Time together and time apart

School went back today.

These school holidays went from one extreme to another.

We spent the first weekend of school holidays heading south. Firstly to Bridgetown to visit the lovely Lela and my God-children, and to attend the Winter Wonderland.

Pixie on a log
We went for an early morning walk to tire her out before the drive.

There is a saying, "friends are the family you choose for yourself" and I love this part of my family. I love that our children love hanging out together, even though half of them are teenagers. I love that this is a friend I can discuss anything with. I love that we have so much fun planning for adventures that are just us as as adults, as well as our lives as parents.

Our babies are getting big though. I realised I have hit a new stage of my life when I realise I was being addressed as "Auntie" by a person a good head taller than me and with a man's voice. I should note here that I am still taller than my girls and than all my sisters, and my brother wasn't quite 14 when he died so this is a new experience for me!

Lela and I had discussed going to the pub for a quiet drink after the family festival was over. We both discussed with our eldest children if they would mind babysitting the little ones for an hour. Not only was everyone agreeable we were strongly encouraged to go out; they had plans for at home that didn't include us. Don't worry, the children were responsible - we were told "be home before midnight and don't bring home any boys". Yes. Seriously. (Don't blame Lela's parenting, that was one of my girls!).

We ended up deciding a pyjama party in Lela's room would be more fun and that way we didn't have to worry about curfews.

Tink, Nanna, and Pixie at Augusta

The next day the girls and went to Augusta to spend time with the girls' great-grandparents (DB's grandparents). I haven't been down in a very long time, and I am so, so glad we went. The time spent with them is very precious.

We taught Nanna how to play a new card game, I was given a massive pile of books, and Pixie and Nanna informed me that it was tradition for her to buy them scratchies. Pixie won $106 so I can't see me winning the argument about vetoing this tradition any time soon!

After that, the girls spent 4 nights at a church camp (which coincidentally was at a Scout campsite were DB basically spent his formative years, and which is one of my most favourite places ever), they then spent two nights at J's, followed by a the rest of the school holidays all over the place at sleepovers, with DB, and the odd one or two nights at home.

Lutheran Youth at the Scout Campsite
When your worlds collide

It felt like so long since I have seen them ... this is the conversation the Pixie and I had last night in an evening cuddle .....

"Did you miss me or just your puppy?"
"60 40"
"Aww ... hang on ..... Am I the 60 or the 40?
"The 40. That's still pretty good .... and I missed the Sisters 11 percent"
"You know that doesn't add up to 100?"
"Who said it has to add up to 100? It is adding up to 111?"
"What about the kitten?"
stressed silence
"Or is she one of the Sisters?"
"She is one of the Sisters .... wait ... that's mean .... I missed my puppy 60%, you 30%, the Cattern 7%, and the Sisters 3%."

Dancers in the nightclub window
(Not me) It was very cool.

It got to the point where one friend asked if I had sold them because I had had so much childfree time. I am pretty sure I have been out more in the last 10 days than I have in the last 10 months. Friday night I was so tired that Buglet took one look at me, told me she would sort herself out for dinner (the other two were out), and sent me to bed. I slept for 12 hours. Maybe I am not cut out to be a party animal?

My guard puppy.
Pixie: I took a photo, Mama, cos you two were just so cute

The bonus of this is that it means I have been missing them. This is convenient considering we are about to spend a week, just the four of us, on our first overseas family holiday. 4.5 sleeps to go! (Ok, technically it is 5, but I am working on the theory that we won't sleep much Saturday night so that makes it half a night).

PS there should have been a lot more photos with this post, but I have cleverly managed to break my phone. If you want to see more, check us out on Instagram.

Disclaimer:

• It is doubtful I am qualified to give parenting advice, there is still time for me to stuff up.
• I would not take maths advice from the Pixie.
• We probably shouldn't be trusted with breakable things.
• I am not even allowed to give legal advice without supervision.

I would recommend finding more reliable sources for any advice of any nature.

Christmas .... and beyond!

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! And all that jazz. (6 January, Epiphany, 12th day of Christmas so I am legitimately sneaking that 'Merry Christmas' in there).

I did mean to write over my Christmas leave. Clearly I did not. 

Instead I had managed to avoid the computer (well I used internet banking once, checked one urgent Guide email that I had received a text about, and used facebook on my phone), caught up with my family (especially my Northern Territory sister and nephews who were home for Christmas), and I slept. 

Oh, how I slept! I don't like hot weather. I especially do not like humidity. It makes me tired. I became nocturnal for the two weeks. I slept most of the day and did stuff in the evening and at night. We did something with people every couple of days, and spent the alternate days at home. I totally could get used to being a lady of leisure.  

