Happenings.

I worked some night shifts at the start of these set of days off for the kids. So yesterday I did a full sweep of the house with the vacuum cleaner. Dusted and mopped and washed the linen. It was warm and wind for a Winter's Day..perfect for teh linen to dry.
Will be meeting up with my cousin to exchange kids the end of the week. And we plan on going four wheel driving/camping up beyond Dimboola..mate!
So the vacation time is set to be busy..bring you pics as we go.

Yayyy...

School is out for two weeks. I am so wrapped!

Just when you think the neighbourhood is safe...

THIS happened yesterday in my friend's street. She had a hard time sleeping (sh works night shift) as police swarmed her area. What IS wrong with the WORLD! Gimme a good news story people..please... or beam me up Scottie, coz this planet sucks!

Re the Phoenix..

I guess families who work for the transport system here in Victoria (rail and tram ways) will be a little worried right now as to their future prospects. Just like the phoenix they will have to rise from the ashes...let us hope it is not tough for them and that they have support where needed. Some people would be more fortunate than others I guess.
Those not fom Victoria might read between the lines HERE.

What bird symbolises you?

I am the Phoenix... the bird in mythology that dies in flames (or when hurt by a foe) and is reborn from the ashes. Otherwise known as "Fenghuang" in East Asia (Mythological), the bird symbolises power sent from the Heavens (to the Empress). It symbolises loyalty, honesty, decorum and justice of the person or people who live in a household that displays this fine symbol.
This bird, it is immortal and invinsible- a symbol of fire and divinity.
Yes, this is my bird, and the symbol of my gorgeous family!

Sarah's "real" birthday yesterday (Sunday)..

Yesterday we went to a friend's farm and had a BBQ and the kids got to play with lots of things out in the fresh country air. Above is a wood/chainsaw carving of..yeah..a bear! Below is the carving that my little doggie Bondi stopped mid step and growled at..very confidently I might add, LOL.

These two horses have 120acres to run around on and yet they chose to follow us around like puppy dogs that were lost. Every time Mia and Sarah walked, they followed, and every time they stopped, the horses stopped and put their lovely necks over my girls' shoulder.

It was a pleasant day and Sarah had a hard time falling asleep last night because the horses overwhelmed her so. We gave her nice clothes and a jewellery box with a ballerina on top of it for her gifts.

Sarah's party..

Sarah had her 8th Birthday party today. We had 6 little girls here in total, and my sister and I, which makes 8 girls, yayy! (Their dad took Tom and Nick to a farm for the day). I made the cake last night. I whipped it up out of my own head, I put SR flour in it, coconut, sugar, milk and an egg. Whisk for 2 mins, stick it in 2 tins, baked for 30mins and wallah...you have a nice cake :)

This morning I got up, whipped up some cream, splatt in the centre of one cake, put the other on the of that, iced with white frosting and decorated with hundreds and thousands.

I made some mini pizzas and some fairy bread, they were all a hit.

Sarah got some lovely presents and she had an awesome time singing with them and dancing with them to LIPS on the Xbox 360. I sang a couple of songs too :)

It is only ten to 6pm and Sarah is asleep on the couch. Tomorrow is her actual birthday, so I look forward to giving her gifts to her in the morning :)

Another adventure..

Whilst I slept last Sunday post working night shift, hubby took three of the kidletts for a drive down to Kilcunda Beach in our Gippsland region. He took some great shots of the kids on the sand dunes, and of fishermen fishing from te shore of the sandy beach. They collected a bag of cuttle fish and some sea spnges that are soft and kind of fish shaped. Here is some footage of that trip. You have got to watch it until the very end, it only runs for 47secs...Mia's smile is a classic!!!
Each of them took turns at show and tell at school with the sea sponges and the cuttlefish. I think we need to find someone with birds who might like some cuttlefish now :)

Queen Victoria Market Melbourne, and Met Park Point Cook.

The beach at Point Cook Met Park.
A Blue Tongue Lizard basking in the warm Winter Sunshine.
A jelly fish washed ashore with about 45,000 of his mates.. the kids thought it was cool!
The bus, a double Decker...bandaged up like the damaged patient it was!
The double Decker bus again...had to get another pic of that one!

