I did it, look out Martha Stewart! And now also Aussie Wordless Wednesay.

Remember my plan was to get all crafty and attempt to do some paper pom poms just like Martha Stewart and Maxabella Loves

...well here they are, and we all loved them so much that the girls now have one hanging in each of their rooms.

What do you think?

Due to illness, I am using my Sunday post for the WW. Expect to be back to full strength and new post next week.

Happy wordless Wednesday!






P.S. I have a giveaway in the post just down below, join in if you are an Aussie.

Girls and boys play differently, a review and a giveaway all in one post...

Boys and girls play differently, in general. Whatever their specific interest they still have a built in nature that tends to lead them to different styles of play.

I was always of the opinion that they should still be offered the same types and styles of toys to play with, that blocks, cars, dolls, train sets and dress ups should still be on offer to both sexes and they can use their imaginations to use these ‘tools’ as they like.

Recently Popps and Immy were fighting in the sand pit, we only have one match box car in the house, and even that had been left behind in the car by my nephew. I realized there was a lack of male centric toys in the Babble House. However there have been many times when SS has arrived home excited about sharing a new toy with the girls, there was the time he bought the wooden train set and spent a good half hour getting it just right, but they didn’t touch it. He has purchased kids golf sticks, fishing rods and a Little People Fire Engines. They all lay untouched while the baby doll pram is falling to bits and the numerous tea sets are now odds and ends due to overuse.

All this has even lead to a specific style of television viewing too. So when Handy Manny ‘A Very Handy Holiday’ arrived in the mail recently it was not something they had seen before. With another little four year old visitor I propped them all up on the couch and they sat down to watch Handy Manny and his toys go about preparing for Christmas Eve.

Handy Manny is lovely for preschoolers, he is full of nice things and his tools are rather funny, with names that are cleverly thought out. There is Pat the hammer and Dusty the saw, Stretch the tape measure and my favourite Felipe, the Phillips head screwdriver, plus a few others. In the main Christmas feature the toys go through a process of helping a few other people in the town and in doing so they learn that different cultures celebrate in different ways and believe in different things. There are lessons of good behaviour and manners and treating people nicely. There is nothing to upset a young mind engrossed in the story of Handy Manny, which is a real bonus for the very young viewers.

There are smatterings of Spanish worked in really well to the program, with counting and the odd word here and there. All three girls sat and watched and seemed to enjoy the Christmas episode.

But Handy Manny didn’t have the draw that a more traditionally girly feature would have. The older two were off and didn’t come back to watch any more and when given the option on another day for Handy Manny or a more pink alternative Popps went with the chick flick option.

Immy was delighted to meet her good friends Winnie the Pooh and co in a bonus feature of this DVD and did her little excited dance when it came on, considering she has never seen them on screen before she seemed really surprised that they had come to life from her books. Certainly a bonus of this DVD which is hitting the shops this week on 3 November.

So while I once wouldn’t have expected, encouraged or thought it would occur in my household, there seems to be a natural move to all that is traditionally girly and a lack of real interest in anything that is not frilly, sparkly or pink.

While I go and dust off the blocks and purchase a few more match box cars for the Christmas stockings to bring some new play styles into the house, you can comment here about your opinions on boys and girls playing styles and go into the draw to win

Your very own copy of Winnie the Pooh, A Very Merry Pooh Year.

You will also need to be a follower of this blog to enter.

Enter by Friday 5 November by 8pm

Winner announced on Saturday 6 November 2010.

This giveaway is only open to Australian and New Zealand residents.

When stuck inside for the day...

Today, everyone I know pretty much is at the races, SS is there too.

And the rains are coming to town for what is expected to be a major downpour.

So while I am feeling stuck at home with a day inside I have decided to give my lack of craftiness skills a tutorial and give some of the ideas I have gathered over the last couple of weeks a try.

First up, I loved the paper pom poms that Maxabella Loves made for a recent childs party and thought they would be fairly mess free, my kinda craft.

I have the supplies so will give it a try.


Then for the arvo, I must be feeling looney, but I am going to give the spaghetti painting from Hear Mum Roar a go...how bad can it be, can't I just send them out in the rain to clean them up?

