Jingle Bell Joe the Jolly Elf

That was Izzy's pen name when he replied to one of the Grade 1's Santa letters on Wednesday. How cute. I'm always going to think of him as Jingle Bell Joe now and laugh.

Another late night, but I'm all ready for the kids early present opening session in the morning. Oh, except that Izzy's new tramp is still in the box! Greg has crashed-out super early. Apparently his big day spent at home alone with Anakin has completely drained him. (I hope he has a new found appreciation of what I accomplish every day!) I've tried to wake him several times but he's not budging. We'll have to do it early in the morning. I can't wait! I've bought Anakin this most beautiful baby-boy doll and I know he's going to love it so much!

Well I like what she did to my hair! (Sorry Kim, no pics yet my camera is on the blink) I just look more like my profile picture again really. Except it's even shorter still. She used a razor for the entire cut, in a kinda freestyle way and it's been coloured for the first time in for ages! A dark chocolaty colour and some caramel too. Except she put some fine, really light foils through it here and there and I dunno about the contrast! I would prefer it without I think! Anyway I've got to give the girl credit, I was completely indecisive when I arrived and she managed to talk it out with me and negotiate all my mixed messages, bear with me when I messed it all up playing around with it midcut, take my criticisms and follow my instructions while probably going against her own creative urges and make me a fairly well satisfied customer! Legendary!

The kids and I dressed in our Christmas clobber (Mum's word) and went down to the Village Green Christmas Party last night. Santa's last word before he headed off in his 4WD was to Anakin! He said "Bye-bye little fella" and rubbed his arm. How cool. The kids looked sweet and had tourists taking happysnaps of them (a bit strange) while we were eating our fishermans' basket dinner. On the way home we did a bit of a drive around to look at lights while playing Christmas carols on the car stereo. It was fun. I'm determined to get in as much Christmassy stuff with Izzy as I can before he heads of down South!

Hot digs

Anakin met Santa for the first time yesterday. He was walking up the mainstreet of one of the local towns ringing his bell (and NOT singing out "Ho ho ho!"). Anakin's eyes were big round saucers as he shook Santa's white gloved hand. I was brought to distraction feeling sorry for the guy in that ridiculously hot looking suit in the ridiculously stinking hot weather. Anyway under all the white beard he looked like a nice Santa and Anakin enjoyed their little interlude.

I remember when Izzy was Anakins age and we would be hanging out in the shops during the festive seasons I would always have to be on the lookout for Santa (and the Easter Bunny) and get outta there pronto if we saw them coming. The poor boy he would practically have a nervous breakdown in my arms if he caught sight of them, his body would start shaking all over in fear. Totally spun him out. A life sized talking bunny and a massive bearded man dressed completely out of season just didn't add up for him at all! Took him a few years to get over that phobia.

He was a bit of a stress case at times though. I think he was three when he started having these tantrums about aging. He would kick and scream and sob "I don't wanna be old!! I don't wanna be a Grandpa!!! I don't wanna get wrinkles and die!!! AHRRR!!!"

I don't think Anakin's going to turn out to be so complex as Izzy. Izzy is all cerebral. Anakin's totally physical.

Izz had his school breakup concert last night and this little girl energetically bouncing out the nutbush with her cute little crop of curls bouncing up and down along with her made me want Greg's daughter bad. That feeling comes and goes a lot. The problem is I want one that's already half grown up. Going on grade 4 or so. Reckon Santa will bring me one for Christmas?

"Make Me Current"

I've booked myself a hairdresser's appointment on Friday and I'm finally going to get to use that line. I tell you what though, I hope they know what they're doing - I've got the finest most flyaway, difficult-to-manage hair and I don't know what it's doing these days - since having Anakin half of it has fallen out and I've lost all my curl! It's a sad, sad state of affairs. Me and my neighbour have booked in together and we'll be doing a little bit coffeshoppin' beforehand. Yay! Greg's first day of holidays and I'm going to be leaving him to it!

Man I'm so glad survivor is back on telle coz there hasn't been anything decent on for ages. Bubby had to stay awake through the two hour special last night as I couldn't drag myself away to put him to bed! That yummy gravedigger had me squirming around in my seat, he's got to win for sure! Mmm-mm.

I'm hoping Greg's going to buy me a big roll of black plastic at work in the next couple of days so the kids can have a slip-n-slide in the yard all holidays.

The boys are opening their prezzies early this year (Saturday) because Big Brussie will be down in Sydney on the 25th. His Dad better look after him real good!! I can imagine the plane being full of boys and girls making the trip to see their absent fathers for the school holidays.

