wordful wednesday and the pearly whites

 although i've been through the whole teeth-straightening business before

(with miss now-20)

i'm constantly amazed at solid bone can be re-arranged!

lower braces and spring in place

june 2010

august 2010

november 2011

the entire process took less than 18 months

compared with 3 years from start to finish for miss 20

technology marches on!

    

photostory friday: netball

i've probably posted about netball in the past

netball is the number 1 sport played by women (and girls) in new zealand

we have the commonwealth games gold medal in netball

however, our arch rivals, the australian diamonds [netball team] - have wrested the world title from us in overtime twice in a row

it's always a battle royale

back in the trenches however, my girls are both playing in the same team this year (as they are only one school year apart)

this is GREAT news for me, as i never miss a game AND i get to umpire all their games

mr scrappy took some great shots on this particular day

so to re-cap the major differences between NETBALL and BASKETBALL

basketball: 5 players per team

netball: 7 players per team

basketball: dribbling

netball: NO dribbling

miss 13 looking to offload

ALWAYS keep your eye on the ball

not the other way around!

miss 14 receiving a pass

a mid-air take from miss 13

a take on the run from miss 14

miss 14 plays GS (Goal Shoot), so my girls play at opposite ends of the court

and a great re-bound from miss 13 (GD: Goal Defence)

this game was played during the world cup and we'd all been watching a LOT of netball on tv!

and there's me umpiring proceedings

the joy of victory

i think they won by 8 goals

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

wordful wednesday and the magic teeth

Hard to imagine that only FIVE months separate this photo

from this one

the orthodontist wasn't wrong when he said all the ACTION will take place in the first SIX months, and the 18 after that are just for tweaking.

i still can't get over how a tooth that's at a 42 degree angle almost in the SECOND row of her mouth can just WANDER up and join the party - AMAZING!!!

quite the transformation huh?

our wonderful weekend part 2

saturday we did housework!

this is in fact an unusual occurrence, as we have had cleaners for several years. those years where i was too busy having babies and too tired to clean or care - we were blessed to be able to afford to have someone do it for us.

i must say it was a lot of fun using the ole' elbow grease, and the girls did an immaculate job of cleaning the inside of this car.   i really didn't want miss 20 to get in it, coz i know she's just gonna mess it up good all over again!

saturday afternoon i sat down to watch a dr phil on kids and money, and an oprah on the law of attraction. miss 13 was on the floor drawing, but eventually she became quite engrossed, and it made for some wonderful conversation later in the afternoon.

after seeing martha, cheryl, louise and oprah, miss 13 and i were inspired to make our own VISION BOARDS. it was just wonderful.

i used photos, old oprah magazines and google images. i initially was drawn to WORDS, then added images later. i tried to not over think it (something i'm always guilty of!) and cut out words and images that appealed. we worked quickly, quietly and separately and i just love the way it all came together.

i love miss 13's interpretations and i'm REALLY happy with my own. i've since added a few other images and know that i will continue to do so.

i realised too late (after i'd glued them down), that i've given mel a giant pair of TOONIE BOOBIES!

that's her next to the canadian flag (click to make the pic bigger)

if you want quick lesson on canadian currency, click here.

the way i was crouching made for the 'crushed boob' shot, so i covered myself with these lovely green butterflies!!!

yeah - we had some help, well - relaxed supervision if you will...

later on we stayed in and watched another movie...this one:

(we need to get FotB 2 in the school holidays!)

stay tuned for part 3 where the hubs and i head out of town for the night to a FABULOUS cliff-top resort for a family wedding!!!

photostory friday - some random thoughts from a tired working mum 7 days before christmas

...i only have 2 and a half days to work before christmas. that's a mere 13 hours, but it's 13 too many as far as i'm concerned!

being at work while the girls are out of school is hard.

...i gave today. i gave a bunch of christmas gifts to the women's refuge and i gave myself some treats: a massage, then a trip to the movies to see 'julie and julia". even though i'm not a fan of meryl streep, i love, love, LOVED this movie. i'd see it again tomorrow.

...i also received....from shirliana! some tootsie rolls for miss 18, a beer bread mix and a minnesota passport full of fun facts. thanks shirliana! much appreciated :)

...i'm very excited about my 2010 365 project. i already have the photo album and inserts ready to go!

...i wish the wind would stop blowing. even just a little.

...a letter to all the stupid people:

dear stupid people... why must you insist on walking behind me while i'm REVERSING? do you not see me? my car? my reversing lights? ...do you have a death wish? are you blind? do you think i have eyes in the back of my head? ...and why do you feel it appropriate to give ME the stink eye? was it not YOU that walked into the path of a reversing car?

love, sue

...christmas dinner is here this year and i've done nothing about it. mr scrappy is taking off for 2 days on a motorbike thing and gets back late on the 23rd. i can hardly complain about not getting away (hello, 2 and a half weeks in new york!) - but honestly, i resent how easy it is for guys to just take off like that - and return on christmas eve eve!

i feel like it's all being left to me and my inner 4 year old just wants to stamp her feet and pout and drool and not do anything to make it happen!