Either way, it will help pass the day.

What do you do when every one is away and you can't get outside?

Marketing help for everyone

This weeks find was initially to give my fellow marketing chicks and chaps something that is worthy of reading for work purposes, but as I am also a believer in good marketing strategy, and that having and implementing said strategy can be your path to Louis Vuitton handbags, many of my followers with small businesses or blogs will really get some use out of this read.

Pollen Marketing is the blog of Queen Bee Natalie Giddings.

This is not a blog that will send idle "my kids made a mess at breakfast and I am over it" posts to your RSS feed. Instead, the posts will be less frequent than many blogs, they will be worth the wait as you get a well organised and easy to digest update on all things marketing.

If you run a small business of any kind, you could also take a good look at the layout of this blog, how it is blog, but business website at the same time. It shows how important a good web layout can be to help grow your business and that offering people free advice through articles on a blog can lead to many potential clients heading your way.

The side bar will take you to all the marketing areas you want to know about, exploring the traditional marketing mix to more recent social media. Every business or pro blogger wanna be needs some outside marketing advice to keep their ideas fresh, new, innovative and dynamic. Have a read over at pollen, mosey around and see if you can find some ideas to freshen up your blog, business or marketing job.

Bloggers might especially like the recent post on the unspoken rules of writing a good blog post. (hope I have followed them here...)

Australian Wordless Wednesday: Giraffes in our backyard

Who needs Africa when we have Werribee, the place used to smell like sewage, but now it is all beautified and dignified.

Comment and Linky up and let's play Wordless Wednesday. Click through the links to see some other great Aussie Bloggers.

Run Man, Run

Yesterday I had to work on a presentation in powerpoint (I loathe ppt) but I was wanting to put this youtube clip in to make the boring more interesting. I couldn't embed it in to the presentation so instead decided to just share it here instead.

Next time you are having a bad day, look twice before crossing the road.

Screentime that isn't for preschoolers: Santa Paws Review

Let's be honest here, I am not super strict on the amount of screen time my kids have. While I try my super dooper best to entertain them with my singing, dancing, craftiness etc, there are times when I rely on good ol' ABC kids to help me out, they are my inhouse virtual baby sitters, and they do a damn good job.

What I am strict about is what is viewed within this screen time. I have always made sure it is appropriate and age relevant for pre-school children. My girls don't watch the news (which pretty much means I don't either) nor do they watch commercial televsion, so i know they don't see adverts for programs that are not suitable.

Recently I jumped at the chance to review the new Disney Christmas movie The Search for Santa Paws. It has a crazily cute doggy on the front, it is about Christmas and put together by those that have specialised in kids movies for donkeys years.

Popps and I snuggled up on the couch all excited.

Unfortunately about 15 minutes was all she could take.

Within this time the movie takes shape, and Santa heads off to New York with his cute puppy, while an adorable little girl is dropped at a nasty foster home, her parents "didn't make it and had to go to heaven." where the lady in charge throws all their toys in the incinerator, makes them do chores all day and provides no affection.

Meanwhile, poor old Santa is hit by a car on the street, a homeless man robs him and then Santa can't remember who he is.

At this stage, we turned it off. Popps is a sensitive soul I know, but this movie has distressed her for the last few days, we have had discussions about what is not real on television (yes, not even Dora or Little Princess) that the nasty lady is actually really lovely (and has nicer clothes) and the girls all live with their real parents.

So if you have a preschool child that is not used to more intense movies, this is not for you.

However, if you are a sucker for Christmas movies, cute singing children and super happy endings (yes, I admit, I am guilty of such things) than you and your family will love it.

Everything is rounded off perfectly, the homeless thief turns good, the nasty carer gets found out, the two main girls get a family to live with, the dogs all kick up their heels and, phew, Santa is saved. There are also a couple of musical scenes, I should also admit I have Sound of Music up there in my top ten movies, so I do love a musical scene, but these ones do add some happiness/atmosphere/smiles to this movie.

