Would you like some chocolate with that?

One thing the USA is famous for is doing everything to the extreme.
They do Extreme Fishing, Extreme Mining, Extreme Cars, Extreme Abseiling..Extreme Cake Decorating,  Extreme Weddings, Extreme Piercings, Extreme Tattoos, Extreme Makeovers, Extreme Birth Stories... you name it, the USA has it covered.

So in my Pinterest Frenzy this week I started on a bit of an Easter binge.

Because there are so many awesome pins from people waaaaaaay more dedicated than me to:

Easter decorating

Easter making

And Easter Baking

\

Seriously ????

But time and time again I came across USA links to Easter Bunny Bark.


What Is That?

First of all, the bunny in my house doesn't eat bark - He prefers some short cut alfalfa sprouts, green tips only, a quarter of a freshly harvested carrot and the Spanish dried, late harvested, $35 a pound gooseberries from the island of Rabbit-Nirvana .

Secondly, the Easter Bunny at my house does not qualify for a stop over snack
(I thought that was Santa . Milk and cookies or in our case Beer and some peanuts please)

Thirdly.. .... ... ... umm ...  seriously, you make this stuff for imaginary characters???

But as it happens, and it happens often, I got converted, sucked in and won over...

so tonight before ballet....

Miss 9 and me made Easter Bunny Bark.

Basically you chop up some toppings (read : what ever Mum could find leftover on the back of the "saving it for Christmas" cupboard):

You melt some white chocolate into liquid form:

You sprinkle the goodies over the good stuff:

And smash it all down.

Cool in the fridge til firm and chop into manageable pieces:

Happy Days!!!

We are so freakin' ready for the Easter Bunny, It's not even funny right now,

( **  Also I might have Type 2 diabetes from all the sugar I have consumed today. Seriously. ** )

What have you made that makes your head and blood sugar level spin?

Loving the creative process - Easter Swag Printable

Once upon a time, I made timber buttons for the crafting world. hundreds and thousands of buttons. I designed them, cut them out with my laser machine and then handpainted them.

My favouritest thing of all was the design process. Getting a spark of an idea, planning and drawing, and tweaking it until I had a final product that I loved. I would get butterflies in my tummy, be so very excited and do little happy dances when a new idea worked out into something really cool.

Last year, for several reasons, I closed down my little Button world. 

I don't miss the marketing, the advertising or the demands for MORE! I don't miss the pressure to stay 'on-trend' or to stay one step ahead of my competition. I don't miss the mess, the paints, the smell of burning timber. I don't miss customers who wanted to pay $1 for an intricately handpainted angel, and then complained that they could have gone to Spotlight ( for a cheap, mass produced plastic something).

What I miss is the design process. Time playing with my art program. Fine tuning a design until it is good or even great.

I miss giving stuff away, I love that feeling. I loved saying "Take it, have it, I want you to have this".

So today I am very thankful to have rediscovered that spark. The fun.

In a very basic way, I get to have all the fun of designing with none of the pressure. My art program is run off its feet and my brain is once again swirling with ideas.

On Monday I made a Printable, as a bit of a personal challenge. A little Easter holiday plan, for anyone who might like to plan some fun times over these school holidays. 

You can download it here for free - Yay!

On Tuesday I made an Easter Egg swag with Miss 9, pretty simple but also PRETTY!

So I made that into a printable. Because I can.

It's cute, prints out on A4 paper and is a super simple project to do with your little kiddly-winks over the school holidays.

Click here to for the free Swag printable with simple instructions :-)

(Super simple = print and cut out, punch some holes, thread them on and hang !)

Yesterday, I had more fun with my designing... that idea needs a little fine tuning but stay tuned... I sense a storm of printables is on it's way.

I have that buzz back. The butterflies are dancing. I am feeling the happy. Yay 

Thankful Thursday xx with Lovely Rhi

World Autism Day - The Carnival Ride

Today Is World Autism Awareness Day.

Not only do we want to raise awareness amongst the greater community about the challenges of living with Autism, we also want to take today to reflect on the joy and wonder that Autism brings to our world.

A couple of years ago I wrote a post about how it feels to find yourself parenting a child with ASD.
I am re-posting it today, for Autism Awareness.

Like so many young romantic couples, we bought tickets to go on the Carousel.

Many of our friends had already gone on it and said it was great. It looked like fun and we could afford it. We had to wait in line, but we had friends waiting too, so it was a good, gossipy wait, talking about what it would be like.

