Miss 8 Loves Her Insects!

Miss 8 is developing a very different personality than we expected. 

I know it's difficult to work out what sort of person your child is going to be from a young age but I think a Mum can pretty much suss out her child's persona very quickly. I guess we kind of need to know because we have to work out what their "currency" is. My sister is working that out for herself with my gorgeous niece Miss 2 (but that is another story). My point here is that Miss 8 has had a bit of a rough start to her life. She (thankfully) is the most independant & sociable of the 3 - but it all could have been so different. This is why this personality quirk of hers just cracks me up.

Read on...

Miss 8's class at school is learning about insects. Discussing spiders. Nurturing worm farms. You know, that sort of lovely creepy crawly thing they do at that age.

She had been at school ALL day and I was picking them up from their classrooms when I heard a very loud shriek from behind me. I turned around to see Miss 8 putting her hand back in her school dress pocket. When I asked her friend (who looked like she was about to faint) what was wrong - she told me Miss 8 had a cockroach in her pocket.

"A cockroach? WHAT!"

Miss 8 (a little defiently too which I kind of liked) pulled out the dead cockroach she had "saved" from the house yesterday (after I had killed it). She had decided, since they were studying Micro Monsters at school, that she would bring it in for show & tell. But the teacher didn't get around to show & tell today, and she forgot all about it sitting in her lovely school dress pocket until the bell had gone for end of school. 

This was when she decided it would be a good idea to show & tell.

It just makes me love her even more. She's not afraid to get her hands dirty. She wants to learn about the icky, gross things in life & nature. She's the kid that will pick up Jelly Fish in the river and freak out everyone else. She will rescue crickets she finds in the house and take them (and their sticky feet) outside. She doesn't care that no other girls do this sort of thing and I think it's absolutely FANTASTIC.

Perhaps she's going to be a Scientist when she grows up.

Or a Greenie...

Miss 6 Wins!

The kids entered a colouring in competition at our local toy store.

This is nothing new. They enter competitions ALL the time. Mainly because Miss 8 loves to fill in her address details and will do it on any form she can lay her hands on!

We never win anything. We only enter them for Miss 8's obsession with completing forms.

But this time we actually won. Miss 6's entry was pulled out (and I'm still a little suspicious about this but we accept with grateful thanks) and she won an Australia Girl Doll

So all are happy in the Dixon household.

Well, except for Miss 8 ("Why didn't I win? Mine was better"), and Master 4 ("Can I have a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle?")

My eBay Listing Marathon

Well, sort of. Have just spent 2 days listing my books madly on eBay.

They have kindly offered free listings Thursday & Friday so, of course everyone took up the offer. The listings will finish after Christmas so it was very good timing (for once).

But am completely exhausted!

And really really wish it had gone for just one more day.

My Gorgeous Hydrangeas

I had to take a photo this morning of my hydrangeas. I know - it's a very lame thing to get excited about. But looking at them in the very early morning sun, they are just beautiful

Now tell me this wouldn't make you smile on a grumpy morning?

I Hate Ads On TV

I am a flicker. I am a remote control hog. I absolutely loathe television advertising. I will flick onto the Test Pattern and watch that over watching ads, if there is nothing else to watch.

Imagine my horror when Miss 6 suddenly decides to become my Ad Commentator. She's been in every ad break so far this evening to ask me if: I have a crack in my windscreen because if I ring this number these people will come out and fix it for me; or a certain healthy alternative to fast food has a very low fat percentage which would be really good for them to eat.

I really really hate TV adverts. Now, I don't even have to be in the room to get them read to me.

GRRRRR

Oh Squishy Boobs

Yearly Mammogram today. 

Oh what fun!

Don't you think God (or whomever) has the strangest sense of humour? 

Lets make this one a woman. Now, how do I make this one different to that one? 

I know. These lovely, squishy, soft things that are like airbags can go on the front. They might be fun - you never know. 

Oh wait. They should have a purpose. What could we do with them? Pillows for another person? Somewhere to carry things? A resting spot for little birds? 

Oh wait. This person could carry a child and then feed that child with these lovely, squishy, soft things that are like airbags. Right-O.

Now, not only should this person have lovely, squishy, soft things AND be able to nourish another with them, this person should also have: puberty, periods,childbirth,menopause and, once year, a lovely technician shall be able to take those lovely, squishy, soft things that look like airbags and press them as flat as she can with what feels like 2 heavy pieces of concrete and this will enable them to tell this person if she is going to get pretty sick pretty quickly - or be ok for another year!

Oh what fun! 

But you know what - to quote the great Helen Reddy:
"I Am Woman Hear Me Roar"!

We Saw The Whole of The Moon in Fremantle Today!

