The Ashlee Cipher

In my house we play host to a phenomenon known as "Planet Ashlee'; she really is larger than life and I can't imagine how dull our home would be without her.

She is a million miles an hour ALL the time - I am so thankful she sleeps through the night by wearing herself out all day! She is growing up so fast and contstantly talking - the only problem with this is NO ONE can understand her!!
She has a lot of words that make sense, but a heck of a lot more in what we have affectionatley come to call "Ashleese", her own little language that takes a lot of effort to decipher. I'm sure we will get there one day, but for now I love listening to those 'half words' - the ones that all kids make their own, like 'sketti' for spaghetti.
My favourites right now would have to be;
* Jinglebell - Tinkerbell
* Pimmish - Finished
* Mato - Tomato and Potato!
And the ever present "Wadda?" - What's that?

I love how inquisitive she is of the environment around her  -  the world is her canvas (not to mention her legs as well!)

Wordless Wednesday

What happens when you leave a 2 year old and a Toblerone alone together!

I'm playing Wordelss Wednesday with My Little Drummer Boys , come and play too!

My Tribute - Lest we forget

A post today in memory of my family who fought to let me live in a free country.
My father has traced our family tree back many generations, and they include many service man and women, but I wanted to especially note these few.
Firstly, my great grand uncle, Frank Rowland Pollock (1892-1962), who was in the second landing at Gallipoli on the original ANZAC day and wounded in the conflict.
We recently discovered that one of our distant relatives; William Hart (who is my 1st cousin, three times removed) was one of the Fromelle diggers whos grave was unearthed there a few years ago.
My grandfathers, Keith Semmens (1924-2004) and Clifford Pollock (1921-2010). Keith served in New Guinea and Borneo, Cliff in the RAAF. Cliff followed his older brother into the airforce, my great uncle, Phillip Rowland Pollock (1916-1942). Philip, like so many others, never made it home - here is his story

---

Source:
NAA : A705, 163/93/426.
Aircraft Type: Hudson
Serial number: AM 663
Radio call sign:
Unit: 500 Sqn RAF
Summary:
Hudson AM 663 of 500 (County of Kent) Sqn RAF, took off at 0700 hours on 17 February 1942, from RAF Station, Binham, Norfolk, UK, to carry out an anti-shipping patrol off the Dutch coast. No communication was received from the aircraft, but an IFF plot which may have been AM 663 returning was seen to fade out approx 30 miles off the coast from Cromer (Norfolk) at 0957 hours.
Crew:
RAAF 400290 PO Pollock, P.R., Pilot.
RAAF *********, Observer.
RAF *********, Wireless Operator.
RAF **********,G.F. Air Gunner.
With no trace of the missing aircraft or crew being found following post war enquiries and investigations, it was recorded in 1949 that the crew had lost their lives at sea and they would be commemorated on a Memorial to those deceased members who have no known grave.

In Memory of
Flying Officer PHILIP ROWLAND POLLOCK

400290, Royal Australian Air Force
who died age 25
on 17 February 1942
Son of Alfred William and Elizabeth Georgina Pollock, of Canterbury, Victoria, Australia.
Remembered with honour
RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL

"At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them. Lest we forget."

** Other names omitted to protect privacy.

Glass half full

How much of our time is taken up looking on the bright side? I heard somewhere the other day that the human brain is programmed to be pessimistic - it helps us to prepare and process if there is danger on the horizon.
A friend of mine remarked to me recently that the topics I have written about on here are mainly the 'bright and breezy' side of life, and wished I would write something less so. At the time I agreed, but on reflection I thought; do I really want to air all my dirty laundry to people I don't know, have never met, and know nothing else about me other than what I have posted on here?
Many people find it soothing to vent out into cyberspace, it's a place where semi - anonymity can serve a purpose for getting things off your chest - I suppose the closest I have come was my post last week (Mama guilt). This blog, for me (at the moment anyway) is not for that. It is to help collect a small part of my life RIGHT NOW and invite people to share in it.
Right now - for the most part I am happy with where my life is, and where it is headed, but for my girlfriend, I will fulfill her request...........

** I have days where I yell, scream and generally behave like a three year old.
** I am hopeless at housework, and can be literally stepping over piles of dirty clothes before I can be bothered to chuck them in the machine.
** I love my kids, but sometimes I don't LIKE them very much
** I second guess myself constantly - am I a good mother, wife, person?
** I have to try real hard to get to the glass being half full more than the opposite
** I am me - warts and all.



Photo courtesy of http://weheartit.com

Wordless Wednesday - arty farty

 

Shannyn's version of a "Clive - age 5" !

I'm playing Wordless Wednesday with My Little Drummer Boys come and play too!

'Enchanted'

If you have not seen Enchanted - do yourself a favour.
If you need a genuine belly laugh - WATCH THIS FILM
If you want a great film to share with your kids - WATCH THIS FILM
If you want to be humming sweet, cheesy tunes for the rest of the day - WATCH THIS FILM
If you want to believe in "happily ever after" - WATCH THIS FILM
And best of all - if you want to perve on Patrick Dempsey - WATCH THIS FILM!!!!!

