My boyfriend

Allow me to introduce you to my boyfriend Damien, or Damo as he likes to also refer to himself. (I personally prefer Damien.) I thought I'd tell you about him as I'll probably start referring to him more in my posts in the coming future as he's been doing some wonderful work around the house (besides being a really great guy).

We met online back in May this year. It's really true what they say about someone comes along when you least expect it.

For those that don't know, my marriage broke up back in January 2012 and a couple months later my mother passed away. The following two years were the hardest of my life. In January this year, a girlfriend took me out for the night and it was the first time in absolute ages that I remembered how I loved to have a great time going out and it was a chance to be me again. I thought then it might be nice to meet a male 'companion' and enjoy the odd date. The dating game is not like it used to be so a friend introduced me to online dating and again, it wasn't really my cup of tea. I thought I'd give it one last try with another dating site and Damien was the second person who introduced himself within the first few minutes of my profile being uploaded. We got to messaging online and then on the mobile phone and arranged to meet a few days later. We hit it off right from the start but were both taking it slow. We both weren't really looking for anything long term.

I found him really strange in the beginning to tell you the truth. Right from his initial message, to the very first meeting he was a perfect gentleman. He always made me coffees, cooked me dinner, offered things to me first, treated me kindly, always spoke so gently to me and the list goes on. These are all things that hadn't happened to me for a very long time, if not ever. Was this what it was like in a nice relationship? I was finally finding out.

After a couple months he asked me to be his girlfriend. Like, who even does that? From that point on we've be inseparable. He really is the most genuine person I've ever met.

Besides all of this he has so many qualities and hobbies that I like in a guy. He loves his sports, like me. He still skateboards (well, Tony Hawke is 46 years old), he surfs, he loves AFL, rugby league, cricket and most sports I like. He's a musician, in particular, a heavy metal guitarist and is working on creating an album. He does excellent covers of all the popular heavy metal bands. 

He has built himself a recording studio in our house out of mainly second items from the rubbish tip shop. We love nothing better than seeing some live music or just hanging out at home with the music pumped up. (We've got our weekend tickets to the Soundwave music festival in February next year.)

And this leads me to another one of his great qualities. He's frugal, like me, and loves nothing more than rummaging around op shops, tip shops and garage sales. He's got a completely different set of eyes to me and sees things I never see. We've got so many bargains for the house and home. He's also an animal lover and my two dogs have taken to him like he personally picked them. They adore him. Besides the four-legged kids, my two-legged kids have also taken to him and love him to bits. I'd never met another man after my breakup, let alone introduce them to my children and Damien was the first. They were bursting to meet him and they've been nothing but great mates ever since. (Except maybe for the odd occasion when he has to have a word to them because they're playing up and I have lost total control over them. He never says a harsh word anyway.)

He also has two children from a previous relationship who are in similar ages to mine and they all get on pretty well, most of the time.

He's neat and tidy and is such a great help around the house. He tries his hand at all the repairs and does a fantastic job.

I couldn't be more happy. In fact, this is the happiest I've ever been. (My sisters might be saying "here we go again" but our love for each other will prove them wrong.) We've both been down some rocky roads in our lives and have learnt to make the most of each day and take each new day as it comes. We don't plan too far into the future, instead making the most of every minute we're together.

It's his birthday today and darling, I wish you a very, very Happy Birthday and I'm so glad I'm getting to spend it with you and your family. Love you baby xxx

Zoom! Bang! H (for heroes)

Please forgive me in advance if you think I may be talking in jibberish but that's exactly what I thought my son was doing when he mentioned he wanted a "Zoom! Bang! H" party for his 8th birthday last Sunday.  A couple of months ago, the Minecraft addicted boy of mine wanted a Minecraft party. Even though I know nothing about Minecraft, I would've find more than enough inspiration on Pinterest. But Zoom! Bang! H?

