Wassup Rockers

Have you watched any good movies lately? I have an ever-growing back catalogue that I feel I'll never get through, for the reason that Tiny always seems to sidle up to me on the couch and want to watch. Er, toots, you're meant to be in bed.

Matt and I watched Wassup Rockers (2008) a couple of weeks ago (on DVD).

If you've ever seen Kids, it's by the same directory - Larry Clark.

Mr Larry likes to get down and dirty in his film-making. Wassup Rockers is certainly no different.

For the first twenty minutes I was all 'er do we have to watch this...?' Nonchalant and not committing to movie watching, instead lying next to Matt reading blogs. In those twenty minutes any females were portrayed as floozies, and it had some hardcore Latino punk. Not really my scene. It's well documented that I love period films. Give me an empire line dress (as opposed to the Empire striking back), a chilly English backdrop and a cup of tea and I'm there, enthralled.

But I jump ahead - Wassup Rockers looks at a group of Latino-American boys living in South Central Los Angeles. They skate. They dress like the Ramones. They buck the trend of their own gnarly hip-hop neighbourhood by wearing tight shirts and tight jeans. And they decide to ride the bus into Beverley Hills to go skating.

They don't drink. They don't smoke. They're living high on their youth. And skating.

Once they step off that bus, there starts a narrative featuring a day or two of adventure, prejudice (Jane Austen - hell0!), daily danger they face, and a great insight into life as a fringe dweller. A lot of the script is improvised and the boys play themselves which can sometimes make for slow viewing.

Straight after, I had the blues. This is not a film you're going to walk away from and say - wow that was ace and uplifting and yowsers, let's watch it over again. But two weeks later I guess I can appreciate it more.

It's been a long time between reviews.. I give Wassup Rockers - *** and a half stars.

If you liked Lords of Dogtown then you might like this.

Back In The Habit

I keep seeing things around about forming habits. It's everywhere I go. Every corner I turn. Under every leaf I flip (because I am always flipping leaves). No stone will be left unturned that is not banging on about habits. In fact, I can seriously say the habit forming epidemic is gripping the world. In a tight, overbearing grip.

And it got me to thinking about flossing my teeth.

Big jump there, huh?

But not really.

Earlier in the year I talked about things I would do. Not New Year's Resolutions (because those, damn fool, are made to be broken). Mine was a list of realistic things I wanted to do this year. Such as, er, flossing my teeth.

I was going incredible well until I got sick. I think I had flossed my teeth every single night (bar one) until I got sick, and that was six-ish weeks ago. My gums were sore and I couldn't face the soreness. Please get out the world's smallest violin.

Have a I lost you yet? Here. I'll throw some key words at you. Gingivitis. Heart disease. Bad breath. Not pretty? No. You don't say!

Well friends, it's time I set myself back on my merry path.

But wait! There's more!

Why don't you join me on this merry habit-forming trip? Come skip down the 21-day path with me. Have you got a habit you want to form? Do you? Sing it with me: do you? (Don't you want me?)

- Maybe you want to eat more chocolate
- Maybe you want to blog every day
- Maybe you want to get back into reading
- Maybe you want a nightly canoodle with your lover
- Do you want to go bike riding every day?
- Meal plan so you don't get to 5:30pm and have a meltdown and everyone winds up eating baked beans/eggs/leftovers (oh you don't do that, nope, me neither)
- Catch up with a friend every week?

- Are you wanting to learn to rollerskate?
- Perhaps this is not your speed at all. Maybe you just want to do the crossword each and every night?

Then this is for you! Get in the habit with PottyMouthMama!

Here's what we're going to do. You check in once a week with me for the next 3 weeks (that's so short, it won't hurt a bit, trust me, I'm an expert). It's not so much that it's intimidating, but I WILL hold you accountable and be asking you about your habit forming!

Think about it over the weekend, then we can kick off, and you check back into PMM on Saturday. It's a 21-step support group.

I don't want anyone signing up that wants to form a habit of picking their nose. Thanks but no thanks.

Are you in? Do you want to get BACK IN THE HABIT?

If so, grab the button and be gone on your merry habit forming ways (and add your name/link to the list).

My super fabulous friend Anna has made me two ridiculously awesome buttons (so damn RAD!) to choose from. I am seriously loving my makeover and think I will thwart any efforts made by Sally Field to become the non-flying Nun.

Michelle from Leni & Rose has done an ace to the power of wicked job of coding. You can pop over to her blog for deets on how to upload the button yourself (she has all sorts of tips and tricks up her blogging sleeve).

Loving:: Sesame Street's Mad Men

Hello Don Draper. Hello!

I'm waiting patiently to see the third Mad Men series. But in the meantime, this is pretty handy.

Books! Books! Books!

By now, you'd probably know how much our wee family loves books.

I am often guilty of buying the kids books. Like all the time. I know all the good children's bookstores within a 20 kilometre radius. I am always online trawling for good books. It's my weakness. We love curling up together and reading, being consumed by a book and then being spat out back into reality at the end. Thankfully Matt has said if this is my weakness, then it's a good weakness to have. Phew.

Do you love books too? Beanstalk Books have given me 10 books to give away. They specialise in Usborne books (a complete range of books from birth to 3 years old). We have a heckovalotta Usborne books, they can get beaten up, chewed, dog-eared, but they are always books that are loved and read and read and read all over again.

