The WOW Factor Birthday Gift

This year I got the easy job!

ner ner ner-ner ner..

When our beautiful girl left our home to spend the weekend with her father last weekend, my heart melted a little. 

The next time I'd see her she would be five! 

But I soon warmed to the idea of her spending her birthday away from home.

No party to plan.

No cake to bake.

No streamers to tape to my newly painted lounge room.

No sugar highs, sticky fingers everywhere, ballons to blow up, 

and most of all no mess or stress!

This year I could just shower her with gifts.

Keeping with the same theme as last year I bought her a gift per age.

Five gifts for being five!!

I think I hit the jackpot with her opening one and saying..

"This is the best birthday present I ever got! Your the best Mum in the whole world!"

A dinosaur..

Little People Corner Market..

A 572 piece Craft Box..

Little People Farm Set with a tractor and Video.. (The WOW factor)

& A Wooden Train Set!

Happy Birthday Precious Girl.
And never forget how loved you are. 

With love Mum. 

Read More

Easter 2014

This year Easter was done a little different than previous years.

Easter 2012 had the kids hunting for Eggs.

Easter 2013 had Nevaeh away from home and Jie and I visiting friends.

This year we all went to spend Easter with my father in Boronia.

We left on the Saturday around 10am. 

We caught two buses and a train.

We got to Pop's around 2pm.

We had a bet on the horses and had pizza for tea.

Sunday morning the kids and I woke up and went to church.

It was different.

I was a little out of my comfort zone.

No one welcomed me.

No one spoke to me.

But I poured my heart into tears for my Lord that morning.

To know that He died for me.

After church the kids and I went bowling.

It went a little like this..

(Music video, may want to check your computer volume)

No Easter eggs were actually consumed on Easter this year.

But there were lollies, hot cross buns and slushies.

And worshiping and crafts and fun!

The night ended after watching a movie in bed beside my old man..

Monday became 'home day'.

No one was excited.

The long journey home was not appealing to any of us.

After a little shopping for school clothes for the new term fast approaching.

Dad loaded us into the car for a surprise trip..

Reading the signs I soon realized where we were.
As we went through the Yarra Junction and into Warburton there was so much familiarity.
Bike tracks my brother and had once ridden down.
Shops we had once brought drinks and lollies from.
Soon Dad and I were talking about our 'firsts'.
He showed me were he and a mate drank for the first time.
The exact shop he first stole from.
The footy oval he used to eat fish and chips at before going home for dinner.
We laughed and laughed.

But the surprise was still yet to come.

When I was younger, around 9-10 years old our family made some amazing memories.
My brother and I went on a camping trip with our father.
This trip is still one of my highlights made with Dad.
We camped out the back of a strawberry farm beside the Yarra River.
On a property owned by one of my Dads mates.
That year we were aloud up the river on our own to fish.
We rode our bikes along the local bike tracks.
We picked strawberries for our cereal in the mornings.
We roasted marshmallows by the fire at night.
We could hear the kookaburras and other native birds every day.
We went swimming.
We went night fishing.
We tried fly fishing for the first time.
We rode the rapids on our air mattresses
And one night all dads mates came down for some fishing and Allan (Dads best mate since the age of 15yo and also who my brothers named after) caught a platypus.
It was one of the most amazing things I remember.

On the Monday Dad took us Click here!

I was able to retell all these wonderful memories with my children.
And remember some of the best memories I have of my own childhood.

The bridge (top left + top right) - Jie in front of the bridge (middle left) - The Strawberry Farm (Middle Right) - My kids crossing the same bridge just as my brother and I once had. (Bottom)

BEST EASTER GIFT EVER!
(money can't buy memories)

Read More

My New Toy

Just before Easter I was in search of a camera, or phone with a good camera or both. I started out with a search on ebay typing in Iphone 4S because I love the quality of the photos I see on instagram with most of my friends on there owning and using them. After seeing prices I was soon avoiding the phone. Also I have always used android phones so using an Iphone for me was a bit of a daunting thought.