Upon further investigation and explanation, Zoom! Bang! H refers to a club that my son and his mates from school created. It's all about a group of guys who were mining (I think that might be a Minecraft reference) and forgot to close the top of the mine one night. Lightning struck the diamonds that were left out and turned them into blue, red and yellow gems of power (another Minecraft reference, I think). When the boys have these gems, it gives them super powers and they are able to conquer the world and arch villainesses Purple Lips, Rosie, Pink Lips, Abigail and Dragongirl. Superhero names include Ice Boom, Fire Slam and Golden Slang. There are other characters in different dimensions and realms. I can't really keep up with it. So popular is this game that my son's sister even knows about it and she goes to another school (and is 2 years older)!

I'm so over kid's birthday parties, honestly. I kept everything so simple including using a packet cake mix (which I usually do for birthday cakes) decorated with a few lollies, party pies, sandwiches, chips and lollies. I created the "Zoom", "Bang" and "H" wording in Microsoft, printed it out, laminated it and stuck it to skewers into the cake. Party bags were brown paper bags with the same wording on it and a few simple things thrown in like a balloon, bubbles, an eraser, pencil sharpener and some sweets.

Who can forget the stress that went with the great combined Jake & the Neverland Pirates birthday party of 2011?

Or the Barbie Princess party of 2012?

I didn't want to put myself under any due stress with birthday parties again. I was lucky that my daughter's birthday fell on a weekend she was at her Dad's so he and his new wife organised that. I decided he could have a 'play date with cake' and he invited his Zoom! Bang! H members over for some jumping on the trampoline, an impromptu water fight, a bit of party food and, well, cake.

I love my baby boy so much and can't believe he is 8 years old now. He had such a fantastic time and there was no stress on my part at all. As far as Zoom! Bang! H goes, if you happen to see the TV show in coming years or a Playstation game for it, just remember, you heard it here first and I'm now living the comfortable life created by my now millionaire 11 year old game creator son. Happy birthday darling boy! (Gosh a group of 8 year old boys are rowdy!)

Zoom! Bang! H (for heroes)

Please forgive me in advance if you think I may be talking in jibberish but that’s exactly what I thought my son was doing when he mentioned he wanted a “Zoom! Bang! H” party for his 8th birthday last Sunday.  A couple of months ago, the Minecraft addicted boy of mine wanted a Minecraft party. Even though I know nothing about Minecraft, I would’ve find more than enough inspiration on Pinterest. But Zoom! Bang! H?

Upon further investigation and explanation, Zoom! Bang! H refers to a club that my son and his mates from school created. It’s all about a group of guys who were mining (I think that might be a Minecraft reference) and forgot to close the top of the mine one night. Lightning struck the diamonds that were left out and turned them into blue, red and yellow gems of power (another Minecraft reference, I think). When the boys have these gems, it gives them super powers and they are able to conquer the world and arch villainesses Purple Lips, Rosie, Pink Lips, Abigail and Dragongirl. Superhero names include Ice Boom, Fire Slam and Golden Slang. There are other characters in different dimensions and realms. I can’t really keep up with it. So popular is this game that my son’s sister even knows about it and she goes to another school (and is 2 years older)!

I’m so over kid’s birthday parties, honestly. I kept everything so simple including using a packet cake mix (which I usually do for birthday cakes) decorated with a few lollies, party pies, sandwiches, chips and lollies. I created the “Zoom”, “Bang” and “H” wording in Microsoft, printed it out, laminated it and stuck it to skewers into the cake. Party bags were brown paper bags with the same wording on it and a few simple things thrown in like a balloon, bubbles, an eraser, pencil sharpener and some sweets.

Who can forget the stress that went with the great combined Jake & the Neverland Pirates birthday party of 2011?

Or the Barbie Princess party of 2012?

I didn’t want to put myself under any due stress with birthday parties again. I was lucky that my daughter’s birthday fell on a weekend she was at her Dad’s so he and his new wife organised that. I decided he could have a ‘play date with cake’ and he invited his Zoom! Bang! H members over for some jumping on the trampoline, an impromptu water fight, a bit of party food and, well, cake.

I love my baby boy so much and can’t believe he is 8 years old now. He had such a fantastic time and there was no stress on my part at all. As far as Zoom! Bang! H goes, if you happen to see the TV show in coming years or a Playstation game for it, just remember, you heard it here first and I’m now living the comfortable life created by my now millionaire 11 year old game creator son. Happy birthday darling boy! (Gosh a group of 8 year old boys are rowdy!)

