The last ever day of 2009.... makes me think about the year that was and the year ahead. I'm not a big one for new years resolutions. I set goals throughout the year, not just on 31/12 every year. Actually, I kind of set goals for the next 5 or so years, not just 12 months. Maybe that's where I'm going wrong in not always achieving them! Maybe I should start smaller and set 12 month goals....

But anyway....
2009 was a good year and a bad year all rolled into one.
It was good because we welcomed our 3rd child, a daughter, into our family. Good because we got our yard blitzed into a usable space. Good because we got through the year without any major accident or illness. Good because I started to lose the baby baggage I've been carrying around on my thighs. Good because I didn't have to work and could watch my babies grow and learn. Good in many ways.
It was a bad year because we lost some friends who should never have left us. Each time we said goodbye, we wished we could start 2009 again and things would be different.

So now I look forward to 2010 as the beginning of another chapter in my life. I hope I can make the most of it and achieve some of my life goals, or at least take steps towards making them possible.

Happy New Year!

Christmas 2009

I'm sitting here on Christmas night all alone. The kids are all in bed (though I can still hear murmurs) M is at work, the house is very quiet... and I'm LOVING it! I've had a great day, although the 5.15am start not so great. It's our daughter's first Christmas and our first Christmas as a 'complete' family of 5 so it was extra special but now I am relishing the peace and quiet.

We watched the kids open their presents in a flurry of ripping paper and squeals of excitement. As predicted our daughter was content with the wrapping paper. She'd find a stray ball of screwed up paper, bite onto it and proceed to crawl around with it in her mouth, as happy as anything. At least it (the paper, not the baby!) doesn't require batteries.

Battery operated toys. Every parent's worst nightmare. Battery operated toys invariably = NOISE. Not to mention the lack of imagination needed to operate them. It's a hot topic in our house at the moment. Today M and I decided that next Christmas would be Battery-Free. We told the Grandparents that they could only buy Christmas presents for the kids that did not require batteries. The same rule applies to what Santa/we bring the kids too.

I was watching the chaos unfold and the kids getting crazier as they played with one noisy toy after another, and had the battery-free idea. I find that with my kids, if their play space is really messy (more than the usual 'mess') then they start getting edgy and naughty, like they can't play calmly in a chaotic environment, and today was that example to the extreme. And the funny thing is, that after a whole day of sampling all their toys, the ones that they were most interested in tonight were the ones without batteries. W sat and played with the Mobilo (a type of building/connecting set) and N pushed around 2 trucks, loaded up with various toys (blocks,plastic fruit,dolly etc) for ages, and they were both happy,calm and relaxed. Don't get me wrong, the kids have had their fair share of 'no-brainer' noisy toys, I just think it's time to draw the line and shift the focus to more nurturing toys.

So anyway, now I'm just sitting here enjoying the peace and quiet whilst reflecting on a fantastic Christmas day spent with my gorgeous family. Ahhhh, the serenity........

The Verdict

I went to my school reunion on the weekend.... and it was........ fun! Honestly! Apparently there were about 100 people there (30 or so were the 'other half') which was a pretty good turn out for this kind of thing. (note: I may use the word 'apparently' quite a bit whilst describing the night as 'apparently' my memory is a little fuzzy...)

But anyway... yeah, it was fun. There were a few people there who I didn't hang out with at school, so obviously we weren't going to become instant buddies just because we were in the same room together that night. But there were heaps of people there who I hadn't seen or heard of in 20 years and when we caught up it was just as funny and as crazy as it was 20 years ago, though this time we didn't have to worry about getting busted by the teacher for being 'disruptive' lol.

It was interesting to hear someone say that the previous 10 yr reunion was all about who was the most successful, who had done something since leaving school etc and that basically everyone was there to prove themselves. BIG difference to the 20 yr reunion! Most of us were married, have had kids and were living a normal,happy,fulfilling life. We all had travelled down different roads (some bumpier than others) but essentially we all arrived at the same destination eventually, some faster than others.

Some funny memories were recalled, love interests were confessed, teacher/student flings outed (hey, it was 20 yrs ago,the laws were a little lax back then!) and generally everyone just relaxed and remembered how life at BSHS was back then.

And as for who is now fatter/skinnier/balder etc, well you'd have to ask the 'in' group (yes,they still believe it exists lol) because honestly, I didn't notice. Maybe I was too busy discussing the price of wine with the barman (apparently), maybe I was busy trying to avoid a wardrobe malfunction of the Janet Jackson kind, maybe I was too busy bustin a move to an 80's tune, or mayyybe I just didn't care!

So, thanks to all that went for making it a great night and for reminding me that those high school years were some of the best.
xxx

Memory Lane

I'm going to my 20 year school reunion on Saturday night and up until now I was really excited. Now I'm a combination of excited and nervous as hell! I missed out on the 10 year reunion, so I'm really looking forward to catching up with some people that I haven't seen for YEARS and playing the "oh what about when..." game.

I know of a few people who aren't going for various reasons. Some have Christmas parties to attend, some have young babies who they can't leave and some just think that school reunions are waste of time. The latter believe that the reunion will be just a room full of people checking out who's gotten skinny and who's gotten fat since high school.

I have no doubt that there will certainly be people there who are more concerned with how fat so-and-so has become rather than what career path they chose. But, I'd like to think that 20 years on, most of us are less concerned with who's fat or skinny and are more looking forward to actually having a drink and a laugh with some old 'friends'. I think it's safe to say that not many of us resemble ourselves at age 16 (good or bad). So why are some people so fixated on making a comparison?

I for one am comfortable enough in my own skin to be able to attend the reunion without being concerned about who thinks I'm fatter/older/wrinklier. Who cares! And as for those who are staying home because of what people might say or think, well, that's not much different to being in high school really. Surely there are more important things in life? I say come along... laugh till your sides hurt, listen to stories of people's chosen (or otherwise) life paths, share yours and just be involved in a great night out. Really, can it be that bad? I'll let you know...

How far is TOO far?

I've got this friend.... well, actually she's just a fairly new 'friend', so I'm not entirely sure I can call her a friend yet (isn't there a qualifying period for friendships?lol) but anyway....
She is a beautiful calm natured person who would never raise her voice at naughty children, is a vegetarian for reasons relating to animal cruelty I believe and, I have just found out, would never hurt a fly LITERALLY.
We were visiting her recently and she mentioned that she doesn't allow her kids to kill anything from the bug world, including flies. Now, I'm all for animal rights and preventing animal cruelty etc, BUT, is this taking it too far? I mean, they have no fly wires on their doors, and after having most of the doors open during the afternoon there were a good mixture of your common house fly and more robust blow fly with maybe a mozzie or 2 thrown in the mix flying happily around inside. What happens to those flies once you close all the doors for the evening? Are they all escorted outside without a fuss? In our house, the ones further inside (not near a door) would be hunted down and showered in flyspray and the ones near the back door would be granted a second chance and let out the door with the help of a waving hand (yes, I can be humane sometimes!)
I believe in teaching children to respect all living things, but I also believe in teaching them that not all things are equal in the world. Flies are dirty and carry germs, and if found inside may be killed. However, flies outside are there as a food source for spiders and other living things so we should allow them to fly on their merry way. My point is, where do we draw the line? IS there a line?

Disclaimer...I have nothing against my 'friend's beliefs and absolutely respect the way she is teaching her children about animals. I am actually of the same opinion as her about a few animal related issues, including boycotting Caged Eggs for obvious reasons.