There Is No Backing Out Now Invites Are Out

There is no backing out now.......the invitations have all been sent to our House Warming party. A little excited but also a little anxious but in a good way. Didn't invite people from work as I couldn't narrow it down enough to not upset anyone, so I didn't and plus we just couldn't fit everyone in our house especially if it's raining.
Steph

House Warming Party

Today I was replaced by a CRT (casual relief teacher) so I can do some assessments with the kids. Her name is Ruth and she is from England and has been here in Australia with her family for about 8 years. She was lovely and very positive and smiley which made me feel better. I wanted to ask her so many questions about how she feels living here and about her family as I felt a connection somehow. I think she is back on Thursday to work in another room so I might catch up with her and get her number off her and ask her if she wants to be my friend. I don't normally do this sort of thing and the friends I have are ones I have met through my kids (parents of their friends) and through those friends and so on. I don't normally ask people to be my friend but I am thinking what the heck, I can't lose anything by it...I will be no worse off if she says no and I will be somewhat better off if she says yes and you never know we might all just hit it off and become friends for a long time, I think Dave would appreciate some friends from his home country...someone who he can tell English jokes with and actually get them...haha. Anyway on the way home I was also thinking that in the last 2 and a bit years since we have been living here in East Gippsland I haven't made much of an effort to make friends, especially with people from work. Due to what happened in 2011 re work and my very high stress levels and almost having a nervous breakdown, I have blocked anyone out that has anything to do with work. I have seen a couple of people from work but I seem to not be able to trust any of them....even though they haven't done anything wrong. This is how I have been thinking for the last 2 years as I have been betrayed in the trust category in relation to work so I have been ultra careful and perhaps too careful not to trust anyone ever again. Well I got to thinking that if I am going to make a life here in Metung and be happy then I am going to have to get busy making friends whether they are associated with work or not and then it got me thinking of how I miss socialising, partying and entertaining at our home (due to lack of old friends near by and my decreasing self confidence) that we should have a House Warming party and invite some (a select few) people from work including Ruth and her husband and people from Metung and surrounds whom we have had contact with since we have been here, I might even send off some invitations to our old friends and see which ones make the effort to drive 4 to 5 hours to be with us. I know the house isn't finished and it would be great if it was but if we wait for it all to be finished then the house warming party theme wouldn't really suit or fit in because it may be quite some time before it is all finished. So there, I think I am going to get busy making invitations for our Home Warming Party.... Excited but nervous.
Steph

Anxiety Strikes Yet Again

Today has been one hell of a weird and frustrating day for me..today is the day before I have to go back to work after having 2 weeks off for school holidays and every time this happens I get a little anxious about it all.....it also happens on the eve of every Monday night before returning to work for the week and it happens when I am thinking about stuff, when I am planning a special dinner, when on the way to Melbourne to stay at my sister's, when I answer the telephone, and when I talk about any future business plans I have... I don't really know why this happens but I can say it has something to do with my stress levels of 2011 and self confidence levels since then and, that it has and probably will effect me for quite some time longer. Anyway this morning was one of the many mornings that I have anxiety prior to getting out of bed to face the day and today as most days Dave notices and when he does proceeds to tell me to get out of bed and stop thinking so hard (he is right ofcourse as the longer I stay in bed the more I think and the more I think the more anxious I become), and so after a while I get up, shower and then sit and ponder what next (unless ofcourse I am going to work and then I would just leave and ponder on the way to work instead). There are so many things that I like doing and want to do but just can't seem to get myself motivated to do them, like cooking, drawing, gardening and so on. I am planning to start a picnic and catering business which I have already registered the name for and I am now waiting to complete a Supervisor Safe Food Handling course at the start of May before I can register with the council as a commercial kitchen. The thought of it all overwhelms me and then I get stuck, my mind goes into a whirlwind of thoughts and then that is where it ends....too overwhelming to go any further....the idea of selling myself as a business owner and selling my food to paying customers scares the hell out of me. I know I can cook and that the customers will be happy with what they get but it's that initial push I need to actually get it up and running. Breath in through your nose, hold and breath out through your mouth...........there all better now!................. I wish!
Steph

Old And Boring Or Cool And With It

This weekend we have had to drive to my sister's place in Melbourne to dismantle a pergola and deck which she no longer wanted and that we were going to use. Well it was a lot of hard work and ended up taking a lot longer than anticipated and us having to stay an extra night. My son Alex was helping us and when my mum who is 74 came out to have a look and had to go down some stairs which was put in temporarily for her safety, he looked at her with real concern and it made me think and wonder at how the younger generation view us. Now I am 45 and don't consider myself to be old but I am definitely a different generation to my children and my mum is another generation again. So I was thinking how my children see us and think about us (if they do at all). Do they look at us as though we are weird and complete don't understand us? Do they consider us old and senile? Or a little older but still with it? Do they think we are still pretty cool for oldies? Or boring old farts? I know I am analysing yet again but I just can't help it and you may say why don't you just ask them? Yes this could be an option but I think my children are tactful enough to be very careful at how they answer a question like that. So really, asking them would be pointless in this case. I am hoping that my children view me as a caring mother who lets go when I have to and trusts them to make good choices for the benefit of their well being and safety and for their future. I am also hoping (secretly, although not so secret if I am blurting it out here in this post) that they think I am a cool with it mum! Overall I am still grateful no matter what they think, that they love me just the way I am!
Steph

Thank God for Dave's Get Up And Go

I haven't been feeling the best lately and have lost some motivation to do anything. We have a lot to do at our place and thank goodness Dave has still got his get up and go. This weekend he has finished painting the architraves and doors and finished off the tiling in the main bathroom, ensuite and toilet. That is now 3 more rooms in this house completely finished. Thank God for Dave.
Steph

Improvement in the 8yr old department

I would just like to post about my 8 year old baby who is behaving much better these days.........she doesn't use the electronics as much now as we have restricted it....she is talking to us nicer and going to bed almost on time. We had a nice little talk and it worked. Hopefully it will keep up.
Steph

Look at that gorgeous smile. 

8 Year Old Dilemma

Does anyone out there know how to deal with an 8 year old daughter who has started answering back, being disrespectful to us in particular, doesn't understand the word no, and who says she is too old to have a time limit or even a time curfew for being on electronics (computer/ipad etc). I have tried being positive, we have tried rewards which work short term, we have been really nice and we have tried not to react to her when she is doing this. We of course have even tried the yelling and screaming and yet nothing works.......it's as though she is on a mission to send us insane. I could understand that if she was 13 or so but not at 8. Please help, I love my baby so much yet I'm lost as to what to do next and it is stressing me out.

Steph