Long time, no see

I've been more than a bit slack keeping this poor old journal up to date. A bunch of my entries can be found at the Hive One Sentence Journal but I've fallen behind on this one, too.

So I don't really know which one I'll continue with. It's a bit hard keeping two daily journals, although I've been trying to keep the Hive one more succinct than this. We'll see what happens. Sorry about that.

It's getting hard to think of what we've done each day...

Ben 10, piano practice, visiting next door while Tim and co. (and then later Mark and co.) were there, cooking wontons, knitting (half of the left sleeve to go), trying to catch up with email and blogs, looking for clean clothes for the kids, trying not to be buried by the HUGE pile of laundry.

Got woken up by Dante every ten minutes from 6:55am until we finally got up at 8am (when he woke up his siblings)... grr. Visited Arthur at Rookwood, had lunch at Flemington, then had a visit from Grandma who stayed for dinner (Dan's chicken wings in tar) along with my folks and Tim and co. Dan bought a new 24" monitor (Acer - $599 from Officeworks. Bargain!) which goes very nicely with my laptop... *grin*

Took the kids to go and see the latest Pixar film, Ratatouille since it was the APEC public holiday for Sydney. Quite enjoyable. The cinema surrounds and shopping centre were packed when we came out of the movie. The kids had a very late lunch and way too many lollies which made for a ratty afternoon (pun intended).

Yay for longer long weekends! Dan took the day off work today and hence I was able to catch up on some much needed sleep while he went for a walk with Elora.

Picked up Dante from school and bought him a few books at the Book Fair. His teacher said that he has been really trying with his writing and it has improved immensely. Then took him to his piano lesson. And coughed all day, again.

Had a visit from Eugene today, who borrowed Papa's ute. Atticus found a "pet" butterfly... let's call him "Squashy". R.I.P. Squashy.

Nothing of note happened today. Just the typical day at home with the two youngest kids. Still knitting that cardigan and coughing my guts out.

Let Dan sleep in until 9:30am! Had a Father's Day family BBQ. Papa's cousins, no. 4 (from Singapore), 6 (from the US) & 8 came, as well as Uncle Paul (no. 7) and Gu Jie. Ate lots. The kids played and played and got on really well (Mark and co. are off skiing - amazing what a difference their absence makes).

No soccer on Saturdays anymore. Had two out-of-sorts kids, and one bored one. Played the new Guitar Hero PS2 game. Made 2L of jelly for Father's Day BBQ tomorrow.

Atti & I did some painting today - I carved some stamps out of potatoes. Then our water got turned off for a few hours... ack! Now to the knitting.

Didn't do a whole lot today. Went shopping (for Fathers' Day, but don't tell Dan). Did some more knitting... so much for an early night. Dante had a spectacular tantrum this evening (and Atticus followed soon after). At least Elora went to bed beautifully.

Spent the day coughing. Also did the grocery shopping. Took Dante to his piano lesson. Not much else.

Another beautiful day and two loads of washing. Mama took Atti to Tim's house while she babysat the two older girls for a few hours. Later, we watched the moon being covered by the Earth's shadow and turn red.

Fantastic 27°C day today. Went to Judith's place for lunch with the old school friends. Atti had a wonderful time with Liam, now almost four years old - instant friends. Unfortunately he missed his daytime nap and was a complete wreck tonight.

Sunday morning family tennis, and lunch. Missed Samuel's (from soccer) 5th birthday party because Atti and Elora were both overtired. Dan just took Dante. Knitted one arm of the cardigan. Should have gone to bed earlier.

Cranky morning, late for soccer, tantrums afterwards (Oporto vs. leek soup for lunch...). Later, made a dash for Spotlight and bought wool. Started my 6.5st Wrap Cardigan pattern. Yay for being productive!

Another quiet Friday at home. Elora was very tired and slept a lot, making up for yesterday. Did a load of washing that never dried. Atti made me laugh a lot. Managed to do some sewing tonight (working on a quilt).

Stitches and Craft show day with Mama and Avril (plus Elora) - a real girls' day out. As Avril said, "We're starting as we intend to go on... Elora's first stitches and craft show." Little girl charmed away and melted everyone's hearts with her smiles. But poor little thing didn't sleep much at all - two short naps, probably < half an hour each. Put her down at 6pm, and she just may sleep through. Bought some fat quarter packs and minky FQs.

Forgot to pick up Dante from school! Was too engrossed planning and designing some quilts that I want to make, getting excited and preparing for the Stitches and Craft Show tomorrow.

Not much done today. Mama wasn't well. Elora tried pears for the first time (mixed with rice cereal). Didn't think much of it (spat it out). Atticus played with the maracas and scared the hell out of her. She was terrified! Screamed and clung on to me. Poor boy, he was only trying to share with her. Cooked a pasta bake for dinner - had to finish it in next door's oven as ours is dead.

Dan and Dante both stayed home sick today. Elora had a lovely long nap this afternoon. I hope I'm not coming down with the 'flu, too. Could just be an allergy from cleaning the study windows!

So cranky and tired today. The kids and me. Elora wouldn't sleep for long. Dante was oozing attitude. Atticus got upset because of all the yelling. Rain put a dampener on Dan's plans to go for a walk and picnic.

Didn't go to soccer as Atti refused - just wanted to go next door to see "Paw Paw Goong Goong". Poor Doggy got given a much needed "bath" (i.e. "Handwash" cycle on the washing machine). Took D and E to Westfield for lunch, leaving Atti to nap next door. Went to dinner at Mark's place for Alex's 8th birthday dinner. Yum. Singstar was in force. Poor kids were wrecked when we got home. Noone slept in the car! Elora went to bed without major complaint at 10:30pm. The boys just a little earlier.

Not much done today. Thought about sewing softies for Monday's lunch with school friends. Elora didn't sleep much - just three 45min naps and cried for >1 hour this arvo when I tried to get her back to sleep. Dan brought D home at a reasonable hour, 5:30pm! Watched "The Terminal". It was okay.

Felt sick (nauseous, mostly) so countered it by snacking unhealthily. Finished reading the final Harry Potter book.

Yay! Mama and Papa returned home from Singapore this morning. Didn't bother them too much to let them rest. Spent most of the day reading "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". Elora slept well - the controlled crying is working well.

Didn't do much today. Was tired this morning. Atticus got busy with the scissors. Elora scratched her face LOTS (it bled a lot, too). Atti redecorated his room-tent with a box of tissues. Tried to teach him about packing away. Dante tried to be nice to Atticus and also made Elora laugh - a good snort. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Quiet day at home with Atti and Elora. Atti watched too much TV. Went to the park in the new double pram but he didn't want that playground so we just went around the block instead. Made wontons for dinner. All three kids in bed by 8:30pm. Rang Mama and Papa in Singapore.

Had a fever and aching bones last night - start of mastitis, I think. Searched the house for panadol. Only one tablet to be found! Tennis this morning. Looked after Lorien in the morning. She calls me "Mama" and Dan "Shao Gu", heheh. Elora only cried for <5 minutes each time I put her down during the day. Made up for it by crying for 1 hr 20 min tonight. All the brothers + fam came for lunch, plus Ross, Owen and Anthony Pun. Mad chaos and noise with 12 kids. Laptop fun ripping/swapping mp3s with the brothers in the afternoon.

Four loads of washing. 25°C in winter. Dante scored in soccer. Bought a twin pram. Got sunstroke. Had a nap. T&J staying over next door, had dinner here (noodles from Flemington).

Took Atticus and Elora to the Pun's place this morning so Atti could play with Abigail. Cooked enchiladas for dinner. Created this blog.