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?

pics of Claye

introducing claye heywood hick.......

I can still recall that new baby smell. Not even 1 day old and look at the size of those cheeks.

Claye was born on the 18th October 2004, weighing 9lb 13oz..... Our new little angel, just a chubby little cuddle sack, just starving too & that hasn't changed.. He was tricky as a bub, because he had reflux & no amount of chamomile tea was going to help, but thankfully for him, that only lasted 3-4 months and we all survived..He is just Divine, so compassionate & kind and brings a tear to my eye I think every single day with his sweetness. I feel so very proud of him & the way he considers others. I guess if I could have one thing for my children, it is that, they grow to be kind & compassionate, but not walked on (sounds as though I am wanting a lot), but not really, happiness really is the most important thing. About my darling boy... well he is 4 now & very much a lad, he loved mess & dirt & farming.. Thankfully for us, my parents have some land & the kids get to see all sorts of things and experience life as many others could only dream. He is off to 4yo Kinder on Friday, but he is not too sure, he thinks it would be "Ok to stay with Mama, cos' we have fun too". and yes we do, but I have decided that he will enjoy it, once he settles, & i will be there to make sure he feels comfortable. Actually 4yo is a pain in the neck really, so much too-ing & fro-ing, I can see why the kids find it hard to get comfortable. Our Kinder is just the way I like it, we have a veggie garden with 4 child made scarecrows, many chooks & there is always a koala or two dropping by for a visit. The gardens & dry riverbed were created by the children & the huge mosaic that sits proudly on the outside wall, was also loving handcrafted by past children. So I guess as far as Kinder's go, it's a goodie!!

Claye is so appealing, everywhere we go, people fall instantly in love & why wouldn't they, I feel so lucky that he chose us for his Mama & Dada.. lol xo

Just fed, thank you Mama, but i need a nap!

Everyone told me that babies don't usually smile until about 5 weeks, but I believe that happy babies smile on the inside!!Very proud big sis, and if I recall, he sometimes received a little too much attention.

Great Grandma Dordy

How we do love a day at the park, we think Mama loves the swings the most!!

what will be will be

Strange how life goes really. Today I received two lots of news, one just amazingly great & one just so tragic. The world really does work in mysterious ways, and I know that they say when one person enters the world another leaves, in this case it is true..

My family however are all well & happy. I worked today away from home, so it was lovely to see 3 smiling faces on my return, wet hair & sun drenched, apparently Dada had taken them swimming all day. I might just ad, that all 3 of our children have a very fond love of water.. must take after Dada. Work was rather painful today, but it seems distant really as there was a bath to be had (how long can I fit all 3 in one bath for?) dinner time is done, more friendship bracelets were made & a story was read, but not by Mama..... tonight Lillie was the story teller, & she decided to read a story that she enjoys to us... amazing reading for a 6 year old might I say. I am making the most of tomorrow with the kids, but 41 degrees is very hot for young skin, so craft might be on the cards... hmmm not sure yet though.

Sleep well. xo

I am no genious with the camera

I guess you had already noticed this, but hey if you knew everything, would you give up the will to learn??

after dinner dresses

I have a new project to begin tonight, so we are very excited about the new fabric in our house. I sense a dress for Miss L and some cool summer shorts for the boys, well the little boys that is. May not have much time to write today for the sewing awaits..

Quick update & the dress is complete, guess the shorts will have to be Australia Day shorts... sleep well, I sure will xo

Some dresses for my summer lovin' Lil..

more pics of Lilla..

I know that I am racing through the years a little , but my intention was to create a journey in time, not in memory, so lets see how that pans out.... my intentions are always good, but some days don't quite have the 24 hours in them they are supposed to. lol

a special email I received from my mama

BEFORE I WAS A MUM

Before I was a Mum.....

I slept as late as I wanted

I never worried about how late I got into bed

I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday

Before I was a Mum.....

I cleaned my house each day

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a nursery rhyme

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous

I never thought about immunizations

Before I was a Mum.....

I had never been spewed on

Poohed on

Spat on

Chewed on

Peed on

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts

I slept all night

Before I was a Mum.....

I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests

Or give an injection

I never looked into teary eyes and cried

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep

Before I was a Mum.....

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much

I never knew that I could love someone so much

I never knew I would love being a Mum

Before I was a Mum.....

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby

I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy

Before I was a Mum.....

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mum

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mum

And before I became Nanna.....

I didn't know that all those 'Mum' feelings more than doubled!

mama's day

Peaceful Saturday for Mama. Good company, great coffee, stories with friends, lots of snuggles, fleeting thoughts of new sewing projects, the thought of Miss L returning to school (not so great) and updating my days events in my new found friend of this blog.

A must to share with you from Claye, darling boy is going to bed & says "Mama you forgot my cherry map", silly Mama...... that would be his Gerry mat, but I didn't have the heart to tell him. Such a sweet lil' boy, so loving and kind, makes me so very proud............ He is of solid build, but today when we were at the supermarket, he wanted to be carried, so I snuggled him up on to the front of me, kind of like a forwards piggy back, holding his little bottom in my hands, and for 15 minutes I carried him around, he kept kissing me & telling me that he loved me, I did not want that time to end, but when he felt right, he left my arms and ran riot around the isles..... I only hope I can still carry him at 102.. You know those Mama moments that are nothing to someone else, but fingerprint your soul......

It's quiet in our home tonight with tired eyes a sleeping, Goodnight, sleep tight, Love & sunny shining bright xo

P.S I have not forgotten ~ I will introduce the rest of my family to you soon. lol