LET THE OLD LADY SLEEP

The truth is out.
I am getting old.

Late nights never used to bother me, and I could get by on a few hours sleep. These days however it's a different story.

We have an easy going household. We welcome the boys friends with open arms. Our house is constantly filled to the brim most weekends. It means noise, lots of it and many a sleepless night, but in the end we as parents are at peace knowing that our kids are safe and not in harms way.

On Thursday night, Mr 18 had some mates over. You know the age ( I vaguely remember ) fire pit blazing, music pumping and beer, plenty of beer and a late night pizza delivery. They enjoyed themselves, immensely. Me, I couldn't wait for my head to hit the pillow and enter dreamland, but with all the noise and chaos it was impossible.

On Saturday night, it was Master 16's turn to turn our house into a party zone. A hand full of teens playing an "in depth" game of Dungeons and Dragons. It's serious business people. Loads of pizza, chips and sugar was needed to sustain such a drama filled event, only to be interrupted by a Pokemon hunt. Dear God WHY ??? I thought I was done with Pokemon years ago. I honestly do not see the attraction.

Is it just me who needs more sleep these days ?
Does anybody else require more sleep now that they have aged gotten older ?
I just want to scream sometimes for the boys to...

LET THE OLD LADY SLEEP ...

BECK XX

Linking up with the gorgeous kylie for this weeks IBOT

WE HAVE A KITCHEN (well almost)

If you saw someone doing cartwheels and heard loud whoops of joy across the land this past week,  it was most likely me !  FINALLY we have a full functioning (however still not quiet finished) kitchen for the first time since Easter. After almost four months of frustration things are finally, well almost normal around here, but not without drama of course.

For those who are not up to speed, our hot water flexi pipe in the kitchen burst, flooding our kitchen. At midnight, while hubby was away (of course) the night before the long weekend of Easter. Luckily one of my boys were still awake or we could have been in a whole lot more of a mess.
We spent the whole of Easter with giant, loud dehumidifiers, heaters and fans to dry everything out. Not my ideal way to spend a long weekend. Our flooring that was laid just a little over a year ago was water logged, the kitchen cabinets cracked and swelled which led to the granite bench tops giving way along the joins, and the dishwasher packed it in also. As I said, we were in a mess....

All I can say, is thank goodness for insurance. Well to a degree anyway.
Yes we only had to pay $100 excess and the rest of the $19,000 + was covered, but in what reality do the insurance companies and contractors think its acceptable to leave a busy family without a full functioning kitchen for almost four months ?

Communication between us and the contractors was little, and left us with many unanswered questions. I lost count of the amount of people who turned up to take photos and measurements all telling me that "work" would be starting soon. Soon came and went, no work was started but plenty more measuring was done.

You would think with all the measuring that they would get it right !

In what felt like a never ending saga, the work finally begun and I thought that all our issues were over. Oh how wrong I was....
You would think that with all the contractors (never the same one) that came to measure and photograph our damaged little kitchen, that every would be cut to fit without error. Sadly however this is not the case....
Our glass splash backs that were measured and remeasured countless times were cut too short in one place, and our flooring didn't "fit right" said the so called professional who has left the job unfinished because he couldn't work out why the last piece of wood wouldn't fit, and the plumber left leaks.

When something doesn't fit, lets just leave it unfinished !

After all the measuring, the glass was cut short :(

Is it just me ? Or is this unacceptable ? Should it just be fobbed off as an "insurance" job ?
All the money we spent and the hard work hubby put into the renovation in the first place only for this to happen is heartbreaking. I just cant bare to think of it. I just cant.

So just a reminder to everyone who has taps in their kitchens and bathrooms with flexi pipes. CHECK THEM REGULARLY people.
Apparently this is a common occurrence, they give way without notice and you are flooded. We had no idea about that this could happen until it happened to us. So be vigilant and keep check.

Linking up with Jess for IBOT

BECK xx

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BOY

In a whirlwind moment 23 years ago, I held you in my arms for the very first time, those big eyes meeting mine forming an immediate bond like no other.
Motherhood was unplanned at the time, you certainly were a surprise package to both your Dad and I. One that changed our world, changed us in so many ways. You showed us a love we didn't know existed. Bound us together, a family for life, took us on a journey filled with so much love and joy.

I can't believe that I have been a mum for 23 years. So many times I have shed a tear at how fast time has passed, its been hard to accept that you are indeed a man now. It seems as though it was only yesterday when you said your first word, took your first step, began your very first day at school. So many firsts we shared with so many more to come.

Know that you are completely loved and cherished my boy. You are a shining light with a big personality, my first born.
I wish you nothing but happiness on this day and always.

I love you now and always
Mum xx

FRESH START

Hello, Its me....

