How do you know what to do?

RE: Pets

Tessa

I have 1 dog and 3 cats and although I love them to bits they drive me NUTS! I am contemplating rehoming them purely for me and my son's own health and safety. Mentally I feel I can not cope with a whole lot at the moment, we ourselves are being bitten by fleas and lastly my son hasn't been able to go out in the backyard since we got our dog over a year ago. So now I'm in a dilemma. I always thought it was awful when people bought animals and then just got rid of them. I really don't want to be one of those people. But how do I justify the way we live at the moment, where pets seem to get top priority over ourselves? Do I keep them or try and find them new homes? Will someone love them as much as I love them? Is there anyway I can keep them and find a way for it to work? I really don't know what to do at the moment - I have so many questions running through my head (as you can see)! Has anybody else had to part with a beloved pet for the family's sake? Did it all work out in the end?

Chrissy

Without a dog we can once again grow our own vegetables, plant fruit trees, hang the washing outside, have friends over and most importantly Jesse can play out in the backyard again! Without cats there wouldn't be a flea problem, we wouldn't get woken up at all hours of the night from them scratching on the door to be let out, I wouldn't have to vacuum every single day and I would have a spare room again (that's right the cats have their own room)! Life would become a whole lot easier but would the house feel empty without them? What would I do without the pitter patter of tiny paws? Who would be waiting at the door for me when I came home? I wish we lived on a large property so I didn't have to make this choice. If we had a bigger yard (we're on about 400sqm) Tessa would have more room to run around which would lessen her boredom and therefore ease the destructive behaviour. And if we had a slightly bigger house the cats could sleep in the laundry (we don't have a laundry in this house) instead of in the spare bedroom. Which means more room and more sleep for us and then hopefully they could go back to being purely indoor cats. Right now they go outside with my supervision. Oh! What to do... What to do... Suggestions anyone?

Crumpet

(Just uploading their pictures has made me feel guilty for even thinking about getting rid of them. This is going to be a lot harder than I thought.)

Missing in action

Sorry I've been missing in action everybody. I lost my internet and phone for almost a week thanks to a tradesperson accidentally putting a shovel through a cable that contained over 1000 wires thereby cutting off quite a few houses to their internet connection. I'm very glad to be online again! I didn't realise how much I relied on the internet until I lost it. I use it to communicate with friends, write my blog, pay bills, do my banking, search and apply for jobs, and most importantly find out my exam results....

I PASSED!!!!!!! And with High Distinctions in every subject. My Grade Point Average is 4.00 out of 4 which is as high as I can go. I am so proud of myself and so happy that all my hard work has paid off. I am however a little nervous that I may have set the benchmark a little high. I think if I get any lower than a HD from now on I may end up a little disappointed. I just have to remember to do the best that I can and to not push myself too hard. I have to learn to be happy with any mark - so long as I pass, that's the main thing.

Chrissy and Crumpet

Other than that day to day life has been pretty hectic: We have a flea problem at the moment. One of our cats is crawling with them despite being treated for them only 2 weeks ago. I'm at a bit of a loss on what to do, so may have to consult a vet. And I've been trying to work through my large pile of washing but no sooner have I hung it out than Tessa has ripped it off the line and dragged it through the dirt. Stressing like mad about the upcoming colonoscopy and gastroscopy. Trying to get through one more week of school and soccer runs before school holidays begin. And more and more job hunting with very little results. I need a holiday!!!!!! Ok maybe I don't need one but I really really want one! Right now I'll just settle for a nice hot cup of tea...

Night all!

Colonoscopy & Gastroscopy

Well my appointment time for the colonoscopy and gastroscopy I need done came in the mail today. 12th of July it is scheduled for and I am absolutely PETRIFIED!!! Words cannot describe just how scared I am of having this done and I am most definitely not looking forward to the bowel preparation. I suppose I should be grateful that I don't have to wait too much longer to find out what is going on with me. And it's lucky I guess that the appointment is during Jesse's school holidays and my university holidays so I don't need to worry about juggling school runs or uni assignments whilst preparing for the surgery. I just really need to calm down - I'm letting my nerves get the better of me at the moment.

