H o T Bottles

HEADS & TAILS -
HEADS :Bottle

YES...we 'CAN' all just get along!" ... except the theme was Bottle.
I saw a similar picture somewhere ...this one is my own.
I found the Pepsi bottle dirty somewhere ? and I think we bought the old fashioned Coke bottle.
I don't really collect bottles but I liked these.

I have never been party to the Coke vs Pepsi wars.

I can take or leave either. I gave both up when I was pregnant with both Charlotte & my twins.

I was determined I wouldn't give my twins any 'Cola' - I didn't factor on them getting a taste from their brother or some other. They love it *sigh*. It will be a very rare treat.

I rarely drink the stuff but coincidentally today I was hot and thirsty for something COLD icy & sweet after spending a few hours in the park with some friends and walking about . It was hot out.

'It' ~Coke~ was cold and inviting , mocking me from my Dh's work fridge- so I gave in. It was good but it did make me burp that horrible post lunch burp... through my nose. Then I came home and saw the Heads or Tails meme.

I thought about those two bottles side by side in my almost empty wine rack *sigh* ... haven't had time to refill it.

They sat along side some empty Corona bottles I want to make into salt n pepper shakers ...sometime in next dozen years.

So I grabbed a Pepsi can from a hidden stash of Pepsi (Hidden from the Teen) just to play along. The Pepsi was hot ...did I drink it . I think not ...one can of that sweet stuff a day is enough for my bottom line.
I refilled the can, put in the fridge to cool and I gave to my teenager tonight ... I bet he was wondering why and yes if I let him drink it we 'can' just get along fine.

♥

Never miss a post

Heads and tails - Shake

HEADS & TAILS - the theme this week is

HEADS :Shake -
I am thinking inside the box today with this mosaic

1. dog2, 2. Kayleigh in mid-shake, 3. IMG_9443 copy_4x6, 4. Never, EVER Shake a Baby!, 5. Like Water off a Scrub-Jay, 6. CAPODANNO-3.jpg, 7. chocolate Oreo shake with whipped cream & chocolate drizzle, 8. Shake, 9. Salt-N-Pepa

This is cute ...

Seriously - Never shake a baby please check the link

♥

Never miss a post

Screwup Tuesday

Image via WikipediaScrewup Tuesday ...

Today, I cleaned my room *gasp*. I then spent time catching up on my blogging buddies (after we went to playgroup) .
Before this ... we got ready early for a change -only to be held up as I was walking out the door by phone ringing.S & J cried as we were at the front door. I thought it may have been my friend, who I just got off the phone to, so I answered it... was the accountant's assistant. Urgent !

SU 1 - someone forgot to include stuff for the accountant or she lost it ???

Office 2007 - Excel crashed on me. I had to find some info for her -so had to wait for it to re-boot . The Brother's took the opportunity with my lapse in judgement while I was busy to trash my room, pull the books from the shelves read a book from my library ... one or other of them , shredded and unraveled the toilet paper and threw our toothbrushes on the floor (I hope not in the toilet) also pulling out all my neatly packed away clothes ...a few other things too.

SU 2 - I forgot to lock S & J in the family room with me -where my computer is.

I was really angry when I saw the mess ...

SU 3 - I felt really bad for yelling at them. I honestly did... Off to Playgroup we went they were happy.

They had Chocolate mousse and cupcakes for mums at playgroup ... mmm .I felt a bit better I know I will be more careful next time - especially not to yell at them or leave the gate open.


Lately, it has been a challenge finding time to visit as many people as I would like to and often as I'd like. Finally , I finished a few projects (tax)

The last few months I feel like I am always playing catch-up with my housework emails, comments and replies and just keeping in touch with friends.

'Real life' it gets in the way of my 'virtual' one. I am feeling overwhelmed and I am sorry if I have missed getting to you. Please come back ...

Heads
Any Tom , Dick or Harry
See more over at Skittles place or new HEADS *OR* TAILS

Feeling a bit frivolous ...

ah Tom
( I know I showed you him last week but I am pushed for time and he is first Tom who comes to mind)

Dick

Hmmm I just can't Google it and well honestly what kind of name is that ...I did think of one but I can't put his picture of my blog but I do remember as a child snickering over * Dick * the fearless leader of the Famous Five and his sister, Fanny. I was very fond of the Famous Five.

and last of all

Harry -who else

I 'll be back tomorrow ... maybe feeling a bit more organised.

Screw up 4- I told my husband I would be in bed before midnight ... haha he said ... he was right !

