Day Care

Found a great day care centre this morning for little miss.

Need to find one for my return to the big workforce early next year.

All was going good and the staff were really friendly, it was clean, the kids looked happy but there was a look!

A look!  Yes!  When the girl asked me how many days I was looking for I replied maybe the full week. 

"Full time?" she asked, "Yes" I replied.

And then there was the LOOK!

What is that all about?  Does she think I am abandoning my girl?  You would think she'd be happy for the custom!

Never mind!  Maybe this is the look that full time mummy workers get.  I'll have to get used to it!

Appreciate & Inspire Mumpreneurs

I think its about time mumpreneurs were documented on australian television.

Whilst blogging and tweeting I've come across many mumpreneurs in Australia who have made the big time.

I think it would be both inspirational and very interesting to hear these ladies stories.

It can be very lonely staying at home with small children and women need more stimulation.

Like the UK produced Ladies That Launch, I think Australia could produce something similar if not bigger!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1241371/Ladies-launch-Meet-women-entrepreneurs-didnt-let-recession-way-dreams.html

Unconventional Activity for Preschoolers

Bored preschooler here.  A boy too!

'Mummy, what can I do?'

Think, think, think, mummy!

'I know, how would you like to paint the outside chair, that needs a lick of paint, it is looking rather miserable'

'Oh yes, please please!'

WHAT YOU NEED

A sad looking outside (preferably) chair that is in dire need of a paint!

A cup full of water and a paint brush (any size, the bigger the better, but this is all we had).

GET PAINTING

He loved it! 

And once it dries, it will need doing again!  (LOL)

He was painting away for an hour at least.

This gave me the much needed time to do some chores without a sad 4 year old following me whinging!

His 16 month old baby sister even helped!

After an hour, he wandered into the kitchen and came across these:

Okay I thought, we can work on this.

Give him an egg box - everyone has spare egg boxes laying around the house.

And...

Voila! 

Another activity out of the box!

Hope this helps keeps your little ones entertained for an hour or so!

Enjoy!

I'm Doing It!

I have actually gone ahead and done it!

Hell, I am doing it!

And its awesome!

I have enrolled in an online course!

I am now a studying at home mum!  New title alert!

It feels so good too.  I am using my brain again!

I am studying for my Certificate of Registration in Real Estate.  Its basically what you need to complete to get into the real estate industry.  I'm loving it!

I have completed and submitted my first assessment and actually got 100%!!

Whoa!  Go me!

Honestly though, if you are thinking of completing an online course but keep putting it off or doubting yourself that you are not worthy or that you won't be able to complete it because of the kids constantly needing you or you have too much of a heavy schedule.  I had all these feelings too and put it off time and time again.  Now I have actually gone ahead and done it, I feel great!  Even if you just put in an hour or so when the kids are in bed or five minutes when the kids are quiet playing or watching tv, its still five minutes of you time!

Go ahead!  Do it!  Do it!

If I can, you can!

Learning To Walk Again

When I first heard this song I was going through a phase.

I was feeling a little deflated and wanted to get back to being myself again as well as a mother but not just a mother.

The words describe it all!

http://youtu.be/4PkcfQtibmU

First Vlog & First Merry Go Round!

My baby girls first merry go round!

Check out the giddy up actions!  She's a natural!

She loved every minute of it and didn't want to get off!

See her brother in hot pursuit on a motorbike! 

Do you get an embarassing gas/fart problem during your period?

I know, total rediculously embarassing red faced post right?  Not very lady like at all to talk about such a subject. 

This is a problem many of us suffer though, so much so that I thought I'd research it a little as I needed reassurance that I was not alone.

Around the time of month of the dreaded period monster I seem to develop a bad case of wind (slightly blushing up as I admit to this).  I thought, this only happened to me and I must just have a real bad gas problem, much to my husbands disgust, I classed myself as a classless fart machine.  I felt rather embarassed each month to say the least, but I just couldn't help myself.

So I took my research to womens internet forum sites and found questions like:

Why do I get gas before my period?
Gas and constipation during period
Horrific gas during period
Farting during my period

I was so relieved to find that I was definately not alone with my little gas problem, there are plenty of other women out there in the same boat, would be a very smelly one at that!

So, the answer to why this occurs?  I guess its mainly caused by the bloating we get around this time of month that makes our jeans feel that bit tighter and well just that feeling fat stage.  The best explanation for this I found was from Heron on Yahoo Answers who replied:

This happens to a lot of women. The prostaglandins (substances that cause the muscle contractions that push out the menstrual blood) can cause intestinal spasms. This can cause bloating, flatulence, and an increased number of bowel movements.

So I just wanted to share this with everyone who also has this problem.  We are not alone!

The remedy to this?  Anti gas tablets.  So amongst your busy schedule try and remember to put this on your shopping list and remember to take them. 

Unless, we look at it a little differently and don't see this as a problem at all and more a way to get our men back for there constant burbing at the dinner table and farting under the covers!

Have you had OR would you consider a boob job after having babies?

I have been asking myself this question lately.  I'm not totally mortified of what I have left in the boob department after having my two babies BUT I would consider having a boob job to improve what I am left with.

They are not quite what they were to begin with before children, that saying, they are still the same size, a modest B cup but they are definitely a little different.

I'm not saying I want to be in the FF club, don't get me wrong nothing wrong with big boobies, just don't think they would suit my lifestyle.  I was thinking to upgrade my modest B cup to a well rounded full D cup.

These thoughts have been swilling around my head since I gave birth to my son 4 years ago and since having my last child 14 months ago these feelings have gotten stronger!  I was also recently at a friends wedding and got chatting to a mum of two who had had the procedure done and she looked awesome to say the least.  She not only looked great, she had this confident aura around her and wasn't shy.

All I've done so far is think about it and spoken to my husband and close friend just to hear their opinions and they are both happy if I'm happy, my friend even wants to join me under the knife!

So whilst I gather more information on 'boob jobs' and educate myself I thought I would put this question out to blogland to hear your opinions on the matter.

Blogging out depression!

I seem to go round in circles lately in life. I go from happy as Larry, to wanting some mummy alone time, to thinking about re-entering the workplace, to throwing myself more into my kids, hubby and home to then ending up in the same place each month. This place is full of a sense of failure in each area of my life, a feeling that I can't do anything right and I'm just left feeling down in the dumps depressed. I shouldn't just throw this 'D' word around lightly because I know there are a lot of people out there suffering this way everyday. I know I'm not severely depressed where I need to see a Doctor but I'm just sick of feeling this way.

Once I've gone through the whole rigmarole of trying to be a perfect everything I return to what brings me out of this state, blogging! It gives me a little boost, gives me inspiration and generally its just the best feeling being able to express the way I'm feeling without being diagnosed or judged.

So here I am back into blogging!

Lazy Blogger

Once again, I have neglected blogging. I have gone weeks since my last post.

