All Things Mum

My Dancing Girls It's that time of year when there are concerts and parties. This year was the first time I had the girls doing dancing so there was plenty happening and it was new territory for me. At least the costumes were already purchased and all I needed to do was hair and makeup and of course, the drop-offs. Yesterday was concert day and it was a busy day for us. I had to drop them off after church, but not until I got another hair donut as the sock one was not working at all. Then I came back to have lunch at the in-laws. Then after the break, I had to pick them up at 2:15pm and I was already running late. I missed a phone call from the parent helper, who was minding the children, at 2:27pm and I had just made it from the car park upstairs in the club. Apparently, I was the last parent to pick up their kid my girl tells me. Then it was a line up to order pizza and the essential "afternoon coffee" and whilst I was there I could see other mums putting on their...

Hello everyone. This week's been going pretty good. I think I need to remember to focus on the positive things instead of thinking about the negative stuff. I'm loving this painting and I have it on my mobile as my background wallpaper. It was originally painted by Roberto Ferruzzi and called "Madonnina" in 1897. It was somehow re-painted but I think it's really lovely. My friend has the same in a huge frame at her place. It reminds me that we are all like Mary and that our children will always need us. It is a unique relationship that cannot be replicated by a father figure and the opposite is the same. The mother cannot be the 'father'.  So I go about my day trying to behave just as caring and kind as I can to everyone. It's not easy and I was disappointed a few times this week.  A school who would normally provide my St Vincent de Paul Conference Christmas Hampers have decided to raise funds for another charity that they work with. I don'...

We celebrated a birthday in October and I made this lemon yoghurt bundt from Donna Hay. It was beautiful and came out really well the first time. I enjoyed it so much I made it again. However, the second time I kinda winged it with the ingredients I had at home. I didn't have enough lemons and the icing wasn't as thick as I used different measurements. Still it was lovely but although a bit dry after a few days in the fridge. Anyway, it's a great recipe if you stick to the measurements! I love how it doesn't use any butter, just flour, oil and eggs. During the holidays we all went to Kidtopia. Kids had fun. We thought were weren't going to be on time for the Pokemon hunt but they were just about to leave when we arrived. Kids had fun but I was disappointed that we didn't get to keep those Pokeballs *insert sad face* Food was expensive but we got free face painting from Essential Kids which was so awesome! The Qantas Assure arena was ok. Although to get...

Well, there's two weeks left of school. That's 16 days away, but who's counting? I've been getting e-mails about the Kidtopia Festival and I decided to bite the bullet and buy tickets for the kids because, well, they're going to nag me about doing something, anything!  Right now tickets are on sale for only $10 per kid and $15 for an adult so that's good value. I did not buy ride tickets though. My kids are not into rides and it's pricey for me, even at the discounted $25 unlimited per child. We may just do a few rides on the day depending on how we feel. Code Camp Kidtopia is held over three days in October (6-8) and is jam packed with fun. There's live music, theatre, circus and fabulous food. There's Masterclasses as well if that is your fancy. There's Littletopia for the littlies. Free face painting. There's market stalls and if you want to finish the day off with a movie you can do that as well. See the full-list here:...

During the holidays we were invited to the Winning Moves Head Quarters to try out some new games they have ready to hit the shelves for kids. It was a rainy day but we got there in time and we were all excited to start playing! We usually like to play Monopoly or Connect 4 at home but we were in the mood for something new. Here is Mia playing the Crazy Cubes game. Crazy Cubes come in two different styles - Disney Princesses or Marvel Avengers (shown below). The aim of the game was to be the first to match 5 cubes in a row on your side whilst knocking out the cube affecting your opponent. This was fun for Elijah too and he won one game. The great thing is that this also folds up into a small compartment and can be easily transported to different places. It will even fit in a nappy bag or tote bag! Marvel Match We also received some Top Trump Cards to take home and I found they are really fun to play as a family (yes, even during breakfast!). We got the Top T...