You can watch the trailer for the movie here (not scary I promise) and hang around for a few weeks when I will have a copy of this movie to give away right here on my blog (just in time for Christmas).



If you want to read some of the other reviews on this movie (especially for kids over 4) try here and here

Friday's Find; Blogs, bogans and Woogs

This week's find is one of my all time fav reads.

Mrs Woog from Woogsworld is F.U.N.N.Y!

Mrs Woog, and that is woog as in boog, not wog as in bog, so she tells me, is classified as a Mummy Blogger cos she has two kids (the woogettes) and a Mr Woog. But she is so much more than that. She is, bugger those two children and a weak pelvic floor, wet ya pants laughing funny.

However trying to explain the style of a funny blogger is tricky, so I asked Mrs Woog to write a post for me and (jump in the air with excitement) she said yes!

I gave her the title "The inner bogan in all of us"

She has done me proud



You say Bogan like it is a bad thing
According to Wikipedia, The term bogan (pronounced /ˈboʊɡən/, rhymes with "slogan") is Australian and New Zealand English slang, usually pejorative or self-deprecating, for a person who is perceived to be from a lower class background or someone whose limited education, speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour exemplifies such a background. [

Similar slang terms and concepts exist in other countries, including: chav, scally and pikey in England; ned in Scotland; scanger in Ireland; zef in South Africa; tokkie in the Netherlands; Proll in Germany; white trash or redneck in North America; ars in Israel and lumpen or lumpenproletariat in Russia.

It is a universal concept. I am a bogan from birth. I grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney, slightly west of Mount Druitt, the bogan capital of Sydney, if not Australia.

We wore our jeans tight and stonewashed.

Not only did I grow up there, but did most of this growing in the 80’s, which I believed then and still do, to be the bogan glory years. When bigger was better and louder was best. We were called westies back then. And did not know anyone else but westies and thought everyone was the same, apart from the really cool dudes on 21 Jump Street. But even then on reflection. They were really just bogans with guns.

I think your heritage never really leaves you. I now live in a part of Sydney full of pinot sipping monarchists who drive Volvos. But there is no prouder moment I have than watching Mr Woog hoon up to Bunnings wearing his Bonds Wife Beater in his 1975 Holden Ute which is so crap the floor recently fell out of it. And he only ever turns up the radio in it really loudly when the Angels come on singing “Am I ever Gunna See your Face Again…. Nowaygetfuckedfuckoff. And he lifts weights to Rose Tattoo’s “We Can’t be Beaten” in the garage.

Mr Woog. Cultural. Intelligent. Bogan.

Some people get confused as to where they fit on the Bogan Wheel, so I have concocted a little survey to complete. It is a bit like sitting for your driving test, but hopefully not just passing because you showed the gross old man from the RTA your boobs.

The first time you got pissed was

a)At your 18th Birthday Party with your parents on 2 glasses of wine

b)After skulling a hip flask of vodka at a Blue Light Disco

c)After skulling rocket fuel at the skate ramp

Your First Celebrity Crush was

a)Prince Andrew

b)Simon le Bon

c)Ozzie Osbourne

You have tattoos…..

a)Nowhere and think they are disgusting

b)A small butterfly on your ankle

c)A tramp stamp featuring a dolphin smoking a bong surrounded by frangipanis as well as your 7 kids names down your arms along with their full birth dates. And your eyebrows are tattooed on. Also a bit of bright blue eyeliner. But that is it for this year.

At your wedding you wore…

a)A Joanna Johnson gown

b)A crystal covered strapless dress by a shop in Wetherill Park.

c)A crystal covered strapless and backless dress by a shop in Wetherill Park with elbow length white gloves

Your Ideal meal would be…

a)Italian in Norton Street

b)BBQ in the Backyard

c)McDonalds Family Dinner Box in the car.

Please circle the correct spelling

a)Tiffany

b)Tiffani

c)Typhanee

Ed Hardy is

a)Who?

b)Pretty Bad

c)A fucking genius

Your Ideal Man

a)is caring, supportive and shares your values and beliefs

b)has a good job and is a good dad

c)is hung like a donkey, the last one standing at a keg party, nearly always calls you the correct name and loves Jim Beam, Ed Hardy and Tatts.

