The Charms Of A Country Home

                       I love the feel and look of a traditional, old country home. The wide, 

                       heavy doors, the beautiful timbers, the old, thick glass, the chunky, 

                       ornate fittings and the look that seems to say "if you stay a while I could 

                       tell you a story or two".

 

Pause! Mummy Can't Handle You Getting Older.

I have wished for my own personal remote control for many things in the past. 

Haven't we all! There have been many times when I have wished to slow down how fast my children are growing. It does not sit well with me that it is going so fast.

My daughter has just turned 9 years of age.

SHRIEK!!!!

Not only does this mean that she is getting older, but so am I.

No longer is she my little girl, as she is growing so tall, she is about to pass her grandmothers.

She has also had reason to recently borrow a top from my mother, as they are similar in size. This is just way too scary for this mother.

She is asserting her preferences in the area of clothes, hair and how she spends her time.

Miss 9, as she will now be referred to, is also maturing quickly. This is starting to bring on some of those awkward questions and conversations. On the other hand, I am enjoying the recent chances to have some amazing discussions with her. Being able to talk and discuss things on a higher level is helping us communicate and understand each other better. 

Hubby, on the other hand, is struggling with the thought of Miss 9 maturing. The hormonal changes and the constant moods of a growing girl have him quite in a spin. He lacks experience with growing girls, having only one brother and no sisters.

In my mind, she will always be my little girl. She stills takes opportunities to let me know she needs my comfort, guidance, and occasionally, loves to be fussed over.

She is now taking the opportunity to inform me that she is not a baby anymore, and has more mature tastes (if you don't mind).

 

 

Clean Desk Means ??

I look at people's environment and habits to get a feel for them. Am I the only one who does this ... I think not.  You can tell a lot by what a person keeps in their car and the condition it is in. The same goes for a woman's handbag. OMG - you could almost write a novel for most women!

I wonder about the assumptions people make about me, given what they see on the surface.

I am a little messy by nature. I also usually have quite a few things on the go at any one time. Creative is what I like to call it. I like to have things at my fingertips, and don't like to pack things away until the job is finished.  This can sometimes be misconstrued as messy by others.

My desk at work is a constant construction site. There is a pile or two of paperwork, folders here and there, not to mention sticky notes. I love sticky notes!

So when you see that my desk is clean ... it can only mean one thing. I am on holiday!

Although creative (ahem) by nature, I do like a clean slate when I return. I also don't like to leave things hanging while I am on leave, or like to leave loose ends for others to deal with in my absence.

So, considering that I started my two week leave at approximately 5.01pm today, I have been busy crossing every t and dotting every i.

This, by no means, makes me a control freak ... just considerate.

Are you messy or clean? Do you have a set agenda each day/week, or just go with what is tossed your way? These are the quirky details I love to hear from people. INDULGE ME!

Here's to having options

image source

When I was younger (much younger) and needed to avoid being in the "family way", the choices were simple. Nowadays, there is much more technology involved, many more options and many opinions on what is good and bad.

It was easy back in "my day" and there were only a few choices. The most popular were, you could go without, use condoms or take The Pill, but these options did not suit everyone. Contraception now is much more tailored to the individual, and if something isn't working or doesn't suit your style, you can try something else. Contraception is a big topic these days, so big that Family Planning clinics now do all the explaining and implementation to save your local GP the time this now takes.

Funnily enough, as I was reviewing my options, it occurred to me that my daughter is now 8 years old. Obviously, there will some pretty deep discussion in the next couple of years about changes and then the birds and the bees. Boy, that came around quick. It seems like only yesterday that I was encouraging her to poo in the potty.

Hopefully, by the time "her day" comes around, more advances will have been made, not only to protect against "the family way", but against the cancers and diseases that seem to be stalking every second person.

Wouldn't it be nice if all she had to worry about was the right gap between children?