole world with her.....all 4 very small plastic bags of it.She has hardly any clothes and what she has got I will have to get rid of and replace, they are disgusting!!!Her hair is severely infested with lice and I mean severely, it has clumps of eggs, not just the odd one here and there,her hair moves with them running around on her head, she said that she is made to treat herself.....what (just) 10yr old can treat themselves for head lice properly?????????? NONE!!! She shouldn't be doing it herself, no wonder she has them so bad!!!I got to speak with her counselor that she was seeing till my brother pulled her out (he doesn't think there is anything wrong with her)This lady was a huge help and believes 100% that she has been abused and that she has a mental disorder of some kind.OMG, some of the things she told me would curl your hair.Apparently I am going to have to watch her around my 4yr old as she likes to grope other little girls (you know where)I rang my brother last night to let him know we were home safe and he was really drunk and going around saying to his friends that he raised her for 10yrs now it is our turn to do it for the next 10, he was too drunk to talk to her, he asked who was on the phone and when told he just said "Oh" and walked off.No....are they all OK, is she OK...nothing.Grrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!He is talking about leaving town for as long as he wants, the G/F said that they should have her back on the April Hol's for a visit and he said "No, we won't be back by then"I will book her fully into Telera today and start this road to recovery.This poor child, she is just a product of her up bringing, fingers crossed within a year she will be a lot better.

PS This has been posted with the permission of Storm's Auntie.


Here is the link http://forums.ebay.com.au/thread.jspa?threadID=500041944&start=0 you can click on it and read her story.

Every little bit helps.

Zak's Question

On our way out this afternoon, Paul's driving along, I'm reading and out of the blue coming from the back seat we hear " Mummy is there a scab Fairy."
I turn to Zak (as I'm thinking, what the?) and I say "Scab fairy?!"
He says " Yeah, a scab fairy." Obviously I was on the wrong wave length to begin with because I'm thinking ... didn't we give him enough money for his last tooth, until I remembered he hadn't lost a tooth! Then I say " Zak, what is a scab fairy?" and he says "You know a fairy that comes and gets your scabs and gives you money for them." Gagging at the thought I say "No Zak, there isn't a scab fairy." and then he says "Ohhhhhhhh, cause I have heaps to pick!".
Of course as soon as Miss Sage hears the word 'pick' you can take one guess as to what type of fairy she asks about.

Charming little darlings!

PS I know I may be a little
biased , but I think he is one
cute kid!

Mental Telepathy??

I have been meaning to post a strange little incident that happened a couple of weeks ago with Sage.

Sage has been going to music lessons for the past couple of months. She loves it, and is constantly asking when Friday is so she can go back.
After each lesson all the kids leave the music room and go into another room in the same complex where there are several picnic rugs layed out for them. They all sit down on the rugs and have morning tea together before going home.

Sage knows the drill, each week,(as she reaches the music room exit door) she makes a run for it , her little legs can't carry her fast enough to get her to that very same picnic rug. Once she reaches 'her' rug she plonks herself down right in the centre of it , where she sits with a cool, calm and collected look and waits for me to fetch her snacks.
Once her bottom is positioned on that rug , it stays there and she's not moving!

When the other kids have finished their morning tea , their up and running around playing and enjoying each others company , but not Sage, she just sits there and observes them without saying a single word.( not sure why this is because we can't keep her quite for a millisecond at home and she doesn't sit still at play group.) Its become a standard joke with the other mothers, 'Oh there's Sage again just sitting in the middle of the stampede analysing everyone's behaviour.' When I ask her to go and play she says "No, I want to stay here." She's definitely not a shy child, I think she just really enjoys watching , so I just let her go.

Its the same thing each week, they all run and play and she's the only one sitting and watching with a smile.
Well she was the only one until the other day when a new girl joined the group.
This little girl (not sure of her name) was sitting on another rug about 5 metres from where Sage sat. Two other mothers and I were looking over at Sage as she looked over at this other little girl. Without saying a word to her Sage gave her this huge smile and held up two of her fingers , wondering what she was doing we looked over at the other girl and without her even saying a word (not that they would have heard each other from the noise and the distance between them anyway) the little girl nodded and smiled back and then held up three fingers, Sage then nodded back at her, they both exchanged one more grin each and then went on watching the other children. I was puzzled for a second, and then it dawned on me and the other mum's that they may have been telling each other their age! I had to go over and ask Sage what she had asked the girl (even though I know they didn't' actually speak) and sure enough her reply was "I told her I'm two, and she's three."

How cute!!
Goes to show we can communicate in all different ways!

In the last couple of weeks I have looked out for this little girl to see who her mother is so I can share the 'cute little incident' with her ( I didn't get the chance to tell her the day it happened) but the little girl hasn't been there since.
My friend Kim said to me the other day, "Maybe the little girl wasn't really there." So unless I see this kid again, it really ain't very cute anymore.

