On the band waggon

Well, wonders never cease. Liesa is getting with the times.

I called Emma this morning to help me set this up after realising that the 200+ emails that are unopened in my inbox are beyond my capabilities to deal with. This seems a little bit like cheating on replying, but I will claim that I am 'modernising' none the less.

Firstly, a word on my blog name. Most of you will be aware that Andrew was a fearless rugby player...in his day. Unfortunately the opposition was not fearless, but fearful when they came up against him on the field, so early on in his playing days it was decided his new name would be 'Psycho.' This of course, led to his team mates affectionately refering to the boys and I as Mrs P and the Psychlettes. Fitting? I guess you guys get to decide.

Anyway, I am determined to make my blogs warts and all... not a 'Christmas letter' version, because that way I can cheat on my journal writing too.

For those of you who I haven't been in touch with for a long time, here is a summary of what is going on in our lives:

We have just moved into our house that we have been building. It is still not finished, but 'livable.' I have learned that I am a woman with patience and that kitchens are not essential, however desirable. It kind of feels like we are camping with the exception that I am not on holiday, nor do I feel relaxed. The boys are happy because the bedrooms are all finished and they all finally have their own rooms. I have warned them that we spent a lotof money on their carpet, so if I cannot see the carpet due to their mess, then the may have to go back to sharing rooms. We'll see how that works.

We do love having lots of space around us and I have heard new phrases enter the boys vocabularies since moving here, such as "I am going down to build a burn," or 'My burn is way better than yours," ( a burn is apparently a motorbike jump or something of the sort.) Another favourite is "Hang on Mum, I have to chase the ducks out of the pool!" We have definately entered rural life, and are beginning to adjust.

Our builder finished the verandah around the house last Friday and was jubilant. It took nearly two kilometres of timber and two people, 3 weeks to build. He described it as worse than Chinese water torchure. We expect the inside of the house to be all finished by December and hope to have a new pool in before it gets too hot. The gardens will take much longer.

Work is going well for Andrew and he is still travelling, but not as much as last year. He got back from Canada on Saturday, but was only away one week. He tries to avoid it when possible because he hates leaving the house, which takes up almost every other spare minute. He bought a 'Bob-cat' (I don't know exactly what it is, but it has a scoop on the front and moves dirt). I call it his digging toy and tease him that I think he is re-living his childhood. He hates it when I say that and tries to convince me that the piles of dirt have to be moved. I have also seen this machine double as a 'battle ram' to remove trees and multiple other uses, most of which I am sure were not the original intent. Andrew and ingenuity go hand in hand. That's what I love about him.

I am back studying, although find it a bit overwhelming at times. I do stress a lot about doing well, and tend to procrastinate a bit, but enjoy learning and feeling like I am achieving something for myself. I would love to have more time, but we all would. I have not exercised as much as I would like to since moving out here, but hope to rectify that soon. Summer is good motivation.

The boys are... I am trying to find one word to sum them up, but it is more complex than that. I think throughout most days I feel the entire range of emotions with them. They are great boys, all with lots of positives. Unfortunately we all know that sometimes lots of positives mixed together can still make a negative and that seems to be the case with my boys when they are together. Too much rivalry and fighting. I don't think there is a quick fix, but if any of you have any suggestions I would love to hear them. I am sure it is normal, although discouraging. This was a motivating factor in why I chose to study Psychology. I need to outsmart them... or at least understand them. Each of them are great individuals though with loads of character and I love them all.
Jordan is 15 this month, Joshua is 12, Mitchell is 11 and Bailey is 7.

Well, I am looking forward to keeping in better contact with friends and family by blogging. I will finally be able to get pictures to you Ruth. I don't know why they wouldn't email. I will take some current pics today and hopefully post them on here tomorrow.

Talk soon. Mrs P.