Talk about busy and BIG achievements

Far out, time just gets away from us here at the moment...but we have had some exciting stuff happen since I last posted.

Renee has been working hard toward her Australian Scout Medallion, she finishes Scouts in less than two weeks, sadly, she will turn 15 and then be too old. I know she will miss it, particularly her Scout Leader, Griz, they are great mates and I know they will continue to be so.

Back to her Medallion, yes she achieved it!!!! We are all so proud of her. It was lots of hard work and the last few weeks have been fairly stressful to say the least, with getting it all finished, but she got there in the end. She is the first Scout in her Group to achieve her Green Cord and the Medallion. Here are some pics of her getting her cord, very proud moment.

Renee with her leaders above, from left to right, Skip....Renee...Griz. These guys have been awesome leaders. Below is her troop that she took away for her Scout Medallion Camp. She had to plan everything, buy the food, book the venue, organise equipment. The camp was last weekend and it rained the whole time, they even had hail. I tell ya, it's something about Renee and camps, she tends to bring the bad weather.!!!!

Her Medallion will be presented to her by the Govenor some time in September or October a very big occassion.....how cool, eh!

Still on Renee, I tell you, our life has been revolved around her at the moment, I guess her being the oldest, it tends to happen, poor Aaron, his turn will come. Renee managed to secure her first job, yeeha!!! She is so excited, her first day today. She is working as a party host at our local ten bowling centre, she started this morning at about 10.30am. I have just come back from up there, because Rod dropped her off this morning with no money, I figured she would be looking for a drink or food right about now, so had to go up and give her some money. She looks tired, and she said she was tired, but at the end of the day the $11 an hour, will be the reward, not bad money for a nearly 15 year old. Her Scout leaders wife, helped out with that one, gave me a text the other afternoon and said for Renee to come up with her Resume, she was there bowling with her daughter at the time and noticed the sign that said they were looking to recruit. We left and within about 5 minutes of being home, she was phoned and asked to come to an interview the next afternoon. You couldn't wipe the smile of her face, her own money, how awesome.

I have had a Birthday, celebrated quietly, a whole 38 years. Dad kept saying he didn't think I was that old, I just don't think he wanted to believe it, because it made him feel old LOL. To me it's just a number.

Anyway that's my news for this time, have a great week or month, whatever it may be before I get back onto this again.

Cya
Leanne
xxx

Kayak trek....very exhausting

Well the Kayak trek was hard work. Weather was very ordinary...wind and rain and got cold. Dad and I were the land crew, so we had the easy job. We met up with them each night and camped out with them, was lots of fun...although I hate the outdoor toileting, girls really aren't made for outdoor living like that! LOL.

Due to the weather the kids didn't make it to Morgan which was the intention, they instead got to Cadell, all up they paddled about 52kms, which is a fair effort given the conditions. At the end of each day they would set up their tents, then pull out their little trangia's (camp oven's) and cook their meals, by the end of the weekend they were exhausted and very sore, blisters and muscle aches being the main complaints.

They also had to go through Lock 2 I was a little worried about that, but they made it through fine, they lock master was lovely and made sure that he let the water out fairly slowly so as to not swirl up the water too much for them.

We got home Sunday night at about 8.30pm and I think that I am still getting over it.

So here are a few pics from the weekend.

I'm on Holidays.....just for a week!

Yay for a short break.....I have been so busy, which has made me so darn tired.....but I have the next couple of days off, yippeee.

Renee has a kayaking camp this weekend, so we are busy getting ready for that, she will be doing 60 kms over three days, rather her than me, although the scenery will be gorgeous. They are travelling from Waikerie to Morgan. As with all hikes or treks that she does, she has to cart her own gear in the Kayak, set up camp each night and cook her own meal, sounds like fun!



Dad and I will be the land crew, so we don't get out of it, LOL. We will be camping with them overnight.....they do have two leaders rowing with them. Rod and Aaron will have the weekend off, Rod just having had shoulder surgery, so doesn't really deem him useful for the weekend, hence dad coming instead. So think of us this weekend, starting at dawn Friday morning with Dawn Service for Anzac day, then off to Waikerie we drive.



On a side note, I got creative last night and made this for mum for Mother's Day. The pics are of her five grandchildren....I loved doing this, was so much fun. Only thing is I can't keep anything a secret, so when she drove around today, I just had to give it to her LOL. Oh well I did get her something else.

I found the Easter Bunny......

Ok, so Easter has been and gone.....However, I was looking through some of my pics tonight and came across this one, and I just had to add it to my blog, LOL. This is my Dad, we were at Taeqwondo one night and he decided to throw the Bunny Ears on, what a dag!!!

