A Vow

I've always been a "I"ll start that next week" kind of person.

But this week I vow to start my housework tomorrow morning.

I vow to be better organised by the time the kids come back on Friday - as I'd like to spend the last week of their holidays with them - not with my messy house.

So tomorrow before I head off to work I will have:

* Made the beds (the kids sheets have been taken off, but the new ones are waiting to be put on)
* Hang out the washing that is in the machine
* Figure out what is for dinner
* Make at least a start on tidying the playroom
* Tidy up the bench in the bathroom - it's amazing how far makeup travels when it's out of it's case.

So we'll see how much I get done...



Today hubby and I went to the local markets - it was freeeeeeezing!! But it was nice to get out and browse the bric-a-brac, books, CD's and assorted stuff that was there. Hubby has a liking for the old tools that are there - I'm happy for him to look and buy - but I'd be happier looking at other things....

It was fun - I bought two books, a science activity for Alex (one of the wire games where if you touch the wire wiggle thing then the buzzer sounds) and a mug for hubby. Hubby bought himself some socks.... such a domestic hubby.

If I Could Invent Anything

So Challenge 2 from newly titled Blog This

What would I invent....?

A motivation tool that works for ME.

No tick charts, sticker charts, rewards systems work for ME.

I have short bursts of motivation that very quickly leave as quickly as they arrived.

I wish they'd stay around for longer.

So that's what I'd invent.....

When I Grow Up...

There is a new aussie blog that give out challenges....

TBH I have no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up... well not as a small child anyway...
More than likely it was to be a teacher - I remember trying to teach my brothers things.... That didn't work out very well.

I do remember in High School starting to have more definate ideas. I wanted to be a lawyer, then I wanted to be a social worker.

When I hit College I was still undecided between the two, but somewhere along the way lawyer dropped off the radar and teacher came back into play - and social worker was still there.

Then I enrolled for Uni, the toss up was between starting and Arts Degree - and then moving to Social Work in my 2nd year, or doing Education.

I got into Education..... The rest is history - cause now I'm a Mum, and work in an admin job (with an Education degree behind me)

Birthdays, Colds and Farm Town

It was my birthday last Friday - another year closer to the big '30'. It was the nicest and least stressful birthday I've had in a few years - no family all decending at once - it was a quiet day on the Friday - I had lunch with Mum, Dad and hubby followed by dinner with the in-laws and that side of the family - so no fuss no stress!

I have been thoroughly spoilt this year - Tupperware, nice smelly lotions etc to use in the bathroom, and some vouchers and $$ - so I can do some shopping - YAY!

But the shopping will have to wait until I'm over this cold/flu.... darn thing started as a sore throat about 2 weeks ago and then went away.... now it's back (the sore throat), but it's brought it's mates blocked nose, headache, stuffed up feeling and achey joints....

So far the kids are OK, hubby has it too... but has the 'Man' version of it, so it a thousand times worse than anyone else.

Being at home today is allowing me to persue current addiction to Farm Town on Facebook.... Another one of those applications where you become addicted for a short while, before realising that you do have a life outside of moving cars (Parking Wars) or getting people to join your mob (Mob Wars).

Farm Town is addictive - you earn money as you plant and harvest crops, help friends and neighbours out - and even just logging in everyday!
I have an assortment of animals, trees, vegetables and some farm stuff - like fences and hay bales...

The addiction is that if you don't harvest your crops shortly after they become ready to harvest they die and you lose them - meaning you have spent $$ and get nothing in return... So you have to check on a regular basis...

Off to plant some more crops!

Wedding Fun!

My gorgeous sister-in-law married her fiance on Saturday. They had been together for 4 years to the day - so sweet to be married on your anniversary!

Such a gorgeous wedding, followed by a delightful and fun filled reception! The kids had so much fun running around with their cousins (who were page boy and flower girl) and Olivia took so many photos -it's funny, but they are some of the most interesting photos because people will smile for the cute little blonde girl with the camera.

I discovered how difficult it is to take pictures of people, in a church, without a flash, with people sitting in front of me who were also taking photos of people who didn't stand still!!! I ended up with so many blurry and out of focus photos because people moved just slightly - or I moved!

Anyway here are some of the photos from the day - just a small selection of the many that we took!

The Happy Couple!

More of the Happy Couple!

After the ceremony with the Flower Girl and Page Boy

The Cake - Complete with Furbaby statue too! (Taken by Olivia)

Some of the party animals at the reception - taken by Olivia.

Hubby and Me - taken by Olivia.

The photographer of the night - Olivia!

Run To Ross

I wrote the other day that we went with our car club (Tas Torana Owners) on a run to Ross. I'm finally back with some photos now.

For any that don't know, Ross is about a 50 minute drive from Launceston (where we live). So we met at the Casino - it has a nice big car park that is usually empty on a Sunday so we have plenty of space.

We went on to Perth (about 15 min drive) to fuel up any cars that needed - and had a look at the other cars that were there - the run was organised by the Post Vintage Car Club - so there were lots of different makes and models of cars to look at!

