Clairey Hewitt

Giveaway: $175 of meals cooked for you!

2012-02-16T14:35:00.000+11:00

Pork Belly, chorizo and haricot beans.

Next time you're putting money in to buy for a new baby, ask yourself if you would prefer a freezer full of home cooked meals or yet more plastic to fill the house for the baby.

If (may god strike me down) I was ever to have another baby I can tell you now what I would want.

As Sarah from Vivenda noticed in my about me page, I hate cooking, and she has the answer for kitchen failures like me.

A service that does the grocery shopping (phew) then arrives at your house and cooks up a very neat and tidy little storm, fills the freezer with the food you picked from the menu, then cleans up and takes off. And I mean really cleans, she cleans so well it was like we paid a professional to do that too.

What is not to like here? Umm well, it was all good for me.

Any spare groceries are left behind for you too, so choose your meals wisely and you could even sneak this into a glass, sit down, relax knowing you don't have to cook and pretend you are living the life of someone with a full time chef. Hey, I am all for pretend play.

Sarah suggests the meal packs serve 2 adults, but we certainly had enough for a family of four, (see image above) and we followed the suggestions written on the top to add some crusty bread too. This was quite essential as it prevented Mr H from licking the plate.

The deal for this is $175 plus the food costs. This actually works out that we have nine nights worth of dinners, which could be considered pricey, but consider that every Friday we have takeaway after I have been working, often it is unhealthy fish and chips or pizza and it usually costs close to $50 once drinks are included. We now have Fridays covered for the next two months.

But this is not just all about me.

This is where you can also experience the fun.

Sarah is also offering one of my readers the chance to win this service for themselves.

You will need to be Melbourne based for this giveaway.

This is her spiel:

Vivenda offers a personalised pre-prepared meal service. They prepare the meals for you and your family in your kitchen so the food truly is homemade. The meals are tailor-made to your requirements; whether you have a preference for free range or organic or have specific intolerances; at a price that is not dissimilar to buying takeaway, but is a whole lot more wholesome.
We are giving a lucky reader the opportunity to dip their toes into the Vivenda experience by partaking in a sample session valued at $175. The winner will be invited to choose 3 dishes from Vivenda's extensive selection and Sarah from Vivenda will prepare 6 serves of each in the lucky person's own kitchen. The session includes packaging, pantry items and grocery collection.

Now please note that part of this deal means you pay for the actual groceries yourself. I was more than happy to do this, as it is a cost that I would be needing to make anyway. The meals I chose meant the food costs came to $98. This would be less if you didn't have three meat dishes or choose cheaper meal options.

To enter just leave a comment telling me your favourite homemade dish that you would like to have cooked for you.

Fine print:
This will be open for the week.
Last comments 9pm Thursday 23 Feb.
Winner will be picked by Sarah, with the meal that fascinates her the most and announced a few days later (like when I get around to it). Judges decision is final.

For more about Vivenda, check out the Facebook page or website.

Rude emails - do you write them?

2012-02-13T13:08:00.002+11:00

Emails are one of those things that sometimes just come across all wrong.

When I started work with my first law firm I was petrified of meeting some of the lawyers after I got emails from them.

At the time I was writing away with manners and kindness, as was the norm at my previous job where people made extra effort in any communication.

I was sending emails like this:

Dear Jane
I would love to arrange a time to meet with you to discuss how I can assist you with blah blah. I understand you are extremely busy with whodunit and was wondering if perhaps Tuesday would suit when your diary indicates you are free.
Kind regards
Claire

I would receive an email like this:

Yes.

No hello, no regards. I thought they were all rather rude and scary.

Eight years later and my emails would now be like this:

Jane,
Please let me know when you are free to discuss blah blah,
Regards
Claire

If I am on my phone and sending the email it would be:

let me now (sic) when your (sic) free

Which is really bad, because the person receiving it is probably still at their desk, reading normal emails on a big screen and getting my rude emails. Which of course I don't mean to be rude, but typing with one hand and trying to multitask means somethings gotta give, and sometimes it's email etiquette.

I have started wondering if I just fell into the email culture of the firm and expected the world to follow, but maybe they haven't. Maybe they see my emails as poor form.

So tell me, where is the world at with emails? Should we be making more effort, or should I be? Do you find abrupt emails rude?

Image from Pinterest

New buzzwords are entering our house.

2012-02-11T13:31:00.001+11:00

There is a new buzz word in town.

Suits love a new word to try and keep them young, cool and hip, (you will be familiar with some from the 80s and 90s like Yuppies, DINKS, SKIs and my most hated, pro-active). Kids make them up all the time.

After starting school this week Popps came home to ask me what 'random' means. I knew she didn't mean the traditional meaning. She means the way that her older peers say 'yeah, random'.

The latest buzz words around here are not so fun, or so cool, nor are they hip, but they do work for the hips.

All the organised Mums are talking about this thing called 'meal planning'. Ohh, I shudder at the thought of finding an hour to plan my meals. I know the benefits of time and cost etc, but right now, it just doesn't work for me.

So I have joined that other buzzword. 12wbt.

To those of you still not in the cool gang, that is the 12 week body transformation. The program that makes me use a MEAL PLAN. The program that says it is going to get me fit enough to run the Mothers Day classic, something that I have always thought would be great to do but beyond my cardio limits.

The problem with all this buzz word talking and joining is it is taking up quite a bit of my time. Six exercise sessions a week, shopping to a list and ensuring I have it all, printing out all the recipes (of course the ink ran out as I did) measuring out 1km for me to do the first fitness test, measuring my lard. To be honest, it is already rather exhausting and I am yet to actually get started.

