Spur of the Moment Ideas

Have I mentioned that I'm a bit of a control enthusiast?

Mmmmnnn perhaps not, but now you know!  My levels of control enthusiasm do wax and wane but if there was one of those really loud metal detector equivalent thingies it would be beeping like it had hit a major haul when I'm about 60 minutes and counting to an 'event'.

When I say 'event' I should clarify and say that we are not major entertainers...if inviting a few families over for a casual bbq dinner is an event for you then you're my sort of person.....cos that's my idea of an 'event'....something that is manageable and okay when the food isn't served on fine china with crystal glasses!!!

Anyway back to Saturday.  So, what do you do when you've got people coming over and you've been phaffing (is that how it's spelt or is it faffing??) about all day instead of doing the thing you should have been doing which is getting your back patio tidied up and rid of all the CRAP that seems to accumulate no matter how much you chuck out!!

Well if you're me (and lucky for you you aint) you decide that you need to have a "feature" and go rummaging about in SM's shed for some wood, a couple of rope thingies and you string up a hanging shelf....a perfect place on which to display your newest online purchAse...the paper bags that hold a twinkling tea light when the sun goes down.

Note the dashing (literally) figure of our youngest KAT as she scuttles across the shot!

Luckily it all worked out and they looked sooooo lovely....SM commented that I could have saved myself money if I'd got the hole punch out and done the love hearts myself...shows what he knows, this took talent for whatever Scandinavian person spent hours whipping them up!!

Fortunately there isn't a before shot of me astride the step ladder with the streamers...trying to cover up the rope...I attempted to hang fairy lights as well and gave it up as a bad joke...maybe next time I can improve on my "feature"!

In the meantime, I'm gloating :)

What Kids Sport Should Be About

Our oldest KAT had a huge victory on Saturday winning her netball grand final against a very tough opposing team.

 

We are not a huge sporting family.  Neither SM nor I are huge "fans" of any sport...but that's not to say we don't understand the value that playing in a team can bring to a growing child.

 

Today I received the following email from the netball coach...it made me very happy to read it.  She is a wonderful person who has bought out the best in all the girls.  I hope you enjoy reading it...

 

"I have been reflecting on the netball season that was, thank you all so much for allowing me to be coach. I’ve enjoyed it enormously even though I became coach by default. As time progressed and I got to know each girl better the job got easier. 

 

Kate, my player that couldn’t run. Well that wasn’t true, adrenaline maybe.Kate you’ve found a niche as GK and have improved so much this season. Your determination, skill and pretty ballerina stance when defending make me smile. Such a little chatterbox off the court but so focused on the court when it matters most. I have enjoyed your infectious laugh and sound effects. Believe in yourself, you really are great. Thank you Kate

 

Bella, one of our most versatile players able to go anywhere. Any position, any time, not a problem, your attitude made my job a whole lot easier and no matter where you were put you always excelled. The fight you displayed came from deep within you on Saturday and I wouldn’t want to go against you as you go forward. Your smile so slow to reveal itself lights up your face and makes your eyes sparkle. Thank you Bella

 

Saffron,  accept my gratitude for your understanding the need to move you into the centre position and doing it so capably. Saffron you were always so reliable and dedicated, I don’t remember you missing a single training session. You were also always one of the first to compliment the other girls if they having a great game. I still crack up when I think of you doing your impersonation of the Justin Bieber fans. Priceless Thank You Saffie

 

Charli, you bring such grace to the game. Your little twirl of the ball before you took a shot gave me the jitters, i needn’t have worried, it nearly always paid of. Your ability to stay calm under pressure made you a shoe in for the GS position and sure helped get us across the line on Saturday. I have enjoyed your sweet nature, your heartfelt expression when offering support your to team mates is truly gorgeous. Thanks Charli

 

Amelia, little miss spot on every time. Spot on with shooting and getting around on the court. Your heart is always in it making you an amazing asset to the team. Your height is such an advantage,combined with your skill makes a deadly combination, no wonder the Peninsula GD always had a frown on her face. Your ability to have a laugh at training but still stay focused on doing the right thing made you a joy to have around.Thanks Amelia.

 

Maddy, such a tiger. You couldn’t have gone anywhere but defence. No ball was ever going to get past you without a fight. Your funny faces that you pulled at the umpire and death stares you gave your opponents when you were pulled up were a treat. You ran your legs off covering every inch of the court and still showed no signs of slowing down at the end. What did you do with the singing and dancing Maddy that shows up at training?  We’ll miss you next year and I hope New Zealand enjoys you as much as we have. Thank you and take care Maddy.

  

Ruby, your jumping skills certainly have improved and helped intercept many balls to change direction of play. Your ability to anticipate direction of play and get into position are valuable assets to have. Your never say die and I’m really angry now attitude will always carry you through. Although you’re cheeky I really enjoy your sense of humour and the happiness you bring to the team. Thanks Ruby

 

Anna, we missed you so much and could certainly have done with your dynamic skills. You have been an integral part in getting us to the finals. I have enjoyed coaching you so much. You have been so much fun, your little shoulder slump when things go wrong is so cute.  Hope you’re having the time of your life. Thanks Anna

 

The last thing I ask of you all is to go forward believing in yourselves and always have fun along the way."