Never miss a post

Menu Planning & Mother's HoT Tips

7 Mother's HoT Tips - flip a coin LOL

1.The Perfect Mother's way:
Stuff miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice-cream drips.

The Busy Mum's way: Just suck the ice-cream out of the bottom of the cone for Pete's sake. You are probably lying on the couch with your feet up eating it anyway!!

2.The Perfect Mother's:
To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.

Busy Mum's: Buy a packet of DEB (instant potato flakes) and keep it in the cupboard for up to a year.

3.The Perfect Mother's:
When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking tin, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won't be any white mess on the outside of the cake.

Busy Mum's: Woolworth sell cakes. They even do decorated versions.

4.The Perfect Mother's:
If you accidentally over salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a potato slice.

Busy Mum's: If you over salt a dish while you are cooking, tough! Recite the working Mum's motto: "I made it and you will eat it and I don't care how bad it tastes!"

5.The Perfect Mother's:
Wrap celery in aluminium foil when putting it in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.

Busy Mum's: It could keep forever. Who eats it??

6.The Perfect Mother's:
Cure for headaches. Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.

Busy Mother's: Cure for headaches. Take a lime, cut it in half and drop it in a double vodka. Drink the vodka. You might still have the headache, but you won't care!


AND FINALLY, THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP..
7. Perfect Mother's:
Freeze leftover wine into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.

Busy Mum's: Left over wine??? HELLO!!!????

I like the Busy Mum's headache and casserole tips best!!

My hot tip ... go and buy a bottle of South Eastern Australian Shiraz tomorrow and there won't be any left for the casserole. Cheers!!!

(ps this is not original but I adapted it to suit from an email - feel free to steal and share)

see more HoT's at Skittles Place

---

I was in a sombre mood yesterday after posting about Randy. Gosh, I want to live life to the full but also be mindful of using my time & money wisely.

Yesterday was


No that's not my Menu Plan ...wish they were my desserts though!

Last week we pretty much stuck to the menu plan but we did eat out one night -when the teen had a sleep over ( that saves a lot of money LOL and the Brothers had leftover Bolognaise and shared some of our dinner). Sunday~ we got Roast Beef at my Brother's house.

Tuesday : BBQ Satay Marinated Chicken Thighs in Satay Sauce and Jasmine Rice, steamed beans & peas (for J) (it was delicious)

Wednesday: Spaghetti Bolognaise one of my family's favorite meal - everyone eats this (complete with hidden grated carrots/zucchini/mushrooms and red Lentils -I am really sneaky.)

Thursday:Chicken Schnitzel, steamed potato and vegetable (plus rice side dish and peas for J - he likes peas)

Friday:Cellobella's Favourite Pasta (Toddler version leftover Bolognaise sauce)

Saturday: Takeaway Pizza ... using $4.95 coupons ??? or I might try making my own pizza dough and my own

Sunday : Roast Lamb,mint jelly & gravy , roast potatoes/pumpkin and lots of steamed vegetables .We will have a family dinner with my brother, his family and my Mother - it's our turn!

Monday :I am hoping to buy some fresh fish ...grill or crumb and shallow fry to have with oven wedges and salad.

see more Menus and even some recipes @ I am an Organising Junkie.
Hooray - she has homemade Chicken pizza recipe ...I just discovered .

Did you ever wonder ?

Wonder or Wander


So have you ever wondered

do you wonder how you get rid of stains like this ...

caused by climbing up on cupboards and stealing mummy's stash of this

do you wonder how do you reduce time spent on this ?

so you can spend time on you !

Well wonder no more - wander on over to Kate@ Picklebums .Kate is trying to get organised, like me, and she asked a question on Organise ‘08 - Laundry!

Then the wonderful and super organised Mommy Bee wrote this brilliant post to help us all get organised on Laundry day

Now if I can just keep my chocolate stash away from the little monkey(s)!

Don't forget to visit Skittle's for more HoT 's

Heads or Tails .... beginning with P

This morning as my husband left for work I observed this P ... not used on pee or poo but played with.

No ,it wasn't on my watch ...he left the door open. Yesterday they got into both bathrooms but the paper was near the end of the roll. No such chance today.

At least they didn't throw it in the bathtub of water like last week.That would have p'd me off.

Love is

My first Hottie in a long time ... brought to us by Skittles

Love is ...

A sunrise shared with the one you love

Flowers from a special friend

Pussy cats & teddy bears

Desserts - just stressed spelled backwards

Unconditional Love

Cheeky little Monkeys

Family

Watching them grow from this

to this

and this

It all started with a kiss


Most of all ♥ is ...

