I have learnt - Going to the playground

#  Safety rails are actually designed to give your kid something to hide behind at home-time, not for their safety like you first thought.

#  It will be amusing for all involved when you get stuck on/in the equipment trying to retrieve said child.  Pxts will be taken (usually by your Hubby) before assistance is given.

#  Cute and carefree are not words that people will think of, as you attempt to take your frumpy buns down the slide with your kid. (This may or may not have been me...)

#  If you must go down the slide with a panicked child, remove your shoes.  The noises emitted from rubber soles on their way down a metal plank can be somewhat loud and attention seeking.  (not in a good way).

#  Your child will learn that life at the playground is not fair.  Sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and bite your tongue, occasionally no ones watching, and you can throw a sly handful of sand at the tormentor.
 

 #  There isn't enough hand sanitizer in the whole world to cover your precious Beetle Bug from all the germs floating around a playground.  Just accept it and call it immunity building.

#  Your kid will usually be the one that insists on going up and down ramps in a snake-like crawl, causing the entire playground to come screeching to a halt.  While kids and parents alike grumble at you, you will still cheer and clap for your Super-Brave-Wonder-Child like they just conquered Everest!! (This was definitely me!)

#  Don't bother with a picnic unless your fully prepared to be ambushed by every duck/goose/sparrow within a 50 mile radius!

#  As a bonus, if the birds don't eat your children or scare the crap out of them, then feeding the feathered beasties will provide a good 15 - 20 minutes of amusement!

#  Your child will think the stars and moon of you for going to the playground, bumping down the slide, and getting stuck in the climbing nets with them, and that light in their eyes will keep you heading back there time, and embarrassing time again!!

Toodles!!  :)

'Live for a Life without Regret'

Farewell to Summer!! :)

Farewell to beautiful long hot days!  To bbq's and picnics, to beaches and lakes, swimming and sprinklers, sitting in the shade of a big tree just relaxing with a giant bit of watermelon. 

Farewell to kids in just their nappies (if those even stayed on) running around the back yard, digging in the sandpit, picking the fresh strawberries, fighting the birds for the plums and raspberries, watering the garden and any kid that got in the way.

Farewell to cold spaghetti and colder ice blocks, dinner on the porch, evening walks through clouds of midgies, ice creams melting over little hands before they can be eaten, singlets, shorts and jandals!

Farewell too, to sweltering nights that make sleep impossible, and humid days that make relaxing impossible, and flies and mosquitoes, sunburn and peeling noses!!

While summer has been lovely (not so much for farmers) i'm more than ready for some cooler nights, and warm winter layers.  Ready for fort building in the lounge (i'll even let the boys join me if they're lucky) and cuddling on the couch watching movies! 

Nice hot casseroles for dinner and pancakes and french toast for breakfast!  Wrapping up in blankets with a green tea and a good book, or early morning cartoons!

Autumn and Winter??  Bring it On!!!

Renee  :)

'Not all who wander are lost'

21 months old!! :)

Once again i find myself about to update my growing baby toddler.  And i have to say, time finally seems to be slowing down a smidgen for us....Possibly because the terrible twos are approaching and Lachy senses this, and has commenced tanty training??
I don't know, but i'm thankful that he still (for the moment anyway) is a fairly easy going little chap!! (Did i just jinx myself??)

Anywho! 
My boy is an acrobat, jumping on furniture, toys, the folded washing pile and any person that sits still for too long!  He has also found the bonus of the foot stool, and carries it around with him in case he sees something he 'needs' that's out of his reach....clever, but flippen' annoying!!

He's become a master at finding and removing all the vege's from his dinners, and although i'm slowly mastering the 'hidden vege' approach, it's not all that successful!  I swear this kid has a sensor on his tongue for all vegetables, that repels as soon as it senses one!

I was gunna write about his vocabulary development (he's getting so good with his animal sounds now, but his favorite word 'Truck' has taken over his brain for now and that's all we hear! (Sometimes it's 'go-go-go truck' and sometimes 'choo-choo truck)

Imitation is the name of the game now, with mini-me copying everything, from rocking his 'baby' (aka - anything small enough for him to pick up) to putting things in the rubbish (yay!)!!  Trying so hard to be careful in all we say and do now!

