my5bratz

The last 3 months of 2011

2012-01-05T13:43:00.000+11:00

October found us going back to Wollar for one last time and having a bonfire at the property and briefly getting to see the girls on our way home. Brent got jumped by some guy he didn't know and ended up in hospital overnight and Brooke got to meet Chopper Reid. Halloween was good this year with Kym taking Tori to St Marys so she could trick or treat with Julie and Co and we also took Ashley trick or treating around our neighbourhood. Tori had lots of fun with Kane and Lilljana at Build-a-Bear for Lillijana's birthday. Family fun found us at Dad's birthday, the park, at Cables and another fab day out boating with the Gatts :)

November found Kym, Tori and I having a great day out- checking out the new Ikea at Tempe, then to the beach at La Perouse and finally to Port Botany to watch the planes landing. Kym had his 45th birthday. We got to meet Jaiden :) Tori had fun in friends pools and I had some great girls time with Sarah. Tori got the day off school for Melbourne Cup day and along with Brooke we spent the day at the Pioneer with Sarah & Lillijana to watch the races. Brent had a job trial which sadly didnt work out but all is not lost and he's back with Kym at work. And last but not least was my wonderful school reunion which I was really nervous about but has a BLAST!!! Cobby, Sharon and Anne all stayed the nite at mine and we were all up til 4am talking! Was WONDERFUL to see my "sistah from another mistah" and I was soooooo sad to see her go.

December was extremely busy as usual.. We got a wonderful overnight visit from 2 of my brothers, Dane and Jake. Tori was really busy at school the last month as Class Gold ran the school assembly, they had Funky Fete Day, Christmas Disco, she won a prize at Red Faces, they had a picnic day and she also won an award at Presentation Day :) Lots of fun with Santas helpers leading up to Christmas Day and lots of Christmas Crafts and baking . We had a great day at the 2010 Class Gold Christmas party at Jackii's again and of course the wonderful Carols by Candlelight. Kym ripped up the kitchen tiles, Tori and I went to the park with the McCalls, and caught up with Rene and Jodie & co a few times. Spent several days getting personalised coke cans, watched Sharni get inked, went to Sarah's dress fitting, to name but a few things we did this month.

And I thought Christmas Day was soooo fab that it deserved its own collage. Just spent the day at home with family. Went across to mum's for an hour or so as Nan was there and she hasn't gotten to see the kids for a while.

Looking back on all the fab things that happened in 2011 and looking forward to 2012 :)

:'(

2012-01-05T13:37:00.001+11:00

So end of last year I discovered that when Google + merged with Picasa they obliterated photos off thousands if not MILLIONS of peoples blogs.. mine included :'( I had put off trying to fix it because it was just SO depressing as that was almost 4 years of work. Well this morning I FINALLY sat down to do it and realised what a mammoth task it was. At times I was tempted just to delete the bl**dy thing and start afresh but I persisted. I started reuploading all the photos for my posts on my craft blog and after doing just one years worth in the end I bit the bullet and ended up culling a LOT of posts (from 400 odd to exactly 100!!) 2011 posts have the photos but ones from previous years dont and I only kept the posts with important info like getting on DTs etc. Im not sure what to do about my personal blog as Id like to keep it because it has a lot of info of things we have done over the past 4 years but don't know if I am quite up to reuploading all those photos too yet :/

Another 3 months..

2011-10-11T12:59:00.002+11:00

have gone by so it is time to update the old family blog. It often feels like we are just doing the same thing day in and day out so it is good to look back and see we do have a life, lol

July- saw Kym and I go 10 pin bowling with Ashlee, Sharni & Tori, Tori got her Silver Award at school, Kym and I went back to Wollar for a day trip and took Brooke, Tori & Brianna, Tori and I went to Featherdale Wildlife Park with Lillijana and Sarah, we brought a new TV and Brooke celebrated her 19th birthday.

August found Kym's brother Rene back in our lives after many years so there was a lot of weekends spent together. We also had a lovely day out on the river with our wonderful neighbours on their boat. Went to dinner for Paigeand a BBQ for Rene to celebrate their birthdays. Tori had both Education Week and Book Week at school as well as her sports carnival. We went to Gulgong to see Maddison and Lily after dropping in to see Kris and meet his new girlfriend Adi and her son Drayden. I put my hand through Brooke's window and we repainted the loungeroom and pulled the carpet up.

September was also a busy birthday month with Tori turning 7 (dinner at Hogs Breath), Brent 17 (dinner at the Colonial) and a masquerade party for Paige's 21st. Mitch also came home and stayed with us for a week til him & Brooke broke up but before that we went for a lovely dinner at Brooke's work. More assembly and awards for Tori at school. The the first week of the school holidays found us at the Smurfs live. Dr reopened my finger after test revealed there was still glass in it :( Went out for the day with Rene and co to a car show, Cables then dinner at the Colo. Kym and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary. Tori had fun on the Dingo when Kym brought it home to do some work and last but not least, Fathers Day :0)

Life is ticking along relatively smoothly for the most part. The kids are all getting way too big waay too fast but Im happy that we get to spend time together still.

I LOVE my family xoxox

Time for a catch up

2011-07-31T10:53:00.003+10:00

Life has been hectic to say the least and it has been MONTHS since Ive updated..

April- Easter time and Tori had a ball with a parade at school, a win in the raffle and the bunny's Treasure Hunt. Family wise we had lunch in the park, went to Mia's baptism, the girls and I had lunch at Werrington Lakes and I finally got to meet my sister-in-law and niece when Zeke brought them up for a day trip. Brent took Tori and I out to dinner and later Tori and I went with Julie to the airport to pick up her kids and we also got to meet the wonderful Thye. Tori got a bronze award from school. I had another Girls Night out this time to Teppanyaki at Emu Plains and we went again as a couple with Julie & the rest of her clan.

May- We went to the Hawkesbury Show with Brent and Tori.

It was also Mothers Day and went went to Sizzler for dinner. Went to Wollar to do some MORE emptying of the property and dropped in to see Kris and the girls on the way home. Brent has been working with Kym and he brought himself a motorbike. Won another game of Unreal Golf. Tori was invited to Kane's birthday party at Kidabout and I FINALLY got to hold Thye when he finally came home from hospital. I got reading glasses.

