Parties, book week and a bush walk down the end of the street!

Oh my gosh!

It has been crazy busy around here.  Crazy!

It's only going to get worse, before it gets better.  I have many appointment for the boys in the coming four weeks and TBH, I'm not really looking forward to it all.  

Anyway, what has to be done, must be done.

We had the boys party last week.  It was great fun but exhausting.  30 kids plus parents running around is very tiring!

I saw a crocodile cake on the internet and contacted a cake decorator for a price to make it.  I was quoted $155 for 30 cupcakes decorated like a crocodile.

My Greg told me he thought I could make it - so I did!

And it turned out BETTER than I ever could have imagined.

Here it is!

I made the cupcakes during the week and froze them.  

Here they are laid out on the board.

I covered the board the night before.  Then laid out the cupcakes.

Made up my buttercream and piped them.

I used Tolblerone for the spikes, liquorice cut on the diagonal for the claws, marshmallows cut in half and then half again for the teeth and a marshmallow and a malteser for the eyes!

All up it took about 45 minutes to make it all. 

Really easy.

Every kid at the party got a cupcake!

Here are a couple of pics from the party

The twins were a bit shy for it all so didn't get up the front - it didn't matter they had a great time playing with all the kids.

This week was Book Week at school.

All the kids at school had to dress up as a book character and Michael came second in the school for his costume.

He went as the greedy King in the story Brown Bread and Honey by Pamela Allen.

Well done Michael!

Honestly, this was the most easy costume I have ever done.  I found a crown printable on the internet and printed it out.  Then I laminated it and make it into a crown.  I was in a discount store at work and saw a vest for a discounted $3 in the right colour for the king (and I am now wearing it as it fits me).  We then put a big bouncy ball under it as the King's fat tummy.  Michael wore some brown pants and his sneakers.

How easy was that - and he got second place!  WOW!

Today is Michael's 8th Birthday!!!

He got a modulus Nerf Gun that he was desperate for. 

Greg got the last one at Myer!  We couldn't find them anywhere.

Happy Boy!

Happy Birthday Michael!

Today we had a quiet day, but we went for a bush walk down the end of the street.

Here are some pics:

A burnt out tree

Scribbly Gum

Pretty flowers.

Some of the fire trail

More pretty flowers

Tadpoles!  Lots of them in the pools of water.  We could hear lots of frogs chirping too.

How lucky are we to live where we live :-)

Have a great week!

Happy 5th Birthday Rhys and Ben!

Happy 5th Birthday Rhys and Ben!

Time has gone so quick.

Having the shock of my life to learn that I was expecting TWINS!!

They turned my world upside down - in so many different ways.........

But I am so grateful that they saved me from a life that I wasn't really happy or fulfilled in and got me to realise how the most important things in life, are actually not things!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOYS

Love you to the moon and back, forever

Mummy

XXXXX

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Trying something new - failure and success!

It has been a bit of a tough week this week.  

Rhys got sick with a bad cold and fevers on Friday night and over the weekend and I had to take the Monday off work.  By Tuesday he was snotty but okay.

I took the boys to Tita's school on Wednesday and Ben cracked the most massive tantrum and said he didn't want to go.

Bad mother of the year award to me, because he slept while he was there and got a massive fever on the way home.

He has had fevers ever since and boy they are hard to get down.  

Here are the boys in my bed.  Ben's fever was 39.9 deg.  Thank goodness he didn't have a fit or anything like that.

My poor babies.

It is the twins birthday tomorrow.

WoW

We are having a party for all the boys (they are 2 weeks apart) next weekend.

I saw a very cool Crocodile Cake on images when searching for crocodile cakes.  I asked a cake decorator for an approx cost and it was going to cost me about $155 (which isn't too bad but still $155 - not including travel to pick it up etc)

Greg said that he thought I could make it.  I thought Yep, I'm sure I can.

So, thinking I would save some time, I bought this "stuff" from a fancy cake shop near work.

It whips up into a frosting - called Creamy Fudge.  Cost $14.95.

Looks good too eh.......

OMG and then we ate it.

Rhys (who eats icing like a person starved) took two licks and said 'I don't like it"

Ben had a lick and said 'I don't like it"

I forced down a whole cupcake and then felt like I wanted to vomit for the rest of the day and chucked the rest to the chooks.

