Damn it!!! I stopped!!!

You know the saying - if you want something done, give it to a busy woman? Well I feel like I have been on the go 24/7 these school holidays, and I keep adding in more things to do, and keep getting things done. I find that if I don't have something planned for the kids to do, they won't just sit and play nicely. There's been a lot of yelling been going on, and for the first time wrestling, and if I keep them entertained, they are happy (and therefore I am happy).

They are fine if there is only one of them around, and I get to spend some quality mummy-daughter time with that child, but with both of them...............*insert scream here*.

This is a first for me in terms of holidays. When Ardyn was young, she attended Long Day Care, and did her preschool program through Day Care, so there were only 1 or 2 weeks of the year that I had both kids home all week. And up until this year, Bailey was in Long Day Care a couple of days a week, so there was only a couple of weeks of the year........you get the idea.

This year Bailey went into a proper preschool (we followed our magical preschool teacher from our LDC) and they run in terms - which means both kids home for the holidays. We have been on the go for a week and a half, and for 4 days of that my darling husband was overseas for work, so I had little relief.
There is a little bit of joy today though, as the lovely ladies who run her preschool remember what holidays are like, so they only close for 1 week between terms. Yippee!!!! Bailey went back to Kindy today!!!!!

So I decided in my infinite wisdom that today would be a "rest day" for Ardyn and I. The plan was to bum around home and do crafts and just hang out. Ardyn has been quietly playing with her Beados for AGES (happy mummy), but a problem has occurred for me.

I stopped.

I relaxed.
I rested.

I am now exhausted. It has all caught up with me.

I have a few little chore/things that need doing (this was never going to be a day for catching up on big domestic stuff), but I can't bring myself to do them. And the thought of making dinner tires me further. I have to go out and pick up Miss B, and cannot be bothered dragging myself from this seat.

So what is the big lesson for today?
Don't stop?
But when do I get a break?..............I'm a mum, there's never time to rest.
No one ever put this in the job description.

K xx

Disorganised Gift Crisis!!!

I have spent the last half an hour searching EVERYWHERE for my Sister In Law's birthday present, and giving myself a near heart attack in the process. If I was more organised, perhaps I wouldn't be sending myself to an dearly grave over a birthday present.

It's not that I'm really disorganised, I usually pretty good, but there are certainly areas that need tweaking - don't we all have areas in our lives that need tweaking?? ;)

Haha!!!
Back to my story...........

One of my favourite new Blogs is The Organised Housewife. She's not Fly Lady (thanks goodness), she's a mum, wife, a scrapbooker - an ordinary person who does the extraordinary in my eyes. She's organised. And she uses common sense. My favourite stuff!!!!

On her site she has a lot of printables to help you organise your life. Great if you are list person, and lucky for me, I AM!!! I generally meal plan for the week and make a shopping list off that, and make a list of what's going on and needs doing during the week. But last night I did it using her meal planning, weekly routine and planner printables. While browsing through her other printables, I came across the Christmas Planner. Within all the Christmas stuff was something that I certainly NEED. A Hidden Gift List. Why had a never thought about something like that earlier?!?!?!?!!? Gifts are my downfall I'm afraid.

I used to be so good, but then family and friends bred, and bred some more, we made more friends along the way, the girls made friends, and to top it off, get invited to parties!!!!! Bugger there are a crap-load of gifts that go through this house on an annual basis.

Just counting family (who all live interstate) - Cal and I have 2 parents each, and I stil have one grandparent with us. We each have 2 siblings, and they have partners. Between those 4 couples we have 10 (soon to be 11) nieces and nephews. So for just family, counting birthdays and Christmas, we have (actually used to have) 48 gifts to buy and organise passage to various parts of Victoria. We now do a Kris Kringle for adults for Christmas, so that cuts down a fair bit of buying (and budget stretching). Then we have close friends' kids (about 12) and various birthday parties throughout the year (about 20 between the 2 kids)...........that's about 70 gifts a year to buy and the majority of them are to be sent interstate. More than one a week. That's a LOT!!!

I need to be organised, and usually I'm not. Case in point, what caused my crisis today.

My brother had his birthday in March and his wife's was last week. I bought both gifts in February, and should have sent them both then. But no, I thought I'd send them at their actual birthdays. Well Mal's birthday came and went and his present is still here, and Nikki's came and went, and her present is still here. I have their daughter's present almost ready for the end of May....maybe I'll get them all to them by then?

Then today I bought something for Bailey for her birthday (in August) and hid it in a 'new' hiding spot.
I thought that this is the prefect opportunity to use the Organised Housewife Printable and start keeping track of where the gifts are and when they need to leave my house. First things first, put Mal, Nikki's and Baby Willow's in one spot ready to send for when the last piece of Willow's arrives.

If you have read my Blog over the last month, you will know that we have had new carpet laid, and I had a hell of time packing everything up and getting it in the garage and various other places. Well I'm pleased to say that everything is back in the house and a lot better organised than it was, but do you reckon I could find Nikki's present to put with Mal's?!?!?!

Hell no!!

