I didn’t win Mum of the year today, that was yesterday!

So today I had one of those awful Mum experiences that linger with you for awhile as you wonder how to react better next time.
Nearly every day after school we hang around the school playground while waiting for the crazy car park to clear out. Several other mums and their kids do the same and my kids beg to play on the playground each day. Sam is feeling very comfortable in the school now and often runs off to different places in the school, often without my knowing. Today he did this. I thought he was on the playground which was full of kids, and so I was happily chatting to other Mums around me. I looked up to see Sam running towards me with a not so happy Mum asking if he was my child. She then proceeded to tell me that he had been standing by the road at the front of the school for several minutes and whacking her child….ouch! That’s for my ego not for her child! Ouch again for that!
So the thing that I’m beating myself up about is my response or lack of! I was surprised that Sam wasn’t on the playground (we were at opposite end of school to the road), I was shocked at the severity of the situation, and embarrassed that this other Mum was obviously not impressed with my lack of care of Sam which had also caused her child to beaten up by my child….ouch, ouch, ouch….oh my pride as a Mum really took a whalloping…so my response to this Mum was “OK!” That is pretty much all I said. I’m guessing that Mum was thinking not very happy thoughts about me as she walked off and I have to say I’ve spent the rest of the afternoon wondering what I could have said instead of ‘OK!’
First of all I was defensive and when the other Mums commented on how aggressive she was I agreed that she was a bit self righteous, even though she had a point! I also went straight for the ‘none of us is perfect line’ which the other Mums wholeheartedly agreed with…. However I feel bad for not at least saying 2 things to this other Mum which may not have changed her opinion of me but would have left me feeling better at end of day. I could have said ” thanks for bringing him back to me and not leaving him unattended” and i could have said “sorry he hit your child.”
I hope there is not a next time, but if there is, I hope I can think quicker on my feet. And as for Sam, tomorrow he will be sitting next to me while the other two get to play on the playground….I wonder if you will be able to hear him roar!

Entering an era I have been resisting…

Today was the start of a new chapter in our family. Today was a day I had been dreading for awhile, but also knew had to start because I knew how much joy it would bring to one member of our family. Today we went to Auskick. At the 11th hour we enrolled him because I knew how much he would enjoy it…and he LOVED it! Running around, kicking a ball, wearing a footy jumper, then finishing with some fruit and a back pack full goodies to take home…what more could one little 5 year old want?

The upside for me was that we were in Perth rather than Melbourne so it wasn’t cold, it still rained a little bit, but it wasn’t cold!

Going for a drive…

We decided as we had a whole Saturday with no committments in it to go for a drive. I  grabbed out the National Park booklet and we decided on a park just south of Mandurah called Yalgorep National Park. It boasted of thrombolites which are living fossils and are a rare occurence in Australia. So we plugged in the name of the park into our GPS and off we trundled with our packed lunch and balls to kick around.

Well our not so trusty GPS dutifully took us to the boundary of the park and we found ourselves on a one lane sand track driving adjacent to sand dunes. There were no signs apart from the old wooden sign at the turn off from main road stating that it was a National Park. We drove for 5-10 minutes on a 4WD only track and ended up heading over a massive dune onto a beach with pretty wild surf, some surfers and really soft sand. The kids were panicking by this stage thinking we were going to drive into the water and Sam was yelling at Dale “please stop Daddy!” I was impressed he said ‘please!’ Once on the beach Dale and I debated our options, keep driving up to Preston Beach,not knowing if it was accessible or how far it was, or turn around and head back over scary dune! We were ill prepared for 4WDing…especially on sand. We had no shovel, rope, winch, snatch strap and the tyres need replacing. We also did not have an air compressor to re inflate the tyres which Dale had to decompress just to get over the dune! There was some tension among us to say the least! We found another group of happy 4WDers who were camped further up the beach and Dale quizzed them for info….no we should not proceed up the beach unless a) we had better tyres; b) we were travelling with another car (in case we got stuck) and c) we should know when low tide is to allow best chance of getting through to an exit point! We had none of above!

So the kids and I got out of the car while Dale easily drove over scary sand dune (kids and I would probably be only people to find it scary, but seeing as we had a frightening roll over in 4WD last year it is understandable!). So happily driving out of bumpy sand track on flattish tyres Dale states that we need petrol and soon. (He left home with a 1/4 tank and then happily started bagging me for bringing him offroad completely ill prepared…very funny Dale!)

