Lightening Online

My life is spiralling out of control yet AGAIN!!!!!

You’d think I’d learn by now wouldn’t you?

The ONLY way to get balance in your life is to say NO.

It sucks!!!

Especially when you’re having to say no to your children.

I hate disappointing my kids! 

I hate having to say no to them when I know they’ve love to do this activity and that activity.

Even if it is for their own good.

Our lives are ridiculously chaotic.

Although not as chaotic as in some families.

And I can’t help but wonder where we’ll end up.

Will everyone keep trying to cram more and more in until we crack?

Or will we eventually start to find an equilibrium?

Everyone you talk to goes on about how busy they are.

How fast the year is flying by.

Partly because we’re too busy to stop and enjoy it.

I don’t like going against the crowd.

I don’t like being the parent that says “enough is enough, you can’t do it all”.

So, I follow the crowd.

And they follow me.

And so we follow one another around and around the never-ending Merry Go Round of life.

Afraid to jump off lest we miss out on the fun.

Missing out on the fun because we’re afraid to jump off.

I NEED to find some balance in my life before I go crazy.

I NEED to learn to say NO.

The other day while we were getting ready to go out, my 6 year old (Trailer Boy) was putting on a fuss about having to bring a rain jacket.

Apparently it makes him look “fat”.

After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I began to think back to similar experiences with my older 2.

Interestingly enough, when they were 6 also.

Princess Singstar had this knitted jumper that I LOVED and she refused to wear because she “looked fat in it”.

I was freaking out just a tad at the time that I was going to have an anorexic 6 year old on my hands.

It didn’t occur to me then (in the state of mind I was in which wasn’t a real clear one), that we’d come across this issue before.

When Lleyton (our eldest who is now 12) was in year 1 (so also 6), he came to me one day with a stick and said “I wish I was as skinny as this stick”.

My first thought at the time was “you’d be dead if you were skinny as that stick” followed by “you are almost as skinny as that stick” and then “why on earth would a child who is all skin and bone even be THINKING about getting any thinner?????”

So now that I’ve had 3 children go through the same thing at the same age (and we all know that a sample size of 3 makes me a complete expert, right?), I’m starting to wonder if this is some kind of “stage” that kids go through.

Is there some kind of body awareness stage that they go through around this age?

Something akin to 2 year old boys all liking pink (and my sample size for that one is bigger than 3 - I worked in a couple of different child care centres, my kids all went through it and now my nephew is also going through it).  I think girls do too but you don’t notice it the same because they’re “supposed” to like pink.

Anyone else notice this stage of “fat-phobia” in their kids around the age of 6?

How would you deal with it? (and let me point out that laughing at them and telling them it’s ridiculous will NOT win you mother of the year ).

The kids have gone back to school and I’m coming to the end of a very busy 3 weeks!

I kinda feel the need to collapse in a heap for a few days.

My nightmares from childhood issues have returned (an indicator I need to really take care of myself).

My list of P&F stuff that “needs to be done” has done nothing but grow over those 3 weeks.

My house is in need of some TLC after having had 7 kids run rampant through it the past week.

And all I want to do is go back to bed. 

What to do?  What to do?

Think I’ll make a list with a few priorities and try to take it as easy as possible in the next few days (in between getting a few important/urgent things  done).

In other news,

My fitness trainer is returning to work after maternity leave.

It’s been 12 months since I’ve worked with her.

EEEEKKKK!!!!

Thank goodness I’ve been playing some Centre in netball - at least I’m not totally unfit!!!

Can’t say the same for my muscle strength though!

Hopefully a good workout will help with the serotonin levels.

I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t even had time to show you what Farmboy bought me for my birthday this year:

How cool is that?

He thought of it all by himself!

AND still drives the car around even though it has PINK numberplates!!!!

It makes me smile every time I see them! 

I think it might be the best present he’s ever bought me (well, maybe 2nd best after my engagement ring LOL).

Who’d have thought I’d ever get so excited about number plates?

But they ARE pink!

Last night I fell asleep at 6.30pm.  I did wake up around 2am for a drink and pit stop before falling asleep again until 8.30am.

14 hours sleep!!!

And to be honest, I’m still not bounding with energy.

Which is not surprising given the week full of challenges and busy-ness.

Having to drive around Adelaide in peak traffic in the rain when you’re not experienced in city driving was interesting.

I managed though (no accidents, not even a little ding or scratch - phew!).