Kids have started school holidays as of Friday last week, thank heavens to some point. It will give Renee a break from her Science teacher, they seem to have a major difference of opinion and the two week break may be a good thing. She had an excellent report ( 4 A's and 2 B's) and still managed an "A" for Science, but we will be keeping a close eye on the whole personality clash thing. Argh teens....although I have to agree with some of the issues that Renee is having, threatening to reduce percentages to give her a lower grade, is just not on in my opinion, and I do totally understand that Renee can be vocal in her opinions, however if the child is doing what she needs to do and getting the percentage that she needs to get for her "A" then I dont think threatening to take it away from her is appropriate, simply because you have a problem with the child. Oh man I didn't realise it bothered me quite so much still....it obviously does for the whinge that I have just had. I did ring the school and discuss the issues with the year level manager, so we will just wait and see what happens now.

Still on Renee......how is that no matter how many times you can say something to your teen, it appears to fall on deaf ears, LOL.

Renee, can you pick up your clothes and put them in the wash?

Renee can you tidy up your room and put your clothes in the wash?

Renee can you hang the clothes up that you have tried on for 10 minutes and clean up your room?

These are just some of the questions that are asked on a regular basis. This morning I am doing the washing and just when I have loaded up and started the machine, madam decides that she is going to bring out her washing, a whole darn load of it, honestly she has a machine full and I have a big washing machine!. I start hanging her stuff on the line and find tops that I haven't even see her wear....trying to explain to her, that something she has tried on for 10 minutes is not dirty, but simply needs to be hung again, is major drama LOL, I suggested to her that during her two week holidays, she may like to do the ironing, man the look I got from that was like I had asked her to cut her right arm off!!!!

All in all though she is a good kid and we are getting on relatively well at the moment, not too many major arguements, thank heavens, I think I may have finally worked her out!

Aaron, well he is just plodding along, he has hormones raging through his little body, drives us crazy at times. He grunts at us now, when we ask him to do something, and if he isnt grunting he moans LOL. Having said that though it is fairly short lived, thank heavens and he tends to move on fairly quickly, boys are so different to girls, she would scream at us for hours LOL, what am I saying, she still can at times.!

So thats me, thanks for listening to my moans, really haven't had a lot going on in our lives of late, but thought I had better put something up here, to keep you all interested...

And just when I think my kids are hard work.....Renee just now, this minute, randomly said

"I Love You, MUM'

and Aaron, quickly followed suit, LOL, not to be outdone..

Kids, they can be hard work, but where would be without them LOL

Have a great week everyone.

Leanne

xxx

Some Cards....

I have been so quiet on here of late, just getting on with life. We have had sickness in the house. Aaron has had a cough for a week, and just can't seem to shake it, and I have had some viral thing, it has kept me off work for a few days, but am feeling a whole lot better today, so back to work tomorrow.

I went to my first Stampin Up party last weekend, at Patty's, had a blast, mum came too. So now mum has booked a party, can't wait. A whole new world awaits me in stamping, some of them are so beautiful.

I also made my first cards this last week. The first one being for a baby boy. The pattern for the torn teddy, I got from the "Scrapheap" site. I love these little guys and they are so easy to make.

I have also made some Thank You cards for a couple of Renee's teachers. Quick and easy but I thought that I would share it. The photo on the front of the card was taken when the teachers took the girls to Kelly Clarkson concert a few weeks back. They had an amazing time, they even glammed it up and were lucky enough to be in a corporate box, totally awesome.

Thanks for stopping by...

Further to my previous post....How cute are these!

We took Bunny Ears around to Donna last night for Caitlin, mum found the cutest fluffiest ones! Donna was left with instructions to take some Easter pics, so she did, and here are the results. I love them all! Good job with the camera Donna.

Happy Easter everyone....

We have had a great weekend, albeit short notice. The kids and I went to Taeqwondo Wednesday where Dad and a friend, Angie, were discussing going camping overnight. The next thing we know Dad and Renee were leaving Thursday night to stake out a spot and the rest of us would meet them on Friday morning.

For minimal planning though we had a hoot of a time, the weather was perfect and the camp site great, just a small car drive to toilets which is my one must have luxury when camping, I can live without the shower for a couple of days.

We got home yesterday at about midday, spent the next three hours unpacking and washing everything, yuck I hate that job, and now have a mountain of washing to get through today.

So here are some pics....

Scrapping like mad.......

It has been so darn hot this weekend. Renee went away on a camp Kyacking, poor kid, too hot, but she did have a good time. We picked her up at about 5pm tonight.

So whilst she was away, I sat in my little scrap room, right under the air conditioner and did some serious scrapping.

Firstly I had thought that I had better get into Donna's pregnancy album again, seems as the baby has now been born........so this is the layout for 20 weeks. Still have a few more to go on this, but I will get there!

Then did three more pages for Caitlin's album, I am on a roll at the moment, although it does help when I have such a cute little subject to scrap with. I totally adore the last pic of her, looks like she is almost smiling. She is starting to get a little chunky now, so cute at nearly four weeks.

Have a great week everyone

Leanne

xxxx

My first "Caitlin" page

Baby Caitlin is four days old here, just hanging out with her dad!

The drought has finally broken this is my first page for months, LOL

I went to Clipsal, totally AWESOME!!!!