I tried logging in this morning to check what's happening in blogosphere and once again, couldn't even access my own blog! I'm such a bad blogger I forgot my password!

So I've reset my password and determination and I'm back!

Have you ever had to discipline someone elses child?

Do you have a nightmare neighbour?  A child you don't like yours playing with?  Have you ever said no to a playdate?

We have a nightmare neighbour.  We only met these neighbour about 6 months into living in our new home.  The children met first.  The little boy knocked on our door and asked if a little boy lived here as he'd seen my boys toys laying around the yard.  Yes, I replied.  He seemed so sweet at the beginning!

So ever since that first visit, the boys got along like a house on fire.  I commented to his mum how much alike they were, typical boys boys, loving the outdoors and exploring. 

The summer ended and they must have had around 4 playdates so far until the winter arrived and the schools were back.  My boy is still only at preschool 2 days a week so we'd be home by 3pm the latest each day.  The little visits started off as twice a week and in he would come and be nice as pie, off they would run to the toy room and play happily.  This would last around 5 minutes until my boy would come running to me.  Now my boy is no pushover and doesn't usually come running to mum, so it was a little concerning.  I would investigate and his little friend wouldn't speak and would just run away!  I would text his mum to tell her what had occurred but she would be oblivious of even him visiting!  She still thought he was under her roof!

So what started as a twice a week, sort of play date, turned into an everyday occasion.  He would knock on the door until he was seen and was let in.  He was a little sneaky and would be very hurtful towards my boy if things didn't go his way.  I was more put off that his older brother, only 13 year old himself would collect him after an hours play.  Wheres your mum?  Oh, she's still at work.  So this 13 year old was in charge.  God bless him, he would try and drag his 5 year old brother, literally, out of my house kicking and screaming!

This continued for weeks and was stressing me out, I would dread a knock on the door.  What followed was arguments and fights with my boy, flushed batmans down the toilet, throwing toys at my 12 month old, hitting my boy with anything he could get his hands on.  I found myself to start making excuses when he did knock at the door, sorry no we're going out, sorry dinner is ready, along those lines.  He was very persistent and it took a good few weeks for the knocks to stop.  They have now come to halt, thank goodness!

The conversations I used to have with his mum, on the handful of occassions she would actually come and collect him, were quite disturbing too.  She had in the past actually given him tablets to send him asleep because she couldn't handle his behaviour.  He would spit at her, kick her, scream etc etc.  This is what we witnessed at almost every visit.

I don't want either of my children to see this sort of behaviour and think that its normal in any way, shape or form.  So, on our approach to the Australian summer I am quite on the lookout for such visits to reoccur and will be just saying no!  I need to find my harsh voice!  I know I have one!

Have you had a similar experience?  If so, how did you deal with it?

The Westin Hotel, Sydney

We rate The Westin Hotel, the best hotel in Sydney.  From the moment you walk up the drive on St Martins Place you are greeted by luxury.  In our case, the first impression was a Lamborghini parked in the drive. 

Although The Westin Hotel is very luxurious they were very welcoming to our family of four too, from the smiling faces of the boys on the Concierge to the greetings from the Reception staff.  Bearing in mind they could have been otherwise very put off with a 4 year old and 13 month old in tow that are definitely NOT the quietest of children!

The last time we stayed at The Westin we stayed in a Heritage Room, I must say which has been my favourite so far!  It was the epitome of luxury, from the exquisite Heavenly Queen Beds in our room to the oversized bathroom, I was totally in love with the place!  I think it made it more luxurious for me because before we entered the hotel I'd just been pampered in my hair salon on Pitt Street, so I'd had 3 hours of pure bliss with no screaming kids!  Ha!

After a bottle of champagne in the room, while the kids investigated the room and were fed their dinner I had brought with us, we all had a lovely hot bath together and then got glammed up for the night.  Well, for a 7pm dinner in the hotel restaurant, which is not to be laughed at!

So, down we go to the Mosaic Restaurant with kids in tow.  We are seated and my 4 year old gets transfixed into a game on my iphone4 (educational of course) whilst I feed my 13 month old her nighttime bottle of milk over pre dinner cocktails.

We order and then suddenly our 4 year old wants to lie down in the spare pushchair we brought along for said occasions.  Within 2 minutes he is fast asleep!  Lucky hey?  After our delicious starters my 13 month old falls asleep in my arms and I transfer her into her Bugaboo.  High fives all around and then we continue to finish our mains plus wine and ALSO order desserts!!!  Amazing it was!

After an amazing nights sleep, I think the wine helped too, albeit, there was a girls queen bed and a boys one we had a great day shopping at the new Westfields!

Great weekend had by all and children very well behaved!

The 6 Months Before Kindy

Here we are with 6 months to go before my little boy, my first born, will be starting kindergarten.  He will be leaving my protective busoms and going out on his own in the big wide world for the first time in his dear little life.

So, I should be sad, I should be worried that this is when it starts, he will no longer need me anymore, he won't rely on me for anything again, he will be able to think for himself, dress himself, etc etc.  So why am I counting down the days with a smile on my face and willing the time to pass more quickly?

I'll tell you why because no one told me until now!  These precious 6 months before kindy drive you insane!  I mean hair pulling out crazy, drive you to cocktail hour, pure looney bin stuff!  Every night before bed he asks 'what are we doing tomorrow mum?' and I kindly inform him what we have scheduled for him the next day.  Every day we have something on, and its all for him.  Monday morning is swimming lessons, Tuesday is preschool day, Wednesday is swimming lesson again followed by a play at Macdonalds with his friends, followed by craft hour at the library, Thursday is soccer training followed by lunch out and then Friday arrives and its preschool again.  Hurray for preschool I say!

You would think all of the above would be enough to keep a 4 year old happy right?  No!  We get home from all of these activites and he's back to himself, talking to me like I'm something on the bottom of his shoe, going out of his way to annoy and upset his 13 month old sister, shouts a lot (much to the neighbours annoyance) etc etc. 

So, to avoid these terrible occasions when we do return home from his little planned day, I bake with him, do craft with him, let him watch a movie, let him watch his cartoons, play in the toyroom with him, anything to keep him occupied.  But it never seems to be enough for him!

On top of this I am his food slave, he has breakfast as soon as he rises and then thats when it begins 'mum, I'm hungry' so I fix him drinks because surely he can't be hungry after the huge bowl of porridge he's just ravished, try to get him to wait till morning tea, make him morning tea.  Then straight away 'mum, I'm hungry', then its lunchtime fixed and the afternoon is much the same, every 10-15 minutes the same rants until dinnertime.

So I try and come to conclusions for his behaviour as to why he acts this way and why does he really seem to go out of his way to annoy me ALL day.  And this is it:

My conclusion is that he is VERY bored at home with me and is EVER ready for Kindegarten in January.

My other conclusion for the forever nagging for food is that he is simply growing!

