Oh I do wish I could be a SAHM...

my job is driving me nuts... not my job so much, as my colleagues... the tension in the air at work is so thick at the moment, a knife wouldn't even cut it... It's not a nice working environment thats for sure. 

And then you get the people that harrass me all day for something they only asked for in the morning, after I have had 2 days off and have loads to catch up on  in my busiest week of the year!!!!

**********SILENT SCREAM**********

I have spent the last 2 days at home with Cam, looking after him cause he was sick, and I loved every minute of it... I had forgotten just how much fun he could be, and how much I loved being around him... You see - being a working parent, it's hard to enjoy those moments, as they are often rushed...

I think I have to sit back and seriously think about what I want to do career and parent wise....

Recipe: Autumn Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Since I'm home from work yet another day, I thought I would try this delightful recipe given to me by a dear friend.

Celebrate the new season with this rich and wholesone vegetable cake, full of kumara, courgette and walnuts

Ingredients:
350g Kumara, peeled and chopped
1 corgette (160g)
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1 cup caster sugar (again - I used plain white sugar)
2 eggs
125 unsalted butter, melted, cooled
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Cream Cheese Frosting:
65g cream cheese, at room temperature
25g unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups icing sugar

Method:

1. Grease a 20cm ring cake pan.  Line base and sides with baking paper.
2. Boil, steam or microwave kumara until soft.  Drain.  Mash until smooth.  Cool
3. Grate courgette.  Squeeze out any excess moisture and discard liquid
4. Sift flour, spice and sugar into a large bowl.  Stir to combine.  Whisk eggs and butter in a medium jug until combined.  Stir into flour mixture.  Stir in kumara, courgette and walnuts.  Spoon into prepared pan
5. Cook in a moderate oven (180oC) for about 50 minutes, or until cooked when tested.  Stand cake in pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.
6. To make cream cheese frosting, beat cream cheese and butter in a small bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Slowly add icing sugar.  Beat until smooth.
7. Spread cream cheese frosting over cold cake.  Decoratewith extra chopped walnuts.

You will need 1 cup of mashed kumara for this recipe.  To give the autumn cake a different flavour, add finely grated lemon or orange rind to the frosting.

Recipe: Banana Loaf

Cam is sick today, so while I am at home, and he is asleep I thought I would make a banana loaf... YUM...

So I got the recipe out of my trust Edmonds Cook Book

and I got out my trusty Tupperware Loaf Form - much like this one and off I went:

Banana Loaf

1 3/4 Cups Self Raising Flour

1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 Cup Sugar

2 Eggs

1/4 Cup Milk

75 Grams butter - melted

1 Cup mashed banana {approx 3 bananas}

Sift flour, baking soda and salt into a bowl.  Mix in Sugar

In another bowl, beat eggs.  Stir in milk, butter and banana.

Mix quickly into dry ingredients, stirring in ingredients are just combined.

Spoon into a greased and lined 22cm loaf tin

Bake at 180oC for 45-55 minutes

Leave in tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack

Flu Jab

I took Cammy to get his flu vaccination this afternoon... I was a little nervous...

but he was soo good... he didn't even cry... GO CAMMY!!

2nd half in 4 weeks... fingers crossed it's just as easy next time :)

Sandpit

according to the book "raising boys" every little boy needs a sandpit... Sandpits apparently encourage boys to use their imagination... and in the years I worked in early childhood, I think that this "fact" has been prooved to me...

We already had a perfect container for a Sandpit {we bought it at x-mas for Cam's swimming pool at the caravan} so off to bunnings I went to buy sand for it...

