Tuesday, 19 April 2011

Looking forward

A shot of positivity at counselling, a chiropractic neck cracking, a sunshiny walk, the smell of camellias and wispy clouds.  I feel like I'm joining the land of the living again.  A birthday tomorrow and a trip to Melbourne soon after.  Looking forward to the Easter Weekend with family.











Thursday, 14 April 2011

Toby's holiday drawings

Lisha and lots of rainbows


Donald flying a kite


Lisha


Donald with lots of hair

Wednesday, 13 April 2011

Blue Sky and lots of Colour

Yesterday afternoon I took a lovely nap in the sun with Amelia, she is a fantastic napping companion.   The air was cool and crisp but the sun was very warming when it wasn't hidden behind cloud.


After many visits to the doctor, she, the doctor that is, has concluded that I am suffering from a "Virus" and here I thought I was suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis.   Donald had similar symptoms at the same time although he never had any headache or neck ache and he's all better now.  For the last week I have also had very bad neck pain which extends up to my head into a migraine.  It just won't go away so I've been trying to take it easy.  Woe is me : + /


I went for a walk this morning, a slow paced wander around the neighbourhood.  I took my camera as it is such a beautiful Autumn day.  The sky is so blue and barely a wisp of a cloud floating by.  I needed to get out and lift my spirits, they are pretty low at the moment.  


The Hibiscus and Camellias seem to be flowering the most at the moment.  Lots of lovely pinks and oranges and of course the Autumn leaves are just starting to show a change from green to rich red.  It is such a beautiful day.  I hope you are enjoying your day, whether it be Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere or Spring in the North.  Both wondrous seasons full of colour.













Cycling the World




It's holiday time, but if you can't get away for a holiday I know a few people who are exploring the world.  My sister Gabby and her husband Neil have hit the road, literally, on their bikes and have been cycling from Dublin and are now making their way through France.  They are seeing some amazing sites, architecture and countryside.  There's nothing quite like travelling through your laptop when you are stuck at home with husband, three kids, a dog and a migraine that won't go away.  Pop over and see them.






Photo's courtesy of Gabby & Neil

Friday, 8 April 2011

The Holidays are here!!

It's Friday afternoon, the boys are into Nintendo already, I have my lap warmer across legs and Donald is making pizza's.  I am happy, I'm still in pain with swollen fingers, wrists and throbbing head, but I am happy.  The holidays are here, so is Autumn, and we have just over two and a half weeks of no school.


Yesterday was Toby's first Easter picnic at school. 


He got to enjoy an extra long morning tea of yummy treats with his class mates.  




I think the girls in his class really like Toby, they are always sitting with him.


Then I had to toddle off to the doctors again and another blood test.  Still trying to figure out what's going on.


Today Sam and Ethan competed in their school cross country carnival, racing in their year groups.






It was fun watching the kindy kids cheering as runners went past them.  Mostly the kids would walk the last bit, it was a long cross country, but once they went past the cheering kindy kids they picked up their pace and ran to the finish line.


They all enjoyed a sausage sizzle for lunch afterwards.


It was such a lovely day, cool but sunny, I even managed to capture a few flower photo's on my walk home, along with some Autumn leaves that are just showing.







Wednesday, 6 April 2011

April...


Just when I thought 'Time was Marching by' so quickly, here I find myself in April already and the school holidays start at the end of the week.  The last few weeks have been a bit of a blur.  My blogging and photography has been rather neglected, I won't even mention the last time I posted a recipe on "What's for dinner Mum?". 


Having a new puppy in the house is kind of like having a new baby.  You have to baby proof your house, provide safe areas for the puppy to play, feed and rest in (and poop).  I must say though a puppy is a lot easier than a baby.  Amelia has fit into our lives beautifully and everyday she learns and adjusts more to our routines and we with hers.


Our first weekend with Amelia saw us visiting the vet, as new puppy owners we discovered our yard is full of ticks and therefore Amelia became the tick carrier.  The boys had tick bites, so did Amelia.  I seem to have been bitten the worst though and seem to be reacting to the tick bites.  They are so irritating and hurt when they bite (or dig in).  


So my last few weeks have been spent trying to eradicate ticks from the yard, the dog, the kids and myself.  They are such tiny ticks, in the nymph stage, that they are very hard to tweezer off your skin.  Donald had the boys microscope out initially, checking to see what they were because they were so tiny.


This last Saturday was spent driving around to soccer games, yes the soccer season has begun, and Amelia had a busy day trying to get a pat from everyone she met.  The morning was bright and sunny and the boys were full of enthusiasm for their first games.


In between games I visited the doctor, had to get a blood test done and then Amelia had puppy school.  A very busy Saturday.  All the while I was feeling a little under the weather with an achy body due to a reaction to tick bites.  The doctor put me on antibiotics and Sunday I started reacting to the antibiotics with a red rash all over me.  Another trip to the doctors on Monday confirmed the need to get off the antibiotics. I'm allergic to a couple of different antibiotics.


So here I am today, the tick bites have settled and we're hopefully tick free.  I sit here with Amelia, my little lap warmer keeping me company.  However my feet, wrists and fingers are very swollen and I have a stiff neck and knees, I'm feeling like a very, very old granny with arthritis today.  My blood tests have shown I have a virus.  My poor body has had so much going on with it lately it's starting to feel old again.  Ethan even wished he had my aches and pains so I didn't have to have them, bless his beautful heart,  I wouldn't wish this on anyone.



The holidays are nearly here and we are all looking forward to a break, hopefully I'll be able to do a little more blogging and get back to being healthy again.

Monday, 28 March 2011

'orrible 'airy caterpillars

For weeks I'd wondered what had been eating the leaves off a tree in our front yard.  I thought it must have been grasshoppers or something.


 This morning I found these around the base of that tree.  


Horrible hairy caterpillars....


....and lots of them!!!!


 Uuuuurrrrgggghhh!!!  They make my skin crawl.