When did you get so big!?

9.04am Monday the 27th of June 2005.

My midwifes told me i should go home.. Labor wasn't progressing as fast as they thought it initially was and they had a hallway full of women waiting for beds to birth in.

I was hogging a room.

I was alone, trusting myself and my body. I didn't want to go home.

My parents were 45 minutes away, my best friend was at work and Jetts dad was at home.. Was just me and the midwives.

I attempted to stall them. They came back in to my room at 9.35am to unhook me from the monitors and drips that were re-hydrating me.

At the time i lived in a cute little fibro house, it was winter, we had cracks in our floor boards and it was freezing. Our hot water was minimal and took a good 5 minutes to reach 'warm' , So when they left my room.. i jumped in the shower. Scorching hot water pounding on my back. And within minutes i felt an odd feeling.. like a sharp pain down below. I didnt think much of it and put my hospital gown on.. then BAM!

10.00am my first contraction.

Intense.

I walked out to my room and knelt against my bed. At the time i thought i i had wet myself, but my waters broke.

I reached for my call button and called for the nurse.. She walked in and roused on me..

"We NEED these rooms! No time for showers!'

'I think ive wet myself' i sobbed..

She pulled back on my hospital supplied paper underware and quickly said ' get on the bed, your waters a full of meconium' .. Pure gibberish to me..

10.03am

I grabbed my phone call called jetts dad.. he needed to get to the hospital ..Stat.

I called my parents and managed to groan down the phone.. They got the drift.

And as per usual my soul sister had already felt it was time and left work to come and check up on me in hospital.

10.10am i climbed in to bed and waited. Nurses and midwives piled in to my room with cribs and monitors mumbling to them selves 'Why didnt she call earlier?' .. 'Where are her support people?' .. 'Does she have a antinatal book?'

I was confident i was birthing alone.

10.15am

I hear the nurse at the desk asking 'And what relation to her are you?' .. 'Im her MOTHER!' And seconds later in came mum..

a minute later .. Jetts dad..

and then Lucy.

My body knew it was good go to.. I pushed.

And lord oh mighty it hurt!!

10.20am I pushed again..

10.22am I have birth to a gorgeous squishy little 7lbs 12oz baby boy. I instantly loved him. I couldn't see imperfections.. meconium.. vernix.. blood.. I saw his eyes, i saw his button nose and counted all his fingers and toes.

I was in shock.. but in love.

6 years ago today. Where does 6 years go? And why does it still feel like only months ago.

I taught this boy, alone.. how to crawl and how to walk. I taught him words and manners. I showed him how to ride a bike and how to draw a dog. Me.. I taught him this.

Jett is a typical 6 year old. He tests his boundaries, he insists on having the last word, The final say. Hes demanding, He leaves his under ware behind the toilet and he would rather eat boogers.. then sausage.

But he is caring, and innocent.

He has the manners of an old soul. He loves anyone who will show him love. He is respectful, to those who respect him. He worries and is concerned, He doesn't everything possible to make sure others are happy. Sometimes it feels like a little old man is trapped inside a fresh body.

We are totally blessed.

Put the tantrums aside, the whinging and the back chat and hes is an amazing little boy. Affectionate and amazing.

For those who have not met Jett, i hope one day you meet someone like him.

For those who have met Jett, you will know exactly where i am coming from.

I wanted this boy with every single ounce of my energy and though weve had a long haul as a duo.. its been more then worth it.

To my 6 year old.

You keep me saine and insaine at the same time.

I would be a shell without you.

x Mum

♥

A useless mum moment..

Is officially what i will STOP calling it.

Im going to type this blog super fast, have to have it done before 9.00 pm so you literally stand up, walk to your children's room, listen to them breath, whisper you love them and then head to bed yourself.

I've had a rough trot lately.. and today that ends. Tomorrow i let go of worry and anxiety and find peace in every single thing i have been blessed with.

Today i made the decision to make the most of what life has to offer and tell the universe it can fuck right off with these ridiculous hurdles it is swiftly throwing at me.

Today.

Today i woke up dreading what it may bring. First day of holidays.. All 3 cabin feaver-ish kids.. We pottered around throughout the morning while i prepped for a car boot sale tomorrow morning.