The meeting I went to in Adelaide was amazing.  A real eye opener into what is out there and what people are committed to doing in their own time.  It was a meeting of our state association for parents groups and yet many who were there have kids who are grown and have left home.  All still dedicating their time to public education and advocating for parental involvement in our state schools.  I met some truly amazing people (several with OAM’s - that’s an Order of Australia Medal and a high honour to receive).

The bonding time with Singstar Princess was great.

She LOVED staying in a motel together and we ordered room service as a treat which was great fun!!!

We found time to visit a friend of hers in Adelaide and she got to spend some one-on-one time with my grandparents as well (something she’s never ever had before).

I wasn’t 100% sure how I would going staying with Farmboy’s brother and his family on my own (ie without Farmboy) but they were wonderfully welcoming and made me feel right at home.

My SIL (sister-in-law) was very gracious in letting me help around the house and get a few things done I could tell were bothering her.  She’s very organised and competent and I didn’t want to step on her toes.

Singstar Princess was very helpful keeping her “not quite 2 yet” cousin occupied as well as helping with the 6 month old twins.

It was a bit different waking up on my birthday away from Farmboy and the boys but I spent half a day with the babies (and cleaning which I NEVER do on my birthday LOL).  Then we met my parents for a lovely lunch before doing some grocery shopping for the weekend (along with buying 6 large boxes of nappies for SIL on special that got plenty of interesting looks and comments!!!!).

The boys arrived around 4.30pm and we went and found our accommodation for the weekend.

We rented a large house for the weekend so we could all stay together which was lots of fun!!!

Had awesome pizza for tea followed by mudcake birthday cake and delicious strawberries for dessert.

The cousins birthday party weekend wasn’t without it’s challenges.

Friday night, both boys came down sick and Farmboy and I got hardly any sleep.

Then I had to chase up a doctor in a strange town on a Saturday morning (found one but he was rather hard to understand).

Then find the pharmacy before it shut for the rest of the weekend!

And wait….

And wait…

Because they were so busy.

By the time the “party” actually started, I was well and truly exhausted!!!!

The kids had fun though.

The worst thing about the house was we had to clean it before we left.

But we then went for coffee and cake at the same place we’d had pizza on Friday night.

Had more baby cuddles (that family didn’t stay in the house with us but were only half an hour drive away so came back up on Sunday to do coffee and cake with us).

Spent Sunday night with my parents then drove home Monday (having 2 vehicles with us meant I had to drive home).

I think “tired” might even be an understatement!!!!

I’m taking it easy today.

Hopefully I’ll put some photo’s up in the next few days.

Assuming my brain decides to start functioning again anytime soon.

Princess Singstar and I are heading off in the morning on a mother-daughter road trip.

I have a meeting in Adelaide on Tuesday so Monday night we’re staying in a Motel on the edge of the city.

We’re only in Adelaide 24 hours but while we’re there we’ll hopefully be visiting a friend of hers as well as my grandparents (who are looking after her while I’m at my meeting).

Then we’re heading to the Yorke Peninsula to spend a couple of days with Farmboy’s brother and his wife.

They have twins and a toddler so we’re hoping a couple of extra pairs of hands will help.

Friday we’re meeting up with my parents for lunch (they also live on the YP) as it’s my birthday.

Friday afternoon, Farmboy arrives with the boys as we have a Cousin’s Birthday weekend (also on the Yorke Pen.).  We’ve booked a holiday house that will hold 3/4 families (the 4th family is the one with twins and a toddler so they’ll come for the day).

Saturday is the day of the cousin’s birthday party.

Sunday we’re going to stay with my parents before heading back home Monday.

So, a busy yet exciting week.  I can’t wait!

In other news, the Friday night just gone our netball club had a “pink slumber party” which was totally AWESOME and a lot of fun!  I was hoping to post some pics but may not get time before I go.  So, could be lots of catch up posting when I get back!

All of this is a very welcome break from my “rut”. 

I haven’t posted about netball yet this year.

It’s been a bit of an interesting year so far.

My first year without my original coach.

The new coach is a younger girl that I don’t know all that well.

At first I was a bit worried as she wasn’t doing a lot of “coaching” (in the sense of teaching me what to do).

She kept throwing me into positions I wasn’t really familiar with.  Without any training in the lead up to the match.

I felt a bit like a fish out of water from all directions.

BUT…

I think she was just taking a few weeks to find her feet and get her head around her team.

One of the hardest things about coaching our grade is that you don’t get to pick and choose based on positions.

You simply get the “leftovers” after the other teams have selected.  You could end up with all goalies or all centre-court players.  So it takes a bit of mixing and matching to try and figure out combinations of players that work well.

