Post Christmas Wrap up

Hey peeps! How are you all?  Did you miss me? Well, I have missing visiting you all now have 168 posts to read. Prolific bunch aren’t you?

I hope those of you who celebrated Christmas had a nice time and enjoyed time with your friends and family.  I hope those of you who lost loved ones during the year managed to have great memories of those you lost and that your loss didn't; overshadow the enjoyment of the day.  The first year is the hardest and the sadness does lessen over time.  But I know that it’s very tough. So hugs to those of you, struggling with your grief.

So what have we been doing in my blogging absence? Well, the kids and I went to Sydney to have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my extended family.  It’s the fourth year in a row for us there.  The first was the one just before my mother died and that seems to have started a tradition.  Now my traditions are things like eating shortbread while putting up the Christmas tree and watching both lots of televised Carols (the Domain in Sydney ones and the Vision Australia ones from Melbourne). It seems the extended family Christmas is now one as well.  Mr E. didn’t come with us this year as he is unwell and it was touch and go whether he ended up in hospital on IV antibiotics.  Basically he decided that he’d prefer to be at home alone rather than end up in hospital in Sydney. So for the first time in 17 years Mr E and I were not together for most (if not all of Christmas Day). I’m still feeling a little unsettled about that but Mr E. is slowly getting better and will probably avoid a trip to hospital which is what we really want.

The kids and I went to the beach on Christmas morning, then to a morning tea, present opening and lunch with my family.  We had a lovely day.  The food was great and Boy Child ate PORK and HAM! Apparently ham tastes like cabanossi (huh?).  He even ate steak in public when we took out my Grandmother out on Christmas Eve.  How proud are we?  Very! He was also extremely helpful at the Christmas Lunch with carrying things, playing with the little kids and impressed many people by trying new foods.  Lots of people commented on how mature he is and how helpful.  We are so extraordinarily proud of him.

Girl child had fun playing with the cousins particularly the two littlest. She shared beautifully and was lovely.  She is very nurturing. We are very proud of her too.  Except maybe of the 5.45am wake up we had.  Not a great start when you have a full on day and a 3.5 hour drive in the evening.  But she was happy to find her stocking had a present in it. 

We made it home safely. Tired but happy that Mr E. was doing well and grateful that we had family to spend the day with.  I hope you all enjoyed your celebration, not matter what or where they were.

It’s been a Momentous week!

This week has been a very busy but exciting week.  As you know, Girl Child finally got over the chicken pox and managed to return to school for the last 3 days of Year 1. She was so excited to go back to school she was completely ready to leave at 6.30 am on Wednesday.  She got to hand out Christmas cards and say goodbye to her friends and her teachers. I had 3 days of freedom and even managed to do most of the Christmas shopping. Plus I got a haircut and even had some foils put in.

Boy Child finished Year 6.  It’s the end of his Primary School Life, next year he starts High School. He is growing up so fast! The graduation was on Thursday morning and Boy Child received an Academic Excellence Award.  We are very proud.

Thursday evening there was and Year 6 graduation Dinner and Disco.   Boy Child went.  He had fun with his friends, danced and ate roast beef!  Yes that’s right the boy, who has basically subsisted on nutella sandwiches and chicken nuggets and chips since he was 3, ate roast beef.  Scary, huh?

Even better than that it was the third day in a row that he had eaten foods out of his comfort zone.  Now he tried sausages back in October at a Birthday party (so he wouldn't upset the hosts by not eating) and he ate hot dogs at home here. This week he ate two sausages for dinner on Tuesday, tried steak on Wednesday, apparently ate 3 sausages at a school sausage sizzle on Thursday and then ate roast beef at his graduation dinner.  OMG!!!  I am so very proud of him.  This year he has tried a huge (for him) number of new foods – pizza, carrots, blueberries, watermelon, strawberries,  sausages, frankfurts and steak. Now some of those he doesn't like but the majority he has actually liked the taste of and is willing to try or again and for some even eat on a regular basis. Go Boy Child!  We love you very much and are so impressed that you have tried new things.  Oh yes,  and for finishing Primary school and getting an Academic Excellence Achievement Award.

