Taking The Plunge

We went to Aussie World the other day - a theme park on the Sunshine Coast - where I discovered I'm not as young as I used to be. I mean, it sounds obvious right? Of course we're all getting older. But some things (like roller coasters!) do rather bring the point home.

To be honest, we almost didn't go at all. The weather that morning looked like it was going to be awful. It was overcast and miserable, with regular heavy showers at our place. We talked with the kids about the possibility of leaving our excursion for another time, but they weren't keen, so we decided to take our chances and go anyway.

Then we were hit with heavy rain on the drive there. REALLY heavy. Like, 'can hardly see the car in front' heavy. There was much discussion in our car about whether it was worth continuing. In the end, we agreed to make the final decision once we were there and standing in the car park.

As it turned out, the car park was lovely. The skies were grey and threatening above, but there wasn't any actual rain falling. We spoke to a staff member, who assured us that rain wouldn't shut the whole place down - one attraction was closed due to the wet weather, but most of the others would stay open regardless. On this information. we decided it was worth spending our money and heading in...

Where we proceeded to have a great time! I haven't been to a theme park for decades and I love the whole fairground atmosphere. Sideshow alley, Dodgem Cars, a Ferris wheel, roller coasters, mini golf ... there really did seem to be something for everyone, The Cavegirl had been there before with friends, which was a bonus for her - she knew exactly what she wanted to do and loved showing the rest of us around. A lot of our enjoyment also came from watching the Littlest Caveman enjoy his first experience of a theme park. It turns out he's a bit like his Dad, not too keen on anything that makes his stomach 'feel funny'. The two of them particularly enjoyed the mini golf and Dodgem Cars.

Meanwhile I, remembering how much I loved roller coasters as a teenager (and completely ignoring all the times I threw up afterwards), laughed heartily at my husband for being a 'wuss' and agreed to go on more adventurous rides. Bad idea. This is what made me realise I'm getting older. It turns out any rides that make my stomach drop really don't agree with me anymore either. There was one I went on, with my girl, which left me feeling very green afterwards.

Probably the only adventurous ride I did enjoy was 'The Plunge'. It was still scary though, when it came to the big drop. See that picture above? That's the Caveman and me braving the ride together, although you can't see us for the splash. Luckily, you can't hear us either. I'd like to say I screamed all the way down, but what I actually did was let out one big swear word all the way down. The Cavegirl assures me the word is quite audible on the recording she took too, although I haven't watched it myself yet.

Despite this, I would go on The Plunge again. I could enjoy the big drop now that I've done it and know what to expect. I also enjoyed the Dodgem Cars and the mini golf (and I stopped laughing at my husband for avoiding the roller coasters).

And you know what? It didn't rain once!

Twelve Days of Panic

School is over for another year - yay! - and everyone is gearing up for Christmas. We are twelve days out from the big day as I write this, just long enough for me to be worried about whether we'll get everything done in time.

I still have presents to buy and wrap, decorations to put up (the tree is done, so that's something) and the house to clean. The 'lived in' look is good, but we don't want our guests tripping over toys and shoes when they walk in the door.

Then there's the lawn to mow, now that we've had a few days of rain and the grass has put on a growth spurt that would put a teenager to shame.

That's all without even considering the food for the day. Everyone contributes, but I still have to organise my part. The great thing about this is that I have help - the Cavegirl loves to create in the kitchen. Not just a mess (although she does that too), but actual food! We just have to do the shopping for the ingredients and she's set to go.

The tricky thing is in organising everything around work commitments. This is a new challenge I'm facing this year. Anyone who has been following my blog knows that being back in the workforce is a fairly new thing for me (I did a little happy dance when I reached the 6 month mark at work a couple of weeks ago!). In previous years, I had so much time to devote to getting Christmas organised and I would usually start well in advance. Putting presents on layby at the shops in October, or ordering gifts online with a month still to go. I would spend weeks 'creating' a personalised calendar on the Big W or Harvey Norman websites for our parents, simply because I had the time to do it. Last year I ordered calendars for four different family members - and each one was different - as well as Christmas cards with a photo of our family on the front to send to everyone.

This year I just haven't had the time. With my work roster, and the Caveman working as well, Christmas really has crept up on us. Neither of us work for companies that close down over the holiday period either, so it is a case of organising things as we get the opportunity. I have no idea what most members of our family would like this Christmas and I haven't even sent all my Christmas cards ... and they're from the shops - no photo this year!

The important thing, as I sit here thinking about all of this, is to appreciate the little things we do have time for. We might not have sat for a family photo, but we are all together. We will have Christmas lunch with extended family on the day and have a fantastic time, as we always do. As with every other year, no matter how well organised it is, or how many presents are under the tree, the most important thing is spending it with the people we love.

That's what will be remembered - and hopefully I'll be forgiven if I have to resort to giving everyone a pair of socks bought the day before!

It's the White Time

I have ignored my blog for a while, mainly because this time of the year gets a bit hectic.

School is finishing up, so there are exams and assorted commitments for the kids, as well as getting organised for Christmas - which is coming up fast!

