18th birthday gift ideas...

Recently my niece turned 18...my gosh the years go so fast!!

Every time I have been to the shops I have had a little look around for a gift but always end up leaving empty handed.  I want the gift to be something special to mark the big 18th ...something that jumps out at me....

Even though 18 marks the legal drinking age and possible nightclub visits and crazy antics I would prefer my gift to be something special that she can display in her room or something that perhaps inspires travel or further study etc...

So with a bunch of sick girls at home I decided to go to my favourite place to shop...online !!

Take a look at what I found...

I really love this bird cage candle holder that I found...and it is only $20.  It is so sweet and would match her bedroom decor...  I would love one of these too!!

You can find this gorgeous gift here...

I liked the idea of this ticket stub diary, especially as she is now likely to attend more concerts and the like...  It would be a laugh to look back on some of the concerts that I attended years ago and read what I had written about them.  Only $16.89 and free delivery!!

Find the ticket stub diary here...

This pendant might inspire a desire to travel and see the world.... There is such a great range to choose from too!  This one is priced at $45.90.

Take a look at these beautiful pendants here...

I thought these picture book frames were an interesting idea (I was going to say a 'novel' idea but we can live without that pun hey!!).  My niece has always been an avid reader so she could use these to display a few of her favourite books as art work in her bedroom. These are selling for $29.95.

Check them out here...

Having just started uni I thought she might find a satchel handy for carrying all of those lecture notes and text books around.  I particularly liked this one for $99...looks very stylish...

Take a look here...

So many great gifts and all found from the comfort of home !!  Now all I have to do is choose which one to buy....  Help me out here....which one would you choose?

Not for the faint-hearted....

Afternoon school pick ups are not for the faint-hearted.  Best pop a few panadol before you come along for the ride. Here goes.....

I pick up the younger two girls from primary school, by the time we have walked to the car the high school bus drops the older 3 off and they join us at the car.   

Sometimes we are luck enough to actually all be seated and have the doors closed before it starts...today we weren't that lucky....

Miss 5..."I don't like these shorts, they hurt..."

Me..."Well we'll be home in 2 minutes so just hop in your seat and we'll drive home"

(all spoken at once) 
Miss 5..."They're hurting me"  
Miss 14....."Can I go to Japan?"

Me...."Well take them off then.  What on earth are you talking about?"

(all spoken at once)
Miss 5...."I don't want to take them off"  
Miss 14..."There's an exchange program"  
Miss 13...."I'd like to go to Italy one day"

Me..."Well just hop in your seat then.  Tell me about it later.  Thanks for sharing that."

(all spoken at once...with increasing volume) 
Miss 16..."Oh my throat hurts so bad.  Can I go the doctor?.  And that is so not fair if she gets to go to Japan again, she just went last year and I never get to go anywhere"  
Miss 9...."It was really hot today.  It is hot in the car.  Can't we go home?"  
Miss 5..."I don't want to wear these pants (as she finally takes them off)"  

Me...."Right now hop in your car seat.  I am not going to the doctors right now.  Yes it is hot in the car so let's go home"

(now with added crying and whinging) 
Miss 5...."I don't want to sit in my seat without pants" 

Me..."Aarrrrgh!!!!!!"

(all spoken at once...with increasing volume and some tears) 
Miss 5..."I want to wear pants"
Miss 14...."I have an email about the trip to Japan from my teacher
Miss 13..."I think I'd really like Italy.  Oh but I can't speak any Italian.  But I like pizza"

(with much less patience than 10 minutes ago)
Me..."Well I don't have any other pants that you can wear...so you'll just have to sit in your seat til we get home.  I'll read the email later.  Yes I like pizza too"

(all spoken at once, tears, screaming and a bit of leg kicking thrown in)
Miss 5...."I waaaannt toooo weeeaaar paaants......"
Miss 9...."I've got a headache.  Can everyone be quiet I've got a headache"
Miss 14..."So what if I've already been to Japan, I can still tell mum about it"
Miss 16...."OMG I have so much homework to do can we just go home.  And my throat hurts soooo much and I can't breathe and it is still not fair she has already been to Japan.  I wanted to do the exchange program but I wasn't allowed to and then I was going to go to Vietnam but the new principal is not doing that anymore so it is so not fair.  And my throat hurts.
Miss 13..."Mum at school today...."

Me...I don't have any other pants so get your school pants back on we would have been home by now.  Yes surprisingly I have a headache too.  I am not even talking about Japan I just want to go home.  If your throat hurts so much it might be best not to talk. Perhaps now is not the best time to tell me what you did at school today............