Fat to Fit 16 Dec 2010

The last time I did this I was a little confused and apparently trying to get from Fit to Fat.  Well that's what my title was anyway.  I plead sickness and sheer stupidity lack of proof reading!

Last time my goals were:

1. To finish tidying the family room, yes again! Fail!
2. Try to walk to school or use the treadmill for 20 plus minutes 4 days of the week, if well enough. Fail although not completely. I did walk at least twice.
3. Go to bed before 10.30 pm at least 3 nights of the week. Success!  Okay illness may have had a lot to with that.
4. Try to eat less processed food. Have salad stuff to eat for lunch and will aim for at least 3 days for that. Success!  I had salad sandwiches and wraps a few times.
5. If I still feel like crud, seek medical advice.  I was told by 3 different people this morning to go to the Dr as I have now been sick for about 3 weeks and apparently sound just as bad as I did last Friday. Success again.  Okay, I actually went to the Dr twice and the second time got different antibiotics and a repeat as the first lot didn’t help much. 

Wow, not as bad as I thought.  I have now also lost a total of 800g!  WOOT! Which according to MyDr .com.au means I only need to lose 9kgs exactly to get to a BMI of 25. Now that BMI calculator lets you put in decimals which I like.  Also they say 25 is normal and overweight starts at a BMI of 26.

My aims for this week are:

1. To finish tidying the family room.  Do I sound like a broken record yet?  If this does not occur there will be no Christmas Tree!
2. Use the treadmill for 20 plus minutes or walk the dogs 4 days of the week .
3. Go to bed before 10.30 pm at least 3 nights of the week.
4. Try to eat less processed food. Have salad stuff to eat for lunch and will aim for at least 3 days for that.
5. Play with / spend some quality time with the children.

What are you going to do for yourself?

Join in with Lucy's Fat to Fit Blog hop.

Post It Note Tuesday #15

 

 

 

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Rich People’s Problems Dec 2010

I have done this previously but after my whining last post/s I thought I should do it again. After all, I occasionally often need a kick up the bum wake up call.    Cooper, Pepper and their Mum and Dad visited Cambodia recently so check out Big Brother, Little Sister particularly this post for a kick up the bum if you need one too.  As before the idea is to list problems that only rich (or first world, or affluent or comfortably well off) people have.

This week my rich people’s problems were:

• Not having  hot water for most of Friday… because I could make a phone call and a good looking  nice plumber came and fixed it within a few hours.
• Being in quarantine with Girl Child due to her Chicken Pox…because Chicken Pox is not small pox, polio or other nasty / very rare (where I live) disease.
• Being at home with Girl child (yes again)…because I work from home and don’t have to take leave to look after her. I also can’t be fired for not being at work for the last week and a half and I don't get pressured to send her back before she is well.
• Suddenly realising that Christmas is less than 2 weeks away and I haven't gotten presents for lots of people…but I have access to money and shops which many people do not.
• Our garage flooded with the rain…however, the water catchment areas are full plus the family and rest of our home is safe and dry.
• My frustration with our school (I seem to be a broken record on this at the moment)…but my children have a safe place to go to,  where they learn and play with friends etc.
• My difficulty accepting that my boy baby growing up and going to High School…we live in a country where children don’t have to work to support themselves or their families.

Have you had any rich people’s problems lately?  Or am I the only one?

Don’t push me ‘cause I’m close to the edge…

So here we are again.  Me whining. It may have something to do with Girl Child having been in Chicken Pox quarantine for 8 days.  I have escaped a few times to buy the essentials like chocolate bread and milk, etc.  Oh on the weekend  I also took Boy Child to all 3 dance concerts, his Martial Arts grading and a birthday party.

Luckily, life isn’t like my grandmother thinks it is and Mr E. is fully capable of looking after his children.  Of course when you ask Girl Child did she have a good day on Sunday (Boy Child and I were out most of the day) she says: Mum, it was really fun yesterday.  Every time I said I was sick Dad put on Barbie for me.  His response: Needed to keep her still.

