Back Soon

Ok, so if you’ve read my about me page you’ll know that I, along with my hubby and little man, am moving to Australia very soon, the removalists are coming the day after tomorrow so this will be my last post for a few weeks.  The pc is being taken apart today and packed away for about 8 weeks, which seems like an eternity, what will I do with my time………apart from finding somewhere to live, a car, job and day care for little man. 

Thanks everyone for reading my blog so far, please stick with me, there may be the odd new post during the 8 weeks but never fear I will be back and updating my blog on a regular basis as soon as the pc arrives in Oz.

Back Soon…………….. x

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Who Would You Pick?

I have just been tagged in this Meme by SuperSingleMum and I think it’s a fun one to do.

I’ve been asked to list my top 5 fictional characters that I would quite happily share a bed with should they actually turn out to be real! This has taken abit of thinking but I think I’ve finally decided on my 5 so here they are in reverse order:

5.  Grissom, from the original CSI, even with the beard he’s lovely.

 

4. Miles Copeland, of Home and Away, I don’t know what it is about him but I wouldn’t turn him away, (if he were real ofcourse! lol)

3.Lincoln Burrows, Michael’s brother, (see blow), from Prison Break

 

2. The lovely, yummy, gorgeous  Michael Scofield from Prison Break

and finally my number 1.      It has to be, of course, Horatio Caine (CSI Miami).  WOW! 

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Be Moved!

I have just finished listening to an album that my husband bought me for my birthday a few weeks back, (only just had the chance to listen to it).  It’s The Soldiers – Coming Home  and I have to admit I have never been so moved by an album before. The songs that have been chosen and put on the album are perfect. There is something very moving about soldiers singing songs such as, Tears in Heaven, Sailing, Against All Odds, Sacrifice, The Last Post and Coming Home.  All proceeds from the album go to the Army Benevolent Fund, The Royal British Legion and Help The Heroes, all very worthy causes.  Whether you do or don’t agree with what is going on in the world today, if you listen to this album I dare you not to have a tear in your eye as you listen to the words of the songs and think about all of our fallen heroes, who are, let’s face it, just doing their job.

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The First Goodbye

Today I did something that I didn’t think would happen until we were actually leaving for Oz, (we have about a week and a half left until we fly), but when my niece, Z, said “will you forget me” it pulled on the old heart strings and I actually had a few tears!!!!  I don’t really do the whole crying thing so I really surprised myself when I felt myself welling up.  I explained to her that I would never forget her and that we could still talk on the phone, write letters and emails and use the computer and webcam. We then had a very long chat about what a webcam is and how it works, she seemed to be a little happier then and explained to her younger sister, S, that they will still see us if they use the magic camera!!  Not sure that she really understands that we won’t actually see each other and we won’t be able to give each other hugs but I hope that when she does understand fully she ok. S is too young to understand but we will keep in contact on a regular basis, I don’t want them to forget who we are either!

It was our first goodbye and I’m sure they will all be hard but this one was so much harder than I thought it would be, I just hope that the others are a little easier. x

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Whoop Whoop It’s Finally Happened!!!!!

Whoop Whoop it’s finally happened, we have exchanged contracts on our house!!!

I can’t believe it’s finally happened. The solicitor phoned at 3.20pm today with the good news, by 4.30pm I had booked the removals and the flights!  We fly out on 7th April……. 2weeks from today!!

So much to do before then, we still have to finish cleaning all of J’s outside toys, sort the garage and finish sorting everything in the house before the removalists come! Guess I’d better empty the loft at some point in the next couple of days.  Then I have to pack the cases and decide which of J’s toys he needs wants to take with us in our cases and which to take in the container. Got some furniture to take to bits, got to decide which clothes to pack, shoes, pictures, bits and bobs etc, they have to be packed before the removalists come so that things don’t get packed accidentially.

Then there’s the goodbyes to family and friends…….J is gutted to be leaving his best friends H and M but I’m sure once we get settled he’ll make new friends and he can keep in touch with H and M via the webcam.  As for me I hope that a few friends in particular keep in touch, you know who you are! I’m not sure how I’m going to feel when we finally go probably a mix of excitement, readiness, fear, sadness…..who knows???

I have so much to get done in the next 2 weeks but I feel strangely calm about everything, far less stressed than I was last week! lol   I think it’s because it’s all actually happening now I’m not planning things because it might happen…..it really is…….WOW!!!!!

If anyone has any tips on how to keep a 4 yr old entertained on a 23hr flight please feel free to comment with your suggestions

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10 Free Things I Like

I have just spent the last hour reading other blogs and stumbled upon http://skinnyknatter.wordpress.com/2010/01/12/10-free-things-i-like/ which is fab by the way! I have been inspired to write my own list of 10 free things that I like, so here goes:

1. Cuddles from my 4 year old and from my hubby
2. The funny things that J, (my 4 yr old), says and does that I can talk about with anyone that will listen
3. Reading other peoples fantastic blogs, (and then being inspired to write a new post on mine!)
4. Chatting and laughing with friends, (usually lots of laughing! lol)
5. Taking J to a museum
6. Going to the beach and feeling like a kid again whilst paddling in the sea and building sand castles with J
7. Having a lie in and hubby getting up with J
8. Going for a walk to the park with J and pointing out birds, flowers, trees and bugs, (J likes bugs) along the way
9. Receiving a letter/postcard in the post, it doesn’t happen very often, usually an email or text etc, so when it does it feels quite special
10. The fantastic courses at my local childrens centre, something I will miss lots when we move back to Oz in a few weeks.

our fave beach

So there it is my list, if you feel inspired after reading this why not write your own list of 10 free things that you like, just like I did.

