Really need an update - esp on those pics!!!

Nope, that's it - I really need an update - just spent far too long reminiscing over past posts and have no time now to do the mega/mammoth one I need to catch up on my YEARLY blog - it surely has turned out to be so!

Should retitle this my YEARLY blog....

...It seems to me that I am not very good at this whole blogging thing. I can never seem to keep motivated enough to post in it regularly. I do often think about coming in here and updating it ....but actually doing so seems beyond my capabilities. Yup, I'm just lazy!!

So we are drawing to the end of yet another year. I can remember when I was a kid that the years seemed soooo long. So long to wait til it was my birthday, then so long to wait til the next school holiays or christmas. How nice it would be to have those long years back.
These days I am finding that time is going by wayyyyyyy too quickly. My babies are growing up so fast - in fact now that Sam is over 1, I guess I don't really have an official baby anymore :( That part of our lives is over - we are into toddlerhood for the last time. Guess that means I should relish in the tantrums and mischief huh?! lol

So what have we been up to this yr? Time for another round up -

Megan was in yr 4 and as far as school goes she is doing wonderfully as always. Have had nothing but glowing reports from her teachers. She managed to get her best friend Emily in her class which they both seemed thrilled about. In fact Meg has quite a lovely bunch of friends surrounding her atm. Cheeky little minxes at times, but they all seem level headed and well mannered and friendly. Always worry about the bitchiness that seems to go hand in hand with girls - no doubt that will surface in the yrs to come, so I am just happy for now that everything seems to be going well. Meg had her party in the park this yr with about 7 of her school friends and of course the cousins. Her pride and joy pressie was a Nintendo DS - and we haven't been able to pry it out of her hands since!
Meg has continued with her violin this yr and is getting much better. She can pick up a tune really quickly and easily and above all she really enjoys it which is the main thing. She also joined the choir this yr. At the moment we are busily scampering round to various end of yr soirees and concerts and awards ceremonies. On the 28th of this mth she will be singing with the choir at the local carols by candlelight down in the park - a bit daunting for her to know there will be such a large audience, but I am sure she will handle it.

Zachary....as always he is a little angel at school *sigh* They have nothing bad to say about him there. He is the teachers pet, always running errands and generally being helpful(!), apparently tidy (!!!) and extremely well mannered (this is when my jaw hits the ground!).
At home....well let's just say that the days are never...quiet! He is becoming a little more grown up, he understands a lot more which is easier at times - like if he is in a rare good mood - but omg is he hard work! Love him to bits of course, he is cheeky, has a great sense of humour, very cute....knows how to use those big blue eyes and lengthy lashes to get just what he wants ;-)

Now onto to "Henry" or Ethan Henry Tiger Olliphont, as he likes to call himself. He is almost 4 - in a matter of days. Scary how quickly those yrs went. He is still my little ginger whinger. Very much young for his age. Still mummies little boy for sure. Such a funny character he has. He is very particular with his clothing, his shoes, his food. Extremely fussy. So set in his ways and likes everything done in the same routine each day. He has a quick temper on him, but on the flip side is extremely loving as well. Ethan has a great sense of humour - borders on the evil side at times ;-) When he is around family and close friends he is becoming more and more outgoing and it takes him less time before he gets to that stage. However when he is at school or just out in public he is very shy and needs coaxing to get out from behind mummys leg! I am sure he will be fine - still another yr at preschool before he heads off into the big wide school world, so plenty of time for him to come out of his shell a little :)

Sam, Sam...my baby. My porky grumpster. What can say about him? He is so damn cute, so bloody cheeky and just smooshable!!

Will have to come back and finish this later - visitors!!

Bingara Trip Jan 07

2008!!

Here we go - the start of a brand new year! Hard to believe isn't it? I actually got a thrill from writing the date for the first time yesterday and writing the /08 part - reminded me of being back of school and that first day where you would write the date up the top of a brand new page in a brand new book....I guess that's where we are now - a brand new start, another yr to strive for new things, revel in the achievements of the kidlets....survive the daily grind ;-)

First of all I guess I should do an update on everyone & what we have been up to....coz I know you are all hanging on the edge of your seats to find out - all? Who am I talking to here anyway? lol Moiself!
Ok I will update for me....here we go...