Well, we have a 40th party to attend on Saturday night. It's an '80s theme so pretty easy I'm thinking. We will hit the op shops. So Master 4 & I jumped into The Magic Mystery Machine (aka the Kia) and toddled off to Freo. Well, close enough to Freo anyway.

Right-o, into the oppie we go. Spent quite a while in there. Found nothing for me (apparently everyone has kept their very small denim mini's and Choose Life t-shirts from the '80s) but managed to aquire a very vintage stonewash denim jacket (yes we ALL had one of those) and a surfy shirt for himself.

After paying and walking out of the store we walked directly into the path of a Gentleman who was struggling to stand up after shedding his clothing for some he had pilferred from the Recycled Clothing bin he was standing next to. He was just managing to get one of his feet into the "new" pants and was using the window of the Hardware Store that neighbours the op shop to hold himself upright. Unfortunately he didn't manage to add underwear to his shopping list so we copped an absolute EYEFUL. 

I could hear Master 4 getting himself ready to make a very obvious comment as we tried to make our way past the now clothed (thank goodness) gentleman, so I very cleverly said;

"Oh look at that dog. Doesn't he look happy?"

But how could a 4 year old possibly be expected to find a dog more exciting than a man using the front of a shopping centre as his personal change room so;

"Oh mummy - look at that man. He doesn't have any pants on. His bottom is very white and VERY DIRTY".

"Don't be silly darling, the puppy dog is smiling. Look at him. LOOK AT HIM!!!"

"Mum, why doesn't he have any pants on?"

"Oh look - the bakery. Should we get a sticky bun?"

And people say you shouldn't bribe your children!

I feel like I need to scrub my brain with some Pine-O-Clean.

Our New Bunnings

Our new Bunnings opened up 2 weeks ago. It is just about Himselfs favourite shop. If they sold fishing gear & beer he would never shop anywhere else again. As it is we have been down there 4 times since it opened. And helped pay for everyone's wages for the first week.

The thing I absolutely love about this huge warehouse is this. We went down this morning (Sunday) at around 10.30. That is basically peak shopping hours for any Bunnings Store. It was busy - but not horribly so. And every aisle we walked down there was a Bunnings Assistant there, and 3 of the actually asked us if we needed any help!!!

OMG - we have stumbled across warehouse nirvana. That never happens. In fact we usually end up just following around anybody wearing a red shirt and stalking them until they help us - even if they don't work there. 

All I can say is - congratulations Bunnings & Westfarmers. You have finally got it right! Now keep it up and we will ALL be very happy campers 

Miss 5 Turns 6!

A big Happy Birthday to Miss 6 (was 5)! What a great day you had, and a fantastic party. 

Mum is EXHAUSTED. 

Of course I did far too much. Of course I didn't take up all of the offers for help (because I am supermum and I can do it all). Of course none of the kids could have cared less what they were eating as long as there was food there. Of course I said bring siblings, that will be just fine. Of course I made sure the siblings had lolly bags too.

My night away with the Bookclub Ladies next Friday CAN NOT COME SOON ENOUGH!

My Daughter, My Personal Trainer

I have started jogging again in the mornings. After some surgery early last year I discovered that I can actually run. I have nothing getting in my way anymore and I've found I'm not to bad at it. I started early this year, but after our holidays in May, swine flu in July & getting over winter, I never got back to it.


But one of the mums has become my jogging partner - and a good one she is too. 2 mornings at her house, 2 mornings at my house. Fridays off. Well Saturdays and Sundays off too . At 5.30 every morning. This morning we actually managed to run all the way around the lake - 1km. We were very proud. Probably won't be able to do it tomorrow though. Might need to borrow the wheelchair?


When I got home at just after 6am - 2 of the kids are up eating breakfast and Himself is getting his coffee ready to take to work. Miss 8 has decided she is my personal trainer.
"Don't sit down Mum. Lay down and give me 100 sit ups!"

Ok - that wasn't so bad.


"Now - DO THE SPLITS!" 


SPLITS!


I haven't done a split EVER. Even when I was 8 I couldn't do the splits. And now - at nearly 39 - she's expecting me to try?


Miss 8 is now not allowed out of her bedroom until 6.30am. That way I can make sure I've had a shower and am dressed before she attempts to make me do some pushups!!!


The benefits of being the client AND the mother.

An Afternoon of Cocktails :)

Had a very impromptu afternoon with one of my oldest girlfriends (and her daughters, hi K) and one of my newest girlfriends (and her son & daughter, hi S).

It was lovely and we all had our fair share of drinks. The kids were well fed and watered so they enjoyed themselves too.

