Day at Barcy

For all of you that aren't local, not that I really am yet, but Barcy is Barcaldine, just over 100kms from Longreach. We went to Barcy today to go to Mass. Yes, that's right, we drove over 100kms to attend Mass. And I think that technically means I didn't have to go because I travelled so far but out here 100kms is nothing. They were having Confirmations and First Holy Communions too, which we didn't know about. To my amazement they were dressed traditionally and the girls even wore veils!! How sweet.

We also went to the Folk Musuem there because they were running their little garden railway. Jessica had a ball. Hollie not so much even though she is into trains more than Jessica. It was the noise of the lawn mower motor in the train that Hollie didn't like. Here are some photos of our day and a layout I did for the sketch challenge on SBM forum.

HMITM

Here's a layout I created for the HMITM challenge #107. It drove me nuts because I actually created this layout about our third wedding anniversary and got the journaling done in 25 words as specified in the challenge the went to print the photo off and the photo I thought I was going o use was actually for Valentine's Day!!! not our wedding anniversary. I don't have a photo of our wedding anniversary. And to make it worse, before I went to print the photo off I wrote a wrong word in the journaling so I had to cut the inside of the journal block out and had to re-write and re-stick it then I found out about the photo. So then I had to come up with another photo that I could use the title and design with. I found this one I've been wanting to do of my first wedding anniversary but the 3 was a rub-on and I couldn't get it off. Luckily I could get off years and was able to replace it with days. It worked out ok in the end but I was nearly crying there for a while. It all came together so easily and quickly initially that of course something had to go wrong. Check out the challenge on the How Much Is Too Much? blog.

http://hmitm.blogspot.com/

Under 8s Day

Today we went to the Longreach State School for the Under 8s Day. There were heaps of kids there and lots of activities for everyone to do. The girls had heaps of fun. Jessica was a little overwhelmed to start with and Hollie wanted to go home when the emergency services cars arrived and the kids were allowed to turn on the sirens and honk the horns. Hollie was scared. Poor thing. We had to make playdough because Playgroup supplied the playdough activity. We made purple, Carley made pink and Trish made blue so when all the colours got mixed together as it does when kids play with it (I mean who else is going to play with it? Adults?) it made purple instead of brown or muck. Good thinking Trish.

Cyber crop

This weekend I participated in the Scrapbooking Memories Cyber crop. I got 5 layouts done. I'm not overly impressed with any of them but they all meet the set criteria so I guess I'm happy with that. I'm also happy that I got another 5 done. It's 5 more stories I've told and I had a great time doing it too.
Sister love challenge was set by Bella to create a layout with the following criteria:
Use die-cut cardstock as the base - buy a ready-made shape or cut one out yourself
Use only black and white paper or cardstock colours
Use photos that make a strong connection between the past and the present
Use button clusters to accentuate journaling.

Watch your smile bloom was a challenge from Buzz and Bloom.
The challenge is to create a layout using hot pink, orange, polka dots and use either ‘buzz’ or ‘bloom’ in your title

Outside was a challenge by Kaisercraft was to use the sketch. I was lucky enough to have Kaisercraft patterned paper.
The others were sketch challenges too. I liked the sketch challenges as they weren’t so challenging but the challenge of the others was also very rewarding.

Anyway, enjoy. I’m off to bed so I can get up and swim 3kms in the morning. How exciting. Well it is. It is so good to clear my head and feel like I’ve done something by 7am but it is just the thought of getting out of bed at 5:45am in the freezing cold I don’t like. And 120 laps is rather daunting. 102 laps this afternoon!! I’m going well. My size 14 jeans don’t fit any more. That’s a bonus.

The photo for 2 months old.

Bad Mummy

Sometimes I just feel like such a bad Mum. Hannah was 2 months old two days ago and the only photo I took of her was one of her asleep at night time. I didn't even realise that she was 2 months old.
Yesterday I locked Jessica in her room for throwing a tantrum because she wanted to watch a movie and not eat her lunch and because she wouldn't stay in the naughty corner. Eventually she came and ate her lunch but I did feel bad about locking her in her room. Me bad Mum.
Today is much better though (except I have a screaming hungry kids on my front right now). Must go so I'm not a bad Mum again.