Its been five plus weeks since I blogged. Not only did life throw a few curve balls our way, I felt that I wasn't giving my all here. So a break although initially forced, became a blessing in disguise.

Things are starting to settle down again, so I thought I would pop on to wave hello to those of you who may have missed me, though most of you probably didn't even notice I was absent.

Today is July 1st. Can you even believe we are already in the seventh month ? Winter has finally hit North QLD and I'm loving it. We are nowhere near as cold as the southern states, but give me cold nights and crisp mornings and I am happy as a pig in mud. My dream is to move somewhere where we can experience all four seasons again. I really miss the ice cold Winters and the falling coloured leaves of Autumn.

Anyway, short and sweet is me here today. Fresh month, fresh start to blogging and hopefully a stop to worthless rambling posts that don't interest anybody {this post excluded}.

BECK xx

Linking up at With Some Grace for FYBF

A LETTER TO ISAAC

Its bitter sweet when one of your babies reaches a milestone age. On one hand, your so proud of them, but on the other you want to keep them small and dependent on you, keeping them close.

On the weekend we celebrated our third sons eighteenth. Let me just breath deeply for a moment and take that in. I now have three sons aged eighteen and over. When on earth did that happen ? How did that happen ? My babies are all grown up now and its bittersweet.
 
Isaac,
Where do I begin. Bringing you into this world was not easy. Throughout the whole pregnancy I was unwell, but knowing that the end result would be a beautiful baby boy, my third son, was all I needed to know to get through that long nine months. Since the day that you were born, you have given us so much love and joy. Your giant smile lights up a room. Your funny and smart, caring and loving. Your sense of humour is brilliant, your quick witted, funny and a barrel of laughs. Even on the darkest of days your light shines bright.

Your life is just beginning my boy. The world awaits your brilliance. I wait to see what you will contribute. I know it will be something grand, for you lived your childhood without fear. You have always grabbed every opportunity that has come your way with gusto and I am sure that you will continue to do that just the same throughout your adult life.

Our family has so much love and respect for you my little Zack Attack. We will support you, and all that life has to offer you . Continue to dream big and know that no matter what, you will always have me in your corner. I love you more than words could ever say.

Love mum xx

beck xx

ONE THING BABY

If like me you have been following along with Babymac's One Thing posts, you would know how inspiring they are. They have been kicking my butt into gear since day one, showering all her readers with the motivation to tackle everything on their to do lists with gusto.

This week, my one thing was simple. So darn simple it took three years to complete. Yeah you heard me. Three years !

 Our living area is at the front of our house boasting four generous windows one of which has been missing the screen for three years thanks to one of my fluffy felines. We have had the new screen for almost two years and although every single day I past that tube of mesh a hundred zillion times, I put off fixing that darn window till tomorrow. Always tomorrow.

Well yesterday that tomorrow came.

Opening the windows yesterday I was happily greeted with a morning breeze, something that has been rare of late around here but of course it was only flowing through three out four windows. Frustrated I realised that the only way it would get done was if I stopped putting it off and just did it myself.

So I did...

We can now open all our front windows letting the breeze in and keeping all the unwanted bugs out. I have never been so excited to open a window before.

Do you follow along with Beth's one thing posts ?
If so, what was your one thing for this week ?

beck xx

KMART - THE PERFECT PLACE TO SPOIL YOUR MUM

Mother's Day is this Sunday. The day when mothers get a lazy morning in bed relaxing while waiting for breakfast to be served. Being showered by gifts and a full day of smiles and happiness with not an argument to be heard....

Yeah right !
And pigs may fly....

If your mother's day is like the adverts on telly, then power to you girl, but for the majority of us, though we are loved to bits, are married to the best guy in the world and have adoring children. Most likely Mother's Day is just another day on the calendar. Yeah I know, cue the nodding of heads.

So to make the most out of the day, start preparing your wish list if you haven't already  or go out and spoil yourself with something that you have been lusting after but have put off purchasing. And the perfect place to start is at your local Kmart.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you would know that Kmart has been leading the way with their good quality but affordable home ware's line. Oh the joy they have bought to millions of women as they walk the isles filling their baskets with the beautiful goodies they find hard to resist.

Here are a few of the things on my Mother's Day wish list...

Top left         - Urbano table lamp $20
Top right      - Abstract circular print $14
Bottom left   - Marble tea light holder $9
Bottom right - Prism terrarium  $8

Lightweight print scarves - $7

Are they or are they not gorgeous choices ? Gifts DO NOT need to be expensive to hit the spot. In fact gifts are really just the icing on the cake. Spending time with your family is what the day is all about, being loved and cared for by the most important people in your life.

I hope that each and every one of you have a beautiful Mother's Day filled with light and love.

beck xx






{this is in no way a sponsored post, just a collection of beautiful Kmart products put together to showcase my favourite items at the moment.}