Red Velvet Swirl Brownies + birthday celebrations

In case you missed it, it was my birthday last Thursday and I was blessed with such wonderful kindness from friends, family and neighbours. My dear neighbour Nicola sent me a message asking if I had arranged a birthday cake, which I hadn't. I was planning to take the kids to the local Mexican restaurant for dinner on my birthday and was going to pick up a small cake from somewhere. Lo and behold when I got home from picking the children up from school Nicola arrived with her son and a batch of these gorgeous Red Velvet Swirl Brownies. They were so delicious and it was such a thoughtful thing to do. You can find the recipe here.

Besides being taken out for lunch for my birthday by my friend Larissa to the local club for a delicious Thai Beef Salad (personally made by my Head Chef neighbour Rebekah), my kids and I enjoyed dinner at the local Mexican restaurant. Friday night I enjoyed a bottle of wine and nibblies with my girlfriend Corinne.

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On Saturday night, my girlfriends took me to a Thai restaurant (I had a Thai Beef Salad again - I love it) and surprised me with a voucher for a lunch river cruise for 2. One of my friends, a keen scrapbooker, also made the birthday card and a mini photo album which will be filled with photos from the night. It was totally unexpected and such a surprise. They also brought a chocolate mud cake and it was brought out with candles and sparklers. I then went with a few of them to a local pub where I danced the night away with a couple other girls.

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It was such a fantastic few days of birthday celebrations but I don't think it will end there. I'm celebrating every day it seems. My sisters are taking me to the stage production of "The King and I" in April followed by dinner out. My sister also gave me some beautiful jewellry set with crystals. I truly am blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.

Red Velvet Swirl Brownies + birthday celebrations

In case you missed it, it was my birthday last Thursday and I was blessed with such wonderful kindness from friends, family and neighbours. My dear neighbour Nicola sent me a message asking if I had arranged a birthday cake, which I hadn’t. I was planning to take the kids to the local Mexican restaurant for dinner on my birthday and was going to pick up a small cake from somewhere. Lo and behold when I got home from picking the children up from school Nicola arrived with her son and a batch of these gorgeous Red Velvet Swirl Brownies. They were so delicious and it was such a thoughtful thing to do. You can find the recipe here.

Besides being taken out for lunch for my birthday by my friend Larissa to the local club for a delicious Thai Beef Salad (personally made by my Head Chef neighbour Rebekah), my kids and I enjoyed dinner at the local Mexican restaurant. Friday night I enjoyed a bottle of wine and nibblies with my girlfriend Corinne.

source

On Saturday night, my girlfriends took me to a Thai restaurant (I had a Thai Beef Salad again – I love it) and surprised me with a voucher for a lunch river cruise for 2. One of my friends, a keen scrapbooker, also made the birthday card and a mini photo album which will be filled with photos from the night. It was totally unexpected and such a surprise. They also brought a chocolate mud cake and it was brought out with candles and sparklers. I then went with a few of them to a local pub where I danced the night away with a couple other girls.

source

It was such a fantastic few days of birthday celebrations but I don’t think it will end there. I’m celebrating every day it seems. My sisters are taking me to the stage production of “The King and I” in April followed by dinner out. My sister also gave me some beautiful jewellry set with crystals. I truly am blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.

50 things about me

I see these kinds of posts doing the inter webs from time to time and even though I'll find it hard to come up with 50 things about me you may or may not know, I thought I'd give it a try.

1.  I was born in Brisbane, Queensland and Mum gave birth at the original Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital.
2.  I am the eldest of three girls.
3.  I have two children, a girl aged 9 and a boy aged 7.
4.  I have two dogs, a female Miniature Fox terrier called "Bonnie" and a male Miniature Pinscher called "Willy".
5.  I have a cockatiel bird called "Bam Bam".
6.  I live in the south eastern suburbs of Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland.
7.  I went to Hendra Primary School and Hendra High School.
8.  I walked to school.

