Thursday 31 October 2013

Totally Thankful Thursday- Walt

First picnic in the park for Speedy who was 10 days old.

Walt caught a lift in Speedy's pram!!

Walt and Rara enjoying the picnic
We had the pleasure of having Walt come to our house a few weeks ago.  He turned up when Speedy was 4 days old and we had him for a few weeks then sent him on his way (thanks Australia post for the lengthy trip to his next destination.)

He had a great time with us (so much so he laughed his head off again) and I will give a full run down when I get the photos off the ipad!!

I am so thankful for this opportunity.  We all enjoyed taking Walt places and showing him the sights.  The kids were a little sad when it was time to bundle him up and send him on his way.  After he left we thought of so many more things he could have done with us.  Maybe he can travel again next year??!!  He might like a trip to Fiji??!!

I am also thankful for blogging which has led me to find so many great, inspirational people who have shown nothing but kindness and encouragement.  People who have the ability to make me smile and laugh are very important in my life both in the real world and connected by the world wide web.

Linking up for Totally Thursday with Jacana who had the great idea of sending Walt around the countryside and A Parenting Life for Thankful Thursday where Rhianna is the new host.


Wednesday 30 October 2013

Wordless Wednesday- Monster Jam 2013




Some pictures of our awesome time at  Monster Jam.  It was loud, over the top and so much fun!!  Bring on next year!!  We cannot wait to see it on tv, hopefully we won't have to wait too long.

Linking up with My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday.

Tuesday 29 October 2013

Dear ANZ Stadium

Today I am writing a letter of complaint.

On Saturday we went to Monster Jam (monster trucks) at ANZ Stadium.  The show its self was beyond awesome, we walked out of there pretty much booking tickets for next year.  It deserves a post all to its self!!

My complaint is with what happened before hand.

We brought "pit party" passes for an extra $10 which meant we could go into the fenced off area outside the stadium and see all the trucks and hopefully meet some of the drivers and get photos etc.  12000 passes were sold and they were sold out.  Apparently they were being sold on gumtree and ebay for insane amounts of money.  The pits were open from 2-6pm and we got there about 330pm hanging to have a look.

First stop for me was to find a seat and feed a screaming baby.  We went with friends and we were going to set up somewhere and take it in turns minding bags etc or kids so we could all get a good look around.  There was not one seat in the area we were.  Not one, not like they were all taken but nothing no seating at all.  I ended up sitting in the shade on the floor along with a lot of other people.  Had we been able to get pass outs I could have at least sat on a bench.  It was a gorgeous Sydney afternoon but it was fairly warm.  I did not take a bottle of water or food figuring we would be able to buy something there.  The lines were ridiculous.  Just after 5pm I got the "I need to do a wee mum" so we high tailed it to where the toilets were only to find them closed off to the public.  Our only option was to leave the pit area and go in search of toilets elsewhere.  This sucked as the pit area was thinning out and we were getting to look at the trucks without a million people around, however when you have to go you have to go!!

Another issue was the merchandise stands.  We had promised the boys they could buy something with money they had been given and they just wanted a monster truck each.  People stood in line for quite literally hours to buy things.  I lined up for about 40 minutes to get the kids their little trucks and I only did that as they were getting upset and didn't understand that there were massive lines and there was a big wait.

So ANZ Stadium-

  • This was well and truly a family event, from babies to elderly people.  You need facilities to cater for everyone.  It would not kill you to hire some chairs or at least allow pass outs from the pit party.  I get that the majority of events at the stadium are not aimed at the family market but you really need to take this into account for next year which I guarantee will sell out.
  • Could you at least have some extra stands just selling drinks and the basic merchandise?
  • There is no excuse for not having adequate services, as 12000 passes had been sold there is no surprise to how many people were going to be there.  Not to mention the 50000 tickets for the actual event.
  • Lastly I have to commend you on parking.  We did not book parking so we had to park in a parking station away from the stadium.  The shuttle buses came pretty much one after another on our way in which was awesome as it reduced walking for little legs plus they got a bonus bus ride.  Leaving the parking station took less time than it took me to leave a shopping centre last week.  We were waiting for the chaos to get out and there was none.
All in all it was fantastic and as I said we will be going next year for sure.  I will have my pictures up tomorrow!!  Linking up with Essentially Giraffe/Jess for IBOT.






    This was right at the end, the Yanks are insane!!

