Birthday Boy

On the morning of Jayden's birthday, we got him up early so he could get ready for school and still have enough time to open his presents.

 I'm still not quite sure why, but he's wanted one of these High Vis jackets for ages and we finally found one small enough for him!

 Then off to school he went, but we had one more present waiting for him when he got home!

 His own iPod shuffle.  He was stoked.  Then it was off to the chemist to get his ear pierced.  He asked me when he was 9 and I told him to wait till he was 10, then if he still really wanted it we would get it done.  I thought he might forget or change his mind, but it wasn't to be and I kept my promise and off we went.  When asked which one he said "The left one or I'll be gay!"

So the left it was.  A simple silver stud with a clear crystal in the middle.

 My children don't get to have their first Coke till they are 10 and Jayden had long waited for this.

 I was kind of hoping that he might not like it...but the smile told the story.  He just had a small amount and saved the rest for another day, but he also knows that it's only going to be an occasional drink, not something he will be able to have too regularly.

Hope you had an awesome day Jayden!

Some Blurry Birthday Photos

My camera is on the blink and so I borrowed Jayden's to take some birthday snaps.  They all came out blurry, so I was beginning to think maybe it was just me, but later learned the camera was set on 'snow' conditions?  Anyway, not sure I can scrapbook these, but here are some shots from the Sunday 'Cake with Family' event the day before his birthday.

Jayden Turns 10

Still can't believe my 'baby' is 10.  They grow up all too quick for my liking (some days).  Anyway, being the boy that he is, he asked for 'no party' and 'no friends over', just family around for some cake, so that is what we did.

I let him choose his own cake, which he originally chose as a treasure chest, but I wasn't organised enough and couldn't get the 'treasure' items he wanted, or find any of the chocolate fondant I've used previously, so he happily went with his second choice of a porcupine - yay, so simple!  Here is the end result:

I simply made a double batch of vanilla cake and loaded it up into one high edged round pan, then cooked it a little higher than usual, so it rose high in the middle (and split a little too which was expected), which provided me with the basic shape of the body.  I only had to trim a little from each side and end, which I then used to create the nose end.  Jayden loved it and everyone enjoyed the chocolate fingers.  Now I have to admit, that I was going to use flakes and cut them in half, then each half into four pieces lengthwise (a heck of a job), when Michael asked if I was going to use chocolate finger biscuits!  Hmm, I hadn't thought of that and it seemed so much easier, so that' what I did!

A Day With Vienna

A couple of weekends ago, I had the pleasure of having little Miss Vienna for the day, as Ashley and Wendy went to Hamilton to take a load of boxes and check out some real estate.  We had a fun day.  Unfortunately, my camera has been playing up and I often get super blurry photos and some of these aren't the best, but hopefully I can sharpen some enough to scrapbook them.  The first is my favourite from the day.  We had so much fun do the shopping.  I'd forgotten what it was like to shop with a toddler.  Thanks for an awesome day Vienna.

These were a little tastier!!!

Once I got home from ScrapCamp and had sorted the majority of my 'stuff' and was feeling in a better mood all round, it was time for some baking.  Just plain little cupcakes, with some yummo frosting and a few sprinkles.  No real effort, but they looked great and were eaten and enjoyed by all within 3 days.

 The one in the foreground in the photo above looked really cool, as I had just finished the vanilla frosting and just added the chocolate to same the piping bag, so the swirls came out with white edges and it looked super effective!

A little Overdone???

The commercial toaster, up at the camp I use for Scrapbook Retreats, takes a little while to warm up.  I have learnt though that you still shouldn't walk away from it, because should you go into the next room and get caught up in a very interesting conversation with the lovely Tania, then the quick thinking Wendy will have to rescue you - opening all the doors to let out the smoke!!!!

Mike always says my toast is really just 'Warm Bread' - not this time, it was well and truly cooked!

Difficult Times

There have been a few of them lately and yes there are people out there having a way more difficult time than me, but it just seemed that everything came at once.  Why does it always seem to be a feast or a famine.  There's been nothing in itself that is earth shattering, but a culmination of injuries, ails, poor finances, ADHD educational issues, red tape, sibling rivalry, relationship issues and a whole lot of personal stuff better kept to myself.

Hence I haven't blogged much lately, because where do you start and who would want to be reading it anyway.

You know what though, I decided I had to share some of it, just to get it out of my head if nothing else.  I spoke at length to my aunt and my cousin on a couple of issues, to my mum on some as well (although mums always worry the most, so I was trying not to increase her worry load), to friends on others and to my lovely sister Jo (bless those poor ears at times) and whilst a problem shared may not be a problem halved, I think it does feel like less of a burden.  For the better part, I have been able to take a step back, look at the bigger picture, realise I'm not the only one with my kind of issues and actually pull my head out of the sand on other issues and take some action, speak up for what I want, what I need, what I wont put up with anymore and just plain tackle some issues head on.

Things are already a whole lot better.  It can be scary facing difficult issues, nerve wracking talking to others about soul baring issues and even embarrassing to admit you might be failing in some area of you life, but nothing gets resolved without action.  So if you find yourself in a similar situation - reach out.  I guarantee it's worth it.