At bunnings, there is so much sand it's not funny... however there is only one bag that says "play sand" so I can only assume {lol} that this is the sand I need... it is sold in 18kgs bags for $10.98 per bag... hmmm how many bags does one need... I rung Ian to ask, and we decided to buy 4 bags, and if we needed more, we could always go back... sweet... done :)

Arrive home, and start putting sand in the "pit"... two bags later, and there is plenty of sand... so we put the other two bags downstairs in the store cupboard, knowing we will use them, as this sandpit, is only temporary while I search for a Clam Shell :)

Cam was asleep while all this was going on... and when he woke up, I took him outside, took the cover off the sandpit, and let him go hard... he was soooo  happy :)

NEW SHOP... NEW SHOP... NEW SHOP

3 posts in one day... *phew* but this one is to let you all know about the launch of a brand new online shop... created right here in NZ, by some really cool people I know...

So without further ado, I introduce you all to the Cheeky Monkey Shop!!!

If you use cloth nappies, then I suggest you try the ones that the CM Shop sells... :)

The Ultimate Youth Award

Today I spent the day teaching a group of 20 St John Members aged between 13 and 18yrs Childcare... this is so they can work towards obtaining their Gold Childcare Badge while working towards the ultimate goal of achieving their Grand Prior's Award...

I really enjoy teaching this course, as I get to work quite closely with these kids, but also because I know that I am ultimately helping them to acheive something pretty great... Something that I have the pleasure of having achieved...

This is the only Youth Award that is able to be worn on an Adult uniform, and boy oh boy is it worn with Pride...

I love St John Youth, and I hope that I can help many young people to acheive this most prestigeous award... I certainly hope that I can help Paris to acheive it :)

Another Cool Giveaway...

so through a referal from a friend, I started following this neat little blog called making the world cuter it's a neat space with lots of great ideas... I'm starting a list of things I've seen that I would like to make...

anyway... at the moment they have the most AMAZING giveaway going on thanks to Canvas Press, Just head along to here for details on how to enter.

Good Luck to everyone :)

my ANZAC biscuit attempt

So anyone who know's me well, knows that biscuits are NOT my forte... cakes, cupcakes and muffins, they ARE my thing lol infact all biscuits that I have baked in the past, have turned out as really flat, hard, crunchy, nice tasting pancakes lol but I figured that ANZAC biscuits were meant to be flat... meant to be hard and crunchy, so I couldn't possibly fail could I??

so when I told Ian tonight that I was going to make ANZAC biscuits, he half laughed, half choked lol... but I was determined...

Using the basic recipe that I posted here I set about following the instructions...

here are my biccies before going into the oven:

and after they came out of the oven

And.... they taste awesome!!!!!

Recipe: Chelsea's ANZAC biscuits

I was directed to this recipe by Kelly of reclaiming me

Chelsea's ANZAC Biscuits


Ingredients

100g butter
2 Tbsp Chelsea Golden Syrup
1/2 cup Chelsea Raw Sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp boiling water
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup coconut
3/4 cup Rolled Oats
1/3 cup mixed seeds(sunflower & pumpkin seeds)


Method

Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Grease or line baking trays.

In a large saucepan melt butter with Golden Syrup and Raw Sugar over a low heat. Remove from heat and set aside.

Dissolve baking soda in water, add to saucepan with the remaining ingredients, stir until thoroughly mixed.

Put tablespoonfuls of mixture onto baking tray allowing enough room for them to spread, flatten gently with a fork.

Bake for approximately 12 mins or until golden.

Makes: 15 large biscuits.

Easy to make, great for junior bakers!

A boy and his Kangaroo...

for Paris' 1st x-mas someone gave her this gorgeous Kangaroo... it's the mum one from Winnie the Pooh and she has her baby in her pouch... So it's kanga and roo... and it's huge... she is only a little bit shorter than Cammy is... and he loves her...

This morning he was dragging Kanga round everywhere... I had to strategically place kanga so that she wasn't in the way during nappy changing lol

And when it came time to leave for Daycare Kanga was still there... tucked neatly into the crook of his arm, and being dragged along... so I played along... popped the two of them into the carseat...

When we arrived at Daycare, he still would not let go of Kanga... so Kanga went to daycare today also.  Daycare thought it was the cutest thing... this little boy carrying in his great big kangaroo... he would let the other kiss and cuddle it apparently, but wouldn't let them move it... lol... and when I went to collect him, he was still holding onto Kanga :)

Now thats what I call cute...