Monday is the day of kick off.

While the list said to stock up on low fat ricotta, I have stocked up on deep heat and voltaren.

I may end up wearing buzzy leg warms at aerobics dance classes, anything could happen.

I expect to struggle to stay on this wagon. I am relying heavily on friends and twitter to keep me on and wondering what buzzwords I will have at the end of this 'journey'...sorry, just had to throw that last buzzword in, hope it didn't make you LOL....

Images are from Pinterest

Career Mums, the book. You can win it right here.

2012-02-08T21:08:00.000+11:00

Confidence.

Once I thought I had heaps.

Then things happen and you have none, somewhere along the way you lose faith in your own abilities and skills.

Like returning to work after you have a baby. The job isn’t working out but you stay there anyway, miserable and hating it, because you have slowly been trodden on to the point where you have no confidence left.

You think this is as good as it gets for a Mum.

Then one day, you just resign and hope that maybe a retail store or someone somewhere will be so desperate to get someone that maybe they will pick you.

Sounds so stupid to think that I really thought that way, but I did.

When I saw a call out for stories about working Mums I put my hand up. I have come a long way from that time and one of the websites I used to get me back on track was the career mums website. I had a few interviews from the site and they were the kick start to get me back on track. Advertisers, as in real employers using the site, really wanted me. Part time.

Career Mums has just added another tool to the working Mums belt of weapons. A book. I wish someone popped it in my hands five years ago so that I was more aware that I wasn't alone and that I could make the changes I needed.

Career Mums (the book) includes all the stuff you need to read if you are thinking about working again. What you need to know, how to organise yourself, case studies of other people that have been through it all before, including me, you can read about me on page 116!

If you’re a Mum and thinking about work, or currently in a position and thinking of changing, you should really get your hands on a copy of this book, and for one lucky person, I have a copy to give away.

All you have to do is tell me (in as many words as you want) about your very first job. Tell me anything, how you got it, what you did, how badly you were paid. I will get the author Al Tait (who also writes a blog over at Life in A Pink Fibro) to pick a winner. As for me, my first job was at the Meredith Sheep Dairy, where the papers were covered in sheep poo...I have come a long way baby.

Giveaway open to Australian people only. Entries will be accepted until 9pm Sunday 12 Feb. Judges decision is final. Please leave someway of me contacting you. PLEASE.

The fine print:

I was not paid for this post. Neither was I paid to be included in the book. Nor do I receive income from the book. But without the career mums site five years ago, I might not have the job I have now (and the income it brings).

Me and handwriting, we are getting back together again.

2012-02-04T14:39:00.000+11:00

Way back when I first started blogging, I was also still talking about how much I love handwriting, and especially handwritten mail.

I was reminded of it today when I read that Eden is doing a blog linky about handwriting. I love it of course and I am clicking around and checking out people's handwriting.

It doesn't have to be perfect, or neat even. Handwriting is just such a distinctive thing, I once chatted with a lady that analysed handwriting, she had worked for the federal police for over forty years. In hindsight, that would be the best job ever for me, just learning, studying, talking and reviewing handwriting.

Down below was my original post about handwriting.

I am going to start up again and send a letter or a card to a friend every week for the next six weeks.

Because I really still believe that Handwriting is the new black.

And for to be part of Eden's linky, here is my handwriting.

Post from the Past
Originally posted 18 August 2010

Everything comes typed these days, and its really getting a bit boring.

Time to get back to basics, originality, and character. Back to handwriting.

I love receiving something from a friend in the mail, but it hardly ever happens these days. I have a beautiful old hat box that I have filled with letters, cards, home made tapes(!) and notes from friends. They start from when I was about 10 and finish sometime in my mid 20s.

Recently, out of the blue I sent my good friend MissMeg a card, just to say hi. She loved it, I loved that she loved it.

So here is my new challenge:

Every week for the next six weeks I will be handwriting a letter or card and posting (remember that) the letter to someone fabulous.

If you feel up to the challenge, join in and let me know how you go.

Beautiful stationery may be desired, but not required, but it might be time to give my fancy pants pen a whirl.

Fancy Pants Pen, time for some action

I have had this ink pot for about 15 years, Mum found it somewhere, no idea how old it is, but I love to use it.

Time to get writing again.

A story about a Mole.

2012-02-02T13:49:00.001+11:00

image

Home on maternity leave for the second time was when I made the decision to have two moles on my face removed. They were really bothering me. They made me feel ugly at a time when I was already not feeling so flash, baby weight, lack of sleep, still wearing maternity bras and clothing, all made me feel shabby.

So I got my referral and headed off with Mr H to the plastic surgeon to have them removed. Mr H was there as I was still feeding Immy and she came too, and also as I tend to faint with the talk of blood and needles it is best I don't drive there and back.

The surgeon talked about what we needed to do, the risks etc and that we could do it in the chair that day. I was nodding, I was keen to just get started.

He asked me if I was feeling ok. Sure I said, let's go.

No, he said. You are way too pale. You look like a ghost. One look at you and I know your blood pressure has dropped. Your fight or flight reaction has set in and your body wants to run you out of here.

He said the operation was not a biggie, but my reaction made it unsafe to do in the rooms, instead, he would admit me to the private hospital, in a year, when I was not a nursing mother and didn't have two under three to be looking after at home.

I went home with my ugly moles.

I still have them.

They are still ugly.

They still bother me, but not so much as they did at that particular time.