Phoenix was a bit whingy and clingy so i popped him in to bed. He sooked , laughed, played and whinged for about an hour on and off.

I finally realised he wasn't going to fall asleep and loaded the kids in the people mover and set off to take the bike to the bike shop to be repaired.

Driving there i realised the sun was in Master 5's face.. so i turned to check if it was also in Phoenix's who was behind him.

It was.

I turned back as it looked like he was squinting, i thought of stopping to hang a blanket to stop the sun from hitting him, but realised id taken every single item out of the car to fit the bike it.. no blanket.

I turned back to check on coming cars so i could merge around the round about..

Phoenix was blue.

In a matter of seconds he had stopped breathing.

Its funny, when you try and think of something, when you really need to think of something. Your brain gives you nothing.

In a space of 5 seconds. Which felt like an hour.. my brain told me it was the colour from his drink bottle lid, the reflection from his toy hanging from the door or a crayon..

While trying not to hit any other cars while going around the round about i kept flicking my head back.. screaming profanities..

I hit my hazards and started to honk my horn.. I pulled over still cursing over and over and while waving cars down i opened his door.

Then i froze.

The useless mum moment.

I couldn't move, i could touch him, i couldn't say anything.

All i could hear was his five year old brother screaming 'Make him breathe'

A car pulled over and ive never seen a woman run so fast.

I manage to scream 'Hes not breathing' then fell down.

Her husband quickly started to pat phoenix's back and he vomited litres and litres of fluid everywhere. Still gasping for his breath.

I couldn't move. I just sat on the curb sobbing, In another mothers arms.

My daughter didnt say a word. The look on her 2 year old face said it all.

My son, 5 years old, kept repeating the same thing over and over. 'Make him breathe'

He eventually took Phoenix out of his seat and on to the pavement and stripped him down. My angels gave me towels and we clean his seat and wrapped him up.

I felt like the words 'Thank you' had not enough meaning..

With my jelly legs and ice cold shaking hands i managed to get myself back in to my car. and even said to myself.. 'Are you going to work legs??'

I drove him straight back home and called the hospital.

They said the wait was at least 6 hours and perhaps phone the home doctor first.

I popped phoenix in to a bath and sat with him untill the home doctor arrived.

Phoenix has just finished his antibiotics for a chest infection and now he has bronchitis.

His oxygen levels are low and his chest sounds cloudy. Boarder lining pneumonia.

Normally a person take around 30 breaths per minute. He is taking 72.

The reason he stopped breathing was because his little body couldn't keep up.

If it happens again , Doctor has given us his report to take him straight to hospital to start on oxygen.

The point of me sharing this with you is this..

This morning i spent 2 hours telling my kids 'Just give me a minute'

I buried my head in boxes and cupboards.. on the first day of holidays.. neglecting the attention they deserved. I could have spent 2 hours sorting, during nap time.

I put phoenix to bed out of frustration with his clinginess and sat Miss 2 in front of the tv with a bowl fruit and Dora.

Every single second with your children means more to them then you will ever know.

They dont voice is, they dont make it known there appreciation. But they are at there happiest when they are on your lap. With out a phone in your hand, with out a laptop next to you.

Just you, and them.

Today, when i saw Phoenix blue i thought of 20 billion things i wish i had have done.

I wish id sat with him on the lawn with a full watermelon. No rules.

I wish i had showered with him.

I wish i had road him around the street on the seat of his sisters bike.

I wish i had stopped packing the containers in front of him, and let him play with them.

I wish i had layed on the trampoline watching the flight of bird scream past.

But instead, i had rushed around, ignored the cry's of my children and got my priorities wrong. I messed up.

I know and understand, i could not have prevented Phoenix choking. He is sick, that is why he choked.

But , what i he i never got to see him smile again. I never got to hear him smash my spoons and forks against my favorite saucepan?

I need to stop and love my children more then i ever have.

Its nearly 9pm. Your still awake, you have read my blog. Get up, walk to your babies rooms (big or small babies.. 1 or 21..)

Listen to them breath, give them minutes of your time.

Whisper you love them. And forgive yourself.

x N

$4.00 Worth of beautiful happiness.

i ♥ The thrift shops trips where your looking for nothing.

I am constantly playing with Addison-Dior's room like it were my own.