    Monday 28 October 2013

    Soda Pop Cupcakes



    Makes 12
    * 340g (12oz) Vanilla cake mix
    * 1 Cup (250ml) Raspberry Soft Drink (soda).
    Method: Preheat Oven to 180C/360F. Into a large bowl, pour the cake mix, then add the soda (soft drink). Stir together with a wooden spoon the mixture evenly among each. Bake for 15 minutes or until puffy and cooked thru. 

    I stole these from the 4 ingredients website.  

    These popped up a couple of times on my facebook feed a couple of weeks ago so I tried it as a cake which was a disaster never to be spoken of again (think undercooked cake and shockingly made icing) but the idea was right.  I will try orange drink with chocolate icing next time and make them into cupcakes not a whole cake!!  

    Something easy and simple for Open Slather with One Mother Hen

    Friday 25 October 2013

    Things I Know/FFS Friday- Sooky lala

    The Bad

    It has been a long week here.  Visitors, a cranky baby and a few hot days and it is Friday again.

    I have not had 5 minutes all week to do anything.

    I really should not be on the computer now as I have a house that looks like a bomb exploded in it.  However I have hit the jackpot with 3 sleeping children so I am making the most of the silence.

    Mother Nature must have stopped reading my blog as the weather has been shocking.  A big dump of rain would be great please.

    My brain is so frazzled I cannot think of anything that happened this week to complain about, believe me there is stuff.

    The Good

    Monster Jam was awesome.  We had the best time and cannot wait until next year!!

    It is Friday aka ciderday.  Cheers!!

    Tomorrow is our local fair day.  Looking forward to junk food and show bags and doing some shopping.

    Speedy is 12 weeks old today and slept through the night on Wednesday.  He couldn't back it up last night but I will take it as a win!!

    The frazzled brain cannot think of the good stuff!!

    That is it for me, I will be back properly next week after a forced week off of blogging!!  I have really missed it this week.

    Linking up with A Parenting Life for Things I Know and Dear Baby G for the weekly whine.




    After weeks of hearing this song and not knowing what t was called I finally found it, I may have done a slight happy dance!!. I have made it song of the week!!

    Friday 18 October 2013

    FFS Friday/ Things I Know- 58 days until Bon Jovi

    The FFS Stuff

    Mother Nature enough with the hot windy bushfire conditions.  Also thanks heaps for the cool change which blew in about 15 minutes after I had walked back home from preschool pick up, with my maxi skirt blowing up over my head.  Apologies to anyone who may have seen my granny undies.

    Well done ch 9 news for causing panic saying a bushfire was headed for my town when the closest one was about 20klms away and well under control.  Thanks again to the rural firies for all their hard work.

    Paypal can kiss my ass too- long story short they can instantly take money from your bank account to make a payment but cannot instantly put it back when the transaction was refunded.  Bite me and brace yourselves for another irrate phonecall if the money is not there today.

    In other fashion faux pas news- Sunday I put on a nice top and accessorised with my cute Zen Designs bangle.  I chipped my bangle putting out the rubbish and I spilt tomato down my nice top.  Thursday as I had to go to the big shops I thought it might be nice to dress up a little.  Not only did Speedy scream the entire time we were shopping but he chucked for seriously the 3rd time since he was born all over him and my skirt meaning I had to walk through the shops with a lovely wet patch on the front of me.  I don't know why I bother.

    Back to the screaming baby I only had to buy 2 things and was at the shops for 2 hours, most of which was spent in 3 different parents rooms.  I did manage to get the 2 things but nothing else.  I swear my boys are born with an I hate shopping gene inherited from their father.  At least the 2 year old, god love him, was an angel.  One bonus of a screaming baby is that shops will open a checkout just to get rid of you!!

    The Good Stuff

    MONSTER TRUCKS ARE ON TOMORROW.  We cannot wait!!  I will be wearing my oldest scabbiest clothes as I have learnt my lesson on wearing nice stuff!!

    The lovely Emily from Have A Laugh On Me made my arvo yesterday when she let me know via instagram about this post that would be featured on her blog today.  It is very relevant considering the bushfires burning across nsw at the moment, ok it is a good perve too!!

    Our weekends are filling up fast up until the end of the year.

    The boys are kicking butt at swimming lessons.

    Hair cut day today!!  I love that our hairdresser comes to our house.

