Raising a teenager. This job is hard but I do it because I love her.

Raising a teenager. It would have to be the hardest part of being a parent. I am not saying that the baby, toddler & child part is easy, no I am not. I am saying that it changes as your little cherub grows into a teenager. A 2 year old tantrum, I have dealt with my fair share. Imagine a 2 year old tantrum but the person having the tantrum is 13 & 1/2. But it is not the sit on the floor, stamp their feet, scream at you type of tantrum. It is the my life is so unfair, you just don’t understand me, I feel left out, but everyone else is allowed to type of tantrum.







It really does tug at your heart. You just want to make them happy but you have to set boundaries. I was a teenager who did not have the boundaries that a teenager needs. I know what happens when that can go wrong. I now make sure that the boundaries are clear & they do not change. My children know my rules. Even after a teenage moment where there may be a lot of huffing, puffing & “I don’t even know why I bother asking”, I know that it is all worth it when I get the apology. I get the, “I am sorry, I should have known what the answer would be.” Too me that means everything. That means that what I am doing is right. That deep down inside, she knows that I am strict out of love.


It doesn’t ease the heartache of being a teenager.






That time in life where you are too old to be a child but not old enough to be an adult. That time when you feel like you are on the outside of everything. The above photo says it all. This was not staged or nor did I tell her what to do. Her sister was playing on the playground, she feels that she is too old to “play” like that anymore. So she watches from afar & wishes she was not a teenager. So she escapes to the world of her iPod. {can you see it in her hand?} It is where she is in her own little world. It is her music, her photo’s, her friends, her life that is hers alone. She chooses what it looks like, what it sounds like……..it is her.






She is a really good person. She is the type of person who would (& has done) help an elderly person who has fallen over. She gives people the money that they have dropped. She makes sure that a child who is crying can find their Mum. She will stand up for a friend who is being bullied because she is just that type of person. But right now, she feels that her life is hard.


She is not allowed to go to the park unsupervised. She is not allowed to go to the shops without an adult. She is not allowed to go to the pool without an adult. She is not allowed to roam the streets. Those are my rules. I have no problems with her friends coming to our house or her going to her friends house but there must be adult supervision. This is the number one reason why I am still a stay at home Mum even though my children are no longer babies. I know where my kids are at all times. I know who they are hanging around with & what they are doing. I do this out of love.





I just do what I think is best. Some days though, she seems to forget that.

Joining up with Diary of a SAHM for #ibot

Our day date by the sea

Today, I was lucky enough to have Mr P all to myself. He was home for a 24 hour break from the highway. The girls were at school so I decided that we needed to go on a “day date”. We don't get a lot of time just to sit & talk. When he comes home for night after being away for a week or 3, the girls come first with his time. They miss him so much that they need the time with him as much as I do. But sometimes I am lucky eneough to have him all to myslef for a day. I go out for brunch or lunch with my friends at least once a week so I wanted to take Mr P to one of my fave spots. So I put on my nautical outfit & off we went!



Red, navy blue, white & denim. You don’t get more nautical than that!



Mr P has been up in far north Queensland for the past week so he had to rug up because our 25 degree weather is a little too cold for him.



Nothing like a pot of English Breakfast tea to kick start a brunch date.



This was the view from our table. Perfect.



Mr P ordered the scrambled eggs, bacon & toast because he is a “traditional” brunch man.



I like things a little more spiced up so I had the chorizo, mushroom & spinach on toast. It was delicious!



We even had a little visitor at our table! He hopped on over, checked out what we were eating & he was on his merry way again.



We went for a little walk to the marina next door & found the perfect mooring for the boat we will buy when we will the lotto. Wouldn’t it be nice to win a million?











Only in Australia could you see Lorikeets by the sea then drive 15 minutes down the road & spot a Kangaroo by the side of the road!



I think we will be doing “day dates” more often!



Linking up with Nee Say

A summer kaftan, part 2. Tutorial

{tutorial}
Ok, so I have really caught the kaftan bug! I have made my second one & this one is long, floaty & perfect for wearing poolside, beachside or anywhere that you want to be stylish yet so totally comfortable.