Swimming Lessons and Pilates

It's Wednesday... the day of Swimming lessons for Paris and Josh and Pilates for me... Neither of these run during the school holidays, so we have had a wee bit of a break...

So the mad dash from work, to cam's daycare, to mum's to get older two, to the pool... only to find out on arrival that the pool is shut for 2 weeks for annual maintanance {'scuse spelling}... I was so angry that the swim school hadn't informed me... and decided I would send them a nasty email asking for a please explain.... so get home, and re-read the confirmation letters - whoops... turns out lessons don't return till May 5th!! egg on face much lol... luckily I hadn't sent the email...

So time to mad dash make dinner before my Pilates class... txt my sister to see if she was going tonight also, and the answer was no, no money this week... so I thought I would ring the pilates instructor {who happens to be my brother} to ask if she could pay next week... turns out Pilates doesn't start back this week either... man oh man... do I not pay attention to anything... imagine if I had turned up at Pilates... *shame* I would have been waiting, waiting, waiting lol

Kelly of Reclaiming Me is having a giveaway

and what a beaut giveaway it is!!

Kelly does amazing things with great fabrics, and has a talent that so few people have these days... The only other person I know who can sew like Kelly is my Nana {thats a compliment Kelly :)}

So head on over to her place and enter the draw for her amazingly cool prizepack that she has put together...

More about Sleep...

Last nights sleeping was a bit better than the night before, but still not that great... he woke at 12.30 and Ian bought him straight into our bed, and we gave a pre-prepared bottle {sometimes we just gotta do what we don't want to do lol}... and it worked he went back to sleep... however it was a fitful, restless sleep, and every 15-20mins he would scream out... so we are once again back to thinking that he is pain... {we have thought in the past, that he suffers such bad wind it wakes him and keeps him up}... however, how do convince the dr's that this is the case.  Whenever we go to the dr's he is fine, and has no problems at... do I have to video tape him and his nightime outbursts...? or do I have to go in, guns blazing and demand tests... or do I put it all down to Cammy being the worlds worst sleeper...?

Oh and of course, we still had a bad nights sleep ourselves due the little boy between up, screaming out in what seemed like pain every now and again....

but hey - least we got sleep - right...?

sleep... sleep... where for art thou sleep...

Sleep is something that is pretty much missing from our lives at the moment... more mine than Ian's to be honest...

Cammy is not the worlds best sleeper at all... he used to be... but something changed sleep wise at the same time that his eating habits changed {see here for that story}and it's been an uphill battle ever since... Sometimes he sleeps and we think GREAT!! and he sleeps for 3 or 4 nights in a row and we think EXCELLENT then on the 5th, 6th, 7th or even 8th night, he starts waking again... 

Last night he woke at midnight... I had not long gone to bed... Ian went to pop him back down {which sometimes works} but that failed... Cam screamed and screamed and screamed... until after an hour of listening to it through the monitor {I never go back to sleep till Ian is back in bed} I got up to assist... so from 1 till 4.30am I tried everything to get him back to sleep... a bottle, rocking in the chair together, lying together on his couch... in the end I took him into our bed where he promptly fell asleep... YAY... the alarm went off at 6.30 am as per usual, and it was time to start my day SIGH

School started back today, so the routine had to get back, so I couldn't even grab another 30 mins sleep... but alais, I got through the day... Cammy slept till 8 so me and him were a bit late to Daycare and work, but I made it... I went to work... I came home, I made dinner, I went to St John {yes, the start of school term, heralds the start of St John Youth Division again} and now I am home, and relaxing...