The girls left this on my desk on the last day of work. 

Back to work, and diving straight back into the deep end (pool metaphor deliberate, my heart and mind are still on holidays). Ironically, my work computer didn't register my existence on the computer on my first day back. Apparently my ban wasn't self inflicted!

We went to church Christmas Eve. It is one of my favourite nights of the year. I love the Christmas Eve service. At our church it is traditionally carols and the children's nativity performance. Tink and the Pixie agreed to be in it again this year, even though they felt little old. Tink a lot more enthusiastically than the Pixie! 

Christmas we saw DB's parents and family (he was away), and then spent the afternoon/evening enjoying the chaos that always ensues when my family is all in one place at one time!

Nailed it! (not me!)

Boxing Day we hosted the NT contingent to a Boxing Day lunch, and Buglet outdid herself. Both with the food and with the table presentation. I am taking credit for the boxes though! Somehow I became the person responsible for organising my NT nephews' Christmas stockings (usually they come for lunch Christmas Day), but as they came to lunch on Boxing Day this year I mixed it up a bit. Yes, I am a little proud of my ingenuity! Can you see the boxes?

Everything was carefully coordinated.

I love having the boys home at Christmas! Auntie duty to squeeze a year's worth of kisses and cuddles into a few weeks! As an added bonus Master-almost-10 (who lives in WA) is much more agreeable to being kissed and cuddled when the littler ones are here too so that is an added bonus!

Our other tradition is that my girls go to my sister's New Year's Eve. If you are only available to babysit one night per year, she picks a good one! Lela and I went out NYE, We spent a very pleasant few days not doing a lot except chatting, watching movies, sewing (Lela) and sleeping (me), and making some travel plans!

The girls and I spent a night with Pie and OJ (and their parents). This is worth mentioning for two reasons. Firstly, I finally watched the first part of Lord of the Rings. As I am planning a NZ for January 2016 this seemed important. Secondly, I was reminded again how clingy my baby is. (Note to self: Referring to her as "the baby" probably doesn't help).

Pie was shouting out "Auntie Caff! Look!". I was super excited because he doesn't talk to me much (he is only 2.5), when the Pixie responds with "Look at me, Mama. You know, your child". I can assure you she was not being neglected in any way shape or form!

So in conclusion, the last few weeks have been blissfully "boring". Filled with friends and family and nothing dramatic to report. Perfect! I could not have asked for better holidays. Except for the bit where I still have glue on my eyelids from NYE. 

Running away from home

Ok, so when you put it like that it doesn't sound very grown up, but last weekend that is exactly what I did. A long awaited trip with one of my best friends, where we abandoned our children (and by abandoned we left them safely in the care of the fathers and other caring family members - thanks Apple!), and spent a weekend in Bali.

I left my phone in my room during the day and I didn't log on to my work emails at all while I was out of the country, and I only answered one parenting question and one Guiding question. We swam, we wandered, we dreamed, we drank, we slept, we read, and we developed some exciting new goals and plans.

There will definitely be more on the exciting new plans later. This is what my blog is for right? To share my random ramblings with you all under the guise of writing about my children?!

Speaking of my children, my super awesome girls all thought I was very in need of a holiday, and that me going away was a good thing. I only had contact with each of them once while I was away. I missed them so much it hurt, but I know the independence is a good thing for them. (Mothers of older children: does the mother-guilt ever go away? Or the longing to hold them tight?).

The morning I left was a bit horrific. Lots of teenage hormonal squabbling, which lead to this wonderful quote which I am treasuring to get me through the rest of the teenage years ...

Me: Girls! Stop fighting. Seriously! I am not going to see you again until Monday, and I don't want to spend my last hour with you telling you off!
Pixie (surprised): I wasn't fighting. If we were fighting I would have used better arguments.

The fighting did reduce the mother-guilt a bit. There has to be a silver lining to every cloud.

Pixe rang me at the airport before I left though  ...

Pixie: Mama! Can I please have the Twisties in the cupboard?
Me: Sure. Ah. You know I am on holidays, not at work, right?
Pixie (excited): Oh yeah! Are you in Bali?
Me: No. I am at the airport.
Pixie: Take an airport selfie! Take lots of selfies!

I posted a picture of a selfie on facebook immediately as instructed, and asked Tink to make sure the Pixie saw. See what a good mother I am? (You can also see in the picture how exhausted I am).

Ah. Yes. I did buy a new book before I left the country. The first thing I bought in Bali was also books.
 

Have I mentioned that I love books? Super excited about 'Shopoholic to the Stars' because I had somehow missed the fact it had been published. Awesome airport find.

But I digress ...