OMG how much fun did I have yesterday. Celina had bought tickets for herself and John and the boys to go to Clipsal as a Christmas present. Unfortunately John was unable to go as it turned out, due to work. Celina asked Dad to come with her which in the end he declined, saying he was too old, LOL, so I got to go instead. I wasn't sure initially if I would enjoy it, but man it was awesome.

As kids we would go to the drags and then later as a teenager and into my early twenties, I would regularly go to the Speedway, so I guess it's in the blood. And I tell you from the minute I heard those cars and then the first smell of the hot rubber tyres, my heart was racing, it was totally awesome, took me back about 20 years or more.

Celina was a total crack up, every time I turned around, I saw her goofy little hat and those great big Ford hands, she was a total scream. Even funnier considering that we were right in the middle of a million Holden supporters, LOL. The boys loved it. I'm definately going again, the kids want to come next year, so we will be working on that.

My heart goes out to the family of Ashley Cooper, the driver that died today, so terribly sad, a family man, a brother, a son, so devasting. A brutal reminder of how dangerous the sport is.

Have been a little busy, meet "Jelly" and a couple more pics of Caitlin

Have been flat out again, this last week or so and internet hasn't been working, argh the pains of modern technology. I swear I don't know what I did before the internet, I really miss it, when it's not around...not to mention the inconvenience of not having it, paying bills the old fashioned way, so time consuming LOL. I did have an excuse though to go to Donna's for a cuddle however, told her I needed to come early to pay some bills on their internet, but quietly it also gave me a little more time for my cuddle fix!!!!!

Last weekend we had a Chinese exchange student stay with us. The Chinese come to Australia for about 10 days, spend three days in Adelaide with their host family and then go on to Melbourne, Canberra and then Sydney before flying home, bit of a whirlwind trip.


So meet "Jelly" this being her nickname because she likes to eat Jelly. She was an absolute sweety and by the end of her three days we found out that she was quite the rebel, which we affectionately told her. She is quite the modern young Chinese woman, very open minded about her country and the politics that surround it, and is not afraid to stand up and say she doesn't like something. She had us in stitches with some of her thoughts. Her English was excellent, she was even able to share jokes with us on Saturday night, talk about laugh, I had tears she was hillarious.


It was sad to see her go Monday night, I would have loved to have had her for a little longer, three days really isn't enough, you start to get to know them and then they are off again. Renee, really connected with her, which was great, I think they shared the same "outthere" personality and Jelly knew how to have a good time, so here are some pics.

We did the dolphin cruise on Sunday, not many dolphins unfortunately, but it was a nice outing, the school had taken them to the Wildlife park on the Saturday to see the animals, which she loved. The last pic is saying goodbye, she was in tears, poor thing, aw gee the mother in me comes out when they are like this, I hate seeing them so sad!!! I am getting better though, LOL.

And to finish up with this post here are a couple more pics of Caitlin, she really is the sweetest little thing. Donna and Ben came home with their precious little bundle last Friday night and they are going great guns. Caitlin has put on 250 grams so is doing just great and breast feeding so far is going well. Donna is so relaxed and so happy, I am so proud of her!

The pics of Caitlin her daddy took, she was still in hospital, aint she just the cutest and the last one, is of Celina, our middle sister. I love this pic, the emotion you can see on Celina, (not sure why I didn't include in my last post, so just had to share it now). Celina has two boys and was always the sister that I could see with a little girl, however she loves her nieces and this little one is extra special because we both have more time as Aunties to spoil and spoil, it's the best.

Renee and I went shopping last Saturday, to buy up for our newest addition to the family and boy did we have fun. Aunty Leanne, ending up very happy, having bought Caitlin her first pair of bathers, they are so darn cute. Nothing better than seeing little fat legs and a baby butt in a pair of cute little bathers, and yes they are a little big for her at present but won't be long LOL. Also bought lots of pink other things, I love pink. Found the cutest, ruffliest little dress for her and just had to have it, unfortunately it's too big for her at present, so hoping she will grow into it before it gets too cold. Anyway enough rambling from me, enjoy the pics. Really got to find the time to start Scrapping some of them, havent done any for ages, still have Donna's pregnancy album to do, at this rate it may be a combined pregnancy album and first year of Caitlin, hopefully finished in time for her first Birthday, LOL.

IT'S A GIRL.....Woohoo!!

Very excited Aunty here. We got the phone call at about 1.30 am this morning to say that

CAITLIN ELISE

a little girl, weighing about 7 and half pounds arrived at 12.35am

Stay tuned there will be lots of photos tonight.

Have a great day!!!

Love Leanne.

Ok so here some of the pics. Donna and Ben are doing great, although Donna was getting a little tired by the end of our visit, it has been a big day. Caitlin is gorgeous, hardly makes a sound, so far......She has a real little frown on her and not sure if she has eyes yet, because we didn't see them, but she has ten fingers and ten little toes and a little shell ear, just like her mum did, but very cute. So enjoy the pics everyone, we are totally in love!!!

