Do you see things clearly

Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly have you heard this saying? I have and when I was younger I didn't get it but of course with age comes wisdom. Well I hope I am wiser, I like to think I am but honestly who knows how wiser one becomes.

When you look back at your youth do you ever think “what was I thinking” do you have times when you think you must had taken a stupid pill that morning because you did or acted in such a stupid way and can't believe you did.

There are times I think Judge Judy was right when she said “beauty fades dumb is forever” because I know some really dumb people and if you ever meet any of Tim's family you may think stupid runs through the veins like blood.

But back to the topic seeing things better once you have distanced yourself from the sitituation, we all know of someone who is in a terrible relationship but they are unable to see they are being treated like shit, till the relationship is over and they can step back and see it for what it was.

Being in the middle of something makes it really hard to see the big picture and how things really are, many people have tunnel vision and can only see what is right around them.

Do you think it is hard to step back and see things clearly? I do, if it was easy more people would do it.

I think most of us when we are young think we are seeing things clearly because often youth clouds things and when we are young we are more likely to wear rose coloured glasses that make things appear clear when in fact they are really unclear and out of focus.

I hope all my blog friends are seeing life clearly and have taken off those rose coloured glasses and smashed them. 

My Bloody Head.....................is making me feel like death warmed up

Woke up feeling like death warmed up, my head feels like it is too heavy for my body and my chest is aching, I got dressed in the hope that doing so would help me feel more alive but hasn't really worked. It is another wet day outside and quiet cool as well.

Will have Jessica and Leo here tonight I think as school goes back tomorrow, I will have to tell Kathy that I have to take Leo to school so will not be able to watch Summer for her while she takes Sydney-May to her swimming lesson. I expect it will piss Kathy off but it can't be helped it is just the way it is.

Just turned on the telly and Dr Phil is on have to say this guy can really annoy me at times, I get so fed up with his stupid unrealistic opinions at times. Yes I know he say a lot of wise and sensible things as well but at times I think he is living in a cave and not the real world. Often I will just turn him off and not bother watching the show because it is annoying me so much.

On the topic of annoying television there are so many stupid shows on telly now days really at times I wonder what makes something something would make a good tv show. Maybe I would change my opinion if I watched some of those shows I think sound like a stupid idea but to be honest I just don't want to.

I didn't go for a walk this morning due to the wet weather and the fact that my head is so heavy it feels like it could fall off my body and roll away. I am also very tired even though I had a good nights sleep.

Yesterday while she was here Kelli made a strawberry cheesecake and some choc chip biscuits and have to say they are nice and yummy.

Sunday's Ramblings

Do you ever feel like if it's not one thing it's another, I do, today I have woken up with a tight chest a blocked head and watery eyes and I keep sneezing and it is so annoying. How exciting for me.

Also I couldn't go for my walk today as it is raining and I didn't get to go yesterday because I slept in and when I got up I thought Kathy will be here soon better not go and it was a good thing I didn't because not long after I got up she arrived.

Yesterday was spent doing nothing much, I did do two loads of washing and pegged it out to dry and I ran the vacuum over the floor but that was about it, spent most of the day watching recorded programs on telly. Tim had to work so I was home alone for most of the day and it was very quiet here, I liked it.

Do you ever just sit in the quiet at home? Or do you turn on the telly or radio as soon as you get up? This morning it is quiet as I haven't bothered to turn on anything since getting out of bed, better for my now pounding head the quiet.

Kelli is still at her mums place she is staying there till Sue gets back from Queensland and we don't know when that will me she is staying till Kirsty has the baby or gets fed up with her mum and asks her to leave. So this house is really quiet.

Have you ever thought about writing a poison pen letter to someone, have you ever received such a letter? A number of years ago I received one no idea who from it was typed well done on a computer and of course no one signed it and I don't remember what it was about because I read it showed it to my daughters and then forgot about it till now and I have no idea why it popped into my head this morning it just did. Was I upset about it I think I was but not overly my daughters and other family members were more upset by it then me.

