This scary and spooky treat is simple to make and looks amazing, and no baking needed, so a win all round.
INGREDIENTS
Marshmallows – you can have the pink and white ones or just white it is up to you. Colour doesn’t matter.
Icing Pens– I used red but ran out so I ended up using a green and yellow icing pen also. As long as the colour looks spooky.
Smarties or M&M’s for the eyeball.
METHOD
Line up the marshmallows on a tray
Get the icing pen and draw squiggly lines all over them to reasonable bloodshot veins
Once all the icing is on the marshmallows you can then add the Smarties or M&Ms to the Marshmallow. It doesn’t matter what colour you add as long as it looks freaky and fun.
Now enjoy eating your zombie eyes and scaring your guests.
However with some people once they learn that you are indeed a little older than them their whole perception of things and you change. I have noticed it. Sometimes this doesn’t happen, but many times it does.
Happy 30th Anniversary to your 20th Birthday! Image from Routinely Nomadic
I thought why not just embrace it?
Maybe it is the newfound freedom of being older. Maybe I just want to be my authentic self and that is hard if I am not being honest.
However, in the forever youthful online world being older is seen as a negative. You see so many people looking energetic and of course young!
I have seen many celebrities celebrate their own 50th birthday with style and of course fanfare and these have been met with thousands of positive comments. Gwyneth Paltrow recently turned 50 and has embraced the new age. Check out her gold birthday suit Instagram post, not sure I would look this good in my birthday suit. Jennifer Garner turned 50 last year and she looks amazing and not 50, Jennifer has embraced being 50 and if you see her Instagram feed she is super fit and has so much energy of a person much younger. (I need to pick my game up with my fitness, not sure I could ever jump as high as Jennifer can).
Happy Birthday to me! Image by Pexels from Pixabay
Keep calm! Did you know that 50 is the new 30?
Yes, the phrase “50 is the new 40” is often used to highlight that 50 isn’t the end. People in their 50s today are more active, healthier, and have a more youthful outlook compared to previous generations at the same age. Currently, there is a belief that 50 is indeed the new 30…I do like that idea.
What are your thoughts? Do you think that 50 is the new 30?
Santorini Greece. I have always wanted to travel to Greece. Image by Mikele Designer from Pixabay
As I approached my 50th birthday, I reflected on my life, decisions, and aspirations. Here are some of my thoughts:
Future goals and dreams: I am finding that I am analysing what I would like to do more and more. What brings me joy? What is something that fulfills me? How to use my time to allow me to achieve my goals and dreams? I’m currently making a plan to work towards my dreams and do more things that really make me happy.
Accomplishments and experiences: I am proud of the following; my three kids, attaining my degrees and doing well at university, having a house, that I have a job, and the fact that I never give up on my dreams. My experiences good and bad have shaped me and made me the person I am, I can sense a bad situation easily and know what might happen from learned experiences. Due to this instinct, I feel that I plan well and make good decisions for myself and my family. I have learned to trust my gut and to go on the feeling, when I haven’t in the past it has been horrible, so now I trust my gut.
Health and well-being: Lately I have been thinking about my health; I want to step up exercise and make sure that I eat well. More walking, going to the pool and just being active is needed.
Relationships: I had a great friend group when younger and have been thinking that I need to work on making more friends, over the years I have lost friends due to working and others moving away. Some of my good friends are not local, some have unfortunately died and I miss them every day. I have been thinking of ways to allow me to meet new people to widen my circle of people. A few ways to do this is to join some groups or do courses (now need to find them and have time to allow this to happen).
Work and career: I did think that I would be in a different place in my career at 50 years old. I believe that having time out due to kids has impacted my career path. My plan is to grow my digital businesses, write the books I have been slowly working on, and also be in a supportive work environment for the day job that hopefully allows me to grow and learn. I want to focus on work that lets me help grow the business, allows me to have fun, and also learn and grow professionally. One HUGE aspect of all my work going forward is all work needs to be flexible and family-friendly. I don’t want to be somewhere where I have to fight to just have to drop off and pick up kids from school, I want to be in an environment that is supportive and sees the outcome of the work not the hours at your desk.
Bucket list: I want to create a list of things I really want to do, places to see, places to travel to, and fun exciting adventures. I just need now to work on plans to make it all happen. I am lusting over travel to faraway places, Spain, Italy, Fiji, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Dubai, and many other places.
Embracing change: I love doing different things and change is a part of it. I like to learn new things, travel and just have something different to do. I think part of life is reinvention and you need to embrace the art of reinvention; looking at how to be a new improved version of yourself. I would love to be brave and get a new stylish haircut and then maybe hire a styling coach to assist in updating my wardrobe.
