Don't you just love Facebook?  It can show people's true colours and their ignorance by the groups or pages they decide to become a fan of. Take my sister in law for example: Today she has chosen to be a member of the "I didn't go to the shops to listen to your child's tantrum" group.... Ohhhh I hear all you parents out their gasping (which is a sight more polite than what I did when I saw that news update and the fact that this particular group exists I can tell you!) And then I realised as I swore and thought of all the things I could have commented about her joining that group... she is ignorant because she isn't a member of the "I have kids and I love them no matter what" world like me, and I remember what I was like when I was in my mid twenties and unattached and childless. Picture it, young single girl out at the shops spending my hard earned cash on such necessary items like a new outfit for the weekend (because that's what lots of cashed up young single girls do, remember those days?) and there is a young child having a tantrum in the middle of the mall because his/her mum won't give them an ice cream.  Young single girl thinks "just give it to him/her, what are you stingy or something, its just an ice cream and if he/she stops crying all good"! Fast forward 10 years and now Mature married lady with kids thinks " oh that poor mother trying to deal with a tantrum in a public place with everyone watching, hope no old fart goes over and tells her what she should be doing to handle the situation, nosey bee's that they are". No matter what you say to someone that doesn't have kids (childcare workers and teachers excluded here) they just won't understand that type of situation and show compassion until they actually experience it as a parent. So if your proud like me to live in the "world only a parent understands" stand up and shout it from the roof tops!  See if we can't drown out that damn Facebook page!

I know I hear you all gasping in shock... how could I hate something that my husband loves.  I try and be supportive of his love, but I can't, I just can't. I hate that damn coffee machine! My husband has a bit of an obsession with his coffee.  He has a coffee machine and grinder and all this other coffee related "junk" so that he can make himself good quality coffee's at home. Now I know it saves us anywhere between $5 and $10 a day because he now doesn't have to buy good coffee at work (so obsessed he has a grinder at work now so he can have freshly ground beans when ever the need arises). I know its something he enjoys and I try and support that, but the damn machine and its mess and its smell drive me up the wall. In coffee's defense we were never going to get along, you see I don't drink it.  I don't really like the taste, or the smell, and it does some crazy things to my body if I actually drink it.  Like a racing heart, and a mouth that won't shut up.  Basically coffee for me is like drinking a can of Red Bull. But the machine takes up precious space on my kitchen bench, and now the new grinder thingo is so heavy that I can't move it if I need more space.  And he is now wanting a "whole" draw in the kitchen to store more of the "junk". And don't get me started on the grinds, I find coffee all over the kitchen.  Today I have been greeted with coffee on my clean dishes! the clean dishes, you know the ones in the dish rack drying and waiting patiently for me to put them away... Well now I have to wash them again! ahhhhhh I love you wonderful husband you, but that machine...

Sometimes I like to have a chat to my beautiful single friend in Sydney about all her dating drama's.  I love getting caught up in the emotion she portrays and the way she tells the stories...Waiting to hear about the flashing incident on Australia Day for a good old laugh.  Anyway I don't think I need her emotional fix anymore after last night... I had university last night and the unit is Introduction to Programming.  Oh my god talk about hard. For me the world pretty much runs in black and white and I need things to be logical to understand them.  I am even pretty good with the airy fairy stuff that is management (you know all the feel good stuff that you have to do as manager to keep your staff happy).  This I can do its easy peasy but programming... Last night I learnt how to code a mathamatical formula with more than one equation to it. It took me a while to get it to work but when I did the elation I felt was unbelievable.  You know that feeling of achievement you get when you finally nail something? And then the rollercoaster came crashing down again as I attempted to do another formula, this time for joining text together from different places over the program. I know it sounds relatively simple when you think about what I am trying to get the program to do, but to the language and all the symbols and spaces and stuff have to be in the exact right place otherwise the program thinks your doing something different.  God its hard. I have decided that I no longer need to live vicariously through my friend to get an emotional rollercoaster, I will just do my uni homework instead!

