Toowoomba Flower Festival

I have always wanted to go to the Toowomba Flower Festival which is held each spring. But as it is scheduled in the school holidays each year it doesn't really work out.

However this year I was passing through, just at the right time. So I caught up with my old friend Rochelle Catalini and her boys and we headed out to Queens Park. It was a brave move with 5 boys between us (I had one with Nan) and we only managed a quick stroll thorugh the flowers as my boys wrestled and chased one another. But it was so nice to see! I really love flowers. It was great to catch up with Rochelle and see her kids too.

Rochelle, Hyrum and me...

How beatuiful are these tulips!

More beautiful tulips...

Rochelle taking photo of beautiful tulips...

Lots of older people looking at flowers, note: not many other Mums braved the gardens with their kids.

I like this flower bed of all differnt types of flowers.

I think these are delphiniums...

Rochelle and Hyrum. He was so well behaved!

These two little cuties, Hayden and Liam, were still for the camera for a minute.

My boys about to wrestle (luckily they didn't fall into the flower bed)...

Seth with his robot dance moves... (do my kids seem a little hypo to you?)

My boys happy at last, up a tree! Can you see them? Poor Hyrum and Liam are not quite tall enough to get up yet.


Anyway it a slightly stressful but fun time. Hopefully one day I can do it, minus children, and really have a good look. But it was still fun. Thanks Rochelle for putting up with us!

Our Yamba Holiday

With the business of life we decided in would be nice to get away and 'disconnect' from life. Because of schooling the 3 oldest boys have had laptops this year and were becoming a little too obsessed with technology and we needed some time out from it. Having teenagers now, we also needed to spend some family time with them, away from the stresses of school, homework, computers etc. So we found a fairly reasonably priced house in Yamba which had plenty of space to explore and run around and have booked it for a week; leaving all computers behind! We've never been to Yamba before and we love to explore new places so it is an exciting prospect!

As Mark owns his own business leaving for a holidays is always really full on as he has to try and wind up all his jobs before he leaves. Normally this means working back at night. This time seemed even more busy than normal, with Mark working 50 hours in 4 days in order to be ready to go. It really wears you out!

Anyway I thought I would keep track of how my 'disconnect- reconnect' holiday would go.

Day One

Even though woke up early I lingered in bed. Not eager to jump into all the work ahead to get the family packed. After the normal crazy dash of packing and cleaning, tantrums and fights we were ready to leave. This holiday we had the great idea of getting a bike rack and taking our bikes. It looked so easy when other people did it. But as young can see in the photo, getting five bikes on a Prado was no mean task! I mean it looks like a circus bus! We actually had people drive by us looking at us to see who was driving this crazy car and grinning!

This is our Prado all loaded it. Doesn't it look crazy!
We were worried we might get pulled over by the police.

We had a pretty good run the way to Ballina until we passed the Macadamia Castle. We started reminiscing about previous times we had been in the area (without the gameboys you see we had time to talk). Like the time we stopped at the macadamia castle and when a particular child had dropped his ice-cream and had a tantrum when he dropped his ice-cream cone. We all had a good laugh at this distant memory when 'thump' a book came hurtling passed us all the way from the back seat. Then came a few more items. It seemed this child didn't seem to appreciate the story and was getting really upset. But the rest of us couldn't stop laughing as we remembered another time when the same child had gotten upset and had started throwing things from the backseat.

Here we stopped at Ballina for lunch. The boys are relieved to be out of the car and into a tree.

Anyway we finally made it to Yamba. Past all the sugarcane fields and down the long windy road that lead to town. The three and a half hour drive, took us about five, but we finally made it and got to our holiday home. The boys were thrilled- it was a two story house, which, to them, means it was a rich person’s house. The best bit though, was that it was that it was on a canal which meant we had our own little pontoon with about a meter and a half of 'beach'. The boys were in the cold water in no time. There was lots of fish darting all around which made Mark just start itching to fish, even before unpacking the car.

The boys love their little patch of sand.

Instead of going fishing we went to find some fish to eat and this was the great food we found to eat. Morton Bay bugs (called Yamba bugs here) for only $20 a kg. We got four for $10 and they were so fresh. The prawns were so big. Mark and Ben (who just LOVES his seafood) peeled them all before dinner so they were ready to go. They hadn't been frozen and they were seriously some of the best prawns I have ever had. Especially since I didn’t even have to peel my own! My family to myself, no stresses and appointments, great food, life is good!

Here is our yummy meal of prawns (already peeled!) and 'Yamba Bugs'. It so so fresh!

The Family Wrestle

It was after dinner on holidays and the boys still seemed to have lots of pent up energy, so I suggested a wrestle.