There are plenty more, but will put some up another time, am so tired, couldn't get back to sleep after our early morning phone call, but I am so stoked I have a niece, she has been a long time coming and we are all counting our blessings tonight. Welcome baby Caitlin.....

D Day for Donna......but she is still here

Baby is due today and at this stage it doesn't look like it's going anywhere!!! Was talking to Donna today and she said that she went for a huge walk.....about 2 hours or so and it's done nothing. Baby has engaged and she has "dropped" according to her doctor, she does look a little lower, I think.

So here are the photos from Thursday, 39 and half weeks.

Oh and on a side note, for those email friends of mine, that drop by to keep up to date. Our puter is finally back on track, so if you love me enough to send me some emails so as I can re add you to my address book that would be wonderful, I lost all of you when our puter died!!! LOL

I'm still alive and Donna's still Pregnant.......

Yup for those faithfuls that do occassionally check in here to keep up to date, I apologise for being so slack. No real excuse, apart from getting into the New Year, School holidays etc etc. Oh but more recently my puter died, very sad that is, so at the moment I am sitting at Renee's laptop doing this entry, feels very unfamiliar to me, a bit like cooking in someone else's kitchen LOL, not that I do much of that, totally don't get into cooking.......so here I go in trying to catch up on the last few weeks.

New Year was great, we went to a friend's place and played on Singstar most of the night was so much fun, but we were a little shy, not having played on one before, it was enough however to inspire the kids to put together some of their Christmas money and go and get a Singstar bundle once the shops opened again in the New Year. I totally love it, my favourite CD being the "Legends", all the oldies onit like, Jimmy Barnes, John Farnham, and so funny, I get Singstar often and now no one wants to play with me cause I always win, love love love it. Sad really given I am the mummy, but it feels good to win!!!!!

The boat was taken out a few times, more recently last weekend and Aaron has now mastered the art of Water Skiing he has done so well, didn't really take him long to get up either, he is totally chuffed with himself, he is still a little wobbly but can manage to go quite away now before falling off, he has even managed to get around the turns as well, we are so proud of our boy. Renee hasn't had any more attempts since the last time, she has struggled a little with this and therefore isn't as interested!!! Maybe a little peeved that her brother beat her in getting up!!!

The kids went back to school again, not unlike the rest of the country, I was like most mothers relieved to finally be back in routine again, earlier nights etc etc. The last couple of weeks are the worst with the kids getting tired and bored with each other and they just seem to drag. The only problem I have with the whole back to school thing is having to cut lunches again, don't think much of that job.

And finally for this post, Donna is still pregnant, 9 days to go and counting today. She looks amazing and certainly not like a woman who is about to pop. She skips in and out and around the place, no real sign of being very uncomfortable at all, even her Doctor apparently passed a similar comment today when he saw her. She is getting sick of herself though and just wants it over now, hmmmm I am sure most of us can relate to those words, I can't imagine what she will be like if she is overdue, and as much as she hates me saying it, I think she will be....I also reckon a little boy, so not long now and the waiting will be over. So here are the last few weeks pics of her.

The above shots are at 36 weeks, the last few are with Renee, I had to get a couple of shots with her in the pic with Donna because I have a shot of me pregnant with Renee, with Donna striking a similar pose. If I was on my puter I would upload that photo.........but alas I can't LOL.

37 weeks with very swollen feet

and these are from today at 38 weeks nearly 39, I would love to say that she has "dropped" but I don't think so. I did get to feel a couple of movements today, I so love that.....most of her kicks are up high on the right hand side, not much room in there for that little baby though, not long to go now. So stay tuned.........................

Our Christmas Festivities............

We started off a couple of days before Christmas with exchanging gifts with our dear friend Patty, had a couple of Chrissy drinks was a really nice night. Renee received a gorgeous handmade gift from Lauren, a Scrapbook page of their friendship, you will see her in the pictures with it, was so special and Renee loved it!

Christmas Eve, was at our place. We did the full Christmas lunch for Mum and Kevin, Donna and Ben, before heading up to Waikerie to have Christmas day with Celina. Check out our tree, it really was a money tree this year with all those special envelopes!

After lunch and present opening we headed up to Waikerie with Dad to spend Christmas Eve night and Christmas day with Celina and family. Celina was working until about 9pm, so she managed to get home to see most of the Carols, she is normally working and doesn't get to indulge like that LOL, check out this pic of Renee to the right singing her little heart out!!!

Christmas day started early with us rising at about 6.30am, Jarrod was the only slow one LOL, took a little while to get him moving, even Renee was up early and that's saying something! Was so nice to be able to wake up with Celina Christmas morning, we were kids the last time we did that. It was also really nice to have all the kids together on Christmas morning, this is the first time that this has happened, so was extra special. Only downfall was, was that I forgot the video camera charger....bummer....I had everything else, even remembered to buy extra tapes, I was not happy!!!

