January 2012Life Love and Hiccups: January 2012
Life Love and HiccupsLife Love and HiccupsLife Love and HiccupsLife Love and Hiccups

Tuesday 31 January 2012

A letter to The Chicken Sausage! I KNOW DOGS CAN'T READ!!!!

Pin It Ok ok I KNOW dogs can't read but writing is supposed to be therapeutic and at this very moment I need all the therapy I can get. The Chicken Sausage has gone and done it again!

Dear Milly,

I think you are a really excellent dog and a super nice pet but COME ON ..... enough already.

I forgave you for eating a hole in the wall......



And chewing up the corner of the couch and your new sheepskin ruggie.


But seriously - did you HAVE to go and do this to the new grass???


Oh listen here, don't give me that old story meh meh meh it was the cat a few doors down. That old cat can't even cock a leg to piddle (do cat's actually cock legs to piddle???) And I know we have a lot of bandicoots around here, but not a herd of 40kg grass killers!


You have guilt written ALL over your face. I so know it was you!

A word of warning Milly, Chicken Sausages DO NOT destroy homes!!!! I can always go back to the store and get the real chicken Sausages you know!



Do it again and the Monkey gets it. And I don't care if you have already eaten two of its legs and an arm off it - It still has an arm and a head I can damage.

Love your doting owner xxx


At the time this was published, sadly Monkey has been laid to rest......

 Linking up with 
the hilarious Jess from Diary of a SAHM for I Blog On Tuesdays,
 

Monday 30 January 2012

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Most of the time being a grown up is just awesome. I can eat cereal for dinner, or eat dessert before mains if I feel like it and I can invite friends over to play whenever I want to........

Sometimes being a grown up sucks! Being a grownup and in particular, being a parent, brings all kinds of responsibility and the days of living a selfish carefree and guilt free life seem to have vanished along with my perky boobs and dreams of white furniture.

What has caused me to be so melancholy today?? Well nothing terrible at all in comparison to what others are going through as we speak - not even in the slightest. More a hiccup that has thrown a spanner into the works.

This year Digital Parents are holding the 2012 Conference in Melbourne in March. I have had my ticket booked for months. I have been so excited at the prospect of meeting some of the gorgeous bloggers I have connected with (and hoping to meet some of the ones I have admired from a distance). I was chomping at the bit to learn, to get insights into how things really work in the blogging world, promote my blog and who am I kidding.... I was busting at the guts to get out there and just have a bloody good time.

Here's where the hiccup comes in. We have been waiting to see a specialist for my youngest son. You know one of THOSE specialists who have a waiting list a million years long. I FINALLY got a phone call late last week telling me we have an appointment to discuss the surgery he needs........ and our appointment (yup you guessed it) is on the same day as the conference.

I spent a whole night trying to work things out in my head, how can I make this work, who can I get to help out with the other kids so my hubby can take him to his appointment. I thought I had it all figured out ......... until the next morning when my little boy came in to me with silent tears running down his cheeks and heaving shoulders. His brothers in a moment of pure brilliance (please note my sarcasm here) had told him about his operation and how he was going to see the Dr soon. The result of their handy work??? One very scared little 4 year old and one very gutted mother totally overwhelmed with guilt.

I can rationalise this until the cows come home, but at the end of the day I need to be there with my little guy, to talk to the Dr, to hold his hand and help answer his questions and to make sure he is not too scared. Sure Daddy could be there and would do a brilliant job as always, but as is the case with most 4 year olds, he wants Mum too and I could never ever forgive myself if I wasn't there for him when he needed me.

This is all part of being a mum I guess, putting their needs first and sometimes not having things go the way we want. But you know what? Faced with the alternative, I really wouldn't have it any other way.

Digital Parent Conference 2012 Giveaway


So that leaves me with a spare pass to the Digital Parents Conference in March. I have spoken to the awesome Brenda from Digital Parents and she has agreed to let me pass it on to someone else to go in my place. Preferably someone who would really love to go and just couldn't quite make ends meet to afford it or could really use a helping hand to be there.

This giveaway is obviously aimed at my blogging readers. I thought long and hard how to do this and the only way I can think to select a winner would be at random, so I will be using Random Generator to select a winner.