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9.  I had a mad school girl crush on Robin (Burt Ward) from "Batman & Robin".
10. I learnt to cook, sew, crochet and knit before I was 10.
11. I played softball from the age of nine until I was 21, including playing at representative and 'A' grade level.
12. The only sport I never played, except for 2 years at primary school, was netball. I didn't like it all, preferring bat and ball or running sports.
13. I was a full-on vegetarian at age 19 which lasted about 2 years.
14. My dream job (and still is) was to be a high school Physical Education teacher or work in sport's rehabilitation.
15. I am a single mother.
16. I live in a 3 bedroom, split level home.
17. I wagged school a couple times (only a couple) including to see "Grease" at the cinema in the city when it was first released back in 1978.
18. The subjects I loved at high school were physical education, home economics and art.
19. My first job was working Friday nights and Saturday mornings at Woolworths Variety store in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.
20. My first love was David J, the boy across the road. I was aged about 8.
21. The first boy I kissed was Terry somebody in high school and we met at the bus stop. I was so nervous. I think I erased the whole thing from my mind, it was so awful.
22. I was a very naive girl at high school and didn't understand any of the innuendos going around at the time. My parents were very strict.
23. I was christened and raised a Lutheran and went to church every Sunday growing up, including doing my confirmation.
24. My mother passed away in March 2012 from a heart attack and my father back in 1993 from pancreatic cancer.
25. I am half Latvian and half German descent.
26. My favourite colour is blue.
27. I don't have a favourite number.
28. My middle name is Louise.

The Aussie band "Sherbet"

29. My first concert was "Sherbet" an Australian band popular in the 1970s.
30. My favourite band in my early teens was Bay City Rollers.
31. My favourite male singer in my early teens was David Essex.
32. My first 'real' concert was "The Ramones" at aged 17.
33. My favourite band of all time is "Led Zepplin" and my favourite song of theirs is "Rock'n'Roll".
34. Rock'n'roll is my favourite genre of music but I love all types of music.
35. I first moved out of home when I was in my early 20's with a guy who was a baker. We didn't last too long.
36. I have lived for many years at a time on my own and I LOVE it!
37. I can't say I have a favourite food. I just love all types of food but I guess I avoid offal at all costs. I can tolerate liver but not much else.
38. I have been to Las Vegas 6 times.
39. I am passionate about cooking, music and sports.
40. I lived in a small town called Ely in Nevada, USA (population approx 4,000) for 6 months.
41. My favourite movie of all time is "The Bridges of Madison County" and I have visited the covered bridges of Winterset, Iowa, USA.
42. I love every baseball movie ever made.

source

42. The New York Yankees are my favourite baseball team and I have seen them play at Yankees Stadium, New York, USA.
43. I have a tattoo of a blue kangaroo below my right hip which represents my favourite football team here in Australia, the North Melbourne Kangaroos (I was 35 and feeling a little rebellious at the time).
44. I have been married twice. The first time in my early 30's to a man who was my best friend. The marriage only lasted 12 months and we went our separate ways as friends.
45. I have been pregnant 6 times but only have 2 children (the other pregnancies were miscarriages).
46. I have always loved everything about Italy; the food, the landscape, the language, the motor vehicles (ie cars and motorbikes) and it is my dream to travel there one day.
47. I have only had four long term jobs over 23 years of full time work (I did many temp jobs in between the long term jobs).
48. I love life.
49, Tomorrow is my birthday.
50. I am turning 50 years of age.

Thanks if you made it to the end!

50 things about me

I see these kinds of posts doing the inter webs from time to time and even though I’ll find it hard to come up with 50 things about me you may or may not know, I thought I’d give it a try.

1.  I was born in Brisbane, Queensland and Mum gave birth at the original Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital.
2.  I am the eldest of three girls.
3.  I have two children, a girl aged 9 and a boy aged 7.
4.  I have two dogs, a female Miniature Fox terrier called “Bonnie” and a male Miniature Pinscher called “Willy”.
5.  I have a cockatiel bird called “Bam Bam”.
6.  I live in the south eastern suburbs of Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland.
7.  I went to Hendra Primary School and Hendra High School.
8.  I walked to school.

