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

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 (1^st 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 (2^nd 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 (3^rd 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

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

it goes so fast it blurs...

I watch him before me every day, and I am sure there is something new and wonderful that he can do... He works so quietly, well most of the time, exploring and trying new things, it's frustrating too, because his squeals and red face tell me so. He calls me Mamba, and he really does, because I believe that if babies have instinct to cry, then smiling and talking and all the other magic that happens must also be somewhat instinctive... I love it when he follows me around the house with his cute little commando crawl, which I am sure will be the only type of crawl he will do! OK, so you will probably not believe it, but just as I typed that, he moved in a true 2 hands and 2 knee motion... See magic!! He smiled and straight away looked up to me to see that I saw it... (think lovingly of our darling boy) I cannot really believe that it has been almost 9 1/2 months since he changed our lives with his birth... He has a face now that he flashes at Mama and Dadad and we call it his Toosie face.... Pics will follow because I could not even begin to describe it... Well it's boob time for bubba and then a nice big sleep (huh hmmm)!

And that my friends is "Toosie face"

Ummmmmm it may be headed that way...

OK, so it (being the day) may be headed slightly apple or pear shaped which ever of the two you may be, as on the phone to telstra (swear, curse, poke voodoo doll) I cried, ummmmm WTF?? (not swearing Mama bear it's What this Friday?) (smug grin).... OK, so to console myself, I made a cuppa and sat to watch the TV again!!!! (think lazy tart to ones self) OPRAH was on and I wanted to be there!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was giving away 12 of her favourite things, OMG OMG OMG, I would have been contented with just the car (laugh again it would never fit our brood) and then drink my coffee again this time sucking the last few cold drops (common occurrence)......



OK, so i got led back to Toshy (pet name for Laptop) where I begin the Family Budget (Crap). Why is there never enough coming in, and most going out? I am sure though that we are not alone, so I will not worry too much.

Well how random am I today (I know that's what your thinking), that I have blogged twice!!! (fist pump in the air) but I have achieved nothing on the home front, and really could not care less... Well actually I did clean up chicken poo, as Fluffy and Coco escaped there enclosure and once free, poo'd enough poop to last a flippin' month.... Oh my chickens are just pigs, or are they learning that from the environment they are living in???? No, no, no, we do not poo everywhere, but I sometimes wonder if I birthed piglets.

OK, I had to start this sentence with OK, cos' it seemed to be the daily theme (I have gone completely mad).... Well I am now feeling bad that I did not even vacuum, but hey the crumbs are starting to blend in... Did I mention the irony about contacting Telstra ( nasty thoughts again), well, i was attempting to jump on the Internet to pay some of my ridiculously large bill, bet gee the Internet WAS NOT WORKING!!!!!!!!!! and if I was talking to you then, I would have been yelling, hence the Caps ;)

Arggghhhhh never mind me hearties (Pirate accent)...

Type you again soon XO

Do not walk like that, you are scaring your brother!

I really believe that how you wake in the morning sets the scene for the rest of the day.... For me this morning I was awoken by a car doing a ewy? uey? euwey? hmmm not too sure how to spell that, but you know it's a turn in the opposite direction and I cannot believe that I am telling you that!!! Anyway, well the time being 5.16am and I could not get back to sleep properly until what seemed like 3 minutes before the kids awoke for the day.... maybe not really 3 but who would know in that weird kinda' unconscious state.....

Claye came bolting into the bedroom squealing like he was about to be murdered, I sprung to bolt upright position in bed, and asked what was wrong, he cuddled in close and replied "Lillie is scaring me", ohhhh dear!!! "OK, I will ask her not to", I say to him... Then this strange Zombie girl rounds the corner of our bedroom and cracks up laughing..... It's so silly but she does it all the time now that she gets such an awesome response.... Turd, is what springs to mind at this point.... anyways........

