Well here is this years first five things Friday.

Headaches caused by the heat

Being a moody bitch

Trouble sleeping

Leo’s turned 7…………yesterday

Feeling oh so tired

The weekend after New Years Tim went and bought himself a new telly for his office and has moved the telly from his office into the spare room for the boys to use when they are here, mostly it is for Blain to use when he comes over as he brings his Xbox with him.

It is better if Blain brings his Xbox with him as it keeps him amused, he is not like Leo who likes to just watch Foxtel (pay tv) or use papa’s computer to play computer games.

The boys spent New Year’s Eve here and drove me crazy for most of it, they fought a lot and things were made worse by the fact that Jessica didn’t give Leo is medication so he was really bouncing off the walls both figuratively and literary. He was throwing himself against a wall and landing on the bed.

I was really annoyed with Jessica I felt that she knew he would be here with Blain and that when they are together they are crazy and he really needs his medication. New Year’s morning I gave him a dose not long after he woke up and another dose around 12.30pm and he was pretty good all day.

Have to tell you New Year’s day was a bloody hot day so hot that even though I had the air conditioning going I still had moments when I felt hot and sweaty but that may be due to my high blood glucose levels.

Sometimes I think “docs” also know as child welfare you can find their website here: http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/welcome_to_docs_website.html, are bloody stupid.

Dawson’s mother has had a breakdown and is in James Fletcher hospital at the moment this is a mental health hospital, she will be there a while I think we are expecting her to be there for a couple of months. The reason for the break down is complicated the big cause is Michelle’s own mother.

Anyway on Monday “docs” went out to visit her father Allen who is taking care of Dawson’s little brother Landon who is only 2yrs old, now Allen has taken care of Landon since he was born and is use to caring for him.

Well the stupid people from Docs said they thought Allen is a bit too elderly to be caring for a 2 year old and they thought Landon would be better off in care. Now the reason Michelle would not get help for her mental state was because she was worried that if she asked for help “docs” would come in and take Landon and put him in care.

The only reason why she has been admitted to hospital for care was because on Christmas Day she was assaulted and was still in pain so Allen took her to the hospital emergency department about her pain and her off the wall behaviour raised concerns and she was admitted to James Fletcher for help.

If Michelle was to hear that “docs” want to put Landon in care it wouldn’t help he mental state, she is afraid that if he is taken into care she will not be able to get him back, since she has siblings who were taken into care and never went back to their parents this is a real concern for her.

Allen told “docs” that Dawson’s grandmother (my mum) was willing to help him by watching Landon if he needed a break during the day, so mum gets a phone call from “docs” she tells them she is willing to help Allen out and they wanted mum to take Landon 3 or 4 nights a week. Mum had to tell them she would not have him overnight as it would be too much for her but she would help out taking him during the day if needed, so they asked her if she could take him 5 days a week from 10-3 mum said NO she couldn’t do that she has things she needs to do things on Wednesday & Friday, so then they asked if she would take him 3 days a week from 10-3, mum said yes as she doesn’t want to see Landon taken into care.

Now the woman mum spoke to said a few times that Allen is elderly, Allen is in his early or mid 60’s mum will be 75 in two weeks time. Allen has no problem taking care of Landon he has done it since the boy was born.

Ok it seems I didn’t write or post anything yesterday, how did that happen I opened a page ready to write a post and yet I wrote nothing. Now I know I opened the page then had to leave with Jessica to go to Leo’s appointment with his paediatrician but them of course Jessica wanted me to go and do some grocery shopping for her and when I got home I had to help Kelli with some laminating and when everyone had left I had to vacuum out and tidy the kitchen and somehow along the way I forgot about my blog post.

Anyway back to Leo he is doing ok weight and height wise he isn’t underweight as some members of the family thought and he isn’t either too tall or too short he is pretty ok for a 7 year old, yes there are 7 year olds who are taller then him but considering that he comes from a short family you really can’t expect him to be tall.

