I've Moved To New Home :)

Hi all - just to let you know I've moved my blog to a new home. You can find me here:

http://adixonlife.com.au/blog/

Or you can click on this link to take you straight there:
A Dixon Life

Vajazzling!!!

This is something I have never, ever, thought of. I am obviously living in a world that is completely alien to what everyone else is living in.

How is it POSSIBLE that I have missed the craze that is Vajazzling?

I caught the tattooing craze - I have one myself.

I saw my way through the Brazillian craze - although that I haven't attempted one I hear it's good

I have had a perm - when it was fashionable to look like a poodle.


I inhaled, I drank beer through a straw (it was common knowledge at that time of my life that drinking beer through a straw helped quicken the effects of alcohol).


I wore a denim jacket. I wore stonewash jeans. I wore a suede jacket when the denim jacket became so 1985.  I also once wore cowboy boots!

I like to think I'm 'up with it all' but this one has just slipped me right by.

Here is a link where you can watch it happening. There are no nasty bits, but I think this fad has to go hand in hand with the Brazillian or it would be called needle-pointazzling.
Bryce gets Vajazzled. 

Perhaps it's because it sounds so much like Bedazzling that I switched off - but how does someone come up with the idea of bedazzling your vajayjay? Seriously?

Well, I guess if it's good enough for Jennifer Love Hewitt, then it's good enough for - well not me, but if you decide to have a go I would love to know what it's like. 

The Creepiest Children's Books EVER!

I seem to be on a roll today

Just click on the link at the top and have a browse.

These book covers just cracked me up!

Although there was one showing the twin towers that I didn't like - and also some creepy 'uncles' that were, well creepy.

But all in all, very funny. Have a look, and a giggle and bit of "I can't believe someone actually got this book published"!

Solar Plane

I have to share an article with you that tickled my fancy this week. It was in our state newspaper - The West Australian on Friday.

I'm not too sure if you can read this or not - but you can click on the link above and that will take you to the article. It sounds like a fantastic idea - a plane that is totally powered by the sun. It uses no fuel at all. Doesn't go very fast but I guess it stayed in the air so we can't have it all can we?

Anyway, what did make me giggle, ALOT, was this part of the article:

I wondered if perhaps the reason for the second plane being built was because they discovered that a solar plane just doesn't work at night?

hahahahahahahahahahahahhahaha

Why Can't You SeeThe Easter Bunny!

Master 4 this morning was telling me about the Easter Bunny.

"Do you know why you can't see the Easter Bunny Mum?"

"No, why can't you see the Easter Bunny?"

"Because he's invisible, just like Santa. And the Tooth Fairy. And the Government."

The Government?

When did Master 4 become so smart?

Tony Abbott's Budgy Smugglers!

Ebay Item number:160415711114, or Tony Abbott's Swim Suit

I'm not too sure why this tickled my fancy. Maybe it's because Miss 8 (who has Cerebral Palsy for those not up with the family) might somehow benefit from this.

If this is a legit auction, from The Cerebral Palsy Association, or as it's known in the Eastern States (and I don't like the name but that's just me), The Spastic Centre, then this could potentially pay for a child, or two, to have Botox treatment. Or some other form of therapy that would help them to walk, talk, or sit up.

Add it to your watch list and see what happens.

Maybe you will be the proud owner of a brand new pair of Speedo's that have been signed by the man himself. 

I wonder if you can claim it as a tax deduction since the proceeds go to charity?

The Worst Storm To Hit Perth In Years

That was just about the scariest storm I've been in (and I've been in a few cyclones up north too).

I love a good storm.

Himself always shakes his head at me. The minute there is lightning I'm outside in a chair (usually with a glass of wine), sitting back and loving the show. The kids are starting to do the same thing. They aren't scared by thunder & lightning, which is excellent.

But yesterday was scary.

I was driving home from Speech T therapy with the kids. We left at 4pm and could see the lightning coming from the North. Our storms rarely come from there, they are usually from the West and, on the odd occassion from the East. But this came rolling in from the North and you could see it coming.