If you'd like a chance to win, this is how it rolls. Just visit Beanstalk Books and tell me where they are based.

I'll draw the winners next Thursday night.

images via two bottom images via The Selby. I can't remember where the other one is from - sorry!

Spare Me

Emoticons are the root of all evil.

And the ones in the guise of happiness, those ones, they are the most sinister. The sad ones? They make me laugh. The winking ones make my heckles stand up. The jester ones? Naff to the max.

But they all really hurt my feelings.

PottyLittlePinwheel of Fortune

Like I said the other day I've been eating Cherry Ripes.

A lot of Cherry Ripes.

However, it's not just this. When I wrote the other day about Cherry Ripes, it in turn inspired Little Pinwheel to eat Cherry Ripes and try her luck too.

And basically now what we have here is a downward spiral. We're both eating Cherry Ripes. And we're winning! Thank you Cadbury!

Just tonight I tottered up to the supermarket with my two Cherry Ripe and one lone Crunchie wrappers to swap them for new bars. NEW BARS! The woman who swapped them was a humourless wench, but that aside, I gotta golden ticket peeps!

This is where it gets REALLY interesting. The bars say 1 in 5 wins, well in my experience, I've not bought 5 bars - and by the sounds of things, Little Pinwheel is winning more than she's losing too (however we are gaining - both weight and FREE CHOCOLATE BARS!).

And now this is where we go really Willy Wonka on you.

Together we've renamed them Cheery Ripes. Because you really can't be sad when:

a) you're eating a Cheery Ripe

and

b) you win another after unravelling said chocolate bar

We've decided to start the PottyLittlePinwheel of Fortune. You take a spin on the PottyLittlePinwheel by buying a chocolate bar. If you win, you continue playing. It's that simple.

It's like Cheery Ripe Roulette. It's win-win. Soon we will open our very own casino that's run purely on chocolate. We'll have chocolate fountains, and meter-maids dressed in Cheery Ripe wrapper bikinis to top up your chocolate meters.

You like the sound of this, don't you? I know you do. You want in on our chocolate casino caper, right? RIGHT??

Won't you play along too? Spin the wheel? Report back? Share your luck. Little Pinwheel and I want to know what WINNAHS we've sporned.

ridiculously awesome image by Little Pinwheel

You Want Me To Vote? Gimme A Coat.

I've made an executive decision today. Friends, you will like it. Trust me (because this is standard dialogue for a politician). I will kiss babies. Lots of babies. I will even give them raspberries on their milk-filled little tummies. And *smile* for the camera.

I've decided to go into politics. I'm going to run for election.

My policies I hear you ask?

Steadfast. Rock-solid. Watertight.

I have one most excellent and truly ace policy.

All mums should be issued with a trench coat, or at the very least a cool raincoat.

It's pouring here AGAIN - and I hate running about with two smalls when it's raining. I have to strap two littlies into the car and stand out in the rain while doing so.

When I gave birth, instead of a Bounty Bag I should have been handed a Burberry trench. I'd look stylish and stay dry. I'd settle for Aquascutum too. Or Stella McCartney.

We'll be like the Australian Olympic team. You get to choose a standard issue item that's classically styled - except we'll be cool, we won't be wearing Green & Gold, and we won't be throwing big sticks or jumping over high sticks. Or alternatively we could make our own Mama Olympics - the 100m dash in stilettos (or ugg boots). I am open to suggestions.

In fact, before writhing around with contractions, you should be given a small card - you nominate your trench.

You like my policy? Easy. You vote me in. PottyMouthMama for PM.

Are you going to vote for the coat?

(Anyone who does not vote for the coat will be issued with one of these. Tough choices ladiez!)

Kiddie Craft:: We Painted. And Then We Painted.

Today we sat outside and enjoyed a brief moment of sunshine.

We had my four year old niece over for a play which was fab for the Doctor to have someone to cavort around the place with.

I made some pint-sized potato stamps and the smalls had a great time stamping away with them. We were well into our expression session. Stamping the funny little carvings onto the paper (for the record I had a kooky looking bird, a wonky heart, a spindly little star and a circle).

Until things went a little awry and I quickly scuttled them on to the next activity.

Watercolours. I love watercolours for the fluidity of the medium. And I love watching the smalls work it too. The older children use single colours well, whereas Tiny likes to dip her brush in every single colour before taking to the paint - resulting in a murky palette. Oh well! I'm not one to interfere too much in making, I like to see what the smalls make by themselves.

Above is the Doctor's whale. I think he's pretty darn ace.

After watercolours, we continued on with collage. That was fun, despite Tiny just wiping glue all over her page and declaring that she was finished (with nothing stuck to the glue). She's a little bit Jeff Koons, a little Basquiat, a little cuckoo.

In The Thick Of Night

It's garbage day here in PottyMouthMama Town.

You might well be sitting there on your over-stuffed couch thinking, well who cares?

You will care. Trust me, you will.

Matt got home late from drawing, and I presented him with the news that we had to put the bins out. I am sure he was thinking - why didn't you put them out earlier, but Matt is too polite to say so. (PHEW!)

