Traffic chaos

One thing you really don't think about when something like the floods happen is the effect on traffic as people try to get back to "normal", ie off to work etc. At the moment, there is one way through Maitland that remains open - all of the little back roads that I take regularly to avoid the highway are cut due to floodwaters. So the New England H'way is it. A small section of that got closed on Monday night due to water over the road, and is still closed. That means rather than a 2-lane-each-way-80kmh highway, traffic is being diverted through the main CBD - a 60kmh-single-lane-each-way-with-traffic-lights nightmare! Add to that the extra cars on the road due to no trains running, and of course the ever present sight-see-ers coming for a look, and you have gridlock.

It took Pete over 3 hours to get home from work in Newcastle last night (normally a 60min trip) - he left at 3:30ish so he could avoid the rush! More than 2 hours of that was spent travelling between Greenhills and Maitland - a 10 min trip normally.

He's working from home today - I have to go in to Newcastle for an assessment today so I'm leaving early and will see if I can come home early too.

Flood Photos and life goes on

Here are a couple of photos I took of the Hunter River at Belmore Bridge, Maitland yesterday (Monday) afternoon about 2pm. This was almost 12 hours after the river peaked. The line of trees in the middle of the river (which almost looks like the far side of the river) is where the bank usually is...

These are the water views from our back deck - I haven't seen that much water in the dams and paddocks there in the 7 years we've lived here.

It's good to see the veges continue unabated - we have the first flower on the pea plant, and the bok choy and snow pea seeds have just started to stick their little green heads above the soil!

The levees held!

We woke up to the wonderful news this morning that the river had peaked at 10.7, below the 11.4 predicted which would have seen it spill over the levee banks into Lorn and the CBD. They're still advising people to stay away though. A lot of the water seems to have been diverted into the spillways which means we couldn't go in there even if we wanted to!

Here are some photos (courtesy of the ABC) of the flooding all around the area -

http://www.abc.net.au/newcastle/stories/s1946209.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/newcastle/stories/s1947168.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/newcastle/stories/s1947247.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/newcastle/stories/s1947270.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/newcastle/stories/s1947316.htm

Living through history - 2007 Maitland Floods

Just after 10pm I heard on ABC Newcastle radio that the water has breached the floodgates at Maitland (Oakhampton). Potentially Lorn and the Maitland CBD will be flooded within the next couple of hours. We're safe where we are but will be cut off for a while. We've filled a couple of 50L drums with water in case the water gets cut off, have enough food for a while, torches, candles, batteries, gas etc.

It started with huge storms for several days since Thursday. By Friday Newcastle was absolutely devastated - the CBD and many other suburbs were under waist-deep water, cars have floated away or been swamped. Looking at the photos is very surreal. Pete was lucky to get home from work since the trains were no longer running. He was lucky to get home when he did - I'd say half an hour after he left the main deluge occurred.

The flooding has come down from Singleton, Branxton, Greta and now it's Maitland's turn. All we can do is sit and wait..

We have worms :)

Composting ones, that is :)

I picked up some worms this morning from a local LETS lady so our worm farm is back in operation! I also planted some more seeds - snow peas, brown & red onions, spring onions and bok choy. Hopefully in 6 or 7 weeks we'll at least be eating bok choy :) I pulled up the tomato bush last week and stored all of the green tomatoes in the area under the house - hopefully we'll have a few more weeks eating home-grown tomatoes. It's just a shame I have nothing to pick when I go out to the garden atm :( The peas are coming along slowly and the other seeds (lettuce, carrots & herbs) have started to germinate.

Happy Mother's Day!

What a day! I got some great presents this morning - a cookbook and a pasta maker! Can't wait to try it out.

Billy and I made some Mother's Day cards this morning - I thought they came up great for a 4 year old :)

We then headed up to my SILs for lunch with them, my parents-in-law, my SILs parents-in-law, BIL and grandparents-in-law! All the cooking was done by my SIL & BIL and her BIL and it was fantastic - we ate, and ate, and then ate some more! The menu:

• Bruscetta & Garlic bread
• Creamy Garlic prawns and rice
• Pizzas (sweet chili, BBQ & tomato-based) and a spinach, pumpkin & ricotta pasta loaf
• Chicken cacciatore, baked tortellini and penne pollo
• Pannacotta & red-wine poached pears
• Coffee and cheesecake

As you can imagine, we are stuffed! We haven't needed tea at all..

It was great to spend some time with the triplets - the boys are walking now, Miss Mack won't be far behind.

Are you lonesome tonight?