I have been tagged!

I have been tagged by a lovely Lady Trudi who writes such a good story that you feel like your right there. Go and read her 'What It Takes' post.

I've been asked to write about:

1.Four of my favorite jobs
2.Four of my favorite local places
3.Four of my favorite foods
4.Four international places I have been to or would like to visit.

... then I am meant to choose four other bloggers to do the same.

I have tagged

Carrie (verybusylady)
Vanessa (vanessaandkara)
Sue (wishIwasthree)
Jennifer (preciouspinkpumps)

I wanted to pick another blogger who I find hysterical until I read she hates this kind of thing. The others are probably saying "Hello, well so do I" ,sorry guys, but I didn't want to be the party pooper.

FAVORITE JOBS

1.My very first job was at a bakery on the weekends when I was 14 years old.
I actually hated the job,I mean what 14 year old wants to clean all day and stick bread into a bag? But anyone that knows me knows my motto is 'A cake a day keeps me happy' especially doughnuts. My body is flooded with happy endorphins with each mouthful.

At the end of each day after closing up, there would be heaps of them left over, nothing to do with me encouaging customers to go for the crappier cakes when they said "mmm just working out which cakes to choose".
The little Maltese lady who owned the shop would say "Rachael would you like to take
some doughnuts home?" I would be thinking 'are you friggin serious, stick every single one you got left in my bag lady' but being a little less up front about my addiction in those days I would say " Oh only if you don't want them, thankyou". How things change.


2.Another job I had was working with disabled children at 'Uncle Bobs' which was part of the Royal Childrens Hospital, it was a school for serverly disabled children who were in permanent care.
I loved it! I think it was the beginning of me looking outside of my own square and
appreciating what I did have. I'll never forget my first day there when I met a little boy John who was about 5 years old at the time. John had a condition where he was unable to move his limbs but had full feeling in them. His arms and legs were plastered at the time after several surgeries and he was also unable to speak. I was sitting on the floor reading to him, when we had finished the story he started to make a grunting noise, I knew from the tone that he wanted something but the poor little thing couldn't tell me what. He was looking at a heap of toys in front of him and was becoming increasingly frustrated not being able to tell me which one he wanted. As I picked out different toys he became more frustrated. So I tried a different aproach and said to him "John if I go through the toys and I get to the one you want will you smile for me?" I finally got to a stuffed caterpiller and he blessed
me with this beaming smile, I layed the caterpiller on him and smiled back at him as I tried to hide the tears streaming down my face. These children are such happy little souls and are so grateful for your time and attention. Working with kids like John, I now know exactly why they are called 'special children' they are earth angels reminding us to be grateful for everything we take for granted. What an honour for me to have been able to be part of their lives.

3.I was doing Marketing for a while , I loved that too. Meeting new people and just
networking in general which has led me too what I love now, NLP (Neuro
Linguistic Programming) What is NLP? - NLP's core idea is that an individual's
thoughts, gestures and words interact to create their perception of the world. By
changing their focus, a person can improve there attitudes and actions. These
observations can be changed by applying a variety of tools/ techniques. I think these tools/techniques should be taught in school's , we push our kids to do their best in maths english etc. but a lot of them are struggling with their own mindsets and beliefs about themselves which can cause problems for them in general. We place so much emphasis on their grades but a lot of kids aren't being taught how to have sucsessful relationships with people which is also a major part of their lives. (ok now I'm wafflling about my passions.)

I also do Reiki and hope to finish a course in hypnotherapy before Sage starts school. My ultimate goal is to open a wellness centre where I can combine all these things together and have other people working there doing the same.

4.But the best of my jobs so far , has to be, being a Mother.
As hard and frustrating as it is sometimes, I don't think there is single thing that is more rewarding! Its only on the odd occasion that I wish they came with a mute button.

FOUR FAVORITE LOCAL PLACES.

1. Definately on the top of the list is 'The Dandenong Ranges' nothing better than the smells , sights and sounds of a rain forest.

2.The local shopping centre , its huge and has everything I neeeeeeed, ok want.

3.Lysterfield Lake. Beautiful lake with wildlife where the kids can feed the ducks.

4. My front Lounge room. (can't get more local than that) no kids allowed ,there is no T.V in there and its decorated how I want. I go and sit in there with the sounds of the water feature, the music I love played softley in the background and a good book. I think its calling me now!

Four Favorite Foods

1. Doughnuts and Cakes of course.
2. Thai food.
3. Big fat juicy lobster tails.
4. Chocolate ( up there with the cakes)

FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN TO OR I'D LIKE TO GO INTERNATIONALLY

1. Egypt, wanted to go ever since I saw a film on a movie projector at 5 years old. I think its the whole mystique of it that attracts me.

