Category: momentous events

Here we go – my first post on THIS blog!!!

Post author By KRidwyn
Post date April 16, 2013
5 Comments on Here we go – my first post on THIS blog!!!

It’s been a week (okay, just over!) since my last post. A lot has happened:

– KRidwyn.com has been launched – and that’ll be the place where this blog will move to. So yes – this will be my last post from this address (and I’ll have to work out how to re-direct traffic from here to there automatically. Chalk up yet another job to the ever-growing list, huh?) but I’m pretty excited about getting my *own* real estate online, as it were. So hopefully, dear readers, you’ll join me over there?

– in the move from this URL to that one, we discovered that it’s impossible to just hit ‘export’ and get all the site content moved across to the new place. Sure, it’ll move all the text, but bad luck if you had images that you wanted on there. So unfortunately, KRidwyn.com is devoid of pretty pictures. At the moment. (And another job to do…)

-GoodOldTalk, the website I run for Seniors, finally was able to make it back online after being offline for over seven weeks. Which was a HUGE relief, but now leaves me with a lot of stuff to clean up…

– I was able to get the countertop material for BOTH my kitchen and my bathroom and my ensuite (which hasn’t even been built yet) for a HUGE discount; so I’m majorly stoked about that one!

– Miss 8 was finally diagnosed with dyslexia (which I *knew* she had! but no-one believed me…) and she was also diagnosed with Irlen Syndrome as well – so that was pretty cool. Once the diagnosis is made, you can do something about it, huh?!

– Miss 5 decided that she didn’t know how to ‘do things properly’ so she’s been asking us all week “how” to do the simplest of things, like brush her teeth etc etc etc! She wants to learn how to do them better, I guess… and…

– Mr 4 decided that not only could he sit on the toilet – but he could also tell me when he needed to go!!!!! This caused a HUGE celebration!!! 🙂

Well, now it’s time to head into what is shaping up into another huge one. And it’s got me thinking: maybe I should just accept that fact that this life *is* the new ‘normal’ – and just get on with it all?

What do you think?

Life momentous events

Home sweet home

Post author By KRidwyn
Post date April 6, 2013

It’s a rare occasion that I’m not with my kids. When I’m not teaching, I’ll either be with Mr 4 (yes, he had a birthday during my absence from Hmmm…) or with all three of them. It’s an even stranger experience to get time with Hubby and with no kids… but that’s what I’ve had over the past two days.

It’s been heavenly! We left Thursday morning, headed down the Gold Coast for a break away from kids, from work, from commitments at home – and it’s only now, Saturday afternoon, that we’re heading home.

I’ve missed my kids. I’ve missed my little shoebox of a house. It’s been awesome reconnecting with Hubby again… but I’ll be glad to be home again. Squeeze my kids. Watch their faces as they open presents. You know. Be home again. And hear that word. “Mummy?”

ahhh.

Bloxham Marketing momentous events Technology Work

Hump day happenings

Post author By KRidwyn
Post date February 28, 2013

So yesterday was Wednesday. Hump day. The day of the inaugural ‘HumpDay Happenings’ with the awesome Jenny Venier, over at BloxhamMarketing.com

Why not head over and check it out?!!!

Tags blogging, Employment, work

family anecdotes momentous events

Happy birthday, little bro!

Post author By KRidwyn
Post date February 27, 2013

On this day, back in 1976, my little brother was born. He was a pretty cool little brother – I remember playing with him heaps when we were children.

Now, he lives in London. I last clapped eyes on him when Miss 8 was about 8 months old. He’s only ever seen Miss 5 & Mr 3 in photos & over Skype.

But he’s coming back to Aus this year. WOOT!!!!!!!!! SOOOOOO can’t wait!!!!!

Until then, Happy Birthday, bro. You’re the best!!! 😀 😀 😀

Tags emotional, Family

momentous events More about me

And speaking of money…

We have, what one of my best friends calls, a ‘postage stamp’ of a house. It’s tiny. It’s 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom cum laundry, with open plan and cathedral ceiling for the lounge / dining / kitchen, so it feels a lot more spacious than it is. But with Hubby, me, and three growing kids, it’s getting smaller and smaller by the month. So we’re planning to extend.

We started with our grand designs. Our pipe-dream of what it was we wanted. Add a parent retreat, double storey of course, so we could take advantage of the views across to the Glasshouse Mountains. Garage. Study. Deck. Ensuite & walk-in wardrobe.

Then we met with a builder, and were rather disappointed when it came to discussing costs. Whittled our plans down. And down again. And again. And again.

Now, we’re happy with our plans. We’re still going to be adding a fourth bedroom (we *really* need to separate Miss 5 and Mr 3) and an ensuite to the Main bedroom, and a little study will adjoin the lounge room, but our overall vision is much, much reduced from our pipedream.

So all we need now is to wait for it to happen! (Oh, and pay for it all, of course!)