I’ve also been drooling over going to Japan. Image by Abdulla binmassam from Pixabay
Have you recently turned an age where you are thinking about life, decisions, and the direction of your life? It doesn’t have to be a 50th, it could be 30 or 40… let me know.
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Tomorrow is my birthday. Today is my last day of being 46. I don’t feel 46, and I do wish I wasn’t but the only other fix for that is to not be here at all and I want to live, so being 46 and older is the way it has to go.
This looks yummy as a treat for my birthday, what do you think?
I have been thinking for a while about the year I’ve had so far, what I’ve accomplished, and also what was on my wish list.
For many 2020 has been a challenge, mainly from a financial perspective. We had a rough year last year and hoped that this year would allow us to rebuild and to get back on track, however other forces had different ideas about our plans.
Which has been really horrible and I’ve had moments that I have just sat on the floor and cried and cried about being put in a situation that is out of my control and one that I cannot fix and seems like whatever you do, you cannot help yourself out of it…Yes at times it has really felt like a hopeless situation.
Firstly our community was trying to recover from the horrible bush fires, then wild storms and floods, and now a global viral pandemic of COVID-19 that has caused economies worldwide to crash, unemployment to skyrocket and lockdowns to be put in place to stop the spread of this horrible illness.
We have been at home for over two months now and currently, Australia is slowly reducing the restrictions we have been living with for months. Starting next Monday the 25th of May all children in New South Wales go back to face to face lessons. We have had the kids learning from home and it has only been this week the 18th of May and last week on the 11th of May that the girls went to school one day a week, my girl’s day was Monday.
It has been hard to not have your own space.
It has been difficult to not be able to do your own thing and to be helping everyone and have no time for you.
It also has been a very stressful and worrying time. Employment websites have been advertising copious amounts of jobs but they are not employing anyone… or it could be that they are getting so many applications that it appears like no one is getting anywhere at all.
I did tell you that 2019 wasn’t great either. One thing that happened was hubby had a car accident which meant we had to get a brand new car. This was an expense we were saving for but hadn’t planned to do it at the time in which the accident happened. Then hubby’s contract for work came to an end in November last year, and it is hard to find a job that close to Christmas, then, of course, the bushfires and storms.
We thought not to worry we will be right come 2020, we will both look for work and get amazing jobs and work super hard to get us back where we want to be this year.
This is where the universe was laughing at us but told us nothing at the time. A little heads up would have been good, but knowing what I now know I think it wouldn’t have mattered if we were told in advance.
COVID-19 then happened and this meant no one was hiring, our savings was nearly empty and we were worried and panicking about how we would survive.
While hubby was looking for a new contract he was doing some Ubering… yes due to having a new car he could be an Uber driver. This helped a little but due to the tough restrictions put in place due to COVID this work has dried up too.
He has done odd jobs, mowing, and more to keep money coming in. I have been writing articles and doing a few hours a week as a social media marketer and keeping the blog running. Plus not to mention having 3 kids home full time until recently, our youngest started back at care last week since his big sisters are going back to school.
Like many people, we have had to put payments on hold, and many other things. I am not looking forward to paying it all back but grateful we have had assistance to help us at this horrible time.
I have been applying for any job that I can do and putting my hand up for more work, and of course, staying up late to get things done due to never getting time alone to complete any task. Perils of being a mum with no time alone!
So with my birthday soon to be here it has made me think…. what do I want, what do I want to achieve and how can I get there?
It has also made me appreciate life, being well and safe with family. I have valued seeing my kids grow and learn at home, and have some quality time. No racing off to be somewhere has also been a nice luxury during isolating at home and one that I will miss.
Although this time with family has been very stressful for a multitude of reasons it has made me grateful that we have all stayed well and we all have a roof over our heads.
During this time it has made me think of my friends that I wish were still here. One dear friend died five years ago and my other bestie left us two years ago this year. I miss them so much, I do wish they were still here to talk to and in fact, I still chat to them sometimes. My friends were only a year older than I was, so not that old when they left everyone and losing people young is hard (well they were in their forties but I consider this young).
I did think that if my friends were still here they might have got ill with Covid-19 and this wouldn’t have been good. They had a comprised immune system and would have had to be in isolation but still attend doctors appointments and hospitals….so, therefore, might have had a good chance of contracting the virus, I do want them back so badly but during this crazy time with an illness that threatens you, I am glad they were not here to experience it at all.
