Flickr is a great big time sucking great way to spend an afternoon..
I am STILL doing 366 and will be very very pleased to shout happy new year..
this is awesome though and.. i have to say these lil things keep me inspired to continue..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/icedsoul/sets/72157604034244154/
ENJOY
Tomorrow is Andrew's birthday.. and so the celebration begins.
His birthday tomorrow..
his Mum arrives Saturday (which is Riverfire!!!) Riverfire is a fireworks celebration of the river which our city is grouped around.. lots of fun and great fireworks.. it is launched off a stack of the city buildings.. masssssive production and heaps of fun.
Lochie's birthday next Saturday and then we have Fathers Day the following day.
In between there are shoots, house inspections and finding a new house for us!
I have bought Andrew a BBQ for his birthday.. which he is loving.. (of course he has been using it before the day!) and so I had also bought some BBQ tools for lochie to give him on the day and was planning on picking up a pizza stone for it (it has a hood and cooks EVERYTHING! I think you can even do a cake in there..LOL
but alas.. today .. He took my bank cards and id to work to photocopy so we have paperwork for house applications..LOL and left me .. no means to shop! . I completely forgot about the birthday present !!! I try not to buy things early when lochs is with me or he dobs.LOL
I also don't expect to draw breath between now and Fathers Day next Sunday so I finished Andrew's Fathers Day gifts today..
dilemma.. he has a very nice new BBQ out on the deck and people coming on Sunday for BBQ lunch.. But no stone and BBQ tools on the day seems kinda lame.. he also has to work which kinda sucks on his birthday!! so.. i had a chat and we are swapping..
he will receive ALL the fathers day presents tomorrow.. and .. a pizza stone and BBQ set on Fathers Day, and at some point.. i WILL make it to the shops to buy something else a lil special because I feel bad I am doing a shoot in the afternoon and whilst I want him to be spoiled on his birthday.. being spoiled on Fathers Day is important too.
Tomorrow morning is coming fast tho.. and I realised... i have no gift wrap to wrap all the presents..LOL I mean I have wrap but not nearly enough.. sigh..
I had planned on lochs doing a treasure hunt for his present but think we will do a mini scavenger hunt for him instead.. no need to wrap then! LOL
I made his noticeboard today.. thank goodness I at least had that organised ahead of time. He really likes my huge screen covered in charcoal silk.. and so I made him a less girly one.. it is done in linen coloured linen and has three strings, so he can attach lots of papers and notes, and one or two photos :)
You can see it in the background of this pic. SUPER easy to do. Borrow a staple gun from your mother (or is that just me).. and iron the fabric and stretch it over an oversized canvas. This one was a long thin rectangle that we had at the last house. The room will be light cream/rental beige most likely and so i am hoping this linen and red theme works. The red bin is from ikea, as are the containers for those annoying computer bits he leaves everywhere.. the box should house lots of BITS.. and the CD rack (ala ice cube tray is me teasing him for laughing at mine!) .. the pen holders were also from ikea.. in the garden section.. red folders from office works and assorted other stationary (some not here) is from smiggle/kikki k etc.
i dont think it will be OVERLY red in the room.. lots of cream and linen but highlights of red. Lets hope or it will look like Elmo's playroom..lol
Andrew's office will also have the day bed in it so I bought 'tomato red' sheets and will get a throw or quilt cover in linen for the top + red cushions. I have some linen fabric left over so I will probably make some cushion covers too. it will double as a spare room but I can easily see him curled up in there reading a book.. ha.
OK off to work for me. I have some cool new products to finish!
Warning.. kids.. go and watch TV hahaha
Today loch's was brushing his teeth and asked about getting .. big people teeth.
I feel a lil apprehensive about the whole teeth loss thing. It has never ever bothered me before but him losing teeth is really unsettling for me..
not wanting to impart this.. i say in my most casual off hand kinda way.. oh those ones will come out and the new ones will grow. and then.. a lil more upbeat.. how cool is that.. and moved on.