There are no rules, just leave a comment below telling me why you want to go and how you will be forever indebted to me (totally kidding) and I will let the Random Number Generator thingy do it's thing.

Competition is open now and closes Sunday 5th Feb at 9pm.

The winner will receive one Full Conference Pass for Bloggers to DP Conference 2012 on the 30th March at The Sebel Albert Park Melbourne valued at $179.

The Winner will be announced on my blog 
and will have 48 hours to contact me to claim their prize.

Good Luck and have a bloody good time for me!

WINNER UPDATE 05/02/12

AND THE WINNER AS SELECTED BY RANDOM ORG IS....... 


__________________________________________________________

I know today was supposed to be about Wonderful Weekends, and if case you are wondering, I still had a fabulous weekend and would love to hear about yours.

So what did you get up to this weekend?

Every Monday the link opens and I would love you to share what you got up to on the weekend. Did you do something special or go somewhere? Perhaps you cooked up a storm or got all crafty and clever on me. Whatever it is share it with us and inspire us all. 
The link is open until next Sunday so you can take your time and link up any time this week.

Friday 27 January 2012

How NOT to make friends at a Shoe Shop.

Pin It I had to take the boys shopping for new school shoes the other day. Only 2 of my 3 are at school, so I only needed to buy 4 pairs of shoes (school shoes and sneakers each).

My heart goes out at this time of the year to big families. I thought shoes and uniforms for my lot was hard enough on the wallet - imagine having all those extra toes to cover.

I took the boys to the same shoe shop we have gone to for years. They know us there now and the kind shopkeeper once told me my middle son was "full of spirit" when he was bouncing off chairs. That was just a really nice way of saying he was being a pain in the ass, but I have been forever grateful to her for her patience and diplomacy.

The nice young shop guy was there to serve us today and he was all warm smiles and full of cheer. Until......my boys took their shoes off to be fitted.


Whoaaaaahhhhh imagine a tin of sardines left in the sun for a week and you are so not even close.
The poor young shop guy nearly fell over with the shock as the fumes hit him and the people on the bench next to us suddenly didn't need to buy shoes anymore.

I keep telling the boys they need to wear socks with their shoes to control the stench, but do you think they listen? Nope!!!

Mortified, I quickly pulled some socks out of my bag and hissed at them to put them on as quickly as possible. The nice but now completely stunned and dazed shop guy smiled me a smile that just oooooozed with gratitude and relief at the appearance of the socks and he went about his job of fitting them up.


Even Sammy seemed sedated from the smell of his own feet. It's kind of like a fart - if you think your own fart smells, then you know it's bad - same goes for feet.


I gratefully paid for the shoes and even bought the odour soles the nice young shop guy suggested. It was the least I could do after we caused a mass exodus from the store.

Today I am linking up with Maxabella for 52 weeks of Grateful, cause I am grateful for little feet to cover, and SOOOO Grateful to that nice Young Shop Guy!!

Thursday 26 January 2012

Sandwich ideas you can Freeze and a Giveaway!

Pin It So the time has come to pack the kids off to school. I am debating with myself at the moment if I am happy or sad about this.

On one hand I have so enjoyed the fighting, arguing, punch ups, whinging and precious moments and I just don't want them to end. On the other hand, I just love spending my spare time in the evenings reliving the horrors of schooling by doing my kids homework for them helping my kids do their homework, ironing uniforms and making lunches.

See the dilemma I am in???

Anyways I have no say in the matter as the law says they HAVE to go to school so I guess that takes away the pain of deciding for me.

So lunches, yeah I hear you groaning and don't worry I am groaning along with you. There have been a lot of posts lately showing gorgeous lunchboxes and the most amazing packed lunches for kids.

Seriously mind blowing stuff. Check this out




These are fabulous lunches but honestly who really has the time to prepare these everyday ??? 
Not me!

Nope this year this time poor mum is going to make all my sandwiches for the kids on a Sunday and freeze the bejeezers out of them. All I have to do the night before is chuck them into their lunchboxes in the fridge with some fresh fruit, frozen yoghurt and a snack like pretzels or popcorn and bingo, I just saved myself a whole lot of time that I can spend watching Real Housewives of Beverly Hills doing something worthwhile and totally useful.

