Tax returns, school bills, a bike saga

It has been a busy, busy few weeks since we moved.  Shopping on eBay means spending a lot of the weekends running around collecting purchases.  Last Saturday went with shopping for groceries and clothes shopping for the kids, Sunday was a bit of a blur but I know I didn’t stop!  Dad took the boys to soccer then all of them to finish their clothes shopping.  I did what?  Oh, I know – I collected a desk, then put the top together, then went to Bunnings to buy little things to stop the lounge room chairs sliding on the tiles, put the new steam mop thing together and tried it out and did some other stuff I’ve now forgotten.  I’ve purchased a wardrobe, tallboy and beds that need to be collected this weekend, so no chance of a rest.  The beds are 100 kms away.

Tonight I finished Mr O’s tax return and have almost finished mine.  I have to pay $1,000 more in tax than he gets back, so the net result of the tax returns is not in our favour at all.  Damn!  This is one of the downsides of Transition To Retirement superannuation withdrawals – while the tax is concessional, it is still tax.   As this is Mr O’s first ever Australian tax return I couldn’t use eTax.  Would have been a lot easier if I could have.  Plus I was surprised to learn I had to finish my tax return before I could do Mr O’s tax return as we each have to declare the other’s taxable income on our own returns.  Why, I have no idea.  I am sure it didn’t used to be that way.  Tax is individual, so it has no bearing on anything.  Another data collection methodology I suppose.

We have already got the details of the first two school camps for early next year.  Mr Year 7 has an orientation camp costing $280 and the Trouble Princess has a trip to Canberra for about $610.  Not to mention Mr Year 7 will need a whole new uniform.  How much is he going to grow, I wonder?  There is still no news on our CDDA case, so we struggle on.  I look forward to the day Mr O is qualified and can move up the management ladder!

Mr Year 7 (otherwise known as Mr O Jnr 2)  was horrified to discover his bike had been stolen – or had it.  I asked him was he sure he hadn’t left it at school and forgotten?  No, definitely not, he said.  Funny thing that.  Last night I noticed a rather familiar yellow bike sitting in the usual spot.  Seems it had been at school after all.  This is the same young man who lost his wallet containing his ATM and Myki cards.  Someone just needs a little more focus I think!

Miss O 2 is on a week of no TV for not doing her homework.  There were some rather strong words spoken!  Mr O Jnr 1 discovered with a little E F F O R T he could in fact manage to get into Maths A rather than be relegated to Maths B.  It has been an interesting week.

I’d just like a day or two of doing NOTHING.  I mean absolutely NOTHING.  I’d like to not have to come home to tax returns, preparing for VCAT hearings, school enrolment forms, 2013 subject selections …… In fact, I’d like to stay home all day!  Work has been hectic as well, which means I am tired before I even walk in the door at night!

Speaking of school enrolment forms, the ones for Mr Year 7 never got to us.  Whether because something went amiss with the mail redirection or the envelope just went elsewhere I will never know, but the high school rang me rather disgruntled with my failure to submit the paperwork.  It wasn’t something I was looking for right after the move!  The move itself was enough.

On a good note my main beta reader has finished her reading and we will get together some time next week.  This means I have to find time to get back into my writing as well as everything else.

Many of our followers (Elizabeth and Nancy in particular) regularly tell me to slow down and take care of myself.  I am trying, honestly I am, but it is so hard to find a spare five minutes in the day.

After this weekend we will have collected the last of the purchases.  We could do with another tallboy, but frankly, it can wait.  I need a weekend that isn’t madly rushing around either moving or shopping or collecting eBay purchases.  I need to sleep in, have a long bath with candles, send the kids to the movies!

I need to get back to the gym.  I’d started just before we moved, then we moved and then I got the vicious bug that just about everyone at work got: between that and unpacking gym plans flew out the window.

Then there is battling the new landlady to get the dishwasher repaired/replaced.  We have been in here a month this coming weekend and paying the full rent without full amenities.  This pisses me off big time!!

Life – it is never dull around here but it can be exhausting.