June- Brent did his upright course and passed for his motorbike licence. Another visit to see Kris and the girls. Spent the day with Sharni. Brought a new lounge at long last.

This is just a snipit of our life which at time's seems VERY hectic and at other times seems to crawl along.

I LOVE my family :0)

Family Update

2011-04-14T09:56:00.001+10:00

I'm updating my craft blog all the time and yesterday I looked across and noticed it had been MONTHS since I was on here sp I thought I better update. No, I'm not going to post TONS of photos just a STACK of collages..lol

Still in 2010..

We managed to have a wonderful family dinner with EVERYONE whilst the in-laws were visiting. These are the small blassings I am grateful for..

I also managed to get photos of the FAB FIVE as well as the new additions to our family :0)

Then we jump to 2011 and January found a few family memories..

We had Mum and Dad, and Natalie, Scott and Annalise over to help me celebrate my birthday.. Then I managed to win a family pass to Unreal Mini Golf and Natalie and Annalise came along with us for lots of fun and laughter.. Australia Day found us celebrating with Dean and Josie at their house.Was wonderful to have ALL the family there. The next day I had to drop Brent up the coast for work so Tori and I took the opportunity to go to the Entrance. She had a ball swimming in the surf and the waterpark as well as watching the pelicans getting fed..

February was a fairly quiet month but I did manage to go out for a Girls Night Out with some of the fab mums I've made friends with from Tori's school, as well as Cathy's baby shower and Clawdia had 2 kittens.

March was busy again but two of the highlights were..

Natalie's 30th birthday at Mum & Dad's. I managed to get away for the weekend with the wonderful friends I made through Playvan, Kerrie and Francis (Thanks to Kerrie for providing her van :0)

It's times like these I reflect back and think my life's not sooo bad. I'm extremely grateful that I've managed to spend so much time with family and friends...

Here's to the rest of my wonderful life, thanks for dropping by :0)

Christmas Day

2010-12-26T15:19:00.000+11:00

First Christmas in ages we had all the family together for christmas dinner...best gift EVER!!!

Tori and Annalise Christmas Photos

2010-12-26T14:45:00.001+11:00

Here's a couple of photos I took of my youngest daughter Tori and my niece Annalise that I am going to make snowglobes out of for my sister and mum...

Hope that you all had a wonderful Xmas and that 2011 brings you all you could wish for...

Updates

2010-11-08T18:15:00.001+11:00

well what has happened since my last update???

LOADS but here's just a few tidbits...

Brooke has graduated from Year 12 and Tori and I went to the ballet

Halloween.. we celebrated our first Halloween where we actually had trick or treaters coming to the door and Tori could trick or treat around our own neighbours... the joys of living in suburbia again, lol

My Baby's Babies

2010-10-17T10:04:00.001+11:00

since moving in to our house we haven't been up to much as everyone's been sick. I had a chest infection/athsma THREE times (thankfully got the all clear on pneumonia & whooping cough), Tori an ear infection and Brooke was at one stage thought to have glandular fever but ended up a REALLY bad case of tonsillitis. Hopefully all that is behind us now but a highlight was that me and my girls, got to spend a week with Kris and his girls. The girls are getting sooo big and I wish they lived closer so we could see them more often. The best part is now Maddy is older she remembers us between visits and runs up yelling "Mim, Mim" (worst part is when she rings crying coz she wants to come to our house :( We still have to empty our "country" house so hopefully more visits in the not too distant future..

I Love you guys :0x

We're In....

2010-08-18T17:43:00.001+10:00

...our new house that is..

STILL trying to get this "quick" settlement done on the sale of our other house but the contracts still aren't right and we won't sign until they are.

Everyone has settled in here well besides me being sick for WEEKS and then the kids, the house is starting to take shape and will be good when the sale goes thru and we can do some painting and buy some new furniture.

Have had Kris and the girls down for 2 visits since we moved and is great for them to have their own room to sleep in.

All in all, everything is going well...

Bout Time for an Update

2010-06-03T20:09:00.001+10:00

I haven't updated he family blog for a while so I thought I'd better update with a few things we have been up to...

Kym was working at Taronga Zoo so we got snuck in to have a look at the new baby elephant and had a fab couple of hours (despite the rain)

We also got to go to the Medieval Fayre again and watch the jousting. After Tori being terrified when she saw a basket of (fake) decapitated heads and hating the first hour or so there, we all had a fun day...

While there I managed to get some good photos of the family....

We've also had Anzac Day but I thought I've inundated you with enough photos of Brent in uniform..lol Over the last couple of months I've been fortunate enough to have spent time with all the family..

and lastly, after looking at 33 houses we found a house and we are now new home owners...(we are also in the process of selling our house to a coal mine so we now have 2 houses to pack into one)

Canberra Getaway

2010-01-25T19:02:00.001+11:00

We managed to get away to Canberra for a few days and had a BLAST visiting the Dinosaur Museum, the National Mint, Questacon and the War Memorial (where we spent 7 hours and Brent could have stayed 7 more..lol)

Family Foto Updates

2010-01-13T11:11:00.001+11:00

time to update some family photos on here...

My Babies...

and the long awaited arrival of the newest addition to our family, Miss Lily Ann...born 11th January 2010, weighing 7lb2oz, 56 cms long....congrats Kris and Kate, she's beautiful....

Close Call

2009-10-14T09:08:00.004+11:00

Had a bit of a scare here yesterday, was sitting watching TV and could smell smoke for a while, which isn't a strange thing down here and Tori ran in and said "Fire Mummy" to which I calmly replied "yeah I know" until she put out her hand and said "Come look" and yes there was a fire in the paddock next door to us. The winds were EXTREMLY high and blowing towards our house so I was a "little" panicked..until I noticed it already burnt through the fence and was getting close to the driveway..and the neighbours house..I ran down to see if they had anymore hoses but they were sorted as a passerby had stopped to help so I ran back to our house to ring 000 and get our hose out... Long story short 5 firetrucks later the fire was out and everyone/thing was safe..I got some photos but only after everything was settling down...I felt a bit funny last night but I think it was a combination smoke inhalation, ODing on my ventalin and shock...So Spring is here and the bushfire season is up and running with predictions it will be worse than last year :0(

I'd LOVE to cut the 5 acre paddock right next to our house but don't feel like doing it with the push mower..lol

Our 20th Wedding Anniversary

2009-10-01T12:02:00.001+10:00

Hard to believe but yesterday was our 20th Wedding Anniversary...

