Packing

Phew! Christmas is done and dusted for another year. In fact in just a few short days there will be a whole new year ready to begin. I am constantly amazed by the speed of time. It seems like it was only yesterday I was bringing her home from the hospital...yet reality is that it is now over nine years later and I am packing her up ready to visit her biological father for her first solo visit in many years.

(Deep sigh with lots of tension)

Anyway...

As always my desire to write is at it's greatest when writing is the least practical thing in the world for me to be doing. In this instance I should actually be packing for the afore mentioned trip or perhaps even sleeping before departure. As my husband just pointed out (in a rather loud tone) In under six hours you will need to be at the airport with packed bags.

Darling daughter number one will be away for around 2 weeks. I will be accompanying her for the first plane ride and then bio dad will collect her and take her for the rest of the journey. I will then spend a night in a lovely serviced apartment and return home. All up I am gone for around two and half days. Darling daughter number three will also come along for the ride.

This means of course that darling daughter number two and hubs will be hanging at home for a few days. Which is nice for them. And apparently me.

People keep saying "oh what a nice break for you" guess what? I don't think so. I didn't have children to have a break from them. I like having my kids around. I like the noise and chaos that it can at times entail. Ok maybe not all of it but certainly a lot of it. When they are not with me I tend to spend time wondering what they are doing.

(Another deep sigh...not so tense this time)

I really wish I could find a better way to communicate my sighs to you. I feel that they help set the tone for what I want to say.

Righto guess I better get back to the packing then...see you in a few days

Three days and counting

I just love Christmas! From the food to the decorations, to the joy and the bringing of people together. It is all just wonderful. Of course the presents make it pretty special as well.

Now I know that it is not always very PC to associate presents and Christmas but go see my mother. She was the one that would continually make each Christmas better than the last. She had much the same effect on birthday's as well. I say had not because mum is no longer with us but because I these memories come from my childhood rather than as a connection to now. I still love my mother dearly but I have reached a point in my life where there are people other than her who can affect my reactions to events and situations.

Anyway to be truthful I am writing this post well after Christmas and all that it brought with it. Today is Saturday 5th March 2011. I am tidying up my blog as it is considerably easier than tidying up the house. Blog tidying involves sitting while house tidying requires actual energy and effort.

As it turned out Christmas was quiet lovely. We had lunch in the Ballroom at Sky City Casino which did cost an arm and a leg was also worth every cent. The buffet was full of choice. There was seafood, roasts, salads, vegetables, fish and more. A beer and wine package was included but was not really used at our table. I understand why there is not an open slather tab on spirits and hard liquor but I do think that each person should get one or two.

This year Christmas was definitely not about the presents which warmed my heart greatly. The girls and I tried making presents (as always) but the success rate was low (as always) I thought that basket weaving and clay figures would have been lovely gifts but it turned out to be trickier than I had envisaged.

Photo credits can be found here

A world of rules

Rules. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

Personally they are something I struggle with. I am not a big believer in always following the rules. I understand that they have a place and they are there for a reason but at the same time I can always see exceptions.

However I get incredibly frustrated when my rules so to speak get broken. For example when darling daughter number one decides to not come home at the set time. While you could argue that this is not really a rule I see there as being little difference.

Essentially in my role of mother I can be seen as the office manager and as such I need to ensure that all employees are working to their best ability. This means I am also responsible for assignment designation and regular productivity. Naturally none of this can be possible with out some sort of schedule and time line. Therefore when I say please come home at half past three I mean please be home at half past three not three hours later.

At the end of the day there is a part of me that says don't worry about it, it is not worth the battle. After all she is only next door and there is nothing stopping me from going and getting her. It is not even as if she is missing out on something or stopping us from doing something. It is a rainy Saturday afternoon. It is just the principle of the matter. I said something and she should listen and respond appropriately.

Oh what to do?

Barbie?

The wonderful Nicole from Highlights to Housework often poses some thoughtful questions. Many a time I have read one of her posts and thought yes that is very true, I should write about that as well. Today however I have finally been compelled to actually do so.

So what did she say that managed to fill me with so much motivation?

Head over here to find out.

In short though she raises the question of whether Barbie dolls are an appropriate toy for young girls.

As the mother of young girls you can understand my interest. I too am torn between my adult beliefs and childhood memories.