2.Paris. Shopping of course.

3.Bolivia. I would love to go to the amazon jungle. I am one of two girls, I have a mum who loves nice clothes , which I've inherited and a dad that loves camping and outdoors, as a kid I always had lizards and strange creatures for pets, so the amazon jungle would fascinate me.

4. Malta, my father is Maltese so I would like to see my heratige.

Girls Night Out.

Me, Jo and Heidi


















Nothing like a night out dancing and a glass of wine or two or three, with good friends.
Especially after a long challenging week.

We ended up in this bar near the city which was decked out in a 1930s theme, and an amazing band that was playing music from the same Era.( disappointed that I forgot I had my camera while we were there, only remembered at the next place (tisk) ).
The whole atmosphere was incredible ,it was like stepping back into a time warp with people of all ages dressed in the appropriate attire, except for us! We have no idea where we will end up until we get there. Gypsy partiers we are.

We moved on after that to a more modern place , where we danced our little booties off!

Warning, I'm going to start having a whinge (and all opinions welcome )..... What is it with
some people when your out, that give you 'that look' and the "oohhh" when you say that your married with children? Or sometimes I'll get the line...' I just assumed that you would be single if your out!" OH DID YOU REALLY!! Don't get me wrong , I have no problem with people asking my marital status , when your out you have to expect that with the whole human seeking human thing, its part of life, if you don't like that part of it your better off staying home. Its just the reactions of some when they hear your unavailable with children that bothers me.
(Heaven forbid your out after dark if your a wife and mother!)
I mean its not like I left my children waiting with the homeless man in the wheelie bin
(insert insurance policy: even though the homeless man is probably lovely), or left them out the front of the venue with their colouring books while we enjoyed ourselves inside.
According to some, when your unavailable with kids its a sin to go out with friends and have a dance and a good time (some being women but majority of them being men with double standards. , fortunately I have a man that sees things differently). Well I say what a load of B@#! S#!#, not in my world, its me time to relax and unwind after dedicating my every other waking hour to my family (that I wouldn't have any other way of course). I
don't remember signing anything after my babies were born that said 'I will not enjoy myself outside of this child' so where ever they got that belief system from they can keep it! And when they have kids, they can enjoy the rest of their nights groovin' to the wiggles if they choose. (insurance policy no.2: not that there's anything wrong with the wiggles their great). I thinks its fine that some choose not to go out after having children , if their happy good on them. I just have a problem with people judging those who do!

I will be deciding when my dancing days are over, and as far as I'm concerned, a dance deprived mother can cause major issues.
In fact there should be mothers only clubs for us mums to get out and dance and let our hair down.

On a lighter note, I had a great time and to Jo if I haven't told you lately ,
I love and appreciate your friendship. xx
Here is the photo promised

Mika Singing Grace Kelly

I can't get this song out of my head, the new Freddie , love him, love him , love him!!

Fairy Watching

The boys were away on the weekend so Kim and I
took Lara and Sage into the forest to look for fairies.
Kim and I didn't see any, but the girls did ;-)

Mother in Denial

Ricky at 16

My son Ricky who has just turned 16 a couple of months ago has been talking

about getting his learners ( you know the ones you need to drive a car! )

for over a year now.I had been blocking it out thinking I'll worry about it when

he is sixteen.

Everytime its been brought up since his birthday, coincidentally, I have been really busy and have had to say..

"Ricky not right now can we talk about this a bit later, I'm in the middle of something." Well last night was the final straw for him, he came right over to me and said " I know you don't want to talk about it , but I need to hurry up and get my learners before the new laws come in."

(I'm thinking COOL maybe they'll be , you can't drive until your thirty!)

So I say to him "What new laws?" he tells me that apparently there are going to be two lots of 'P' plates. In the first year while you are on the first 'P' plate you can only drive with one passenger in the car. I can see the advantages to this law with teenagers , I just think they need to couple it with another law that states they need 15 years experience on their learners before they can drive with that passenger!(Don't get me wrong, Ricky is a great kid and has always been really responsible but like any other parent the whole driving thing terrifies me!)

Meanwhile Ricky is looking at me with the 'Well ,are you going to say anything look'.So I say...

" By the way , I am so sick of you leaving this house in the morning without eating breakfast, how are you suppose to function properly the whole day and get through your VCE without it?!! I said some other crap too."

Then my son, being nearly six foot tall and all , but, who is not long out of nappies , says...

"Sorry your feeling like this , but the real issue here is you don't want me to grow up , but its gonna happen anyway, nothing I or you can do about it , in fact it won't be long before I'm 18!And you can't keep holding me back because of your fears." He then gives me a hug (one of those head lock ones) and a kiss on the cheek and walks into his room.

Well! Who does he think he is, and when did he go and get all insightful?!!

