Going Going Gone

Yesterday our house was auctioned. I personally wouldn't recomend this system because its just to stressful. The real estate agent arrived and informed us that 5 people were going to be at the auction that sounded exciting. However Patrick also thought the house would not sell at auction..... depressing. Dave and I and the kids went for a drive just so the people could view the house one more time before the auction started. On returning we ventured upstairs to wait. As the auctioneer started off Dave and I looked at each other as the first bid of $260 000 went but then for ages it was just being repeated over and over then 270.... 275....... 280........ 285........ 290.......... and then no more bids. Our bubble burst as the auctioneer called it quits. No new house in Mosgiel and no being close to my friends. Patrick told us that we'll put a price on the house and see what happens over the next three weeks. Dave and I drove out to the Amende to pick up my Ben and we checked out the section that we may not be able to buy and I felt real glum. Later on at home the phone rang Dave answered it was Patrick he had a buyer who was prepared to give us a little more money $306 to be exact and Dave said yep that will be enough and so the house is sold and the next journey begins. Mosgiel here we come YEAH!!!!!!!

End of an Era

Nanna and I have been visiting teacher companions for 4 years and just recently the relief society have had a reshuffle thus my companionship with Nanna has ended. Today we visited our sisters for the final time and it was really emotional for me. I have had 4 years of being with the most spiritual, loving, kind, and humble person. Nanna is always giving she is selfless and I have been able to learn so much from her and the sisters we have visited. I'll always remember my first few visits to a less active sister..... Her husband would always grunt and then take himself off outside. Now he always says hi to me and smiles and he always acknowledges Kate even though he still thinks she a boy, and although he never took part in our discussions he would quietly sit in the lounge and ponder over the newspaper but I'm sure he was listening to us chat about the gospel and our Saviour. The rapport I built with this couple was amazing and so today as I thanked them for allowing me into their home I did shed a couple of public tears. So as one chapter ends another one begins and so I look forward to visiting new sisters with my new companion.

Tee Ball Frustration

Nicholas has joined the schools Tee-ball team and yes you guessed it somehow, somewhere in a conversation with a school teacher I became the coach of this team. I even told the teacher I'm not a kind coach and I don't believe in praise unless they deserve it and I'm really tough and that the player of the day will go to the person who deserves it not because they're in the team. To my amazement the teacher said you'll be perfect??????

So now I'm tee-ball coach with 12 children "LET THE FUN BEGIN" I have practices at lunchtime on Wednesday and overall my team is really good considering most of the players are first timers.

Saturday arrives and we gather at diamond 14 and meet the opposition. They appeared to be a well oiled machine due to the uniforms they were wearing. Now each side keeps tabs of their own teams scoring (which is stupid needs a partial scorer). But the game goes on and the Mornington Majors (my team) played so well great feilding and we are very lucky to have a solid Samoan boy who can hit, so our batting was awesome. The game continues and each time we got the score card back from the opposition they would just score all 9 players got home. This was not right (here comes the competitive side of me). The last innings they were batting, bases were loaded final batsman steps up to the plate hits the ball and we field very well i.e. ball was sent home this means players are out. When I got the score card the lady had score all 9 kids home. She then informed me it was a draw "REALLY I SAID" she left and I was standing there in disbelife and to top it off they took our ball. I was not happy so I took the score card to the officials and told them the play and they informed she was wrong and so 3 runs were taken off. New score Mornington Majors 23 Cardinals 20. Win to us!!!

The frustrating thing about this game is no-one knows the rules or they make them up and dodgy scoring. My team will be back to triumph next Saturday.

Movie Night

Horrified that Hoyts was not showing My Sisters Keeper we had to resort to Rialto. Lucky for me I had a couple of free beeies thus meant we could go for nothing (love freebies). Anticipating that the theatre would be busy I went down in the morning to get the tickets.