Due to losing my mates, I have been more diligent about my health. I am a mother to three young children and I am very aware that I need to be here to provide for my family in the years to come.
I know this is meant to be a post about my birthday and my thoughts… it really doesn’t feel much like my birthday, maybe it is just the current climate that has made this so.
Birthday balloons – I love purples and blues
We still cannot go out to dinner as a family, nearly all the cafes and restaurants are still closed and only doing takeaways. If we did go somewhere there is nowhere to sit and to just be other than a park. It is getting very cold here in the mountains and I really don’t want to be outside in the freezing weather, this for me is not that enjoyable, actually if we all were hundled in a park and it was super cold for me it would be a horrible day. So eating food in the cold on my birthday is not going to happen.
We cannot go to the movies, however, I would love to do some DIY and clothes shopping but the lack of money at the moment is the issue. Maybe I can figure out the costs and do a little bit to put a smile on my face when kids are finally at school.
Being in isolation has made me re-evaluate some work I’ve been planning, think of new ideas, and make plans for this year.
The one big thing I really want to do is to travel. I want to take the kids overseas to visit America, Disneyland, Japan, Osaka, plus Harry Potter World, Fiji, Singapore, New Zealand, Spain, and Canada. I know that international travel is probably not happening any time soon and some places are still not doing well due to the pandemic. I still want to go but only when it is safe to do so.
Maybe domestic travel will have to do once the borders to the states are all opened. I’m sure a nice family getaway on a Queensland Island Resort would just be perfect right now.
So back to my birthday wishes and plans for my 47th year on this earth.
I would like to be able to have more time to do things I like to do, time out, and help around the house.
Time to plan my empire to hopefully buy my dream house at the beach – yes purchased all with cash from the sales from my amazing work and adventures.
And not to mention being left to sleep in and not woken at odd hours in the night and early morning – maybe this could be someone else’s job for a while.
Slowly it is feeling like our world in Australia might be getting back to normal or maybe a new normal and this is something that I am looking forward to. A chance to build us all up again, save some money, pay off bills, and maybe take the family on a much needed holiday. We all desperately need to go somewhere to just relax, be somewhere to just be, and to be looked after. Hopefully, soon I can make this a reality.
Due to my birthday falling in the period of time that many places are still closed our celebrations will be at home. The twins are planning on creating a birthday cake for me and I have explained that I am not cooking dinner tomorrow so this needs to be sorted also.
I’m keen to enjoy the love and cuddles tomorrow and to eat the surprise birthday cake that the kids are planning. Plus unwrap any birthday presents that I have to open.
Birthday Cupcakes – Yummy don’t they look tasty!
My mum gave me some money to put towards a new haircut which I have been desperate to have. Late last year I was wanting to get a new do at the hairdresser’s but decided to wait as I thought we needed the money, then disaster hit in the new year and hairdressers were closed and then I still had no money. I should have just spent the cash last year and had it done. Now to find a brilliant place to get pampered and get a new look to make me feel fabulous.
In all honesty, the one present that would have made me super happy was for my shed/office to be finally completed.
Yes, dear readers, it has now been over 3 years waiting for this DIY project to be finished and it is still not done!
The aim of this space is to use it for an office and craft room for me and the blog. I want to bring my sewing machine, materials, craft supplies, and more out there so that I can set up projects and leave them and come back later. Currently, projects don’t happen due to not having any space and needing to pack things up due to kids. It is annoying and not practical to work like this.
Other plans for the shed is to create my own podcast, have it as a quiet spot to write and to plan, and a spot to finally hang some of my art. Basically a She Shed.
I think when I have a little bit more cash I will hire someone to just finish it off…then it will be done and I can do more work, have a happier workspace, and finally not have to ask someone to do it.
What have you wanted for your birthday?
Has it changed this year due to being in isolation?
Have you spent some time re-evaluating what you want this year?
P.S. I think hubby and I have done pretty well to be surviving so far, and crossing fingers and toes we will not just be surviving but enjoying the fruits of our hard work soon. We have struggled both to create incomes to provide for the kids and ourselves and are solidering on each day. I am sure everyone is in a similar situation and our story is not unique. I salute all of you for struggling in this hard time and I hope that it all comes to an end soon and things are easier for all.
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Today is the first day of the new year. It is finally the first of January 2018.
In six days my little boy will be two…yep we will have a two year old. How those two years have flown by already. He is saying more words, being more independent and of course a very cheeky, funny little boy.
It feels like the day of my little boys birthday sneaks up on me and I am not ready. No invite done, no party organised. I will have to get moving….also make a plan to be better at this January party in 2019.
