i'm back

Hello summer !!!

It's been quite a hectic few months since I last posted ... a lot has happened.

Danni is now on the mend ... my gorgeous 15 year old was suffering depression and anorexia.  The past few months have been hell ... extremely difficult for all of us.  But we now have help and life is beginning to become easier for us.  She still has 'blue' days but we ride them together as a family.  I am so proud of Danni and how she has dealt with it all.

Sam has come to the end of her primary school years ... has participated in a very entertaining concert, looked absolutely stunning for her leavers dinner and disco during the past week. She received a special Principal's award at the school graduation on Thursday ... I am so happy and proud that she is doing well.  Sam just rides the bumps and is a beautiful girl inside and out.

Little Miki is loving school and her friends.  Miki makes everyone happy ... even strangers !!!  Everyone seems to love my little miss.  Miki is one of those little girls that loves to wear dresses, pink sparkle sandshoes, who dances and twirls up the aisles of supermarkets!  Absolutely gorgeous!

I've been busy with work, and I've begun seeing a new man.  He lives in the north of the state (about 2 hours away) and whilst I do like him, I am very wary and cautious.  I not only have myself to worry about but three beautiful girls too.  So we are taking it very easy and slowly ... which is fine by me!

Needless to say, my home has been neglected somewhat ... BUT the Christmas tree is now up, some presents wrapped and summer is here!!!

I love this time of year ...

spring ...

We are nearly into the second week of the school holidays ... the weather is warmer .... daffodils are everywhere ... it's spring !!! 

Tomorrow we are heading up the east coast of this beautiful island with the kombi for a week.  Camping.  Me and my three beautiful girls ... oh, and my parents are taking their campervan too! 

I am so looking forward to not rushing ... but resting, talking, going for long walks, reading and just breathing ...

happy birthday sam

Sam ... you have grown into a beautiful young lady.  I am extremely proud of you.  You are a kind, caring, loving, optomisitic, considerate, gentle, compassionate, thoughtful, tolerant, gorgeous girl.  Happy 12th Birthday ... love you muchly x

my hero ...

Today we celebrate Fathers Day ... my father is my hero.  My mentor.  My champion.  My idol.  He is a kind, decent man ... generous, thoughtful, selfless, considerate, charitable and respectful.  I am extremely lucky to have such a wonderful, caring father.

I love you DAD xx

solemate

I am reading an amazingly inspirational book at the moment ... "SOLEMATE - Master the Art of Aloneness & Transform Your Life" by Lauren Mackler.   

You can follow the link www.laurenmackler.com/solemate.php

This is a must read for anyone committed to improving her life and relationships.  Most of us spend years waiting for an ideal partner to make our lives complete; some settling in bad relationships for fear of being alone.  This book helps you become aware of yourself and love yourself, without needing anyone else to do it for you. 

It gives you the tools you need to live a full, happy, successful, emotionally and financially secure life - with or without a partner. 

Truly inspiring.

danni and doctors

Just when we thought Danni (my 14yo) was getting better ... she goes backwards ... so off to the specialist again.  Apart from the the reflux, there is another problem ... so we had an MRI today.  And I should warn you ... I am so up-to-date with gossip magazines !!!  I know who's who, and who's doing what to who and viceversa !!!

The doctor did mention that she could be suffering from ... wait for it ... abdominal migraines.  Yep.  I googled it and there is such a thing!  And believe it or not, she has all the symptoms ... but reading the information provided on the wonderful world wide web it is all becoming clearer ... the countless visits to doctors and emergency departments over the past few years and being told it was 'just a virus' or 'constipation' and even the appendicitis last year ... it all relates to these abdominal migraines.  Can you believe it?

The specialist is ruling out all other possibilities before trying some medication to treat this condition ... but at the moment my poor baby is still suffering from the pain ... lets hope for some answers soon.

what to do ...

I have been trying to decide what to do with the floors of my lounge / living area ... do I sand them and recoat them or paint them a crisp white ???  Bearing in mind I am on a very tight budget and will be doing this by myself with the help of my young daughters ...

But after seeing the beautiful floors created by Camilla over at http://high-heelfootinthedoor.blogspot.com/ , I think I may have a go at painting ...  now to find the courage to begin ... this may take a while ...

cushions ... check

I've been busy today ... I have finished sewing five cushion covers !!!  Here are some pics ... now for some extra seating and a bright colourful rug/mat ...

See the boring chair ... I plan to paint it white and recover ... next project perhaps ???

new sofa

Finally ... a photo of my new sofa ... please note the beginning of my cluster wall ... now for some cushions and chairs.  I bought some fabulous fabrics online from FUNKY FABRIX http://www.funkyfabrix.com.au/ recently and intend to make some cushion covers ... just another job for my already long TO DO list !!!  I am slowly getting there ... the wonderful comments from friends and family spur me on.

winter's day in paradise

Today was a lovely winter's day ... the girls and I checked out a couple of garage sales, the second hand clothes shop - the older girls bought some fabulous items of clothing - the library and garden shop where I picked up some great bargains ... we had a lovely morning and I managed to put these gorgeous plants into some old pots.  Looking good!

today WILL be a good day

It's been an extremely difficult couple of weeks.  I've had my 14yo daughter very sick ...