This wee chap loves his brother, and gives lotsa kisses and choke holds hugs!!  He's also started sharing his toys with Olly (or Olly's his new hiding place so no one takes the toys off him, take it as you will)  When Olly cries, Lachy's usually the first one to get to him and he'll often try to put his dummy back in for him (mostly up his nose) or rock the bouncer til we get there.  On the odd scary day he'll try to pick him up when we're not paying attention, thank goodness Olly's too heavy!!

And last but not least, due to constant rashes from cloth diapers in the heat (and possibly all the sand he eats), monkeys now in a low-grade attempt at potty training.  I made him some training knickers out of some teeny lil undies and some chopped up inners from our cloth naps and he runs around in those for most the day!!  He loves it!!  The knickers absorb exactly one wee, after which Lachy comes to me to show me his wet knickers!  He's still not too keen on the toilet and he hasn't actually gone on it yet, but he knows when he's wet, 9 times out of 10 he 'tell's' me he's done poos, and he'll happily go to the toilet to wipe his bottom and change his knickers!(Yay!)

So that's my boy!!  Hopefully the tanty training stays at just that...training, cause i'm not ready for the full force that could be my sweet child!!

Love you Monkey bum!!

Toodles!!  :)

'Live for a Life without Regret'

The ACV Experiment!

Introducing my next experiment!!  I Love Experiments!!  (Especially if there's a potential for a close up pic...*huge.amount.of.sarcasm*)

Unpasteurized DYC Apple Cider Vinegar

 

Acne, acid reflux, dandruff, obesity, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue syndrome, sunburn, yeast infections, pneumonia, allergies, warts, fleas, dirty toilets.
This is just a small list of ailments, that have reportedly been cured, for centuries, by Apple Cider Vinegar!(ACV) (sounds like the beginnings of a bad high school essay!)

Anywho!!  Looks like a challenge to me...

Challenge accepted!!

I'm going to pick 4 things that are doable options for me, and i'm going to trial them for a maximum of 1 month! So i don't bore anyone with constant close ups of me or the kitchen sink every week, il just do small updates each week with before and after pics at the end of the 4th week, and i'l introduce a new one each week!

Week 1 - The Toner

Love this little bottle!

Yup, i'm sure we've all noticed by now that i have a real complex about my skin! Now that i have the cleansing and moisturizing under control, it's time to move on to the Toner!!

With it's awesome antiseptic and antibacterial properties, unpasteurized ACV also has the perfect pH to balance your skin, therefore making it an ideal toner....Reeeeeaaallly....

After reading a few reports about the stinging/burning/redness/hideous odor, i started to think that maybe this wasn't the best challenge to start with (and my loo really could use a heavy duty clean), but then i remembered that i'm s'posed to be this hard core experimentee, and off i went to the kitchen cupboard!

*I'd like to stop here with a word of warning to anyone keen to follow in my footsteps. Don't open the bottle and take a good whiff with the expectation of being pleasantly surprised. You wont be. No one likes this smell. No one*

I mixed up a ratio of about 1 part ACV to 3 parts water, just because i've got pretty hardy skin, and after washing the Evoo off this morning, i slathered on the ACV Toner before moisturizing.
I'm not really sure about whether i'm doing this right. Some folk say wash it off after applying, some say wash it off after an hour. I decided to join the 'don't-care-if-i-smell' crew and just left it on there to keep my moisturizer company! I'm pleased to report that my face is still intact, with no burns or even mild redness anywhere to be seen. What i have noticed is that my skin felt nice and fresh and smooth, and only stunk for about an hour (that i noticed, anyway).

So that's all i have to report for this one! Next week, i'l introduce the second challenge and do a quick update on this one too, so stay tuned.....



Renee  :)

'Not all who wander are lost'

7/52

My Handsome Lil' Lads :)
LOVE these faces beyond belief!!


Lovin' the summer fruit!! Watermelon's just the tastiest thing ever round these parts!!

Lachy

Tummy time!!  The trick is to get a pic before the drool starts hanging....although i think that probably adds character...it adds something anyway!

Olly

 "A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2013"

Linkin' up with Jodi @ Che and Fidel



Renee  :)

'Not all who wander are lost'