But why does no one warn you of this behaviour?  I was going out of my mind thinking that my boy was VERY ill mannered and what was I doing wrong, maybe it was the way I have been raising him?  All these thoughts running round my head until I had a simple conversation with a friend who has a little boy exactly a year older than mine.  She reassured me straight away that is exactly what she went through 6 months before her boy started kindy.

So I thought I'd share with you all in case you are going through a similar experience with your precious little ones.

Roll on kindy!  After all I've said, come January I will probably miss my boy madly and the first day will be torture for me! 

Australia's Next Top Model Starts Tonight!!!!!

So excited!  Australia's Next Top Model starts tonight!

Love, love, love this show!

It usually calls for a bottle of bubbles to watch it with!  It just has to be done!

My little Monday night treat!

Hope everyone else is tuning in to watch!

Butterfly Moment!

My baby girl was sitting next to me on the sofa playing with her top when she suddenly found her stomach.

I know, maybe you're thinking 'so what' but she normally wears bodysuits under her girly outfits, so it was a huge discovery for her. Her smile was huge.

She starts smacking her little babychub belly and laughing. She's very clever because then decided to schmooze over to mummy to investigate my mummychub belly. She lifts up my t-shirt and gives me a huge smile and then proceeds to smack mummies tummy a little and decides pulling at it is much more fun. That's what you get for having a tyre of chub!

The butterflies in the tummy moment came when she stopped, looked deep in thought and then started kissing my belly! It was just pure heaven, how gorgeous! It made me go all funny in the tummy!

Little girls are SO loving! :)

Credit To All Single Parents Out There

How do all the single parents out there do it?

A lot of credit is due to these parents, a LOT!

For the past week my husband has been working on a shutdown at work, which basically means he is spending up to 12 hours a day at work.  He leaves before the kids wake and made it home once during the week before they went to bed.  This got me feeling like a single parent.

So with my usual daily jobs of getting the children dressed in the morning, making sure they're fed three times a day, taking them to swimming, taking them to preschool, soccer practice, doing the grocery shopping, making dinner and cleaning.  I also had the added jobs of the evening routine of bathing the children, reading them bedtime stories and fingers crossed them actually falling asleep on schedule and don't forget the arguments during the day! I don't think I appreciate the jobs the hubby actually does help out with until now. 

I coped by having cocktail hour at 4pm before the dreaded hour of dinnertime!

But I feel a little silly and I am making a mountain out of a molehill because what about those out there doing this single handedly ALL of the time?  They have all the above worries and strains plus working to put food on the table and pay for all said activities!

I really don't know how you do it!  You are Superwomen & Supermen!

I really feel for you and you are due a LOT of credit!!!  Its a HUGE thumbs up from me!

Ravenous Pig With a Wedding to go to!

Why is it every time I try and loose weight I get this unbearable urge to eat everything in sight? The naughtier the food, the bigger the urge to devour it!

I was fine the way I was and was even losing weight without trying before the invite arrived. A wedding invite at that! I was so excited when it landed in my letterbox as I haven't been to a wedding for at least 4 years. To top it off, it's only my gorgeous bestie mates wedding and I wouldn't miss it for the world!

So why am I now SO hungry all the time?

I found my outfit almost straight away and it's just perfect and knew it was the one the moment I tried it on, with matching shoes may I add. So everything was more or less going smoothly until now!

The main area of concern is the flabby midsection I call my baby fat guts! It's a huge big roll that I most definitely need to get rid of!

So my bright idea this morning was to cut out bread as I eat way more than my fair share of the stuff. Going well so far, well it is only 1.30 in the afternoon. Well I say it's going good but look at what I've eaten instead of the white stuff.

Food diary so far - bacon, scrambled egg, grilled tomatoes, coffee, cup of tea, 2 packets of Twisties and I find myself writing this cradling a glass of full fat Coke!

My willpower is an utter joke!

The Non Existent Work From Home Job

I don't know if anyone is like me and is always looking for something out there to get a bit more me time. After spending the past 5 years at home raising the children I've decided I need something more!

In my quest to find something more I've entered all my details (stupid of me I know) to participate in online surveys (I still get junk mail from this 3 years later), joined Dubli ($1500 out of pocket) which amounted to zero and still waiting for that one to launch (the next EBay I was told, an opportunity not to be missed). I've thought about designing my own line of matching pyjamas for the whole family until I realized that I'm no good at sewing and would need classes and to purchase a sewing machine which would amount to more out of pocket costs. Plus many more little ideas to concentrate on which have amounted to nothing and a little rediculed by the hubby.

So after all this I'm back to square one, what can I do?

The conclusion would be to return to some dreary office admin job like I had pre kids and put the kids in expensive childcare for the privilege. Then I'd probably not get the job as I haven't worked for 5 years or in the event I do get the job, what if my brain cells have all died?

Please, if you can, prove me wrong and let me know your secrets to either working from home or working part time and finding the balance between being at work and family life!

Another UK Online Store That Delivers To Australia!

So, you may already know.  As everyone I have told verbally has said, 'oh yeah, we knew!'  But no one informed me!  So I thought I'd pass on the message.  So apologies if you already know this.

UK store Next now deliver to Australia!



Check them out!

I love Next for womens wear, menswear, childrens wear, homewares!  The lot!!

So, so excited!!!

Questions That Can't Wait!!!!!!

Why do kids always ask you a question at the most innappropriate time?

So I've got my head stuck into tackling a very dirty smelly nappy and along comes a burning question that just possibly could not wait until I'm finished!  It comes along right at that moment when you unravel the nappy to inspect its contents when you are holding your breath as to not breathe in the smell!

"Mum", "Mum"!!!!

No, not now!  I want to say but so can't!  So holding my breath try to answer in the most nicest way all at the same time holding my breath!  Quite impossible!

Did you change career completely when going back to work after kids?

So, I'm stuck at a crossroads at the minute.  I feel I am ready to start thinking about when I return to work.  When?  I don't know.

I've thought of maybe starting an online course, but in what?  I'm not certain what I'd like to do.  I know, this is a good position to be in, sort of, because I can basically retrain in anything I want to.  As its not a necessity for me to go back to work for financial reasons or anything as such but more of a want than a need.

I feel I want to do something for me and to try and get my brain working again after looking after children and not working for the past 5 years.

So, I'm looking for a bit on inspiration from yourselves.  What did you do when you returned to work after child rearing?  Did you go back to what you did previously?  Or, did you retrain in something that you loved doing?

I would love to hear from you all!

I don't just want a job, I want a career!

Better Wife

So at the beginning of this week I decided to become a better wife to my husband.

By this, I mean to actually iron his work shirts and make him some lunch to take to work with him.  How bad am I?  My excuse is the week previous I had pmt and just didn't have the energy or even the thoughts to make him lunch before he dashed out the door let alone notice his unkempt scruffy unironed shirt he was wearing.  I just got by looking after the kids and totally abandoned the hubbies needs!