Being stuck at home with Dad is much more fun that being stuck at home with Mum as there is way less TV and more house work type things.  On Tuesday she asked to go back to school. School? That place she has told me countless times that she doesn’t like… I must be boring.

Anyway, here are the whines.

Whine 1: Don't tell us you will keep a place at your school for Girl Child and we have until the end of the year to decide if you don't actually mean it. Thankfully, I rang to confirm that you had kept the place before I bought uniforms etc.  I’m really peeved about this.  There was no checking if we needed the place, nothing.  To me the end of the year is the end of the year not whenever you actually gave the place away.  If you had said let me know by Week 1 of Term 4 we would have had an answer then.  But you didn't! We don’t finish school here until next Friday. The current school hadn't gotten back to me on issues I’d raised with them a few weeks ago and I was waiting for their response.  Of course, our current school only started thinking about classes yesterday.  Note: School here finishes next Friday and I didn't ring the other school today either.

Whine 2: If you can’t go to a function due to your partners birthday perhaps you should say that when the time date is first suggested.  After all it’s not February 29, the birthday is on the some date every year. Then don’t ask someone to change it to another day and then once that is done ask for it to be deferred to next year!  Seriously there are 8 people going to this dinner.  While you think it does, the world doesn't actually revolve around you.

Whine 3: Please don't lie to me about things that I have seen happen.  And have seen them happen on several occasions. It’s amazing how fast you tried to back pedal when I named people and places.

I’m sure there are more but numbers 2 and 3 happened this morning and it just did my head in.

So, what currently has you close to the edge? I’m sure other people are feeling like this today as well.  Please share so I don't feel so alone!

Rolling with the punches… or not

I’m having one of those weeks.  You know the ones where things just seem to go wrong.  The ones where breaking open the cooking chocolate or diving into a bottle or pool of alcohol might just take the edge off.

Today is Friday.  Today I cried at school. Yep, me. Today I can’t roll with the punches.

All the things are minor but they have just added up. Remember this post and a few after it? My grandmother’s kidneys are failing again. She’s not in hospital at the moment but will probably need to go back on Pred which makes her face swell up.   Tuesday was the Paed appointment where we got the bad news that Dr T. is sick again and going away.  I mentioned that in my last post.  Boy Child was diagnosed with reflux.

Wednesday Mr E. came home early.  He was sick and after a Dr appointment and a visit to hospital he was diagnosed with a kidney stone which thankfully he passed.   We got home about 1 am.  Note to self: find an emergency babysitter!

Thursday was my Dr appointment.  The antibiotics I was given last Friday had helped a little but not enough.  I got stronger antibiotics and took Girl Child with me.  She has Chicken Pox or Hand, Foot and Mouth disease.  Ah joy! 

So today's phone call with Boy Child being really unclear and raving about how I had to bring him his drawings so they could be sold at school to raise money was the last straw.  There was quite a bit of ‘this stupid school that I hate’ thrown in there for good measure. It turned out that there had been a miscommunication and he was supposed to do something about two weeks ago which he didn’t and that meant he couldn't sell badges at the fete they were having etc., etc.  And I cried in front of his teacher, Ms S.

She felt bad for me being upset and I felt like an idiot.  Seriously it’s just all those little things that just tipped me over the edge.  I went back to the fete to get Girl Child a sausage (she was waiting in the car for me) and Ms S came back over to me.  Apparently Boy Child had asked her why I was upset.  He knew I was upset because I was crying but he didn't know why.  Ms S told him it was just a miscommunication and I was worried about Girl Child Mr E., etc.  Sometimes I forget how hard it is for him to understand people and emotions.  His anxiety seems to showing up big  time with the end of the year, the dance concerts, grading and transition to high school. If I lost it today, t’s no wonder that he is too.

So I have eaten the chocolate chips I bought to cook with and cried a bit more.  I’m still feeling like an idiot but then I feel like that quite often. Let’s hope next week is a better one.