I looked around a little more. Searched a few more words like "Android phone" which eventually turned into "Digital camera" which eventually turned into "Digital camera, auto focus, 14 megapixels" and then from there I was searching for a camera with higher mega pixels.

I decided to give it a rest for a few days.

The more I took photos with my phone the more I wanted a better quality camera. So once again I searched around without really knowing what I actually wanted.

A few hours later I was searching Nikon cameras.

Then the Nikon D5000 caught my eye!

It was literally love at first sight.

 I knew I had to have one.

A CHEAP one!

Long story short, I got one.

For more than half the regular retail price.

So say hello to my little friend..

Read More

Flashback Friday. Good Friday.

My little brother. 1993.

This year back in 1993, at 4 years old, my brother found the biggest Easter egg! Wearing his bright yellow gumboots and favorite clown jumper he was the happiest boy in the world beating his two big sisters to a big golden egg! I vaguely remember but our father remembers this day as if it were yesterday. I love these special little memories. Do you remember egg hunts with your siblings? do tell..

Read More

School Holiday Fun!

Read More

Kids in the Kitchen

The night before last, my big boy Jiedyn cooked us hot dogs for dinner. He boiled the frankfurts, shredded the cheese, cut the buns and squeezed the sauce on the top!

Before we said grace we thanked Jie and while taking bites we gave him lots of praise.

This made Nevaeh encouraged to want to make dinner last night. 

Last night she made Mini Pizza's just the way we liked them.

She spread the pizza sauce on the pizza bases, sprinkled shredded ham and cheese and got two eggs out to crack on top.

My kids love being independent, they love the feeling of accomplishment no matter what the subject is.

Two nights I didn't really have to do anything.

But watch.

Thumbs up from her big bro!

Read More

♫♪ Everything is Awesome ♫♪

Good things come it 2's right? 

Remember this post?

Today we crossed off a visit out of town. 

We all agreed on a destination,

and we didn't let the miserable weather stop us!

We left home via Taxi to the train station.

We put money on our MyKi's and validated them.

And soon we were on our way.

Nevaeh loved looking out her window.

The kids played I spy all the way there.

Once in sunshine we walked to the cinema.

We paid for our tickets.

We had a two hour wait for our session.

So we had lunch.

We did some shopping, 

And we had fun at the gaming arcade.. 

Nevaeh loved Basketball.

And riding the horses. 

While Jie loved smashing Crocs.

And spinning the mass-bass wheel to earn more tickets.

Before long we made our way to the snacks line.

We didnt wait very long and made our order.

And then we waited. 

And waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Until the doors opened and we went in.

Nevaeh was very excited being her first time.

We got good seats.

Third last row, middle and to the right. 

Both kids sat either side of me.

But Nevaeh had Jie move over so she could sit between us.

But then somehow ended up on my lap.

Mid movie, she started singing "Everything is Awesome".

I hard a few people laugh.

It was very cute.

Jie didn't once take his eyes off the screen.

His eyes were stuck like glue.

After the movie people made their way out.

The kids and I stayed behind a while to sing along to the credits.

We did a toilet stop.

Then made our way back to Big W to buy school & Kinder clothes.

Warm jackets and pants and jumpers.

On our way out of the plaza it was raining, and getting dark.

I was forced to buy an (awesome) umbrella.

The train station and train was packed.

But the kids got a seat each and I stood beside Nevaeh.

Another Taxi brought us home and I was exhausted.

What a fun family day!

What an Awesome movie!

And what a relief it was to be home..

Read More

I'm Stuck. Emotionally & Mentally Exhausted.

I always think about the kind of friend I want to be, the kind of sister I want to be, the kind of Aunty I want to be. I don't know if anyone else has these thoughts of wanting to make a difference, an impact on the lives in my life. But for the most part I want to make the biggest impact on my childrens lives. Daily they look to me for their needs, they fight for my attention, they cleverly do things to make me proud or laugh or I find myself getting caught up in just watching the little things they do or the way they do them which always makes me smile.