Adding trinkets to her collection, fixing her frames.. changing her pillow cases.

Living my childhood through her room i guess.

Today on my travels i ducked in very quickly to the Animal welfare league op shop in currumbin seen as though i was at the wreckers next door.

Its these kind of buys you cant 'search for' .

Double white lace and embroided duvet cover $3.00

3 for $1.00 pillow cases.

1 ruffled pink case-

1 baby pink satin cover-

And, My rare find- The Swan on the front of this pillow slip brings so much calmness to her room.

I wonder whos room this sat in and if they appreciate it as much as we do... I wonder if i will ever find a matching slip?

Now all i need to do it sit in front of my PC 24/7 for the next week to score one of Flower Frills Buttons & Bows - Swan Softie ♥

Im going to need supplies.. Chocolate anyone?

x

A 'not so' Wise woman once said..

I seem to have a shocking run of luck when i attempt going to the larger shops.

A few months ago i got told that i was being inconsiderate to other shoppers by using a double pram whist only having one child occupy it.

My son was only 8 months old, we were at Ashmore City (The shop speaks for its self) And it was a Sunday morning. They have a car boot sale on a Sunday so i had rummaged around there using the spare seat to store my buys then ducked in to the IGA to buy some milk.

I was lining up behind the said woman when she stood back to far touching her ankle on my pram.. I appologised and moved back a little.

That's when her mental break down began.

Yelling at me how i was 'hogging' the isle and calling me selfish.. I was borderline bursting in to sleep deprived tears when she KICKED my pram.. tears turned to volcanic acid and i lost my barley coherent temper.

For those who dont know, our son is very sick. His liver doesnt work , he catches every single virus going round and its very fragile. And at the time was not well.

I threw every single reason why she should not have touched my pram at her while holding back on hurling my 3L milk at the woman screaming back at me.

The supervisor then whisked me away to another register and asked if i would like to make a report. I just wanted to get the hell out of there. Piled all my boot sale buys in my car, buckled baby in and just sobbed.

A couple of weeks later i ventured to Kmart with little miss. Upon seeing a fellow 2 year old with a balloon she instantly wanted one.

Considering a balloon is a weapon to her, i dismissed her request and plonked her in a trolley. Then the blood curdling screams began. I hurried to the back of Kmart to grab my USB card reader and pretty much jogged back to pay and get out of the public eye.

On my way back a woman obviously with nothing else better to do then pull up a chair in a large store and voice her unwanted opinions on to others stopped and proceeded to tell Miss 2 to stop being such a feral child.

HOLD UP.. I, her mother, the one who stored her 10+lbs body in my stretched to buggery stomach then gave birth to her in an unimaginably 8 minutes.. can call her a feral child.

But you lady, can not call her feral.

And i told her as much.

She then let me know that she obviously got her attitude from her foul mother and in her words 'Thank the heavens above this child was one of a kind' .. i could have knocked this woman right off her feet is she wasnt as old as my nan and i could afford to pay for damages to the biscuit stand behind her. So i gave her 'that look' and hustled my still screaming child to the nearest register. Again, back to my car to sob.

This brings me to today.

A simple trip to the shop to pick up a phone and dish washing liquid. Seems simple enough? didnt bother dressing up, just chucked on a clean cardigan and tied my hair back.

Dish washing liquid- Check.. 15 minutes to kill untill Telstra opens. Lets hit the in-shop play ground.

Straight away Miss 2 was the balloon her Mr 2 friend has. Which there were no more anywhere to be found.

Full-on-lay-down-feet-kicking-coughing-tanty. I simply turnde my head and ignored her.

Along comes the not so wise woman.

'Oh dear, you look exhausted.. do you only have the 2?'

'No, i have 3'

Oh! what were you thinking dear, with a child like that, i would have stopped at 1..'

'Do you have children?'

'No, ive enjoyed my life'

-Awkward silence-

'Hey! little girl.. that's enough!'

'Thanks, i can handle it..'

'Single mother?'

'No.. I can handle this'

-Awkward silence- .. waiting for her to leave..