Did I mention just how incredibly easy it is to make one? Well it is. The basics of this is 2 large rectangles sewn together. You could even use 2 sarongs! You just have to use your overlocker/serger to finish off the edges of the 2 rectangles or you could do a small hem with your normal sewing machine.






You just need to leave an opening at the neck & openings at the arms. I am serious! It is that easy to make this. The hardest thing is deciding if you want this to be full & floaty or more form fitting. I personally love the free flowing feel of this one. I made it out of a sheer silky fabric that feels so super soft. You could even use this pattern to make a floaty top. I love the bright splashes of colour. Because I only wear one colour swim suits, I like to add bold colours to my cover ups.






And there you have it! On super simple & stylish kaftan! You can throw it in a suitcase for that perfect holiday.
You can dress it up, dress it down….wear it any way you want! I could see myself poolside on a tropical island sipping cocktails.

If you like this kaftan, I also posted a different one that I made yesterday



                         {HERE}


Yes, I have a kaftan crush! Do you?



 

A summer kaftan with a tutorial

I have been sewing! And it is a little something for me. A made this free flowing kaftan using my Easy T-shirt dress tutorial. It is quick & easy. You don’t even need to buy a pattern because you can make your own!

(make sure you check it out HERE)

I made this using a beautiful West Indies Marie Green by Jennifer Paganelli that I purchased from Fabric Traders.

It is such a pretty cotton fabric. Perfect for a kaftan to wear to the beach.

I made a v-neck for this kaftan. I made it using facings but you can use bias binding or a small hem.

I can’t wait to wear this to the beach in summer!

Here are some of my ideas for accessorising a kaftan for day or night.

for a day at the beach.... 

Source: joslene.polyvore.com via Sew Cook on Pinterest

For an afternoon of cocktails & a night of dinner by the sea...

Source: joslene.polyvore.com via Sew Cook on Pinterest

Wordless Wednesday. Aqua love

Linking up with My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday

Chocolate and peppermint cupcakes

Yesterday was RSPCA Cupcake Day. It is day when people get baking to make cupcakes to raise funds for RSPCA. This combines 2 of my loves; cupcakes & puppies! I am really upset that I didn’t even know it was yesterday until I saw it on Facebook. I still got into the spirit of things & made a batch. I made chocolate cupcakes with pepermint icing.




I was inspired by my own puppy. She is a chocolate brindle coloured Staffy who has an aqua coloured collar.




She is my best mate. She is my shadow. She is perfect.

I made the chocolate cupcakes using my chocolate cake recipe. To make perfect sized cupcakes, use an ice cream scoop to get them all the exact same size or a 50ml measuring scoop.



I cooked these on 160 degrees Celsius for around 20 minutes. Let the cupcakes ist until they have cooled before icing. If you need them quickly, you can put them in the fridge to speed this process up.

For the icing, I used a basic butter cream icing.
for 12 cupcakes;
2 cups of icing sugar
125g of butter/margarine
2 tablespoons of milk
1 teaspoon of peppermint essence
5 drops of green food colouring

Beat all of the ingredients with an electric beater until light & fluffy.
Use a piping bag to cover the cupcakes with the icing.



These cupcakes were delicious!

Here are some of my other fave cake recipes

   
5 minute sponge                             Mixed Berry cake



Chocolate & lemonade cake


Linking up with diary of a SAHM for #ibot

School camp. Ahhh, the memories! My top tips for Mum’s

Today is the 7th camp that I have sent one of my girls on. It is one of the most exciting times for kids but it can also be a little overwhelming for parents. Today, I did good! I did not cry, I didn’t have a panic attack & as far as I know, not one thing was left at home! YAY!! High five for us! The very first camp that I sent Kiara on, I was a basket case. I mean, a SERIOUS basket case. I really wish I hadn’t been because looking back, there was no need to get crazy, stressed or anxious because it was ok. Over the years, it has gotten a lot easier. Now, It is an exciting time to  see one of my kids go away for a week because I know they are going to have the best time ever!


I don’t think that there was anything that Georgie girl could have possibly forgotten because this is how much she packed for 1 week!



A girl has to have options, right? There is a lot because of the fact that day time temperatures are 27 degrees Celsius & night times drop down to around 5. Kiara went on a school camp once when it got down to –3 degrees on the night that they camped outside for survival! I think I was lucky she didn’t come home with hypothermia! Georgia girl is staying in luxury this time so I think there may even be central heating. Kiara stayed at the same venue a couple of months ago so she was able to fill Georgia in on all the finer points.