Ange picked me up and I was excited having a girls night out and that Ange had made homemade treats???? Taking our seats and Ange breaks out the treats they came packaged and she had named them Kit Kats and Maltessa and M&M Ange had been a busy girl. She also introduced me to Bundys Apple juice very very nice.

My main concern about this movie was visualising Cameron Diaz in a serious role due to I've only seen her in Charlies Angels (which I hated). Anyway movie begins and here are the highlights for me:

• It made me cry more than once
• Looking at Ange in horror at the intimacy part (how did that happen Ange?)
• Ange smiling at me with that your're funny Paula look
• The father taking a stand against mum and taking Kate to the beach
• Cameron Diaz can act in a serious role (a new respect for her)
• Wanting to slap the mum for her stubborness
• Watching a row of ladies beside me blow their noses all together and then laugh
• The treats
• I really loved this movie
• Great Awesome company

The only thing I didn't like was the dying girls name Kate and its purely because I have a Kate and the thought of my Kate dying was too sad too bare.

Kate's Big Day

Yesterday Kate 08 was admitted to hospital to have an adenoidectomy and grommets inserted. We arrived at the Mercy Hospital (private) at 07:15 am we were greeted by a lovely nurse who was going to look after us for the day.

Being a nurse myself and working in an hospital setting the first thing that stood out for me was the surroundings and the atmosphere. The hospital just seemed very clean and bright and calm. The staff looked very professional in manner and presentation. The nurse had time for us and I just wanted to apply for a job there. Why did it seem so different from the public system? Does money really make a difference even with the way people present themselves? Trust me I have seen nurses at my work place turn up dressed so scruffy its really embarrassing one nurse even wore ug boots to work (slipper boots), some have face piercing and others you wonder when they last cleaned their uniform. Not at this hospital even the cleaning lady was well groomed. Anyway back to the real reason for this blog baby Kate. As usual Kate had her frown on and no way was she going to smile. It was like her little brain was processing ever move and thinking about why this? and why that? The nurse put cream on both hands and covered them with clear film (this cream numbs the area for cannulation). Kate watched intensely and after kept looking at her hands and looking at me before she would say YUCKY! She then would try and wipe her hands and she also went over to the sink and asked to "wash hands" very cute. How could we distract her from her hands? Then the nurse bought out a blue ride on car which instantly grabbed Kate attention thus for the next hour while we waited for her operation I was pushing her around in this awesome car. At 9am the orderly came to take us to theatre. My mothers nerves kicked into gear and as we entered into the theatre room my heart was pounding. I sat up on the bed and held baby Kate close as they attempted to cannula her. Kate was wonderful unfortunately the doctors two attempts failed. This meant they had to gas her to sleep and that was not a great feeling or very nice to witness. Kate was breathing in the gas but as she began to drift she started to fight the feeling of falling asleep an then the kicking started and the redness in her face was horrible it took three of us to hold her tight and then all of a sudden she collapsed in my arms. Watching her limp little body been taken away from me and laying her on the table was the hardest moment for me. I stayed to make sure she was breathing and her heart rate was showing on the monitor then I kissed her precious little face and left with a huge lump in my throat and being a brave mum. The surgeon told me it should be a 30min procedure so when 40 mins went by I was slightly worried and then 50min and finally 55 min the surgeon came out and told me that all was well and that her adenoids took a little longer due to the size they were 60% bigger than normal and obstructing Kate's airway. He also mention she was very congested in her airway and thus she needed suctioning. Finally he assured me she should improve in a couple of days and she was on her way to recovery. I couldn't wait to hold her in my arms however I had to wait 20min more before I could see her. She wasn't a happy little girl as I entered recovery she was very dopey, screaming and kicking and totally beside herself. I held her tight and tried to calm her down but she wasn't having a bar of me either this meant they had to give her some drugs to calm her down. She instantly went back to sleep and as I looked at her she had blood coming out of her nose and she needed to be suctioned due to the mucous blood coming from her mouth. Now I'm a nurse and this is stuff I see most days but it was hard for me to watch my baby go through. Slowly she came around and she was more calmer and when I offered her boobee she was a lot more settled. So 1 hour later Kate and I are wheeled back to the day unit to recover some more and so I spent the afternoon in bed cuddling baby Kate until she was happy enough that she wanted a ride in the blue car. Kate and I left the hospital at 3pm and already she doesn't snore anymore and she seems a lot happier.