It all began about 7 weeks ago ...everytime she ate, she felt sick and began having adominal pains.  It got worse over the weeks to the point that she stopped eating as the pain was so severe and she has had diahorrea over the past 10 days and has lost 9kg.

After taking her to 4 doctors and being fobbed off (they did run some tests but they showed nothing), we ended up at hospital emergency on Sunday night after she was doubled over on the floor, screaming in pain. 

The doctor on duty thought it could be gallstones but the ultrasound was clear.  She was admitted overnight and saw a gastro specialist on the Monday.  He put a camera down to her stomach and found reflux and is also testing her for cealiac disease, irritable bowel and helicobacter.  There were no ulcers ... thank goodness. 

She is on strong medication for a few days and is finally eating!  She ate a bread roll yesterday!!!  I'm excited and she's looking much better already.  Another day on the strong medication then it gets halved ... so all is good .. or getting there!

Today WILL be a good day !!!  Hope your day is fabulous x

5th birthday celebrations

My little princess, Miki, celebrated her 5th birthday on Tuesday.  We held a little party for her on Sunday for her school friends ... here are some photos ...

... and yes ... I made the cake ... wasn't bad either !!!

i'm loving

I'm loving the living room on the front cover of the August issue of REAL LIVING ... incidentally my new sofa arrived a couple of days after receiving the magazine in the mail ... it's very similar in colour and shape ... I'll post a pic soon.  Oh ... and I finally sold my old dark blue sofas on Sunday ... just in time!!!  Was beginning to become concerned that I'd have a living room full of sofas ...

Now I'm on the hunt for some colourful cushions ... ebay is getting a workout!!!  But if anyone has ideas of where I could purchase some bright cushions ... I'd be most appreciative.

I haven't been blogging lately ... I have one very ill 14yo daughter.  We've been to visit the doctor five times within the past week.  She's not good at all.  PLUS it was Miki's 5th birthday yesterday ... it's been busy, busy, busy ... pictures soon ... promise x

sofa for sale

I need to sell my sofa ... I've bought a brand spanking new 2.5 seat sofa of a lighter colour for my lounge ... AND it arrives in a couple of weeks!!!  I'm slowly getting there with redecorating my lounge room ... slowly but surely.

new addition

This is BUBBLES ... my 11yo daughter, Sam, bought her (we think it's a female!) at a market along with the vintage cage.

I must say that I'm terribly impressed with how Sam is taking full responsibility of looking after her.  It's fantastic!!! 

We hope to be able to let the budgie fly around freely at times ... but this will take time, a lot of training and patience.

third room

Here's the room finished!!! Sorry the photos are not great ... I shall post some new photos later. The girls are being great sports about sharing a room. They are good girls! The 4yo is even packing up her toys to keep the room tidy. It also helps when the toys all have a place!

lounge room part 2

Here's the 'nearly' finished room ... little miss wanted to get in ALL the photos ... I'll take some more later!

I still want to get a new white lounge and a wing back chair ... one day ...

the lounge room

This is the lounge room ... the second room to be redecorated! I'm afraid this room will be a work in progress for a while as I will do bits as I can afford too. But I shall work on other rooms too.

I decided to get rid of the 'beech' Freedom furniture as it was too chunky for the small room. Once I began to remove the furniture ... I thought about pulling up the carpet ... then the painting began ...

third room

This is Sam's room ... small and crowded. I am in the process of painting this room at the moment and it's beginning to look good !!! The blue curtains have been replaced with white wooden blinds making the room look bigger and lighter. Stay tuned ...

mothers day

Sunday was Mothers Day ... a beautiful day spent with my gorgeous, fantastic children.

We all jumped into the kombi and headed up the east coast to a beautiful beach, Raspins Beach, where we spent a lovely, quiet few hours enjoying a picnic, the scenic outlook and each others company.

The kids ran, danced in the sun, piggy-backed each other, collected shells, drew pictures in the sand and laughed ... laughed a lot.

The presents are nice ... but the gift of love is the best present ever.

It was the best Mothers Day that I can remember ... thank you to my girls. I love you x

first revamp

This photo was taken in 2007 before we revamped my older daughter's room ... unfortunately I only took the one 'before' photo.



The wall colour is an extremely dull blue/gray ... there was a roman blind and we replaced it with some white wooden venetians ...


The ceiling and walls were painted a fresh white with a deeper pink feature. We bought a second hand double bed and made the bed head ourselves.



A very cheap and stunning renovation and my daughter loves it (not to mention her friends)!

family

Family is the most important thing in my life. My family will always be there for me ... during the hard times, fun times and loving times. I will instill these family values in my three adorable girls.

Being a single mum is tough ... but it sure does have it's rewards. My children are my life. I adore my girls. We have our moments ... as does every family ... but we are always there for each other.

My girls are 14, 11 and 4 years of age. My 4yo is teaching us all a thing or two about patience, tolerance and unconditional love ... which is a good thing, especially for the older girls who at times can be selfish at times ... but can't we all?

Keeping on top of finances can be a bit of a struggle ... let's face it ... it's a major struggle. We have a budget ... but it's difficult to stick too ...

Anyway, this is just an introduction of me and my life ... enjoy!