Anyway wish me luck everyone and if anybody else has ever had either procedure done can you please share your experiences with me. I really need some reassurance. Just in case the comments section of my blog is a little too public to discuss such matters (as I imagine it would be), I can be reached at the following email address: sammyleewright@gmail.com
Thank you!

The never-ending mundane pile of housework

I have spent the last few days trying to get the house tidy and more organised... I've washed, hung out, brought in and folded load after load of washing. I've vacuumed, swept, thrown out old newspapers and washed plenty of dishes. I have also changed the sheets on the bed and started to make it in the morning. The difference I feel at night is amazing. I love nothing more than curling up at night in crisp, fresh-smelling sheets and a made bed just looks more comforting and inviting to come home to at night.

I have also been sorting through all of my old baby items that I have been keeping in storage. I am busy scrubbing them down and washing them so that I can list them on Gumtree to sell. It will be nice to have a spare room again instead of the "storage room" it currently is. Just seeing more floor space makes me happy. I am so over mess and clutter. I can't believe I let all the housework pile up for so long! I guess that's what university does to you.. a few other things went SLIP!

Speaking of uni... gosh how I miss studying. :( I am so bored at home now. Even with all the work that has to be done around the house, it does nothing to keep my mind occupied. I am longing to bury my nose deep in textbooks again and sit at the computer for hours on end producing one essay after another. I never thought I would enjoy study this much as when I was in high school I couldn't wait to get out! I am wishing now that I'd chosen to do an intensive unit over the winter break. I'll keep that in mind when summer break comes around. I've noticed that I definitely need to keep my mind occupied or else I spend too much time dwelling on all the things in my life that aren't currently how I want them to be. I have also realised that too much free time makes the OCD and depression more noticeable.

Well that's enough for now. My load of washing has finished and it needs to be hung out. And I should probably get on with more cleaning. Not to mention spend some time looking for work. There isn't much out there at the moment which is a pity as we could really do with a little bit of extra income. Has anybody else noticed how scarce jobs are at the moment? Is the economic downturn affecting anybody else? I look forward to hearing from you. :)

Children: Don't waste time with them.. make time for them!

Since becoming a mother there is one thing that really makes me angry and that is when I see or hear of other young mothers out there truly living up to the teenage parent stereotype: dumping their children on others, taking drugs, smoking and drinking whilst pregnant and after the baby is born, having child after child to different fathers, having children just for the welfare money, or losing children to the DCP (Department of Children Protection) and instead of working hard to get their other children back they keep having more!

I fell pregnant at 17, right at the beginning of year 12. I was 18 when I gave birth to my son. To make matters worse back then I looked like I was about 12; even now at almost 24 years of age people ask me if I'm 17. So you can imagine the stares I got when I had my baby. It was almost as if I could hear people thinking "What is that 12 year old doing pushing a stroller?" Even worse I would have people who would come up to me and actually verbalise what they were thinking such as "You're a bit young to have a baby aren't you?" and "Shouldn't you have waited until you were married?" It got to the point where I was too scared to even go to the supermarket and do the grocery shopping in case I copped more rude comments from complete strangers.

The thing is I never lived up to the teenage parent stereotype. I have never ever dumped my child on anyone - in fact my own mother has only babysat Jesse on about 4 occassions in the whole time since he's been born. I didn't have my first proper drink until I was 21 years old (legal drinking age in Australia is 18). I never smoked or took drugs while I was pregnant. And I wasn't even aware that you received money from the Government for having a child so the baby bonus still sits in my bank account untouched! I chose to have a child so that means I am financially and personally responsible for him: he is my responsibility and nobody else's.

So why am I writing all of this. Well I came across a girl on Facebook who I used to go to school with who had recently had her second child. Her page is open and so I thought I would take a squiz and check out a picture of the new baby... to my utter disgust her page was plastered with comments about getting drunk, coming home at 2am and throwing up all over her bed from drinking so much and being DTF (which I am just now learning means down to f**k - excuse my language). Now didn't she JUST have a baby only 3 weeks ago?? So despite having 2 children to 2 different dads (neither of whom she is still with) she is already dtf with somebody else?? Is that even safe?? And who is looking after her newborn while she is out getting drunk most nights?? I was so disappointed to be reading all of this as I thought since having children she might have settled down a little. Unfortunately not the case. What's worse is she is posting all this online for the whole world to see as her page is not set to private. Now she might be a wonderful hands-on mother to her two children (I wouldn't know) but if she is then she certainly isn't portaying herself very well.

