Double entendre

Now I'm just being a little bit big headed. I changed my profile picture just now and when I saved it a comment came on the screen - Fetching profile picture. My initial thiought was "That's nice, 'they' think my picture looks nice." Then in the next moment my brain caught up and I realised 'they' meant - Gettting profile picture. Slap head.

To new friends

Hello Paton family.
I'm so needy. I want every one to like me, at the same time I'm so shy. I'm scared that people might not like me. I know this is normal so I 'm not looking for a moral boost. I'm just putting it out there.
This next bit is hard to explain if I was good at analogies I would probably use one...here. I want everyone I know to be my blog friend so that I can have a Friends Blogs roll over on the side that was as big as my family one. BUT I don't want to tell any one I know about my blog just in case they think I'm weird/pretentious/self centred/crazy to name a few possibilities.
Thank you Kris for saying hello to me today. You are my new BF (blog friend).

ANZAC Day

People talk about the ANZAC spirit as though it's something you can learn. It's not. It's just something that you are. It's a little something like this. Taking pride in who you are yet not being prideful. It's pitching in for people you don't know/barely know/have known all your life without question. You can't make it a law or a question in a test. When you see it you'll know it.

Today was a public holiday. There's something about it that throws me every time. All day I have been thinking that tomorrow is Sunday and then as soon as I have thought that I have realized that it is just Friday today and the week hasn't flown so fast and I feel like I have scored an extra day. I know I didn't really get an extra day but just feeling like it is enough to make me feel better about doing stuff. I had an excellent bonus day today.

I got carried away with photo editing. and I'm back 3 hours later. It really is Saturday now. Wow that bonus day made me very tired.

Last week Ailish came over for a couple of days because it was school holidays and Kristie has to still work. Mum and I love to hang out with Ailish and look forward to next year when the boys are in school as well and Mum and I can argue over who is going to spend the holidays with the kids, her or me. Last Thursday we all thought to go for a walk down to the shops but before we got 10 meters from our yard a stray dog came up to us. Our street is a bad spot for stray animals because kids are always speeding around the blind curve. So I felt compelled to capture the little dog and take her home, end of walk for now. Ailish gave the dog a couple of names in the next 1/2 hour while we waited for the council to pick her up. The last name was Puppy. While we were playing outside with the dog Gus kept reminding me of how brave he was, which makes me think that he wasn't feeling very brave at all. I don't think it would have been too hard for him to be brave because Puppy didn't bark and I had to keep telling Ailish to put the dog down. She would do this for about a minute then pick her right back up again. They were all sorry to see Puppy go. Don't tell Mick but for a bit I thought maybe we could get a dog. Then I thought again. Me get a dog? No way!

I believe...

everything on the Dr Phil show.

if the wind changes your face will stay that way.

kids t.v. can be educational.

that it's okay to eat dry froot loops for lunch as long as you are making vegetables for dinner.

that we should smile more because when we are old smile lines are more becoming than frown lines.

that a father doesn't have to kiss his sons to show that he loves them.

that promite is no substitute for vegemite.

that if I were not LDS I would advocate for the sainthood of the person who invented the hair straightener. For now he/she is an awesome creative child of God who was sent to earth to give all woman kind (and some man kind. I saw it at a hairdresser) straight hair.

that politicians probably did want to do what was best for the people, before they were elected.

if dreams were to come true there would be dragons in my bedroom.

scrappy family

accountability

I find it difficult to be honest with myself and keep promises to myself. "I will not eat McDonalds any more" "I will write in my journal regularly" "I will clean my bathroom/toilet once a week" "I will not snap at my children just because I am mad with someone else" Do you see what I mean? If I was honest with myself I would say "I keep skipping breakfast or lunch so when I am in the car with the children I am more likely to suggest a trip to the magical talking box and window of food giving (drive through)." "I will think about writing in my journal everytime something funny, spiritual, sad or moving happens but then I will forget what that was and not think about journal writing until the next moment happens."
"I want to clean my bathroom and toilet once a week but I will only do it when one of the boys wees on the floor/toilet/wall or I want to go for a bath." "I will feel bad and apologise to my children after I have snapped at them mostly because they aren't the ones I am mostly mad at."
You see I am not accountable to anyone else for most of these things. for the kids and the toilet Mick should probably hold me accountable but he doesn't complain so it's all about me. I want to be a better person because that is what I have been taught to want, so it is what I want. Right from the beginning we have known that this time has been given to us to improve on our natural state. I need to go back to using the resources God has given me. I have learnt about goal setting. Making goal statements should be measurable and abservable and should come with objectives in order to reach that goal.
GOAL: "I will not eat fast food for two weeks."
Objectives: I will eat 3 meals each day.
I will carry a bottle of water when I leave the house.
I will buy suitable snack food to take in the car.
I will make a sandwich for each of the boys if we are out and not going to be home for lunch.
And for some other things, I just need to be obedient. It's what I expect from my children. I should expect no less from myself.