Some 10 minutes later miss 5 conceded defeat and put her shorts back on, finally I was able to put her seatbelt on and everyone else was told in no uncertain terms not to speak the rest of the way home!!!!!!!!!!!  So we finally arrived home some 30 minutes after the end of the school day when in actual fact we live a 2 minute drive away!

Sadly this is not a one-off....most afternoons seem to hold some sort of unexpected joy that tests my patience beyond belief!  Hope you enjoyed coming along for the ride!!!!

The lesson for today....

This morning, like most other school mornings, was the usual rush, rush, rush....'hurry up and finish your cereal'....'have you brushed your teeth yet'....'we'll be late if you don't get dressed now'.....

Despite my nagging miss 5 continued to fluff around.....at one stage she was emptying her money box onto her bed.....heavens knows we don't have time for a cash flow analysis in the mornings so I hurried her along....but for a few more minutes she continued to sort her money...

With a few more reminders of the time and our need to hurry up we finally made it out the door with not much time to spare.

Once in the car and backing out the driveway miss 5 piped up that she had forgotten something in the house.  With time not on our side I admit to being less than happy with this news and told her that wherever it was would have to remain forgotten.  I knew she had her lunch and her library book...it was not like she needs anything else.  

Driving along she insisted that she needed her money that was on her bed.  I still could not fathom why she would need money.  The only thing she needs money for at school is ice block day and that is tomorrow (at least I'm pretty sure it's tomorrow).  

I was getting more than a little annoyed when we arrived at school and she insisted that she needed a gold coin.  With only minutes til the bell was to ring I was rummaging around in the centre console of the car lucky to find a sticky old $2 coin which I handed to miss 5 in the hope that this would get her moving to the school grounds.

Well it was then that miss 5 decided to divulge that the money was for the poor people who have no money....she was going to put it in the Project Compassion box in her classroom.  

Well that was my lesson for the day....compassion.  It would serve me well in future to take a moment to actually see what is going on in the mornings rather than rushing everyone through the motions.

5 Years Ago Today...

Five years ago today we woke up in this house for the first time....

We had had to move out of where we were renting when we were thrown into the deep end of some pretty serious financial problems as a consequence of a company we did work for filing bankruptcy and owing us a lot of money.

Hubby and I packed up our old house with financial stress hanging over our heads.  And with our five girs, the youngest only 4 months old at the time, we moved into my parents home which was vacant at the time as my mum had passed away some 8 months earlier and my dad was in a nursing home.

We didn't really want to be here but at the same time we were appreciative of the fact that thanks to my siblings we had somewhere to be.

This was not my family home where I grew up but rather where my parents had downsized to some 10 years earlier as they grew older.  Being generous you can call it a 3 bedroom house with a lounge/dining room, kitchen, laundry, one bathroom/toilet and a single garage.  Very small...but better than nothing!

Whilst the move was only some 30 kilometres west of where we had been living it added over an hour each way to hubby's work day.  Stress levels were high to say the least.  Bills were overdue, the phone rang daily with people wanting payments we owed them.

Just over a month after moving in here my dad passed away.

Not knowing what we were doing or where we were headed we tried to keep the girls in their same school and preschool til we had a chance to sort ourselves out.  We weren't sure what was going to happen with the house as it would have to be sold within a certain timeframe etc...

Miraculoulsy we were able to buy the house....primarily because one fifth of it was mine as a result of the inheritance...so we only had to buy four fifths....if that makes sense! 

Now we were able to move the girls to the local primary school and preschool as we were all over the traveling and we could see that we wouldn't be moving anywhere else in the foreseeable future.

So five years on we have managed to work off all of the debt that we had as a result of the bankruptcy.

Finances are tight and expenses always seem to outweigh income.  We are truly outgrowing the house, especially the one bathroom/toilet part!  And the traveling to and from work really wrecks hubby by the end of his six day week.

There have been positives that we can take from the last 5 years...like the fact that the girls enjoy a good op shop and that they can see that you have to be sensible with money.

I would love to be able to somehow contribute financially to the household over the next few years to ease the pressure off hubby...but at this stage I have no idea how I am going to do that...but I'll keep thinking!

Not too sure what the future holds or where we will end up...but we'll keep moving forward one day at a time.

A Few Home Truths....

I think it's time for a few home truths my dear children....

You know when we are at the shops and you want to buy something hideous or something expensive and I say 'maybe next time' or 'perhaps for your birthday' well that probably isn't going to happen....I am just going to hope that you forget...

