Monday, May 14, 2012

Happy birthday Claire!

A good friend had a birthday today.
(Sssshhhhh! Because she doesn't want any fuss!) 
I thought I'd share the card I made her. I've been getting back into my card making recently and loving making a mess of the house and then trying to tidy madly before Byron and the kids get home! 
Because I wanted to make sure Claire had a laugh on her birthday and didn't get too caught up in numbers I thought I'd lighten the tone with a funny quote on friendship inside...

True friendship is like peeing your pants Everyone can see it but only you can feel the true warmth!


I hope you felt the warmth today Claire and for many more years to come!

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Mothers day cards.



A record of the lovely home-made cards I got this year!

I love the body in card number one. I just wonder where it has disappeared to?! Somehow I think a Google search might show me where it came from because I sure don't ever recall having one similar!!!

I love my bling birdie from Rhiannon

...and Gareth's poem?! Well, it's unique!

In case you can't read it it goes like this...

Oh Mum I think you're really young.
I hope you like your present
I bought it from a peasant.
You know Rhiannon calls me a bum
well I think you're a super mum
and you're very fun.

Priceless!

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Sunday, May 13, 2012

Mothers day 2012

This Mothers Day was exactly what it should have been. Hugs in bed, home made cards, chocolate and cups of tea. I'm sure it followed the same routine as many mums around the country. For each of those mums, just like me, I hope it was the best Mothers Day ever!

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Friday, May 11, 2012

Braiding.

Braiding seems to be the latest thing when it comes to teenage hair. Such a simple old fashioned style is now cropping up on pop stars tresses and tv starlets in various forms.

French plaiting is something I used to try and try to do on Sians hair when she was a little girl with limited success. Within a couple of minutes of watching me do one on her sister she turned away and with nimble fingers re-created the style over and over on any of her friends with hair long enough to let her.

Now that she has mastered the basic plait she is you-tubing variations and thinking of more and more adventurous and modern twists to an old fashioned style. I love it!


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Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Timeless...


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Monday, May 07, 2012

Umina Bay

A friend came up with a plan for a weekend away. It was at a camp-site that also had cabins to rent for the less adventurous. We fell smack bang into that category and having considered camping for less than a nano second we were on-line looking at the more solid accommodation options! We were in good company with every other family doing the same thing. 

In the end there were 7 families comprised of 14 adults and 19 kids! It was mad, crazy fun. We BBQ'd and shared snacks and watched the kids on the playground and swimming. The weather was amazing, no rain and lots of sunshine. This must be a first for us on a camping style holiday where normally we get caught up in some mini tornado or storm. 

With such a big group of kids ranging from 7 months old up to our 14 yr old Sian it was quite amazing to watch them bounce and laugh and chase each other around without any tears or falling out. 

I think we will be planing a return trip at some point in the coming year...


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Friday, May 04, 2012

Face Juggler

Apple are responsible for pant wetting laughter in our house this week. Byron downloaded a free app onto his iphone called Face Juggler. It allows you to take a photo and then it takes the main facial features (eyes, nose, mouth) and swaps them with another face in the photo. Sometimes it doesn't do a great job but if the faces are a similar size and are looking in the same direction the results can be hilarious. 


The kids insisted on Byron and myself posing for a juggle. It's not the most flattering "before" photo but having seen the juggled version and how awful we look I am happy to live with the original version of Mr and Mrs B!




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Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Parents in the classroom

In Year 7 in High School there is one opportunity for parents to get a glimpse into their kids school day. This morning they had parents in the classroom and we were able to join them for assembly and then their first two classes of the day.

After assembly I tried to promise Rhiannon that I would do my best not to embarrass her. I had my fingers crossed...

