Thursday 30 October 2008

Everyday

Every day I am thankful for clean water and electricity to drink and wash in.
Every day I am thankful that what people throw out doesn't determine how we eat and live and what we live beside.
Every day I am thankful that it doesn't require balance and coordination to get from one place to the other!Every day I am thankful that in some small way we can make a difference in two beautiful children's lives...and while we have breathe we will never stop.

Wednesday 29 October 2008

Nothing to do with Anything


Andrew and I were at the library the other day sipping milky drinks and rambling through magazines.  I found this fire.  I think it might just be the ultimate in coolness.  Or hotness.

Tuesday 28 October 2008

Calli's Back Too (For the Moment)

Do you guys remember Miss Kim's magic mirror on Romper Room?  I was always hoping that she would be able to see me through it and say my name, but it never happened.  That's what you get for having a weird name.  Anyway, I was just reading through some of the comments on the blog and thought I'd say hi to everyone, Romper Room style!

 Romper, bomper, stomper boo. 
Tell me, tell me, tell me, do. 
Magic mirror, tell me today. 
Have all my friends had fun at play?
 
I can see Edel and Kimmy and Trinny 
And Kati and Linny and Floor 
And Leanne and Rohan and Spani 
And all of you boys and girls out there!

Thanks for visiting, we love having you here.

And now for a post.  This is the part that you shouldn't try at home.
Andrew wanted me to shave his head on the weekend.  Fine.  Not a problem.  Been done before.  Except for the part where Calli hacked and hacked and got it all wrong.  W.R.O.N.G.  I thought it would be cool to practice my haircutting skills on Andrew.  
Actually, scratch that.  I have no haircutting skills to practice.  I thought it might be cool to see if I could actually cut hair.  Then Andrew suggested that we should give him a bowl haircut before shaving it all off.  Funny-funny.  Just had to be done.  And so I did.  
The bowl was positioned and I chopped off all the hair below it.  After I'd finished and had a good laugh Andrew said that he hoped I hadn't cut the hair shorter than he wanted it to be shaved.  
Hmmm.  This is the part where my stomach started doing flip-flops and I was getting chills down my spine.  I hadn't thought about that small, insignificant detail.  Turns out it was too short.  But only in patches.  Really bad looking patches.  
I shaved number three all over.  And then number two.  Number one.  And finally, with no blade thing on at all.  My poor, balding husband now has to face the wilds of the Amsterdam winter with only a very, very little fuzz on his head.  But at least the patches are gone now.
I learnt a lesson that day: picturing an upside-down Friar Tuck hairdo is not the way to cut your husband's hair.  And the second part of the lesson, make sure you marry a guy who will think it is hilarious when you make a total hash of his haircut.  Thank goodness I did.

back...

A word I am using a lot lately but this time it is to my darling sisters and not money eyed black men!!!
I'M BACK!!!
Post proper this arvo I hope .... tomorrow as am off to an orphanage for the day and night Yipee!! xxxx

Monday 27 October 2008

Snap!

Andrew broke the internet. Snapped it in two like a little twig. He's strong, that man of mine. We're hoping it will be fixed soon. I feel cut off from the world, it's only been 4 or 5 days but I'm gasping for breath without it. No way to read inspiring blogs, find recipes, let the world know that I'm alive. I've hit the library this morning, but hopefully we'll be back up and running soon. Please, oh please.

Party Central

Pretty much from here on in there will be posts about the up and coming 8th Birthday celebration. We have invited the whole class and thought we were being really smart having the party on a Saturday because most of the kids would be going to church! WRONG! Out of 23 kids we have 21 coming to the party. That means sewing 21 party bags, making 21 boxes for the cup cakes, 21 cakes....etc and etc! All good fun, but I just need some more energy to stay awake past 6'o'clock at night. Here are some preliminary shots of the process that is taking place.These are the cupcake boxes which will have the kids fav. Mr Men character on the front.These are the girls party bags in the process of being put together.


Saturday 25 October 2008

Funny Things

Here are some funny things my children have said to me lately,
1. Instead of calling you Mummy can I call you Baboon Bottom?

2. Next time we are at the library can we get Pilgrims Processors?
3. Can I swim in my Socks?
4. I think my special talent is cute.

Seriously, these were all said to me this week! My children are special!
Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

Friday 24 October 2008

library days

most wednesdays we go to the library. it's kind of like tuesdays with morrie except it's wednesdays with library and instead of meeting just one person we see hundreds of books and meet new characters and old favourites. we are normally early after we drop connor, so we wait
and pull faces,
and take photo's
then we get to read.

there goes another

hey ho hey ho

just a glimpse into our mundane, who-ha life. afternoon chores.
connor vacuums every night.
kenzi packs away every night.
preparation for later life or child labour.....you decide?