The day started off well with 20 red roses being delivered to my door (though Tori was wondering why there was a strange man on the doorstep giving me flowers...lol

then Kym came home early from work and told me that I had to get dressed as we had to be in the city at 6.30...this jewellery was waiting for me when I went to get dressed..

then off we drove in to the city (with still no idea what was in store for me)...before we got out of the car I gave Kym his present from me. He wanted to see ACDC in concert so I brought him a DVD of a concert...with tickets to their Australian concert inside!!!

We ended up going to Sydney Tower Restuarant, what a view from the revolving restaurant!!!

All in all a great nite, I think this is only the 3rd time we have been out for our anniversary and it was a wonderful surprise that he organised all this for us....

Was a great nite, thanks Bo...

My Baby Boy is FIFTEEN!!!!

2009-09-25T09:33:00.002+10:00

WHOA!!!!! I need to slow things down a bit here...lol

Happy Birthday Brent!!!

Tori is FIVE!!!

2009-09-17T11:04:00.006+10:00

Hard to believe it but my baby turned FIVE yesterday!!

She had a MOSTLY wonderful day and was on cloud nine from the moment she woke up. She got a pretty bracelet from Brooke, then Daddy rang her from Wollongong, she then got to open her presents from us and Ash.

Da rang her and then it was off to Preschool (where she had her first cake)

She had a pleasant surprise when she got home from school and found these balloons waiting for her...

She is LOVING Ash at the moment as he made all her cakes today. These were two yummy mudcakes he made, a big one for all the family and a little one just for Tori... she is also looking forward to having a cake at Playgroup tomorrow and Daddy bringing an icecream cake home with him on Friday!!!

Nan also rang for her birthday and she is OVER THE MOON that Grandma and Nan n Pop Christiansen sent her money and keeps checking it's still in her wallet..lol

Onto the only sad part of the day, just after she had her cake, she went into the bathroom to wash her face and slipped and hit her head on the edge of the bath...I think she had the HUGEST egg I have ever felt on the back of her head and it was a sad end to a fab day. The good news is that today she still has a bump on her head but nowhere near as scary and the first thing she said when she woke up is... "I'm still 5"!!!!!...lol

Brooke's Broke

2009-09-01T09:17:00.000+10:00

Well 3 of her toes are..lol

Saturday night she was mucking around with Tori and kicked the door...after seeing they were bleeding and sitting at a funny angle I rushed her off to the Drs and none were open so with dread we headed up to the emergency ward. We arrived about 6.30pm and when the nurse saw her foot she thought she thought maybe there was a dislocation and we were added to the "fasttrack" pile. 8.30 she got x-rayed, about 11.30 I was told there was still 6 people in front of her, at 12 we were told most of the Drs go home, at about 3.30 we were taken in to be looked at and she was finally put in a temporary cast at 4.30am!!!

Apparently after 12 there is no fastrack and we went into a pile of 40 instead of 6...but there were people waiting 6, 7 or 8 hours just to be xrayed. There was a 3 year old girl vomiting blood who was told 10 hours..thankfully it wasn't that long, people started giving up and going home around 1 or 2..when we got in we were told there was a guy who got hit by a train and just the bone dr alone spent 6 hours working on him and thats why they were so far behind..so maybe we were "lucky" it was ONLY 10 hours!!!

Anyway, yesterday we took her to the local doctor to get her full cast on. The first one had no support around the toes and the nurse had the nerve to get the s***s when I pointed out..her toes are broken, they need support...DUH!!! so off that one came and she put another one on. We were home for about an hour and noticed a crack around her ankle, rang the Dr and she said to come in tomorrow. Apparently, she wants us to complain to the Director so the nurse can get fired..but Brooke doesn't want that to happen!! Long story short, I have to go there today so I can get the referral letter from the hospital and Im going to take her to yet another Drs to get yet another cast!!!! as it has to be on 6-8 weeks and I don't think this one will last that long (it has cracked all the way around and the two halves move seperately!!)

Anyway, enough complaining..Brooke had 2 days off and wanted to go to school today..they have exams soon and she doesn't want to miss anything important..

Time for a Family Update

2009-08-21T14:18:00.005+10:00

Whats been happening in the Wonderful (?) World of Christiansen???

Kristopher turned 22 and we got to spend the day with him, Kate and Maddison (isn't she GORGEOUS...lol)
Kris and Kate are expecting another baby but are sadly no longer together
Ashlee has been working away in Woolongong with Kym for the last 3 weeks and is off for his 2nd Navy interview next week to become a Marine Technician
that's him jumping on the new trampoline and NO he's crack's not out on display, just looks like it...lol
Brooke celebrated her 17th birthday
Brent got a promotion at Cadets and is now a Lance Corporal
He also participated in services for Long Tan last weekend (for Vietnam Veterans Day)
Tori is LOVING preschool and having LOTS of fun with her new friends
We got a new kitten which we named Tilly (the poor thing is still waiting for the novelty to wear off with Tori so she can get 5 minutes peace ;0)
We had a hot air balloon land in the paddock next door

Apart from that it's just the same old, same old...

Hope this finds you and yours well and happy, thanks for dropping by :0)

Dean and Josie's Wedding

2009-05-16T10:00:00.008+10:00

Yesterday was our nephew Dean's wedding to Josie. It was in the beautiful setting of Berowa Waters and was a GORGEOUS ceremony. I especially loved the part where Dean and Josie's daughters said their own "vows" to each other and when Dean sang to Josie. I wish them all a lifetime of love and happiness.