I'm shattered, but I'm not ready for bed if that makes sense... think I'll have a nice cup of tea, and dream of sleep lol

Cupcakes Part 2 & 3: the decorating and final display

So Friday night was spent making butter cream icing.  I chose to make purple and pink icing... Purple is made with 3 parts red to 1 part blue, but to get it a bit darker, I ended up adding a little more blue towards the end.  Pink is pretty simple and is made simply by adding a small amount of red to the icing :)

Pink Icing

Purple Icing

This was also the first time I had ever used my new piping bag... or in fact used a piping bag full stop... but thats ok... I think I did ok... I certainly got the hang of it, and got quicker as the night went on :)

Once they were all iced, it was a matter of adding the decorations:

the Chocolate hearts were done at the party, as they were a last minute idea.... :)

and the display:

The cupcakes were a great hit at the party, and I had a blast making and decorating them all... but the real test... well that occured earlier in the day - in the "test kitchen"

I think they passed :)

I don't dislike winter.... but...

It would certainly be alot better if it only rained at night lol...

I have so much washing in this house, that winter drives me nuts... And it can't all just be thrown in the machine at once... my average loads include:

• Cam's nappies
• Ians work clothes
• kids sports clothes
• Cam's clothes {as I still wash these seperately 99.9% of the time}
• the rest of the clothes
• towels {once per week}
• bedding off all the beds {once per week}

Normally washing doesn't bother me, but in winter I'm always stuck as to how to dry it all... Cam's nappies dry overnight in front of the dehumidifier, and thats great... I wash his nappies every second night, and they take up a whole clothes airer.  Ian's work clothes can just go into the dryer - no issue there.  But the rest of the stuff... my oh my... one load of washing fills the airer, but of course, I need to do at least one load of washing a day just to keep on top of all... but they only place that the airer fits is in my lounge... this creates a problem, cause if I've got nappies and clothes {which I do every 2nd day} then I have to use 2 airers, which closes my living room down drastically, and looks a bit like a chinese laundry...

I live for the weekends, where I can do the towels, the bedding, the nappies, and the clothes, and hang it all outside... but days like today, where it's raining, mean I have to use the drier all day... and the airers, and have the kids playing in amongst all the washing in the lounge cause there is no where else for them to go... if only my carport didnt' leak like a sieve... that would make me soooo happy... wonder if I can get my Land Lord to repair the carport roof... what do you think?

Cupcakes: Part 1 - The baking

Well I promised my sister I would make cupcakes for my niece's 3rd birthday this weekend. No biggie... I love baking and decorating cakes and cupcakes :) So I bought these really cute cupcake cases and decorating picks...

they were only $6.50 each and there are 24 cases in a pack :) bargin me thinks... I bought 2 packs thinking 48 cupcakes would be perfect...

My sister informs me over the weekend just been that there are in fact 60 people coming to the party!! Oh well... I'll make the 48 cool ones and any others I make will be plain as... lol...

So I found this nice and easy looking recipie in this weeks copy of Lucky Break which I have very kindly given typed out for you all... Julie's No-Fail Butter Cupcakes recipe can be found here.


hehe my "cut out" recipe

so off I went and gathered all the ingredients... {which by the way, there aren't too many of}


and started mixing... wow was it quick... it took all 5 mins to get to this stage:


into the oven for 20mins and there you go:


It really was that simple... I have made 2 batches tonight, and tomorrow will make another 3-4 batches. Saturday will be the decorating :)

Recipe: Julie's No-Fail Butter Cupcakes

I found this recipe in this weeks issue of Lucky Break... so thought I would try it... It was sooo easy... and while I haven't yet tasted the fares they look delicious... {photos in another post}

Julie's No-Fail Butter Cupcakes

100g unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup {165g} caster sugar {I used ordinary white sugar}
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups {200g} self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup {125ml} milk

BUTTER ICING

125g unsalted butter, softened
2 cups {300g} icing sugar
1 1/2 tblsp milk

1. Preheat the oven to 180oC. Line a 12-hole medium muffin pan with paper cases. Using electric beaters, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until light and creamy

2. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Gently fold through the flour and milk in two alternate batches. Divide the mixture evenly among the paper cases

3. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown and springy when touched. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating

4. To make the icing, use electric beaters to beat the butter until light and creamy. Add the icing sugar a little at a time, beating constantly. Add half the milk and beat until well combined. Add the remaining milk a little at a time, and tint with food colouring if you like. Using a 1cm fluted nozzle, pipe the icing onto cooled cupcakes

...sickness...

