Because grocery shopping can be fun

No really, it can be.

By yourself. No kids. And just buying stuff you want without having to take into consideration school lunches, afternoon snacks, footy training snacks etc etc etc...

I got to buy the fruits and veggies I wanted. And it cost me a lot less because I didn't have to buy so much.

And it was relatively peaceful apart from the hundred-odd other people in the store ;)

I love my own bed

Road trips can be fun. Travelling and seeing new things can be fun too.

But nothing beats your own bed.

On the way home

We stayed overnight in Inverell and today we are on our way towards home. Which really means that we'll spend the night with my parents tonight and then the husband and I will head home tomorrow - without the kids.

It's farm holiday time for our munchkins and they have been hanging out for it for the last few months.

Small dude is looking forward to spending time with my parent's dog. They are great mates and keep each other busy ;)

Back in the water

We didn't cart that boat trailer all the way down south for nothing.

We drove to Copeton Dam today for some jet ski and kayaking action.

Ended up with some 4WD bog recovery action as well - oops.

But I got to hit the water with my kayaks and had a brilliant time. I was very impressed with my little dude - he came out with me the first time and kayaked all by himself out to the little island in the middle, all around it and back again. Not one single complaint, and he paid attention to my cues and directions and had a great time.

I have a feeling my butt is going to ache for a few days though.

And I need gloves. I ripped a bit of skin on the inside of my thumb with the paddles.

Note to self. Need a new life jacket and some kayaking gloves.

Easter with friends

We spent lunch today with some old friends. Our kids get along really well with theirs and I think we stayed for 3-4 hours just hanging out. The kids played cricket, ran around, played Uno, Monopoly and whatever else, while us adults just sat on the patio and enjoyed each other's company.

Now that's something I could definitely do more of.

A really lovely day.

Windmills and sunshine

We are safely at the ILs farm and the sun is out. It's really dry - even the kids have commented on how dry it is. Some rain would be really nice.

But it's nice to be away from the city for a while.

I do still prefer my mountains but this will do - they have windmills and other cool things :)

10 hours in a car

Road trip time.

Roll me over, I'm done.

Completely exhausted and I wasn't driving. It's been a long day.

Proud and blessed

I love my kids. They may drive me up the wall and around the bend, but they really are good kids.

My boy had his swimming carnival today. He nominated for and swam 50m for all 4 strokes. He's not yet 9 years old.

Of course, he came first in each - we might mention that there wasn't much competition in the 50m races - but the main thing was he got in and had a go and had fun.

And one thing that made me all warm and fuzzy was during one race, one of his little mates walked beside me as I videoed it and cheered him on and went up and high-fived him at the end - now that's a good mate.

My kids are growing up.

I looked at the girl this morning and realised she's basically a teenager and becoming independent. She took it upon herself to make Easter gifts for all her teachers and delivered them herself before school. She looks so grown up in her high school uniform. And her report card for the term was basically glowing.

So, so proud.

And very, very blessed.

No idea what day it is...

I've spent all day thinking it was Thursday.

It's only Wednesday.

But tomorrow is Thursday. Last day of Term 1 and then Easter break.

I really, really need a break. And so do the kids.

Bring it on.

Something silly

I have two brothers, one older, one younger.

My younger brother is much loved by my two kids - he's the 'fun' uncle lol

I asked them what we should get Uncle J for Easter this year.

"Something silly!" they said.

Hopefully it's silly enough lol

Trying new foods

I'm pretty big on letting my kids try new foods and different cuisines.

Where we currently live, there is a huge Asian influence and the amount of gorgeous food choices is just amazing. Obviously we can't eat all of it thanks to stupid allergies & intolerances, but when we find something we can, we go for it.

The small dude requested recently to try kimchi (Korean fermented cabbage). I found a small tub today and he tried it this afternoon. He's not a fan, but I am.

I love finding new foods to add to the list of things we can eat.

Scales and tales and just wandering about

We took the kids to the Scales 'n Tales exhibition at the RNA today. We didn't realise it was going to be quite so busy - literally squeezing room only.

But the boy got to see the snake handler show, so that was fun. And we saw a few of the reptiles on display.

Lunch was at Roma St Parklands. I'd forgotten just how big they are and we had a really good walk around and saw more lizards lol

I think we'll go back to the parklands again another day to explore some more because the kids had a really nice time.