Tink messaged me to say :
"hey mum i hope your holiday is good
i have a bit of a problem
i have needles on monday/or tuesday (i cant remember which) and i havent had my last lot. will that matter".

You will be pleased to know I did actually have it sorted. It just didn't occur to me it was something she would have thought about. I should have known better.

Giving myself bonus points for the fact I had it sorted, and that Tink is so super organised.

Losing points because of Tink's appalling writing style. It makes me sad. And I know she has freedom to express herself in the way she chooses to write, but capitals would make me happier!

Buglet politely asked me if I was having a good time, and asked how I was going on the hunt for a present that she was particularly hoping to get. Teenagers talking to you is always a positive!

Yes, I was having a good time. I loved these teal nails, and the pool, and lying reading.

People who know me, or who have been reading this blog, know that I have a total caffeine addiction.

I did not miss it at all while I was away. I literally had one small coffee per day because it came with breakfast.

Coffee and apple guava juice

I took the little two shopping the night I got home; nothing major, just grocery shopping. Within 15 minutes Pixie was saying "You looked stressled Mama. Look there is a V. You should have a V, that will make you feel better". Is it unfair to place the blame for my addiction on their high energy levels, and to call the Pixie my enabler?

On a serious note I am detoxing. I do have way to much caffeine and I know it is not good for me on lots of levels.

I came home feeling amazing for a whole heap of reasons. If you had asked me before I had left, I would have told you that it had been a horrific week at work, but that I was happy and healthy and in a really good place. All of that was true, but I feel a million times more fabulous since being away.

Happy relaxed me in my awesome hat. I thought the girls would hate my hat, but they all tried to claim it.

So now I am home. Happy and excited. Ready for what the world throws at me next*, and super excited about the next exciting adventures that are currently being planned (just in case you have forgotten about that teaser from the first part of this blog). And yes there will be more on the actual trip itself, but that will have to wait for a different day. I want to tell you about my spiderman-monkey-bells.

*Dear World,
This is not actually a challenge.
Thanks.
Cath

We came, we saw, we took photos .....

Sorry, I haven't posted for a few days. However, those of you who read my I-hate-being-at-work-when-my-kids-are-at-home-on-school-holidays-even-though-the-rest-of-the-year-I-love-my-job self-pitying whinge last week will be pleased to know that the reason I haven't posted is because the Pixie and I had a weekend of adventuring while the big girls were on camp (and I did an assignment too, but I am not writing about that because that is nowhere near as much fun as adventuring).

My Pixie loves taking photos at every given opportunity so ... tonight's post is our weekend (mostly) in pictures.

DB dropped her to me at work Friday afternoon, complete with a sushi snack (and one for me). Pixie sulked because she couldn't leave a note for the Minion. She did decide the new assistant in our area would be a worthy substitute. I love that I have colleagues who are pleased to rock up to work to a note saying "thanks for being my new boss minion" rather than being offended!

After she had checked all the stamps, my job was to distract all my colleagues having Friday drinks in the kitchen so the Pixie could sneak in and get a biscuit. This failed for several reasons:

1. The kitchen is tiny and the biscuits were the opposite side to the door.
2. I announced that I was supposed to be distracting everyone.
3. The Pixie is not a sneaky ninja at the best of times.

It did work in her favour though, because she was told off by everyone for only getting one biscuit when she had two hands! Two biscuits is definitely a better deal.

We had cupcakes .... and Sir Hilton of the Paris Yaris was awarded the Order of the Cupcake.

The Pixie taking arty pictures

We went to the movies to see How To Tame a Dragon 2, and I amazed the Pixie by telling her I remembered the first time the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were at the movies.

See! I could be a sneaky ninja turtle, Mummy! Or at least a ninja turtle!

We went home fell asleep watching How to Tame a Dragon. The first one. See I can be rebellious. Watching movies out of order!

Saturday we went on a road trip to Brookton. One of our friends is a farmer out there and she took us adventuring.

I thought we could be archaeologists. The Pixie disagreed

Exploring the ruins of one of the original houses
 

Me: Oooh! We can practice being archaeologists.
Pixie: You don't want to be an archaeologist. You want to be a boring lawyer.
Me: That is a bit ...mean. I had a history degree first. So there.
Pixie: Well it is true. You study for 10 years to sit in a court room and listen to people argue. You must really like arguing. The only reason I like persuasive writing is because I get to argue with the teacher.
Me: I liked arguing a lot more before I had children.

She is also a monkey

Pixie was very excited to see three foxes. She was a bit bemused to find out farmers would not think this was as cool as she did.

If Pixies don't eat sheep, neither should foxes

And we found other wildlife to look at ... famers also don't like caterpillars

Pixie: He shall be named Bobilina
Me: Your child naming privileges have been revoked.

