Happy 11th Birthday Jordan

Jordan's 11th Birthday - This year Jordan decided that she wanted to have a sleepover for her party and to take her friends to WetnWild - which is a large water theme park.

3 of the girls that she had invited all play netball (bar 1) had to play netball first - so we planned a picnic in the park between games. We had 4 games to attend (including Chelsea's) and they were every hour.

We took a quick detour home to get changed into swimmers and pick up another friend and were on our way to Wet n Wild. They swam, went on endless slides and fed their faces on junk food and sugary drinks...My plan was to keep them going all day so that when we got home that night we played a quick dress up chocolate game and then put a dvd on and they all fell asleep either in the middle of it or just at the end of the movie.

Jordan had a great day and was thoroughly spoiled with lots of gifts from family and friends.

Emma - The Big Move to QLD

Emma - This is Mal's niece - she was born in Canberra and has lived in Canberra her whole life - she is almost 18 and has decided that she wants to move up to Brisbane - work for a year before going to Uni. We offerred her a room to stay at our place until she found her feet and a job.

She turned up early Feb and on her first day at our place I turned up after work to find a shopping trolley outside my front door and loud music pumping out the windows...I was so embarrassed....what would the numbers think....

So - our adventures started with having a teenager live with us...something that has opened my eyes greatly - especially as the girls get older...

She slept all day, left her room extremely untidy, left washing in the machine and on the line for days, made huge messes in the kitchen, her ears either constantly glued to her mp3 player or her mobile phone...the list goes on...other than that - she's a good kid

She has since moved in with her Nan & Pa as she felt she had overstayed her welcome. She has a job and is making new friends. I miss our late night chats and our chocolate binges..larf larf...

Back to School

Back to School - After six weeks of holidays, going to the beach, endless days at Wet n Wild, a trip to Canberra to visit friends and family - it was time to go back to school. They were both extremely excited about going back and catching up with friends. Jordan is in year 6 this year and has been seperated from all her friends but has found that she has made new ones as well as hanging out with her old friends at lunch time. Chelsea is in year 4 and has her best friend in her class - they love school and love being with their friends - I can't believe how quickly they are growing up....

Spending holidays with friends in Canberra 2006

Christmas in Canberra with Family 2006

Girls - hanging out with some friends over the holidays in the Gold Coast

Bright Ideas

I had this great idea over the January holidays that me and the girls would do a jigsaw puzzle together. I thought I would get a circle one as it was different and the 300 pieces were way too easy so I thought this 1000 Marine Life jigsaw would be a lot of fun.....

So we set the puzzle on the table and the girls were great in helping me find all the edge pieces - that proved to be a lot more difficult but we persevered....then we tried starting on the inside well after that the girls weren't interested....I kept trying to encourage them to help me which they would come over for 5 mins look at a piece...think it was too hard and try something else - so I had this jigsaw sitting here for weeks - plugging away at it bit by bit by msyelf (awww...) and in the end I gave up too...I couldn't go any further and every piece seemed to be the same colour...why did I choose something with a lot of blue and gree in it????

So much for my bright idea - its now sitting in the cupboard - maybe we'll get it out next year...larf larf..

Christmas Day 2005

What a glorious day - quite a hot one (as usual in Australia). I was feeling quite low as it was a quiet day with the four of us plus mum and dad. I was missing my older sister and her husband and my younger sister and nephews.....they make their own plans usually for christmas and I was reminicising about the old days when we used to have a lot of people in our home on Christmas and all our family would get together and have a bbq...and for the last couple of years I was starting to feel like I'm the only child in our family...everyone's off doing their own thing...Auntie Margaret & Uncle Charlie have gone....

I was looking out the window (feeling sorry for myself) and I saw this rainbow and I knew that God was watching over me and he knew how I felt. I needed to appreciate what I had around me...look to the future not the past...

I know too that mum and dad feel the absence of family but that doesn't stop them blessing and bringing joy to us - especially the girls. So this year mum put on a seafood extravaganza and I've never eat so many prawns, oysters and salmon in my life.....it was a beautiful serene day...

Christmas Eve 2005

I have to recap due to the fact that I haven't blogged for quite some time and thought I would spend some time - catching you up to speed.....

Christmas Eve was a beautiful time with the 4 of us and my mum and dad - I cooked turkey but we had ham and salads as well...

As you can see from the picture below the girls got to open one present before Christmas day and of course they chose the biggest one - a massive pencil with lots of colouring in stuff from their Auntie Meg and Uncle Age...

I went on holidays Christmas Eve so it was a celebration for me as I had the next 3 weeks off work. Mal & I had a week together in January where we went down to visit Mal's family in Canberra and then he had an additional 2 weeks off...we have to split up our holidays so Mum and Dad don't have to look after them for the full 6 weeks - God Bless their hearts...

