My cleaners are making me sick

OMG I have always wondered who really knows or is affected by the tv shows that highlight dodgey service providers. The show in question is Target made in New Zealand for New Zealanders. They always have a section where there is a hidden camera and an actor for varying services, glass installers, pest control, cleaners etc. Well I sometimes watch this show and tonight just happened to turn it on when I was stopped dead in my tracks. They were showing a video image of a man cleaning the toilets with a childs bath towel and then the shower AND THEN folding it neatly and returning it to the towel rail. This family had been getting sick for a long time and had no explanation!!!!!. Plus the fact that things had started going missing in the house, Mum had stepped in and installed a security camera. AND OMG it was MY cleaner. I feel so very disgusted and sick about this and to top it off they are scheduled to come tomorrow. NOT NOW. The unfortunate thing is that I was not really happy with they work of late and was going to stop having them come and now I am sure that they will know that I have watched the show. I will probably be one of many (if infact they have been honest with the number of clients they have) who call them tomorrow.
I was even recommended them by the neighbours cleaner. Wonder how she feels now? (if she watched Target) Anyway the tragedy of this is that it falls days short of my sons birthday party and the house is in much need of cleaning. Looks like I'm going to be up late.

Let the sun shine in (I need the energy)

I need summer for another couple of months please. I am not too happy getting up in the dark and as for night closing in earlier than usual not so happy about that either. There is something wonderfully comforting and energy boosting about the sun. Yes we talk about lazy days in the sun (mostly a saying used by those who have escaped reality to a beach somewhere. Mmmmm I wonder what that's like??)but the warm summer days are filled with trips to the zoo, to the park, running in the back yard and I am so very pleased that we have a large back yard. I more amazed each day by how much energy my two older boys have (and how much energy it takes to keep up with them). I dont just mean running in the park with them. My day starts with being woken up to, "Mummy I need....." and ends with "Mummy I need......." It is also, for me, that time of year when my Husband goes on his winemaking spree. I have to say being a solo Mum in charge 24 hours a day 7 days a week is not exactly relaxing esp with 3 young children to manage. I have also had the unpleasantness of having the house we rent being reclad, meaning outer walls have been pulled off, lots of repair (old builder was dodgey)and then there's putting everything back together. I am finding it tough, its been about 5 or so weeks now and we're about 3 weeks out from the finish. All I want is 5 mins, just a little time to have a cup of tea and read a mag. Am I asking too much? I have a young girl who comes once a week from 4.30pm til 6.30-7pm however she has not been here for about 2 weeks. Today is a beautiful day the sun has heard my cry and has responded, I have been gardening and enjoying being outside (with the boys of course) however the boys have also got the extra energy and its been constant all day. Maybe it more noticable due to the fact they are hyped up from seeing their Dad but unfortunately I can not stop the sun's energy reaching them as well as me so as I struggle to keep up they are also keeping up all the activities that little boys enjoy. Oh and it doesn't stop when the sun goes down because my wee babe is still waking at least once in the night and then around 5.30am, which is neither a here nor there time, just too early to get up and yet not enough time to go back to sleep for any great length of time. My life is definitely written all over my face at the moment. I tried to get a nice pic of me on my Husbands phone last night and the photos were terrible I looked exhausted, now I'm going to have to try twice as hard to get ready for kindy on Monday. Darn it wish I hadn't looked at that photo! I'm banning all cameras in the house for awhile! Well my name is being sung out like church bells on Sunday. Keep at it sun, and please come back and replenish me after 8pm when all the little boys are fast asleep.

Crying, From Laughing So Hard

I read Barefoot Foodie every now and then, but I need to start reading every day. It is only by chance that I caught this entry from a little over a month ago. It needed to be shared. My stomach mussles still hurt.

Really, C'mon

Really? Over a month since anyone last posted? What is the matter with us? Is it because we have the winter blahs, your entire family is sick with the stupid cold that is going around, you're depressed about the nations (not to mention your own) financial situation?

I don't know about you, but for me the answer YES...to all three.

But the end is in sight...SPRING, HERE WE COME! I am. Officially. Over winter. It is my least favorite season. Sure, I like to take the kiddos up to the snow, dress them up in their snowsuits (that they freaking grow out of EVERY year) and take some seasonal photos. But really, that is enough of winter for for me...so around January 15th, I'm done. But the sun is shining, it is in the 60's to 70's and my kids played outside in the backyard for HOURS this weekend. I am starting to be one happy mommy. I will be a little happier when the last of this snot-monster-barking-cough-bitch-of-a-cold has finally left my house. I went on an exorcism mission yesterday, me and the disinfectant...and the box of Kleenex that I can't seem to stay too far away from!

But I feel better today, SO feels better today and I think VO feels better today. Of course, EO woke up with a sore throat this morning...I thought he was going to escape, but it does not appear likely. That's ok, he is the last one and then we are DONE. Because the sun is shining and the air is warming and all germs will be banished from our house by the anti-bacterial gods.

As far as the last thing, I have come to the conclusion that I have a sickness that cannot be treated with anti-bacterial wipes, zicam or tylenol (narcotics, maybe could work but...I don't think we want a TOO happy mommy). I want to open another business. I had this same obsession last year at this time...but it went away when I convinced myself that I was crazy. But now it is back and I am starting to think it is a good idea...AGAIN. Hopefully the sun will come out and warm things up and melt this crazy idea out of my head. We can only hope.

VIVA LA SPRING!

Pondering a Life with all Boys

I have been dealing alot with the "Oh three boys" comments lately, mostly because my 3rd son, H, is only 9 weeks old. At first I got the "... My three Sons comment" but I had to knock that on its head due to the fact, there is NO Mum in that show! Anyway since the birth of my 3rd son I have had some interesting yet very noticable changes in the way I view my life. Minutes after H was born I had a mental shift to gearing my life to accomodate intense physical behaviour at all times. I see it now with my elder two, D and E. The running through the house, the play fights, the real fights, the tree house that becomes a pirate ship, the backyard is a battlefield, anything that is longer than 10 cm becomes a gun, a sword, a weapon, (just want to add a note that neither I nor my husband are aggressive people and do not promote guns swords or violence in our house and I am constantly asking myself where did they get it from, but that is another story for another time).

Anyway I get excited for the challenge of keeping these boys so active that they don't have time to become idle and bored. I am excited by the idea of hikes and bushwalks plus keeping up with my boys should mean getting back in shape (its been too long). We all love camping, and fishing. I want to teach my boys how to be gentlemen, how to clean up after themselves, take pride in themselves. To help them find and nuture their interests, encourage them to try new things, to have an appreciation for music and the arts and the importance of sport and physical activity.

With my eldest approaching school age (he starts yr 1 in April)I have also been wondering how they'll cope with school, is this talk about how boys are struggling with school these days real and how do you deal with it? Will they cope should I offer more help, will this aid him or hinder him?

It worries me that my boys will become those boys you see hanging around the streets, getting into trouble and causing trouble so much so that I have already told my husband that they are to be so busy with sports, music, drama, school and other activites that they dont even have a chance to be idly walking the streets, not to mention the curfews and other guidelines that they are to adhere too:) Mind you my boys are 4yrs, 3 1/2 yrs and 9 weeks old (ok I'm a little nutty about it).

My boys make me laugh, cry and feel so amazing all at once that it is hard to imagine life before them. They are always on the move and their energy levels astound me. They'll challenge me and make me crazy but the love that they have for me is so precious. The only downside to only having boys is that I'll never be the mother of the bride, or share the emotion of a daughter having a baby or just sharing the bond that a mother has with her daughter. All these emotions are leading me to think I might want to try again .......