The girls turn ten this year, yes finally they will be in double digits and more grown up. I don’t know how ready I am for more grown up kids, I suppose it is good that it happens gradually so that you get used to it.
The blog also has a HUGE year in 2018, it turns the big 10 years old… how exciting I hear you say.
To celebrate this fabulous milestone there will be great prizes for my wonderful devoted readers that have been with me over the years. Stay tuned every month to not miss out.
What did I do in 2017
Change the look of the blog on the 1st of January 2017. The blog got a whole new look and feel.
Work with some great brands and offer amazing giveaways to my readers.
Meet some wonderful people through the Problogger conference. I met Pat Flynn and Jadah Sellner…. I was very excited about doing this.
Accepted more opportunity.
Think, plan and try and do more.
Spent time with the kids, played and had fun.
Alexander had his first full year in childcare and loved it after a rocky first few months. He now really wants to go even when we just drive by the place. He yells, “play” and points to the building.
Try to de-clutter. I managed to rid the house and us of a few things but more still needs to happen.
Did things at the twins school.
Housework and all the other mundane things that keep the family running.
2017 was not good as I lost another friend due to cancer. He did not want to share his illness so to not burden friends and therefore hubby and I found out very late. We are saddend by this news. I hope that everyone is healthy and if you are worried about something please get it looked at. Early intervention might save your life. I have no idea if this would have helped my friend and upset for his other friends and family.
2017 was also a good year, my sister had her second child on the 23rd of December. I’m an aunty again! My sister had another little girl. She came early and therefore has spent some extra time in the hospital.
What would I like to do in 2018
More blogging.
Work on the strategy and plans for my blog and more.
Travel.
Meet more people.
Get our house built or part of it.
Finish writing my book and course…yes something exciting is on its way. I hope you will all love it.
Exercise more.
Remove excess clutter that I don’t need to empower more relaxation.
More meditation.
More relaxation.
Fun time with the kids and family
Hopefully a family holiday at some point.
That the family is healthy and well. (this includes everyone)
Be more organised for Alexander’s next birthday.
So take care everyone.
Spend time with the ones you love.
Make time for things you want to do.
Have fun and may 2018 be great for everyone!
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Today my lovely twins, Julia and Lillian are eight! Yes they are eight years old already! How it has flown by so quickly. I remember when they were little babies and we had just got back from hospital. Although I think back to how small and little the girls were the same is happening with our little baby boy, Alexander. He is now eight months old and in the blink of an eye he will be one! Yes one….. well maybe not the blink of an eye but very soon. It is already September and will very soon be Christmas and then January will be here and also Alexander’s first birthday.
The girls are eight years old today! Yes they were super excited to be turning eight and also up extremely early to open their presents. Mummy was also up very late baking and decorating cupcakes for the kids to celebrate at school on their actual day.
One thing that the girls are happy about is the fact that they share a birthday with the wonderful and talented author Roald Dahl. He would have been celebrating his 100th birthday today. My girls love Dahl’s stories and I loved them as a kid and still do. He has brought joy and laughter to so many. I think my girls feel rather special to have been born on the same day.
So if you are wanting to celebrate Roald Dahl’s birthday here are some events from around the world that you might be able to get to. I must admit that this is not a full list. It might be well worth checking out the local bookshop or library in case they are having an event this weekend or today.
Happy Birthday to everyone that has a birthday today. The kids had a great time opening their presents and were super excited about the fact that they got a new scooter and cannot wait for it to be put together, oh and some of the other pressies were hits also.
More baking for me this week as the girls have a party in the park with their mates from school this Saturday. Let’s just hope that I will be able to get the cake done without staying up till midnight.
Oh and Happy Birthday to my wonderful and amazing little girls! They are such lovely little people and having a twins has been such a joy. I cannot believe you are both eight years old today and cannot wait for more adventures to come. Love and hugs mummy!
Why not try your hand at this celebration snack or treat?
This last week I have been down in the dumps. I should have been really happy and really there is not a lot wrong in my world, well winning the lotto would help, but aside from that all is well really.
I think I was a little out of sorts due to my impending birthday, this birthday was yesterday if you did not see my updates on Instagram and Facebook.
The twins did not want me to leave the house without these badges on…. Yes I walked around for the whole day wearing them. What a good mummy I am!
I have had moments that I have looked in the mirror and thought I was seeing more wrinkles and this of course made me upset. However I was thinking about my good friend that I lost last year, he lost his battle with cancer. He was the same age I was before yesterday when he passed.