So here we are on Friday!  And yes, every day this week he's walked out the door with a neatly fresh ironed shirt on his back and a bag full of food goodies to keep him going throughout the day.

Aren't I a good wife?  Well, I was this week!  Hopefully I'll try and remember to keep it up!

This Years Best Accessory

So for the past year I've had this gorgeous accessory that is permanently attached to me! 

This accessory is attached to my hip 24 hours a day including when I:

Cook dinner

Wash the floor

Hang the washing out

Shop

Pee

Its so gorgeous, with blue eyes, blonde hair, chubby cheeks, always dressed in pink!

Yes, you've guessed it!

Its my gorgeous baby girl!

Chickened Out Of Implanon

So I eventually went to the Doctors today to take action on my contraception after ONLY one year!

I went with all intentions of getting the Implanon implant implanted (how many implants?  ha ha!)  in my arm as that looked a good option, not too bad side effects i.e putting weight on, was my main reason for avoiding the pill again, shallow, I know!

So in I go with two kids in tow and the Doctor is running like 30 minutes late, usual Doctor surgery etiquette!  Within this 30 minutes, I need to escape the surgery as my one year old does a number two.  So once freshly cleaned and changed and after constant wiping of the kids hands (germs in Doctors waiting rooms is freaky) I get called into the Doctors room.

I should have known or used common sense, the Doctor cannot insert the implant today!  Oh Great!  So that means I have to return on Friday!  AGAIN with two kids in tow! 

So once the Doctor has gone through all the side effects and explains how the implant will be implanted etc etc I chicken out!!  I know weak!  Its just too hard to come back AGAIN in two days time with TWO kids and to be honest I'm pretty freaked out about the injection to numb my arm and then they will have to insert the implant with two littlies watching!  I don't know which freaked me out more!

So back on the pill we are!

Where To Go With My Business Idea

This afternoon I've had a lightbulb moment as I've thought of a useful business idea.  I have these every now and then as I think I'm getting to that stage where I want to focus on anything other than kiddy related.  I think its probably time I go back to work or put my mind to use as I'm mummy brain dead!

Although, I say I am trying to think of anything unrelated to kids, the business idea I've come up with are to make a mothers life more easy, but I guess thats now where I'm an expert.

So here I am with an idea but don't know where to go from here, so I thought I'd blog a little about it and see if any of you mums out there had any advice for me.

I stumbled across idea this afternoon as once again, I wandered into the bathroom and discovered my son had forgotten to flush the toilet AGAIN!  These discoveries are particularly annoying when we are expecting guests and I have to do the toilet run and make sure he hasn't left any surprises in one of our three toilets.  Don't be totally disgusted, its only the number ones he forgets to flush as I am still wiping his number twos and I do the flushing for him.

So my little business idea is a reminder for my son to flush the chain once he has peed and remember to wash his hands before he leaves the bathroom.  It would be a funny cute design and educational in a step by step format that I would place above the toilet in full view.  What do you think?  Would you find something like this useful for your child or am I just being silly?

My Last Baby Has Turned 1

My baby girl/princess/last baby turned one yesterday!

How I felt?  A little sad!  I felt the same way when my first born turned one.  I don't know why, its just that transition from them being your little baby in your arms one minute to them suddenly being a little toddler.  Its a hard transition for us mums.

How I overcome the sadness?  I somehow stumbled across two bottles of bubbly Hardys Crest.  Not all to myself of course!  I did share a glass with my friend who payed us a visit in the afternoon and then shared a glass or two with my husband, but the rest?  I consumed!  I am feeling a little delicate today!

But hey its not every day your little princess turns 1!

Happy Birthday Gorgeous!
xxx

Another Feet Up Tuesday Here

Well it's that time of week again when my boy is at preschool and baby is napping, on my lap though, but hey how can I complain about having cuddles with my girl!

So today I've been mostly doing.... Nothing!

Around 12ish just before lunch I realized I hadn't taken my natural ginseng supplement which why, probably I hadn't done anything all morning and still felt half asleep.

So after lunch I've been mostly just chilling thinking about all things glamorous in which I crave! Designer shoes, clothes, cocktails etc etc. I dream about being the sort of woman who dresses up in heels everyday, attends product launches, fashion shows, magazine events, red carpet events, charity do's etc etc. Maybe one day!

Right, snap out of it and go pick up your boy, I shout to myself!

British Fish And Chips In Australia

I've just discovered that you can actually get British fish and chips here in Australia. 

Chumley Warner's British Fish and Chip Shop is the place to be!  So for those of you lucky enough to live in Birkdale, Queensland, get yourself down to the Aquatic Paradise Centre!  I am so jealous!!!

They have cod, haddock AND scampi!!!  Remember scampi!  I used to love a good English pub lunch of scampi, chips and peas!

Don't get me wrong I do love the Aussies version of fish and chips but I do miss the comfort of the greasy English version with mushy peas!!!  I so miss mushy peas!  When we have visitors over from the UK I always make sure they bring a few packets of dried peas with them so I can make my own. 

Mmm, and what about scraps?  Who can remember scraps?  I know not too good for your cholesterol but they tasted so good swimming in salt and vinegar!!  

Well, I'm definitely going to have to organise a holiday to Queensland in the near future!  Failing that will have to wait and see if a franchise opens up in Sydney.

Let me know if you've had a trip to Chumley Warners and if they were any good!  

Another Online UK Store That Delivers To Australia

I've just discovered another online UK store that delivers to Australia!  Yippee!

House Of Fraser deliver to Australia for 10.00 GBP that's $15.30 AUD!!  How cool is that?

Just checked out their site and they have a huge clearance sale now on.  Take a look www.houseoffraser.co.uk

Uplift

Feeling much more upbeat this afternoon.

I think I was just having one of those dreaded bad mornings.

We have just returned from soccer training, so my boy has run off some steam and now they've both been fed and watered and mummy's got a spare 5 mins to catch up on my blog obsession.

I popped into the chemist whilst out and picked up some of these .....

The pharmacist recommended these to give me a little boost

as sometimes I have no energy and feel a little low.

They are all natural and are much better for me than my coffee habit!

As it says on the label:

Siberian Ginseng can help to improve stamina during times of excessive physical and mental demands 

(i.e CHILDREN in my language).

All Fun & Games

Can you guess what this is?

As I was preparing dinner yesterday, with baby on hip
the 4 yr old decided to make us jump!

As all us mums know babies love peek-a-boo
she laughed so hard her dummy flew out
and into the gravy mix I had in my other hand.

All 3 of us just stood there laughing!

Low Low Low

Do you feel low sometimes?

The past few days I've been low again, maybe a little overwhelmed, to say the least.  Sometimes I don't know if its even verging on PND.  I try to be upbeat and try and dress up a little for myself to try and raise my spirits but can't even achieve this because of my demanding kids. 