Hawkesbury Show

2009-05-16T09:44:00.005+10:00

In my last post I mentioned that we went to the show after we came back from the coast, so I thought I'd better some photos I took whilst there

Day Trip To the Coast

2009-05-09T15:48:00.005+10:00

Last weekend Kym had to go drop off a part to Kangaroo Valley Power Station so we came along for the drive. (photo is of fog in the valley as we came down the mountain)

Afterwards we went to Nowra and grabbed some breakfast and took the Ocean Road from the beginning and dropped in to Kiama to see if the blowhole was "blowing"

Brent and his mate Tim, went for a walk along the rocks and were surprised to come across a seal having a sunbake.

These are some fab photos Brent took (he got a lot closer than me with my zoom lens..lol)

On the way home we stop in at Sizzler for lunch...yummo and afterwards, we went home and dropped Kym off, then the kids and I went to the Hawkesbury Show. It was a fab day :0)

Anzac Day 2009

2009-04-26T15:25:00.001+10:00

Had a fantastic but extremely moving and tiring day.

We were up about 3.30am as Brent participated in Dawn service again this year and he also went into Sydney and participated in the big March there. I was EXTREMELY proud to see Brent got to hold the banner and I had no idea just how big this event was until we got in there, and until we followed him around for his second lap...he did over 10kms...in army boots...OUCH!!! The whole parade takes around 7 hours but was fantastic...as Im growing older Im getting more patriotic and am moved more by these events...so sad to see so few of the old diggers and how frail they are..

After the parade was finished and we were all a little tired we headed back to Darling Harbour where our car was parked, and decided on a "quick" visit to the Maritime Museum. After a couple of hours we all felt it was time to head home..with a quick stop in to Hogs Breath Cafe for a yummy dinner.

We (well me and Brent) were falling asleep in front of the tele so we all headed off to bed about 10pm and have woken up today all looking like zombies from "The Day of the Dead"..lol

An Update

2009-04-24T10:01:00.004+10:00

I thought that it was time that I update with the family news but didnt want to bore you with loads of photos...The last couple of months has found us..

* Day Trip to Wottamulla Beach

* Kids back to school (Brooke left her fulltime job and went back to Year 11! and Tori started Precshool)

* Ashlee turned 18

* Both Ashlee and Kym brought new cars (Kym traded in his motorbike!!!)

* Day Trip to Grand Pacific Drive

* Maddison and Kris came for a visit (well Kris lived with us for a month but thats a LOOONG story..lol)

* Easter

*Anzac Day

Didn't think we've been busy..until I looked at the photos...lol

Pelican Feeding at the Entrance

2009-01-29T20:25:00.021+11:00

We were lucky enough to get to see the pelican's getting fed when we were at the Entrance recently. It was a fantastic experience for the kids (and us) to hear all the information and see these beauties up close. I marvelled at how "polite" they were moving out of the way once they had a fish so the next in "line" could get one :0)

If you look closely you you can see a fish in the bill of the pelican walking away!!

Fun on the Coast

2009-01-18T20:27:00.007+11:00

Just as everybody's holidays are coming to an end, we got to spend a couple of days on the coast with my bestest gal pal Christina and her family, who I've missed like mad since we moved down here. I must say it's lots of fun when we get together coz even tho our oldest 2 are out of the nest..when we get together there are still 10 kids between us!!!

Thursday found us all at The Entrance and we had a great couple of hours on the beach before we had to sadly part ways

After having lunch and watching the Pelican Feeding (will post later) we all went our own ways. Hopefully it won't be another 22 months until we see each other again! And hopefully next time we wont end up sooooooooooo sunburnt...Im still BRIGHT red after 3 days!!!! :0(

New Years Eve/Day

2009-01-09T20:11:00.005+11:00

My dad and stepmum came to stay with us for a couple of days starting NYE and it was great to see them as it has been a couple of years since the last time.

Had a blast sitting on the verandah and watching the fireworks go off all over Sydney whilst playing with glowsticks and sparklers :)

I love these pic of Brent and Dad... and Brent's reaction to Dad clowning around and popping his teeth out...then Tori trying to get them out again...lol

A those of you who know me, know I was DREADING this birthday....but have discovered that being 40 is not as bad as I thought it would be....

Christmas Eve/Day

2009-01-09T19:59:00.002+11:00

Continuing the tradition of looking at lights on Christmas Eve we saw some beauties and the kids had a ball with the snow machine.

Brent and Tori also put out the Magic Reindeer Food that we made...so the reindeer's could find their way to our house ;0)

Christmas morning with my babies... this is what its all about :0)

The Greatest Gift

2008-12-24T10:36:00.003+11:00

Looking at my tree and all the presents underneath it I realise that all these "things" are nice but the greatest gift of all is love and FAMILY...mine sometimes brings me great sorrow but thankfully also tremendous joy.

From my family to yours at Christmas and All through the year...Love, Peace and Happiness

My Babies

2008-12-24T10:33:00.002+11:00

The photos I got today are sooooo much better than last years and there were so many other great ones that I could have got except the kids were cracking me up...I love my "babies"

My Boys

2008-12-24T10:29:00.003+11:00

I must be either feeling hormonal or sentimental...or both...all these photos are making me feel teary today

There were sooo many great photos I could have taken but I was laughing toooo much....LOVE these pics of "my boys"

Early Christmas

2008-12-24T09:44:00.004+11:00

Kris, Kate and Maddison dropped in for a couple of hours on Sunday so we had an early xmas with them and swapped some gifts.

This was the best gift I could have gotten to have all my family together, laughing and happy...is still bringing a tear to my eye now

Maddison's First Santa Letter

2008-12-12T18:44:00.001+11:00

I simply can't Rave enough about the Reindeer Barn.... everyone who has gotten a letter from there has commented how lovely it is and Maddison's honestly brought tears to my eyes...I just sent Santa a thank you letter I think he and his helpers at the barn are angels....

here's Maddy's letter...

Dear Maddison,

Over the mantle in our cozy little living room, Mrs. Claus and I have photographs of all the little boys and girls who are celebrating a first Christmas. There are thousands every year, but every single one holds a special place in our hearts. You see, Maddison, you represent the future of Christmas!

You're so lucky to be almost a whole year old. It means that you're big enough to be awake and aware, crawling about, playing with ribbons and bows, watching the lights on the tree, jabbering along to Christmas carols, sampling cookies and icing, and knowing - with all the excitement - that something special must be happening...