My good mate did not get the chance to have more wrinkles or to turn another year older. I spent this week in the lead up to my birthday missing him and getting reminders of him that made me laugh and of course smile. However there were times when I was just in tears due to the fact that he was gone all too soon.
He would not want me to be crying or unhappy. I tried to be happier and to focus on what was great and good about life at the moment. My new baby, my lovely girls, my husband and of course that we are happy and healthy.
While I was trying to solider on and to sort out my feelings about the fact that my good mate was my age when he passed. I felt guilty turning a year older and having a good time about it. I logged into my personal Facebook account to then have an old memory pop up in my news feed. It was of my good friend and me outside our house in the Mountains when we first purchased it.
I know it sounds odd but I think it was the universe telling me he was wishing me Happy Birthday. It could be, you never know…. Well it made me feel better thinking this.
I have decided that although I don’t like getting older I should embrace my wrinkles and the years ahead. I am lucky that I can get wrinkles as my mate would have enjoyed every new one that he was allowed to have if he was still here. He would have enjoyed getting older and loved the fact that he was able to share his life with his mates and family.
So what did I do on my birthday? Well it was a little sad that I had to wait to open presents until the evening but I did keep myself busy. I read with one kid in her classroom, then I went off to a Mother’s Group with the baby, after the Mother’s Group I took myself off to lunch with Alexander and then I got a nice treat – a free cup of coffee. After my coffee I picked up the twins from school and then off home to have them change and pick up a snack and then I dropped them off at art class. While they were at art class I picked up a nice bottle of red wine for dinner plus a birthday cake for me. Hubby picked up Chinese takeaway and all was good aside from being super tired after a big day out.
Do you sometimes feel a little down when you should be happy? Did you have a moment when you remembered something a friend did that made you smile or laugh? Was it a friend or a family member that you have lost or that has moved away that has made you sad?
One of the girls got a worm farm for their birthday and the other an ant farm. Last Friday we started to set up the worm farm. The kids were very excited to do this earlier, however we needed one essential ingredient. WORMS! And I had none! Luckily I went to my Nana (the girls GG) and Aunty’s for lunch last Thursday, they had worms from the compost so we took some home with us. I hope the worms like the fact that they are now in the mountains.
Worm Farm ready to set up
What you need
Dirt
Of course worms
A clean table to set up the farm
I got the dirt from our backyard and found a few extra worms also, so that was a bonus. One worm that we got from my aunty was huge and the girls have called him “The King”
Checking out the worm farm. Very happy kids!
I followed the instructions for the worm kit however I left one thing out. The privacy screens. Who knew worms needed privacy? The reason the kit has it is you can take off the plastic edges of the farm to see what the worms are doing. Without the screens the worms get a lot of light that they don’t like. If they had the screens they would be spared the annoyance of having the light shone in their faces. I just now have images of worms not wanting to be next to each other and are upset that I left off the privacy screens. I realised too late and the only way to fix it was to take all the dirt and worms out of the kit and start again.
So sorry worms, no privacy. You will just have to get along with your neighbours.
You might have noticed the yellow and red dirt or sand. It is so that when the worms build their tunnels you can see where they have gone. Easier to see if it is a different colour than just black dirt.
Make sure you wash your hands and any surfaces that you used to help create the worm farm.
Happy kids with their new worm farm.
One thing that was said after I completed the worm farm with the twins, “Thanks mummy we now have worms as pets!”
Gosh if the kids are happy with worms as pets, wait till they get a cat when they are a bit older. We are hoping to have a kitten for the kids when we have our new house. Maybe while we wait we could get the girls fish to look after. This might be a little better than pet worms? What do you think?
The girls are getting more involved in scientific exploration so that is why they got an ant farm and a worm farm. Along with it both kids got a magnifying glass as well, they have used it to investigate the garden and all that is miniature that needs to be explored.
Have you set up a worm farm with your kids? How did it go? Were they fascinated? Let us know.
Now I need to find a whole bunch of ants for the ant farm. Send suggestions on how to collect some please! I have had a few so far but have not put it into action.
Today is a big day. Kids are at school then off to after school care. You wonder what I will be doing? I am leading a glamorous life and of course I will be cleaning, scrubbing and doing housework!
The house needs a spruce up before the weekend. The twins have their birthday on Saturday and we might have family and friends drop by. Due to this and of course being flat out have a clean house might be a good idea.
I think after I calm down from the big week I might need to have them in care again so that I can spend my time doing something I like.
A bubble bath? Spending my gift vouchers at the shops? Sleeping? Working on the blog?
A maid would make things easy, but due to no funds to pay a maid I am her currently! Yes not ideal but cheaper.
