Fresh and new.

Last night the girls and I rang in the New Year here at home. We had fireworks, fancy food, noise makers, hats and bubbly, theirs was sans alcohol, oh wait, so was mine! I asked the girls if they wanted to get dressed up. Lily immediately took off into her closet and came out eons later and Rosie dashed off, threw on her favourite shirt, red leggings, a couple of necklaces, appeared 2 minutes later and declared herself a diva.

Oh my!

She knows what she likes and she doesn't like dresses.

This one on the other hand, can't stand anything BUT dresses.

love

My girls

A fresh new year, what could be better?

I love to wake up on the first of the year and just stay very still, pondering all my dreams for the upcoming months. Some of them are ridiculous and some of them realistic but either way it is always nice to look ahead at the road yet to be travelled. The girls and I have are facing some big hurdles in the next few weeks and I know that we can get through it all but it isn't going to be fun. Allowing myself to look beyond the immediate and into the future helps to jockey me along. But, I can do anything!


This time last year I decided that I was going to post on my blog every single day for a whole year. Due to my, "I can do that" personality, I did but it was so hard and I have noticed that my blog has suffered. there is nothing of substance on it just a bunch of crap. This year I am returning to posting when I feel like it and I must say that I will enjoy it so much more now that the self-imposed pressure is gone. {phew}

So here is to a year that will bring peace, calm and happiness, health, healing and love.
Happy 2013

A new year

Last year really seemed to fly by at record speed. When I was little my parents and all their "old" friends used to talk about time flying and I thought it was the silliest thing ever. Hah, guess I'm one of those old people now cos time really does fly.

I am not one for making resolutions. I don't like to set myself up for even more OCD moments than I already have. If I commit to anything then it is 100% so the idea of making myself even more nuts just doesn't make sense. There are a few things that I plan to address in the next few days and some things that I want to accomplish this year but nothing life changing. Well perhaps one thing.

It is said that what you do and how you feel on New Years Eve and New Years Day sets the tone for your whole year. After my foul and cranky mood yesterday I am happy to say that I woke up chipper. That lipstick really must have been magical. I took no chances today and after my shower immediately put on some make-up. Told you I was OCD. We spent a calm and quiet day that involved a trip to a mall quite a way from here so that we could get something for jacob's birthday. It of course turned into a shopping fest and I now have some much needed new clothes. A great way to start a new year.

We had a lovely dinner at home and the girls both went to bed early. After not going to bed until 1am yesterday/today they were in need of it. Lily slept until 10.56 am but Rosie was up at 6.30 (groan)

A perfect start to a fresh, new year. Talking of fresh it's going to get cold this week. I can't wait.

An ode to red lipstick.

I have been in the worst mood all day long.

It started this morning and as my, self imposed, to= do list grew, my black cloud just got bigger. I tried so hard to shake it. It's New Years Eve for heavens sake yet I felt none of the fun. I enrolled the girls to help me clean and sort. All extraneous items had to be removed from the house today. We loaded up lord knows what and dragged it to the charity shop. I'm quite sure tomorrow I'll be looking for half of it.

From there we went to the store for finger foods for our party tonight. As the time grew later I felt as much like throwing a party as I did like listening to the girls playing there musical instruments. I was really cranky.

After I bathed the girls I told Lily she could wear any one of her favourite dresses and helped Rosie chose one too. Lily casually asked if I was going to get dressed up too. Not bloody likely, was what I was about to say but instead I said, yes. With that I raced upstairs plugged in my flat iron with one hand and grabbed my make-up bag with the other. I pulled a little black dress out of my closet, ferreted about on the floor in my closet looking for some heels, threw myself head first into my jewellry box and then raced back into the bathroom to put on some lipstick. Lily chose red for me. As soon as I looked in the mirror my bad mood magically disappeared. Finally!

If only I had known it was so easy I would have put on some red lipstick earlier!

Since the girlies looked so pretty I took some photos of them. Actually Lily looks scary. She looks about 13. She has some hand me down dresses from Jakie. Jakies girls are really tiny so they wore these dresses when they were 12 and 13 but they fit Lily now and Lily is tiny for 9. I don't let her wear them out of the house as they are just to grown up for her but inside the house they are fine and she really looks smashing in them.

Rosie does not like wearing dresses but wanted one tonight. She made me laugh so much as she tried to pose like her sister. Lily is a natural, Ro Ro, not so much. Well not yet. And for that I am thankful!

We wish everyone a very happy new year. I hope that all your dreams come true and this is your best and favourite year ever.

Gung Hay Fat Choy

Chinese New Year starts tomorrow but we chose to celebrate early for 2 reasons. The first, it is already tomorrow in China and more importantly, it's Rosie's birthday tomorrow.

Since we always have our park playdates on a Wednesday I just decided to turn it in to a CNY party here at the house. We bought some fortune cookies and then dipped them in melted chocolate and covered them in sprinkles. All the kids have enough to take to school with them tomorrow to share with their friends. They had lots of fun doing it and they got might chocolatey!

Getting started

Yum...chocolate


Goo Goo bought these outfits back from Macau last month. I love the edging on them it makes them stand out.
Goo Goo and Father Joe came over to wish Rosie a Happy Birthday for tomorrow and they gave her a musical card, she loved it.
I have such a bad migraine tonight, again, that I am ending this post here and will add to it tomorrow

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(yeesh I didn't even manage to put a period at the end of the last sentence, I needed to get to bed fast)
I saw this idea on another blog, not sure which and new immediately we had to do it. On that blog the fortune cookies were all perfect and the photos were amazing. Not so much on this blog, the kids did everything themselves and we ended up with chocolate and sprinkles everywhere.