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The things kids come out with!!

I thought I’d write about some of the things our children come out with. This has been inspired by my very funny little man, J, who was 4 yesterday. This morning I dropped some beads whilst making a new bag charm and J came out with, “nevermind you’ll get over it Mum!”, which of course had me giggling and he felt very proud of himself. LOL! 

He has come out with some fantastically funny things, especially over the last 2 years, here’s just a few.

Whilst having lunch at my in-laws, “I won’t eat it, Nanny’s food is skanky!” At the time I was mortified but I’m not sure she heard him correctly, (thank goodness), but I look back now and it makes me smile. J has always had a problem with food and we had already guessed that he wouldn’t eat anything, however when he came out with this I didn’t know what to say/do!

Whilst at nursery last summer we were just about to leave when another child said the F word, I thought he hadn’t heard…….I was wrong! He waited until we were on a busy street outside our local dvla office and came out with, “Oh F***ing hell mum!!!!” OMG was I embarrassed, we then had a very long chat about naughty words that he mustn’t say. This resulted in him saying, “huh you said a naughty word!” every time we went to Focus, which was quite often we were doing a complete home renovation.

We live near a secondary school and he has learnt lots of things from the teenagers that walk past our house. Things he has said to his dad include, “I’ll give you some of my beef!” waving his fist in the air!  “Are you kidding me”  “you’re a W***er dad!”, another word that was added to the list of things he isn’t allowed to say!  His fave things to say to me are, “Whatever!” with the hand gesture , and “I’m listening but my ears won’t let me!” LOL

Last night he made us giggle once again. We were reading a story at bedtime, “Who Lives In Here?” and asked “What is this home and who lives in here?”   “A Bird!” he yelled with great pride, to which I responded with “It’s a nest and a bird lives in here”……he then came out with “Yeah so I was right then duh!” 

The list goes on and on because let’s face it kids say the funniest things, usually at just the right time to embarrass you. At the moment he seems to be coming out with another funny phrase every week and I hope this will continue for a few more years, I’m sure it will.

I hope you have a little giggling reading this and thinking about some of the funny things your children say, please leave your comments I’d love to hear some of them.  )

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Friendships

A couple of friends of mine, SuperSingleMum and MummyMatters, have recently written posts on their blogs about friendships and how they change, it’s got me thinking about how my relationships with friends and family members is once again about to change. When we first moved to Oz in 2007 J was a very cute 18 month old and some family members were particularly sad to see him leave, however the same family members have rarely seen him since our return in late 2008. We also had alot of friends when we left who were positive they would stay in touch, maybe even visit us etc etc, but less than a month into life down under many of these friendships had already started to drift away. By the time we returned to the UK only 5 of these close friendships remained, however whilst being away we had all changed as people and not all in similar ways and so of the 5 remaining only 2 have actually remained the same.

Since coming back I have made a few new friendships and hope that the majority will at least keep in touch when we move back to Oz, however I have already started noticing change within our circle of friends. All but 2 of hubby’s friends have already started distancing themselves from us and within my group of “new” friends things are changing for everyone. K has a big workload, SuperSingleMum is starting a new job and career, MummyMatters is having another baby bean, B has already started to develop a new circle of friends, P  rarely came to our group because of work commitments and D doesn’t have internet access so will find it harder to keep in touch. Outside my circle of “new” friends, F is hoping to move to Canada later this year so time zones will make it hard to chat and SS is having baby number 2 next month, our friendship changed after baby number 1 so I fear more change once we move and baby number 2 arrives.  I only have 1 close friendship in Oz and hope that 4 of my friendships in particular remain in tack once we move. It would be great if all could stay in place but I am aware that things change, people change and life will be very different.

I think when we went last time I was wrong to assume that nothing would change, we would just be living further apart, this time round I am very aware of the changes that are to come and I am prepared for them.  Before we left last time I would always make the effort to keep in touch with family members and friends, however since coming back to the UK I have realised in order for these relationships to stay close and in tact it has to be a two way thing. Although I still make the effort I now also wait for and expect others to make an effort. I fear however, that some won’t make the effort and so with time these relationships will dwindle away. Only time will tell which relationships remain strong and which do not and of course I am hopeful that new friendships will be made by all but still there is the hope that a few relationships will last always. x

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AARRGGHHHHH More Stress!!!!!

