100 POSTS (and counting)

BEFORE AND AFTER

I kept putting off this post because it was going to be my 100th(!)...I wanted to post with some fanfare, balloons and streamers...I was waiting for something exciting to happen, but alas nothing exciting has happened! And to make matters worse because I have downloaded Windows Live Writer to make posting pics even easier and because they had to post a test post which was later deleted, this is now technically my 101st post!

Anyway, so now I have decided to make this a before and after post. Here goes. On the left is Thomas on Easter day, with long, thick shaggy hair that was in desperate need of a cut. On the right is the new, spunky and much happier Thomas with his buzz cut!

Now Daniel's turn. He wasn't as happy to have his hair cut (there was a big struggle) but the end result is pretty damn cute! His hair is a lot lighter and finer than Thomas' so there was a moment of panic as we started to shave it and I thought he looked bald!

Okay, this one is Teddy. I bought Teddy for Thomas when he was just a baby. It was a spur of the moment purchase. I saw him hanging in a supermarket aisle and his name was Thomas so I thought it would be perfect for Thomas! Little was I to know that Teddy would become Thomas' best friend - Teddy would see Thomas through thick and thin - and many, many painful days and nights of teething!

Teddy was for ages 3 and up and we soon realised why! Thomas managed to chew an eye right off! Luckily he didn't swallow it but it was a scare we didn't wish to repeat so we promptly blinded Teddy by pulling out his other eye (complete with long screw on the end!). Teddy lived on without eyes and soon his nose was also chewed away and now he is a broken shell of his former self (looks worse in real life), complete with ragged, rough fur and holes all over his face...but we LOVE him! Yes, I did say we. I'm afraid I am more attached to Teddy than Thomas is. Thomas can sleep without Teddy. Teddy can be lost and Thomas survives. I, on the other hand, get very upset when Teddy goes missing. He has great sentimental value to me. I want to preserve him until Thomas is an adult! Is that crazy?

So that's my 100th post.

P.S Don't have any idea how this will look published with Live Writer so fingers crossed!

P.P.S. Help me celebrate by subscribing to my blog...just enter your email in the Feedburner block in the right hand column. That way you can be alerted to any new posts...one of you already has - thanks :)

PROUD AS PUNCH!!!

This is what Thomas did whilst I was on the phone with my friend Ramona this morning! He found a bigger, thicker texta...just in case we missed the last two body decoration episodes... I'm scared this may mean he is gaining an appreciation for body art!!

Oh, and he managed to extend the texta to his clothes and the kitchen bench (I hope I can get it off). And he spilled a whole container of fish food all over the kitchen floor (for the non-existent fish).

He is very proud of himself!! HOW am I going to scrub this off???

And where is the texta????? I still haven't found it....

Editor's Note: The texta has been found...floating in the fish tank (with a range of other objects) - where else? Sam - this fish tank NEEDS to be removed! And extra texta decorations were discovered around Thomas' ankles!

OH

BROTHER!

It all began with this blog header (cast photo) over at Chalk and Talk (in a larger, clearer version). I commented on it and casually asked Jenny if she knew when Brothers and Sisters ( my favourite show at the moment) would be returning to our screens.

Jenny replied that it had been screening for about a month or so in Melbourne and assumed it would be the same in Sydney! This is when I started to panic...and google! Googled and googled, hoping that someone would tell me this was a mistake - and that Sydney were yet to air season 2. But alas, there was no mistake!

I frantically emailed my sister (also a fan)... she casually replied that yes it has been screening but she has only seen one episode, and that in any case I can catch up!! What the...?!?

Everyone knows I'm a fan. Why did nobody think to tell me it was on!!! ??? This just goes to show that when I say I don't watch any TV, I mean I don't watch any TV - not even ads it seems!! And then it dawned on me...I truly have no control over the television! My husband is forever flicking through Foxtel and when he's not flicking the kids are demanding Max 'n' Milly, or Hi-5 or the Wiggles! I can't win!!!

If it wasn't for Jenny, I'd still be in the dark :(

But thanks to her brilliant choice of blog banner, I got to indulge in my first episode of Brothers and Sisters tonight. Woo Hoo! All I ask for is one uninterrupted hour tro watch TV a week. One.

However, due to the late tune-in, I have a few questions:

a. Did Justin get a return ticket home from the war because of being wounded? Is he now abusing his prescription medication?

b. Why is Rachel Griffith's husband getting custody of the kids when he was the one who cheated? And how come the half-sister is still being welcomed with open arms - does everyone know she instigated the kiss with what's his name? (sorry my mind is blank on names!)

c. What's with Tommy cheating on his wife??? And who is he cheating with? What's that girl's story?

d. If you think of anything else I should know, please share :)

Okay, I've finally managed to get myself into gear and join the Smiley Saturday group - basically a look back at my week and noting of things that made me smile :)

Hopefully, I've done this all correctly but here goes:

* Thomas is a bit of a character. He loves to be the centre of attention (high pitched screams do the trick) and loves to make people laugh (even if it is through a fake laugh of his own). It makes me smile to see how much joy people get from him :)

* Daniel...little Daniel...he just wants to be like his big brother and will follow him to the ends of the earth. Giggling all the way with the cutest of smiles and the longest lashes you have ever seen (girls will be envious, Maybelline would pay him millions lol)

* Alessia, my newest little niece who just lies in her pram, oblivious to all the fuss about her. Too cute.