(What age should you stop putting them in time out? :-)

I know he's right and I know I need to deal with my own issues and not put them on him, so tomorrow I will be speaking to the authorities to get the laws changed! ;-)

I read a quote today that I thought was so relevant it said..

Making the decision to have a child-

it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have

your heart go walking around outside your body.

*Elizabeth Stone*

****************

Jaye(left) at 18months old and Ricky(right) at 6 years old

click on

image to

enlarge

I'm a Lady!

As you can imagine after three boys, I am so excited about dressing Sage with all the girls clothes out there. Knowing how fast they grow up I was determined to keep her a baby as long as I could and only dressed her in things age appropriate. (pink woolens lace and anything smocked) Paul used to say ," do you have to keep dressing her like that? poor kid looks like a doilie." Of course I thought , what would he know, she's an absolute vision! Until I came across this photo! What was I thinking!!
Back then I thought it was adorable , I look at it now and it borders on child abuse! (she has more layers on than an onion!)

(second photo)
I was so looking forward to her being this age so I could put her in little tartan skirts with opaque stockings and Mary Jane's....

I got her this outfit the other day , put it on her for the first time and couldn't believe how grown up she looked. With tears in my eyes I said "Sage , you are a beautiful little girl!"
and she says "Nope , in this skirt I am a layyydy."
and then proceeds to say that her other skirt (which we had tried on earlier ) was crap!

Need a laugh?

Its the simple things that give us the greatest pleasure.

The power of words

I was looking at another blog and was astounded at some
of the negative comments people leave for others:

I remember reading something not long ago that said:
"Choose your words carefully! They can have the power to lift
others right up and the power to pull them right down"!

I'm sure those of you that have kids old enough, like myself, have taught
them about name calling and the 'sticks and stones' metaphor
and how to just move away from someone if they aren't the
company that they wish to keep!
But how many of us are living by what we are teaching our kids??

This is a metaphor I heard that I think we can all learn from....
Buddha is renowned for responding to evil with good.
A man heard about Buddha and what he stood for and decided
that he would try his hardest and put Buddha to the test.
Whilst in Buddha's presence this man verbally insults him
over and over again, to which Buddha remains unmoved.
Buddha then say's to the man " Can I ask you a question?" the
man said "What?"
Buddha said " If someone gives someone a gift
and they choose not to accept that gift , who does it then
belong to?" the man responded with "Well of course the person
who first tried to give the gift" Buddha said " That is right,
so if I reject your insults and abuse , does it not then
belong to you?"

Something we probably already know, but put in black and white
can be a real reminder.

I think we only take on board others negative opinions of us
if we doubt that part of ourselves to begin with. Where we
have certainty in us there is no desire to try and convince
anyone of anything or justify to them , it just is the way it
is.
Usually when someone is putting someone else down or trying to
make them look insignificant its because they are feeling
insignificant about something themselves.
So maybe when we feel the need to insult people we should
really be taking a look at our own life to see what's missing
in it and work on what we need to improve on our self.
If we are honest with ourselves every single one of us have
issues in our life and making our way through it can be
hard enough as it is sometimes, so if we can not contribute positively
or say something constructive we would be
better off just staying away and saying nothing at all.

The Ness Dress

Thought I would post a couple of photos of Sage in her New dress that Auntie Ness made and sent over for her. How clever is she!! Sewing has never been my forte :-(

Sage loves it cause it has the twirl factor.

I had to do a double take when I loaded the photos onto the computer for the first time. The photo of her side on looks like a shrunken (is that a word?) down version of my Mother.

Freaky!!

Adelaide.

Sage and I went to Adelaide a couple of weeks ago and caught up with our family.
I have been waiting on some photos so I could post them altogether.
We both had a really good time but unfortunately weren't there long enough.
It seemed by the time we got there and caught up with eveyone it was time to come home again, but I'm glad we got a chance to see everyone.
I have one very affectionate little girl, giving a cuddle to everyone willing.
Especially Grandpa , wherever he was so was Sage!


Sage was spoilt by everyone , she got lots of new clothes from Auntie Nessa and a gorgeous little red trench coat from Auntie Ang ( which I just love!) and Rosemary made Sage a beautiful sun catcher for her room. One of the highlights of Sages trip was Rosemary and Rob's turtle, which Sage hasn't stopped talking about since!

The photo of Sage in the ball pit with nothing but her undies on, was taken when we were getting ready to go home. She took off in between changes of clothes.
Ness had to run in there after her and ply her fingers off the net. Sage thought it was hysterical, so did I.

1.Sage and Grandpa
2.Sage and Uncle Adrian
3. Sage and Uncle Rob
4. Sage and Auntie Angelina
5. Sage and Grandma
7-10. Sage and Nanna
11. Sage and Rosemary
12. Sage and Kara
13. Sage and Auntie Nessa