*M* - my life

a decade of being a mum....

      

Here is a little collection of pictures from the first couple of years of riley's life.... he was, and still is, the sweetest boy!  turning 10 today was such a milestone!  double-digits now... and not looking back!  i cannot believe he is 10!!!  that means he has been bringing joy to my life for a decade now! he really seems to have grown up overnight, but then again, it feels like he only arrived yesterday!

i am so proud of this little guy, he is confident, yet sensitive, capable... but a tad lazy, friendly, loyal and loving.  it has been such a delight watching him grow up. i remember the helpless newborn, the adorable toddler, the excited pre-schooler and now the active boy he is today. into anything with wheels, riley loves his ripstick (and is soooo good at it!)  his skateboard, scooter and bike... he loves surfing, boogie boarding, cricket and footy.  he loves to read, his ds and playing wii and playstation.  he is a good big brother to isaac, but is struggling to cope with ella at the age she is right now (arent we all???  lol!!)  i am proud of how well he has fit into his new school this year... after only one year he has made some amazing friends... close friends....  really good mates - and i am so happy for him!

sometimes i wish i could have my little curly-haired, blue-eyed boy back... who loved to run in the backyard and play in the sandpit... but now i look at him choosing playlists for his new i-pod...  using words like "random" and starting to talk about girls (while blushing...)  i can see the new and exciting world he has ahead of him...  he has his whole life ahead of him... with lots of new and exciting possibilities....

so after looking at these pics... here is a pic of him today - dont you love the mohawk??  he loves his blonde tips tho ...  just another sign of him growing up!

happy, happy birthday... my adorable big boy!  i love you with every ounce of my heart... i am so proud you and hope you have enjoyed a wonderful day!!!!!!!!!! xx

its a new year and a new little word!!!

its a strange feeling... the start of 2009.  last year i was so excited with the anticipation of what was possible....  this year i feel somewhat comfortable.  maybe because i am in a routine, i've lived a full year as a "single mum", i am relatively happy with my life and okay with what is possible for this year!  much of which is not in my hands, but i am trying to have a calm and relaxed attitude towards what comes my way!

as a result my 'one little word'  for 2009 is 'enjoy'. in 2007 it was 'be' and last year in 2008 i had 'live'.  i feel like i am at a point in my life where i just want to enjoy it.  enjoy my children, enjoy being me, enjoy the things i love to do, enjoy being with my friends... i'm sick of feeling stressed and letting things get to me, so basically i just want to enjoy life!  one quote that i have always liked is "enjoy the journey, not just the destination..." and that is something i plan to do this year.  easy to say right now, when both the kids and i are on holidays.  we are spending lots of time at the beach, there is no homework or after-school activities, no uniforms to iron or school lunches to make... i am able to sleep-in and relax, i have time to go to the gym or for a walk, my fella and i both have more time to spend together without the pressures of work.  it is easy right now.  i know come february things will get a bit more pressured, it wont feel like this but i intend to reflect back on my 'one little word' and move forward during the bleak times and just 'enjoy'!!

new year's eve was a nice one. a quiet one, but enjoyable.  had a couple of neighbours over for a bbq.  the boys were so excited because they got to cook the sausages and onions... we just had a sausage sizzle and some drinks.  (including the lemon cheesecake shooters above... yum!)  the kids got to stay up til midnight, we lit sparklers and glo-sticks and they swam in the pool and played wii.  a nice way to see the new year in!

 

        

beautiful christmas wishes to you....

i'm not too sure about how i feel about christmas this year.

it has been a big year!

usually i am really excited about christmas, but im not feeling it this year!  even though i was on my own last year as well, this year feels somewhat different.  only having the kids for half the day, i guess changes things a little!

to be honest, i will be glad when christmas is over and it is just 'the summer holidays!'

the kids are excited, ella is running around with christmas bell earrings on... jingling and jangling away.  we have made santa some cookies today and the boys are actually looking forward to going to bed so it can be christmas!

i'm looking forward to them being in bed, having a glass of wine and sitting with my tree lights on while i am watching 'carols by candlelight'.

i hope everyone who stops by here enjoys a beautiful christmas day and doesn't get a sack full of coal! (which i am supposedly receiving!! - lol!!)  xx

still enjoying...

