Weekly whinge

Well well....

What a week and a half it's been down here.

Jessica is growing up fast. Too fast. Has conversations via baby talk (goo-goo-gah-gah) with everyone. We had a major scare over a week ago when she stopped breathing while I was at work. I rushed home and sort of blasted everyone in blind panic. The ambos were 5 minutes behind me and checked her over. They then took her to LRH (hospital) for observation. After 3 hours we were sent home with an OK. I took the girls with me and that turned into a nightmare as Paige decided to throw one of her hissy fits over not sitting on the bed. Jesus. Since then Jessica has been excellent. Starting to sleep regularily through the night, much to our appreciation.



On to other pressing matters.

Paige is a nightmare. I now call her the Black Hole, as you cannot escape her. She demands the centre of attention (even at the hospital where her sister nearly had died). We are seeing a counsellor today to get her some much needed help. I think it's all a Father complex. Dickhead might not mean to cause the damage to her, but deep down we think something has happened to Paige in the past from her father. She carries on like a Pork Chop at the best of times and will still go up and down like a yo-yo. I found out the other night that Ang is a mess because of Paige. A total reminder of what her Father used to be. Like father like daughter. We give thanks to Dickhead that he doesn't give a rats arse about Sarah and will not fuck up her life.

They have gone back to school as of yesterday. What a fucking long summer holiday it was....

Work has been great. More hours, more tips means more moolah for the house. Last night I saved a Kookaburra that was in the middle of the road at Hazelwood North. I rang the Wildlife hotline and passed on the details. Seemed very stunned. I average about $450 a week from working 5 nights per week. All good..

Jaiden goes back to school this Monday. He has been excellent of late.

Our efforts to roll the car loan into the house loan is turning into a disaster. The damn RAMS guy (Elliot) at Traralgon is a useless bastard. If it doesn't work we will try again with another Bank. Probably Bendigo Bank.

I have become more relaxed over the past few days. I have been on knife's edge over money worries and have let it get to me and affect my relationship with Ang and the girls. I do a little "serenity now" and I relax. Can't let these worries impact the house. Throw the chips into the air and where they fall we deal with them.

My car is a piece of shite and needs a molotov or 2 to improve it. I am going to drive it into the ground before buying a new one. Just another $500 bomb I will get as well. No point getting something good with my work.

I've sold my PS2 via eBay this week. I dont play it anymore and we needed the extra cashola. Got $200 for it. I might get an Atari 2600... lol, Old skool.

We had some dramas yesterday with Ang's car loan going out without us having the money in her account. After selling my body on the main street of Morwell I came up with the cash - all for the car payment to bounce later in the day. Jesus H Christ. That car kills us at the end of every month. Just a total wipeout. Ahh, what can one do....

That's it for now.... until next we meet, May the force be with you....

Photos of the young 'un

More shifts coming

Was informed last night that one of the workers at Pizza Boys has quit.

I will be picking up his Saturday night shift from now on. This means an extra $60-$80 per week for the household. All good.

On other news, our attempt at rolling Ang's car loan into the house loan has hit a few snags. My weekly earnings are void as I have not been working for 12 months. We have to go on Ang's work and her letters of offer from companies here in Gippsland. If we are successful in getting the car into the house loan it'll mean we save an extra $250 per month on average. She will then sell the Explorer and get something practical for the whole family (7-8 seater).

Jessica is growing up fast. She is starting to roll onto her side and will shuffle on her back. If you put her down and leave her for 10 minutes and come back she will have moved. Pretty funny.

The girls are currently at their fathers until later today. We are going to get Paige counselling to deal with her ever present mood swings. We are sick of how she carries on. She needs help. Sarah is getting over a Viral rash and is going well. Jaiden has been doing more around the house which is excellent. We all learnt something when that Kid was down here. Just hope it continues.

Cutie Pie

Go home.....

Byron was taken home on Monday.

He hit Paige on Sunday night. It took me 5 hours to drive to Wedderburn and then 5 hours home. I am still recovering today.

So disappointing.....

Houston, We have a problem...

Slight hiccup at home.

Byron is almost out of control. Thinks he can do what he likes, doesn't listen to anyone and won't do as he's told. I can see why he gets the belt across the legs at home. He is a smart arse to boot as well.

A very pushy kid. Tell him one thing, he will do the complete oposite. He has pissed Jaiden off no end. Initially Jai was very lenient and willing to give Byron some leeway. Not anymore. He thinks that whatever is Jaiden's - is his. PS2 games, etc etc. I am going to take my PS2 out of the spare room where he is sleeping as a reminder to him that when he is down here, he lives by our rules. He cannot continue to think he runs the show.