I had quite a productive day today. I was doing a task on the computer (including a few overdue ones that I've been procrastinating over) then a task up and about (washing, folding, cleaning etc etc). Apart from being constantly interrupted by Billy, I achieved quite a lot.

I'm feeling rather lonesome atm. Mum & Dad, Janelle & the kids left on holidays on Friday, and Pete is away for work - he left yesterday and will be back on Saturday. So far Billy and I haven't killed each other being stuck at home together over the weekend, so we may make it through the week! I thought it was just him but discussions over on Real Mums seem to indicate that arguing about every little thing is a 4 year old trait!

Nothing major to report here - we've had some rain which was nice - even better that some fell where it was needed. I've hopefully got a new website contract - I've done the initial design so fingers crossed they like it. I'm in the midst of setting up offering hosting packages as well - hopefully that will work out ok. I still haven't heard back about a big contract that I did a quote for - the client is waiting on the funding ok. Other than that there is another website in the pipeline, but that's about it. It's very quiet atm - I'm probably averaging 3-4 hrs/wk when my aim is 15 hrs/wk, so finances are pretty tight :(

Friends of ours got married last weekend - Billy had a 'sleepover' at Mum & Dads, so we got to sleep in on Sunday morning - yay! I was talking to a lady at the reception and she mentioned that kindy enrolments for next year were opening this week, she thought. So I rang up on Monday - sure enough they did, so Billy's application is now lodged for kindergarten 2008! We have to have an interview in a couple of months, and they select the ones they want. Tough process! I thought I'd be over the moon putting his enrolment form in, but I have to admit to a touch of sadness that he's growing up. (Still can't wait for him to be in school 5 days/wk though :))

I'm really struggling with some things atm - growing the business to get more income vs working less and cutting spending, specialising vs diversifying. My trouble is that I always compare myself to where others are and come up short (in my mind at least) - I really need to stop doing it! (way easier said than done!) I wonder if everyone feels this way sometimes?

Lady has no steps..

Billy loves to answer the phone and races for it every time. The phone rang earlier today and he answered it, listened for a bit, told the lady "I think you need to speak to my mummy" and then handed me the phone saying "it's a lady who doesn't have steps and she wants to buy yours" - it was the House with no Steps for a fundraiser!!!! The lady was giggling so much on the other end of the phone - I think it made her day!

Container gardening

I admit it - I'm a lazy gardener! If I have to do something with a plant on a regular basis, it has to be right in front of me and in my face, otherwise I forget. My vege patch down in the backyard languished because it was 'out of sight, out of mind'. So I've started container gardening - growing plants in a styrofoam box (free from Aldi of course!) right at the back door. They're nice and close, I walk past them on the way to the clothes line so I don't forget about them and I can easily use waste water from the kitchen to water them. Plus they should be a bit more protected from the frost and get the heat from the bricks. I'll use the back vege garden for things I don't have to spend a lot of time on, like potatoes and pumpkin.

So far I have tomatoes doing really well - we've gotten close to 1kg of Roma tomatoes from 1 plant, and have just planted some peas as well. I've also just ordered some 'year round' lettuce, some basil & oregano (have already planted parsley), plus cucumbers, passionfruit and watermelon.

There's only 1 tomato plant in there!

Pea plant just poking it's head up.

Yummy homegrown Roma tomatoes!

40 hour drought

I "unofficially" took part in the ABC local radio's 40 Hour Drought on Wed & Thursday this week - http://www.abc.net.au/water/40hourdrought/. (Unofficially because I couldn't sign on to the website!) The challange was to only use 40L of water per person for a 40 hour period (starting from 7am Wed).

We made it, but it was tough! I "showered in a bucket", used greywater to flush the toilets when they needed it, let it "mellow" when they didn't need flushing, I cleaned my teeth with a couple of inches of water in the bottom of a cup, and was conscious of the amount of water used in other applications.

By measuring the water I was using, it really made me conscious about the water I normally waste. It would obviously be harder long term to forgo showers, and I didn't do any clothes washing over that 40 hour period. It really made me think about each bit of water I was using which I guess is the aim, and I identified a few more ways to save and re-use water.

By next goal is to set up grey water diversion for the washing machine.

The little things..