The morning continues with Claye and Tully making their own breakfast which consisted of totally ooooooozing honey sandwiches... I known you you are probably already thinking about the mess, and you would be right if you thought that perhaps some honey did go on the floor, the walls, the bench and god only knows where else. It's at this point that I notice that Tully has actually had his face colored in with brown texta, so I say " Hmmmm your face looks interesting Tully", and he grins his cheeky grin, and says, " Yiddee did it, with texta". To which of course she denied and threw the blame to Claye... I throw some food groups into the slow cooker and turn it to low, probably will call it spaghetti if they ask what this is..... Well I talk and yell and remind the children of the pending Dental appointment to get them to brush their teeth full stop, let alone do it properly and then I yell some more, sling bubby into his car seat at which point I think to myself should he have his car seat turned around yet???? hmmmm who really knows, and then I head for the morning routine of School and Kinder drop off!! Phew, I am exhausted just reliving it... Did I mention that I also managed to fit in an early morning phone call from darling Husband who is away on work for a few night??? Well now you know.

So I cheat and take the 2nd lane, as the kids call it, to wrangle the traffic jam that occurs at the local roundabout, and arrive at school just in time to change reader and get Claye to organise his Library book ( I cannot stand the whole borrowing library book thing as it's just another thing I must worry about!!) and then continue back to the car.... Tully has been in the car (backpack still on back), into school (backpack still on back) and then taken to Kinder (backpack still on back). OK so home again, home again, jiggity jigg!!!

It's feed Dusty breakfast, he demands boobs, so I take pity and do as directed, and I cuddle for a while and pop him into bed.... All of which occurs before 10am, , and I had been thinking that I will put him into bed and race around ( most commonly used speed for Mama's I am sure) and mop and vacuum and make the house look habitable again....

But where am I???? on the couch watching the circle and reading one of my favourite gals blogs Milk 'n' Cookies, which reminds me to update mine, see...... she helps me without even knowing, now that's a good friend ( think loving thought of her)..... OK, so bubs is asleep, floor is still sticky and crumbed with who even knows what, but I think I may have broken the cycle that usually occurs!!!! Well who would know, the day will probably still end with texta'd faces, Zombie girl, boy squealing, another call from darling husband and a baby on my boob!!!! Here's to the craziness of Motherhood!!! Cheers

XO May the force be with you

what is 6 almost 7?...

6 almost 7 is tiring...
its defiant...
its incredibly sincere...
also very cheeky...


I am not sure that I am enjoying 6 almost 7...


its pushing the boundaries...
its physical and boystress...
its learning to read..
and write and spell...


its learning the art of compromise...
and to share with siblings...
its fitting into the middle of the family...
its being the little brother...
and the big brother...


its destructive...
and creative...
its hard work...
but so very rewarding...

at times its seems like I am doing it all wrong...
its a warm cuddle and kind words that make it all seem right...


its one of our boys!  XO

sweet baby girl...

For those of you that know me, and my beautiful family, will know my precious girl "Lilla". Not that I want to boast or anything, but she is really such a wonderfully, thoughtful, human being and we are so very proud!!! Just tonight when my patience was frayed by our darling 3 1/2 yo, she took him and got his night nappy on, made a bed for his pretend guinea pig, filled his drink bottle with water, tucked him in, and turned out his light... She then came to me and said, "oh he is just so cute Mum", you would have been proud, he even used his manners and said "Thank you for making my guinea pig his bed". "But you need to say good night".
Of course I need to say goodnight, so off I go, and there is our beautiful boy sound asleep!
She is only 8 years old, but so amazing and has such a sweet heart. I mean, what 8yo realises that her Mum is exhausted and could do with a hand, well ours does. It's hard to believe that in only 8 short years she has developed into such a kind, compassionate, caring person.
I know as Mothers, it's very easy to fall into the trap of feeling like you are not doing a very good job, especially at times when you are tired and have no idea how to handle the next wave of situations that children can throw at you. Well this is one of the opposite moments where we can stop and look at the amazing little people that we have helped to shape. Again, she will have no idea of how she helps to support me... LOVE to you Lilla, I hope you know that I love you all the way to the moon and back!!! XO

home sweet home...