So we plug into our not so trusty GPS the nearest petrol station which it states is 3km away. We get there and there is a shell of a petrol station! The next BP station (even better than any old station) is 6km further on…6km later there is no petrol pump to be seen. We are not far from Preston Beach town at this point but we are really running on empty…and on flattish tyres…so Dale gets me to count down the kilometres to the township to get to a diesel pump! We MADE it! As I’m telling our little tale to the man who owns the store he says ‘you sound like the Griswolds. Your kids won’t want to go anywhere with you!’ Thanks mate.

So then Dale starts whinging about the fact that he has to pay to put air back in his tyres ‘at least it is going to charity’ he says!

Then it starts to rain!

So we are sitting at Preston Beach, eating our sandwiches (Abi had been complaining about how hungry she was for past hour), kicking the biggish ants away and we decided that it would be really nice to come back with all the right equipment and drive on the beach between the two points…oneday.

Our next mission was to find those thrombolites…after getting some lengthy instructions from the man at the petrol station we found it…Can I say that signage in this state is rubbish…nothing is signposted for tourists…but we found them…

Kids weren’t too impressed…but Dale and I know that today was one of those days that we will laugh about for a long time!

A family outing

We decided to take the kids ten pin bowling today. A special deal came up at the local bowling alley that seemed to good to refuse and off we went! I was impressed that they had kids shoes to fit Sam’s feet, the gutter guards were up on all the alleys and there were ramps everywhere for the younguns to roll their balls off!

We each got our shoes and then the kids were off in all directions. Sam was the most entertaining as he walked into other people’s game areas, climbed over the backs of chairs and constantly tried to throw a ball down the lane regardless of whether it was his turn or not! When he wasn’t causing havoc on the playing area he was sitting on the car games with steering wheels madly driving the car.

Johnny spent most of the time complaining that he wanted to be playing the car games that Sam kept running off to until we gave hims long spiel about how we were there to play bowls and how we spent so much money to give them this treat and how we should just be thankful for what we are given….have you heard this before….after awhile I told Johnny that if he mentioned the car game one more time then he was sitting in the car. Five minutes later (and we must have been up to round five by now) he said while sitting next to me “I REALLY want to play that car game….” then he turned to me and said “Oh, I’m talking to myself Mum!” Well what could I say to that!

Johnny was doing quite well with the ball and quickly passed my score (I’m pretty rubbish at bowling, although I do fancy my footwork up to bowling release to be pretty good!), so with Dale, Johnny and myself leading Abi was getting upset that she was not doing so well. A few balls knocking no pins over while the rest of us were getting spares. We then had the whole “it’s not about winning conversation, it’s about having fun!” Meanwhile Sam was happily throwing balls down the ramp and jumping up and down with joy and yelling out “yay” often before the ball hit the pins.

Halfway through the match Abi started improving and overtaking our scores (except Dale’s). So then after a couple of spares and a strike I started getting grumpy as I was constantly rolling the ball off to one side and not getting better so I was self talking myself the whole ‘its about participation and having fun lecture’ which Dale found completely amusing! So at the end when Dale won and Abi came second she was completely excited (fair enough) and telling Johnny (who wasn’t particularly fussed with where he was placed) that “it is not about winning Johnny but about having fun”

When is too far, too far?

When I lived in Seabrook I loved that I could be anywhere I needed to be within 20 minutes, by foot or car. Mostly on foot! I walked to school as much as I could, walked the kids to kinder within 5 minutes, several friends houses were within 5-10 minutes walk and Skeleton Creek with its peaceful ambience was 10 minutes when I needed a breather… shops were 5 minutes drive and the pool and doc were the same…I rarely drove to neighbouring suburbs as I found it a hassle in the car, contemplating traffic lights (not a fan) and congestion!!! Stressful!