I've got a boy who:
Doesn't listen until I eventually have to shout or send to his room
He constantly craves attention
Constantly says he's hungry even though he just ate

A baby who:
Is very clingy
Sleeps in our bed at night (wrong I know)
Is constantly on my hip when awake
Sometimes won't even go to my hubby

I know all these issues are normal but why don't I feel normal and happy then?  I feel like I'm in a constant battle with the kids.  I would love something for just me too, thats when I found blogging.  But everytime I pick up the laptop the boy is at it again with his constant whinging.  He goes to preschool twice a week and I'm thinking he needs another day.  He's just not satisfied at home!  Its not as though we just sit and do nothing at home, he has swimming lessons, soccer lessons, we bake, we colour & draw, we have trips to the park, trips to the shops but still when we get home he's back to the terror!

On top of this, I don't have family around and haven't really got many friends as we move constantly for my husbands job, so don't really have anyone to vent to other than the hubby.  But when I vent to him I feel like I'm repeating myself from the previous week and don't want to add to his stress that he has at work.

Does anyone else feel like this sometimes?  Or am I abnormal?

Aarrhh, There's A Lizard In My Laundry!!!

Yes, a lizard!!  I was petrified!!  I must admit I did scream a little, wouldn't you? 

It was one of those little black lizards you find in the grass in NSW, I forget the name.  Probably harmless, but it didn't half make me jump! 

It must have got there from my sons swimming towel which I retrieved from the garden the day before when I hung it over the balcony to dry off and then forgot about.

Without thinking, I grabbed the fly and spider killer and sprayed it.  I know, shameless, straight afterwards I felt really bad for the poor little guy as he scrambled deeper into the dirty washing, if that wasn't bad enough, the poor thing was amongst dirty boys underpants!

I walked away and decided to leave it until the hubby came home to deal with.  Half an hour later I plucked up the courage to tackle it myself as I was on a guilt trip for not putting a load of washing on and it was passed 2pm.  So, I sort through the washing, shaking each piece as I go, and then he falls on the floor with an arched back, going round in circles.  I feel even worse now, what have I done to this poor little creature.

Out comes the brush and dustpan and in I scoop him and then put him back into his natural habitat of the back garden.

I hope he's okay!  I feel bad!  Cruel or what? 

Feet Up Tuesday Here

Well its the day of the week where I proper chill out!

The cleaner has been and gone (I know, I bet you're thinking lazy cow), my boy is at school and my baby is having her 2 hour afternoon nap!  Absolute bliss!

Time for mummy!

Breathtaking Byron Bay

I definitely had to share this shot with you fellow bloggers!  Isn't it just amazing!  It was captured around 7am whilst we walked along the boardwalk at Byron Bay.

Simply breathtaking!  I just love the whole feel of Byron Bay!

Gorgeous Noosa

I was just looking through the photos on my iphone from our recent road trip up the east coast of Australia and came across this great shot of the beach at Noosa and thought I'd share it with you all.

Isn't it amazing!  It was a gorgeous warm day over Easter and the beach was a little busy, but not too much so and we had the best time with the kids paddling in the surf.  I loved the look of excitement on my little girls face as she discovered the water first, then sat in it, then tasted it and then eventually got knocked over by it!

I think my husbands favourite bit was when 2 gorgeous young skinny model types came along the beach driving a beach buggy with a snow cone trailer on it!  Was hilarious watching all the young guys goggling at these 2 young chicks!  Funny!

Great day!

Fun Centre Madness Monday

So we made it to the Fun Centre yesterday and all went surprisingly well.

Spot my monkey in this pic!

It was rather quiet and only a handful of children there playing.  My little one was away within a second of walking through the door and always truly enjoys him little self here.  He seems to befriend another kid within 5 minutes and today was no different.  He befriended a little girl about the same age as him and they chased, laughed and bounced together the whole time.  Wouldn't it be good if we could make friends as quick as children seem to.

So with the 11 month old happy sitting in her Bugaboo watching the other children play I sat back and relaxed myself.

I treated myself to a lovely Muggacino!  
Why not hey, whilst having 5 mins time out!

I also pigged out on a lovely scone with jam and cream!  

Bad I know, but the muggacino didn't look right on its own!

It was nice chilling out for around half an hour or so whilst I devoured my scone, with the help of my 11 month old mind, and checked out what was happening in the world of Twitter and Facebook.  

That was until, a toddler decided that he liked the look of one of my baby's toys and came over for a closer look!  I didn't mind of course, but he was a little forward!  Came right over, picked it up and then ran off with it!  Don't get me wrong I know babies, and someone elses toys always look better than theirs, but as a parent I found it funny that his parents weren't even a little bit phased by it!

Maybe its just me, I used to have a thing about other kids germs when my 4 year old was a baby, but I'm a little more relaxed this time around.  Until yesterday that was!  I don't like to comment on others, but they weren't very well dressed and the kids had runny noses and not so clean clothes on.

This kids dad finally decides to run after him and then asks around the whole centre who's this toy is that his little thief had stolen from.  Don't get me wrong it wasn't about the toy!  So, as you do, I put it under the pram as I didn't want my baby to touch it again until I'd cleaned it, but I couldn't really do that in front of this little guys parents.

Another half hour passes of bliss until again!  The same feral kid comes back to our pram, puts his hand under it and reaches around in the bottom until he reaches the same toy he'd stole earlier!!  This time I was a little annoyed as his parents were watching him and didn't seem to mind!!!

I don't know maybe its just me, but would you let your child go over to someone elses pram and reach in the bottom of it at his pleasure and take other kids toys.

The mother then says as they leave later "you won't bring that toy in here again, will you?".  

Does Your Boy Mark His Territory?

Just on our way out the door, I run to the spare bathroom door to shut it before my 11 month old gets in and tries to climb into the bath when I discover another of my 4 yr olds surprises!  Great!

The smell hit me first!  And then I thought he had just forgotten to flush the chain after his morning wee, so I checked the toilet, but that looked okay, so I flushed anyways.  Then as I turn to exit the bathroom, I happen to glance into the bath!  There's where I find his lovely surprise!

He had only weed into the hair washing jug in the bath!!  I stood there staring at it for a minute, thinking where's this come from?  Could it have been the hubby?  Disgusting I know, as there used to be discoveries like this in his rugby, beer swilling days before the kids arrived, but I thought, no it couldn't be as we hadn't had that much alcohol over the weekend for him to wee in the bath.

So I shouted for my 4 yr old to come in the room and asked him if it was him, and yes it was!  At least he owned up to the crime I suppose.

What is it with boys though?  Does yours do this too?

He's also previously done one up against the back door, he wanted to make a puddle was his reply!  Ha!
Him and his little friend also like to wee up against a tree, out the front of the house mind!  What the neighbours must think!

The joys of raising boys!

Monday Here Again!

So its Monday again!  I'm sitting here with a coffee watching the sun rise and its shining right on me warming me up from the latest Sydney chill.  Jeez its cold first thing in the morning lately!  Just a taste of things to come for winter.  Oh well, it gives us all an excuse to get all snuggly, fuzzy and warm with our little families!