Have you ever had a love/hate relationship with someone, I did years ago but I no longer have anything to do with those people and my life is just fine if not better for not having anything more to do with them. However, at the time I was very happy they served a purpose being in my life when they did now I have moved on and no longer have the need or desire to have such people in my life.

Oh well that is enough from me for this post, I have bored you all enough with my non news or ramblings for today, I will be back either tomorrow to bore you some more or the next day because that is who I am Jo-Anne the boring, the rambling but the oh so adorable, yes I am sure some people find me adorable maybe not everyone but some and that is enough for me.

I like me and because I like me I know others out there like me and some even love me, but those people I am related to by blood except Tim he loves me and we are not blood relations as that would be disgusting and weird.

Lest we forget

It was dawn on the 25^th April 1915 that Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed at Gallipoli in Turkey, their aim was to take the peninsula this didn't happen and the whole thing was a failure with casualties around 2000, it is believe that somewhere between 650-1000 Anzac die on that first day of the whole Gallipoli campaign.

The whole Gallipoli operation, however, cost 26,111 Australian casualties, including 8,141 deaths.

The date 25 April was officially named Anzac Day in 1916; in that year it was marked by a wide variety of ceremonies and services in Australia and New Zealand, including a commemorative march through London involving Australian and New Zealand troops.

The place where the troops landed on that day so long ago is now known as Anzac Cove, on Anzac Day 1985,  "Anzac Cove" was officially recognised by the Turkish government.

The cove is a mere 600 metres (2,000ft) long, bounded by the headlands of Ariburnu to the north and Little Ariburnu , known as Hell Spit, to the south. Following the landing at Anzac Cove, the beach became the main base for the Australian and New Zealand troops for the eight months of the Gallipoli campaign.

After the First World War, returned soldiers sought the comradeship they felt in those quiet, peaceful moments before dawn. With symbolic links to the dawn landing at Gallipoli, a dawn stand-to or dawn ceremony became a common form of Anzac Day remembrance during the 1920s.

The first official dawn service was held at the Sydney Cenotaph in 1927, dawn services were originally very simple and followed the operational ritual; in many cases they were restricted to veterans only. The daytime ceremony was for families and other well-wishers and the dawn service was for returned soldiers to remember and reflect among the comrades with whom they shared a special bond.

In the 1970's and 80's the popularity of Anzac Day seemed to be flaying but from about the late 1980s, there was an international resurgence of interest in World War I and its commemorations. Anzac Day attendances rose in Australia and New Zealand, with young people taking a particular interest. Nowadays thousands flock to Anzac Cove to pay tribute to those who have died not just in the first world war but all wars.

As a child I remember being at my grandparents place and watching the Anzac march with my pop, he would get really quiet at times and look sad but as I was a child I didn't understand why he was like that. I didn't think about the fact that he served in the second world war and I didn't know he was a prisoner of war.

They shall grow not old,
as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them,
nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun
and in the morning
We will remember them.

Lest we forget.

Cost of living

How do you handle not having any money?

Are you used to being broke all the time, or do you not have to worry about money at all?

Tim and I have never had a lot of money but we have never worried about having a roof over our heads or food on the table, yes we live week to week but so do most of the population.

What I do hate is having to ask Tim when I want money for anything, this he doesn't get because he will say if you need money just ask, however, he will often say things like “why do you need money” or will five be enough and if I say I want fifteen or twenty he will look all annoyed.

My parents never had a lot of money to spare either, but growing up we never felt like we were hard done by and most years we had a holiday.

Now my parents are on the aged pension and my dad is forever worrying about money, dad is often saying they are living beyond their means and he doesn't know what is going to happen. Mum can't see the point in worrying as she says it is not going to change anything and they are not that hard up.

Up until the last year my parents would take a couple of holidays a year but now they really can't, it is not just that they can't afford it. Dad is no longer able to drive the motorhome and had decided to sell it, at first mum was against selling it but has now come around and agrees that since dad can't drive it anymore they should sell it.

When dad is going on about how much the are overdrawn it upsets mum, she feels like what is she suppose to do.