Will it hurt.. No
Will there be B L O O D? *horroried face* right about now it occurs to me i am thrilled i have a little boy cause frankly he wouldnt take the period chat too well. (andrew insists this is a blogable thought.. i dont know?)
But Mummy.. what happens to the teeth.. ?
umm.. ok well now is as good a time as any. I mention the tooth fairy, glass of water.. cash.. (he is big on cash at the moment so this is great!!!)
but..*tears*.. what.. sob.. happens to my tooth.. *CRY*
for some reason apparent only to my stupid side.. I said... the fairies take it away and make houses from it.
OH FOR GOODNESS SAKES LANNE. If he was upset before he is in HYSTERICS now.. he could barely breathe.... the crying screaming sobbing.. but i don't want bits of me as a brick
*insert bad language in my head here*
So I say.. i lied. I am sorry I lied. I made it up...
Breath.. scream
cry
more crying
LOCHIE.. I LIED
I made it up
sob
scream
hysterics
Lochie... Mummy lied... I didnt mean it.. it was wrong I am sorry.. the tooth fairy is made up.
oh crap. *sorry sharons mum*
dont tell the other kids
ummm
it was a fib
*he seems to be breathing and listening.. at least a lil.. I repeat. hug and calm him down.
big fat tears stream but mummy i dont want to be a brick..
And you won't sweet boy. I lied..I made it up to make you feel better.. your tooth will fall out and we will just chuck it away.. I explain and beg him not to tell another child.
2 mins later. So Mum? Can I still have tooth fairy money?
*sigh*
sure..whatever.. :)
geeeeeez
sometimes I think i have this parenting thing under control.. then i say stupid things.. blow the whole fictional character and the world disintergrates into mass hysteria.
I was later quizzed on santa and the easter bunny *no shock there*
they are def for real tho.. based on the fact no harm or body parts were removed in the making of the fictional character
off to rest my weary aching crap parent body on the lounge for an hour before work.
This year.. I will have all my christmas shopping done by Nov 30.
There I said it.
I subscribe to the Suzanne school of thought. Suzanne is a woman i met a couple of years ago who spends ONE day shopping for christmas.. if you dont get it that day you dont get it and she spoils herself with lunches and movies and cake and coffee inbetween trips back to the car.
I like this idea.
But.. i am a modern suzanne (who was more like 45?) and so I am going to do a mix of my local MEGA Westfield and online gifts.. particularly etsy. and hand made.. by me!
I thought it might be fun to post a few links and share some of the cool stuff I have bookmarked. I am aiming for quality, useful, personal and practical.. I dont do ornamental rubbish or .. oh i was only $15 secret santa style gifts.. but there are TONNES of reasonably priced alternatives to ANOTHER random coffee mug.
Here goes..
Kaboost.. very cool chair extender.. beats a high chair in my humble opinion
Tiffin Tin.. these look so fun!
Not that I am THAT into shoes but this could be a wickedly cool gift! Custom Keds
The MUT - Museum of Useful Things has some different gifts.. good ones for secret santa/neighbours/friends etc
Number Clips.. and the 50 year calendar is a lil gimmicky but it may suit someone you know..
3D business cards would make for unique playdate/mummy cards..
This next site Stolen Wood includes a wire/rope lasso clothes hanger.. SO COOL for a lil cowboys room and not at all cool if your a grown up.LOL
I am not convinced this is practical but... it is kinda fun.. Gregory I Phone Cozy Whilst there i also saw this.. Which tells me people will buy ANYTHING and pay $17 for it.
I wonder how well this paper/mouse mat works with a normal mouse but i want it NOW...
and on that note.. I will end for today ;)
We often say.. oh.. I should find time for that.. oh.. i dont have time for that..
I make time for things.. i dont FIND time (i wish i would certainly be willing to look..LOL) but .. i think sometimes it is important to remember that tomorrow is promised to no one and .. we don't have time.
There is no better time than right now to say things, share things, to leave an impression, imprint or idea.
And so I am sharing this..
http://babyloveletters.typepad.com/
The idea is around 52 inspirations to write something for your children. You are given 15 mins to write down an idea or a paragraph or a letter.. and you keep them all in one place.
