Gorgeous Hubby & I were gifted a dinner, accommodation & breakfast package at Jamberoo Valley Lodge by 3 couples for our combined 40th birthdays earlier this year. We finally had the opportunity to use it last night!
Oma (Ray's mum) came to our place for a sleepover with the kids (our friends did offer to billet them between them but mother in law was available & wanting to mind them) so off we went.
We were the only guests at the lodge so instead of seating us in the big restaurant & having us feel uncomfortable, the thoughtful staff pushed lounges aside & set up a dining table in front of the log fire. It was a beautiful way to have our delicious 3 course dinner. Of course, with a couple of bottles of wine! And the drizzly weather added to the atmosphere.
Breakfast was the same set up except the fire wasn't lit(and coffee instead of wine). Nice & peaceful, freshly cooked bacon & eggs after toast & fruit, with no worries about kids spilling drinks or not eating up!
A delightful and rare night away. After recently clicking over 18 years of marriage, I think it was well earned too!
So a big big THANK YOU to Lisa & Zvonko, Bek & John, and Lisa & Dave for this wonderful opportunity for some time to ourselves!
xoxo
Friday, June 4, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
A Swimming Breakthrough?
I don't want to get my hopes up prematurely but today was the first swimming lesson in which Missy Megan ALMOST cracked a smile! Almost, but not quite! It was also only the second lesson in which she didn't cry - I think she was close at one stage but was brave enough to keep it at bay.
She is learning to trust her teacher - the fabulous Louise at Shellharbour Swim Academy......today she was happy to be led around on a noodle & is VERY SLOWLY working her way up to jumping in. Louise has a lot of patience & doesn't get frustrated at all, instead she is thanking me for perservering with Megan! My take on it is that Megan needs to learn to swim. Get over it kiddo! (She has been in lessons with Louise since Feb).
Missy Megan is so funny to watch - all the other kids do the jumping in & the running on the floating mat followed by a jump in but not Missy Megan. Oh no way! She will sit on her bottom so she has to be dragged off the edge of the pool onto the mat & then slides across it, usually crying all the way. With lots of encouragement we got her to a crouch on the side of the pool today - a step towards standing to jump in!
Today saw a different Megan. Let's hope this one is here to stay......
What were your kids like when they were learning to swim?
Cheers,
Karen xx
She is learning to trust her teacher - the fabulous Louise at Shellharbour Swim Academy......today she was happy to be led around on a noodle & is VERY SLOWLY working her way up to jumping in. Louise has a lot of patience & doesn't get frustrated at all, instead she is thanking me for perservering with Megan! My take on it is that Megan needs to learn to swim. Get over it kiddo! (She has been in lessons with Louise since Feb).
Missy Megan is so funny to watch - all the other kids do the jumping in & the running on the floating mat followed by a jump in but not Missy Megan. Oh no way! She will sit on her bottom so she has to be dragged off the edge of the pool onto the mat & then slides across it, usually crying all the way. With lots of encouragement we got her to a crouch on the side of the pool today - a step towards standing to jump in!
Today saw a different Megan. Let's hope this one is here to stay......
What were your kids like when they were learning to swim?
Cheers,
Karen xx
Monday, May 31, 2010
Entertaining our 2 Year-Old......
I know as a Mum, I am often racking my brain, trying to think up ways to entertain our 2 year old daughter Megan.
I thought I would share with you some of the things we have done in the past few weeks.....
* Made a snowman from home made playdough
* Attended storytime followed by a sing & dance session at a local library (courtesy of Kidsfest Shellharbour 2010)
* Made a greenhouse at a Bunnings DIY workshop (again, courtesy of Kidsfest)
* Cutting out pictures from the junk mail (great recycling!) & gluing them on to paper (Megan has yet to learn that you usually glue the back of the picture, not the front!)
* Splashed in puddles in the rain
I would love to hear some of the ideas you have for entertaining your youngsters!
Cheers,
Karen xx
I thought I would share with you some of the things we have done in the past few weeks.....
* Made a snowman from home made playdough
* Attended storytime followed by a sing & dance session at a local library (courtesy of Kidsfest Shellharbour 2010)
* Made a greenhouse at a Bunnings DIY workshop (again, courtesy of Kidsfest)
* Cutting out pictures from the junk mail (great recycling!) & gluing them on to paper (Megan has yet to learn that you usually glue the back of the picture, not the front!)
* Splashed in puddles in the rain
I would love to hear some of the ideas you have for entertaining your youngsters!
Cheers,
Karen xx
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Reminder to my Family......
Hi!
Just a couple of quick reminders to the eldest two of the three males who live in this house about how this household runs efficiently.
If I made teenage son strip off his school uniform yesterday evening so I could wash it before I go went work so it is clean for today, you needed to put it in the drier whilst I was at work. It did not dry itself. Lazy school uniform. I am now behind already in today's washing, meaning my work uniform will not be washied & dried in time for me to wear it tonight unless I use the drier again. Do you really want another $620 electricity bill when we still owe them $350 from the last one?
If, when you leave the house to go & buy pizza for dinner & the kitchen is a mess of dirty dishes when you leave, but nice & clean when you return, it means I have unpacked & repacked the dishwasher so all you have to do is add the dinner plates (only 2 kids use plates for pizza) & cups (3 kids = 3 cups) to the dishwasher & turn it on. It's an amazing machine - it actually washes & dries the dishes for us. And it's really easy to turn on. 3 buttons. I know I am talented, but my talents do not extend so far as to be able to finish loading it & switch it on from work.