I will get them removed, but the cost is higher as I have to be admitted to the hospital.

I hate how my body reacts to anything at all that is about blood, gore, needles and cuts. But I can't control the reaction. My body takes over.

Can you imagine what I looked like at work yesterday when I was outside the morgue, in the wrong part of the hospital, desperate to find my way and walking in a little circle doing breathing exercises? I don't usually work anywhere near this building. The man who found me seemed to barely notice, but quickly sent me in the right direction, and finished with, "the doors at the end, they take you straight outside, if you need them'. You can be sure that I used those doors, to ensure no trolleys came rolling past me on my way out.

How are you with such things? Piece of cake or woozy?

A face lift for me and some blogs for you.

2012-01-31T20:22:00.000+11:00

My blog has had a facelift. Not a whole new look, but a freshen up, new side bars, some font changes and design stuff. Many of you wont even know what the old one looked like as you read in either email or RSS reader form, so pop over and take a look.

Lots are also new to my blog and some new to reading blogs altogether.

New blog readers often ask me which other blogs I read. The answer is stacks. I rarely check my google reader (which is like an online filing system or 'in tray' of all the latest posts on the blogs I follow) without there being over 100 new posts to read.

Yes, I do read nearly all of them. I scan many. Lots are just photos, some I see the posts are long and I just skip past them, others I never miss.

The never miss ones fascinate me, for one simple reason, they live a life I don't. They live just like me, but they do/are/be something more. They tell me about their lives and entertain me as they do.

I know my readers don't like too many links so here are just four blogs that you may find worth a look.

4 Kids, 20 suitcases, and a beagle
Kirsty writes this blog, and as the heading tells you she has 4 kids, she also lives an expat life, but the countries keep changing. The four kids have all been born in different countries. The stories of their travels as a family are always entertaining, informative and all so new to me. Kirsty is also an actual writer so she can whip up a pretty good story. I learn stuff. I am hooked. The ex pat life sometimes seems so glam, other times, not so much!

Veggie Mama
I am not a vegetarian. Whenever we have vegetarian meals Mr H wears his grumpy face while it is being served. Regardless of his face, I like the menu ideas, the new options, seeing the foods that a real vegetarian eats (not the ones that say "I am vegetarian, but I do like shaved ham and cheese and bacon rolls still) Veggie Mama has Veggie baby, who has recently started solids so has a whole new area of blog posts to share too.

And then there were four.
Can you guess? Yep, four kids. But more than that. The writer of this blog is called Multiple Mum, she blogs about the family but also about her ways to try and live a more sustainable life. But not about compost and disposable nappies. I was most interested in her posts about 'Buy nothing for a year' a challenge she has just completed. Really, that is quite an effort. She also inspired me to at least think about the six items or less challenge - 6 items of clothing, 10 days - tough one!

And then I have

BabyMac
Mainly because she has a friggin fab house and I like to pinch her decorating ideas - not that I actually do, but in my head I think, yeah, that looks great, I could do that. Her yellow side table is still one of my favourites. She can also cook up a storm in the blink of an eye and I just like the eye candy of the food. She shares recipes if you are a baker. She also has two girls of similar age to me and sometimes I think she has been in my head when she writes about them. Her photography is also a bit of alright.

Go forth and click.

What tips would you give someone about to be a school Mum?

2012-01-28T22:08:00.001+11:00

I am about to be a school Mum.

Needing to be up and on time every weekday morning.

I have never had to make lunches. Using a creche arrangement for all preschool, a chef came with the deal. I had to place an empty lunch box in to the kitchen and that's it.

I could drop and pick up at my convenience.

We now shall have to ensure the green and yellow hair ribbons are handy in the morning and school shoes, not this weeks favourite sparkly pink numbers, are placed somewhere we can find them.

There are so many things I have no idea about right now.

I am not too worried, in that, 'you dont know what you don't know' way.

Then I started tweeting with some school Mums tonight, (thanks stuffwiththing and traceyb65 ) and I realized that a handbook for new school Mums, written entirely by other Mums was needed.

I don't have the book, so I am asking you, my knowledgable readers, what do you wish you knew about being a school mum? What advice can you give me to get me there on time, little stress, and not in my jimjams.

Domestic Goddess Failure Case Study 2: Hotdog Mummies.

2012-01-27T11:00:00.002+11:00

I did quite a bit of planning for the Witches Ball party.

It was months in the planning because I had to buy everything around Halloween. I waited until it was over and got everything half price, so of course I purchased way too much.

I also printed out a large number of recipes for 'spooky' food. The Americans really do this in a big way so there are lots of things to find.

These Mummy Hotdogs looked perfect.

image

I thought I would give them a practice run before the big day and let the kids have them for lunch.

I just couldn't get them right.

Mine looked a little like Murdered Hotdogs.

To be honest, I don't know how I can stuff these things up.

So you want to be a car blogger. Here are my tips.

2012-01-24T13:54:00.001+11:00

I am not sure how many cars it takes before you can call yourself a car blogger, but I have decided that 3.5 cars it is.

Car blogging is just not the glam job that you think it is, just like top models discuss the behind the scenes aspects of modelling are not rosy, so too can car blogging be a tough gig, so to help out any future car bloggers here are my tips to help you drive through your car blogging moments.

Start by asking the car company if the car will actually suit you. If the car can’t fit car seats and you have four kids in boosters, than you are not going to be driving this car too much, alternatively it is not handy to be given a ute if you are a family of seven.

