Another Friday rolls around - life moves so quickly huh? It is lovely and sunny here, but still a bit too chilly for my liking so I will look forward to a little bit of spring when it finally comes. Can't complain though, I know what 30 and even 40 degrees less than this feels like, and really, as I cast my memories back to that, this is okay!! I guess the main thing is the sun. When it's clear and sunny, as it usually is, all things are okay.
So my life is continues with the madness and chaos that three school aged children bring. When they were all little, I really thought that this 'school stage' would be so easy and 'relaxing'. HA!! It is insanely crazy. It was so relaxed when they were little compared to this. It is not bad stuff, I just find that the need for pure and brilliant organisation is essential now.
When they were little, if you needed to just stay in your PJ's all day (and keep everyone fed and 'napped' and changed), then you could. Now I constantly look at the clock, and have to be places on time, many times a day, every single day!
The notes that come home from school for three kids are crazy. This week it's school discos - they have to dress up for a 'theme' and they run the discos at different times for different age groups - how am I supposed to remember all that? As Sharon says 'my memory chip is almost full as it is'. And next week is athletics carnival, where permission notes and money have to be in separate childrens labeled envelopes by certain days and they have to be at school for the bus earlier than usual (more remembering) and next week is also 'book week' where they have to come dressed as a book character and parade around the school in front of any mother fortunate enough no to have to work that day. Does that mean THREE book character costumes?? HELLO! I think I'll send hem all to school holding a flower or something and tell them to 'make up' a book character that has a garden. Mary Mary quite contrary? They can all be Mary. Good grief. Now which day was that...sifting through piles of notes....
Then there is keeping track of the whereabouts 6 library books each week. They need to come equipped with microchips radar things so that highly stressed Mums can find them easily on the three mornings a week that are the three library days. This week, they had to come to school in their sports uniform on a not-normal day - and I actually remembered. So awesome.
Then there are the play dates. They are occasional, believe me. Mean (exhausted) Mum says 'no, no, no' about 50 times, then finally says 'okay' and each kid invites a friend home after school. We can't have one or even two friends, because then someone inevitably gets left out, so either everyone has a friend or no one does. And since for 99% of the time, no one does, this afternoon, everyone will have a friend over. It that other 1% today.
Oh yeah. Three kids means chaos. If you have more than three kids, you have my undying adoration and awe.
Then there are the minimum of 2 birthday parties a week to go to. What days/ What times? It's like a finely tuned military operation to coordinate the transport in with the other stuff on the weekend. See it's not bad stuff. You'd rather some party invites for your kids, than no party invites. However, I hate, loathe, those people that invite the whole class. I know why they do it, I just don't agree. Who wants to then have the WHOLE class inviting your kid back to their parties, just out of politeness, ALL year? Ugh - too many! Last year in preschool, Lucy got an invite from some boy named 'Dominic'. Although there was only 23 kids in the preschool, I couldn't place 'Dominic', so I asked Lucy who he was and she said 'I have no idea' (Lucy uses that phrase a LOT - it's her signature response). I said, 'so, he's not your friend?' Lucy says, 'Nope'.
I respond, kindly thanking the nice Mum for the invite and decline to attend. Lucy didn't even know she'd been invited, as the invitation was slipped into her bag. It's easy to decline if the kid doesn't even know about it! hehe (evil laugh - see, more mean mum). Why waste peoples time with invitations if the children aren't friends?? It's not about having 23 kids, it's about having a few GOOD friends. Lucy went to a party later that year, at someones poor house, with 40 kids. My max is 10! At the very most! So opinionated, huh? Sorry, I have got off track.
So back to the chaos, I won't mention the 4 ballet lessons, soccer training and games, 3 gymnastics lessons and 2 saxophone lessons. Because that is a choice a family makes. And we've made it. And it's all our fault.....Waaahhh!!!
And I also won't mention attempting to work most days to pay for the life and times of a Sydney mortgage and the comings and goings of three kids, AND the food they eat. Holy cow - the food! When they were little I just threw them some mushed up bits of what we were eating, and a strip of cheese, or a carrot stick. Now they eat me out of home. They eat 70 apples a week! I am so serious. They all want seconds and thirds, and I'm now rocking in the corner not because they won't eat their dinner, but because I have no more food!! Oh how times have changes, and how the tables have turned. I love nothing more than when they eat dinner, then have an apple, then hop in to bed and say I'm hungry. Much sarcasm with the 'I love nothing more' bit. Instead of playing aeroplane games begging a toddler to open her mouth, I now beg them to ' please, just stop eating!' For anyone with teenage boys, you have my utmost respect - I don't know how you supply (or afford to supply) they necessary quantities of food!
And one more thing I won't mention, is the rest - you know, the laundry, the grocery shopping, the bills to be paid, the calls to be made, the ironing, the vacuuming, the calls to the Bosch warranty place who says they will be here to look at the dishwasher in a week. A Week??? Anyone without a dishwasher also has my utmost respect.
So the above discussion, or whine if you want to call it that, might just end up on a scrap page titled: "Nuts: My life right now". Good nuts, just nuts. Might not include the party rant.
So how do I scrap? To quote Lucy, 'I have no idea'. And this week I haven't really, except for these two layouts, which use the same photos. They show eldest child giving a facial to my youngest child. They have bit of a special bond, and even though youngest child can be known to have terrorist tendencies when dealing with her sisters, eldest child is totally in love with her and always has been. Youngest child always wants a cuddle from biggest girl when she leaves the house, so it does go both ways.
Here's two of the photos I used close up for you... they are a bit cute. I do love them! The children, not the photos! Well, photos are okay too...
And here's two very poorly photographed layouts for you - one was done for each child's album. Scrapped at the same time, obviously. Second one has a bit of pen happening around the outside. pp is by Kaiser. Double click on them if you want to look closer. No thrilling design or brilliant techniques happening today. Are there ever thrilling designs or brilliant techniques?? Just quick basic layouts that record the memory, and just as important, the little story!!