Rosie ended up at the pediatrician today. She woke in the night with a fever and she only just had one that lasted for 4 days. We ummed and ahhed about taking her, good thing we did she has an ear infection and is on antibiotics for the first time ever. As you can see by the photos she doesn't feel ear pain apparently.

Happy New Year.

Both girls stayed up until 1.30, they made it. Rosie kept saying, "this is an awesome party". She made me laugh because it was just the 3 of us, Jacob was working. Perhaps the fact that it was so late, or the sparklers, or the sparking cranberry and grape juice in the crystal champagne flutes, or the silly traditions that had to be carried out. Well whatever it was she loved it and so did Lily and I. She also woke up at 7am so it is going to be a bit of a bumpy day today.

I am not a resolution maker but I will strive to be a better me, a better mum and kinder to me. I think as we get older we realise what is important, well I do, so those are things that I am working towards.

To my friends that found 2010 to be unkind I wish you nothing but happy days ahead. For those not working, I wish you employment and no more worries for your family. For those suffering from sickness I wish you health. For my friends who have families that are just unkind, I wish you happy days without the stress of not doing it right and measuring up. For my friends still waiting, I wish you a speedy referral.

And for all of us I wish for love, laughter, happiness, health and an abundance of joy.

Happy New Year.

New Years Eve

I am superstitious. I don't mean to be but when I hear those silly little snippets that will give you good or bad luck I always mind them. I try not to, really I do but once that seed of information has been planted I cannot make it go away. Maybe it's the OCD in me.

Someone once told me that whatever you do, feel, have, on New Years Eve will follow you into the upcoming year. You have no idea the lengths I go to not to get a migraine on New Years Eve. I have to have a clean and orderly home, have to feel good about myself, have this ridiculous urge to dress really nicely, wear my favourite things etc.etc. From the second the girls open their eyes I instruct them to be nice, kind, friendly, polite and happy and not to bicker! If anything breaks today or goes wrong I hit the freak out button instantly. Insane......I wish I could remember who it was that filled my head with this nonsense because I would return the favour.

Today Lily had a pedi appointment. If she makes Principals Honour Roll Jacob rewards her with something of her choice. (within reason) This time around she chose a pedicure and wanted it today. I made the appointment for first thing and afterwards she wanted to walk around the mall. She purchased Rosie a gift with her own money and generally was on a cloud. She didn't want to go home so we went to Starb*cks for hot chocolate and a sweet treat for them. It was a really lovely morning thus next year should be a lovely one. Let's hope so.

We came home for lunch and then I suggested that they both take a nap as they are going to bed very late tonight. They are still napping 2 hours later.

Tonight we will bring in the New Year at home, together. Once the ball drops we will all eat 12 grapes, throw a bucket of water out the front door, throw something into the garden that is broken and put an envelope of money under the doormat. All these things bring good luck in some shape or form into your life, or so I am told, for the upcoming year. Each year the list gets a bit longer cos I am darned sure I am not about to get jinxed on the first day of a new year that looks as if it could be my best one yet by not doing something on this silly, silly list!

Happy New Year.

May 2011 bring you all that you dream of and a happy, healthy and carefree life.

The teenage years will be very high maintenance.

She looks so relaxed
ORANGE? Egads, is it bright enough?
A little pick me up
My girly girl and the other one. LOL

Since the girls are still sleeping I had better make sure I have NOTHING at all on my to do list cos I don't fancy starting a new year with a list of things I need to get done.

2010

They celebrated the way they wanted to. Rosie stayed awake until 11.21pm and Lily partied like a rock star complete with sparkling apple juice and fireworks at midnight. Neither one of them grasps the idea of sleeping late so we will be laying low today. A little fresh air in the park and a long nap and hopefully they will sleep like champions tonight.

I am looking forward to seeing what this year holds for our family. Each day is an adventure with this crazy gang and I am one lucky duck to be able to call them my brood.
Cheers and happy 2010.

Good Bye To You and Hello To You

Here we are again on the cusp of another year ending. It really is rather remarkable how fast the years fly by now and how big my girls get with every month that passes. It was 2 years ago tonight that we received the word from our agency that they had received our LOA and now here we are with Rosie home for almost 2 years.

Jacob is working tonight and I didn't want to go anywhere this evening alone with the girls so we are partying at home and everything including the menu has been their choice. Dinner was sloth toes (Mummy's chicken fingers), mac and cheese, tomatoes, cukes, dipping sauce and fresh shrimp followed by crepes for dessert with lemon juice and sugar on them. Later on they want a cheese platter with the cheeses that they chose at the store and pistachios and honey roasted peanuts served with sparkling apple juice. We are going to be playing Wii*, they have party tiara's and woot woot's (noise makers), necklaces that say 2010 on them and we have enough balloons in the house to make it fly away. Later on they plan to jump on them and burst them. (good luck with that Rosie). If after all of this they are still awake they want to see a movie but neither one of them is feeling that wonderful so I'm not sure if they will make it or not although one thing I am sure of is that they will both give it there best shot.

For many of my friends 2009 has been a really horrid year,. For us it hasn't been so bad. It has had a few really niggly moments but life is like that. The loss of my uncle was the lowest point of all but really we have been truly lucky this year.

I don't make resolutions as I feel setting myself up for possible failure at the beginning of a fresh year is negative but I will strive for certain goals and foremost will be, to be the best mother I can be for the girls. This year I also want to take some time for Jacob and I as a couple. We have no family around so leaving the girls is pretty much impossible. I also want to spend less time on the computer...horrors! Blogging, email and FB are fun but they should not take up so much of my day. I really want more hours in my day but somehow I don't think that is going to happen!

I hope that the new year brings the answer to the prayers you have prayed, the wishes you have wished and the dreams you have dreamt.

Happy New Year.