June Photo a Day - Day 19

Day 19 Prompt - Imperfect

On the other side of this wall is Deedee's room.
In a way of protesting her disgust at having to go to bed, she kicks the wall and this is what happens to my poor frames.

June Photo a Day - Day 16

Day 16 Prompt - Out and about

Slack today as well... Taken 20th May - Just after haircuts at Southland

June Photo a Day - Day 14

Day 14 Prompt - Time

TIME for bed....

June Photo a day - Day 11

Day 11 Prompt - Door

Tinkerbell needs a colourful door!

I Hate You Crayola! (And Manufacturers of Bad Child Locks!)

I am sitting at the computer, doing research for my last case study and reviewing information through online quizzes. I can hear the VIPs happily chatting in the room next to me. But something isn't sitting right. They are happy, not fighting, and they are definitely in the room next to me, what could possibly be ringing subconscious alarm bells?

And that's when I hear it, the undeniable background rustle of plastic?
Where in the world have they gotten plastic from?

I walk out to find they have broken the child lock of the arts and craft cupboard off, There is green stamp ink and white paint everywhere. The plastic was the wrapper on the pack of paintbrushes. After losing my goo and yelling at them, they run out of the room laughing and I set about cleaning up. 10 mins and a roll of paper towel later, the ink and white paint is history. So, I go in search of the trouble makers

I open their bedroom door only to be greeted with BLUE paint everywhere. As they ran from the room they managed to swipe the box of finger paints and I didn't notice! There was blue paint walked all into the cream carpet, car mat and spread all over Linc's sheets, his white winter blanket and the quilt Grandma made him when he was a baby. Linc is covered in blue and hiding under his blankets. Mans instantly starts dobbing. Eva is sitting on Mans' bed, red finger paint open and at the ready and that's when I notice the red blobs gleaming amongst the blue.

At first I am speechless and the world seems to stop rotating and then, all of a sudden, it starts up again at twice the pace, and all hell breaks loose.

After rescuing the red paint, cleaning Linc, blotting up the excess and using another roll of paper towel in the process, stripping the bed and scrubbing the carpet with Napisan Oxyaction (because that's all I could think of to use), I went and scrubbed Linc's bedding before putting it on a soak load in the hope the stains come out and scrubbed the car mat in the laundry sink. (Have you ever tried to squeeze something 1m x 3m in to your laundry sink, while preventing paint transfer? It's not fun! I'm just glad I didn't buy them the expensive one for Christmas.)

To spite all this I came back through the house to find they'd broken into the arts and craft cupboard AGAIN and were painting the walls with clean paint brushes! Obviously I'm doing something wrong because I am not getting through to them. What an exhausting hour. All because I wanted to get a little homework down before I'm too exhausted from the course of the days activities (and lack of sleep) to be able to focus.

Once the carpet dries I'll go and vaccum the last of the Napisan out of the carpet - I think I got all the paint out and I'm about to go and investigate the condition of the bedding but really I'm scared of them leaving my sight today. What a disaster.

Have you ever had 'one of THOSE days?

Under a Canopy of Love - Otherwise Known as a Sheet

I managed to find the time to throw together a make shift tent for the VIPs today, with the usual sheet and kitchen chairs. As a kid there was nothing I liked more than making makeshift cubbies. Mine were always quite elaborate and I hated packing them up!

Did you set up makeshift cubby houses? Or were you lucky enough to have a real one?

Johnsons & Johnson No More Tangles Give Away!!

A few weeks ago Johnson & Johnson sent me out a package to trial a new product.
It was their new No More Tangles range.

I have become smitten!

All 3 VIPs desperately need haircuts at the moment but after the last disaster at the hairdressers, I fear taking them again. The No More Tangles range is saving my sanity. Their hair is soft and silky, despite the ends needing a cut, and it smells divine! A real sweet, little kid smell.

The spray is great for giving their hair a spritz and styling without to much fussing about. That's how I got such a smooth result with Eva's hair in this pic...

After contacting Johnson & Johnson to tell them how impressed I was with the range, they have agreed to give one lucky reader their own No More Tangles range to use!

The giveaway will include a bottle of No More Tangles Shampoo, Conditioner and Detangling spray.
To enter all you have to do is comment below and tell us
"What is the best baby/children's product you've ever bought and why?"

(By entering you are agreeing to allow me to forward your address to Johnson & Johnson's PR company Platinum Media as they will send the giveaway products direct to you!) Entries close the 22nd May 2012 and are limited to Australian residents.

Easter 2012

Since I've been a Blog Ghost I have not put up an update about Easter! (can you believe we're in the 5th month of 2012 already?!)

So here is the Easter bunny cake we made.

I think I saw this idea on Pinterest but I didn't repin it and now I can't find it. I'm starting a tradition that every year they decorate the Easter Bunny cake, so I'll be able to look back and see how it changes. This one did start to looking like a bunny. Linc made sure it had a smartie nose and eyes but my 3 VIPs have not yet learnt that sometimes less is more! (And next year I'll make Easter bunny a lemon cake so a. We're not overcome by too much chocolate and b. It won't be as noticeable when I do the 'I don't give a damn' icing!)