As a child I had an interest in Barbie and her friends. I think the most my collection ever totaled was five, possibly six. I had two Ken's (one of whom was a cowboy who I had the hots for! I can clearly remember thinking I am going to marry a big strong man like him), the other was some jungle explorer or something. He had straight arms and was not nearly as buff as the cowboy. To keep them company there were a couple of different ladies. Including a lovely Spanish dancer who had shiny jet black hair that I just adored.

Unfortunately though my Barbies felt that the grass was greener so to speak. My friends seemed to have much more glamourous dolls, clothes and accessories than what mine where. You see their Barbie got to keep up to date with all the latest trends and fashions while my poor little crew had to make the best of what they had.

Despite this I still spent many an hour playing the with my little Barbie world.

As a women of the late nineties and a mother in the noughties Barbie is not someone that I actually rush out to encourage. After all she is blonde, has big boobs, a small waist and seems to get handed everything on a silver platter.

My eldest daughter managed to escape her early childhood without the Barbie influence. She was given a few here and there but never really developed much of an interest. Number two has shown a stronger inclination to the blonde bombshell only her preferences have been for the Fairytopia range of doll that comes with scented coloured hair.

Sure she has stood the test of time and survived this and that but still does that make her an appropriate toy for the next generation of women to lead the world? Though if she is to be rendered null and void and out dated, then who shall replace her? Polly Pocket? Bratz? I think not! Perhaps after all it is a case of better the devil you know.

So many ideas and so little time.

Why is it that ideas always seem so good at the time? LIke writing this posted seemed like a good idea but then when I started....hmmmm...

But here I am...struggling somewhat but here I am.

You see I really do want to be a writer. I spend large portions of my day where I think of wonderful things that I could write about yet when I actually go to write I am left with little more than this drivel.

So why don't I write as soon as an idea pops into my head I hear you ask? Well as a mother of three that kind of luxury is not one I have. Actually the being a mother part is not really the issue. The issue is with my shorter than short memory span. Heard of ten second Bob? Well I am like twice as bad as him. This means that should I leave the washing I am hanging out to go and scrawl down my latest great idea I will inevitably forget about hanging out said washing. Which will not become apparent till bedtime when we go to climb into bed only to be greeted by a bare mattress as the sheets are still waiting to be hung out.

Oh the trials and tribulations of life hey?

Tis the season...

I can not believe how incredibly busy the festive season is.

With around eleven days till the big man himself arrives my little part of the world has flown into a flurry. There has been Christmas concerts, school dances, lunches, bring a plates, morning teas...the list is almost endless. Especially for mother's such as myself who feel the need to be on every possible committee as well as agreeing to host an end of year joint party for daughters one and two.

Please don't think I am complaining though.

I love Christmas with all my heart. I truly find it to be a joyous and wonderful time. Some of my strongest memories revolve around the day. This year I will be having lunch in the Ballroom at the Casino. It all sounds rather lavish and I hope that turns out to be true.

Today was the first day of the school holidays. A much anticipated event in my diary. While taking my mum to work rather early (for me) in the morning was not an ideal start the remainder of the day was more than just enjoyable.

I managed to achieve a few little tasks here and there. I did a bit of baking with the kids. Well actually with the next door neighbour's kid but it was all good. I now have some of the yummiest shortbreads I have seen for a while. To top it all off I have some fresh milk to really enjoy it with. What more could a gal ask for?

Well speaking of this yummy treats....

Dear Santa

Little Miss L who is nine, typed up the following letter to Santa. It was just too priceless not to share. The only part I have changed is her name and a few formatting issues.

dear mr santa claus

I am writing to you to day to advise you of the present that I would like to resive for christmas this year. In my opinion I would like a laptop for christmas because I think it is a great piece of technology.

I would like a laptop for christmas because I would be able to research for my homework so I could finish it on time and the teacher would be happy with me.

I think I should get a laptop for christmas because I can look for games to play outside with my friends and family on special days like for e.g. mothers day, fathers day and Australia day.

Mum and dad like to be active and run and play outside I agree with them on this matter. So by owning a new laptop I can look for new better improved games to play outside with my friends and family.

In conclusion I think laptops are a great piece of technology and I would really like to resive one for christmas this year.

Kind regards

Little Miss L