Today's agenda

I was very good this morning. When the alarm went off I didn't tell Kevin to turn it off even though I was very tired and cold and didn't really want to get out of bed. I got up an went to the pool. It took me ages to swim the 2.5kms today but I did it. Hannah had woken not long after I left so Kevin gave her a bottle. I am very lucky that he is so supportive and doesn't complain that he had to get up to feed her. After my shower I had to express (gosh it is hard to swim when you are full of milk because it tingles so much) and Hollie and Jessica tried to help. I don't know how they think they can help but they do and it is annoying but I just feel like they want to be part of Hannah so I let them help me push the handle.

Today I have heaps of housework to do. Oh joy. Hopefully if I get it all done I can go to town and do the shopping so that the girls can have a rest after lunch and we'll go to the pool after Playschool. Hannah is crying and wants a feed so I have to go and deal with that then it's washing, vacuuming, mopping, cleaning mirrors, bathroom and toilet, ironing and sorting out the kids clothes. They are all out of their current sizes and into the next size so I have to put clothes in bags and take more clothes out and trying to do that with "help" is not easy.

This is not a good photo but it is exactly how Jessica looks every time you tell her to smile for the camera. It's so cute but could you just be "normal" for once so I could take your beautiful smile?

Crying has started again. I'm really going this time.

Just something new

These have been sitting in my work-in-progress folder for over a year. I thought I'd better finish them because the photos and the selected papers have been there for a long time.

Hollie's first time on the "sippy side" as she used to call it. It was a chance for her to have some time with Mum and Dad alone before Daddy flew back to Longreach (we were staying with the in-laws waiting to move to Longreach, Kevin was already here). Her love of "sippy sides" hasn't changed except she can pronounce it properly now.

I'm glad that I got these two finished. It means that I have a few less unfinished projects which is always satisfying.

The other new announcement is I swam 3kms today. My darling husband has set me a challenge. To swim 225km by the end of August. Why 225kms? Because my winter memership cost $225 and I didn't sign up until the season was well underway so I don't really have that long to get the 225kms done. I'm also going away for over 3 weeks so I have to get cracking and put in a few long swims. My usual 2kms won't cut it now. It has to be over 2kms every swim and I can't miss a day. Thanks for the challenge Kevin. It's going to be hard but it will mean that I have to go and be very committed even though it is so cold in the morning when I get out. I still have 203.5km to go!!! Wish me luck.

Motherhood

Sometimes I think this is so easy, being a mother is wonderful and so fulfilling so it's easy. Tonight and thus this morning was not one of those moments. Last night I was awake every hour for one of the kids which resulted in me being so very tired this morning. So when the alarm went off at 5:45am to go to the pool I just couldn't do it and now of course I am feeling so slack. But it took me until nearly 9am when a friend came around to wake up. My eyes are still sore and it's nearly 12pm!!! The kids are tired from lack of sleep. I'm tired from lack of sleep. It reallly doesn'tmake a good combination and I have to get all the jobs done.

Here is a moment of motherhood that I delight in though. Check this photo out. Isn't it just so cute? This is Jessica falling asleep while drawing. It is these really cute times and when they are just so adorable that your hart just swells. It was just so funny because 3o seconds prior to this photo her and Hollie had been having a fight over a pink texta and then Hollie left to play another game and Jessica fell asleep. What dear things children are. God made them so sweet so we could stand the tantrums and the teenage years. They are truly wonderful and I'm so glad I'm a mum even though it is really ard work.

Mother's Day Afternoon Tea

I am a mother, first and foremost, and a wife second. Then comes me, for me. I love being a mother and a wife and sometimes there is time for me. Today was one of those days. I was able to leave the three kids at home with Kevin and go to the Mother's Day afternoon tea to raise money for the local kindy. Our table were dressed as fairies. We had a wonderful time. Isn't it good to get out and not talk about the kids or worry about them? I so lucky that I have such a hands on husband that I don't have to worry how he'll cope with the kids. I was able to go the whole 4 hours, yes 4 hours for afternoon tea, without thinking about the kids (too much). How nice it was to have time to focus on me. To laugh, to talk (and not be interupted), to feel like a human being that isn't attached to children. Make no mistake, I love them dearly but sometimes it seems that all I am is a mother and while that is wonderful and very fulfilling, it is also very draining and sometimes makes me feel like I want something else. Today was the something else. Today was my day to recharge. To feel young. To just be me. Not a mother or a wife or a cleaner or a negotiator or a slave. Just me. It was wonderful even if it was a little bit selfish.
I will upload photos of us as fairies and me with my shower cap prize. Next time I better win something better than a shower cap. It will make a lovely addition to the dress-up box.