Aussie rules

Football that is.

The boy is into his fourth season, having started with AusKick and under 6's.

This year he's playing up an age group in under 10s.

Today was the start of the season for the senior players, so the kids played a demo match and then presented the adults with their jerseys.

Hot, sweaty, but very happy - I love watching the boy play.

I really am just making this up as I go along you know...

This adulting business is hard work.

I wouldn't mind someone just coming in and cooking me meals, doing the cleaning, washing and folding my clothes and looking after me. Sounds like a pretty good deal actually.

If you need me, I'll be off playing chauffeur and dreaming about going to bed.

But it's Friday, so there's a positive ;)

Ouch

One slightly sprained wrist - muchly ouch.

As my work revolves very much around being able to use my hands, this is exceedingly frustrating. Hopefully with a bit of rest and ice today it will be all better tomorrow, or at least on it's way.

Also, trying to type one-handed kind of sucks.

That moment when...

You ask your 12 year old daughter which bra you should wear with the shirt you're currently wearing (pfft, definitely a 'couldn't be stuffed' kinda day).

She goes through the pros and cons of each and then tells you which one to wear.

As a self-confessed fashion-unconscious (and, let's face it, un-caring) dork, I appreciate this evolution.

A lot.

Not the kind of surprise I was expecting...

I saw something poking out of the mailbox today on the drive to school. As the post usually comes in the afternoon I thought that was odd, but maybe it was junk mail in a plastic bag or something because it has been raining lately.

Our mailbox is not easy to put things in. It has a lock on it and is set back from the path a little.

So anyway, I checked it when I got home.

One neatly wrapped in plastic dog poo.

Niiiiice.

More than just a little disconcerting as there are plenty of other mailboxes that are much easier to dispose of things in.

Not sure if we've done anything to upset anyone or what. We keep to ourselves, the kids can be a little noisy, but, they are kids. And there's plenty of others around here, so we're not the only family.

Oh well, I guess I'll just keep a closer eye on things from now on.

Monday, Monday...

Or how I really, really hate ironing.

Specifically anything with pleats. Like my daughters new high school uniform, both of which didn't get hung up properly on the weekend after being washed and were full of creases.

That's another thing. Wash and wear, please. Pretty please?

World Science Festival

We took the kids into Southbank today to check out the World Science Festival that's been happening this week.

Apart from forgetting that the Home Show is also on this weekend (all the cars!!) and taking a couple of wrong exits (oops), we got their okay and without the kids killing each other (although they did try).

It was fun, the boy tried most things we came across - big bubbles, blowing smoke rings, checking out the electric and solar powered cars and drones (very cool by the way), and then the heaven's opened and despite having an umbrella, we got drenched.

We had lunch at our favourite Southbank place and, as it was still raining, just decided to come back home. The kids were pretty tired and the crowds were a little bit much for us. If the sun had come back out we may have stayed longer.

But now it's time to get ready for another week. The kids are squealing in the pool and the husband is cleaning out his workshop. My studio needs a clean too... one day, one day...

Domestic goddess?

Today I have baked cookies and even a flourless cake.

I have prepped the veggies for the week and made chicken larb salad for lunch.

I've managed one load of washing (which is yet to be hung out - oops, possibly not a complete domestic goddess lol), and helped the husband with his DIY building project.

The living area and kitchen is also tidy because I have people coming over tonight. I've cleaned the kitchen at least three times today *sigh*

I thought I'd take a moment to actually sit down and just noticed my legs are aching... I sat down to eat lunch I think, and that was it today.

Mongolian lamb for dinner, so I best go and make it.

And then it's cider, friends and crochet until they decide to go home.

That sounds like a pretty good plan.

Rise and shine

Everyone was up early with me this morning.

My girl is off to represent her school at the Greener Brisbane competition as part of the World Science Festival here in Brissie. She had to be at school at 7am... so she caught the train with Daddy ;)

So far the boy has practiced trumpet and I can hear piano sounds now coming from the music room...

Get him off to school and then grocery time. Yay! Food! :)

Schedule a little self-care

Sleep and self-care.

Well, the sleep thing is eluding me, but I scheduled in a little self-care this morning in the form of a nice coffee and catch up with a friend.