If you score mostly A, you are not a bogan. But I do suspect that you’re extremely dull and only ever do it in the Missionary Position and never eat carbs after 10am.

Mostly B’s? Where the majority fit in. Welcome. You understand the principals of boganism and are aware when you start to drift towards the line. You are able to self-check your actions and smarten up your act a bit. Although you still get a bit feral when you hear Metallica.

And my lovely ancestral sisters who find themselves in the C group. Thank God for you, but why are you either super runty skinny or morbidly obese? You make life colourful, give us unique spellings, keep the piercing industry in business and make sure you are heard wherever you go. The world needs folk like you. Do not change. The only thing I ask is please stop wearing leggings as pants.

Apart from that, as you were.



Thank you Mrs Woog for doing my very first guest post and for everyone else, you may now head over to Woogsworld. (Tena's may be required if you haven't been keeping up the exercises).


PS For those that can't remember the image is of Johnny Depp from his 21 Jump Street days.

Australian Wordless Wednesday: Three Generations

Following on from the Monday post of my newest favourite and oh so fabulous photos of my darling cherubs, I bring you this...Three Generations of Wonderful Women.

Yes, that's me, my Mum, Popps and Immy. And I do believe this is the one and only photo we have of the four of us. Hopefully the first of many many many.

This image was also taken by the remarkable Karen at Studio Kas, see her online or at the Williamstown Market.

 Now get linky, add yourself to the list and show us your favourite stuff of the week.

To Market to Market...to fall in love with my new photos.

It is true, I am a market groupie. Rarely does a weekend pass when I don't stumble across a market somewhere.

I love them for the fresh foods and craft work but also for the spur of the moment things that happen. It might be letting the kids hang out in the animal section or getting their faces painted, or getting to eat morning tea while being entertained by a muscial act or busker. Markets are usually held in an open space area that has a park close by, so to me they provide the perfect lazy day activity for all of us.

A few weeks ago while my parents were here for a visit, I took Mum for a wander at the Williamstown Market, (yes, you Eastern Suburbs chicks, you have to go over the West Gate Bridge to get there!) To my delight we found a little tent with a photographer with a new concept - pop in and have some photos done instantly, and if you like what you see emailed to you the next week, buy what you want, if not, then doesn't matter, no obligation to spend up, no one hassling you (like at those other places of pixie children's photos).

I LOVE Photos. They are my addiction. I don't smoke, certainly don't drink as much as I would like, don't buy magazines, but I do spend on photos.

SS was worried.

But no need! These photos are fabulous and fabulously priced.

So much am I excited about this concept that next time (if that ever happens) that SS has the Williamstown Market day off, we are heading back to get a family shot, good or bad weather, it wont matter, Karen from Studio Kas will click away. Fix me up with good hair and skin and da da - family portrait will be done.

Here are a couple of shots that Karen did (yes I have full permission to reproduce them on my site, but no, you do not.)

Considering we went to the market without the intention of being photographed, they are totally natural. Granny had just bought them a hair clip each, which makes them have one matching item each. I love it.

Wait for my Aussie Wordless Wednesday for another of my favourite shots and get yourself to Williamstown Market if you want some for yourself.

Consumer's Choice, when there is good and bad.

There has been a lot of fun playing along this week with I heart life and body image. There have been a few women getting their gear off and sharing the top three bits of them with the world. The idea is to really show 'real women'.

But relax, you wont be gettin' none of that here.

Here is a clip titled Beauty Pressure.

It is ultimately promoting the Dove real women campaign, but I do really like this advert. (It is viral only, not on paid networks, as far as I know).  On its own it looks like a promotion worth supporting. Finally a product that uses women that are not stick skinny, a company that is concerned about the effect that seeing so many sexualised women in the media could have on our daughters.




