Ok – so I had a minor freak out this morning with Dash, and considered returning him to the RSPCA.

Last night he was good as gold, whimpered for about 20 minutes when I put him to bed and then didn’t hear form him all night till about 6.45am. Justin took him straight out for wees, but Dash had in the night done 2 poos, and then came inside and did another 2! This is when I started to go a bit crazy and wonder if I had made the right decision. Also, the whole things about Jessica being on the floor and scared to death of him was also playing on my mind. Now, I am not one to believe in stuff like Feng Shui, but all of the sudden we have these barriers up to stop Dash roaming into carpeted areas of the house and I feel as though I have become claustrophobic (sp?). Stepping over the ironing board to get into the loungeroom is not how I saw my beautiful open-planned house looking! Oh well, just for a short time till he is housetrainined I keep telling myself. Also, I feel so guilty about leaving him outside, but DH Justin is out there at the moment putting up chicken wire to stop him from getting out, and we have fenced off part of the yard and now we can leave him outside while Jess is in here and on the floor. It is only fair that Jess is my first priority and she certainly doesn’t want to be stuck in her high chair all day long becasue Dash is inside.

So the upshot of it all is that after I had my moment of post partum depression (after all I am looking after a baby here) I have decided that he can be outside a lot, and come in for periods of thime when Jess is asleep or in the highchair. Maureen (MIL) has given us the loan of a doggie jumper, so he is all warm in his kennal, chewing on a delicious pig ear. This will hopefully make the toilet training easier as he will already be outside.

My shock at all this new stuff is subsiding and I am geting used to having him around and looking out for him. I am excited by being able to take him on walks, and for the kids to have this little friend to play with.

Roll on Summer!

Our new Puppy Dash arrived here today. He is very quiet, but playful and happy. A good temperament for a puppy and new member of our family. So far, only one accident on the floor. The other time he did his business outside and was rewarded with little doggie biscuits! Having never had a pet before, I am learning fast about the tricks of the trade.

Thankfully Justin will be here to help over the weekend. Puppy training starts on Sunday and goes for he next 7 weeks. The knowledge will be invaluable – I have to learn something cause I know nothing now!

Jess is 14 months old today and is no closer to walking than she was 6 months ago! She bum shuffles her way around the house most efficiently and when she gets to her destination she stands up and holds onto the nearest things, ie, couch coffee table, legs.

She is starting to use intonation in her babbling and mimics what we say to her. “Good Girl” is her favourite thing to say, and while we are the only ones that would understand what she is saying, it gives us great joy to hear it!! She also says, “uh-oh” when she drops stuff on the floor, Nanna, dadda, mum-mum, bub and lots of other jibberish. She was gurgling away the other day and Meg came to me very sad and crying. I asked her what was wrong and she replied “Jessie called me bum-bum”.

Daughters

To my daughters one, two, three
How can I say what you mean to me?

You laugh and cry and fight and scream
You think I’m cool and then I’m mean!

You are so precious, and play a part
in making whole my beating heart.

From the moment you were put in my arms
I’ve been under the spell of your special charms.

Holly so tall and graceful and arty;
Meg red-headed, slight and impishly crafty

Jessica gorgeous, delightful babe
All three so different but each I made.

I’m proud of everything you do
and hope you know that I love you.

There is nothing more beautiful on this earth than a child…except of course Children!

A Daughter Like You is a Very Precious Gift

Does so much to bring you joy
Adds lots of love to your world
Uplifts you with her smile
Gives you memories to cherish
Has the warmest hugs to share
Touches your heart with her sweetness
Enjoys doing thoughtful things
Radiates her own special beauty and is loved and treasured more with every year

Meg has the funniest accent on some of her words. she puts and “h” before all her vowel words. Eg: Lisa’s chicken lay heggs; flap your harms like a bird; Can I eat an happle. She also has a Bitiman (ie vitiman) every morning, and loves pretending to be a bufferly (butterfly). Heaven forbid she should ever have to go to the hostibal if trappled by an efalant.

A few months ago I was asking the kids what they wanted for dinner. Holly said that she would like to have pizza with tomato, zuchhinni and Cinderella…”That’s a kind of cheese Mum!”.

Today Holly sat next to me and asked “Mum, do you know why I have my toothbrush next to yours?”. I said “No, Why?”, and she replied “Because I love you”.

Life is so simple when you are 4!

Holly is at prescool this year and really loving it, but I have to admit that it is not what I imagined it to be. The other mums are quite cliquey and I find that I resent their children becasue they are not friends with Holly, or they are so glamourously dressed up and their hair is so immaculately done that I feel inadequate and underqualified to be a mum. I guess I am lucky if Holly has her hair brushed and pulled back neatly and if her clothes slightly match in colour. I have the other 2 to also get ready so often I am run off my feet and in the end give up in sheer exhaustion. Who else can multitask at dresing, brushing teeth and hair while calling for the next one to get inline for the same?

Anyway, at the beginning of the year I suggested that a fund-rasising project that I could do to help out (preschool is all about fund-raising!). I thought that we could screen print calico bags with the preschool logo and then get the kids to handprint on the back, to them sell for $5. A list went up on the board and we got orders for 80 or so bags. So Maureen (MIL) and I spent one Sunday afternoon screen printing and they were pronounced ready to go. A note went out to parents to ask for confirmation of the numbers of bags they wanted and to send in the money. By the due date of Wednesday I had 33 orders. !disappointed! In dribs and drabs I now have 66 orders. I guess that just sums up the lack of commitment that parents have or the disregard that people have for the effort that others put in. I also asked for helpers to assist with the handprinting, and well as you can guess I am doing this today on my own. sheesh!.