Lately I have been feeling depressed. I have never had depression so I don't know what it feels like but all I know is that I haven't been my normal positive self. The kids have noticed it too asking me if I'm okay, wanting to give me extra hugs or asking if I need help around the house or a drink of water. Just writing about the small things they're doing for me I'm tearing up.

I got married in 2012.

I never thought I would be raising my kids alone, I thought that marriage was this magical commitment that I will never feel alone again. I thought after getting married you were guaranteed to have a partner, in good times and tough times and a partner to share life with. I was excited about being someones wife. Something I never saw coming.

Our 2nd year anniversary this year (last month) came and went. I called my husband just to hear his voice. I soon realized our marriage didn't mean to him what it meant to me. Even after I told him he wasn't interest. The whole "So what! It's not like we're together". That hurt.

Since he left us after just 6 months of marriage he hasn't taken any sort of role as a father or husband. He left taking all of his belongings and leaving me with the full responsibility of raising our children who were messed up (to say the least) after the split. I have struggled giving my kids their needs daily and have had to raise them with the help of friends.

In December last year I lost everything I knew and that felt safe in my life and everyone I was close to. I was completely alone. Just me and my kids. That too hurt and I struggled immensely

Generally when a husband leaves his wife and kids there is a reason. I am still yet to find a valid reason why my husband left us.

This weekend it's become clear to me that I am still abused by this man. As much as I love him, he is emotionally and mentally abusing me regularly. The reason I know is because I am emotionally drained and constantly feel like I am a terrible parent. I'm always on edge because he judges and abuses my every step as a mother to his daughter. He has completely wipes Jiedyn, to him Jiedyn doesn't exist and as harsh as that's been on Jie he knows he has his Mama, and only his Mama. So my parenting and relationship with Jie is different. But with Nevaeh I feel like I just cant get anything right.

He has a go to me about her having stains on her clothing, about her not wearing socks on cold days, about her sneezing ("Why is she sneezing? Why ain't you worried about her sneezing? Your house is dirty! Why else would she be sneezing? She doesn't sneeze when she comes here"). It's constant. He says things like "Where did that bruise come from?" "Did Jie do that to her?" "You don't love her as much as I do" "How did she get that cut on her finger" "You love your son more than you love her" "You should be keeping a better eye on them" "Why are they out the back on their own?" "I don't want such-and-such around my daughter" "You dont care about her like I do" "Jiedyn never gets sick" "What have you done" "Your not fit to be a Mum" He even has me feeling guilty about having an afternoon sleep some afternoons comparing me to his Mum. Or for getting take away because I should be giving his daughter good nutritious food and looking after her properly.

In the beginning it was easy because I knew I was doing all I could for my kids. I had a friend who was in my life daily telling me not to take any notice, that she thought I was a great Mum and I was!

Now, I don't have anyone to validate me. It's just me. When he comes down on me like a tonne of bricks it's getting harder to pick myself back up and I stay down.

I feel like I need to cut him completely out of my life or I'll end up having a break down. But without him reality is I will have no one. And that terrifies me to my core.

I'm stuck.

Read More

Good things come in 2's

These school holidays we have a motto. 

Good things come in 2's..

We are planning everything in 2's.

2 weeks off school.

2 visits out of town.

Praying for 2 people every night.

2 cooking days.

Choosing 2 pages from our books to complete a day (see photo).

2 movie nights.

2 nights with Pop.

2 completely nothing days.

and 2 new toys!

Read More

Saint Patrick's Day with Friends..

This post is long overdue..

Monday March 17th had us lunching and scratching scratchies down at the local irish pub with our friends. It was a nice little day.. 

What did you do last St Patties Day?

Leave a comment or a link to your lucky day!

Read More