They say the darndest things

"If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur."
DougLarson

(Gus is allergic to mozzie bites)

ANGUS-isms
1) Oh, sor-ry (short oh then sorry sung high note low note)
2) That's..not..fay-ar (.. short pause between words)
3) Game..over (said when told off for messing up a perfectly nice game)
4) Okay..Goodbye (Spoken in a cheery voice after he has listened to my lecture on not scratching/not smacking/not sharing. Then he leaves without remorse)
5) Ah, data-one (that one) Disa-one (this one)
6) Updabove d'world so high (Zac thaught him data-one)
and my personal favourite
7) Eat..my..bubbles (yelled over his shoulder as he is running away from me)

ZAC-isms
Clogie and Polody are Mick and my Risk names
Popcorn Raindrop is Erin's antenatal name.
There is always a new made up name for the made up games we play.

Apparently moon rhymes with floon
cheese rhymes with bideese
floor rhymes with tor
me rhymes with meme
emo has the same sound as amo
momat has the same sound as mopap
meno has the same sound as menut
neat has the same sound as nit

Technically he is correct. But I daren't tell him about the nonsense of the words as I fear he already knows. Then I fear that he wont play word games with me any more because I'll just get all grown-up about it.

Big Job

I don't know how long it will take but I have undertaken a rather large task of my own creation. I have the box of Grobins family photos and I'm going to scan them all (even my ugly ones) so that these records will not be lost so easily, as we have just one box full of the photos. Also with just one box full of loose photos and albums the photos aren't very accessible for each family member. If I can keep my momentum up I hope to be able to present each family member with their own copy of the family photos.

There were many times when we were kids that mum and dad didn't have a working camera so there are some gaps. This will probably make me more likely to over compensate by taking too many picture of my family.Though at least I delete the really bad out of focus ones. I dont delete any of the photos Zac and Gus have taken.

I have just started. 5 photos were scaned and even as I write this the scan programme encountered a problem and seized. My resolve has already begun to be tested.

Should I put it on you tube?

Mum this one's for you.

I am hanging out to go to singapore. No more grainy video's on my digital camera, or analogue video's that I have to (one day) convert to digital because if I get nothing else I will get a fancy new video camera. Sorry family no presents for you.

Nic-Nic

The last two days the weather has been warm to hot. I've been trying to make the most of it by turning the tv off and going outside with the crew. If I don't go, they don't go. They play on the jungle gym and do tricks that require 'tah-dah's and get into general sibling related scraps and mishaps. Hence my mediating skills are required even if I make them crawl on broken limbs to where I am sitting reading a book.

We ate outside to night picnic style because while we were playing outside tonight Zac suggested we eat on the grass. I was relieved to acquiesce to his brilliant suggestion as it meant three things. 1. We would enjoy the out doors a bit longer. 2. I could get away with making sandwiches for dinner. 3. I didn't have to tidy the table. Two days ago my kitchen table was spotlessly uncluttered. Two days later it is cluttered again. I'm sure it would take me less than 5 mins to fix it. The reason why I know this is it's just a table and this morning it took me (and the boys) 15 mins to restore order to the play room and that looked like Zackie said, "We had toy fireworks in here. Peuw! Fwaw!" I was dreading that job but once I turned the timer on I just got on and did it.

I find I tidy more efficiently with the timer. I set it for ten minutes at a time and I know that even if I set it again at the end, this too shall pass. I go back to work 5 days in a month and I feel like I have to step up and cultivate good habits while the pressure is off. If not I could seriously be at risk of a home management breakdown. Mick and my standards aren't too high - clean clothes (only ironed on Sunday, if I have too), clean dishes and full bellies. However happy I am with the relaxed attitude I have to home management it would seem that these standards are too low for some of my ex-neighbours.

When Mick and I got married I moved into his bachelor pad. It became the married couples nest, unfortunately it also became the nest of a large domestic rat. He came to live in our front bushes and didn't bother us so we didn't bother him. However a nosey neighbour in the unit complex had taken note of the washing pile and discarded pizza boxes on the table upon a singular visit to my front door and added that judgement to the horror of a white rat moving boldly around our driveway and courtyard. She obviously took exception to my standards and one day when she thought we were not home she brought a "friend" into our courtyard and bestowed upon said friend her judgment of me. Unbeknowst to her I was sick and had not gone out with Mick as I usually would on a Sunday morning. So I was sitting in my loungeroom not 2 meters away. When I heard the talking I stood at the closed front door to hear her opinions. I became increasingly upset and felt unable to bring my prescense to her attention. So I called in the cavalry. By the time Mick got home our neighbour was in her yard. I just wanted Mick to pick me up so we could go to a mates house. Instead when I got in the car he got out. He had obviiusly put on his shining armour that morning because he fought the beast for me. He told her if she had anything to say about his wife she had better come to him or shut up. Aww. Not long after that Ratty left. But not before I learnt that my love would face all manner of foul beast for his love.

But I digress. Tonight we had a lovely Autumn picnic with fairy bread, hot chips and M&M's. I love my life. I love the country that I live in and I am grateful to Heavenly Father for the peace freedom and safety I feel here. I pray that others here and in foreign lands may feel this too.

whatever

i was doing so well. i was going to bed early i was waking up early and i was grumpy. so tonight i didn't go to bed early and here i am. it's 11pm(ish) and i couldn't think of anything better to do than eat chocolate icecream and blog. i don't have anything to say. i don't want to write about my kids because i don't have anything nice to say and you know what mum always said. i can't think of anything to say about Mick except that he works hard because for the last month and a half that is all he has done. i miss him. my house is messy inspite of the fact that i have family coming over in 36 hours. i don't want to talk about it, except to say i'm glad i have a spare room with a door. i lurve chocolate icecream. so, whatever.