Christmas Day 2010

Ok, So i havn't blogged in quite some time!! This is because we are coming to the end of probably the most stressful year of my life! It was a really hard year and at times i really felt like i was going insane - literally. I guess it's because i had a new baby to take care of, only taking 8 weeks off when i had him, working over 40 hours a week and organising 5 children with a husband who was working (AT LEAST) 12 hours a day!! So i've felt like a single parent ALOT this year.

But i'm not here to whinge, just putting it out there. I like to self analyse and this is what i've come up with. I love my job, it's a good one to have . . . but i'm glad the year is over and while i won't have any pay until Feb i am happy to be taking 4 weeks off work!! I start back on the 24th Jan. . . . . . .

BUT! . . . . . With some changes . . . . . .The first one is - I have new hours.
Instead of working 7.30am til 5.30pm i have changed things around so that i'm not starting until 8.45am each day and finishing at 5pm! It may seem like a small change but i tell you having 1.5hours extra in a day without daycare children will make a huge difference. The second change is - i'm hiring a cleaner! Well hopefully. . . I havn't actually found one yet but my plan is to get someone to come in on a Friday for a couple of hours. So if you know of anyone in the area, please pass them my number or me theirs.

SO, to Christmas Day. We started off the day with the kids checking out their stockings (which they are allowed to do without us being there) then they check out each others!!

We then ventured to the lounge room to open the pressies under the tree. Now when i was growing up we didn't really have any traditions or formalities to follow, Heath and I have kind of made it up as we've gone along. Some things have changed over the years since the girls were little and some things have stayed the same. The only thing we've changed recently is that instead of all the kids 'going for it' with their individual pile of pressies, we now give them out one by one. Mainly so we can all see and appreciate what the gifts are.

Anyway, this year we decided to let Asha have the first present to open. He enjoyed the ripping part and seemed to like playing with the toy inside.

Eventually we got to everyones main presents - and there were smiles all round! Jory with his Mega ramp

Chey with his little TV for his bedroom

Morgan was very very surprised as you can see to receive a ghd hair straightener (top off the line, salon quality hair straightener for thiose not in the know!)

And Makayla received numerous accessories for her digital slr camera. This is the tripod/monopod.

But this year was a little different and the kids ended up getting a bit more than usual. This is because AFTER i had organised, paid for and picked up all the main pressies HEATH decided it would be a good idea to buy thm all motorbikes!! (Well Jory's is Chey's old one repaired And Asha's is a little different from the others and was from his big sister, Makayla).

Here is a pic of them all on their bikes just before getting going on them. I must add though that they were all totally shocked to see the bikes and Morgan even burst into tears!!!!!

How cute is Asha on his little bike!?


So we headed to Heaths parents house for a Christmas lunch. Both of Heaths sisters, Carmen and Nadia, were there with their children, Preston, Phoebe and Ella. Nadia's husband, Aaron was there too and it is probably going to be the last time we will all be together for Christmas as Heaths parents are hoping to sell up, buy a caravan and head aroung Australia sometime next year. His youngest sister, Nadia lives in Qld now and i doubt she will come back for Christmas again.

Phoebe and Ella

Me and Asha at Christmas lunch


Chey, Jory and Asha with Preston

After lunch we headed out to Meander to my dads house. We wanted to breathe some life into the place as there hasn't been a Christmas held there in ALOT of years! Also, my dad only goes there on weekends as he lives in his Launceston house during the week to save on travelling.

Asha at Christmas Dinner in Meander

My Dad, James and his partner Orn. My Nana and Papa (my dads parents) Margaret and Jim.

Nana and Orn had set the table nicely and had organised everything which was nice because we usually have it at my house and it was a nice change.

I really loved being there again and reminded me of what a lovely house it is. It did remind me of my brother, Stuart though and i had a peek in his old bedroom while i was there. I'm sure he was there in spirit and i bet he was pleased to see us all there together again. Although, dads very very old dog wolfgang died this year so his presense was also missed.