Bread and wraps freeze really well, as long as they are sealed or wrapped airtight so they do not get freezer burn. Not all fillings freeze well, but here are some that we have tried and tested.

  • Turkey, Cranberry sauce and Cream Cheese or Tofutti
  • Ham and Grated Cheese
  • Tuna or Salmon
  • BBQ chicken
  • Chicken or cold meats, grated cheese and grated carrot
  • Vegemite or Cheesymite
  • Banana and Cinnamon 
  • Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese or Tofutti

We also freeze sweet or savoury muffins, pikelets and lamingtons and fruit for snacks.

My guys give their school bags a helluva beating throughout the day which is proof you need a good solid lunch box to store your kids food in, as there is nothing worse than opening their bags in the afternoon to find a hot squished sandwich, burst yoghurt and brown soggy banana mashed all over everything.

My oldest son will be using this "Awesome" (his words) lunch box from Smash this year which has a built in drink bottle. He tells me that this lunch box is cool enough and big enough to hold all the food he NEEDS to get him through a day at school.



And to prevent the soggy Banana - check out this ingenious contraption (no rude comments please you dirty minded people), The Banana Mover from Nude Food movers. It adjusts to a banana of any shape and size.


All the Smash and Nude Food products are BPA free and super tough for kids. You can get them at Big W, Coles, Woolworths and Officeworks and they so won't break the bank! Did I mention you can wash them too!

*Bahhhhhh Bahhhhhh Bahhhhhh * That is my pathetic attempt at a Giveaway Siren going off!

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!!!!!
One of you lucky readers can win a Mini Rubbish Free Lunchbox from Nude Food Movers.


All you need to do is give me your favourite Sandwich / School Lunch ideas that I totally intend to steal for my own kids. My kids will pick the winner based on merit, which really means they will pick whatever lunch suggestion they like best.

Entries are open from now 26th Jan 2012 and close 8pm 2nd Feb 2012.
Sorry only Aussie residents can enter.
The Winner will be annouced on my blog!

So come on, tell me what do you give your kids for lunch at school?

Disclaimer:  I didn't get paid for this post, but I did get sent a Smash lunch box and Banana holder to try out which is great because my oldest son's lunch box had a sandwich left in it over the holidays and is totally trashed!!

Update 09/02/12 WINNER WINNER
Comment by Joanne
Having both high school and primary school children the lunches can vary quite a bit from week to week in my household, but last years favourite would have to be sushi rolls (hand rolls).

the kids got up early so they could roll their own but the best thing about them is they can be made the day before and stored in the fridge. Fillings ranged from rice, tuna and cucumber, or honey soy chicken, to rice, lettuce, cheese and tomato... basically anything can go in them which you may choose to put in a sandwich.

Learning to roll them and not have the fillings fall out was a bit of an adventure, but the kids soon got the hang of it and were proud to be eating a lunch which they mostly prepared themselves.

another novel snack my eldest daughter likes is a potato boiled in its jacket which she peeled and ate at school... this also was an easy one because it could be cooked up the day before and put in her lunchbox in the fridge for the next morning...

l'm enjoying reading everyone elses posts here and am looking forward to more helpful tips :)

kind regards
joanne

ps... l personally like the sound of muffins with the hidden vegies.. YUM! :D
Joanne was picked by my boys because she mentioned one of their favourite words - SUSHI!!
Congrats Joanne - please contact me to claim your prize.

Wednesday 25 January 2012

You want WHAT for your Birthday Dinner ?????

Pin It Last week my little man Sam turned 7. Every year as my kids turn a year older I get a sense of satisfaction that we have made it through another year without breaking them. Reason alone to celebrate in my books.

On the eve of Sam's birthday as he slept, we snuck in to his room and filled it with helium balloons in his favourite colours.




You can just imagine the squeals of delight when he woke to a room full of balloons.



Time for some pressies :)


And a Birthday hug from his little bro.


A fish from Nan and Pop which he aptly named Gilly.


In our house the Birthday person gets to choose whatever they want for their birthday dinner. Trust Sammy to choose Lobster - me and my bright ideas!!!


Today I am playing at these fabulous sites.
Click on over and check out all the gorgeous photos.

