Hero turned 8!

Hero turned 8 on the 23rd of november. She chose 3 friends to come to "High Tea" at a fantastic bakery here in Geelong, James Street Bakery.

The girls had such a fun time, drinking peppermint tea (with sugar!) and eating delicious morsels.

How cute do they all look, dressed to impress! 8 is a gorgeous age.

They loved being ladies!

 Happy birthday to my wonderful daughter, who makes me so so proud with whatever she does! Her radiances is addictive and feels like the warmth of the sun on your back whenever she is around.

Lots of kisses and hugs!

a look back in time.

My Birthday 2012

Our wedding day 2007

I celebrated my 37th birthday at the start of this month. Jeremy took me to the Melbourne Cup. It took a  bit of planning, with the little ones, especially the littlest one, but it was well worth it!

Getting dolled up on your birthday was quite fun! Nothing like putting on a frock, some lipy and a fascinator to make you feel a bit special. Then spending it with my gorgeous man drinking French Champaign and being served 4 course's was such a buzz. We had a beautiful day, and when we got home i got to blow out birthday candles and eat yummy cake the kids decorated.

Whilst cleaning Hero's room a few day before the cup i saw this picture of Jem and i on our wedding day, with Hero in my arms and Banjo in Jem's. It occurred to me that Iggy and Roma are at a similar age and it would be a great opportunity to take a snap all dressed up with the second half of our family. Don't the kids look similar?

How time can fly, i remember feeling so happy and contented with my babies back then. It's still a bit surreal to think that 5 years on we would be back at this stage again! I am just as contented now. But maybe thats because this is the last time i will be re-visiting this stage again!

Dedicated to Hubby's

Something i get asked a lot is how do you look after 4 kids?! Well the answer is you just do. Like all families, you have your rough days and you great days, but as a mum of 1 or 4 you just motor on and do the best you can.

What i have found particularly tricky with 4 is maintaining and remembering the relationship you have with your partner. Jem and i have so little time together at the moment, if he was a child it would be considered neglect!

So often he will take some or all of the kids so i can have a break, or i will take them so he can work. And with 4 it is much easier if you divide and conquer. But it is really hard to keep that connection, there is always a little one, or big one breaking it constantly.

In the past month Jem and i have been alone (out) twice. It so so so nice. And an effort that really needs to be made.

Like everything with kids, it is just a phase, and we will get through it, but it is a hard one and one you don't hear talk about as much.

This post  is for you honey! Love you Jem!!

  

My first official family portrait!

And it's a classic!

It's not easy to make this happen. The stars all have to be alined! We all have to be together, no-one asleep, no-one at a friends no-one crying, and someone other then me needs to be present to work my camera!

I am quite happy with this shot. It is far from perfect, I know Banjo looks grumpy, Jem looks like he is putting on a fake happy face and Roma is not looking at the camera, But i think our family portrait is going to take a few years to get right. This was taken in Brisbane by Jeremy's sister in law. We were rushing to get to the airport in time to catch our plane home after our holiday, but i was adamant about getting a family shot taken.

I am rarely in photo's because i usually take them, so this was important to me. I am going to make it an annual event, it will be great to see the family change  and grow.

House Rules

This weeks house rules come from Iggy with a little help from Banjo!

Note the smile on the face after hitting! Do you think this rule will be obeyed?


We are heading off on a holiday to Byron Bay, which will be lovely but life is really crazy at the moment!
Here is what i am leaving behind!

THis is what my back yard looks like at the moment!!

A peek at what we have been shooting for our School Cookbook.

All this and more will be waiting my return!

But for now, rest, warm sun (finger cross) and some family time.

I will report back on my return.

xx

House Rules

Children spend a large part of time looking at what is on your wall at home, more then you might think.  I'm sure you all have strong memories of a particular picture or painting from when you were little that takes you back in time. So recently we have put up a quote board. This hangs right near out meals table.

I started by writing quotes that i came across and we would discuss over dinner or breakfast, but conversation turned to our family morals and manners. So now we call it the 'house rules' board. The kids take turns in deciding the house rules and it stays up for a week.

I thought i would share them with you as a weekly post, they are very cute, and they come with illustrations.

This is Hero's.

No dishwasher!!

This morning i woke to find that the dishwasher was not working! A fixer man was called and booked to come tomorrow. But dirty dishes in the dishwasher and all the breakfast dishes sitting on the bench had to be put at the bottom of the 'to do' list, there were many more chores that had to be done first.

So when i returned at the end of the day, with a tied baby girl and a bit of a sensitive, slightly sick and grumpy toddler, i thought how am i going to do this?!

I went into the laundry and pulled out a couple of tubs, filled them up, put them out on the deck, pulled the racks of dirty dishes out of the dishwasher and said in an enthusiastic voice, "Who wants to wash the dishes outside!!?"

WEll they had an absolute ball! They chatted and laughed and worked together as a team better then i have ever seen them work before. I know it was just a novelty, but hey, i didn't have to do them!

I think i might find the dishwasher broken more often when the family need to re bond. And i have the perfect amount of helpers for a dish washing line!