I have no idea where the last month has gone! I was quite busy with work for a few weeks, plus I've started my Cert IV in Training and Assessment so that has been taking up a fair amount of time. And I needn't mention that I'm on WAAAAY too many forums and have trouble keeping up with them! They all help me keep my focus on various aspects of my life though - frugal Aussies, Simple Savings and No More Debt keep me focused on saving & paying down debt, as well as being more organised, Business Mums keeps me focused on the business and sites like our private Due Date forum from when I was pregnant with Billy, and Real Mums keep my sanity intact :)

I've been focusing on saving power & water this month and have so far found out:

* My washing machine has a "spin hold" button so you can reuse the rinse water. Amazing what you find out when you read the manual - I mean I've only had the washing machine for 11 years lol.

* You don't need to use the maximum setting for everything :) The washing machine cleans just as well on the shortest cycle. Stuff cooks just as well on the low setting! Talk about lightbulb moments lol.

* The washing machine uses a scary amount of water.

That is my main goal this month - to really look at the power and water we use and try to cut down or identify ways we can reuse it eg grey water diversion from the washing machine to the fruit trees.

Weekend away

We had a lovely weekend away. We were supposed to be going to a friend's 1 year old's b'day party on Saturday down in Sydney, so we decided to make a weekend of it and take the van down. We got up early on Fri morning to put the van on before we had to go to swimming and then met Gem & Ewan at the park. After lunch we headed down to the Central Coast. We decided to stop at a caravan park at Bateau Bay - it was not a good choice as it turned out! We were right next to the road, and it was noisy :( We did have a nice swim on Shelley's Beach on Friday afternoon though.

That afternoon, we also got a text from the people having the party to say they were all sick, so the party was cancelled. So we just changed our plans a bit and headed a couple of kms up the road to Toowoon Bay in the Entrance. Lovely spot, lovely van park - we quite enjoyed it. Billy had a couple of plays on the playground, we had a swim and play on the beach (my legs are a bit sore from playing catch on the sand lol - I have to remember I'm not as young as I was!!!), and generally just relaxed.

We will definitely have to do it more often. I'd plan better next time though and take more food - it cost a fortune in eating out!

BMN Challenge 2

Challenge 2 of the Business Mum's Network Blogging challenge is to recommend a site I like.

While not directly related to my business, my favourite site is www.simplesavings.com.au/a.php?a=231616. It's a site all about saving money, frugal hints and tips etc. The membership section has a "vault" with lots of hints submitted by members, but the best thing about it is the forum. Just like the Business Mum's Network, it has an extremely active forum with the most wonderful members. It's such a supportive place. It is indirectly related to my business, because without the savings I've made by implementing tips from the SS site, I wouldn't be able to have my own business and would be back at a full-time job I hated.

A really cool site I love that *is* related to my business is www.csszengarden.com - it's a showcase for what you can do with Cascading Stylesheets and I find it so cool!

Blah..

I've been feeling blah and down all weekend. It hasn't been helped by the extreme heat we've had - high 30s on Sat and then 40 yesterday. It hasn't been cooling down much overnight either so sleep has been fitful. It's "only" going to be 34 today!

Firstly we went up to the Farmers Markets that were apparently on at Cessnock on Saturday - got there and no sign of the markets, just a "clearance house" auction of junk. We'd gone up to check Mum's house as well, and we ended visiting Pete's parents, but I was still really disappointed about the markets. Then my sister rang - they're on holidays in Tassie and she'd been in a car accident - they're all ok thankfully but the car is going to take a month to fix, so they may be back later than planned. I'm so thankful they're ok, but it really shook me up and I couldn't go and give them a big hug and see for myself that they're ok.

Then there was just a heap of little things - the birds have eaten all of the apples we had on our apple tree and I can't remember what else - one of those weekends where everything I touched seemed to go wrong.

Here's hoping for a better week this week!

Business Mums Network Blogging Challenge

In December I found and joined the Business Mum's Network run by Melissa Khalinsky. It's a wonderful resource for Australian mums of all ages who run a business - many of us have young kids and work from home and thus face all of the same challenges despite having so many different businesses! I've learnt so much already from the group and it's completely changing the way I approach my business.

Anyway Melissa has given us the first of many Blogging challenges to kickstart our blogs. The 1st challenge is to announce the challenge, so a tick for me :)

Some of the other mums taking part are:

Melissa Khalinksy - http://www.melissakhalinsky.com/blog/
Anne Maybus - http://thetallpoppy.blogspot.com/
Gina Rahmel - http://moshimoshibaby.blogspot.com/
Michele Elmas - http://www.mumsbusiness.wordpress.com/ and http://www.michelee.wordpress.com/
Justine Barsley - http://olibdesigns.blogspot.com/
Michelle Sweeney - http://tonicgifts.typepad.com/
Amy Herman - http://afaithfulwomanbookclub.blogspot.com/
Shelli Crane - http://rusticluxury.blogspot.com/
Kylie Short - http://www.tildavirtual.com.au/blog/
Amanda Cox - www.realmums.com.au/diaryofamadcow
Sarah - http://quiltfabricdelights.blogspot.com/

Why not check out their blogs too?

