MY BABY TURNED 18

I can remember my mother calling my brother who is 5 years and 4 months younger than me say "oh, my baby is 20 or 30 or whatever age he was" and I would think good grief mum, he's NOT a baby. But yesterday I found myself saying the very same thing "my baby is 18 now".

I guess when you have 5 children they are always your children, and your youngest is always the baby, because they once were your baby. No matter how old they get, they remain your babies.

Miss said to me this morning "all your children are now legal, but whether we act like it or not is another thing". She is so funny the things she comes out with at times. Yeah, well they are all over 18, but no they probably don't all act like adults at times.

All day yesterday I kept thinking of the time when Miss A was born and how long her labour was. She is a very strong-willed girl now and I think even then as she was coming into this world she was saying .... "I'll come when I'm ready" and "no-body's going to tell me what to do". After 28 hours of labour Miss A came into this world, a healthy 7lb 14oz baby girl, with all her fingers and toes. After all you never care what you have, just that they are healthy and have all their fingers and toes.

When I was pregnant with Miss A, I strongly felt that I was having a baby girl and I even decided on her name before she was born. I just knew in my heart that she was going to be a girl. I wonder if other mothers have the same feelings about their children prior to their birth. I guess that it's different for all of us.

I also knew that Miss A was going to be a very special girl. She has certainly brought with her, her own share of challenges, and life has never been dull! But it has been worth it, so worth it. She has been a blessing in my life and has taught me a great deal, most of all patience.

Miss A is finally 18.

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY - 26TH JANUARY

Although it's already the 29th of January and not the 26th....which is actually Australia Day.....I want to wish all Australians a HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!!! I'd also like to wish my nieces, Erin 25 today and Lisa 18 a Happy Birthday. They are sisters, and were born on the same day 7 years apart. I've been trying to get this post written since the 27th but we are experiencing a heat wave here at the moment and sitting at the computer has not been a priority.....as many here in South Australia will attest to keeping cool has been.


I thought a lot on Australia Day about what it means to me to be an Australian. One of the most important things is that I am blessed to live in FREE COUNTRY. To me a free country is a place where I can walk the streets in relative safety without anyone stopping me from doing that. A free country means that I can worship how, where and what I may. A free country means not being told where I can and can't live. A free country means being able to see my family. To be able to travel around and see all the beauty that this land holds.








On the Australia Day evening my 17 y/old daughter and I went to Civic Park which is the local community park outside the City offices, along with heaps of other residents. For Australia Day the council had organised entertainment, a free sausage sizzle, face painting for the kids, stilt walkers, jugglers, and acrobats.






They also held Australia Day Awards and handed out awards to people who had been nominated as having made an important contribution to the community. Most of these people were volunteers...and it's nice to see them recognised.

Here's my comfy little set up for the night, we picked a good spot right in front of the movie screen - Miss 17 lay on the ground on a rug. The grounds a bit too hard for me, and well Age before Beauty!!

The Castle

The movie that we saw that night was the Australian Movie The Castle. It is an excellent movie, very funny and with a great moral, but I was however a bit disappointed in the amount of bad language in certain parts of the movie. I don't quite understand why film makers feel the need to have so much bad language in otherwise good movies. Shame really.

All in all we had a great day and it was nice to get out and have some time with my youngest daughter and enjoy the celebrations that commemorate the birth of our Nation. I am so proud to be an Australian and to live in such a wonderful country.

MISS A TURNS 17!! or doesn't time fly when you're not paying attention.

My, doesn't time fly when you're not paying attention. Miss A had her 17th birthday on Thursday and I can't believe how much she has grown and changed in that time. I was blessed with a very unique and special daughter.

This was taken in 1994

(Note the gap in the front teeth - said to be very lucky)

Miss A tends to have a flair for the dramatic as is evidenced in this photo taken in June 1997. She was playing at being a bride. Don't you love the orange arrangement around the neck and the green hat...that nearly swallows up the bride.



Miss A loves animals and Nanny's horse Patrick was no exception. I absolutely love this photo and think it is very beautiful. I love the way Patrick just stays still with A on her back. Just in the right place at the right moment. My mum always did take excellent photos.

I really loved this photo of Miss A. We were in The Grampians in Victoria and she happened to be on the top of this rock, and I was below. She had no idea I was taking the photo and it was amazing to just see her sitting there looking out over the area. I actually wondered what was going through her little mind at the time.

She is often quite hyperactive and this moment was such a peaceful one and just to see her sitting there calmly doing nothing was a beautiful moment. She really did enjoy herself that day as we explored the tracks that we found in The Grampians.

Sometimes I wish I could have these special moments back and that she wouldn't grow up so fast....but that's life.

Only one more year and she will be 18.