I decided not to take the freeway home because I just know what idiots Perth drivers are. And thank God I made that decision. I just heard on the radio that there were maniacs doing 100kms in the emergency lanes. What sort of brain thinks that's a good idea?

So we took the back streets home. The 20 minute drive took 45 minutes and it was nasty. The hail was enormous and thumping into all sides of the car. The rain was so heavy (some have reported around 35 mils in 15 minutes) I just couldn't see. The lightning was just incredible and the thunder actually shook my car.

The kids weren't scared at all. They were having a great time (which made my trip a lot easier). Made it home. The house escaped any damage. We kept our power and all was good.

The kids are just dying for it to be winter (we're going to Bali this winter and they are hugely excited) so they all got into their flanny pj's, dressing gowns & ugg boots. I had to get Nana to tell them (over the phone) to take them all off before bed because last night was horribly muggy and going to be 21 degrees. They would have melted away.

So we've survived the first storm of the season. I hope everyone else did too.

A Grumpy Day In The Dixon Household!

A messy day today. Kids have been feral.

It started at around 6am (yes they were ALL up at that time) when Miss 8 felt slighted about something Miss 6 & Master 4 had done to her so proceeded to tell the WHOLE neighbourhood about it, at the top of her voice. She has a really, really good set of lungs on her.

Then...

When I take the kids out in public (usually the shops because that's where they turn feral) I have a system. They are warned before we set foot inside a shop. If they behave and I don't have to tell any of them off - they get a bribe, er treat. If I have to tell them off they get nothing. Miss 6 had the hugest tantrum at the shops this morning so no bribe, er treat for her afterwards. And you should have heard the commotion. I think every person that walked past us was positive that I had cut her arm off with a blunt pair of scissors!

And it got much worse when her sister  got the bribe, er treat, and she didn't. The commotion became a full on angry scream. There goes the other arm  . Master 4 missed out too because he and his sister just can't help themselves, but he's learnt very quickly to take his punishment like a man. He was ok with no donut (well, he probably wasn't but he say where things were headed with Miss 6 so he didn't make a peep).

Have had  a pretty quiet morning after all of that. Miss 6 has been in her bedroom since we got home. It's kinda peaceful too.

Might be time for me to have a wee nana nap tho. These early starts are killing me

Thanks

Have just discovered this absolutely gorgeous little blog/website.


The author, Leah, writes thank you notes that are just great. Have a look at them here ThxThxThx.

So I thought I would try to do one every day, or maybe it will be every week but I'm going to give it my best shot.

 

Girl Guides

Last week Miss 8 & Miss 6 joined the Girl Guides.

It was something I never did as a child. In fact I only know of 1 person when we were growing up, that was involved with the Guides movement - and she really didn't do an awful lot to make it appealing!

So off we went, for a trial run, to see if they (or I) would like it. I don't really know an awful lot about the Guides but it looks like I'm going to learn pretty quickly.

They both loved it.

The first time was so funny, I wished I had my video camera with me.

They all got in a circle and said their thing they say at the beginning. I didn't get many of the words (because they were saying it super quickly) but I'm sure we'll get some sort of print out so the girls can recite it too.

Miss 6 spent the entire recitation trying to decide which fingers to hold up, and on which hand. By the time she had the same hand and the same amount of fingers up in the air everyone was leaving!

Miss 8 had the right fingers, on the right hand up immediately, and was pretty determined to say what everyone else was saying. Only she didn't know the words. So she sounded EXACTLY like Mr Bean in the episode where he goes to church and the only words he knew to the hymn was Hallelujah. Every few words she would say something very loudly just so everyone knew she was saying something.

This week we went to the Armadale Reptile Centre which we've been to before. It's a great place to go. The kids love being able to check out all the snakes, see the wombats, talk to the 'roos, gawk at the dingoes and run away from the wedgetailed eagle.

The bit that they all love the most is when they bring out one of the pythons. We've been there before and they've let it slither around on the grass, although they didn't do that this time (Thank GOD).

I understand the reasoning behind bringing the python out. I also understand the best way to get over any fears is to face them, even pat them. But I left that one to the kids. There is no real reason I can see that I would ever need to pat a snake. I have a dog for that

The Sandman Panel Van!