Our recycling bins cups had runneth over and in our house was an avalanche of recycling with nowhere to go. I snuck out and shoved it into our neighbours recycling bin. No harm done, right? I was just sharing the community spirit and sharing our garbage around. I'm sure Matt was thinking what the heck is this nutter doing in the darkness - and where the heck is she? I can hear her, but I can't see her. Then I came back from across the road and my late night rendezvous with the bins.

We stumbled back in from the darkness, got ready for bed and dove under the covers.

By this time it was eleven-thirty. This is when I recount my day and always have my most brilliant ideas (that I am pretty sure Matt thinks are naff to the max).

It was then that it struck me. Tiny may have accidentally tossed out one of the kid spoons earlier in the day and I'd forgotten to check. So I dragged Matt out of bed totally against his will - (we don't have a torch, oh Lexxxxxxi, it's almost midnight, it's too cold).

Meanwhile I gloved up with my mobile acting as a beacon. I was out the door and rifling through our bin which was not a tasty midnight endeavour. If our neighbours are watching they're seriously thinking - the nutters have just gotten nuttier.

But I found that damn spoon. I was right. I was triumphant. If I could convince Matt to carry me back into the house on his shoulders, I would have. If I had some champagne chilled I would have cracked it open.

Cute embroidered cushion from Pwackets. And for real - there was a dish (albeit broken) in the bag with the spoon. We're living the nursery rhyme dream peeps.

Good Stuffs

Man I can not wait to see this new film. Great cast, Mark Ruffalo. HELLO Mark Ruffalo. It just looks tight. I need to see this movie and I need to see it pronto. The Kids Are Alright. Yep, front row please. Choc top mandatory.

Other good stuffs:

- I keep winning Cherry Ripes. Not so good for my waistline. But damn fool, they taste good.

- I got to hang with my sisters today, that was rad.

- Tomorrow is Tuesday - and you know what that means don't you? Nope. Neither do I, but it had better be good.

That is all.

Coveting

I will try and talk less Lego soon, promise, but right now, it's become a household obsession.

After we bought the Doctor's Lego the other day, Tiny and I went to a cafe where the guy there was enquiring about our Lego purchase. He wanted a look, so we showed him the box and set to jive-talking. Whatever jive-talking is. Cafe Man told me how much he LOVED Lego and then showed me his pendant - a heart made of Lego blocks. Pretty darn cool. And he also mentioned rings that Lego had made. So I came home and hit Google to find said rings. Et voila! You can mix them up with different blocks - my favourite are the flowers. They're not new (from what I see, they were released circa 2007) - but new to me.

Lego makes parenting super duper fun. It's something for the Doctor and I to enjoy together (except I'm always being instructed what to make and how to make it. Yes boss!).

I found them via Like Cool.

Clever AND Cute

Evian always do clever campaigns that capture my attention.

Take their latest to showcase the "Baby Inside".

Everyday people (not just models) can now buy their t-shirts from Colette.

Punters were invited to wear their tees in a funny way, rendez-vous at the water bar and have their photo taken at the water bar by fashion photographer Nathaniel Goldberg. If the photos were funny, they're going to uploaded to the corporate website.

Pretty cool campaign methinks.

When Period Pain Is Not

Yesterday I spent the day feeling pretty darn miserable and convinced I had period pain. I took two Naprogesic and thought - in half an hour, all will be gone and I can continue.

Only it didn't and all day I rode a painful wave where I was convinced someone had a voodoo of me and they were squeezing my stomach intermittently. I mean this damn person wouldn't let up. They kept going and going.

But it's not period pain. It's freaking gastro. GASTRO!

If they can put man on the moon, why can't they outlaw gastro. MEH! For more gastro loving head over to Mogantosh. They really know how to party too. And Mama Mogantosh REALLY knows how to party because her glasses fell into the toilet. Yowsers.

In light of this, here's a funny ad about Mother Nature.

We Are Family

Lately I've been struggling with parenting. Babies. Toddlers. Preschoolers. Preschoolers masquerading as teenagers.

Yesterday I went a little crazy and said to Matt, "Today I can not parent."

I realise it's not an option not to parent. You're either on or you're on. You can't opt in for a few days/weeks and then schedule yourself away. Take the batteries out of the kids. Pop the kids back into the cupboard. Take a break. Then take the kids back out and put batteries back in. Resume normal life.

And nor would you want to. But sometimes, things get difficult.

The Doctor has declared he's been having his 'worst day ever' for a number of days. He's throwing 'tude and man, sometimes it really hurts. He doesn't want to go to pre-school. Doesn't want to tidy up. He just wants to Lego the afternoon/night away. And then he realises he's way too tired, he crumbles and my (big) baby boy cries in my arms. This is not the stuff of pretty pictures and child-rearing tomes.

We're dedicating time with the Doctor. One on one time that each of us adore. This afternoon Matt and the Doctor have gone to check out the skatepark and get a bit rad.

I need to get back into my parenting books for all those great tips and tricks which are difficult to see when you're in the thick of it. I need a periscope to look through, see where we're headed.

Anyway, keeping things light is Tiny. Who out of the blue declares: "You're poo Mum." And then laughs. Excellent to keep the ego in check.

On another side of things... Does anyone have any ace places that Matt and I should head to to celebrate our wedding anniversary in a few months? Anything that's not going to cost a bomb will be thoughtfully considered!