You know when it is a really hot day and thankfully it is ice block day at school....chances are I will forget to give you money those days....sorry...I'll call that one character building.

You know how you gave me the note saying it will be mufti day...well I I did read it, briefly, then filed it along with the other 100 notes I have to act upon....so chances are you will be dropped off in full school uniform instead of casual clothes....what can I say.....at least you'll stand out in the crowd.

You know when I say 'your friend can sleep over when your room is tidy' ...sorry to say that the chances of that sleepover ever eventuating are well....unlikely!!

I love how you get so excited about school library day...your face beams when you change your book for another one....well it will when we eventually find that lost one and you are allowed to borrow again...until then sweetie, sorry!

I know that you asked ever so nicely if you could go to the movies with that sweet boy from youth group....but chances are that that will never happen if your father has anything to say about it!!

It is indeed wonderful how all of your friends have iPhones,  iPods,  iPads ...but you my dear are blessed with 4 sisters!

I don't know any other way of explaining it...3 bedrooms divided by 7 people doesn't go....therefore the chances of you having your own bedroom this century.....less than zero!  Yes I know it is sooooo unfair.... apparently that's what I'm here for...dishing out unfair!

What can I say...the truth hurts!!  But hey, we love you !!!

Going Once....Going Twice

I think I may have actually squealed with excitement when a few weeks ago I noticed that  Tin Monkey auctions were holding a 'pop up' auction close enough to home that we could actually go along and check it out!!

I love all things vintage, rustic, antique, kitsch, retro....!!  Thankfully hubby has similar tastes and interests so was keen to go as well.

So on Saturday we went along to the viewing of the items and it was like I was in heaven! We spent a good hour browsing with the girls and I  loved it all and came home with a long, long list of items that I adored.

Thankfully I awoke on Sunday morning with a bit more rationale and was able to choose my favourite few items from the list that I hoped to win at auction and off we went.....

The place was buzzing with atmosphere when we arrived.  This was the first auction that I had ever attended so I was in awe of the pace, the banter, the entertainment value and thoroughly enjoyed the whole event....even if the vintage trestle table and vintage metal chairs went for more money than I could ever have imagined!!

Thankfully we didn't leave empty handed and were lucky enough to win an ex-NSW railway luggage shelf that hubby and I had wanted and also a 1954 brass and copper fire extinguisher that was a spur of the moment bid!  We also came away with a box full of rare vintage magic tricks just for fun with the girls!

So a great day was had....it was fast paced, it was mesmerising and it was entertaining.  Looking forward to my next auction experience....and purchase!!  Think I'm hooked !!!

The Best Laid Plans....

Last night miss 5 laid out everything that she needed for school today.....and I mean everything....socks, undies, school uniform, hat ,lunch box, cooler bag, water bottle and even her library book and library bag....absolutely everything...totally adorable.

I should have known then that we would have a totally crap morning!!!!!!

Today we had tantrums, yelling ,tears, more yelling....and basically that was just me !!! 

Miss 5 has always been a challenge....to the rest of the world she appears as a sweet and adorable angelic child.   And don't get me wrong....that she is....but she can also be the most difficult little person to deal with....though she reserves this for me!!

Some days it can start from the time that she gets up....every little thing throughout the day...wrong cup, not those shoes, doesn't want hair up - upon arrival at destination - wants hair up, wanted crusts left on sandwich, will only drink apple juice today because we  have orange, orange and mango, apple and blackcurrant, multi vitamin - but no none of these will suffice.

Then there's when we have to go out....wants to put own seatbelt on, left something in the house, wants to wear blue shorts but doesn't own blue shorts, wants everything she sees at the shops, won't go in pram but also won't walk....

Then there is when I need to leave the house without her...heaven forbid....when she was younger she would stand at the door  and cry til I got back, she has progressed through various stages since then....with the current one being that she has to wave to me from the front verandah....with 5 kisses, 5 high fives, 5 hugs...then 1 extra kiss, 1 extra high five, 1 extra hug...followed by promises that I will call her....it's no wonder that I stopped even leaving the house for a time there!

By the end of the day....which is generally later than every other 5 year olds day by the time I go through the particular rituals that she decides upon.....I am one drained mummy.  Add to that 4 other children with their own requests and demands...and one sweet hubby who is too scared at the end of the day to make any requested or demands!!!!!!

The scariest thing is every now and then I get little flash backs to when I was young and I think I see a little bit of myself in there sometimes....I bet my mum is up there in heaven looking down on me thinking......payback!!!!!!!