School holiday fun

This is the first time we'll be spending more than a week at home in over six months. No school, no work, absolutely nothing to do... hooray!

I have all sorts of things to mend, sort and tidy but we'll also make time for some holiday fun :) Filling two weeks seemed a bit daunting until I asked the kids what to do with sixteen days at home. Here is the list we made:

* newspaper craft - pirate hats and boats (Dunno where she saw this, but I love it cos it's cheap!)
* jewelry making (the plastic bead and elastic type)
* pet rocks
* face painting
* grocery shopping (*Mr Z* came up with this one! Again, cheap and cheerful, who knew they were so easily pleased?)
* sewing a dress (am thinking a pillowcase dress will be simple enough to make together)
* find a new playground to play in
* Sleepover at Nana and Papa's (hooray! We can have some kid-free time)
* treasure hunt in the backyard
* golf (Daddy can take them to the driving range and I might have a nap!)
* open a cafe on our balcony
* get haircuts (it seems I won't even need to bribe them)
* build a city with lego and wooden train tracks
* have a fire in our backyard (if it ever stops raining)
* movie night in our PJs
* Masterchef -ing (more about that later)

Can't wait to start ticking things off the list!

Hmmm... Mack? or Mater?

Yesterday my small boy turned two. I, being the sentimental mother, cried twice because I no longer have a baby in my house.

It hurts when they turn two. No more shopping in the baby section, no more specially prepared dinners since they seem to be able to hang out until family dinner time. More rules, more nos, less cuddles, more "I do it!" moments. They don't need you so much at two. And really, isn't being needed one of the nicest things about motherhood? Being actually useful, indespensible, the only one who can do your job. You're kind of replaceable in all your other roles in life.

Remember here I said I feel obligated to provide 'repeat experiences' so that all of my kids got the same opportunities in childhood? I will get around to writing about the other silly things I've done one of these days. Well, the home-made and decorated birthday cake is one of those burdens obligations I have handed myself. I try to make them a cake that represents their interests at that moment in time. With Mr Z about to turn 7, I'm wondering when it will all end - age 10? Whoa, that's 30 cakes I have to devise and create. Easier said than done.

Anyway. I set the bar kind of high with my other kids' cakes, so I knew this one had to be special. My little M doesn't really have favourite activities (except stealing my iPhone), he doesn't have a favourite teddy to cuddle, he doesn't have any real obsessions (except yoghurt, and throwing things down the stairs). But he does seem to gravitate toward a certain 'hand-me-down' Mack Truck which transforms into a race track. So I decided to go with that.

I made it the night before after three glasses of wine (we'd been at another party), am concerned it's a little more red Mater than Mack Truck, but the kids seemed to like it. I misjudged the hat size when I cut the cake blocks, I hadn't realised how central Mack's Trucker cap was to the character before I started. Although, that was probably due to the wine, it seems so obvious now!!!

Anyone wanting some tips from a *very* amateur cake maker? I always think it's best to learn from other people's mistakes, don't you?!

• I laid THREE layers of rolled out white icing over the cake.  
• I learned (this time around) that rolling the icing on a piece of glad wrap and smoothing over the cake with the glad wrap still on top is the best way to make the outline smooth (again, maybe obvious to most, but I'm no cake-maker!).  
• I tried dying the white icing with pillar-box red food colouring, but couldn't get past pink. I ended up covering with white icing and painting the whole thing with a watercolour brush and a bowl of the red food colouring. That was one coat of red (because it was midnight and I was exhausted). I think two or three layers would give the best result.
• The grey pipes at the back are drinking straws I covered in grey dyed icing and then poked into the cake.
• This time I baked mud cake as sponge cake would have just collapsed under the weight of the icing (again, things I learned the hard way)

First steps... treasured forever

When it comes to my kids, I'm a pretty sentimental person. I take way more photos than I should, I keep a journal of all the funny little things they do that make me laugh - and sometimes I keep bits and pieces of their history that make absolutely no sense.

