Three Movies for the school holidays: Home, The Book Of Life, Cinderella

A couple of weeks ago we had the happy fortune of taking the smalls to a preview of upcoming DreamWorks release 'Home'. And yet here's a picture of me with the lead character. Awkward. 

With the voice skills of Rihanna, Steve Martin and J-Lo, I really had to check it out for myself.

It was funny. It made me laugh.

"It was great. My favourite bit? All of it." - The Doctor, 9.5 yo
"Yeah, I liked it." - Tiny, 7 yo. 

My outtake? I think it's good for younger kids. Younger than my kids. It's a simple storyline. It's funny. But it's not something I think my kids or I want to see again. 

I give it 2.5/5 stars. 

"The Book of Life" was something I was not that excited to see. But we went anyway - and I am ever so glad we did. 

It is freaking brilliant. 

The graphics are enchanting - old-school meets new-school. The story is wonderful. The whole she-bang is ace. And hello people - Channing Tatum's voice is in it. HELLO! 

It's complicated, dark, sad, happy, scary, bright, funny, belly-bouncing funny, I can't say enough good stuff about it. Plus you go for a tour through Mexican history. It's colourful and wacky, and I know you are going to love this as much as I do. 

And it's got Ice Cube. And Biz Markie. And all the goods. Honestly. I am going to buy this movie when it comes out. SO SO GREAT!

How many stars? Give it ALL THE STARS! 

So Matt and I got to go on a date to see 'Cinderella' at the State Theatre. It was pretty darn special. 

Introduced by Cate Blanchett herself, the film was every inch eye candy, staying true to the traditional storyline, and with Blanchett playing a hideously wonderful wicked stepmother. 

Directed by Kenneth Branagh, it's every inch theatrical as you'd expect - and Helena Bonham Carter is delightful as the Fairy Godmother.

I'd recommend this for older kids (6+) because the littlies in the cinema were restless people. And they were kicking the back of my chair. I know this because they were kicking my chair. 

How many stars? 4.5 out of 5. 



Have you seen any of these films? Did you love them or loathe them?

10 things to do these holidays

Holidays are still going strong (but not strong enough when they're nearly over - well a couple of weeks to go). Maybe you're flagging and you need some inspiration. Wave the white flag my friend, I have ideas to get you through. I do! 

1. Penguins of Madagascar: I know the audience is divided but both Matt and I loved this movie. And that's the main thing. Wink. Wink. Ok the kids loved it too - so it's a full house - adults and kids both rated it. And Benedict Cumberbatch is a voice in it. That's always a good thing. 

2. Uno wars: We lie in bed in the morning and play Uno. Endless rounds of it. And then we play it at night too. And pretty well we play it all day. And all afternoon. And just all the time. What's not to love?

3. Hide and seek in the park: We love going to a small park and playing good, old-fashioned hide and seek. Seriously it's so fun, gets the bodies moving, and the feeling of play can't be beat. Obviously I have older children, so if you've got smaller children - use your noggin and do this in a fenced space where you can keep an eye on them. But you already knew that.

4. Flip out: I'd heard so much about it, and I finally took the smalls to Flip Out this week. It's a massive warehouse space full of trampolines. I paid for an hour for each of the smalls - and they jumped until they could jump no more. But oh man, they were so, so happy. 

5. Art Gallery visit: There's a great pop art exhibition at the AGNSW at the moment. I wanted to see it, and Matt and I thought the bright colours and content would appeal to the smalls, so we met up with my sister and niece and made a day out of it. 

6. Go Gramping! We were lucky enough to go gramping recently on Cockatoo Island as guests of Aeroguard. What is gramping? Camping with grandparents! It's a great way to spend time together, and help bonds grow. We loved this experience - the kids hadn't been camping before (I know, I know!) - and there's a recent study that shows there's a growing concern about development of life skills with 42% of Aussie parents believing their children are missing out on important life lessons by not spending enough time with grandparents, this is a great fix! We explored the island, BBQ'ed for breakfast, lunch and dinner, watched the boats (and world go by) and slept side by side in tents. It was so much fun and good for the soul. 