Tuesday 24 January 2012

Wanna see my NEAT Pantry? Of course you do!!!!

Pin It You know that feeling you get when you clean something out so damn well that you cannot help but keep going back and having a look?

That was me yesterday afternoon. I cleaned out my kitchen cupboards and went CRAZZZZZZY with the labeller. I was a ruthless machine chucking anything that was at least a year out of date. I kept going back again again last night to have a look because it just made my organised little heart soar.

Wanna have a look? Cause I have looked so many times myself and one can only pat themselves on the back so many times before you get whiplash. So your turn....come on bring on the praise.

And yes, judging by the last photo I did get a little carried away. At least I will never mix them up though!

Here's the before shot - yeah HUGE mess!! School holidays does that to a pantry.

Are you ready for the reveal??

School snacks hidden away at the top of the cupboard.

I will never get them confused again.


 Linking up with 
the gorgeous Jess from Diary of a SAHM for I Blog On Tuesdays,
 

Monday 23 January 2012

Wonderful Weekends - Guilt Free!

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This weekend I had so much stuff I planned to do - you know things I felt I should get done like organising, cleaning, back to school shopping etc etc. But the truth is I woke up on Saturday morning and said "Stuff it - it can wait!".

I have a bad habit of thinking I have to have everything done, all perfect - only THEN do I deserve to relax and play with the kids, attack that pile of magazines I have stacking up etc etc. The problem is, there is always something else I can do, another mess to clean up, another job that needs doing and before I know it, the day has gone, the kids are in bed and I missed the opportunity.

Like so many of us - I work full time. Granted I am lucky I work from home and I can chuck a load of washing on here and there, but typically between the hours of 8.30am to 6pm Monday to Thursday, my work owns me. More often than not - I find myself working nights (the downside of working from home) just trying to stay on top of my work load or get ahead on work projects.

When I finish my work for the day, homework, dinner, bath, bed and then tomorrows prep all awaits me and once again before I know it - the day is done and dusted and the only hours left for me to do the things I want to do are between the hours of 9 and midnight. Sleep you ask? Yeah I ask that too!

I am sure I am not alone in this predicament - so why do we do it to ourselves? Guilt? Perfectionism? Sucker for punishment? I am actually very lucky as my hubby works school hours, so he takes care of all the after school activities, gets dinner going and generally just chips in with what ever needs doing. How on earth do Working Mums who have a hubby that works long hours or hates housework cope???

Before Christmas my beautiful bloggy friend Peggy from Cake Crumbs and Beach Sand launched her ebook The Self Love Guide for the Working Mum. When Peggy first told me about this I was so excited for her and really looking forward to getting my hands on her book as this working mum was in desperate need of some self loving.

On the day it was released I printed off my copy and sat it on my desk ready to read. The problem was, I never actually got around to sitting down and reading it. Even though I have been on holidays for 5 weeks now, I still found something else I felt I SHOULD be doing and didn't take the time for myself to read her book.

Last week I said enough is enough, and when the kids were in the pool, I plonked myself down on the sun lounge, opened the pages and there I stayed glued to every page until I had devoured it in all its glory.

The kids calling out "What are you nodding at mum?" "What are you laughing at?" It was just me agreeing with what I was reading, shaking my head at all the things I am guilty off and laughing at the irony that I had taken so long to read something that was all about being kinder to myself and giving myself more time to do the things I want to do.

So this weekend, I said "bugger off "to the jobs and just did what ever I damn well felt like at that very minute.  I laughed with the kids, I lay by the pool, we made cakes, I read some blogs and magazines and I enjoyed every delicious guilt free minute.


New Year - New Me. This gal is getting organised so I have more time to enjoy my most important and my favourite job - Mum and Wife! I will share some of the ideas and tips I come across in my journey if you are interested.

If you are a working mum, do yourself a favour and head over to Peggy's site and get a copy of her ebook The Self Love Guide for the Working Mum.

So what did you get up to this weekend?


Every Monday the link opens and I would love you to share what you got up to on the weekend. Did you do something special or go somewhere? 
Perhaps you cooked up a storm or got all crafty and clever on me. 
Whatever it is share it with us and inspire us all. 
The link is open until next Friday so you can take your time and link up any time this week.