I must confess... I'm a Granny - Bedazzle me!

It's true! 

With so much focus these days on retaining your youth and staying hip, happening and fashion forward, the fact is I'm a closet Granny!

School went back today and I was so excited. Not because I have the house to myself again (although that is a very large bonus) but because I can get my floors mopped and my bathrooms scrubbed !

I love to stitch. As in hand held embroidery stitching. I like back stitch and stem stitch and have been known to turn a french knot or 20 in my time.

I like a good hot cup of tea, in a fine china cup, with an Arnotts Scotch finger biscuit.

I talk to my dogs like they genuinely understand what I'm saying. I might have occasionally put bows in their hair to add a little colour on a drab day.

I tend to look at 90% of what the teens are wearing these days and think to myself  "Why would you ?", and "What on earth are their parents thinking?".

I own slippers. Multiple sets. A granny can never have too many slippers.

I am suspicious of any meal that is entirely cooked in a microwave. No matter what the research, I still find it hard to believe it can be good for you. My microwave is for reheating stuff and steaming vegies.

The TV is too loud. Noises are too loud. When my kids have their music blaring I wince and look for dark corners to hide in.

But the one thing that confirms that I am a granny is... I own a Bedazzler .

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Shiny gems hot glued to any surface you like. I can't recall exactly how it came to live with me, I suspect a school white elephant stall, a small child and the need for the whinging to stop combined to bring this arts and crafts monster to our home.

Some people take Bedazzling to a whole new level of wrong...

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When you've run out of clothing to glam up, you can always bedazzle your car..

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Your face...

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Your Taco...

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Or your Va-Jayjay...

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Disturbing in every way. I'm not sure my household is ready for this level of sexy! 

So come on, it's time to 'fess up. What do you have hidden in the back of your cupboards?

Linking up with Kirsty from My Home Truths , for I Must Confess on Monday

Happy Birthday to my Mum

Obviously it's my Mum's birthday today. She and Dad are Grey Nomads, wandering around our beautiful country with their caravan and plenty of time to spend.
So we haven't been with her today as the nomads are way smarter than us and have gone in search of warmer beach weather, while we freeze our butts off.
'Here's my "Happy Birthday" tribute to the most important woman in my life. She has absolutely been the glue that holds me together.

Photo slideshow customized with Smilebox Warning - gratuitous family photo sharing within. xxx

Our River Walk - Wordless Wednesday

We went for a walk....

What a glorious winter day !

She wants to be a nun

"I want to become a nun" she tells me earnestly. "A carmellite nun".
Hmm this is quite specific.

Then the penny drops. "
"Have you, by any chance, been watching Sister Act ?"

My little Miss 8 nods and clasps her hands together.
"I don't think I want to go to a place where you can't talk because I wouldn't be very good at that, but I want to go to Nun house where they sing all day."

Freezing cold, dreary grey Victorian Winter School holidays mean lots of inside time, and my youngest has been going through my old dvd's and even the VCR tapes.

No Bratz movies or Monster High, Not the latest and greatest in high-tech special effects.
She is a traditionalist.

The King and I
The Sound of Music
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
The Wizard of Oz
Mary Poppins
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory


Basically anything that has lots of music in it.
Add to this her newly aquired favourites of Pitch Perfect, Sister Act 1 and 2, Footloose and Xanadu.

It's a singing, dancing stage show at our house. The older kids are doing a FANTASTIC job of scratching their eardrums out with a fork as my youngest "etcetera ... etcetera...etcetera" s several thousand times a day and practising her Hail Mary's.


What's showing on the small screen at your house these holidays?

The Dinosaur-Dragon named Mabel

I haven't really encouraged gender specific toys. I have allowed our kids to choose and play with whatever they want. J-man had a pram and clothes for his beloved blue bear and both Miss 15 and Miss 9 have had an awesome collection of matchbox cars and trucks. Miss 17 was obsessed with dragons and unicorns and they pretty much all just 'played' with whatever made them happy.
When Miss 17 was much younger and in the midst of her dinosaur/dragon phase she wanted to have one of her own. So for Christmas Santa brought her a Dino-raptor ..a remote controlled ANGRY beast who flicked his tail and growled/roared and hissed at anyone within sonic detection.

After a couple of years and some growing out of childhood, the Dino-raptor was pushed to the back of her high cupboard, where he has languished for several years.

Today, Miss 17 decided to clean out her cupboard and out came The Angry One.

Miss 9 quickly claimed him as her own.
Re-gendered him to a her and named her Mabel.
She has a quilted nest now as well as a loving home.

Mabel isn't so scary now, she is just misunderstood or hungry.
She is getting lots of love and affection.

She gave birth to a multicoloured dragon baby earlier today called Marley. (Things move quickly in the Young household)

I'm fairly certain this is not what the creators of the Dino-raptor had in mind.

What can I say? Miss 9 has a nurturing heart. Even when the object of her concern happens to be a 3 foot long plastic dino-dragon robot.

You Will Be Loved.

What toys have surprised you with your children?

I forgot I wrote a book

Sometimes I am pleasantly distracted.
Other times I am frighteningly vague and forgetful.

For the past 2 years I have been immersed in the blogging community and daydreaming about the possibility that I might actually one day hold in my hand something I have written. A hard copy of my words.
There are fellow bloggers who have 'self published' and I am always amazed at their self confidence. I wonder how I would ever get to the point that I feel my work is worthy of real paper.

I woke up this morning feeling unsettled. Something about a book, something about a box of ....

HEY ! Wait a minute.... I did that !!!!

ZOMG !

It troubles me that I FORGOT I did this!

So this morning I was out in the shed, digging around in the back of an old cupboard, and voila'

front cover

back cover

Back in 2008, while I was still madly making all my buttons, as well as raising my babies, I decided to have a go and creating a craft book.
Thirty four pages of stitching, baking, quotes....

I did the setting out all myself, on my little laptop in the study.
I sourced a printer in South Australia, and pressed send.
And 4 weeks later they arrived.

I am laughing at myself today, but also wondering what else I have forgotten about.

Would you like a copy?
I'm happily giving away 5 copies (yes I've checked and I do have them!)

Tell me what you have forgotten? Are you as ditzy as me?
The top five answers that make me laugh or gasp can have a copy of the forgotten treasure in my cupboard!

Tell your friends, share away...

Winners announced 13 July...

School Holiday Planning for teenagers

When your kids are little, school holiday planning is all about keeping little minds and busy fingers occupied for a fortnight without losing your mind.

Then they grow.

For me school holiday planning is pretty much all about transport and food.
And so I plan ......

The calendar is Taxi-Central.

When I first got married we had cute little calendars, with groovy pictures and a small box to write anything noteworthy for the day.

Now with 4 kids ( including three roaming teenagers) we forgo the cute picture and aim for maximum writing space.

If you are going somewhere, coming home from somewhere, need to get a friend from somewhere or have cancelled plans, if it isn't on the calendar then it isn't happening. ( That doesn't mean that if it IS on the calendar it will definitely happen, but you have a better shot at getting a ride home this way).

The other essential point of reference is the menu plan.
It gets posted on the fridge and cuts out about 1/2 the questioning that comes my way.

"What's for dinner?"
"What's for dinner?"
"What's for dinner?"
"What's for dinner?"
"What's for dinner?"

Darling teenage children, here is 'what's for dinner'.

If you do not like the meal on any given night, please feel free to make your own arrangements.

School holidays start tomorrow.

Wish me luck.