7. Roadtrip: If you can't go on a holiday - go on a road trip. We've been exploring up at Palm Beach (HELLO HEAVENLY HAMBURGERS!),  but it doesn't have to be anywhere fancy. Drive to another suburb or a small town and go exploring! 

8. Playdates: Honestly one of the best things to do with kids is organising a play date. They're happy. You're happy. The whole world is happy. 

9. Museums: Being a tourist in your own town is a good thing to do. Check out the museums, go look at the botanic gardens, it can create awesome conversations and memorable days out with your smalls. 

10. Drawing wars: We sit at the dining table with huge sheets of paper and draw. And collaborate. And we spend long periods of time doing this together. It's fun to do after dinner too - it can last for as long or as little as you like, and requires very little drawing skill. Seriously - I am proof of this! 

Got any extra inspiration to get everyone through the holidays?

Hitting the road

It's almost the holidays - I can almost taste them. Zoooweee mama! I am tired! I am sure everyone's tired. I always think it's odd how crazy tired I get at the end of the year, why now? I guess because it's all coming to the pointy end of the year, it's a sprint to get to the end, and it's a sprint carrying weights - end of year events, Christmas parties, shopping, thinking; survival of the fittest. 

Thankfully. Mercifully, the kids are now on holidays. 

And I am holiday dreaming. 

Roadtrip! Roadtrip! Roadtrip! I can hear the chanting in the back of my head. 

Yes. A few days trips are on the cards. Up to the northern beaches early in the morning for a dip, a play in the sand, a coffee with the waves crashing in the background. Yes. That's for me. Avoid the crowds, avoid the sun, and we're back home before most people have left their front door. 

A drive down south to visit my sister. Yes. To explore rock pools. Paddle in the shallows. Walking and chatting on the beach. Letting the ocean breeze ruffle our hair, the salt blow on our skin. I can taste it. 

Perhaps a day trip to visit a friend on the Central Coast and explore somewhere I've never been before. Blasting out some tunes as we discover new places and spaces. 

And in the meantime, we're going to go cruising for Christmas lights. Kerb crawling to see the biggest, brightest suburban displays. Those homes lit up with kitsch lights, the oversized Santas parachuting from rooftops, the reindeers grazing on dried out lawns, and the snowmen sizzling in 30 degree heat. We crank up the carols, and Matt, the smalls and I chat about who creates these electrical artworks. 

I can not wait to get on the road these holidays, and make memories. 

This post was brought to you by 2015 Ford Cars. 

Movie Review:: The Boxtrolls

The Doctor and I went on a date together these school holidays. He wanted to see The Boxtrolls.

I was a little reluctant. The Boxtrolls was created by the same makers who did Coraline - which I found freaky deaky and Paranorman too - which I loved. Quirky and SERIOUSLY INSANELY WONDERFULLY CLEVER!! In the interests of spending time with my 9 year old son, and finding delight in something together, we went - choc top and popcorn in hand.

And we loved it. We both really, really loved it.

The workmanship that's gone into producing the film is astounding. It's mind-bogglingly beautiful and intricate. 

Combine that with a really enchanting storyline, and you've got yourself a winner. It's one of the best children's films I've ever seen. Like. Ever.

The story is incredible, but just as interesting is the behind-the-scenes action. It's a work of art. 

Click below to blow your mind. 


The story is beautifully simple, a boy - Eggs, is orphaned and raised underground by the boxtrolls, who collect rubbish to create crazy masterpieces. The trolls are targeted by a bunch of exterminators and Eggs steps up to defend his family.

It's such a great film - I can't recommend it highly enough. There's a good VS evil storyline - a little bit of darkness, but it's a delicate mix of rollicking good storytelling combined with incredible stop motion goodness. 

