Because I can ...

Back down there passed the puking kid post is an entry about what I got for my birthday. One of the books I received that day is called "Why Do Men Have Nipples? Hundreds of Questions You'd Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Martini". Honestly , that's the FULL title. Let's get down to the whys and wherefores about mens nipples...I know you've all ... well, many of you ... yes alright, three of you have been waiting. Unfortunately it's not as fun-loving as expected, but science being what it is, has been known for taking some of the fun out of life, as brilliant as it may be. So?...Why DO men have nipples? Quote: "We are mammals and blessed with body hair, three middle ear bones, and the ability to nourish our young with milk that females produce in modified sweat glands called mammary glands. Although females have the mammary glands, we all start out in a similar way in the embryo. During development, the embryo follows a female template until abo

I knew I was going to allow the boys to drink alcohol on Saturday night. They were amongst a group of responsible adults they both trusted, so there were plenty of us to keep an eye on what could happen. Ryan was drinking beer at a great rate of knots...Cameron, who dislikes beer, was drinking spirits and coke. Ryan knew he only had a small amount of time there...he'd worked earlier that evening at KFC and I had given him instructions that he was to get some grease in his stomach in case he decided to have a drink or two (hence the chicken bits involved in my previous post). Cameron was working the following morning at 6am....so we arrived early...Dad picked up Ryan from work and arrived at 8.45pm. I think Ryan made it his business to down as much as possible in the small window of opportunity he had. By 10.15 Cameron was telling me (as opposed to his usual asking) that we were going to be leaving shortly. Credit going to where it's due, Cameron is always very careful abo

*1045pm Saturday evening* I finally sat down trying to relax and feeling like I'd just completed a major undertaking. There was no feeling of satisfaction involved...only a sense of unrest...mentally questioning myself and wondering if I'd just fucked up with my parenting methods. I heard the bed springs creak through the wall and my gaze moved swiftly to Cameron. Me: "Oh God, he's on the move....*voice rising in panic*....do you think he's getting up?!" We both stop breathing to listen intently...the silence in the lounge is defeaning...interrupted by an unusual sound from the nearby room.... Cameron: "Dunno, but I doubt it's a good sign" Being a mother also gives me the responsibility of Private Investigator. I go to explore a realm of possibilities I've never set foot in before. I open the bedroom door carefully to be greeted with the sound and stench of stomach contents re-entering the world the way they went down. *Bleeeeeeuuuuuughhhh!

...to me! Whoot! (Don't know why I'd sound so excited about getting older, sheesh) Besides, it was yesterday lol. Firstly, thank you for your comments on the post below and your well wishes for me getting better. I'm back at work and feeling much better, just not quite 100%, but then I'm not sure I've ever been a total 100% anyway, so no loss there. lol Yep. 41 years old now. It's certainly been an interesting 12 months. Good times, bad times and lots of times in between. I won't wax lyrical on that, I already went there a couple of weeks ago in "Twists of Fate" ...so nuff said. I was thinking of taking the day off from work on my birthday, but to the honest, I probably wouldn't have known what to do with myself and would've likely spent the entire morning in bed. If I'd done that I wouldn't have been at work to accept the lovely bunch of flowers the staff gave me. So it worked for me. lol Yesterday morning around 7am, Ryan came int

I haven't been around much lately...I don't mean I haven't been at home (although I have been out and about as well), I just haven't been in here much and around my blogroll this weekend. Very little. And although I've been sorta busy, I've also not been very well. Nothing major, just a flu'y kinda common cold thing. Enough to make me feel sorry for myself and enough to make me a coughy, snotty human being that's no fun to be in close quarters with. Also enough to have me leaving work before my shift was over this morning, coming home, getting straight into the shower and then into bed...felt like bliss . Sunday morning I got a phone call from a dear friend of mine in Louisiana. Kenny was ringing on his way home in the truck with two of his daughters. He put me on speaker phone and I had a quick chat with the girls. I told them that Cameron would be attending his first Prom in a couple of weeks (didn't know that did you? Yes indeedy folks, MY B

There was a rugby game last weekend...between the All Blacks (New Zealand) and Ireland...for quite some time, Ireland were in the lead, and it took a while (well into the second half) before New Zealand finally got in the lead and stayed there. In the last few minutes of that game the young lady pictured below, streaked across the field in her bikini, holding a handbag. More background...a few weeks previously, a rugby final was played between Wellington and Canterbury....Canterbury won. Later that evening one of the Wellington players (also an All Black), grabbed a womens handbag at a bar where they were drinking and hit a fellow team member with it to 'settle him down'...he hit him hard enough to smash the cellphone that was in the bag. The owner of said handbag put it up for auction the following day on TradeMe (NZ's version of e-bay). The bag sold for over $21,000! Back to the streaking woman. Apparently streaking across a rugby game was on her "to-do" list b

