Mathias turns 4

Yesterday {27th Feb 2013} we celebrated Mathias 4th Birthday. I don't think I've seen any of my kids as excited at he was to be turning 4. In the three weeks leading up to the day he would ask me at least five times a day 'Mum, when's it my birthday!?' and each time I replied it would be followed by a burst of excitement.

I made him a special birthday cake and we went to Camilla's for a party with his cousins.

He got totally spoilt with pretty much everything he wanted. From Mum, Dad, Taylah-benet and Carter he got a guitar, from Nana he got a lightning McQueen umbrella and a set of bongo drums {def his favorite} and from his Greening cousins he got some Ben10 Pyjamas.

At one point in the evening he was sitting under his lightning McQueen umbrella holding his guitar and banging on his bongo drums! all he need was to put his Pj's on!

I love him so much and I think him and me have come a long way. I struggled with him for what felt like so long and now he's mostly easy. He teaches me to be patient. He teaches me to laugh and have fun. He is such a funny kid and I love laughing with him. HERE is one of my favorite stories I've blogged about him.

Happy Birthday Mathias Eric Maxwell!! I hope you never grow out of your boyish charm and will always find a way to make people laugh.

Me and Mathias on Saturday 23rd February 2013 at Cassius Birthday Party. Photo taken by Pina and edited by Darcel 

A Job and A toilet!?

On Saturday {16th Feb} Kerry was let go from his job. It was effective immediately. Initially I was upset, but as soon as I accepted that it was his fault and there was no other way around the situation, I knew there was no point holding onto it and we just needed to move forward.

Kerry and I were both confident that he would not have too much trouble finding another job. He is a good worker, he's honest, he's pretty easy to get along with and people see that. So it was a sigh of relief when he was offered a job by Monday. He went to the job interview on Wednesday which was mostly just to be shown around the place and if all works out he should be back working by this time next week.

I am so grateful that he has found something that he enjoys doing. Something that he is gaining the qualifications for and something he wants to progress to many levels in.

And I'll always be grateful that my uncle gave him that opportunity.

It has been pretty nice having Kerry home this week. He had worked about 13 days straight prior, so I was really beginning to miss my husband.

Monday after he had made phone calls, I suggested he make use of the work tools he still had and start knocking out our shower.

The story of our shower is a long one, long story short, we have to replace the shower because it is leaking to the apartment below us. We haven't been using it for some time now and haven't been able to replace it because we haven't had the money to do it.

Anyhow, Kerry was hammering away at the base, which is concrete, when he swung the hammer, completely missed the shower base and hit our ceramic toilet bowl! which smashed!

Seeing as we have managed without a shower for so long in my head I was thinking 'If we can manage without that, surely we can manage without the toilet for a little bit' ha ha Yeah right! I enjoy being reminded to not take anything for granted.

So we called a plumber to come fix it in the morning. I guess it was kind of fun to take our kids to Westfield up the street at 6 pm before bedtime to take them to the toilet!

It cost a fortune to fix, but I realised how essential it is!

A heart full of music

I can't go on and on enough about how much I LOVE Les Miserables. The music is so incredibly beautiful. I grew up watching the 10th anniversary concert over and over and over. I knew all the words to all the songs of Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera before I even knew or understood the story's.

Along with these musicals was the much loved Sound of music, Chitty Chitty bang bang, and Mary Poppins.

I feel like I had a passion for music instilled in me from a young age and I have often wondered how my mother did it and how can I teach my children to have the same appreciation and love of for music.

Since seeing the Les Mis movie my husband and I have been playing and singing the music non stop in our home, and funnily enough, our kids are starting to sing it too!

I love it! I love seeing them join in singing the songs. I love singing with them it is so much fun!

Another movie we can't get enough of is 'pitch perfect' Taylah-benet and Mathias know pretty much all the songs in it. We could be doing the most random or mundane of things and I'll start singing ''Bulletproof" and sure enough both of them jump straight in "nothing too loose, fire away, fire away' then all three (or four if Kerry's home) will be singing away.

They learn so quickly, I am loving it. And I realise that this is how I'm teaching them.

I did sneak a video of them watching the intro of Les Mis and singing along, I'll post it up later :)

Happy Valentines Days!!

Happy Valentines day all! I bet your wondering what I'm doing here blogging, instead of spending some QT with 'My Valentine' well, he's at work! work has been super busy lately.