Looking for something to do these school holidays? Definitely take your kids to see it.

Holy Toledo!

Where has time gone? Just where exactly has it gone?

One minute we're in the thick of holidays (and loving it) and the next we're back to the grind. 

This is me in five points:

1. Matt and I are back into Breaking Bad - and loving it. Season 5 - yowsers!
2. I did a juice cleanse with Schkinny Maninny. More on that to come.
3. It's so freaking cold. So freaking cold in fact that when I wake up in the morning I can see my breath. And that's in our house. 
4. We went to the zoo. It was awesome. 
5. And we also went to the beach. It was cold, but probably one of the best days ever. EVER. Big call, but the Doctor flew a kite. He went from novice to awesome in about 15 minutes. And Tiny spelt out 'I love Mum' in pumice. Heart slayed. 

What about you? What have you been up to?

Traveller's Blues: Bad Packing

It is well recognised, right around the world that I am a really, really bad packer. 

Like really bad. 

Not just 'Oh no I forgot my slip' bad. I am woeful

I either pack way too much, not the right things, or all of the above.

My case in point - our Christmas trip to Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula. This resulted in me wearing my father-in-law's knitted jumpers all holidays.

I packed mine, and both the Doctor's and Tiny's suitcases on a 36 degree night in Sydney. And there was me - laying it all out - and any other temperature was completely unimaginable because that heat. My goodness. The heat was all I could think of. 

So skimpy, summery, barely anything there clothing it was. 

And then we landed in Melbourne. It was grey.  Cold. Raining. 

You can only imagine my delight. And the kids. 

We spent almost one and a half days hunting the shops looking for anything vaguely wintery - to no avail. 

This was high summer baby, there's not a track pant or fleecy jumper to be had.

Or take the time Matt and I went to London in November. I took 23kgs of luggage. But nothing could have prepared me for how grey and bleak London winter is. And so I wore seven layers every day to counter the chill. Why I didn't buy a coat over there, no one will know. But I will never forget stripping off almost all layers once I came inside - because apparently London does heating well too. 

Let's just say packing is certainly not my forte. Insert sad face here >                 <

Fast forward to now and I'm madly trying to pack for a couple of days home. I know it's going to be cold up there. I know it. And yet, my packing is totally random. I find something that feels a bit warm - and I toss it in. When I get to the other end, I'll pull all that stuff out - and once again wonder what happened to my brain - and no doubt everyone will wonder why I look so bizarro. Because nothing I pack actually makes sense.

Therefore I am going to take it upon myself to research packing methods. I am going to learn from the best, and then I am going to come back and share with everyone. The Secret Art of Packing.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

I've got 5 days of with my family. That's pretty awesome. Mid school holidays, and it's so nice to spend time the four of us at home. Not much to do, nowhere to go, it's actually my idea of bliss. 

School holidays are pretty rad. 

To keep my smalls busy, I've booked them into a MAKE.PLAY workshop at Object Gallery in Surry Hills for tomorrow. I think they'll love playing and talking worms, who wouldn't? 

And while they're doing that Matt and I are going to hang out together in Surry Hills. Squeeee!

I'm getting my haircut. Double squeegee! 

I'm listening to that song above, like it's nobody's business, and this one too. 

Our landlord wants to inspect our house - we've lived here three years and had one inspection and they're calling it a routine check up. HA! Anyway we're kind of freaking out because our house is what I'd classify a grade A pigsty. It's so small and there's nowhere to put anything. Someone. Send help. 

Road Tripping: 9 Ideas To Keep Your Kids Entertained

It's high time holiday season, and if you're getting ready for roadtripping with your smalls, I've got some ideas to keep them occupied.

I've had my fair share of roadtripping with smalls - with or without Matt - it can be tricky. But over the years I've figured out what works and what doesn't - and what's absolutely imperative.