We then made our way to Campbell Town (another 30 minutes away) and absolutely freezing cold! We grabbed coffees and then made our way down to Ross. We caught up with another member who was waiting on the road into Ross for us. And we made our sloooooooow way to the area where we were parking.

So many cars, not enough space for them all, and being the first time this event had happened made it a learning experience for the PVCC I think!

Anyway photos as promised. I had a dedicated photographer - hubby's car is not going - needs a new gearbox, so he rode with me and took all the photos!

The 45 Minute Dash

So 45 minutes seems a long time doesn't it? Not when your tidying up your crazy, mess filled house like mine.

Years ago my friend and I would band together to motivate each other and help each other out where we could with keeping our houses tidy. She practically lived and breathed Flylady and while I tried - started, kept going, failed, started again, failed again etc.... It just wasn't for me.

I like the idea behind Flylady, but because my lifestyle didn't work like her's - and my motivation was weak too (possibly) - if I fell a day behind because I had to work or go to school or was sick, I never got back into it properly - a speed bump then became an enormous mountain for me - to difficult to conquer.

So what's with the 45 minutes? I tidy up for 45 minutes - yes I have enough stuff around to keep me moving and occupied for that long! The things I'm NOT allowed to do though are things like really cleaning (like the walls, or scrubbing the floors), or unpacking cupboards to re-pack them, because I'm on a blitz - and if I start doing things like that I so easily get side-tracked....

So this morning in my 45 minutes I have changed the kitty litter, unstacked and restacked the dishwasher, put away the dishes on the sink (the ones that can't go in the dishwasher), done the dishes (that can't go in the dishwasher). Put away the folded and sorted clothes that have been sitting around since Monday, folded the newly clean washing, tidied the kitchen benches, changed the sheets and re-made our bed.... put tonnes of little bits and pieces away - those stray pieces of lego, pencils, my umbrella - you know stuff like that.

At the end of the 45 minutes I get 15 minutes to chill - read a chapter of my book, blog, knit, whatever... But when my 15 minutes is up I'll start my 45 minutes again.... There is a bath that needs cleaning, floors that need vacuuming and mopping, and cars that need cleaning.......

Another Week

And no posts from me........ It's amazing how difficult it can be to have 5 minutes to blog.

It's been such a up and down week. So I'll start at the beginning.....

Mother's Day was lovely - eggs, bacon and bagels for breakfast - yummo! I got some lovely pink and black fluffy slippers and some Lindt chocolates - some white centred, milk chocolate covered limited edition, very yummy ones.

That evening was not the best - I have anxiety which flares up on occasion - and it reared it's head that Sunday night. So not the best thing to happen - but each time I do get better in handling it and the road to recovery is shorter each time - such a blessing I tell you!

But it still meant that I spent Monday and Tuesday in kind of a funky way - I had no parent help on Monday so I just veged here at home with hubby - who has been on holidays, and Tuesday I was planning on doing parent help for the day, but the NAPLAN testing was going on in the 3/4 class, so I couldn't help out.

Wednesday was a work day.... just another day there - but with an added bonus of a new photocopier!!! Yes I'm excited about a new copier - sad hey? But after manually putting in pages for double siding for 5 years I no longer have to - I can just feed them all in!! Woohoo!

Thursday we did a bit around the house - another tip run and some cleaning and tidying.

Friday was Cross Country day at school - I'd told both kids I'd watch them run - only to find that there was 2 hours between them running.... and that it started after recess. So I planned to do parent help in Alex's class and then help out where I could for the Cross Country.

That was until Alex's teacher, Jamie, showed me his dislocated finger - OUCH!!!!

That was when I decided I would go to Olivia's assembly.... Why? Not because scary, out of place fingers hurt, but because that meant Alex's class had a relief teacher - and while I LOVE Alex's class, relief teachers seem to bring out the worst in them.

As it turns out the class ended up with the AST for 5/6 and then later the AST for 3/4 - so they behaved for them (I know cause I went back to see if Jamie was back yet - and ended up staying in the class).

The Cross Country itself was good - long and drawn out - but good. Olivia came 3rd out of the Grade 1 girls! Go girl!!! Alex had problems and came last out of the Grade 3 boys - which resulted in lots of tears.

I think the tears were the build up after such a difficult week for Alex - with the NAPLAN testing, plus me harping on about home readers, and then they had extra maths homework (multiplication and division) - which is unusual for them.... and on top of everything else I think it just got all too much for him.

Anyway, had a good weekend - a good day with the car club today - have photos but will do another post - hopefully tomorrow!

Enough for one day?

This morning I had a bingle in my car.... my bad...... I have this thing for breaking headlights, but this one was an indicator.... oops.

So that put me in a great mood for the remainder of the day - I feel sorry for poor hubby who had to put up with me and my mini tantrum - over my own stupidity.