However since moving to Perth our fuel bill has doubled…we are 15-40min drive from everything  except a small shopping centre, the beach and school, and I am in the car everyday! 20 mins to church, playgroup, swimming lessons, 30 mins to work (for Dale and myself), 15 mins to kindy. If I want shops other than Big W, Coles and Woolworths (which I keep calling Safeway and getting strange looks!), we have to drive 20-30 mins (not including 15 minutes to Freo which I just steer clear of because parking is a nightmare and you have to pay to park once you have found one!!! So I haven’t been to Target since I left Melbourne (which is OK as I had put myself on a ban from buying their products, which I wasn’t keeping very well in Melbourne!)

Anyway I’m getting used to being in the car all the time and then have been contemplating how far is ok to travel for a weekend. Recently we had some dear friends from Melbourne over and we went to visit another dear friends parents at their farm in the wheatbelt. It took us two hours to get there and we felt like we were in the middle of nowhere, which I bluntly told them (sorry N & S!). Anyway we also headed down south with our friends which was a 3 hour drive (not a short drive to me and not one I would choose to do unless I had a long weekend in mind). So at a birthday party yesterday I got chatting to a Mum who has lived in Perth for a long time now (originally born in Williamstown though) and she told me that people choose to go south because anything up north is too far, and Marg River and surrounds (3 hours  away) is nice and close… HAAA I don’t think so!

She then proceeded to tell me that her Mum lives in Cervantes and that she will travel up there (2 hours) in an evening and come back the same evening just for dinner…I’m sorry…but to me that is just too far! If I end up staying here for a while, I wonder if I will think that nicking down south for the weekend is a great idea, or heading up north 2 hours for a dinner date is fine? What do you think?

The verdict on the Birthday Cake!

I awoke at 6am this morning to strong wind and a very dark and gloomy view outside. I instantly knew that the party that I had planned to have at the park with the playground as entertainment was not going to happen! The only other venue it could happen in was our house which was not clean or tidy. Hence the maniacal rampage began (apart from the five minutes of complete sweetness that drooled out of me singing happy birthday to Sam when he awoke and stumbled out in his sleepy stupor). Then it was barking orders and rushing around like a lunatic until 8.30 am when we all sat down in the lounge room to wrap the impromptu pass the parcel present with the mandatory chocolate coin taped to each layer! Thank goodness for my never ending supply of small gifts I have stashed in my chest…they have been a Godsend on many an occasion!
Anyhow as we sat down the massive cracks of thunder started and poor Sammy kept asking me to make it stop. He was not happy and would not leave my side. Then the rain started and was blown about by the wind so everything under cover got wet and we had to shut all the windows. The roads were horrific which was not fun for the poor people driving to our house, and the power also went out for about an hour so I was making tea and coffee by boiling water on the gas top stove! What fun! We played musical statues (always love watching kids dance or jump as they invariably do), ate, played pass the parcel (by now the power had come back on so we didn’t have to use iPhone to play music) and then after cake the kids had a lovely splash in our new impulse buy splash pool which is much bigger than I thought when I bought it! So in all everyone had a lovely time and Sam is now snoozing on his back on the floor with his mouth open, I believe that is fair indication of a satisfied little boy!
Now, to the cake…. After travelling to (30 min away) to collect the bits and pieces I needed to create the racing car cake, this is what I came up with… It’s not as professional as the women’s weekly cakes but I was pretty impressed with myself and it tastes pretty darn good….

The stress of birthday parties

I love to bake. I will have a go at most things and love to eat my baking too. From cakes to slices and desserts i will have a go. However there is one thing that makes me uneasy… decorating or making ehat i have made look pretty! I have been really blessed in the last few years to have an amazing friend who I have struck up a very important bargain with. I would bake the cakes for hers and my kids….no problem, Anna would decorate the cakes…no joke…I had the easy part. But she loves it and boy did she make some rippers! A mermaid underwater scene replicating Ariel for my daughter, a bob the builder hat and pinata for my eldest son. The best one by far was the beloved 4 WD and camper trailer she constructed for my husband not long after i irreparably wrecked his beloved car!
So my youngest sons birthday is on Friday and I’m starting to think about the cake…and sweating over it! Problem is I moved away, so bargain is now off! What am I going to do?!
The request has come in for a car cake do I have gone to the trusty women’s weekly book and looked at their cars cake

Am I up to the task? I don’t know….johnny has already asked if Anna can make his birthday cake next month because “Mummy, you aren’t very good at birthday cakes” hmmmm need to redeem myself here….will keep you posted!