Circus Party!!

Today is a happy day! We got our computer back today, and with a new hard-drive it is once again working well! All the pics I feared were lost forever have been recovered, so I am ready to blog again!!

August is a busy month for us, we have 3 of our 5 kids birthday's in August. This year our twins turned 5! I struggle to believe my babies are now 5! It seems like only yesterday I was laughing, screaming and bawling, as I had my first ultra-sound and discovered I had two babies in my belly! It has been a busy 5 years, but, life is good!

I have had quite a few parties for my kids over the years. With such a big family though it is easy to get away with just a family party. This year was the twins first real birthday, and I wanted it to be really special for them. We decided to do a circus theme. So I got busy baking, making, and painting and managed to pull off something they loved! The days leading up to the party the twins were so excited, counting the sleeps and watching as I painted and set things up. I made a feather headpiece for Sienna, she was dressed as a circus performer, and Oli was dressed as the ring master! A few times Laith said to me,"I don't think the twins are going to care about all this effort you are going to!" I knew he was right. When I was a little girl my mum always used to say "Grandma said If a job's worth doing, its worth doing well." It kind of stuck, and became my life motto!!

I looked on the Internet and found lots of great idea's. I had my first ever attempt at covering a cake in fondant icing, I made Oli some cardboard boots, a friend came over and taught me how to pipe icing onto my cupcakes. I painted 3 canvases! And when my toffee apples didn't work ( I rang mum almost in tears) she made me some caramel apples instead. The morning of the party Oli came in and said to me "Mum I know you have been doing a lot of work to make my party good!" I love being a mum with or without the thanks!!

Second Time Around!

When I was pregnant with my second baby, I was really worried I would not be able to love him as much as my first. Laith had been my world for 2years and 4months. I studied early childhood education for 2 years before getting married and deferring my degree - indefinitely! So Laith was pretty much by the book. I knew all of the developmental stages he should be at, and I made sure he was ahead of them, I ran each day like a mini pre-school, we painted, played with play dough, had song time. I wondered how I could manage another baby, and how I could dedicate the same time to this second child.

My pregnancy with Noah was completely different, I was convinced he was a girl. When they handed him to me I thought they had made a mistake. He looked nothing like Laith, and he was a he! Within a day of him being born he became sick and was whisked away. They never found out what was wrong with him but it was a traumatic week. He had 4 lumbar punctures, and was hooked up to drips and machines. By now I already knew I couldn't live without him, and I was desperate for him to get better. I prayed and cried, and was sure I was going to lose him. Then just like that he was better.

The first two years of Noahs life was spent in and out of Doctors and hospitals, he was not thriving he was vomiting everything he ate, it was a stressful time. He was still a happy baby, and despite all of the medical intervention he rarely cried or whinged. When he turned 2 he got better.

When I look back on those early years I realise that so much of his personality was formed back then. He is happy, he is laid back, he is happy to not be made a fuss over. He is easily pleased, he is the most compassionate kid I have ever met. He cries in sad movies, he hates it when his brothers or sister get into trouble. He is a loyal friend, he is funny.  Noah is crazy talented! His drawings are incredible, he blows me away! He is a great sharer, he got about 10 packets of gum (gum is pretty much illegal in our family, so its very precious) for his birthday and its half gone, he has given it all away. That's just what he does.  He is a  really amazing kid.!

Noah was 10yesterday. When ever my kids have birthdays I think about their personalities and how they are each such a vital part of our family. We really need each other, the family dynamics would be so different if just one of us was missing.

 Noah is my least cuddly kid, but on the occasions that he does snuggle into me, I know how lucky I am, not just that he is cuddling me, but that he is mine!!

Buying Affection!!

When I was a little girl dad would take us all down the corner store on a Monday afternoon with 20cents to buy a bag of lollies from Sam's shop! It was the highlight of our week. In our mixed bag of lollies there would be teeth, chalk, freckles, caramel and milk buds, and some raspberries. We loved it, and we loved dad for taking us.

Last Monday night my parents drove up to see us and dad took my kids down to the corner store, this time they each got $5.00 yep times have changed. $5.00 is more money than my twins have ever seen! It is definitely more money than any of my kids have ever spent on lollies at any one time, but they loved Poppy for it. It reminded me of when I was a little girl and how much I loved buying lollies with my dad.