I guess I should start with Ethans birthday. He turned 3 on the 29th November. We had a small family gathering here the weekend before, had a bbq and he got his Little People party, as requested. I have already posted the slideshow with all the pics below this post. Hard to believe he is 3 now. He is turning into such a little man. The comments he comes out with just crack us up and I am constantly amazed at his vocabulary and the way he can hold a conversation. Some of his quips are just hilarious and make me stop and thing "woah" he really is growing up. Of course sitting here now, I can't think of a single example, but take my word for it, he has a brilliant sense of humour and is just doing so well.
One thing I can remember is the other day he was playing (fighting) with Zac, and as usual Zac decided to break or mess up whatever they were doing. Ethan just stopped, put his hands on hips and tunred around and said "Look what you have done Zac. You have ruined it!" His tone of voice and mannerisms were just spot on. He was so exasperated at Zac *lol*

The end of school was very full on as usual. There were various awards ceremonies. Zac received an award, along with his Prep class for their Oral Speaking presentation. I was so full of pride watching him up on stage. He kept his own and spoke along with the others, to watch him, he looked like any other 'normal' child his age.
It was a different story when he came off stage and proceeded to flip his chair up and down and try to stand up on it so he could yell across the hall to Megan!
Megan played her violin on the same night. She looked so little up on stage, but they sounded awesome. She was so proud of herself and it was great to actually see her playing with her friends and performing so well in front of such a big audience.
Zac also received a couple of awards at the ceremony for Special School. I went along with Ethan and Sam and it was very laid back and casual. A few of the older kidlets put on a music number, dancing to 'All I want For Xmas Is You' - it was brilliant! Zac also received a stuffed toy with his awards and then we were surprised when all the siblings got called up and also received a stuffed toy. Such a nice gesture. I am really happy that we have chosn to keep Zac at that school for this next yr. The staff are wonderful and even though it is a bigger school, there is such a cosy, friendly vibe there - I am feeling really positive about how Zac will go.
Megans report card was again excellent. She really excelled in music and her reading is still going strong. They had the yr 3 testing across the state and Megan scored really well comparitively, coming in above the 50% average all the time and even managed to score above the average in a few subjects. She has been given her class and teacher list for this yr and seems happy with who she has. Her best friend, Emily has managed to be placed with her, so I am sure they will have a great yr.

Sam is just beautiful. I am so in love with him. He is almost 6 mths old now - NI where that time went - it has just flown by. Bit sad to think that I won't ever experience these baby times again, but there is so much to look forward to and I just have to concentrate on that.
He has 2 teeth now. Teething hasn't been all bad, except for the 3-4 times a night waking!!! He has started solids, earlier than we planned, but he is a big boy and my boobs just can't keep up! Last time we had him weighed, which was about 2 weeks ago, he was just over 9kg. He is such a charmer, full of smiles and he loves cuddles. He is getting more active, can roll both ways, though usually gets his arm stuck. When on his belly he is pulling his legs up under him and is getting to that stage where he gets bored laying on the floor and wants to be in amongst it all. He can sit for (very) short periods propped up, but tends to get a wobble on and tumbles over - which he then thinks is a big joke, and if you keep sitting him up, he starts to fling him self down, giggling the whole time.

Megan is absolutely awesome with Sam. She helps out so much, without prompting, will go to him and pick him up if he is upset or Zac is getting too close for his comfort. She has even started changing his nappy - though only the wet ones ;-)
Zac is as much in love with his as ever. He tends to smother him with kindness though and is a bit too 'in your face' for Sams liking. It is a bit hard to explain to Zac though, who just wants to show Sam he loves him. Eth is still pretty wishy washy as far as Sam goes. He likes him enough, just doesn't get too involved. He doesn't like it when Grandma or Poppy suggest taking Sam home though - I guess he does love him in his own way ;-)

Christmas!! Yup once again it has been and gone. All that preparation, buying of pressies and wrapping and feuding over which house we are going to and who is buying what and all that jazz....over for another yr.
We were woken up about 5.30 by Zac and Ethan who told us that Santa had been. We managed to convince them that it was a bit early yet and they held off until almost 6.30 when we all went out and delved into all the loot. All the kidlets seemed happy with their pressies - Santa was very generous this yr - I think he might cut back a little next yr - though I do recall he said the same thing LAST yr too!!
Meg was absolutely over the moon with her Barbie girl MP3 player - mummy caved in at the last minute as she was being such a good helper. Zac loved his race car set, though it truly is a PITA - took up half the loungeroom and the cars were forever flying into the wall. Ethan got a few more Little People sets and lot's of arty crafty stuff and Sam just enjoyed eating the paper.

New yr was spent at home. Andy worked until 10pm, came home, had one beer and went to bed. I spent the evening chatting on EB with all the other girls who were also home for the night - it was quite enjoyable really. I ended up going to bed just before 11.30 (earliest in yrs) and then Sam woke at 11.30, I fed him and was asleep before midnight. I must be getting old.

