Random Randomness!

So I've been a bit slack in the blogging department this week. It's been a busy week, even without my boys here.

Caitlyn started school this week! Yay! She was very excited and couldn't wait to go. She has loved going everyday and was a little disappointed that she didn't get to go today (it's Saturday). She was so excited to get a reader, just like the big kids, and she got a special desk with her name on it.

It has been very quiet at home without her. I think that Haylie is missing having someone around part of the time to play with. I'm going to have to come up with some new things to keep her happy.

I made playdough for the very first time this week. I know, I've been a mother for nearly 9 years and yet I've never made playdough. Scary, but I made some this week and the girls have been loving it, especially Haylie. She wants to play with it all the time!

Yesterday I got to go shopping with my Mum and found some fantastic clothes for some amazing bargains. Right now I'm wearing a new pair of cargo pants and they are sooooooooo comfortable! I got dresses, pants, shirts, skirts, and scarves! By the end of the day I was pretty tired of changing my clothes but was very happy with all of the new things that I got. Now it's going to be hard to choose what to wear.

This week I have felt like doing some baking, maybe some muffins, maybe some cookies, but I can't decide so I haven't made anything.

I've tired to be a good friend this week and branch out a little bit, hopefully it will pay off.

I really miss having my boys at home. It was great to talk to them on Wednesday. I know that they are having a great time and I can't wait to hear all about it when they get home.

Nearly every time we drive into the driveway Haylie says, "Daddy's home'. I think she is finally getting the idea that just because Daddy's car is here doesn't mean that Daddy is home. I know that the girls are very excited to go to the airport in the couple of weeks to pick up their Daddy and brother!

Well, that's it for now. A very random post. Next week I'll try to do better!

Changes

Have you ever felt that there was so much that you wanted to or needed to change/improve in your life that you didn't know where to start.  Have you felt that there are just too many things on your list that it seems overwhelming.

That's kind of how I feel right now. This past weekend I was lucky enough to attend the Time Out for Women in Sydney. I was also lucky enough to attend a fireside tonight for the youth with Laurel Christenson and Brad Wilcox.

Both of these wonderful events have left me feeling incredibly inspired and just a little bit overwhelmed. I know I need to make changes in my life and in the life of my family and right now I'm feeling inspired to do so, but how to actually go about it.

While listening to one of the speakers I had this thought . . . . . .

First, I need to write a list of all the things that I want to change or improve. Personally I'm writing a list for me and a list for the family.

Second, I'll put them in order of priority. Starting with the most important thing first and so on.

Then I'm going to start with just the first thing on my list. Work out how I'm going to do it. Write a goal and a plan of action. Then I'm going to work on just that one thing for at least a week or two before moving on to the next thing on my list.

I'm hoping that by doing this I won't become completely overwhelmed and give up totally. I'll give myself time to adjust and make it into a habit before adding more things to work on.

I'm looking forward to making some changes and seeing the effects that it has on my life and the life of my family.

I don't know if any of this makes sense to anyone else but I just felt like I needed to put my plan out there. Maybe it will help me stick to it. Maybe it will inspire someone else to give it a go and change something in their life. I don't know, but I do know that I'm excited to get started!

This Child!

This child is very stubborn. She digs her heels in and won't do whatever it is you want her to do.

This child is very independent. She wants to do everything herself without any help, even if she is clearly having trouble with the task.

This child knows what she wants. And she will do it even if you have told her that she is not allowed.

This child is sneaky. When she knows she is doing something she shouldn't be she will hide somewhere and do it anyway.

This child throws big and loud tantrums. Usually over seemingly small things.

This child doesn't like to go to bed. Lately it's been taking 1 hour of screaming before she will finally give in a go to sleep.

Yesterday while I was having a shower and getting dressed this child ate a whole jar of nutella. She didn't use a spoon, just her hands. She then wiped those nutella covered hands all over the shelves of the pantry, where she hid and ate said nutella. She then proceeded to wipe her nutella covered hands all over her clothes, including one of her favourite skirts.