Ok, for those of you that don’t know we are trying to sell our house so that we can move back to Australia. I don’t think I’ve ever been so stressed!! We were due to exchange contracts 2 weeks ago so I began to get things organised, penciled in dates for removalists, checked up on flights, started taking furniture down, sold car etc…..then we were told there was a delay because our buyer’s buyer had to get an insurance policy transferred! ARGHHHH, all the plans had to be rearranged but they had given us another date and things should have been sorted last week. After spending a couple of days rearranging things the solicitor then tells us that “the buyer’s buyer can’t transfer the insurance policy because the company isn’t going to be around for much longer but don’t panic all they have to do is call another company to arrange buildings insurance”, (our buyer’s house has apparently had a structual problem in the past).  Last Friday she then called to tell me that it hadn’t been sorted because they were arguing over whose reaponsibility it was to get an insurance quote, and then added “don’t worry we soent the whole day yesterday arguing with them because it’s their responsibility!”  I can’t believe they wasted a whole day arguing about something that they could have all done in a quarter of the time!!    She called me back that afternoon to let me know that it had been sorted and now we just had to agree a date and we could exchange but it would probably be Monday, (today).

Disaster struck yesterday!!!!  J fell down the stairs after lots of screaming we decided it would be best to take him to A&E just to be sure he was ok.  We checked in and then spent 3 hrs waiting to be seen! The Doctor finally called us in and 2 minutes later we were waiting for an xray. After struggling to get an xray, J was in alot of pain and not feeling very co-operative, we were called in to see the doctor again. J had broken his collar bone!!!  During this 3 1/2 hrs J wasn’t offered any pain relieve, instead he was made to sit and suffer whilst he waited for  his turn to see the doctor. After getting him a sling a nurse finally offered some pain relief, unfortunately it was ibruprofen and J is allergic, to which the nurse responded with “Why is he allegic”, seriously was this a trick question?? After another arguement she finally gave him some calpol.  J has to wear the sling and return to the fracture clinic on Friday when we will find out if it needs pinning!

I called the solicitor this morning for an update on the contract situation, to be told that our buyer’s buyer still had not been into the office to sign everything yet!!  I very calmly told her that if we had not exchanged by the time we go to the fracture clinic with J there was a very good chance that we were going to be here for another 8 weeks and so we will be pulling out of the sale and going to negotiate with our other interested buyer!     They’re working on it!

AAARRRGGHHHHHHHH the stress is really starting to get to me now and I don’t know if I should have said what I did or if I should have stayed quiet and waited to see what happened. We really want this sale to go through ok so that we can fly to Oz asap, however if we haven’t exchanged by friday 8 weeks is a very real possibility!!!   Let me know your thoughts and any ideas on how to cope with the stress would be gratefully received.

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Our 1st Children’s Party

Ok so I know it’s 2 weeks until J’s birthday but with solicitors throwing around completion dates we could be flying on his big day and we didn’t want him to miss out on having his first proper party. For his 3rd birthday we invited a couple of friends round with their children and a couple of family members but this year he invited his friends, there were party games, he sorted out his party bags and there was lots of mess!

I’d never done a kids party before but with my organisation skills, (I have a form of OCD), what could go wrong? 

11 very noisy children invaded the house at around 3pm…..aarrgggghhhhh!  They all went completly mad in the living room and just when I thought I might start having a panic attack I yelled “who wants to pull the pinata?”  The kids all rushed into the conservatory to pull on the pinata, (wasn’t going to risk having one that you have to hit!), when the toys and sweets fell to the ground there was silence as they all chose what they wanted and popped lollies and chews into their mouths.  Then we tried stick the tail on the donkey, even the smallest children had a go and J was happy when his best friend M won, although it was close supersinglemum almost pipped her to the post! lol   Then the children all had something to eat as I watched food fall onto the floor and then get trodden into the grout, but still I remained calm. In amongst the chaos of the children we had tea and coffee on the go for about 10 adults.  There was mess everywhere! After eating we managed to get all of the kids into a circle to play pass the parcel but the birthday boy decided he didn’t want to do it, he wanted to play out in the cold!  However 5 minutes later he came in to join his friends.   After pass the parcel came the cake, it was so funny watching J blow the candles out only for them to reignite! 

2 hrs after arrival everyone started leaving with their party bags and a smile and I was left to stand and stare at the mess left behind. Hubby cleaned the floor and washed up whilst I picked all the rubbish up and cleared away the food. Yes! finished the house looked ok again…….then we went upstairs, J’s bedroom floor had vanished and I think almost every single one of his toys had been taken out …..aarrrggghhhhhhh!  It took a while but we managed to clear enough of his toys to enable him to get into bed! 

J asked if he could open his presents before he went to bed, how could we say no? He was so excited when he opened them, loved them all but was most impressed with a small pack of plasticine! Bless him :0)

Although it didn’t go as I had planned, fun was had by all and I wouldn’t change how it went for the world. A BIG SUCCESS!!!!

When we put J to bed he said, “my party was brilliant, can everyone come round again tomorrow?” I’m so happy that he had fun and that his party was a success but I don’t think I’m ready for everyone to come round again just yet! LOL

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