Pssst .... wanna win this ...

Go over to the Home Front for the link thru details, best le

Flutterbyes at the Home Front

Fly on over to the home front to see some wonderful fabric art and the talent behind them ... le xo

Retro Inspiration Lites My Life

Ohhhh, come on over dear ones ... you won't be disappointed ... le

Son of Mine

So our darling first born has been off school all week with a mossie bite that went feral. Yes, the said bite made the little man's ankle go all hot and angry and red and swollen ... Being the mother I am, I did not even notice until he started preforming a hop along cassidy routine throughout the house.

One look at the mucky red mess and I knew we'd gone septic. So up to clinic. In to see the DON (director of nursing - we only have a DON - we are lucky to have her and I just love the term ... very Godfather and all ... and she is, as she is in charge of the drugs round here ... in a good way I mean).

So some raspberry antibiotic medicine and we are back home for the duration of the week. Poor wee lad.

We had kept darling boy home too. As mentioned previously darling boy is 'not 100% sure about school'. It's like he knows he is meant to like it, but he just does not like it. Not one little bit, truth be told.

So MIC, ever vigilant and ready for a challenge proceeded down the home lessons route after one day off for good measure. And guess what .... what I hear you say .... well I believe we are just going to stick with home schooling via distance education.

WHY .... well, here's the poop ... the school tries hard but it is not enough. Opps, is that too blunt. I am of course wrong. The buildings are reasonable enough, the individual teachers and aides seem to work at trying to get it right, but management, well management is like the three monkeys ... deaf dumb and blind, to the situation up here.

How do I know ... well I know because I am in the management circle of life. And more relevant than that ... I am a mother, a mother who knows her lads.

So I call the district office and after 45 minutes the lovely mother on the other end of the line gets the picture. MIC then calls her, and now she has the fully illustrated series ... go the MICster.

Of course now they have to go to the principle ... and tell him I am 'concerned'. Oh yes we are concerned, and he knows that already, so no surprises there. We are in fact so concerned that MIC will tomorrow speak with distant education and see how we go about making that work.

Because if we are really honest with ourselves we know nothing will change until management changes... and that may never happen, it is the government after all. And in the meanwhile first born, in grade two, deserves to learn more than what he is, darling boy's days should be free from stress and intimidation and both boys should thrive not just survive.

And the final nail in the coffin ... the NAPLAN scores are in the angry red for every test in every subject area .... for every year tested.

And if for one moment we had thought coming here would disadvantage the wee lads we would not have come. We always thought home schooling was a possibility coming here, so we were eyes wide open .... but it just seems such a shame that while we have the ability to move our boys onto greener learning pastures, those darling children left behind will just get the sloppy seconds from what should be the education feast.

And no, I do not think 'low socio economic, messed up family life and other such lables' mean we should just think this is ok. It ain't. Well I've said that now, off to bed, best le xo.

Flowers at the Home Front - For You

Power to the flowers .... hee hee le

A Holiday Riddle

Question : When is a holiday in your home town really a holiday ...

Answer : When you rent a holiday house in lieu of staying with relatives ....





So here we are heading back to BrisVegas in April for eight days or so ... And here is the holiday house. Oh yes baby ! And it is cheaper than a two bed unit in a hotel.

A happy holiday is one where you get to see everyone, stay one night at grandads and then move to this house.

And look ... a gate to the park. We even know this house ... it is on a bikeway that we used on a regular basis when we lived in BrisVegas. Oh I just can't wait :)

And here is the fab kitchen. It is a five bedroom home, so nanna will be able to come stay, and play and of course babysit ... hee hee.

And look a heart shaped hand basin and claw foot bath.

A delightful yard, we might never leave. It's a far cry from whoop whoop.

And there is a pet in the garden ... it looks like a brolga from whoop whoop.

Oh yes baby ... we are coming for you, le oxo

Daisies at the Home Front

So sweet .. come on over and find out how here ... best le

What was brown is now green ...

See the two hoppies in the middle of the pic above .. taken from the main street ... awww too cute. When we first came to Whoop Whoop this was brown as and just dust.





And here is the road out to civilisation. That sign the dingy is tied to is a floodway sign ... those people are fishing off the edge of the road.

And here is the road out to the wharf. No fishing for now. Aw well, so be it. We are all safe and happy and dry, what more could one ask for ... best le

Going Green at the Home Front

Come play with me here you little green lovers .... best le

Let that be a lesson ...

I'd love to teach you how to make this skirt ... but that is not within my skill set - yet ! But I can share a workplace lesson with you ... straight from the pages of Whoop Whoop.

This one is kinda basic, but seemingly some people have not learnt the lesson as yet. So here it is, plain and simple.

When you have a proposition and you take it to your boss, take something within reason, something she can approve. It's called the 'win win' negotiation approach.

So step one, it has to be reasonable ... to a reasonable person, within the parameters of what is likely to be possible. Ask for the moon and the stars and you may well just get nothing more than the dirt already below your feet. If it is too hard to say yes to, the default answer is always no - and usually to everything, not just the unreasonable parts of the request.

Step Two, and it's a no brainer. Give to receive. You want to get something, give something. You know what I'm saying. Know what the other person wants, the boss, and give it to them. A little thought and you can usually establish this without too much blood, sweat and tears. If in doubt , or you really just don't know, ask the boss what her priorities are for the next amount of time and focus on that.

Step Three. If you have a written agreement for something and now you want to reposition yourself outside of the parameters of the written agreement you had better have some damn solid reasons why. And 'because the other guy does' is not a solid reason. It is not about the 'other guy' it is about you and your capacities.

Step Four. Review steps one to three and make sure you have all the boxes ticked. It is that simple.

As an afterthought, make a time to see the boss, don't just wander in, off the job so to speak and present your position. Lay the foundations with an email request. Make sure you don't miss a level in the chain of command. If you want any hope of success get your supervisor on side and supportive first, if at all possible. I guarantee the big boss will ask them, so they had best be prepared to plug for you.

So that is about it from le's career advice 101.

Best to you all, now go out there and win win, le xoox

ps will today bring another one biting the dust ... let's wait and see.

pps actual details have been changed to protect the silly billy.

ppps the skirt was a pattern kit from Lark but it seems to be off their website now ...

My Style - Inspired !

How can you not love this necklace and wee bag .. bag and necklace stylist own ... hee hee, hugs le xoxo

Not 100% Sure ...

Darling Boy started school this week.

None to happy about it either ...

First born was ready to go back.

But Darling Boy says "Mum, I'm not 100% sure about school ..."
First Born has stepped up to be the 'big brother'.

And here we are arrived!

So both the wee lads are in the same class. A composite prep to year three, so from the youngest child who may only be turning five in this June, so now four and a half, through to eight year olds. Quite a challenge ...

Add to the mix that 80% of the kids in the class are indigenous with additional issues from poor nutrition to behavioral to family drama and well you have a tough crowd.

Darling boy seems to sense this, thus he is not too sure about school ... time will tell, meanwhile we will keep on keeping on ... best le