Happy Birthday to Me. Turning 32..

A birthday shot c/o Hubby :)

 

Yesterday I turned 32, I had a lovely day down the coast with my wonderful husband & children who treated me to a shopping expedition & an afternoon at the beach.. Very spoilt :) Theres just something so relaxing about an afternoon spent at the beach. The kids playing in the sand & paddling in the water, so peaceful. A lovely way to spend one's birthday..

Soaking up the Sunshine..

 

Having fun at the park @ Broadbeach GC

 

 

Our Little Water Baby

 

 

Heads down, bums up.. the boys loved playing in the sand & water

 

If I look at where I am today I am happy with my life in most respects. I have a wonderful husband, have 2 wonderful boys (and the honour of calling 3 others my own), my family is great (although we don't catch up often enough), we have a comfortable home & I'm fortunate enough to have a great career under my belt with teaching (even though I don't do much with it at present) So where I'm sitting at 32 is pretty comfortable.

So furthering this, today I sat down & contemplated my 33rd year of life.. What do I want to accomplish this year? Where do I want to be in 1 years time from now.. Do I want to improve things, are there things I need to change or are there things that need to be eliminated from my life?

This year I would like to focus on reducing the stress in my life.. I feel that stress is making me feel ten times older and it's something I need to address. There were a few hurdles in the past year that I jumped & although I stumbled from time to time I was thankfully able to land on my feet in the end. Setting regular routines for the Children, getting Miss 11's ADHD better managed and working on being more organised overall will help I am sure.

Eliminating debt.. Due to some poor judgement calls I made in my early twenties I had some personal debt that followed me about for quite some time. I found out the other day that my credit rating resets itself in March this year, so im rather pleased about that! :) This year it is my goal to start putting aside some savings.

 

I would like to start up a hobby or a sport.. I dont really have any hobbies or sports under my belt as I stopped playing sport back in year 11, however, last year I took my son to Tae Kwon Do and really enjoyed it. Perhaps we could start up again when the term starts and take it from there. I did martial arts for 9 years when I was younger so it was something I felt comfortable with.  Other than that, walking and swimming are going to be high on my agenda this year too!

 

Catching up with friends and or making friends would be nice.. I dont really have a great social life as my Husband is my best friend & my family are my friends LOL.  The only friends I do have I rarely see, so I would like to forge some friendships based on common interests or even with fellow Mum's that 'get me' this year.  I plan on branching out to a playgroup now that Mr 1 is a little older so perhaps I will meet some like minded people there (although it's scary to think there may be people like me in the world out there somewhere! LOL)

 

Aside from that, I dont see any babies in my future this year although I have been thinking more and more about 'finishing' our family with one more addition and getting increasingly cluckier as Mr 1 gets older, however, the other night I decided  to wait until next year (and then i'll see how I feel about baby #3/ child #6)  Increasing my health, finishing off the reno's to our home, sorting out some of the kids issues, running after a very active toddler and spending some time with my boys will keep me well and truly occupied enough this year I feel.. and then some! 

 

So Happy Belated Birthday to Me, See you at 33! 

 

 

And the Winner Is.. (2Kool4Skool Giveaway)

Congratulations to

Joyce Tan!

You are the winner of our 2Kool4Skool prize pack!  Please check your email or alternatively email  awishfulwhimsy@gmail.com  to claim your awesome prize. 

Congratulations again and thank you to all that entered & thank you to 2Kool4Skool.com.au

Dani

Meal Planning Monday (Week Ending 20th January 2013)

Spaghetti Bolognaise - A family favourite

 

Yes it's Tuesday once again & I had meant to type this up last night but I fell asleep with the iPad on my head so didn't get very far with much last night at all.. Exhaustion from my Birthday celebrations I'm sure.. :) This week I'm meal planning for 2 adults, 4 children & 1 toddler. This week I'm going to be blogging about meal ideas for larger families (smaller families will have great freezer leftovers!)

My meal plan is as follows;

MONDAY : Spaghetti Bolognaise
TUESDAY: Sausage sizzle with the lot!
WEDNESDAY: Homemade Chicken Soup w/crusty bread rolls
THURSDAY: Salmon Patties w/ Salad.
FRIDAY: Tomato, Onion & Olive Chicken (slow cooker) served w/ Pasta.
SATURDAY: Baked Fish (Hoki) with vegetables.
SUNDAY: Apricot Chicken w/ rice. (slow cooker)

Bake List:
Chocolate cake
Choc chip cookies

Recipe's to follow shortly...