I could add another dozen things but it is way past my bedtime ... and I do love my bed.

Heads or Tails .... Water

Skittles said "This is a true HEADS or TAILS week as the choices are HEADS - Anything in the sky or space *OR* TAILS - Anything in or under the water".
Swim over to Skittles place to see more ...I chose TAILS



I couldn't resist - babies in the bath are my favourite thing ... along with many plastic boats, crabs, turtles, fish, and a duck or two. S & J love their bath too.

Heads or Tails .... Three

Skittles has chosen Three this week.
I will try to keep it short (er)

1. I have three memes I have been tagged for that are a work in progress ... I will try (tri) to finish in the next three weeks.
2. I have three sons ... two of my sons have three names (not including their surnames)
   
3. The genie gives three wishes ...I am not sure about the limit on Santa's wish list but I received this email today .I already saw it posted on a parenting forum and I was going to use it. So please take three minutes to read and enjoy ...
   

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mum all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor, sold (eaten) sixty-two cases (152 bars) of chocolate bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground (playgroup toys). I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any colour, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child (twins) out of the lolly aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last(twin) pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, 'Yes, Mummy' to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting 'Don't eat in the living room' and 'Take your hands off your brother,' because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare tomato sauce a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer (button) on the dryer is ringing(broken) and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always, MUM...!

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children happy, healthy and always believing

4. I read tonight about using the 1.2..3... countdown to discipline

1. Mummy is getting a little cross
2. Mummy is crosser
3. Mummy is really cross Ok ... timeout.

(Comments are my own ... )

Problem is the babies can't count and the only place for safe timeout is the cot ... hubby said won't it make them confused about the cot?
.... I said the naughty chair/mat ? (we need three). I said it works for the Super Nanny. Then he said I bet she uses the wooden spoon in the commercials.

We are still working on this one...

5.Three babies = triplets ... I cannot imagine it . The last three weeks I have been minding another little 1 yr old boy for an hour or so (once a week). He is very quiet but having three little toddlers is nerve racking.
Go check a few triplet blogs if you think your have it hard. I do on a bad day and I come away ... grateful for my double delight (ful).

6. Less than Three weeks to Christmas day

Heads or Tails .... Mark

Skittles has picked Mark as the theme or prompt for this week

Mark ... my first thought was finger marks ... S & J and the way they mark their territory ... me (my clothes) everyday with their fingers and face to claim me as their mummy.

Vegemite , olive oil margarine , sticky Nutra grain fingers , yogurt etc etc.

Someone once told me they white clothing was BC (before children) but I don't learn.

Then of course making their mark ....(marks) all over the lounge, windows and mirror doors (on holidays) they loved to kiss themselves and then in the ruin they leave behind or scribbles on the wall. We still haven't washed it off after weeks.



Of course we all want to get good marks in exams , and when the end of year reports come out I have no doubt about the marks of our eldest ... I know he struggles with learning,yet he refuses to lift a finger to study.The marks will be low.*sigh*(next year will be different)

I also thought of Mark Holden ... he was a 'hottie' once in 70's yes I am showing my age ...now he is an Australian Idol judge. Mark made his mark once and now he judges 1000's of other young hopefuls trying to make their mark, and become the next Australian Idol.

Never SAY Never ...Head Or Tails

This weeks theme from Skittles is NEVER say NEVER...

1. Well I never thought I would be blogging and addicted to it with a passion .
2. Never that I would meet so many interesting, brilliant , witty, caring and amazing people on the Internet ~some of whom have become dear friends IRL or extended to personal emails & phone calls.
   
3. Never that I would marry such a wonderful man.
4. Never that I would have problems conceiving.
5. Never that I would adopt.
6. Never that I would fall pregnant after 12 yrs infertility
7. Never that my baby would die before she was born ... though admittedly I had great fears about it. That I can never talk about.
   
8. Never ever would I fall pregnant again .
9. Never would IVF work.
10. Never ever would I be blessed with not one but TWINS .
11. Never that so many people would stop me and talk to me or tell me how cute my twins sons are or ask me about them. This still amazes me because I never would.
    
12. Never would I be able breastfeed for 17 months and still going strong.
13. Never would people be interested in my blog (I hope some of you are).
14. Never would I manage the NaBloPoMo and here we are 2/3 of the way through.
15. Never would I be tagged for a Taggy post ... thanks I am working on it.
16. Never would I read this list of 75 Ways to Increase Your Site’s Traffic.LOL it has some great tips .
    