source

9.  I had a mad school girl crush on Robin (Burt Ward) from “Batman & Robin”.
10. I learnt to cook, sew, crochet and knit before I was 10.
11. I played softball from the age of nine until I was 21, including playing at representative and ‘A’ grade level.
12. The only sport I never played, except for 2 years at primary school, was netball. I didn’t like it all, preferring bat and ball or running sports.
13. I was a full-on vegetarian at age 19 which lasted about 2 years.
14. My dream job (and still is) was to be a high school Physical Education teacher or work in sport’s rehabilitation.
15. I am a single mother.
16. I live in a 3 bedroom, split level home.
17. I wagged school a couple times (only a couple) including to see “Grease” at the cinema in the city when it was first released back in 1978.
18. The subjects I loved at high school were physical education, home economics and art.
19. My first job was working Friday nights and Saturday mornings at Woolworths Variety store in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.
20. My first love was David J, the boy across the road. I was aged about 8.
21. The first boy I kissed was Terry somebody in high school and we met at the bus stop. I was so nervous. I think I erased the whole thing from my mind, it was so awful.
22. I was a very naive girl at high school and didn’t understand any of the innuendos going around at the time. My parents were very strict.
23. I was christened and raised a Lutheran and went to church every Sunday growing up, including doing my confirmation.
24. My mother passed away in March 2012 from a heart attack and my father back in 1993 from pancreatic cancer.
25. I am half Latvian and half German descent.
26. My favourite colour is blue.
27. I don’t have a favourite number.
28. My middle name is Louise.

The Aussie band “Sherbet”

29. My first concert was “Sherbet” an Australian band popular in the 1970s.
30. My favourite band in my early teens was Bay City Rollers.
31. My favourite male singer in my early teens was David Essex.
32. My first ‘real’ concert was “The Ramones” at aged 17.
33. My favourite band of all time is “Led Zepplin” and my favourite song of theirs is “Rock’n’Roll”.
34. Rock’n’roll is my favourite genre of music but I love all types of music.
35. I first moved out of home when I was in my early 20’s with a guy who was a baker. We didn’t last too long.
36. I have lived for many years at a time on my own and I LOVE it!
37. I can’t say I have a favourite food. I just love all types of food but I guess I avoid offal at all costs. I can tolerate liver but not much else.
38. I have been to Las Vegas 6 times.
39. I am passionate about cooking, music and sports.
40. I lived in a small town called Ely in Nevada, USA (population approx 4,000) for 6 months.
41. My favourite movie of all time is “The Bridges of Madison County” and I have visited the covered bridges of Winterset, Iowa, USA.
42. I love every baseball movie ever made.

source

42. The New York Yankees are my favourite baseball team and I have seen them play at Yankees Stadium, New York, USA.
43. I have a tattoo of a blue kangaroo below my right hip which represents my favourite football team here in Australia, the North Melbourne Kangaroos (I was 35 and feeling a little rebellious at the time).
44. I have been married twice. The first time in my early 30’s to a man who was my best friend. The marriage only lasted 12 months and we went our separate ways as friends.
45. I have been pregnant 6 times but only have 2 children (the other pregnancies were miscarriages).
46. I have always loved everything about Italy; the food, the landscape, the language, the motor vehicles (ie cars and motorbikes) and it is my dream to travel there one day.
47. I have only had four long term jobs over 23 years of full time work (I did many temp jobs in between the long term jobs).
48. I love life.
49, Tomorrow is my birthday.
50. I am turning 50 years of age.

Thanks if you made it to the end!

Happy New Year 2014 + my 3rd blogiversary!

From my family to yours, may you have a blessed and Happy New Year! I'm in to my fourth year of blogging now. Who would've thought it would've gone this far? I'm so lucky to know you all and have you come visit this space. Here's to a prosperous and happy 2014 for everyone!

Much love,

7th heaven!

Today you are 7 my big man! Oh how I love you. You're one of the best things that ever happened in my life. You've turned into a real crazy dude with such an amazing sense of humour. You say and do the most funny things.

Including all the fart noises!

You had a little play date/birthday party with 4 of your best mates from school. Your love of everything Star Wars amazes me. I can't even remember what the names of the movies are yet you know so much about them and the characters. You loved the very plain cake I made and said it was "awesome". I'm so glad you loved your party.

Even though you and your sister fight like cats and dogs, you're starting to learn the power of negotiation and learning how to work out your differences (even though it drives Mummy insane at times). I'm so proud of you both. You should also be very proud of your big sister who organised all your party games at 9 years of age. A very restful day for Mummy.