When we finally got through the gates, none of our friends were near us.The ride started and almost immediately, we realised that we were on the wrong ride.

Our seats didn't look like the other seats, and the cars banged and crashed and made weird noises. The seat belts pinched and I felt the first tentacles of fear sneaking into my heart.

A man popped out in a white coat and told us we were on the Monster Crash Roller Coaster. He smiled in a detached way and sent us through the big swinging doors.

  ***************

The Roller Coaster is not at all like the Carousel. It is unpredictable, frightening and fast. There are exhilarating highs and stomach churning free-fall drops. There is always a jagged corner hurtling towards you and you never really know where you will go next. You can't hear anyone else because there is so much other noise, and sometimes you actually scream in true fear.

Even with someone sitting right next to you, there are moments when you feel totally and desperately alone. 

You can see the carousel in the distance, with it's pretty lights and gentle well groomed ponies.

Your friends are watching you, as you fly through the air, hair tangled, clothes askew. You can't explain to them why you aren't sitting nicely or why you need to hang on so tight. You know from where they sit, you look wild eyed and out of control. You wish you were sitting on a happy little pony, not this monster ride. 

You start to worry that you will not make it to the end. You worry the safety rail will fly open, that your car will derail. You forget to breath. Your stomach churns and your fingers ache with the effort of holding on.You close your eyes and wish for it to be over, to be different.

But then... you stop and really concentrate.  Your heart is leaping, not only in fear but also in the most incredible joy. You are starting to anticipate the climb and then the drop. You learn to hang on tight in the scary bits, and you open your eyes and really look at the world from the very peak of the steep climbs.

The world looks so different up here, and none of those people on the Carousel can possibly see the world from this angle. 

They have no idea how beautiful it can be up here. 

At the last climb and free fall, you are grinning, eyes wide open. 

As you reach the peak, you let go of the safety bar and raise your hands over your head and welcome the rush.

  ***************

　
The ride slows down and we turn to each other, grinning from ear to ear. No, it wasn't the Merry-go-round ride we anticipated. It was so, so much more.

We have since then ridden on the Carousel. It is fun and wonderful too. But there is always a special place in our hearts for the Roller Coaster... what a ride.

I love a Challenge - Easter Holiday Planner Printable

All over Blogland and Pinterest there are squillions of printables. Downloadable printable templates to fulfill your every need from organising your home, your grocery list or your home budget, to calenders, baby shower gift tags, cookie jar labels and everything in between.

As you may have figured out, I love a challenge so yesterday I decided to have a go and make my very first Button Brain Printable.

As the Easter school holidays are hurtling towards us and I have Zip-Zero-Zilch planned as yet, I thought it would be fun ( and terrifically organised of me) if I made up a an Easter holiday planner for Miss 9.

It took some work & several hours of 'research' online, before I finally went back to the art program I know and understand.

I made up some little Easter Egg graphics, added some text, played around with the layout, played around with the layout some more... and more and more and more.....

But finally, I think I got something that someone out there might like to print.

 So If you would like to download my very first Button Brain Printable Click Below:

Easter Holiday Planner Printable Link

Just download the PDF to your computer and print away.

So how do you think I did?

I must confess - March tales

This week for I Must Confess, I am being prompted to link to a post from March 2013,

There is the one where I talk about getting fit after a looonngg absence from the gym ... turns out I did exactly the same thing in December, staying power is not my strong suit.

There is the one where I confess I have gone back to the Dr for help with depression (again!!!) and am hoping for sunnier skies. Since then the skies have been sunnier, cloudier, storming, shining, snowing, hailing and glorious. I don't think the black dog of depression is ever going to move out of my yard but I do think I've got it on a short chain (for now)

There is the post about DPCON13, a conference for Australian Bloggers, mostly from the parent realm and how I LOVED the conference last year... Last week I went to the DPCON14 conference on a cruise ship (OH MY!) and it was magnificent. Once again, the tribe has spoken, I belong.

There was a post about my very naughty raggy Cavoodle who is like a little Houdini. When he gets out the front door, he runs like he will never run again. He still does it. It is less amusing now.

So the post I am sharing is my 20th Anniversary Post. I love it, for all the things it says about us and me. Twenty One Years Last week, still here.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

20 Years

Once upon a time there was a little boy

and a little girl.

They grew up in different cities, in very different families.

She was (mostly) a good girl who came home on time, who got good grades and who had only had one boyfriend.