His medication is to stay the same for now, another appointment will be made for us to see the paediatrician again around the middle of the year. She said she will do a letter to the school and send it out to us in the next week or so, so I hope she does. She said she will add to the letter that she wants to have Leo accessed by the school counsellor to see if he has any learning difficulties, we had wanted that done last year but the school never got around to doing it.

On thing I don’t like about this new school he will be going to is that they do not have an OOSH (out of school hours) care centre near the school, the Fair Play Cafe operates an after school OOSH according to the school’s booklet I read but it says nothing about before school I guess I would have to contact Fair Play Cafe and find out more.

I am still coughing like I am dying or something at times it seems to have improved but at other times not so much. I will get the repeat of the antibiotics on Friday can’t do it before hand as I don’t have any money for the script this lot run out on tomorrow so I will have to miss a day then go back on them nothing else I can do.

You know last year I spoke about how I can’t have my false teeth in for very long and I wanted to wear them each day and work up to wearing them all the time, well that didn’t happen here it is a new year and I still only wear them to eat when I remember to put them in so I am going to give it another shot learning to wear them by having them in of a morning and hopefully within 3 months I will be use to them and having them in all the time. We will see how that goes.

Well we are into a new year but I will be telling you a bit about the end of the last year today, during the month of December my youngest daughter Jessica moved house and that means Leo will have to change schools when school goes back at the end of the month.

We have already enrolled him into his new school, I am unable to tell you which school he will be going to as Jessica has asked me not to do so, she also doesn’t want me to say where she has moved to but I can tell you she is now only a 10 minute drive from me.

She did most of the moving herself with some help from her friends but no help from her dad as he didn’t have time to help her.

The week after she moved she went and bought a new fridge and a new washing machine, yes new I told her that buying new would mean they would last her for 10 years or more as my washing machine is like 15 years old and the fridge is also years old.

She was given a second hand lounge from her cousin Heather and they even took it to her place for her. So she is pretty happy with things as they are now, they have settled into the new place nicely.

Now in Australia when you hear those words you think of a TV show that ran for 27 years from 1971 to 1999 and yes I know that is 28 years but they took a year off in 1978. It’s host was Daryl Somers from day one to day end, it started out as a Saturday morning children’s program. It later became a night time show in 1984 and have to say it was Tim’s favourite show, me I could take it or leave it but when Tim was home we watched it and have to tell you Tim was home most nights back then so it was pretty much always watched.

How to explain Hey Hey well it was influenced by vaudeville and the American Tonight Show in format and also was in parts kind of like The Marx Brothers or the Goon Show some will even same Monty Python. Does that help? Well if you have never seen any of the above shows or movies maybe not.

Now of course Aussie’s will think of Ossie Ostrich when they think of Hey Hey because there was no way you could have Daryl without Ossie, Ossie was Daryl’s puppet sidekick. He was a pink ostrich who had a light blue mohawk hairstyle he was good natured and funny. Ok in 1994 the voice of Ossie decided to retire so that meant Ossie had to retire and the show wasn’t quite the same without him.

Of course you also may think of “Dickie Knee” when you think of Hey Hey, Dickie was a cheeky “schoolboy” ok what he really was, was a ball with a school cap and wig on a stick, he would pop up in front of Daryl or other guests and make rude remarks, Dickie was operated by a stage hand.

After the show ended there where some reuniion shows which were ok but for me not great, although they did do well in the ratings with a peak of 2.64 million viewers (yes I got the figure from the internet) it even beat out the debut episode of Celebrity MasterChef Australia which only had 1092 million viewers again I know this thanks to the internet.

The show had a number of different segments which I think I will talk about in other posts just because I can. Oh yeah the show can now be found online here: https://www.heyhey.tv/

Damn this post was not suppose to be about an old show how did I manage to get off course like that, I also could write more about the damn show and in fact may do so but not right now. I had planned to tell you some ramblings about my life but that didn’t happen.

