Weekly Winners #19 – Late Posting Again

Keeping with what appears to be my very own tradition, another late addition to Weekly Winners and again my only blog post for a week. OOPS!

Happy Birthday from Chickmunk!

School, Day 1

Lay Back, Relax, Have a Facial

Cooling Off Under the Sprinklers

Beautiful Boys

Check out other awesome contributors to Weekly Winners over at I am Lotus.

Weekly Winners #18

Weekly Winners seems to be the only thing that keeps me blogging at the moment.  Todays edition for me is full of photos that really deserve their own post but I just don’t have the energy at the moment.  Hopefully the photos here will motivate me to fill in the gaps that need filling and start blogging again properly.

Clasped Paws

Pretty Hair

GRRR, Shoddy Building

Autograph from an Idol

And now for a few happy snaps from boy-child’s 8th birthday party.

The Shadow and the Stick

My Boy, a Friend of Medusa

Party Guest

For other amazing Weekly Winners head over to Sarcastic Mom.

Weekly Winners #17

This late addition to Weekly Winners seems to be becoming a habit that I don’t really like.  Nevertheless, here is my edition of Weekly Winners for the week 18 – 24 January 2010.

We will start off with photos BC – Before Cats invaded.

Reflections

Through the Glass

Now that our home has been invaded by two crazy kittens, these posts are likely to feature kitten antics frequently.  Let’s start with the selection process and then welcoming Tornado and Lucky to our home.

Pick Me!

I Want This One

I know I have posted this one already but it really is my favourite so I am including it as a weekly winner too.

A Very Happy Family

For other beautiful Weekly Winners head over to Lotus aka Sarcastic Mom.

Too Much To Do and So Little Time

The story of my life it seems.  I have been too busy to sit down for more than 3 seconds to update anything here.  In fact I have been so busy that I have even missed my Weekly Winners post for last week, or was that the week before.  I will attempt to play catch up if I can find my camera.  In the meantime some bullety goodness.

• I think that the last time I posted I had just returned from the RSPCA with two little kittens so that may be one or should I say two reasons why I have been slack around here.  The kittens are adorable.  They lulled us in to a false sense of security at first being all snuggly and quiet.  That didn’t last too long.  As I speak the kittens are atop my reindeer that still doesn’t have a home, it seems that it is too large to fit into the ceiling space.  It appears to be their favourite place to play and fight so perhaps it will live in the kids lounge.  It is adorable and I would take photos if only I could find the camera!  They really aren’t too much work but they are time consuming because they are fun to play with and also because they seem to think that if my laptop is open it is a great place to play!
• School holidays are a nightmare.  Trying to balance work, domesticity and kid entertainment is easier said than done.  I had intended to take this week off but as usual, a week off involves at least one day at work and lucky me, 2 days of work, one in the office and one from home.  The work keeps piling up here and at work and already it is almost at the stage that it is overwhelming.  I really need to get organised eventually and cut down on my workload.
• Sleep deprivation.  I know that this is the bane of many a mothers existence but it is a relatively new pain for me.  Generally my monsters are decent sleepers – although currently I am lying outside the kids bedroom insisting that they sleep and unfortunately boy-child is winning this battle despite his loud yawns and mumbles.  Anyway, back to my sleep deprivation as opposed to his self inflicted tired grumpiness, I never make it through the night without at least one pee break.  Normally this isn’t an issue, I roll out of bed and stumble into the ensuite without opening my eyes or waking.  As the ensuite is totally kaput, I have to go downstairs to pee.  Now I don’t know about anyone else, but maneuvering stairs is something that I need to open my eyes for as I am quiet adept at falling down them when totally awake.  To make matters worse, the middle floor bathroom is now home to two crazy kittens.  Just entering the room makes a person compelled to give them cuddles, the cuddles make them want to play and before you know it you have forfeited sleep entirely.  The other option is to go down another flight of stairs to the powder room.  Whilst having no kittens to cuddle, the extra flight of stairs seems to wake me to the point of almost no return.  The entire process takes an entire minute longer yet I struggle to get back to sleep so I sit in bed willing myself asleep but it generally doesn’t work and I become more grumpy, dozing off just before wake up time.
• In order to alleviate the sleep deprivations we are renovating, again.  I know that there are many out there who are perfectly capable of renovating a tiny bathroom in their sleep but unfortunately that is not me.  We did renovate 2 bathrooms quite successfully in our last house but it was extremely time consuming and time is clearly something I have little of at the moment.  Our old builder has come to our rescue and has started work on the place.  I am really glad that he is here because he has found some serious structural issues that we couldn’t have fixed.  In fact there are so many issues that it really deserves a post all of its own at some stage soon.  At the moment, the ensuite has been gutted and the walls relined with cement sheeting ready for plumbing works to begin.
• Unplanned and now rushed renovations has led to shopping for bathroom products.  The fittings are all on order and were to arrive today but surprisingly they didn’t arrive.  The plumber is going to be here on the weekend but he can’t do any work until the fittings arrive so we have to chase that up tomorrow.  The plumber also needs to know the thickness of the tile that will be used so he can fit the taps so we need to add tile shopping to the list.  I had a look today and the choice is endless and I really don’t know where to begin.   All I really know is that the ideal size for the room is 500mm, but that size tile is difficult to find so the hunt will continue.
• Oh it is boy-child’s birthday on Saturday.  We relented and are having a real party for him.  A reptile company is bringing in dozens of creepy slithery critters to entertain the masses.  All I need to do is the set up and feeding of the kids and make a cake.  That should cover the kids aspect of the day, then the family will attend en-masse and the whole party thing will start again.  It will be pretty low key, probably a barbeque.  Hopefully we will all go out for a picnic and all I will need will be picnic snacks, it really depends on how much energy everyone has to go walking.
• As well as all this mundane bleh, there have been a few great yet interesting nights out that deserve their own story so perhaps a post in the future.  The fun nights out have also contributed to the sleeplessness.
• On tomorrows to-do list is finding tiles, taking the kids to the movies as promised, making snake themed birthday cakes and treats, finding out what happened to our delivery of bathroom fixtures and hopefully sleep at a reasonable hour for all.  A trip to a water park was on the agenda but 23 degrees and showers really doesn’t work for me and swimming so that is one less thing to try and squeeze in to an already crazy day.