He was a bit naughty, left home at 16 and had plenty of girlfriends :-)

And then they met.

After three weeks of dating the boy told the girl he was going to marry her.
She laughed.

18 months later......

Just babies were we, me at 20 and he just 21.

What a spunk! A very tall spunk!

She's still (mostly) a good girl
He's still a bit naughty.

20 years.
Happy Anniversary Babe. 
I love you

Cocktail Dresses for Cruising

If I tell a mum at school that I write a blog, usually the reaction is a polite but blank smile.

Trying to explain to non-bloggers (or non-blog readers) what the point of a blog is, is nearly impossible.
Mostly because in my case there is no actual point. I don't review products, I don't have a sponsor, I don't make any money and usually I don't have anything profound to share.
I just like to write.
And over-share.
And off-load.

I can't explain why I like it, why this has become my hobby. It is no more significant than if I spent my time knitting or perfecting the art of cake pop making (NOT gonna happen). Yes, its probably a bit of time wasting nonsense and yet, so is just about anything we do outside the confines of our working hours.

In 2 weeks I'm heading off to a blogging conference, this year aboard the awesome Carnival Spirit Cruise Ship. I've been to the last two Digital Parents Conferences and loved meeting other bloggers. They get me, (or if they didn't, they did a great job pretending to understand me!)

I have a room-mate matched up, I have my plane tickets booked. Hubby and kids are well warned and prepared. In the wee small hours I briefly considered booking in for spray tan and some botox but I decided that a weekend cruise probably didn't warrant that degree of vanity.

So yesterday I tweeted one of the organisers to get an idea of the plans for the first evening - how we would all find each other aboard this enormous ship.
She wrote back with details and asked if I had my Cocktail dress ready.

I chuckled, then realised she was serious. A cocktail dress! Not an item that is essential in the wardrobe of a night shift nurse with 4 kids in hometown Wangarattta. I can't say there are a great number of Cocktail dress worthy events on my calendar.

I'm not even sure I know what makes a dress a 'Cocktail dress'. Are there Cocktail dress rules?
I am worried now that I will commit a Cocktail Dress faux pas, and of course be completely unaware.

Fortunately, I turned to the endless wisdom of google, which gave me not only the definition of a cocktail dress ( including the variations of hemline length and acceptable standard of dress by accompanying males) , but google also offered examples.

Now I know what I'm looking for, I'm off to shop... where do you think I will find one of these ?

Linking Up With Jess For I Blog On Tuesdays

Oh Happy Day

Every parent wants their child to have the ability to support themselves. I'll be honest, there were times where I secretly doubted that was possible for our boy. 

Times in the muddy swamp land of school days with undiagnosed Aspergers syndrome, when I just despaired. 
When he couldn't even remember two sequenced instructions and follow through ( not even on the first one!)
When his Grade 6 teacher told us he was never going to amount to anything..(yes he actually said it, in front of J-man)
When he was so sad and negative about himself I didn't even know if he would be here by the end of his cruel teen years.
When he got left behind, so far behind in basic reading and writing that in the end teachers told me he was really just coming to school to learn social skills.

Amazingly, and yet not so surprisingly, J-man has laughed off all of that.
He learned to read and write when he was good and ready. 
He found a small but loyal group of friends at school and decided that he was just fine the way he was, and everyone else could just get over it.
He figured out the value of remembering instruction very quickly in Army Cadets when not remembering earned you a bawling out and extra duties.

He rolled with the punches dealt by the Australian Unemployment system which is a deceptive and unsupportive mess. He put his resume out there over and over, applied for countless jobs, shook hands, nodded his head and put on a brave face with every knock back. For 18 months he has tried and tried and tried again.


This week we had exciting news.
Big!
Huge!
Jumping up and down in the kitchen with my mother, squealing and crying kind of news.

J-man has been offered ( and has accepted ) a four year apprenticeship in Carpentry and Joinery.
A local builder gave him a 4 week trial and was happy enough with what J-man did to offer to take him on.

We are so grateful that this opportunity is here, that J-man was able to focus and shine. The builder loves that he has got to work early every single day, and works til stumps. He loves J-mans attention to detail, that he likes to work on a task until it is perfect ( hello Aspergers!) and that J-man is eager to learn. He likes him. 

We are already seeing changes in J. He walks a little taller, he has more self confidence when talking with his mates about plans for the future. He's concerned about the aesthetic street appeal of our house and is considering replacing the old window frames in the lounge room.

He's going to be okay. 

Oh Happy Day!