'Well obviously not my dear. you look like you used to be a pretty woman, look what these kids have dont to you'

' Im just tired'

' You know what you need? An eye brow wax, a hair brush , a bit of make up and you will be back to looking like a pretty lady again'

'Wow, thanks'

'Your welcome, Bye now.. Be good for your mother children'

So i pile my kids in to the trolley, that must make use look even more poor then she has already assumed, we march up to Telstra where i yell over there screaming, pick up the phone, march back to my car and lay my head on my steering wheel and sob.

Now im back home in a headspin.. kids in bed hopefully for the rest of the day.. (Wishes) Kicking myself for not buying that block of chocolate to drowned myself in.

Why must people pick on me??!!??

Blogging = Cleansing.

I dont know why it is.. But when i dont blog.. i feel like my body is holding clutter??

Weird or what!

Like ive had no release or connection to the outside world on something we can mutually agree on.. I love connecting with others and hearing 'You read my mind' Or 'exactly what i was thinking!' It makes me feel 'normal'. Like my thoughts aren't some crazy lady taking over my brain.

The past few weeks have been rough in my little house. My kids are fighting more, my husband is yelling more, im crying more. Vomiting my feelings all over my personal page. Screaming for help basically.

Wanting my friends to know im struggling. Im not good at voicing my needs to anyone, so my stupid cryptic messages are my way of asking.

I dont know why my house is like this. I really dont.

I dont lock myself away all day sewing neglecting my kids, im lucky to actually sew one thing while my husband is at work. And when he gets home at 5.30 its dinner bath bed and book time, so i dont sew then either! The kids are in bed at 6pm , 6.30pm and 7 pm Im not far off 7.30pm.

I take my journal to bed to write everything im feeling down , once thats out and im not so mentally stimulated i usually fall asleep with my glasses on.

I was asked on Sunday at The Upper Market how on earth i sew, blog, have time for my page and have 3 kids bathed and fed.. I honestly didnt have an answer.

I kept putting it back on my best friend, saying she helps me.

I usually brain storm through the week, draw pictures in my journal then on a Tuesday i cut patterns and put them all in my expandable folder ready to be sewn on a Friday when im kid free. But honestly, on a Friday all i want it a doona, a cuppa, Ellen and chocolate!

But, if i dont sew, i start going Coo-Coo.. So-i-sew.

There are times when i want to throw it all in. Where i wonder if its really worth the pressure of keeping up with the other pages. Pages begging and screaming for more fans. Pages giving there all there stock away simply to reach that certain number. As much as i love seeing new faces around, simply so i can have fresh views on my raw and controversial blogs, I will give away what i can, when i want. Not a gazzilion things just to 'keep up'

At the moment i have a Bunnie up for grabs. Shes been sitting there for a few weeks now. Waiting for a new home, but she will go when shes ready. I set the bar at 1,500 So i didnt have to part with her to soon *Wink* Nasty.. i know.

Totally off topic.. Its been SO SO long since ive spent time with a good bunch of friends. Tonight id planned to go to the screening of Bridesmaids with a bunch of girls. Dont know what went wrng there.. but were not going.

Ive become so anti social.

I think facebook gives you the feeling of not having to make a 'real' effort because there is always an alternative. There are comments , PMs, likes.. You dont have to actually pick up the phone and talk because there is chat.

I used to have play groups at my house every fortnight. Where we would bring a plate, or drink or sweet bun , lay a blanket down in the back yard and chat for an hour. God i miss those days!!

Meeting randoms in the mothers room at the shop and planning to meet again the next week. Same mothers room, same time. These days shopping trips is running in to coles bear foot praying to higher powers no one seeing your Vegemite covers kids. Never mind the fact you haven't showered... and ...you have no bra on...

Always the second you run in to the high school bully...

I desperately need to get back in to the real world.

I need to learnt to be able to talk to others, with my voice, not my key board.

My markets are a huge soul cleanser for me. Talking to people face to face. I'm nervous as all hell, its exhausting, but i sleep well that night.

So im making a decision on behalf of myself, my brain thats telling me to not bother and my teeth that are chattering because its been so long since ive spent one on one time with anyone else aside from my family and best friend.

I will re launch these 'Mama Days'

Coffee and scoffing our faces.

Im located the northern end of the gold coast - Coomera.

We have some great parks are here and my garage is a rumpus room..

Im welcoming you in to my real life.

Just bring you.. your kid/s if you have them and a pillow.