Read a page or two of the manual before you drive off. This will prevent you playing with knobs and dials and turning the seat warmers up to high when it is 42 degrees outside. You will also know where the lights are and not get confused between the fog lights, dimmers, auto lights and high beam (sorry to all those cars I blinded). If you have the Holden Captiva it will also tell you how to get into the car without having to climb in through the boot.

Reading the manual is tricky if someone has flogged it before you like they did in my Ford Focus Sedan.

Returning the vehicle has proven to go badly for me 50% of the time. I returned the Holden SV6 and left the pram in it and I still have the headrests from the backseat of the Ford Focus, after putting them safely where they would not be wrecked.

You should prepare mentally for the minor depression that occurs when you get back into your old filthy car that is full of lolly pop wrappers and kids meal toys. Especially if you have fallen in love with the car.

Expect your partner, friends and family that visit to want to take a test-drive, sometimes for so long that you need to refill with petrol.

Do not return to a car park and search for your usual car. You will not find it.

Do not think you can undo the bolts of a brand new car to get the booster seats in by yourself. If your husband is gallivanting around Europe you will have to ask the old man next door to assist you, he will also struggle to remove these machine tightened bolts.

If possible, ask if you can have the car for a longer period or make sure it is when you have time to actually drive it. Most cars come for a week, this can be limiting, depending what you are up to, having the Focus over Christmas really allowed us to get used to the car and like it more and more. The Captiva I have not formally reviewed because it was not my car to review, I hijacked it on our way to Walhalla and while I really enjoyed driving it (heaps and heaps) it was only for the weekend and I was kid free so I may have enjoyed driving a 1970s Valiant under such circumstances.

Would reviewing a car be something you would do, or are you so happy in your own current wheels that it is not that exciting for you to do?

Decorating: The Sticker Way.

2012-01-22T22:38:00.000+11:00

There has been fighting amongst the ranks that has been going on for weeks.

Who is going to get the new bed?

We knew we couldn't decorate like this, as we had a budget to stick to. Mr H allowed for about $7.85 to cover everything.

The new bed is really the old bed. The bed that we had in the mouse house to try and make a little play space for Popps which we shoved under the spare bed in the new place when we got here 18 months ago. This means we stick within the budget.

Immy was bursting out of her little happy toddler bed and didn't want to move, so to encourage her, she got to pick which bed she wanted.

Popps' dollhouse bed, or the semi bunk bed option.

She chose the dollhouse which meant we had to make them change rooms too.

This actually worked out perfectly (if you remove from your mind the part where Mr H and I worked together to get the Ikea Bunk back together, minus the instructions) because the tree we wanted to stick up looks great on the green wall and the flower dimmer light that is wired in to the wall looks ok.

We culled 'treasures' from Popps' drawers, found a stash of lollies she had hidden behind some boxes and sneezed through the dust behind beds.

We now have two happy (indoor) campers.

One room, sparse with a smattering of favourite toys and prints, for a little girl still happy to play with what ever she comes across, with the best stickers to brighten it up ever.

The next room, we gave the big girl some power to decorate. I got the bunting in, she did the rest.

She did manage to put together a reading corner for herself though.

A little nook for a desk also managed to sneak in.

Thanks to Bright Star Kids for the tree stickers, they were really easy to do and certainly gave an excellent finish. I am looking at some for our room now too - Can you have too many wall stickers?

Marketing Case Study Time: Customer Service - The Quick and the Ugly

2012-01-20T17:04:00.000+11:00

Every now and then I like to share my views on brands and products that have 'got it' or that haven't.

The Quick:

Safe N Sound

I never hide our issues of over protecting the Little Hueys. We see no reason not to protect them from injury when we can.

Our preferred car seat of choice has always been safe n sound and even more so the Maxi Rider AHR.

Imogen is currently in the AHR (Active Head Restraint) Maxi Rider and will be in this for at least another four years.

She started complaining a lot about her seat before Christmas, asking for us not to do the buckle up, that it scratched her leg and hurt her. Upon closer inspection there was a tiny little pinhead size section of the webbing that had a pointy end on it, the section where they seal it so that the webbing won’t fray. I decided to call and ask Safe N Sound what they suggested for this, could I just fix it some way.

The iGeneration

They answered the phone instantly.

The person who answered could fix the problem.

The next day the new part arrived in the mail and was placed into the seat.

In less than 24 hours my problem was solved, all at no cost to me.

Immy was very happy to be buckled in again.

The Ugly:

I don't name the Ugly ones.

I recently got all nostalgic about a toy. Do you remember this tree from the 70s?

As soon as I saw it I knew it was going to be under the tree for Christmas.

I ordered it on an infant website and paid the not so small price for it, plus postage.

When it arrived at its destination it was looking so shabby that I was asked if I got it second hand from ebay!

Australia Post had clearly tried to assist the package by taping it up some more with orange tape and stickers that say Australia Post has been here. Thankfully all the pieces where there but the box was not going to cut it as a gift for Christmas.

I contacted the company I bought it from to tell them that while I would be keeping the product, the state it arrived in meant it was lucky it arrived at all.

That was a month ago. Expect I wont be hearing from them anytime soon. Nor buying anything from them again, in case it got the same treatment.

On top of that, the actual product is pretty shabby. Cheap plastic that doesn’t really fit together properly, the little people fall into the bottom of the tree under the lift and you need to get the screw driver from the mess that is the third drawer down, unscrew the whole thing, get them out and put it back together again. I don’t recall it being so cheap looking back in my day. Not the companies fault who I purchased from I know, but just in case you were thinking of getting one - try ebay first.