1. Remember when Toyota generously took us to Thredbo for the weekend? We were lucky enough to drive the Toyota Prado down - which, had it been our car, we never would have made it into the snow - it was falling so heavily when we arrived. But what I really, really loved about that car was: the DVD player, the built-in fridge, and the sunroof (so we could watch the snow falling). But you're not going to see snow this Summer. But the novelty of that roof - well hellz yes! I loved it. And the DVD player? Well we don't have one, and we travel quite modestly, but this was a nice touch to while away the six hour drive. The fridge was pretty darn awesome to keep our drinks cool - but that's a no-brainer.

2. So Santa's not bringing you a brand new Prado. Go directly to Daiso (or any other Hot Dollar style shop), and jump start your roadtrip with some cheap and cheerful stickers, colouring books, and textas (actually - the textas from Daiso are crummy, so don't get them there). I like to have - ready for when the smalls get in the car - a new colouring book, or doodling book ready for them. They dig it too, and it buys us a little bit of quiet time in the car. Leave the scissors, glitter and glue stick at home. I am speaking from experience.

3. Pack Justine Clarke. Or any kids CD that your kids love. Our favourite is Justine, but we're also getting into audio books - and Roald Dahl is a goodie. We also like to bust out a bit of Gaga for a sing-a-long. Sure to induce eye-rolling from your partner.

4. There are only so many games of eye-spy I can come to, so set up some kind of simple points system for spotting yellow cars. Or green cars. Or whatever it is your kids want to spot. We can get kind of competitive. And this game can go on for hours.

5. Take a break. Not only is it imperative for the driver - but everyone is rewarded by a quick pit stop. Stretch your legs, stop somewhere with a park, let the smalls run around for a little while and enjoy the trip rather than rushing hither and thither.

6. Sleepy. I pack small blankets and cuddle toys - and tell the kids that the trip will go muuuuch faster if they have a little nap. Silence is so, so sweet.

7. Charge your batteries. The Doctor has a Nintendo DSi and I encourage him to charge the batteries - and bring some games for Tiny.

8. Snacks. Well it's not a roadtrip until someone cracks open the snacks. I'm into packing lollies (of course I am), water, fruit (I cut up some apples), rice crackers, and some nuts. Mix things up - pack a snack pack for each of your kids - and take some spare containers. I like to think it keeps the back of the car a little cleaner. Well. I like to think it.

9. Talk. We always have good conversations when we're driving long distances and the only distractions are the occasional cow or kangaroo. It's a good time to catch up on what everyone's up to, what everyone's excited about and what everyone wants to do when you reach your destination.

I'm an advocate of the roadtrip - if you're going on one this summer - please drive carefully.

This is not a sponsored post. 

image source EmSem

This Is Our Sunday Afternoon Soundtrack

We're madly getting ready for back to school tomorrow, ironing, cooking, tidying and warming down the kids after an ace holiday. I love school holidays. It's an extra good time to spend extra time with the smalls, and do super fun. We did lots these holidays. I'll report in laterz. 

But right now, I wanted to share this tune with you. It's addictive. When we're in the car, the smalls and I do eyebrow dancing to it. It's a good work out for your forehead. And it's funny. And it's fun. And that's what I am all about.

You? What are you all about?

PS - I've installed Disqus to my blog so I can reply to your comments. I did a quick Twitter survey last night and asked bloggers if they replied to all comments. They all said YES! And it echoed in my ears. And I went to bed wracked with guilt. I just can't do it - not for lack of want - but I work almost full time, when I get home I am on parenting and wife-ing duty, I do blogging in 20 minutes and it's just not possible for me. But I read all of them, and appreciate everyone who comments. So I am hoping Disqus will help me respond to all of you awesome readers. Thank you for taking the time to visit my space. You are the bomb. And then some. BOM! BOM! BOM! x

Katy Perry: Part Of Me 3D - Reader Giveaway

This is a sponsored post.