17. Never would it matter to me so much to increase my traffic.
18. Never ever would I admit I am often wrong ... ssshhh don't tell my husband ... because never have I been so wrong about all these things.
19. Well I like the idea of Never Never land in Peter Pan ... I wish my babies could stay little a little longer but of course I can never wait for the next stage of development. Just so I can shameless brag about their achievements.
    
20. I loved the book We of the Never Never.I even visited the replica homestead and area where Jeannie Gunn lived in Northern Territory. Never thought I would.
    
21. NEVER have I not had the last word ...even if it is muttered under my breath.
    
22. I bet you thought I would never shut up about 'NEVER say NEVER' EVER !

AND Go to Skittles' Place to join in the fun!

Heads or Tails .... V words Villians, Vincent van Gogh or vandals

Today's theme for H OR T meme is Vote or V words .

I was thinking there are not that many V words.
Vote ... I voted not to use vote~ there is a big Federal (Australia wide) Election looming and I am over the politics already. I have no idea which way to vote. so I won't bore you with this.

V- there is vacation which we are shortly to be taking. A kind of work on the way vacation.

Venture - we are venturing to the North and will see many stunning views. Vigour - I hope it renews our vigour and we come back revitalised. We have both been very tired in our vocations.

Variety - along the way we will eat a vast variety of vivers (hopefully not too much takeway) and do a variety of activities.

I hope I am not too Vinolent - (addicted to wine) we might not see many vines unless we return via the vineyards.
This year has all but vanished.Christmas is almost here .Soon S & J will be due for their Varicella vaccination and then nothing till they start school ... scary huh !

This morning I let the terrors out of my view briefly ... come on you say - you did what ?

Later S handed me a blunt lead pencil ... I snatched it away quickly and put it out of reach ... too late!
The little villain (or villains) or would you rather I say vandals, or framing it positively > mini Vincent van Goghs ... did this along the hallway walls.


find more V words here and other Heads & Tails here at Skittles Place

Heads Or Tails # 2 ...

Ten things I love about my twin sons

1. their little hands reaching up to me when they want some lovin' and the way they snuggle in now and hug me back


2. when I watch them playing together


3. their baby talk to me and each other


4. their laughs and squeals of delight when we push them high on the swings


5. their smiles when I pick them up after a nap


6. marvelling every day at their new language acquistion -especially when I say "give me that .... back now"


7. their giggles when we play peek a boo or hide n seek


8. the way they get so excited to see daddy or their big brother come home


9. the new cute and naughty things they are learning to do ... climbing out of the highchairs, up and over the lounge, taking all manner of pens & papers , pressing all the buttons on the computer and adjusting the settings on my mobile (cell) phone


10. when they are sleeping

Head on over to Skittles place for more Head or Tails players.

sorry Blogger was down this morning and I couldn't publish/edit my post

Heads Or Tails ...

This week's word is Explore.

In July we went to explore my Father -in-law's new farm ... 5 hrs from Sydney . A little closer and smaller than some of his previous ones (one which was 8hrs away and 8500 acres).

Part of the adventure in visiting his 'farm' is exploring. Driving or sometimes walking around the dirt tracks through the countryside / bushland looking for signs of bygone years as well as native flora and fauna. His other farms all have had tractors ...

who forge their way exploring through the countryside -clearing the way for the four wheel drives ,motorbikes & other vehicles to get to the dams or distant paddocks or to herd the ...

cattle, who graze lazily.Themselves exploring the land for best vegetation to eat, wandering to the dams or natural springs .

Tractors are left in paddock when working days are done .Too heavy to move. As are old cars .

We also had fun exploring the family tip ... on farms there are no weekly garbage or trash collections ever. Household rubbish is burned/buried .Other things are piled high usually far enough away that it is partially hidden but also close enough not to lug things too far. We saw old washing machines , tyres, other household appliances, farm machinery,and even toys all broken and discarded .What ... a treasure trove of history.

Not that is was my FIL's trash/treasure aka history ... but it was interesting exploring and letting my mind wander,wonder & explore what life might have been like for early pioneers who explored distant lands, settled and raised a family miles and miles from nowhere.

As we have gone exploring we have seen lizards, birds, snakes, kangaroos, echinas , bats, emus, wild pigs, feral cats, goats and other animals on his various farms ... this one only had birds (including a magnificant peacock ) , kangaroos and cows ... that we were aware of anyway.

Head on over to Skittles place for more Head or Tails players.

In case your wondering why I am playing, well because I can .Though I have so many things to 'blog' sometimes it is fun to join the blogging community and play the memes & themes. Plus I don't want to exhaust myself for next month because I have registered for the NABLOMOPO2.