How lucky are these girls to have had the experience of this wonderful lady in their lives...this is what kids sport should be all about, the winning is just the icing on the cake!



Making My Day

Sometimes it's the little things that make all the difference.

About a year ago I bought a lovely WHITE Triwa watch from one of my favourite Scandinavian inspired stores...I'm a bit of a sucker for anything from this place I have to say!

I loved wearing my white watch despite its impracticability (not sure if that's a word?).  I loved it so much I wore at least 5 days a week for months on end.  My white watch had only one flaw...it was made of plastic and my watch band kept developing little hairline cracks and breaking. 

I happily took it off to the Mister Minit for repair and it wasn't until the fourth time that it occurred to me "hand on a second, this watch wasn't cheap...perhaps I should be alerting my favourite store to the issue and getting them to do something about it".

Which is how I found myself standing in front of a shop assistant (at the aforementioned Scandi type store) a couple of weeks back explaining my predicament.  Sadly, I was subjected to the "look" that spoke volumes (in my mind) and the words which were actually said out loud suggesting that it was HOW I'd been wearing it that was the problem!

To my credit, I stood my ground and made her agree to send it back to the manufacturer to see what they'd say.  I was quite clear that I wasn't looking for a new watch...just for someone other than me to pay to have it fixed again!!!

I didn't hear anything for a few weeks and then the other night had a call from the manufacturers Australian distributor.  I can't tell you how impressed I was (and am) with this lady.  She was apologetic once she understood how much 'trouble' the watch had caused me and offered without hesitation to replace it altogether with a MORE EXPENSIVE model (pictured above). 

Well, to say she made my day is an understatement...if I could use social media effectively (and had enough people listening to what I said) I would be tweeting and doing whatever other noises are required to give the fantastic Triwa distributor a huge shout of thanks.  Unfortunately all I have is this blog that no one reads and my Facebook page...so I'm giving Triwa a shout out in those modest places!

If you're in hunt of a fashionable (and colorful) watch check out the ones on offer from Triwa...they deserve your business!!

Sand Between Our Toes

We were supposed to get up early and go to an end of season netball presentation day......we didn't make it.

Instead we bought coffees and croissants and drove down to a lovely park and frollicked.  The weather was a bit bleak but that doesn't seem to matter to our girls. 

Miss Four is totally owning her new tulle dress!

Miss Eight adopted a novel approach of getting her and her little sister to the top of the slide...Miss Four climbed up by clinging to her big sisters ankles!

We walked out onto the long jetty braving the blustery conditions.  The water washing over the steps was fascinating...

They loved the way the colour of the water changed beneath the steps

We collected the oldest KAT on the way home...all in all it was a much better way to spend our morning than standing around at a netball presentation day :)

Running To or Running From?

Last year I hated Monday's.  Most of the time.  That was because I had in complete ignorance of the ramifications agreed to work on a Monday (plus Tuesday and Thursday but we won't go there today). 

With 12 months back at work under my belt I switched my work day's to Tuesday, Wed & Thurs in 2011 and haven't looked back....life is MUCH better! 

I no longer spend Sunday with a knot in my tummy contemplating all the things I wanted to get done before the new week began and just haven't got to.  Instead, I have my Monday's to off-load two of the KAT's at school and then get on with my day with our 4yr old KAT in tow...and I looove Monday's as a result.

If there's a day that's not on my favourite's list anymore it's more than likely to be Tuesday.  Drop off at daycare after a four day break is ALWAYS hysterical which breaks my heart as the littlest KAT screams and clutches at my clothes beseeching me NOT to leave her.  I know in my logical brain that the tempest lasts only as long as it takes me to make the first turn out the street where her daycare centre is...but it still has the power to wash over me with such intensity that I feel positively exhausted by the time I get back in the car to drive off.

Today I got out of there with her cries echoing, drove down to my local cafe to stop and have a coffee and do the crossword (part of my work day ritual) and realized I didn't have my purse in my bag (that would be the bottomless pit that usually does regurgitate my purse after a little bit of rummaging around).  Not today...today I had to drive home and get it all the while trying to stay calm as I was running on NO caffeine, no food and the high drama of drop-off!!!

Hence, today's post is about the plight of all of us mothers, regardless of whether we work outside our homes or not...some days I'm not sure if I'm running to or from something, I just know that I'm running!!  Breathing hard, every fibre of my body aching, wishing for a good lie down but running onwards :)

Image from here

Our Littlest KAT turns 4

The butterfly cake that happens when mummy is at work all day, remembers to order a cake from the local bakery and then manages to rustle up some 'butterflies' for decoration....good job mum :)

Bunting that we've had for a few years now...always comes out the night before any of the KAT's birthday's to give their day a festive twist (unfortunately I didn't have time to iron it this time!)

