Nightmare on My Street

Once again I've been gone for too long but this time I have a really good excuse.  Less than a week after I wrote my last post, we were attacked by 4 men who smashed their way into our car and home.  I won't go into detail but we were forced to leave our home of 10 years.  The last month or so has been spent doing all the normal things that come with moving and sleeping with a knife under my pillow.

But as I'd rather think of myself as a survivor rather than a victim, I will be back posting inane stuff real soon.

Shattered Dreams....

As you may remember this is what I was going for......But this is more the look that I got.

Can you believe it?  I waited a whole year to go to training and I hurt my knee on the very first night.  In the first half an hour mind you!  And it wasn't even a huge fall.  I landed on my butt and felt nothing because I sort of slided slowly down onto the floor.  Unfortunately the top of my leg went one way and the bottom of my leg went the other causing quite some damage to my poor knee.  I had to sit out last weeks practice but in 2 days I have to pass a skating skills test to be able to continue on to the derby part of the training and I'm not at all sure my knee is up to it.

But I am going to tape it up and give it my best shot.  And if its not good enough then its not good enough....at least I can say I tried.  Wish me luck!



Me & My Baby

Kind of a blurred photo but it was taken on my phone by someone who is not very adept at picture taking.  Nevertheless, this is what my kids and I have been spending a lot of time doing. Check out my sexy skates with pink toe protectors  8^)

I have shaved 4 seconds off my time already and Mr 7 is loving the extra bike riding time.  You should see him go on that thing!  He is a speed demon!   Scares the hell out of me!

Healers or Money Grabbers?

Mr 7 has had some difficulty in learning to read.  The older 3 never had a problem with reading so this is new territory for me.  I figured if I just read to him all the time and got him to read to me all the time, he would improve.  So we bought the flashcards and the learn to read books and such.  There was a slight improvement but not much.  So I took him to the doctor who thought it might be an eyesight problem.  He referred us to the optometrist who said that Mr 7 doesn't have a problem with his eyes but the reading could be causing eyestrain which would make him not want to read so I should buy $200 reading glasses so he can focus on the words without straining.  So I bought them.  He wore them for a few weeks then lost them.  They didn't improve his reading anyway.

I thought maybe he had ADD because he seemed to lose focus while we were reading together and he always wanted to go off and do something else.  But then I realised who wouldn't want to go off and do something else?  He was already struggling with it and the fact that I can't quite explain how to read words that you can't spell out (ie. boy, love, one etc - I mean you spell out one oh un eh - how can you get one from that?) didn't help matters at all.  I wanted to be somewhere else!

So I took him back to the doctor who referred him to a specialist who said he probably has dyslexia and that will cost $750 to assess him.  Wow!  I should have gone into psychology.

But last night, he read me a book from front to back and got all the words right, words he was having difficulty reading before.  Maybe the solution isn't to throwing money at things....maybe its just taking our time.

Roller Derby Dreams

With roller derby tryouts only two months away, I finally got my skates and pads.  Yesterday I suited up and took off on my gorgeous black skates...then wondered what the hell I was doing!  It was as though I had never skated before!  I wobbled here, there and everywhere, all the while thanking the universe for my pads and wishing I had one for my butt.

But I perservered and it wasn't long before I was zooming all over the netball courts.  It was freezing cold and getting dark and I have never felt more alive.  The best thing was that Miss 12 & Miss 10 were skating along beside me and Mr 7 was lapping us on his bike.  We had so much fun and I've never sweat so much in my life.  I hope that I make the roller derby team in October but if I don't, its a great way to spend time with my kids...and if I don't lose weight doing this, I never will!

Happy 1st Birthday Blog!

My blog turned 1 and I totally missed it!  Apparently it was on the 4th of June.  Oops!  Luckily this thing isn't a kid or I'd never hear the end of it....

I'm Back!