Wednesday 22 October 2008

A little birdy


We spotted this little bird today as we waited for the Library to open. We decided that he too was waiting for those big old glass doors to slide back so he could dash inside and grab 2 or 3 of his favourites. We thought he might have been checking out - The Ugly Duckling, How to Bake Bread and Feathers, Fur and Fins! We decided he would then fly over to Gloria Jeans and order some banana bread with extra poppy seeds and a creamy hot cocoa, which he would take back to his very tidy nest, put his feet up on his newly appolstered lounge and read. He would read until it was time for his favourite Tv show - Creature Features. When next we see him we are hoping to be brave enough to introduce ourselves. I do declare I will fall over if he says his name is Samuelbedraggle, because that is exactly what Kenzi called him....and I think he looks just like a Samuelbedraggle too. Don't you? (photo's by Kenzi)

Ta-da-da-da!

My usual random number generator is sick in bed, so in his stead I've pulled out all the stops and found one on the internet.  And now, without further ado...

The winner is:
Number 8, Dad!  Who said he would use the bag to 'keep a troll for Connor...a drop saw...and a cordless drill...and the latest copy of the Bunnings catalogue...and a copy of the Domain from the Herald but only because Calli has got me chasing houses!!!'

Congratulations Dad, I'm sure you'll look rather swish carrying your drop saw around in this bag!  Or maybe you could find someone else who would like to use it, hehe!  I'm also sure that you'll like the chocolate.  Enjoy!

He Did It

I've started this post a few times today.  Each try got scrapped.  I couldn't quite find the words that conveyed what I wanted to say.  And then I found this quote from Emil Zatopek (one of the greatest runners of the 2oth century): 'It's at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys.'  This encapsulates it for me.  
As I watched Andrew coming around the bend of the track in Amsterdam's Olympic Stadium I think I felt the proudest I've ever felt, and I have to admit that I kinda welled up a bit.  Here was my husband running down the track, obviously hurting, but still going even after 42 kilometres.  He's my man.  And I love him for giving it his  best.  
If you want to see him coming around the track, clutching his bottom (big cramps!) then click here.  It's about halfway through that you see him coming - look for the tall guy, big hair, orange shirt, baggy blue shorts, number 1506.  Yah, that's my husband!

Tuesday 21 October 2008

Here's a Story.......

Then
Now

Of a lovely lady, who was bringing up three very lovely girls.

All of them had hair of gold like their mother...the youngest one had curls.



Guess what I borrowed from the library?

Season 1 of the Brady Bunch. And I found these pictures....ah time goes on.
Silly computer wouldn't let me change around the photo's and stuff...sorry it doesn't make sense!


Sunday 19 October 2008

My Husband is Running Away

It's The Big Day tomorrow. Forty-two kilometres. Yup, you read that correctly, that's a 4 and a 2 and Andrew's going to be running it. That's like running from the farm into Raymond Terrace, doing a few laps of Woolworths then running back to Glen Oak. Just without the hill in the middle. Thank goodness it's the Amsterdam Marathon and not the Glen Oak Marathon. Although I think sponsorship may be a problem for a Glen Oak Marathon. (Oh funny funnies, I just wrote 'marathong', hehe!) Anyway, here it all is in Andrew's words (sorry for the 'nipple' word, this being a family blog and all):

Hey everyone,  

This Sunday (the 19th) I will be running the Amsterdam Marathon. Not just content to complete the course, I am aiming for a sub-4 hour time, although I have a feeling that this is a little ambitious for my first full marathon. Target times aside, I would also like to put all of that sweat and jogger's nipple to a good purpose and am raising money for a charity run by friends of mine in the UK called Opportunity to Hope (O2H). Overall I'd like to raise one pound for every calorie I'll burn during the marathon.  

O2H is a Christian charity that runs a number of projects in the UK, Africa, India, and in South America. Everyone at the charity is a volunteer, and the administrative activities of O2H are run for free by a network of churches, so money raised goes towards the projects themselves rather than running the charity. I have personally been involved in one of the projects, so it is something that is close to my heart.  

If you are interested in giving some of your hard-earned to a special needs nursery in Guatemala, a pregnancy crisis service in the UK, or an orphanage in Zimbabwe, or just want to find out approximately how many calories I'll need for the big day, then check out my fundraising page at:


The page will be active until December, so if you read this a little late, you can still donate. Alternatively, wish me luck, some wind at my back, and good weather!  

Thanks, Andrew

Saturday 18 October 2008

Shake Your Booties Bag Ladies


Only a few days til the bag goes under the hammer.  Any more contenders?!?

Friday 17 October 2008

The List Continues




Andrew is hooning on his list so I thought I had better up my game.  Today I killed two birds with one stone.  Or one little house.



Thursday 16 October 2008