    Just as I was about to finish up this post the postie just left a package at my door from the very awesome Me.  I just instagrammed a picture and will take a proper one later.  The kindness of people really makes me smile.

    Thats it guys, have a great weekend.

    Linking up for the week that was with A Parenting Life for Things I Know and Dear Baby G for FFS Friday.



    Thursday 17 October 2013

    Giggles for your Thursday





    Reminds me a little of someone I know!!





    The lounge theme this week is Make me laugh.  I found these on my facebook feed and stole them as they made me giggle.  I hope they give you a smile too!!

    Linking up for the first time in ages with the chicks at The Lounge  which this week is over at the fab robomum.


    Tuesday 15 October 2013

    A very Speedy birth story.

    Nearly 11 weeks later and I have told this story a heap of times.  For such a short event it is definitely something I will never forget!!

    I will start the story from the Tuesday when I was 39+6 days pregnant.  I was so over the whole pregnancy thing and was hoping like mad that when I went for the clinic appointment with a doctor they would book me in for an induction the next day.  Sadly I walked out of there after a delightful stretch and sweep with an induction date for the following Friday.  I was devastated and hoped the stretch and sweep would have shaken something loose!!  The doctor said that about 25% of women go into labour within 24 hours after it.  I was not in that 25%.  Wednesday (due date) came and went   By Thursday I was convinced the baby was never coming out!!  I bumped into the local baby nurse who basically laughed and said she would see me in about 2 weeks as the bump was still high and had not dropped at all.

    Thursday night was the same old average night, I had made the lounge my bed as I could not get comfortable in my bed and had been sleeping out there for about 3 weeks..  I set myself up there like always with my hot water bottle.  I had really battled the last couple of weeks with back and hip pain, only now I realise how bad and uncomfortable it was.

    Around 1am I was joined on the lounge by the 2 year old.  Once he went back to sleep I got up, did a wee and tried to go back to sleep.  About 130am I got a back pain and even though it wasn't too bad I knew exactly what it was.  I got back up, remade the hot water bottle and popped a couple of panadol.  About 15 minutes later I got another pain, nothing too severe.  This happened a couple more times.  Then I got a pain that was extreme and thats when I went in to wake the HOTH up.  This was at 240am.  He rang his parents to come and mind the boys and I went into have a shower.  All of a sudden shit got real.

    I never made it into the shower as I got a pain that basically made me realise the baby was coming sooner rather than later.  I don't remember the full order of things after that but it went something like this-

    The HOTH rang the hospital to tell them we would be down in about an hour when his parents got there and as he was talking to the midwife I was getting even more intense pain and she told him after she heard me in the background that we should get there now!!  He was telling me to get in the car but I truly could not walk.  He got the kids up and into the car, rang his parents who were still 20 minutes away to tell them to meet us there, I begged him to call the ambulance and he told me it would be quicker to drive.  I somehow got into the car and we set off for the hospital which is a 25 minute drive.  I was gripping on to the handle of the car and apparently hitting the roof trying so hard not to freak the kids out.  I was telling the HOTH to slow down, speed up, pull over and let me lay down.  Just as I was dead set about to lose it the HOTH said look where we are which was at the last set of lights before the hospital.

    We pull up outside the emergency department and he raced in to get some help.  A nurse came out, saw me grabbed a wheel chair and tried to get me to get in it in between contractions.  I made it in they raced me inside and some how up on a bed, it was a quiet night apparently so there was a million people around the bed all trying to help.  They examined me to see whether they would deliver the baby down there but decided I could get up to delivery.  Longest trip ever through the hospital and up in the lift.  We get to the delivery suite and i have to get onto the bed in there, god knows how!!

    The midwife looks and says 2 pushes and you will have your baby.  2 pushes later and baby Speedy arrived into the world at 354am.  About 15 minutes after we got to the hospital.



    Baby Speedy.  3.44kg, 51cm. 2/8/13


    8 hours old.

    A glimpse into the womb: This astonishing photograph, taken by obstetrician Dr Aris Tsigris, shows the baby who was delivered inside an intact amniotic sac.
    Not Speedy but what it would hae looked like!!
    If you are a birth story fanatic like me then you will be asking when my waters broke.  The short answer is they didn't.  Speedy was born in his sac which they broke when he came out.  Apparently this is very rare
    and supposedly very lucky, babies born like this are said to be blessed.  Turns out it was a blessing as if my waters had broken he would hae been born on the side of the road!!  I was fascinated when I read the article about the baby in the picture a couple of months before Speedy was born.