I came out of my room to be told that this child was covered in chocolate. So what did I do. I told her to go to the bathroom and wait. I then got the camera out so that I would have some proof of what this child does when no one is looking.

And here is my proof.

 The Jar.

The smears.

The skirt.

One day in the distant future she will become a mum and all this will come back to her.

My Boys

Right now my boys are flying somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. They are on their way to enjoy some time with family and friends in America.  

It was sad to see them go this morning knowing that they are going to be having so much fun without me and the girls.

I will miss my buddy Lachlan. He keeps me company at night when all the girls have gone to bed and Buzz hasn't come home yet. We watch tv together and talk about things that he is interested in.

It can be hard living in a family of mostly girls. He is often out-voted by the girls and has to endure princesses, fairies and everything pink!

He doesn't get to spend much time alone with Buzz so I think that it will be really good for both of them.

I will miss Buzz too. Even though he isn't home very often he always, eventually, comes to bed and he's never too far away.

I will definitely miss my boys and I'm just a tiny bit jealous of them. But us girls have some fun things to do as well. Tomorrow I'm off to Sydney with Brooke, Jessie and Ashley for a girls weekend of shopping, talking and being spiritually uplifted at Time Out for Women. I can't wait!

Caitlyn will also be starting school on Monday and I'm sure we will come up with lots of other fun things to keeps us busy until our boys come home.

I love my handsome boys!

School Holiday Fun

So far these school holidays we have had playdates with friends, had sleep overs, gone swimming (at an inside, heated pool), gone shopping, visited Grandma, had birthday parties, watched movies, played games, played at the park and gone for a hike.

Next week Buzz and Lachlan leave on their holiday to America. They will be gone for 3 1/2 weeks and are very excited about it. We are going to miss them and we are all a bit jealous of them, maybe next time we can all afford to go. I'm sure the time will pass quickly and they will be back before we know it.

Also next week, I get to go on a girls weekend to Sydney to go to Time out for Women and, of course, to do some much needed clothes shopping. It is going to be lots of fun and I'm sure, very uplifting!

I hope that your holidays are as much fun as ours have been so far!

This Moment

Just a picture. No words. Inspired by Soule Mama.

Kindy Graduation

I've been a bit slack keeping up with this blog, so over the next few days I'm going to be playing catch up.

First up is Caitlyn's Kindy Graduation.  This term there where 11 kids graduating from kindy. Caitlyn has loved every minute of kindy. She loves to make, paint, draw, cut, stick, play with play dough, go on the computers, play pretend, go to the library, play in the sand pit and wear dress ups. In other words, she has loved everything that you can do at kindy. She has made some friends who will be going up to school with her and some that will be coming soon.

At the graduation they all got called out the front one at a time and the teacher spoke a little bit about them. They then got to jump (off the block) into school.

In the bag they got a book that they had been working on since the beginning of their time in kindy. It contains some of the work that they had done. They also got a certificate and a report about their progress.

It was a fun little ceremony to celebrate them becoming big school kids.

Caitlyn is so excited to start school. She has been ready for a long time and I know that she will do great.

 It is going to be a little weird for me just having one at home and having no kindy run during the day, but it won't be long until Haylie starts kindy, then I really don't know what I will do with myself!

Caitlyn's Enchanted Garden Tea Party

Well, today was the day. Time to celebrate Caitlyn turning five. After all the hard work it was all worth it to see Caitlyn enjoying herself with her friends.

Be warned there are lots of pictures in this post, but I just couldn't choose which ones to include and which ones to keep out.

If you have any questions about any of the details just let me know.

Party favour bags filled with lollies, butterfly hair clips and fairy dust!

The Birthday Girl!

 The first activity to do, while everyone was arriving, was to decorate fairy wands!

Then it was time to get your nails painted! Thanks Jess!

