Grandma is here.....

Grandma arrived on Tuesday night. We have been expecting her for some time now as this trip has been planned with a special purpose (something I still cannot mention on here just yet!)

Anyhow as usual the first cuddle is always the nicest as it's been some time since we saw each other. In fact it was in January and due to the family situation (with my sister) that visit didn't go down to well at all - a lot of yelling, arguments and crying!!! This visit is definitely going to be a hell of a lot better.

As with every visit the first thing that always gets planned is a family dinner. So Jamie (my brother in law) brought around the four boys to have dinner with Grandma.

It's always wonderful to see the beaming smile on mam's face when her 6 grandkids are together and with her. I know she does miss it when she is up in Queensland.

These two are the best cuddlers and very very cheeky boys.....
Wesley (6) and Angus (3)who had to sit either side of Grandma!

These four love getting together and are as thick as thieves....
From left to right ~ Alex (9), Stuart (10) Oliver (12) and Kyle (12)

Mam made a delicious lasagne which we served with garlic bread and a fresh garden salad but it was the quality family time that was the highlight of the night.

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

A quiet house....

It's school holiday's and as we both have to work due to lack of annual leave up our sleeves (saving what we have for Christmas holidays) the kids have been packed up and shipped off to Nana and Grandad's for the majority of the holidays.

They were dropped off yesterday morning by Noel on his way to work and he will pick them up on Friday night on his way home.

Needless to say last night when I got in from work the house was TOO quiet. Not even a little idle chatter could be heard it was just me waiting for Noel for finish his overtime.

It's funny how deafening quiet can be.....

Christian's 2nd Birthday.....

Monday was Christian's 2nd birthday (his party is coming on Saturday). We all went to Sean and Vicky's for dinner to celebrate this special little man!! This is our only nephew on Noel's side of the family although another little Murray is due in 15 weeks!


We all decided that he loves cake!!


Cheeky should definitely be his middle name!! LOL!!!


A "glowing" mam - Vicky looks really well during this pregnancy. And Sean is just such the doting dad!

And of course then there is the grandparents who idolise all of their grandchildren and play such an important and special role in their grandchildren's lives...... all three (and shortly four) grandchildren are loved greatly by these two beautiful people. I have to admit, I am very lucky to have them in my life also!!

Another doctor's appointment.....

Well we survived the boy's birthday yesterday with no injuries - thank god!! Nana and granddad came for the birthday dinner and they actually ate food with us! Needless to say it was a good night without repeating last week's birthday dinner effort!!

Another doctor's appointment for Alex this morning only to find that the bone has moved AGAIN but the specialist's are hesitant to take her to surgery!! What does this mean? It means that she has another appointment booked for next Tuesday at 11.40am to have yet another x-ray and a chat with a specialist!! gggggrrrrr!!! So it's back to crossing fingers for another few days.

Next thing we have to tackle is the disco birthday party for his school friends tomorrow night!! Should be a very interesting evening no doubt. 6pm - 9pm of kids dressed as their favourite rock/pop stars. Party food galore and of course...... Playstation Sing Star!!!!

Any volunteers?? I am sure we will need some bouncers.......lol!!

OMG Oliver is 11 years old today.....

Can you believe that exactly 11 years has gone past? I sometimes wonder where all the time went and then I look back on things that have happened both good and bad and realise that all these things that have happened have made us who we are today, the adults we have become, the family that we are....

On this day 11 years ago Noel and I had a special arrival into our world making us a family! A little boy weighing 9lbs 1 1/2 ounces and measuring 52cms long. A speedy delivery by C-Section due to a complication and whammo we were parents.

He is fantastic - caring, funny and all round a great kid!! And a wonderful son to have and a beautiful person....

ImageChef.com Poetry Blender

We had to give him one of his birthday presents last night as his present was a Siamese Fighting Fish. His face lit up when he realised what was in the bag that I asked him to get out of the car and I think he fell asleep watching it swim around it's tank. It is an orange male fish which he has named Raphael!!

Tonight Nana and Grandad are coming for dinner. Oliver is of course banned from getting on the trampoline tonight considering what happened last Wednesday on Alex's birthday!! The menu tonight was Oliver's choice (we always let them choose on their birthdays!)

Fettucine with Creamy Spinach, Pinenuts and Sultana's

Penne with Tomato and Chorizo

Salad

Garlic Bread

Birthday cake (of course)

Alex is doing okay with her arm, although when we went to the doctors yesterday the x-ray showed that the bone had moved slightly, not enough to do something about it straight away but enough to have her go back for another x-ray on Friday. If the bone hasn't moved by Friday she will stay plastered for another 5 - 6 weeks. But if the bone has moved anymore there is the chance that she will be admitted to theatre Friday afternoon and have her bone re-set again. I am not quite sure if they will just try and re-manipulate her arm or if she will have an operation. Noel is taking her to the doctors tomorrow as I have to be at work.

Crossing fingers until then........

Ten Pin Bowling!

Work today sucked!! Bigtime! I think it was more the fact of returning to work on a Friday of all days. Thankfully it is over now.

