Happy Mothers Day

To all the Mothers, Grandmothers, Great Grandmothers, Step-mothers, Mothers in law, Mothers to be and even Foster Mothers out there. I hope you all had an amazing day. I hope you get appreciated and loved every day not just today. I hope you took some time today to look around and be grateful for what you have. Being a mother really is the BEST job in the world and we really are so very lucky and privileged to be able call ourselves Mum.

I got spoilt with a beautiful cooked breakfast from my boys and their Dad, including my favourite hot croissants with jam. I got showered with gifts including some awesome flannelette pjs, slippers and an eye mask for my upcoming hospital stay. My ex always was a very practical gift buyer. But I'm very grateful for the effort. Cooper was so excited to give me his gift he picked at the schools Mothers Day stall earlier in the week. Some lovely soap with a face washer and get this - a temporary tattoo that says 'because I'm your Mum that's why' I thought that was hilarious. But my favourite gifts were the handmade ones the boys had made at school and kindy. Blake had made me a lovely card which came with a keyring with his photo inside which I'll treasure forever and Cooper also made me a lovely card with this lovely portrait of his Mummy. He was so proud. I was so proud.




Gosh I love these two sweet little men of mine. I'm one lucky Mumma.

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This week i'm grateful for....

After a pretty challenging week I thought this was just what I needed. Something positive to focus on so join me over at Maxabella loves and tell us what you're truly grateful for.

This week I'm grateful for quite a few things.

An amazing friend who knew I was having a tough week so made me and the boys a big tray of delicious pasta bake and dropped it over. I hope she realises how grateful I am for that. I'll be freezing it in batches for the nights that my back is really bad and making dinner is a struggle.

I'm grateful for some wonderful friends I've made through Cooper's school who on days when its hard to walk, bring Cooper down to the car for me at school pick up.

I'm grateful for my trusty wheat pack that never let's me down.

My awesome parents who have given me so much support over these last few months and my gorgeous Mum who always knows the right thing to say.

My sweet little cherubs who are so very worried about their Mumma and are forever asking me how my back is and smothering me in sloppy kisses and cuddles.

I'm also grateful for Etsy although I'm sure my bank account isn't. I'll be sharing some of my gorgeous Etsy buys over the weekend. That's the problem with spending too much time bed bound. You have too much time to be tempted by all these goodies online. My finger slipped and I accidentally purchased something else.

What are you grateful for?



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I've got my 'coral' back

I told you today was going to be a brand new day.
I woke up with a fresh start. Well not really that fresh considering I only had about 3 1/2 hours of sleep. But I was determined to not let it get me down. I dropped Blake off to kindy with big smiles and no tears. I then dropped Cooper to school and he insisted I stay for the morning lesson which I quite often do when I don't have Blake with me. I watched my little man bursting with pride as he did the roll call and then learnt their dance that they'll be performing on stage at assembly in about 7 weeks. It was so adorable.

I left school and was feeling quite ok. My back was sore but I knew it wasn't as bad as it was yesterday and I had a few errands to do and some groceries to get so I braved the shops. Sure it was slow and steady bit I managed it.

I was about to leave and remembered I wanted to have a quick look at some slippers as the weather has been getting increasingly cold lately but my ugg boots are too warm.

And then I spotted them.

These cute Paul Frank slippers just had to come home with me. Not only did they have cute little monkeys on them but they were coral. It was a sign. Okay so they're more orange than coral but I needed to justify it somehow didn't I.

Even better news they were half price, so a whopping $15. Gotta love a bargain!

Aren't they cute?



I'm about to go and do school/kindy pick up and I don't want to take them off, they're so comfy and so warm.

They've certainly brightened my day. It's pouring here, perfect timing for school run.

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Monday Blues

Monday Blues!

Do you get them? I don't normally because it usually means the beginning of a new week, a fresh start. It's usually D Day for me to start that new diet or pledge to be more organised this week, meal plan for the rest of the week, make phone calls that I need to make. Mondays are usually okay in my books.

Just not today. I have a severe case of Monday Blues. It's actually a public holiday here in Queensland which I would normally take full advantage of and go and do something fun with the boys but not today. Yes I'm feeling very sorry for myself. The boys are with their Dad and I'm bed ridden in so much pain. My back is just getting worse as the days go on and my frustration and anxiety increases with the pain. It's such a beautiful day outside too. Just to make me feel even better about being cooped up inside. Thankfully I have my trusty heat pack, pain killers and the boys Easter egg stash to get me by. Ssshh don't tell the boys.

But you know what as I have said throughout this past year there is always someone worse off. Two of my friends lost their fathers this past week. One to cancer and the other had a heart attack. So I really shouldn't be complaining at all.