This week, I feel surprisingly upbeat for a Monday.  We did the 'big' grocery shop yesterday, so thats all the dinners for the week sorted, so it doesn't mean I have to traipse around Coles with 2 unhappy, whinging kids everyday this week, trying to remember some sort of list to actually get dinner on the table for the hubby getting home from work.  Everything I need is in the fridge ready to be created.

So what to do today?  I even did a little clean up yesterday, so not too much of that to do today.  Maybe a trip to the Fun Centre in town is in order as the kids have been surprisingly well behaved this weekend.  Although, I always regret taking them to any kind of centre where kids run free as they always end in disaster.  There is always one feral kid running round the place ruining everyones play.

Well I'm off to enjoy this fine Monday morning!  Hope you all have a great start to the week!

Wish me luck at the fun centre!  Will update on the soon to be misery when I'm back!

Skinny Girl Margharita Recipe

Panic over!

I have since found the recipe for this popular drink!

Check it out here  http://www.bethenny.com/2010/05/13/the-skinnygirl-margarita/

Bethenney Frankel also has many other new cocktail recipes on her site.  I, myself, will probably get the ingredients in the house to sample one of these drinks next weekend.  Will let you know how I go!

Skinny Girl Margharita's In Australia?

Bethenney Frankel from Real Housewives of New York, celebrity chef, mum and star of Bethenney Ever After brought out the skinny girl margharita a few years back.  She is often seen on her Bravo series drinking one of these on ice.  As a fan of Bethenney, I have often thought how appetising this cocktail looks and would love to sample a drop of the already mixed cocktail of hers!

The only problem is, you cannot get this in Australia!  I've checked the skinny girl's website out and it looks as though nowhere in Oz stocks this tipple.  I am gutted to say the least!

Unless I am wrong and someone out there has found some bottle shop in Oz that do stock this drink, please let me know ASAP!

God, reading through this post I sound so sad!  Maybe I should just make my own from scratch hey?

Have you discovered Cudo yet?

I discovered Cudo about a month ago and didn't really know what it was all about.  Once I realised that it was very genuine and in no way a scam, I registered my email address straight away.

Once you have registered your email address with Cudo, they send you emails with their daily discounted offers.  These are proper genuine brilliant discounts!  Some with as much as 75% and more off!

I just left it a couple of weeks and watched the different discounts that were on offer until I received the Cudo offer on New Zealand Marlborough wine!  Now this was my kind of offer!  A dozen Sav Blancs & a bottle of Moet – delivered – for only $99!  This was a discount of 66% off the original $292.88, so you save yourself $193.88.  How cool hey!

So I couldn't resist this one and clicked straight away!  3 working days later I received my wine!!!

I am a little bit unimpressed now though, as I only have 5 bottles left and the Moet!  Guzzle guts or what?

Well, never mind, will just have to make another Cudo purchase!

I've also got my eye on their beauty treatment discounts, after all that wine I need a little pick me up!  Haha!

www.cudo.com.au

Mothers day portrait

My 4 year old boy made this gorgeous canvas portrait of me, his mummy....

Isn't it lovely?  I love the detailed earrings and eyelashes and love that he's placed me in the grass with a lovely purple dress.

What a lovely mothers day surprise!

He brought it home proudly from preschool wrapped up with a handmade card attached.  I had to laugh though when he had to open it at home forgetting that it was a gift for me!

All you need is love.... And gin & tonic

This is so true!

Lovely Homemade Baby Cakes!

So here's our creative sides taken care of today!

My 4 year old has wanted to bake cakes for what feels like months and I never seem to have the ingredients in the pantry.  I always forget to write a list when going to the shops or sometimes plan ahead and do write a list, to then get to the shop and realize I've left it on the kitchen bench.  Useless, I know!

So today, when shopping for dinner ingredients I remembered about his baking request, so got the ingredients and look what we made!

Aren't I a good mummy?

Although, I shouldn't really admit to it, these were actually made from one of those box kinds.  Shameful, I know!  But he did enjoy every bit of it, the mixing, the licking of the spoon and bowl and then devouring 4 mini cupcakes in 5 minutes flat!

I have enjoyed a couple myself with a good old english brew!

Don't really look that appetizing do they?

I'm Starving!

My 4 year old!  What a boy!  Not a minute passes by in this house quietly!  His latest thing is he is constantly hungry or thirsty when he is not occupied.  You'd think at this age he'd be able to do something by himself, its not as though he doesn't have any toys to play with, he's got 2, yes 2, toyrooms!  But still constantly at my feet!

Its the way he asks as well that drives me crazy!  In an ideal perfect world it would be, 'mummy, is it snack time yet? as I am a little bit hungry, please may I have', but no, in this house, H asks for a snack like so, 'Mam, I'm starving!'.  Jeez it drives me crazy!  I don't even think he is actually hungry, he's just bored.  He eats more than me in a day.  I try to make his snacks as healthy as I can but when I ask him what he's starving for, his reply is always 'sweets'.

Once he is fed and watered, like 5 times a day, it seems, he's happy for 5 minutes in front of the tv or once in a blue moon, playing by himself in his toy room without my help until he gets bored of what he's doing and then its back to 'mam, I'm starving'.  ARGH!!!

Don't get me wrong, I love him to bits and wouldn't change him for the world, but he sure knows how to drive me round the bend!

My First Mothers Day As A Mum Of 2

So this time last year I was a mum of one, but now I have two gorgeous children to enjoy on mothers day.

I was awoken this morning at 6.30am by my little baby girl and then in walks the excited four year old, he had the biggest smile on his face as he remembered it was mothers day.  He gave me a big kiss and cuddle and then instructed his dad to get the bag in a whisper.  Then, in he walks with a huge bag with a gorgeous big black bow on the front.  He then gets out the first item 'here's your new slippers, mam',  haha!  Then, 'here's your new dressing gown', and so on he went announcing what the gifts were as he handed them to me.  All I could do was laugh and enjoy the moment.  Gone are the days where you open your own gifts!

I was then given, in bed, a lovely breakfast with my 10 month old between my legs pinching bits of croissant crumbs off the duvet.  I was spoilt with some croissants and preserves and a lovely warm coffee to start my first mothers day as a mum of 2!

After breakfast, as I ignored the crumbs in the bed, you've got to let some things go on mothers day, we had a lovely stroll along the beach.  On the way down, we followed the leader, along the riverbank onto the beach, dodging muddy puddles.  I enjoyed every minute of it, looking at how my first baby has grown so much and is one day I'm sure going to be a leader, of what I'm not sure!

Now, we're back at the ranch, and I've had a leisurely read of the sunday papers, baby is napping, and I've been handed an icy cold glass of white wine whilst the four year old is engrossed in Shrek.  Why not hey?  It would be rude not to!