Anyway the exciting news for today is that Oliver has gone back to league ten pin bowling. He missed last season but played the season before and is very proud of his trophy which has a special place in his bedroom. Kyle, his cousin, is playing also and their team name in the Ankle Biters League is "The Gutterball Cousins" - they chose the name between them! I didnt' get to the alley tonight as work held me up but according to Noel and Claire they had a fun session and both played well.

Another quiet night for Noel and I as the kids are at their grandparents. Both of us are working in the morning. Dinner tonight will be Fish Parcels - very healthy and easy to make.

Off to relax in the quiet - it's amazing what the dishwasher and the washing machine sound like when the kids aren't screaming at each other or arguing!! LOL!!

The house is so quiet????

It's too quiet.... no fighting, no sooking, no whinging..... it is just so strange!

Our house is so quiet at the moment as both of our children are at their grandparent's house for a midweek sleepover - got to love school holidays!! While I am sure that both Noel and I will enjoy the quietness and relaxing atmosphere that our home has for a change it always makes us both question what we did before we had the children? Our life always seems so full but nights like tonight, although enjoyable, are just outright weird!!

Saying that, I could just run through the house naked and see if that changes the atmosphere any!! LOL!!!

I have just returned from my Weight Watchers meeting where I recieved two dissappointments. Firstly I put on weight this week - deep down I knew I had, I could feel it, but still seeing it on the scales is horrible. Secondly we were told that Weight Watchers had finally decided to close our meeting due to a lack of numbers and a lack of sales... yes like everything in this world it is down to the dollar value of the exercise. NOT the fact that we are doing the community a service and actually helping people lose weight and lose weight correctly. Geez couldn't put that into the equation!! Bottom line definately money talks.

Vicki, if you are reading this, I hope all went well with Jason.... my thoughts are with you both.

I had a boring day at work today filled with endless paperwork and a computer competency that seemed to take forever to complete.... not to mention bored me even more to tears.

Off to make some noise.........

Rain Rain Go Away...

Well as usual the weather here in Melbourne turned for the worse. The few rays of sunshine we received in the afternoon were of course short lived and as I was nearly home when raindrops appeared on the windscreen. "This is all wrong" I remember thinking "I am meant to be going for a walk tonight and more importantly I am meant to be meeting Vicki!!" It wasn't meant to be. So a few emails later and we have prosponed out long awaited meeting until Wednesday night.

Dreaded rain... absolutely spoiled my fun!!!!!!!!

Work wise my day was rush, rush, rush. I am facing a week full of month end procedures topped with an assessment that I am required to complete for my Certificate IV Workplace Trainer Assessor that I am attempting to successfully pass. Today I did one assessment on a fellow workmate that I have had to write, trial and assess the lucky candidate on. I have two more assessments to complete before I submit my work for my assessment. I have been chosen to complete this course through work and to be honest do not want the hassle of failing and dealing with management. I think I should do okay!!

School holidays have begun and Oliver is at his grandparent's house for the next few days. Alex will be going there tomorrow (Tuesday) night for a sleepover. It is amazing how much you miss your child when they are away from you for just one night. I miss Oliver not just because he isn't here but I miss just talking with him and being able to cuddle him when I want to. He will be having a ball with his grandparents and not even giving us a second thought.

Although both of us miss the children when we are apart Tuesday night will be different for us all. Normally I attend the Weight Watchers meeting where I am the recorder (money taker) and have been for some months now. Noel gets to spend quality time with the children whilst I am working at the meeting. So as both the children are at his mother's house tomorrow night the night is sure to be something different. Saying that I am sure that nothing exciting will happen except maybe get a head start on the housework.

It is our 12th wedding anniversary this Sunday. Nothing has been planned to date but we have tossed around the idea of having a lunch here with just the family. Will see what happens.....

But at the moment I am too tired to think about it and will say goodnight!!

What time is it?

Sunday - a day our family spend together.... well almost! I spent most of the morning in bed - infact I managed a sleep in until 11.15am which is just incredible and still, now at this time of the day, cannot believe Noel left me there.

Mind you as soon as I opened the bedroom door reality hit me in the form of two children!! Not even a 'Good morning mam' was heard before I was bombarded with questions... 'when are we going shopping?', 'remember you promised me a surprise last night' and so forth. I was very tempted to close the door again.

To explain further - last night Oliver's wobbly tooth fell out with a bit of extra help. It had been wobbly for what seemed forever and to be honest I was sick of seeing him play with it. He always had his fingers in his mouth wobbling it and also manoevering his tongue over it as his own personal form of amusement. I had happen to say that if Oliver pulls it out I would buy him a long awaited Tamagotchi if his tooth came out tonight. Needless to say that, with a bit of gentle parental coaxing and a twist of the tooth from Dad, Oliver managed to pull his own tooth out!!

The rest of the day was spent at Noel's parents house. We went up for an early dinner - it was good to spend time as a family. We played bocce, the european bowls game, chatted and enjoy a lamb roast with all the trimmings. It is good that now as adults we can sit and spend quailty time with our elders without thinking that it is the worst thing in the world. Now I only need to convince my kids!!