Welcome to 2015, I hope it is a great year for everyone, I am expecting the year to be pretty much the same as the last year.

I don’t do New Year resolutions why because I have terrible follow through so what is the point. I am and have always been the type of person who takes life one day at a time. Yes of course I do make some plans but generally day to day I don’t. I wake up of a morning and and take the day as it comes.

How about you? Do you plan out your year or only plan a few things through out the year?

During the year of course we will have birthdays and celebrations but that is pretty much the norm my precious first born daughter will turn 30 this year so I am hoping there will be a big celebration for that.

Sydney-May and her cousins Temika and Liarna all start school this year, of course they will all be going to different schools but I hope all three of them enjoy school.

My Little Leo will be starting a different school although he prefers me to call him my medium Leo as he says he is no longer a Little Leo.

Tim and I are talking about going back to New Zealand this year to see the bottom half of the South Island this I think we will do towards the end of the year. I am also hoping to go on a cruise with my parents and brother and sister in-law sometime this year.

So here’s to 2015 I am hoping it will be a bloody great year for me and all my family and friends.

When it comes to celebrating the New Year it seems that everyone has their own peculiar way of doing things. Some people throw bread, others burn scarecrows, and still others fist fight for good luck. These are some of the strangest New Year’s traditions I have found from researching New Years Eve on the internet, from around the world.

Broken Plates (Denmark)

In Denmark they save all of their unused dishes and plates until the 31st of December when they affectionately shatter them against the doors of all their friends and family.

Scarecrow Burning (Ecuador)

In Ecuador they celebrate the New Year by burning paper filled scarecrows at midnight. They also burn photographs from the last year. All in the name of good fortune.

Eating 12 Grapes (Spain)

In Spain, if you can manage to stuff 12 grapes in your mouth at midnight you’ve achieved good luck for the next year.

Round Things (Philippines)

In the Philippines it’s all about the cash. They believe that everything should be round so as to represent coins and bring wealth. Round food, round clothes, as long as it’s round.

Coloured Underwear (South America)

In some South American countries wearing coloured underwear will determine your fate for the new year. Red underwear means you’ll find love. Gold means wealth, and white signifies peace.

108 Rings (Japan)

In Japan they ring all of their bells 108 times in alignment with the Buddhist belief that this brings cleanness. It’s also considered good to be smiling going into the New Year as it supposedly brings good luck.

Takanakuy Festival (Peru)

Every year at the end of December people in this small Peruvian village fist fight to settle their differences. They then start the year off on a clean slate.

Dropping Ice cream (Switzerland)

In Switzerland they celebrate the New Year by dropping ice cream on the floor.

Coin Tossing (Romania)

In Romania they throw their spare coins into the river to get good luck.

Water Buckets (Puerto Rico)

In some parts of Puerto Rico they throw pails of water out of their windows to drive away evil spirits.

Don’t Forget The Cows (Belgium)

In Belgium they take their livestock seriously. At least seriously enough that the farmers wish their cows a happy new year!

Sweet Coins (Bolivia)

In Bolivia coins are baked into sweets and whoever finds the coins has good luck for the next year.

Pancakes (France)

The French like to keep things simple and delicious. Every new year they consume a stack of pancakes.

Suitcases (Colombia)

In Colombia they carry their suitcases around with them all day in hopes of having a travel filled year.

High Jump (Denmark)

In Denmark people climb on top of chairs and literally “jump” into the New Year to bring good luck.

Talc Smearing (Thailand)

Besides throwing buckets of water on each other in Thailand they also go around smearing each other with grey talc.

Cemetery Sleepover (Chile)

In Chile families spend the night in the company of their deceased loved ones by sleeping at the cemetery.

Animal Whispering (Romania)

Just like in Belgium, Romanian farmers try to communicate with their cows. If they succeed, however, then it means bad luck for the year.

