But, really, my desire to slander some choice individuals is beside the point. Things are coming together, and with support I think life might be going to get better for everyone involved. So yay us.
Anyway, snowpeas.
 |
| Snowpeas doing nicely |
:)
Showing posts with label Screamies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Screamies. Show all posts
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Yay Us, and Snowpeas
Pshaw! What a week. Feel like feet haven't touched the ground since Monday. Is good though. It looks like we are finally, finally going to get some proper help with Miss 5 after being given the run around for such a long time. (You know, right now, I want allcaps on and to be typing bad bad words about those individuals who brushed us off when we were begging for help, and O.M.G. how I want to let rip about the person who told me the issues were due to my 'failure to bond' with my child - but I shall, as ever, be circumspect. SIGH).
But, really, my desire to slander some choice individuals is beside the point. Things are coming together, and with support I think life might be going to get better for everyone involved. So yay us.
Anyway, snowpeas.
These are in the front garden, and something has been doing midnight raids on the front garden and beheading my calendulars and parsley. So, I am having low expectations. Still, they are looking good at the moment.
:)
But, really, my desire to slander some choice individuals is beside the point. Things are coming together, and with support I think life might be going to get better for everyone involved. So yay us.
Anyway, snowpeas.
:)
Friday, July 29, 2011
Trip to Umina beach
It was cold and rainy last Saturday.
So we went to the beach.
It was intermittently pouring, there was a brisk gale-force easterly breeze, it was was a king tide and there was a warning for dangerous surf conditions.
My kind of beach weather.
Check out that sky.
Why no, there was not another soul on the beach - even the surfies were bailing.
We had a change of clothes, and in no time they were both snuggled and warm, tucked in the car eating fish and chips from Woy Woy.
Car still smells of fish.
:)
So we went to the beach.
It was intermittently pouring, there was a brisk gale-force easterly breeze, it was was a king tide and there was a warning for dangerous surf conditions.
My kind of beach weather.
Check out that sky.
 |
| Stay OUT of the water. |
 |
| OUT... oh never mind |
 |
| What? Soaking wet AND freezing Told. You. So. |
We had a change of clothes, and in no time they were both snuggled and warm, tucked in the car eating fish and chips from Woy Woy.
Car still smells of fish.
:)
Monday, July 11, 2011
Saturday, July 09, 2011
Birthday Cake Friday
A special cake this week. Miss 6 turns 7 today :).
After seven years of this parenthood thing, you'd have thought I'd be getting the hang of it. But no. It still bewilders me!! Though these days it's not so much the enduring surprise that I am actually someone's parent, but more that the someone does things like kick-ass at maths and is quite the chess champion.
Happy Birthday little Girl. We love you so much.
;)
After seven years of this parenthood thing, you'd have thought I'd be getting the hang of it. But no. It still bewilders me!! Though these days it's not so much the enduring surprise that I am actually someone's parent, but more that the someone does things like kick-ass at maths and is quite the chess champion.
Happy Birthday little Girl. We love you so much.
;)
Monday, June 13, 2011
Weekend in Our Nation's Fine Capital
Spent the long weekend in Canberra.
Never been so COLD in my life.
Was lovely, lovely to be away. And I like Canberra - there I said it.
Visited: Parliament House
Kid status: Underwhelmed
Highlight: Being x-rayed by security (kids), Seeing Magna Carta (me - no I have no idea why it was there, but it was, yay - I do like an ancient document).
Visited: Carillion
Kid status: Thrilled - due to being able to scooter around the lake
Highlight: Hot chocolate
Visited: National Gallery
Kid status: Bored, annoyed, fighty, sticky
Highlight: Being followed around by our own cordon of security people
Home now and considering 'Famous Person' day at school on Wednesday. Thinking of sending Miss 6 as Margaret Thatcher and Miss 5 as Stevie Nicks, but feel the irony of this portrayal of their respective personalities may be lost on pretty much everyone.
Never been so COLD in my life.
 |
| We spent most of the time doing this |
Visited: Parliament House
Kid status: Underwhelmed
Highlight: Being x-rayed by security (kids), Seeing Magna Carta (me - no I have no idea why it was there, but it was, yay - I do like an ancient document).
Visited: Carillion
Kid status: Thrilled - due to being able to scooter around the lake
Highlight: Hot chocolate
Visited: National Gallery
Kid status: Bored, annoyed, fighty, sticky
Highlight: Being followed around by our own cordon of security people
Home now and considering 'Famous Person' day at school on Wednesday. Thinking of sending Miss 6 as Margaret Thatcher and Miss 5 as Stevie Nicks, but feel the irony of this portrayal of their respective personalities may be lost on pretty much everyone.
Monday, May 09, 2011
Big Announcement... and Its not that I'm mother of year (WTF???)
Yeah, so. They announced Mother of the Year, and apparently I'm not it.
I'm wondering which thing they found out about...
I'm wondering which thing they found out about...