We strolled across the bright sunny school grounds in search of the science lab and out came the mobile so I could snap our shadows hand in hand!
Science was great fun. It was a practical lesson involving dry ice. We inflated balloons, exploded film canisters and made creepy coloured potions bubble and froth!
After all that excitement we went outside for PDHPE (sports) where we were shown how to throw a javelin. I had one attempt which shattered all my future Olympic dreams and left Rhiannon to persevere until she was pink in the cheeks. 
We said goodbye and she skipped off to her next class and I went to join the other parents in the hall for morning tea and a chat. When that wound up we found ourselves wandering down the school drive towards our cars and the long list of jobs we were supposed to be doing. Somehow the conversation never quite ended when it should and as other mothers passed us talking at the gates some joined in our huddle and time slipped by until I found myself with stomach grumbling excusing myself so I could go and run my errands. I had to race like crazy to fit all those jobs into the rest of the afternoon. As I jumped in my car at 2.30 to collect Gareth from his school I looked at my phone to see a message from Monica (one of my fellow natterers) telling me they were only just finished their chat and heading home! 

So I leave you with a message to the principal...

Dear Mr Stevens
Thank you so much for giving us parents the opportunity to join our kids in your wonderful school. It was great to walk beside them and see them interact with their teachers and friends. It is so good to get a glimpse of school life beyond the gates. There is only one small criticism I share with my good friend Monica. The school is lacking some comfy seating outside the gates, and perhaps a cappuccino machine...
Yours sincerely
Rhiannons Mum.


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Tuesday, May 01, 2012

The Wild Kayaker!


In my battle to keep the house clean, the kids happy, my husband nurtured and my parents supported I sometimes feel a little like I forget to have "me time". So in a once-in-five-years fit of madness I walked out of my messy house on a school morning with life-jacket on and paddle in hand and dragged Byron's Kayak across the road to the water and went on a little adventure. I felt wild and daring and took a self portrait to show as proof to my unbelieving children later! I felt more than a little achy and old the next day when I woke up unable to move my arms but at least I felt like ME!

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Sunday, April 29, 2012

Computer problems...

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Friday, April 27, 2012

Double yolker


As the weather cools down we have been told to expect a drop in the number of eggs we get from Betty and Wilma each week. We weren't prepared for the monster sized dinosaur egg we found in the egg box one recent morning. It was huge! When we cracked it open we found it was a double yolker!

Good girls!

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Thursday, April 26, 2012

Adventure time

This year Rhiannon chopped and changed her mind about 5 times as to what type of cake she wanted for her birthday.
Chocolate with Smarties and KitKats?
Rainbow layers?

Late yesterday afternoon she announced that she wanted to help make an "Adventure Time" cake. She wanted to make a cake that looked like the character Finn from a favourite tv cartoon.

She was pretty pleased with the end result!
Happy Birthday to my gorgeous Rhiannon.
Today you turn 12 and take one more step from childhood towards the teenage years.
You are truly amazing.
You are funny and sensitive, you brighten our family simply by "being"
You have a wicked sense of humour and are more like your father than I care to say!
You draw constantly and are getting more and more confident with your ability to sketch and create.
What will you be when you grow up?
An artist? A famous clothes designer? A comedian? A veterinary nurse? 
As long as you keep that wonderful smile on your face you can be anything you set your heart to...
And whatever you become I believe you will always be happy!


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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Lest We Forget...

Today we remember all Australian soldiers past and present who have given their all to make this land a safe place to live. The children had a day off school but they got up and put on their school uniforms and joined their classmates, teachers and principals in our local town and marched in the ANZAC memorial parade in honour of those who have gone before us so that they can live and grow in peace.



They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: 
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn 
At the going down of the sun and in the morning 
We will remember them.

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Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Size doesn't matter

My attempts at growing my own veggies this year has not been overwhelming in its success...

My crop of beetroot looked amazing with big glossy leaves. After 12 weeks we finally went out to pull some for a beetroot, feta and walnut salad with warm orange, mustard dressing. They were tiny! The entire crop gave me just one handful of diced beetroot which made one lovely serving of side-salad!

We are going to sow some more seeds this weekend in the hope of another salad by next August!!!

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Sunday, April 22, 2012

"Byron Bay"nham

On our recent holiday to Queensland we went to visit a town that has a special connection to Mr B. In his mid teens someone told him about a small town in Australia called Byron Bay. He didn't believe them at first but the more he heard about it the more he knew he wanted to go there someday. How amazing to be called Byron Baynham and to visit a place where your name is everywhere! As we got out of our car and left it safely parked on Byron Street we vowed to take a photo of Byron standing next to every Byron sign we could. We gave up after about 30! Here is a selection of just some of them...!

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