Wish me well and I hope I get a lot done.
Stay tuned for more about this years birthday party for the girls.
Tomorrow is my birthday and yes I will officially be another year older. Since today is birthday eve it has been a time of reflection. I am a bit sad about some things that I hoped to have done or completed and other things I am very happy with. So what are they?
Things I am pleased with:
The twins are very happy with school and doing very well.
Due to the kids being at school it gives me more time to get things done. Very nice indeed, and makes for a much calmer and happier mummy.
Happy that family are well and happy.
Things that I am not too pleased with:
I wanted to be fitter, slimmer and more slinky.
Have our house plans finalized.
Get the new looking blog launched.
Wanted to spend more time on the blog and develop more sections. It will happen, just taking longer than expected.
Work on my eBook.
Make more money… yes that is the constant want isn’t it. I’m sure that is on everyone’s list!
(be nice to help more to the household and maybe use the cash for a much needed holiday)
The things on my not pleased list can be fixed and I am working to improve them. I feel energized to create a to do list of things I wish to achieve and cross off each one when complete. I now feel more of a fire in my belly to get more done and to have a very productive rest of 2014. Do you take stock mid year? I am due to my birthday, but maybe a half yearly stock take for your goals is a good idea? What are your thoughts? (You heard it here first!)
Do you weigh up things around your birthday? I do. I compare what I was hoping to achieve to what actually happened and get a bit upset. However life does happen so you have to excuse yourself a bit for stopping to enjoy things as well. You cannot work till you drop, some do it but it is not sustainable.
On the whole I have it very good and I hope it gets better and grander in the future. I can hope can’t I! Dreams fuel my passions, and they can only make things better. Well I think so!
I have a big box to unwrap tomorrow for my birthday and I am keen to find out what is in it! The twins went out with hubby yesterday and they have been very tight lipped so they have finally learnt and understood how to keep a secret.
One thing that they have said in unison is….
“We don’t know anything about what is inside the box!” “We have no idea mummy!” Then they giggle with faces in their hands and run away! Little funny kids they are.
My birthday presents. Waiting for me to open them! I cannot wait. Wonder what they are?
I will let you know what is inside the big box tomorrow. However I have to unwrap it in the evening due to hubby working and kids at school. It is going to kill me to wait. Staring at it on the dining room table all day! Just painful and horrible torture!
Birthday time is also a reminder for me to get my checkup at the doctor, skin cancer specialist and any other tests, oh a pap test and so on! I like to make sure that I get it done when I remember it. I know not a very good thing to do at your birthday, but you remember the date. It does not have to be on your birthday just close to it. Book in for a check up. Make sure all is tip top with you!
Yesterday was the twins 5th birthday party, they are not five yet, but we will be away for their actual birthday so wanted the girls to have a party with their mates before we leave on our holiday.
Two days before their party hubby and I stayed up late to get all organised and sorted.
The day before the party I spent most of it in the kitchen, making fish biscuits otherwise known as sugar cookies, vegan cupcakesfor those who cannot eat the cake and then later that night I made the cake. After 1am or later, the cake was finished, I was pleased with it. It looked like Kwazii Cat, so that was an achievement.
Kwazii Cake, made by me.
The candle did not stay lit as the wind picked up. This is the only picture I had with the candle lit as it went out soon after.
A week before the day of the party we checked what the weather was going to be like and it said 90% chance of showers, gosh not good. We are having the party at a park and they don’t have undercover shelter.
What would we do if this forecast was correct? Not sure really. However this was not to be, the weather was sunny, hot and just great. The only thing that was a bit of an annoyance was the wind picked up a little bit but it was not gale force winds so cannot complain about it.
We had a great turn out and the kids were super happy to see all their friends and our family and extended family friends that joined us to celebrate the kids turning five. It was a nice day and fun was had by all. Today it has been overcast, cooler and threatening rain. We were very lucky that we did well with the weather.
I wanted to make sure the kids had fun with the food as it was an Octonauts party, and got some inspiration from another blogger on my post about Octonaut Party Preparation.
Worm Tails
Crab Shells
Vegan Cupcakes
We changed the name of certain foods for a bit of fun.
Jaffas were called crab shells, snakes were called electric eels, other lollies were called worm tails. Apple juice was whale wee, orange juice was octopus ink, and water was called sea water.
Octopus Ink
Sea Water
It was very funny when kids were asking for more whale wee and sea water. Hilarious actually!
The labels were done by using Avery Labels. It was made even easier by their online template to make sure it prints fine with your images. So easy to use and worked a treat.