  Every school holidays I wrack my brain trying to come up with activities for the children to do that is 1: Preferably close to home, 2: Is inclusive of the various age groups of my kids 3: Is fun and 4: Isn't going to break the bank. So when I found out about the Way out West Festival in Casula Powerhouse,  which ticked all my boxes, I was so happy! What is the Way out West Festival, you ask? It began in 2011 as a contemporary festival for children which is based on showcasing the Performance and Arts. Over the four days in July there will be an array of theatre, dance, early childhood activities, music, film and hands-on activities at the Casula Powerhouse Liverpool. To me, it just sounds like a fun-filled adventure for the family. There is a full program available on the website here so you can schedule your activities. Some of them you will need to pay for and some are free events. The hard part will be deciding what you want to do. My daughter has asked...

Hello everyone! I decided to change my blog theme. I hope it looks okay. I hope you are all enjoying your school holidays. I am partly at work and also spending time with the kids. We're trying to be more active these holidays even though it's mid-Winter here and it's cold most mornings. We've had some warm days and try to make good use of the sunshine. Elijah is scootin' around but I don't have a problem with him. He is very active as most 6yr olds would be! I took the kids to the local library and asked the lady if I could donate some books. She hesitated and gave me a look which confused me a little. I took out the books I had and she asked the darndest question "Have they got any holes in them?" I must have given her a strange look because she said "You'd be surprised." Anyway, she took my books, which were in near new condition, by the way, and I scuttled down to the children's section. Not long after perusing books...

We are finishing the month of Mary with a procession around the block and Mass. It's a devotion to Mary which brings us closer to her son Jesus. At a time when the world is in turmoil and to hear about the Manchester attack on young children was truly heartbreaking. Our Mother Mary has revealed to us that through the power of prayer we can change the hearts of others. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Fatima. If you would like a good read about this powerful event please read here: http://www.fatima.org/essentials/facts/story1.asp We attended our annual Church Gala and it was fun. It's lovely to be out without the kids. Lol. We don't do it often. This was at Clarence House in Belmore. It's a lovely venue and I was told it was closing down at the end of the year due to lease issues. There was lots of room on the dance floor and the walls were pretty. These napkin rings were a nice touch too. They served up a pasta as a starter and it had pine-n...

I was looking forward to the kids first school break. I needed the break after Easter but didn't take the full two and a half weeks my kids had off. We still ended up doing a really nice bike long bike ride with daddy and a few helpful nephews. There were bike tantrums, but we made it to the Armory and had a wonderful lunch picnic. Since it was a public holiday there was long wait to be seated in the cafe so we got takeaway instead. The food was fresh and tasted pretty good. Then we took the ferry back home. The kids were tired and it was a nice day. I like bike riding but with four kids and varying levels we needed extra help with the younger kids. Another outing we took was to a park and they had laid out wreaths in honour of the veterans and soldiers for the ANZACs. The park was pretty cool. They had these automated voice recordings about each separate event that occurred during the time of World War I. It was really moving to hear about it. The kids had a bi...

Hi there. Long time. Things are craaaaazy around here. My basil is going crazy. I thought it died on me but green shoots began to sprout and before I knew it there was still life in my plants and it's taken a whole 'life' on it's own? How crazy but good crazy. I feel like I should be making pesto every day. I don't. But maybe I should find more uses for basil. Actually my oregano and sage have exploded as well. Maybe I should start selling little bunches to my neighbours? Haa haa. Finally made Sarah Wilson's Chia and Cacao bliss balls which was in my pantry for a while. I didn't add the whole cup of water this time. Just maybe half a cup so the mixture was thick enough to roll into balls. I gotta say my kids didn't take to them but I have eaten them all this week. Yummm. I pledged to eat no meat during Lent so trying to find dinner dishes that require no meat is a bit interesting to say the least. The weather here in Sydney has been up a...