Meet My Monsters!

Mr Endearing Eleven -

Sensitive, Responsible, Super-Smart, Math-Whiz, Caring, Loving, Tidy, Insightful

Miss Enthusiastic Eight-

Busy, Silly, Excitable, Talkative, Book-Mad, Cuddly, Humorous, Messy, Joyful

Mr Funny Five-

Kind-Hearted, Snuggle-Bum, Funny, Grumpy, Organised, Sweet, Perceptive, Tender

Miss Tornado Two-

Mischievous, Cheeky, Lovely, Trouble, Sparky, Determined, Quick, Hilarious, Social

Caught Out!

Today I was caught out....discovered......dobbed in.......and all by a two year old.
You see, I have a system. A secret plan. One that only two people were privy to. Me and Miss Tornado Two had an understanding, an agreement if you will.

Every time Little Miss deposited something 'unsavoury' in her nappy we would put our little plan into action.

She would come up to me, point to her nappy and say 'Poopy'.
'That's lovely darling' I would whisper conspirationally, 'Now go and tell Dadda'
Off she would waddle with a significant 'bulge' around her bottom to find the unsuspecting 'Dadda'.

And Hubby, with no clue whatsoever about being set up, would change our beloved toddler's nappy.

It has always been unfortunate that Miss Tornado Two does the most vile poos imaginable. Considering her diet consists of strawberries, yogurt, peas and cheese, the stuff emanating from her bottom is, to put it mildly, freaking disgusting.

So, I would always feel (slightly) guilty whenever Hubby was 'lumped' with bum clean up duty....for about a minute anyway.

Hubby could never quite fathom that whenever he was home he seemed to change an inordinate amount of poop.

Until....my plan fell flat on it's face...and all thanks to my partner in crime.

Little Miss had just produced yet another enormous and incredibly stinky offering, and as per usual I had sounded her out to go and find her poor, long suffering Father.
I stood around the corner so I hear Hubby's curses and mutterings as he tackled the diabolical thing and I could giggle accordingly (sadistic, I know)

Then it all backfired.

'Dadda' piped that sweet and innocent little voice 'Mumma said change poopy'.

'Mumma said!' What's with the 'Mumma said?!'

Dadda, whoops I mean Hubby, was not impressed. "Mumma said did she!' I could hear him bellow. He rounded the corner to find me red-faced, ashamed and nearly doubled over with laughter.

So, I ended up changing the damn thing. And there is only one way to describe that experience.....Absolutely repulsive.

Grateful for.......Friends.

image from weheartit.com

Growing up, my family moved around a lot. So each time I had to start at a new school I would have to make a new group of friends...over and over again. As time went and on, it became more and more difficult. I became shy, reserved, hard to get to know.

At this stage of my life, things have started to change. Children are grounding. Most of my friendships are set in stone. And I'm really grateful for all of the friends I am now lucky to have.

I'm grateful for the little group of friends I've started to make in my tiny section of the blogging world. Friends that pop in and visit me. Friends who leave lovely, encouraging comments. I lack courage in this aspect of my life, but with lovely supportive people coming over, I'm getting braver everyday.

I have friends who I don't see as often as I should. Perhaps because of distance, or crazy schedules, or life getting in the way. But, the great thing is, when I do see them it's like we've never been apart. We pick up where we left off. Like we saw each other yesterday.

Then, there is the wonderful group of friends whom I see nearly everyday. Friends I catch coffee with. Friends I chat to at the school gate. We have BBQ's, picnics, the kids play at each others houses. We all 'get' each other, have similar interests, are at a similar stage of our lives. Best of all, we support each other in times of need.

I have friends I'm related to. There are two in particular. Crazy, annoying, hilarious. They rock my world.

Of course, I have my best friend. The one I'm married to. My soul mate.

So, this week it's all about my friends. I'm grateful for each and every one of you for so many different reasons. Thank you.

For more Grateful posts head over to the wonderful Maxabella Loves....who's celebrating a birthday!

Completely Cuckoo.

image from weheartit.com

Most the time I go through life thinking that I'm relatively normal. I do normal things, I behave normally. I'm pretty sure I look fairly normal too. But then it'll occur to me that some of my behaviours, interests and habits are just a little....well....weird.

For example;

I like number plates. On cars......Yes, you read right.......number plates. I actually, um, memorise them. So, if you are someone I see on a regular basis it is quite likely that I have noted and memorised the number plate of your car. I promise it's not because I'm freaky and I'm trying to stalk you. I just like letters and numbers. Honestly.

I read the dictionary....and the thesaurus....for fun. I love words and I love discovering new words, unusual words, strange words and then learning to spell them. It's my inner geek desperately scrambling to get out.

I name things. Inanimate things. Things that don't move, or speak, or even have feelings. For instance my car has a name (what is it with me and cars?) Harriet. I've also named Hubby's car (Rudolph) the house (Ethel) and my, ahem, food processor (Freddie) I am a little in love with the food processor so as far as I'm concerned naming it is acceptable. I could carry on a little with all the things I've named but I'm getting worried you'll start thinking I'm bonkers.....or is it a little too late for that?