Welcome to 2006

Hey Everyone,

I've been so slack in my blogging lately...been a busy girl...well thats the story of my life.

I've added two new bloggers to my list Hot Scrap & Jacaranda Blog - please spend some time to have a look.

Well I better go as I'm in my lunch break at work and I look forward to adding some more posts soon.

Take care,

Jeannie

Beach Bungy Jumping on their Last Day of Hols

When we had went to the beach earlier on in the week the girls had seen people jumping up and down on Bungy ropes and thought that would be a lot of fun. We said we'd think about it and continued on our way...

As you can see from the photos below - they got to have their turn. Chelsea had a ball and wanted to do it a second time. Jordi freaked out the minute they launched her in the air...she had to lie down on the beach with me later because her tummy didn't quite feel the same.

Our last day enjoying the peace and tranquility of our holiday - Mal and Chelsea went for a walk along the shore line while Jordi and I fell asleep in the sand.

You couldn't ask for a more peaceful or restful time. I thank God for my family and for the time spent resting, reflecting and rejuvenating.

Beach Bungy Jumping

Feeding the Pelicans

Out the front of the unit we had our own private beach that leads onto the Maroochy River. It has a ramp where you can load your boats into the water to go fishing or enjoy watersports.

As we don't have a boat we went for a walk, let the girls play in the sand, tried to feed the pelicans and took some daggie pictures of ourselves.

What a spectacular day, the weather was beautiful, it was peaceful, quiet and serene and Mal and I spent time reflecting on our week while we watched the girls, the boats wizz by and listened to the birds in the surrounding trees...

I was thankful for the break

Feeding the pelicans

Lazy Days

There is nothing more fulfilling than hanging out with your family.

As you can see from the photos below the girls are enjoying time down at the pool. The water was too cold for me but somehow it didn't seem to bother the girls. I prefer to lie down on the sunbeds and get some colour on my skin after being stuck indoors for so long.

The only problem was a bee flew near me and I jumped up so quickly that I forgot my mobile phone was sitting in my lap - I was waiting on news how mums 3rd operation went - and splash....straight into the water....Jordi dived down to pick it up but it was too late.... my new beautiful phone...was dead....sorry phone....

For those of you don't know but bees are my worst nightmare - they scare me to death...to get over the shock we decided to get dry, grab something to eat and have some fun down at the park - even Mal enjoyed some of the parks facilities.

Lazy day - by the pool and a trip to the Park

Day at the Beach

This day as you can see from the photos below - the girls played in the sand, explored the rock pools - waited patiently for their fish and chips, posed for the camera and enjoyed their time together.

Watching them play and get along so well - is so relaxing and fills me with a deep sense of peace and happiness.

My girls are growing up and I'm enjoying the memories of all our good times together....

Day at the Beach - still on holidays - visiting the rock pool.

Happy 8th Birthday Chelsea

We celebrated her birthday while we were on holidays.

We spent the day swimming, going to the park, swimming, having a spa - eating mud cake then going out for a movie of her choice "Charlie & The Chocolate Factory" and then dinner at Hungry Jacks (her choice again).

She got some new clothes, Bratz accessories, Frog Watch (she loves frogs) and pens and some books.

She had a lovely day and was thankful all day "Thank you for my presents, thank you for taking me to the movies, thank you for dinner" - what a girl.

Happy 8th Birthday Chelsea (Sep 19th)

Holiday at the Sunshine Coast

As per the photos below, this was the 3 bedroom unit that I booked for a week of school holidays for us and mum and dad - it was to be a family holiday.

However, mum went to hospital 2 weeks before and a deposit had been paid and we couldn't rebook until sometime next year. It was unlikely that mum would be getting out of hospital soon so we decided to go away just the four of us. I needed a break so bad that I couldn't wait until next year.

I was extremly disappointed as mum and dad couldn't come and we had planned to go fishing, lots of fun in the rooftop spa, go shopping and enjoy the views together. So for the first couple of days I cried - the next couple I slept (as I was extremly exhausted with trips to the hospital and added work pressure) and I managed to enjoy the last couple of days before we went home.

It was on the Maroochy River on the Sunshine Coast approx 2 hrs drive from home. What a gorgeous place to stay and unwind - we read books, swam, went for walks, slept, went out for dinner and a movie and of course celebrated Chelseas 8th birthday.

We all enjoyed the break and glad that we went away but there is always next year with mum and dad and I will make sure that nothing stops us getting together......

Our Unit & views from the unit at the Sunshine Coast - mid September

Trip to Dreamworld

What a beautiful day it was - we went to Dreamworld with our friends Melissa, Michael & Trinity Frost - whom we call the Frosty's.