Stock Taking

My first week on holiday and I decided to help the school with the annual school library stock take. Apparently it took a week last year and so more helpers would be appreciated. Monday morning arrives Kate is off to daycare and so I'm free to help out all day. Nicholas and I walked to school and my routine is to put away the reading books and then I would be free to help in the library. WOW the 8 baskets were over flowing with books to put away because the teachers had changed the reading groups thus it meant a new lot of books were needed and the old ones put back. I knew this would delay me helping in the library fortunately I have put away the books for a long time now and so I practically know where all the books live and 1 hour later all books were away and the row of boxes in order and flush with the shelf edge (because I have OCD it has to look perfect). Then it was off to the senior block to see if they had journals to put away and alas there were however not as many.

So I reach the library about 10am and three ladies were hard out taking books off shelves and opening the pages to be scanned and dusting shelves and then putting them back. The whole time I was helping all I could think about was if I was the libriarian I would make some drastic changes:

1. Put the bar codes on the back of the book (saves opening them)
2. Put the bar codes on the spine and then get a portable scanner and just walk around the library
3. Print off a list of books that have not been issued in the last 15year and cull them out even 10 years (so many many old old books)
4. Turn the books around so the spine of the books are showing thus the children can see all the books on the shelves not just the first front on book.

• Move the Librarian desk thus the sun doesn't shine on the scanner and then the scanner would work properly.

We worked at a steady pace that by 3pm we had counted over half the library. The Librarian was ecstatic and she had a feeling we could be finished by Wednesday. I on the other hand wanted to be finished by Tuesday 3pm. The best thing about the day was convincing the libriarian with support from a teacher to change the books around so all the books spines were seen. I left feeling dusty and accomplished.

Tuesday morning we started at 9am and as predicted we were finished at 2:55pm. The library looks great and I must admit I really had a great time.

2009 Primary Presentation

You could say I am glowing and a very proud proud music leader. The primary presentation was very successful. Its just so rewarding to see all the hard work the children put in throughout the year finally come to ahead. So many great comments afterwards from the congregation made it even moreso wonderful. Highlights for me were:

• The children were all in one place not spread out thus I could see them and their voices were more powerful. (thanks A for encouraging me to speak up)
• The two solo boys remembered the words to their song
• The harmonies were amazing
• P finally opened her mouth and I could hear her (I love seeing someone who is so quiet and at times shy develop into a confident girl who can stand up and sing in front of a congregation and that quiet voice is heard)
• The children remembered all the songs with out the words even the little ones gave it there all
• A. made an awesome puzzle that when put together made a house
• My hand action were kept to a minimum (I think??? still need to work on that)
• Two sleeping sunbeams at the end of primary

This is my fourth presentation completed now and the children keep getting better and better. I have already looked at next years presentation and I have ordered the CD so I can be prepared. I never thought I would like this calling but I love it love it so much and the thought of being released would be devastating (although I know it will happen one day). Teaching our children about the gospel through music is such a rewarding responsibility. I am so grateful for my calling and that I have such awesome children to teach and for great primary leaders who support me. Bring on next year!!!!!!!

School Disco

Tonight Nicholas had his school disco. It was dress up and so Nicholas had a conversation with me:

Nicholas: Mum I need you to go to the Warehouse and get me a costume for the disco please

Mum: Why don't you go as Ben 10?

Nicholas: Mum that's last years costume dahhhhhhhhhh! I need a new one.