One of the activities keeping us busy right now is the cricket season. Both my boys, as well as the Caveman, play cricket every Saturday during the warmer months of the year. (Personally I think they should only play in Winter, since it's so hot here, but Cricket Australia haven't put me in charge yet.)

Every Sunday my clothesline is a sea of white, with three sets of long pants and shirts - the 'whites' that they all wear to play cricket.

A lot of people find cricket boring to watch. I know I certainly do sometimes! Although, it doesn't help when our life seems to revolve around it every Summer.

The Caveman asked me once why I don't seem to enjoy cricket as much as I did when we first met. My answer was, 'That was before I married it!"

Of course, now I'm a Cricket Mum as well, so it looks like I really am stuck with the game for the long term.

The thing is, I do mostly enjoy watching cricket. I especially like watching my boys play - I guess motherly pride overcomes boredom! I used to find it difficult to watch my teen play when he was little, worrying about him not doing as well as he'd like, or even getting hurt. It's not so bad now that he's older. He plays in the senior competition with grown men and he's quite capable of matching it with them.

The littlest Caveman is still fairly new to cricket, playing in an under 9's group. He loves it so far and, with the training he gets from his big brother in their backyard games, he's probably going to be very capable too.

I do occasionally suffer from cricket overload, when all the male members of the family play on the weekend and then want to watch it on TV through the week as well (and as any fan will tell you, a cricket match is not a short game!).

Luckily, the Caveman understands that both I and our Cavegirl get sick of cricket at times. He tends to be careful about how much he watches on TV and is teaching the boys to be considerate about it as well. And in return, we will go along and watch their more important games when we can.

After all, every player deserves to have their own personal cheer squad ;-)

Dying for a Clean Up

"I've decided I need to pretend I'm dead," I announced today. Naturally, the Caveman was concerned ... but it's not that I actually wish I was dead, it's just that it will make cleaning the house easier.

Let me explain.

It's Spring Cleaning time, if you go in for that sort of thing. I don't usually, but I feel we are due for another big clean-out right now. I'm not too worried about washing the curtains though, I'm more interested in getting rid of stuff. I wouldn't say we're hoarders, but we tend to be a bit slow about throwing things out that we don't need or can't use anymore. This wouldn't be a problem if there were only one or two of us in the house, but with five? There is always more clutter coming in than there is going out ... not to mention the general untidiness that three kids can create on a daily basis.

It's also a pet peeve of mine to have someone walk in after I've cleaned and announce, 'Wow, this is clean!' It's like saying, 'Wow, this is usually a mess!'. I already know I'm not the world's greatest housekeeper, so having less in the house to start with would be a big help with my everyday cleaning. Very often, simply removing some clutter can make the biggest visual impact.

In recent years, my own Mum has whittled her belongings down to only what she needs. I am always impressed when I visit and her house is so tidy. Of course, she has no children to clean up after anymore (and I remember what a mess we used to make!). Every now and then she has another big clean-out and gets rid of even more stuff. Her theory is that, by doing this, she is saving a lot of work for her children when she dies. It's a sound theory too. When the Caveman's father died a few years ago, we took all of his things into our house - furniture and all. It was crowded. We had an entire room we didn't use for months, because it was full of his stuff. No one could do anything until the Caveman was ready to deal with it, and it can be difficult to sort through belongings that you have grown up with and associated with one person your whole life. Throwing those things away can feel like you're throwing away another part of the person you're already missing so much.

When we finally got to it though, it turned out there was a lot we were prepared to let go of. In fact, it was a great lesson for us - discovering that there was no need to hold onto things to 'remember him by'. Our memories of him were what really mattered, along with photos and just a few little items that are genuinely sentimental to us.

So, my plan is to copy my Mum and do my clean-out accordingly. It will take time, because the Caveman and I are both working now, but it has to be done. We have too much stuff of our own which, if I'm honest, is not going to be special to anyone else in the long run.

Hopefully, by the time I die, the kids will have full houses of their own - in which case, the last thing they will need is more of our crap in their way!

A Lasting Impact

It's time for Literacy Week in Australia ... when primary schools everywhere celebrate books and reading. Today is the day, at our school, that all the students are invited to dress up as a character from a story book.

Now, the littlest Caveman isn't much of a reader, so I really thought it would be difficult for him to settle on a character. I expected him to choose something from a tv show or movie. There tends to be a lot of that on dress up day, plenty of Darth Vaders and Jack Sparrows on the school oval - but that's okay. They are still characters from stories, even if they didn't start out as books.

I started nudging my boy to think about book characters a couple of weeks ago, knowing that it could take a while to come up with a character that he: A. has heard of and B. is prepared to dress up as.

Then, tragedy struck. One of the brightest lights in world entertainment, Robin Williams, passed away. This news came as a huge shock in our house ... the Caveman and I have always been big fans and had made sure our kids knew who he was too. As more details emerged about his death, I was struck by the fact that someone who had brought so much joy to millions of people around the world should have been so troubled in his own life. The media was flooded with stories about Robin and the lives he'd touched, as well as many really important articles regarding depression. If any good can come of his death, maybe it will be more awareness of just how serious depression can be and the importance of losing the stigma associated with mental health issues.