Winners of the Facebook 2Kool4Skool Pencil Case Giveaway

The winners of the 2Kool4Skool Satchel Style Pencil Cases from the Facebook giveaway are;

* Belinda B
* Michelle V.

Congrats!

Please check your email or send me an email at  awishfulwhimsy@gmail.com to claim your prize :)  Be sure to enter my blog giveaway for 2Kool4Skool.com.au entries close on Wednesday and will be announced on the blog on Thursday 17th January.

Good Luck!

Planning School Holiday Fun with the kids input

My Husband is presently on holidays for 2 weeks.. So he is nearly 1 whole week into his holidays.. This past week was all about 'back to school' - organising the kids books, uniforms, school bags etc.. That, I can say with genuine relief is now all FINISHED! Yesterday and today have been about getting the little jobs around the house done.. so yesterday we re-hung all of the photo frames on the wall, tethered some of the furniture to the walls, did a general spring clean and got on top of all the washing - today Hubby has been doing the yard work, taking down the Christmas lights (funny how you tend to forget the ones on the roof!) so by tomorrow we should be ready for a week of School holiday fun!!

So yesterday I gave each of us (including myself ~ for Mr 1 of course) 2 pieces of note paper and asked the kids to write down 2 activities they would like to do on the holidays.. I stipulated they had to be realistic and affordable and then on the overside they could write 1 activity they thought they would love to do, but mightn't be realistic or affordable (as sometimes you never know your luck..)  Hubby and I did this also and we got a great response.. Hubby was hoping they would all write down the same thing so we could get out of it easy, but no such luck lol.

We had varied responses from going scooter riding at the park to going to Movie World.. My favourite was the idea of a Beach holiday or Shopping at Pacific Fair (funnily enough Mr 1 requested both of these things ;). So we compiled a 'doable' list & this is what we have based next weeks plans loosely around.

It's a great idea as at the end of the holidays the kids can't say we didn't do anything they wanted to do & we've been able to keep them entertained for minimal cost as asking them to consider affordability made a lot of their requests very wallet-friendly. It was also nice to see some of the things they valued such as 'having a BBQ dinner' 'a movie/Wii night with the family' were just lovely 'together' things. The elder two tried to plot an escape by writing down 'sleeping at friends houses' which Hubby & I also didn't think was a bad idea (pre-teens can be a little tedious at times)

So yes, next week's holiday plans are pretty well all mapped out, kicking off Sunday for my Birthday & continuing till Sunday next week & then we'll work out a week of fun for me & the kids to do for the last week when Hubby trudges back to work (or skips back happily - odd mental image :\)

How do you plan holiday activities? Do your kids get input into the activities you do?

Heading Back to School with 2Kool4Skool.com.au + Exciting Giveaway!!

To celebrate the launch of 2Kool4Skool's '26 Days of Kool Giveaways' I would like to introduce my readers to their great range of back to school products.  Please feel free to read my first ever review post below & be sure to enter my fantastic giveaway to win yourself some of these fantastic products!

I can hardly believe we are already over the half way mark in the kids school holidays and it's at about this time that the mind wanders to the dreaded impending 'back to school'. But unlike previous years I am more than happy with my back to school preparations thus far. 

Not only have I organised the kids uniforms and shoes, but I've also bought everything on their book lists and ordered some personalised labels from Stuck on You.  I thought this was pretty impressive in itself, BUT it's already all covered, labelled and ready to go!!! Super keen or what??

I must admit, I did have a little bit of motivation this year as I couldn't wait to try out the new products from 2kool4skool.com.au!  2Kool4Skool is an online business that specialises in reusable PVC Book Covers and cool coordinating stationery. I was first introduced to 2Kool4Skool late last year prior to the launch of their website and ever since I must say I have been very impressed. Impressed not only with their products, but also their friendly service, their dedication in getting a new business launched and their presence on social media. 

 

Some of the funky book covers and accessories for Mr 7's books.

 

So when it came to ordering supplies for back to school 2013 I didn't hesitate! I actually looked forward to jumping online and picking from their extensive range. The kids helped too, because I know they love stationery shopping (who doesn't!) and I loved the fact the website was so easy to use, stock was readily available,  postage was lightening fast, packaged perfectly and the order was spot on!