The birthday cards...the world can become complete digital but nothing will beat a display of birthday (or christmas cards) to make you feel the love

Dolly, Bear and assorted Tigers, Leopards and little people had to be arranged next to the dinner table for our birthday celebration...which consisted of lots of rice at the request of our youngest KAT (her favourite food)

Happy Birthday sweet girl...we adore you :)

Plastic Fantastic

Don't you love how in the midst of a market meltdown and the nightly Molotov cocktail throwing antics occurring in the UK that I can still while away a good 15 minutes (I'm being conservative) on blog-hopping around checking out the many and varied concepts in kids party "styling"!

If it isn't already, the word 'styling' should be up there in the top words for 2011...you can't flip the TV dial (such an old fashioned concept) without coming upon a home reno show where the contestants are styling something....and I am enjoying them all soooo much :)

My only concern is when in the interests of styling, some basic common sense goes out the window.  Am I the only person that is slightly concerned at the upsurge in the use of GLASS bottles as receptacles for drinks at children's parties?? 

Perhaps it's just a web phenomenon but my goodness, the good old mini-milk bottle is having a major come back and I'm predicting a statistic will eventually pop up citing the increase in glass cuts in young children!

Or does that make me a major party pooper?

It could just be another one of those moments where I wryly observe that my wave of mummies (I was never and will never be yummy) has been surpassed by the new breed of savvy yummy mummies that seem to be able to source supplies that make any occasion a photo opportunity worthy of a magazine spread.

Don't get me wrong, the images are DIVINE, I'm guilty of plenty of "styling" with the numerous birthday celebrations we've hosted for the KAT's.  However, having been through this wringer countless times, I'm also painfully aware that the hours spent 'styling' the party table are rendered pointless about a nano-second after the party-goers arrive and you end up with half-eaten food, half-drunk refreshments (usually poppers labelled with masking tape for writing names) and assorted detritus littering said party-table!

So now I'm in search of a glass equivalent for the youngest KAT's 4th birthday party...something that gives the 'look' without the potential danger (and no I'm not a cotton-balling mother!!!)

Thou Shalt Not...

I've been a bit of a slacker on the blogging front!  So sorry!!

It's not that I've lost interest in blogging about my life...anything but that.  It's just that my life has been getting in the way of blogging about it!

We've been renovating our kitchen, repaving our driveway, I've been dealing with a bit of a situation with my boss at work and generally have been logging onto my blog, reading everyone elses posts and feeling a bit blah about what I have to say...didn't feel inspired at all :)

Perhaps it's an identity crisis - I'm not flash enough (and to be quite honest I'm too time pressed) to be uploading photos of our reno's and scouring the internet for lovely decor shots that exemplify my 'vision'...so I'm not aspiring to be a home decor blog.

I decided with this blog (unlike my earlier blogging effort) to limit shots of my KAT's as I want to stay 'anonymous' in blogland...and keep my children that way too....so I'm not a mummy blog that 'shares' everything about my life...not that there's anything wrong with that sort of blog...I LOOOVE seeing photos of other people's kids!

So, I've been a bit indecisive about WHAT to post!  I'm sure it's just a temporary affliction and I'll be back into my groove shortly!  In the meantime today's KATCapers blog post is on the topic of mummy dinners....

With two of the KAT's a few years into school and the youngest KAT yet to start, I'm a bit thin on the ground when it comes to 'mummy' catch-ups.  I see my mother's group friends every couple of months but we are all flat out in our lives and catching up more frequently is quite a stretch.

Instead, my 'mummy dinner' invitations these days are through school and involve going out to a restaurant for a catchup with the mum's (never the dad's) for a meal once a term. 

When our oldest started school I embraced these occasions with religious fervour - I was a newbie to the school thing and really wanted to fit in...so I was an early RSVP'er and enjoyed them immensely.

It was probably by about Year 2 that the enthusiasm started to wane...the conversation was invariably the same, there was often a decent dose of gossiping going on about what other people were doing/saying and I had sorted out those that I could be friends with from those that I would rather avoid in the interests of quelling any sudden urge to strangle them!

Funnily enough, I can usually tolerate the mums from our middle KAT's year but the one's from the oldest KAT's carry the burden of generally being people I'd rather slit my wrists than have to endure two hours of their tedious conversation and perspective-less lives!!!

Hence, in the 2011 school year I have become that person that I've always silently disliked when it was me sending the emails to people...the one who neither acknowledges receipt, nor RSVP's in the negative...just silently fails to respond AT ALL!!  I just decided that I wasn't going to make excuses for not participating, I was just going to become invisible...if I don't say ANYTHING then I don't give certain people any ammunition to talk about me (hopefully).

When I choose to do the mummy dinner thing, it's a joy because it's with people I want to be with and have something new (or old) to talk about...not just making polite conversation with...it's so refreshing to let go of that desire to be 'liked' and to 'fit in' and JUST NOT GO otherwise!

Love this quote from Pinterest, may possibly be my mantra for the week :))