busyitis...

wow sometimes even i'm amazed at how one person can cram so much into one day. that person would be me and i've been on the go in some sort of fashion all day. 1st up was popping one prescription into one pharmacy here in bendigo, this is the only pharmacist that makes this particular drug. with that out of the way next on the list was taking grace to brit so she could enrol in a short course we tried to do last friday but all their systems were down. then it was off down town to grab a few items and grab a quick soy hot chockie, back to the pharmacist to pick up medication, pop to coles to pick up a few groceries and finally head home before the next stage.

stage 2...grab grace and head to 2nd pharmacist to pop other prescription in, head out to kangaroo flat to  purchase a gift for steph...we purchased some helium filled balloons with hearts and polka dots which look awesome. then pop into kmart to look at all their goodies on sale...where apparently grace promptly told me i needed new knickers and bras (i hate shopping for underwear) and of course as only a dutiful mother can be...did what i was told...lol, then saw a really nice flower cushion that just screamed at me saying it would be good for the bed ;0) and then with the new undies and bras purchased i needed a new pair of...as grace puts it...granny slippers, so we both picked up a pair!!! headed home.

once home i realised i'd forgotten to pick up medication from the pharmacist so raced back out for that, finally headed home for the evening just in time to start looking at my to do list and make a start on that with emails, agendas, replies and overloading this poor old head of mine. looked at the time which mentioned in no uncertain terms it was 5.45pm and i realise i haven't even started on tea yet. thank goodness it was just going to be simple...yep beef stroganoff with rice and finally after all that i'm here finding time to blog. what a day!!!

the rest of the week doesn't get much better really, so what are you doing this week?!!!

it's the last day of summer here in australia...autumn has already shown itself and i'm happy with that. as much as i love summer for the longer daylight hours and the warm weather, i don't like the hot weather that comes with hideous humidity and you sit drenched day and night in your own sweat....yuk!

anyway yesterday i did a little photo shoot...yes just a wee one out in the garden which was nice...although i don't always have the opportunity to get out and about to take photos, our garden always manages to help out anyway it can.

 random pics

that'll do for now as my peace and quiet has just become lost in the noise and demands of a teenager. until next bloggin' pop a smile on ya dial and pay it forward. hugs chris xoxo

 

relaxing...

it's been a really lazy relaxing day today and i have enjoyed every minute of it. what a week and trying to keep up with everything has just physically, emotionally and mentally drained and exhausted me. however i've survived and now recharging as much as anyone can ready to head into yet another full week, next week.

today has been a really nice relaxing day and both tim and i needed it. started off with a sleep in thank goodness, then just slowly getting ready and sorted for the day. we headed off to bunnings about lunch time to look at odds and ends needed for the slow job of painting the interior of this home of ours. do we need a 60 minute makeover or what???!!!!!! 

from there we've managed to read the saturday papers (a real rarity here), potter about the place and generally do absolutely nothing else but chill out and relax awhile and guess what? it felt great!!! yup...i'm not normally one like that and in fact it's generally a real pet peeve of mine to sit about and not do too much at all. i find it a real waste of time and generally get quite restless, however pottering about helps fill that void...or perhaps my OCD tendencies and allows me to function fairly productively, guilt free.

steph is doing ok...not fantastic, just ok but like all things that create turmoil and mental anguish in our lives it takes time to get back to functioning and feeling somewhat able again. mind you getting to that point can take quite some time and usually with the help and support of others within the medical field to help us in whatever capacity they can for us to be able to heal, survive, manage and then move forward. she's not attending school all the time, only when she can manage and that's fine. her health and well being is far more important at the moment then cramming in and trying to manage changes and learning. then for the rest of the time mostly she sleeps and with that sleep i just hope and pray that her emotional and mental state is in part, healing!

blessings come in all disguises and this week has been no exception. tim and i are very grateful to the organisation that came to a need of ours this week. bendigo uniting church outreach were able to help us out in a way i would never have expected. we are truly thankful and grateful for the help given.

so tomorrow, which is actually now technically today, is another day and with it comes another opportunity to reflect and be thankful for who we are. there is beauty in everything god has created!!!

home grown bottle brush...i love it when our natives flower

till next time peeps, may you all be truly blessed. hugs chris xoxo

blergh...

that's seriously how i feel right about now...blergh!!! mondayitis?! seriously the past few days have been quite eventful and quite full on. so i've had no choice but to prioritise things for now and put things into retrospect. we have a child in crisis at the moment and i'm not at all surprised. new year, new school, new year level, new teachers, change in all that and then the friendship circles she usually sits on the edge have also changed. 

the school messed up her timetable, teachers, subjects and of course the bullying started. this is now officially the 3rd week of yr 11 for stephanie but it has not gone off too well and in amongst all the change, stress and anxiety she crashed and burned a little over a week ago, then decided she would try school last thursday and pretty much crashed and burned a little more serious with the school health and well being counsellor calling me. steph was in a pretty bad place mentally and emotionally and he was very concerned for her safety.