For us, on a 'fan level', we felt the need to immerse ourselves in his work. We watched Dead Poets Society, Good Morning Vietnam and Flubber in quick succession. It was great, as if watching his movies was keeping him alive for us (and we have plenty more to watch yet).

You might wonder what this has to do with Literacy Week? Well, at some point, Peter Pan popped into my head. I suggested it to my little man and got the horrifying response, "Who's that?"  I was mortified. How could he not know Peter Pan? Admittedly, it had been a while since we'd read the story, or watched the movie, so it was clearly time to remedy the situation. Out came the 1953 Disney movie, which we sat and watched together. A true Classic. This then led us to also watch our copy of Hook. It's not a great movie, there is so much about it that could have been done better ... but I don't think anyone one else could have played a grown-up Peter Pan as well as Robin Williams did.

As it turns out, not surprisingly, my boy chose to dress up as Peter Pan for school today (and I think he's put more of the Hook version into his portrayal than the original).

Meanwhile, as for Robin Williams himself, he will always be around. I won't make any pretense of grieving for him, not in the true sense - nobody could possibly be as affected by his death as his own family and friends. He certainly made an impact on the rest of us though, and I will always enjoy watching his work and genuinely hope that he found his peace in the end.

In All His Glory

NOTE: Not actual husband -->  

"Dad, can't you at least wear underwear to bed? I can't believe poor Mum has to sleep beside you while you're naked! If anyone ever tries to sleep naked next to me, they're OUT of the bed!"

This rather adamant protest came from our 13 year old Cavegirl one morning recently. She had run into her dad in the middle of the night when they were both stumbling half-asleep to the bathroom to answer the call of their bladders. He got there first and when he opened the door to come back out our poor girl, waiting in the hallway, saw more of her dad than she ever wanted to.

Yes, the Caveman usually sleeps naked and, unfortunately, doesn't often bother to throw anything on to make the trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night. He is quite comfortable being in the buff and could happily go about his everyday life that way. Sadly for him (but perhaps luckily for the rest of us), that's not really socially acceptable. I can only imagine what the neighbours would say if he started appearing outside the house with no clothes on.

I must point out here that he does make the effort to sleep in shorts (or at least keep them beside the bed) when we have guests, but he always figured that it didn't really matter when it's just us and the kids in the house. I guess he knows better now!

What I loved about my daughter's outburst was her horror that I am forced to sleep beside her dad when he's naked at night. Admittedly, I usually wear a nightie or pyjamas to bed myself, but it doesn't bother me that my husband is wearing nothing in the same bed. I think I would worry about the state of my marriage if his nudity was a problem for me.

What was even funnier was the Cavegirl's comment about kicking out anyone who ever sleeps naked beside HER ... hmm, that's definitely one to remind her of when she's older!

Finding the Balance

What a shame it's always the poor blog that suffers when we get busy.

I have not had the time (or the inclination, if I'm honest) to write my blog for well over a month. I have the best possible reason though ... the TAFE course I did last year has paid off and I have a job at last! I am now working as a Personal Carer in a local aged care facility and loving it.


The learning curve is pretty steep, especially in the first few weeks, but I'm getting the hang of it and settling in well. I enjoy working with the residents and feeling as though I can help to bring a little extra happiness to their days. Aside from any other benefits of working, it's doing wonders for my own sense of self-worth.

While I was settling into my new job, the Caveman took on some unpaid work experience for a few weeks in a busy office (as part of his preparation to re-enter the workforce). He's home full-time again for now, but it really did make for a busy time for the entire household. I know many people would quite rightly say 'most families have both parents working these days, so what's the big deal?' Well, that's fair, but when you haven't been in that situation and suddenly it's all happening at once, it really can be a big adjustment. It did do our personal pride a lot of good to know that we could do it (and yes, be 'like everyone else').

My working does bring with it some extra issues ... I have started to experience the 'mother guilt' we so often hear about. I feel guilty if I'm not at home to help the kids with homework, or listen while they tell me about their problems. It bothers me that I might miss something important that they need to share with me. I still help out in the littlest Caveman's classroom one day a week when it fits in with my work roster, just because I believe it's so important for him to have me involved.

I also worry sometimes that the housework is slipping or that I'm not going to keep up with all the cleaning/washing/ironing that needs doing between my shifts. I feel even worse if I am actually at home but just too tired from work to do the usual chores.

Of course, the Caveman (and the kids!) are capable of taking care of all that stuff, but you know what we Mums can be like! It takes a while to accept that others can do the jobs we've been mostly responsible for.

On the other side of the coin, I am making sure I take the time to do things that relax me as well. I'm reading novels and catching up on some knitting - a fairly typical Winter activity for me. It keeps me sane, stopping me from feeling overwhelmed by 'busyness', and shows the kids that Me Time is important too.

The family is adapting to the new routine and I'm proud that we are all coping pretty well in general. Most of all though, I'm happy to be (finally!) working in a job I love.