A major and common trigger for a meltdown is...

Technology that doesn't work.

I have a limited time frame to do things in.  I sore and tired quickly and easily.  If anything - and I mean anything - slows down the process or makes it more complicated that means that I will have less time and energy to do the things that need to get done.  I will end up wasting time and energy on fixing the broken technology.

I know that technology sometimes breaks.

I know that I should plan for the technology to break.

I know that I should get things done with plenty of time for the technology to break so that if (by some miracle) the technology doesn't break down, I will have extra time up my sleeve.

Sometimes, it doesn't matter how well I PLAN.... life doesnt work out that way.


I don't have time for the technology to "not work"  and you might be wondering how I have time to post to my blog if I am under the pressure of broken technology.  The simple fact is, that now I have almost solved my technology problem and I am typing this as I wait for the printer to print some documents for me.  This is the third printer I have tried and I left it until last because accessing it and printing things from it is rather complicated.  However, the other two printers (or should I say 32 printers) that I would go to first, have all decided to ignore me and failed to print anything for me.

Thus I am using the slowest and most arduous process for printing that I have available to me which involves standing in my tool shed/office in the freezing cold (yes, even I am cold) while my dinosaur printing slowly ticks over trying to spit out all the print jobs I have sent it.  I have time to type 800 words about technology causing a meltdown (ironically, I'm really cold while I am having this meltdown) while I wait for the printer to do it's part and the program on my laptop to start working again.

I also thought that putting it here might prevent me from screaming or lashing out with some other anti-social behaviour at 9:30pm on a school night.

I don't have time to tell you more.  But I would assume you already lost interest quite a while ago and it probably doesn't matter anyway.  

So, I will away.

It's been months!

Quite a bit has been happening. 
Quite a bit. 

Shelly wants to go outside.  I'm not letting her and she is very unimpressed with me. 

I am not going to try and catch you up on everything that has been happening.  There is far too much to tell. 

I won't try to explain my absence.  It isn't worth the screen space.

The end of AGT is near.  That is all I have to say about that for now.  But there will be more - soon... very soon.

What I made for Mum

I made my mum a card for mothers' day. She asked if I put it together properly - apparently even art has to be straight and aligned.
Are you beginning to understand my childhood?

The photo of this card is having attachment issues. You will have to wait to see it. If you believe my mother, you aren't missing out on much.

Love

The latest from the Poop Report!

A few months ago I told you all about the Poop Report.  The one at my house and the one at my sister's house.  Click here to read more.  Today, I am going to share with you (an edited version) the text message that I received earlier this week.  

It never ceases to amaze me that the subject of poop is such a normal topic of conversation when discussing toddlers and pets.  If my sister sent me a text telling me that she did a pooh, I would reply with TMI... too much information. As soon as the pooper is under the age of 5 or furry, it is okay to share this with all and sundry.  Strange.  

I realise that some people use the poop icons available on the emoji keyboard to share such things with friends... but I am not one of those people and I'm not about to become one.  However, it is exciting that my 3 year old niece has reached this milestone in the toilet training journey.  My sister will no sooner have #7 out of nappies when she will be embarking on the journey once more with #8.  This is one of those days when I am so glad I don't have my own children! 

Now I will leave you with the mental picture of all the smiles and cheers that occurred after the toilet flushed at my sister's house last week.

Hooray! ?

A week has passed

I am writing today because I know that I haven't written for a week and the post before that was probably a whole week earlier.  So, this sentence a day thing isn't working out quite as well as I would have liked.  I wonder why I can't seem to meet these goals.  

Often, I shift the blame onto my work and how I feel when I arrive home and finally let go.  Not to mention the work that I bring home with me, which takes up time too.  Then there is my difficulty with writing - at times.  You would think I should be able to come up with a sentence.  You would think. 

Anyway, back to news.  

This week, I received an invitation to a birthday party.  My niece, # 8 is about to turn one.  That's right, it is almost 12 months since my dear sister popped her out. What a lovely turn of phrase that is.  My niece, #5, is hosting the grand event at which the family will celebrate the first anniversary of #8's birth.  The 5th created a cute invitation and emailed it to the family.  The invitation gave us information about the party and asked for RSVP.  

In case you aren't as surprised by this as me, I will remind you that #5 is only 9 years old.  I teach teenagers who wouldn't know how to create an invitation so well. My surprise and excitement increased when I read that a jumping castle will be hired for the children to use.  

My sister buys the low grade jumping castle that isn't big enough for adults.  Rude!  So, I never get to play in it.  =(

You might be wondering how I replied to my niece's brilliant invitation... too bad if you're not.  

Dear #5,

I wouldn't miss it for the world.  #8 is very lucky to have a big sister like you to organise her party.  My big sister never booked a jumping castle for my birthday! 

Love M

At least that was more than a sentence.