Trip away

I've been very busy over the last couple of weeks that I've hardly had a chance to turn my computer on let alone update my blog.

I've been working of course and have been called in a couple of extra days when an emergency has come up so that's been keeping me busy on it's own. Of course the kids are always keeping me on my toes too but the real reason I haven't had much of a chance to write is because hubby and I have been away.

We left last Saturday night after work and headed for Ingham in north Queensland. We made it to Rockhampton just before midnight and were both pretty exhausted so we stayed for the night and headed on the next morning.

Ingham was pretty well how I expected with only a few changes as expected by progress since I was last there. As a child and during my teenage years we spent many family holidays going up to Ingham and more specifically Lucinda on the coast where my mum's uncle lives.



I worked out that it had been 15 years since I'd last been in Ingham and Lucinda and some of the changes were a bit mind boggling but overall the places remained pretty much as I had remembered them.



Lucinda is famous for it's sugar terminal and 6km long jetty that transports the sugar to the cargo ships. It's a bit of a sleepy little coastal town on the mainland at the bottom of Hinchinbrook Island and is also quite well known for the good fishing in the area. You can either fish the Herbert River, the Hinchinbrook channel or go further out to sea and fish around Orpheus and Pelorous Islands or even further afield.



Even though we drove over 2500 kilometres all up to stay just a few days, it was so wonderful to get away and also to go back to an area I love and have so many fond memories of from my childhood.

Technology

Oh dear, my camera doesn't seem to want to download so I'm having trouble getting some photos on the computer. I decided to write without photos which may be a little boring but I'm off to work again this arvo and over the next couple of days so I probably won't have much time to write. Didn't want you all to think I was neglecting you.

The kidlettes and I have had a few lovely outings over the last couple of days which has kept them pretty excited. We've had a couple of unexpected trips to Caloundra to take N to the doctor so while she was there we went round to the park beside the beach. That was so much fun climbing, sliding, swinging and making new friends.

Then we had to go down early the next morning too so decided that a rare outing to MacDonalds (or Old McDonalds as Little Miss R calls it), for breakfast and a play. The kidlettes have been really well behaved and a complete delight to be with and I've thoroughly enjoyed our time together.

Today is N's birthday so it's been excitement in our house because it means the kidlettes get to open Grandmas presents. It also means cake which we'll make together soon which much mess I'm sure but it'll be fun.

Hope you all have a great day and when I work out what's going on with the camera/computer, I'll post the photos from the last few days.

Update: Yay, guess what? I've finally got my camera and computer talking together so I'll just pop in a few photos of that lovely day out that I had with the kidlettes.

In my basket

It's been a very busy week here, mainly with work. I had a product training day and then 3 days at work so it's nice to be having a family day and to get some crochet done. It's been ages since I've had the chance to sit down and do a lot of crochet as I've only been getting the chance to do bits and pieces.



Those bits and pieces though are turning into Little Miss R's blanket. I'm really not sure if I've done the right thing by making every square the same but as I'm joining it together as I go, it's starting to look good. Not great though as I'm not the most brilliant person at putting colours together and it's turning out different to I had expected. Little Miss R likes it and that's what counts isn't it?

I also had my birthday recently and my lovely sister over at Hearts Landscapes made me something special. Don't you love the material?! Evidently Little Miss R picked it out for me. Do you know what it is?



It's all unrolled now but not fully revealed. Are you quivering with excitement just wanting to know what it is? Don't worry, all will be revealed.....



The unveiling!!!



Isn't it gorgeous. No more looking for hooks and scissors which I keep stashing all over the place. I now have a cute little case to put all my crochet hooks, scissors and needles in. Oh the excitement of having this pretty little case made specially or me! Thank you, thank you. Now I just have to find those couple of missing crochet hooks so I can put them in the case too.

Lovely weekend

My weekends start on a Sunday these days, especially now that I'm back working and one of my busiest days happens to be a Saturday. That's just the way it goes in the beauty industry but for me Sunday is family day.



This weekend was a particularly gorgeous weekend so we decided to go for a picnic. Instead of going to the coast and the beaches, we headed inland to one of my favourite spots, Little Yabba Creek out near Kenilworth. I remember having many picnics here when I was growing up and now I'm heading out there with my family when the weather is favourable and we find ourselves getting cabin fever.