Christmas will be different for all those who love you, too. Your aunties, your uncles, your mim and pop, and most of all your mummy and daddy will be that much happier this year every time you smile!

Here at the North Pole, we're as busy as can be. Mrs. Claus has baked so many cookies that the kitchen is filled to the brim! (We're going to have to start putting some in the barn.) The reindeer are using their teeth to tie holly berries and ribbons and bells to their harnesses. The elves are painting and polishing the finishing touches on toys for every good boy and girl around the world. And one special elf - Sweetsparkle - spent most of the day today making toys for a very special girl named Maddison.

It hardly seems like a year or two ago that I was bringing toys to your mummy and daddy, and not long before that, it was your pop and mim. They were always so excited to open their stockings Christmas morning! I'm so very glad to have known your family, and someday, I'll get letters from your little ones, too.

Have a very merry Christmas, Maddison. I can't wait to see you... and to start the tradition of coming to see you every year!

Love Santa xox

Tuesday Playvan Christmas Party

2008-12-11T17:03:00.002+11:00

Tuesday was our Christmas Party for Playvan. Hard to believe another year has gone already. As I've said before Tori is REALLY loving Christmas this year and had a ball playing with her friends, doing some crafts and, of course, seeing Santa (and getting lollies from him!)

Ups and Downs

2008-12-11T16:58:00.003+11:00

Well last weekend certainly had its up and downs.

The Ups was getting to see Maddison, Kris and Kate (even tho it was only for a couple of hours)..she started crawling since we saw her a couple of weeks ago :0)

And the Downs? Having to do a round trip to Mudgee and back in 7 hours! Why? to pick Kym up after he swerved to miss a wombat and smashed the Kia...just waiting to hear if it's a write-off or not!

Emailing Santa

2008-12-11T16:47:00.003+11:00

Tori is getting right in to the Spirit of Christmas this year and is already at us to go driving and look at all the lights. Here she is getting ready to send off a letter to Santa with all her requests..which weren't that much actually....playdough and a new brabie (Ashlee broke the one she got for her birthday :0(..she also asked for beer for dad and chocolate for me and I must say I was soooooooooooooo impressed with the letter she received. If you haven't done so already, then check out http://www.thereindeerbarn.com/ I'm going to get one for Maddison ;0)

here's the letter she got back :0)
Dear Tori,
How are you, Tori? I was just talking to Mrs. Claus to see if she thought you would write this year. She said that you would of course, and she was right! I know you really must be very busy having started Kindygym AND becoming an Aunt to Maddison. That's all very hard work. Being a sister is hard work too. I'm very impressed with how you are growing up. Time is moving so fast for me that it just seems like yesterday you were a little bitty girl baby. Now, you are 4 years old. I suppose you'll start school soon.
I just looked on my Good Girl List and there was your name right near the top, under the C's! I'm very proud of you, you know. You do try to be really good. Let me see what presents you have asked for. Hmmmmm. A Barbie and some playdough. Do you know that you can mix some of the playdough colours together to make another different colour? I mashed up some red with blue and got purple. That was amazing! The only problem is that you can't unmix them. Once they're together that's what it will be so don't mix them all up or you'll have a really icky mess. I know! HO HO HO!!!
I love that you have asked for some lovely presents for daddy and mummy. Beer and chocolate. Quite a combination. I love chocolate too but I don't think I'd like it with beer. Maybe your daddy didn't think that he'd like to nibble on the chocolate. You'll have to ask him what he thinks about chocolate beer. How does that sound?
Rudolph and the other reindeer wanted me to thank you in advance for the food you said you might leave out for them. They do like a little bite after the long flight from here at the North Pole to the great land of Australia. I'd appreciate a sip of water too. It's thirsty work delivering all the presents. We go soooo fast that it blows the water right out of my eyes.
Well Tori, my dear, I have to go help the elves with the doll production now. One of the dolls came out of the dollmaker with three ears. We can't have that now, can we? I think someone was playing a joke. HO! HO! HO! I'll have to remind them how many ears we are supposed to have. Please tell Kris, Ashlee, Brent and Brooke (and Maddison) that I love them all and you too, of course!
Love Santa xox

Brent's Final Parade 2008

2008-12-11T16:36:00.002+11:00

Brent had his final cadet parade for the year on Saturday and as always, was a wonderful day (proud mumma alert..lol)

Kindergym Christmas

2008-12-11T16:26:00.003+11:00

Tori had her end of year presentation for Kindergym and had lots of fun getting her face painted and playing on the jumping castles and, of course, seeing Santa :0)

She was also extremely pleased that she got a "gold medal" and had to sleep with it and wear it constantly for the next few days :0)

Hard Drive Update

2008-12-08T16:46:00.001+11:00

the external hd is COMPLETELY stuffed...paid $160 to recover files from my laptop and ended up being just photos that are in "my photos"...complained went back and had a "deeper recovery" done and have spent the last coupla days trawling thru all the bits of cyber crap that go onto your machine while "surfing" (I didn't realiise how much bits of files go onto your hard drive...and how many HUNDREDS of DUPLICATES of the same crap!!!... it's going to take me FOREVER to search thru these files) So after going back to the shop 5 times in 6 days !!!! (doesn't that make for interesting journal in my December Daily Album!!! NOTTTT lol) I have found a few more photos than before but have realised i didnt ask to recover the videos...grrrr....

Hopefully now I have my laptop back I can update my blog though it's not our week (hubby smashed our car on the weekend...now THAT was a HARD DRIVE...lame joke)...Yes he's fine but it looks like the car might be a write off...and the wombat he swerved to avoid is doing fine too!!!!