- Weaning at the first sight of a tooth
- Larger screamie's 3rd and 4th words being fuck and it (1st being No and 2nd being Dad)
- Locking screamies outside when behaving vilely IN THE RAIN
- Threatening screamies with dis-ownership after they locked ME outside IN THE RAIN
- Driving past face-down screaming screamie in car line, pretending its not my child
- Being unable to attach right name to correct screamie, dog or cat
- Feeding chicken nuggets that had fallen on the floor
- Sending screamie to school with temperature and going to hairdressers
- Not realising own screamie is ill
- Using clothing to wipe dirty mouths (theirs or mine - clothing that is)
- Forgetting sunscreen
- Forgetting hats
- Forgetting drink bottles
- Abandoning poo covered underpants in various locations
- Singing a selection of eighties hits instead of lullabies
- Falling asleep during story time
Well, I may not be mother of the year this year, but at least my two screamies know I love them. Well they would, if I knew where they were.
Anyhoo, big announcement I've been rabbiting on about for the last week...
My blog has been selected to be in the Kidspot Top 50.
 |
| Click on the pic to see my entry and vote |
It is rather huge in the bloggy world and I am rather massively chuffed about it.
If you would like to vote for me, well that'd be very much appreciated. You can vote for whoever else you want as well, whenever you want, but you can only vote for me once (if that makes sense - it records your IP address).
Programming during the voting time will be very much as usual; Mummy fails, gardening, cooking and cake bakery, writerlyness, ranting, raving etc... but there will be an extra special blog post on 21 May - and if ever you have had the urge to comment, that would be the day to do it.
So there it is.
Vote for meeeeee.
Monday, May 02, 2011
The Slime
I hate snails. I really really hate them. Time and again they have reduced an abundant crop of seedlings to nothing in the space of a few dark hours. I detest snails so much that I can even bring myself to squish them with my fingers; well, the teeny weeny baby ones and with gardening gloves on. I am not the Bear Gryllis of the Upper North Shore Urban Farming set. No siree.
But yes, I do slaughter baby snails with my gloved hands. You read that right.
So imagine, if you will, my joy, my unfettered delight, when my children, eyes alight with excitement come tearing inside yesterday waving a tupperware container.
"We caught a snail."
"Its our new pet."
"We love it."
"How can you tell if snails are boys or girls?"
I rolled my eyes and promptly forgot about it until this morning, at around 6.30am when there were cries of horror from the playroom.
The snail had escaped.
Not a moment could be lost, Mummy AND Daddy must immediately IMMEDIATELY commence a search and rescue mission.
What if the dog had eaten it??
(The dog gets sniffy about eating gourmet dog food, so there wasn't much chance).
Anyhoo, after a brief struggle the snail was recaptured. It was making a bid for freedom across the kitchen bench (yes, ewwww), and had made pretty impressive progress from its container in the playroom.
After being christened The Slime, our snail was then re-incarcerated in its container, this time with a lid and a few leaves for company.
And now I find myself in the awkward position of having responsibility for my arch enemy. Maybe I'll get stockholm syndrome and start to relate to snails and even love them. Maybe I'll become The Mad Snail Lady.
Or maybe The Slime will escape again tonight from its sealed container and find itself having a new life in the garden of that neighbour with the wretched endlessly yapping Pomeranian.
Maybe.
:)
Updated to add: My husband read this post and said, "What about the slug?"
"The slug???"
"Yes there was a slug in there. It escaped too."
"But you found it?"
"Not exactly."
But yes, I do slaughter baby snails with my gloved hands. You read that right.
So imagine, if you will, my joy, my unfettered delight, when my children, eyes alight with excitement come tearing inside yesterday waving a tupperware container.
"We caught a snail."
"Its our new pet."
"We love it."
"How can you tell if snails are boys or girls?"
I rolled my eyes and promptly forgot about it until this morning, at around 6.30am when there were cries of horror from the playroom.
The snail had escaped.
Not a moment could be lost, Mummy AND Daddy must immediately IMMEDIATELY commence a search and rescue mission.
What if the dog had eaten it??
(The dog gets sniffy about eating gourmet dog food, so there wasn't much chance).
 |
| You interrupted my nap to ask if I ate a what?? And get that camera out of my face, my ears are all messy |
After being christened The Slime, our snail was then re-incarcerated in its container, this time with a lid and a few leaves for company.
 |
| The newest family member |
Or maybe The Slime will escape again tonight from its sealed container and find itself having a new life in the garden of that neighbour with the wretched endlessly yapping Pomeranian.
Maybe.
:)
Updated to add: My husband read this post and said, "What about the slug?"
"The slug???"
"Yes there was a slug in there. It escaped too."
"But you found it?"
"Not exactly."
Sunday, April 17, 2011
(Let Them Eat) Cake Friday - Simnel Cake
Simnel cake - a traditional UK cake made around Easter/Mothering Sunday (their Mothering Sunday, not the Aussie one).
Simnel cake is also an anagram of...
