Its been way too long.

Its been a long time, since I haven't been blogging I have not been taking a lot of photos of the kids or keeping a track on where life is at. You get a bit nervous at times putting your life and kids out there in blog land and wonder if it is not such a good thing to do, but it is such a motivational tool to have in your life and keeps you updating daily life which would otherwise pass by and be forgotten, I hope to get into the flow of it all again.

Such a lot going on, our pool is all finished and last weekend we pretty much Christened it and spent the best part of Saturday in it with the kids, they were exhausted by the end of the day but such a great investment for this family, I can see already it will give us more time on the weekend to spend with the kids and RELAX. Something we dont do very often at all as we are always so busy.

We started extensions on the house about 3 weeks ago and it is flying along. Tim has just painted Zaylan's bedroom so he will move into that by the weeks end and be settled in time for Keelan to probably have to move out of his and bunk in with him till extensions are finished.

My Aunty is really sick at the moment, so all prayers are going to her in a big way, she has a major surgery to get through any time now and her health is really poor, we are so worried for her and pray that it all will go well, she has been the best Aunty a girl could have, so many great childhood memories of school holidays spent with her and Nana and she adores my kids and spoils them rotten, she sure does not deserve to be as sick as she is so we have everything crossed for a good outcome.

I have a new Mac and have to play more with getting my photos posted on here so I will be back hopefully with some pics to share. If you stop by please leave me a comment it is always good to know who is stopping by. Take care, Trace.

Crazy, busy, crazy, busy.

Just what the title of this post says it is crazy, busy around here and will only get worse for the rest of the year, we have had a few weeks of decisions regarding a Swimming pool and glad to say I can wipe that one off the slate, pool picked, deposit paid, its a goooa, last week the plumbers were here moving pipes which will be in the way of the pool so I now have a sandy backyard which will only get worse, silly me thought the kids wouldn't really go out there with the backyard upside down, where did that thought come from??? Of course they are out there in it, up it and as you guessed it the sand is pretty much in all those places on them. eeekkk.

I kept telling myself as I steam mopped the floor today that this time next year it will all be done. That includes renovations also, we are adding another 4 bedrooms and kids room and laundry, toilet and shower. At this stage we are looking at going UP, for the kids bedrooms then I will take one of the existing bedrooms for a scrap/office, Tim will get my existing office for his long awaited and longed for Theatre room, I will have 1 spare room and Keelan's room now will be part of the kids room to come with a hole in the wall out to the extentions. Now this is at this stage as the builder is yet to come back and drop the bombshell on what she will all cost but one way or another changes are coming.

So in about 4 weeks the spa will be out and a pool will be in it's place. So exciting. It did take weeks however to come to a concrete decision about what we wanted and what colour, changed my mind about 4 times. But glad that is all done and dusted.

I have been scapping since the retreat, I finished my class layouts and on Sunday was invited to visit with Kareena and some of her scrapping Ladies for 5 hours at the Scrappy Cow. Had a blast, such fun ladies, lots of laughs and plenty of creativity, hoping to make it a monthly thing which will be great. Normally my Sunday's are pretty full on with house stuff so it was nice to break out of that rut and go and be me for a while. Will share layouts soon, did 3 and need to finish off a couple of things on one of them.

Keelan has been helping Tim in a major way with all the moving of plants and retic repairs in the back yard so that has been unreal, left me to continue with my stuff. Cleaned up the house today and baked 2 cakes which smell yummo right now, ohh hot cake!!! The house is clean till the kids burst through the door soon and I am guessing the cakes will be missing many pieces, the poor cupboard has been bare lately so the kids will love coming home to fresh cake.

Other than that not a lot else, life is gooood, very exciting finally being able to have the house changed to suit us and the growing kids, we will have a house to suit the coming teenage years right through to our retirement, oh what a feeling, nothing tops the mood around here right now that is for sure.

Take care, Trace.

Busy weekend.