Reading stuff like this not only makes me angry but it also makes me sad. When I first had Jesse my focus and attention was on nothing else except for him. Thoughts of sex and partying never even entered my mind as I sat and stared at my son in amazement for hours on end. I remember holding him and drinking in that beautiful baby breath and watching all the facial expressions he would make as he lay dozing in my arms. I didn't want to miss a moment. Time with him was so precious and I wanted to capture everything. This mother is wasting the perfect opportunity to just spend time bonding with her newborn. Holding him. Feeding him. Cuddling him. Singing to him. Watching him. Children grow up so quickly... enjoy every moment that you can with them because before you know it they'll be off and doing their own things. Don't waste time with them.. make time for them!

Hard work really does pay off..

I went into University today and picked up my last 2 assignments for my Professional Writing unit and turns out I totally nailed them. Two more High Distinctions which means my overall grade for that unit is a High Distinction. I'm so happy with what I have achieved so far and getting results like this just makes my day. It makes all the hard work seem worth it and it motivates me to keep at it and to keep working hard. It just goes to show that hard work really does pay off.

Now I wait in anticipation for my exam results which should be released on the 2nd of July. Bring it on I say!

I have all that I NEED and MORE!

I have read a few blog posts recently about WANTING. We all want different things, whether it be a new car, a bigger house, another child or more money and there is nothing wrong with having these wants. In fact it is perfectly normal. The only time when wanting what we can't have becomes dangerous is if we get ourselves into debt to service our wants or we become that envious of others that we can't see all the great things going on in our own lives.

Jesse on the bike he got for Xmas, out the front of our house.

There are a lot of things that I want right now. I want a 4WD, a bigger house, an education, more children, a job, more money and the chance to travel. But I'm not about to get myself into debt so that I can have these things straight away. These are goals and goals take time. And the beauty of having goals is experiencing the journey it takes to reach them and then feeling that sense of accomplishment when you do achieve them. I know that getting a university education takes time but it will all be worth it in the end because I will come away with a degree and a chance to secure a job and earn more money. Then with that new found stability I can save up for the dream car, the bigger house, more children and also reward myself with a holiday or two along the way.

Dave, Tiffany (my sister), my mum and me.

There are also times when I feel envious of what others have. I see people who I went to school with in fantastic jobs earning lots of money, buying their dream homes, travelling all over the world, and getting married and having children. But just because they seem to "have it all" doesn't necessarily mean they're happy. What if the highly paid executive secretly wishes she had a child? What if the person living in their dream home is struggling to make the repayments and with it feeling a lot of stress? What if the person travelling the world feels lonely and wishes they had someone to share the experience with? And what if the young married woman with children really desires to further her education but feels she doesn't have the time to? Unless we are that other person then we don't know what they are feeling. Just because we see what they have and want it, doesn't necessarily mean it is what they wanted or what they are happy with. We need to look at our own lives and be grateful for what we already have. When I become conscious of this I realise there are many things that I have to be grateful for. I have a very loving and understanding partner who supports me all the way, a beautiful well-behaved child who always knows how to put a smile on my face, a roof over my head, food in my fridge, clothes on my back, a wonderful little car, a best friend who goes out of her way to cheer me up, and a family that pulls together when the going gets tough. So what if I want more things... I have all that I NEED and MORE!

My little man with my beautiful Nanna. I love them both dearly.

However as with all things in life... don't forget the balance. If you're always depriving yourself of things you want because you don't feel you have the money or the time, then make a plan to achieve some of your wants sooner. There is no point always saving up for that holiday and then never taking it. Or scrimping and saving and then never rewarding yourself for all your hard work. This will only make you unhappy. It is OK to reward yourself every now and again. Take that holiday. Buy that dress you've been eyeing off.  Just make sure you have planned for it and can afford it - then there is no guilt when the time comes to do it. You can just enjoy it!!

On holidays. The view of Melbourne from the top of the MCG.