Seamen Licks
Leaks Mince
A Neck Slime
Silk Menace, and
Manic Leeks
I know this because I have hurt my back, can barely move and am VERY BORED.
Its a fruit cake, with a marzipan lid - am not a fan of marzipan unless its homemade, then its loooovley.
The decorations are supposed to represent 11 apostles and Jesus - Judas gets left off, because he does not deserve to be rolled out of a ball of marzipan, stuck under the grill briefly to brown and then eaten.
I was a bit dubious about this one, but its actually very nice - if a bit on the Very Solid side.
The kids only like sultanas, "If they are on their own MUMMY, not In CAKE. NOT IN CAAAAAKE."
sigh.
Simnel cake is also an anagram of...
Seamen Licks
Leaks Mince
A Neck Slime
Silk Menace, and
Manic Leeks
I know this because I have hurt my back, can barely move and am VERY BORED.
Its a fruit cake, with a marzipan lid - am not a fan of marzipan unless its homemade, then its loooovley.
 |
| Simnel Cake - with artistic marzipan decorations |
 |
| Jesus is the one in the middle, and these are happy apostles |
 |
| It took some effort to cut this slice |
sigh.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Home brewing and children; its never too early to start
Being school holiday I presently have the screamies underfoot every minute of every day - such unfettered joy (no really). They love to help in the kitchen, and now that they're 5 and 6 they are becoming useful, rather than making an ungodly mess and distracting me so I forget crucial ingredients. Miss 6, who is a steady and calm child, is brilliant at weighing and measuring and loves to help with the bread and making yoghurt.
Miss 5 is better in the stirring and pouring departments, so when I finished off the ginger beer earlier in the week she was an excellent help.
Ginger Beer
After a week of being fed and nurtured the ginger beer plant is ready to go and the bottles are sterilised. Information about the plant recipe here.
We strained the mixture (well, I poured it off the settled sediment), add the juice of 2 lemons and reserve the sediment. Its now ready to use.
The sediment should be divided in two (you can give half to a friend, or to the chooks). Add half a pint of water, 2tsp sugar and 2tsp ginger and proceed with the feeding and nurturing as before (details in this post).
For the next stage you need...
2oz sugar
Cold boiled water
Ginger beer plant liquid
Add the sugar to the liquid and make up to 1 gallon (4 litres) with water, stirring until the sugar has dissolved completely.
Pour into strong, dark coloured beer bottles.
And then cap the bottles - the recipe recommends using pop-off plastic caps, but as I don't have any, we are capping the bottles with your usual gold metal lid, but keeping them in the shed, so if they explode no harm will be done.
And that's it. Leave the ginger beer for 7 - 10 days and then have a taste test. We've got stuff that is over a year old and is wonderfully drinkable.
:)
This is a Down To Earth on my mind post: DOWN TO EARTH: On my mind ...
Miss 5 is better in the stirring and pouring departments, so when I finished off the ginger beer earlier in the week she was an excellent help.
Ginger Beer
After a week of being fed and nurtured the ginger beer plant is ready to go and the bottles are sterilised. Information about the plant recipe here.
We strained the mixture (well, I poured it off the settled sediment), add the juice of 2 lemons and reserve the sediment. Its now ready to use.
The sediment should be divided in two (you can give half to a friend, or to the chooks). Add half a pint of water, 2tsp sugar and 2tsp ginger and proceed with the feeding and nurturing as before (details in this post).
For the next stage you need...
2oz sugar
Cold boiled water
Ginger beer plant liquid
Add the sugar to the liquid and make up to 1 gallon (4 litres) with water, stirring until the sugar has dissolved completely.
Pour into strong, dark coloured beer bottles.
 |
| Pouring |
 |
| So much pouring |
 |
| Her completely favouritest part |
:)
This is a Down To Earth on my mind post: DOWN TO EARTH: On my mind ...
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Birthday party gifts: cheap not nasty
Now that they are both at school, the screamies get invited to a lot of birthday parties - in a move that is designed to torture poor parents, it is mandatory to invite all kids to your party at their school - we've figured we go to around 20 a year for each child, ie 40 parties.
Thus it is rare to have a weekend that is partyless, and if we do have a free weekend I get quite folorn as I have to find some way to amuse myself other than stealing lollies from the lolly bags. Oh the tedium. Sigh.
One of the more daunting aspects of all this, is the birthday gift. Usually gift selection has involved me rushing off to the mall, spending $30 on a gift and another $10 at least on wrapping paper and cards. (So 40 parties times $40 is $1600, gulp). The present is wrapped and the child in question signs the card and it is delivered to the party, and that is the end of it.
Its all seemed a bit expensive and pointless to me. I think its important to get the birthday girl a gift that she will enjoy (so not a load of bunkum from the $2 Shop), and I think the kids should be involved in the selection and preparation of the gift, so that they learn about giving and being excited about giving.
So this time around I headed off to the local op-shop, and we came up with this gift for the extortionate sum of $6. A bunny basket, teddy bear figurine, two sparkly necklaces and a sparkly bracelet, perfect for a six year old.