♥

Proud!

Well, When this mum puts her mind to something.. Look .. Out!

I am pretty darned chuffed right now!

Without spending a single cent today.. And 3 kids 5 and under plus 2 cats tomenting me , within 2 hours using only items from around the house..I had transformed a 'room' In to a chic wonderland for miss Dior.

I will run through it all better tonight, but i am just to excited i just had to upload photos now!

{Before...}



{After}

It started with this.. A $4.00 double doona cover set and a pair of pillow cases for 50c

An old cot blanket..

Hot tip- Line your material up along your tiles or room divider.. Make as a long ruler!

Add one kitten for shits and giggles..

Using the lines on your tiles makes cutting a hell-ov-a-lot easier!

I made sure i kept the buttons so i could take the cover on and off.

I upcycled her cot blanket. Its thick, but not to much as the doona cover is very heavy.

Simpy framed the material. Very effective!

Tah Dah..

One of my best life line buys.. 2 of these gorgeous lamps, full of dust a pair for $5.

Even the globes still worked in them.
Scored these 3 curtain panels from the upholstery remnants section of spotlight for $2 a meter. Cost me $5.30 in total. Also bought another panel to layer for .60c

The embroidery on the curtains

50c thrift score! For a pair!

Made from the same material as her Doona cover and pillow case.

Our bird cage from our wedding.

♥ The Princess' Bed ♥

Miss Dior is a little scared of the dark and will only sleep with her fairy lights on. ♥

A place for everything.

Dad & Tiger Lily were pretty proud..


♥ One happy lady ♥

Master 5's room next..

x N

Hates..

The feeling of waiting for a new inbox message...

For that #1 to pop up.. wondering if you have done the 'right' thing that just feels right?

I am a very patient person.. But not right now.

x N

Networking- Shopping - Spamming

3 totally different reasons for swinging by fan pages.

Ive been reading over Build a Little Biz's recent blog on facebook spamming.

Im not sure if i am a spam-sh person / Business owner / online shopper..

But i personally dont see a problem with how i connect with others.

If you think otherwise, please speak up. I wont be offended.

Facebook WAHPs- It starts with networking. You have to have a good network to promote your product? Correct?

And, Im sorry, but i not going to pay for someone to promote my business when i can spare 10 minutes a day to do it myself.

Tagging is promoting. I love tagging! I love having fun with tagging and showing my love for fellow WAHPs.

If i am tagged i will always send my thanks- Generally through a return shout and or dropping by to comment.

I then proceed to like all the other pages tagged as well.

I dont just crap on there page and leave.

I always state how i found them (Though a mutual tag) Who i am, where im from , if there is something that im interested in (99% of the time there is because im a face-stalk-shop-aholic) i will ask about it or let them know i have emailed.

My email account is not always open as Hubby and i share Gmail and outlook. So if i see ive been email, i will always go check.

And i invite them to drop there name on my page so i can then add them to my list of shouts.

My fans are always looking for new faves, and shout outs are the best and sometimes only way of finding the little pages lurking in the back ground.

I often see they are locals. And if you know me, you know i love my locals.

I always let them know about my fave market The Upper Market , Hoping one day ill see there face around.

My shouts usually go along these lines

' Hi there! Nic here from Buttons Dior. Just found you through ___'s tag this morning and thought i would swing by. (I would here let them know if i was interested in something) Feel free to drop by and leave some love on our page, my customers are always looking for new faves. x " 99.9% of the time it doesn't end there, we will use that as a base to get chatting, realise we know similar businesses and or the same people.

(But i never ever just cut and paste! Thats just lazy )

I think personally.. Thats acceptable networking??

Am i wrong?

xN

Dreams.

About a month ago a posted on my Buttons page about a dream that i had the previous night. It was about a lady.

Im not sure where i had seen her from but i could describe exactly what she looked like.

She wasnt short, but wasnt tall. She had light blonde, even strawberry blonde wavy hair with small curls wisping out the sides.

Mainly where her glasses sat behind her ears. Her glasses were a thick frame.

Not a think metal frame. And they sat a little down her nose.

I felt like my dream was at a market.

It was like she was trying to promote her product.

She spoke fairly fast and wore an apron with a front pocket.

She had her hands tucked in, like she was fiddling with something.