Greg had a taste and said "It's ok, but a bit gross"

Then he tried to wash it off his finger - but it wouldn't wash off.

I checked the ingredients - animal fat (I assume lard because it is pure white) and icing sugar!!!!!!

It must be at least 50% lard.

It was like I had a block of lard and bit into it.

VOMIT

I put it on Freecycle as only two spoonfuls had been used and then it was resealed.  Someone took it.  Good luck to them.  It was GOD AWFUL stuff.

Don't EVER buy it.

So, tonight I made Cupcake Jemma's buttercream icing as a practice run for next weekend.

OMG to die for.  SO yummy.  SO easy.  I will make it a bit darker green for the crocodile but not too bad, even if I do say so myself!

My Jemma literally licked the bowl, spoon and beaters clean.  She loved it.

It was seriously really easy to make (and I only have a hand held mixer).  I highly recommend it.

I also did a cake for the boys birthday tomorrow - YAY.

Some other little random things.  

I have been trying to have one or two meat free meals a week (difficult when you have a meat eating non veggie eating hubby).

Corn fritters are a big favourite round here.

Really easy and really yummy and really versatile.

1 cup SR flour

1 cup milk

1 egg

1 tin corn kernels

Plus, you can add anything else you want - bacon, ham, onion, capsicum - anything you want

Mix it up and fry spoonfuls in the electric frypan in some oil.

Delish!

Really yum with sweet chilli sauce and rice & lentil salad too.

We have been having some kookaburras visiting lately - I think they are getting food from the chook pen.

That is okay.  They are lovely.

Better go now and get some sleep............

Take care xx

Already into August

Wow, here we are in August already.

August is a really busy months for us.

It is Michael's birthday (he will be 8yo).

It is Rhys and Ben's birthday (they will be 5yo).

It is our wedding anniversary (will be 7 years)

Busy Busy Busy!

Since the twins are turning five and Michael hasn't had a party since he started school, we are having a combined party for the boys.

We are having Feature Creatures come out to present a Reptile Show.

It should be great fun (fingers crossed it doesn't rain).

I am making a cupcake crocodile cake and food for the party.  I will post pictures of all the fun.

As Rhys and Ben are starting school next year, we are having to get ready for that.  This means lots of assessments, which in turn means lost of appointments and seeing lots of different people.

It is a very demanding time for them and me.

But all worth it for when they start next year.

All my boys will be at school - wow!

Everything else in our world is going pretty good.

We are really lucky and I know it.

A relative of ours has been made redundant - she told me that 260 people at her work were let go and her husband hasn't had a contract in over 2 months.  A guy at Greg's work, his wife has just been made redundant.  I read about Woolworths putting off 250 staff or so.  There are a lot of people losing there jobs at the moment and business doesn't seem to be doing too well.

At the moment, it seems that Greg's job is "fairly" safe.  His work may be putting off people - we don't really know but it is a possibility, but his area is the busiest it has ever been so he "should" be okay.

My job also seems "fairly" safe too.  We were possibly going to have a merger but this didn't happen.  We did lose an area but it doesn't affect me and we have lots of vacancies at the moment so I assume that vacant roles may be absorbed if required.  So I should be okay too.

But I have learnt never to become complacent about these things.

I was once and got badly burnt.

I try and learn from my mistakes.............but as you will see below, some don't.

I admit, I continue to be amazed by the attitude of some people and how they don't seem phased at what is happening around them.  I find it a bit scary!

They:

Smoke

Drink

Go on holidays

Buy new cars

Buy their lunch every day

Eat takeaway regularly

Have no savings

Don't shop around for the best price

........and so the list goes on.

These people's jobs may be at risk in the future and if that happens, they will really be in a terrible situation.  However they don't seem to care or think it will happen to them, and they keep up these habits which may ultimately be their downfall.

When you try and discuss it with them, they look down their nose at you, laugh and call you a tightarse.

Greg and I don't say anything much to people anymore because this has happened to both of us when trying to offer some advice/tips to people complaining about money issues.

Really they just want to complain and not actually "do" anything about their issues.

We will just continue on as we always have done.  

Trying to put as much money off our mortgage as we possibly can.

Also, I am reviewing our budget this month as I feel we aren't going as well as we could be.

We are having a few really expensive months and seem to be leaking money at a great rate.

I want to review what is happening and try and plan for the future a bit better when lots of bills come in at once.

Wish me luck!