...we went to carols by candlelight was on wednesday and it was lovely. just lovely.

tara's miss 11, "J" and miss 11

tara's mr 7 and mr tara
tara came up with this very cool idea to use chippie cups to hold the candles
...this girl finished intermediate (middle school, well - our version of it) yesterday. she had her leavers' dinner, a sleepover and a big next day and slept FIFTEEN hours last night.
fifteen. being 13's tough.

...these girls will be at college next year (high school). i love that they took this picture. if i'd been there, i so would have suggested the same thing.

next PSF - Boxing Day!

Hosted by Cecily and Honey Mommy

good'n'crazy

first of all, thanks to all those who asked:

YES. i survived the sleepover.
i slept. they didn't (so whaddoicare)

...and 14 sleeps to italy!
i think i may actually pee my pants
(from the excitement you understand. not from any previously unmentioned bladder control issues...)

WARNING: LONG POST!
filled as always, with photos and interesting tidbits

my day off (friday) was interrupted by a sick child, so i resigned myself to not doing much. at least i could still work out (on my exercycle). miss 13 wasn't particularly ill, she was just feeling very flat. we like to call these days off 'mental health days', ie where a day at home is good for the soul, and day of missed school won't kill you.

i had previously committed to take miss 11 and 5 of her classmates to our local SPCA as part of ther 'a 12 year old can change the world' social enquiry. we loaded up the car with shredded paper (for bedding), blankets and cat food and off we went.

the puppies were just totally depressing, and that's all i'll say. cute but depressing.

i don't know this guy's name, but he's blind in one eye and very cuddly.
there are currently 39 cats awaiting re-homing.

this is tiny- he climbed right into miss 11's lap and made himself comfortable while she groomed him.

friday night miss 17 got a mercy call from the hockey 1st XI to play in their final (play-off for 3rd and 4th).

they made a guard of honour for her before the game - this is her LAST game of hockey for her college (high school) - EVA. they won 6-1.

the game didn't even start until 8pm, so by the time we got home, i'd been up and on the go (and totally over the day) for way too many hours.

still, look at the lovely weather i got to stand in.

we build 'em tough down here - 'twas but a passing shower...

saturday morning we were up early for a family photo. the FIRST weekend post-netball and i drag my family out of bed for a photo. there's a whole other post on family photos that i'll share some time too!

anyhoo - it went really well, and we all went out for coffee and hot chocolates afterwards.

then it was home to get ready for the SLEEPOVER - you know the one, where you take in 11 teengers you hardly know and entertain them for the next 18 hours.

so here's the dealio - MOST of the girls had never been to my house before, so i was expecting to run up and down the stairs several times to answer the doorbell and make the acquaintance of many-a-new parent.

guess how many parents came to the door.

ONE.

as tara said to me when the same thing happened to her a couple of weeks before:

"i could have been an axe murderer and they just DROPPED their kid off!"

in this age of helicopter parenting and OTT PC, i find it unfathomable. i guess the bottom of my long drive looked good'n'average'n'safe-like.

fast forward to the next morning. the invitation CLEARLY stated 'collect at 10am' (coz, ya know, after i've had your kid 18 hours, i'm gonna want to get on with my day).

the first got collected at 10.10 - the last at 10.35. admittedly this parent got lost, but PULEEEZE!!! where are these people's manners?

and how many came to the door you ask?

TWO.

i'm over it now, but i would NEVER leave my child at someone's house without going to the door and meeting the 'rents'.

how's it work where you live?

anyhoo - back to the party
-here's miss 13 again - that's her on the wall too

tara came up with this cool pass the parcel idea a few years back. once the kids are old enough, you can make them WORD for the candy, and make it interesting too!

attached to the candy is a question about the party girl
it's fun - AND you get to know your friend that little bit better!

that's me on the music

the final round i absolve myself of responsibility

that's tara trying to be impartial while the girls pass it around on the last layer
-funny-

i made THREE pizza doughs in the bread maker. this is them: slightly out of control during the 'proving' process.

2 kid-friendly pizzas and this one. it's all about the combination of flavours. trust me.

a little bit of rock band

and no party at my place is complete without a little 'craft'

they made these

i made TWO banoffee pies. one with a gingernut biscuit base, and one with a krispie biscuit base.

AMERICAN EQUIVALENT: Graham Crackers

Here's the recipe:

mix together 250g biscuits (cookies) - crushed with 150g melted butter
press into pie/flan dish. refrigerate

slice banana on the base.

for the topping:

125g butter
395g condensed milk
50g brown sugar
3 tablespoons of milk

bring to the boil then stir for around 5 mins until it thickens a little.

pour over bananas and base. refrigerate.

KIDDING!!!

when caramel sets (it won't set rock hard tho) - top with whipped cream and grated or flakey chocolate.

ENJOY!!!

i only have one day in the office next week (monday) before i head out of town for my work annual conference. when i get back, i literally only have enough time to unpack, do laundry and pack again before we head out to italy - no peace for the wicked!!!