This morning he rang her just after she started the monthly shopping saying there was not enough money there to do the shopping, she did the shopping anyway but she said she felt like just walking out and going home and telling him she didn't bother with the shopping because he said there was no money for it. However, she didn't do that she did the shopping but only bought half what they needed getting only the bare essentials.

I never thought I'd..................

http://www.mylifeandlemons.com/2014/04/i-never-thought-id.html

I saw this over at Kenzie's blog and liked the idea so much that I decided to do a I never thought I'd post of my own so here it is. 
I never thought I'd.. 

Drink Pepsi Max
Become addicted to blogging
Like overseas holidays
Have non family members live with me (happened a few years back)
Have my niece come live with me 
Have grandchildren who are not christened

You know what public holidays are great and annoying I keep forgetting what day it is. 

Tim is back at work today he left around 11am and will not be home till around 10pm by that time I will be in bed again. I had to cut my walk short this morning as Kathy was dropping Summer off for me to watch while Sydney went to her swimming lesson. 

Kelli is at her mum's place for the week she is house sitting for her while Sue is in Queensland with Kirsty, Jono is staying with her there and they of course have Daemon with them so it is nice that they get to spend some time together. 

The house is really quiet today, which is good because I have such a terrible headache and I am feeling uneasy in the tummy and I am oh so tired I might have to have a nap I am feeling that tired. 

Easter Sunday and now it's Monday

Well Easter Monday has arrived, I have no plans for the day except to vacuum out and iron Tim's work shirts and watch some recorded shows, in fact I have been watching recorded shows a lot over the weekend.

I didn't get much chocolate yesterday, Kathy gave me a small pack of Lindt chocolates and Jessica dug out a couple of chocolates she didn't like from what I gave her and gave to me. I didn't get Tim anything because I knew he wouldn't get me anything and I really couldn't afford it as he didn't want to give me any money to spend on Easter eggs.

Yesterday while I was at my parents I hung a few more photos for mum and dad had to say “your not hanging more stuff” he is forever complaining about the photos when we hang them but not afterwards, when he is sitting watching telly he will say he likes the photos around the house.

Mum was telling me that dad had said only a couple of nights ago how long has the photo been there, he was talking about a photo I hung outside the bathroom a number of months ago.

Yesterday was the first Easter Sunday lunch that I can remember my sister Sandra not being at, she had gone away camping over the Easter weekend but she didn't go far only to Pelican which is between mums place and Jessica's place in Swansea so as David said she could had driven home for lunch but it was ok I wasn't worried about her not being there. My daughters Kathy-Lee & Jessica came for lunch along with Leo and Sydney-May & Summer.

Lunch was great we had a lamb roast with baked veggies followed by a Toblerone cheesecake made by my brother David. I cooked the veggies and mum did the lamb in the slow cooker.

Last night Kelli went to Jessica's place and she was cooking roast pork with veggies for them, there was Jessica, Kelli, Jono and a couple of other mates of theirs along with Blain, Leo and Daemon. Kelli should be home sometime today.

Yesterday Kelli drove her mum to the airport, she has gone to Queensland to be with Kirsty who is due to have her first child any time soon.

My Saturday

Last night we had Blain here for the night, I like having him here he is “My Blain” but he can be a moody person at times, like last night he was mucking around with Papa and around 7.45pm I said it was time to settle down and he got into a mood and said he wanted to go home this continued till Kelli & Daemon returned home. Having his little brother to play with cheered him up a lot. He was suppose to sleep on the mattress in Papa's office but he didn't he slept with me and Tim, I went to bed before anyone else and when I woke around midnight he was in bed with us taking up most of my side of the bed, I told Tim I wanted to move him onto the mattress but instead Tim just pulled him closer to him so I could have room.

This morning I had to go to the shops to get the veggies for tomorrows lunch mum is having a baked lunch she is doing roast lamb with baked veggies, after getting home and having lunch Tim said he wanted to go to Coles and he wanted me to go with him being the good wife I am I went with him.