Tags Children, Family, Home, money

momentous events teaching Work

Orientation

Post author By KRidwyn
Post date January 18, 2013

Today’s the day! My first ‘official’ day as a staff member. It feels strange; I haven’t been one of these – teacher with a permanent position – since 2007. Not too sure how I feel about it… Mixed emotions, that’s for sure!
I’m stoked that I know so much about the school already, as a parent, as a relief teacher, and as the person who’s been contracted to oversee their marketing for almost two years. I’m ecstatic that I’ll be teaching my daughters – and more than a little amused that they’ll finally see me in a role I’m more familiar with than parenting, having had three times as much experience in it!
But I’m sad too. Sad that Mr 3 will be in Kindy, three full days a week. Sad that I was hoping to devote my Miss-5-free time to Bloxham Marketing, and now I can’t. Sad that my life is looking to be just that extra bit MORE full-on and intense this year than I was expecting. Sad that this’ll mean that my Masters studies will inevitably be more prolonged than even I had bargained for.
But, happy that Hubby’s happy. Happy that the extra money coming in will start reducing our debt levels – and maybe even, one day, reducing the mortgage as well! Happy that I have such security, when I know that there are thousands out there who don’t have that. Happy that I’ll be in a role which is a second skin to me; something I’m familiar with and know that I can do well.
And finally, a little anxious. Concerned that I’ll be able to cope (nodule-on-my-right-vocal-cord-wise) because Primary School Music teaching is probably the most intense job on your voice that I can think of… but other than that, I think that’s it. That’s enough!
So today is Orientation day for new staff; everyone else will start Monday. Wish me luck! Here goes!!! 😀
Oh… and an update to yesterday’s “schoolbooks” story?
I quizzed Hubby (yet again!) when he walked in, late last night after interviewing for new staff all day, and he said, “yes. They’re at the school. I meant to bring them home today but forgot.”
YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!
Thanks ever so much for your kind thoughts & your prayers, dear readers… You guys ROCK!!!

Tags emotional

Life momentous events

Miss 5

Post author By KRidwyn
Post date January 15, 2013
2 Comments on Miss 5

Miss 4 became Miss 5 today. She’s very very very excited about it, but also a little confused that her party isn’t happening today. And the concept of “everyone’s on holidays so we’ll wait until school goes back” *is* a little tricky to understand for someone who only starts school (and therefore has holidays) this year. Her big concern, when she woke up this morning, was that today would just be a ‘normally day’ (her words) like her Daddy’s birthday was yesterday (it was his first day back at work) and so she was trying to insist that today was NOT her birthday, but that her birthday would be the day that she had her party. Cute, huh?

Nevertheless, today is definitely her birthday, the day that, back in 2008, exhausted and in pain, I held her in my arms for the very first time. She looked like her big sister had, blue eyes and dark brown hair (which would later lighten to blonde) and she was SUCH a good baby, right from the get-go. She had an umbilical hernia, and a huge strawberry birthmark on one knee, and when the midwife saw her at her ten-day mark, she discovered that she was also slightly tongue-tied. (No wonder feeding her had been rather painful; she couldn’t latch properly!)

Still an’ all, those were wonderful days, and now they’re precious memories. Like today will be, I’m sure. She’s my middle child, my blondie with blue eyes, my cruisy kid, my clumsy yet giggle-a-minute, talk-under-water-with-a-mouthful-of-marbles kid. I love her to bits and am SOOOOOOO blessed to have her in my life.

Happy birthday, Miss 5!!!

Tags Child, Children, Family, memories

Bloxham Marketing GoodOldTalk momentous events University studies Work

Hasn’t sunk in

Post author By KRidwyn
Post date November 13, 2012

What the opposite to sinking? Floating, right? But if I titled this blog post ‘floating’, that would be rather misleading, I think…

A few weeks ago, I posted about my Masters studies this semester. I was due to complete an elective (the only option available to me if I was going to study this semester) and had discovered the course “INS040 Advanced Standing”. Where you could apply for your Workplace experiences to be recognized towards your degree. So after chatting with both the Course Coordinator and the Head of the Faculty, I finished and submitted my application just a few weeks back. 7000 words (well, they had said 3000 words or more, and you would know me by now, dear readers,
I can tend to be rather long-winded!!!) and then I sat back and waited. (And yes, that’s an expression only. As if I would ever sit down; I’m far too busy for that!!!)

Last week, I received an email from the Head of Faculty. My application had been approved!!! But it’s been a week, and it still hasn’t sunk in. I guess, in a way, the idea of ‘floating’ is, strangely, appropriate. When I think of where I’m at in my studies solar, I *do* feel as though I’m ‘floating on air’!!!

Tags emotional, Masters, University

Blogging challenges momentous events Technology

Being held hostage…

I try to blog three times a week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, Queensland time. But this morning as I was eating my cereal, and playing with the WordPress app that I’d just updated on my iPhone, I almost choked.

Deactivated? ME???!!!!! OMG – seriously?!!!!!! What did *I* do?!!!!! Was my #balltime blog post too offensive? (okay I admit – a little bit of toilet seat was showing underneath that frog!) or is WordPress getting like Facebook Business Pages and preferring text-based updates only, and I’m using too many photos? Maybe it’s that I started my last blog post with the words “I love my blog” – maybe there’s just too much self-promotion, opinionising – maybe too much ‘parenting’ stuff on what I often think of as ‘my mummy blog’?!!!!

So the story I was going to share this morning went, in condensed version, onto my personal Facebook page instead. Pity… but what else could I do? And I emailed almost immediately with a ‘Huh?!!! Please explain!!!’ and then waited with bated breath, thinking all things nasty towards WordPress.com

This afternoon I received a reply.

So. The deactivation of my blog was done by “automated spam controls”. Great. And here am I, deleting spam comments off my blog whenever they appear. So I’ve emailed again. With a ‘what the?!!’ (And you gotta love the ‘Happiness Engineer’, doncha?!!!)

I’ll let you know the outcome! And in the meantime, I’ve gone ahead and bought the domain name kridwyn.com – just in case I need to move the site away from WordPress.com before it happens again without warning…!

Thanks for your support, dear readers! As I said Monday – you guys are the best!!! 😀

momentous events Random thoughts