But, considering the owners of Dove also promote Lynx, who degrade women constantly, with ads like this Lynx Jet one:




 ...is Dove really behind the idea of real women, or just hoping that looking like being behind women will result in sales. Is this also their motive in strongly supporting breast cancer research. Does Dove truely have a passionate Corporate Social Responsibility campaign running, or are they just smart enough to know that women are sick of seeing 16 year olds promote the products they buy and Dove can happily reap the rewards of a slick marketing campaign.

As a consumer, the decision is now would you boycott Dove? And Lynx? Or maybe just Lynx? For me, the answer is both, but I do hope Dove continue with their campaign while maybe trying to influence the other "horses in the stable" at Unilever, that women are not just a toy to play with.

Do you ever feel passionate enough about an issue to boycott a company and it's ENTIRE product distribtion?

De cluttering on facebook

I love facebook as a place to communicate with my friends, old and new, to be kept up to date with friends far away and share their photos, humour and thoughts. I like to feel comfortable to write anything, knowing that i know each of these people reasonably well, or have done in my past. These people know my family, my more personal life, they most likely won't ever judge me too harshly.

But, bloggers like to linky up everywhere and are growing in my facebook world. This is going to have to change for now and I will be defriending my blogger friends on facebook, but please don't stress blogger pals, I am already following you in google reader and on Twitter, I shall not miss your posts.

For those school friends I haven't seen in nearly 20 years, if you have NEVER sent me a message, if you pass me on the street and don't say hello, if you never interact on facebook, then we don't really need to be fb friends either.

So, I am having a facebook clean up, rechecking my security settings to keep SS happy and hopefully not offending anyone in the process.

Australian Wordless Wednesday: Wall Art

I am redecorating Popps' room, she needs some artwork for her room and I have been scouring etsy. Can't decide on which of these delights I want most.

They are all from a store called The Little Humbugs
Which do you like best?

Avoiding bread and dripping for Christmas day

You have heard me dribble out the thrifty word maybe once, twice or a trillion times since we moved into the babbleOn house this year.  

SS and I recently looked at the upcoming expenses. Due to bad planning we have Immy’s 2^nd birthday, a visit from the jolly red man and Popps turning 5 all within 31 days. Add to this, SS taking annual leave over Christmas means no overtime shifts, plus big girl kindergarten fees need to be paid for the first time. Eeeeek, while we may be spared from bread and dripping come Christmas day, it will need some nifty planning and bargain spotting to get the gift list sorted for all the nieces, nephews and little friends.

Kmart are asking how much can you get for $20 from their catalogue. I have seven little babblers to buy for. This should take care of two of them, which certainly fits the budget:

 Cute pair of summer shoes and a pack of lollie snakes for Miss 6: Total  $8.00

Two piece outfit for Mr 1 (he is tiny, and will still fit in these sizes with a car added to it.  Total $11.00

the top at the front

to go with the pants at the front

and one of these

 

That gives me $1 left to print up around five photos which I will use as a Christmas postcard to send to a few treasured friends and family.

 

Photos as postcard are a fun idea for Christmas wishes.

What are your tips for avoiding starvation on Christmas day or do you still let the olds put on the best spread in town? (like we do, thanks guys, you know who you are.)

Over active-ity kids

Some of the rules in the our house are made and soon declared, "that will be best for the children" but really the answer is, that is what we can afford, that is what fits into the schedule, or that is all mummy can be bothered doing.

House rule number 865 is: Thou who does not earn an income, shall only be ferried around to one activity a week.

And as we are in Australia, and as I am a self confessed worrier of safety the lesson has had to be swimming. For a stint gymnastics was allowed too, but after a particular bad class where we left early, it was all over red rover.

But, for term 4 Popps won't be doing swimming lessons for the first time in three years. Why? Well, cos it is time Immy got in the pool too. But one year olds need to have their Mumma in the pool with them, and I don't really like to be in there with the muffin top floating about and singing nursery rhymes with people I don't know. I find the packed mouse sized change rooms too stressful with just Popps, so getting three of us dry and dressed  with 87 other kids is too much for me. Panic attack anyone?





Plus, at around two hundred smackers a term for one, that would make it four hundred big ones for two, just for ten weeks of lessons.