Mama Guilt

I want a holiday. There, I've said it out in the open. I don't mean a family trip away where for me it would be a case of 'same shit, different view out the window'.
I mean a holiday just for me; a getaway where I can get up whatever time I want, do whatever activity takes my fancy and just put my feet up and RELAX...... The great thing about my hubby is he has absolutely no problem with that; but I do.
I have this gnawing guilt that for me to be able to take a few days off, everybody else is put out - whether it be hubby having to take time off work (which I'm sure he wouldn't mind) or me having to ask someone else to fill my Saturday shift at work. The thought of asking my Mum to do anymore child care than she already does has my mind shouting at me "it's all too hard, just forget it." My brain is ticking over with thoughts like;
* These are my kids, this is my family, I have the responsibility of looking after them.
* Am I admitting weakness/failure, or am I selfish because I need extended 'me time' I should be content with the amount I already get.
It's not that I don't trust others to look after things for a couple of days, it's that I don't think they should have to, my hubby says no one will mind if I take a day or two, but how would I enjoy it when I feel I shouldn't be away?

How do I get past the 'guilts' and start planning a getaway?

Wordless Wednesday

Footy - nuff said!!!

I'm playing Wordless Wednesday with My Little Drummer Boys, come and play too!

Let's Cook!

I would love to be able to cook. Not just throw a couple of things in a pan and cross my fingers type of cook, I mean really cook.  That knack of knowing when you've kneaded your dough enough, or added just the right amount of salt has always eluded me.
However thanks to the generosity of a very good friend, I have been able to add a few new skills to my repertoire. I was lucky enough to be invited to an 'in home' cooking lesson my girlfriend received as a birthday gift. Before you baulk at the idea, and the inference that we needed cooking lessons, let me set the scene......
All ingredients, cooking implements, aprons etc were provided by the instructor, and my girlfreind had been able to select which dishes she wanted to prepare during the evening. All cleaning up was taken care of while we sat and ate the amazing food that WE had made - in this case fresh pasta with ricotta and spinach filling, and a small sweet pastry filled with almond/chocolate.
I never thought in a million years that I would ever be able to make pasta from scratch - my culinary experiements usually end up with the dish in question being refused by my kids and the kitchen looking like the pantry has exploded all over the bench. But I have discovered that with a little expert help (and a few glasses of chardonnay), there may just be a Nigella hiding in here somewhere!
A big thanks to Jess for the invite, Penny and Barb for the great company and Keryn from La Micia for a wonderful time!


** Photo courtesy of Keryn's website; http://www.lamiciacooking.com.au/index.htm

The Breakfast Club - dance [we are not alone]

                                                                                                                                                                                   One of my favourite films of all time!! Enjoy ;-)

Wordless Wednesday

What are my books doing here? Read yesterdays blog!!
I'm playing Wordless Wednesday with My Little Drummer Boys, come and play too!

$3.24 and a cup of joe

Hands up who loves a good book? I know, I know, I can't actually see any of you waving furiously at me beacuse this is, after all, the internet. But please let me delude myself into thinking people are actually reading my strange rants and play along!
In my dream home (which will become a reality once I start buying a powerball ticket) our front room is a study/library with floor to ceiling bookshelves full to the brim with fantastic works.
Whilst I every so often have the energy to lose myself in an Austen or Steinbeck, something has to be said for the 'dime store' novels;  I am becoming increasingly addicted to the cheapies from places like Big W. (Showing my level of 'chic' here lol!) My girlfriend nearly choked on her tea when I admitted this to her the other day, but I feel I have increased my enjoyment of genres I would not typically read by picking up these books.
Authors like Jim Crace (http://www.jim-crace.com/) , Morgan Llywelyn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Llywelyn) and Tami Hoag (http://www.tamihoag.com/index.htm)  may not be widely heard of - by me at least -  but they certainly captured my attention.
OK - so they may not be literary jewels by any stretch of the imagination, but with $3.24 and a cup of good coffee I can be very well entertained!
What is your current book of choice; is it a Bryce Courtney or someone you've never read before?? What made you buy it/ borrow it (or even download it). What is YOUR definition of a good book?

Troublesome twos and Toorak tractors

When I was pregnant with my first child I had those fantasies that I suppose all mothers-to-be do......
My baby will sleep great, eat great, and we will be a picture of family bliss.
I'll take refreshing walks every day with baby in some great jogger pram, excersising my way back to my pre-baby body.
As baby enters toddlerhood I'll have even more time for personal presentation, and we'll drink 'babycinos' at the local cafe.
To allow for jogger pram, the car will be upgraded to some version of a small trendy SUV - to be able to see over all the other small trendy SUV's in the supermarket carparks!

Now, back to reality!!

Shannyn was actually a great baby, not too troublesome toddler and still gives us little to complain about. Boy did I get a rude awakening with Ashlee!! I don't want to paint her as a complete monster because she is to all reports a typical toddler; we just got spoilt with the first one!

My reality is that you are more likely to find me at Donut King than Gloria Jeans, I'll be wearing ratty jeans and have flyaway hair, Ashlee will be leading me on some wild goosechase through the supermarket because she refuses to sit in the seat, and our 'new' station wagon has more scrapes on it (not contributed to by me!) than a three year olds knee.

But for all the frustrations and embarrasment I sometimes feel - anyone who has had to try and coax a two year old off the floor at Big W will know what i mean ;-) I can't help but smile at how great life is right now; and know that I might be driving that Toorak tractor one day........