 I was driving on the freeway this morning and in front of me was a Sandman Panel Van.

I didn't even know these machines still existed. I thought they had been relegated to car museums, but how wrong I was.

And how many memories this car bought back to me. In fact, I was so busy reminiscing about the "good old days" I missed my exit and had to turn around and double back

I didn't spend an awful lot of time in a Sandman (my dad would have killed me if he had've found me in the back of one of them), but I was around enough of them to appreciate them. Many "do you remember the time" stories involved someone in a panel van. 

There were many names for this car as well. Do you remember the "Sin Bin" or the "Shaggin Wagon"? There was also another name for it too (I'm not mentioning it here) that had the word truck in it.

Geez I'm glad they aren't around anymore. I have 2 daughters who would probably love to go for a ride in one, and a son who would give his 4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for a ride in the back. I mean, how many cars are there that come with a mattress in the back?

Now that I think of it - I would be really happy if the car craze at the time of my kids being teenagers is more like this 

Why Do I Have To Be Different?

I took Miss 8 to her therapy yesterday afternoon. She goes every Tuesday with 3 other kids the same age as her. They all have Cerebral Palsy and they are all affected slightly differently. They've been doing this since they were very little and are all pretty good mates.

When we turned up yesterday, little Miss M was getting out of the car in tears. I asked her mum what was wrong, as Miss M (as can Miss 8) can turn on the waterworks sometimes. Miss M has had enough of having Cerebral Palsy. She's had enough of having to wear splints. She's had enough of having to have Botox injections every 6 months (and so has her mum, and me too for that fact). She's had enough of having to wear a helmet at school because her balance isn't very good and she falls over a bit. She's very angry at God because he's made her this way. She's had enough of being different.

Oh that poor, poor little girl. I was just about in tears, as was her mum.

But we both did what we had to do and told her that being different was ok. 

That if we were all the same how boring life would be. That the reason she is who she is, is because she's different. She wouldn't be Miss M if she was any other way. That there were worse things in life - she might not be able to see, or walk, or talk, or she might be allergic to icecream (I was trying hard for laughs here).

It's just crap!

It's horrible to have to try and get an 8 year old girl to feel ok about herself when it can be such a struggle. And I know she was looking for backup. I know she just wanted someone to say "Yes it is crap, and it's horrible, and we wish you weren't affected by this condition", but we can't say that.

I have no idea how long it's going to be before I have this conversation with Miss 8. She seems to be oblivious (usually) to the differences between her and her normal-bodied friends. She does have her frustrations and can have moments of pure anger, but I tend to let her have them when she needs to. It seems to be an outlet for her and I think it's healthier to let her have a tantrum (in her bedroom of course, we don't need to be hearing it) than to bottle it all up.

I didnt' get a chance to talk to the therapist after they'd finished yesterday. They are all at the age now where they can start discussing these sorts of things, so I really want to know how they are all taking Miss M's realisations. Will Miss 8 start asking questions? Will she have a breakdown or will she just take it in her stride? 

It's just really, really crap.

Master 4 And His Aunty!

Watching a movie last night and a conversation starts up between Miss 6 & her father.

Himself - "Do you like my scratchy face?"

Miss 6 - "No, it's too scratchy. You look like an Uncle."

Himself - "What does that mean? Do you have to have a beard to be an Uncle?"

Miss 6 - "Well yes, Uncle D has a beard and he's an uncle."

Me - "Yes, but the other Uncle D doesn't have a beard and he's an uncle."

Master 4 - "Yes, but only Aunty's have beards."

Unsure as to which Aunty he may be referring too????

What Can You See In The Picture?

You  saw a couple in an intimate pose, right??

Interestingly,  research has shown that young children cannot identify  the intimate couple
because  they do not have prior memory associated with such a  scenario.?

What they  will see, however, is the nine dolphins in the  picture!?

So, I guess we've  already proven you're not a young innocent child.. Now,  if it's hard for you to find  the dolphins within 6 seconds, your mind is SO corrupted  that you probably need help!?

