so much has happened...

(June) Had to get rid of the nanny - the night job was unsatisfactory...
Granny and Grandpa came to visit - to the mountains - chased the train, walked by the lake - threw sticks - tried to go for a romantic dinner and the lights went out - played cards with granny and grandpa- found the stone bridge and emerald lake :) - I went to SMX Advanced...

(July and August) summer vac - triyng to work from home with the kids and desperately frustrated with CM. Freelanced for RangeMedia. Got to grips with facebook. Granny came to visit after the little peeps birthday (where everyone got BIIG prezzies and the cakes were ggreat and all was wonderful! :) Off to San Jose in Aug for SES.

(September) won the Yoshirolla Kilomantra comp. Nathie starts big school at POP and found Paula for the little ones due to start October.

(October) - 19th - last day at CM, 22 first day at Epiar.


(December) really got to work on preconceived SEMCanada after GK and silicon valley. Family Day HUGE fun =- loads of pressies and excited peeps :)rest of year relatively uneventful

January 2008

Granny's here, peeps are overjoyed, I'm getting *slightly* addicted to twitter, trying to finalise bookings for SEMCAnada and semisights in terms of speakers and venues... have a few confirmed speakers, want more - starting to go controversial with JC (mahalo... - we'll see)

Daddy went snowboarding and hurt his bottom, but loved it and will be going again (Tyrone). Take the peeps to the Keg or Red Lobster most Fridays (or get takeout). Split weekend mornings for wakeup - daddy ridiculously getting up at 5 every work am for gym (eeew and uuurgh and *sigh*) Nathie flying through his spelling and reading and maths (though he doesn't like maths or the bus... friends are Emerdeep, levi, thomas, kayla, and a few others - had a bit of an issue with a big boy called Khan - all sorted I think... Abby and Josh at Paulas with little Charlise, puppy Tula, Kiegan and Seth...

Dave got his new car last year - I want a Toyota Tundra truck... tired of dicky indicator and no right mirror after my fight with the cable at the daycare.... Need more money - E alright and all - but for a small company a lot of big attitudes... and perhaps not my best move....

dad diagnosed with d... house going to be on a highway - meeting on 29th will prove to be interesting. Mike Tighe has come into out lives. Lovely young man - bit bolshy, but that will smooth out I think to enormous strength and capacity. (wow, I sound old - i think I'm 9 or 10 years older than him... yikes (the crows feet are not worrying me so much - the forehead wrinkles are totally freaking me out... might have to get bangs or something...- vanity is not a good thing and can be quite destabilising)

kids are all gorgeous inside and out, healthy and wonderful - Abby is still willful, Josh is coming into his own but is still like his great oupa - pure easy sunshine with a few bearish moments, Nathan is a delightful little boy - intelligent and pushing and testing boundaries - we are trying to deal with manners and appropriate behavior, and I totally lost my rag with him in Safeways yesterday when he let out an ENORMOUS burp at the till... they did not get their dinosaur toys when we got home...

Abby is a wonderful, bright, beautiful, generous, giving little spirirt, but also exceptionally strong willed. trying to teach and discipline her without breaking that spirit is going to be the challenge of my life I think. May God help me to get it right.

Josh is BatMan right now and starting to become a little more individual... Fave programs for all are the Backyardigans, George Shrinks, mickeymouse Club, Roliepolie, berenstein Bears, Pokoyo and a few others... Just showed them Sleeping Beauty lat weekend- Abby was just overawed - beat Cinderella out... (teaching about pretend vs real, magic vs miracles, and explaining no magic is good... miracles are good and come from the Lord...

Little ones sing 'Jesus take this heart of mine' and other lovely songs - bedtime still stories, bible stories and songs and bedtime lullaby for each most nights... Nathan is slowly growing out of it which is breaking my heart - but he is getting bigger, and wonderfully so...

Nathan comes home with odd stuff sometimes from school and we have to chat about it and filter it... like wrist twists and stuff - we also have a few issues with motion sickness on the bus (he stayed home yesterday) and big kids being mean to him and friends (kids can be so unthinkingly cruel - but parents know better - it aggravates me no end and I'd sometimes like to slap the parents and give the kids an education in decency and the bible 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you...' simple - true, effective, real.... )

Abby is wearing my clothes from when I was 6-8 (she's 4) josh is nearly the same height as nathan and is in 6+ jammies (got new jammies for them the other day - and slippers - tooo too cute :)

Yes, it is possible to love little ones so much you bleed when they even whimper, but also to be so frustrated with them that you sometimes want to just have 2 hours alone - the dichotomy of parenthood - or perhaps I'm just selfish... I miss them constantly when they are not with me, I sometimes wish I could hide for a bit when they are... Three little kids so close in age is a lot - not a huge lot, but a lot for me. I love them so much I would die a hundred times for any one of them, but i get so frustrated with their disobedience (mostly the deliberate kind) or whining (selfish kind) that I want to weep...

It would probably be easier if we had the odd uncle aunt granny or close friend to help out, but we just don't, and working full time while making sure I am around *enough* for them (which is never enough if they are not with me always) and managing the house and cleaning and tidying is simply exhausting....

I should have insisted they all started sleeping in their own beds years ago - but I think that they are so little, for such a short time, it is worth the sleep deprivation now. They love sleeping with us, and soon, they won't want to know our troubles... perhaps it was the wrong decision, but I don;t regret it for an instant (except at 4:30 am...).

For my peeps... All three of you will attest to the fact that i am NOT a morning person, AM a real morning grouch, and should NEVER be woken before 7 (sorry my little ones... I never was a morning person, but I tried valiantly and did really well for a long time - after 7 years, I'm tired and want to lie in bed until 6:15... you get your breakfast when I get up - but I am no longer going to get up on demand at 5 to feed you... patience is a virtue and I'm teaching you now... :)

- Mom's done - for now ;)

"the Lord works for the good of those who love Him...." - perhaps back to church tomorrow night...