Her laugh and self of humor made me get the feeling she was nervous. Over talking to disguise what she was feeling.

I felt like she lacked confidence in what she was 'selling'.

We ended on a good note, and i felt like we had made friends?

Without so much becoming friends. When i woke up i felt like i needed to befriend her. Liike i had something to tell her..

For the next couple of weeks i kept my eye out at markets wondering if she would be there, just so i could match the faces! It drove me insane.

She became ' That girl' to all my friends. Especially my best friend who had a similar dream, and referred to her as 'That girl'

On Tuesday i was sitting with my best friend Lucy talking about a dream she had.

And we brought up that i still didnt know who she was.

Lucy stayed to look after my eldest while i went to pick the youngest 2 up from daycare.

As i drove in i saw 2 teachers in the play ground. The one to the right.. That was her!!!

The girl in my dreams (eww.. that sounded creepy) Scratch that.. The girls FROM my dreams was my 2 year olds releaf teacher.

And id met her plenty of times before!

The first time i met her was when i picked Miss 2 up from daycare about 2 months ago.

I arrived and secretly watched her play for a while.

When she turned around she had a horrible rash all over her face and neck.

I couldn't help but blurt out 'What the hell happened to her face!'

The teacher, who we will now call 'Pat' ,Not, "that girl' Was stunned!

She didnt know that i hadnt been notified.

I felt awful. Id nearly torn shreds off this teacher who had only been there about 15 minutes. So i piled Miss 2 in the car and took her straight home where i called the home doctor.

He said it was a positive allergic reaction. Her face was swollen and red. Now to find out what it was.. And why i hadn't been called!

The second time i had met 'Pat' was the following week.

Missys face was fine this time, but she was walking funny.. kind of like a cowboy.

I made a joke saying 'Yeehaa!' as we walked to the car. But Miss 2 burst in to tears and stopped.

Screaming 'Hurties!!' I picked up up and carried her to the car, when i took her nappy off, her bottom was so burnt her skin was pealing.

Naked bottom and all, i marched straight back in there and gave the poor girl another mouthful.

Miss 2 is prone to nappy rash due to the acidity in certain foods, so we over pack nappies for 2-3 extra changes through the day to keep her as dry as possible.

Apparently She hadnt been changed for 5 hours. 11.30am was her last change and without fail, She will poop at 12pm on the dot.

Every-Single-Day.

So im gathering she was sitting in that poop for 5 hours.

Poor 'Pat' had only just walked in to take over as i left. Again, she took the brunt of it.

Addison has more reactions at daycare, only on her face. And the same rash. Every Friday. Until last week. I packed her own sheets. WOLAH! No rash. Miss 2 is allergic to there laundry powder.

So, back on track..

here come my questions. Why was she in my dreams? It was more then once.. it would have been a good 5-6 times.

Is it something totally differant to the incidents with Miss 2? I wonder if she is considering a career change (Hopefully not because of a scary mum!) and isnt confident about it?

Because the whole time she was talking in my dream i just wanted to say

'Stop! Slow down! Have a bit of faith in yourself for cheese sake!'

I told Miss 2's teach on Tuesday everything that i have blogged here.

I told her not to think i was a crazy lady.. meh , they didn't need me telling them about some dream for them to know im a crazy lady.. and shes going to suss out whether 'Pat' is looking in to business ventures..ect

That.. I will know tomorrow. (Or not. If i get there and they have an enlarge poster of my face on the front door saying ' NOT ALLOWED' )

Untill then.. Dream readers..Does any of my dream make sense!?

The newest member to our Chaos..

Meet Tiger Lily-

About 2 weeks ago, my soul sister lost her dad for the 2nd time. When she was a teenager she lost her father, then recently she lost her step dad to a rotton cancer.

Before he passed her mum (my other mother) and her Step dad Gary bought a kitten. A gorgeous little kitten which i think secretly sent them insane!

For weeks i constantly heard about the late night and early morning meowing. The scratching at the bathroom door. The sleep deprivation.. All the things you would expect from a newborn. The reasons why we just dont do kittens very well.

We adopted our Jezzabelle from the Animal Welfare League in Coombabah on the Gold Coast about 8 months ago. It was a very unexpected adoption after a school holiday trip with master 5 and i.