But for now I'm allowing myself to feel blue but I promise tomorrow I'll be back to my bubbly self. Well maybe not quite bubbly but at least I'll be less blue and more coral.














In my search for all things blue I came across this awesome blue front door. I want one.




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What Royal Wedding?

I wasn't that interested but I got totally sucked in and I'm sitting here like a romantic fool with tissues in hand. I just wish Princess Diana could have been there to watch her son get married. She would have been so proud of her two sons. As a mother of two boys it just makes me so sad. I can't imagine missing out on my sons wedding.

I guess I'm a romantic fool after all.

Just had to share this that I just saw on Facebook. I thought it was hilarious.



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To Birkenstock or not

This is the question I've been trying to wrap my head around for a couple of weeks now and I've finally caved.

For those that don't know I've got a pretty severe spinal injury which I'm getting operated on hopefully in June. Anyway throughout the journey that has been this last year of back pain I've often been told that I need more supportive footwear but being a little bit of a footwear snob I kind of refused to put comfort above fashion. Call me a materialistic snob but it also came down to price. I couldn't bare to part with $250 for a pair of very ugly shoes.

But I think I've finally been converted with Birkenstocks. Living in sunny south east Queensland I practically live in Haviannas in the warmer months and ballet flats and boots in Winter. So these Birkenstock Gizeh thongs will replace my old faithful havis. And then coming in to winter I've got myself some ridiculously comfortable insoles which I can then slip in to my boots and ballet flats.

During my research of these Birkenstocks I discovered that these comfortable thongs were not only slightly ugly but also very expensive. I'm talking $120 for one pair. Then my friend got me on to This Website where you can purchase them directly from Germany for half the price. Gotta love that.

So I think I finally get the addiction to these slightly ugly but very comfortable shoes. I remember putting something on Facebook a few weeks ago and I couldn't believe how many of my friends swore by them. It certainly put my mind at ease. Now let's just hope these thongs really do correct my posture and ease my back pain.

I decided on these two pairs if Gizeh thongs in the black and silver.







And I've even decided to treat myself to some comfy slippers as well. I figure they'll be great for the hospital and for around the house after my surgery.



And what's even better about buying them directly from Germany on the Foot Shopping website is that if you order over $400 in product you get free postage. So a few of my friends are getting a pair also so we get free postage and even better still apparently it only takes 4 days to get here.

I can't wait to try out these new shoes. I'll be sure to review them once they're here.

Do you own Birkenstocks? If not, do yourself a favour and go and try a pair of these on. They're like heaven for your feet.

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Wordless Wednesday

Image found here

Playing along with Faith Hope and a whole lotta Love

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And the award goes to......

Me!!!



I had almost forgotten about this. Yes shame on me. This was such a nice surprise. I always get quite excited when someone leaves me a comment or I get a new follower so you can imagine my excitement when I discovered someone actually thought my blog was deserving of an award.

Thanks to the lovely Kirri over at Happy Mums At Home who forwarded on the love. And yes I'm definitely feeling the love, so thanks.

Now the rules are that I have to share seven somewhat unknown and presumably interesting facts about myself and also pay it forward by nominating 15 other newly discovered bloggers for the same award.

So, seven random facts about me. Here goes.

1. I was brought up as a Vegetarian and only started eating meat when I left home at 17. I now only eat white meat but I secretly want to give up meat all together but I'm just not sure I could say goodbye to chicken or seafood. Mmmm prawns.

2. I am a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and practiced martial arts for over 10 years as a kid/teenager.

3. I am obsessed with the colour Coral. Some people call it watermelon. Whatever it's proper name it doesn't really matter I just love it. I have clothes, shoes, jewellery, nail polish, ornaments, scarfs, candles, pillows in this colour. I am very drawn to anything in coral. It's actually a joke amongst my closest friends.

4. I collect buttons. Yes weird I know. I think I got this from my Mum. I have an entire jar full. Not only do I keep every button that comes with clothing but I also buy random buttons that take my interest to add to my collection.

5. I have a fascination, some would say obsession with the Damask pattern. I've been known to buy fabric or even scrapbooking paper (I don't scrapbook) for no reason other than it's in a damask pattern. My most recent purchase was two gorgeous turquoise damask pillows for my bed.

6. I will always buy natural or organic products wherever I can. I'm very serious about one day living a completely organic life. I'm talking the whole nine yards with a big home in the country with a fruit orchard, vegetable garden, chickens and even my own windmill.

7. For a so called 'tree hugger' as my friends tease me I have way too many handbags. What can I say I'm a sucker for accessories.

