Graduation Breakfast 2012

This morning had me feeling anxious with trepidation as it is the day my beautiful son Matthew graduates from high school. I still can't believe how fast his school years have gone and can clearly remember him in Shirley Montgomery's class as a little 5 year old.

In year six Matt started middle school at Living Waters Lutheran College and it was the best decision we made for both his education and in him becoming a beautiful young man.

This morning we attended the graduation breakfast for the year 12 Leavers, teachers and parents. 

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Matt has made a lovely group of friends and I am sure he will remember his days at LWLC  fondly and with so many wonderful memories. 

I have loved the way this school nurtured these kids and treated each of them like family and always had their best interests at heart. The bonds they shared with their teachers are amazing. 

I will miss being a small part of this school and hope maybe one day Lucy will be able to cope with attending if even for a couple of years.

Matt, you have worked so hard and conducted yourself in such a beautiful way that all your peers and teachers always sing your praises. I hope your future is everything you want it to be.

As I sat and watched the big screen with photos of the students from when they were little people at the school it makes you realize that it all goes by in a blink and whilst child rearing is HARD work there is nothing more special and rewarding that your children. I can't imagine my life without my three blessings.

I love you to the moon and back Matthew and am sooo proud of you.

Cupcake Frosting Recipes

Apparently the Magnolia Bakery recipe is:

Vanilla Buttercream Recipe

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
6-8 cups confectioners' (icing) sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add in 4 cups sugar, then the milk and vanilla. On medium speed of an electric mixer, beat about 3-5 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well (about 2 minutes) after each addition, until the icing is thick enough for good spreading consistency (you may not need all of the sugar).
If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled. The icing can be stored in an airtight container
for up to 3 days.

NB: I've made this recipe with a quarter of the amount, and there was still plenty to go round

I'm a huge fan of cream cheese frosting - so yummy!

You basically beat cream cheese (i like to use a tub of lite soft philly) in the mixer, and add icing sugar until it tastes good, then add whichever flavouring you like - vanilla extract, lemon juice... I like adding lime rind, it's delicious. It sets kind of hard, so it looks really pretty.

The Not New Years Resolution List

All around Blogland people are making New Year's resolutions. Every year I make the same kind of resolutions and of course never really follow through. The usual things - lose weight, pay off the credit cards, get fitter and so on and so forth.

I thought this year I might try doing monthly goals. At the beginning of each month I will list some things that I would like to achieve that month. Now bearing in mind my days are pretty full so I want to be realistic.

I plan to have small goals for each area of my life. For example, organizing around the home, finances, diet and exercise etc. Some months I may be able to plan more if the month has school holidays in it. I will try to break things up into smaller chunks to make them more achievable and hopefully by the end of the month I will be happy to have made some headway. 

So here's my list for the month of January.

• Clean out my kitchen cupboards (Completed)
• Sort out Lucy's clothes and cupboards
• Get back to my pre-Xmas weight (I think I gained about 2 kilos -YIKES)
• draft a pair of pants and sew up
• Have Xmas paid off the credit card
• Get to the gym at least 3 times a week
• Have the ironing basket empty by the end of the month
• Process all the business dockets (Completed)
• Tidy the office

Now this is enough to get me started and be ready for when I return to teaching at the start of February.

Happy New Year

The end of 2011 came with a lovely evening out with my family.  Firstly, we went to see the movie "We Bought A Zoo". I was pleasantly surprised by how good this was, I was expecting a kids type comedy of sorts and and so wasn't. It was a beautiful story and the little girl in it was just gorgeous. This certainly was the perfect film for a New Years Eve to make one appreciate what they have and also come away with a good feeling about life.

After the movie we headed down to Rockingham foreshore where the city of Rockingham were holding their annual New Years Eve free concert. This is always a lovely way to spend the night and with LOTS of people there is always someone fun to watch and plenty of characters.

There were a few locals singing but then the main support act called The Hit Factory came on stage. I have never heard of this group but they were so much fun......

They performed so many great songs from all eras, everything from Grease hits to Pink.

One thing that always warms my heart about this evening is that all ages attend and I love seeing the oldies and middle aged folks having a great time. It is an alcohol free event and so everyone has a great night. 

The main act was Mental as Anything but after a few songs we found them a disappointment after the Hit Factory. We headed home to see in the New Year with a drink and some TV watching.

It was an AWESOME new year and I hope 2012 will be that for everyone too.

Christmas Day 2011

Christmas morning started this year with a very sleepy look from an excited 11 year old.

Of course after we all woke up it was time to open presents

The children were very happy with what Santa brought them

Our morning had our family visit for breakfast. We have done this tradition for many years now but I think this year will have been the last. It is getting harder for me to get stuff organized and after a long term of teaching and the effects of the EDS I am usually shattered by xmas day. I really want to enjoy the morning with the kids and so my plan next year is to host late morning tea/light lunch. I feel with all the morning rush we don't really get to chat to everyone and simply enjoy the day.

Jess and Michael came for breakfast and then headed off to Mikey's family for lunch.

After a quiet afternoon we headed over to Mum and Dad's for our Christmas dinner.

Both Lucy and I wore our new Xmas dresses I made.

Whilst at mum and dad's The Royle's were on TV. I love this show and even though it was a repeat it was still fun. Speaking of repeats- a few days before Xmas the kids and I watched National Lampoons Xmas vacation with Chevy Chase. I love that movie and Matt and Lucy thought it was hilarious. Nothing like a fun Xmas movie to get you in the spirit.

Mum cooked a beautiful dinner of Turkey, ham, veggies and all the trimmings. I don't know how she gets it all together so well. I would be sooo stressed. Cooking is so NOT my forte!!

Jess came to Nana and Grandad's for tea and Mikey went to his grandparents. It was nice to have all the kids together. James reminded me that this was our first Xmas without Jess living under our roof. It made me a little sad just for a minute.

Every year we have a lovely day but boy the work involved is hard. I tried to simplify things this year but it sort of didn't work out as well as I wanted it to. I have decided that we need to do what's right for us and if others don't agree then that is OK and they can do what they want. My stress levels hit high really quickly these days and even if others think it is silly I am still resoling to do what is best for me and my family.

I am looking forward to a new year full of being true to myself and putting myself and my family first.

Xmas Cheer

I didn't get a lot of photos of the decorating this year but here are a few.

My side table all in silver

Our beautiful tree adorned with all the kids things they have made over the years. Co-ordianted -no! Lots of memories -yes!!!!

Xmas morning after Santa had been.......

Gold Coast 2011 - Day Two

We have had an extremely long day travelling and am pooped  but it was great. We were picked up at the motel by taxi just after 8am and at the airport within a few minutes. After checking in and sorting Lucy's wheelchair we headed upstairs where Mum, Dad and Rob were waiting for us. It wasn't too long before we boarded the plane and I was ecstatic to NOT be feeling nauseous. Staying near the airport was worth every penny. As Lucy has a disability we were near the front of the plane and allowed to use the toilets in business class which was great!! No trekking to the back of the plane and queuing for ages.

Early on in the flight we discovered a very unwell man on the plane and it was in his best interests to get off the plane so we had to divert to Adelaide which added some extra time to our day. This caused us to miss our connection to Cooloongatta from Sydney but luckily there was another flight so we were on our way soon after.

We finally arrived at our hotel at 9.20pm and the first thing I did was go out on the balcony and breathe in the wonderful sights and sounds of Surfers Paradise. It was like going home to the most wonderful place, the views are just amazing. We had a quick bite to eat and now it's time to hit the sack for I am sure tomorrow we will have some mega fun to deal with.