Ok, so we all boarded the double decker bus ready to head to the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne. I had 5 children, including my Sarah that I was to be responsible for whilst we toured the market for two hours. We had a shopping list. Four spuds and 500grams of peas. The children will be making vegetable soup tomorrow at school.
Yet..even before we left the street the school is in, the bus driver got on the speaker phone and was joking around, we thought he was funny, and that he was joking when he said he did not know where he was going. Not funny. He did not know where he was going! He tried to U-turn with a double Decker where tram lines are in the city! He then reversed back and went forwards a bit and U-turned at a set of lights and back to the market to drop us off. Just as he was pulling into the curd of the Vic Market, there was a bang and a smash and the kids up front came running back to the rear of the top of the double Decker. No one was hurt. The pictures tell a thousand words. He broke the window. The bottom of the bus was cleared, and before we could alight he took off! We were still on the bus! We made it off of the bus, split into our groups and headed off. We anticipated another bus would be sought to collect us after our two hour tour of the market.
I took my little posse to the loo..wash hands thoroughly and off to purchase morning tea. It was very cold in the city, so we bought some yummy fresh hot jam doughnuts. We then bought some lovely strawberries and bananas. Sat down to eat those, yum! Took my posse to wash their hands again..sugar doughnuts are sticky!
Ventured into the delicatessen area of the market. I said hello to my lovely Greek friend whom I have not visited in ages, she served us some crispy yummy Twiggys (cabana's), the children adored it. Munching on the sticks we kept on walking, looking at the fresh pastas, dips, olives, sun dried tomatoes, pastries and so on. I bought some tzikis dip and some Lebanese flat bread for us all to share later on at lunch time.
Stepped into the fresh fish and meat area, the children were happy, until the smell got too much for one of the little ones, and we stepped out into the fresh air on Elizabeth street. Headed around the corner and into the vegetable area to do our shopping for the vegetable soup. The sounds of the stall holders intrigued the children. Vying for out attention for business. I took to one stall that allowed the children to pick the veggies themselves, and weigh the veggies too. I gave them each some money, and they learned the cost of the items. The peas in a pod were quite expensive, yet so fresh and large, yummy!
We looked for some animals, there was only a small pet store with fish, one puppy and a menagerie of birds. Different to when I was a kid and they sold alot of live animals, ducks, chickens and so on.
At midday went to meet with the bus. It was not there. We got word the bus was at King Street..they said they could not get a park anywhere near the market. How could it be? We were standing in the bus zone which was clear. We were not going to walk these kids all that way to them. Soon the bus appeared, the same one! Patched up windows!
Board the bus and we were supposed to go to Met Park at Point Cook for lunch. Bus driver goes the wrong way! Another U-turn...takes us onto the Westgate Freeway, doesn't get over into the centre lane on the Freeway, is stuck to the left and we were going off onto the Ring Road..NOT headed for Geelong way! Argh! The bus stops dead..on the freeway. I crouched down, trucks flew past us. Yikes! With our guidance we got to Met Park. The kids were starving, so they ate well.
We went for a walk after lunch time, along the beach we got to see tons of seaweed, jelly fishes washed ashore and looking out, we could see some large ships. It was fun. A good eye on one of the boys sighted a blue tongue lizard.
Back on the bus, toured the Werribee South Vegetable gardens, which supply Victoria with 75% of the green leafy "Rabbit Food" we purchase from the markets. We made is back to school 5 minutes past the bell..intact!
All 20 students were pooped, haha! Time for a coffee when I got home. What an adventure we all had.

Cold.. Updated with pic now :)

Well, while I was on the excursion with Nick and his class yesterday ..other half took the Pathfinder up to Mount Macedon and it was snowing. He took some great images there of the slushy snow and I wanted to load them here but have to work out how to edit the pics to disguise our numero plate :)
So until then just picture cold slushy snow, with a cool vehicle parked right there. I make it known I hate the cold weather, but I will not complain about Victoria getting rain or snow, we need it and that is it.
Tomorrow the kids have another long weekend. Curriculum Day for the teachers..report writing day really. I am pleased that Mia's teacher has completed her report writing, that way she can have a day of rest, deserved!

Another Awesome Excursion..