Mum: how bout you go as a vampire like dad did?

Nicholas: No that will scare the girls

So off to the Warehouse we go. Nicholas continues:

Nicholas: Mum mum lets get the transformer costume

mum looks at the price

Mum: NO WAY that's too expensive its $70

Nicholas: Muuuuuuuummmmmmmmm I don't think so its only $69

Of course he was right but still now way he was getting the costume. Lucky he found Buzz Light Year and more my price range.

The disco was fun but I'm sure the children don't really know what a disco is about because 90% of them just run around the hall screaming and yelling and its only the teachers and some of the older girls who dance.

I tried to get Nicholas to dance with me but no-way he just avoided me like the plague. On our way home I asked Nicholas the following:

Me: How come you didn't want to dance with me?

Nicholas: cause

Me: Cause why?

Nicholas: just cause

Me: that's not an answer

Nicholas: boys don't dance its embarrassing and especially with their mum!!!

me: but you dance with me at home and dad dances with us

Nicholas: yeah but you and dad are silly people

End of conversation

Public vs Private

So Kate has been unwell for months with constant ear infections thus on going treatment with anit biotics. Last week Kate had an ear infection puss/swollen eyes and a very annoying cough that made her vomit. I had her at the doctors and they referred us to the ENT specialist.

So today we had an appointment with the ENT specialist. He checked her over and told us that she definitely needed grommet's. Money bags (Dave) quick to ask how much?? The specialist wrote the quote: just grommets $1500 however she may need her adenoids removed that will cost approx $2500. Dave calculator works over time!!!! Dave asked could we go via the public system? Specialist: of course let me find out when we could schedule her in ....................... We could see her April/May next year. I frown at Dave and shake my head nooooooooooooooo. Dave then asks if we went private how soon would Kate have to wait???? Specialist replies yep no problem we could do her next week.

Unbelievable how money talks in the health sector. I am somewhat grateful that both Dave and I work and that we are able to afford the surgery. I feel for those families who children suffer and have to wait its just not good enough!!!!

So Kate has her surgery next Thursday and I really hope she starts to get better. I'm so OVER IT!!! and I'm sure Kate is too.

Farewell Alison

Today Alison left our home for good. She is off to sunny Nelson to study the weta (creepy things). A sad day for our family because we have enjoyed having Alison live with us. Here are some bullet points we love about her:

• She is very quiet (she frighten me a few times as I didn't even know she was in the room)
• She looked after our children (thus Dave and I could go out on regular dates)
• She has a strong awesome faith in the gospel (always kept us honest esp on fasting Sundays)
• she wasn't scared of creepy crawlies (I could rely on Alison to get rid of spiders etc)
• She never complained (NEVER!!!)
• she was always on my side (sometimes I think she didn't want to be!!!)
• She always read stories to Kate when I needed to get dinner ready
• She never complained about my cooking (again never)
• She always paid her rent on time (Dave very happy man)
• She was great company for me (I'll miss our chats)
• She introduced us to Flight of the Concords and House
• She was so helpful
• Very very talented (artist) she sketched a beautiful picture of the children (up and coming post picture is being framed at present)

I could rave on but I think to sum Alison up she is a very honest, humble, kind, loving person.

She came to us as a boarder, she leaves us as our daughter we love her and wish her all the best for the future.

Open Home

The House

Today we had our first open home. Conveniently Kate was not well and so Dave stayed home to look after her. Whilst I was at church Dave prepared the house for the open home WOW!! he did a great job and I'm so so grateful. During rehersal for the Primary Presentation all I was thinking about was the house and how I had just finish nightshift and after church going home and getting things in order. Thank you Dave!!

The Lounge

The Kitchen/Dinning Room

The open home was a great success and everyone was very impressed with our home and liked it lots. We had 15 groups through and 4 very keen to look again. One open home down two to go before the auction. I hope it sells on auction day???????