It was sunny, warm and not crowded - which was great.

As you can see from the photos below we went on many rides and met many characters.

Chelsea's most adventurous ride was the giant drop (not pictured) its a cart that takes you up really high and then just drops you - we were on the ground praying that she would be alright - she came round the corner with a massive smile on her face.

Jordi's most adventurous ride was the Reptile Rollercoaster - pretty scary for a kids ride let me tell you, mind you it didn't stop us going on it several times.

My adventurous ride was the claw - this was a lot of fun but I didn't seem to have a voice left when I got off the ride....

Mals most adventurous ride was being on the kiddies plane with the girls (he is afraid of heights) but he was our baggage handler for the day - good on you Mal - although he had a lot of fun on the dodgem cars.

The highlight of the day I have to say was when we attended Slime Time - a game show hosted by Nikelodeon and Mal and Michael got picked from the crowd. Mal had to dress up like a monkey and throw bananas and Michael had to get dressed as a baby and sit on paint balloons. I tell you what - Lissa and I had not larfed so hard in a long time - the girls thought there was something seriously wrong with us - we larfed so hard we were crying, our stomachs ached and we needed the toilet.

What a better day than to spend with family and friends - having a good larf (at your husbands expense)...

Our trip to Dreamworld with the Frosty's at the end of August

Photos, Photos, Photos

I'm catching up with Photos because:

a) I haven't blogged in a while
b) My blogs haven't contained any pictures recently
c) I can't sleep
d) Need to update my blog

Enjoy.....

This is the girls Netball Presentation Night - recieving their trophies in August

25 Questions

While reading the Above Rubies blog I came across this questionaire which helps you get to know me better. Feel free to put your answers in the comments.

25 Questions

1. When you look at yourself in the mirror, what's the first thing you look at? My hair

2. How much cash do you have on you? $30

3. What's a word that rhymes with "TEST"? Rest

4. Favorite plant? Tree Ferns

5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone? Dad

6. What is your main ring tone on your phone? When The Saints Go Marching In

7. What shirt are you wearing? Work Shirt

8. Do you "label" yourself? All the time - depends how I feel

9. Name brand of your shoes currently wearing? Cheap sandals from a cheap shoe store

10. Bright or Dark Room? Dark

11. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you? Very nice

12. Do you know what an 8-track is? No Idea

13. What were you doing at midnight last night? Hauling myself into bed

14. What did your last text message you received on your cell phone say? Where r u??

15. Do you ever click on Pop-ups or banners? Never

16. What's a saying that you say a lot? "Whats wrong with these people" or "what the" or "whatever"

17. Who told you they loved you last? My girls this morning as I left for work

18. Last furry thing you touched? Rocky - my mum and dads dog last night

19. How many hours a week do you work? 37.5

20. How many rolls of film do you need to get developed? None.

21. Favorite age you have been so far? now is a good age

22. Your worst enemy? Chocolate

23. What is your current desk top picture? At home - a pic of me - Mal put it on there

24. What was the last thing you said to someone? I'm back

25. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to erase all of your regrets, what would you choose? Are you kidding - give me a million bucks anyday...larf larf

She's home....

After almost 5 weeks of being in hospital and 4 operations later mum came home on Monday.

I had the day off as it was a Pupil Free day for the girls school and I had planned to help my dad get the house ready for mum who was supposedly coming home on Wednesday. I had just got to dads and mum called to say that she was allowed to come home that afternoon.

Well we all went into action mode - the carpets had just been cleaned - the car was booked in for detailing, the girls were sent on a mission to clean up the yard after the dog and pull out weeds. My dad was sent to mums rose garden to bring it back to life and me and another lady from church were armed with disenfectant and mops and hoovers and furniture polish.

We scrubbed, we mopped, we hoovered we stopped for drink breaks (it was hot) we gardened (well dad and the girls did). Then welcome home cards were made, I was sent shopping for groceries and dad went to Red cross to pick up a wheelchair and a chair for the shower.

She arrived home by 2pm and you couldn't wipe the smile off her face - she was home away from noise, crazy patients, smell of the hospital, plastic beds, plastic pillows, mushy food, shouting nurses, drips, drugs and operation tables...

To come home to her sparkling shining house, where her dog Rocky laid at her feet, she was able to look out at her beautiful rose garden and enjoy the sunshine - family beside her - what more could she want - the only thing was me, dad and the girls were so knackered we could hardly keep up a conversation...

I went to bed that night thankful for mum being home - with her toe intact. The doctors said that she was extremely lucky that she didn't lose her toe. We all know that it was the prayers for healing that saved it. I woke up at 3am thanking and praising God for his miracle...

She's home - my dad has a smile on his face again and I don't have to visit that flamin hospital anymore.....no more searching for carparks and getting in lifts