Next it was time for some yummy lunch. This included vegemite sandwiches and jam sandwiches cut into flower and heart shapes, fruit, popcorn, cheese, kabana and crackers and zucchini slice cut into heart shapes.

Oh, and our 'tea' was pink fizzy!

The girls absolutely loved drinking out of tea cups. They even put their little pinkies in the air!

After lunch it was time for games. Caitlyn made sure that we played pass the parcel and musical statutes.

Then it was time for the birthday cake and some dessert!

For dessert we had snickerdoodle cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, fairy bread, oreo truffles, mini cupcakes and red jelly with cream!

Oh, we also had flower cupcakes as our Cake!

 All the girls had a wonderful time playing, dancing and eating yummy food together. Everything turned out beautifully. But the most important thing was that Caitlyn loved the whole thing. She was so excited all morning for her friends to arrive. She couldn't wait to put on her dress and open the door for each of her guests. 

She is a beautiful girl and I know everyone says it, but I can't believe that she is (soon to be) five. The time has passed by so quickly and I couldn't imagine her not being in our lives.

I love you Caitlyn! I hope you have a very Happy Birthday!

Party Plans

Tomorrow is the day! Caitlyn's Enchanted Garden Tea Party! Still lots to do but I think that everything is under control.

Cupcakes to bake and decorate, Oreo truffles to make, last minute things to get from the shops, house to finish cleaning up, decorations to put up and furniture to move.

Can't wait to show you all the pictures. Keep an eye out tomorrow for all the details!!

In a few short Days

Today . . . . . Caitlyn graduated from Kindy. They even had a little ceremony where they all go up one at a time and get a certificate, etc, and then they jump, off the step, into school. It is very cute and a great way to celebrate their progression from kindy to school.

In 3 days . . . . .  we will have Caitlyn's 5th Birthday party. She is having an Enchanted Garden Tea Party and is very excited about it. It has been lots of work putting it all together, but I know that she is going to have so much fun and will remember it for a long time.

In 1 week . . . . . . we will have a family birthday party for Caitlyn. There will be lots of food, heaps of people, and yummy cupcakes to be enjoyed.

In 14 days . . . . .  it will be Caitlyn's actual birthday. Buzz and Lachlan will be flying out on their trip to America early in the morning and the girls and I might head to a play cafe to play for the day.

Life is flying by and I'm loving every minute of it!

Ten Things Tuesday

Haylie loves to have stories read to her every night. Most of the time we read the same stories over and over. Often I will read the story to her and then it is her turn and she reads it back to me. 

These are ten of her favourite books, in no particular order.

1. The Octonauts and the Frown Fish

She, of course, loves anything Octonauts so she got these for her last birthday. They are usually her first pick.

2. The Octonauts and the Sea of Shade.

3. The Octonauts and the Only Lonely Monster.

4. Dora: Island Adventure.

 She, of course, likes everything to do for Dora, but this one talks to you. You push the little question mark button and it gives you a type of object to be found on all of the pages. It is good for recognising colours and shapes, etc.

5. Where is the Green Sheep. 

This is a classic. I don't know any child that doesn't like this book. Haylie knows this book so well that she can pretty much say it word for word.

6. Where's that cat?  

My Mum got this book, I think for Amie, and all the kids have loved it. Haylie especially likes it because it is about a cat and she loves cats.

7. I've Lost My Kisses. 

This is one of my favourite stories to read. It is about a girl, names Matilda, who has lost her kisses. But she needs to find them fast because her Poppa is coming for a visit and he always says, "Where's my big Smoocheroo?" 

8.  Josephine Wants/Loves to Dance.

A kangaroo that wants to be a ballerina, what could be better than that?!

9.  Swim, Little Wombat, Swim!  

I love all of the Little Wombat books and so does Haylie.

10. Sometimes I like to Curl up in a Ball. 

Another Little Wombat book that we love.

I love to read and I'm so glad that my children love to read as well.