Christmas Eve we set a small tree up outside, as Celina's lounge room is quite small, I don't think we would have been able to see the kids for paper otherwise.

So here comes Christmas in pictures. I love the first one, it's Renee dragging Phillip outside to see what Santa has brought them, how cute LOL.

Then came Celina's surprise to her family, Clipsal tickets and merchandise, she was so proud of herself because she actually managed to keep it a secret from all of them!

And then time for Santa to give out the presents from the families to each other.

And the lunch, to the left. Celina and John had also asked John's Aunt and Uncle over for Christmas Dinner, It was Uncle Les's Birthday as well, it was so lovely. Aunty Mary has not long been in a nursing home, so was great that she was able to come out for the day. In a few days this lovely couple will be celebrating 60 years of marriage, amazing, huh! The group photo taken was taken on Renee's new camera. She loves it and was taking photos of every thing, even dishes and dinner being served, she just could become a scrapbooker armed with this device. It's a great little unit with the self timer feature, was so funny waiting for the camera to take the pic, I think you can almost see the anticipation in some of our faces!

Then to finish off here are a couple of pics generally from the day.

We headed home Boxing Day, but not before stopping in on an old family friend. This was totally a blast from the past for me. As kids we grew up knowing Uncle Ted and would knock around with his kids most weekends. He is now in a band and lives out in the bush, he and his partner, Maxine have a lovely set up, having built everything from scratch, no electricity, just generator power, cheap living I guess, but you wouldn't want to forget bread and milk.

The most amazing thing to see was his old Chev Ute. As kids we would be at the drags a lot of weekends watching this old ute race down the track. We would spend hours polishing wheels and to go and see the ute in the shed was very special, really brought out the OOOHH's and the AAHHHH's. However it has changed a little since those days, it now collects wood!!! It almost made me cry seeing it like this LOL.

Then a group photo, not the best, oh well.

So here's hoping your Christmas was as much fun and as special as ours...

BRING ON 2008

Holidays are here and Donna at 32 Weeks

Wow we have all been on holidays for a week and we have been busy.

Last Sunday we took the boat out again, up to Walkers Flat, had a great time. Tried to get Renee up on Water Skiis, she nearly got there, was so close. In the end she was getting tired and decided it was "boring" so then spent the rest of the day on the kneeboard. Aaron on the biscuit only because his knee was hurting from a small accident that he had at school!!!!

I even got brave enough to tow Renee on the kneeboard, was so scared, but I managed to get her up out of the water on about the third attempt and she got back safely, phew, LOL. Dad also wanted to have a go, I tell you I was a little freaked out at the thought of trying to get him out of the water. He never got up on the skiis, but did manage about two seconds on the kneeboard before his shoulder gave out on him......oh well at least he got up!!

So here is a couple of photos of my beauties, no kneeboard shots today.

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We spent early in the week painting Renee's room, she decided that fairy floss pink had to go after all these years LOL. We made the mistake of when she was about six, letting her choose whatever colour she wanted and that's what she picked. I never really liked it when it went up, but she did and that was the main thing, so I must admit I wasn't too sad to see it go.

She wants a Betty Boop theme this time. Initially the paint sample tins came home coloured Red and Cream, she wanted a Red feature wall, with the other three Cream. I wasn't too keen on the red wall idea, I figured she already has an issue with teenage attitude, without throwing up a red wall to help it along!!! Thankfully with a little bit of coaxing she also decided that maybe it might be a bit much, so in the end it was decided to go a light blue, the idea here is that it will match in with her new quilt cover set that she is getting for Christmas, the mummy said, thank God, let me tell you.

It also was an opportunity to give her room a good clean out and so I then ended having to find boxes to store all the unwanted items, but not so unwanted that she wants to give them away or sell them on EBAY, so subsequently the spare room, now has two additional boxes with Renee's treasures in them. I tell ya though for the size of the room that she has there sure was a lot of stuff in there, check out this pic LOL. This is it all piled up in our loungeroom, was very glad to see it safely back to her room again!!!

Haven't got an after shot yet, will post one of those later once she has her quilt, but here are a couple of before and in progress shots. Her quilt is blue and red, I am thinking that red curtains would look pretty good here, would give a real retro feel, but at the moment, madam is not buying it, perhaps I should have suggested green first, LOL, then maybe she would have come to the party, it just seems lately that if I say black, she will say white, argh teenagers, who needs them!!!

*********************************

Then finally for this post, we went to Donna's yesterday, to see how the nursery is progressing, only 8 weeks or so go to go now, very exciting. It was also belly picture time as well. So here are the pics of her nursery. It does look a little male toned, even the tiny little clothes in the drawer have a definate male feel about them, but man they are so darn cute. If she does have a little girl, I am sure she will be inundated with lots of pink!!!

And here are her 32 week shots. Her best friend Kirrily was there also, so it gave us an opportunity to get a few pics of the two of them together. Kirrily is 6 weeks behind her and having a little girl. And Donna being so obliging for her big sister wore a pink top for her photos this time. I love to scrap in pink....not that I have done much of that lately, really must get back into that, just a little short of time at present and am enjoying doing a little bit of nothing at the moment.

