Worth the effort

It's almost 10pm on a work night, but tomorrow's an important day. There's an end of term party at kinder for our teacher who is on LSL next term, but it coincides with Red Nose Day. All the mum's are taking a plate of food for the party and I thought red nose cupcakes the perfect choice. To anyone out there touched by SIDS, my thoughts and heart goes out to you.

About me

What was I doing 10 years ago? I was living in Melbourne in a one bed flat in Clifton Hill with my fiance at that time. We were planning our wedding for November 7th as well as our move overseas 10 days later. We were distracted and very excited.

What are/were 5 things on my list for today? 1. Take some work clothes to the drycleaners (which I failed to do). I'm terrible at taking in drycleaning, returning dvd's and posting letters. 2. Plant some new grasses to replace a couple that had died and a plant that was previously stolen. (TICK). 3. Out of bread, bake two loaves. (TICK). 4. Washing - is there ever an end to it? Washed and dried 3 loads - it was winding in Melbourne today. 5. Start work on a PIF exchange that I have been meaning to get to. Trying something new for me, I hope it turns out well - if it does, I'll share the results.

What are 5 snacks I enjoy? 1. Raw carrots dipped in a jar of Best Foods mayo. 2. Freshly baked bread with butter 3. Salted pistachios 4. Popcorn with a little salt 5. Pickled cocktail onions.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire? 1. Travel 2. Travel 3. Be with my girls and geoff every single day 4. Build a green house with wide eaves, grey water systems, huge water tanks, solar panels everywhere, recycled materials. 5. My own business - the small perfect welcoming cafe I've always dreamed of.

Places I have lived? 1. Lancashire, England 2. Maryborough, Queensland. 3. Melbourne, Victoria 4. Alberta, Canada (Kananaskis & Drumheller) 5. London, England

Jobs I have had? 1. McDonalds cashier 2. "Girl Friday" for a Real Estate Agent 3. Admin Assistant at a PR firm 4. PA 5. Analyst at an Investment Bank

3 habits? 1. Picking the skin around my nails - gross habit. 2. Two coffees before 10. 3. Filling the kitchen bin too full before emptying it.

What's the latest news/goals for your business or efforts nearest and dearest to you? try harder to be a good and patient mother. I'm trying harder to listen more and react less and it is working. Balance, balance, balance. I'm slowing getting there. For my little 13mimosa business - I'd like to be more regular in what I manage to produce, but I'm enjoying it, so it will come when it comes.

I'd love to hear from Pina, Lindsay and Anna - if they have time to play?

Too much but so thrilled

Around May last year I entered the blogging world and one of the first forays was to enter a PIF exchange with Marianne of Applehead. Marianne has just extended her family with another beautiful baby girl, so that she should choose to send something to me at this point in time made it all the more special. It's quite amazing, the generosity towards a complete stranger, I feel quite embarassed and humbled I guess, that she should spend her precious time on me and my family. The girls (well Ella and me really - Leila was a little non plussed as they tend to be at her age) in this family were thrilled. Ella said "Oh mummy that's so kind of her we really must send her something to thank her." It was terribly kind and we are terribly thankful and we will send something to thank her - I'll set myself a realistic target though of before year's end! I also have a frame to hand that I think they will fit, so I will put it in and share more when it's on the wall.

Like, like

Both Ella and I like drawing on little business cards.

No delivery required

So easy to make wonderful pizzas at home, really not tricky at all.

I guess we're a thoroughly modern family in that we don't often get to eat together as a family. When I was growing up every night we were all together, mum, dad, me and my brothers (if they were home) and I honestly can't recall a time when Dad wasn't there. We would eat early too and always be finished in time for Dr Who on the ABC.

Geoff, like most fathers we know, works long hours and isn't home before 7pm each night. By the time he gets in the girls are fed, bathed and in their pjs ready for bed. He gets a few moments with them, story time and then that's all the time they get to share. On the weekends we try and have a family dinner at least one night and sometimes it can be fraught. I think I try to make things too perfect at times, the girls don't care what we eat, just that we're together, but tonight was just perfect. It was Ella's suggestion to make pizzas, which we all did together, and it was as I said perfect. We were laughing the whole time. We're probably very poor parents as after one of us burped accidentally it set off a chain of faux burbs by everyone (including Leila) which had us in stitches.

I say, whenever there's a jackpot, that I wish we could win the lotto. I don't want for material stuff, but I do want for being together. If we won the lotto, we'd be able to have dinner together every night.

An overview

of our weekend thus far.

You can never have too much fuss

made of you on your birthday, at least that's how I feel.

Tomorrow someone very special in our life is celebrating his birthday. We have got an adult present too, but this is what Ella wanted to make for him. The picture is of nan and pa dancing together while the band plays on the piano, guitar and tamborine in the background.

The spoils of birthday cake making, is the kitchen ever as quiet as it is when little ones are licking the beaters?

Quick brag ....

I sold FIVE (5) dolls today!!! I can't believe it I'm so thrilled. Now though, the pressures on, I have to restock so you know what I'll be doing tonight - stuffing.

Muffins and Rye

Years ago I saw something about food stylists and how they prepare food for photo shoots. They had amazing tricks with dry ice for making roast chickens look as if they'd just been pulled from the oven. There were also weird and wonderful things, which of course now I can't remember any of. Must look it up, think that would be quite a cool job.