If you need to do labels, this is ideal. For the rectangular labels we used L7109 Avery Labels and for the round labels we used L7102.
When we printed we used the best photo for the quality and for the paper type we chose glossy photo paper. They came out brilliantly.
Avery Labels
I even made Tunip’s fish biscuits.
One of the mothers that came along did some water bombs with the kids and they were a hit.
Having fun with a water bomb
Water fun
Kids were exhausted and happy after their day at the park and the party. We came home with some family and had a cuppa tea and kids unwrapped presents. The girls were very surprised as they have finally got the presents they have been asking for.
A successful day. Hubby and I were so tired and collapsed after dinner with a glass of wine. Phew another party done for another year.
Are you planning your child/children’s birthday party? Or is it your partners/wife/hubby’s?
It is a big job but pleasing when it all works out well. Send in your comments.
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My birthday and celebrations for graduating from my Master’s have been just wonderful, and I was lucky that my mum surprised me to come stay and celebrate with us. I have dropped her at the train station to start her long journey back to where she is house sitting in Victoria. I hope she has a safe trip, it was very nice to have her here to be with me and the twins.
New purse
I was very spoilt and hubby gave me a wonderful bracelet that I have never seen before for my birthday, graduation and of course wedding anniversary which is today actually. Nine years together is a traditional pottery gift and I kept my eyes out today but could not find anything. Mum and I went shopping for her last day here and it was very enjoyable.
Also my gorgeous mother in law gave me a great book for graduation pressie and Pandora bracelets for my birthday, not expected and just simply feeling very special indeed. So a big thanks to her and she is just naughty for spoiling me so. 🙂
I was able to use my gift voucher from family to purchase a new purse, and it is very groovy if I do say so myself. What do you think?
Happy colour inside of purse – how special is this!
While out and about at the shops I made sure to get more flannelette sheets for my wonderful little girls, it is getting colder so once the other set is in the wash they are feeling the cold. Now once washed and dried they will be ready to go on their beds. Not only did I get my wonderful, unique new purse I purchased a gift for me. What is it you ask?
Well it is a book called Happiness. Yes sounds corny but the book works through things like gratitude, time for you, goals and dreams. I have so many things that I wish to achieve I wanted to get my head, body and mind organized to make the most of my time in the future. Now that I have no more study on the horizon I can concentrate on the things I want to achieve and do.
I am willing to give it a go and as per my new colours in my new purse it looks like I have the happiness bug already. The happiness courses are also run by Kikki.K and the payment usually has the journal thrown in, however the time would conflict with me picking up kids so I just got the journal.
Happiness Book, my book mark here was a gift from good friends also for my birthday.
Great guides and topics with the Happiness Book
Happy saying from the Happiness Book
So I am currently resting up while listening to kids run a mock in their room. Giggles and laughter abound. Why are they not tired. Both have been a little under the weather this week and they stayed home on my birthday, Julia went to school on Tuesday and Lillian stayed home. Today both seemed o.k to go to school so they should by all rights be exhausted, not to be so.
I am off to get a nice glass of red wine and watch Revenge a favourite show of mine and put my feet up for a while. Celebrating has been tiring and a break is needed.
Sorry for all readers of the blog, I have been busy the last couple of days and did not post. The next week or so I will fix this issue and post more often. Hope you all have a great night. I am now off to tell the kids to get into bed and behave and get the long awaited glass of wine.
Tonight Lillian hugged me and patted me on the head and said “Happy Birthday Mummy”, it was very nice and cute, however it is not my birthday. It will be in another 2 weeks or so. It is close, but not today.
My wonderful little girl then said, “Let’s go to Canada for your birthday Mummy!”, I told her that this would be a wonderful idea. The only issue with this is money. I did explain this and told her that maybe we can do it when we have more. She accepted this but still thinks it might be tomorrow or next week that this will happen.
What a lovely thought for the evening, off to Canada or somewhere as nice. Where do you want to holiday? What country are you desperate to explore and see more of. I would love to see more of Spain, Italy and Europe. I have always wanted to travel to Greece and see the ruins and be where the stories were created in Ancient Times. I loved Ancient History as a student and feel it would be magical to see in in the flesh.
And now more secret surprises: Both girls upon collecting them from pre-school have given me invites to school for Mother’s Day celebrations, they are excited and cannot wait to show me the secret surprises they are working on. I must say as today was the first day back to school for term 2 they got up early. They must have been keen to see their friends, both kids have been inviting everyone around to our house to show off their new sand pit. It is just like the kids when I was little having a swimming pool. This should be interesting.