They came home with a shopping bag full of lollies. They ate their lollies until they went to bed and again as soon as they woke up in the morning. I didn't mind, but Dame was not impressed.
Yesterday as I was getting ready for church Oliver came in and started to ask if he could have a muesli bar. Every morning as soon as he has eaten his breakfast he begins begging for food such as cookies, muesli bars, chips, basically some form of junk food. I can be a bit of a softy, because I like eating junk food every morning too!! Dame is firmer. So when he began begging Dame did not hesitate in saying, no! He continued to ask over and over, "But I really want one" "But I really need one" "I just want a muesli bar" "Give me one now" All the while getting louder and more annoying. I would have caved, if Dame wasn't there. Oli knows this so he was pretty determined to make me cave. Finally after more sooking I stood firm and said "No" Then, sensing I was about to weaken, I said "Daddy says no" So Oliver says with some serious attitude "I wonder what Poppy would say if he was dad!"

The cost of affection - $5.00!!

Tic-Tacs and Tactics!!

I have been a slack blogger lately, this is about to change. I hope after this entry that I will still have people who want to read my blog!!

I had a crazy dream last night, not unusual for me, I have a lot of crazy dreams. This one involved my best friend and some face slapping, it made me think about a not so proud moment in my life as a mum!

A few years ago, the child who really challenged me was my now gorgeous and although cheeky, pretty much perfect Landon. He is my 3rd child and he is an amazing kid. All my kids are amazing, what can I say!! Landon, is confident, popular, funny, fun, affectionate, and really easy-going. When he was younger he was sometimes in fact a lot of times, pretty naughty. I remember lots of days wanting to pull my hair out over the things he did.

This story is from about 2 and a half years ago, and like I said I'm not at all proud of this. It was a friday afternoon, the end of a long week. We had family from interstate staying with us, (which maybe added to my tension!) Landon had been going through a really rough stage with the twins. The twins were always in his way, according to him. They wrecked his building blocks, they went into his room when he was at school and touched his stuff, they just annoyed him in general, every second of every day! He had been pushing them over a lot and ripping toys off them that were his, or someone elses, and it was just a full on time. The twins were tough work until around the age of 3 when things finally started to settle! This particular afternoon, I was rushing like crazy. Noah had basket ball and I was dressing Sienna, I heard some screaming coming from the toy room, and as I rushed in to inspect what was going on I saw Landon slap Oliver across the face as hard as he could!!! I was horrified, Oliver was screaming, and so without thinking and in anger I flew across the room and slapped Landon across the face!! We were late for basket ball, so I scooped all the kids into the car and started the drive. What chaos, everyone was bawling. I was bawling, Landon was bawling, Oliver was bawling, Sienna was sympathetically bawling. It was nuts. When I finally got a hold of myself I was just saying over and over and over, "Landon I am so sorry, I am a bad bad bad mum" I was a mess. I wondered how I could possibly face the world, or confess to Damion, which I knew I needed to do quick before Landon did!! We arrived at basket ball, Noah hopped out of the car and I just sat in the car park still bawling, and wondering what to do now !

I said "Landon, I am so sorry. You did the wrong thing to Oliver, but what I did was even worse, what can I do to make it up to you?" He had stopped bawling a long time ago, and by now my kids were all just keen to get home again. He thought for a few seconds then said "Um, never make me eat vegetables again!!" I was still crying but now also laughing, and feeling relieved that he was going to forgive me. "I said I can't do that honey, is there anything else I can do?" He thought again and said "Buy me a pack of tic-tacs!!" I said I could definitely do that! When we got home we spent a long time cuddling and me telling him over and over how sorry I was and how much I loved him. I didn't stop kissing him until I was convinced he knew again.

I promised myself that day that I would get some new parenting tactics, and never ever discipline when I was feeling angry again! I am pleased to say I have kept that promise. If I feel like I am losing it, I give myself time-out, I go to my room, shut the door, and read a home magazine for a few minutes until I can deal with it like an adult!

A few months after that event with Landon, I was at the kids school teaching scripture. We were talking about how important it is to be nice to people even if they are mean to us. I asked the children if they had any questions, or comments. Landon raised his hand and said "Yeah like the time you slapped me across the face and I still loved you!" All the kids sat there with their mouths open, I went red then said "yep like that time, see even grown ups make mistakes sometimes."

When you stuff up, change your tactics, learn from mistakes, don't dwell on them, that's one of the most amazing things about kids, they love you unconditionally!

School Holidays

I have always been one of those crazy mum's who loves school holidays. I love the sleeping in, I love not making school lunches, I love having my kids around and just hanging out together. These holidays have been maybe the best I can remember.

The kids are getting to an age where they can have a bit more freedom, we are blessed to live in a quiet area they can ride to their mates houses who all live streets away, and there are always plenty of kids from the neighbourhood at our house. They can head to the local shops to buys lollies, they can go down to the warf, or the park. When they need food they come home. Its a good life.