I practically hibernate during the Winter. I shut down and stay inside as much as possible. Not a lot of socialising is to be had at all. I sit here and read your blogs, not always commenting because my hands haven't quite warmed up yet to type easily. My youngest son, Ryan (15), has just started his first ever part time job. Cameron (16) as some of you will be aware, has been working at the local bakery over the weekends, since he was 13 years old. It's tough work and he still complains that he doesn't enjoy it, but he certainly enjoys having the money. He starts at 6am, usually finishing around 12 or 1pm. He still doesn't have his driver's license, so his father or I drop him off at that ungodly hour of the morning. As of today, Ryan will be on his fourth day as a trainee working for Kentucky Fried Chicken....not the best place for a son to be employed when his mother is attempting to lose weight lol. So far he seems to be enjoying it. His hours have bee

See this? Looks like a cute bouncy ball doesn't it? Like something you'd throw around a beach or a park? Yep...it sure looks like something you could have some fun with. Well, I'm here to tell you it's not. It's actually an instrument of torture. Who knew?? Not me. Not until I managed to stop my kids kicking it and throwing it around the lounge that is. And then...after spending time falling off it, sweating all over it, sliding down the sides and having it slip out from underneath me... ...I discovered, yet again, things are not always as they seem. I'm finding that out a fair bit lately. I hate when that happens.

One of our blog friends has just had an adorable baby boy... Pudge , he's been called over the past few months. He's 8 weeks early, weighing in at 4 pounds, 1.5 ounces and has certainly made sure he arrived with great fanfare! As some of you may know, Heather has had some difficulties during this pregnancy, especially nearer the end, and we have all been watching her with bated breath for the next update on what's happening. I'd love it if you could find a moment to drop over there and congratulate her on a job well done. It definitely hasn't been an easy road these past few weeks for her and her family. But my word, WHAT A TERRIFIC PRIZE AT THE END OF IT ALL !!

Thank you all so much for the lovely comments you gave on my previous post. It was wonderful reading them and finding that so many of you are able to relate to what I've said on here at times. This morning I sat down and replied to each comment. After saying on my "Letter C" post that I almost always answer my comments, it would be extremely bad taste of me not to wouldn't it? lol And seeing as it took me a good 45 minutes to finish them all, I'd appreciate it if you went back down there and read my responses, if you haven't already (there's no promise that they're filled with wisdom, just that it took me a while to do them lol) ...go on....I'll wait... ok, now that you're back, I'm going to ask you a question. This was brought on by something I heard on the radio yesterday. Do you think there's a specific period of time that one should wait before starting a new relationship? I mean, after the end of your last relationship, or

This year has certainly been an interesting one for me...and we're only half way through it. It's been 6 months of changes and more self-discovery...it can be nasty looking at yourself in the mirror and pulling away each layer to see what makes up the person you really are beneath. At times I've found that I may not be the person I originally thought I was. That's not an easy thing to swallow. It's a work in progress. I've written about many subjects here. I've written about the daily experiences with my teenagers and how they affect me, how they teach me to be a better parent/person. At times this journey through parenthood has been a slow lazy ride full of contentment and pride...other times I've been catapulted break-neck speed into a shark infested ocean. If I can manage to keep my head above water I feel I'm doing ok. The role of Mother and Mum has been and always will be, the most satisfying and fulfilling position I could ever possibly hold.

The next meme I was tagged for was the "5 things" meme. I was tagged by Poet and Jo . Now you can see how very organised things are (or are not) in my life. Five things in my fridge: 1. Weight Watchers cottage cheese with chives - honestly, do you think I'm actually going to finish this pot? I don't like the stuff that much and try my best to use it in a combination I can't taste the stuff. 2. Nail polish - I've always kept this in the door of the refrigerator, apparently it lasts longer...that's the theory anyway. 3. Eggs - I have to cut down on these, I've been eating far too many of them lately. 4. Mushrooms, tomatoes, carrots, mandarins, apples (thanks sis) 5. A leg of lamb to roast for when the boys arrive home from their Dad's tonight. I like to use my BBQ to roast on so I don't have to think about the mess it's doing to my oven. It's so much easier to roast it on the BBQ. It's been pouring with rain the last couple of days,

A couple of weeks ago I took up the challenge of doing the "Letter" meme from Magpie's site. She kindly gave me the letter C to work with. My understanding of this meme is to take that letter C and give you a list of 10 things that relate to me and my life. Here we go then... Chocolate: Not a HUGE chocolate fan personally. Except at certain times of the month, when I get a craving to have that sweetness. Funnily enough, with all the PMS I've been experiencing over the past months I don't have the urge to chomp my way through a king size block of Cadburys. Dunno why, don't care...just happy I don't have to be getting rid of yet another all-consuming vice lol Crush: My first crush was on a young man at primary school called Sam. He was in the deaf unit, which was mainstreamed into my classroom...we had 6 deaf pupils in our class. He was gorgeous and kind and had no idea I was goo goo eyed about him. We were 7 years old at the time. Several years later, I