blessed.

Posted on December 25, 2009

My two beautiful children are in bed after a whirlwind few days of everything that is the whirlwind few days before Christmas. The photo is from our trip on the train into town last night. We had Christmas with Steve’s side of the family before church tonight. We arranged snacks for Santa and the reindeers, Toby (the labradoodle) proofed the reindeers’ food and re-assured Cassidy that playing Christmas music while we slept would not necessarily help Santa find us. I’m about to go upstairs and arrange presents in the appropriate stockings and places.

I am happy and blessed. But especially blessed.

A happy and blessed Christmas to you and your beautiful ones xox

“Joy to the world…the Lord has come”.

bubble and squeak.

Posted on December 15, 2009

Words can’t describe how many times a day this child throws me. Although she’s been around in full force for five years now, you’re never quite ready for her. That’s how she likes it. She strikes when you’re at your most vulnerable. Sort of like a cobra. Or some other sneaky predator. Aneeway…

The things she says and the looks she gives could fill a book (or a blog in this case) and I can never remember every one but this one I think will always stand out. A defining moment where she very nearly beat mummy at her own game. If Cassidy kept a diary, this day’s entry would be something like, “Took on mummy. Made significant progress. Shock value significant due to perfectly executed element of suprise. Only minor tweaks need to be made for subsequent encounters”.

It went like this.

Cassidy: Mummy, would you like a mint? (We have a gumball dispenser in the studio filled with Kool Mints).

Me: No thanks Cass, I’m fine. Thank you for offering.

Just enough time later for the following to make impact…

Me: Cassidy, would you get mummy a mint please?

Cassidy: (already thinking ‘I’ve got her now’) But I asked you before and you said you didn’t want one.

Me: Well I didn’t want one before but now I do.

Cassidy: (the mask of eye-lash fluttering sweetness concealing her true intentions for world domination) Oh….so that’s like when you ask me to do a wee before we go to the shops and I say I don’t need to do a wee but then we get to the shops and I do need to do one then and you are cranky. Is it like that mummy?

Me: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

I think I mumbled something then about “no it’s not like that because I’m the mummy” or words to that effect but they faded into insignificance as she skipped off to the playroom, no doubt to congratulate herself on a job well done.

Steve said the other day it will have to be an arranged marriage so the poor bloke doesn’t get to meet her first.

a new toy for mummy.

Posted on December 12, 2009

Can you guess what it was?

Steve and I have been in desperate need of a good happy snap camera for a while now. After recent days out at waterparks we decided a waterproof one would be just the ticket. Rather un-romantically, we bought one, said “Merry Christmas babe” and have started using it already. Works for us!

Such a weird feeling…holding a camera in your hands and going under the water! Took me a good five minutes of inward self-help talk to make myself do it (“It’s an underwater camera you fool!! Go under, damn it! What’s wrong with you!!!”). It was so much fun..and the kids thought it was hilarious. Mr. I-Don’t-Do-Photos even got into it and was whipping out all sorts of poses, as well as taking some of me.

I had no idea what I was doing and managed to take all the photos on some dodgy low res setting. However, I’m proud to say I’m slightly up on the woman the man in the camera shop told me about who opened the camera to remove the memory card – whilst still submerged in the pool. Then came back to complain the camera didn’t work. Hmmm.

wake. kids. work. shop. sleep. repeat.

Posted on December 12, 2009

That’s pretty much how we’ve rolled for the past couple of weeks. I know every family is the same – the fun but endless array of school and kindy concerts, end of year parties and get to-gethers. All lovely once you’re there but all requiring some level of organisation and a plate that preferrably didn’t come from Woolies. Add five or six photobooths per weekend and I have been found frequently rocking in my corner.

Because I’m un-hinged, I get inspired to make things at this time of year. I can’t help it. I get an idea in my head or get inspired from some of the arty/crafty/cooky blogs I read and I can’t relax until I’ve given it a whirl. I just love having the excuse to do something completely removed from everything else and I feel calm when I’m working on something. It’s my happy place.

Earlier this year I was inspired from Bakerella’s amazing blog to make these cookie jars as gifts. They were so easy and I love how they turned out. I had the kids help me with no disasters! Due to Mars not selling red and green themed M&M bags this year, you have to get the kids to sort through normal bags and pick out the red and green ones for you. Funnily enough when they’re done, there’s not a lot of the other colours left over either…

Teachers’ presents: check!



Doing the kids’ Christmas cards for school and kindy. Always a bit of an epic.

Conversation with Cassidy goes like this.

“Mum how do you spell ‘Zoe’

“Z…”

“What’s Z?”

(I pause what I’m doing to draw the letter ‘Z’ in the air).

“Pardon?”

I draw it again in the air to demonstrate.

“Okay, now what?”

Each letter exchange takes approximately 15 seconds. Multiply this by 28 kindy friends with an average of six letters in each name and you get my drift. I get excited if there’s a C, A, S, I, D or Y in a kid’s name because I know it will be over quicker.



I’ve also been looking forward to end of year things so I could practise my iced cookies. Through all this, Steve said I was on drugs. I choose to ignore his heinous comments and strike them from the record.

I’ve been stocking up on Christmas cutters whenever I see them…it’s an untreatable obsession. If you want a cookie cutter that makes a complete replica of Santa’s workshop with working parts, it’s probably in my drawer somewhere. I find the worst obsessions are the ones that only cost you a few dollars each – they’re the most dangerous. I found some the other day that make cookies that stand up. As in 3D. Help me now.

For Isaac’s friends we made Reindeer treats. I think I saw this idea somewhere about three years ago and finally found a carrot cutter one day in my travels. I was excited. So was Isaac. He said his friends came and asked was it okay for them to eat them or were they just for the reindeers. Bless



For Cassa-dass we made Christmas trees on sticks. Cassidy did all the sprinkles and just about had kittens with excitement when she handed them out to her friends. I had plans for some fancier icing attempts but Cassidy doesn’t like the fondant icing. Last time I went all out and made her cakes with fondant icing she sighed and told me she guessed they would have to do. Tough crowd. (In actual fact, I don’t like fondant either. It’s just it looks so prrreeeetttyyyy…..).

Here she is with her trees before kindy looking suspiciously like nobody owns her, or at the very least, doesn’t own a hairbrush.



Isaac is very sweet when he gets presents and often gets quite overwhelmed with it all. He always reads the cards and takes his time.

Cassidy is Chief Organiser and Gestapo Of All Things Christmas. I have to bring things into the house under the cover of darkness so I don’t get the spanish inquistion. If we had a fireplace, she’d be at the bottom of it tapping her watch at Santa saying “try to keep better time next year, there’s a good chap”.