I am thinking about doing a book for Lochie, or at least the bunch of notes.
Apparently I have managed to fill my blog. My other blog.. the PWL one.
So.... I will post here for now and update later. Because I reeeeeally want to share this beautiful lil boy sleeping .. isnt he adorable?
Lochie is being a right pain in the bottom to get to sleep. The other night he laid there for 2 hours!!!
I worry about him laying their bored and on his own.
This week he popped out and asked for a Teddy Bear. I had a big tub of soft toys in his room when we first moved here.. but the dust here is unbelievable and I have moved them all downstairs to a big storage bin. There are a few bears in there. I said.. oh.. we will have a look for one tomorrow.. bed time bud.
He looked sad. (oh the power of that sad face!) and so we talked.. He really wanted a bear to cuddle to sleep.
I suggested.. that I had heard... and i wasn't SURE but I had heard a rumour that if you go to sleep.. wishing for a bear.. and you fall straight to sleep... sometimes, and again.. who knows? but I had heard.. that a bear could be delivered to you.. if .. and only if.. you were super lucky.
Right that was it. Off to bed and fell asleep in a matter of minutes..LOL
Now I needed a bear?
Andrew came downstairs and helped me seek one (i was a lil worried about spiders in the storage bin! LOL
We found a bear with a torn foot, which was mine, and had been in the top of the wardrobe at the last house. NO chance he would remember it.. perfection.
I wet him and threw him in the dryer with a dryer towel to freshen him up... stiched his foot.... tied a big red bow on him, and wrote the following letter.
Download the .pdf versions here.
D helped name him as old worldy bear names was a bit beyond me at that hour.. (thanks D) and we propped him up on the desk along with his letter.. sealed in a lil love heart.. and .. fell into bed at 3am.
I managed a couple of hours sleep before I was woken with the joy and excitement that a magical bear delivery brings.
Three things have been learned from this.
one. Let there always be a lil magic in solving parenting issues.
two. sampson sounds like handsome when you are nearly 5 and it is hard to say fast.
three. include fine print. A bear will NOT appear every night.
I give you Sampson.. shot on the iphone so excuse the quality! :)
You do not need to be polite, correct, choose your words so carefully or be such a boring stick in the mud. LOL
You hate your name.. so don't use it. You don't work at the govt.. stop writing like you do. It is OK to let loose and have some fun. It is OK because you are in charge and it doesn't have to be formal. It has to be YOU.
Love..
Lanne
Oh I needed this pep talk with myself. LOL
A few changes happening with PWL.. I have to sit down and adjust ALL the marketing/stationary etc for the new number...(whose idea was it to get an iphone when the old number was still on contract..ha!) blah blah boring. BUT .. I have been putting it off. Not like me. I am not afraid of boring or.. of staying up all night to do what needs doing.. but I am learning.. that things I put off for no apparent reason.. seem to be for a good reason.. and the outcome is better.
So in the .. ohh.. 4/5 weeks I havent done this.. I have come to realise how very annoying it is to have two numbers.. and.. two names.
See.. my name isn't lanne.. *gasp*. Well it IS my name but not technically my name. TECHNICALLY.. like when I fill in a tax form or my mother is mad at me... it is Leeanne.. dull as dishwater.. boring .. horrible child of the 70s with odd spelling in all its glory! I would run to the office and change it.. but I think it would TRULY offend my parents. I was named after the Dr that delivered me.. Dr Lee.. and .. given my mother had some bad experiences that he helped her out with.. I leave it alone. but really.. i HATE it.
I am not a lee.. or an anne.. or a leanne or a leighanne and really..the spelling is the bit they would want to keep.. So I just got on with the job of hating it. LOL
Until K. K who was adorable in all his twoness.. and couldn't say his new Nanny's name. He managed Tam Tam for sandwhich (that one took a while to work out!) Pom Pom for Possum.. Blum Blum for horse (because when his Dad read.. horses went.. gudalum gualum.. LOL) but leeanne.. nope. no can do.
