Oops. Sorry. My Mistake.

If there's one thing I hate, it's telemarketers.  And dead lizards on the lawn.  That's two.

If there's two things I hate, it's telemarketers and dead lizards on the lawn.  And cleaning up after people.  That's three.

If there's three things I hate, it's ... well, okay, to be honest, it's probably just three telemarketers.  I just really hate the whole telemarketing idea.

Some time ago, the Australian Government (Australian Communications and Media Authority) instituted the Do Not Call register.  According to the Do Not Call Register's webpage, "Under the Do Not Call Register Act 2006, telemarketers can check their calling lists against the Do Not Call Register. If a telemarketer calls a number on the Do Not Call Register, they may be in breach of the Act, and may face penalties."

Of course I listed all our numbers as soon as the register became active.  Therefore, I get cranky when I get calls from telemarketers.

Recently, I got pretty hot under the collar when I had just started to feed Joseph and jumped up to answer the phone, only to hear the caller say in an accent I could hardly understand, "This call is to inform you that you have been selected to receive a blah-blah-blah mobile phone ..."

Man, I was annoyed.  I said in a calm voice (for the caller herself was not at fault) "This is to inform YOU that this phone number is listed with the Do Not Call Register, and therefore your company is not allowed to contact me on this number."

And I hung up.

Then I remembered.  I moved house in April.  This new phone number is not listed on the register.

Duh.

Vicar? Cauliflower?

No rhyme.  No reason.  Just a wacky suggestion.  Please direct all queries relating to why she took my advice back to HER.

A Number of Things

1.  Nie on the Net.  You may know how I've been intrigued reading Stephanie Nielson's story over the last year and a half.  I'm drawn to this sweet soul whose faith is so different and yet so similar to mine, and who has tasted such suffering.  An awe-inspiring two-part story of her accident and recovery has been written by Jaimee Rose, a reporter for azcentral.com, and can be found here: Part One and Part Two.  Don't forget to check out the Related Links in the right sidebar.

It is an intriguing read.  I want to ignore everything else as I click through the pages, but I find I can't read much without stopping for one of two reasons: if my children are clamouring for me, the story just makes me want to jump up and attend to them as soon as possible.  And if they are not clamouring for me, the story just makes me want to jump up and kiss them for No Particular Reason as soon as possible.

2.  Remember how I said that Photoshop was totally beyond me?  Well, I believe that if something's worth doing, it's worth doing badly until I get better.  So I have taught myself how to use layer masks from this tutorial and the first thing I did was smooth out Joseph's skin tone in a recent picture of him (he was having a blotchy day.)  I didn't save it so I can't show you.  But then I decided to use my new skills to do this (nicer and neater than my previous attempts) and I just had to show you.

Now, friends, THAT flower is neater! And look at those flowers and leaves in her dress! Oh I am so excited!  I am also a little surprised at my new skills.  So is she; you can tell by the expression on her little face.

3.  A little person in a little seat.  Look at Joseph sitting up on the table to be a part of the family at breakfast.  I love it when kids are right in on the family-eating-at-the-table action.  I know it's not always possible for every family, but it's something I get working for us whenever we can.

4. Lego Star Wars. Nat has been playing Lego Star Wars with his Dad on the computer.
He's been talking about characters like "Three-Sepio" (C3PO) and "Only-One Kenobi" (Obi-Wan Kenobi.) He was very disappointed to see that his character Qui Gon Jin was killed by Darth Maul, and would not be coming back to life unlike the "try-try-try-again immortality" you often get in computer games. Mr de Elba explained that the storyline will be following the movies (which he hasn't seen.) Nat is happy to be a new character, Anakin Skywalker. He's hoping for Many Happy Endings there. We're not sure what to say about that.

5.  Bleddercut (n) A cut that bleeds.  Nat made up a new word - "bleddercut," meaning a cut that bleeds.  He swears black and blue that he learned it from me, and I was the first person who used the word.  I never did.  Anna-Lucia now uses it in conversation profusely.  She stumbled on the road the other day and got a miniscule scrape that bled.  Ohhh!  What a drama.  Then came the drama of the "Bam-Baid" ( Band-aid, or sticking plaster) and then the added drama when the "Bam-Baid" came off in the pool.  And I think I may go slightly more loopy if I hear the word "bleddercut" again.

Oh yes, it rained!

Well, only for about 20 minutes, but it rained! A small person in purple needed no encouragement.

A slightly less-small person in red and blue needed a little more encouragement, but not much.

A tiny person got raindrops - REAL raindrops, as in water from the sky - on his sweet little head.

The not-so-small person in red and blue got a little cold, and sat in the shelter for a while.

