Sunday, July 10, 2011

oh baby it's cold out there.... oh baby you'll freeze out there....

Dadda takes the reins.... probably be better to say helm I guess, but no real words for today, just pics.
Enjoy, we did X







































Saturday, July 9, 2011

honey I'm home...

I have a sneaking suspicion that my darling husband secretly believes that I swan around all day drinking cuppa's, chatting to girl friends on the phone, taking the occasional snooze, painting my nails, reading mags & watching random crap on daytime television.
And I guess that he is right, to a certain extent, because that is exactly what I would do ~ once I have b/f the baby, let the dog out before he pees all over the house,  fed 4 children their breakfast, cleaned the highchair (1st time), swept the kitchen floor (1st time), un-stacked the dishwasher (here comes the pattern..... 1st time), washed the concrete off the table (not really but have you ever left weat bix for an hour on the table???? Man 'o' Man, you could build houses with that stuff), hunted down dirty socks from under the couch (hey Claye), put the first load of washing on, soaked the really stained stuff (almost all the kids stuff) in a bucket with the nearest laundry soaky product that my bleary eyes could find, let Max back in, rescued the stuff from Dusty's mouth off the floor, yelled at the bigger kids to get ready for school (ba ha ha ha 1st time), then made their lunches, checked that their bags are packed, strapped Dusty into the carseat, run around like a headless chook for a few minutes, yelled again at the bigger kids (2nd time), get everyone into the car, make sure all 7,000 have their seat belts on (yes they have multiplied, what's it to ya?), back out of the driveway, drive back in the driveway (Claye, can you seriously forget your shoes????), back out again, wrangle the roundabouts, reverse park at school, throw some kids out (most of the time not literally), home again, home again, feed baby a snack, clean the highchair (2nd time), read a story to Tully, hung out the washing, wiped a small vomit up from the carpet, put Dusty to bed for a sleep, folded the washing, tidied kid’s play area, make sure the kids are all booked in for random medical procedures, thought about a sudden idea to make me millions, new load of washing on, answered the phone to said husband to see how my day was (hmm checking in), phone wakes Dusty, b/f said baby, drag out assortment of things that keep him happy, it's more food for someone, make a trip to the supermarket to pick up milk and something for dinner, unpacked the shopping, yep nothing still for dinner (the reason I needed to go today), removed Dusty from the pantry for the 28th time, is that other small boy still here?, yep, and the whole roll of toilet paper does not go in at once, and will block the toilet, send found small boy to time out, 4 minutes should do it (I wish), remind baby that dog food is not a nutritious staple at his age, remove him from the bathroom where he has been jamming his chubby fingers in the cupboard , back in the car to collect school aged kids, cook dinner, feed small people, clean the highchair (3rd time), bathe kids, dress kids, do reader with Claye, listen to Lilla read, throw a boob at the baby, put him to bed, re-settle baby, re-settle baby, re-settle baby (he is consistent at least), greet darling husband, feed him ( and no, not boobs) eat too, tidy up dishes, get bigger kids into bed, yell at bigger kids to GET TO BED!!, argue about who's older & what time is suitable for 8 year olds versus 6 year olds,  take deep breathes, put the dishwasher on, talk to darling about his day, love him, possibly grab a hard earned shower, crawl into bed.

Please forgive me if I have left something out, because what on earth am I talking about anyway!!!!!!!!

Just line up those cuppas with the mags, I'll have a tim tam thanks,  & take a message for those phone calls, I think there will be some spare time tomorrow, or perhaps I'll just re-heat the cuppa I made at 7am this morning!!

Love you XO

Thursday, July 7, 2011

you can have your cake and eat it too, you just need to choose the right cake!

Well I guess as a Mama of 4, I certainly know about the cost of raising and entertaining a family. And there really is no better time to let you in on a few ways that you too can give loads of fun and activities for the kids keeping you and them sane over the school holidays when the weather is only good for those with webbed feet! Yes mine are wide, but not webbed!

OK, so today was a great example of fun on a shoestring! 2 X Mamas, 1 X Dadda, and 6 X kiddies looking for adventure. So where do you go for free to amuse the kids for a few hours?????? I know you are all saying something in your heads, & if you said Bunnings, well then you would be absolutely correct! Over the school holidays, Bunnings offer free craft for kids roughly twice a week. Today we lucked into Boat Making and Painting!! And the kids LOVED it.... So did the parents, we all got to help and chat, and help and chat, so win win I say.

Of course there is also a Playground at Bunnings, and I believe that the entry there is free!! So you could possibly be thinking, "WOW, tight bottom", or you could be thinking "Smart". I will let you decide what I am, because I don't care..
So of course the kids and adults need feeding, so a treat was in order for the kids and they were wanting McDonalds of course (they do have the biggest sign & adds on TV, so they must be great).