Kiara’s top tips for Georgia;

* It is a health retreat type place so when you see the sugar packets, put them in your socks for a midnight feast! (What the????)

* When you go canoeing, you can’t tip the canoe. (apparently Kiara already tried that but they have things attached so they don’t tip)

* Do not let Mum put you name on your knickers cause kids hate it when a teacher finds their knickers dropped on the floor in the bathroom & hold them up at night time activities. NEVER own up to a pair of lost knickers, Mum can always buy more! (note, I have NEVER put names on knickers!)


These are my top tips for Mum’s;

* Your child is about to have a week of the best childhood memories, don’t think they will be missing you because they won’t! (sorry, but it is true!)

*When you drop your child off for school camp, don’t hang around talking to all the other Mum’s in the middle of all the action. The teachers have a lot to do so please don’t make their job any harder. If you want to have a chat, take it to the side. I no longer even wait around at all. I make sure that the bags are where the teachers want them, give a kiss & a cuddle to the child who is going on camp then I leave without too much fuss. The most stressful part of camp for the teachers, is leaving the school. I know this because I have been told this before by a teacher who thanked me for not hanging around.

*Turn up on time or even turn up early for camp drop off. When kids turn up at the last minute or Mum comes in honking her horn because the bus is leaving, those kids are going to start camp stressed. Make the morning departure as easy & stress free as possible.

* Don’t forget to set the alarm the night before school camp. This should help to stop the previous problem.

*If you need to give the teachers any medicines or instructions, don’t do it on the morning of camp. Do it the day before or even the week before. Trust me, your child's teacher will thank you for it. There would have been 5 Mothers who ran up to the teacher as she got out of her car today. The last thing you want to do is upset a teacher before they take your child away for a week!

*NAME EVERYTHING (except knickers & jocks, of course!). Remember that most of this kids live in the same area & shop at the same shops so without fail, there will be someone with the same clothes, shoes or bag. Yes, even name the suitcase.

*If you have a daughter who can not do her own hair (yes, I have one) make sure to do her hair in plaits or braids so that her hairstyle will last at least 2 days. Georgia has layered hair so 2 braids are better than one. It means that she has one less thing to worry about before she heads off for a day of activities.





*My last & biggest tip, don’t stress! Make sure your child is super excited because seriously, camp is fun, it is going to be fun! It doesn’t matter if they get wet, get dirty, or even get smelly……it is awesome! Your child is going to do new & exciting things, try new foods that will either love or hate, make new & lifelong friends, fill their mind with amazing memories & they are going to have fun.



(this is the face of excitement at 5:30am)


Do you want to know something? I will admit that both of my children have been sent out into the hallway during the middle of the night on school camps for talking. My children? Yes, my children love to talk! Would you have ever guessed? But do you know that they both still laugh & giggle about being sent into the hallway because that is part of the fun of school camp! Kiara was on a camp at Moreton Island last year & the teachers yelled at the girls in her tent all night because they were talking but do you know what, the teachers still laugh about it! I think that maybe I may have even been sent out into the hallway for talking when I went on school camp. Ok, I did.

Do you remember your school camps? I sure do!

Linking up with Nee Say for Monday’s Minutia

Weekend snapshots

I thought when I woke up on Saturday that our weekend was going to be a quiet weekend at home. You know the kind, the one where you go nowhere, do nothing? Well, boy was I wrong!
It started off with taking the pooch for a walk.









Then I had an even better idea! We headed off to go 4wding on the beach!





There is no better view than looking out the car window to see the ocean only a couple of meters away!





Even the teenager was happy to be with us!





I do believe that Georgia was the happiest of all!





Even Mr P joined in on the fun!





We stopped to help out some local surfers who had gotten their 4wd bogged. Lucky Mr P always remembers to pack the shovel & the snatch strap (tow rope) because these guys were really stuck!





Kiara spotted a Kangaroo in the bush.





I love to check out all the beach flowers.





Mr P spotted 2 dolphins playing just a couple of meters off the shore line.








So our weekend turned out to be pretty exciting after all!