While this tiny person just sat and enjoyed it all.

Anna-Lucia wears briar.claire

MckMama loves these hats from briar.claire and when I saw there was a sale on, I decided to get this gorgeous little one for Anna-Lucia. Guess what? The sale is still on! Hop on over there! (That was a totally unsolicited advertisement for an Etsy seller who I happen to think makes such stylish stuff.)

It's beginning to look a lot like ...

Weather hot enough for lots of swims!

Sleeping in the air conditioning in the dining room.

Random

1. I studied for an "A" and I keep getting "F"s

It's so depressing. I love tidiness, but I can't keep my home tidy enough that my family can't mess it up in a heart beat. I love and treasure my family, but in return they use me as a dumping station and a refuelling station. I'm not sure how much of this taking-for-granted I will accept before I book myself into a nice place with padded walls. Heard of the concept of the "love tank"? Well mine always runs on Low but now it's so Empty I can't seem to fill it up by myself. I am exhausted. Other mums are doing so much better than me. And this is not the time to say, "Oh no they aren't ..." because I've seen them. I've seen their homes. I've seen how their family treasures them. It would be kind of you to lie for me, but really, I don't need it because I know the truth.

2. But 2 year olds aren't supposed to get PMS

This smile:I just haven't seen enough of it lately.

3. Funny texts in sensitive situations

It wasn't just my sister - a good friend of mine (a very good friend - someone who made me feel welcome when I moved here, who helps me help others, one of those totally awesome friends you want to hang on to all your life) also turned 30 yesterday. I was at her party last night while Mr de Elba was home with the baby Joseph who cried a lot, Anna-Lucia who did an inordinate amount of crying, saying that "Maisie* is making me sick" and Nat who was still awake at 8:30pm** and I was getting concerned as I received more texts to this effect.

The speeches were lovely. My friend's mum, dad, grandma, cousin, friends and husband all gave speeches that would make anyone cry if such nice things were said about them and in The Moment, I got another text. Eek. I thought I'd better check it.

It was not from Mr de Elba, it was from my Crazy Sister. "Why am I always so gassy when I've got my period?" she asked. Hard to keep a straight face.

* ... who is Maisie? This is Maisie ...

Yeah, makes her SO sick. Boo hoo.

** Now why is he so tired today? Why so naughty? Why did he throw a rotten mango on the freshly cleaned floor? Splat. See? I could keep this place clean if it was just me. But I think I need them, rotten mango and all.

4. Q&A

Nana Tantrum: Oh, I hope so! Please tell me that you have just a little bit of snow! We've had a heat wave here and it's been unbearable. When we moved up the mountain to our new place we thought we wouldn't get this uncomfortably hot, but not so, it seems.

Scurrette: We only got a few drips of rain, then it stopped. Just enough for some pictures with umbrellas, not enough to put much in the tank which I appear to have conveniently drained by leaving the tap on (scoring another F.)

Veiled Turnip: Yes, I do as much editing as I can in Picasa - Photoshop is quite beyond me, but I plan to learn more about it.

Hippomanic Jen: Anna's disappearing jeans did indeed get wet, but not really wet enough to discard. Just wet enough for a small child to get all cranky and demand for them to be discarded.

Happy Birthday, Little Girl

She was born a beauty.

She was born treasured.

She was born precious.

She was born ...

my sister.
Julie Maree,
born 11 December 1979.

I often think of her, wondering what she would look like, who she would be, and whether she would like me being her big sister.

Would she be married? Would she have a career? Would she have children, and be a cool Aunty for my kids?

She died at 7 months of age on 7 July 1980 from neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer. I certainly have grieved losing her over the years, but it was truly my parents' pain - I was only 3½.

And now, every time I come across a blog written by parents who have lost a little one to the same disease, I stop and think a little. I pray for them. I thank God that this sorrow is one I have not experienced. And then I pray for the parents again.

Thankyou God for looking after her until we can play again.

Happy 30th Birthday, precious girl.

The end of an era

Tomorrow is Nat's final day of pre-prep (kindy). He has loved it! And because of the free-and-easy nature of the teachers, I have loved the year too.

Nat has had some wonderful experiences this year including:

Playing all day, every day with the Mobilo - his favourite pastime.

Crazy Hair Day! Some kids had teasing and coloured spray and weird stuff goin' on. Nat just had Wax. His was an Awesome Hair day.

Learning about the postal service - addressing a letter to himself, posting it and seeing it turn up in the letterbox at home. Enjoying the visit from Postie Martin who came and let the kids sit on his bike.

Excursion to the town library and the Fire Station, sitting in a fire engine.

Goodbye Kindy! It's been great. Off to Prep in 2010!

Summer Showers