So I've been slack

Well the title says it all - I have been slack - I had good intentions I promise!!

I need to dip my toe back into blogging world, and I am sure once I dip my toe, the rest of me will follow. After all, the water isn't so cold once you are in is it?

Turning 31

It was my birthday yesterday - 31! I was really expecting it to be a non-event, after all it was only 31 and I had already bought my own present.

I ended up having a really lovely day.

Somehow, the girls let me sleep in past 8am. I had an inkling of a surprise gift lurking somewhere the night before, and promptly asked Charlotte if she had a surprise for Mummy - she ran with excitement to her room to show me.

The pressie was a bit heavy for her to carry, but she proudly dug into the pink sparkly bag and produced my Birthday card that she had made, and read it to me. "Happy Birthday Mummy, from me and Daddy and Jassy".
Well this was enough to make my day and heart melt :)
(The pressie was a long awaited copy of Nigella Express! Daddy did well!)

Charlotte got dropped off at pre-school, and Jassy and I got ready for shopping with Grandma (well she slept, I showered in peace! lol).

Mum took me out for a lovely lunch, gave me a card which made me cry in the restaurant, and then we shopped and spent ALL my birthday money! I haven't actually spent birthday/christmas money on myself so well EVER! So I am all blissed out with new clothes - can't wait to show them off.

This was all topped off in the evening by worn out girls in bed, glass of pink champagne in hand and Thai take away in lap with Grey's on TV - really how could a birthday get any better?

(Oh that's right - you can set up your new Wii Fit and laugh as your husband declares how hard it is trying to imaginary hula hoop!)

Random Act of Kindness

This weeks Blog This Challenge is about Random acts of Kindness - If you could name one small gesture someone else has made that has made a big impact on your life, what would it be?

And the answer is this doll...



She is approaching 27 years old now!! And while her face could do with a little clean, she is perfectly in tact - tag still on, hair still plaited and all her bows still tied.

What makes a 4 year old respect a doll this much that she is still treasured 27 years later?

She represents a very important lesson in my life - honesty is the best policy.

My mother and I were shopping in Safeway one day - I remember it being a quiet time of day and I was wandering down the aisles slowly behind my mum.
I looked down on the floor and spotted something...



A nice crisp $50 note sitting there by its lonesome in the aisle. I snapped it up and ran to my mum "Mummy Mummy look what I found!!"
You could imagine the value of a 4 year old finding $50 in the early 80s...

Now this is where respect for my Mother comes in to this - she took me straight up to lost and found where we handed over the $50. We gave all my details, and I was told if it was unclaimed after 6 weeks it was all mine. I didn't even question handing over the money, I knew it was the right thing to do. But I remember mum telling me not to get my hopes up about getting the money back.

About a week later, we received a phone call - a lady who wanted to know the little girl who found her money - and was honest enough to hand it in. She wanted to thank me personally, and came round to our house - doll in hand.

She thanked me no end, and gave me this doll - and in turn taught me one of the most valuable lessons in life.
She didn't have to buy me anything, she didn't have to thank me - but she did - and I now have a story to teach my girls this lesson too.
The doll's tag reads "To A Special Friend" From Margaret, and has been looked after and treasured since that day.

So it wasn't a completely "random" act - but it was an act of kindness that I remember to this day... I wonder if she remembers the little 4 year old girl...

When I Grow Up

I have been a slack blogger of late - so was very excited to join Blogged, to give me a bit of motivation.

This week, it is all about what I wanted to be when I was little...

The first thing I ever wanted to be was a Nurse. My parents gave me a medical kit like this -
I still remember to this day - ALWAYS wanting to play Dr's and Nurses, and telling everyone I wanted to be a Nurse.
It is with great pride, that just the other week I gave Charlotte her own PINK medical kit - she is too lucky for words - but I love watching her making her babies better :)

Then one day, after years of wanting to be a Nurse, someone revealed something to me.... Doctors get paid more! So that was it, I was going to become a Doctor.
I went down this path - unfortunately not getting the marks out of high school, but started studying Science in anticipation of it leading to a career in a medical profession.

Life got in the way a bit - well of course it did when there were clubs to be partied at, shopping to be done and money to be earnt. Studying took a back seat and so did my Dr dream. Especially when I realised being a Dr was 12 years of study, and straight Science just wasn't doing it for me.

Somehow, I ended up a Call Centre Team Leader, then a Travel Agent - which I still technically am today, when not being a Domestic Engineer!

Ironically, I have been getting itchy career feet lately, and am at a stage when I feel I need to become "something" again... and guess what that something is...


Yes... A NURSE! Specifically a Midwife - so watch this space, I have been researching Uni Degrees, and am starting to get excited!!
I think it goes to say a lot for what you want to be when you grow up, sometimes we should listen to our 5 year old self...

Daddy Dressing Disaster

Why is it you never have the camera handy in one of those moments that just needs a photo?

Despite the lack of photographic evidence - I have to share Miss C's outfit she donned yesterday - carefully hand picked by her doting Daddy.

 He came to me asking approval - absolutely nothing wrong with the co-ordination - slight size problem - he managed to pick out a small size 1 t-shirt and a size 0 pair of capri pants - for our almost 3 year old! Poor Miss C  looked rather disheveled - t-shirt not meeting her waist, singlet hanging out a good 10cm, and shorts that were quite obviously once capris!

Now I admit, these clothes should have been space bagged at the beginning of summer - but I really wonder what caused Daddy to dig deep through piles of size 2 to find the two things she hasn't worn since last summer!

Love that the effort was put in though - he did better than me today - she has spent all day in her pj top.

I really must get around to sorting through the clothes that no longer fit and get out all those cozy winter ones too - oh and of course, must make sure the camera is handy to capture the next Daddy Dressing Disaster!

Simple Things in Life

Isn't it amazing how becoming a mum gives you a whole new appreciation for the simple things in life?

This week it was the simple act of showering - Miss C was at preschool, Miss J sound asleep and hubby at work. I didn't have to rush, I didn't have an audience and I could spend as long as I liked in there with no one complaining and without having my make up smeared over a toddler's face! 

It was made even more blissful by my new Vanilla Tree Grapefruit shampoo I have been dying to use for weeks, but tortured myself by having to use the last of my old one first (and of course it lasts forever when you want it gone!)... it was worth the wait, it smelt divine - and now so did I.

Years ago I never would have thought a 5 minute shower was enough to make you feel like a million $$ again - on second thoughts, I guess that depended on the size of the hangover I had. But now instead of wanting to top the shower off with McDonald's and a crawl back to bed, it makes me ready to tackle the day again - at least until I turn the water off!

Layout Lady Liss

Am absolutely loving my new blog look - thankyou so much to my layout lady Liss from Frills In The Hills.

She worked hard tweaking it last night to make it look so gorgeous! Blissful and pink it definitely is.