Tonight Kelli and Daemon are going to her mums place for the night she is going to drive Sue to the airport in the morning, Sue is flying to Queensland to be with Kirsty who is due to have her first daughter any time soon. This will be Sue's 5^th grandchild.

So it is just me and Tim here for the night and again tomorrow night as Kelli said she was going to Jessica's tomorrow night.

On another topic the Victoza is helping with my blood glucose levels they are not normal as yet but much better hopefully over time they will come down even more, I guess only time will tell.

Good Friday

Hello everyone, it's Good Friday today here in Australia and that might mean a sleep in for some people but not for me I have been up since 6.30am Leo had me awake at 3.30am but only long enough for me to come out and put the telly on for him, he was awake around 3ish and at 3.30 he asked if he could watch telly so I got up and came out and put it on for him and told him to wake me in a couple of hours. He came in at 6.30 and asked me if I would get up and of course I did.

I went for my walk around 8am after giving Leo his medication his mum sent me a text half an hour ago saying she would shower and leave they will stay for lunch which is only fish and chips from the chippy.

However on the topic of food and fish, I don't eat seafood, never have, never will I reckon but you would be amazed how often I have been asked what I eat on Good Friday since I don't eat seafood. What is it with people just because I can't eat meat doesn't mean I have nothing to eat, hot chips are yummy, as is chips and eggs or a toasted cheese sandwich. There are lots of things a person can eat that is neither meat or fish.

Now I am not overly religious but I do not eat meat on Good Friday, just because I don't go to church each week or at all doesn't mean I am not a good Christian I believe in God and Jesus and I prayer a lot I don't feel I have to go to church in order to have my prayers listened too and answered. 

Do you run late of a morning..................not me.....................

Are you forever running late of a morning, no matter what time you get up you are always running late, maybe you should true preparing for the morning the evening before. I know there are those who say you should get up 15 minutes earlier but for some that doesn't work because no matter what time the get up they still end up running late.

I know if I have a busy day ahead of me............aka.............Friday...........I sort out in my head a couple of different outfits to wear and then I write my shopping list and put it in my bag. I will also take out my shopping bags to the car the night before so I don't have to worry about that in the morning.

I like to get up and go for a walk first thing of a morning but today I didn't go as when I got up it was raining and I will not walk in the rain, I don't mind if it is a little drizzle but not steady rain.

I am more likely to oversleep if the weather is cold, overcast and or wet so in that type of weather I do need and alarm, but most of the time I just think about what time I have to get up in the morning and I will wake up at the right time.

I am one of those people who can get up dressed and be out of the house in 15 minutes if I want to as long as I don't muck around with what to wear, this includes applying make up. 

Black Sheep of the Family............me.............no bloody way..............

Who’s the black sheep in your family?

Do you have a black sheep in the family?

I would say we don't have a black sheep in my family, however, I have heard my sister Sue call herself the black sheep of the family. I don't know why she does that because no one else thinks of her as a black sheep.

Yes there are times when Sue is the brunt of the family jokes but there are other times when it might me Sandra or my who is the brunt of the family jokes so it is not just Sue it can be anyone in a family depending on the circumstances.

I feel that Sue has a problem with self esteem and self image in that hers is in the toilet and that is a worry to all those who love her.

Our family is largish and close knit and we have a habit of bagging on each other at times, that doesn't make someone the black sheep it is all done with love and we all can give as good as we get.

When Sue was young she moved to Lemon Tree Passage with Rex the father of her children and the man she married and because she lived close to and hour away we didn't see her very often and she would often not be able to attend family functions due to the distance or not having money for petrol. 

 Sometimes I feel she felt like she was being excluded from family events but that wasn't the case sometimes something would happen on the spur of the moment and it was not like she could just drop everything and turn up at mum & dad's place in 10 minutes, as I said she lived a long way off and she had 3 then 4 children.

When she left Rex for a while she still lived in that area but then she returned to live in Newie being only 10 minutes or so drive away from mum and dad and there was a time when her and Kelli lived with mum and dad for a bit. Since returning to the area she has been included a lot more but still there have been times when she has felt everyone was against her.