Andys new job is going great. He is really enjoying it, the money is a lot better, but the hrs are shockers now that the school hols are on. We have had a heap of rain around here (finally!!), so Andy prefers to take the car, as the ol' motorbike gets a bit wet when it rains (funny that!) Which is fine - except I am stuck here at home for 8-12 hrs a day by myself with 4 kidlets. They have plenty they could be doing, but seem to prefer fighting and getting under mummys feet, to actually keeping themselves amused. Zac in particular is really trying atm. He struggles with the lack of routine in holidays and with me having to stop to feed Sam so often and also trying to keep Meg and Ethan happy, the meltdowns are frequent.
Andy has also been doing quite a lot of overtime - which is great for him - he enjoys his work - and great as far as the bank balance goes, but it is such a let down for me, when I have been looking forwad to his RDOs and sharing the burden for a day - only to find myself once again, home alone.

I woud soooo love a holiday for myself!!! Ha ha ha ha ha...maybe in the next lifetime ;-)

Wow I have raved on a lot there - have to dash now as Sam is awake and Meg is calling for me...

Check out my Slide Show!

Xmas slideshow!

Poppy strikes again!

Got a phone call from mum yesterday morning - to tell me that she was dashing off to NSW (with grandma in tow) as Poppy had apparently tried to set the house on fire. He put some meat on to cook and went out the back to lay down and fell asleep - he was woken by the smoke alarm - which was lucky as he is very deaf!
Mum rang again last night once they had arrived to let me know it wasn't quite as bad as it had sounded on the phone - apart from the horrid firey stench throughout the house. The cupboards will need sanded back and repainted and I think the stove needs repaired - if not replaced. So all in all a pretty lucky escape I would say!
Not sure yet whether Grandma will be coming back up here, which is a pity as we didn't get a chance to say goodbye - and at her age, it is very important to do so.

Sams Meet up

Headed out to Grandchester yesterday to meet up with a couple of our July '07 mums. Met up at Chris' place and Helen came down from Toowoomba. Was able to finally meet Loralai and Micah - gorgeous of course! It was so funny seeing the three bubs laying there together - Loralai kept whacking Sam in the face and at one stage he ended up sucking on her finger - the look on his face was priceless! Obviously he only likes the taste of his own *lol* All the bubs managed to either have a nap or at least have some quiet time while we had lunch...much appreciated...esp when it came time for dessert ;-)
Hmm so that was mine and Sams big outing for the week - so far!

Saturday Part II

We headed off to the river reserve for Ryleys 3rd b'day party in the afternoon. Ryley was very eager to open his presents and was very patient while we waited for everyone to arrive. One of his first pressies was a helicopter - and Ryley LOVES 'choppers' so every pressie after that was a bit of a non-event *lol* The kidlets all had a few more nibblies and sugar fixes and ran amok - heading up to the 'bird house' to look out over the water and for Zach to try and climb the railing - no idea why that child insists on climbing everything!
They watched the dogs running and fetching sticks and splashing in the water. A friendly kookaburra came to play soccer with them - well until Zach chased it away! Sam was so well behaved again - had a sleep when we first arrived, then was content to play with daddy and watch the kidlets or get cuddles from whoever volunteered at the time ;-) He tried on Ryleys sunnies and wasn't too impressed with how they felt on his face, but he did look uber cool ;-)
We did the cake, sang the customary Happy Birthday and then decided it was time to head home, as it was getting cool. Everyone trouped back to our place and somehow the kidlets managed to ALL get invites out to Jade and Ians - along with Eden and Beth and of course Ryley. (Sam obviously stayed home though ;-) )

Now one more party to get through this weekend for Dad and we then have a mth off before our next b'day - Ethans big THIRD b'day!!

Saturday...what a day...

Here we are in the midst of October, which in our family equals b'days galore - just what was going on 9 mths previously? On second thoughts, I don't want to know!!

Yesterday we all trouped up to my sisters new place for my nieces 9th B'day. We got her a new Tamagotchi as requested. It wasn't a bad day. Sam behaved himself, although he did urrrmm "Pass wind" quite violently as his grandma was changing his nappy - several times in fact ;-) Gave everyone a laugh - who can resist a bodily function giggle? *lol* ...by the look on Sams' face, he quite enjoyed it too!

The kidlets had a ball playing with their cousins - Twister was a big hit. Megan was crowned 'queen' twister-ette

for her ability to tie herself in the best knots. Zach came a very close second, although he seemed to prefer landing on the other players and tripping them up! Eth really enjoyed spinning and calling out the colours.

Samuel had a great time getting attention from all his adoring fans. Grandma was there, as well as mum and my 2 sisters and brother and their assorted partners and friends. It was a nice relaxing BBQ, the kidlets behaved and best of all it wasn't too hot!! We have had some stinking hot days up here just lately was nice to be able to be comfortable for once.