Our weekend was pretty busy as usual, would like to say it was very enjoyable but it was more on the lines of exhausting but so glad we achieved what we did. We went through stuff we have packed in boxes that we have hung onto in case we need it or the garage sale which never happens. When Tim and I packed 2 households into one when we got together we found ourselves overloaded with stuff, but being on the farm the opportunity to cull is hard as you have to drive so far to get rid of it and you can't have garage sales out in the middle of nowhere. As I went through the boxes I had the urge to just give it all to the Bush fire appeal, I had a big box of sheets and pillowcases, baby toys like new from Zay and cot sheets and lots of other goodies and the bonus of having a Lady around the corner collecting for the appeal, so we repacked and labelled the boxes and today Tim dropped them off, we also went without Take away treat on the weekend and donated the money to the fundraiser the school had today for the appeal.

The kids made me so proud giving up things to make a difference to other people who are suffering so much from the Fires in Victoria. They have parted with things they wanted to keep to make others feel better and helped clean and pack things all Sunday, they are troopers. It may be a little bit in the scale of things but it is paying it forward and there is nothing better.

Take care, Trace.

My kiddies are growing up fast.

Last night before we went out to a Friends house for BBQ I got Tim to take some pics of the kids and me, Keelan is missing due to being with his Dad this weekend worst luck so I will have to try for an update soon but it was good to grab a spur of the moment shot like this. Don't get them often as I usually take the pics.

Oh look at my Baby, he is going to kindy for 2 full days this week, he was so annoyed last week was just Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning but he gets to use his lunch box and be a big boy this week. 2 full days and boy do I have major missions set for myself, Girlfriends are trying to tee up lunch dates and coffee and all that is zinging in my head is get this house cleaned out well and truly of clutter, the holidays were very laid back where the house was concerned so now I am afraid I have big jobs on my hands. The scrap room is major, I need to cull heaps as I have far too much stuff I will never get to scrap and as it is at the front of the house it really desperately needs attention, I hate that everyone walks in and looks at mess everywhere as I have run out of room to put things. Then it will be bedroom by bedroom, I am getting rid of toys that have been around a few years before the Birthdays start again.

Last week was a bit of a hard one, Tim got posted for work at a depot 2 hours from here for 3 days so he had 4 hour round trip on top of all the deliveries he had to do once there. He was totally spent when he got home and I was the same with all the run around and after school and evening sports starting again. We are hoping that Tomorrow will be the last stint for Tim at this place and he will return to normal around here. You just don't realise how tiring that return to school and running around routine actually is until you have had a break from it. Hope this week will be a little easier and I will have a bit more time to catch up on the home front.

We have had a great weekend though, Rainee has decided to give Dancing a go this year yahoo, she went for a trial on Saturday and has been put up a class to challenge her, she loved it and was so happy. I knew giving her another year would give her some maturity and confidence and it has worked. She is so ready to be doing a sport, her and Zaylan clash so much lately and I could see she just needed something else to be interested in. Trin is glad to be back dancing and Keelan is glad to be back to Tae kwon do. Tim got home early Saturday from work so he spent some time mowing the lawn and weeding a bit and I went and helped him for a while between doing bits inside. Today has been catching up here, the kids played outside and I got lots caught up inside.

The canvas below is one I did a while back for Trin's room, I hope to get this room sorted out soon and then be able to spend one of my free days creating. Wow what an awesome thought, it has been a day I have been waiting for, I will miss Zay but I am happy for him to start Kindy as he is just so ready and so excited.

Have a great week, Take care, Trace.

The end is nigh!!

We have had very busy summer holidays this year, I have had the best time with the kids and they have nearly turned into dolphins they have been swimming so much. Mum and Dad took Keelan and Trinity home after Christmas for a week with them in Perth, they lived at the beach as it was pretty hot and Mum and Dad live a street back from the beach, they went to movies too. The little ones and I enjoyed the week mostly at home, we did got to the movies and saw Madagascar 2 which I liked better than the first one. We took them out to tea also as a treat with just Tim and I and then on Sunday we met halfway for a picnic lunch with Mum and Dad and My Brother Brad and SIL Kim and their kids, it was hot but we enjoyed the day together and the kids had a great play.

We swapped the kids over and we had the 2 big ones for the next week. We didn't have such a successful week with our plans, we went to go see Australia but it was full house, so we rented DVD's instead then Keelan and I decided we would give Bingo a go so we went and waited but no action, they didn't start till the following week. We still had fun in other ways but they did get bummed out that their plans kept getting mucked around.