I wanted to stress to him the importance of respecting your pets. That animals are not a seasonal thing. Pets are family members.

We lived in a town house before having our 3rd child and after hearing a friend say she was taking her kitten to the pound, we jumped in without thinking and took her in.

She was a gorgeous kitten. We called her Aria.

The kids adored her. We rented privately so we didnt think it would have been an issue. We are fantastic tenants. Rent paid without fail and the house was always immaculate. We even had the owners around weekly allowing them to do maintance.

Then came the 'Notice to leave' .. We had breeched our lease because of our decision to save a kitten.

I fought it and fought it.

The house had a cat door! There must have been pets here before! I fought it untill they notified us we would be evicted.

1 week before Christmas.

I refused to let this kitten go to the pound. So i started looking for other rentals. 2 children under 5 and 5 months pregnant. It just wasnt possible.

I remembered a friend finding a dog needing a home on Freecycle. And after a good hour of typing and retyping a letter of offer with to many tears. I finally advertised our gorgeous Aria, in need of a good home. I had over 20 replies that day. Deleting them one by one untill i reached an amazing email.

I phoned the potential owners to arrange to meet.

I was taking this very seriously.

I spoke to a mother of 2 children. A wife whos husbands car had just died that morning on the hwy and her power steering just gave up as well. 1 week out of Christmas, with now no money to pay the chrissy laybys off. They wanted something for there children, untill after the silly season and they could afford to fix the cars and spoil there kids.

Her husband had only been looking at photos 2 days before of his childhood cat.

This was the perfect family.

On Christmas eve , A friend at the time and i drove her up to them. I met the mum out the front of the house so she could surprise her children. I gave her Aria and watched her wish Merry Christmas to her kids and handed them there kitten.

In the mean time both of us are pregnant, hormonal and blubbering like babies!

From that day we swore we would never get another pet until we were locked in to being allowed animals.

I explained to Jett this is why we no longer had Aria. And off we went to the shelter to see the animals who have been abandoned or lost. With NO wallet, so we couldn't come home with a little surprise.

We walked around and chatted to the cats. Gave them some attention and spoke with the volunteers. I could see the look in Master 5's eye. He was ready for a pet.

That night i had a talk with Hubby. Showed him the AWL website . And he suggested we went back as a whole family. All 5 of us, and take a look.

We met alot of different characters. Gorgeous cats with crazy personalities. Odd looking kittens clutching to the sides of the enclosure.. And cats that just slept and slept..

We were looking for a cat who was looking for us.

We made a promise to not pick one.

We would wait to be chosen. If not that day.. Another day.

There were a few that were just gorgeous! We got a little attached to them.. until they got permanently attached to us! Digging there claws in and hissing.

There was one cat that just followed us. With a tiny little Siamese head and a long sausage dog like body with a droopy saggy belly that nearly rubbed along the ground. Puring and walking between our legs. Miss 2 gave out an all mighty squeal of delight at her ' Jezzabelle responding with a quiet 'Meow' .. Thats our cat.

We decided to 'sleep on it' ..HA yeah right! We drove all the way home, Hubby doing a bit of a detour to delay the eneviatable and then said.. "Do you love her??' And i replied 'I LOVE her!' .. So we phone the shelter which closed in an hour and asked them to get her paper work ready!

We drove all the way back to get our lady...

We raced up to reception and applied to adopt. We had a meeting with the volunteers and signed all the papers.

Best of all, Jezzabelle was 'Pet of the week'

We bought her home and she spent the rest of the night sitting next to me while i cut and stiched.

From that day, shes just been another family member. Taking her place every night on the end of Master 5's bed.

Today we introduced a special little lady to our family.

Tiger Lily.

Adopted from My best friends Mum.

Since losing Gary she has been living with her mum. Lucys babushka. They owned an absolutely stunning self designed 'mansion' up on Mount Tambourine.

But with Julia suffering epilepsy, it was not safe her being up there alone.

With that, And the sadness of losing her husband.

We adopted Tiger.

So far she is settling in well. She spent a week at Lucy's sister so was used to noise and chaos with there 3 kids. I actually think she is enjoying her self here!

So, welcome to our would gorgeous girl! Your very much loved.

x N

Tiger Lily