PS - image is of the Doctor. He's in the midst of a rumbling. Laughing. Not crying. Phew.

Masterchef McLovin'

It's a big day here at PMM HQ.

It's a huge day in fact. Huge, massive, big deal. Clear the decks, don't answer the phones, barricade the door. We're going into lockdown.

Anyone who regularly reads PMM (and tweets with me) will know what a mad keen, gung-ho, crazed, infatuated, obsessed Masterchef viewer/Tweeter I am. I love it. Love. It.

So tonight, who makes you all hot under your apron strings? Who makes your saucepan lid blow off?

Clearly, you see who has my loyalty.

My Baby Is:: Dancer

Tiny is a born dancer.

Tiny is always, always insisting on dancing.

Tiny loves to hum.

But most of all, Tiny just really, really loves to dance and move to music. Or no music. My Tiny Dancer. She's not Tony Danza.

Today she took to the footpath while we enjoyed copious babycinos, flat whites and macarons.

Baby likes to rhumba.

What's your favourite dance move? Mine? I do a really mean bad robot dance. Seriously. Awesome.

Wow.

I think I have had what will go down in PMM history as one of the most crummy weeks of my life.

Truth be, I probably won't remember it in just a few mere weeks, but right now, oh man, it stinks.



This is the only thing that can lift my spirits. You can take the girl out of the country... THIGH SLAP!

Here Is Where I Turn Into A Complete Lego Nerd

I decided this morning to do a recce before I took the Doctor to the toy sale after pre-school.

He kept reminding me that he wanted an 'early pick-up'. Roger that.

Tiny and I battled through the hoardes of toy-hungry parents, wielded our pram, and pushed through to Lego-topia. Phew. It took a while of navigating through trolleys (FULL TROLLEYS!) laden with toys, but we succeeded.

It was then that I averted a very near and real disaster. There were only 3 of Police (7743 - I should have those tattooed on my body, I've heard them so often) the Doctor wanted. So I bought one thinking, hey I'll bring him with his zip-lock bag of money this afternoon, and if it's not here - et voila - I have back up plan Mama 101.

I picked him up at 2:25pm as per his request, we toodled off to Target and lo and behold no Lego Police 7743.

So we drove home, fanging it to get home to find the box hidden in my wardrobe (no doubt, where all good parents hide things).

The Doctor and I spent the afternoon building Lego together while Tiny lay on the couch in her 'birdy nest' because she was tired.

The long and the short of it is that I have been declared 'a really good Lego builder'. And damn it, I love it too.

PS - I can't find my camera cord. If anyone knows the whereabouts, please email me. I'd like that.

Think Of Me Tomorrow

For tomorrow friends, I am facing something every parent dreads. The Toy Sale.

I wouldn't ordinarily be this brave. But I am facing up to my fears tomorrow as my sweet little Doctor has been saving really hard for a really long time to buy some Lego.

Tomorrow, not only will I be throwing my body amongst the hoardes of bargain-hungry parents, but I will also be carrying the Doctor's money box with me, and counting out every single one of those sweet hard-earned coins with him. I suggest if you see us, don't line up behind us, we'll be there for a while. Well that's if we ever make it to the counter. Wish us luck.

By the way - did you ever see James May's Lego House from BBC? Amazing. Incredible. I love clever people.

Small Boy. Big Haircut.

The Doctor got a really big hair cut today. Really big. Like now he looks like he's 15 - and sometimes he behaves that way too.

About five weeks ago I took him to a local hairdresser that had been recommended to me by the cousin of the owner (sounds ominous already, uh huh). I pulled up at this local hairdresser, and really, I should have considered my gut feeling at the time. Because I wanted to drive right on out of there, hit the road and never turn back.

But we had an appointment, and I like to keep appointments and I like to keep my word. So we three stumbled in to what I can only describe as an Emo style welcome.

The smalls both sat up on their chairs and I could see the Doctor was feeling really uncomfortable. He shot me daggers and I tried to be upbeat. Nonchalant. Oh yes, you're having fun aren't you up in that big chair?

Apparently both hairdressers, by pure coincidence, had left their personalities at home - on the same day. Amazing. So I continued to sit there awkwardly while Tiny's pleased as punch to be having her hair cut, the Doctor is still filthy at me, and I'm pretending to be really engrossed in the range of hair products stacked on their shelves.

Both hair cuts lasted no longer than 15 minutes and we were out. When we got home Matt didn't even realise that the Doctor had had a hair cut, and Tiny had been transformed from a wee little mermaid with shoulder length hair wavy crazy hair into a Stepford Wife with a severe bob.

The moral to this story is: don't visit cranky hairdressers. And trust your gut feeling. Particularly when dealing with scissor-wielding personality-less Emos.

I took the Doctor back to our normal hairdresser today and briefed lovely, friendly Kelly - and she - et voila - did exactly as I asked. Short. Cute. Like a pineapple (yes, that was my description of the haircut I wanted).

However Tiny was totally disgruntled that there was no haircut on the cards for her. So I had to placate her with a spray from the water bottle, a blitz from the hairdryer and a tickle with the fluffy hair brush.