We have a really nice team this year.  There haven’t been as many changes in players as previous years so not sure if that’s why.  We just seem to all get along and encourage one another.  And one particular player who has returned after a few years off is an absolute character which stops us (okay, me) taking ourselves too seriously.

I still struggle with my lack of ability to play.

I’m not naturally sporty and I’m still really struggling to get my head around this game.

Although it did occur to me that while this is my 3rd season playing, my first 2 seasons were only half seasons so it’s really only my 2nd season.

Which does make me feel marginally better.  Unfortunately, only marginally (I’m my own worst enemy - I know).

I’ve been playing a mixture of the centre-court positions this year.  Mostly half a game in centre and a quarter in either wing-defense or wing-attack.

Last Saturday was a big milestone for me.

I played my first full game ever.

Not only that but I played 3 of the quarters in Centre.

And it was a very physical game too!

Surprisingly, I pulled up okay.

But I was pretty tired by the end of the game.

And what did the coach tell me?

I didn’t play a brilliant game but I did play a consistent one.

While I’d love to play a “brilliant” game, I think “consistent” is about all I can expect.

I’m currently involved in a joint venture between the Governing Council of the school and the Parents & Friends Association to revisit our Presentation Awards offered at the end of the year with the view to possibly making some changes/ filling in some gaps in the awards currently offered.

The plan is to involve staff, students and parents in the consultation process.

There have been a few issues raised in regard to our Presentation Awards.

One is that the kids just don’t care (or aren’t motivated by the current awards offered).

Another is that the book prizes are a certificate for a bookstore without books the kids are happy with (we’re a bit limited out here).

Another is that some kids avoid presentation morning IF they are getting an award (???? Guess changing the awards isn’t going to change that!!!). 

SO…

I need ideas, thoughts, feedback.  As much as you can give me.

What sort of things should a school be awarding at an end of year Presentation Morning?

What sort of “prizes” are appropriate AND appeal to kids (particularly secondary kids)?

How do we encourage kids to value learning more?

books, book prize

It’s 1am and I’m awake.

*sigh*

I’ve been doing so well with my sleeping patterns too.

*sigh*

Not sure if it’s because I went out to a meeting tonight (which I enjoyed but stimulated my brain PLUS being around people always mucks up my serotonin levels which are related to melatonin levels - even when I enjoy myself!  Go figure!).

Or, if it’s because I forgot my meds today and have taken them tonight (and they stimulate me a little too).

I’ve tried milk.

I’ve tried melatonin.

Now I’m just passing the time on the computer (exactly what they tell you NOT to do for insomnia).

So, what do you do when you just can’t sleep?

Now that the weather is a little cooler, I’ve been trying to give the kids a little more variety for their lunch boxes.  Sandwiches every day just gets way too boring.  In the summer months, I won’t let them take anything with meat in it.  Even with a freezer pack, I just can’t be sure that food will stay cool enough for the 5 hours it’s in the fridge.

So, recently, when we discovered the kids quite like sausage rolls cold, I thought that was something I could make periodically for them to take to school for lunch.

Of course, they are a perfect opportunity to sneak a few extra vegies into their day as well:

I usually add grated zucchini and carrot but last time I also added some mashed pumpkin.  I used Kent pumpkin which did make the sausage rolls a little sweet for my liking (the kids and Farmboy quite liked it though).

Sausage Rolls don’t have to be an exact science (in terms of quantities) but here’s an approximation of what I used:

2 carrots, grated

2 zucchini, grated

cup cooked, mashed pumpkin

500g mince

500g sausage meat

2 eggs

2 handfuls weetbix crumbs (can use breadcrumbs or whatever - I just find it a good way to use up the weetbix crumbs no-one eats)

2 beef stock cubes

onion to taste (some people like lots of chunky onion.  My family don’t so I tend to use onion flakes)

1 pkt (6 sheets) puff pastry

Mix everything (other than pastry) together.  I find using my hands works best to get it all properly mixed (squeeze between your fingers - it’s gross but effective):

Cut puff pastry squares in half and line up mixture in centre:

Roll pastry and cut into the size you desire.  I cut a roll like this into 6 which gives me 1 dozen (12) per sheet or pastry and 6 dozen small sausage rolls from a batch.

Brush the tops with beaten egg and bake in a moderately hot oven (180-200C) for around 20 minutes or until golden brown.

And I forgot to take a photograph of the finished product!!!!

Looks like I’ll just have to make another batch!