so last friday morning was the 1st of 2 meetings...this one was with the school counsellor putting together a plan for her safety and well being, the need to put an end to the bullying once and for all or we take it to the police and then after that it was time for the 2nd meeting for the day with our new family case worker from st lukes. inbetween all this was the urgent phone calls to her doctor, the possibility of a hospital visit and being very very very vigilant.

today was more phone calls, referrals and another home visit from the family case worker too. the wonderful news is steph was able to open up a little to the family worker....tim and i were quite shocked to be honest as today was the 1st time she met him and today i was not expecting anything more then just a plain and simple hi in passing if that at all. now 1st up 3 good helpful reasons for this was...family worker was in stephs safe place and environment...yes here at home. family worker is a male...yes she seems to be able to relate better with the species and 3rd she realises she is desperately in need of help. this is a really really good and positive outcome.

what was even better though was afterwards...yes once the family worker had gone home and she had time to process what took place i went in and asked her what she thought of our new worker...she thought he was quite nice and he had nice blue eyes and not creepy like the others!!! to anyone who lives with someone on the autism spectrum you would know that this is positive...extremely positive because it's great that we get support but if its not the right support then it's all totally pointless and furthermore if our kids can't relate to that person at all then nothing we do will improve on that. this is positive!!!

 

everything takes a back seat when you have a child in difficulty, everything takes a back seat when you have a child in crisis, everything takes a back seat when you can't let that child out of your sight 24/7 in fear of what they might do....everything including your own life takes a serious back seat because there are priorities and needs greater then anyone elses on this earth, because when you get out of the numb feeling and reality hits you like you can never imagine, the final words that come out of your mouth to the those you need to speak with and to those who need to know are...i'm not losing my daughter because someone else caused her harm...i'm not losing my daughter because those idiots won't stop bullying and tormenting her, i'm not losing my daughter and once again i will fight for her rights and i will fight to keep her here.

i am tired of seeing her in pain and anguish, i'm tired of seeing her suffer at the hands of others and i am really fed up with how degrading and how disgusting these people make her feel. no more...it stops here and now!!!

life moves on...sometimes in ways we would rather prefer not, sometimes in ways that seem ok. life is a journey, one that is unique and necessary to each and every one of us. however the journey of life is the same for all, just how we choose to walk it, how we choose to overcome the obstacles and how we choose to be part of it will all depend on what we feel is important and most of all what we feel and know is right. our experiences, our knowledge and our strengths all have a part to play, what we value, what we bring and more importantly how we bring it all together for the good and benefit of others. life is precious and it is worth fighting for...every single breath of every single day!!!

hugs chris xoxo

ooops...

i'm sorry...sincerely so for not posting an update on my blog sooner...but if anyone knows me well enough you'll know it's simply because i've been flat out busy lately and time had not been on my side. so this is what i've been up to since my past update...ready?!...ok

secretary, website admin, administrator, wife, newsletter put togetherer, shopper, house keeper, painter, artist, chief organiser, cook, psychologist, nurse, sorter, postie, mum, full time carer, advocate, spokes person, database admin, furniture removalist, taxi driver, liaison officer, counselor, wife, president, promoter, baker, registration officer, book keeper, bookings officer.......shall i go on? 

i could add so much to this list like so many others i know...and amazingly enough if i went for paid employment with the criteria listed as such to be fulfilled, not only would i be qualified but the wage/salary a year would be rather financial. amazingly enough though i don't get paid for any of the above and certainly not on any professional level.

just imagine if i charged anywhere (depending on skill required) from $35.00 to $150 an hour...no one could afford to employ me, yet that's reality if i was in paid employment ,oh and 24/7 not just 6-8 hours a day and working a 38+ hour a week...let's take how much it pays to be a paid carer...the cost per hour from an agency/provider is around $35.06 an hour and that's without benefits (travel costs etc). now lets bring reality into this and see the difference.

shall i do the sums...yeh ok $35.06 an hour for let's say 9am to 5pm, 5 days a week = $1402.40 or 7 days = $1963.36

i am officially a carer to 4 family members and i get on the average around $200 a fortnight for being their full time carer...24/7 yep that's right 24 hours a day (on call from the hours of 1am through to 6am) and 7 days a week!!!

hummmmm something tells me that our 'reality' (the one we are living) is very different to people who simply have no idea......puts things into perspective doesn't it?!!! 

anyhoo as i mentioned i've been a little busy...first up i started painting grace's room and have yet to do the trims and of course floor boards. so imagine grape sparkle for the walls, ceiling and cornices white, trims (window sill, skirting boards etc) vivid white (high gloss) and although won't be done for a while all floorboards once we've pulled up carpet, old lino and tiles will be painted black. i must say it's looking good.

all bedrooms will have the colours that the kids have chosen so for grace it's grape sparkle, isaac wants black walls, steph purple walls, our bedroom will be charcoal grey, the dining/kitchen and lounge will be deep charcoal grey, bathroom, loo and laundry all white and all rooms will have trims in vivid white, ceilings will be white and all floors will be black. kitchen however will have new doors put on the cupboards and done in high gloss black and as we have dark furnishings it's going to look awesome. everyone is happy (yay) with the colour choice and if grace's room is anything to go by already...wow! 