That's about it from me, took me ages to post all this, have been having trouble with my camera recognising the computer for some reason, a real pain, so had to download photos to Renee's laptop first, oh the hassels LOL.

Anyway for those that stop by and have a read I hope you all have a very Happy and Safe Christmas with your families and friends, because I don't think that I will be back here again until after Christmas.

Take care

Leanne

xxx

A Baby Shower, A Birthday and a Black Belt!!!!

Wow what an awesome weekend our family has had, this will be a big post, sorry, but please persevere to the end!!!

Yesterday was Donna's Baby Shower, was so much fun. Lots of noise, lots of laughter and lots of friends and family. Donna was given some lovely gifts, lots of cute little clothes that will suit either boy or girl, baby blankets, cute little cuddlies, baby rocker and an activity centre and her sister's (Celina and I) gave her something oh so practical LOL a Breast Pump, bottles and bottle brushes and even a video on Breast feeding, so at least the baby won't starve, hopefully!!!!

So here are some pics......

Pin the dummy on the baby, one of the rules was no touching the baby, Donna is such a bugger for the rules, check her out, she had her hands all over the baby LOL.

We played this fun game also, I called it Multi-tasking, the object of the game was to hang as many clothes of baby's on the line in 30 seconds, whilst talking on the phone and holding baby, eight items was the most achieved and I think we had about five people on that, so Donna ended having to draw the winner out of a hat!!! Poor Nicole (Donna's sister in law), really showed us what it was like, with a baby literally hanging off her leg, although you can't really see the baby in this photo and a toddler as well giving her a helping hand.

We played the dirty nappy game, what a scream, great for pictures. You need six nappies, and six different types of chocolates, melt them into the nappies and then let your guests open and see if they can work out what's in them, the looks on their faces are priceless, check out these pics.....some even get brave enough to eat it!!!!

a nice one of two pregnant friends, Kirrily is 6 weeks behind Donna.

Then onto present opening......

So that was the Baby Shower................

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Then last night Celina and I took Dad out for his Birthday, we went to Charlies Diner - an all you can eat place, yummy!!!!! Dad's Birthday is tomorrow but he got his pressies early, lucky him, eh..........

BUT THE BIGGEST NEWS OF ALL.................is the Taeqwondo Grading, both the kids were grading today and both were successful.

Aaron progressed to Red 3, so now his next belt is black, which should probably take about 12 months or so and Renée has exitedly acheived BLACK BELT. We have had the most stressful week, with stress tears after training Saturday week ago, she was so worried about breaking her boards, she was not confident at all. We had to schedule an extra lesson to give her the extra bit of confidence that she needed.

The grading was tough, Renée got a little overcome with an adrenilin rush and had to take 10 minutes or so to get herself back together, I thought she was going to pass out, poor kid, but like the spirited kid that she is, she got back up and acheived what she has worked so hard for. I am one very proud mumma right now and Rod is pretty stoked too. In fact the whole family was there, which was so nice Dad, Mum and Kevin (stepdad), Celina and Donna, it was great to be able to share this with all of them............so here are the pics, the first three are of her breaks....

and then the presentation of their belts, firstly Aaron.....poor little bugger he got left in the shadow of her acheivement today, but he did great and we were so proud of his efforts as well, he also was very proud of his sister, he such a good boy, he was happy to make it her day.

With Mike, who I have affectionately nicknamed Cojack, but not to his face LOL, too scary, he does the grading.

Renée and her instructor, Michael

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These are from tonight (Monday 10/12/07), she was presented with her certificate at training tonight. (I blurred out the names)

Its Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas....

I love Christmas, it's my favourite time of year, apart from the shopping....LOL. Have been so slack with getting the Christmas tree out though. The thought of moving all the boxes and everything out of the spare wardrobe, made getting the tree up a little late this year. Normally we put it up pageant day. Anyway up it went today, now I just need to wrap some pressies to put under it. Christmas here we come!!!!

Donna at 28 weeks.......

Yup here she is again, really starting to get close to the finish line now, and going along so fast. I have been so slack with the last two lots of photos, I haven't even done anything with those one yet LOL, still got a couple of weeks before the baby shower, phew, so need to get cracking.

Donna arrived last night for her next lot of pics at 28 weeks. It just so happened that Celina was down, and she managed to see Donna here for about half an hour before they headed back home. I tell you though, every time Celina comes down she fits in about a weeks worth of appointments and shopping, has no time to stop LOL.

It was great having here though cause we managed to get some photos of Donna and her together, and look how they colour co-ordinated their tops, they reckon they didn't make phone calls to each other in the morning to check out what the other would be wearing LOL.

Doesn't Donna look great.....

Red top is 24 weeks and green is current at 28 weeks

We did belly shots this month as well, but they were done in her bikini's, so decided against showing those ones here, but she looks beautiful.