Then they all went home and I started cleaning up. Bit of a mess but as soon as I put my feel good music on it's easy peesy. My feel good music is Bon Jovi. Very very very loud. With me as backing vocals. Very very loud.

Now, this is NOT a once off. Every time I need some motivation, on comes Jon, Ritchie & the boys. This has been happening for years. It also extends to doing the bookwork for Himself's business, getting ready for tax time, cleaning the house, baking on a Sunday afternoon, going for a run around the oval, driving by myself - or just whenever I feel I need a pick-me-up!

I didn't actually realise that I had motivational music until speaking to my sister tonight. She has referred to me as a Bogan. Be that as it may - I am a huge fan and have been since for the last 22 years. Some people might be motivated by Gospel, some by Bach, others by Anthony Robbins. But if you put on Slippery When Wet at full loudness I would clean your house from top to bottom - or until the music finished.

Go ahead and try it. It doesn't have to be the boys. It could be anything from your formative years, but I guarantee that the music from that time of your life will always put a smile on your face. 

Cheers 

A Novel Book Is Finally Up & Running!

And so it is finally here.

Thanks Ebay for forcing my hand. I guess I really needed to be pushed, otherwise I'd still be sitting here twiddling my thumbs, waiting for someone to do all the hard work for me. 

It is a LOT more work than I thought it would be. But it's all mine. No fees to Ebay. All the profit is mine - well, Mr Rudd gets some, the publishers get some, the web host gets some, the bank gets some. But what's left over is all mine - well, the kids get some, the dog needs vaccinating, the council rates will be due soon. But what's left over is all mine. 

Welcome to the world of small business.

Himself was telling me his thoughts on my new business venture. His goal (for me but meaning him) is for the business to turn over around $5000 a week, then he can quit work and come work for me. I actually think he meant to say "Turn over $5000 a week and I can go fishing". Good thing I can understand his undertones.

So, back to it. Have to earn my 25cents per book - after paying all of the above. But first I need someone to buy a book from me. 

Perhaps I need to add advertising to the list of creditors above 

Clap Clap - Now Do I Have Your Attention?

At school, to get the kids attention, the teachers do this fantastic clapping thing. They do a series of claps and the kids all stop what they are doing and clap back. It is such a brilliant concept and seems to work every time.


But be warned, this is only to be used at school. Apparently, when you get the children home their ears stop working and you can clap until your hands fall off and not one person will hear you.


2 days ago we were in the car. Our car can be a very, very noisy place. There are 4 people all talking at once and nobody can hear a thing. Obviously Miss 5 (nearly 6) had had enough of this. I guess nobody was listening (see how she likes it for once ) so the next thing I hear is the clap clap thing.


And, surprise, it actually worked.


Miss 8 & Master 4 actually stopped talking and clapped back.


Now, if I could just remember the sequence I might be able to use it myself.

Happy Birthday Mum!!!

Today was my Mums birthday. She would have been 64. So off we went, to the cemetery to wish her a Happy Birthday and drop off some roses from the front garden, and a lovely card that was handcrafted by Miss 8 & Miss 5 (nearly 6).


We put Mum's ashes there only a little while ago. She's spent the last 23 years in a very small box, mostly at Dad's house but the last 3 years at my house, next to the TV, so she can be around the cyclonic home of The Dixon's. It's actually been quite comforting having her here all those years. But we decided it was probably time to put her somewhere where she can rest!


We've explained (in the simplest of terms) to the kids about cemeteries. We've told them that the gravestones are Remembering Stones that people put there to remember their family that have died. They know all about death & what happens (well, as much as little kids can) so they got the concept of Remembering Stones really easily.


The questions I got today, though, were more about the stones that were much, much larger than Nana's Remembering Stone. Miss 5 (nearly 6) is very astute at putting these sorts of things together.


We went off, after visiting Nana & singing Happy Birthday, to visit other family members who also live at the cemetery. To get to them we walked through the grave stones (which by the way is a very interesting experience with an 8,5 and 4 year old). 


"Who is this person Mum?"
"Was this person really old or really young?"
"How did this one die Mum?"
"Oh, how cute, this one has a teddy bear/flowers/balloons on it, can we keep it?"

So, we found our relatives and said hi - then weaved our way back, when Miss 5 (nearly 6) asks about the grave stones...
"They are much bigger than Nana's - do they have people under them?"
"Well, yes they do".
"Oh, well how come Nana is under a tree with 25 other Remembering Stones? (trust her to count the plaques) Was she very little?"


Well, I might tell them stuff that other parents might not just yet - but there is NO WAY I am going to start explaining cremation to them so I did what every parent that wants to avoid conversation says - "Who wants icecream?"


Happy Birthday Mum
xxx