Hope all of you yummy mummies out there are having as good a day as I am!

Happy Mothers Day!

Mothercare

I've just discovered that there's a Mothercare in my local area!  Yay!  I can't believe I haven't come across it sooner, we have lived here for over 7 months now and I thought I had sniffed out all the decent baby shopping there was to be done, but no, there was a Mothercare hiding from me!

I have always loved the Humphreys Corner range for newborns, 0-3 months age.  They are absolutely adorable and such good quality.  I have reused the little babygrows I had for my son 4 years ago for my little girl and they still look brand new.  We lived in WA at the time of my sons birth so I had to get these sent over specially from the UK.

I am so excited to check out my local store!  I will let you know my findings!

Baby Styling

Ever since having my two babies I've loved dressing them in gorgeous little outfits.  My first born, my son, has always been well dressed even when he was a newborn and I always got comments from the ladies in my mothers group every week, like, wow, where did you get those from, please pass his clothes on when he's grown out of them etc etc.  Although we do get some things sent over from the UK, I have since found alternative stores here in Australia.

Then when I had my little girl I went into pink overdrive.  That has now settled down a little and have since introduced lots of other colours and varieties.  I just love to mix and match all her gorgeous little tights, skirts, tops, dresses, jeans, leggings and jeggings.  I just can't get enough of it!  I was even thinking of having a little picture diary on my blog to showcase some of her outfits she's worn that week.

This then got me thinking whether there would be a market for some kind of baby styling advice and ideas that I could pass on to other parents.  I know this may sound terrible, but you do see some crazy shocking outfits out there, I feel so sorry for the children.

Another idea may be to become like a personal baby shopper for those parents that are too busy working full time and don't have time to think about shopping for their children to keep them in the latest trends.  Or just to give some advice on where to find certain items that I may have seen in my travels of baby shopping.

I just wanted to put this idea out there to see what other parents thought on this idea.  Let me know what you think!

Which Contraception Will Be Best For Me?

Well, I've decided I need to get myself organised and actually go to the doctors for my contraceptives.  My baby is now 10 months old and I still havent put anything in place so we don't accidentally have a little 'surprise' on our hands.  God knows, I'm not ready for another baby!  I think we've decided two is enough, a boy and a girl will do us, for now anyways!  I've only got two hands right?

So which contraceptive will it be?  I was on the pill before we conceived our first baby and then in between babies as well, although it worked for me and did what it was supposed to, I feel after two babies, I am now a little forgetful.  Its bad enough trying to remember packed lunches, washing, taking library books back, in between bottle feeding, naps and also remembering to feed myself during the day, I don't think I'd remember to take a small pill on top of my schedule!

Then theres also the worry of weight gain with some of the other contraceptives out there, I can't afford a few extra kilo's, I'm still trying to get the dream body!  Haha!  Laughable after two babies right?  But I can dream.

So, with all the ones out there and deciding against each one, I've opted to go for the implant in the arm  thingie.  But I'm still a little scared about the whole concept and need to do a little more reading on the subject to get me in the right frame of mind to pluck up the courage and go get me one!

I would love to hear your feedback on this?  If you've got one or one of your girlfriends have, I would love to hear from you before I go to the Doc's.  I'm always nervous going to the Doc's!  Big girl or what?

Anyways, will keep you all posted on my progress!

OMG My Dad Is Having Another Baby!

So I was sat at my little boys soccer training session and my phone bleeps!  Oh, its a message from my sister in law, so I take a further look as this is what it says "OMG, our step mum, has just announced on facebook that she is 5 weeks pregnant".  I'm sitting there and all I can think is WHAT?  My phone then rings and its my husband and he says have you heard, what do you think?  And I'm still like WHAT?  I don't know what to say!

Don't get me wrong its nothing new, there are always shockers in our family.  From my mum and dad divorcing, my dad getting married without us knowing and finding out on one of his visits home, to him having his vasectomy reversed and then emailing us letting us know that him and his 34 year old bride are expecting their first child together, it was along the lines of "just letting you know the reversal was successful and we are expecting our first child", we didn't even know about the reversal.

What am I meant to think?  I don't honestly know!  I don't feel sad or anything and in a way feel like its very good news for them and am happy for them.  But me, I don't feel anything really!  Does this make me a bad person?  In a way, I'm looking forward to a glass of wine this evening to let the shocker sink in!

Royal Wedding Eve

Well the day has finally arrived!  Its the eve of the royal wedding!  I cannot wait until tomorrow!

The festivities start on Channel 9 and 7 at 4pm and I'll be flicking through those channels and also UKTV and ABC1 to see who has the best coverage.  I want to see and know everything there is to see and know, from the guests arriving to the first and last dance.  Ha!

My little boy is at Preschool tomorrow, so I'll be getting things in place for my little wedding party, starting with the banners!  You've got to have banners for a royal wedding! 

I would love to be able to remember the street party I attended at 10 monhts old when Princess Diana and Charles tied the knot.  Its uncanny that now, the next royal wedding, I now have my own 10 month old little girl!  I will be telling her about tomorrow for years to come.  It must be the english in me that I am so excited about this wedding.  I don't follow every single move the royal family make but this is definately a special royal family moment to remember.

We will celebrate with champagne and a little english tea party complete with jam and cream scones!

I hope everyone else out there will enjoy the wedding as much as I am acticipating to!

Have fun and I would love to know how you will be celebrating!

Back From Hols!

Hello!  We are now back from our holidays.  We decided it would be a great adventure to have a road trip up to the Sunshine Coast.  God knows why, I now say!  It seemed like a good idea at the time before the easter holidays.  A great family bonding time we thought the week leading up to the trip, a time to catch up and be a proper family with no one at work or at preschool.  Boy it was hard work!

When one child had a nap, the other would be wide awake and on top form, shouting and balling.  Even though we had all the necessary distractions in the car like an ipad and an iphone loaded with games to keep a very active four year old occuppied, they didn't distract him one bit!  We even installed a dvd player headrest thingie but it would not work for the world!  Kept blowing fuses!  Just what you need hey?

So after 9.5 hours up the coast we stopped over one night at Byron Bay.  It was awesome!  Had a swim in the hotel pool and then headed to the Byron Bay Beach Bar for a well deserved tipple!  We even got away with it for a couple of hours too!  The four year old made a few friends and went off and played (within our view) and the now 10 month old had a much needed nap.  So a chicken ceaser salad and a bottle of bubbly later, I was well chilled out and ready for a lovely nights sleep.

The next morning we headed up to the Sunshine Coast and the car journey was just about bearable.  As soon as we arrived though and whenever we got into the car after that, the 10 month old would scream!  I now think she hates car journeys!

So we did the usual trip up to Noosa, which is also awesome!  I highly recommend!  Also took the 4 year old to Dreamworld, which he adored!  I secretly enjoyed it too!  We stayed over a night at Hope Island on the journey home and then stopped off for another over nighter at Port Macquarie before we headed home to the Central Coast.

