Fun for the whole family

Ok, first of all I believe there is NO SUCH THING in the entire world that can be described as 'fun for the whole family'. Whenever I see that advertised I know that someone is going to miss out. At this point I believe it's usually me. All of our holidays as a family (and I use the term holiday loosely) have involved (for me) more work than I would normally have to do at home. I know it won't always be this way, but while they are little that's the way it is.

We have a weekender coming up as we must travel to a surf break between Geraldton (Gero) and Dongara (Dongers) in a few weeks. It's part of the Surf Tour that The Surfer has been doing for two years now. It sees us make several trips down south and further north each year, sometimes three weekends in a row. Although I look forward to these missions as a break in routine, I am always reminded of previous trips and how much 'mum work' is involved. The boys usually have an eat-sleep-surf mentality on these trips.

Mum work: There is the packing and this usually starts two days beforehand. It's not just clothes and toiletries for five people, it's toys, books, nappies, dvds, (yes we need a moment's peace here and there), food, linen, towels, wet weather gear, beach gear (yes even in July) and first aid. There is always some minor injury. ALWAYS.

I pack every item of clothing the little people own. Even then I still need to do a hand wash somewhere. I usually pack my own bag in the last five minutes I have spare, and even though I think I am packing all the right things, I am horrified when we arrive at our destination with absolutely nothing appropriate to wear. Why don't I own a tracksuit? What makes me think that four Alannah Hill skirts will be required on a trip to Gero? Why don't I learn from previous trips that this method of packing does not work?

The car trip starts off well. The 'are we nearly there's?' usually take about 30 minutes to kick in. Despite the healthy fruit snacks I cut up we always end up eating crappy, oversalted chips from some servo stuck in 1979. Barnstormer will always nod off which sounds like a good thing but in the long run, isn't. Hammerhead will not participate in the enforced toilet stop but will then desperately need to go within five minutes of starting the car again, which can make HM get just a bit shirty. HM may also get a little vocal on the drive, particularly if we get stuck behind a convoy of grey nomads and their caravans. This is highly likely on the Gero trip. Many of his 'shed' words are used and the kids see this as an opportunity to join in. The shed words are then used in many more situations for the duration of the trip.

If we are staying at a friend's or relative's abode, I take photos of every room before anyone else is allowed inside, to ensure that when we leave it will look exactly the same. I am meticulous about this.

In a couple of weeks we head to Dongara where we have a lovely beachfront cabin. I am really looking forward to this and think I will be the most relaxed I have ever been on these surf missions. The clean-up is minimal so it should be fun. And hopefully the weather will be nice. Anyway, I'm going to pack my bag well in advance this time and make sure that I have appropriate clothing.

So now, tell me about your family trip. Make me feel normal.

Insane work decisions

I don't know if it's the black dog or lack of coffee but I am making some almost unworkable work decisions. I'm currently writing an educational series for a publishing company over east. I've never written for them before but they are big and pay well. I'm supposed to have three of the six books ready by the end of June. END.OF.JUNE. I'm about a third of the way through one book and keep telling myself that once I've done one book, the others will follow on very quickly. At the rate I am going, even if I were to work for every possible waking hour left in the month, I will only have one book done.

If this isn't bad enough, I just accepted a contract for a government department to edit some strategic plans by END.OF.JUNE. I hate to say no to jobs as I know they may never contact me again. I also need my editing fix. My day is no good until I've corrected grammar somewhere.

I guess I am hoping that the publishing company is running behind schedule--like my old publishing company always was. And that the government department won't be ready to send me their stuff, which is almost a dead cert from past experience. Any grammatical errors in any of my posts are intentional.

The first post

Well, I always said I didn't have time to be a mummy blogger. I don't really have the time to even be a mummy. But I've been realising I need to write. I've also been inspired by the plethora of good quality inappropriate blogs out there. I don't know how often I'll get to write and I don't even know what I will focus on. I live with a surfer, am a mummy of two and stepmum of a teenager who I love as my own. I work from home (at all hours!) so I can ferry the darlings here and there. But mostly I make the man drive them around.

Other things about me in no particular order:

• I didn't think I would have kids but I ended up sneaking in there just before the biological time bomb went off. I am glad I did. I love the little peeps.
• I have hypermobility and also Ehlers Danlos syndrome. I can do crazy things with my fingers but it's not all fun and games.
  
• I am not very good with toddlers, better with older kids.
• My kids have just ended the toddler phase (see above!) Aged 4 and 5. Most people think they are twins. They are called Barnstormer (a wise girl of 4) and Hammerhead (my big boy of 5). They have a big brother known as The Surfer (boy 15). He is famous to many people. He is my fake son and I love him like my own.
• My man, who I shall call Handsome Man (HM for short), is 11 years older than me and I love him as much now as I did at the beginning. I cherish the fact that my kids have him for a father. We have known each other for more than 25 years.
  
• I get on really well with The Surfer's mother. It's all good.
• I do a load of washing every single day. Sometimes more. It's like how some people can't do anything until they have a coffee or a cigarette. I can't be calm until the washing is on.
• I like things to be clean and tidy.
• My house usually looks like we have just been burgled by people searching for something specific.
• I have learned to live with mess. But I still hate it.
• I am on Pristiq ... for now. I am usually happy but the black dog follows me around and really barks a lot. I struggle with it. It has been appearing since at least 1998 but I could even say it was around in 1983.
  
• I have written over 100 educational books that are sold nationally and internationally. 
• I was crap at breastfeeding.
• My life has had a number of very distinct and different stages that ususally last around ten years. I am hoping my current stage lasts longer.
• My best friends are the girls I've known since school. My best friend forever has known me since Year One.
• Thanks for stopping by to my girl-cave on the web.