We didn't head into Kenilworth itself which is the home of a fantastic cheese factory and a great picnic area and playground for the kids. We instead ended up a few kilometres away at Little Yabba Creek which has a lovely picnic ground and bushwalk for us to enjoy with the kids. In summer it's a great spot for having a swim too but it's heading into late autumn and a little too cool for us!! We found out later in the afternoon that our neighbours and their children ventured that way too and braved the waters only to find themselves freezing later!




The walk is only just over a kilometre long and is either bitumen or boardwalk so it's quite user friendly and kid friendly too. Perhaps I should say parent friendly because we don't have to clean off muddy shoes before getting into the car.




And then of course, there was the most exciting bit before we finished our walk and that was seeing a carpet snake beside the track. Little Miss R happened to see this before us, in fact I walked straight past it, but it provided some excitement. Carpet snakes are pretty harmless and I think this one was a bit cold but if it was any other type of snake I can tell you that there's no way I would be stopping to photograph it!



I know that many people think that Australia is a place that is teeming with dangerous animals everywhere you walk but I have to admit that this is only the second time in all my 36 years that I've seen a snake in the wild. I've been on plenty of bushwalks and camping expeditions over that time too I can tell you so it was a pretty exciting moment for not only the kids but for me too. I'm just glad it was the good old carpet snake this time (last time was in Cooktown with my sister and I'm not exactly sure what it was but I do know it was pretty nasty).

I hope you all had a lovely weekend too. Mine was great, especially as we got to spend time as a family which seems to be rare these days.

I have a busy week ahead so will try and pop in as often as I can.

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to me! Today is my birthday and I've had a lovely day with the kids. We stayed at home which wasn't what I originally intended but that's what we ended up doing.

The kids helped me unwrap my presents this morning which was all very exciting and then there was cake in the afternoon which is even more exciting. Maybe making the cake nearly caused as much excitement too with fingers dipping in the mixture and the licking of bowls and spoons.

And then there was cake for afternoon toea and another after dinner that night! Little Miss R hates chocolate (shocking I know) and I love it so we had a non chocolate cake for arvo tea with pink icing and a choccy one for dessert that night. How spoilt to have two cakes!!




And this is me on the day of my 36th Birthday.

My First Blanket

Yay! I've completed my first big project which is Master M's blanket. I've been working on this on and off for a few months now and have finally finished stitching it all together which was an absolute pain in the butt I can tell you. (I'm trying the join as you go method for Little Miss R's blanket)



I'm so proud of it though even though when you look closely you realise just how bad a job I've done. It's mine and I'm just so happy that I've achieved something crafty which I never thought I had it in me. Hope your all as excited as I am!!

Busy days

The last few days have been very busy and that's mainly because I'm back at work. The end of the week (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) are my work days so I probably won't be posting too much on those days.

Work was busy but good and then Saturday night we went to our neigbours birthday party and had a lovely time. We didn't stay long, just for drinks, play for the kids and long enough for a nice chat before coming home. The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet too although that really only means Sunday and we're pretty boring and don't do too much on those days.



Monday dawned cool and cloudy so I decided that it was play and craft day with the kids. We made little butterfly puppets on sticks or that was the original intention. We ended up with all different shapes as well as glue, sticky tape and glitter everywhere! It was worth it as the kids had a ball and enjoyed every minute of it (so did mummy!)


(Miss R using plenty of glitter glue because it's 'pretty and sparkly').


(Mummy's is the purple and yellow one but I just had to have some help decorating)



The rest of the day was spent crocheting for me (I finished my first blanket! Yay!) I'll show you more of that next post as I'm very excited. The kids were pretty happy playing with balloons all day. Kim from next door gave them some balloons from her party on Saturday night and it's been one of the best toys out. Luckily only one of the four has busted so far and that caused much devastation so I'm glad the others are holding together pretty well. The kidlettes have been happy playing with the balloons for AGES which of course has kept mum quite happy too!!



All in all it's been a pretty good day doing fun things with the kidlettes and getting lots of kisses and cuddles. It doesn't seem to matter what else is going on in your life but when a child gives you a big sloppy kiss on the cheek and says 'I love you mummy', you realise that things are pretty good.