Well the first of the winter sniffles have hit our house... and, well, really, it's more than just sniffles... I have what I think may be a full blown head cold... my throat feels like I swallowed razor blades, my nose is dripping one moment, then completely blocked up the next, and my head... oh man, my head... it's pounding... I feel like I have a jackhammer inside my head... I bought some night and day tablets this afternoon, and have taken one lot... will take the night time lot soon, and fingers crossed I start to feel better in the morning...

And Cam is sick too... I think he may have the same as me... it's hard to tell, but he is off is food, his behavour is awful, and he is crying all the time, for really little things, or no reason at all... he had diarrhea, he had a bit of a temperature tonight, and I had to hold him down just to get Pamol into him... I have an existing doctors appointment for him for tomorrow, so will have him checked out, however, he won't be getting the flu vaccination like he was meant to...

He has finally {just} crashed out in Ian's arms, and I sure hope he sleeps all night... he certainly needs the sleep to fight whatever it is his body is trying to fight at the moment...

home at last

The day finally arrived... Paris was coming home... YAY... so I finished work early, then went to daycare and picked up Cammy and my niece CJ. CJ was so excited, and Cammy just bounced off her excitment...

here they are in the car on the way to the airport

We arrived at the airport at 3.30pm which is the time Paris' plane landed - in hindsight this was the WRONG time to arrive, as it's a long wait for little people... and closer to 4pm would have been sufficient.



Waiting ever so patiently


The kids were so well behaved... Cammy was happy people watching... CJ on the other hand... well she just wanted Paris to come through the doors "aunty, Paris is taking for a long time" "aunty, Paris is lost" "No she's not darling" "yes she is, cause she can't find us" "aunty, when is Paris coming home" and it went on...



still waiting... but this is fun too aunty....

and cammy was ever so patient also


and then.... FINALLY {at 4.40pm}... here comes Paris.... {it's a really shit photo - sorry}


then CJ was asking if Paris was allowed to come home with us... it was too cute... she wouldn't let go of her hand... and the two of the happily posed for some pictures...




Cammy was pretty excited also, but was trapped in his pushchair lol... once in the car, him and Paris kept giving each other kisses... it was very cute... it was clear that he had indeed also missed Paris, but is just a little to young to understand and express his feelings...





I apologise for the photo overload...but as you can probably tell, I'm just so darned happy to have my baby girl home... and she has said she had a great time... and has even said she will go back and spend more holidays with her dad, however, she has also asked if it can be a shorter holiday next time... I'm cool with that :)

5hrs till Paris is home

I'm pretty damn excited... at work watching the clock unable to do any real productive work lol

I will finish early, then go and pick up Cammy and my darling niece CJ who has very much missed her Paris...

I have to whip home first and grab the camera - DOH I can't believe I forgot it... :)

It's been a long 7 days, but I'm sure we have both grown from this experience.

4 favourite foods

Cammy only has four things that he will eat for dinner... and it's been such a long road to get to that many foods lol...

For many many months the only food Cammy would eat for dinner was Easy Mac Macaroni Cheese... and only the cheese flavour... we have now branched out to include the chicken flavour also...

Then we were able to add spaghetti... and variations of spaghetti... but have yet to successfully add mince to this meal...

The other week we discovered he had a love of noodles also... chicken and beef flavoured...

The latest addition to our dinner menu is Mashed potato {real or packet} mixed with creamed corn... which happened to be tonights dinner...


This bowl was full!!!

not bad going for a kid who up till 6mths wouldn't eat solids unless he was starving!!!