Tho I did get to see Maddison again when I had to drive to Mudgee to pick him up..and she crawling....what a difference two weeks can make!! Thanks Kris and Kate for coming to the rescue, picking up Dad and "looking after him" for the nite...Love you guys :0) xoxo

Now Im Pissed

2008-12-04T09:22:00.000+11:00

I have been without my laptop and desktop for 3 days because they told me my harddrive was totally dead and unrecoverable but they would be able to retrieve 90% of my deleted photos from my laptop as it was what I originally downloaded the photos on to (well post my destructive restore in May) before transferring to my harddrive. Well... I got it back yesterday afternoon and spent hours last night going through the files and weeding out all the bits and pieces of photo crap that you get online, just to realise that all the photos they have "recovered" and put on disk are the ones that are still in folders on my laptop NOT ones that have been deleted....grrrrrrr

What a waste of 3 days and ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY DOLLARS (and to think they made me think I was getting a bargain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Devestated!!!

2008-11-28T19:48:00.001+11:00

No other word for it...my external Hard Drive has crashed taking all my family photos,,and my craft stuff...EVERYTHING!!! and I hadn't got around to back up this years files and only just moved across a couple of months worth of files as well as a heap of purchased robo and stamping files :0(

A Merry Christiansen Christmas

2008-11-22T23:24:00.002+11:00

I was originally going to try for a brady bunch like photo and have everyone looking in a different direction...but was lucky enough to get everyone to pose with a silly hat on...

Wishing you all a VERY merry Christmas :0)

Maddison's visit

2008-11-19T21:24:00.000+11:00

Sunday night Maddison, Kris and Kate arrived at our house to stay over for a few nights. We are looking forward to spending some time with all of them - and convincing them to move to Sydney..lol

Trick or Treat 08

2008-11-01T16:55:00.001+11:00

Trick or Treat time again and as Tori understood what it was about this year (lollies) all we kept hearing was "one more house"...lol. The funniest part tho was when someone opened the door to be greated by her yelling "chickaching"...lol

and yes...she changed her mind AGAIN about her outfit!!

Brooke didn't come trick or treating for us as she was waiting...and waiting.. at home for friends to come over for her "Sixteenth Spooktacular" not knowing that Brent had told someone at school that it may have been cancelled (I said that to Brooke the night before when she was in trouble). As a result of gossip spreading through school as it does (and instead of just ringing Brooke and asking her) four of her gf's didn't turn up :0( So not only did she miss out on trick or treating she also missed out on her party as only 2 gals ended up sleeping over instead of 6 :0(

Dress Rehearsal...Sneak Peek

2008-10-30T13:56:00.000+11:00

When I brought all the pirate stuff for Brent's birthday I knew what I wanted to dress Tori as for Halloween, but she wasn't having a bar of it...until Natalie brought the costume over on Saturday and then we couldn't get it off her. So come friday when we go trick or treating Tori will be a pirate...hook and parrot and all..lol

Playvan Farm

2008-10-30T13:36:00.004+11:00

Last week Tori was in heaven! Due to it being "Children's Week" Playvan provided the kids with lots of animals to squeeze and torment...lol

She had a ball and even though it looked like the guinea pig was going to be the winner again (or the loser depending on how you look at it!) the mice were her favourites this time around :0)

Port Kembla

2008-10-19T17:49:00.002+11:00

Looks like a luxury resort somewhere...I wish....but we did manage to get a day away from home as well as our first meal at Sizzler in nearly 3 years!!! All in all it was a great day and we all had a blast!

Marvellous Miss Maddison

2008-10-09T11:56:00.005+11:00

Sunday saw us doing a flying visit up home..the boys went straight out to Wollar to check the house and grab a few things, while us girls took a (not so) leisurely drive with Brooke at the wheel....

We all spent the night at Kris and Kate's and got to spend the day with them the next day as Kris wasn't working. It was wonderful just kicking back and relaxing as a whole family again (and I'm now kicking myself as I JUST realised I didn't take a family pic...grrr)

I miss them all sooooo much and wish petrol was cheaper and they were closer so we could see them all more often :0)

From La Perouse to Mudgee...

2008-10-04T21:35:00.006+10:00

Well last weekend found us at La Perouse at the beach..not surf like I like but it was really good for Tori even though the water was freezing! and of course when Brent saw the photos today..we have to go back...which we will, it was only a 45 minute drive which is about half as far as Wollongong where we normally go...great to get a dose of Vitamin D!

This weekend sees us heading up to Mudgee to visit with Kris, Kate and Maddison (and the boys will head on out to our place to do what needs to be done) ..Can't wait to see them as it's been about a month since we've seen the girls and a couple of months since we've seen Kris :0(

Watch Out World!

2008-10-04T14:00:00.003+10:00

Yup, it's time for everyone to get off the road! Brooke has gotten her L plates!

Congrats, Brooke :0)

Big Birthday Week

2008-09-25T09:57:00.007+10:00

Well the end of September is always a big week for us with Tori and Brent's birthdays only 5 days apart but this year was EXTRA big when the weekend found them both having 5 friends over for parties!

Tori's birthday was actually Tuesday and she got to have some cakes at Playvan with her friends as well as a YUMMY McDonalds icecream cake that night but she got to have her party on Sunday with all her friends coming over having fun playing games and smashing the pinata!

Brent's birthday was Sunday but had 5 mates come over on Saturday and they played army games, rode the motorbike and camped out.

I have to say 6 teenagers are MUCH louder than 6 toddlers..lol

I love, love, LOVE the picture of when Ashlee opened the boot of his car to show Brent his gift and the look of total surprise and amazement on Brent's face...I wish I had his reaction on video but it's etched in my brain..lol..he actually cried to think that his brother does like him after all....and by the way, it was an electric guitar!

Sweet 16

2008-07-29T09:12:00.004+10:00

Well hard to believe but Brooke is already 16! We had a family party at home and as they get to pick their birthday menu and she wanted a fondue we brought her her own set. A great night was had by all but she has had a tough week this week. After getting contact dermititis at work (Donut King) we were at the chemist waiting for her prescription and she was talking to everyone around her (as she normally does) when the boss came up to her and told her that she loved her personality and offered her a part-time job which Brooke accepted. After dropping her resume off the boss rang back and said she wanted her full-time and would she being willing to give up DK! She has been really torn as she has started a traineeship at DK and been told she will be up for assistant manager but then she was really tempted by the chemist job. After talking to the boss & manager at DK and being the loyalist she is I think she'll stay at there (hope it's the right decision)

What a Week..