Miss 6 was so excited she couldn't keep her hands off the present and I had to hide it away.
:)
Thus it is rare to have a weekend that is partyless, and if we do have a free weekend I get quite folorn as I have to find some way to amuse myself other than stealing lollies from the lolly bags. Oh the tedium. Sigh.
One of the more daunting aspects of all this, is the birthday gift. Usually gift selection has involved me rushing off to the mall, spending $30 on a gift and another $10 at least on wrapping paper and cards. (So 40 parties times $40 is $1600, gulp). The present is wrapped and the child in question signs the card and it is delivered to the party, and that is the end of it.
Its all seemed a bit expensive and pointless to me. I think its important to get the birthday girl a gift that she will enjoy (so not a load of bunkum from the $2 Shop), and I think the kids should be involved in the selection and preparation of the gift, so that they learn about giving and being excited about giving.
So this time around I headed off to the local op-shop, and we came up with this gift for the extortionate sum of $6. A bunny basket, teddy bear figurine, two sparkly necklaces and a sparkly bracelet, perfect for a six year old.
:)
Friday, March 18, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Two weeks to go...
Crafty people - they're doing an awesome raffle over at The Red Thread to raise money for flood victims. Link here . You can win a sewing machine, sewing patterns, sewing kits n' everythink... I was once a crafty person, cross stitch and tapestry being my main vices, however, since the advent of kids... well you know the story.
siiiiiigh.
Two more weeks of school holidays to go...
Oh and I'm changing the name of the Year of Me - is sounds a bit, yanno, self absorbed (what?), am now calling it the Year of Wellbeing.
Laters :)
siiiiiigh.
Two more weeks of school holidays to go...
- Miss 5 is chucking daily tantrums that she does not want to go to kindi, despite having spent all last year in a 'transition' year at the same school and is moving into the next door classroom.
- I have spent all my gardening money on school shoes.
- I have dragged out all the uniforms, and untold random white school socks that I am trying to match according to their level of greyness.
- And I have whipped out the iron (for the second time in twelve months) to start ironing on name labels. (It was also my inaugural use of my Brand New Mosman-ish Ironing Board Cover - which, incidentally, matches my oven gloves - never let it be said I don't have this interior decorating thingy down pat)
- All of this is in the hope that it will make the next fortnight go faster
- Also my children are nagging me about Easter.
Oh and I'm changing the name of the Year of Me - is sounds a bit, yanno, self absorbed (what?), am now calling it the Year of Wellbeing.
Laters :)
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Happy New Year
New Year is always full on at our house, what with one birthday on the 31st and another on the 1st. (Miss 5 and Me, now Mrs 39, sigh). But we have survived, kind of.
I take my New Years resolutions very seriously. I am extremely goal motivated, and so when I set out to do something I generally achieve it. The one grand exception to this has been losing weight, but this year I even managed to achieve that, with my current weight now at a trim and terrific 68.8kgs - just 1.8kgs above a healthy BMI. Given that I had an obese BMI six months ago I am presently LOVING MYSELF SICK - although I would like to discuss the saggy Mummy bum that's attached itself behind me, not to mention the jelly belly that honestly looked better when it was a bit rounder, and the fact I STILL HAVE FAT ANKLES with someone.
Ahem.
Anyway, resolutions.
This year is the year of Me.
Its going to be about getting myself back, about prioritising things I want to do, instead of leaving them at the bottom of the list, about slowing down and living in the moment, getting space and being better at the things that are important to me (like kids, and garden, and home, and writing).
The last seven years seem to have disappeared into a fug of babies, stress, exhaustion and an endless feeling of being not quite good enough. I know that this is pretty much par for the course when you've got rug rats about, but now that they're both at school, I think its time to get me back. In fact, its essential for the wellbeing of me and my family.
Blogging-wise, I might not be about as much as before. Not because I don't want to be here, but I have GOT to get writing. Boys of Summer has been dragging on for nearly 18months now, I'm over it and I need to get it done, and move onto Fat Chance. My publisher, Samhain, recently took me off their active authors list, and that has been a big wake up call for me. My 1000 words a day have to come first.
Its also going to be the Year of Landscaping the Garden and Painting the House.
Actually, I'm excited. I think 2011 is going to be a good year.
I take my New Years resolutions very seriously. I am extremely goal motivated, and so when I set out to do something I generally achieve it. The one grand exception to this has been losing weight, but this year I even managed to achieve that, with my current weight now at a trim and terrific 68.8kgs - just 1.8kgs above a healthy BMI. Given that I had an obese BMI six months ago I am presently LOVING MYSELF SICK - although I would like to discuss the saggy Mummy bum that's attached itself behind me, not to mention the jelly belly that honestly looked better when it was a bit rounder, and the fact I STILL HAVE FAT ANKLES with someone.
Ahem.
Anyway, resolutions.
This year is the year of Me.