Anakin is starting swimming lessons with my neighbour this arve. When I ask him if he wants to go for a visit next door he goes "Swim? Swim?" She's only charging me $5 a lesson. Bargain!

Izzy is having a total bludge week at school. Today he's doing weaving all day. Tomorrow he'll probably be having dress rehearsals for the school concert and some Christmas craft. Thursday they're watching movies and Friday is clean-up day.

Twice this week I've found myself with my head buried deep into the wheelie bin. The first time I explained to Izzy that, even though I'd love to, I can't keep all his school books year after year, that we just don't have room for anything (same old story) and that after having a real good look through them and tearing out all the blank pages for recycling, I'd just have to bite the bullet and chuck them in the bin. He couldn't have cared less. Well they spent one night in there 'till the guilt set in and I pulled them all back out. I'll damn well find room...somewhere! Second time I thought I must have thrown out Izzy's new keycard and pin as I realised they should have been in the mail a few days ago and my usual form is just to chuck bank stuff out (reminder to self - inform the bank I access my statements on line.) After dragging through all the wheelie-bin contents AGAIN I found it in the letter box. Doh!

Monday Question II

Next question: Do you believe what they say - that "you are more likely to cut yourself with a blunt knife", or like me, do you think if you were actually game enough to use a sharp knife you'd have cut all the tips of your fingers off long ago?

How was your weekend? Mine was busy with extra kids (at one stage I had five 11 year old boys in my tiny lounge room!) and my brother was mooching around our place again apparently "helping Greg with the shed" which in reality translates to drinking with Greg, eating everything in the fridge, calling on us for taxi services at 4 in the morning and sleeping off his hangover in our aircon'ed bedroom.

Mum took us out to dinner last night. Izzy shouldn't have come - he's too use to all you can eat buffets where you pay at the door, make your way directly to the food and stuff yourself sick. For him waiting for his dinner for 40 minutes was downright criminal. And then I ordered him an entree size thinking it would be enough (my bad!), he took about three seconds to eat it so I scrounged him up some pizza and he was still completely unsatisfied. On top of that the bleak artwork hanging on the walls was affecting him in a bad way (he can't handle things provoking his emotions negatively - he thinks those "Angel Flight" adds should be outlawed coz they make you feel depressed. I told you he hates Emo. Imagine how he'd react if I hung an Albert Tucker like this one in his bedroom)


When he got home he was saying to me "Mum, if that place burns down it was a bearded man named Bob Jenkins" I couldn't stop laughing at him all night - he was suffering big time.

Anakin was in hysterics of laughter the other night too. He was playing with a gecko (his latest favourite thing) when it threw it's tail (that's what they do as a defense mechanism when they're scared). So he's picked up this wriggling gecko tail and was holding it out for us to see. Mine and Izzy's reaction was one of total grossed out horror which he thought was pretty cool, so he spent the next half an hour or so chasing us around with this fleshy squirmy apendage while we ran away screaming "Eww!!"

Another flashback photo

I'm the skinny one on the left with the hair "sconned back". My sister Nick is holding the Bubba, who is my cousin Bianca and the other two girls Marce and Gub are sisters and my cousins also. Their Dad had driven us to Gladstone in his Toyota Coaster to visit all the relies, you can see it in the background. I don't know what Mum was thinking because he's not the sort of bloke I'd entrust my small children with that's for sure! Talk about a character. Our kids give him folklore status like Ned Kelly - on the few occasions they've ventured over to see Uncle Michael (he has a farm next door to some of our property) they always come back with these stories of him cooking up a big pig tongue stew or something as equally as squirmish - could be all true but I tend to avoid the guy since he developed the habit of calling my boyfriends things like "paw-paw head" and "hairy c*nt".

The other day Anakin held the hose right in my face and that feeling of getting water fair up my nose brought back all these memories of those girls. We use to have a great swimming hole down the back of Uncle Michael's. He set us up a rope swing on an overhanging tree and one of us would have to tread water while we flicked it up to the other standing in among all the tree roots on the bank of the creek. We'd wrap the swing up round the tree climbing up to our jumping spot. We'd then launch ourselves out and try various flips and somersaults, usually ending in a big stinging belly flop and a nose full of water. They'd call me "Nelly" because that was my way of saying "nearly" and I'd say it every time as I tried to encourage the others toward a perfectly executed trick.