So my little girl just turned 2 and we celebrated with a bit of a shin dig out our home. Let me tell you lots of work went into preparing for said party... Just a small party with a few of her friends... 40 people later... oh well.  Won't be doing another one like that for her until her 5th birthday I have been informed! Anyway... wonderful husband spent days preparing the outside, mowing, edging, weeding, washing, sweeping, you name it. I spent days planning food (just finger food as it was after lunch), kids activities and the before mentioned goodie bags.  Got Nanna involved also.  She makes the best, and I mean the best sausage rolls ever!  Oh and this amazing bread dip, so bad for you but oh soooooo good. Saturday was planned to be Mummy and Nanna in the kitchen, Daddy with Miss 2 and Master 2 months.  It instead went Nanna with Miss 2 at the park, playing dolls, playing kitchen, just playing playing playing.  Don't worry I did put her to work.  She folded clothes and vaccumed the floor. Mummy and Daddy did the kitchen with Nan supervising.  Now the reason for all this help and supervision is because I am not confident in the kitchen.  Not at all.  I am good at planning and organising and delegating (just ask my mum) but cooking is a big no.  People will tell you that I do make some pretty nice food but I don't like doing it. Saturday night when little ones were sleeping Mummy and Daddy iced and decorated and assembled the cake (see lovely picture). Sunday morning saw more time in the kitchen - fairy bread, sandwiches, dips, fruit and cooking of sausage rolls and bread dip. The party was a big success (well I think so), little Miss 2 had lots of fun with all her friends and family, everyone ate and had a jolly good time.  Nanna handled the kitchen, Daddy handled the kids and guests, Poppy handled Miss 2 and I ran around the whole time like a headless chook!  Trying to having chats with all the guests, passing out food, making sure the kids were playing nice etc... I totally over catered the whole event.  Have a fridge fall of food still ... and cake of course... Anyone for lunch?

Ok for those of you out in blog land can you please let Pixar know that I really really really want a job with them and will do anything to get there (well within reason)! My dream job would be managing one of the IT design teams at Pixar.  I think partly this might be from the fact that I have worked for a corporate regulator for over 10 years and I am sick and tired of all the politics and laws and rules and complexity that goes with attempting to acheive something satisifying. Imagine being part of a team that is only limited by their creativity! How awesome would that be. I am working towards my dream.  I realised yesterday that after this semester at university I only have 2 units left to finish my diploma of IT and then its 4 units to achieve my Masters in Information Technology Management! (yes that means I get a couple of fancy letters after my name! whoo hooo). Right better head back to reality now and get cracking on that assignment!

Ok so miss almost 2 has a major issue with sleeping under a blanket.  As in its impossible for her to do so because she moves around so much in her sleep, and no I don't mean rolling over loads, I mean turning around in the bed, laying across the bed, one leg up on the rail (or wall heaven forbid), one night we even found her asleep on the floor. Now last winter being the concerned mum that I am, I had the ducted heating running every night so that her room stayed toasty warm so she didn't get cold.  As you can imagine the electricity bill was out of control (to the tune of $700!), and because she is such a bean stalk (does not take after her mummy at all) I can no longer get her those cool button up pj's. I have bought her a growbag to try her in but my drama with that is - will she be able to walk in it?  I think I can teach her to unzip it so she can walk around but my hubby isn't so sure. So I am putting forward the question to those of you in blog land how do you keep your toddler warm in their bed without it costing the earth?

I know its been more than a week since I blogged, but we have just been on our first family holiday and I am now trying to organise Miss almost 2's birthday party. And I. Am. Struggling with it. I know what your thinking, she's only 2 you just have some food and cake and the kids run wild for a couple of hours and its all over, but the food thing is the whole problem. You see we don't let Miss almost 2 eat lollies or chocolate or soft drink or any of the foods really high in sugar, which is totally the prerequisite for party food. Don't get me wrong she has sugar based foods, like cake (not chocolate though) and biscuits and lots and lots of fruit and juice, but not sweets. And this is the cause of my dilemma. Do I do lolly bags or not? if so what lollies do I do? do other parents not let their little ones have lollies? ahhhhh my head hurts.... I think I am going to make gingerbread men for the lolly bags and add a lolly pop and be done with it. Now the party has a range of kids ages from 6 down to 2 months old as well as the adults, all with different eating requirements / desires.  Take this as a good example my dad (aka Poppy) will want chocolate crackles because he loves them and only gets them at kids parties, but I hate them! I love rice bubbles and coco pops like everyone else, but I don't really like chocolate crackles.  Do I make them to keep the old man happy or just say nah didn't have time?.... Plus what happens if its going to be really hot like it has for last week, the food will melt as soon as it served which won't look that great, do I serve hot weather friendly food? And if so, what the hell is it? And the drinks, do I do juice and water for the kids and soft drink for the adults? What if the kids drink the soft drink, will the parents think I am a terrible host because I had soft drink out at a kids party?  Do the adults expect to have alcohol? oh the dramas... I think I need some Nutella!