2008-07-29T08:57:00.005+10:00

What a time for my camera (new) to die..

Recently I had my in-laws turn up from Queensland (who we haven't seen for a couple of years) and they brought Kym's aunt and cousin who are visiting from Denmark (who he hasn't seen his aunt in almost 40 years and never met his cousin) and they also brought another cousin Shelby who despite living about 10kms away the kids never see. (Funny side note- when Tori was told these girls were her cousins she said "NO, Annalise is my cousin" and wouldn't believe us she had more than one :0) )

Then Kristopher, Kate and Maddison came for a visit and we took her over to meet her aunty, and cousin and Grandad for the first time.

Then it was Brooke's 16th Birthday....

long story short...I had to pay to get Brooke's camera out of layby as well as my trusty "baby" and my mobile phone...we managed...but still annoyed it died in the first place...

A DAY OUT WITH MADDISON bear

2008-05-25T09:52:00.003+10:00

Anyone who reads my blog would know about Maddison Bear. Seeing as we can't take the real Maddison out for the day we decided to do the next best thing. After waking up with Aunty Tori we strapped Maddy in the carseat and headed out to check out Kindygym (where evryone had lots of fun). Then we went to Hungry Jacks where Tori and Maddy danced at the jukebox and went down the slide. After sharing a drink with Uncle Brent we all went home :0)

Yes, we are a little bit crazy but one day we hope for a day out with "THE REAL MADDISON" ...lol

And Baby Makes Three!

2008-05-05T10:40:00.000+10:00

Well I for one had a FANTASTIC time this weekend, not only did I get to see Kristopher for the first time in almost four months but I also got to spend the day with Maddison and Kate and her wonderful family.And as you can see by this great pic I FINALLY got to take a photo of Kris and his girls together :0)

Proud Mumma!

2008-04-26T17:06:00.000+10:00

I'm ALWAYS proud of all my kids but I LOVE Brent in his army polyesters. I am very proud of the way he carried himself at the 3 Anzac services he participated in and the fact that he volunteered to be part of the Dawn Service!

SURPRISE!!!!! it's Maddison!

2008-04-07T18:07:00.000+10:00

Well I got a great surprise over on my mum on Saturday. She thought the surprise was that I picked her up from work but after making a fake phone call and saying I had to call home first, and then plying her with food & drink for a couple of hours the real surprise arrived. Ironically, only moments before she was saying she will probably never see Maddison (as they live a couple of hours away & she doesn't drive) and lo and behold who should arrive??? but Miss Maddison herself! I thought poor mum was going to faint! Well after a couple of hours, a feed, nappy change and LOTS of cuddles we sadly saw of bubby, mummy and nanny. Hopefully it won't be long til we see them all again.

Thanks to Sandra and Kate if you happen to read this, the visit was MUCH appreciated :0)

Catch Up on Family News

2008-03-17T10:21:00.000+11:00

okay, well as you know it's pretty boring in our neck of the woods but here goes... Brooke has gotten herself a fulltime job at Donut King in Penrith as well as still working at Good Grub on the weekends she is keeping herself busy (but NOT saving any money...lol) Ashlee passed his P's second time round and is now driving himself to and from work and TAFE in the Kia (though he keeps asking to take MY CAR...as if! lol) Brent went on a weekend biv with cadets this past weekend and came home EXHAUSTED yesterday but thoroughly enjoyed himself! FINALLY seems to be settling in at Kingswood High and making friends. Tori is still doing Playvan twice a week and LOVING it and has also started doing Ballet on the weekends which she ADORES...plus she gets to see Hudson for an extra day :0) Kym is away in South Australia again for work this week and is still busy, busy, BUSY! I closed my Ebay shop and haven't been listing any items, would still like to do some craft markets but am still busy with MUMS TAXI. (In one day starting at 5.20 am and last run at 9.40pm I.... Took Ashlee to work, came home, took Brooke to work, came home, Brent to school, home, Tori to playvan, straight to pick Brooke up from work, pick Brent up from school, home, pick Ash up, home, take Brent to cadets, home, pick Brent up..HOME!!!...phew!!! Who needs a fulltime job!!!)

Maddison Louise

2008-01-20T10:20:00.000+11:00

Born 19.01.08 8lb5 54cms and ABSOLUTELY gorgeous. Well done Kris n Kate...well I guess that makes it official...I'm a grandmother (gulp)

2008!!!!

2008-01-02T18:49:00.000+11:00

Well we've rung in the new year, hard to believe! We stayed home so we could see what the fireworks we like and boy was it worth it! With almost 360degree views we could see fireworks EVERYWHERE, even all the way to Sydney Harbour! (faintly) with Tori still being scared of the loud noises it was great to be able to see them even tho at times it sounded like a war zone with them going off all over..at one stage I counted 17 different lots going off but Brent counted 34 lots around us....

New Years Day (my birthday) we had a lazy day and then went to mum & dad's for my birthday dinner.

Resolutions - My personal resolutions this year are to LOSE WEIGHT IN 08! Get more active, get to bed earlier, drink less coke and more water, and take better care of my skin (Ashlee brought me some Dr Lewinns so I had a facial to get started and now I'm using his present!) Scrapbooking resolutions this year are to do a layout a day (which I've managed so far...lol) and to use up my stash (our LSS gives a 30% discount for your birthday so I brought a trolley to store my papers so HOPEFULLY I'll be a bit more sorted. And lastly, I saw on a great blog http://boutiquebabe.typepad.com/my_weblog/ 365 photos, so I have done my first 2..maybe this covers both resolutions as its in scrapbooking and will HOPEFULLY record weightloss...lol

HOPE 2008 WILL BE FANTASTIC FOR YOU AND YOURS!!!!

An Aussie Xmas

2007-12-27T14:40:00.000+11:00

Hard to believe Xmas has been and gone for another year!

Just as well I got this picture of the 7 of us as Kris had gone again by Xmas. We spent xmas morning at home and then went to mum and dad's for the afternoon. Boxing Day found us at Woolongong beach and we took my sister Natalie and niece Annalise. Looking forward to the new year the view of the fireworks should be spectacular! and then off for some well earned holidays.