OK, here's  help: look at the space between her right arm and her  head, the tail is on her neck, follow it up. Look at her  left hip, follow the shaded part down, it's another one,  and on his shoulder..?

OH, S U R E  , you see them NOW!!!!!!!?? 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I received this email from a friend a few minutes ago. I, of course saw the dolphins straight away (?).

I asked Miss 6 to come and have a look. To tell me what she saw in the picture.

Can you guess what she saw?

Bet you can't!!!!

A monkey man with 4 arms and legs.

How does this work if she's got no prior knowledge of a monkey man with 4 arms & legs?

Or maybe she has......

 

George Michael - Perth Concert

(borrowed from Zimbio, click to see more)

We went in with way too high expectations obviously.

The man looked fantastic (obviously leading a very happy life). He had some very nice moves on the odd occassion he danced. He sang (when he could get through a whole song) beautifully. I loved his policeman outfit - although I'm sure I was not his targetted audience :)

The problem we had (and maybe it was just the 4 of us girls - the people around us remarked it was "by far the BEST concert they had ever been to") was that it was very obvious from the first few songs that he just didn't seem to have the stamina to get through an entire song. You can see by the photo above that he was pointing to us to help him out - which I know is very common at concerts and, don't get me wrong I LOVE LOVE LOVE to let my band/singer of choice know that I can sing as well as them ;), but this happened on every song, and for a good 1/2 of each song - except for a cover of The Police's Roxanne which he sang the whole way through (and did a great job of too).

He seemed to fall into a pattern (which obviously worked very well for him) of 2-3 slow songs and a fast one, followed by a very high stool and another slow one.

The concert started 1 hour later than advertised, and an hour into it he took a 25 minute break, came back on for 4 more songs, one encore that NOBODY recognised as the encore - and I challenge anyone to tell me they knew he was finishing then and there. He said "bye Perth, love you" and walked off never to be seen again. Lights on and away we go!

Very disappointed, although in all fairness to GM it was a horribly humid night and, being indoors it was stifling and he's just come from a nastily cold winter. I think the Promoter has a lot to answer for this concert.

Originally it was to be held at Members Equity which is an outdoor venue. That would have been great (and perhaps we wouldn't  have had to do a heap of the singing ourselves) and I'm certain GM would've felt a whole lot more comfortable onstage than he obviously was last night.

I wouldn't be surprised if we never see him back in WA again.

Boo to the promotors for not looking after us the paying (quite big bucks too I might mention) customers - and the performer. Maybe with your future artists you should try to be a little more concerned about their comfort than the bottom dollar?

To George - I really hope you had a great stay in Perth, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your tour.

A Week of Exercise - Nearly Killed Me!!!

My running partner and I have been getting up at around 5.15am every morning except for Fridays (kids have swimming lessons before school and it's just too hard to squeeze my half hour in before them). We swim Monday, run Tuesday, swim Wednesday and run Thursday. It's only for 1/2 hour but it's better than doing nothing at all.

Last week I decided to add water aerobics into the mix so Wednesday evening I toddled off to the with one of the bookclub mums. We had a spa afterwards which was a fantastic treat. I cancelled Thursdays run because another mum and I were starting our Pilates beginners course at Liv Pilates. I figured I didn't want to over do it :)

Then on Tuesday I joined a ten pin bowling league. Stop laughing now!!!

It was fun. Surprisingly. And I was terrible at it. I'm used to playing with the kids either on the Wii, or when we go the bowling lanes the barriers are up and I never get a gutter ball :)

So this week was a week of rest, except for the Pilates on Thursday night. Next week, straight back into it. This stomach is NOT going to shift itself you know.

Is this what's commonly known as 'A Midlife Crisis'?

Master 4 - Mathematical Genius...

Driving in the car this morning and Master 4 starts telling me about this trapezoid. Can any of you cast your minds back far enough to Yr 9 Maths (I'm assuming that was when we learnt about mathematical shapes)? I had to google it

When I asked him what a trapezoid was he told me it was a triangle without a pointy bit at the top!

Not too bad for a 4 yr old is it?