I love you baby boy! Hope you enjoy your 7th birthday today!

7th heaven!

Today you are 7 my big man! Oh how I love you. You’re one of the best things that ever happened in my life. You’ve turned into a real crazy dude with such an amazing sense of humour. You say and do the most funny things.

Including all the fart noises!

You had a little play date/birthday party with 4 of your best mates from school. Your love of everything Star Wars amazes me. I can’t even remember what the names of the movies are yet you know so much about them and the characters. You loved the very plain cake I made and said it was “awesome”. I’m so glad you loved your party.

Even though you and your sister fight like cats and dogs, you’re starting to learn the power of negotiation and learning how to work out your differences (even though it drives Mummy insane at times). I’m so proud of you both. You should also be very proud of your big sister who organised all your party games at 9 years of age. A very restful day for Mummy.

I love you baby boy! Hope you enjoy your 7th birthday today!

Beach themed teddy bear cookie cupcakes

After 9 years of birthdays and birthday cakes, I've finally decided to keep it simple and save myself a lot of stress and worry. I guess I wasn't worried about producing a cake for the kid's birthdays but was more worried about baking 30-odd cupcakes for their class on a day close to their actual birthday, a cake for their actual birthday and THE birthday cake for the party. I doubted my abilities and would always stress when it came time to icing THE party birthday cake but managed to pull it off (to my standards). At the end of the day, it didn't matter if I produced a cake with the stress or without the stress. The kids still loved it all the same. Its taken me 9 years to realise its all about them, not about me.

I first saw this idea on Pinterest and thought they were pretty cute. My daughter wasn't having a birthday party this year as her actual birthday coincided with her Dad's work Christmas party. She decided to have two girls from her class accompany her, her brother and I to the local swimming pool (which was a disaster because one girl turned out to be really mean to my daughter and ignore her - never again). We had these cupcakes on our return from the pool.

They are so easy to put together. I made 6 large cupcakes (using a *cough cough* packet cake mix) and a small round cake which I iced with blue icing. I was going to make 'sand' using biscuit crumbs but I had leftover yellow coloured coconut which I used up. The 'teddy' cookies just so happened to have a chocolate bottom which I actually zapped in the microwave for about 20 seconds to slightly melt the chocolate so they would adhere to the sour candy strips which I cut up for the towel. A paper umbrella poked into the sour candy strip to make sure it stayed and that was that. My kids loved them.

There was of course the obligatory actual day birthday cake which needle candles for blowing out and the small round cake I made with the leftover batter was just enough for two teddy cookies, a boy and a girl just like my two. One down, one to go and his birthday is this Sunday. It will be easy too.

Beach themed teddy bear cookie cupcakes

After 9 years of birthdays and birthday cakes, I’ve finally decided to keep it simple and save myself a lot of stress and worry. I guess I wasn’t worried about producing a cake for the kid’s birthdays but was more worried about baking 30-odd cupcakes for their class on a day close to their actual birthday, a cake for their actual birthday and THE birthday cake for the party. I doubted my abilities and would always stress when it came time to icing THE party birthday cake but managed to pull it off (to my standards). At the end of the day, it didn’t matter if I produced a cake with the stress or without the stress. The kids still loved it all the same. Its taken me 9 years to realise its all about them, not about me.

I first saw this idea on Pinterest and thought they were pretty cute. My daughter wasn’t having a birthday party this year as her actual birthday coincided with her Dad’s work Christmas party. She decided to have two girls from her class accompany her, her brother and I to the local swimming pool (which was a disaster because one girl turned out to be really mean to my daughter and ignore her – never again). We had these cupcakes on our return from the pool.

They are so easy to put together. I made 6 large cupcakes (using a *cough cough* packet cake mix) and a small round cake which I iced with blue icing. I was going to make ‘sand’ using biscuit crumbs but I had leftover yellow coloured coconut which I used up. The ‘teddy’ cookies just so happened to have a chocolate bottom which I actually zapped in the microwave for about 20 seconds to slightly melt the chocolate so they would adhere to the sour candy strips which I cut up for the towel. A paper umbrella poked into the sour candy strip to make sure it stayed and that was that. My kids loved them.