I’m off to bed to get some rest so that I might tidy the house to allow for guests tomorrow, not sure if people are free but may as well be prepared.
Why not continue the discussion on our Twitter or Facebook pages.
Tonight Lillian hugged me and patted me on the head and said “Happy Birthday Mummy”, it was very nice and cute, however it is not my birthday. It will be in another 2 weeks or so. It is close, but not today.
My wonderful little girl then said, “Let’s go to Canada for your birthday Mummy!”, I told her that this would be a wonderful idea. The only issue with this is money. I did explain this and told her that maybe we can do it when we have more. She accepted this but still thinks it might be tomorrow or next week that this will happen.
What a lovely thought for the evening, off to Canada or somewhere as nice. Where do you want to holiday? What country are you desperate to explore and see more of. I would love to see more of Spain, Italy and Europe. I have always wanted to travel to Greece and see the ruins and be where the stories were created in Ancient Times. I loved Ancient History as a student and feel it would be magical to see in in the flesh.
And now more secret surprises: Both girls upon collecting them from pre-school have given me invites to school for Mother’s Day celebrations, they are excited and cannot wait to show me the secret surprises they are working on. I must say as today was the first day back to school for term 2 they got up early. They must have been keen to see their friends, both kids have been inviting everyone around to our house to show off their new sand pit. It is just like the kids when I was little having a swimming pool. This should be interesting.
I’m off to bed to get some rest so that I might tidy the house to allow for guests tomorrow, not sure if people are free but may as well be prepared.
Why not continue the discussion on our Twitter or Facebook pages.
Saturday the 25th was a big day; the girls had two parties to attend:
1. A birthday party for a boy at pre-school.
2. A goodbye party for their mate Mia, who is living to live in Germany.
The girls were very excited and I realised that the centre of the universe is going to be Blackheath or at least close to it for a while. Both parties were in Blackheath and as the girls had now started school in Blackheath this is probably going to be more frequent. That is fine with us, however it was just strange that the two events were on the same day. We are never that busy really and both parties were for the girls not us, us parents were just the transport.
It was sad that their good friend Mia was leaving and it was nice that she came along to the birthday party as well. All the kids go to the same pre-school. The girls had an excellent time at the birthday party, they loved decorating their cupcakes and playing games with the other children. We filled out Mia’s friendship book and hope that we get a letter from her soon.
After the birthday party we all went to get some lunch, ended up getting fish and chips and going to our land to have a picnic. So that was impressive. After we went home had a quick rest, and then off to the next party. The girls made a necklace and bracelet for Mia. It had her name and theirs on the necklace with hearts and the bracelet had just Mia’s name. Very cute and they were very proud to show Mia their handy work.
We stayed for a while at the goodbye party; however the girls were so tired, ended up falling over to often and getting upset. Happens a lot when they are tired, both the girls did not want to go, but we had to they were exhausted. So we said our goodbyes and made our way home. Gave them some dinner, and milk, and off to bed. We did not hear any noise out of their room after we put them to bed, very tired indeed.
The girls were very good and managed to have the whole day out without nappies and had no accidents, aside from rest time.
Today we went to kids kingdom and the girls for the first time went there without nappies. Lillian told me she needed to go to the toilet and I took her. She was great and very grown up. I asked Julia if she needed to go, she said no. After the kids played, we went off to Woolies at Leura to get some shopping. We were at the checkout waiting to pay and Julia said, “I need to go to the toilet mummy”, I rushed to the end of the shops, and the toilet had a queue. I then went to the other toilet and there was a queue there as well. I asked Julia if she could hang on. She said, “Yes mummy”. I was hoping that she could and we would not have an accident. The lady in front of me offered for us to go first, I thanked her as it was very nice of her to offer. Julia was good, and hung on until we got to the toilet. Clever girl, and then we washed hands and headed off to find daddy and get the shopping to the car.
I am very impressed with the girls and not wearing nappies anymore. I think they understand that they need to hold on and have the ability to do so more now. I am just an impressed mummy at such a wonderful thing, maybe the end of nappies soon?
Daddy, the girls and I danced to music, they played with their doctors kit (ended up taking the doctors kit to bed, plus a teapot, in case they need to make some tea), and then they were off to bed.
Lunches are made for school tomorrow and have a house to get cleaner or at least tidier tomorrow as well. What have your social butterflies been up to? Is school filling your social calendar with parties? I think that we will have more functions to go to, which is good. Hopefully we will expand our network and meet more people.
– you can have the pink and white ones or just white it is up to you. Colour doesn’t matter.