Sue's thing was to get upset and storm off in a huff and if no one went after her she would think, “ I knew they didn't want me there” well I felt that was what she was thinking and not that she had over reacted to something or that no one was able to go off after her because on a couple of times we didn't even know she had left as she didn't tell anyone she was leaving.

I know I have never thought of myself as the black sheep of the family, I don't think my sisters Sandra & Jeannie have either but I could be wrong, Jeannie might have when she was younger and with Peter and Peter didn't like the family much so she didn't see us as often as she would had liked. Sandra had a rough few years as a teenager and she might have thought she was the black sheep during those years.

I am pretty sure Dave has never thought of himself as the black sheep, since he is Dave and he is mums favourite and is more likely to think the family revolves around him...................lol

I have three daughters and I hope none of them think of themselves as a black sheep because they are all wonder and special in their own way.

I also have a heap of wonderful nieces and nephews none of which are consider a black sheep, granted I am not real close to all of them but then they are no longer children they are adults with their own lives and I often don't get to see them very often but that doesn't make them any less important in my life and none could be called a black sheep.

However, I have to say if one is considered the black sheep of one's family is that a bad thing. I think not, it means you are different, you are your own person and it could mean you are part of family that doesn't like it when someone has their own mind and own thoughts and opinions on stuff. There are families in my opinion that don't like it when someone goes off and does things differently, or there may be some families who don't like someone's sexual preference but that is there problem not the individual who is a little different, different is not a bad thing and being different shouldn't make someone the black sheep of a family.

Blood, Strange People and well clean undies

Here I am doing Sunday's post on Monday why is that you ask well try as I might yesterday I could not concentrate on anything and ended up going back to bed only 3 hours after I got up. I had a terrible headache, was shaking and felt nauseas in other words I was having a hyper attack due to my BGL's being high for so long, I was told by the doctor that they would happen from time to time, as he put it after having the high readings for a while the body rebels and makes me rest to try and bring the levels down.

Ok I just went and changed my undies, yeah like you needed to know that but the ones I had on kept riding up bum and it was getting annoying so I went and changed them and because I was up I unpacked the dishwasher and then repacked it because dirty dishes are like dirty clothes never ending.

I remember my nanna saying once that men work Monday to Saturday and rest on Sunday but women never get to rest as there is always some form of household chore to be done, even when she is on holidays she will still be cleaning and washing and making meals and looking after the family.

Back to my BGL's this morning when I tested my blood it was only 8.7 that is the lowest it has been in months so maybe these injections are working.

Also this morning when I went for my walk I went and had my bloody test done the one the diabetic doctor wanted me to have done so that is out of the way wonder when I will get the results I am guessing next month when I go back to see him.

While I was walking this morning my thoughts turned to the Adam's Family, I don't know why but it did I was thinking about how even though they were a strange and weird family they thought they were normal and how that is the case with most people no matter how strange or weird they are they don't see it.

Dawson's mother is a strange woman most of the time and even stranger when she is smoking pot, some people can smoke pot and still appear normal but she is not one of them she will go strange and act like she is strung out. We have never known here to do anything except pot.

I wonder if people think I am strange at times, I know I don't think I am strange but who is to know what other people think.  

Easter Hat Parade and seeing the diabetic doctor

Hello everyone, here I am back again, have to say yesterday was a busy day for me after taking Leo to OOSH I went to breakfast with the family then did a little bit of shopping before going to Leo's school for his Easter Hat Parade. This year he wasn't as excited as he was last year, in fact as times he looked bored/sad, after the parade we got him out early and Kelli took him back to Jess's place for a while before they came here.

Yesterday was the last day of term for school children and both Dawson and Zac were at breakfast following in the Jenkins tradition of not going to school on the last day of term, myself and my siblings often didn't go on the last day of term and my own girls often didn't go on the last day of term. Often on the last day of term not a lot of school work is done, what is done is usually done in the morning and the afternoon is spent backing up stuff ready for the holiday I know teachers usually say they do school work right up to the last bell of the day but I have been on the last day and that is not often the case.