* My Mum's 59th birthday this week...cutest photo of her and her three grandchildren all helping to blow out the candles. Will post it as soon as I get a copy (Rosie...email it to me!!)

* We have been to a birthday nearly every night for the past 2 weeks (and there are more ahead)... it makes me smile to see and hear the utter joy with which my boys sing their version of Happy Birthday!

* My Nonna is 86 years old and only speaks broken English. This week she had to be operated on for a cancerous growth on her liver. She made me smile as she recounted how, after a day of waiting for the operation, the specialist informed her he would have to reschedule it for the following week. She wasn't having a bar of it and demanded that they do the operation then and there. And they did! So far it looks like all has gone well.

* Little Kindy and Year 1 kids calling out excitedly to say hello to me on the playground. Priceless.

* And finally, the Victoria Beckham interview in Vogue made me smile... and laugh :) I quote:
She is a Spice Girl, a self-appointed fashionista and part of a power couple worth almost a quarter of a billion dollars.But this didn't stop Victoria Beckham, 33, who appears on the latest UK Vogue magazine cover decked in diamonds, from moaning: "It's tough being a pop star and a footballer's wife."
Oh, I'm sure it is. Very tough! Victoria also denied dieting saying:
"Obviously working out is important. Well, I don't.
"I have joined a gym but I can't bring myself to start.
"What do you wear on the running machine? I can't bring myself to wear flat shoes."
LOL yes, what does one wear on a walking machine?! Life is indeed tough!
Then my eyes lit up as I excitedly read the following:
She also discusses her pain at the damage her children did to "a lilac crocodile Hermes handbag" her husband bought her for Christmas.
Could the Beckham children be just like my own little darlings, wreaking havoc wherever they go ?(btw Thomas broke yet another timber blind slat this week - this time in the lounge room...sigh). Hmmm...this is what they did to the bag:
"I put the bag on the table - he got it specially made - and one of the kids knocked a candle and the wax went sploosh, all over it," the Press Association reported.
"And honestly, I nearly cried."

Yes, we are all nearly crying Victoria...

Happy Smiley Saturday everyone!!

P.S. I am exhausted (what's new?) and nursing a sick Daniel back to health. Sam and Thomas are out celebrating Cathy's 30th - HAPPY BIRTHDAY CATHY!!! So sorry to not be there celebrating with you! I owe you a coffee date :)

IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME...Gotta love this face...even with brown texta scribbled all over it!
Ah, yes...the artwork wouldn't be complete without some colour on the hand...
and the other hand...
Luckily, face one came off pretty easily...hands will get a good soak in the bath tonight!

TOOLS OF CHOICE

I long to go to the toilet without having to unpick the lock first! Above are my tools of choice... a skewer, a screwdriver and some other tool thingy I found. The one on the far right (the tool thingy) works best but we have four toilets and only one of those tools! So upstairs rooms have to make do with the skewer (a bit hit and miss).

There you go - your lesson in criminal activity for the day - how to unpick a (toilet) lock.

HOW DOES ONE LIVE WITHOUT A CREDIT CARD???
We have had an extremely busy weekend and the weeks and months ahead don't seem to be much better! I am pretty much exhausted although last night I got a burst of energy and gave the stove and rangehood a good scrub (gotta love that)! Anyway, my point is I should be in bed but I just wanted to share the following with you...

I have been using the internet for transactions (buying, selling etc) for years. And I have never had a problem. Until now. Late last year I noticed a strange transaction on my credit card statement (something I rarely check closely). At first I dismissed it because my websites are run through international companies and transactions from overseas are the norm for those.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, it seems someone (and I kind of know 'who' because the bank sent me some "evidence" from the merchant's bank) fraudulently used my name and credit card details to subscribe to a US dating service! Cannot believe this!!!!!

My credit card has had to be cancelled whilst the fraud investigation continues! I am very annoyed!!

I had asked the bank to inform us when the credit card was cancelled but alas we found out through a third party when our card was declined! Stupid bank!!

And whilst I am on the subject of banks, I am peeved at the lack of service from the "fraud department". They sent letters asking for the same information about 3 times. When I rang to question why they kept asking for the same documents ( a form and a statement from us), the woman rudely treated me like an idiot and kept saying the information was not the same and that some people think it is the same because it is similar but really it is totally different information.

Very confused, I kept questioning how a statement containing points a, b and c was different from a statement containing points a, b and c. Finally, she conceded that yes, what I was saying was correct - it was the same information - apparently they had lost half the fax! No apology mind you!! And now no warning that the credit card has been cancelled!!

I hate the bank almost as much as I hate the phone company!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....

Lesson: Always check your statements!