Then this afternoon when I picked up the kids from school.... this is always an interesting time because they've spent the week at the Dad's place.... So I get lots of stories of 'we've done this or that' and then I ask the important questions 'Do you have your home-readers?' or 'Have you bought XYZ like I asked you to?' and there is a mix of 'Yes' and 'No' answers.

Today I collected Alex from class and made sure he had a new home-reader, found he'd 'forgotten' so I chose one, a bit of a harder one than normal because his usual level wasn't there - and I feel he needs to be challenged otherwise he gets too comfortable and doesn't try.

But Alex felt this book was too hard after starting chapter 3..... (there are 7 chapters, about 4 pages to a chapter - plus lots of pictures). We had a good talk - after the nearly round of tears - and he admitted that he didn't like the harder books - to put it in perspective he had difficulty with approximately 1 word per page - so it's not like he's reading "War and Peace".

I'm torn between the parent in me that wants to comfort and say 'It's going to be OK' and giving him easier books and the teacher in me that wants to challenge and build his confidence in reading - because I KNOW he can do this.

One of the other problems that we have is that we read the home-readers here, but they don't at their dad's place - and Alex's teacher has told Alex not to take them to dad's because he doesn't read them there (I will be speaking to his teacher next week to see if that's true or not).... So we're putting in so much work here during the kids week here.... and then it's not being backed up at their other house. It makes it difficult for the kids, for us and more than likely for their teachers too.

So another week, more teaching and learning at home, but today was enough for Alex - and we'll work on it over the weekend, because I know he can do it.... and he knows he can do it too.

Where Does It Come From?

Today I have had a massive focus on cleaning up my Uni stuff.....

A bit of background for you. I did a Bachelor of Education I majored in Primary Education (as opposed to Early Childhood Education). I started my degree in 1998..... had two kids while doing the degree, so deferred a few subjects, but finally graduated in 2004 - 7 years after having started - YAY!!!

With Education comes practical times in schools - in total I did time in 6 different schools over the years - I had a different variety of teachers who helped me - some were amazing and couldn't help enough!

But all the time in schools brings all the paperwork - lesson plans, behaviour management plans, time management plans and my own reflections..... Some of the paperwork has gone over the years - certain plans change from school to school - even week to week in some cases! But I have kept nearly every lesson plan that I have ever done, or planned to do....

Then there are all the lesson plans that were done as assignment work - and we got to share plans with other people in the class...... Over 100 people in my original graduating year!!!! So many plans, so much paperwork!

It's all been filed away in folders - taking up space first on the bookcase, and then in the cupboard. I decided a while ago that it needed to go.... But I couldn't throw away 7 years work!!! I couldn't bring myself to do it - even though I swore I would never step foot to teach in a classroom again.

So I started retyping lesson plans, typing out all the lesson plans people had shared in class, photocopies of sheets all the lovely teachers had given me..... Can you imagine how long that would take??? Forever and a fricken day!

But the other month I bought a new printer - that is also a scanner and photocopier in one! Woohoo! So I have spent today scanning endlessly! I think I still have 2 huge folders in the cupboards jammed with paperwork, but I've got through a fair bit today.

So after nearly 5 years of saying 'I'm going to do it' - I am doing it! It will all be gone and on CD soon...... (or possibly 2 or 3 CD's).....

But that's 7 years of my life I couldn't just throw away.......

Another New Project

This time not for me....... probably a good thing really.

A new Torana for huuby - it's basically a bare shell - well a crummy looking shell at the moment. But there is the potential for so much more.

Here are a few pics of the new one.



So what have I been up to? More cleaning, tidying and reorganising....

As the kids playroom was just shoved together when we moved into the new master bedroom over 6 months ago - things just really weren't working out - the kids were stepping on toys nothing got put away properly - really because there was no 'proper place' for things.

Now I'm getting there - we rearranged and I'm still in the middle of sorting things out..... But it's a start.

The hallway linen cupboard has now been arranged - and the extra sheets and towels that will never ever be used have gone to a good home. Now I can find towels and sheets - and I can tell the difference between hand-towels and face-washers!!! YAY!!


We also had a very busy weekend. On Saturday we made our way down to Hobart - with both Torana's do be wedding cars for Danny and Sally on their special day! I'd LOVE to share photos.... but can't because I forgot to take the camera..... how silly am I?

We left here just after 10am - we weren't needed to pick up the Groom and his boys until about 2pm - the drive is only 2 hours, but we figured if we got there in plenty of time it would be better in case the cars needed to be cleaned again, or we got lost, or something happened to the cars.... Luckily nothing happened on the way, so we were there in plenty of time!

The wedding was beautiful. The bride was gorgeous!!! And after photos were taken we hit the road just before 6pm - and got home just after 8pm.......... not a huge long day, but driving and concentrating for so long was exhausting - and the idiots on the road in the dark were scary!!!


Sunday I went out to my sister-in-laws Hen's afternoon! We had so much fun!!! Lots of lovely food, lots to drink and lots of laughs!!! I had a forgetful weekend.... forgot my camera again...
I'll have to wait for Bec to post some of the photos she took before I can share any.

Anyway off to work tomorrow!!!