Littlest KAT turns five

Flower banner created when Oldest KAT turned 6

Prepare yourself people! This is one of those posts. You know, the ones that may make you want to smack me!!!

It's the birthday party post. Littlest KATs 5th to be precise.

Held some weeks after her actual birthday because it's a bit hard to look like the effortless party mum when you're swanning around with a broken arm, torn ligaments in your wrist and matching travertine step indentations on your shin and thigh.

Due to our backyard resembling a building site (Saint Mike may have many inimitable qualities but a tidy site isn't one of them) we chose to place our trust in Mother Nature and held this soirée at a great local park.

Invitations were duly prepared.  These shall not be shared as they mark an all-time low in my history to date of party invites.  Traps for young players include

1. Badly handwritten due to dodgy wrist/arm (remember I'm a leftie and this is the hand that has been out of action somewhat)
2. When you have a dodgy hand it's best not to have party at a park with a looooong Aboriginal name located on a street of the same name....can someone explain to me why Aboriginal place names have so many 'o's in them???
3. When writing invitiations for a delayed party check when Fathers' Day is....will help avoid writing twenty invites with 2nd September and then having to go back, cross out that date and find a new one!!!
4. Allowing Littlest KAT to write the envelopes which though educational and something I can clutch at when pondering my "good mother" status was slightly frustrating and took A.VERY.LONG.TIME!!!!

So you may ask yourself why in light of dodgy hand/wrist did I not simply do a McDonalds party or something that wouldn't involve all the usual party shenanigans?  Well, because I have this slightly anal-retentive nature (isn't that a pre-requisite of being a mum) that means I actually really enjoy doing parties for the girls...and doing them in a way that is special and unique for each particular KAT.

Each party I try to do something unique for that particular child.  In the case of youngest KAT she had really wanted a Diego party which I simply couldn't countenance.  The combination of commercial crap and really bad color combo (horrid shade of yellow and blue) had me clutching for something else that she could hang her hat on so to speak....which is where the pinata came in.



Thanks goodness for a glue gun

Yes folks, this is where the "what were you thinking" moment occurs.  A pinata, handmade out of a cardboard box, copious amounts of masking tape and tissue paper. 

I refuse to admit how much time it took because the end result was worth it.  Time consuming, yes.  Worth it?  Every minute!

I am a sucker for a bit of crafty stuff and this was actually a fun project - done with very little in the way of instruction just a picture from a blog as inspiration....mind you, that picture was from a 1st birthday party.  Let me tell you folks, a number one pinata has a heck of a lot less sides and curves than a number five!!!!!

I chose to fill it with lollies and trinkets...minimal cheap ones was the plan.

The kids all got an empty party bag and after the pinata was broken (hilarious), they got to put a certain amount in their bag...although some (won't mention any names Tessa) had 'issues' with counting, they mostly got it right and didn't overload...at least on purpose:))

I wish I had more photos but I was too busy being a good hostess and didn't snap enough!

Speaking of snapping, that was the other "feature" of this party.  I ran out and picked up one of the new instant cameras (ours is a Polaroid 300 Instant Camera) and we took photos of all the little ones with their heads poking through the flower banner.  So cute and a great take home idea.

The camera itself was just under $100, the film is pricey but given that we had no costs for 'entertainment' at this party (that was managed by Middle and Oldest KAT) I justified the cost as money well spent!

One of the "entertainment" highlights was a Yarn Trail conducted by Middle KAT with the help of a friend she had along for the ride.  Armed with a few rolls of colorful twine they proceeded to create a "trail" through the trees and undergrowth for the littlies to "follow" in search of treasure (some gold chocky coins).

As an exercise in frustration for Middle KAT it was a huge success.  As a ten minute diversion and "ice-breaker" for a bunch of five year olds it was hysterical!!!!  I got the idea from my favourite time-waster destination Pinterest

Find it on Pinterest here

The other park visitors that day must have been scratching their heads but it was a fun distraction and the kids seemed to enjoy it.

In the end, delaying this party meant I had more time to plan, managed to be on top of things in terms of execution and it all came off without a hitch...a great day for Littlest KAT.

 

There endeth the lesson in how to over-engineer a 5th birthday party:)

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Happy birthday to our very own saint

Today is a special day.  It's Saint Mike's birthday.

We won't discuss his age, it's not considered polite conversation!

I told him yesterday that we were going to celebrate in a style that befitted him as a young at heart man of action....even if that's not exactly how he's feeling at this particular juncture given the amount of stress he's been under of late:)

So we hired a double kayak with a child seat for the youngest KAT and set off at 8am from the Spit to Balmoral...a leisurely paddle of about 25minutes.

Our older two KATs are returning today from Melbourne where they've been hanging out with their nana (my mum), cousins, aunt and uncle and having a super-dooper trip unencumbered by their parents!!

Anyway, back to our birthday adventure...

Once back on dry land I adjourned the beach briefly to purchase coffees and egg and bacon rolls (plus a chocky croissant for youngest KAT) and we sat and enjoyed a magnificent morning looking out towards the Sydney Harbour Heads.

When the rigours of life are getting us down we've always found respite in admiring this view and today was no different.