I can't believe its been so long since I've written anything.  And so long since I've read anyone else's blogs (sorry!)  My Google reader still says 1000+ posts but it has started at June 20 so I won't know what any of you have been up to between March and June.  I hope I haven't missed anything major but I'm sure I have.  The world still turns even while I'm being run off my feet.

I have heaps to tell you and I can't wait to catch up on everyone's comings and goings but I will start that all tomorrow.  The whole fam has been sick for a week here.  Vomiting, sneezing, coughing....the whole shebang...and I need one nights sleep before getting back in the swing of things.

Looking forward to catching up all you loyal followers!

Good night!

The Beach

 We didn't get to go to the beach last week because it was quite cool but we went the week before as usual.  It was supposed to be 28 degrees but I'd be surprised if it got out of the teens.  I wrapped myself in a towel on the sand but the kids still went in to splash around. 

The tide was way out that week.  Mr 7 went quite far out and the water was still only up to his knees.  It was actually quite good because there is a sandbank about 50m out and the low tide caused there to be a shallow pool of water between the sand and the rest of the ocean and the kids loved hanging out in their very own 'pool'.

We saw heaps of planes go overhead.  I love to sit and wonder where the people are off to while I'm sitting on a beach in Adelaide.  I hope one day someone is sitting on the beach and watching my plane and wondering where I'm going.

It's amazing how well the kids get along once you get them out of the house. They can get on each other's nerves at home but when they're out they all play together as though they're best friends.  I bought a book to read but I didn't even open it.  I was content to watch my kids run up and down the beach, chase the bodyboards that were blowing away in the wind and squealing their heads off when a crab moved its leg.  When a chip packet blew away and Mr 7 ran after it, I wanted 10 more kids.  I realised that I didn't care if I had no man in my life....my kids are enough for me.

Message to 2Busy

This post is a special message to 2busy.  You evil woman!!!!  Suggesting that I add ice cream to that delicious grape soda, potentially ruining my weight loss dreams.  How could you?

Of course I jest.  It's a great idea. Unfortunately I have neither vanilla ice cream nor grape soda on hand, I do have 4 kids after all.  However, next shopping trip I will grab some and put them both together before the kids get home from school.  I'm sure it will be delicous.

I put Pepsi in with vanilla ice cream all the time.  We call them spiders here. Don't ask me why.  They don't look nor taste like a spider (although I'm only guessing on the taste having never eaten a spider before but I think I can be pretty safe in saying that they do not taste anything like each other).  I was under the impression that Americans called them floats but I could be talking about something totally different.  Fill me in guys!

Where Have You Been All My Life???

On my weekly trip to the speciality fridge at the end of the aisle to get my Cherry Coke, I made a new discovery.  Grape Soda!  I've only heard of Grape Soda about a million times in American tv shows and movies.  Being kind of obsessed with all things American I've always wondered what it tasted like.  And there it was sitting right in front of me.  So of course I bought it.  I took it home and poured it out for me and the kids.  I don't like grapes so I wasn't sure what to expect.  Can you say heaven?  Geez that stuff is so nice!  It was delicious. So now during my weekly bath and read, I am alternating between Cherry Coke and Grape Soda.

As you can see there is not much excitement happening in my life right now.  I am, after all, getting excited over a sugary drink.  I am slowly but surely, making changes in my life according to my style statement.  For starters, the kids and I have made it a weekly tradition to go to the beach every Sunday morning.  We have found a great spot.  It has nice fluffy white sand, the water is warm and clear, not too deep but deep enough, it doesn't have much seaweed and there aren't a lot of people.  Perfect!  Yesterday while we were down there, we saw a sea lion about 5 metres out.  It was just lying on its back and splashing around.  A local man told us that a house on the hill flies the Australian flag when the sealion is there. Apparently its a regular sight.  The locals call him Henry.  Typical that I didn't take my camera and the one on my phone sucks. 

We also saw the shark patrol helicopter fly over.  The kids go wild waving and the guys always wave back.  It's been great.  It's nice to relax and now I look forward to Sunday all week.