But this, my friends, is not the only of our hair woes. Just the other night Tiny got a bath toy stuck in her hair. Stuck. I walk in to see her sitting with Elmo in a submarine tightly wound around her hair, and the Doctor giggling. Seriously, this toy is kind of large and was just dangling from her head. And I had to cut the darn thing out.

Bribery and Biscuit Baths

Today we three (the Doctor, Tiny and I) were heading the way of Rummey Bears. So we were lucky enough to score an impromptu catch-up and audience with the lovely, happiest baby in the world Rosie.

However, what I admitted to Anna quickly was that I had in fact just bribed the Doctor to ditch his pre-school hat (which is a Legionnaire's style - of which I am absolutely not fond of except for its excellent sun-warding-off ways) to wear his favourite beanie. Prior to me bribing him with a shiny dollar, he'd said he was going to wear both the Legionnaire's cap AND the beanie together.

I have previously documented the fact that I don't really dig on overstyled small children (head to toe Ralph Lauren gives me achey teeth). MEH! Can they run, dance, fall down? But seriously, I draw the line at too-short tracksuit pants (the Doctor's all time favourites) and this bodgy hat.

I gave him the shiny dollar and he upgraded to his beloved beanie.

What Anna doesn't know is that I had also pestered him to remove his (faux) ugg(ly) boots before our arrival because:

a) she would smell us at least an hour before we arrived (yes I am going to kill off these boots)

b) it is illegal to wear ugg(ly) boots out of the house (although this law is technically outlawed if it is a particularly spine-chilling Winter day when you are about to head out for pre-school pick-up and the thought of freezing toes and chillblains is not particularly appealing)

I did try and find a Legionnaire's hat to illustrate my story, however it was all a little ugly. Here's a really special shot I'd like to share with you. Without putting it on my blog.

As for Biscuit Baths? Well tonight Tiny was so tired we fast-forwarded to her bath at 4:15pm. She was splashing around having a grande old time. And then dunked a very buttery biscuit that I had made in the bath. When I pulled her out, she had a very nice coating of oily film. Pretty special. And to illustrate Tiny's tiredness - she was eating dinner and fell asleep with her head on the table. The Doctor rushed into me and said, "Quick, quick we need to get Tiny into bed, it's an emergency, she's almost fallen asleep." By then she was asleep, so snuggled her under her blankets. And then she woke up and commenced the second wind.

The woeful second wind.

Petition: Please Sign!

I think I will organise a petition to bring back Mr Squiggle.

Who else has awesome blue hair, massive eyelashes and a pencil for a nose? (Right up until the pencil you were
thinking Dame Edna right?).

ABC needs to take a good hard look at themselves. I'd rather watch Mr Squiggle than election coverage. Thanks anyway.

Bring back Mr Squiggle. I love a bit of upside down drawing. (And a grumpy Blackboard.)

Stuff I Like

I was going through my bathroom cabinet tonight, tossing old stuff, tossing stuff I don't use, and getting amidst the thick of it. And also wondering why I have not one, but three almost full tubes of fake tan (my favourite one is Ella Bache) - since I gave up fake-tanning when I fell pregnant the very first time (application just took too long, and it's when I first started taking notice of what is in the products I use - oh and who wants to fake tan when they're breastfeed? It's just too much hard work not getting a half-Tandoori'd baby).

I love beauty products. LOVE them. I've enjoyed a number of jobs where one of the perks was free cosmetics. It was always fun to try the new colours, new trends, oh man, I loved it!

I love to dabble. I love to learn new tricks. In short, I love make-up and all that it can do and say about a person.

But one of my favourite un-make-up things is Burt's Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate. I much prefer it over the original which is a bit too minty for my liking. But this one? It is lush and a joy to apply (it also happens to be one of the things my bowerbird loves to steal).

If you've read PMM for a while, you know I am a dedicated Lansinoh fan - it might be a nipple cream but it is positively dreamy on dry and chapped lips (and if you put it on before you go to bed - et voila - soft and supple lips by the morning). But the Burt's Bees is a little better when out and about in public - easy to apply, a very subtle pink-ish tone, and smells terrific.

I don't even remember where I bought mine (maybe a health food shop?) but I know it's available online too for around $6.95.

Anyway, this brings me to a real beauty blog - bellaMUMMA. Like beauty tips and tricks? Check it out!

Bowerbirds

I have a bowerbird in my midst.

Tiny, while not prone to blue objects, seems to gather any random things that take her fancy - and particularly pink things, and totes them around in any old bag she can find (Kinokuniya, brown paper bags - whatever, she's not racist when it comes to bags).

While riding her 'motorbike' around at the park, she insisted on taking the bag, which was laden with booty, around. Despite the fact it set her back enormously, she still soldiered on, dragging that darn bag around the track - and no matter what would not hand it over to her Mama.

If I ever need to find something that's gone missing, I know where to go. To date this has included:

- iPhone

- iPod

- mobile

- pink pen

- small tissue packets (she REALLY loves these)

- pink lip gloss

(Please no one ever tell Tiny about my bin, because I fear she'll follow in my footsteps and there'll be even less room in our house).

image via

From The Front Line

On Sunday morning the Doctor came in to wake me up with great news. The ants were all over the kitchen. The Doctor can sometimes exaggerate, and I myself am prone to falling back to sleep. Which I did. It was way too early in the morning, and if I'd looked at a clock I would have realised it was illegal to be awake this early on a Sunday.