Its going to be about getting myself back, about prioritising things I want to do, instead of leaving them at the bottom of the list, about slowing down and living in the moment, getting space and being better at the things that are important to me (like kids, and garden, and home, and writing).
The last seven years seem to have disappeared into a fug of babies, stress, exhaustion and an endless feeling of being not quite good enough. I know that this is pretty much par for the course when you've got rug rats about, but now that they're both at school, I think its time to get me back. In fact, its essential for the wellbeing of me and my family.
Blogging-wise, I might not be about as much as before. Not because I don't want to be here, but I have GOT to get writing. Boys of Summer has been dragging on for nearly 18months now, I'm over it and I need to get it done, and move onto Fat Chance. My publisher, Samhain, recently took me off their active authors list, and that has been a big wake up call for me. My 1000 words a day have to come first.
Its also going to be the Year of Landscaping the Garden and Painting the House.
Actually, I'm excited. I think 2011 is going to be a good year.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Cocktail Hour, Caitlyn Nicholas Style
What? Serving cocktails in the measuring scoop that came free with an extra large bag of dog food IS classy. The champagne chasers are necessary, trust me.
Today has involved christmas shopping (DONE, yesssss), 35 degree heat, violent thunderstorms, bickering with my husband (all good now, have been shown error of my ways at length, in detail, repeatedly, LOVE YOOO), feral children, Miss 4 crapping in the pool (again) and then a fight with the dog to get the floaty out before he dived in and ate it (and managed to do that without sacrificing pool scoop this time, WIN).
Was considering doing a bit of a photo blog post about my day As-It-Happens sometime these holidays, am glad today was not that day.
Cocktail recipe: Applesinthe
45ml Absinthe
30ml apple juice
splash lemon juice, splash sugar syrup
Mint leaves
Was considering doing a bit of a photo blog post about my day As-It-Happens sometime these holidays, am glad today was not that day.
Cocktail recipe: Applesinthe
45ml Absinthe
30ml apple juice
splash lemon juice, splash sugar syrup
Mint leaves
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Fly trap update
Firstly I would like to thank everyone for their kind comments about my norks on Sunday's post. It has completely inspired me and I have decided to copy Guccimama and have Half Naked Thursday on my blog - yes, henceforth I shall be plastering my nekkid bits... oh as IF.
And, to the person who emailed me to inform me that if you zoom in on that photo, you can get them up to almost life size - I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE.
Anywaaaaaay.
I am sick with a rotten cold AND my life has exploded. When I woke up this morning I had decided I could just about send Miss 4 back to school with a clear conscience (when I picked her up this afternoon the front of her top was crispy with snot - goddammit - tomorrow I'll dose her up with drugs so its not so obvious I'm a bad bad mother) and was looking forward to a few days during which I had nothing to do except execute a well organised countdown to Miss 4s birthday party this weekend.
Sigh.
Within the space of four emails and two text messages I ended up with about 45 MILLION other urgent things to do, AND hubs is dealing with a massive massive crisis at work so I haven't seen him for days, AND I had a huge panic about the party this afternoon and ended up running around random supermarkets with a Very Runny Nose and No List.
I cannot even remember what I bought. Well, I do remember the gigantic packet of chips, because I ate them, and I spent the afternoon teaching my children to suck M&Ms onto the end of a straw and drop them in a bowl (you could Feel The Serenity in our house for an entire half hour once they got the hang of it) and I know for a fact that M&Ms were not in my vicinity pre-shopping.
Um. So. Flytrap.
Not a success. I think that one fly died of boredom.
Hmm.
And, to the person who emailed me to inform me that if you zoom in on that photo, you can get them up to almost life size - I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE.
Anywaaaaaay.
I am sick with a rotten cold AND my life has exploded. When I woke up this morning I had decided I could just about send Miss 4 back to school with a clear conscience (when I picked her up this afternoon the front of her top was crispy with snot - goddammit - tomorrow I'll dose her up with drugs so its not so obvious I'm a bad bad mother) and was looking forward to a few days during which I had nothing to do except execute a well organised countdown to Miss 4s birthday party this weekend.
Sigh.
Within the space of four emails and two text messages I ended up with about 45 MILLION other urgent things to do, AND hubs is dealing with a massive massive crisis at work so I haven't seen him for days, AND I had a huge panic about the party this afternoon and ended up running around random supermarkets with a Very Runny Nose and No List.
I cannot even remember what I bought. Well, I do remember the gigantic packet of chips, because I ate them, and I spent the afternoon teaching my children to suck M&Ms onto the end of a straw and drop them in a bowl (you could Feel The Serenity in our house for an entire half hour once they got the hang of it) and I know for a fact that M&Ms were not in my vicinity pre-shopping.
Um. So. Flytrap.