Instead, the money is going to a pass at the local pool, and for a fraction of the cost we get the whole summer to frolic about in the chlorine. For the last four weeks the three of us have been heading off for a swim, and so far we have always had other friends join us. It is fun for everyone, I get to chat with a friend, the kids all have a swim, the little ones get exposure to the water and we get out and changed at a snail pace without the pressure of the 87 other kids all finishing a lesson at the same time. It comes with an added bonus, Immy is exhausted and sleeps for two hours afterwards. Yahooooooooo

Extra bonus points just keep on coming, we also have money free to put towards the dance lessons Popps has been begging for, so I am on the hunt for a local dance class that isn't too serious and won't request I sew a gazillion sequins onto a leotard.

There is a lot of discussion about kids being over scheduled, taking too many classes, sports events, play dates, kinder, outings etc. How many activities do your kids do? If funds were no problem, would they do more? How much is too much, what wouldn't you let them do?

I am off to wash the chlorine out of my hair.

Blog with a real difference, tissues required

I have changed the title of this weeks post from Favourite Find. The blog I am mentioning this week is one I would prefer never existed, one that didn't have a need to be written.

But life isn't like that and bad things happen to really good, everyday people.

One minute you are going about your daily life and the next everything is changed forever.

In her blog Dear Darl, the author is a very recent widow. Her husband died in a car accident earlier this year. The author is writing letters to her husband to assist with her grief. They are personal and powerful, and show the full level of emotions that  grieving people have to cope with. It can feel like an intrusion on a personal conversation between a wife and husband when reading these letters. I feel like the fly on the wall in the bedroom, when the kids are asleep and the writer is crying silently to herself and speaking her requests to her husband.

There are posts about getting on with the mundane aspects of life, but on your own. Of having to work out what you can and can't cope with - such as a holidays with other families, but there are brief snippets that remind you life will go on for this family. One day, they will have less pain than they do right now. They will be ok.

From a post a few months ago:

So far I’ve only broken down in a screaming heap once. I’m getting very good at the snot-less cry now too which is far more convenient than the tissue-wasting variety of Big Ugly Cry.  I can just elegantly mop up the tears that roll down my cheeks.  Pity I didn’t grow that enormous beard like I told you I dreamed about a few days before you died – that sucker would have mopped up an ocean of tears.  and snot.  noice!  (Shaddup – you love my for my sense of humour – admit it!!)


This blog can be a glimpse into how someone you know might be feeling after the recent loss of a family member. It might offer someone else some help one day in the future. But for now, it makes you want to stretch your arms to wherever this writer is and tell her she is doing well, a great job, and there are people that care about her.

Deardarl - Letters to my husband. The original meaning of what blogging was for, an online diary.  Few photos, no advertising, no sponsored sales pitches, no memes, just true personal writing. Have a read, have the tissues handy if you are a sensitive soul like me.

Taste the back of a stamp again...you know you want to.

Since I first decided to go with 'Handwriting is the new black' I continue to get comments on the post, emails to my inbox and tweets on my twitter that new people would love to join in.

My original little challenge to myself to send out some letters to people is over. I did well, sent out a range of things, cards, letters, postcards, Flat Stanley. I even received some letters in return which was possibly the very best bit of this task.

So it's time to organise it again with a new slant, a twist, something to keep it interesting. You don't have to do something every week, but if you can, do. It isn't a challenge to yourself, more like a new hobby, returning to do something you used to enjoy.

Soon it will be Christmas time, traditionally the time of writing out cards to people and wishing them well for the coming year. But how many cards do you receive (or send) with just:

     To Jane,

Merry Christmas

              Love Jill


BORING! Boring to the nth degree.

I don't want to receive these cards, might as well send a communal text message, and to be honest, neither does anyone else. They stick them in the venetians near the Christmas tree, adding to the card numbers, like mini trophies in the who has the most friends competition, but they don't look forward to receiving them like the ones that really have something written in them.

So, it is time to start writing for Christmas. Real writing, with at least a paragraph containing some news, some thoughts, some hopes for the year ahead, a reminder of previous fun times, you get the picture.