I know lots of people who have kept their babies' first shoes as a keepsake. My daughter had a pair of those gorgeous snowy white shoes as a baby, but I didn't have any real connection to them so I gave them away.

The shoes I have a real connection to, the ones I couldn't bear to give/throw away, are the ones they wore aged one - the shoes they learned to walk in.

Everytime I look at those scuffed little remnants of their babyhood, I see first steps followed by smiles, congratulations and clapping. I remember all the trips and falls followed by snuggles in my arms as I kissed their tears away. I see those funny little baby dances they used to do - stamping their little feet proudly in time to the music or just at random, sometimes with frustration but mostly with happiness. I remember them running toward me (or away from me) filled with smiles and giggles. Those shoes are sometimes 'just' clutter in my wardrobe, but usually among my most favourite artefacts of motherhood. I knew I could never let them go.

So... today, I framed them.

Note: She dressed herself today - she was so proud to have found clothes that apparently match!

I framed all those precious memories, encase forever in tired, worn, scuffed shoes.

I sewed cardboard to their soles so I wouldn't have to hot glue the shoes directly to the frame.

I know it's unlikely I'll need to, but I wanted to make sure I could rescue those little shoes

intact, if the need arises.

When I started the project, I realised that I'd bought a framed print rather than an empty frame, so it was lucky I'm handy - I took that frame apart with a screwdriver and then put it back together with hammer and nails. My oldest son was amazed at how quick I am with a hammer - something I learned from growing up with a carpenter for a father!

Look at how much those little feet have grown in only a few years. The third pair of little feet were busy running out of the frame! They say your kids grow up in the blink of an eye, and they're not wrong, I can't believe seven years have passed since I set up that little cot in the spare room.

3M to the rescue, I didn't even have to annoy my husband with asking for a nail in the wall - a complete DIY project that I'm glad to be finished.

Now I have a little keepsake on my wall, to look at every time I put on my shoes at my back door. And I don't have to feel guilty for hoarding such silly things as dirty old shoes ;)

NKOTBSB

Soooo excited - am currently on my way to a concert with my hubby. The backseat seems a bit too quiet without the kids but we're looking forward to some grown up time... This seems a bit of a silly thing to say when we've been talking about our teen years in between singing loudly to hits like "Tonight" and "Cover Girl".

My friends tease me about my need to make my own merchandising before a concert, but here is my effort for this concert:


Looking forward to buying a t-shirt :)

Grateful for...

Today I'm grateful for:

1. Friday! Lots of after work meetings have me feeling a bit disconnected from my little family. So happy to have two whole days to spend with them.

2. Fine weather - looking forward to some time outdoors

3. Children who share my interests. How lovely to watch my daughter paint on the balcony :)

4. A warm bed and cool nights. We get such infrequent 'snuggle' weather here, I'm loving my doona and ugg boots this week :)

Scrumdidliumptious!

This chocolate is seriously addictive! A little bit more expensive but oh, so worth every cent!!!

The "Cadbury Marvellous Creations" wrapper reminded me of the Wonka packaging and despite my aversion to lumpy bits, I decided to give it a go. My favourite so far is the "Jelly Popping Candy Beanies" (as evidenced by the empty package).



Not good for the diet!

Super Moon

We went on an adventure tonight - we went chasing the moon in our car, looking for a great spot to watch it rise.

Tonight, 6th May, 2012 it was the closest it has been in around 18 years.

Jase and I spent some of our first dates here at this bench, eating chips.

Who'd have thought, nearly fifteen years later, we'd be here with our three kids?!

I looked at my precious babies and the thought they would be grown adults next time this happens almost took my breath away. Sometimes I wish time would stand still for a bit. I need to live in the now a bit more often, soak in every moment - really live each day.

It was a beautiful sight! I'm glad we made the effort to go somewhere special.