Now the extra fun part – to pass the award on to 15 other newly discovered or deserving bloggers. Some of these blogs I've only just discovered but others I've known about for a while but just wanted to let them know how much I love their work. They can include mummy bloggers, photography and style fanatics, eco-conscious devotees and people with a huge social conscience.

Check them out!

1. A Little Delightful
2. Mama of 2 Boys
3. Wanderlust
4. An Aussie Mum's Guide To Eco Friendly Babies
5. Another Donkey Design
6. Catch The Kids
7. Cinderella at Brindabella
8. retromummy
9. DIY or Don't
10. Emmmy Lizzzy
11. Mummahh
12. Oesch and Doots
13. The House that A-M Built
14. The Roseland Family
15. Life on Planet Baby

Thanks again Kirri. That was lots of fun.


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Back to school tomorrow

Today is the last day of the school holidays and I know most parents would be relieved to be seeing their kids go back to school but I'm actually quite sad. I've really enjoyed having my big boy home. Even if it was only for 12 days. I've really missed having him around. He's grown up so much since he started Prep this year and he was a joy to have home. We jammed packed the holidays with as much fun and adventure as we could. Well as much adventure as this Mum with a spinal injury awaiting surgery could cope with.

My stand out day was the day I decided with Blake in kindy I'd take him to the movies. Unfortunately Blake is very much a typical 2 1/2 year old with the attention span of a goldfish and is still too young to sit through a movie. Especially at the cinemas anyway. We went and saw 'Hop'


It was such a fantastic kids movie. In fact I think I enjoyed it equally as much as Cooper. He was so excited to be having a date day with Mummy. We both had a yummy ice-cream in hand and during the movie he kept leaning in for a cuddle. It really was heaven. It's moments like these......

We then headed down to the cafe's to find a place to have lunch. And of course we came across this.


And how could I say no. It was our special date day after all. He loves those bungee trampolines and it was worth the $12 to see the massive smiles on his face as he jumped and goofed around on it.

We found a cafe we could both agree on and had a lovely lunch together. Cooper wanted to go to Max Brenners. I'm not a fan so thankfully he compromised and we went somewhere were I could get a salad instead of well, chocolate.


It was such a lovely day and we certainly made the most of it. It's days like this that I'll miss now that he starts back at school.

Although he's super keen to get back to school and can't wait to see all of his friends which is great. He really does love school which makes me the happiest mum.

We had plenty of other lunch dates over the holidays. Including the day we went to Sushi Train. We both love Sushi.



We also had fish and chips in the park one day. Blake was with us that day. Is there anything cuter than a fishy face eating fish and chips?



And just so that you don't think I took any photos of Blake these holidays I thought I'd share this beauty.

I don't think he was too happy with the T-shirt the Easter bunny picked out for him?


Ooohhhhh gotta love 2 year old attitude.

Hey Blake! Guess what? You have to go back to kindy tomorrow.


Hahahahaha oh the many faces of my Blakey Boy. Love this kid.

So back to reality tomorrow. Back to packing lunches, ironing uniforms, rushed mornings trying to get out of the house by 8am and school pickups where you have to fight for a carpark. Oh the joys.

But the one positive. At least my house will stay cleaner for longer.

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Happy Easter

I'm not sure I'll have a chance to blog again this weekend as we have a busy couple of days coming up but I wanted to quickly share a few more of our Easter projects we've had fun with this week.

I've got lots of inspiration from Bianca over at A Little Delightful for some great craft and baking ideas. Check out her blog, it's just 'delightful'

We made these gorgeous Easter bunny faces which were so easy and the kids had a blast making them.

All you need is some paper plates, pink paper, white cardboard, felt (which I used for the bunnies eyes) pipe cleaners, cotton balls, glue and a pen. Oh and of course four human feet.

Check it out.











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And you have two gorgeous bunnies. I think Blake's bunny needs to see an optometrist don't you?





How cute are these little easter egg chicks. The boys just thought these were hilarious. I used peppercorns for their eyes and carrot for their beaks but you can also use black sesame seeds as eyes.


We also made a batch of Easter egg biscuits. Once again so much fun for the kids and super easy. You can get really creative and make your own egg shaped biscuits but we cheated and just used Milk Arrowroots.












We've never really got in to easter in the past as much as we have this year. As the kids get older and more aware it's a lot more fun to celebrate these holidays. Sure I know it's mostly just a commercial load of you know what but while the kids are still young and innocent its fun to do these kind of things. Especially now that Cooper is at school and actually has a holiday for easter it's nice to make a big deal of it if you're not going away.

We even had a little Easter display in the house this year.



And I just had to share these last two photos of my gorgeous little bunnies.

Gosh I love these two cutie pies.








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Location:Happy Easter