Later in the morning, when raiding the pantry for pancake supplies, I discovered that there were a lot of ants in our pantry and that the Doctor had not exaggerated that there were a lot. Of. Ants.

So I set to pulling out everything from the pantry. And then the tupperware cupboard. And then the doll's house. It was incredibly fun. If insect extermination is your thing.

Later in the afternoon we discovered the ants in a sealed jars. Those crazy pranksters, they get into everything. The jar was half full, and as any budget-abiding housewife could agree, those ants were not getting the caster sugar. No way Jose.

I set the jar on the bench and intermittently pulled ants from said jar. It took quite a long time, because they start stinking after a while (hey guys, we're under threat, let's stink out this jar of sugar!), so I left them for a while. Finally in the afternoon I managed to get them all out.

Well. That's what I thought. Tonight I went to make Donna Hay's polka dot cookies (because they are so darn good), and I pulled out the caster sugar, carefully measuring it out. Dark spotted caster sugar. And then I discovered some of those smarmy ants had bunkered down.

Let's call this an awesome Masterchef inspired invention. Sugar WITH protein.

Now if you come around to my house and I offer you something I've baked, you will be safe in the knowledge that any sugar it may include, also contains ant proteins. That my friends is called an Invention Test.

Stigma:: Number 3 - Miscarriage

It's been a long time between stigmas, but today, I've decided to tackle another.

Miscarriage.

If you've ever had a miscarriage, I believe, it's a strange and sometimes lonely road to navigate.

No one knows what to say. No one really knows what to do. Everyone seems to keep their distance in some sort of limbo. It's awkward for everyone. Trust me. I know. Even my husband seemed to feel differently about it to me.

When I had a miscarriage a few years ago, it was a weird, strange, sad, disappointing period.

One of my friends stated confidently that it was probably a good thing so I could 'go back to work'.

A relative told me that I should consider myself lucky that I was fertile. That I could fall pregnant. And in my mind I thought, great, I'm fertile, but I just lost a baby.

I was nine weeks pregnant and had known pretty well from day dot that I was pregnant.

I was excited. I was dreaming. I was really happy.

I also had no morning sickness (from which I'd suffered a great deal of when I was pregnant with the Doctor).

I remember the Saturday morning I woke up with cramps and spotting. I called the midwife. She told me to wait a while and then if it continued to head to the ER.

The ER was fantastic, however, a little vague. But nothing was concrete, everything looked to be fine. I was asked to come back for an ultrasound the next day.

We did. The three of us, Matt, the Doctor and I bundled into the darkened room, I was filled with hope to see my wee babe's little heart bumpity-bumping. There was no flicker. And the sonographer turned sadly to us. She was sad. I had tears rolling down my cheeks, and I remember Matt held my hand tighter while the Doctor played on oblivious to what was happening.

My gyno and I agreed not to have a D&C, for which I was grateful to begin with. But after days and days of waiting, and the constant reminder that I had lost my baby, I wanted it to be over. I wanted to get on with the grieving.

I had a quiet moment in the bathroom and felt a whoosh. I held that wee babe, probably no bigger than a golf ball and about the same shape, in my very own hand.

I've written and re-written this post so many times, months ago, weeks ago.

Maybe you've had a miscarriage, or someone you know. Everyone deals with it in their own quiet way and no one really wants to talk about it.

I wish the awkwardness was not there though, it would do away with some dark days.

My babe would have been born in September. But it was not to be. I still sometimes think of that baby. Boy or girl. And it always makes me think of blossoms. Spring blossoms. Spring blossoms and petals scattered on the breeze.

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Have you ever had a miscarriage? Or do you know someone who has?

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Read about other Stigmas here. There's another one I just can't find it.. Anyone remember what it was about?

Sometimes Things Are Just Plain Weird

Yesterday I received a call from my MIL. I couldn't find the handset so I couldn't answer the phone. I listened to the message. And then re-listened. And then I listened again just to make sure I'd heard correctly. Then once more just for a bit of clarity.

My MIL invited myself and the smalls over to her house. For afternoon tea. She wasn't going to be there - she was at work. No one was going to be there. But she thought I might like to visit her dog.

?

Kiddie Craft:: The (Not) Yellow Submarine

We're in the thick of school holidays, which coupled with being sick, feels like it's going forever.

The Doctor, Tiny and I have been doing a wee bit of kiddie craft, to be followed by some more later this week.

There is nothing better than fresh playdough. Seriously. Fresh playdough is the shizzle. It's so malleable and smells so good, and it's tactile and it just feels so darn good I love it. The Doctor made a submarine (the paddlepop sticks) and Tiny made a birthday cake (pipecleaners, cutters, and finally loads of pencils). My smalls love to play with playdough and the three of us can play for a long time.

And while Tiny was asleep, the Doctor and I made 'boats' from regular kitchen sponges (new ones of course), a straw and a piece of a kitchen wipe (that I cut to size to make the sail). These have been favourites in the bath tub.

Today, because we are wildly crazy and we absolutely know how to have fun, we're going to clean the car.

Celebrating... Legumes! Celebrating... Pulses!