It doesn't have to be an official Christmas card. Get the kids to make some, get my kids to make some, for god sake, we have enough glitter in the carpet, we could just roll paper over it for a few days and Ta - daa, sparkly cards.

If you want to get in the spirit of giving early, buy your cards from a charity, many of them rely solely on Christmas cards for revenue.

Alternatively, if you are feeling that you don't have a big Christmas letter writing list, or you don't celebrate Christmas in your neck of the words. The postcard challenge could be your way of getting pen to paper and tasting the back of a stamp once more.

If you are a charity, a NFP or a crafty type that is selling cards, let  me know, I might be able to add you to a link list to inspire all the writers out there.

You don't need to have a blog to join in, just leave a comment if you're on your way to the stationery drawer at your place (hope you have less glitter and worn out texta's in yours than we do).


The image here includes cards from Poss and Wom, you can buy them on Made it

Australian Wordless Wednesday: When little beats big

Welcome back.  It is spring, it is showtime and Babble Dad returned from the show with only one bubble gun. It was the one item that Popps got instead of a showbag. Immy got some other plastic crap.

It all started out so bubbly



then the determined little tot got her frills in a twist

and the big one went to pieces.


Bubbles just make kids so happy...or not.

Link away, let your images tell the story (if you can manage the wordless bit, well done)!

Gorgeous bubbas, I just love this photo.

I have been following the story of Childs i Foundation for about a year now.

If you don't know the story, get the quick version here.

It's a new babies home in Uganda, run by a British girl that has gone from the lucrative TV industry to the not so first class streets of Uganda. The fundraising concept differs in that they keep you involved every step of the way in what they are doing for babies abandoned in the streets. They are on facebook, you tube, twitter and other social media outlets. Childs i Foundation keep you focussed on the story - it's about loving the babies, the families, the community and reminding you of the good that comes from being involved with international aid organisations.

These bubbas are clearly thriving in their new abode and looking oh so scrummy I just want to kiss each of those chubby thighs.

This is a Foundation that is well supported by the UK community, but Australian organisations looking to improve their groundswell of support, could learn how using social media networks may be beneficial for us all.

A smelly slimey mumma

A really beautiful morning at the North Melbourne market has been followed by a rather ordinary trip to the park around the corner.

After deciding the day called for us to go walking to the post box and park to celebrate the glorious weather we have been so waiting for, we headed off. Pram for Immy who was not happy not to be on her push bike (but I hate the thing, she over rides the steering all the time)and deadly treadle for Popps, who may never get off training wheels before high school.

At the park Immy seemed to want to sit on my knee in the shade and not play, very odd.Then she started to say "home". Super odd for her. So I tried to encourage her to play, and then bllluuurrrrghhhhh. VOMIT. All over me. I cleaned us both up as much as a few huggies wipes can.

About to get her back in the pram and double whammy.VOMIT.

You can just imagine the smell and look of the three of us walking home, one naked screaming baby, one slimy mother with watermelon chunks all over her and one preschooler screaming about having to leave the park and worried the footpath was too wobbly for her training wheels to go over.

Of course SS is at work till midnight, I have the towels ready.

Favourite Blog find week 3

Another week, another gem from the blogosphere.

They say if you want something done, then ask a busy person. I expect the writer of Cupcakes, Frocks and Pink is one of those kind of people. With two billy lids in tow she also runs a few businesses, works full time, and blogs.

But, Cupcakes Frocks and Pink has a new secret weapon (that is not so secret anymore) and I think I would like to clone Sandy and have her drop by the Babble House on a regular basis too. Sandy is a Professional Organiser, and the writer of Cupcakes, Frocks and Pink is happily sharing some of the tips that come from deciding to get a 'Sandy' in your life.

This site is pastel, pretty, easy, friendly, a nice place for your eye to gaze for a few moments in the middle of a busy work day, when you just need a break from the usual work screen (word or spreadsheets can get you down a bit when viewing them 8 hours a day).

There are many single photos that randomly appear and all of them are pleasing to see, they fit the theme of the blog and keep you wanting more. Pop over and say hello, and while you're there, check out the Feed Me box, Sandy has started...time I got myself a few of those too!