appeasing the natives

well, the kiddos are kinda climbing the walls with All This Cleaning Out And Not Much Fun.
so we decided to finish our mosaics this morning before Venturing Into My Bedroom To Find Carpet.

alors, voilà (right then, here's)...

M5's ruru

S9's tuatara

yes, momma helped, a leeetle bit. ok, a lot.
we think they have tons of personality and we love them very much.

stationary stationery

the hippie-happy-homeskooling-mother has finally found all the pens and pencils which the kids kept insisting had disappeared...
in The Nefarious Bottom Drawer in the kitchen.
ok, let's have another *prize pick*... cos i am desperate to finish The Clean Out and get back to some *creative moments*:
GUESS THE NUMBER OF PENS AND PENCILS KATIE FOUND TODAY..... clue: they're all now safely stashed in the box, in the bottom left corner of the *tidy* drawer above!!

express-OH! delivery!!!!!!

*shrieking and flapping arms in the air*
BARB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
your global swap has arrived>>>>>>>>>>
and the *express espresso* delivery has really made our day:
the lads heard the Knock! Knock! at the door and we sprinted over to find:
these.....
and the coffee beans even have *dark chocolate* on them!!!!!!!!!
i don't care what has happened over the last two weeks, or yesterday, or even today:
this is a perfect moment. the love is going around the universe :o)

and now, reading-over-my-shoulder, M5 has started reciting *knock knock* jokes, starting with:
Knock Knock.
(who's there?)
Tomato.
(tomato who?)
Tomato Squash
*dissolving into peals of laughter*
(i don't get it either)

Groundhog Day

yep, we are definitely stuck in a TimeWarp.
but the fantastic news is that The Lads got themselves a new stereo yesterday, to celebrate The Big Bedroom HuckOut.
this baby is so cool. it comes in three different pieces so you can arrange it any way you like. it has "Dynamic Bass Boost" (i am such a wannabegeek) and a *remote control* and a Very Robust Lid (which is necessarily Boy Friendly)... and i think it even makes your breakfast, which is a good thing, cos The Lads had a little hiccup with the Wake-Up Timer setting this morning.

J11: "mum, i think i dropped off..."

you sure did.
(and your brother looks *so* angelic!!!)

ohmygosh, the last two weeks have been c-r-a-z-y.

we've had two birthdays. and two parties.

i've been fighting off a sinus/cold/coughingfits virus since tuesday fortnight.

D17 caught the bugs a week ago: he had a day off school last friday and slept pretty much continuously for twenty hours. we almost raced to the emergency doctor's late last night with his sore ear, but when we rang up the doc's they had just closed, and neither of us fancied reading twenty-three-and-a-half chapters of an inane book while waiting in a hospital queue. so this morning he's gone to school wearing his Crazy Sherpa Beanie and wielding an Explanatory Note in his pocket.

this morning J11 and S9 both woke up coughing and threatening to vomit, and both promptly fell asleep again in the lounge, snuggled up with fave quilts and candles lit, and *the bell* at their fingertips (the one you tinkle when you Need Mummy Now).

there has been a flood and i am still in the throes of an overhaul.

it's the last week of term and everyone is exhausted. hubby is Up To His Eyeballs in reports and timetabling and meetings and professional development courses and heavenknowswhatelse.

my lips are chapped and i have a split on my heel and the Pressure Cooker Valve went missing sometime between sunday night and monday afternoon so that last night's soup took twice as long to cook and it spat little droplets on my stove as it merrily bubbled.

and my washing line snapped in the weekend and i just noticed this morning that it is slowly starting to unravel itself.

"...and my tail is froze and my nose is froze and my ears are froze..." (movie line)

but the good news is that the shortest day of the year was last week, which means that winter is nearly over and summer is just around the corner...
ok i'm off to make jelly.
it's the Best Childhood Bugs And Crazy Timewarp Remedy i know.

Rubbish Report and *prize* pick...

"Zut Alors! (S)he has emerged..."
(movie line)
oh wow. i know why i only do this every 2 - 3 years when i'm pregnant or moving house (don't panic, i'm neither)...
it. just. takes. so. much. energy.
right then:
the report is that so far we've done
*the boys' room
*the lounge
*the laundry
*half of the garage (the front half. not sure if i'll get to the back this time around..)
*the pooter/movies/games cupboard (and we're missing five red connect four buttons and one yellow connect four button. but we have two full chess sets and three chess boards. strange but true.)
*R14's room: which yielded two-and-a-half kleensaks of rubbish and two kleensaks to the sallies. (i know, dad, there must be a Bad Karma Fairy getting me back for my own knee-deep-teen-girl room)

and the pile of non-matching socks is still mounting up.

which brings me to my oh! so happy announcement:
the number of socks in the boys' room was 28...
so the winner is:
The Lovely Liesl of Menagerie House
<----- email me chick (details to the left, to the left... in the box to the left), i have an idea for a beeee-autiful bracelet to celebrate BeingAMommyOf2GorgeousBoys :o)

and now that i've grabbed a breath of air,
i'm off to sweep through the rest of the close vicinity.
*kate takes a breath and ventures into*

*D17's room aka The Cupboard
*my/hubby's room and ensuite
*kids bathroom
*beach cupboard
*kitchen
*linen cupboard

after an espresso and a chocolate covered coffee bean... or two.