I met Mum and Aunty Carol in Bunbury on the next Sunday and we had lunch and I was then glad to have my little family back home together. They started swimming lessons on the 13th Jan for 2 weeks so we have had every day at the beach for the last fortnight and some days we stayed the whole day and had a picnic. It is amazing how much water confidence Zaylan has developed in that time with Trin even jumping off the deep end of the jetty. Keelan passed stage 12, Trin passed stage 2 and Rainee passed stage 1 so they are going really well with their swimming. It was great to do vacswim as it gave us a reason to be at the beach every day.

On the long weekend, Tim finally had 3 days off, Saturday we spent time at home getting cleaned up and organised for our day trip to Perth on Sunday for my Nephews Christening which I was one of the Godmothers for. Even though it was hot we had a great day and enjoyed catching up with everyone again, it's been a year since I've seen my Youngest Brother so it was good to catch up although family events can be busy. We headed home after giving the kids a shower at Mum's and they were ready for bed when we got home. On the way home when Zay got noddy I started playing spotto with them, we had fun and Zay all of four was so specific with his spotto's like "find me a green wheelie bin" and a "red motorbike with a rider on it", great game to get everyone in the car involved and switched on.

Sunday Tim went for his first dive in 5 years, with my Girlfriends Hubby and her and I took the kids to the beach which the guys came back to with the boat then did some crabbing as they got no crays. Rainee and Trin enjoyed their first time in a boat and had so much fun Zay on the other hand anchored himself to me and would not have a bar of it. We then left once we had some crabs and went back to their place for a BBQ and fresh crabs, and some refreshing G & T's for Keen and I, yummo, the kids spent the rest of the arvo and evening in the pool, they just never have enough of water my kids, so once again it was home warm showers and they crashed, Zay was lights out before his head hit the pillow. I have also had a few visits from Friends I have not seen in years and lost contact with through moves etc. I think my year is going to be about RECONNECTING, I think life cycles at times when you get busy as new parents you loose time with friends along the way and now my youngest is 4 it looks like life has gone in a new direction and I am picking up those loose ends and getting back into the social side of life more, what a wonderful reward to have awaiting you for your efforts at putting things on hold while you have busy times with new babies.

I have loved bonding with the kids over the holidays, sadly it is coming to an end very quick, we have stayed very busy and active these holidays which has been great and made the best of the great outdoors we have right in our own backyard. Yesterday I had a great visit from a dear friend I have missed very much in my life so we will make a big effort to stay in touch and catch up from now on, wish she lived closer though I never tire of her company, she was a big part of my life when Keelan and I were on our own and she is the most positive light you could have in your life even though she has many struggles of her own. I need to reconnect with scrapping next week and bring that back into my life also and keep my blog updated. Looking forward to what next week will bring.
Take care, Trace.

Our Christmas 08.

We had a nice quiet Christmas Day this year, Keelan was at his Dad's and Mum and Dad came to celebrate Christmas with us. The kids got very spoilt this year but it is nice to do that some years, especially when it is low key. We had a hot lunch which was delicious and the day just ambled along nicely, no stress or pressure just very cruisey. Boxing Day my Mum's Brother and his Wife came and had lunch with us, once again it was very cruisey. Saturday Tim had to go to work for half the day and I went and picked up Keelan early and then my Brother, Brad and his family came for the day. It was another great day and we had a BBQ for lunch. Keelan had Alter Serving to do at Saturday mass and the other boy didn't turn up so he was on his own, Mum and Dad were very proud watching him as this is the first time they have seen him serve. So that pretty much finished off a great few days. It was really nice having people come on different days and made entertaining so easy, felt like we got to enjoy our visitors more and with Mum helping me with the food it all came together very easy. The kids loved having time to enjoy their pressies without having to be off here there and everywhere and they have had a lot of fun so far with the Wii. Rainee keeps getting sore tummy muscles from the boxing. How much fun is that little unit of fun, even Mum has been playing tennis on it.

Sunday after lunch Mum and Dad had to go home and took Keelan and Trinity home for the week. It has been nice having time with just 2 kids and we are meeting on Sunday to have a picnic and celebrate my Brother's Birthday which was yesterday and swap the 2 little ones for the 2 big ones. I think Keelan will spend most of next week on Guitar hero which he got for Christmas and plays really well on.