Life is HECTIC!!

2007-12-19T18:21:00.000+11:00

What an understatement. Brent & Brooke have both finished school and Tori has finished Playvan for the year. Ash & Kym are working up til xmas then they have 2 & 5 weeks holidays. Yesterday after dropping Brooke at her works xmas party Tori and I drove around for a couple of hours looking at xmas lights. When I was home for a few minutes Kris rang and wanted me to go and pick him up and it HAD to be straight away. Hence a trip to Mudgee and back and then when I got home I had to take Ashlee to work. So from 6pm until 5.30am I was in the car and driving. I'm shattered!!

Brooke's Formal

2007-12-08T09:47:00.000+11:00

Here are some pics from Brooke's formal. My baby girls all grown up :0(

Brent's First Parade

2007-11-11T18:49:00.000+11:00

Being Remembrance Day, Brent was involved in the local memorial service along with the rest of his platoon as well as the local navy and air force cadets.

Trick or Treat

2007-11-01T11:03:00.000+11:00

Brooke had a Halloween party last night. 7 of her girlfriends came over & I took them and Brent & Tori trick or treating over at The Vines (posh! lol) wasn't sure if it was done down here as kids never had it up home, but they made out like bandits. Especially when they stuck the cute little fairy (Tori) up front! We live on acreage and our house can't be seen from the road so I felt bad when we got home and 2 little boys had seen the balloons out front (so Brookes friends could find the house) and had come up to the house to get candy. Only to find Ashlee saying we had no lollies :( I told him he could have given them a muesli bar (NO WAY!) or some of the lollies downstairs (OH WELL!) but they were the only ones who came to our house.

p.s Brooke and 2 of her friends are still in bed (11.32) and I just went and picked Brent up from sick bay and one of her other friends are in there..the reason why I didn't want her having a sleepover mid-week!

Tori's "1st" time at the beach

2007-11-01T11:02:00.001+11:00

Well not really but the first time that she can remember it, she ABSOLUTELY loved it when we took her to Port Kembla beach on Monday.

2007-09-20T18:31:00.000+10:00

Tori's Birthday and Brent off on his First Bivouac

Been A While

2007-09-20T09:28:00.000+10:00

Well here I am once again and what a month or so its been. Firstly changed internet providers and FINALLY got broadband. Then Tori got an ear infection which resulted in a perforated eardrum and we were told that she might have to have an operation. Thankfully after two lots of antibiotics it started to heal but in the meantime Brent ended up in hospital for four days :0(. I picked him up from school on the Thursday and he walked to the car crying, complaining of a headache and he couldnt close his eye properly. Went to the Dr a coupla hundred metres down the road and by then I was having to support him when walking, in the 10-15 mins or so we were there he started to slur his words so Dr said to take him to hospital (5mins or so away). By the time I got there I had to get him out of the car in a wheelchair and in the 5 min after that to get into emergency I was having to support his head, he had lost control of his arm, he was drooling and his eyes were rolling back in his head. TO SAY IT WAS SCARY WOULD BE AN UNDERSTATEMENT!!! He had a temp and high blood pressure so they took him straight away for a CT scan & shortly after performed a lumbar puncture (which both came back clear) and he was admitted. By this time he was more himself again except he had developed Bells Palsy where the left side of his face was paralysed. A couple of days later he had a MRI (clear) and the day after that he was discharged. Night before we left I told the Dr his ear was sore and had spots in it, she said she would see him (and did some 12 hours later) when they took a swab and told us that he had the chickenpox virus in his ear and thats what probably caused the palsy as the facial nerves are in that area. We then had an EEG done as an outpatient and FINALLY got test results back when we went to paediatrician on Tuesday and he's been given the all clear. His palsy is just about gone and they are saying that it was probably a seizure due to the virus that caused his palsy.

On a lighter note Tori turned 3 last week :0) We put off having a party as my mum & my sister and her daughter were all away but they come back this week so we will have a combined party seeing as Brent is 13 tomorrow (he's having a seperate party and taking 2 of his mates for a game of lasertag)

Just For Fun

2007-07-29T10:01:00.000+10:00

Well you guessed it..yesterday found us at Luna Park (much to Brooke's annoyance as she had to work). Bit different only going out with Brent and Tori but it was a mostly good day...cept for a few tanty's and it wasn't the kids...

Movies YET AGAIN

2007-07-27T11:12:00.000+10:00

Well today found us, yes you guessed it..at the movies!!! This time round it was The Simpsons Movie, and Tori was actually not running around everywhere so it must have been alright!

I also brought myself an external hard drive to store all my cutting files on as I am sick of flicking thru cd's trying to find the right one..ended upp buying as 250g even tho i went in to buy the 500..well the guy did tell me that 250 would store something like 300 CDs and as i only have 4 at the minute i thought it should do.

We also brought Brooke's dress for the formal (boo hoo...lol)...just what she wanted and I think we were meant to have it. She had mentioned that she told someone earlier in the week she wanted a dress that changed colours and this is blue and purle (her 2 favourite colours). She had also been in there last week and the dress wasn't there and last nite it was...the only one...her size...AND...marked down from $250 to $50!!!!

Where Has The Time Gone?

2007-05-13T20:17:00.000+10:00

Didnt realise it had been so long since i posted.

The Show was a great day even though it was wet and VERY muddy...the girls loved it and us mums found it just the right size..sooo glad we didn't go to the "Royal"...it was also great to have a "boy free weekend" no fights, relatively quiet..will have to do it more often :0)

whats happened.....Ashlee has got a job as a cook at "The Lunchbox", seems to be enjoying it tho the early starts and the bike ride is wearing him out...lol. Brooke is going well and looking forward to her formal. Brent is being bullied at school and as a result has had 2 sets of xrays in the last fortnight :0( Tori is great fun these days and developing into a real character..we have booked tickets to go and see Max and Milly...she wants to see Nemo but I'm not so sure

My shop is going...okay...slowly but surely... and Kym is still working HEAPS of hours

MOTHERS DAY today...was a great day..kids brought me a frame and a jewellery box, Ashlee brought me some skincare products and chocolate and kris actually called me. Hope all the mums out there had a great day