from somewhere in my imagination

It's All About the Little Moments - Point + Shoot

This weekend was something of an emotional one.

We drove to Adelaide Thursday afternoon to be there in time for the baseball on Thursday night and Sebastian's first school transition visit on Friday morning.  In the drizzling rain we didn't quite manage a photo of the boy.  He looks so grown up in his school shirt.  I had a few big gulp, nearly teary moments during our one hour visit.

Friday night was more baseball.  My red boots made it through the day with me as the mumvember challenge had to drop the mum uniform and wear something you wouldn't normally.  Heels were the obvious choice for me.

Saturday morning we enjoyed a breakfast out with mum and my sister sam and her family.  It was lovely (and kind of funny) seeing mum lined up on the banquette with all but one of her grandchildren.

I dared lil to wear her 'geek' glasses for the whole day, she pulled it off.  Funny girl.

After breakfast we headed to the park for a play.  A friend of Lil's was there too and the kids all climbed 'the tree'.  You can just see Lil dangling from the canopy.  I love this big old Moreton Bay Fig.  I used to climb it when I was a kid too, I love it that my kids are climbing it now.

During breakfast Steven rang his mum to organise a time to visit at the hospital.  Here begins a story of how words can get lost in translation.  My father in law had said 'they are discharging me because there is nothing they can do'...the all important 'over the weekend' was left off...I took Steven up to the hospital to sit with his dad until his mum got there.  His dad has been diagnosed with a secondary brain tumor following his diagnosis and treatment for cancer of the oesophagus 12 months ago.  Cancer sucks.

Saturday night we rounded out our weekend of baseball watching with a double header.  I suspect it's only a matter of time before Sebastian starts offering autographs of his own. 

It was really cool watching him throwing and catching with another (older) kid during the break between games.  The other kid was fantastically encouraging and supportive of him.

Sebastian tried the geek glasses on for size.

We finished off our weekend with a detour to visit Steven's parents on our way home.  The kids posed with santa on their front verandah.

Now we are home for 4 sleeps before we turn around and do it all again, but next time we have Sebastian's birthday, a market for Green Dandelion and the Foo Fighters concert added in.

Madness. 

I'm linking up with Point + Shoot for the first time in ages!  Why don't you link up too sharing some of your little moments from the weekend.

Happy Monday,

Tatum xx

Reverse Dinner - #mumvember challenge 21

When I read through the list of all 30 Mumvember challenges the reverse dinner challenge was one that I was most looking forward to.  So much so that we did it a week early and it was a total hit.

I stuck with something (kinda) healthy and fun for our dessert course

I cut up strawberries, banana, mango and added marshmallows to the plate.  I even pulled out a bought but long forgotten pack of little toothpicks with cellophane to use for dipping the fruit.  I made a chocolate dipping 'sauce' with 100g dark chocolate and 1/4 cup cream, zapped in the microwave on 50% for 1 minute then stirred until smooth.  I then raided the pantry and filled little bowls with 100's & 1000's, chopped peanuts and some little sugar flowers from the cake decorating aisle.

Oh my golly.  The glee when the kids (and Steven) realised we were having dessert before dinner was something else.

We dipped everything with chocolat and then added some crunch factor.

Chocolate dipped mango is strange yet delicious

Steven kept slipping J more marshmallows (I'd allocated a respectable 3 each)

There was quite a scene as everyone got stuck in.

I didn't expect that we'd finish everything in those little bowls.

But we did.

And she definitely had too many marshmallows.

Second course was a perfectly respectable roast chicken and salad.

It was awesome.  Can't wait to surprise the whole family with this again another time.

So, what do you think?  Will you be having dessert before dinner sometime soon?

Tatum xx

PS:  My Imagination has been nominated for the Circle of Mom's Aussie Top 25 blogs...you can vote for it and/or any other blogs you fancy here...everyday if you wish, because we all have that kind of time on our hands don't we ;)

The One Where I Didn't Play With the Kids - #mumvember challenge 16

Tonight I think I will indulge in challenge 13.  The long relaxing bath.  Right after the two youngest are in bed.  Right now they are eating mangoes and watching Lifestyle food.  The boy wanted to watch the food channel.  In a save my sanity move I'm just going with that and sitting beside them and writing.

Today has been one of those days.  The day where I dropped the bigger girls at school and just wanted to go back and hug them for the rest of the day after cracking it at them in the morning because they were fighting and then having them come home and fight some more.  Totally awesome...not.

Today was the one where I had grand plans of getting the housework done and dinner made before lunch, dropping the boy at school, working in the afternoon and having a relaxing afternoon playing with the kids.  It was not to be.

We got home from school drop off and the WWE matches between S and J started.  Never a good sign when I have plans of making parts of the house clean.  Instead of cleaning we cut and pasted and cut, and the cutting all got dropped on the floor while still coated in glue.  More awesome.

Next came dropping the boy at kindy and coming home to work.  J actually had a very rare afternoon sleep, which she needed after crying over pretty much everything all morning.  I actually got some work done.  Excellent.

The highlight of the day, the boy's special person poster presentation at kindy.  The little dude is nearly ready for school, well actually, ready for school so that means presenting his poster about his specialness at kindy.  Many chuckles and nearly tears from proud mum and dad.  I won't bore you with the 15 minute video, I'll save that for torturing family and close friends.

(please excuse the arse in the background, I guess that actually means something in spanish?)

Home again, home again after the school day with tired children.  I fed and watered them and asked them to please please please let me clean the floors.  The floors are at the point where things were sticking to my feet.  You may or may not know that things sticking to my feet = very grumpy me.  It's one of my quirks.

This afternoon I rated the need to clean my floors above playing with the kids.  We were away all last week and they hadn't been done before we left.  It rained last night and I just cannot handle having things stick to my feet.  My love is clean floors is just one of my quirks.

So the kids played, and fought, and played.  I sat and cried at least once after a fight between Charlotte and Sebastian.  Then I got on and made some comfort food for dinner.  Steven walked through the door and all was well as we ate out Fettuccine Carbonara and chatted about the good things in our day + the problems we had experienced in the morning.

Tomorrow is another day.  Tomorrow we will make craft and build lego and play, jut as was my intention for this afternoon.  That is life.

Have kissed my uber tired babies goodnight and now have that bubble bath.

Being real, Tatum xx

Oh, and apparently, blue steel had the class hedgehog at home...I assume he's going back soon?  Before he gets lost amongst the rest of the toys.