This is everyone watching the film we took of the kids discovering their bikes (and yes there is really proof of Morgan getting very emotional)

We had such a great day which wouldn't be complete without some 8-ball in dads pool room.

Chey somehow managed to beat Dad, which is surprising as dad has played competition for years and ended up in the Launceston final a couple of times (one year my dad and my brother Stuart played each other in the final and as a parent i'm guessing my dad felt like he had won either way. My brother won that match though). Anyway, good old grandad!

Chey taking his shot










And checking out the next best move.

We stayed out there talking until really late and didn't get the very tired kiddies into bed until around 11pm. But it was worth it to have such a lovely Christmas day!!!

My Crazy Kids

Ok, So before i do my post about Makayla (i'm going in order of age) I want to share this pic. It is one of my favourite photos of the kids. It was taken on Heaths iphone (hence the poor quality, its no SLR!) We were trying to sneak a weird photo on to his phone so he would get a surprise when he went into it at work.

I just said 'everyone do a crazy face' and viola! this is how it turned out. I love how candid it is. It's so cool and natural. And it does show how crazy my kids really are. Heath still has it as his screen saver and it cracks me up whenever i see it.

Unfortunately, it was taken before we had Asha so he isn't in it but i guess that means we'll have to try for another one when he is old enough to be able to pull a crazy face. (he does pull crazy faces - he just doesn't mean to!) Anyway - Enjoy!!

Heath - My lovely Husband

So i guess i'll start with my lovely husband, Heath. He is my best friend and i pray that we will be able to have a long journey together here on earth. Although i often get the feeling that one of us will be left behind early in our lives. I soooo hope this doesn't happen.

I first met Heath at his 18th birthday party. My friend, Nell, was Heath's girlfriend at the time. I had never met him and being new to Tassie my friend said 'hey, do want to come to my boyfriends 18th ?' so i tagged along.

The story goes that i gave him $1.87 to add to the drinks that night and Heath loves to tell that story but in my defense, a hat went around for everyone to chuck in for more drinks and i somehow missed it. I wanted to make a good impression as i had just tagged along to a strangers party, i tried to make sure that i contributed in some way.

So when i was introduced to Heath at the end of the night i handed him a handful of change as my 'bit' for the drinks!! Heath just found this really funny but in my defense, i was only 16 and i didn't have a lot spare change AND there is no way he can remember exactly how much i gave him - NO MATTER WHAT HE SAYS!!!!!!

This is Heath as a young guy long before i met him!

So we finally got together about a year and a half (and a couple of boyfriends and girlfriends) later. We now have 5 children. Two girls and three boys! I always say that i didn't really like him to start with but i think really i was trying to hide an attraction!! Although he was a very cocky and confident teenager and it used to kinda annoy me!!

We did always get along really well though and i remember going to an L C party with him while we were still friends. Amazingly the only thing i really remember about it is that we slept in my car (1974 xb falcon, yellow paint with brown vinyl roof) and he graciously took the back seat while i had to find comfort in the front seat behind the wheel!!! (okay he did actually offer the back seat to me but i declined for some reason - wouldn't happen now! LOL)

This is Heath around 1999 when we died his hair red!

So we started off life together in a housing commission home (well flat) and moved a few times before building our first home when i was 25 and Heath was 26 ( and three kids later!) Whew we were busy. We had 3 children by the time i was 23!

Us just before Heath got on the boat to go to mainland with his dad for a week.

This is really close to the time that we got together. He is eating some cake!

And this is Heath about to leave for work not long after we got together. He worked as a mechanic at Jackson Ford in Launceston. He used to drive an old beige ford panel van and he once told me that he made it to Deloraine from Westbury (prior to the new highway)in 6 minutes - much to my horror!

Not long after we started living together Heath started to grow his hair. It was so cool. I loved his long ringlets!!!