The way he speaks to us all is very demeaning and arrogant. The way he speaks to the girls is downright hostile. As I have always said - treat others as you yourself would like to be treated. This is not good. In fact, I can't wait till Thursday when he is gone. Just so that the house goes back to it's normal routines. He is a fly in the oinment at the moment. A screwdriver in the spanner set. He needs to find his niche here and accept that.

This hulabaloo of thinking he can do whatever the fuck he likes - will end today. I will sort him out. End of story.....

A holiday within a holiday

3 days into my sons visit.

So far so good. I picked him up from the Calder Park inbound servo at 11am on Wednesday. After picking Jaiden up from Hallam, we travelled on to Morwell. Took us 3.5 hours to get back home. I found it easy to talk to Byron and there wasn't any awkward moments. With Jai in the car for the last 90 minutes made it easier as well.

It has been fucking hot since then. Was 31 on Wednesday, 39 yesterday (ack) and it's gonna hit 41 today before a cool change sweeps through in the afternoon sometime. The kids have spent the best part of the days in the pool. Paige has been following Byron around like he had a $100 note sticking out of his arse. Bloody Paige. Poor Sarah has been left out of the fun. Paige dropped her like a hot potato the moment Byron walked through the door. Currently he is sleeping in the spare room (has tv, PS2 and DVD player).

I let them stay up late Wednesday night as I knew if I put them all to bed early they would've played up. Paige always wants to kiss him and was even very bold (stupid) to ask if they could sleep in the same bed. Jesus H Christ. She has been a nightmare. My son is an easy going kid, well behaved and level headed. We think he is a bit of a Mummies Boy as he sort of clings to Ang when he can. Last night they watched Zathura together in his 'bedroom'. I will eventually get to spend some time with him. I am not that worried that I am not getting any quality time right now. I have the rest of HIS life to get to know him. I am patient to wait.

I will probably take my son and Jaiden off fishing on Monday. Probably go down to the Latrobe River near Traralgon somewhere. I am also going to try and take just Byron off for a game of golf with me. That's 3.5 hours alone. Should be fun.

His mum has called and so has his stepdad to check up that everything is OK. One little pearl of wisdom we have received from him is that he gets the belt at home. Apparently across the back of the legs when he is naughty. I'm a believer in discipline - but I would never use an item to hit my kids. A sharp smack does the job IF word discipline doesn't work. But I can make myself look ultra angry with a few words and my eyes. I don't really hit the girls here at home. A little smack on Sarah's bum now and again if she doesn't do what we say. We don't hit Paige anymore after she told her Dad AND she tends to go right off the deep end emotionally if we do hit her.

That's aboot it from me from now. Will update in a couple more days...

The man they call GOD

Gary Ablett. Best VFL/AFL player I've ever seen play the game in my life. Absolute freak.

It's a whitewash

Oceania Region qualifying for 2002 World Cup. Scoreline :: Australia 31-0 American Samoa. What more can one say...

5 days into 2008

Boo.

A lot has happened this last week and a bit.

Biggest news is that Ang, Jessica and maybe the girls are going to New Zealand. Initially it was Mum, Dad and Jess. Then a day later everyone. In the end I put my foot down and explained some simple facts about costs and other things that ended the day-by-day changes in holiday plans. Ang is happy and so am I. She is going to see her Nana and other relatives. Will be going for 10 or so days.

New years was boring as always. I worked till late on NYE, watched the fireworks and went to bed. Crock of shit anyways. I have been doing more closes of late but always seem to have spent the money on household things before I have it. Fuel is costing me between $15-20 per night. The delivery fees we get more than covers this but the wear and tear on my car is becoming more and more noticeable. The old girl wont last more than 2-3 months I think. Has a rattle in the exhaust (Hole), check engine light has reappeared over the last week and stays on for a long time, and other nasties. I'd like to get a new car.

Jessica is getting bigger and heavier each day. She is growing up fast. She loves her playmat and swing. I have conversations with her now. She makes different noises and I respond in like. I love her to death.

Angela is starting to return to normal OR has less of a swing in the moods. This is excellent. It is very hard for me to try and pick her up with everything else I do around the house. If she can help me out more I'd probably be less grumpy with everybody. AND I am grumpy most of the times. Just feeling the stress of everything I guess. Money, Kids, Bills, House, etc etc.

The girls have been barely bearable. They bounce off each other. Paige bounces off Jaiden and gets under our feet. I am making a concerted effort not to jump down her throat. It is hard because she seems to deliberately disturb me and others here. We'll see how this goes anyway.

Apart from that, Byron is coming down here next week, Maybe. Just depends on his parents go ahead. I'm looking forward to it AND not looking forward to it.

Life is certainly throwing up a lot of obstacles at the moment. I just have to stay ahead of them and try to balance everything. Don't stress, don't stress. Life is to be enjoyed.