We paddled, we sang, we ate, we drank, we relaxed and we celebrated a special day for a very special husband, daddy, bestie and all round Saint :)

Once back home I have made a yummy stuffing, stuffed it up the clacker of a chook and made a birthday cake...in an hour or so we'll head off to the airport to pick up our unaccompanied minors and then come home to our building site of a home and get that bird a cookin!! 

Oh and there will be a few pressies for SM to unwrap:))

Youngest KAT having a great time making a kayak in the sand!

a bit of drive-in fun

We're off to the drive-in tonight.

It's an annual road-trip we do with the KATs.

Over an hour to get there...Blacktown is a bit of a trek from the Northern Beaches:)

The back of the territory won't look as glam as this although nana's quilts will definitely be along for the ride!  We pack the trundle mattress and when the girls get tired they climb over the back and go off to sleep.

Although this is a retro thing to do, we don't behave like our authentic retro parents....we do wake them to put them in their seatbelts for the drive home :)

Snacks and dinner will be bought from home.  This is not an indication of their healthiness just an indication of the fact we know how overpriced the food is at the Drive-In!!!

We're also taking our gorgeous chairs...there will be fight I'm sure to see who bags them:)

Hope you're having a nice Easter long weekend whatever you're doing.....

Easing Into Camping - Round 2

We ventured into the great outdoors this weekend.  Three days down at Jervis Bay at the beautiful Booderee National Park.

This is the 2nd time our little family have attempted to leave creature comforts behind and 'rough it' for a few nights.  Last year we hedged our bets by hiring the camper trailer but staying at a Big 4 park whilst experiencing the "delights" of Dubbo and Western Plains Zoo.

In the spirit of 'one step at a time' the 2011 edition of the KATcapers family camping trip we stuck with the camper trailer but took the plunge in the above-mentioned National Park.

Much to Saint Mike's amusement I have completely embraced our annual foray into camping.  This year I purchased a dutch oven and prepared the makings of a cheese and herb damper!!  It came home unmade...my enthusiasm waned when I tired of washing up after the 3rd meal...having to trudge off to the toilet block to use the sink wore thin REALLY quickly!! 

The KATs embraced the experience whole-heartedly...they loved the freedom of roaming about unfettered and our littlest KAT in particular became Miss Independant when she found a friend her own age and from then on didn't even want her big sisters trailing after her...she was just OFF! 

We had a camp fire and toasted marshmallows....sang songs and enjoyed the stars.

We had loads of fun enjoying the new kayak that mum and dad purchased for the trip - it is a sit on one...good for us novices and just enough fun for everyone without being too much hassle!

Sleep time was a cosy affair with us all in close confines.  SM and I had forgotten how uncomfortable the camper trailer double bed is...felt like we were sleeping on a piece of MDF!!!  Nonetheless, we didn't have the array of chain-smoking grey nomads that we had to deal with at the Big 4 so my ear plugs were redundant except for blocking out the sound of the waves in the distance and the wind rustling through the trees!

As we headed back from the beach yesterday in preparation for packing up, the KATs reflected that we'd had a great weekend and that after all the discussions preceding our trip we hadn't actually sighted a tick, leech or spider!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All in all, this easing into camping is going swimmingly...by next year I intend for us to actually purchase our own tent and requisite 'gear' and sample more of the delights of 'nature'.

Swim Little Fish Swim

A great day for our middle KAT and favourite little 'fish'....she made it through her 1st Reconciliation, kept her butterflies in check and we celebrated with a fantastic family dinner.

Keep on swimming up to the surface little fish...I love to see your beautiful colors shimmering :)

memories are made of this

A bit of a weekend catch-up from me today....mostly pictures, few words (or at least that's the plan as I start to type)

My arms feel like they're not quite attached to my body due to a 'workout' from Mark my trainer.  He is referred to as the 'butcher' by SM for the way in which he is 'carving me up'!!!  This mornings session was no exception.

Sat morning SM took all three KATs to swimming squad and whilst the older two were being flogged by their swim coach, he took the littlest KAT for a swim (we are trying to get her on the path to swimming on her own this summer).

In the meantime I went for a session with 'the butcher' and then headed down to Manly for a walk....such a great place for a walk if you can avoid tourists, toddlers, geriatrics, prams, scooters and other such 'toys' as you try and walk at a consistent pace and in a reasonably straight line!! 

To finish off my walk I decided to tackle the road that leads up to Manly Hospital and St Pat's amongst other things...the gradient is not to be scoffed at and it's a long rise...took me about 15 minutes to get all the way to the top...and then I gently stumbled back down!!

Having made my way back to Shelley Beach I was met by SM and the KATs and we spent a fabulous four hours down at the beach enjoying the fact that what had started as a fairly overcast day had transpired to be absolutely delightful...clear blue skies and a pearler of an afternoon!!

For some reason the sprinklers were operating so the KATs enjoyed some retro fun running under, through and over them...to the amusement of all the adults looking on.

We then moved down to the beach where I ended up getting into my cossie and going for a refreshing dip with the girls...whilst SM had a well deserved daddy nap on the beach. 

A fab day was had by all...memories are definitely made of this :)

Okay, enough verbal diarrhoea from me...here's some more shots...

Hope you all had a great weekend as well...whatever you were up to!