The Blogs I am Getting Paid For (woohoo)

I have another part-time job. Well, when I say part-time I mean I'm only getting paid $10 per blog so it's really only a twice a month job - and it's quite low paid, but I'm writing and people are actually reading and enjoying what I'm saying so I'm loving it. Not going to be able to retire on it, but I guess that's not what it's all about is it?


So I thought I'd better share the links incase they disappear FOR EVER.
How To Store Your Books 
What To Do When The Power Is Off? 
The Big Book Cull 
Will You Buy My Books?
Get To Work!
Competitive From Afar
My First Post 



Enjoy
xx

Our Crazy Garden

We have been growing various veges since we moved in together 15 years ago. Last year we decided to remove part of our back lawn and establish a proper vege patch. I even wanted to install a chicken coup and have some lovely free range eggs, but we thought the dog might enjoy that a little too much and didn't really feel the kids were ready for THAT kind of reality check.

The garden has had it's successes and it's failures (as all vege gardens do). We were hugely enthusiastic about it when we started it, but over the winter months our "gung-ho" approach became more of a "bugger, I will give you $100 if you go and water the garden" chore. But we've revived our interest in being a little self-sufficient and sewed a heap of seeds last Autumn.

Himself wanted to grow pumpkins. 

Now, I have watched many gardening shows and I know that pumpkins need room to spread out (much like myself when I sleep) . I did explain that when the seeds turn into pumpkin plants they are going to need space, but was told "it's ok - I know what I'm doing you know!" so I left it to him.

Now, the initial problem with planting our various seedlings was that he did it. Without my knowledge. So he was a little unsure as to which seedling was which (I had them labelled in their trays but...) so they were just planted.

When you plant pumpkin, zucchini & cucumber seedlings - they all look alike. The thing is that cucumber and zucchini really need to be grown on a trellis so they are off the ground. Pumpkin, on the other hand, should NEVER be grown on a trellis, for very obvious reasons.

Have a look at this. It's a very weeny pumpkin. You might take note of where it's growing?

Vertically.

Straight up the fence.

 

 

It is in the process of learning to live on the ground - but apparently pumpkins do enjoy the trellis lifestyle.

Now, on a sadder note. You may have read that we have some fish in a fish pond. They do tend to get replaced on an annual basis because they seem to get a little too much kindness.

Well it seems we may just be waking up tomorrow to a pond full of fish that are floating upside-down.

Again!

Someone in our family - who shall remain anonymous to protect his identity - was trying to add some nutrients to the pond. Nutrients that are kept in a bottle on the top of the beer fridge. Nutrients that are kept in a bottle, right next to the bottle of tea-tree shampoo we use to wash the dog. 

Can you see where I'm going with this?

And the comment I made earlier about trying to shield the kids to the realities of farm life? I'm pretty sure they will be fine. Miss 6 has already made a comment about "another trip to the fish shop"...

     

An Old Flame Has Reappeared ...

You know when you sit and chat (and have a few drinks with the girls) and you talk about your first big crush? 

The first guy (or girl) that made your heart go boom diddy boom. 

The first guy that made your face turn bright red, just by walking past. 

The first guy that made you talk you like you had a mouth full of cotton balls, and turned you into someone who couldn't string a sentence together to save your life.

 (Just to clear this up before I get into trouble - I did actually marry the MAN who caused this to happen to me as an adult, but I am actually talking about the very first one. Go on, you know EXACTLY who I'm talking about).

Well, I have just recently rediscovered my "first crush". He was a boy from my high school. A very cute, blonde haired, brown eyed(I think, memory isn't what it used to be and it's entirely possible I'm substituting him with Zac Ephron) young man who was 13, the same age as me. We seemed to have a mutual fascination right from the very first day of school. But it was defintely a distance crush. Neither of us spoke to each other until we were around 15. 

Those were the days!

Do you remember the conversations with your friends - someone would come up in the playground (or undercovered area) and say "Such and such wants to go around with you, do you wanna or not?" and that would really be about it. Such deep and meaningful relationships!!! It's a wonder they ever made it past a week - or did they?