oh i can hear you all now...take pics and let's us see and here i am saying yep i will but and yes there is a but...lol. this is going to be a project that will take time. we want to do one room at a time and it will be done as we can afford to do them but we are hopeful that by the end of this year, yes i know that seems like forever but remember that i'm a wee bit busy and we are on a very very tight budget, we will have everything done.

of course if anyone wishes to help by financing this adventure then we'll be only to happy to get things done quicker...lol ahhh wouldn't it be nice if we won a major makeover and i didn't have to do all the work...now that would be bliss!!! so as you can see we are keen, we are limited in time and budget but by doing this ourselves and when we can, the sense of accomplishment and achievement will be pretty darn awesome.

so as each room is completed over this year we will take photos and we will share our home interior decorating on a seriously tight budget with oodles of love...you'll just have to be patient (and so will i). ♥

ok sadly the photography has taken a back seat for now just because i'm busy however i have so many photo's sitting on my pc that i'm just gonna pop random ones in here and there from times past...enjoy!!!

oh and i almost forgot silly me but check out the latest layout...yep even managed a little creativity and so this is my first official digital layout for 2011, i am feeling quite a sense of accomplishment lately. ♥

grace on her 18th

credits:

one beautiful day - natali design
font - riesling

i've rambled on long enough and it's time for a pinterest fix so i'm outta here...toodles and take care, hugs chris xoxo

back to school...

today was our first day back to school, officially and although steph is our only kid that's going it still seemed unusual to have had such a huge break and then smack....it's hit like a brick. although she was somewhat anxious about a new school, new year level, new environment, new classrooms, new teachers...well hell yeh..new everything, it appears she managed quite well considering she was very nervous, but i guess the next few days will tell.

she has slept most of this evening and only just woke up to say goodnight and head back to bed. i'm hoping her 'school' routine will fall into place soon and fall into place well so her day and her night (sleep) is back to her kinda 'normal'.

today was busy with lots of BAAG business and i'm pleased with where everything is at and heading. i have some thankyou letters to be done and they will be drafted tomorrow and sent as soon as i'm happy with the content but by the end of the week for sure. we had our first coffee and chat morning last saturday and it was sooo exciting to see 5 new families turn up even considering the weather being absolutely dreadful, flash flooding everywhere and i was considering cancelling just because it wasn't safe to be on the roads. thankful i didn't and it was just so exciting to meet and chat with all our new families we welcomed in to our support group.

i'm in the middle of my first digital lo with what seems like forever...although i've recently got back into paper scrapping, i'd popped the digi away for probably the best part of the last 3 or 4 months...bad huh?! so i got to hog my own pc all day (yep hijacked it and stole it back from my 15 yr old son) and caught up with quite a few things necessary including a new digi lo. can't show ya though as i'm not quite done with it yet but when i am i'll pop it on here.

tomorrow i have a meeting at st lukes and will be meeting with our new family case worker. i'm hesitant at the moment as things seem to be plodding along fairly ok but at the same time if they can be of use throughout the year then i'm taking it. mind you i'm the one directing this whole thing so i can direct the focus and attention where it's best needed.

anyhoo gonna leave it there for tonight but before i go i'll leave you with a pic or 2.

till next time take care, hugs...chris xoxo

summer has finally hit...

and i don't like it!!! i don't like it!!! i don't like it!!! i mean seriously i never have as i'm more the cooler weather kinda gal. i love the longer hours in summer and i love the warm weather but not the hot, dry, humid, muggy days where all you do is sweat, can't sleep at night and just feel blergh!!!!

i keep telling myself to stay busy, don't focus on the heat, just go about the everyday stuff and i'll be right...it's still hot!!! tim really doesn't cope in the heat and it's like he hits being the old man every summer with grumblings and grandpa naps often which only adds to my frustrations because i feel like we miss too much by not doing awhole lot of anything...that makes sense doesn't it?!

feeling for all our fellow aussies in north queensland with cyclone yasi making its way too shore. it's the worst cyclone ever in our history. last time they had a category 5 was in 1918...almost 100 years ago and it's going to hit hard. i'm praying for safety, i'm praying that all our fellow aussies although in their time of need will get through this even though many of them are scared. i'm praying that no lives are lost...buildings can be replaced but human lives cannot be. i'm praying that god protects them all. ♥♥♥

we met lance's driving instructor today...she says he's ready to actually go for his p's...the only problem is he doesn't have his full 120 hours of driving experience but tomorrow she is looking into how he and grace could be made exempt. problem then is if lance is able to be exempt from the full 120 hours, he has no car to drive and tim and i won't let him drive the new holden, it's our only car. so i'm concerned as it'll cause more difficulties...a licence but no car, i don't like the thought of that at all.

anyhoo i'm just making it a short post tonight...can't seem to focus...kinda been one of those days today but i'll leave you with a pic or 2...3 or 4...enjoy!!!

these were taken back a few weeks ago when spring was in the air. ciao for now, chris xoxo