Bread Power (Ireland)

In Ireland they hit the walls with bread to get rid of evil spirits

Furniture Disposal (South Africa)

In some parts of South Africa they throw furniture out the window

Frozen Trunks (Siberia)

Just as you might expect, in Siberia they jump into frozen lakes carrying tree trunks

Metal Casters (Finland)

In Finland people predict the coming year by casting molten tin into a bucket of water and interpreting the resulting shape.

Effigy Burning (Panama)

In Panama effigies of everyone and anyone famous are burned as a way to start the new year off with good luck

First-Footing (Scotland)

In Scotland the first person to cross the threshold of a home in the new year should carry a gift for good luck.

Eating For Abundance (Estonia)

In Estonia people eat seven times on new years day to ensure abundance in the new year.

Kwanzaa is a seven day festival that celebrates African and African American culture and history. Kwanzaa takes place from 26th December to 1st January.

The name Kwanzaa comes from the phrase ‘matunda ya kwanza’ which means ‘first fruits’ in the Swahili language (an Eastern African language spoken in countries including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zimbabwe). Kwanzaa is mostly celebrated in the USA.

During Kwanzaa a special candle holder called a kinara is used. A kinara hold seven candles, three red ones on the left, three green ones on the right with a black candle in the centre. Each night during Kwanzaa a candle is lit. The black, centre, candle is lit first and the it alternates between the red and green candles stating with the ones on the outside and moving inwards. This is quite similar to the lighting of the menorah in the Jewish Festival of Lights, Hanukkah.

The seven days and candles in Kwanzaa represent the seven principles of Kwannzaa (Nguzo Saba):

• Umoja: Unity – Unity of the family, community, nation and race

  Kujichagulia: Self-Determination – Being responsible for your own conduct and behaviour

• Ujima: Collective work and responsibility – Working to Help each other and in the community

• Ujamaa: Cooperative economics – Working to build shops and businesses

• Nia: Purpose – Remembering and restoring African and African American cultures, customs and history

• Kuumba: Creativity – Using creating and your imagination to make communities better

• Imani: Faith – Believing in people, families, leaders, teachers and the righteousness of the African American struggle

There are also seven symbols used in Kwanzaa. The seven items of often set on a Zwanzaa table, with the kinara, in the house:

• Mkeka: The Mat – A woven mat made of fabric, raffia, or paper. The other symbols are placed on the Mkeka. It symbolises experiences and foundations.

• Kikombe cha Umoja: The Unity Cup – Represents family and community. It is filled with water, fruit juice or wine. A little is poured out to remember the ancestors. The cup is share between people and each person takes a sip.

• Mazao: The Crops – Fruit and vegetables from the harvest. These normally includes bananas, mangoes, peaches, plantains, oranges, or other favourites! They are shared out.

• Kinara: The Candleholder – It represents the days, and principles of Kwanzaa

• Mishumaa Saba: The Seven Candles – are placed in the kinara. Black, red and green are the colours of the Bendera (African Flag)

• Muhindi: The Corn – There is one ear of corn of each child in the family. If there are no children in the family, then one ear is used to represent the children in the community. It represents the future and the Navtive Americans.

• Zawadi: Gifts – Gifts given to children during Kwanzaa are normally educational, such as a book, dvd or game. There’s also a gift reminding them of their African heritage.

There are also sometimes two extra symbols:

• Bendera: A flag with three horizontal stripes of black, red and green

• Nguzo Saba Poster: A poster of the seven principles of Kwanzaa

There’s also a special greeting used during Kwanzaa in Swahili. It’s ‘Habari gani’ and the reply is the principle for that day. (Umoja on the first day, Kujichagulia on the second and so on.)

The Kwanzaa festival was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966. Dr. Karenga wanted a way bring African Americans together and remember their black culture. Harvest or ‘first fruit’ festivals are celebrated all over Africa. These were celebrations when people would come together and celebrate and give thanks for the good things in their lives and communities.

From these festivals he created Kwanzaa.

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