Happy Birthday Jarrod

Happy Birthday Jarrod

Today is the Birthday of my youngest nephew, Jarrod

So to you Jarrod, we hope you have a wonderful day, full of surprises and fun! We love you lots and are so very proud of you, love from Aunty Leanne, Uncle Rod, Renee and Aaron.

To watch you video click on the pic above and make sure you have your sound turned on, sit back and enjoy.

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An update on Jarrod's Birthday. One of the surprises that Celina had organised for him was for Aaron to come up and stay over night. It meant a day off school but Aaron thought it was a cool idea - no surprises there LOL. Initially Aaron was going to go up with Dad, however, in the end, all of us went up, which was so much fun.

Jarrod was so surprised, so here are some pics of his surprise Birthday Bash, it was a great day, too hot, but lots of fun.

Some Aunty and niece bonding going on here LOL

John also bought himself a Manta Ray to be towed behind the boat, he such a big kid. So we took that out for a spin. Scary stuff, you have to wear a crash hat, because apparently they can become quite airborne, although not today, Dad was there and he was playing it safe for the first time. This is John, cracked me up, he looked like one of those crash test dummies, done up like that LOL. Then Phillip had a go on the biscuit, so much fun.

A Big Weekend, no housework, but who cares!!!!!!

Wow we have had a full weekend, busy, busy, busy.

Saturday morning started off with a Birthday Party for Josh. What a hoot of a party. Laser Skirmish and then Go Karting a real boys party, it was totally awesome. Way to go Patty, the boys had a blast.

Here's Aaron in the Go Kart and Josh, the Party Boy, turning the BIG 13 on Wednesday, that's two teenagers in Patty's house now, you had better watch out girl!!!

Then yesterday we drove up to Walker's Flat to have a day on the river with the boat. Patty and the kids came up with us, it was a beautiful day weather wise, and was so much fun. The kids loved it. I even got brave enough to drive the boat and tow dad on the biscuit. Was so scared, had my heart in my mouth the whole time. Pretty sad really given that I got my licence last summer and still haven't allowed myself to practice enough to actually use it LOL. Renee came out with me, and told me what to do. The scary thing was is that she actually does know what to do and I was hanging off her every word LOL. Anyway Dad mangaged to finally get behind the boat, which was cool, he said I did OK, well I must have I didn't kill him, so that was a bonus eh?

So here are some pics, just random ones of the day. Check out the kids faces, you don't need words when they throw you smiles like that!

This pic of Josh (above) is my favourite of the day. A bit blurry, but the smile says it all!!

Above and left, Ryan and Renee, the first pic I think was total adrenalin, he soon had this look of concern on his face, but he did finally settle back down again, to actually enjoy it. He had another go later in the day, so can't have been too bad. He was so scared about falling off and not being able to touch....Renee kept telling him he had his life jacket on, but that wasn't enough!

Then it was Dad's turn, with me driving the boat, scary stuff that!!!

Then Patty's turn, check out the air she took, totally awesome. I had a turn after that, but those photos are private LOL!!!!!

Then it was time for kneeboarding

Josh, had an attempt, but didn't quite get there, you were so close Josh! Second go and you would have made it up for sure. Next time!!!!

And finally, here is a slide show of the rest of the pics taken on the day, I succumbed and left the ones in there of me, ewwww. I figured I would cop a fair bit of flack if I didn't LOL

Happy Birthday MUM

Happy Birthday Mum

Hoping your day is a very special one, like some of the moments shown in your video above.(click on the link to view and make sure you have sound on)

We love you, MUM

Love Leanne, Rod, Renée and Aaron

For the Benefit of Celina.........

Celina does miss out on a lot of the family ongoings down here in the big smoke, so she uses the "blog" as a way of keeping in touch........

So just for you Celina, here is Donna, showing you the Nursery colours, (Celina, just click on the photos to make them bigger). Donna and Ben have been painting and yesterday they started putting the freeze up, a bugger of a job I hear, but they are doing a great job (well Ben is, not sure how much help Donna is, but that's OK Donna, lap it up I say, after all it's not every day we get pregnant!!!). Sex of the baby is unknown so neutral colouring in order.....

and just a cute pic to finish off, very unco-operative the pair of them getting pics yesterday

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..............and after visiting there yesterday, I had to go and pick the kids up from Patty's, it was Matthew's 11th Birthday yesterday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MATTHEW

Renee, turned on the most beautiful performance, check this pic out. I swear of late she is giving me the most fantastic 21st shots..........Patty snagged this shot of her, excellent shooting Patty

This glamorous photo, is currently being used as my computer desktop photo, and it looks hilarious so big. I was in stitches when I put in up there, my ribs were killing me from laughing, how did we get one like her?

Donna at 24 Weeks.......

Each time she comes around for her pics, I don't think she looks a lot different. However, when I look at the photo from the month before you can always see a difference in her shape. Donna is so neat and tidy, she looks fantastic!

We took a measurement of her waist line last month and she has grown 3 cms since then, so that was exciting!!!!