i spent a lovely morning at the beach with the kids this morning.  lots of wave jumping, boogie boarding and lying in the warmth of the summer sunshine!

still trying to 'enjoy more and endure less', trying to be patient and not think.  you would think that all of this would be easy???  mmm.... 

does it count if you're consciously thinking about not thinking???  :)

road to bethlehem...

i took the kids to the road to bethlehem last night.  it is just down the road so its nice that it is local.  we went last year as well and the kids really enjoyed it, so we went again this year.  last year we missed out on a camel ride so we got in early on it this time!  ella was in front and was a bit unsure when the camel started going, but got used to it after a while!  in the market place the kids had fun exchanging money into another currency, making cards, beaded bracelets and generally looking around!  the actual 'road to bethlehem' play goes for about 45mins and was really enjoyable.... real animals, funny roman guards, sarcastic king herod and a real little baby at the end.  if you live close by, it really is worth a look - its on again tonight and tomorrow night.  

enjoying more...

      enjoyed a lovely day with the kids yesterday, in the 37 degree summer heat - gotta love that!!

the day started with a christmas get-together morning tea at mark and judy's place in wembley.  it was nice, mum and dad came too and we sat outside chatting and catching up.  the kids exchanged pressies and had fun playing!

after that i took the kids through to floreat beach for a couple of hours.  it was so beautiful down there!  hardly a breath of wind, lots of people, warm water... but the waves were a bit dumpy! i lost an earring.... oh and my top! *very embarrassing!*

we came home for a short while, mum and dad came over and dad laid some lawn out in the backyard for me!  we got 15 rolls of free lawn when someone around the corner from him over-estimated when they did their ordering.  how cool is that???

then i took the kids to carols by candlelight at booragoon.  these photos are from that.   it as a lovely warm summer's night.  we went with another family from school... you can see isaac here with joel.  they spent more time playing soccer than listening to the music... but they had fun! we saw a couple of other people from school there too.

so all in all, it was a really enjoyable way to spend a sunday!

chatting with my girl...

this afternoon ella looked up at my christmas card and said: "mummy, why do you only have one christmas card?  did everyone forget you?"

she then rubbed my leg and said: "don't worry, i will never forget you!"

how sweet!  i needed that today! :)

pre-primary graduation...

  *sigh* i've had an emotional afternoon today!  ella had her pre-primary graduation and will be off to year one next year!  it was such a sweet ceremony, the children sang two songs, both the teacher and the principal spoke, and the children received their certificates and children's bible.  i had tears throughout the whole thing... but then when i went up to ella's teacher to thank her and say good-bye i balled... that messy, noisy, embarrassing cry!  mrs matthews had both isaac and ella in pre-primary and is simply wonderful!  as much as i work in the school and will see her all the time, it won't be the same without her having a special part in ella's life too!

christmas concert cuties!

the kids had their annual school christmas concert last night.  they only have one more school day and then a picnic on tuesday and they are on holidays... so everything is definitely in wind-down mode! ella was so excited about the concert, in the morning she said "i can't wait for tonight, you get to see me on stage again!"  she loves to perform - in more ways than one!! 

 

riley's class sang a calypso christmas song, so they all wore hawaiian gear, ella's pre-primary class sang 'mary had a baby' with actions... she got right into it!  isaac's class did a song called 'that's why we praise him' with movement.  it was excellent - the highlight of the night!!  pretty good for having a male teacher!!  hee hee!!

at the end, the whole school got on the stage and sang 'feliz navidad' - it was nice seeing them all up there!  ella was in the front row and i caught this pic of her singing with all her heart!  i love it! (purposely blurred other kids out!)

pretty little butterfly...

i was teaching phys ed. today so i spent most of the day on the oval.  i was amazed at how many pretty little butterflies i saw! they looked so graceful fluttering through the sky and i thought 'oh to be a butterfly, floating around... not a care in the world!' 

i've been looking through my compendium books... a quote that hits me right now is from the book 'she' by kobi yamada.  haven't looked at this book in a long while!  anyway... the quote, "she decided to enjoy more and endure less".  as i have said i have to be more grateful for what i have, therefore "enjoy more" and i have to try to stop thinking so much and since i am my own worst enemy when i do, i will "endure less".  something to think about anyway....  oh, that's right, i'm trying to stop that!!  :-)