Ever Seen an Angel?

Well, I have now. I just love these school pictures of Tessi. She really is just gorgeous here. Hard to believe this is the same hellion who drew all over her legs, hands, chest and face with blue marker the other day. I guess when I say angel she's really an ARCHangel. But a beautiful one at least.

It's Done....I admit defeat

Sasha has just pushed a crate with 90 pounds in it out of her way to get out of the kennel. She weighs about 45 pounds soooo, I'm giving quarter now and admitting that we need the actual metal, razor wire, gun turrets and a croc-infested moat crate for her.

Damn....that is one tough dog. So glad she can be lured with peanut butter. However, I'm a little leary about turning my back on her now.

Birthday Well Wishes

I haven't been one to make a big deal about my birthday in recent years. However yesterday was a very nice one. After my son's end of cricket season BBQ some friends gathered at my house for tea and cake. Or at least that's what I thought. It ended up being a massive cake home made by my friend Pip who is a sheer culinary genius. Then the girls gave me the cards they picked out and decorated - it's been a long, long time since I've had my own Barbie card. Teddy of course had an obnoxious pun card - for which he's still laughing. Then Ted gave me the present from the family which was the Pandora bracelet I've been drooling over for months. It's had a boy and 2 girl charms on it for the kids.

Then one by one each of my friends plopped down their gifts and they too had bought me Pandora charms. My bracelet is now 1/2 full of gorgeous charms.

One of the things I am happiest about our Australian move is the company I keep. I have made friends with some of the kindest and most loving people I've ever met. I can not see how I could ever be as good a friend to them as they have to me but I am trying.

Thank you everyone for such a wonderful day. I really am grateful for you all.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Here are some shots of the youngest Irishwoman in the house. The t-shirt says it all. Connor and Teddy had to wear their uniforms today so no Irish bling for them. Tessi however, got to enjoy having the cool shirt and the playset to herself today.

Boomtown Rats Were Never SAHM's

I love Mondays, just LOOOOOOVVVVVEEEE them. It's the first day of the week and all 3, yes, all 3 are in school. Usually I have an all day appointment on Mondays but recently I've decided to start blowing that off fortnightly...er um, every other week for the non-Australians. So it's me, the house, Damn Dog and quiet. Well, quiet besides the washer, Damn Dog running around trying to find a spot to hide her bone and that nagging voice in my head telling me to get off the computer and do the dishes. But yes, by my standards, that is quiet. It helps when you lower your standards...a lot.

This morning I spent one hour in Connor's classroom and 1 hour in Teddy's classroom for reading groups. I take this time to help me re-evaluate any desire I may have to go for another degree in education. By the time I'm finished with the groups so is any desire to back for a degree in education. Man, teachers are UNDERPAID. Really. As a mom you start to think that you can handle all kids because you can handle yours. NOT TRUE! This is the first mistake you make. Then you spend the rest of the time trying to regroup and pull the kids back in under control without cursing (out loud), threatening and menacing and swearing...again. I don't know how teachers do it. My mom was a teacher and she always said that teaching was like the priesthood. You either had the calling or you didn't. She did. I do not. I still volunteer at my kids schools because they ask for volunteers but man...soooo not planning on becoming a teacher.

Now I'm off to do some actual work. No seriously. In a family of 5, 6 if you count damn dog and since I'm washing her bed today, I'm counting her, laundry never flippin' ends. Ever. Tomorrow is another house inspection - God I hate renting. So I'm cleaning up the large pieces of filth. Again, this is where the lowering of standards comes in quiet handy.

Is This What Life Really Is About?

Come on, I have to be missing something here! I spent all day yesterday doing laundry and cleaning up; only to go to bed having the house still look like urban decay. There's enough laundry hanging around the house to be confused with a laundromat. I had one of those life- altering mother/son discussions with Teddy yesterday and learned that he really does think I love the girls more than him and that I'm happier when he's off by himself. Sigh...mother of the year...that's me. And this morning I awoke at 4:40am to the sound of the dog throwing up.