Well, my secret crush and I never got that far. In fact, I think the reason he was a secret crush was because nothing happened to shatter that ideal. 

We didn't speak to each other for 2 years, and when we finally got to a party at an age where we could maybe have a "quick pash" I was seeing one of his mates, and that lasted for 5 years. We would run into each other occassionally at football games (my partner at the time played football with him) and we actually managed to have adult conversations - by that stage I had managed to remove almost all of the cotton balls from my mouth.

I actually managed to forget all about him (unless we were having a girl's night, full of wine, reminiscing about our secret crushes) until my boyfriend (now husband) and I were travelling around Western Australia and ended up in the same small country town as him and his girlfriend. He and my husband started going fishing together.

That was a little uncomfortable, let me tell you. Watching your soul-mate and love of your life wetting a line with your secret crush.

But, I have to tell you - after having a bit of a chat with my secret crush this week - there is no more cotton balls in my mouth, not even an inkling of a boom diddy boom. In fact, I had a giggle and chatted to Himself about it afterwards. His memory of my first secret crush was that he was a bit of an idiot and hoped he'd grown up since we last saw him!  

Funny how he'd managed to sum up this boy so accurately. 

Makes me very, very happy that my first crush managed to stay a "secret" crush.

Maybe your first crush should stay just that way.

Whether it's secret or out there for the world to see. Whether it was George Michael (remember, we are talking the early '80s here - he was just best of mates with Andrew Ridgely !?!), or Dave - the guy in English class that had a flat-top hair cut and wore very tight Faberge jeans and Adidas sneakers, and had a stone-wash denim jacket, these guys (or girls) taught us what to look for, and what NOT to look for in later life.

Now feel free to have a little daydream about your first crush. Go on, enjoy the moment and then thank the Universe for what you have now. You'll appreciate it more I promise!

Back To School Tomorrow

And I can't wait!!!

The kids are excited. I'm excited. Well, actually I'm a little apprehensive.

I feel like I'm starting my first day back at school. My tummy has wee butterflies. I know I won't get much sleep tonight. Will the teachers like me? Will the other parents want to have a coffee with me? Am I wearing the right clothes? Have I run over a child in the parking lot?

I know - all a bit silly really. But it does feel like I'm starting and not the kids.

Miss 8 (who is in Yr 3) is going into a split Yr 3/4 class which was completely unexpected. There are only 2 Yr 3 classes this year, both of them splits. The other is a Yr 2/3 class and I had assumed she would go into that one. 

I'm not ready for her to be in a 3/4. Not too sure why but I'm just not ready. She is though.

Miss 6 (going into Yr 1) will be in a Yr 1/2 class with Miss 8's teacher from last year. Mrs R is the BEST teacher any of my kids have ever been taught by (apologies to the other ones but Mrs R was born to be a teacher and it shows). I'm hugely happy about that and so is Miss 6. Even though she has none of her "besties" from Pre-Primary she doesn't care because she gets to have Mrs R - just like her sister. 

I'm not ready for her to be in a 1/2. Not too sure why but I'm just not ready. She is though.

Master 4 starts on Thursday and will go every Thursday & Friday to Kindy. He has the most gorgeous teacher. He also has his 2 best mates in the world in the same class. He is so excited. He told me it's going to be great to have his fans in his class with him.

FANS!!!!

I've explained the difference between a fan and a friend, but he's still insisting that they are his fans so good luck to them. And good luck to the teacher. She's going to need it. I have a sneaking suspicion that these boys are going to be a handful.

I'm not ready for him to be in Kindy. I'm ready for him to be at school full-time :)

This should be an interesting week.

Good luck to all who have littlies starting back this week. And biggies too.

A Great School Holiday Week!

This week has been fantastic, well for me. Himself went back to work on Monday after 3 weeks off and was NOT happy about it. We, on the other hand have;

• Monday - Met up with some friends at the park
• Tuesday - had the neice & nephew over all day
• Wednesday - went into the city to the museum, then went out to the movies with himself that night
• Thursday - went to the beach
• Friday - spent the morning at Matilda Bay frollicking in the river, then out to dinner with Himself on Date Night....
• Saturday - haven't got there yet but tomorrow morning off to the beach at 8am with 4 other families (very close friends so should be great) to spend the day playing, surfing and building sandcastles.
• Sunday - haven't got there yet but it's going to be 42 degrees so we will be inside under the airconditioning vent trying to stay cool.