Heath and the gang on site of building our house!!

Heath went on to work for The mole creek wildlife park and then for Trash Carry and son - manufacturing skip bins. That's where he decided he really liked welding and started his own fabrication business in Deloraine. He still runs it today and is awesome at what he does ( i highly recommend him to build your fence or trailer) He now builds camper trailers for a local company and a huge variety of other welding and manufacturing!

Heath with Morgan, Chey and cute little Jory at the Tahune Airwalk.

In Melbourne for the Green Day Concert.

One thing about Heath that you should know is that he really doesn't care what people think of him. Hence the stupid hat!! now my kids will verify what i say and that is - The hat that Heath is wearing is the one he wears EVERY YEAR when we go to St Helens after Christmas. He also wears it when he is mowing the lawn etc. We all hate this hat. But the thing with Heath is - the more you say something about it- the more he'll stick with it!! GRRRR But i guess really that's what i love about him. And i probably wouldn't change it anyway.




This is Heath the day his ducati arrived! He was so excited. He had wanted one for ages and true to 'Heath Style' he bought the older model that he preferred rather than the hip new one!! That's what i love!




I can't really remember the model or the year but if you are into bikes you'll work it out and if you are not (like me) then you won't really care anyway. So there it is. He only registers it for the 6 month good weather time each year.

Me n Heath out for dinner at The Prickly Cactus!

And Heath in a rare suit and tie having a drink with me in Hobart. We are in between the Ceremony and the reception of our friends wedding!

Heath posing for a shot at our wedding! So handsome!!

Working on the garage!

Some things you might not know about Heath

• His favourite number is 7
• He only ever gets ham, cheese, egg and prawn on pizza's which is really annoying and no amount of nagging will change it
• His favourite dinner is roast lamb
• His favourite colour is blue
• He always has number 7 as his number when he plays basketball
• He is naturally good at all sports
• He hates onion and i have to grate it into everything!
• He loves music and his cd collection is worth more than my car (not an exaggeration!)
• He hates people making weird or stupid noises and has actually stopped hanging out with friends who do this. It is also a way the kids have of deliberately getting him going (only when he's in a good mood tho!)
• He is a really kind and caring person with a gruff exterior (mainly cos he doesn't shave)
• He hates to shave! and doesn't grow a beard cos he likes them! It's just a long time between shaves.
• He has really pretty eyes and has two eyelashes that always part a certain way (which would really annoy you if you were a girl)
• He loves to sleep and would spend 12 hours a day in bed if he could.
• His middle name is Marcus
• He has lived his whole life in Deloraine because he loves it!
• His birthday is 10th October which makes him a Libran
• His favourite sport to play is Cricket
• Heath is really, really, really, really good at saving money, which gets annoying sometimes but is mostly a really good thing!!

So this is a really brief overview of my husband and only begins to tell you about him. But you have to start somewhere! He really is my best friend and we were meant to be together. I absolutely know this with every part of my soul. I know that we knew each other before we came to earth and i know that we looked for each other. I love him to bits. Does this mean we have a perfect relationship? Heck NO! Sometimes he infuriates me! ( and i'm sure i do to him too) But that's normal and part of most relationships!

And this is my favourite pic of Heath. I think its cos you can see his pretty eyes and it somehow shows me the real Heath!

My Very First Post!

Well here goes. This is my very first blog post. I've been in the process of organising my blog for a very long time. Like months!!
Not much to say in my introduction seeing as anyone who reads my blog probably already knows me and what im about!

So this pic is us! We consist of Me of course. My lovely husband, Heath, who i love very much. He sometimes drives me nuts but mostly i like him! And our 5 children. They are Makayla (age 18) Morgan (age 14) Chey (age 11) Jory (age 7) and Asha (age 7 months). My family is the most important thing in my life. Keep posted for future blogs. I'll be focusing on each of them and telling you what i really love about them and what makes them special and individual! Anyhoo, Thats it for now :-)