After what has seemed like an eternity, our new home is finally complete!! Complete with us that is, and we are loving it here... We are surrounded by cardboard boxes and stuff, you know how we just collect stuff? Well we must have done some collecting at some point, cos I can assure you there is something in these boxes!
We are mostly sorted and the kids are settling in just great, actually it's as though we have always been here with the kids. For me it's kind of surreal, I keep thinking that I will need to go home soon, but no, not so LOVE...
We have so much work to do in the garden, well actually we need to create a garden first!! I will endeavour to get some pics happening and that way, you too can enjoy the progress!! Gotta go, my beautiful new walls await me...
Night Night XO

learning the art of patience...

OK, so it's been a pretty long and tiring journey this whole building a house thing! But it is drawing to a close, and I think that I am finding this part the hardest... In case I forget and it seems like a good idea, I do not want to build again with a volume builder ever again!!!! Owner building all the way from here on in... Well that's if we ever build again ;). Today being the 15th means that we have only have another 15 days of a roof over our heads! Thankfully we do have a caravan and a very nice foreshore here, so that is where we may end up if Metricon does not full their finger out and give us a settlement date... arrrrrrgggggghhhhh Sorry just had to let that out!
The house itself is looking lovely and I am sure that we will be extremely happy living there but we just need to get there... OK so sitting here blogging is probably not going to get anything packed, but just needed to vent! Thanks for listening...
May your day be full of sunshine! XO

rugged good looks...

Time for a change here, not sure what I think about it yet, what do you think?? The look of the blog that is...

all creatures great and small...

Some people measure the greatness of their life by how much money they have, or how many possessions they own, or how great their career may be, or as sad as it sounds, but as to how many friends they have...
Well just the other day whilst going about my home duties, I too began to ponder on what my greatest achievement to date in my life would be, which made me stumble across this sheer fact of awesomeness!! Awesomeness, not sure if it's really in the English dictionary as a word, but it totally suitable for what I came across in my head...
I made totally amazing babies, all 4 of them to be precise!! Yep that's a functioning heart and lungs and all the other important fundamentals that you require to be a living human. I personally believe that so many Mothers underestimate how truly amazing a feat this actually is... It's not just bake in a Moderate oven for 1 hour here, it's 40 or so weeks of creativity at it's best...
And then, once created I fed them to the chunky size that babies should be, apparently for all of them, to the size of 25% of Australian babies!!
So the next time someone tries to make you question your existence, think about the wonders that growing and rearing a child can bring.
I will have this job as Mama Hick for life! No-one can make me redundant or cut my wages because this is a job that's paid with love, pride, and sheer satisfaction!
I know that your probably thinking well hang on a minute, you did not do this single handedly, so acknowledgements to my gorgeous punkins ( aka Cory) for planting the seeds of life!
This also leads me to realise how wonderful my life is...
May your day be 100% loved up! (with a little bit of sick and snot for good luck)
Satisfied Mama XO

home...

Oh me oh my, I do believe that we will only have 29 more sleeps in this house until we should be in our new home!!! Smiling like you would not believe! x

what's in a pic...

OK, so I have purchased a new laptop and have decided that it's time I learnt about taking awesome pics, because I do have some of the most amazing subjects around me 24/7 of course! OK so we have this pretty cool digital SLR a Nikon to be precise... Have not a bloomin' clue how to really use it, and at this point I really have never used it to it's full potential. I have only had success using the manual focus... yes I know, I can hear you laughing, but my new project, slowly but surely is to get better behind the camera!! I started by taking a few shots with no editing, really because I had no idea how to use the software that we now own...

Here they are;

"Dusty Elroy" doing cute exceptionally well but then again I may be slightly biased!