Today I assisted on Nick's grade 3/4 excursion to our Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. The weather last night was atrocious and we thought it may hamper a good time at the gardens, we were wrong! We all had an exceptional time. It only showered with rain twice throughout our visit. We got to see just how plants and animals of the gardens behave during Winter. Usually the excursions to the gardens are planned for the hotter months.
Sadly, I have to report that the lake area is so much lower than last I visited. There is green algae in the water and we had trouble seeing the eels that were sighted so easily last year by students of a younger year level. The swans came over and spied if we had food for them or not, it was the latter, as we are not encouraged to feed the bird life at all. We walked through the hot house, which was amazing! We got to see a Pineapple plant, Cocoa Plant, Pepper plant, a bug eating plant, and Coffee bean plant.
Step out of the hot house and donn our coats and hats again for the Winter day. We went on to the Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden. We got to plant our own everlasting daisy, which was a great activity for the kids. Touched a cork tree (wine corks!), walked along from the South East coast of Australia to the most Northern point of Australia in 5 minutes flat...looking at all the native trees (Indigenous).
Sat in rest houses, all three of them, which date back to 130 years ago...the oldest one named "William Tell"...the kids re-named it "The Harry Potter House". The nicest thing our tour guide said to the kids at the end of the tour was that it is Our garden, all of us, owned by the public and we encourage you all to visit time and time again to learn about our lovely indigenous plants".
A few children fell asleep when we journeyed home on the bus. Another wonderful trip with an exceptional group of kids :)

Professor Chris O'brien..

A wonderful human being has passed away. he touched the lives of many, and will further continue to do so with a marvellous legacy he has left behind.
I have been touched by this tragedy personally, the death of my best friend Frances with the same form of brain tumour Prof Chris O'brien had. It is painful to watch someone go through this...and I want to say to his family, stay strong, love each other and that Chris lives on in you all.
RIP Prof Chris O'brien.

What we made..

We just made LEMONADE SCONES and they were lovely. Quite different to my Grandma's prize winning scones made with butter and milk. My Grandma did learn the traditional way from the Nun's at the Orphanage. They used to wake up at the crack of dawn, actually, before the crack of dawn, to make them...with fresh milk from the cows.

Long Weekend..

It is the Queens Birthday holiday on Monday so there is a long weekend for us here Down Under..I suspect through out the Commonwealth. Thing that gets me is, it is not, in fact, the current Queen's Birthday... wish I had a day off of everything each year on my birthday..in fact, you can all have December 11th off with me, ok LOL.
Nick has the dreaded croup. That is no fun. It ought to settle in the next few days, which means he will be A1 for return to school Tuesday... we will sit on that one. Isn't it just the way? Poor little man. Croup is quite scary to say the least.
Heard on the radio that Winter has truly begun in the Snow regions..good luck to them, I hate the cold, bring on Spring already! I shouldn't be like that but I am out there riding my bike in drizzle and fog..fog that lasts all day, it is kind of depressing in a way. Nature does behave differently though, I love hearing the frogs and seeing the bird life along the river and at the wet lands.
My gorgeous sister came to visit last night, and every time she comes over the kids are just so excited , me too :) Hopefully we will see her again this weekend.

The Melbourne Zoo

Today I assisted with the excursion for the Grade Preps in Mia's class. We went by bus to the Melbourne Zoo. I had not been there for eight years and my it has changed..it has even changed extensively still since my own childhood. Much more lovely, friendly and inviting too.
The pictures were taken on my mobile as I could not find the digi-cam :(
Orangutans played like kids, hiding in sacks, Otters ran through water and were cute-as a button, A larger than life some-kind-of-monkey-with-a-rainbow-nose and butt paraded in front of us, just as we got to the Elephant exhibit the make elephant was being treated with a bath. Things went so well and all 19 children were so behaved I think they ought to all get star of the day!
Time for a nap..oh, I can't, I am cooking Tandoori chicken tonight :)

Precious Life...

Not everything goes as we wish it to, not as planned, yet if we do not give life a go, if we cannot be giving, yet humble, strong yet ever the meek, we just will not have lived.
What have you done lately for yourSELF? One small thing a day is all you need to do..and don't say you haven't the time to do whatever it is... NOW is the time .. no time like the now :)
Well, I have to remember this fact myself you know, and I make no excuses.. I am a busy Mum, and a busy wife and a busy nurse.
I am blessed to be in the job I am in. Sure, I worked my backside off to get here, and I work it off when I am at work..and yet, if I won the lotto I would still want to do what it is I love. Despite they way I am treated by some patients and some relatives. Yes, despite all of that. Yet it is the absolute positives I have been privileged to receive from patients, relatives and colleagues that also keep me going. The other thing is, I do not know any other job that allows me to either be there at the beginning of a life and at the very end of life (well, this life as we know it). A nurse is that person.
I discussed this with a lovely man who was at bedside vigil of his lovely wife for two nights.We agreed that it is a tough job, yet a privileged job also. You cannot get to this point through luck, it is kind of earned. We also concurred that a person makes a choice as to if they die alone or with someone at their bedside, and also, whom they will be with at the end. That is if it is not a trauma or something.
We two were chosen, and it is a moment that never leaves you... we were sad yet relieved at the same time. You do not realise how much you can learn about a person in two nights as I did.