I looked EVERYWHERE for at least half an hour. It even got to the point that I thought I would have to buy her another one. I thought that I was going crazy. I thought that I was having a heart attack. I was kicking myself?!?!? How can I be so organised that I have people's birthday presents months before the actual event, but not be able to get the darn things in the mail on time???? Then to just lose it like *that*.

The only person who has received their gift on time this year is Miss Sienna (one of my gorgeous nieces). We were in Canada for her birthday in January, so I wanted to make sure that I sent it before we left. Well there's one 'win' for me this year. Yay!!!!!

So to put it out there and on paper and make me honest, I have the following presents here including the date the person needs it (up to the end of June):

5/3 Mal*
14/4 Nikki*
18/4 Tait
20/5 Mitchell
24/5 Willow (minus one bit)
25/5 Tayah
17/6 Jordan

The following people need presents:

20/4 Vaughan* (Cal's responsibility)
23/4 Lachie
29/4 Alan* (Cal's responsibility)
4/5 Kris*
19/5 Amy
20/5 Charley (half done)
early June sometime Niece/Nephew #11
6/6 Mason
20/6 Duncan*

I find adults (marked *) the hardest to buy for. Do you?? It gets hard. We are all old enough, and earn money and if there is something that we want, we just buy it. But I like to send a token something to let the person know that we are thinking of them.....but it ends up arriving after their birthday because I'm so darn disorganised at the mo'.

Cal is responsible for his parents and siblings, and I get to organise the rest. Hardly seems fair, but I've learnt to deal with it (not all that well by the looks of it). And they ALWAYS get them late. ALWAYS. OH! I just realised, I organised his sister's this year. The day AFTER her birthday he says "I really should get Liss something".......enter helpful wife. Hopeless man.

But I digress......

Off to get my list started. Thank you Organised Housewife. Hopefully the rest of the year's gift giving will run a little more to schedule.

K xx

Forgot to mention......YES! I finally found Nikki's present. It was SOOOOO not where I thought it should/would be (obviously). But at least it's with Mal's now and ready to go.

Happy Birthday to Me!!

I'm not usually one for receiving cash for birthdays (or giving it for that matter), but this year it has come in quite handy.

I kept having people ask me what I wanted, and to be honest, I had no idea except for the watch and the lens I mentioned in a previous post. So I have been receiving cash. And with that cash I have today bought myself this:


You can find more of the same from this Etsy shop. She does beautiful work.

I {heart} Etsy.
K xx

Another one from my scraps

"There is one friend in the life of each of us who seems not a separate person, however dear and beloved, but an expansion , and interpretation, of one's self, the very meaning of one's soul."

~Edith Wharton~

I hope that you are lucky enough to have one such person in your life. I know I am.

K xx

OMG!! To many posts, but just can't help myself.

I saw this on Pinterest, and I love it.

Source: ffffound.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Amazing Performance

My girls LOVE LOVE LOVE dancing. They both do ballet and love to perform on stage (as well as a 3 and 6 year old can).

My Mother in Law recently emailed this clip to Ardyn thinking that she may like it. She plays it over and over again, and Bailey constantly asks to see it too.

It's pretty amazing. Even I think so. So much so that I thought that I would share it with you.



K xx

Thirty Eight

Today I am thirty eight years old. Thirty Eight!!!!! I don't feel thirty eight. I keep having to say thirty eight to get used to it.
Thirty eight.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not scared of getting older, I just don't feel older. I know I look older. I sometimes look in the mirror and see my mum (that scares the crap out of me more than actually getting old), but in my head I'm still thirty-ish.

(Edited: I forgot to mention. I felt a little old yesterday. I was driving Ardyn and a couple of her friends to a party, and was singing along to Lady Gaga on the radio. I heard something from the back seat and looked in the rear view mirror to see Ardyn and her friends whispering and giggling at the lady in the front seat singing. WTF!?!?! Apparently it's just not cool to have a mum who grooves along to the music that you like.

The best thing about it though, is that I now know exactly how to embarrass my kids. Hehe.)

But at thirty I had FAR less to be thankful for than what I have now. I am sitting here watching my two adorable princesses singing and dancing and enjoying their first day of school holidays, and they make me so glad for the last 8 years. I just got off the phone to the love of my life, and I am thankful that 8 years ago he asked me to spend the rest of our lives together.

I am thankful for my thirty eight years.

And to celebrate, I got a gift!! (No card Jane - did you really think there would be?) It is the most beautiful gift, but so not what I expected.

I few weeks ago Ardyn asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I mentioned a watch or a new lens for my camera. I was leaning towards the watch though. I haven't worn one since Ardyn was born, and I just find that the way I run around these days I'd like to introduce one back to my left wrist to perhaps stay on top of things. I always have my mobile with me to get the time from, but phone batteries go flat more often than watch batteries (especially when I forget to put it on the charger).

I was looking at something like this:

or this:

Something casual, yet a little bit pretty. Practical I guess, but still having a little bit of glitz.
But I didn't share my thoughts with Cal. In the past if he was going to give me something like this, he always had me choose it so he could be sure it was what I was after. So I didn't think that I needed to share with him.