I just wish he would eat more variety... Food is and prob always will be a big issue with this boy... he took to eating solids with gusto at age 4mths... enjoying so many different foods




Piklets {top} and Pumpkin {bottom}

But then at 8mths he just stopped eating... this is the same time he stopped breastfeeding also... he went on a total hunger strike... it was awful... after 3 days of no food, I relented and gave him formula which he took.. and it was then pretty much his only source of food till 12mths... he ate the odd gingernut biscuit, rusks, toast and iceblocks...

to this day, we still don't know why he did this, or why introducing different foods has been such a struggle... but we just plod along... I'm sure that when is 16 he will eat me out of house and home, like a normal teenage boy... :)

end of the working week

*phew* the end couldn't have come fast enough this week... even though I was only at for 2 days this week, it felt like such a long week... there were still some positives to the week though... like my Pay Rise, and the discussion with my boss about the new job opening up in our office that I want :) {watch this space on that one}... but it was still long... I was still harrassed by imbosils who have no f*&ken idea about anything... I still had to deal with the stupid questions.. the new staff member that no one likes etc etc...

I miss S... my colleague and close friend who has gone on his OE for 12 mths... new staff member no likes is sitting in his seat for the year, but she is a cow... she has bad manners, is rude, and doesn't actually like to work... which increases my work load tenfold... my boss is a softie... and the downside to this is that she wont do anything about lazy lady... meanwhile, I still try to do my 8 hr job, the the 5.5 hrs I am there at the same time as taking on half of lazy ladys work!!! grrrrr... no wonder, I'm not in the best head space at work at the moment... I keep thinking to myself... "only 10 more months" lol... I sure hope that time really does fly... even if you are not having fun :)

ah well... it's the weekend now... and I have a lovely one planned... not sure bout anything tomorrow.. prob just a rest day... no housework needing to be done, due to my new cleaner starting today {thats another post}... Sunday is coffee group with the auckland girls from www.cheekymonkey.org.nz :) YAY I can't wait...

Day 3

Day 3 of Paris' trip, and things seem to be getting a bit better... Although she has managed to churn through $40 credit on her cell phone - she was playing a game that was on the phone we borrowed, but she didn't realise it connected to the net lol... I have promised her I will sort out some credit today or tomorrow... we spoke for quite a while last night, and it was only when it came to saying goodbye that she broke down...

I'm almost a little scared to call her tonight, but know that I need to... I miss her so much it hurts... I don't miss her like this when she stays at the caravan for a week with my mum and/or sister while I go to work... but for some reason, this is so much more to me... maybe it's cause she is in oz... or maybe it's just cause she is with her dad... who knows... I may never find out the reason... but I think I may always "hurt" when she is over there without me...

only 5 more sleeps till she is at home in my arms again...

Cam is missing her like crazy... goes into her bedroom all the time "papa, papa" he says {papa is her nickname}... he doesn't cry when he can't find her like he did the week she was at camp, but he is still missing her... He doesn't seem to miss Josh as much {Josh is at his mums this week} but then he is used to Josh going away all the time...

I am enjoying all the me and cammy only time that we are getting at the moment, and have decided that on Paris' return, I'm going to start spending more 1 on 1 time with both her and Cammy...

D-Day

so this morning at 3am I awoke, to get ready to take Paris to the airport... the day had finally arrived, She was finally flying unaccompanied to Melbourne to spend a week with her dad... her dad who she has never spent more than 1 night in a row with... her dad who she has only stayed with 4 nights in total since she was 13mths old!! But she was excited... and I wasn't letting on to her at all that I was anxious about it, or worried in the slightest... in fact - I wonder if I was too calm about it...

we checked in at 4am... no probs there... then went and had a bite to eat together, before she was collected at 5.10am to go through customs, and onto board...

her dad txt me at 11.30 to say she had arrived safe and sound, and she txt me also...

and now... at 7.30pm, she has called me... sobbing her little heart out, she misses me too much she says... and I can't do a damn thing about it!! and while I was strong on the phone... I've been a blubbering mess since then...

maybe I need to go to bed... after all, I've been up since 3am... and only had 4hrs sleep last night...

but I'm sad... I miss Paris too much too... she is my world... and I hate to think of her over there, crying, wanting me...