And Claye and Dusty just so sweet and not just fun to shoot, well not literally of course, but I felt such a huge sense of pride watching my biggest boy with my smallest boy!

OK, so the plan is to learn not only to capture, but to edit and capture with knowledge... So lets see how I go???
Anyway I must sleep before Bubs wakes and needs a drink!
Sweet ones to you x

roller coaster...

So at 5am I am woken by Tully all upset with a very sore ear... My poor baby has been suffering from ear infections for nearly all his little short life, and they are so debilitating for him. So back to the docs for some more antibiotics! I just hate having to feed the kids antibiotics, but there was no other choice this time.
So with the Doctors all done, we head off to the Chemist, and Tully decides he would feel better if we went to Nan and Pa's... Ran into our lovely friend at the Chemist and had some much needed chit chat, off to the bakery and then to Nan's...
Saw Auntie Vik and her horse Dolly, which was nice and Tully was a wonderful help for her. He also got to see Pa's 6 piglets and Doris the mama pig... Wow they are growing so fast! So back to school to get the kiddies and home again, home again jiggity jig!
I have no idea where all the time goes, but I must have sprung a leak somewhere, cos' I seem to be losing hours each day...
And so the roller coaster will take it's next passengers tomorrow...
Tootles X

how much coffee is really consumed?...

I have no idea how many coffees in one day that I really make or drink for that matter??? I find myself making a cup, getting side tracked, re-heating it and then getting side tracked and then tipping it down the sink.... Is this normal?? I hear you say, "yep I do that too". I am hearing you say that aren't I??? I have already done that about 3 times today... and then there is a rush on requests for hot chocolates, alright I will stop now, but I just thought I would put it out there... Cuppa anyone? lol

day to day...

I really should not be sitting here tapping away on the keyboard, when the sun is shining so brightly outside!! But I have a new toy, called a laptop, and it's the first one I have ever owned, so it's all fun and exciting!
Kids have been a little snotty of late and Tully has a shocking cough, but it seems to be getting better.. Dusty is still amazing me with how Sweet he is... He is rolling over all the time now and is trying to eat everything in sight, particularly his toes. LOVE. Lillie is preparing to do her Reconciliation and is very excited to be a part of it all. Claye is settling back into School and seems to have made some nice new friends... Cors, well actually Cory is fast asleep on the couch and snoring his head off!!!! Me, on the other hand is feeling exhausted with all the things we have going on right now... Our house is only a matter of weeks away from being complete, so trying to arrange all of the final things is tedious and time consuming..... After much deliberation we have decided to Baptise all of the kiddies, so the 13th of March it is... Reconciliation for Lil, and workshops is the 31st March.... This date is also my beautiful but snoring husbands and my 10th wedding anniversary, so I must plan something nice to do together to celebrate!! And to fit in Dancing classes, Ballet, Tap and Jaz to be precise, swimming lessons for the 3 older kids and health centre visits.... arghhhh busy times...
Finally last night I downloaded Skye and spoke with our gorgeous niece Maddison who has been in France for 1 month on Saturday, so she tells me... Poor kid is struggling with the language and difference in culture, not to mention homesickness right now! But is was lovely to see her last night. My lovely friend Casey is emailing her weekly which I just found out, so that is very sweet! You have got to love a good mate.
I have so much in my head that I have forgotten what I was typing about......
Well I hear my little man waking, so its off to get some lovin', Dusty that is, just read that sentence and it sounded not quite right knowing that I had mentioned that Cory was asleep too!! he he he  OK so I really had better go as Tully has found his favourite thing also by the sounds of things...... WATER!!
Love & Bliss for this sun shiny day! XO

date day...