I came home had a quick bit to eat then headed over to the Royal (hospital) for an appointment with a diabetic doctor about what to do about my high BGL's, he has started me on something called Victoza http://www.victoza.com/ I have to take this injection each night at 8pm for a month and then go back to see him if my BGL's are lower then he will start me on Byetta which is similar but cheaper and I will have to take that twice a day. If my BGL's are not lower I will have to go onto insulin instead.

I was also given a lecture about my diet, how I should be eating better not less just better but he was a nice doctor and sounded like he understood that is is not always easy to eat the right foods and he said even though I am walking every day and eating mostly good, he thinks it would be a uphill battle for me to lose weight and suggested I look into having surgery. He suggested gastric sleeve surgery but I don't know I will look into it what he was talking about didn't sound like what I thought gastric sleeve was but I will go to where he suggested and ask them about it

Anyway I have started the injections from last night it is nothing doesn't hurt or anything and in fact both the doctor and the nurse said my approach to having to give myself infections was good, I said if it needs to be done then so be it no point stressing over it, just get on with it.

What was strange was the doctor asked me if I had an Aboriginal blood in me because of how dark my skin is, ok I don't think my skin is that dark but whatever, he looked at the back of my neck and under my arms, asked about bruising and then talked to his trainee/student doctor about whether I could have Cushings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cushing%27s_syndrome. What I do know is that he wants me to have a heap of tests done before I go back, he doesn't think I have Cushings but also said I have a number of the symptoms.

Just a bit of stuff or just about my life nothing important just stuff

Good afternoon all, this morning I went to visit my nanna at the nursing home after mum dropped Liarna at daycare and Kayla at school, nanna looked good this morning she was in bed but she usually is now days but she said mums name this morning and when asked how she was she replied that she was good that was when she said Mavis

When I arrived home both Natasha and Jessica were here, Jessica was cleaning her work car and Natasha was vacuuming the house for me, she did manage to cut her finger while she was doing it and complained about how dirty her father's room was.

Jessica then went for a lay down while I blogged, when Kelli arrived home from shopping she had lunch as in Macca's so a big thank you to Kelli for buying me lunch and to Natasha for vacuuming out for me and Jessica for being Jessica.

Kathy told me that Sydney-May wants to have a sleep over at her nanna's house and I said that is great I would love to have her sleep over one night although Kathy was annoyed when I said that Sydney-May could sleep with me and papa. Sydney-May also asked Natasha if she could have a sleep over at her house one night so she could see Blain. I expect she will be asking Jessica if she can sleep over at her place also so she can see Leo.

Leo has finished his speech therapy appointments for now, although he has to go back on the waiting list for another round of appointments and Kelli is going to ring and get Daemon on the waiting list for some appointments as his speech isn't good either in fact Daemon has started to go backwards with his speech. He has stopped saying Mum and instead says “um” and he isn't saying dad either he is saying “ad” although he does say Aunty Jo and Papa even though we are always telling him that Tim isn't Papa he is Uncle Tim and he will say Uncle Tim but with all the children calling Tim Papa it must be confusing for him.

I just popped down to get Jessica a couple of pies for lunch and while I was out I gave way to a couple of cars, as in letting them go instead of me even though I had right of way because I am just nice like that, so here is the question when you are driving would you do something like that or are you like Tim and if you have right of way other have to make room for you and you swear and curse because they are taking up to much of the road.

Sometimes it just makes more sense to let the other driver go first because the road is narrow and they are taking up a little too much of the road because when they have pulled out of a parking spot they end up taking up more room to be completely on their side of the road is not so easy to do.

Friends

Do you remember your first friends?

I do and I don't I know one of my first friends was mu uncle Tony he was only a couple of months older then me I use to hang out with him a fair bit during school holidays and such when I was pretty young.

I think for many of us our first friends are cousins or siblings, when we have our first sleep over it is often at a relatives house, because it takes a lot for our parents to allow us out of their sight overnight.