There's no way this is my life. NO WAY! I was going to be an egyptologist, never marry, certainly never have children and I was was going to fabulously wealthy and of course socially secure, thank you Daffy Duck. I wanted to drive a 1965 blue convertible Mustang and jet around the world.

Then again, I would have been a lousy egyptologist as I hate and I do mean hate the heat. I get angry the second the mercury pops up above 85. Besides what would all that sand do to a Mustang? And so much for not being married because I have found that I am fairly useless without Ted. As for the kids, well, I must love them because no one else would put up with Teddy's circular logic, Connor's hand on her hip and moving her neck to yell at me and Tessi's...well...just Tessi. Actually they can be quite cute. Teddy turned to me yesterday after our talk and said, "Mom, sorry for being a putz" Ahhhh, he is mine.

Fine, this is my life. At least I'm in Australia, I'm sure that someday it will stop raining, at least the wine is cheap and the dog whisperer is coming to the house today to teach me how to train Damn Dog. I have some really good friends who for some reason seem to still like me. Pardon the Sally Field moment there. I am tired.

I'm off to restart the day as it's now almost 6am and I don't have long until angry cherubs start rising. Sometimes it's like being attacked by short undead in princess and clone wars jammies. This gives me just enough time to have a cuppa and try to clear off a path on the kitchen counter. Don't want the dog whisperer to think we're slobs.

5 Loads of Laundry Plus Rain Equals

...a big huge mess. There's no way I can get this all done. It never and I mean never stinkin' fails. I let the laundry pile up...by that I mean I skip one damn day because I had the flu, and it's raining so I can't hang it all up. Just use the dryer you say? And quite whining also because it's annoying? Well I would (the dryer anyway) but in Australia the dryers are about half the size as the ones back home. No joke. They are small, very, very small. You have to take out at least a third of the wash load before you put it into the dryer or else it all comes out with entrenched wrinkles. Just iron you say? Stuff it. I'm not. I iron for sewing, nothing else. I mean it. NOTHING. I'm not proud about that, it's just one of my quirks. I've decided to find it charming.

Sigh...so now it's a game of where can I hang things inside the house that A. they will dry and B. Damn Dog can't get to them and chew them. Speaking of Damn Dog, I found out that she likes spaghettio's. Tessi doesn't so I put the bowl on the counter. Came back later to find bowl smashed on floor and not a lick of food anywhere. It was a princess bowl too. I took the pieces out in secret because if either girls find out a princess bowl has bit the dust not even Jesus will be able to save that dog from them. You can piddle all over the floor you want Missy, but you leave Ariel and Cinderella the Hell alone!

I'm off now to do work, real work. Have to clean up the house 'cause the dog whisperer is coming tomorrow. Have to turn Damn Dog back into Sasha before we all go loony.

2009 PETA Award for Best Dog Owner Goes to...

Me! Guess why? As we are opening the front door to walk to school Damn Dog (formerly known as Sasha) bum rushed the door and took off like a shot. We of course begin pursuit. Get to the top of the street and low and behold she has crossed the street and started running up the road. I tell the kids to wait, cross the street and start hiking. Six houses later she is still ahead of me and racing towards the school. Yep, she ran to school, ran through the buildings and then around the Kindy buildings with me chasing after her. I couldn't even swear at her because of all the kids. Now marvel in this irony. I'm at school and my kids are all still back home. I spin around and head back and a woman said the dog left, that she thought it went home. Sigh, damnit.

I head out the play ground and there is Teddy, holding Damn Dog on a leash with the girls in tow. He had gone back, gotten a leash and met Damn Dog on the street. She actually went up to him rather than ran like Hell from him. As Teddy walks her up to me she has the GALL to wag her tail at me and come up for me to pet her on the head. Then we all stood around and waited for the bell to ring.

I am the PETA award winner because the dog is still breathing. I did not kill her, I did not choke her with the leash, I did not smother her with Teddy's backpack. I did NOTHING to her. Even now as she is laying next to me eating stickers that Connor left on the floor - I am not killing her. I have no idea why, but I'm not doing it.

I must still be sick....