I've also got this really heartwrenching memory of Bianca too (the littlest one). She was about that age (in the photo) and toddling along infront of me, I saw that she was coming up to a muddy patch in the yard and lifted her up a little from under the arms to swing her over it. Well I lost my footing and stumbled and we kind of fell over together in a heap. It wouldn't have been so bad but she hit her mouth on the corner of a concrete slab and her lip was bloody and split. I was so distraught I spent the entire day sobbing my eyes out on the bottom bunk bed going "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.." Looking back it was hardly that drastic but as a little kid I felt SO guilty and it was so hard to face her mum after I damaged her perfect little girl. Goes to show how supersensitive kids emotions can be.

Baubles and Bullacouses

Yep, I eat roast pumpkin skin and all! Greg thinks it's a bit primitive and leaves his behind on the plate but I think I was starving-hungry a lot more frequently than him as a child! I told you I'm from "licking plates clean"! One of the more frequent things out of my mouth was "MUM! I'm FAMISHED!!" The local bush-kids thought we were a bit queer the way we used some French/Flemish words in our everyday speech. Like when everyone else tied their hair back with a "bobble" we used a "bullacous". And I love the word "bauble" Jen 'coz it reminds me of the word "BULLACOUS" and being a hungry little brat in the sticks. Ha ha!

Ruth, I make the yummiest pumpkin soup, I'll have to make some for you and NG when you come visit! Oh and I noticed that AUSTRALIA wasn't on your list of places that you must get to but every other bloody continent was! (See "Thirty Voices" link) I'm assuming that's because you've already been!!

Tiffany your shortbreads and tea were a saving grace.

Thanks for responding girls! It turns out "all my other readers" turned out to be NONE! Ha ha! Shame..

I forgot to mention the awesome caftan I 'thrifted". (Learnt that word from The Ongoing Project (link below too!) It's deep purple and gold and I LOVE IT. I'm even wearing a matching bindi so I'm looking like a hippified Lovechild today!

But I better scrub up later, I'm going in to sign my contract at the Principal's office this arve. Woohoo!

Monday, Monday..

I've decided to introduce a Monday survey question. First question: Do you eat roast pumpkin skin and all? Please humour me by leaving your response and waiting with baited breath for next Monday's equally as intriguing question. (Yes, you too Shel. And all those other readers that never leave me a comment!)

Well this is my Christmas tree erection experience (it's pretty miserable compared to everyone elses). Firstly I picked it up off the spare room floor where Anakin has been dragging it around for the last couple of months, chewing off all the fake cherry clusters (or whatever that stuff is suppose to be) and leaving red dye all over his face. It's just a little bonsai sized tree because as I've mentioned before we don't have much storage space so we've been using this tabletop sized one for about 3 years now. Then I took it into Izzy's room where he was playing Need For Speed Dub Edition Remix and tried to illicit some Christmas cheer out of him while I straightened out all the branches. That was unsuccessful as he just glanced at it occasionally, making remarks like "Mum why are you bothering with that little scrap of a tree". Then I sat it up on the table and hung all the little decorations I bought for it (I use the things you thread around the bottom of wine glasses because they make perfect sized ornaments for it), realising that I need about twelve more packets, plus bows and baubles to make it look anywhere near decorative enough since none of last years decorations made it though Anakins oral inquiries! Then over dinner his dad sat him up on the table(!) where he saw a great opening to pull it over and start his sabotage anew!

We had a nightmare trip to Cairns, it was stinking hot and my temper was way hotter! Greg pissed me off at every given moment. Anakin missed out on so much sleep, which always makes me stress out at the best of times. And Izzy did his bit to give me the shits as well (not half as often as Greg though!) I admit I could have handled matters so much more gracefully but I get sick of handling matters - it seems I'm left to handle everything!! That's the friggin' problem!!!! Enough of that though.

I actually managed some great progress on the Xmas shopping front. I bought my other nephew these two awesome books which he is going to LOVE!!


I've already bought a great handbag for my niece filled with heaps of things like bracelets, make up stuff, hairbrushes etc so that's all the niece and nephews taken care off now.

I bought some more stuff for Izzy's stocking (a new cap, a Chasers War on Everything DVD and Stewie Griffin's guide to World Domination)and an animal print doona cover for my brother that looks so stinking hot in this weather but which he wants to make his beautiful cabin in the bush a sexy little love nest for the ladies.

Anakin has been listening to music with Izzy's headphones heaps lately and he's got this most adorable way of miming the lyrics - it looks FOR REAL!! He is so cute.