When I was young like in primary school and we lived in Flame street I had a lot of sleepovers at my friend Stacey's house she lived 2 houses down from us and we were thick as thieves when we were little that changed when we got to high school, I think because we went to different high schools.

When my girls were little they would often sleep over at my sisters house and their cousins Samantha and Tina were good friends of my girls Kathy-Lee & Natasha this lasted for many years, in fact as teenagers for many years Sam & Natasha spent a lot of time together and in fact they use to look a lot alike.

Now I am an adult I have no friends that are not family, I am ok with that though it is just the way it is, my parents don't have a lot of friends in fact dad has one friend and mum has none but it doesn't bother them. Tim doesn't have any friends he has work mates but he doesn't hang out with them out of work hours.

I think some people have a lot of friends other people have a lot of family who are not just family but friends as well. 

Being a dad

So I have already written about what it is like to be a mum something I know a bit about but now I am going to write a little about being a dad something I don't know anything about since I am not a dad, but I am going to write about my thoughts on being a dad from my point of view.

I don't think many men think about what it would be like to be a dad from the time they are boys like girls do, a little girl might think about being a mum one day but a little boy think about being a dad I don't think that would happen very often.

When a girl/woman tells the man in her life she is going to have a baby he might be happy about the news of he might be indifferent to the news but as the baby grows and he sees her swelling belly and can feel his unborn child move and kick his excitement will grow.

Now I know when my three girls were born Tim cried each time when he saw his daughter being born and he so loved holding them just after they were born, with Kathy I was so tried by the time she was born that it was Tim who held her for over half an hour and she laid in his arms just looking at him, the bond between them was forged during that half hour. Kathy has always been a daddy's girl.

Men often do not spend as much time with their child as mum does, it is just the way it is although that said my brother David wasn't like that when his son Dawson was only 4 days old he brought him home with him and from then on Dawson would spend 4-7 days with his dad and then the same with his mum, now of course Dawson lives with his grandparents but that doesn't mean his parents love his any less in fact he lives with his grandparents because they love him.

Anyway let's get back to the topic which is fathers, men usually don't spend as much time with their child as the woman does, we don't think anything is wrong with it we don't seem to think men need to interact with their child as much as the woman and I don't get it, I know it is just usually the way it is.

We expect the man to go out and work to support the family and when he gets home from work at the end of the day we think it is normal for him to want to relax for a while before the children annoying him, however, when a woman goes out to work when she gets home she is expected to see to the children and start the evening meal she can't sit down and just relax for a while.

I think a lot of the time a man will be more hands on when it comes to playing with the children, they will chase and tickle and play horsey but they only do it for a short period of time. The woman may not play horsey or have tickle fights but she is interacting with her children for a longer period of time, again that is just the way it is.

When a man works for home he will say things like keep the children out of here I am working, or can you see to the children I am working, when a woman works from home she will also see to the needs of the children and work around them often doing a lot of work after the children have gone to bed when it is quiet and she can work uninterrupted.

I know we often hold mothers to a higher standard then we do fathers and that is wrong in my opinion, it takes two to have a child and both parents are important in a child’s life.

There are many fathers raising their children alone, but we rarely hear about them, it is usually the mother raising her children we hear about and it is her struggles we think about but when a man is raising his children on his own he still has struggles.

Why is it that when a woman says she would like to stay home and just care for her children we think that is normal but if a man was to say he would like to stay home and care for his children we would think that unusually and some would think it is not normal, why isn't it normal men love their children just as much as a woman loves her children.

Fathers are important

Being a mum

Another day another dollar, well not for me I don't make any dollars, I have a job that doesn't pay ever..........................but it is the job I have always wanted so I guess I can't complain, well I could complain but what's the point this is the lot in life I chose. If it wasn't what I wanted then I could complain and justly so but it is what I have always wanted ever since I was a child. I remember my nan asking me once when I was a teenager what I wanted to do when I left school and I had no answer, all I could think was I want to be married to a man like my dad and be a mum like my mum.