Wind Warning:

Batten down the hatches, *Hurricane Katie* is sweeping through the close vicinity: leaving clean floors, windows, bookshelves, wardrobes, cupboards, and underneath-the-beds in her wake.

Inspired by all you girls who are packing boxes/moving house/ having a general sort-out, Katie has finally found her muse and is restoring order where chaos and mould once reigned.

Oh, and there’s a *prize* for the person who guesses how many socks we found in the boys’ room yesterday (clue: it’s an even number, but I’ll bet ya they don’t make pairs)...

the good, the bad, and the snuggly

good: the laundry floor, the hall carpet, and the garage floor are all very clean.
bad: the washing machine didn't register that its bowl was full, and poured about forty litres of water on the floor and up the hall.
good: the insurance company is paying for the clean up.
bad: the washing machine refuses to light up. it has died. *after* it poured about forty litres of water on the floor and up the hall.
good: a reconditioned washing machine will cost a third of the price of a new one. and it will have a warranty.
bad: no washing machine until friday.
good: in the interim, my adorable friend julie keeps popping our washing into her machine and hanging it on her line.
bad: toys and other paraphernalia from under the three boys' bed, in their wardrobe and all over the floor are now residing in our lounge: in boxes, out of boxes, over chairs, and all over the floor...
good: there will be no more procrastinating *cleaning out* the boys' room (aka mini-skip)
bad: there are three really noisy blowers and two dehumidifiers making a h*ll of a racket in the midst of the chaos.
good: no problem, we are just entertaining all and sundry visitors on any available space, and the kids can even hear the dvd over the noise of the blowers. it's turned up to a thousand decibels, but they can hear it.
snuggly: looks like we're sleeping marae-styles tonight: so it's first in, best bed....

really bad hair daze

A frustrated little voice pierced my daydream just now with, "Oh dear, my hair keeps getting in my face."
When I turned to see what the problem was, I was greeted by this apparition:
M5 peering through the white strawness of Uncle Lew's witchy-wig.....
Ah, I feel better about yesterday's agonies already!!!

bad hair daze

i know, i know. i'm writing about hair. my hair. i feel kinda weird doing this, but... after blogging for fourteen months i'm running out of things to say to myself. blonde and angsty, that's me. i usually don't bother blogging the angst, i save that for other people's blogs, lol...

but i just got all inspired over at whoorl. cos now i'm not the only chick who obsesses about hair, and i love her disclaimer:

I’m a wash-n-wear kind of gal. Not today, however. Today I’ll be the Super Me. I know what you’re thinking, “What if the super you meets the super her and the super her rejects the super you?” Well, then it’s no problem because it was never you, it was just an act. I live my life like a French movie.

aha, a kindred spirit!!!!!

right then: i've been thinking about hair care for the last month or two. i tried not washing it, just conditioning it with my leave-in schwarzkopf. then i tried using baking soda to wash it and then conditioning it with schwarzkopf. i was going to try organic products, but never got around to finding something so i'm back to schwarzkopf (oh, how i love that word) shampoo and conditioner.
i think it just needs a really good cut. it has to wait three weeks until R14 and i have a mommy-daughter date with our Funky Hair Lady. and while i'm waiting for that day, i've been having all sorts of hair crises: chocolate brown? pink?

i'm ready for a change, but don't wanna cut it off again: i've tried all sorts of lengths and colours and finally decided three years ago (after lopping it all off during a mid-life moment) that i'll grow it to my bum before i'm forty. hippie styles. that's (the rediscovered) me.

i like it curly: but for a Good Hair Day, i need to wet it every morning, and scrunch mousse into my tresses so that the birds-nest-from-the-night-before turns back into luscious springs. and not blow all the curls outta it with the hairdryer. of course that's fine in summer, but in winter it stays wet for about five hours: too freezy.
which is why i love my beanie...

babygirl's birthday

wowza, fourteen today… i love sharing our birthdays. i remember *that* day, fourteen years ago - the day after my birthday - waking at half past five and doing my polar bear sway thing, and sarah breaking traffic laws to get daddy and me to the hospital ten minutes before you made your sanguine appearance… no wonder i started having homebirths shortly after that… you were apparently a textbook delivery, i still had my lipstick on!! i was overwhelmed at the sight of our beautiful baby… a girl!!!!