Last year, watching the Doctor at his end of year school concert was pretty darn emotional. As his mama, I have been through everything with him – and I love who he is becoming. He’s kind of shy (sometimes) – and totally clever, funny, and very cheeky. He is so earnest – and that pulls at my heart strings.



As the finale, the whole school sang Katy Perry’s ‘Firework’. I know I sound like a complete cheeseburger, but I remember getting a lump in my throat – and something must have flown into both of my eyes – simultaneously.


We’d successfully navigated our way through the first year of school. It was hard – there was the distance I felt from being a working mother, coupled with the spate of bullying, not to mention the epic journey that is the first year of school.


It wasn’t how I’d dreamt it, but the Doctor had persevered and gotten through that year.


It’s apt that Katy Perry’s ‘Part of Me’ comes out these school holidays. It’s a glimpse into her life – how she worked hard to be where she is today. Following her dreams, and never letting her individuality waver.

I’ve seen her interviewed and have to say she comes across as such a positive and upbeat person – I think it would be difficult not to like her.

If you’d like a chance to win 1 of 5 double passes to take your kids to see Katy Perry: Part of Me in 3D these school holidays, all you have to do is answer this simple question in under 25 words:

Come on, spill. What’s your favourite Katy Perry song?




For full terms and conditions please click here.

I'm Famous! (Also Known As: What To Do In The School Holidays)

Tiny has a fascination with being famous at the moment. I'm not altogether convinced she quite grasps the idea of being famous, but when something good happens she'll jump up and down and shout: "I'm famous, I'm famous." And then she does a funny little jig and continues her chant.

It's cute rather than being precocious. Well I can say that, I am her mama.

Last weekend we got to tread the charcoal swirly carpet to view a preview of Brave. (Almost famous.) There was highland dancing, bagpipers, face painting, and then of course - the movie.The smalls were in utopia.

Brave is all about a teenage girl-princess, Merida, growing up in Scotland. It involves bows and arrows, haggis, bears, and a witchy woodworker. We found it pretty enchanting. Tiny got scared at one point and climbed onto my lap - and then continued to rave about Brave after we got home.

I loved listening to Billy Connelly and Emma Thompson breathing life into their characters. And the gags that went over the kid's heads.

The smalls loved the adventure, the story, the action and the excitement. For us, it's school holiday viewing recommended. And basically, since I need all the help I can get for school holidays - I'm going to continue this week with some more school holiday worthy ideas that you might like.

Or are you going away somewhere warm? And in that case - take. me. with. you.

Sunday at the Movies:: Brave

The smalls and I are going to see Brave tomorrow. We three are super duper looking forward to it. And it's super good weather for a movie. Yes. Melbourne is sharing their weather with Sydney.

A female lead that's strong - Scottish and brave? I am IN like FLYNN!

Because dudes, my lineage denotes I am of Scottish descent. I was born to love Scottish accents. And with Billy Connelly - well hellz yeah!

I will report back and let you know if this is a goer for the upcoming school holidays (how did we get to July already?!).

Home Is A Salve

Going home this weekend was exactly the tonic I needed.


To hit that open road and get the hell out of Sydney.


The world knows I needed it. I felt lighter getting out of this city. To escape the traffic, the crowds, the noise. I could list endlessly why I needed to get out of Sydney. I'm no longer in love with this city. I feel like it's over between us.


It's not you Sydney. It's me. Actually Sydney - it is you. You've changed. And I don't think I like you anymore.


Going home, feeling my way through familiar spaces, slowing down, feeling the grass underfoot. I got to spend quality time with my babies. Although it's a bittersweet thing, this slowing down. Because when you slow down, you get to know what you miss out on. Everything must be photographed, documented, because who knows when you'll get to do it again? And then by documenting everything, you miss out on being in that very moment.  It's almost a paradox. 


It's most definitely bittersweet - and the only cure is to book in more holidays to look forward to. I'm looking forward to the June school holidays. Busting out of the city again to enjoy more time with my parents and my wee babes, and more time for living. 