Aldi was where we hit and purchased the following not so healthy option, but a great occasional treat;
1 x Bag of Straight Cut Fries $1.99
1 x Curly Fries $2.99
2 x Box Party Pies (only 1.5 required) $3.99
Banana Lollies $0.99
Snakes $0.99
Ice Creams $0.99
Coffee's & Water provided by Mama Hick
And to top off all the health!!!!!! Ice Creams $3.49
So that's about $19.40, making each persons share roughly $2.10, much, much, much cheaper than any take away place! and the fun and laughter that came from our table was contagious!!! Plus there was leftovers, and they were far to full at dinner, so an apple was suffice..

Kids really needn't cost you a fortune, there is dirt outside, sticks make shovels and leaves make shelters for match box cars, and any side of a shoe can make a motorbike track!!! Well that's what my boys tell me.....
There are loads of shopping centres, Libraries, Bunnings, & other Council run activities to get your kids out and about, so use them, you might just have a blast!!
We all had a wonderful day, and the kids are totally thrilled with the boats they made... in fact they are already asking when they can go back to do mosaicing (that can not seriously be a word, or is it?)... How could any Mama say no?
Please if you know of any other wonderful things to see and do, when the indoors gets a bit "la dee da", let me know!
From this Mama to that Mama XO Peace

I've got it....

I am going to be a professional!!! A professional Mama!! Is that possible? Well maybe I'll give it a shot and let you know how that goes. XX

the reality...

OK, so really, at half past midnight, any normal existing human would be fast asleep! But not I, you see for the last few months, I have been struggling with my decision to return to work or stay at home and be an even fuller time Mama, because I think that all Mama's either working and being paid, or working, and not earning a pretty penny, are still full time. You know what I mean anyway, there is no real break from being Mama!!
This may shock and horrify you, but me decision to resign bought upon a very heavy heart.....
I had been working paid part time, throughout all of my babies. Not immediately, but before they were 2 years old, I had always returned to paid work on a part time basis....
This time, with my husbands job and shift work and 4 young children the logistics and the increasing cost of shoddy childcare were all seeming a little more than we could bare. Most women I am sure would be wrapped at the fact that they would not have to throw the glad rags on and head to the office, but not I.
Well I do not know what it is that is really bothering me. I am thinking that maybe in a way I am worried about losing the old me, the one who contributed to the household financially, who had a life outside these four walls, mind you they are lovely walls, but restrictive just the same. It's such a hard decision to make and one made by millions of Mama's all over the globe I am sure, but now the decision was with me.
I feel pressure to be there all the time by my children, and the washing that seems to be breeding in the laundry is always beckoning, and dinner will always be needing to be prepared, and someone will always need "sumfing to eat", and the floor will always be sticky, and the walls be decorated with tiny hand prints, and my job will be to make sure that the entire world will be OK, and cleaned, watered & fed. Well maybe not the whole world, but it sure can feel like it at times. I do like reading other peoples blogs, but most of them seem to be dreamy and whimsical, and make being a Mama, a never ending supply of wonderment and joy.... Do they really feel the same as me??? I think the reality is probably the same for almost everyone. Please don't think that I do not like being Mama Hick for one tiny minuscule second, cos' that's entirely not true, but when it came to giving up something that allowed me to be me, just me, I suddenly feel a little lost.
It's funny, well not ha ha ha funny, but as soon as I had actually resigned, I began rummaging through the craft box, and eyeing people's hard rubbish for the next awaiting project! I found two by the way, and creative inspiration is something I do have a little of. Well actually probably more like about 5 new projects, but I am sure there will be time for them soon enough. I also went mad listing things on eBay, even the kids were saying "Mummo" (of all names, I seem to be getting this more often than not, but we will chat about that in a minute) are you walking around looking for things to sell? To which I honestly should have replied "yes", but for the sake of not making them feel insecure, I told them "no darling, I have lost something". Dirty big fibber!!!
Is it just me?, see there I go again, feeling like the only soul on the planet, or do other Mama's feel like sometimes being a Mama is not enough? Before you dial the last digit to DHS, I am not wanting to get rid of the kidlets or anything like that, but I would like something that says "me", that's all, "me". I guess the next few weeks I will be soul searching, and looking for that "thing".
OK, so only my children, could turn Mama, which they have generally all called me for years, into "Mummo". I bet you did not even know that you could 'Boganise', the word Mum, but Al ey luh yah!!!! my darlings have.
So I guess the one good thing, cos' there is always one good thing, there just has to be, is the extra cash that I have earned off eBay. Patting my own back, cos' no other crazies are up at this hour, well at least I hope they all sleep soundly all night long.... all night long, all night, 'o' all night, cos everyone you meet is just dancing in the street, all night long...................
OH MY..... on that note, I must get my few hours in.. nighty night, sleepy tight... MWAH X