Have you had some good/bad customer service lately?

This post talks about poo and wee, but maybe it will help some Mums.

2012-01-18T16:37:00.000+11:00

Image Source

Sometimes this is a Mummy blog more than others. Today is one of those days.

I am going to share my knowledge and wisdom regarding toilet training your little ankle biter to hopefully make things just so much easier for you.

Having only two children means I am no more an expert than most other Mums that have been through this, however as one of my children had a bowel issue that took us to the Royal Children’s Hospital outpatients and a specialist Paediatrian (Dr Poo) on a regular basis for a few years I can share with you the expert advice we got.

We paid hundreds of dollars for this pretty simple advice. Today, for you, it is all free! You’re very welcome.

So what is the magic secret to toilet training?

Well, Dr Poo, strongly believes that toilet ‘training’ is actually wrong. Dr Poo has built his practice dealing with the issues and health problems that occur from mothers who have pushed toilet training on their children.

Toileting is a complex task.

A child needs to start by recognising the feeling that they have means that they need to wee or poo.
They have to acknowledge that when this feeling comes, the wee or poo comes out.
They have to remember that they need to make it to a designated area, be that the toilet or a potty (let’s hope it is usually in the same area, move that potty around and you are making it harder).
The child, once making it to the toilet needs to remove all the items of clothing, buttons or zips that are tricky for little fingers
Then climb up/on to the designated area, (remembering to hold on to that wee or poo that wants to come out).
This is all to be done while the child most likely wants to be back in the sand pit, trampoline, bean bag etc.
The follow up wiping, washing, redressing just adds to the tasks going through the little minds.

So what is a mother to do?

Not much actually.

Dr Poo believes that most mothers watch and pick up the cues of when a child is naturally ready to be moved out of nappies, without even realising they are doing it.

You know your child pretty well and can generally tell when they are anxious, happy, tired, hungry, nervous. You know if they are comfortable with something or ready for new challenges. You will generally start to get signs that your child is ready for big kid undies.

Dr Poo discussed that when a Mum says “I did this and it worked” that was really only because Mum had picked up that the child was ready. Try the same tactic with a child who is not developmentally ready and you will not succeed. Sure, you may have noticed it a couple of months ago and waited til Summer to make it an easier transition, or you may have had a goal of getting this under control before another baby arrived, or preschool started, but if the child can’t process the above dot points in a matter of twenty seconds, you will be washing up clothes and cleaning up puddles for awhile still.

What about the age of a child?

Not a problem either says Dr Poo. Just as with everything else, some kids will show signs very very early, others will not show signs until much later. Some will master the art of weeing on the throne quickly but are not interested in plopping a poo in the bowl. Some are great for day time and hopeless at night while others just drop nappies night and day in a flash.

Big Kids and Poo:

For kids that seem pretty capable, but who just refuse to poo on a toilet, this can be really really annoying for parents. Seriously, changing baby nappies is one thing, changing the poo of a four year old is another altogether. Relax, don’t stress. Place the pull ups into the toilet area. Put the child in charge. When they need to poo they go to the toilet area, put the pull ups on themselves and do their business in that area. Yes, may take months, but it is worth it. Causing constipation by inflicting your toilet training measures on the child will make things worse. If you are huffing and puffing (begging) the child to poo on the toilet they are just going to get stressed. Withholding the nappies is not a nice idea. Bring out your rewards charts if you and your child work well with them, they are not for me, but Dr Poo was not against the idea for a child who was able to understand the concept, if the chart is encouraging and rewards are not too difficult to achieve. Don’t make it five poos to get a toy if one poo is not even likely. Start with a poo in a nappy in the toilet area.

I promise, if you have an otherwise healthy functioning child, you shall not have wipes and a spare nappy in your bag at the child’s 21^st birthday.

Your child WILL get over the fear of the flush, the big deep hole that is a toilet, the confined space, the fear of pushing a poo, whatever it is that is holding them back from making this step.

My Summary:

You may think you had excellent toilet training techniques and that is why your baby was night and day trained before they could walk, but it was likely not you, it was your baby, who did this. Alternatively if your kinder kid is still struggling with toileting issues, let it be for a while. They will get the hang of it and learn the ropes of this task – even though it may not feel like it right now.

The Witches Ball Party

2012-01-15T18:16:00.000+11:00

Months ago Popps returned from Kinder and asked me to download the Justine Clarke song "The Witches Ball".

I did, and from that moment on she has wanted to turn six with a Witches Ball Party.

The excellent, very talented Park Eden whipped up the invitations for me and the party preparations began.

I spent a few hours on Pinterest and cooking sites to see what I could come up with that I (the domestic goddess failure) would be able to handle on the day. I was rather stressed and sent many tweets to people for encouragement -- thank you all, you know who you are.

Popps chose the cake. It was actually pretty easy, but I say that after previously making the trampoline and the swimming pool and well, you know the echidna by now.

We decorated the house with basic streamers but put them in a spider web pattern and at Halloween time I stocked up on lots of little extra things to add to the house.

I pulled out the vases I got from the op shop for my eighties dinner party and sent Mr H and kids to the park to get some arrangements for them, they worked perfectly on the spooky food table. The front hallway was cleaned of the usual ~~junk~~ hats and creche bags to make way for spare costumes.

The easy food

Veggie Skeleton Man (and he was totally eaten).

Custom made cupcake holders for cakes with Chocolate Bat toppers

Ghostly Meringues

Spooky Cheese, suffocating under the gladdy.