I'm a little angry too... cause he dad failed to mention to me or her, that he has moved back in with his psycho mum... his mum, who I don't want having too much contact with Paris... and he knows this... she is so poisonious that her own daughter refuses to have anything to do with her... how sad is that... and my poor baby is with this women!! that pisses me off...

Easter

What a great Easter Weekend we have just had... Josh went of to his mums at midday on Friday.. then me, Paris and Cam headed up to the caravan {Ian had to work saturday and cam up after that}... The drive up was good, not much traffic at all, however we did have one incident where a total dickhead going the other way, did a very illegal overtaking move, and if it weren't for the shoulder that I was able to move into, we would have been hit head on boy was it scary... Sundays newspaper informed me the car was stolen... http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10636228 but I wasn't very suprised to be honest...

The rest of the weekend was really good though.... We caught up with a few friends over the weekend, who live quite local to our camping ground, which was awesome...

however, we packed the caravan up today, and it wont be used again till October... I always find it very sad doing the whole packdown - like to me, it is the official end of summer!!

boots, boots, boots...

I don't know about the rest of the female population, but I find it extremely hard to find boots in my size {size 6} that also fit my calves {not the smallest in the world}... I have to go up a couple of sizes in boot, just to be able to put them on, but I love boots so much that I do this...

the only boots I actually own in the correct size are my docs! and they are 14 years old lol... and I don't think they are the right "boot" for work haha

I have also been struggling to find boots that I like... last winter, I went without boots as I couldnt' find any...

Today, I finished work early, and went to the Hannahs clearance store in Mt Wellington, as it's just down the road from work...

I found a pair of boots that I loved... and they were reduced from $99 to $49... so I decided to buy them... get up to the counter and the salesperson says "do you want to purchase a second pair of shoes or boots for 1/2 price?" I don't normally do that sort of thing, but I thought 'what the hell'... so I bought 2 indentical pairs of boots!!! lol....

My theory is - that when I destroy the first pair, I will automatically have a pair of boots, that I like, sitting in my wardrobe waiting for me... clever aye...? lmao

the washing war... and more...

The kids arrived home from School Camp this afternoon... full of noise, and not much energy lol... I had definately gotten used the quiet in the house with them gone... Cam was very excited to see "his kids" and made them both read to him heaps this afternoon...

But of course, the return of kids, heralds the start of copious amounts of washing, as I try to get everything washed and dryed by tomorrow mid morning... 2 loads on line now, and the third load is in the machine... And I still have Cam's nappies to wash too...

Josh is off to his mums tomorrow for the next week, so we need to make sure he has enough clothes for that... I get peeved off though, as I am constantly forking out $$ buying him new undies and socks, and then they all get left at her house... it's just as much her fault as his... in fact more her fault... she is the adult.. it should be her responsability to return all the gear we send with him... but dont' get me started on her.. or i'll never stop lol

Me, Paris and Cam will head up to our Caravan at Ruakaka midmorning which I am soooo looking forward to... Ian will join us after work on Saturday. There we will stay for the Easter weekend, relaxing and enjoying time spent with my parents, my sister, BIL, and my niece... nothing could be better to be honest... We will travel home on Monday mid afternoon/early evening to start the washing war all over again, in order to get Paris ready for her trip to Melbourne...

Yup - Paris is heading off to her Dad's in Melbourne on Tuesday morning... I have so many different emotions running through my head with this... this is her first ever solo flight... she has never stayed with her dad for more than 1 night in a row - and she is going for 7 nights... she has not stayed with her dad for more than 3 nights total since she was 15mths old... you can see why I am nervous, scared, sad, worried, stressed about it all aye...? But there is nothing I can do about it, and she is excited, so thats the most important thing right...?