When my girls were young Tim and I attended his bosses sons wedding and I remember being seated at a table with a bunch of people I didn't know and one of them asked me what I did and I said I was a wife and mother. She replied so you don't have a real job, I came back yes I do I am a wife and mother and that is a very real job and a very demanding and rewarding job and I love being a wife and a mother. I was in fact rather pissed off with her comment about not having a real job.

For many years I have listed my occupation as “mother” on forms that have been filled in, and yes I have had other people say you don't work outside of the home and that statement doesn't bother me because I don't my job is centred around my home. I have noticed that I also get the statement “you don't have a paying job” this is also right as I don't get paid to me a mother, thankfully I have not been told I don't have a real job in years.

I also don't like the term “full time mother” all mothers are full time mothers even if they are not around their child all the time and go out to earn a living they are still full time mothers, that is to imply that working mothers are only part time mothers, what a load of rubbish any working mother will tell you she is no less a mother then one who stays home and devotes her days to caring for her child. Also I think most working mothers would love to be able to stay home with their children but in order to keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies they need to go out and earn money.

I am glad we no longer live in a time when a career woman would be expected to end her career or put it on hold to raise the children, if a woman spends years studying or training for a career not a job but a career then they shouldn't be expected to just throw it all away if she wants children. No one ever expected a man to toss his career in to have children.

Well I didn't expect this post to be about being a mother when I started typing funny were things lead when one just allows her hands to dance over the keyboard.  

Happy Birthday Dawson

Here in my part of Australia we are into our last week of Daylight Savings and have to say about time too, I am so over it I like daylight savings but it goes for far to long I remember when it use to end at the end of February and then it was the start of March then the end of March and now it is the beginning of April before it ends talk about ridiculous.

Also today being the first of April it's the 15^th birthday of my nephew Dawson who everyone knows is the son of my brother David and he lives with my parents most of the time and goes to either of his parents house on the weekend. Although he often doesn't want to go to his parents place he prefers to stay at nan & pops house, why well at their place there is now fighting and he has his own TV, Xbox, Foxtel and he can eat his meals in his room watching telly or playing his Xbox.

Dawson has lived with mum ever since he was born, in those early days he would spend 4 days with his dad and 4 days with his mum that grew into a week with his dad and then a week with his mum but the time spent with his dad was spent with his nan & pop as Dave lived at home still back then. When Dave married Leigh Dawson started wanting to stay with his nan more and more and now he lives with his nan & pop from Monday to Friday and goes to his parents on alternate weekends, but there are many weekends when he will say to mum (nan) that he doesn't want to go to his mums or his dads this makes it hard on mum she doesn't like forcing him to go to his parents places but she also knows that both his parents like spending time with him and it is upsetting for them when he doesn't want to spend time with them.

Because Dawson had ODD he doesn't handle being bossed around very well and by bossed around I mean having a parent or adult tell him what to do, this is something both his parents have a problem understanding at times they think I am the parent if I tell you to clean your room or do the dishes you as the child should do as I said with Dawson it doesn't work that way you have to ask the child if they were to ask him to do something he is more likely to do it without complaint. My mum has always been one to ask her children to do something for her over telling them to do it, it is just the way she is.

Dawson loves younger children and will often play with his little sister Liarna and his baby cousin Denni and little cousin Temika he is so gentle with the little ones, he also has a little brother Landon on his mothers side and yes he likes to play with his brother but I think because his mother will at times expect him to play with Landon he doesn't want to do so.

There has been many times when his mum has said to him why do you like Denni more then Landon it isn't that he likes Denni more it is because he is not expected to play with Denni thus is a joy for him to do so. This I think I is part of his ODD.

Dawson has always been a miniature version of David and that is both a good and a bad thing, Dave was an annoying little shit as child and as a teenager he was a annoying bigger shit and as such you can take my word for it that Dawson can be an annoying little/bigger shit just like his father. However, we do love him just like we love his father.

I will end this with HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAWSON Aunty Jo loves you