As for the other stuff, that is taking a little longer.  I haven't had the time to do anything on the house but fingers crossed I'll do at least one thing this week.  I'm also still at 1000+ blogs to read but I'm working on it.

At least I'm still going to the gym every day even though I'm not noticing any difference on the scales.  Probably too many Cherry Cokes and Grape Sodas :)

Last but not least, I'd like to say hello to my new follower Modern Mom.  It's amazing how getting a new follower and somebody you've never met calling you 'utterly charming' can boost your confidence and make you smile.  All my followers make me smile and I'd like to thank you all for that.  Love ya's!

My Style Statement

I'd like to say all is well in the Mum Plus 4 household.  It's not quite there yet but now I have confidence that it will be. 

I found my Style Statement book a couple of days ago.  I had purchased the book a couple of months ago after reading about it on a blog (sorry, I can't remember whose).  It sounded interesting.  I thought it was mainly about discovering your personal style when it comes to clothes and decorating and I felt I needed help in both areas.  My decorating style is very eclectic.  Not on purpose, I just buy things because I like them then I realise it doesn't go

             Photo Source: Amazon

with anything then I get rid of it or it clutters up the house looking stupid.  And the less said about my clothing style the better!

So I ordered the book from Amazon.  It takes about 3 weeks to get here and when it finally did arrive I was busy doing other things so I put it away without even opening it.  So a couple of days ago I found it.  Luckily I was cleaning at the time and was looking for an excuse not to be.  I sat down and starting answering all the questions.

It's not just about your home and clothes.  It's about your whole life and living the way your true self should be living.  Let me tell you it was an eye opener and a half!  Some of the questions I really got stuck on.  I never did answer the question about what I love about myself.  But I sat there for hours just writing and writing until I had answered every question from start to finish.  I don't think I've ever sat down and thought about what I really wanted.  Not what I thought I should want but what I really wanted.  And when I was done I realised why I've been so unhappy.  The life I really want to live and the life I've been living are exact opposites of each other.

I've spent so long (years and years) trying to be a good mum and trying to do what everyone else thought I should do, I've just let my whole life pass by in a blur.  Here are some things I discovered about myself that I didn't even know:

• I really really love spending time at the beach. Being overweight, the beach has been the last place I would want to go but I discovered its very important to me.
• I belong back in my hometown.  I don't belong here.  There is nothing I like here, I don't like the people around me, I don't like the weather and I just don't feel like I belong.
• I need to be surrounded by books and photos of my kids.  At the moment I am preparing the walls for painting so I haven't hung any photos up because I knew that I'd be taking them back down.  But they are really important to me.
• I don't have a personal sanctuary and its obviously something I really need to have.  There is nowhere I can go to be alone and being alone is something that I need to re-energise myself.
• I have to fix up the house.  I've been putting it off for so long due to time and money constraints but I have to make it a number one priority.
• One word that kept coming up was 'comfort'.  I need more comfortable things.  I need to be surrounded by luxurious textures, nice fragrances, art that makes me feel and music that makes me smile.
• I love and need wide open spaces but most of all I just need some peace!

You would think I would already know these things about myself but I didn't.  I never thought about it.  It was so relieving to finally work out what I want.  It was just a big sigh of relief.

Now I'm working to incorporate these things into my life.  This morning I woke up early, made some ham and cheese croissants and took the kids to the beach.  We ate breakfast on the sand, swam in the surf and played frisbee on the beach.  I can't remember the last time anything felt so natural.

kAh

And So It Continues....

Well the hell on Earth that is 2010 is continuing on.  I don't want to bitch and moan but seriously, I would have nothing else to say.  Today I lost $130, was beaten in the head until my neck sprained, had a panic attack and finally came to the realisation that there isn't a person alive on whom I can depend.  Yay me!

I'm not sure what I am doing wrong.  I try everyday to do the right thing, be a good person, live a clean life.  Either I was an absolute monster in a previous life and I am being punished for it now or my whole life's philosophy is completely wrong.  I am tempted to just give up and act like a total butthead to everyone I come across.  I see total bastards succeed everyday and here I am being nice and pushing crap uphill.