These holidays we had sleep overs, a visit to Sydney to see their cousins, Nanny and Nono up from Melbourne, 2 days at the beach, lots of bike riding, movies, and kids, kids and more kids. It really doesn't get much better than that!

Achievements and Praise!!

There have been a few big achievements in the Tucci home this week!! First I found my camera!! My camera has been missing for nearly 2months, which is why my entries have been somewhat non-existent! I have been going crazy trying to locate my camera. The last time I remembered seeing it was at Easter. Last night Dame went to the state of origin and found my camera in his coat pocket! He had taken it with him to the Anzac day dawn service! Achievement number one!

Achievement numbers two and three go together, and are owned by the twins! Sienna and Oliver received gold medals (the plastic kind) today for blowing their noses on their own! A big achievement!! They have been wearing their medals with pride today and I am sure I will be seeing them around their necks for days to come.

I have found great success in using reward systems with my kids. We have had many a star chart on our fridge over the years. Stars for going to the toilet, stars for cleaning bedrooms, stars for making beds, stars for not getting into trouble at school. Stars for not fighting with each other.

I know the stars are not that exciting on their own, its what they represent that makes my kids want to do better, and be better. Being recognised is something we all thrive on. Imagine if every time we did something amazing, a group of people we loved and depended on were right there to acknowledge our efforts and praise us.

I think sometimes as we get older we hold back praise because we think that somehow by complimenting someone we lose a little of our own worth in the process. It is actually quite the opposite, the more praise we give to those around us, the better we feel about ourselves.

Praise, compliments, encouragement and positive reinforcement are all ways we can express love and that is something you can never have too much of. Our achievements can be endless when we have support from people we love, and we can help people around us achieve great things by the things we say to them, with or without a star chart!!

Get well mum!!

On Tuesday, I decided to take the kiddies on a road trip to see Kesh and Tim, (my sis and her hubby) They live near my grandparents and I really wanted to see my Pa. So I loaded the kids in the car and took off on the 3 hour drive south. The kids were great in the car, they watched a dvd and we danced to Michael Jackson, and shared a box of shapes. And we were there!! Kesh and Tim just bought a new puppy, my kids were very excited to meet her. We had a delicious dinner cooked by Kesh, then Oli got a high temperature and the fun was over. I had a very sleepless night, getting up to Oli, and Sienna, and Landon.

The next morning Tim and Kesh took the kids to the beach and Oli and I stayed home, I had a quick visit with my Pa, then, feeling like I could not face another sleepless night, packed the car and headed off on the long drive back home. Tim and Kesh were also sick, most of my kids were sniffy and Dame was also at home sick in bed! When we finally arrived back at our house I was feeling sick myself, and I was wasted. I went to bed last night at 6:30pm, and was feeling very fluey. This morning I woke up to Laith bringing Dame and I  breakfast in bed. Waffles, cut up apple, nuts, and 2 codral tablets. He also brought dame and I a hot lemon drink. He had all the kids draw us pictures that said get well and he had made me a card that said "To a loving, caring mum. Its terrible you're so sick. You being sick reminds me of the times that we've been sick and you've taken care of us no matter what. Now...it's my turn to give back. I want you to stay in bed all day and give me a call if you need me. Take good care of dad. And good luck getting better! Love from Laith"

Seriously what did I do to deserve the perfect kid??!! He is so fantastic. I stayed in bed til about 10, and it was the best sick day of my life!!!

My Easter Bonnet!!

When I was 7, I was in a church play and we sang the song "Easter bonnet" I was a flower. I remember feeling miserable in my green ribbed tights, my green skivvy, and crepe paper flower mask. The boy I loved was 11, he wore a shirt and bow tie and got to have a girl in a beautiful dress, with a beautiful bonnet walk around him and sit on his knee! I wanted desperately to have a beautiful Easter bonnet!!

This year I got to make an Easter bonnet!! Sienna is still not old enough to be needing an Easter hat so instead I made one for my girlfriends daughter Paris! She looked and felt very special, as all girls should. I love making Easter hats. This year only Landon needed a hat in my family. So I got to get out some of my creativity on my friends kids, she has 6 kids, 5 of which needed hats. We had 11 kids at her house and less than 2 hours to make 6 hats!! We had a few hiccups caused by a broken stapler, and no sticky tape, but when you have lots of kids you get resourceful!!

I will post some pics of the hats as well as some of the hats I have made in the past!! I usually get my materials from newsagents or $2 shops. This year because I wanted Paris's hat to be extra special I went to feather.com.au They have some amazing feathers, and are worth a look, check them out!!