For those that have not been to our house, we don't usually allow the cobwebs to get this bad. But we had this stuff all over the place to give a spooky feel.

Pass the spooky parcel, I found a beautiful picture book called The Ghost of Annabel Spoon, it was the perfect prize for this game.

Musical Statues turned into just dancing on the lawn, which actually started to look like a group of pint sized goths once the hats and brooms had been ditched in the hall.

I had also pre printed out some witchy colouring in pictures, some children had a turn at these, but mostly they were interested in getting their faces painted and their arms tattooed with gory, spooky images from a pack I picked up at Halloween.

My niece has started her own business and is offering face painting services to kids parties, at $15 a party I was thrilled with her rates and hired her instantly.

It all came together and most importantly Popps was thrilled with the results. And stay tuned, the next domestic goddess failure case study will be posted this week...the food that didn't make it to the party.

A Food Focus

2012-01-13T14:47:00.001+11:00

Twitter was listening amongst my woe is cars week and Ford came to my pity party driving a brand new Focus. We all know how I loved this one, so I said, give me a try of the sedan.

With nearly three weeks for us to get to know each other I was very keen to become BFFs again.

Festive Drinkies.
Hot nights and outside bars are so very hip.

Sadly, Mr H stole my friend, it happens, but I moved on and became a very happy third wheel on this adventure. We decided to make the Focus our family car for the festive food season and we had many feasts in many different homes and lots of towns.

Myrtleford: Old Butter Factory. The butter is amazing. The food devine. The service lovely. The wait for food is long. Very long. So long that complimentary ice cream was delivered to the little ones.

The Focus got packed to the hilt, two car seats, presents for 15 people, bags packed for a weeks travel, Peppa the dog and food for Christmas cooking all made it in and away we went. I would have taken a photo of how we got it all in, but this was one of the only times I got to drive (and you should not use your phone and drive at the same time).

We ate at the Bright Berry Farm too. Beside this poster, so you can imagine how much fun that farm is. Good ice cream though

The Focus took us all over Victoria, to towns you may never have been to. To Seymour, over to Marnoo, than Stuart Mill, back to Melbourne, off to Milawa, Porepunkah and Bright. Had a few trips to Riddells Creek and then dinner in Kensington – I really should have taken a picture of the sugar free cheese cake lovingly made for me there. Totally indulgent.

Deer Farm - Bright, except this is a goat, and we didn't eat it.

We stopped for cheese, for wine, for berries and honey, in Stuart Mill we went yabbying (don’t worry Fordie people, we took Grandpa’s ute around the paddocks not the Focus)

Sorry Mr Yabby, this was your last moment before landing in a bowl of vinegar and my tummy.

Quick Girls, grab morning tea. (Milawa Cheese Factory)

The Focus took us to secret swimming holes in Bright and cruised the city for carparks on New Years Eve. The road was bumpy and gravel but the thing I liked most about the Focus is the quiet, this may be because I am used to driving noisy vehicles, but I really liked it. It is smooth and refined, kind of like a nice red wine.

In Bright I wanted a place that was less touristy.

I tweeted to see if the locals could help and was given directions to a secret spot. It was fantastic, we set up camp for the day and stayed for hours, shallow sections for Immy to splash about in and rapids that were perfect for Popps to float down in her swimming tube, with the odd deep hole for those that can brave the icy deep of the river, which is not me.

Thanks to @workingwomenaus for all the help around that area. There is much to see and many lovely drives to take so we did a few of those too, it was really hot, so getting in to the cool car was nice and often become the time that Immy slept, after not sleeping well in the heat at night.

Mr H became so friendly with the Focus that I could see him run to the car to be the driver every time.

Pretending to want to strap Immy in but really getting to the drivers side first.

Is it different to the Hatch – yes, this version was not as smart on the inside, no seat warmers that I could find. However they may be there, someone else had stolen the car manual before we got it, I am wondering if perhaps they wanted a souvenir of their time with the car? For us, a pantry of jam, mustard and honey will be souvenir just fine.

But I have just noticed some head rests under my bed. Opps, better ring Ford and let them know that I have the head rests from the back seats, which you need to remove to put the kids car seats in.

Room enough for two kids in the back seat ...
Minus the head rests, which are still under my bed so that the kids didn't touch them.

If you want to get picky about things with this car that you might not like, there is this: Where the kids car seats buckle is, there is a hole in the seats, a DS stylus thing can easily be dropped in there and takes some time to get back out, especially if you are parked on the side of a road with a crying child that thinks her Santa present is ruined and will never ever be used again.

Lastly, we all had favourite things about our time with the Focus, for me it was the rear sensors for reversing, Mr H seemed to like the auto wipers, Popps loves the voice recognition and likes to play games with the lady trying to guess what she is saying from the back seat. Immy likes the ipod connectivity as that allowed us to be able to listen to The Fairies Music over and over...(which could be a reason not to buy!)

Disclaimer:

Ford contacted me and asked if I would like to take this car over Christmas. I was not paid to write this review and Ford have not requested anything from me. All thoughts about this car are my own, and I wish the car was too. Sadly it isn't, and other than the headrests it is back in the land of Ford.

Keep your eyes open for an argument…Divorce City.

2012-01-10T13:28:00.000+11:00

Do you know the jingle – maybe only my Victorian readers will, for others let me paint a quick picture – Car City is highly advertised as the best place to go and grab yourself a new car. Thousands of cars, best deal blah blah blah. (If you really need to hear the jingle, they have it on the website for you.)