Reading

We've been reading The Magic Pudding as Billy's bedtime story for the last week. What a wonderful story! I don't think I've read it before (although knew the vague storyline of the pudding who is never empty). I'd seen the illustrations at Norman Lindsay's house in the Blue Mountains, but somehow missed reading the book. Billy has really enjoyed it.

His reading is coming along so well. He's been learning by picking small words out as Pete or I read to him, but tonight I pulled out an old Ladybird early reader, and he can read sentences like "The dog is in the shop"! He's pretty good at sounding out words if he can't remember them. I'll have to dig out the rest of the readers now - he's more than ready for them. I pity his teachers by the time he starts school next year!! I was told recently "don't teach him to read before he goes to school, his teacher will hate you" - but how can you stop someone who is so avid about it??! He picks words out wherever we go or whatever we're reading and wants to know what they are, and then memorises them. It's not like we're teaching him to read - he's basically teaching himself! He did the same with numbers - everywhere we'd go he'd see numbers and say "oh look we're in aisle 11" or "that sign says 8" etc. His latest obsession is the calendar. He knows exactly what month we're in, and now needs to know what date it is - he has a calendar in his room and marks the days off!

Back from holidays

We're back from Stuart's Pt - we had a wonderful week, lovely and relaxing. Photos to come when I get them off the camera. Pete took Billy to golf with him one morning and he walked around really well apparently (just 9 holes), and had a putt on each. He even got the ball in the hole a few times! We had lunch out a few times - spent more than I anticipated but it *was* holidays! I got to spend some quality time with the triplets - helping feed, bath, change etc - which was great to get to know their personalities more. I spent all day today doing washing and cleaning though so it doesn't seem so worth it now!

Back to reality tomorrow - Pete is back to work, we'll be doing grocery shopping. Billy starts preschool on Tuesday - I can't wait lol.

We've decided to start with Billy earning pocket money by doing simple chores. He still has to tidy up after himself and make his bed - they aren't paid for but have to be done to get the rest of his money. He gets extra money by doing stuff like fold and put away his clothes after I've washed them (10c) and set & clear the table (10c). At the moment we're giving him the money after he completes the task and he has to put it in his money box, but probably mid way through the year we'll move to giving it to him weekly. It's not a lot of money but enough to get him used to handling money - he can buy a chupa chup for 50c :) Once he gets a bit more responsible we'll add more like make sure the cat always has biscuits etc.

We only started today and boy is he keen - he kept wanting to do stuff for more money!

Oh and it's now been 15 days without Diet Coke!

Day 3

I've just finished my 3rd full day of being Diet Coke free! I had a headache most of today, but the aching in the joints has subsided a bit and I'm feeling far less fuzzy. Hopefully I'm over the worst of it..

In Praise of Slow: Book Review

I've recently read a fantastic book that is worth checking out, particularly if you're looking to simplify your life. It's called "In Praise of Slow: How a worldwide movement is challenging the cult of speed" by Carl Honore.

It's a non-fiction book - the author has a bit of an epiphany when he finds himself contemplating buying "The One Minute Bedtime Story" to save time reading to his son at night. He realises that he's obsessed with doing everything faster and starts to investigate how we got to this point in time and what can be done about it. He "uncovers" a world-wide movement of people trying to slow various aspects of life down and appreciate it more. He investigates things such as the Slow Food movement, alternative medicines, "slow sex", part-time work, leisure, raising unhurried kids etc. The main point I took from it though was that it's "not about doing things at a snail's pace - it's about living better ... by striking a balance between fast and slow". I really enjoyed it, and found it quite thought provoking.

We wish you a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!

Xmas disappeared in a haze and now it's 2007 already!

We had Xmas at the inlaws the day before Xmas. It was fun with the triplets - both of the boys are crawling, Mackenzie gets around a bit on her back, so you really had to watch where you were walking! Then we opened presents (ours and Santa) Xmas morning and went down to Linc's grandparents for lunch.

Very exhausting! So we have spent the last week doing very little trying to recover.

I'm on Day 2 of trying to give up Diet Coke - it's tough going but I'm getting there. It's so bad for me and makes me feel dreadful, plus I hate the fact that I'm addicted to it. There's a group of us on the Simple Savings site that are all trying to do it together, so hopefully with some peer support I'll kick it :)