The first 3 days were nice. A really lovely way to get back into the swing of post-camping life.

Wednesday at the museum was wonderful. I (being the terribly neglectful mother that I am) have never taken the kids into Northbridge. They loved it, and so did I. The museum was so good. They have an exhibition called Dinosaurs Alive. As you walk in the front doors of the museum, a huge dinosaur (that I assume is motion controlled, either that or he is one very clever dinosaur) that sniffs the air, rolls his eyes and roars very, very loudly. Very cool. That night Himself and I had the first of our 2 date nights for this week. Very spoilt - this never, ever happens. But we're taking it while we can. It's been a while since we've had a night out. We try to do it every few weeks ago, but sometimes life (and Christmas) just seem to get in the way. It's a routine we love & need to have.

Thursday was a day at the beach. We only live about 10 minutes from the beach so we managed to get there around 9am. We were meeting one of the mums from Mothers Groups, and Miss 8 had bought along one of her friends too. The beach was beautiful and calm, the kids were excited and dripping wet within 30 seconds of being there. The kids walked out to the end of the jetty, and we followed not long after as we noticed that they had been noticing the people jumping off the side of the jetty into the water - and we figured that they figured it looked like much fun!!! What was most cool was that Sam the Seal turned up at the very end of the jetty to see what people were catching,. Imagine seeing a seal. Up close & personal. The kids thought that was the best thing they had seen all day, including all the starfish they were saving, and the fish they were snorkling after. And the seal did a little dive and showed everyone his tail and bottom. EVEN BETTER!

Today, Friday, was a catch up with one of my oldest friends and her 2 gorgeous little girls. Matilda Bay is just a beautiful reserve, right next to the University of WA. Huge, old trees line the banks and there's a bit of sand for the kids to dig in. There's also some very long pontoon type jetty's (are you seeing a pattern here???) that we stayed clear of because Master 4 and my girlfriends Miss 3 & Miss 18 months would have just thought they were the best things in the world to try and swim out too. Instead we stayed on this little bit of beach and watched the kids try to rid the Swan River of every jellyfish contained within. And they nearly got them all too. Including the one that stung Master 4. You know you're a Sandgroper when you get stung by a jellyfish. And many thanks to the lady that supplied us with a part of her aloe vera plant to take the sting away. Very much appreciated :)

Tomorrow will be wonderful but I have no stories to tell. I'll leave that for another day. But this has been a most SPLENDID WEEK. I just love summer in Perth. It is the best.

4 Year Old Tantrums...

And so it starts again. The 4 year old tanty. 

I love my children dearly and would seriously harm anyone that even looked at them the wrong way, but when Master 4 gets wound up - I would gladly give him to the first person that looked my way. And it seems to be getting worse, not better. 

Were the girls this bad at this age? I'm sure they weren't, or is that just that Parental Short-Term Amnesia that is kicking in (which often starts when we plan our second child "oh that birth thing really wasn't all that bad").

Himself didn't really get just how bad Master 4 had got until he (and the Grandparents, and the Uncle & Aunt) witnessed it while on our recent holiday. Even Grandpa was heard to remark how most unlike Master 4 that was, and that they had never heard him even remotely sound like a steam train at full roar!

• I've tried reasoning with him - of course that's the worst possible thing I could do. Who can reason with a 4 year old? Unless it's another 4 year old.
  
• I've tried threatening him - the second worst thing I can do, because when I carry through with the threat he has usually calmed down, and that just starts him back up again.
• I've tried the bribery - which has it's advantages, namely he SHUTS UP, but not always so this can be very hit & miss (and I certainly DO NOT want to use this all the time).
• I've tried having a glass of wine - and surprisingly that seems to work quite well for me, just not for him!
• I've tried ignoring him, but then he starts adding MUM MUM MUM to the horrible steam train roar.