With 'Woe is Cars' being the catch phrase around here lately we got dragged over the other side of town with the promise of a play centre for the kids and the best place to just buy another car and be done with it.

But when we left there two hours later I think all four of us were crying.

Popps was beside herself when the grubby box of toys was shown as the ‘playcentre’. Immy just wanted out of the pram and to climb into every open car and Mr H and I couldn’t agree on whom the new car was even for. Surely with the kids I need the best car to drive around, but then he decided he is sick of driving the crap mobile about and wants the new one. The budget started at a place where we wouldn’t need to get a car loan and finished at a place where we would need a second mortgage.

Shocking car dealers all “telling us the truth” and providing deals that we just cant walk away from (no, but I can run sunshine).

We left with no new car and no closer to getting a new car. The Renault Scenic that I fell in love with will apparently be too expensive to service and repair, the Holden Whatever Car that he wants is just so man car I couldn’t sit in it. Popps wants a seven seater so she can sit in the back away from everyone and Immy would prefer either a pink or orange one.

Along the way Mr H decided that the car should also be able to tow a caravan and carry a two seater kayak on the roof racks. I kindly and very calmly reminded him, in my best soothing voice, that we do NOT have a caravan and neither of us has a kayak or a canoe, so this is NOT to be included in the car requirements.

I think he nearly spat at the Peugot 307 I started asking about.

By the time we got home from woop woop, new car less, hungry and no dinner being cooked we could barely communicate to each other.

A few weeks later and we still have not returned to a car dealership.

To top it off, the next day I was still so traumatised by the ordeal and when an extremely large gust of wind blew at the wrong time, it swung our gate right into the ‘good’ car as I was driving in the drive way. Mr H was not impressed, he seems to think that a gate that is chained to the fence can not do this and my lack of driving skills highlight the fact that he should be behind the wheel in the new wheels.

The polite discussion continues.

Any tips on keeping your marriage in place while car buying are much appreciated.

Popp Comments

2012-01-09T14:11:00.001+11:00

The things your children say usually make you laugh.

Like when Popps tells me she has really grated her knee and her elbow is totally grated. Nothing gets grazed anymore.

Over Christmas she asked why we had to have that real tree, couldn’t we save up our money like normal people and get a plastic one? (never!)

What I don’t like hearing is this:

"I have been using your phone Mum, and looking at the photos. I had to delete lots of the ones of me, because my face looked too fat."

She is still five.

And a tiny piece of me shrivelled up and died inside.

Wishing you a golden 2012

2012-01-01T13:22:00.000+11:00

Last night we went into the city and celebrated the new year with my parents and about one hundred thousand other families.

The theme for the city party was Gold.

The theme worked. We had a sparkly time.

May 2012 be a very golden year for all of you.

Tell me what you think.

2011-12-30T19:43:00.001+11:00

It's a work in progress and I am never really happy with it, but today I updated my about me page, rather than it being an about me page, it ended up being a My Blog Story page.

It still needs something, feedback from twitter has been that it is still missing something that describes me.

I will keep thinking.

My blog will keep changing, I think she might even make herself some new years resolutions. But they wont be about losing weight or reducing chocolate intake - this blog is designed to increase the chocolate intake of the Huey household, and online, I can already photoshop out the cellulite if Instagram filters haven't already.

Take a look, tell me what you think, and be prepared for any changes that come about as I fiddle my way through things. (Here is the link for those that missed it above)

The Pros and Cons of Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T16:28:00.005+11:00

There are pros and cons of everything, including Christmas.

For the Huey house, this is our list for 2011

Pros:

We don’t have to buy soap until Easter.
I got to eat the seafood I love that no one else in this house will usually eat.
Loved ones remember items that I wanted last year, and spend the year making sure they give it to me this year. Hello Beautiful MOR teacup candle.

Ford has given me another Focus Car to test drive for two weeks so we are cruising in style as we travel around.
Our house smells lovely with the real tree in the lounge room.
Leftovers
Yabbies
Slip n Slides

Cons:

An extra 2 kg on the hips

How are things unwrapping in your neck of the woods?

Good days

2011-12-26T20:08:00.001+11:00

We are enjoying the holidays with the rellies. Stealing veggies from the garden and testing out the slip n slide.

It's good times.

And I just wanted to wish you all happy days. Wherever you are and who ever you are with, may your days be good ones.

An owl party.

2011-12-23T13:49:00.002+11:00

I was planning to share the joys of Imogen's birthday with you. But that will have to wait as I am still collating photos from here, there are everywhere.

But I know lots of my readers enjoy seeing the excellent results of a nice little well planned party, be it for big or little people.

Remember Max? Well we got an invite to his party too, as he turned three and his parents put on a really sweet party and had really considered everything.

I didn't ask permission to use images of any other children, so I don't have a huge number of photos to share, but this should give you the idea.

There was a baby animal petting corner, where the kids got to hold lots of baby rabbits, chickens, ducks and guinea pigs. This rabbit looks like he wants to escape, but he sat quietly for quite some time.

The theme was owls, and these are the cutest owl cupcakes.

There are some mighty talented cake making people out there. You know that I am not one of them, but I certainly enjoy seeing the results of those that are. (Of course I had some cake too!)

The Lolly table was actually not emptied in a matter of seconds, most of the kids were off at the dress ups corner, the baby animals, painting plaster owls or running around.

But it was a very hot day and Miss Imogen was a big fan of the glass bottles and paper straws, until she realised that chewing on a paper straw means you can't suck anything more through it.