Well maybe not date day all day, but went out for lunch with my beautiful husband and Dusty. LOVE. The sun has been shining and the skies are blue, could not really ask for much more. Lillie started back at Ballet after 2 years off and is absolutely loving it, but the commitment, well I am not so sure if I am crazy or what's up there. It's 3 hours a week! Add that to swimming lessons for all and then Nippers... Funny too, because I am not a believer in too many extra curricular activities, but hey when they love it, they love it, and when they are happy, so are we!
Claye has no additional activities right now other than swimming and Nippers, but he has been so delightful over the last couple of months. Just tonight he cleaned up all of the dishes after dinner and then cleaned down the table and put away our washing, all without being asked, such a refreshing change from being a nagging Mama. Well got to rush, have 3 asleep and am off for a walk in the beautiful night air...

just today...

For the 1st time in 7 weeks, I spent the day with my beautiful baby boy Dusty! It was just bliss and so is he. He is at the most wonderful age, interacting with the family in his own way, giggling and smiling... Oh and that smile, it's amazing how a smile from your own baby can reduce you to tears in an instant... I love it how he gazes into my eyes, his eyes light up and his whole chubby cheeked face smiles... LOVE
I will never grow tired of looking at my childrens' eyes, so full of mischief and wonder, just so lucky to be chosen as their Mama!
Today I surrendered to some much needed R & R with my smallest boy!

raising of the sweetest kind...

It's funny how your day can go as a busy Mama of 4 young children. Today was no stand out day really, took Dusty to the health centre, and as we expected, doing great and growing like a little mushroom, well not long with an overhanging head, but you know what I mean. Then Tully off to Kinder, and then home again. Cory sleeps as we go about our duties... Today's duty was to make some delicious berry and banana smoothies and then heading out to the shops to buy 2 new camping chairs and a sun shelter... The kids have made we want to cry with the sweet things they say and do, but also made me want to head for the hills to find some kind of peace... they can do that my kids, but I guess that thing that keeps me going, is knowing that I am doing my best to raise happy, healthy and compassionate beings! I have decided to introduce some sweet and hopefully not too many sour moments from our days!

Sweet - Claye hugs me and tells me not to be sad about Maddison leaving, and tells me, "she is a big girl and will be fine once she knows where she is going, but it may take her a few times to get used to it".

And he is right in his own little way.
So dinners done, baths are well underway, and Dadda works tonight, so we look forward to a cuddle from him in the morning. Love
Sometimes I have to sit back and see what I have before me, to see the beauty in each of our little creations.

today I shed a little tear... but smirked a little smile too...

Today at 4.45pm my eldest and dearest niece headed on a plane all alone to France.... She will live there for 44 weeks with another family, whom we have never met... I have been dreading this day for weeks, even though I know she will be fine, I cannot help but feel sad to not have her around... Bon Voyage beautiful girl, experience what ever it is you need! XO

2011 will bring...

a new home for us all... Lilla will be in grade 3, Claye will go into grade 1, Tully will be doing 3 year old Kinder, Maddy will be in France, Cory will progress from trainee to Tech 1, and I, well I am supposed to give up my day job as Mama bear and head back to paid work?? Let's see about that! Dusty will turn 1, My big Sis will turn 40, and we will all Love and be loved! XO

dusty elroy hick in progress...

What a little ripper he is, such a joy to be around, he is already 4 months old and smiling and laughing and already such an important part of our family... I just love watching the kids playing with him and hearing his sweet new laugh come roaring from his little belly... Lillie and Claye take the role of big brother and sister very importantly and I can see it's quite a competition to get the best laughs from him. Tully on the other hand is the protector, he likes to inform everyone that he is our baby, and not yours... he he... He quite often asks "when will he be big enough to play with me?" Soon swet boy, soon! Actually far too soon really, I am just loving the baby phase yet again, it's such a joyous and special time, but it really does fly! For this minute though, our house is quiet and all our babies are fast asleep... ZZZZZ

oh my googy eye...

My sweet little Tully says to me, "Mum, I have googy eyes". I said, "you have a googy eye?, what do you mean by that?, is it itchy or goopy?", to which he replies, "No, it's just googy." Then I noticed that the sun was shining in his eyes, and I said, "Oh, you mean you have watery eyes from the sun shining in them." to which he replies, "Yeah, these ones are watery, you need to get me some new ones." Oh you super cute little human being, how I love your innocence... There really is not a day goes by that you do not hear something so adorable that it melts your heart, being a Mother is a true blessing XO

the progression of crestwood...