Having a kid and Dad wrestle was a favourite activity for me and my siblings when were growing up. It started when we were small and the aim was to have our Dad pin all of us down before we could get away. Of course any underhanded activity such as ganging up on Dad, pulling each other from his grasp and tickling was allowed. It normally ended in somewhat getting hurt, so the rule was, 'when somebody cries the wrestle stops.' Of course this meant lots of swallowing of tears and insisting that we weren't crying, as we tried to stop the flow. (Of course sometimes it also meant time out for some child that got a little to carried away).

Mark wasn't that keen on my idea. I mean, have you seen my two oldest? They are really tall these days. Ben is taller then me and they are both really strong. So we had to modify the idea so that it wasn't all the kids at once.

Hayden was a little scared to join in, being the smallest. So he just jumped off the furniture. You can see him above.

 

Anyway you can see they had a fun time and the next night they were calling for another one... Well the kids were. :D

Dressing Up

Bookweek Parade

I know some people love to get creative and crafty when it is time to dress up. But the invitation of 'fancy dress' gives me shivers down my back (not happy ones). Its not something I am great at.

So imagine my delight after a long and tiring day when Hayden reminds me, 'Mum what is my costume for bookweek parade, tomorrow?'

I was so in luck, as Mark and Josh came to my rescue. Josh went to our old dress up box and found an old Harry Potter cloak, so Mark went in search of some glasses. Not finding any he made a great pair out of an old coat hanger! Amazing. Hayden was so thrilled and he doesn't even watch Harry Potter!

We put him to bed in his pj's for bedtime but when we went and checked on him later he was back in his Harry Potter costume, curled up asleep. So cute!

There is such an atmosphere of excitement when you go to school and all the children are not in their uniforms but their special costumes. Its so funny as every year you see most of the girls as some form of princess's and most of the boys as some type of superhero. There is several batmen every year.

Here is Hayden's class here walking to the school gym for parade. Can you spot Hayden?

This is Hayden's friend Joel as Bart Simpson.

I love this teacher dressed as Where's Wally. Some people have great ideas ( I will have to try and remember and copy that one next time ;D ).

Strawberry Picking

One of our favourite family traditions!

Every year for the about the last 5 years we have gone up the Sunshine Coast to go strawberry picking. We just love it!

Hayden has already picked a few, and eaten a few more....

Sweet, red and ready for picking!

My goodness does this kid love to eat strawberries. It would probably be fair to weigh him before and after strawberry picking. It is hard to hold him back!

Ahh... Isn't this a nice big one!

Mark and I fooling around.

Mark quality checking all the berries before we buy them. What does he do to the ones that aren't so good? Eats them of course!

A great stash!

My goodness do I look short next to this 14 year old boy!

 

The boys will soon be as tall as Mark. I just wish they would stop growing for a bit!

We then head over to Caloundra and have fish and chips for dinner. Followed by strawberries dipped in chocolate. Yum....

Seth's little prank

Everyone now and again the boys get into a mood where they like to do pranks on each other. Put tape on the bottom on your mouse, water bombs are of course popular, that sort of thing. Well Seth had 3 weeks of holidays and had a bit of time on his hands so decided to do a prank on his older brother while he was out.

So this is what he got up too:

 A silly string attack!
Ben was so not impressed when he got home!

Amy Outnumbered: Sick or Faking It?

Is the kid really sick?

That is a million dollar question!

Today a friend was telling me her son was wanted to stay home because he was sick. But she didn't believe him, so she made go anyway and he then the poor kids vomited! This happens to me on a regular basis.

Last year Hayden told me one morning that he felt unwell. But since he said that nearly everyday, I made him go to school. At 11 o'clock I get a phone call from the school he has vomited. I felt terrible!!!!!!! He was mortified when I picked him up (he gets so easily embarrassed).When I was driving him home I stupidly told him, "I am so sorry, you should of told me you were sick!' To which of course he replied "I did tell you Mum, you didn't listen to me.' To which I lamely replied, ''Well next time tell me you are really, really sick."

My 14 year old had some late nights on the weekend and then wanted to stay home from school on the Monday. He really did look dreadful, but I did think to myself, 'I am not going to shield you from the consequences of your choice to stay up late, you can go to school!' So I made him go. Unfortunately he just got worse and then had to have the next 3 days off, so another poor choice by me.

Yet other days you will keep them home and they will feel miraculously better once you have dropped everyone off at school. Sometimes as a Mum you just can't win! My only solution for this, since I don't believe my ability to make perfect decision is ever going to happen, is to acknowledge that you are a person who tries hard but make mistakes. And be really good at apologising and buy them some extra lemonade!