I know these are only trivial things in the grand scale of life & if this is all I have to complain about, I must have a pretty good life, but it's a bit like the old battle about the toilet seat being left up or down & the toothpaste lid being on or off.
Pick your battles. Does it really matter? Um.....No. Hence, it is on my blog instead of a "battle" in my home. It's easy enough to fix. Tell them before I go that it needs to be done - then I can tell them off when they forget! As also happens!
Hope your day runs smoothly today!
Cheers,
Karen xx
Just a couple of quick reminders to the eldest two of the three males who live in this house about how this household runs efficiently.
If I made teenage son strip off his school uniform yesterday evening so I could wash it before I go went work so it is clean for today, you needed to put it in the drier whilst I was at work. It did not dry itself. Lazy school uniform. I am now behind already in today's washing, meaning my work uniform will not be washied & dried in time for me to wear it tonight unless I use the drier again. Do you really want another $620 electricity bill when we still owe them $350 from the last one?
If, when you leave the house to go & buy pizza for dinner & the kitchen is a mess of dirty dishes when you leave, but nice & clean when you return, it means I have unpacked & repacked the dishwasher so all you have to do is add the dinner plates (only 2 kids use plates for pizza) & cups (3 kids = 3 cups) to the dishwasher & turn it on. It's an amazing machine - it actually washes & dries the dishes for us. And it's really easy to turn on. 3 buttons. I know I am talented, but my talents do not extend so far as to be able to finish loading it & switch it on from work.
I know these are only trivial things in the grand scale of life & if this is all I have to complain about, I must have a pretty good life, but it's a bit like the old battle about the toilet seat being left up or down & the toothpaste lid being on or off.
Pick your battles. Does it really matter? Um.....No. Hence, it is on my blog instead of a "battle" in my home. It's easy enough to fix. Tell them before I go that it needs to be done - then I can tell them off when they forget! As also happens!
Hope your day runs smoothly today!
Cheers,
Karen xx
Friday, May 14, 2010
Late Night Radar
I swear our Miss Megan must have a "Mummy's going to bed now radar" or something! So many times I have come in from work, spent an hour catching up with what's happening in the Bloggers' and Facebookers' worlds, then am just about to pack up and go to bed and Miss Megan wakes up! About 1 or 2 am! It has happened again tonight (well, this morning - it is almost 2:30am Sat morning).I need to be up and "with it" in 6 hours so need some sleep very soon. I wonder what it is with her? It's not like I am noisy.....perhaps she simply enjoys my company!
Do any of your kids have any quirks like this?
Cheers,
Karen xx
Do any of your kids have any quirks like this?
Cheers,
Karen xx
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
What Makes Me Smile
I have lots of reasons to smile and I do smile a lot.
Today's biggest smile so far is sponsored by our 2 year old Miss Megan for very few tears in this morning's swimming lesson. And she even had a substitute teacher! Have we finally turned that corner? We thought so a few weeks ago, but maybe that was just a practice run.....
Please share what has made you smile today - however big or small.
Cheers,
Karen xx
Today's biggest smile so far is sponsored by our 2 year old Miss Megan for very few tears in this morning's swimming lesson. And she even had a substitute teacher! Have we finally turned that corner? We thought so a few weeks ago, but maybe that was just a practice run.....
Please share what has made you smile today - however big or small.
Cheers,
Karen xx
Nup! I've Got Nothing.....
Sitting here trying to think of something witty, funny or entertaining to write about, but alas, I HAVE NOTHING!! Is this what they call writer's block?! Yeah, lika I am a serious writer.....BAHAHAHAHA!!
Another week has flown by with the usual goings on......family, the school run, work, washing, cleaning, shopping, running out of stuff & having to go to the shops again.....and today was another special Tuesday = Grandma Day. Am enjoying a nice quiet night at home (a night off from work!)and neglecting to mop my floors, figuring they can wait until Thursday which is my next evening at home (unless I get called in to work).
Tomorrow brings a swimming lesson for Miss Megan followed by some meat shopping (often marked down on Wednesdays where I shop)then it will be time to catch up on sorting the folded clean washing & doing some more washing! The never ending cycle. I remember asking my aunty (married with 4 kids) about 30 years ago if she really washed clothes every day. I just couldn't get my head around it! I'm sure Aunty Moya felt that most days she was tied to the washing machine! I'm sure we all feel like that sometimes!
And for today, that's all I've got!
Cheers!
Karen xx
Another week has flown by with the usual goings on......family, the school run, work, washing, cleaning, shopping, running out of stuff & having to go to the shops again.....and today was another special Tuesday = Grandma Day. Am enjoying a nice quiet night at home (a night off from work!)and neglecting to mop my floors, figuring they can wait until Thursday which is my next evening at home (unless I get called in to work).
Tomorrow brings a swimming lesson for Miss Megan followed by some meat shopping (often marked down on Wednesdays where I shop)then it will be time to catch up on sorting the folded clean washing & doing some more washing! The never ending cycle. I remember asking my aunty (married with 4 kids) about 30 years ago if she really washed clothes every day. I just couldn't get my head around it! I'm sure Aunty Moya felt that most days she was tied to the washing machine! I'm sure we all feel like that sometimes!
And for today, that's all I've got!
Cheers!
Karen xx
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