OK, so with 17 weeks past since we commenced building, we have most of our home complete! Hooray you here me scream!!!!! Well we are at lock up, mostly painted, kitchen in, bathroom cabinetry installed, laundry cabinetry installed and fireplace was done today.... sounding promising to be in within the next 4 weeks one would think, but we are told possibly April??? I guess when you have waited this long, what's another gazillion weeks.. It's looking good, which is nice to say, because choosing a house from small colour samples and swatches is kinda tricky... the internal paint colour is Dulux Stowe White, with Vivid White ceilings and architraves, I guess I am telling you that so that I can always look back here if I ever need to remember... The external paint is Dulux Kahlua Milk and Vivid White, with Boral Brown Terrain brickwork, but I think we will render all the brickwork that is visible from the street??? Windows are aluminium and powder coated in White, roof and gutters are Colorbond Woodland Grey, with Colorbond Surfmist fascia and downpipes... We have Boral Silkwood timber flooring throughout 90% of the house in a timber named Tallowood and we chose rough grade so you can see the flaws that would occur naturally in a tree, it's an Australian hardwood, so we didn't go hacking into some superb rain forest somewhere exotic! It's quite tricky starting from scratch, particularly the landscaping layout... we have chosen where we will concrete and had some quotes, and Cory has drawn some garden layouts that are looking good... I really want somewhere secret and special for the kids to run and hide and play, so I am thinking of growing a hedge and putting a door into another section of the garden so that it creates a bit more interest and allows the kids their own personal space.. I am saying a flying fox would be awesome or a really cool tree house, but we will have to wait and see. It might be a bit of watch this space I think.. well that's it for now... night night

44 weeks until we can squeeze our beautiful niece again...

After many failed attempts our very sweet niece will board a plane to France at 16.45 on Friday 28th January 2011, yes that is tomorrow.... I am feeling pretty sad after saying my see you soon's, but excited at the thought that she will have an amazing experience and will return all the better for it... not that she is not perfect now might i add!!!!! It's crazy really how fast the time will go and her host family whom we are in contact with on facebook, seem very nice and speak some English which I am sure will make all the difference in the beginning.. I just love her as though she were my own, and want to be there to ensure she gets all the right flights and trains, and gets off OK too but that's not going to happen now is it..... Life goes too fast, where did 15 years go? I cannot even begin to imagine how I would be if Lilla, Claye, Tully or Dusty wanted to experience such a thing.... crying hopelessly I'm sure. It is true what they say, we only hold their hands for a while but their hearts forever! So to our darling Maddison Jade, sweetheart, I will be thinking of you always...

the making of crestwood........

Should I sit here and tell you about the journey of crestwood?, or I just fill you in from here?........ So from here on it is! Well to date we have a site cut and some plumbing and that is about it!! Not sure exactly, but apparently something happened with the cut, and now there is too much fill, so they had to get the engineer to recheck the load bearing wall.... ramble ramble..... They are saying a slab for Friday, but with no tradesman in sight I am thinking not.... I am sure you know how keen we are to have this house, so if we could all just channel Ley Ley and say Come on house, that would be awesome!! Again will get some pics soon

introducing dusty elroy hick......

On the 15th Spetember at 13.13 we welcomed a very special new little man into our family!! He will be known as Dusty Elroy Hick, he weighed 9lb 4oz and was 56cm long..... He looks like, ummm..... well he looks like all the other kids, and just perfect to us!! He is fitting in nicely at home and is a very popular little person right now with Lilla, Claye and Tully, who are all needing cuddles! I have been very absent from here, I know, but I promise I will try to update more frequently! And I will definately post some pics too! Love to you all XXXXXX

where have you been?