But in bigger news......I FELT THE BABY MOVE.....yup that's right, very excited Aunty Leanne here. Aunty Leanne has had a big week! We were sitting at the computer looking at the photos. It was a very gentle movement but I felt it all the same, how cool is that!

So here are this months pics.............

1st pic 20 weeks and now 24 weeks

.........and this pic to the left is my pic of the month.

Totally natural, although the sentiment behind the pic is nothing like it portrays....at first glance you would think that she was fondly nurturing her growing belly.........yeah right........, she was in fact trying to get rid of a dirty mark on her top!!!!!!

But I love it anyway!

I Love this Kid.....

I got Phillip this jumper on EBAY, initially I was going to keep it for Christmas, but changed my mind. So I gave it to Celina to give to him, the last time she was down.

I rang her tonight to see what he thought of it. A little while later I got this email from him....


Hey!

I tried on the jumper you gave to me, and I think its not too bad. It is a bit long at the arms, however I will grow into the sleeves soon enough, LOL.

I really appreciate this gift, and it shall warm me up on the coldest of winter's nights.

Lots of Love, Phil

Isn't it just the best email, how polite is my nephew. One very proud Aunty here, I just had to share!

I love you too, Phil. You are one of the best!
Love Aunty Leanne

Scout Leadership Presentation.....

Last night, Renée was presented with her Scout Leadership Certificate and Badge, we are a very proud family right now!!. For those that aren't Scout minded that read this, it's lot of hard work and a very big achievement.

Renée had attended a course in March this year and there were several other activities that she had to plan and run within her troop, document them and submit them for assessment.

The success here is paramount to her getting her ultimate goal of the Australian Scout Medallion. She has about 7 months to get all the work finished that is required to achieve this, so fingers crossed she will get there.

Here are some pics

....with the District Scout Commissioner

She loves Betty......

Renée's girlfriends went to the show this year and they all put in to come home with a Betty Boop Show Bag for her.

So a couple of weeks ago before Taeqwondo practice, hence the uniform, she displayed some of the items that came in the bag, namely the Bandana on her head!!!!

This kid of mine can be such a scream at times, check these out.......

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Taeqwondo - Aaron grades to Red Belt 2

Aaron had Taeqwondo gradings this morning and he did really well. He successfully graded to Red Belt 2......therefore only Red 3 to go and then the big one - Black Belt!!!!! He was most impressed with his efforts today, as were we, he was fantastic!!!!!

Way to Go Aaron!!!!

Here he is doing his pattern and to the right receiving his certification.

Below....his belt adorned with his second stripe!

Part of his grading, is to spar. He isn't too bad at either, getting quite aggressive, although I do get a little nervous when Aaron has to spar against Renee, she can at times get a little overbearing with him. Today however, he did really well against her, check out the video link below and watch them spar!!!!!

The link will take you to a site to view. You can also view Renee doing her pattern getting ready to grade to Black Belt at Christmas time. The video isn't the best but you get the idea.

Little Blue Eyed Casanova......

This little dude is the son of my best friend Patty, everybody meet Ryan. He makes such an impact on everyone that meets him. Ryan is full on, but gee he makes you laugh, he is so witty at five!!!!

He loves the girls too, and he isn't too fussy on how old they are. A few weeks back I took Celina up to Patty's place for a bit of girl time. Ryan took quite a liking to my sister, cuddling up with her most of the night, hanging off her every word, was so funny. The next thing he is asking Celina if she would like to come to his bedroom to laydown on his bed for five minutes!!!!!! Celina was stunned LOL.

He wanted to take Aleisha home last Friday night as well, only for a little while, but wanted to take her all the same, totally cracked me up.

And here he is when he stayed over the other night, curled up in bed with his sister Lauren (left) and Renee totally lapping it up.

Yup nothing wrong with his male hormones.....

Aunty Leanne loves you Ryan.

Lazy Sunday.......

Sundays can be the best day can't they.

The boys woke up at about 8.30 or so this morning and we didn't hear a peep out of them. They just laid back in bed playing gameboy and nintendo, doesn't get much better than that!

Breakfast was eaten at about 10.00 and we haven't seen them since. They are still in their PJ's, but who cares, total relaxtion. (Oh and don't mind Aaron's Pyjamas, they were meant to be mended, in the end the whole leg was torn off and he likes them like this LOL). They are now playing playstation together. All we hear is laughing and giggling, totally funny.

We are having a quiet day too. Renee is working on the Family Tree and I have washing in the machine. Rod has put a roast on for tea, yummy!!! Totally a No Rule Sunday today!!!!!

A further update, the afternoon of today was much the same as this morning, totally quiet and relaxing, the best kind. Check the kids out each with a computer, hmmm modern technology at its best here.


Then there was time this evening after showers for a little rough and tumble. Both boys are so enjoying the time they have spent with each other. Right after this pic was taken they both collapsed in fits of laughter.

And to finish off, check out these smiles.......