Tiny clung on to me this morning as I was about to walk out the door to work. She didn't want me to go. I didn't want to go.


That wasn't bittersweet. It was just bitter. 

Listen Up Lego Afficionados:: School Holiday Guaranteed Boredom Busters

If you're looking for something for your smalls to do these holidays, I've got some hot diggety ideas for you. Mamas - let me be of service! 


First up - if you're in Sydney - check out the school holiday menu at the Castle Hill Powerhouse Discovery Centre. Holy cow they've got some ace activities on offer - the Doctor is booked in for the LEGO Master Builder course - a full-day, hands-on, fun workshop that aims to stimulate creativity while developing teamwork and problem solving skills. The kids are in teams and together they work to build houses, castles and towers of strength using LEGO. Suitable for 6–8 year olds. $60/$55 Powerhouse members. Kids can bring their own lunch, or order their healthy lunch pack. Bookings essential as numbers for the workshop are limited to 12. 


Call 02 9762 1300 to make bookings. 


But even if your smalls aren't into LEGO be sure to check out what's on offer - because there is so much goodness going on over there, make farm animal peg pals, as well as a whole bunch of make-and-do activities, mini workshops including liquid nitrogen (YES! LOVE!), junk jewellery making. I could go on - but see for yourself all the fun and learning that's to be had (it's fun learning, so it's extra good). Go here now!


And for LEGO afficionados nationally - well you've got to listen up because the school holidays are the perfect time for the kidlets to get their LEGO on. Hot diggety! 


LEGO Australia, in conjunction with Toyworld stores are searching for the nation's best LEGO builder in 2012 for the National LEGO Building Competition - entries are open until April 30th. 

The kidlets are encouraged to use their creativity and construction skills to build the LEGO model of their dreams for the chance to win the grand prize of a family trip to LEGOLAND in California. Like this doesn't have the Doctor's name written all over it!

It's easy to enter - children just have to take two identical colour printed photos of their creation to a participating Toyworld store to obtain the official entry form. 

Visit Toyworld for details. 

image of someone else's LEGO awesomeness via Oddee 

Kids Night Out

This post is sponsored by Nuffnang.

If you’re looking for activities for the kids these holidays, check out the free outdoor cinema at Sydney Olympic Park.   We went on Saturday night, and it’s fun – we can vouch for that. We kicked back with other picnicking families and enjoyed each other’s company, on a clean, green patch of grass, under a perfect blue sky, and waited until it darkened enough to watch Cars 2.


The smalls loved the laid-back vibe, hanging out with other smalls, and the novelty of lying under the star-strewn sky and watching a movie. It was pretty special curling up with those little wiggly bodies and enjoying this first with them.

The Doctor finished the night with his: “This was my best night ever.”


Running until January 29th Kids in the Park has a whole menu of activities (more than 50!) to choose from an ace school holiday program catering to all ages (and all free or under $20). If you’re into movies, there’s lots to choose from (The Smurfs, Harry Potter etc) – you can check out the flicks here .

Kids in the Park runs every school holiday at Sydney Olympic Park.

Zootopia

I am SUCKING THE VERY MARROW from this holiday at home. Today we visited the zoo. It was hot. But it was merry. We had such a great time. We got there early, we applied zinc, our hats, and drank water, and we stayed 'til 2ish. We saw so many animals - including the new tigers. My goodness, they are uber cute, and amazing, and wow - they are JUST SO AMAZING.

Why am I yelling?!

Who knows?

But the zoo was great.

We love the bird show. We didn't line up for the seal show - but, funnily enough, the one person that I clicked with in Mother's Group - way back 7 years ago, is one of the seal people zoologist people, and I saw her, in passing, but didn't get to say hi.

Gosh darn, I just knew you'd be enthralled.

Of course, Tiny, the whole way around the zoo kept asking me to take her photo. And who am I to decline?

And Then.

I was planning to write something profound today.

About revelations.