So that is where I have been.  Now to find my camera and play Weekly Winners catch up.

Total Insanity?

So the reason the kids wanted to clean up this morning had absolutely nothing to do with them being house proud, it even had little to do with me insisting that they help but was mainly about making a clean environment for a kitten to destroy!

We spent our day visiting a friend who works at the RSPCA and shopping for a cute cuddly kitten the kids could call their own.  After a 4 1/2 hour journey (OK, that time included buying kitten food, litter, more cat toys and of course lunch before driving to the other side of town), look what we found…

Cuddly Kittens

Welcome home Tornado and Lucky!

Exploitation?

Is it appropriate that this is our family ‘together time’ this morning?

Wiping Up Mess

Or that girl-child asked if she can be Cinderella?

Scrubbing Away

Or even that they were moving furniture to clamber over in order to clean windows?  Who cleans windows anyway?

Strange Cleaning Machines

There is a reason that they are being soooooo helpful and fingers crossed all will be revealed later today, or tomorrow if we get distracted.

Weekly Winners #16, more of the same

Weekly Winners seems to be about the only thing holding me to blogging at the moment and even then I am getting later and later at uploading a post.  This weeks excuse?  I hadn’t unpacked my laptop from going away for the weekend.  In fact, I haven’t had the laptop fired up since Friday morning!

Anyway, with no further ado, my weekly winners.

Waiting Around

Splash!

Jumping In

Is anyone bored yet?  Watching the kids splash about in the water each weekend was relaxing but it doesn’t make for the most exciting photo montage.  I have many more similar photos, but three weeks running of my kids in the lake is more than enough for anyone, especially as the photos are usually taken from a similar angle as I was always sitting in the shade by the lake to escape the oppressive heat.

Now for something different, a lunch time for a beautiful baby…

Lunch Time

Next week hopefully something more interesting, but no promises.  For more inspiring Weekly Winners head over to Sarcastic Mom.

Skypey Goodness and Other ‘Normal’ Stuff

I am just home from work, hooray for unexpected split shifts, so I didn’t get a chance to chat to the monsters tonight.  I did however get to chat to them last night on Skype.  Well actually I missed a call from them so I Skyped them back.  It was awesome.  There was so much to talk about so naturally we spent ages making faces at each other, pretending to bite of each others nose and generally mucking about before adding a friend to a conference call.  The kids were so at home in front of the camera chatting away, much more comfortable than I am, it is a perfectly normal way for them to communicate.