It could possibly be mentioned that I still didn't want to go home even after chatting for an hour...

But here I am, a load of washing in the machine, a bit of paper work done and a batch of pretty things ready to go in the oven.

I think it's time for lunch.

Noise and movement

The sounds of a beginner trumpet practice after a 3km walk/run/stair climb.

Yeah that's fun.

As is an English assignment that needed to be read through and grammar checked.

Followed by some weird thing in Scratch that made the exact same sound as my ringtone. That threw me off just a little - I'm so tired!

So glad it's bed time ;)

Dairy free ain't all that fun

If you know me, you know I'm lactose intolerant.

Think less the 'oh I read on a blog that milk is bad for you so I'm just gonna avoid it" and more "damn I want that cupcake with butter cream icing soooo bad... is it worth throwing up/crapping my pants/coming out in hives for".

I've been lactose intolerant before it was 'cool'. Does that make me a pre-emptive hipster... or just old?

My youngest is also lactose intolerant. He also has Coeliac Disease, but that's another story for another time.

But no, having to check labels or turn down desserts that look unbelievably good because you just can't afford to spend more time in the bathroom than necessary, is just plain no fun.

There's no "oh a little bit will be fine" or "pop a lactaid pill" here. No, it will not be fine, and did you know those pills don't work for everyone? They sort of did for a little while. And then they stopped. Spectacularly. That is something I do not want to relive ever.again.

And no, I am not "lucky" that I can't eat anything on a dessert menu. I want that double chocolate brownie with creamy ganache and a side helping of cream AND icecream dammit.

Don't get me started on the "oh I've given up dairy... it's soooo bad for you, no milk/icecream/yoghurt/butter here" while they are munching on a chocolate bar. That... I mean... seriously??

I can't even drink some WINE because I have to read the label on THAT too - I have an allergic reaction (think hives from top to toe) because some vineyards use milk as a refining agent (they can also sometimes use eggs and shellfish, but I'm ok with them). Thankfully labelling laws here make it a fairly painless task, but I can't just order a glass of wine at a restaurant.


If you don't have a medical reason, or an actual logical ethical reason (and NO a random blog post or highly over-hyped 'documentary' is not a good reason) why the hell remove a perfectly fine food group from your diet?


Signed the grumpy one who just wants to eat a Snickers without the fear of throwing up.

First one missed

My girl had her first inter-school swimming carnival for high school today, and it was the first time I didn't get to see her swim. The meet was from 2pm-7pm, and we just couldn't get there until about 6.30pm. Apparently we just missed her relay, and she did a good job.

I'm sad, but also glad that she has a good group of kids and a couple of parents who look out for her.

Aside from that, I have a killer headache, so it's off to bed early for everyone including me. The husband has been gluten-ed (we are a Coeliac household), so he's feeling pretty awful and the boy twisted his ankle at school today, so I'm not sure if he'll be running with me in the morning.

Thank goodness tomorrow is a brand new day.

Missed a day

But with good excuse.
We spent the weekend with family - fun, food and wine.

Exhausted but content.

Screaming banshee alert

There are days where nothing really ever goes to plan.

Today was one of those days. Where you try so hard to have everything right, you have a lot of work to do, you're not feeling the best, and it seems as though everything is working against you.

There's always tomorrow I suppose.

Back to it

Footy training starts again today. Despite that meaning a very busy afternoon and getting home just on dinner time very tired, I am looking forward to it.

We had a great time last year, the girl making new friends, the boy playing with new and old ones, and despite him breaking his hand part way through (never does things in halves that kid), Saturday mornings became a welcome part of our weekly routine.

Time to dust off the boots, dig out the socks (I think we will need new ones, and a new training shirt), and find the jackets for when it starts to get cooler.

I love AFL season :)

Early to bed

Early to rise.

I need to get to bed earlier. Which is why it's not yet 8.30pm and I'm heading off.

Run day tomorrow with the boy, he's all set and ready to go.

Which means I should get ready too...

Upgraded to Windows 10

I hate it when the computers get upgraded. Everything gets moved around.

Blogger is telling me this new browser is unsupported. Well then, support it already, it comes standard apparently. Or I guess I could use Firefox, I suppose.

Still working out if I like it or not.

Undecided.