Epiphanies.

About life's little hopes, glories and joys.

About how this New Year is going to be oh-so-much better than the crummy one we just left behind.

Except I've forgotten everything I drafted in my head.

Instead you're going to have to make do with these snaps taken from our last few days. I am still relishing my time at home, on holidays.

A few days ago, I foolishly got sunburnt.
We made a massive sand castle/fortress at Balmoral on New Year's Day, while everyone else was hungover, we enjoyed those first few hours of 2012.
After a sweltering day, we managed to sneak in a swim. Well Matt, the Doctor and Tiny did. I chickened out and thought the water was too cold. Tiny is convinced she can swim. The Doctor is enjoying swimming. He never wants to get out of the water.





How is your Summer faring?

Well Hello Holidays!

This is a sponsored post.

I couldn't think of any better way to spend a perfectly sunny and Spring-a-licious Sunday than heading to the park. A really, really big park. Seeing the smalls run around, happy, it's a simple pleasure. Not to mention the benefits that come with an extended park visit. Kids that go to bed on time. It's win: win.

I love a good park, and I can wholeheartedly vouch that 'Kids In The Park' at Sydney Olympic Park is no ordinary park. It's huge. It's sprawling. It's green, and there are little hills that remind me of the Teletubbies. So fun.

Given the Doctor is learning to ride his bike, we decided to check out Newington Armory . The tracks are wide and flat, so it's perfect terrain for a beginner, with Tiny riding on her push-along. In fact, if the smalls hadn't seen the playground, we could have ridden all day. But they saw it, and while they were happy to explore the Armory, they were intent on clocking up some time climbing, swinging and sliding.

No matter, we rode for about 45 minutes, explored the Armory, checked out the Birds Australia Discovery Centre, where we saw live footage of a month old eagle in its nest - pretty rad. How often do you get a birds eye view? (BOOM BOOM!)

Then we rode back, had an iceblock on the grass overlooking the Rivercats cruising past, a quick coffee, then we were whisked off to the playground by our small companions.

If you're looking for something to keep the smalls active and entertained during the school holidays - whell hellz to the yeah, this is your answer: press this - so many activities to choose from, lots are free, or otherwise under $20. There's something for sporty kids, adventuring kids, or crafty kids.

I recommend it as a super place that we'll definitely revisit during the holidays to keep the kidlets busy. As the Doctor said on the drive home: "It's my best day ever."

Park Life

We three braved the big chill today and spent part of the morning at the park. A rare treat, given that Mondays - my day off, are usually spent sans children. I loved spending the time with them spinning, sliding, climbing and swinging.

Next school holidays I'm going to organise some time off so I can hang out with them more. I really miss my babies. Even if we don't go away, a stay-cation is definitely in order!

Also - let's kick off Back In the Habit next Monday. I'm not ready yet peeps!

Tiny Goes To Rio (Tinto)

Yesterday I decided to take the smalls on a last hoorah to celebrate my final-day-of-very-long-weekend-spent-being-very-lazy-at-home.

Hop or Rio? The Doctor voted Rio. Tiny voted Hop. And then she decided on Rio Tinto, and was hell bent on heading to Rio Tinto until we gently explained it wasn't really a destination she'd dig on (boom boom!) unless she wanted to wear a hard hat.

And apparently she did not want to wear a hard hat. Rather, she'd prefer to wear:

3 x skirts

1 x dress

2 x tops

1 x net

Yep. A net. She really wanted to wear this net to the movies.

I am pretty darn liberal when I let my kids choose what they want to wear. But I stood there and started imagining walking into the cinema with this small child with a net on her head. I had to tell Tiny there would be no net wearing today. Save that for when Daddy wants to go out in public. He LOVES it when you wear nets out in public.

And Rio? We really loved Rio. Despite having to sit in the very front row, and damning the critics and their miserly star allocation. We three all loved Rio! And luckily Tiny's vision wasn't obstructed with the net.