So what to do about the tantrums?

I just cross my fingers and hope he survives to age 5...

Being Hounded By The Paparazzi...

Miss 8 does it again!

Miss 8 seems to be a favourite amongst our daily newspaper, The West Australian. This is the second interview they've done with her, their "Miracle Girl". My guess is they have had an awful lot of doom & gloom in the paper the last few months and would really like to have a nice, feel-good story for the front page. So silly old Mum says "Yes" yet again.

Will I ever learn?

The PR person from The Centre For Cerebral Palsy (http://www.tccp.com.au/Home) had rung me while we were on our last day of our best holiday ever, and had asked if I would mind doing a recap interview, to show everyone how well Miss 8 was doing. And in her next breath she admitted that I haven't been very happy with The Centre for the past 2 years, but would I mind still doing it? For Layne's best interests?

So I explained that I had no problem doing interviews and highlighting how well my daughter has done, but I would not (under any circumstances) praise The Centre for their help & support over the past few years because we have had NONE. 

I explained to her that we have been funding our own private therapy for Miss 8 since we have received perhaps 4 sessions over the last 2 years. She knew this because I have made quite a few enquiries as to where our therapy was, and where the funding (that my child is entitled to through her paid membership to The Centre) has gone over that period that pays for her therapy. I've also queried why we can't access that funding and put it towards our own private therapy - to help with the costs. Apparently, this is not how things work there - but they are more than happy for me to get in front of a journalist and praise The Centre for all of the wonderful things they do for everyone - just not for my child. 

She understood that, and I actually thought she was going to ring the newspaper and suggest they try somebody else. Perhaps she did, but they turned up anyway. And, fortunately (or perhaps they were forewarned?) they didn't ask me a single thing about The Centre. 

I wonder what the Channel 9 news crew will ask me when they turn up on my doorstep in half an hour? Will I actually have the balls to say what I want to say - or will I take the usual Amanda road and keep things pleasant and NOT rock the boat. 

Watch tonight at 6pm to find out...

Our Christmas Holiday

Well, another year over. Another Dixon Christmas holiday over. This year we decided to head north instead of south - so Ledge Point it was. I have never been to this lovely little sleepy hollow before. It was just gorgeous. A tiny little town, with a general store and a bakery. It has a beach, and, well that's about it. A wonderful place to relax. We swam, we surfed, we ate lots of icecream and we had a ball.

Master 4 learned how to swim overarm in the caravan park pool. He also learned how to boogey board & body surf with his Dad. He had a great time.

Miss 6 learnt how to ride her bike sans training wheels. Now she can go over speedbumps WAY faster than the recommended 8kms per hour!

Miss 8 showed her father & her uncle why she is the familys BEST fisherperson. She was the only one who caught fish on this holiday. And she caught 2 of the little things. She also likes to give them a big squishy hug before releasing them back into the surf. UGHHHH.

Even the grandparents got into the action. They each took up boogey boarding and had the best time showing us how it's done! Well done to you both. I attempted my first boogey board in probably 25 years and managed to get myself dumped (yeah, yeah - stop laughing NOW) and sustained a rather sizeable bruise on my knee which broke my fall during the dumping. I wore it very proudly during the holiday - making sure EVERYONE knew about my war wound.

We've been home 24 hours now and am missing the laid back lifestyle already. I'm on the 10th load of washing (because, for some reason, caravan park washing machines do not wash properly). As well as washing the 6 new pairs of sheets I bought from Grays Online Auctions (which I forgot to mention to Himself, mainly because I hadn't realised I'd bid on so many - OOPS).

Anyway, back to work. I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into my books this year. I am feeling so enthusiastic about this year I don't think I can wait for it to start. I have so many plans and ideas that I'm not really sure if 365 days is enough. Oh, make that 357 (already lost 8 days). So I must be off. Have stuff to do - and I haven't even written up my new calendar yet which means I've already missed a birthday (sorry Uncle F, Happy Birthday for Wednesday xxx).

Hope your New Year is full of happyness and laughter. If I can get over this PMT mine will be too