Anyhow, he knew he wasn't going to be here on valentines day so he spoiled me early. Two days early with a valentines gift I was not expecting. He completely surprised me with a box full of Ferraro Roche's and 'Lady Million' perfume! he knew it was something I wanted and I honestly didn't expect it!

Oh and my lovely son Mathias decided to take my 'Lady Million' and Spray clean the chalk board wall in his bedroom!! I don't think he sprayed too much because I can't notice it in the bottle and although I doubled his time out {6 minutes} I couldn't get too mad at him, I guess he didn't really know what it was in the first place and I did leave it sitting on the kitchen bench {hmmm..which is maybe why he thought it was for cleaning!?}

I Love you Hun!! I love everything about you, but more importantly, Everything about US. We make a great team, we may be opposite in many things but that is why we are so amazing together. I have no doubt that we were meant to be together, to help each other and to Love each other unconditionally. I know that no matter where I am in this world as long as I have you {and our babies of course} I am the luckiest girl in the world. You teach me to simplify things and to never be judging of others. You lift me up when I am down and you carry me though the hardest times. I Love you more and more everyday because you are amazing. You are caring and kind and I can not imagine my life with anyone else but you Xx

And then he was 1!!

Today is my baby's birthday and the older I get, the faster that time seems to slip through my fingers. As I think back on this day, one year ago I held him in my arms as a freshly newborn baby. I felt like we had been waiting for him so long and he is finally here to be a big part of our family.

Our day was pretty uneventful as Kerry is away overnight for work, Taylah-benet went off to school. It was just me and the boys. Feeling sorry for my baby {that he wasn't getting much of a birthday} we stopped in at the supermarket to get some 'Birthday Basics'. A packet of chips, some lollies and some balloons. As expected, both the boys Loved the balloons. I baked a birthday cake which turned into an epic fail so I didn't even take it out of the oven. After we picked Taylah-benet up from school we had a game of 'Don't eat Pete' all three of the kids really enjoy playing it. It ended in tears from Taylah-benet because I didn't let her cheat and see which one we have chosen to be Pete!

But, they are all finally in bed and asleep and I should be too!

Check out his arrival  story {9 Day Overdue!!} HERE

Happy Birthday Carter Mason Cole, I am so grateful to have you as my son. You bring unmeasurable amounts of joy and happiness to my life, I could not imagine it without you. Your cheeky smile and your big blue eyes melt my heart  everyday and I'm so lucky Blessed, that you're mine and I am yours XxMummy

Happy Birthday

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a venting post. I was angry. I was upset. I had found out that day that my Mum could possabily have Rheamatoid arthritis. A rare disorder which attacks the flexible joins which can be disabling and painful condition and can lead to a substantial loss of functioning and mobility.

My Mum is the strongest woman I know. As a child she raised me in love as she struggled with a husband that doesn't know how to show love to anyone. She was brave enough to take her children from their home and bring them to a new one, a better one.

She works so hard and gives all of her time and energy to serve and help others even if they're not family.

And I know without a doubt, that no matter where she is, or what she's doing, if I need her help she is always there for me. 

I am so grateful to be her daughter, and hope that I can be at least half the woman she is

Happy 54th Birthday Mum! I Love you so much.

Xx Ardie

Arthur

Wow, what a week huh!?

I'm going to cut out the gory details and tell you this very very sad story in short.

On Wednesday my husband phoned the police and after some firemen broke in through the balcony, our neighbour was found dead in his apartment.

I live in a building with six units, two on each level, and we shared a level with Arthurs apartment.

No one knows if he has any family, and in the 5 years we've lived here Ive never seen anyone else go in his apartment. He looked like he was in his 60's or 70's but in no way looked like he was about to roll over and die.

We don't know when he died, or how long he'd been there, he died alone. And nobody knew he was there.

I was pretty upset, I didn't know him really, but the thought of him dying all alone.

It felt like a story I might have heard happening to someone else, but not one that happened so close to me. I have to keep reminding myself that 'this really happened' because it seems so unreal! As I open the door to my apartment, I take a glance over to his door only to think about what happened in there and that he's really gone.

It has had me thinking a lot about how me and my little family could have been much more friendly to our lonely neighbour. What could I have done!? To reach out to not just Arthur, but to anyone I may come into contact with.

A new goal for me :)