There was of course the obligatory actual day birthday cake which needle candles for blowing out and the small round cake I made with the leftover batter was just enough for two teddy cookies, a boy and a girl just like my two. One down, one to go and his birthday is this Sunday. It will be easy too.

Her 9th on the 9th

Dressed as the Monster High doll, Laguna Blue on her way to her brother's school disco

Today, my little girl, you will be 9 years old. I can't even begin to comprehend how quickly the last 9 years has gone. All too quickly you have gone from a relatively good baby, a delightful toddler, THE fussiest eater in the world (and still are but working on it), an intelligent and clever school girl, sensitive and caring of nature and the environment, defiant, strong willed, honest, loving and so grown up but still innocent.

I have many a chuckle to myself when I think about how much you are like me in certain ways. You've made me see that maybe I'm not so bad after all. You've taught me how to love unconditionally, how to parent, how to be tolerant and how to be forgiving.

No longer are we talking about rainbows and unicorns but trying to work out how other people think, how the world turns, what happens to a girl's body as she approaches puberty, how to live a good life and how to design the quirkiest Barbie clothes. I love all of our conversations.

I want you to know I love you more and more each day and will never forget how truly blessed I am to have you in my life.

Mummy xx

Her 9th on the 9th

Dressed as the Monster High doll, Laguna Blue on her way to her brother’s school disco

Today, my little girl, you will be 9 years old. I can’t even begin to comprehend how quickly the last 9 years has gone. All too quickly you have gone from a relatively good baby, a delightful toddler, THE fussiest eater in the world (and still are but working on it), an intelligent and clever school girl, sensitive and caring of nature and the environment, defiant, strong willed, honest, loving and so grown up but still innocent.

I have many a chuckle to myself when I think about how much you are like me in certain ways. You’ve made me see that maybe I’m not so bad after all. You’ve taught me how to love unconditionally, how to parent, how to be tolerant and how to be forgiving.

No longer are we talking about rainbows and unicorns but trying to work out how other people think, how the world turns, what happens to a girl’s body as she approaches puberty, how to live a good life and how to design the quirkiest Barbie clothes. I love all of our conversations.

I want you to know I love you more and more each day and will never forget how truly blessed I am to have you in my life.

Mummy xx

The kindness of strangers (and friends)

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Last month, it was my birthday. Not cause for celebration really. Just another day when you reach your 49th year. I was looking forward to the excitement of the kids more than anything but boy, was I in for a big surprise.

To go back a little bit, the dearest, most special Ros from Sew Delicious here in Australia, put out the call on Facebook that one of her friends, Amy (Actually Amy - another blogger here in Aus) had just moved to the other side of the country with her family for her husband's work and was feeling a little blue. She asked if we could spare a couple dollars to send her a card to cheer her up. I know Amy and I couldn't imagine how hard that could've been for her so got the details and sent off a card. Little did I know that it was a decoy. Ros (and Amy and also Cass from Cass Can Sew) schemed up this plan to get people to send ME a birthday card to cheer ME up. (Among other things, it was going to be my first birthday without Mum. Only 12 months prior, Mum and I had gone to a lovely cafe and Mum just couldn't walk around like she used to and I noticed she was getting older.)

Anyway, a day or so after my actual birthday, the cards started rolling in. I just didn't know what was going on. When I queried Ros, she fessed up. I just couldn't believe my eyes. There were cards from all over Australia, from the UK, the USA and all the way from Latvia where my Dad was born. I could sense that both Mum and Dad were with me in spirit for my birthday. I was totally overwhelmed and couldn't believe the generosity of all these people. It's one of the greatest times of my life.

Here are the cards I was sent (among other things).

(Sorry, forgot to say that Trudie is from My Vintage Childhood and Bron from Maid in Australia.)

So to Ros, Amy and Cass (and everyone else who was in on the surprise) thank you from the bottom of my heart. This will go down as one of the best birthdays I've ever had and I'll never forget it. There truly is so many lovely people in the world!

Oh, and if you wanted to pop in here or on my Facebook page and say gidday, I'd love to check out your Facebook page or blog if you have one.) I hope I got all the names right on all the cards too.