Not a success. I think that one fly died of boredom.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
A cold and windy Saturday
We've had one hell of a cold snap. 27 deg yesterday and a top of 9 today. WTF?? Accompanying this has been gale force winds, sitting on 60kmph and gusting up to 90. Its been impossible to go outside and so today I've been stuck inside All Day with two children who are beyond crabby. I've coped reasonably well, hidden in the bedroom, glued to two laptops designing possibly the most kick-bottom database There Ever Was. Srsly. When the bickering outside the door started to impinge on my concentration I just turned my ipod up a bit louder.
What? I explained to hubs that I am Earning Money, and must not be disturbed. Was not, under any circumstances surfing the net or laughing at lolcats...
At one point I emerged to find the house spooky quiet. Had those pesky aliens been visiting again and whisked my family away? Had hubs finally lost it and taken them to Maccers without seeing if I wanted one of those chocolate malteaser sundaes??
Well not exactly, No.
Hubs had instigated a game of hide and seek.
I walked through the laundry twice without thinking anything of our laundry basket and the purple trug.
And even when hubs said we should investigate the contents, I was somewhat perplexed.
Until...
I love that she even has a snack in there with her. Apparently it'd kept them both completely silent for a good twenty minutes. Genius I reckon.
One advantage of the weather is that we've got the fire going and are using up the last of the wood, and I got out the last of the bottled nectarines to make a crumble for dessert.
Shall be bottling more when they come in season this year, as they've been a wonderful reminder of summer during the cold winter months. Didn't really think I'd be one for preserving fruit, but these were well worth the effort.
Garden is somewhat bashed around, and my poor broad beans have had several large branches land on them. It is so not my year for broad beans. The tomatoes are lying flat and forget about the snowpeas, they've been shredded. Shall do proper inventory tomorrow, but strawberries still ripening so its not all bad.
What? I explained to hubs that I am Earning Money, and must not be disturbed. Was not, under any circumstances surfing the net or laughing at lolcats...
At one point I emerged to find the house spooky quiet. Had those pesky aliens been visiting again and whisked my family away? Had hubs finally lost it and taken them to Maccers without seeing if I wanted one of those chocolate malteaser sundaes??
Well not exactly, No.
Hubs had instigated a game of hide and seek.
I walked through the laundry twice without thinking anything of our laundry basket and the purple trug.
Until...
One advantage of the weather is that we've got the fire going and are using up the last of the wood, and I got out the last of the bottled nectarines to make a crumble for dessert.
Garden is somewhat bashed around, and my poor broad beans have had several large branches land on them. It is so not my year for broad beans. The tomatoes are lying flat and forget about the snowpeas, they've been shredded. Shall do proper inventory tomorrow, but strawberries still ripening so its not all bad.
Monday, September 27, 2010
First Day of the School holidays
Seeds arrived from Diggers this morning.
Have spent quality bonding time with children planting them.
God knows what is going to come up where. Am mostly hoping that I can transplant things once I figure out what they are. Who knows. It'll probably be more successful thanthat barren desert my seed raising beds.
Have spent quality bonding time with children planting them.
God knows what is going to come up where. Am mostly hoping that I can transplant things once I figure out what they are. Who knows. It'll probably be more successful than
Thursday, August 19, 2010
The Day My Midriff Escaped - a tale of woe
So its 3pm and I'm flitting about the car line picking up the screamies, exchanging banter with the other mums and inhaling a lot of carbon monoxide. Miss 4 greets me in her usual way...
"Have you got a special treat??"
I respond in my usual way...
"No."
And let the screaming commence...
Eventually, after promising apple juice when we get home, we get to the car and I bundle my two tired and tearful termagants inside.
It's at that point I realise my midriff is cold. Colder than it should be. Much colder than if it was tucked into my jeans and hiding discreetly under my top.
Oh yes. My midriff has escaped.
Let me describe the horror. No. I want too. I want the internet to forever remember how attractive my midriff really is, post kids.
The scarf serving as a belt is where it should be, around the top of my hips. But my far-too-big jeans had sagged, and then sagged again, forming attractive flappy handfuls of fabric, held up only by the belt loops. Mmm, pretty.
But it gets worse.
You see at the front, the sagging had caused the jeans to unzip themselves, exposing my pink dog-chewed underpants, AND (if that wasn't enough) the bow of the scarf was fetchingly supporting my post-kids jelly belly as it peered out from under my top.
I just keep telling myself that noone notice. Because who goes around staring at other people's midriff in car line? I mean Who Does That??
Given that little embarrassment, that I had Miss 4's Kindi interview and that my husband was about to stage an intervention, I decided it was time for shopping.
Shopping is not something I view as a past-time.
The first disaster was that this year's colours are nude, pinky nude, beige and pinky beige. All colours that make me look like a warm corpse. I was persuaded into a puffed sleeves pinky nude thing by a desperately eager sales assistant. She actually flinched when I came out of the change room. Yes. That bad.
So this year I shall be wearing black and longing for when the reds, dark purples and blues come back in again. Black is fine. I picked up some nice tops and a couple of pairs of jeans, and even a jacket IN SIZE 10.