Max's Mumma gave a lovely little speech and shared with us the owl theme actually came from some therapy strategies that they use which is called Observe, Watch, Listen. (OWL) which I also thought was a great motto to use myself sometimes, rather than just coming over all screechy Mumma in the first instance.

If you have a birthday during this festive season - I hope you have one as good as this.

Ideas for a Christmas salad.

2011-12-22T12:23:00.002+11:00

We are sharing ourselves around as many Christmas dinner tables as we can this year.

My sister who lives in the middle of nowhere has requested I bring the afternoon platter of cheeses and deli treats that you can only get in the big smoke. This is perfect for me, it requires shopping and no cooking and will also travel the many kilometres we need to drive without much hassle.

My Mother in law has requested some suggestions for some new salads for the table.

Since I went to Gwinganna I have been eating a lot of new salads. So I had another search through my latest mags and books for some for Christmas Day and thought I would just share my favourites here in case anyone else is looking for some food ideas that are easy, yummy and summery.

Here is my list of suggestions.

Beetroot Salad

Popps loves beetroot and I think it is highly possible that my Father in law has some in the garden, this would be a yummy way to add some home grown yumminess to the Christmas table. It is actually also online here.

Mexican Beef Salad

I have made this one already, the kids loved it and so did Mr H as I made him BBQ the meat first and then slice it, it made him feel a little less mungbean hippy for the day. It is from a Weight Watchers book and was a great meal all by itself. It will be perfect for a hot day too.

Prawns with Watermelon and Feta Salad

This is from a magazine called MindFood, which I have only recently come across. Prawns are a major food source for us at Christmas time and this salad looks just perfect - because it looks so so easy. Grabbing the mint straight from the garden can be a task for the little kids to help get them involved with the Christmas catering.

Green bean and roasted cherry tomatoes.

This one is from a magazine, but I also found it on their website so you can get the full recipe there, just click on the heading to go through to the website. I like how it is in the Christmas colours!

Do you have salads for the Christmas feast table, or is a more traditional Christmas still served in your house?

And this was not a post for any of the publications mentioned, they are just where I found these ones.

Christmas with a big family

2011-12-18T19:15:00.001+11:00

I am really lucky that my Dad is one of nine children.

Lucky because Christmas has always been a huge affair, with cousins to play with and a great Christmas atmosphere.

Today we had Hewitt Christmas, it is more often held before Christmas now as all the grand kids (that's me) have grown up and have partners and more children and the logistics get too hard.

So what is it like to spend a Christmas lunch with around 65 family members?

Well, there is the food. Plenty of food. And you will eat seconds even if you don't want to, because it is so yummy.

There is Christmas Pudding, which Grandma makes every year, for forty years it has been made, we never get through it, but the same size is made every year. It always gets gobbled up over the next few days.

This is less than half the original size.

When a cousin shares bouquets of the herbs from her garden, your 88 year old Grandpa will ask if that is marijuana.

Your children are shy for the first three hours and hang off your legs, then when it is time to go they will hide in the toilets so they don't have to leave.

You accept that there is no chance you will get a decent photo of all the great grand kids, so you put Grandma and Grandpa at the back and just pile the kids onto the rug and all start snapping. Four new babies to the clan this year and one extra on the way.

The 5 year old will look at this pile of presents and whisper, "Do you think there might be one for me there?"

She will nearly wet her pants with excitement when ten presents appear with her name on them. Your mother will dress you in matching Christmas dresses, and if she is a blogger she will have stolen the pattern from Pinterest.

Even though you have eaten enough for the week, you will return home with a little bowl of extra treats.

Going to bed at 6.30pm in your party dress because you are too tired to even walk is considered ok.

You will all say farewell with a "See you at Easter?"

Do you have the fortune of a big family?

And yes, for those that can't help themselves but ask, we are Catholic.

Time to decorate - NOT a christmas post.

2011-12-16T11:50:00.002+11:00

Now that she is three, Immy needs a new room.

The toddler bed and the change table can go and the room can be more ‘her’. As it is, she got the ‘boys’ room from the previous owners and we have done nothing to change this for her. Poor second child got all the old cot linen and cot and even the snuggly pink rug on the floor she only got as Popps was sick of it.

So I have started thinking about what to do with her room, it isn’t large, but it is ok for a single bed. (which I won’t be getting from Adairs like I expected as they now sell Playboy stuff and I am on my moral high horse about not supporting businesses that sell things to support the porn industry…I digress)

The room will not look like this:

The budget does not extend that far, nor does the ceiling.

But I love the tree idea as something not too baby and not too teenage. This one might get a little wrecked and only provide mess to clean up.

So I will be putting up this one instead. I love wall stickers and in the past when we were renting I got some super cheap and nasty ones, that meant we had to repaint the entire room when we left. I have learnt my lesson and after giving these a try on the wall I know they are not going to ruin everything they touch. I also like how Immy will be able to rearrange the birds, and butterflies and the overall look as she pleases.

I might also set up this bed and canopy too, we have it in storage as it was what Popps used to have...opps, it seems hand me downs are just a part of being a second child.

Bright Star Kids have kindly sent me this tree sticker to put up in Immy's room after we had a discussion of what I might need. When I checked out their stuff I nearly went for the birds on a wire for our own room, or the Christmas Tree Wall Art stickers for our kitchen area. They have some great stuff. Check them out for some decent kids gifts or for items to get your house a little more groovy.

Can't wait to show you how it works out. Have you decorated your kid's bedrooms with wall stickers?

Images: The first images here are from Pinterest, then Bright Star Kids and the last is from Ikea.