Singing in the Rain!!

Summer is over. I think I have been in our pool maybe once, this summer! Today was pouring with rain, and miserable! The kids and I, were all busy painting. I have been painting a canvas, or 5, for my sisters new Naturopathy and Massage clinic!! I want them to be good. My sister Corinne is a savy business woman, and I am very proud of her. So I am feeling the pressure to do something great!

When the rain came down so hard, that the kids and I could barely talk to each other inside, we decided to have a break from painting and try swimming instead!

It usually has to be piping hot for me to swim, yes I am one of those mum's! So today when the kids said "Can we swim? Can we? Can we?" I decided I would not only let them, but join them. It was cold enough for me to be painting in my ugg boots, so putting on my swimmers and heading into the rain was pretty bold of me. Although the kids all wanted to swim, when it came to the crunch, it was only Noah and I who were nuts enough!! The other kids just ran around in the rain, screaming.

I remembered loving swimming in the rain when I was a kid, somehow it was way more fun 25years ago!! Today, I felt 2 things, freezing, and crazy!!

Come and Find us!!

Today while I was walking back to my car from the gym (that's 5classes so far this week!!) I saw 2 disabled men in their 60's playing hide and seek with their carer! It made me smile. One of the men was hiding behind a pillar in the car park. The pillar was about half the width of his body. The other man was standing right next to him in clear view laughing hysterically, yelling out "Come and find us" to their carer. Their carer walked up behind the pole and tapped the man hiding on the shoulder, it looked as though he had played this game many times before. They all laughed together, and continued on their way into the shops. All of this happened in the time it took me to strap the twins into their car seats. It was such a brief encounter, it actually made me a bit emotional, and I have not been able to stop thinking about it.

I love seeing acts of kindness. I love watching all those shows like 'the secret millionaire', 'Undercover boss' 'Conviction Kitchen' and 'Find my family' I bawl every time I watch them. I wish there was more stories out there like that. More things to lift our spirits. Instead we are surrounded by all the ugly things in the world, the news is so terrible, we read, and see so much more of the bad things that happen, than the good!

I guess that is why being a mum is so incredible. I get to tune out from all the ugly stuff, I can create my own little safe haven. I can teach my kids to love and accept everyone, to appreciate and look for the good in people. To be kind and honest, to work hard. Then when things do get difficult, which is bound to happen, we can play hide and seek and find ways to make each other laugh!!

Not so Favourite!!

This week I have been doing a few of my not so favourite things!! The first one is exercise. Growing up I rarely exercised. Occasionally I would go for a run, but that is about all. Once I had kids that changed, I have been working out ever since. I go through spurts where I am addicted, then nothing! Right now I am trying to get to the addicted stage again. This week I have been at the gym doing a class everyday. Yesterday I did two!! While I am not loving the exercise yet, I am loving the results, I have had a real increase in energy and I am already noticing a decrease in wobble!!

Yesterday I also washed 5 sets of single bed linen, doona and all. As well as 2 sets of queen bedlinen, Because my kids had lice! Another of my not so favourite things to do. All the kids were home yesterday so I could treat their hair.We did manage to squeeze in some of my favourite things as well, we played just dance! Then had a picnic on the grass together and ate tuna and salad!!

Things that FREAK me out!!

I have a long list of things that freak me out!! Things such as mice, spiders, snakes, cockroaches and moths. Why am I scared of moths, you may wonder, it is my brother Ben's fault!! Back in the 80's and 90's when hair was much higher, and therefore required a lot more hairspray. We lived in a house with a carport instead of a garage, my brother Ben would torture me!! This involved catching moths that would always gather around our fluro carport light. After he caught the moths he would come over to me with them  and chuck them into my BIG hair!!! Because my hair was so full of hairspray, and it was curly the moths would get stuck. You know the kind of moths I'm talking about? The big bad ugly ones. I would be bolting around the carport in absolute hysterics, screaming and going berserk!! Sometimes I still have dreams about it!! I know my reaction only egged him on, but I could not help it. I could hear them flapping around my ears, and feel their dusty wings against my face, it was absolute hell!

Now that I am all grown up, and we have a garage, I can easily avoid moths! There are still other things that freak me out though, and they are not the laughing kind. Last week I headed to the gym with the twins. The gym I go to is in a big shopping centre. As we were heading back to the car, Oli ran on in front while Sienna lagged behind. Sienna did not want to walk that day, she kept falling over and crying and asking to be carried, I had my gym bag and full hands so could not pick her up. When we turned the corner to the car park, Oli was no where to be seen!! I ran ahead worried he had run onto the road and been hit! I looked everywhere and could not see him. I started screaming his name, I was frantic! Sienna had caught up by now and sensing the panic in my voice started crying and saying "Oli where are you?" over and over. We were both losing it!! I picked Sienna up, and started running all over the place, screaming, people were staring at me, but I didn't care, I was feeling desperate. I ran back to the gym he wasn't there, I ran out to the playground, and saw him, totally oblivious to what I had gone through, he was running around with some random kids! I wanted to collapse and bawl my head off, I marched over to him, grabbed him by the arm and took him to the car. By the time I got to the car I was shaking, I strapped the twins in their chairs and just sat in the car for about 15minutes crying like a baby! When I could finally speak I tried to explain how important it was that Oli never ever leave my side, that there are bad people and that I could not live if anything ever happend to him.

Today when we went to the gym, as soon as we parked the car Sienna says to Oli "You are never running away again are you Oli, you are going to always hold hands forever?!" Oli reluctantly agreed! Now that I am a grown up there are so many things that scare me more than moths!! That's not to say I would like one thrown in my hair anytime soon!!!

this is how I used to keep track of my twins!! I might have to pull these out again!!