    He is the only one out of three not to be born jaundice and also I got to keep him with me from the moment he was born.  He was monitored for not only blood sugar levels but also as he had swallowed some merconium.  Everything was fine and we were home on the Saturday afternoon just like I had hoped to do.  We had a midwife visit on the Sunday to do his newborn screening test then we were "officially discharged" on the Monday when we had the last midwife visit.  He had already gone back to his birth weight and has continued to grow and put on a tonne of weight!!  The local baby nurse came the week after and could not believe I had had him the day after she had seen me.  It was so much better being at home.

    Going home after 24 hours was the only part of my plan which actually happened!!  The poor kids are still talking about how mummy was crying in the car and how the nurses told them the baby was knocking on my stomach saying he was ready to come out.  They got well taken care of by 2 lovely nurses from the emergency department until their grandparents got there probably not long after the baby was born.  Remember I also said no visitors in the delivery room, well about 15-20 minutes after giving birth the boys and their grandparents came in to see the baby.  I was still shaking uncontrollably and the baby was covered in all the newborn stuff.

    So there you have it, one very speedy birth story!!  In my opinion thats how every birth should be!!  It was so good to have it all over and done with so quickly.  I am sure I have forgotten bits and pieces and will pop them down next week when I think of them.

    Linking up with Essentially Jess for ibot.

    Monday 14 October 2013

    Pizza Muffins

    pizza muffins



    pizza muffins
    • 3 cups (450g) self-raising (self-rising) flour, sifted
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1½ cups (180g) grated cheddar
    • 150g ham, chopped
    • ⅔ cup (150g) chopped pineapple, drained
    • ⅔ cup (160ml) vegetable oil
    • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 cup (250ml) milk


    I am loving the new Pearl Jam song!!  Just thought I would pop it in too.

    Have a great week guys, the countdown is on here until Monster Truck Saturday!!  Other than that its looking like the same old week here!!

    Linking up for Open Slather with One Mother Hen.

    Friday 11 October 2013

    FFS Friday/ Things I Know- I don't know much!!

    The puzzle with the inadvertent F-bomb.
    F**k u.  Hilarious!!

    I don't know much or have too many complaints this week.  As far as weeks go it has been fairly same old around here.

    The gripes-

    Quick as you can people and rush to the shops to buy all your festive needs as there is only 11 and a half weeks until the big day.

    Remind me who the Woolies trading cards are for because I was under the impression they were for kids and not mega bitchy mums who took to facebook firstly complaining about the swear word in the collectors album and then secondly the group of shockers harassing people for trading cards.  Probably the worst example was someone begging for cards for her disabled son who it turns out is not actually disabled.  What a crappy thing to do.

    The kids broke my fave pair of sunnies requiring an emergency trip to the shops to buy some more.

    Oh and today I got dressed up a little in some nice clothes and wore a white top, 1/2 an hour later it has some kind of black smudges on it.  FFS

    See not too much to really whinge about this week!!

    The good stuff-

    Speedy has been sleeping for longer during the day, loving it!!

    It is so much cooler today, Mother Nature we need to have a serious talk about this hot weather.

    Hmm I think thats it for today or this will not get published!!

    Have a great weekend y'all!!

    Linking up with Dear Baby G and A Parenting Life for the weekly whinge/knowing of things.


    Wednesday 9 October 2013

    Wordless Wednesday- Someone got a new chair!!

    Caption this!!

    I scored an awesome bargain on one of those buy, swap, sell groups on facebook.  This high chair which is pretty much in new condition.  Even though we don't need it just yet it is perfect for now as it reclines so this little cutie patootie can hang out with us at dinner time or when I am in the kitchen.  Anything for 10 minutes peace and quiet!!

    Linking up with My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday.

    Tuesday 8 October 2013

    The Best Laid Plans

    Before I tell Speedy's birth story I would like to back track and write about my plans for before, during and after the birth, which I would have done had my computer been playing nice.  So lets rewind 9 weeks or so.

    I had no actual giving birth plan other than to get in and get the job done so to speak!!  Previous experience had shown that my body took over and my brain became redundant as it had nothing to do with the actual birth process so I had no reason not to once again trust my body and just know to focus on what it was telling me.  I would however not have minded having pain relief this time.