The Flu is Evil

I'm sure this is a newsflash for most as obviously, I am the only person on the planet who ever gets sick. I came down with this 24 hour fever, body ache death virsu that just dropped me yesterday. Just vile. I had to call poor Ted home from work because I was afraid to drive. Fun.

It's amazing how concerned children can be when a parent is sick. Tessi came running, "You right Mommy? Ahh, you don't feel good? Need medicine? I kiss you and you feel better." This was very sweet, except that the entire time she was saying this she was trying to climb on top of my head. How exactly having 45 pounds on top of my head was supposed to make me feel better I'm not sure; but I do appreciate the thought.

Now my mission, should I choose to accept, is to rid my house of this feral virus before anyone else contracts it. This involves cleaning and as my nearest and dearest all know; I hate that.

New Blog Design

I have been desperate to change the look of this blog for a very long time. I can't say that I'm thrilled with it now, but at at least it's different. I'll keep tweaking it at see if I can make it look better.

Oh, if only I knew someone who knew how to design web pages and who might be inclined to help me with it. Especially since I do his damn laundry and drove his son to the train station so he didn't have to come all the way home to get him to go to the rugby game tonight. Oh, if only there was such a person in my life.

Oddly enough, this actually may be too subtle for him.

Friday Madness

It seems that I'm spending less and less time blogging now. That's a shame because I really do like it.
Right now Life is just a matter of time increments. More accurately surviving time increments. Connor is doing great at school but at home she is really giving me Hell. So daily it's a matter of getting through each tantrum with both of our ear drums intact. Teddy has been bit by the year 3 attitude fairy and daily we have discussions about correct and incorrect ways one talks to one's mother. Fortunately he is a good kid so there haven't been too many death threats...by me.

The dog...sigh...the dog. I didn't want a puppy. I REALLY didn't want a puppy. I remember what Rugger was like and we didn't have kids then. Sasha is a big damn 5 year old puppy. No commands at all, not housebroken, doesn't listen outside the house at all, chews everything and whines and whistles when left alone. Sigh...she is cute though, so she is still breathing. I've given up though. I've made an appointment with a VERY EXPENSIVE dog trainer next week who is coming to our house to help us figure out how to tame Sasha Fierce.

I'm not giving up on the dog. She is a gentle soul who needs someone to love her and we do, I swear we do. I just haven't been able to find a way to get her to understand that eating Cinderella's slipper and a favorite Cinderella hair bow is a good way to get your ass kicked around here. Even Teddy won't cross Connor and Tessi about princess stuff. Dog had better learn or it will get ugly.

It's Finally Done!!!!

I have done it. Finally. Here is my first quilt. Started a YEAR ago. Now before the snickers start...I would work on it once a week or so...take a few weeks off...sometimes a few months off. You get the general idea. But here it is. I guess it's my second quilt as I stopped working on it completely in October so I could make Ted's mom a quilt for Christmas but it's the first one I started.

Last year in Feb. we were told we were going to have to move back to Texas and I wanted a unique, meaningful memento of Australia so I asked my friend Genevieve to help me make it. Being one of the nicest people on the planet, she had no choice but to accept. This lovely woman welcomed me into her home and taught me quilting techniques, sewing tips, taken me to a quilt show, even lent me her good, spiffy keen machine to finish Mom's quilt. A generous soul. One of several I've met in this wonderful country. I am fortunate to know her.

The quilt is made from a print of Australian and Aboriginal icons. The brown is an antique world map. I really felt a connection between this continent and the rest of the world and wanted to show that. I completely stole the design from a magazine and I am honest about that.

Now I've started a pirate themed quilt for Teddy. He isn't going to care one whit about design or technique or color scheme. All he wants is that the pirates and skulls look angry and fight. I don't care. I'm going to do a cool pattern if it kills me. When I'm done I will hand over his quilt and say as Genevieve has taught me, "Darling here is the quilt I've done. I like it" Hopefully he will be man enough to say, "Yes dear, I like it too"

Thank you Genevieve. It has been a long time since I've felt so proud about something I've done.