Instead of whinging

I had a half written post whinging about other people's children, but I have had such a lovely afternoon and evening that I have just tossed it into the draft bin (and that feels so much better).

This afternoon, it loomed that I had several L-A-R-G-I-S-H jobs to face when I got out of my regular Friday tuckshop lady disguise.

While I crowned in my success in getting the front lawn mowed Monday Morning!, the back did not fare so well.

Monday afternoon I was buggered a little tired; Tuesday was Guides; Wednesday I ended up working; Thursday I also meetinged, worked and grocery shopped to arrive home just before 'Salina, and honestly no tears were shed when rain loomed large - but today I HAD to, as the mossies were getting way to friendly and were seriously casing the neighbourhood.

I attempted to fire 'Salina into action to get her big project done by Monday (document and build a boat), but she is set to learn a life lesson and I have too much on my plate to contemplate how to bubblewrap her on this one. Instead she chose to see what Boy-Next-Door was doing.

Well, he was cycling and mucking about, only too happy to have a playmate and easily persuaded to ask his Mum if they could have a swim in their pool.

So this-bad-mother then donned the workgear, sunscreened up, cleared the back yard and fired up the Rover.

Aside from the baling twine incident (makes a lovely sound in the rotors, doesn't it?), the fuel mix richness after I checked for the baling twine (makes a lovely cloud that happened to highlight the downside of mixing laundry and mowing day) and the injury one received when one drops the mower onto an unshod (I know, I know) toe upon ripping the starter (I did a compensatory hobble for about two sweeps of the yard - great self-pity session I ended up laughing at) it was a very fulfilling little job - my grass-clipping mountain range at the side of the house is now becoming Great Wall of China-ish, and I am contemplating applying for a government grant for artistic interpretation of the sub-tropical back yard.

Then V got home and was duly appreciative of my enthusiasm and determination lawn-wise (I had time-managed it so there was still enough of a "before" strip to show the sheer enormity of the task undertaken when he did arrive).

'Salina and Boy-Next-Door conspired with his mother to watch a movie and eat ice blocks and ham and cheese sandwiches, so there was an hour and a half of child-free time to have us some amazing passion - in the kitchen, with our preparations for a feast.

When 'Salina arrived home, we partook. It was delicious - under-appreciated by the middle one, but hey, I am long over pandering to her narrow taste definitions. So long as she eats some, eats some more of the healthy and doesn't make too much fuss we all get along just fine.

Then we got to see her full haul from visiting her father's family last week for their belated celebrations of her birthday - and she did really well!

She is in bed now. V noticed I had left my work gear on the bathroom floor - a habit we are attempting to break in 'Salina - my defence is that I wasn't sure whether I wanted to wash them before we headed off in the morning, but a point is a point is a point and V made it very well when he loudly chastised me for it, with 'Salina cheering on!

So, what do you think my punishment should be, huh? I suggested that maybe I should be forced to do all the laundry next week too...

I am off to the 'lations in the morning for the weekend. A weekend filled with cousins and horses for 'Salina, so her life is complete. V may or may not be working, so he may or may not travel over with us or he (the other) come over tomorrow afternoon. There is opportunity for some quality Central Queensland socialising, although I also do actually work when I get over there, so may concentrate on getting them squared away with that so I can do more family oriented things on Sunday.

See you then!

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Edited to add:

Night was topped of by catching a new show on Channel 10 - Outrageous Fortune - a Kiwi show that had us cracking up! Apparently Channel 9 bought and buried it last year, but 10 will hopefully keep showing it, because we will definitely give it another viewing! We got the first episode of the 2006 series, so there is plenty ahead of us.