    I was way more concerned about the other 2 boys and wanted the whole experience to be not traumatic for them which was kind of half the reason I was devastated about being given an induction date 9 days past my due date .  At least being induced I could go to the hospital and then have them brought down to see their new brother (or sister at that stage) when all was said and done.  Like a few hours after when we were on the ward and not in the delivery suite.  I did not want them to see me in any pain or upset or swearing at their father calling him every name under the sun!!

    I also did not want other visitors as my plan was to get in and out as quickly as possible.  I really wanted minimal fuss and after having visitors in the delivery suite after the big one was born and then about 2 hours after the middle one was born I really wanted to be home for visitors this time around.  Also hospitals are no place for rest!!  I knew that despite my house being somewhat of a mad house I would be able to sleep in my own bed, lay around on my own lounge, shower in my own shower and do other things like watch tv or make a cuppa whenever I wanted to.  I knew we would be in for 24 hours as the baby would need his or her blood sugar levels monitored 4 times after being born and I was fine with that but I did not want to be hanging around for any longer than necessary.

    I did well with my hospital bag although the kids had ripped it apart after I had carefully packed it.  It turned out that I did not have any pants just pjs  and I had put 3 baby onesies in and it turns out there was only 2 in there and also no baby blanket, bloody kids!!  The only thing I wish I had remembered is toilet paper. Which is why I am writing it so I never forget if I ever have to go to hospital again!!

    So to summarise my plan was simple, get in, give birth, get out!!  Simple..  If you want to know all the gories and how my plans played out then pop by next Tuesday!!

    Linking up with Essentially Jess for #ibot.




    39 weeks pregnant, hard to believe this was 10 weeks ago.

    Soundtrack to my afternoon





















    The prompt from Kirsty at My Home Truths for I must confess this week is 10 songs which represent you.  I could not narrow down anywhere near 10 so I decided to share 10 songs I heard on the radio the other afternoon on the most awesome digital radio station.  2 of which just happen to be songs I would have picked as my lifes soundtrack!!

    I love putting music on really loud and singing and dancing my way through a tough day or a good day or the housework or a long car ride or if I am happy or sad.  Music is good for the soul!!  I am not fussy when it comes to music choices either, I will happily listen to most stuff.

    Linking up slightly late as I got a little confused with the public holiday and daylight savings etc. (seriously it does not take much these days!!) with My Home Truths for I must confess and One Mother Hen for Open Slather..




    Friday 4 October 2013

    FFS Friday/ Things I Know- Its just a phase

    This week it has not taken a lot to really irritate me.

    Keyboard warriors with nothing better to do on facebook was one of them.  Seriously if you don't have anything nice to say then shut up.  Or at least try and put things in a tactful way.

    The shops being bombarded with Christmas stuff is another.

    Luckily I have cancelled Christmas and 2 naughty kids are not getting anything.

    Thank goodness this is the last week of school holidays.

    Another example of stupidity is the fact the free magazine from the supermarket has a recipe for fairy bread in it.  If you need a recipe for fairy bread then there is a serious problem.  Maybe because it was cut out with cookie cutters that made it more tricky.

    A short FFS list this week as I have done nothing other than feed a non day sleeping baby.  If I hear the words "wonder weeks" again I will spit chips.  I had never heard that before last weekend and it has cropped up a gazillion times since then.  I never even got to blog on Tuesday or Thursday even though I had Tuesdays ready to go. I have been repeating the mantra "its just a phase" over and over again.

    There have been a few highlights though.  I managed to get my hands on a double pram.  My life just got so much easier.  It wasn't exactly what I wanted but the price was right!!

    The 4 year old had his first "play date" (I hate that term but thats what it is called apparently) at his friends house on Monday and then his friend came over here on Tuesday.  It made me so happy and a little sad to see how grown up he is now.  It also became apparent that I need a 7 seater car!!

    Apart from that it has been the same old around here.  At least it is Friday which is cider day woohoo!!  And a long weekend double woohoo!!  Oh and I still cannot find the panadol from last week.  Gawd knows where it has gone!!

    Linking up for the weekly whinge with Dear Baby G and Things I Know, which in my case is not a lot at all with A Parenting Life.

    Have a great long weekend guys.


    Wednesday 2 October 2013

    Wordless Wednesday- funnies!!




    Some days/weeks you just have to laugh.

    Linking up with My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday.