life as pen knows it

what a beautiful start to the day

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:45:00 +0000

this was yesterday 5.30am at currumbin beach. a quiet start to my day - i mean my birthday day. some blueberries, yoghurt, water, my book and my beach.

the sun broke through the clouds moments later and it was a gorgeous blue sky day.

some time alone

a HUGE present decorated all over with drawings by the children

a hammock! with it's own stand! what a wonderful present. i even got to spend some time in it in the afternoon with my book and an ice-cream. bliss. i look forward to many more afternoons in the hammock.

birthday time

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:07:00 +0000

today we're preparing for a pool party for 10 six year olds, plus the birthday boy in our house who is nearly 6. he's having a pool party today as his actual birthday is too close to xmas for proper celebrations.

if you know me, you'll know my ongoing war against lollies! especially when birthday parties are sooooo close to the festive season, and lollies seem be handed out daily by someone somewhere.

so our party bag is a sweetly potted succulent with a thankyou flag.

do you think they want to go camping again?

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:02:00 +0000

there's a few camping trips happening in our back garden. those vegemite sandwiches look delicious don't they?

we're going camping for real after xmas, they're just having another practice.

we're eating mangos it must be summer

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:00:00 +0000

we still only buying them a few at a time, but it's nearly time for a tray of mangos under the sink, a permanent fixture in our kitchen until well into january.

the stone fruit has appeared and nectarines and blueberries are being consumed in embarrassingly large proportions.

our playroom (used to be the dining room until about 4 years ago) has been tidied up, cleared out and is ready for summer playing with the deck doors wide open. you'll see my space-saving idea here of a table over a cupboard. so fabulous as the cupboard is my grandmother's glory box, and now serves as our art cupboard as behind those doors are 3 wide drawers. perfect for storing all the art supplies, and easy for the kids to help themselves.

the blue ikea table (what did we do before we had this???!!!) is a moveable one, and can be moved well away from the carpet play time, the flurry of play-kitchen activity, and the stool is used to play comfortably with the dolls house. in fact i think it is standing on the stool to play with the dolls house that makes the dolls house sooooooo popular.

here they are, looking so much taller every day. twice-daily swims in the pool have started with both kids doing amazingly new things every day. today it was harvey swimming 2 laps of the pool underwater. amazing for such a lean little fella. his time in the pool is spent 90% underwater, 10% doing bombs into the pool. miss s has her new foam bubble firmly attached to her back and is breast-stroking her way around the pool, that face getting further and further into the water every day. we'll see her underwater with marine boy before the end of november for sure. her very words.

new graduate

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:30:00 +0000

he's graduated, the newest MBA in town.

it's been a fast and furious ride over the last 13 months, lots of coffee, lots of outings to the park to give him the space to study, and now a fair dollop of uncertainty until a new career is launched.

now it's my turn to take over the study space and finish my last few subjects. i'm loving my work experience in the school library. it's also giving me a tiny insight into what's it like to be a mother working outside the home. those days are run with military precision, and there's lots of getting in and out of the car; dropping the children at kindy and school, making 3 lunches, remembering hats and water bottles. the enjoyable part of these days for me is talking with adults (about books mostly which i love), a bit of solitude here and there, and listening to my choice of music in the car when i'm by myself! it helps me appreciate the slower paced days at home with picnic morning teas, reading books on the bed after lunch, and preparing meals with the children. Actually, i like both sorts of days, and i guess that's the key to a balanced life.

it's good to know what i'm aiming for :)

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 09:21:00 +0000

is for gorgeous.

i had to try this beautiful letter for myself.

Daily Drop Cap http://dailydropcap.com/ is a blog that posts a new decorative initial each day to drop cap into your blog. There are simple instructions on how to do it.

no piccies today. more soon.

back to the beach

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:57:00 +0000

the dust has settled and is being gradually cleaned away. so it was back to the beach late this afternoon. the beach was in the shade and the wind was a little cool, but it's always amazing to visit the beach, and we always vow to return more often, it's only a few minutes from home. daily life can just get too much in the way sometimes!

these foam swords are beach toys only now (ahem, not good inside the house at all) and they like to carry them ninja or pirate style and whack down abandoned sandcastles

we're off for a night's camping at a friend's farm - just 5mins from our home actually. i'm looking forward to an evening of torches, squeals, conversation and stars.

cooking, snakes and koalas

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:52:00 +0000

we love ginger in our house - ginger beer, gingersnaps, fresh ginger tea, and gingerbread men are a special treat. the kids can virtually do it all themselves now, and while the dough rested in the fridge for 30mins, i whipped up some banana bread. and then froze it before we ate too many baked goods in one day!

and then thawed it out 2 weeks later for a last minute afternoon tea with friends.

life is good here in the springtime. the weather is glorious. the snakes are about though, harvey's school has had 2 or 3 snakes a day in the last few weeks. the snake man comes and tries to catch and release elsewhere, however they usually slither away only to appear a day or so later. 2 metre eastern brown snakes are fatal, so we're all watching where we put our feet even in our own small garden. but there's also been plenty of koalas around at school, two were moving from tree to tree outside the school library where i was volunteering today. the preps had a teddy bears picnic in some bush near the school oval, and a koala scurried past. they're so lucky to have such a "bush" school.

we're going along ok whilst the man-of-the-house researches and seeks new employment. his MBA is complete as of last week, and graduation is in october. it's great to have him back with us after 13months spent working and studying solidly. we're enjoying some dad-cooked meals (i think we're all a little tired of my cooking - i certainly am!), a clean pool and yard, and lots of wrestling, giggling, tickling and walks around the neighbourhood. and i am particularly enjoying my time out of the house at yoga and the gym. i could get used to this. but an income for the family would be an excellent idea too.

fairies in the park

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:38:00 +0000

our littlest girl is 4 now. we met some other 4 year old fairies at the park on a sunny morning and ate cupcakes and strawberries. it was such a fun morning and so lovely to see sasha greeting her friends and delighting over her gifts "oh i love it, thank you for giving it to me", holding hands with her friends, and exclaiming over each other's fairy outfits.

new horizons

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:13:00 +0000

it's not a new photo, just a reminder of what i need to keep my eyes on - the blue skies and new horizons.

yesterday we lost our family income when the man-o-the-house was made redundant. with 5 weeks of intense study left to complete his MBA he's hardly in a position to job hunt - but he's doing it anyway. well done him, keeping all those plates in the air and smiling all the while.

so we're stayin' in, drinkin' more lattes at home, beachin' and looking to those blue skies.

cardboard boxes

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 10:08:00 +0000

a cardboard box, it's always fun.

a dolly's bed

hold on, i could fit in that

tuck me in please

a kiss goodnight

night nighty sleep tighty

we can both fit in i'm sure

remember muskettes from darrell lea? the kids bought a packet each in the last school holidays and limited themselves to 5 each day. needless to say, there's still some left and i've been munching on them. musk just tastes like pink doesn't it?

i was going to get them a little bottle of "dolly mix" but it's a glass bottle. i couldn't even see them getting out of the shop without smashing to the floor! remember those? i remember getting them as a special treat and loving how each one was like a little plump striped - and sticky - pillow.

we've been feeling very smug with warm sunny days up here in currumbin. t shirts and a cardigan in the afternoon. but today the expected cold snap blew in with a cold windy day. back on went socks, tracky pants, long sleeves and even hats. the markets this morning were great but very blowy. there are strawberries aplenty this close to spring and we've been enjoying our favourite indulgence - cooked strawberries.

a punnet of ripe or overripe strawberries, leaves trimmed off and cut in half if they're huge

a splash of water

1-2 T sugar

simmer gently for 10-15mins. cool and serve over icecream or porridge.

if there's a lot of juice left over that you don't want to use (???) add it to the next batch of cooked strawberries instead of the splash of water and these ones will be even more syrupy.

winter mornings in the garden - in pjs

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 10:55:00 +0000

blue sky and bottlebrushes
pjs

feet

it's so amazing to have these gorgeous blue sky days. and we've been spending as much of them outside as possible. come summer, we'll be hiding from the sun for most of the day, only emerging in the late afternoon.

saturday mornings are rapidly become a slow moving restful weekend day after the busy week. pjs and some morning tv, then breakfast/morning tea outside. quickly turning into bike riding, chalk on the path and bricks, kicking balls, losing balls, finding balls, spiderwebs, and today the kids were taking photos. we eventually got dressed at about 1pm. bliss.

i'm sure there's a cold snap just around the corner for the last half of winter.........

oh and those scones are my latest invention - LSA scones. sasha would eat scones with strawberry jam all day every day if she could. so i'm sneaking in the LSA now and she loves these "spotty" scones. they're deliciously nutty. i just add about 2-3 tblspns to the 2 cups of flour that is in my recipe. i'm having the last one right now, broken into pieces in bowl and topped with a huge dollop of my favourite plain yoghurt. and chai tea. yum.

park life

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 22:33:00 +0000

we've had some lovely sunny days this winter, especially in the recent school holidays. my friend Julie is a photographer and we spent a morning at the park with a bunch of mums and kids. We just love how she records our lives.

Have a look at more of her work at http://www.juliewillisphotography.com.au/, you can follow her blog here too. If you're lucky enough to be a local to the Gold Coast, you can visit her at her photographic studio at Bridezillas Bazaar, 44a Wharf Street, Tweed Heads. She can organise your event totally with floristry, hire, invitations, chair covers, all with invidually designed personal details just for you. Love your work Jules!

when bears come to visit

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:07:00 +0000

rufus is one the prep class bears, millie is the other one. every now and then a bear comes home to visit for a few days and we get to taken them on an adventure, "transport" was the theme this time. so mr h thought as bikes are his favourite transport, that rufus should get to have a few rides.

strapped on baby-style

up and down the street on daddy's back

this last week has been a tough one with sick kids and plumbing probs - i don't whether i spent more money at the chemist or with the plumber. however now we're all better, eating and enjoying real food, and the heavy rain is back. two days and nights of rain and the fields, golf courses and parks are all under water again. here's hoping for a cheerful last week of term 2, and then the happy return of the travelling student father.

oh to be in italy in the summer

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 09:20:00 +0000

oh that's right, my lovely husband is, he's in milan and apparently the weather is beautiful and hot, and there's so many pizza cafes, coffees and galleries to choose from that he's just not sure what to do next. groan.

whereas i'm at home on a cold saturday night with nothing on tele, no dvds to watch, no choccy. i should have planned this a bit better i think...............

photo-less posts

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:46:00 +0000

mmm my 5yr old son needs some more practice i think, we have a LOT of headless photos.

speaking of photos and posts, i'll be doing some posting without any photos. dull but true. my camera is elsewhere for a few weeks. but i'll try digging out some ones from pre-blogging days for a diversion.

i've been back to IKEA, once you go that's it, you're hooked. personally i'm hooked on the fabrics. i just can't choose. but finally i did choose. i am re-upholstering (ie new foam and pillow-slip style covers) a chair which was my husband's grandfathers. it has sat happily in our living room with a turkish throw over it for many years. but i saw some gorgeous fabric and just had to do it. and i'm covering some large lounge cushions in a different fabric. but you'll have to wait for the piccies i'm afraid.

not that i should be spending my evenings sewing. i have enrolled into my next 2 TAFE subjects and should be reading, typing, reading, researching. i have been spending wednesdays in a school library and will do so until the end of the year. this is a requirement of my library and information systems course and it's great. my colleagues are very helpful and i have been enjoying being surrounded by books all day. my favourite environment.

currumbin after the storm

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Thu, 28 May 2009 11:27:00 +0000

i know you've all seen it on the news, but living through the weather we had last week here on the gold coast was frightening. we live on a hill (thank you) under the protection of a ridge so we were ok; oh so wet but ok. i've never seen the beaches so damaged, holiday makers would have been very disappointed. it'll take man-made efforts to make them safe, the bulldozers have been out and about creating some slopes on the 10 foot drops from dune to beach.

this photo shows the surf club at currumbin, usually not an island. it has a large carpark in front which is totally swamped in this photo, plus dune and footpath. the foam was up over the dune, the grass area, the carparks and across the road. we resisted going sightseeing. some friends had a frightening moment when they were all grouped on the dune watching the wild waves when a small wave just kept coming and coming and eventually washed them back almost onto the road, going over the heads of the 3yr olds and knocking parents off their feet. my friend said she is amazed that mothers were able to clutch onto their children in the tsunami at all.

mothers day

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Thu, 07 May 2009 10:45:00 +0000

we had a mothers day morning tea at school this morning. showered with gifts, both laminated and glittery, we were served a delicious morning tea of crackers, cheese, tomato, pikelets, jam - in any combination - and then sung love songs by 22 beaming 5 year olds. there wasn't a dry mummy eye in the room.

tomorrow it's the turn of a group of 3 year olds. note to self, take a tissue.

the last of the warm weather

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:35:00 +0000

those were the last of the extra warm days. it was 30 degrees here saturday and sunday. cooler today, but gorgeous blue sky days are here at last. autumn here on the gold coast is just amazing. it's warm enough to wear a tshirt in the day and cool enough to pull that woollen quilt up at night.

i've decided to take over the gardening. fungus usually does all this stuff, but he's so busy with uni and work that it's looking all weedy and scruffy. so i pulled out the finished sprawling cherry tomatoes, the herbs that had gone feral, the sunflowers that were tipping over and raked it over. all with a latte in one hand, so not very energetic gardening! but it's a start!

now what to plant? i'm off to sneak-peak the rest of our street for some ideas.

raining sewing raining

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 06:49:00 +0000

easter was wet wet wet, still is in fact. it seems to have really set in for the whole week of school holidays. hmmmmm great. but there was time for some sewing and cubby house building (and just a teeny bit of tv too)

and i solved the great slipper hunt problems of the last few days (even tho it's 26 degrees here) and sewed a "pocket" for the end of each bed. i love the way the dust shows up so nicely in this photo..........