This was a problem. I was with him often.. LOL I supplied tam tams and water. He managed L'anne. No ee's
OK.. I can live with that.
3 weeks later he talked like a machine gun going off.. MASSIVE adoption of language (Maybe I talk alot..LOL) but . .L'anne stuck. We skipped the ' and moved on. I remember his Dad's notes.. LAN please blah blah..LOL... Lanne.. we settled on it.
Of course when the very dangerous and unpredictable net came out NO ONE was going to use their real name. I went with Lanne. By now I was Lanne/Leeanne about 50/50 the net swayed it in my favour. Lanne - was well entrenched. BUT if you have a proper govt/corp job.. you get your real name ..like it or not.. and 1/2 our wedding invites were lanne and half leeanne..LOL.
But i HATE it.. and I dont have a good govt job and so.. I am switching.. LANNE.. you want me? Better try it first... :) I have included a lil explanation in my info cards. afterall.. Leeanne holds the bank account ;)
And whilst I am there I am going to make a few more things a lil more casual.. because I am.. and this business is MINE and all me.. and I can.
Back later with a beary nice tale of magic and teddies ;)
- lanne!
I have to open by sharing this.. it made me giggle.. but that the same time I think it would be super useful! Maybe we can have these made into keystrokes.. so as we hop around the net we can leave lil notes about bad design?
http://www.design-police.org/
Today was a good day. Umm.. I mean yesterday was a good day (because it is now 1am).
I am busy working away. Lochie was adorable today.. he ranged from calling me.. your highness for a few hours, to pretending to be a dog.. (i scratch him behind the ears and hand over 'dog food' (crackers) and whatever works for you lil man ;) I did some 'fishing' with him.. we shopped.. he got REALLY Cranky... seriously.. i now know what I look like when I get cut off in traffic..LOL he was seriously cranky with me .. first time really that he was REALLY REALLY MAD!
I wouldnt buy him a light saber. We have a deal.. ask for anything and everything.. but accept the answer. He didnt. LOL and I didnt budge.. tears.. nope. That didnt work (did he reeeeally think it would?) So he stomped his foot. A proper STOMP. And then walked to the back of the shop and stood there.. staring at me
The full length of House and Garden at Carindale. Standing. NOT coming.
I beckoned with my finger.
Nope
I smiled and repeated..
Nope.
STINKER
I pointed at him, at the ground near me and did one slower finger curl. *serious face*
nope
seriously... this is the big one.. you SO do not refuse the mama!!
I held up a finger. ONE. nothing..Second Finger.. TWO
he bolted for that spot on the carpet near me
I win. SHH.. dont tell him it was a competition.
who knows what happens when i get to 3? I soooo rarely ever use it and it is the big guns for me
We had a chat and he understood about the light saber.. but he still wants it. No.
And then i got to have a chat to Sam. JUVENTUS!!! I have been chatting to Sam online for longer than I have known Andrew.. probably 10 years? And Sam is lovely. He sent me a super cute email the other day.. wondering if I was me.. I am.
We have had two chats since.. and it is SO nice to hear what he is up to and how grown up he is!! .. he has gone from being 19 to 29 with a house and parents he cares for.. he has a proper grown up job and uni is a distant memory.
He is planning a jamming session with Lochs.. they can both play guitar and sing and hang out.. all on line of course.. but one day soon.. after 10 years! I might finally get to hang out with Sam. He is looking at moving here and visits often for music stuff. Andrew and I would both love to catch up with him.
Apart from this.. I have been thinking about the good old days of MIX tapes. and when the cooler kids would bring a ghetto blaster or boom box to school (in a second bag.. SO undercover).. and we could mix tapes at lunch and share music- who even knew you werent supposed to? LOL I didnt! *no really.. i didnt!* and people made mix tapes for one another.. if i was to make a mix tape now.. what would it be?
Other than that I am just working.. back into it again.. hopefully not all night!!
bite me.
I love our router today...
new itunes update and i put back the twitter tweet bar which magically disappeared.