The next disaster occurred when I glanced at my watch and realised I needed to be at the Kindi interview asap. So, still dressed in my saggy jeans, I hurtled to school and commenced a quick change in the front seat of the car, ripping off labels as I went. Two minutes to go and I was sorted. Looking and feeling good. I even had a real belt.
I managed to get all the lables - and didn't wander about with 12s 12s 12s 12s plastered down the back of my leg (the s stands for short-arse). But it was as I got out of the car that the random thought 'security camera' entered my head. Ah yes. Hello there disaster number three. Carefully, and without turning my head (so it wouldn't see me looking) I scanned the car park and spotted it. Just where I had a nasty feeling it would be, staring directly into the windscreen of my car with its one dead-eye.
Some things in this life are better not to know. I have decided that there was no way I could have been filmed pulling off my top and squeezing into jeans that I have every intention of shrinking into. No way at all. I have also decided that no one actually watches security footage and they'll have recorded over it by next week anyway.
Ah denial. Its warm in here.
sigh.
"Have you got a special treat??"
I respond in my usual way...
"No."
And let the screaming commence...
Eventually, after promising apple juice when we get home, we get to the car and I bundle my two tired and tearful termagants inside.
It's at that point I realise my midriff is cold. Colder than it should be. Much colder than if it was tucked into my jeans and hiding discreetly under my top.
Oh yes. My midriff has escaped.
Let me describe the horror. No. I want too. I want the internet to forever remember how attractive my midriff really is, post kids.
The scarf serving as a belt is where it should be, around the top of my hips. But my far-too-big jeans had sagged, and then sagged again, forming attractive flappy handfuls of fabric, held up only by the belt loops. Mmm, pretty.
But it gets worse.
You see at the front, the sagging had caused the jeans to unzip themselves, exposing my pink dog-chewed underpants, AND (if that wasn't enough) the bow of the scarf was fetchingly supporting my post-kids jelly belly as it peered out from under my top.
I just keep telling myself that noone notice. Because who goes around staring at other people's midriff in car line? I mean Who Does That??
Given that little embarrassment, that I had Miss 4's Kindi interview and that my husband was about to stage an intervention, I decided it was time for shopping.
Shopping is not something I view as a past-time.
The first disaster was that this year's colours are nude, pinky nude, beige and pinky beige. All colours that make me look like a warm corpse. I was persuaded into a puffed sleeves pinky nude thing by a desperately eager sales assistant. She actually flinched when I came out of the change room. Yes. That bad.
So this year I shall be wearing black and longing for when the reds, dark purples and blues come back in again. Black is fine. I picked up some nice tops and a couple of pairs of jeans, and even a jacket IN SIZE 10.
The next disaster occurred when I glanced at my watch and realised I needed to be at the Kindi interview asap. So, still dressed in my saggy jeans, I hurtled to school and commenced a quick change in the front seat of the car, ripping off labels as I went. Two minutes to go and I was sorted. Looking and feeling good. I even had a real belt.
I managed to get all the lables - and didn't wander about with 12s 12s 12s 12s plastered down the back of my leg (the s stands for short-arse). But it was as I got out of the car that the random thought 'security camera' entered my head. Ah yes. Hello there disaster number three. Carefully, and without turning my head (so it wouldn't see me looking) I scanned the car park and spotted it. Just where I had a nasty feeling it would be, staring directly into the windscreen of my car with its one dead-eye.
Some things in this life are better not to know. I have decided that there was no way I could have been filmed pulling off my top and squeezing into jeans that I have every intention of shrinking into. No way at all. I have also decided that no one actually watches security footage and they'll have recorded over it by next week anyway.
Ah denial. Its warm in here.
sigh.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
I had a wet t-shirt and he had wee on his trousers
You can tell that I took the family out in public AGAIN.
So imagine, if you will, that you have spent the morning cleaning bathrooms, wrangling tired and crabby children and pantsing your husband at every opportunity. Then, you glance at the clock and realise you have to be at the RWAus2010 conference in an hour, AND that a crucial part of your planned outfit is presently a crumpled heap on the floor and suffering badly from the last time you wore it and forgot to deodorise your right armpit.
That would've been me at around 11am this morning. Needless to say, aforementioned top was immediately washed. Not on a short wash. No. On a long wash. That I couldn't stop. Because there wasn't quite enough stress in my life.
Next, fast forward to me, getting in the car with a top just pulled from the washing machine, on a bright cool day with a brisk breeze. Wretchedly, miserably Cold.
Of course we were running just a smidge late by this point, and so when, Miss 4 announced that she needed a wee when we were surrounded by six lanes of stationary traffic, there was a minor loss of patience on my part (I am an outstanding parent, we all know this).
Having made it to a quiet side street, hubs lost the coin toss and ended up being 'the assistant.' We were on a steep hill and within moment his left shoe found itself placed, somewhat unfortunately, downstream.
There was a great deal of surprisingly athletic hopping on his part, a deeply disconcerted Miss 4, who nevertheless continued to perform like a professional, and unkind snickering from me. The entire situation came to a climax with a howl of distress from hubs as the tide curled up over his shoe, soaked itself into his jeans, his sock and dribbled inside his shoe.