We picnicked, we climbed, we explored and the Pixie slept the whole way home! It was an awesome day. I always come home from the farm feeling happy and recharged.

That night we went to a chocolate a board game night. Pixie refused to be on my team and went on Apple's instead. My team won. There is a lesson in that for all you children reading this.

Sunday we had a Guide leader meeting (and Pixie, but she got to have a super awesome breakfast too) and then we went to one of my best friend's graduation party. She is now a nurse. Pixie went as an army doctor ("Because that is what Leo is in Charmed") and I topped off an awesome weekend by finding pink and purple pyjamas with hedgehogs on them. I went as a patient and I had been looking for ones with a "fixing" type slogan, but I fell in love with these. Sooooo much happy!

If you look carefully you can see where I spilt some of the "stool sample" we took as food (aka chocolate mousse with chopped up lollies in it)

Then I got my big girls home from church camp. Such a lovely weekend, spent with wonderful people who remind me how lucky I am to have them in my life.

You win some, you lose some

It is school holidays here at the moment. And I am one sad Mama. Not because it is school holidays, but because I am grumpy I am at work when the girls are at home.

My work has a purchased leave scheme, which is amazingly useful when you have school aged children. For a few years I was lucky enough to be able to take off all of the two-week school holidays and half of the Christmas school holidays and be home with the children. Work still has the scheme, but my role has changed to the point where my workload means it is too hard to take that much leave.

I am also super lucky that now the girls are bigger it isn't too hard to find the balance between leaving them at home, having people drop in and visit them for a few hours, and I have some wonderful people in my life who always ask if they can have them during school holidays for part of the time. I am truly blessed to have these people, and to have an amazing flexible work place that has let me develop my career around my family, so please don't for one minute think I am ungrateful. But I am still a sad Mama.

This week I have left for work leaving my babies all snuggled up in bed asleep (ok this might be more jealous then sad).

Sunday night
Buglet: What time are you leaving for work tomorrow?
Me: Between 6 and 6:30.
Buglet: Don't wake me up then.
Tink: Me either.
Pixie: Goodnight-goodmorning-Iloveyou-goodbye!

Then to make it worse, Monday night Buglet politely requested that I didn't text her until I had heard from them as I had woken her up. Humph.

Then when I get home I get to hear about all the fun things they have done, often with with my friends. I  happen to love spending school holidays at home with the girls. No work, no dancing/soccer/Guides and I get to catch up friends and catch up on housework. A change is definitely a good holiday.

There has also been a definite decline in the amount of housework I do now I don't get to spend two weeks out of twelve at home. I am not devastated about that so much, I don't miss the doing housework, but my house may be devastated about how neglected it is.

Admittedly, I am learning to delegate the housework. Yesterday I told the girls that if they cleaned the bathroom, the kitchen and their rooms we would go to Sizzlers for dinner. Definitely worth the bribe. Even the Pixie got right into it and her sisters were very good at making sure I knew exactly how hard she had worked so I could be properly appreciative. No idea why it worked so well this time. It is a bit hit and miss, I am wondering if it is because I told them by text message so they had it in writing? I may have to experiment more.

Tonight I abandoned Buglet and Tink at a church camp for four days. Pixie has gone to spend two nights with her Auntie and Uncle and their babies. She is a bit worried. The youngest is only a few weeks old and the big one is (almost) two. The concern is that they might cry at her and that babies don't like her. This might be something to do with her disdain for small babies because they take all the attention (and I quote, this is usually her big complaint about babies). Personally I think she is going to have a wonderful time. And I think it will be a great chance for her to play with Master 2 without Tink. Tink is beyond amazing with babies and children, I call her the 'Baby Whisper', but it does mean that Pixie hasn't had much experience with them.

I had to laugh though. I came home to this note after abandoning the infants ......

Tink didn't even trust me enough for that. The last thing she told me was that she'd put it in the lounge, on charge, and that she had the only game on it all ready for me. Today's confession: I discovered some-game-I-can't-remember-the-name-of (Farm something?) over the weekend and I am slightly addicted. I am feeling very loved (and I am ignoring the slight feeling of being patronised because I am used to that. Put it this way, they've all had folders on their home screen called "Mum's games" because that is about the only bit I can get to without being confused).

So why I have a quiet house, I am going to stop whinging, and be thankful for some guilt-free study time (as well as for all the things listed above). I only have one more assignment to go after this one so I am a little bit excited!

I hope you are all having a wonderful week, and that you are finding rainbows in all this rain.

Cath xx

PS if you were wondering about what happened with Spike, the vet found his owners and he is home safely.