Being very budget-conscious, and particularly moreso now we've moved house, I'm looking at ways to economise. To tighten our belts.

I'm looking for inspirational (and cheap) recipes that are family friendly. Family friendly is key because I do not want to be whipping up 74 different meals each night.

On the weekend Matt and I bandied together to cook Tessa Kiros' Lentils & Rice. We really didn't need to do it together, and the only reason we did was I was about to walk about the door to go to the book shop once I had cooked the onions. Poor timing on my part. Thankfully my faithful sous chef stepped into his whites and cooked it for me.

Unfortunately dearest Tessa doesn't really clarify whether she's using tinned lentils or dried lentils. It wasn't 'til the end of the recipe - when I came home - when all cooking was done, that I realised she must have used the dry lentils and therefore absorbed much more water. Using tinned resulted in claggy rice and lentils. A (now) delicacy in our house. Delicacy being used very, very loosely.

So today I jumped straight back in and made Tessa's Lentil Soup. It's packed with loads of vegies (carrots, celery, capsicum, onions, cabbage, English Spinach, passata.. Oh yes! YES! Served with a generous slurp of olive oil, it was pretty darn good.

Have you got any favourite lentils, pulses or legumes recipes to share?

Really Super Things

I was speaking with Angela at Kid Style File a while ago. Her family were struck down by the lurgies. She suggested drinking Charlie's Lemonade, heating it slightly and adding some honey. I will tell you right now I am probably the only person in the world that hates lemon and honey. Meh!

But Charlie's Lemonade with honey is really super fantastic. Thank you Angela for that great tip!

And today the postman knocked at my door. I was standing in the kitchen at the time in a spencer top and pyjama pants. I hid my top half behind the door and was greeted with our very polite postman bowing at me! He presented me with a parcel from one of my all time favourite cronies - Sal from GEORGIE LOVE!

I was lucky enough to win this book - Simple Softies for Beginners via Sal's giveaway - and I am suitably CHUFFED! This book is right up my alley folks - it's aimed at beginner's and kids from the age of 5. That really says something about my crafting capability, right?

I've sat down today with each of the smalls to discover which of the softies they like. The Doctor is into Hop Skip Jump's dino. Tiny is into Hop Skip Jump's Cat-Face Cushion.

Let le sewing begin. And prepare to laugh at the outcomes.

The Things Sundays Are Made Of

The Doctor and I have been enjoying time together.

Given he's gone completely plum loco bored at home, he missed a few weeks of pre-school, and told me he was sick of lying on the couch feeling tired and sick, I wanted to do something special to make the holidays fun. Not big over the top special, just making memories sort of special.

Matt was going to take him to see Toy Story 3 yesterday, but Tiny went bananas and I guess Matt sensed I was over Tanty Town, so he suggested I take the Doctor. PHEW!

I love those moments when it's just the Doctor and I. And there's nothing to read into that. I just enjoy having that one on one that we used to enjoy together pre-Tiny. I think it's important to 'date' each of my kids and enjoy special things together.

Today I took the Doctor (with my sister) to Kinokuniya. The Doctor is a big book lover. He had a gift voucher burning a hole in his pocket. So we three drove into the city and indulged in a couple of hours of perving on books.

I felt so excited to look at books with the Doctor. There are so many great reads ahead for us. We've read Alice In Wonderland, we're half way through Charlotte's Web, we've read How To Train Your Dragon, and we're also digging Milly, Molly, Mandy.

I truly believe that reading and reading with your child is one of the best gifts you can give a child, and one of the most important things to do. So much can be learnt, dreamt, thought of - just from reading each day. We try to read to the smalls every single night, it's really rare that we don't each lie in bed with them to read for a little while.

Lately thoughts have turned to my own reading habits. They are abysmal at the moment. I do like reading recipe books, but lately I get some screen time and go on a tour of the interwebz, here, there and everywhere. And all the bedside matter is lying dormant. Right now I'm reading Revolutionary Road. I'll talk more about that later this week (I've seen the film - have you?).

What book are you reading right now? (Well not RIGHT now, but this week?)

I need to set an example and pick up a book. I want my kids to see me reading. To see me devouring a book. I love writing, and I believe that that goes hand-in-hand with reading. I'm looking for books with instant gratification. Vampire novels and any mystic-fantasy type reading need not apply. Hit me with your recommendations!

* This is a pretty great read about reading and aspirations.

* Here's an article about how reading online can shatter your concentration. Twitter. Blogs. Email. FourSquare. Oh man. I am all over it!

* Last chance to enter the Teddy Bear's Wednesday super awesome giveaway!

Movies With My (Little) Boy

I took the Doctor to see Toy Story 3 today. In 3D no less. He and I both loved it.

With choc top in hand, we found ourselves a seat in the darkened cinema and watched numerous trailers before settling in for the main event.

It was a little scary in places, and the Doctor grasped my hand tight. It's a little tear-inducing in some spots too.

What I find most tear inducing is when people rustle packets of chips throughout the whole film. But that's off-topic isn't it?

We left chatting non-stop about it. All the great parts. Ken, in particular, was my favourite.

I'd rate it 4 stars. Because I can.

Have you seen it yet?

