Agony aunt? I don’t think so!

Forget being an agony aunt, a savvy auntie is much more fun!

My auntie & I about 24yrs ago!

For as long as I can remember having an auntie meant having this cool older person to take you out and to go and stay with during the school holidays. They were old enough to be trusted with you without giving you the ‘I’ll tell you what to do’ mum vibe!

I have 2 younger cousins 6 and 3 so I’m kinda more like their auntie than cousin and I inherited 2 nephews and a niece from my other half.  (Much to my other half’s disgust our niece would much rather hang out with me! I think me being a girl with jewellery and “precious precious things” as she so cutely puts it kinda helps!)

I find myself getting very excited prior to each visit with any of the little people in our families! For a person with very little patience I could sit for hours with our niece and put the dolls to bed, wake them up and… well you know how it keeps going!

The conversations you can have with a 2 year old completely amaze me! I got the run down a few weeks ago from our niece about how the new baby (her mum is due in about 6weeks) was “moving in”. Yep the baby is “moving into the room next door”. So very grown up and so very matter of fact! When asked if she was ready to hop out of the bath she replied “Goodo”! It was hysterical and a reminder to watch what we say around kids – she tells me she got that word from her mum!

I haven’t even got started on my cousin who I’m convinced will grow up to be Prime Minister and his super cheeky and imaginative little brother, not to mention our nephew nearly 4 who seems to become more grown up every visit and his cool dude little brother who just seems to take everything in! Listen to me, gosh I could just gush all day but I won’t!

So being an auntie really is a great privilege. It’s kind of like fun parenting 101 with only a few dirty nappies along the way (unless you’re Uncle John and you’ve managed to avoid a nappy change all together!)

It feels like only yesterday for me that I was off again on school holidays to hang out with my cool auntie and uncle in Sydney! So enjoy being an auntie, because they do grow up so quickly.

I recently came across a fanastic website www.savvyauntie.com. Unfortunately it is American so not all the information applies to us, however some of the other ideas on there is fantastic.

Levi’s Spell

If you watched 60 minutes last night then you are one of the privleged people who were introduced to Levi McCormack and no doubt fell under his adorable spell. Levi is 4 year old boy who is battling not only a heart condition but a potentially fatal lung condition as well. Within seconds Levi had drawn you in. A magical little boy with a fighting spirit that would rival any determined adult battling to live.

I guarantee there wouldn’t have been a dry eye when little Levi announced that he would like a whole heart. “Mummy has a whole heart and Daddy has a whole heart and James (his brother) has a whole heart but I only have half a heart”. Such haunting and grown up words for such a little boy.

Watching this story not only made me teary and feel for this gorgeous little man and his family but it made me think (as these stories often do) about the bigger picture. We as adults spend our days bitching or whinging about something at least once a day and here is this little boy who is so brave that he’s determined not to cry and just wants to come first in a running race with his friends.

Every now and then these stories come in to our lives to remind us to stop wasting time on things and people that just don’t matter. Get on with the things you don’t necessarily want to but have to do and make time for things you do want to do.

Get up half an hour earlier and enjoy more of the day, have that extra piece of chocolate, and the next time you start to whinge about something, think of Levi and the fact that you read this story for a reason.

You can help ensure The Royal Children’s Hospital continues to provide the very best care to very sick children. To make a secure online donation to The Royal Children’s Hospital, visit www.rch.org.au and click ‘Donate Now’ at the bottom-right of screen, or call (03) 9345 5037 to make a donation over the phone.

Donations can be made to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead by calling 1800 770 122 or visiting www.chw.edu.au.

An Aussie Princess

Let’s face it, at one time or another in a little girl’s life we’ve wanted to be a princess. Well for this big girl, these pictures bring back all those memories!

Isn’t Princess Mary just gorgeous. And if those little regal children don’t make you clucky then nothing will!

These pictures were released to mark their 5th wedding anniversary.

To all those people with their negative comments, jealousy is an ugly thing. Grow up.