I assumed that chatting on Skype it is a normal way for most people to be able to communicate but apparently I am wrong.  I was chatting with other parents today about the use of social media, particularly children and social media.  It astounded me that half of the parents I spoke to didn’t know what Skype was.  Most knew what Facebook was even if they didn’t use it and seemed to believe that if they didn’t live in an online environment or use social media their kids wouldn’t.  Besides, don’t you have to be 14 to be able to sign up for stuff online?  It kind of freaked me out that people could be so naive.  Does this mean that their children really aren’t living in an online environment at all or does it really mean that the kids are spending time online entirely unsupervised and the parents have no control over computer and internet usage?

This conversation led to talking about the involvement of parents in their kids lives and the freedom that they give their kids.  Apparently I am the abnormal one in this situation.  I am happy for my kids to walk over to their friends house without me holding their hands all the way.  I am happy for them to scoot along the footpath out the front of the house and I am for them to play in the park without me supervising every second as long as I know where they are.  I let my kids enjoy life, explore and have fun but I also believe that in doing this I am giving them a chance to learn and grow.  Based upon the group of parents I was talking with, it is more normal for a parent to not let their kids out of the house without being supervised constantly.  It is more normal for kids to be driven to and from every place they attend rather than walking their whether or not they are walking their alone.

I would like to think that I am allowing my kids to learn how to make decisions for themselves and to be able to see that each decision that they make has a consequence whether it is negative or positive.  I also want them to know that each decision they make has impact on people other than just them.  I do this not only because I am lazy but because I believe it is important to allow kids to learn how to make decisions when the decisions aren’t life threatening.  I would like to think that they have learnt how to make decisions confidently before the choices they have to make involve serious risk taking behaviour like drinking, drugs or driving.  I hope that by allowing them to start to develop decision making strategies now they will be able to have the  confidence to make wise decisions when the situations requires it.

That said, I am really strict on some things, road safety in particular.  My kids are extremely cautious and confident when it comes to road safety.  They know the road laws and the importance of them.  They always wear a helmet when they are riding a bike, scooter, skateboard or skates.  They point out other people that are doing the wrong thing and can tell you why what they are doing is not only wrong but why it is dangerous.  They are far more vigilant about road safety than any one else I know, including traffic police!  I am confident in their knowledge of road safety.

Anyway, what I am trying to say is that I am really proud of my kids, of their knowledge of their world and of the other people in it.  They are amazing little people, constantly surprising me with their observations and awareness.  Can you tell that I am really  looking forward to seeing them for real tomorrow?

A Farewell

Today is the day a friend is doing something that no mother should ever have to do, she is saying her final farewell to her beautiful son David.

Alma, you are a strong, brave and beautiful woman.  Thinking of you and your family.  Love Del

——

The Child Cancer Foundation of New Zealand have supported David and his family throughout this journey.  I know that no one has any ’spare’ cash, but any donation you can make to this or other Childhood Cancer organisation you will help families through a journey that no family should have to travel.  Please support these families in need.

Weekly Winners #15

I am a little late to the party this week, but better late than never.  For more punctual Weekly Winners, head over to Sarcastic Mom.

This weekend saw me sitting by the lake again, near my parents house.  It was over 40 degrees in the shade but with the breeze blowing over the lake it was almost tolerable.  The kids played in the water until their hands were all white and pruny – see!

Prune Fingers

Boy-child took in a spot of fishing with my dad in an attempt to gain his Scout fishing badge.

Watching and Learning

Almost Ready

Here Fishy

When it was too hot to be outside (almost immediately) we spent the day indoors resting and relaxing.  For me that involved ‘cleaning out’ my cupboard to see what treasures I could find.  There was old school work to look at, love letters to rediscover and dresses to try on.  The dresses no longer fit me but girl-child had fun pretending.

Being a Brownie

And my very favourite – a portrait of my mum done when I was in grade 5.  Look at all that artistic ability, what a talent!

Clearly Mum Still Smoked in 1985!

It wasn’t long after this that mum stopped smoking, I wonder if this had anything to do with it?