Perhaps You and Me? Yes. We Should Catch Up

When we moved we celebrated Matt's birthday on the same day of moving (happy birthday Matt - here's the removalist truck with two hot removalists to boot). And the Doctor's 5th birthday was celebrated in the first week.

It was a big and exhausting week and only now do I feel as though we are settling in. Phew. We still have boxes to unpack, but we're slowly getting there. Slowly.

I really just wanted to put this photo (taken on my phone) of my smalls for posterity. The Doctor's birthday and he's off to preschool wearing his Rummage crown, given by my sister.

Make Mine A Swine

So we go up to the supermarket today to buy some Cream of Tartar to complete our playdough making. Simple task.

I smelt it before we saw it. The animal farm. Without George Orwell. Small animals right out in front of the supermarket. Like being at a fancy Chinese restaurant and choosing which animal will you dine on tonight? Oh I'll take that little piglet running about screeching. Not.

Of course we had to go in and pat the animals. Man it stank. Seriously. I am a country girl, I am well familiar with the warm smell of cow pats. But this was something else entirely. Oh and the parents letting the kids chase the small animals around. Fail.

In fact, I think the whole scheme was FAIL! Too many small animals in a small enclosure with small people chasing them around on small feet, squealing small squeals.

Alpaca.

Ducks.

Ducklings.
Geese.

Chickens.
Bunnies.

Lambs.

A 2 week old goat (oh man - soooo cute!).

A calf.

I quickly herded my smalls out of that pen, and as we were leaving the piglet started squealing and the Doctor remarked that he hoped the piglet was not dying. Yep. Me too.

Small animals. Supermarket. Squealing small pig. Not cool. Or am I being a fuddy duddy?

In Which We Really Turn PottyMouthed

So the last few days have been pretty darn boring. So boring in fact that the Doctor asked me if he went for a big bike ride would he feel better because he's sick of watching DVDs and lying on the couch in his general malaise.

Three weeks of being sick sucks, croup has turned into bronchial coughs. Meh!

In a bid to pick things up we visited the Doctor yesterday and now the kids are both on antibiotics. And the Doctor got the hot pink antibiotics, and Tiny wants to swap him for hers. Hers are white.

The Doctor has also morphed into the PottyMouthDoctor. He cussed on the mike on Monday. Not once. But FIVE TIMES! Shocking to the max.

So this morning in a bid to alleviate boredom we went for a walk up the street to see if we could find the neighbour's cat. The Doctor took his scooter, Tiny wore her yellow boots today. We walked right up the top, and walked right back down, and the Doctor found some energy to do four or five laps of a section of footpath. He thought it was awesome. Oh and we got to pat the cat too!

We got home just in time for the rain to start sprinkling down on top of us.

Usually I love Winter. But this Winter I am longing for warmer days. I'm sick of being sick. I'm tired of being cold.

Barry Morgan. We Must Meet.

I salute a man with such a range of facial expressions. Who can play the organ. And who has such a lot of hair.

Dear Barry, I might love you.

Tiny Pirates

Tiny loved playing dress-ups yesterday for O's birthday. She actually loved pillaging pirate accessories, such as this hat, and later a dancing dress. Despite the fact that later in the afternoon she crashed out feeling sick and slept on top of me, she'd had a good day. Maybe she came crashing down from the sugar high all the smalls were experiencing.

Today we seem to be having a movie marathon. We're (still freaking well) sick. It's cold. It's grey. The smalls watched Curious George, and Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium. Got any good movie tips to share with us?

Can't Stop Listening To

Love. Love. Love.

Yo Ho Ho!

We sailed on the great big sea (of road) today, down south to celebrate my nephew's birthday, pirate style.

Why are pirates called pirates? Because they ARRRRGH!

It was such a beautiful day in every sense. We each had a wonderful time and wouldn't have missed it for all the gold on the bottom of the sea. Happy 5th Birthday O! We love you!

I'm Coming Up Empty Handed

Due to the lockdown that is life at the moment, we're stuck at home with the Doctor and his croup, Tiny and her snotties, me and my sinuses, I am in fear I have nothing, NOTHING to share. It's a bad old day when you have nothing of value to share, isn't it sausages? Oh yes!

So what to report... I'm twiddling my thumbs folks.

* I love the new Sia album (not to be confused with the Safety Institute of Australia - although I'm sure they're quite good too)

* I love the new Angus & Julia Stone album

* I have drunk three cups of tea today, with another on the way

* I have picked up countless crumpled tissues today (gee thanks kids)

* I have refereed countless wrestling matches between the smalls today

* I am going to watch the Young Victoria today. Or maybe Mad Men. But something. Because Glee isn't on

* I haven't organised dinner yet due to confinement

* I have mopped the floors

* I am up to date in the laundry

* The kids are in the bath at 4:00pm. The Doctor is crying because a) it has bubbles (which I thought he'd like tonight and b) Tiny kicked him. AGAIN.

* We have a very large old wardrobe currently eating all the room in our living room because we have nowhere else to put it. What to do with it folks?

On a more exciting front..

Check out Meet Me At Mikes for the Medina MumSpace giveaway. You must be in it to win it. (And for more chances to win a night at the Medina of your choice, head over to MumSpace - fo' realz).

And if you're looking for something absolutely, infinitely more interesting than this post, I might suggest this to you.

image via manataka