November?

Having said last entry that I need to do this more often, it has still been 2 months since my last entry. Thats not because I have nothing to say or that nothing goes on in my life. I simply forget I have a blog!

October was its usual 'flat out with birthdays' month. Cody turned 5 on the 17th and had a total of 4 celebrations - cake and singing at Kindy (wed), cake and singing at Daycare (Thur) , a little party at home on his birthday (Fri) and a larger party for his Kindy friends on the Saturday.

My birthday was very sedate in comparison. We had a special dinner at home on the Wednesday and I invited some friends for afternoon tea and some crafting on Saturday.

Unfortunately with all the bad party food around my diet has suffered (and my skin is showing the results) so from here on in, its back to the grindstone and on with (or off with) the weight loss.

That should be easier to achieve now that I have more time to exercise, courtesy of having walked out on my job. I dont think I ever again want to work where my kids are. I never got in trouble for what I did as staff, only for what I did as a parent! I found working at 'that place' very stressful and unpleasant and was hanging out for the end of the year when my contract ended. Unfortunately the school decided to take exception to something I did as a parent - which I would do again in a heartbeat - and threatened to terminate my contract. I decided I had had enough and left. I feel so much happier knowing I dont have to go back and no longer have to race around like a headless chook getting to daycare and back to the school again. No more leaving home at 7.50. Yeehah.

Doesnt time fly?

Hey wow, I haven't posted for 3 months. So I guess i'd better do an update.

I'm now finished my Teachers Assistant course and are just waiting for my official piece of paper to arrive.

I've also lost 16 kgs in total. Here is a new photo.

Other than that, same old, same old. Far too busy, sick of driving all the time and taking some steps to change all of that. Its school holidays and I plan to sit on my couch and do some craft. 'Me' time : )

I still need to lose 24 kgs so I plan to start getting some exercise...soon.

I am also very much looking forward to next year when both my boys are in full time school. I swear I hear the word 'Mum' every 30 seconds. Soemtimes they even use my first name. Dear Hubby has taught them to do that in shops when they cant find me. Every other kid calls out "mum" - mine walk around saying "Natalie, Natalie".

June 12th, 2008

What a big day! I have now lost 10kgs, which is 25% of my goal and my reward will be to buy some new sports bras so I don't look so much like a big bowl of jelly when I try to exercise. Speaking of jelly, I put mine in the freezer to set last night and forgot it was there. Remember how we used to freeze Freeza's and Sunny Boy's? Well, that's what it looks like now. Its all grainy and horrible. Never mind...by the time I've scraped it all out I'll have used up all the extra kilojoules that are in it!

I also realised its my 25th anniversary as a Christian. Woohoo. Scary that I've been a christian for 2/3rds of my life. Wonderful of course, but scary.

And its Lisa's birthday. Happy Birthday Lisa Tiivel!!!!! I'm sorry I didn't ring - I will try to get hold of you tomorrow.

Almost there!

Hey, I realised today that I am almost out of purgatory. Its June and that means the year is almost half over. When the other half is over (add a month) I get to send BOTH boys to school FULL TIME. I've waited 9 years for that. And its nearly here. Woooooohooooooo.

Can you tell my boys are sick of me pointing a camera at them? My 4 yr old is so obviously saying 'cheeeeese' and my oldest has given up even pretending to smile. The occassion was both of them being in the same uniform as Cody's took a while to arrive.

May Day

Here we are at the end of May. I've been to another funeral

for someone who died quickly from an illness that wasnt picked up until too late to be helped. He was the father of a lifelong friend who lost her own husband 8 years ago at the age of 30. Eric did a sterling job being a father figure to Jakob and Emilie - RIP Mr Rule.

We've also been to some parties - 2 in the one weekend, both dressups. Prince Cody was invited to Princess Cate's party and all 4 of us were invited to a pirate dress up to celebrate Claytons 5th birthday.

And, I've been doing prac work as part of my Cert 3 Teachers Assistant. I'm having a ball. I mostly work with Yr 5's and they are really interesting creatures. Today I trimmed art work, pinned up other art work, cut out skirts for the French class assembly, make penguins out of egg cartons and dug into peat for earthworms in the middle of a bunch of screaming 4th graders

- those screamers would be some of the boys as well as the girls!

I hope to be able to get a job doing this, hopefully even as soon as next term

would be good and would help massively towards the extra cost of having the

boys in a private school.

And, And, AND... I've lost 7 kgs. I'm following the Optifast diet. Its been DARN hard but its working, which is a nice change from all my other efforts to lose weight over the last x many years (too many to bother writing). I WILL lose the weight this time and keep it off too.

I guess thats it from me. So much happens and yet so little of it is of interest to anyone else! Stay well, all.

A complete shock

This week a friend of mine died. It was very sudden and unexpected. And its hard to know how to feel and what to say because I never actually met her. She was a member of a private internet club I'm in where the members are very open and honest and have known each other a long time. I think what makes a friend is that the person matters to you so, Elaine, though I never met you face to face, you mattered to me, you were very much a part of my daily life and I loved reading your posts and connecting with your life. I'm sorry for your illness and I know you would never have wanted to leave your family that suddenly. I'm sorry we can't be at your funeral either but we will all be thinking of you and your family on Friday. I hope we meet when forever comes.

Elaine

My Ode to an Internet Friend.

What do you say
when someone goes away
and you know that
you'll never hear from them again?

Never see their id after a post
no more pictures in the albums
or cards during swaps

how do you explain to face to face friends
that someone you never actually met
has touched you so much?
Or been so good a friend and
Such a big part of your life?

I guess you just say that your hearts met
and held each other
and that you will miss them terribly
until forever comes.

You know the song "Mad World"? I have no idea what the lyrics are but the chorus keeps wailing "mad world, mad world" and I think that refrain perfectly suits my life at the moment. Allow me to introduce myself - I am the mother of two little boys and the wife of a slightly larger one. My oldest son (8) has a condition called DAMP syndrome and my youngest...well... he's your typical 'my mission in life is to drive my mother mad' 4 year old. Hubby is a nurse so he works shifts which to me usually means the days I cant cope are the days he's bound to be working!

This is my first ever attempt at a blog so bear with me as I try to work it all out!