Yesterday Rainee, Zay and I went shopping and then came home, unpacked it and had lunch and had some laid back time in the arvo. Rainee got a handful of redskins Zay wanted at the shops and I told her she had too many and to watch her teeth. Within 5 mins she started to complain about a molar and I fobbed her off saying redskins would hurt her teeth. About 10 mins later she came and asked should her tooth look like this, to which I peered in her mouth and OMG the middle part of her molar was ripped out and her tooth broken in half. So I ring dental surgery after dental surgery but they are all closed till the 5th Jan. I finally spoke to a lady at the public dental clinic and although they couldn't help due to me not being on a health care card she did suggest I find an emergency number for a dentist and ring them. I found only one with a mobile number and rang him. He gave me an appointment for her in 45 mins. Well he couldn't repair it, so it was a pull out job. She was so brave as it was not easy to get the broken bits out and she will need to get a spacer fitted now so no other teeth fill that position. She would not have lost that tooth till 10-12 years old. I dare say she will never touch a redskin again. I await the bill which probably will cause me more pain than her but I am grateful that we could get her seen to and not wait 5 more days. Poor chick.

Off to the movies with the little ones tomorrow, they have been so great this week they deserve some time out. We had a very low key New Year due to Tim working a really long day and Rainee with her tooth and today has been very casual with BBQ breakfast and then a drive to get some coffee beans and an ice cream this arvo, lots of people out and about and some with that very glazed hang over look. Glad it was not me. hehehe.
Take care and lets hope 2009 is a very good one for us all. Trace. xxx

Our Christmas lights.

It is hard to take photos of your Christmas lights due to the flash wanting to come on and I am not familiar with the camera enough to shut the flash off, but this gives a little bit of our lights, we got the lights and put them up for the kids as a surprise while they were at school and they came home and got excited about it and then one of them said, "Where is our Santa?" We thought we had done such a good effort, nothing major but enough and then they all got on the bandwagon at how we did have to have Santa near the door so lucky for them I was going shopping the next day with a friend and in target we spotted this grand man who goes up and down the chimney and he was originally $79.95 reduced to $39.95 so who could resist that bargain and the kids just lit up when they saw him, Zay had him out the box and everywhere before Tim could look at what it was all about but once he was up and in position he certainly belongs there. I love the stars above him, they are my fav.

Well it sure is great having the kids home on holidays, we achieved lots of cleaning and sorting on Wednesday but since then it has been messy and appointments so I hope to get cleaned up more tomorrow. Keelan goes to his Dad's tomorrow till next Saturday and Trin has a Birthday party for a few hours so the little ones and I can get busy around here.

Last Saturday night my Girlfriend and I went Perth for our 25 years school reunion, we had an absolute blast, so much fun catching up with everyone again and partied till 2.30am boy my feet were sore for a few days, lots of standing and chatting in heels, makes you realise how little you do go out and get dressed to the nines. One of our ex teachers was there, he has recently retired and he said we were the tightest, closest bunch of students St Norberts have ever had come through, the teachers found it really hard if they told someone off, the rest of us would stick up for that person and get cold towards that teacher, it certainly did reflect that on the night too as the guys made sure we stayed in our group and no one got left anywhere, one guy did 3 car loads from the pub to the casino just to make sure we stayed together. They sure are the greatest of friends even after all these years.

Karina and I had a few days in Perth after that enjoyed a great break, I got all my Christmas shopping finished and lots of other extras I have needed for a long time, things you can't buy here, glad we don't live in Perth or I think Karina and I would do serious damage to our bank accounts on a weekly basis. It was a lovely break away and we thoroughly enjoyed a break from Mum duty.

With Christmas around the corner I have some more house cleaning to catch up on and some cooking to do next week and then we will be ready. It is very low key for us this year, Mum and Dad are coming to celebrate with us and Keelan is away with his Dad, so it will be nice to be home and let the kids enjoy there day here for a change, the last few years we have been away or having to travel Christmas Day so I look forward to just a casual day.
Well take care, I will share some pics Sunday of the kids that I took at the beach yesterday, it has been so long since I have taken pics of them that they have grown so much.
Trace.