When we arrived at the conference my top was still damp and clingy and, well, hubs squelched slightly as he walked. An irresistible pair.
sigh.
So imagine, if you will, that you have spent the morning cleaning bathrooms, wrangling tired and crabby children and pantsing your husband at every opportunity. Then, you glance at the clock and realise you have to be at the RWAus2010 conference in an hour, AND that a crucial part of your planned outfit is presently a crumpled heap on the floor and suffering badly from the last time you wore it and forgot to deodorise your right armpit.
That would've been me at around 11am this morning. Needless to say, aforementioned top was immediately washed. Not on a short wash. No. On a long wash. That I couldn't stop. Because there wasn't quite enough stress in my life.
Next, fast forward to me, getting in the car with a top just pulled from the washing machine, on a bright cool day with a brisk breeze. Wretchedly, miserably Cold.
Of course we were running just a smidge late by this point, and so when, Miss 4 announced that she needed a wee when we were surrounded by six lanes of stationary traffic, there was a minor loss of patience on my part (I am an outstanding parent, we all know this).
Having made it to a quiet side street, hubs lost the coin toss and ended up being 'the assistant.' We were on a steep hill and within moment his left shoe found itself placed, somewhat unfortunately, downstream.
There was a great deal of surprisingly athletic hopping on his part, a deeply disconcerted Miss 4, who nevertheless continued to perform like a professional, and unkind snickering from me. The entire situation came to a climax with a howl of distress from hubs as the tide curled up over his shoe, soaked itself into his jeans, his sock and dribbled inside his shoe.
When we arrived at the conference my top was still damp and clingy and, well, hubs squelched slightly as he walked. An irresistible pair.
sigh.
Monday, August 02, 2010
Mondayish
Cold wet and utterly utterly miserable today. A 50kmph freezing dry westerly (which caused me to be zapped every time I touch any metal surface) was eventually overtaken by an even colder rainy southerly. I put the chooks to bed early, well, they were already in there, and I just shut the gate of their pen. Our two Australorps like to roost on the top of the door to their little coop, and in this wind they are presently spending the evening being blown briskly back and forth, back and forth. They seem deeply unimpressed by this, but are hanging on for grim life regardless.
Well, at least the poo will be evenly spread over the floor.
Bit of an end of an era in the Nicholas household this weekend. Miss 6 has moved out of her car seat and into a booster seat. She was having too compress her spine and sort-of wedge her shoulder blades into her rib cage to sit in it. I also realised that once I'd clipped it shut she couldn't really draw air into her lungs properly - which was why she was always so quiet in the car. Alas now she is a lot noisier when travelling, and prone to criticising her mother's music selection on the iPod and demanding I play the 'shut the damn door song' - I have no idea which song this is.
Speaking of outstandingly slack parenting, I also realised today that Miss 4s feet were physically larger than the school shoes she was wedging them into. Ah yes. This morning she looked at me with a pained expression and said 'please may I have some new shoes,' (imagine Oliver Twist asking for more porridge). Naturally it was the first I'd heard about ill-fitting shoes, and it was just before we were due to leave for school. So, I advised her to take them off as soon as she got there and we'd get some more asap. Glancing in the rear vision mirror as I drove out of the carpark, I saw Miss 4 sitting on the footpath removing her shoes and two bemused car-line supervisors trying to figure out what she was doing. I went just a little bit faster. Needless to say we've been to visit the wonderful Jill at the shoe shop this afternoon, and Miss 4 is now fast asleep in bed wearing her brand new shoes.
:)
Well, at least the poo will be evenly spread over the floor.
Bit of an end of an era in the Nicholas household this weekend. Miss 6 has moved out of her car seat and into a booster seat. She was having too compress her spine and sort-of wedge her shoulder blades into her rib cage to sit in it. I also realised that once I'd clipped it shut she couldn't really draw air into her lungs properly - which was why she was always so quiet in the car. Alas now she is a lot noisier when travelling, and prone to criticising her mother's music selection on the iPod and demanding I play the 'shut the damn door song' - I have no idea which song this is.
Speaking of outstandingly slack parenting, I also realised today that Miss 4s feet were physically larger than the school shoes she was wedging them into. Ah yes. This morning she looked at me with a pained expression and said 'please may I have some new shoes,' (imagine Oliver Twist asking for more porridge). Naturally it was the first I'd heard about ill-fitting shoes, and it was just before we were due to leave for school. So, I advised her to take them off as soon as she got there and we'd get some more asap. Glancing in the rear vision mirror as I drove out of the carpark, I saw Miss 4 sitting on the footpath removing her shoes and two bemused car-line supervisors trying to figure out what she was doing. I went just a little bit faster. Needless to say we've been to visit the wonderful Jill at the shoe shop this afternoon, and Miss 4 is now fast asleep in bed wearing her brand new shoes.
:)
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