Coat hangers. I have a 'thing' about coat hangers. They MUST be all the same colour and they MUST all face the same direction. It's a matter of life or death really it is, considering that I'm quite slovenly with the rest of the housekeeping this habit of mine is definitely passing strange.

I'm scared of the Bogey man...still. I've been afraid of the dark as long as I remember so we always sleep with a light on somewhere in the house. I say it's for the children, but really it's for me. I also have to check under beds before we all go to sleep, in the cupboards, behind doors and anywhere else that the Bogey man may be hiding. I also sleep closest to the door....just in case I need to make a quick getaway.

So, there you have it. I've shared it all, spilled my soul, confessed to my perpetual weirdness. Please, please pretty please feel free to share any 'habits' of your own....just so I feel a little better.

Loving Food.......Caramel Slice.

Everyone loves Caramel Slice,
This is the ultimate treat. I adore it, the kids adore it. I can make a huge tray and it will be devoured within two days. Hence I try not to make it too often.
Rather going into my usual description of why I love this recipe so much, I thought I would tell it in pictures.......

Caramel Slice

Ingredients;
1 Cup Self Raising Flour
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup of Rolled Oats
150grams of Butter, melted.
(Feel free to add 1/2 cup of coconut to the recipe if you wish, I leave it out because my daughter doesn't like it)
395 grams Condensed Milk
2 tbsps Golden Syrup
Pinch of salt
30 grams Extra Butter
150 grams dark cooking chocolate

Preheat oven to 180C.
Combine first four (or five) ingredients in a food processor and mix well. Press into a slice pan that has been greased and lined. Bake for 10 minutes.

Combine condensed milk, salt, golden syrup and extra butter in a saucepan over medium heat until caramel turns a golden brown colour.

Pour the caramel over the base and bake in the oven for a further 10 minutes. Cool.

Spread cooking chocolate over caramel and leave to set.

Cut into greedy slabs....and devour.

Write On Wednesdays - Waiting......

'Time' for another Write on Wednesday! This week, for the first time, I was stumped. Usually I write my prompt at the top of the page and away I go, but this week I sat and waited....and waited.....and waited. My mind was a blank. Finally, after fits and starts, I managed to get going. So, appropriately I think, this week post is about waiting.



Write On Wednesdays Exercise 8 - The clock winked...Write the words "The clock winked" at the top of your page. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Write the first words that come into your head after the prompt. Stop when the buzzer rings. Do this exercise over and over if you wish. Write beyond 5 minutes if you like, you can link it up as an extra post.



image from weheartit.com



The Clock Winked........

slowly, slowly, oh, so slowly. Why did time have the habit of slowing down when all she wanted it to do was hurry up?

'C'mon' she whispered under her breath...egging time on.

Knees jiggling, toes tapping, fingers fidgeting.

She watched the clock, her eyes watering - slipping in and out of focus. Her mind awash with the excitement of what was to come. The possibilities. The expectations. Scenarios all playing like a film in her imagination.

Her heart pounded loudly in her ears. She was nervous, exhilarated. How she longed to be free from the confines of these walls, to escape from the stifling heat of the room, to be where she was desperately eager to be....at the rendezvous...with her heart in her hand.

Priorities!

Guilty as I feel to admit it, sometimes dropping my older children off at school is a blessed exercise. After they have all trooped off to their respective classrooms and I have delivered Mr 5 (in Prep) to his teacher, I almost feel like skipping on the way back to the car.

Miss Terrific Two clambers into her seat, I fasten her intricate seat belt and away we go. Music turned up loud (this morning it was Stevie Nicks - an oldie but a goodie) we cruise home at a reasonably leisurely pace.

I couldn't give two hoots about everyone else around me racing from here to there like a bunch of headless chooks, I have no reason to rush...so therefore I don't.

At home I walk into a state of organised chaos. Everything, of course, has a place....I just don't really care where that place is. My typical laissez-faire attitude to housework is evident everywhere. Beds made, albeit messily. Dishes rinsed, stacked in the sink...but unwashed. Floor un-vacuumed although the vacuum cleaner is in it's customary place - smack in the middle of the floor...so it looks like I'm 'about' to start cleaning. Toys are littered hither-tither around the house.

But nowhere is my slap-dash personality more evident than in the laundry. The Never-Ending pile sits there...waiting...waiting. It's a continuous cycle of wash, hang out, bring in, fold up, put away. Although I admit I don't really get much further than the 'bring in' stage.....Hence Mt Kosciwashko, a permanent fixture in our household.

To be honest...this is about a quarter of it, the rest wouldn't fit in the photo.

But, as usual, the mountain can wait. There are far more important things to do. Spending my morning playing with my darling Miss Two is one of them....so, if you'll excuse me there are fairies to chase, pictures to draw and play dough to eat (!)

What is your least favourite household chore to partake in? Are you a clean freak or a laid-back housekeeper like myself?