i saw a similar cat family over at http://mousenotebook.blogspot.com/ and just had to have my own. the kids woke up to them on easter morning and even the choccy bunnies were forgotten for a while. and they've been firm favs ever since.

mr h is pretty tired after term 1 so some quiet days have been nice and cosy. but we're ready to run around again now. so i think we're off to an indoor play centre tomorrow to bounce, climb, and bounce some more. however i suspect that the rest of currumbin has the same idea so i expect a crowd of cabin fever kids.

growing up

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 11:37:00 +0000

the first school disco, and he's only 5. it was dark, there were coloured lasers slicing through the haze of the smoke machine, it was loud with current pop music (but why do they still do the limbo and YMCA!!??) and the 5 to 8 year olds moved around the room in hand-gripping pairs looking for their friends, all decked out in glowsticks. the girls danced in tiny dress-up shoes and little handbags, and the boys spun around on their bottoms, and examined each other's gelled-up hair and Ben10 watches. it was a late night, we didn't get home until 7.15pm.

weekend holiday

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:05:00 +0000

well it's all we've got time for at the moment! fungus took part in the Mt Coot-tha Challenge, a 70km organised bicycling event which started and ended at Southbank in Brisbane. We decided to all go and spend some time in the "city". we stayed at the Royal on the Park, which i so recommend. we've stayed here before because it's directly opposite the Botanic Gardens, is an easy walk to everywhere, parking, late checkout at 1pm for an extra $10, and has 2 queen size beds in the deluxe room. fabulous. we played in the park, met cousins for noodle dinner, and slept like babies in our big soft beds. then the kids and i walked down to the ferry, one stop to southbank, a short walk and we were at the museum. bliss for both kids and me too actually. we had some reasonably priced and ok food in the cafe and made our way back to the hotel to checkout and drive the hour home. oh so civilised. the kids were amazingly amazing, and i'm quite keen to do it all again very soon.

sunflower

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:06:00 +0000

the first one has popped open, we watched it gradually open all it's petals over the weekend. and there's still one to go. i can't imagine how uplifting it would feel to gaze over a field of sunflowers, i feel ecstatic over just one :)

i guess i picked a bad summer to...................purchase the long-wanted outdoor furniture. we've had so much rain that i've put it under the roof at the back of the house. it's a little like an IKEA showroom now. it was sublime when it was spread out on the deck, umbrella shading the diners, and we took our dinner out there every night. oh well, we can still take our dinner out every night, but there's just the garden to look at instead of views of the gum trees.

we're at home today, preparing for the very edge of the cyclone hamish currently sitting off Mackay. we've got high winds and heavy rain predicted later today and for the rest of the week as it tracks down the coast, so i'm just packing away toys and balls into the laundry and moving some pots around. plus sasha has a bit of tummy bug and is having a quiet day too.

fortunately she has made it to the garden, the bush path at school, and the bowl each time she's been ill. what a smart girl!

rain and sunshine

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 22:37:00 +0000

before i can turn around each weekend, the garden goes back to looking like this. rain and sunshine - throw seeds, stand back and watch them grow. these sunflowers were mere seeds in a packet 4 weeks ago. the flowers are just appearing - not that we'll be able to tell without a ladder.

there were many more seeds planted, but our roaming bush turkey chick scratched them up before we could shoo her away. she was searching for a nest site, and we definitely didn't want her to choose our garden (for those that haven't seen a bush turkey nest, it's a bare mound that can be 9 or 10 metres across. kinda dominates your garden.

and those are "tumbling cherry tomatoes" beside the sunflower trees. lots of flowers already. again, planted 4 weeks ago. i should dig up the lawn and feed the neighbourhood.

halfway through the term? but i'm not ready yet

plens@onthenet.com.au (pen) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 11:58:00 +0000

another mum dropping her prep kid off said cheerily to me this morning "well we're nearly halfway through term 1". i nearly dropped harvey's backpack - well it was very heavy actually. halfway through term 1? but i'm only just getting it together. we're getting to school a few minutes before the bell (as suggested in the prep handbook 2009), i'm not frog-marching sasha out to the hastily and badly parked car, and then off to complete the 42 items on the to-do list, before rushing back to pick up prep kid 20mins later (well it's actually about 5 hours but it seems a very very very very short day when the to-do list has 42 items on it), and throwing together another combination of pasta, peas, baked beans, carrots, and ice-cream cones. well not every day anyway.

friday we just had a quiet day at home between the school trips. today we went to the gym, played at home, had a picnic lunch in the garden, and had a yummy dinner.

i just need to squeeze some housework in there somewhere. oh and that TAFE study won't do itself either.