What is the worse that could happen if I do a total 180 on my personality and become the biggest a-hole in all the land?  Could I get beaten in the head?  Be totally unloved?  Lose money?  Too late!  So logic states that things couldn't possibly get worse if I'm a butthead.

What does everyone else think?  Stay the way I am and wait the rest of my life to be rewarded for my good deeds with the possibility that it may never happen or become a big a-hole and possibly become the most successful person you've ever met?






Photo source: searchviews.com

Overwhelmed!

I can't believe I haven't written anything for over a month!  And even then it was a pathetic little post much like this one is going to be. 

I have been totally run off my feet and I have so much to tell but not a lot of time which I'm sure you will all understand.  Wow that sentence kind of rambled didn't it?  I am still reading about what people did for Christmas, that is how far I am behind.  I am glad google reader only says 1000+ and doesn't actually tell me the real number because I think I'd die of shock.

I know all you Americans are going through winter at the moment and are suffering from the usual winter hassles (depending on where you live) but over here in Australia we are sweltering through heat wave after heat wave....2 in 2 months to be exact!  And if it's not a heatwave, its still hot!  The kids are back at school after 7 weeks at home, Christmas and New Year's are well and truly over (more details later) and they already have Easter Eggs in the stores.  And as usual I have way too much on my to do list.

I'm off now but I promise I'll be back (soon) and tell you about my New Year's Eve adventure.  Take care!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year To Everyone!  I'm still in disbelief that it is 2010 already.  I still remember getting excited about 1999 turning into 2000.  Was it really 10 years ago???

Every year I try to do something different in the crazy hope that the year will turn out great just by doing New Years Eve in a different way.  I figured if one way created a shitty year maybe another way would create a great year.  So far I have tried

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  Going to a big party
  
  
  
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  Going to a really small party
  
  
  
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  Staying home by myself
  
  
  
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  Staying home with others
  
  
  
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  Going to fireworks on the beach
  
  
  
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  Going to dinner then to the drive-in
  
  
  
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  Going on holiday with the family (to several different places)
  
  
  
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  Watching fireworks from a lookout
  
  
  
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  Going to a fancy dress party
  
  
  
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  Going to a party on a farm
  
  
  
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  Babysitting my nieces
  
  
  
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  Travelling on a bus
  
  
  
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  And many variations of these themes
  
  
  

I have made no secret about disliking the place where I live.  I wish I were in the financial position to move back where I used to live 15 years ago.  So this year I drove there.  It was a 9 hour drive but I thought that maybe it would be a good omen for 2010 if I were not in this state as I counted in the New Year.

I had a lot of fun but it didn't work, and neither did any of the others.  It's only the second day and I've had some troubles already. I need new tyres and a new muffler and some other stuff happened but I don't want to complain about it.  I'm just going to hope that 2010 got all the crap out of the way in the first two days so that the rest of the year is free and easy.....well I can dream can't I?

I hope you all had a great New Year's and I hope that 2010 is already everything you ever dreamed of.  And if anyone knows of something I haven't done already, please let me know by the end of the year  :)    Happy New Year!

P.S  I've been reading blogs in Google Reader and have just realised that some people's blogs that I follow don't show up in Google Reader for some reason.  If anyone can shed some light on this I would really appreciate it.

Happy List

14.  Melbourne

15.  Driving long distances on open roads

16.  Beautiful clear beaches with limited seaweed

17.  Highpoint shopping centre

18.  Swimming

19.  Heated pools

20.  Big M

21.  Hot chips with chicken salt

22. Beautiful views

23.  Countrysides

24.  4 lane Freeways

25.  Kittens

26.  Watching my kids open their Christmas presents

27.  A fresh new year to start over

Hate List

16.  Adelaide

17.  Being scratched on the nose by cats

My happy list has now overtaken my hate list.  Maybe it will be a good year after all :)