it’s surprising how similar we are, you and i. once when you were eighteen months old, you got the giggles in our sunny little dining room at rosamund ave. i started laughing at the sound of your hilarious laughter, and then we all couldn’t stop: my giggle sounds exactly like yours!! we have the same hair and eyes, and the same way of viewing the world: optimistic and rather blonde, and of course we both have a chocolate addiction. our family photo albums record that your first decade was spent mostly in dress-up clothes, fairy wands, hair ups, zany movie lines, and total pinky cuteness. and now you're becoming a woman.

i love the way you dance and sing all day, you have a beautiful voice and a wonderfully expressive nature. you make our hearts sing. and you’re still The Princess: you totally have Daddy and all the brothers wrapped firmly around your little finger.

may all your wishes come true, today and every day.

happy birthday to *me-e-e-e-e*

thirty-eight today......
surrounded by fabulous girlfriends and my adorable family, we danced the day away.

lovelylouise, angelclare, thegorgeousdebbie,
lusciousnush and birthdaygirlmoi.

well, we needed *some* physical exertion: we ate like piglets...
oh, and D17's skin specialist doctor didn't believe i'm his mother.
lol
*sigh* i do have such a beautiful life. and for that i am so thankful.

some serious cheese

M5 has been dragging this little old camera with him everywhere we've been for the last few days, and an Anonymous Photographer has been busy capturing quite a few moments on the digi-cam too...

mostly of S9 who has his guitar wedged permanently under his armpit.


There are four years between you two brothers, and you both approach life so similarly: like a bull at a gate, but with a wonderful affection and sensitivity surrounding your gusto. I can hear a little snore coming from one of you as you dream side by side in sleeping bags on the futon. I hope you'll be friends for ever and ever.

quizzical addiction...

Your Personality is Somewhat Rare (ENFP)

Your personality type is enthusiastic, giving, cautious, and loyal. Only about 8% of all people have your personality, including 9% of all women and 6% of all men You are Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

i do find this hard to believe: i know tons of ENFP's... though, maybe like attracts like???
i agree that opposites attract too, lol.

haha, and i couldn't resist this, cos i am thinking of going *chocolate brown* in a couple of weeks when i get my biannual hair cut:

Your Hair Should Be Pink

Hyper, insane, and a boatload of fun. You're a travelling party that everyone loves to follow.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

ummm, not.
(confession, i added an "l" to "travelling"...)

français monday

well, mel, i've had my français infusion...

thank you for the gorgeous french provincial candles, and all the french music we listened to.
i think it's gonna be a Birthday Week lol.
and thanks for my table sh-j-j-j-j-sh-j-j-j (i love that carson kressly word)


Love your card:
Do you think that we'll still be friends when we're little old ladies? That we'll still get the giggles and laugh till our bellies ache? Do you suppose that we'll still talk for hours and tell each other anything and everything, and share our gossip over coffee and tea?


i love Birthday Weeks.
P.S. a huge happy birthday to my spunky brother... sending you the lurve today!!!!!!!

like a rat up a drainpipe...

late arvo today, we headed over to our local rock climbing place.

legs and arms were stretched

and blood, sweat and tears were shed
as three rats conquered the walls...
seven metres up.

D17 aka Borat "high f-i-i-i-v-e!!"

Daddy and D17 encourage R13,

who after three attempts
at this ridiculously difficult climb

reached the top alive (movie line).
you totally rock chick!!! (pun intended lol)

R13 belays J11,
who has the patience and problem solving skills
to ace the wall.

just look at you!!!!!!!

i'm off to massage the crick outta my neck...

*blackberry&pearl jam* necklace

*singing* it (was) a birthday, it (was) a birthday... for *thegorgeousdebbie* in honour of your fondness for *berry BLACK* coffee and becos you are a *PEARL* birthday-month-girl too.
(it's delish and a little less blurry IRL lol)

mostly girls

saying *goodbye* is really stink.

so we'll say *au revoir* which, my mum used to say, translates as "until i see you again"...

we've *loved* the last five weeks of hanging out with yas, and we wish you *bon voyage* for the next little part of your adventure to The Windy City. come back and play soon, ok???

the drifters

along the boardwalk out in the sun

along the boardwalk we'll be havin' some fun

along the boardwalk people walkin' above

along the boardwalk just sharin' da lurve...

doozie

it's you-zie and me-zie!!!!! love your landscaping, so inspiring... you'll be a Fabulous Designer... go on, *do* it!!!
love the stripey opera artworks... love our teeth (and your wad of chewing gum) lol...
seriously now, we *love* catching up with you guys: as i remember it, you'n'i are the original Barbie and Midge, and we never have bad hair days lol.