The journey back from Port Macquarie was the hardest as everyone was well and truly over eachother!  Haha!  Never again hey!

We've now decided our next holiday will be 2 weeks relaxation in a luxurious resort, with kids club of course, in Fiji!!!!  Bring it on!

Kids Fascination With Pooh!

I know, not a very nice thing to blog about.  I'm sorry, this ones probably not for the squeemish ones out there!

All my four year old does is talk about pooh!  I know disgusting right?  He's obsessed!  Whatever we see, do or hear he asks, "mummy, does an ant pooh?', 'mummy, does a dolphin pooh?',  'mummy, does a giraffe pooh'.  My reply is always "yes love, everything poohs'.

I think it may have started when my little girl was born.  Every change time, he was there like a shot, inspecting what she may have left in her nappy.  I don't think he's alone in his fascination, kids can't help themselves.  When his two cousins were visiting the baby, they too were fascinated.  They especially love it when theres a number two left in the nappy.  Urgh right?

He just announced it to me five minutes ago that she had done one.  'Mummy, he shouted, gorgeous has just done a yanky pooh', 'Okay, I'm coming now', I reply.  'Its a yanky one mum!' he says.  Where he gets his crazy word explanations of pooh, I don't know.

So, I'm changing her bum and his face is right in there, when the contents are revealed he goes 'see mum she did a yanky one'.

Funny!  All you can do is laugh!  Kids are so crazy!

Does your child have this fascination too?

Coffee Time? Kids Say No!

Well I thought it would be time for a well deserved coffee this morning.  The baby was napping and the 4 year old was playing in his toy room, so I made myself a nice hot milky coffee and sat down in front of the laptop to get my blog fix.

A cupple of sips into my coffee and after I'd demolished a packet of my sons Uglies biscuits in he walks, he must have smelt them!  So in he comes with handfuls of toys and starts telling about each of them.  Lovely, I know, but I just wanted a 5 minute mummy blog/coffee break. 

So I listen to each of his gorgeous little stories about the toy in hand and then he wants a packet of biscuits himself, why not hey?  Mummy has just had some.  So he gets tucked into the biscuits and what do you think comes next?  Yes, 'mummy, I'm thirsty'.  So now he has a drink and a snack and toys to occupy him.  Just as I sit back down to finish my coffee, the baby wakes up!

Its hair pulling stuff right?  All in a mummy's day though!  How dare I try and have a relaxing break, there is no such thing!

Royal Wedding Party

Anyone else excited about the upcoming royal wedding?  I'm so excited!  You'd think I was actually going to the wedding I'm that excited!  Feel like a bit of a kid at Christmas.

So, I've heard it will be shown live on australian television, I think which will start around 8pm on the 29th April.  What are your plans?  I'm planning on having a little english tea party excluding the tea!  In its place will be champagne and lots of posh little nibbles.  You'd think I was having a party, wouldn't you, but we're not.  It will probably be just me and the hubby watching, well me mainly, he won't be that interested.  I'm hoping the kids will be extra behaved that night and go to bed on time!  I will be mesmerised in my own little world!

I heard the Beckhams are going and Victoria has already declined 11 outfits that her designers have put together for her.  Imagine that?  She must be feeling frumpy as she is pregnant.  But just imagine, her frumpy will be nothing of the sort, her at 9 months pregnant would have been me at 12 weeks I bet!  Imagine having a designer?  How awesome would that be?  In a way though, I do feel for Posh Spice because there will be billions of people watching the proceedings.

And poor Kate Middleton is now getting stick for being too skinny!  Leave the poor girl alone!  She is after all getting married.  Every bride tries to slim down before their nuptials, so its no wonder she's put in extra effort of slimming down as her wedding will be viewed by the whole world!

I've taped a few of the programmes on Foxtel which is a bit of a build up for the wedding, so I've still got these to watch.  Think I'll make a whole day of it!

Hey, I may even get dressed up as if I am actually part of the whole thing even though I'll be sat in my own living room!

Never mind Easter!  Roll on the wedding!!

Crotch Catching!

Don't worry nothing risky!

I was just holding my 9 month old and feeding her her lunch, as she wouldn't sit in her high chair, and I made a crotch catch!  Ha ha!  Quite funny.

I'll explain a little further.  So I was holding my baby and gave her a piece of boiled sweet potato to hold so she could feed herself, which she loves doing, and then just as she was going to grasp it she dropped it!  And voila I caught it!  Not actually with my crotch!  But with my mummy thighs!  Good catch hey?

Can you crotch catch?

Yes, I am a little insane!  Ha ha!

Starting A Blog

Why did you start your own blog?

I started my blog as a way of venting, moaning, expressing myself, or whatever you'd like to call it.  Its a way of telling someone how your day has been, or how you experienced something, or just to have a good old moan or gurn as I call it.

For me, its a way to chill myself out so when my husband does get home from work, I don't talk his head off as I haven't talked to another adult all day.  So this blog is like having a conversation and expressing myself.   That sounds a little sad of me but it makes me feel better!

Sometimes it can make you feel a little lonely and isolated when you are a stay at home mum.  Especially as we have only lived on the coast for seven months and are always on the move, almost every 12 months, its sometimes hard to make friends.  Slowly, but surely I'm starting to make friends but this blog helps me get things off my chest as though I would be talking to a life long friend.

Does your blog make you feel more sane?  Or am I on my own here?

Two Kids Napping!

I don't how I've managed it!  My two kids are napping, during the day!  Yay!

They both fell asleep in the car on the way back from the shops and have both transferred to their beds for a much needed nap!  It feels strange to have the house so quiet!

The trick was, I took the four year old ice skating, which is freezing to say the least, so wrapped them both up in lots of layers of clothing, then traipsed them around the shopping centre for an hour, fed them lunch and drove home.  Voila!

It probably won't last long, but its so so good!

Now, should I risk putting the kettle on?

Playgroup at the Races!

Off to the races?

I wish!!!!  I so do!!!  But I'm a mum!

I would love to get all dolled up, hair done, make up done, champagne in hand in a swanky champagne tent, watching where my bet gets placed and having grown up conversations!

Its so far away from the reality though, isn't it, for parents?  Unless you're lucky enough to have babysitters, that is!

But how cool would it be, to take the kids along to the kids tent?  If there was such a thing!  There could be a whole kids playgroup tent set up somewhere on the field where parents would pay say $10 per child.  This would be for their child to be taken care of in a happy environment, playing games, doing craft, playing on equipment similar to those found at fun centres with qualified day care centre staff watching over them.

It would be so sweet!  The little girls could even have a fashions of the field modelling comp of their own.

What do you think?

Would you go to the races if there was such a tent?

Please Mr & Mrs Races People make such a facility available?  It would be a little money making machine all in itself and you would have lots of happy mummies out there, including me!  I would be your first customer.

Unless of course, such a thing already exists?  If so, please advise!