Bushland so close

There are a couple of blogs I read that are from people based in New England, US and on Vancouver Island and in Vancouver. Now these are parts of the world I have been lucky enough to visit and which count amongst my favourites, so perhaps my judgement is coloured. It does, however, seem as if they have so many natural riches at their fingertips. Farming land so close, gorgeous woods and streams to explore, seeming wilderness around every turn. I do forget that we too have riches so close to us.

In trying to shake the funk that has descended on our house we got our picnic together and head to Westerfolds Park for a couple of what turned out to be, glorious hours. My shots are poor, I admit, my girls are firstly too fast for me to capture and I have a very sad very compact camera which has few tricks and a poor operator.

You'll also notice from the photos, we didn't have to share with many others - ours was the only one in that carpark.

Ella has been feeling the loss of companionship with friends since our confinement and today we met two separate groups of lovely boys her age which she played with so happily for the hours we were there. Is it just my daughter who always asks her new "friends" over for a sleepover?

Perfect afternoon, so worth dragging ourselves out, you rarely feel worse after a good dose of fresh air and sunshine.

Sick of Sickness

I know it's not just our house but oh lordy, when will the bugs leave! Life is so dull right now - we're cancelling all our activities left right and centre. I think out of a term of 12 lessons so far we've made 3 swimming classes and they're not free you know. We've had to cancel play dates, we've had the tears that result from that. We've spent copious amounts of money on aloe vera tissues and we're all fed up with the same four walls. For the last week now Ella's had an ear infection and Leila conjunctivitis. I've been sick, Geoff's still sick and now my parents are down with it again.

Today I think we'll just have to brave the cooler weather with scarves, hats, more of those tissues I mentioned at hand and just refresh our perspective.

I have managed some craftiness however and have dolls to go into the shop today or tomorrow. I've had to put my prices up. However much I love making these dolls, they're a steal for the amount of work and materials that go into them. Although I wouldn't want anyone to feel sorry for me, it's not about that, I just have to have their value reflected a little more in the price and even now I feel $57.50 for what they are is cheap. I also compare to other like type items and it confirms that I they should be priced much higher. For now though, I'll just allow this rise to cover the lack of gain on currency exchanges now (good time for a US trip) and the increases in just about everything else. Aren't they cute though, I think they just keep getting better.

It wasn't her!

Oh Leila, how could we suspect you so? All the time we thought you had given my lovely watch to the rubbish bin and all the time it was simply mummy's forgetfulness. Finally tidying my extremely disorganised wardrobe, it tumbled to the floor from amongst my shoved in jumpers and tees. My lovely second coming watch is now safely back upon my wrist.

PS I know this photo is a little odd looking this way round, but Blogger just refuses to accept the rotated imagine, hence I look like I took if from a peculiar angle.

They're like Christmas, they're coming

Long Weekend/3 Day Weekend/ Bank Holiday

Happy Birthday Elizabeth - thanks to you we have an extra long weekend so started it with a visit to our wonderful market named after one of your ancestors.

Loving, loving, loving

this album. Finding a new band you love, few things better. Especially love tracks 2 and 3.

Mother's lost her oomph

It took her 10 hours to get to this point and she wasn't moving very much at all. I think the problem may be her initial mix - I used a more commercial brand of yoghurt rather than the biodynamic very alive one I previously did. Tomorrow I'll give her a feed with the good stuff, rest her up for a few days and then see how she is.

I was ALMOST without speech

While I was bathing the girls last night the phone rang, I didn't hear it above the tears that were a child's minor accident. Geoff came and told me that a particular woman who I had met last year through a shared activity had called. I hadn't had contact with her for about 8 months or so and couldn't imagine what she could be calling about. I stress that it was a very casual, hello how are you, acquaintance. She had told Geoff she'd call back at 7:30.

I answered the phone next time around and it was this same lady. She briefly asked how I was and then started what I found a most unusual conversation, it went something like this.

"Your husband's caled Geoff isn't he?"
"Yes"
"Could I talk to him?"
"I'm sorry, do you know my husband?"
"No, but I'd like to talk to him. Is that okay?"
"Well actually no, he doesn't know you so I can't imagine what you'd want to talk to him about but you can talk to me."

Can you imagine what it was that she said next?

Firehouse

This is a post about what a lovely breakfast we had out with my parents this morning, although from the photographs you may think they were taken inside a friend's home. The Firehouse is in an old firehouse, the body of the restaurant housed in the area where the engines lived, but with a myriad of other little rooms furnished with leather couches, lovely artwork and nooks just begging for glasses of yummy red. Breakfast was delicious, relaxed, great service - so nice to finally find somewhere in our area that's worth going out to. We have great casual restaurants around us, the next suburb over is an Asian area full of amazing super affordable restaurants, but cafes are in short supply. Those of you who know me know that the dream is for me to have a cafe of my own, and here close to home it's just crying out for one. Time's not quite right for me yet, but hopefully once both girls are at school it may well be.

I loved the linocuts on the walls from an artist called Kate Hudson. Sadly the ones on display were out of my price bracket at $695 each, but I will certainly keep my eyes open for more of her work. I did a search on her but couldn't find her own website, just a couple of listings on gallery sites, so may have to go back for coffee and cake in order to find out more!