We also had an early morning easter egg hunt. They were so adorable rugged up in their dressing gowns!

Chocolate High!

Toilet Butterflies

A quick, no fuss craft activity
What you need:

• An empty toilet roll - I sprayed them with Glen20, but I'm anal like that.
• Some scrapboking backing card (That I had lying around, because now that I have something to scrapbook about, I don't have the time), cut into some semblance of butterfly wings
• Pipe cleaners
• Glue or sticky tape
• Something to decorate them with - We used felt tip pens but you could use glitter glue, cut up magazines or old wrapping paper, or paint.

Decorate
Pop a hole in the back of the toilet rolls and thread the pipe cleaner feelers through
Glue or sticky tape the wings on
Have fun!

Smarter Than She Seems

I have spent most of the morning cleaning and vaccuming the house.
I had the intention of mopping the floors while Eva had her nap and the boys tuned out in front of the TV for half an hour.

Eva spent a hour decorating the house with hot cross bun crumbs... including climbing into my bed.

She was being super stubborn about keeping the mess to a minimum.
I could feel steam welling up in my head.

We then had a 15 minute 'discussion' about her having said nap.
Unclenching my jaw as I laid her down for her nap I said, "Have a good nap, Love you."
"Wuv you mummy" was her reply

Cheeky little ragamuffin, just about melted my heart.
That angry energy would have been handy for the clean up!

Eva-saurus' Messy Dinosaur Luau

The morning of Eva's 2nd birthday party I slept in and was running a bit behind food prep wise when everyone arrived. But it didn't seem to phase anyone. Quite a few adults that I was expecting didn't come so there was plenty of food to go around. I actually forgot to put out the sticky pork ribs and mini hot dogs in the end.

We had planned to have face painting happening on arrival but after Aunty Bry painted mine and Aunty Hayley's faces Linc absolutely lost in a freaked out kids kind of way so we called it off and washed our faces off. Instead everyone was given a lei on arrival and went out to play on the swings, slide and trampoline.

The first activity was the Fossil Digging. The fossils were handmade rocks with little rubber dinosaurs inside. The kids dug through the sand to find them and then I tap them with a hammer and the rock broke away to show them a colourful dinosaur. These were a massive hit and I should have done more than one each.

Then we went over to paint our dinosaur plasters. The ones I ordered online didn't arrive in time due to postal issues. So Grandma went out Saturday and bought plaster and moulds and spent all Saturday afternoon mixing them up. The Kids loved these too and I am so glad a said on the invite to wear 'prehistoric' clothes because it got very messy!

After some more jumping, swinging and cupcake eating we all came inside to open Eva's presents and cool off in the air conditioning. (35°C is too hot to spend outside all day but better than thunderstorms).

We sang happy birthday before going back outside to get stuck into the Ice-cream sundae bar.

This just added to the messiness! They had rainbow ice-cream with the choice of 3 different flavoured toppings, marshmallows, broken up oreos, sprinkles, dinosaur sprinkles and banana bread pretzels. Their bowls also had their dinosaur name written on the side.

After ice-cream we splashed in some water and washed up before heading back inside to cool off and watch the dinosaur DVD.

I rinsed off their ice-cream bowls and popped them in their goodie bags, along with their dried plasters and their lolly bags and everyone headed home!

February Photo A Day Challenge - Day 25

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Today's challenge: green

Early morning dinosaur play

Deedee The Birthday Girl

To Deedee,
Even at the age of 2 you radiate your own giant personality. The same personality that you had in utero and were dubbed with the nickname 'Eva the Diva'. You have the ability to make everyone and anyone do your bidding and convince them it was their idea in the first place.

You still act like an old soul, like you know a lot more than anyone would give you credit for. And you teach me about myself and about life everyday.

We have been through a lot together, you and I and I look at your beautiful little face and realise that life is good. That anything and everything is possible. You and your brothers are walking, talking proof of that.

You love dinosaurs, 'bubbas', 'hoot hoots' and more recently 'barbell' (Tinkerbell). You bash around with your brothers and can give as good as you get. You love to pick out your own clothes and shoes. You especially love picking out your hair accessories. You love hairclips.

I want so much for you from life, I wonder how I'll ever deliver.

Happy 2nd birthday sweet Divadoo xox

February Photo A Day Challenge - Day 22

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Today's challenge: where you work

Well not so much where I work as what I'm working on. Raising the VIPs to be happy and well balanced individuals.

February Photo A Day Challenge - Day 14

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Today's challenge: heart

I can't remember where I saw the idea (probably on Pinterest) but we made heart shapes out of old toilet rolls and used them as stampers to make Baker Bob some valentine's art from the VIPs.

February Photo A Day Challenge - Day 13

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Today's challenge: blue

February Photo A Day Challenge - Day 11

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Today's challenge: makes you happy

This face

and these faces too, of course!