But he surprised me, and went out and bought a beautiful watch all on his own. And now I am torn. It is a beautiful watch, but more delicate, and a little more glitzy.

He says that I can exchange it, but I would feel bad to do so. It's not often that he chooses anything for me himself, and I LOVE that he put some thought into what to get me. It is a beautiful watch, and I think that if I hadn't actually thought about what type of watch I wanted I would have slapped it straight on my wrist. But I think that because my initial expectations and this are so far apart...................................

I feel SO BAD!
He says that he would prefer me to have something that I would wear than have it sitting in my drawer doing nothing, and that makes perfect sense, but I feel as though I am being ungrateful.

Thoughts anyone????
If you bought someone a gift that wasn't 'quite right' would you prefer hey return it for something that was, or would you think then ungrateful?

If it was roles reversed, I wouldn't care if he returned it and got a watch that he thinks he would more likely wear. If I bought a girlfriend a (say) handbag for their birthday, and they thought it wasn't quite right, I wouldn't care if they returned it for a different handbag that they are more likely to use.

What I do object to is giving someone a gift and then having then return it and buy something completely different - like exchange the handbag and buy a top. It is something that I would never do. If someone has taken the time to think about buying me a gift, I would at least exchange for the same type of product that is more my style.

Does that make sense?
So why is it that I wouldn't care if someone did it with a gift that I have given, but I am hesitant to do it with this one?

Hmmmmmm. Too much thinking for this time of the morning.

I'm going to have another coffee and chill out for a little bit.
We are heading out for lunch today with some school mums (and their kids). An easy first day to the holidays.

Enjoy your day, and I'll enjoy mine.
K xx

Time flies when you're................busy

How time flies. It's been almost a week since I've updated, and I still don't have photos on my computer to show you. They are still on the camera.
I have been attending meetings at Ardyn's school, doing canteen and general running around as happens from week to week.

I haven't blogged, I haven't read any blogs. I feel as though I have neglected the cyber-community in some way. And a little closer to home, my house is a MESS!!

I still haven't put all the 'stuff' back in the study that lives there. I have been walking into the garage at various times over the last week, looking around and shaking my head, then walking out again. Now that I think of it, wasn't I doing that a few weeks ago when I had to take it all out of the study?

Procrastination.
I don't think it is. I think it's just that there is SO MUCH stuff. I have no idea how all of that stuff came out of one room. I do know that it's not all going back though. I refuse! But I also have to work out what goes back in and what doesn't.

Last night I started bringing back books and magazines, and made a ruthless decision.

Anyone who is interested in Mixed Media Art, Scrapbooking, Photography........has heard of the Stampington & Co. publications Somerset Studio, Life Images, Somerset Memories, Somerset Life, Art Journaling.....the list goes on.

I have subscribed to one (or a few) of their magazines at any one time. Additionally, every now and again they have a sale on past issues. I have used these times as perfect opportunities to pick up some issues I may have missed, or stock up as my subscription has lapsed. The sad sad thing is that I have only ever got around to reading a few of them. They have sat on my shelf collecting dust, waiting for someone to love them. I even have a couple still in the plastic that they are sent in. How sad is that??

So my ruthless decision to get rid of them upsets me a little, but I know that it's better to have the room on a shelf available for something that may otherwise clutter up the floor.

I have also made a decision to get rid of a lot of the papercrafting books that I have collected over the years.

eBay here I come.

The nest step is to declutter the bookshelf in the family room.
It will feel like I'm opening an eBay book store, but I have to rid our house of all of this excess 'stuff' and I can't in my right mind just recycle brand new and near new books and magazines that someone else might get some use out of.

The words haven't worn out yet. :)

So my mission today is to try to get some more stuff back into the study and get to work selling off everything that's not going back in.
I'm pretty sure that there'll be some art, scrapbooking and fabric supplies in there that I really don't need.

I'm on a mission.
Why do I have to get on these 'missions' over the school holidays. When will I have the time. Really???? When do we EVER have the time though? We have to MAKE it.

Off to make it.
Enjoy your weekend.
K xx

Hello hello!!!

Hello Bloggerland!! I just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten about you. I went away for the weekend for a wonderful time with some families from school, and have only just turned my computer on tonight.

I have spent today slowly moving my furniture and personal items back into the house.

By last Thursday night, upstairs was pretty much back to normal, and as of tonight the lounge and dining rooms are back. The study is still in the garage. I can't believe how much stuff is in there, and have no idea how I am going to fit it all back into the study. Well I know it will fit, but not necessarily well.

I will start to tackle that one tomorrow.
I am hoping to give a big blog update a bit later in the week.

Hope you have a good week.
K xx

Are you a fool?

Or did you do the fooling today?

I have Miss A home sick today, and although she was excited at the prospect of fooling someone, she is 6, and didn't quote know what she could actually do to fool anyone.

So the only opportunity I have had to fool anyone has been her, and I thought that would be cruel, and she wasn't sure what to do, so I haven't been fooled.

I'd love to hear of any great April Fool's Jokes that people got away with today.

K xx