With 4 kids at school (3 Primary and 1 High school) back to school shopping is never a walk in the park for us but I found many of the back to school basics such as pencil cases, lead pencils, crayons, erasers, rulers and pens through 2Kool4Skool. The kids all chose their favourite designs which they were very excited about and we found there was something for everyone (which is usually pretty hard as I have fussy kids!)
 

Miss 11 loving her 2kool4skool stuff!

 

Each of the kids loved their pencil cases and were able to choose a design that reflected their personality well. They are using the Satchel style pencil case for their coloured pencils, pens and crayons and their Gym Boot pencil case for everyday items such as pencils, erasers and sharpeners etc. I found this way of organising pencil cases has worked perfectly in the past and helps the kids to be more organised and minimises loss!



Miss 11's Pencil Case - Cool Chick

   

Mr 12's Pencil Case - Danger!

 One of the kids favourite things was all the smelly stationery, they absolutely loved the Scratch n Sniff labels and went label crazy on all of their items! The labels were great not only for the books, but also for their folders, calculators and even their glue sticks!

The Scratch n Sniff labels are great for naming folders, glue sticks, calculators, etc.

 

The stickers look great even on large A3 Art Blocks.

 

Miss 11 went scented stationery crazy and found the scented markers, highlighters, Fun in the Sun Eraser and scented ruler right up her alley.. her pencil case smells divine!

 

Miss 11's array of pretty and smelly stationary

I road tested some of the stationery items myself and was impressed with the writing quality of the pens, the erasers rubbed out neatly and cleanly and the pencils and sharpener, sharpened easily and well. The crayons and markers were a big hit, were nice and colourful and would be great for smaller children as they are nice, chunky and easy to hold.

Testing out the rubber!

BUT The product I am most excited about is the 2Kool4Skool Book Covers!  WOW.. The amount of hours I have wasted over the past 7 years using contact, brown paper and gift wrap all flashed before my eyes and if I had $1 for every air bubble I got in the kids books  in the past I'd be a rich woman! Sooo I was a little more than excited over the prospect of never having to use contact ever again!!! We had 51 books to cover this year of various sizes, but predominantly A4 and Scrapbook and once again I was able to buy designs that would appeal to each of the kids, some of them even matched their pencil cases!

 

Miss 11's Book cover's.. Exercise, A4 and Scrapbook Size.

 

Mr 7's Scrapbooks from the Gobble & Google Eyes Sets.

 

 

Mr 9's Exercise Books with funky cover's.. His favourite was the Lego 'Lil Dude' pack.

 

I actually covered the books last night and even the kids were able to help, they got a kick out of, because it's something they haven't been able to help with in the past.  It only took 1 and 1/2 hours to cover and label all of the kids books from start to finish and the part that took the longest was deciding on the designs that each of the kids wanted!  But because we had a few different packs we were able to mix and match the designs so they had a great variety. I even found some of the packs were unisex and would be great for people with 2 kids because you could share packs easily amongst the kids even if you had a boy and a girl. 

 

Overall my experience with the brand as a whole has been a positive one and I would thoroughly recommend them to all of my readers.. So much so that I have an awesome prize pack on offer to share;

 

 

 

To be in the draw to win, please follow the Rafflecopter below.. if something isn't working with it please leave a blog post comment with the answer to the following question; What 2Kool4Skool book cover design do you like the best?

The Prize Pack Contains

1 x Satchel Pencil Case/ID Holder

1 x Packet of Bubblegum & Chocolate Scratch N Sniff Labels

1 x Packet of Colour Appeal Crayons

1 x Pack of Exercise Book Covers

1 x Pack of A4 Book Covers

1 x Pack of Scrapbook Covers
1 x Fun in the Sun Eraser
1 x Valentines Pencils
 

All brought to you by the great people at 2Kool4Skool.com.au.  I am sure they will be able to make your back to school 2013 experience as fantastic as mine has been this year!

You can find the full range of 2Kool4Skool.com.au products here:
http://www.2kool4skool.com.au/index.php


* This has been a review post for 2Kool4Skool.com.au however, all opinions expressed above are that of my own & I was not paid to write this post
a Rafflecopter giveaway )




 

Kicking off the New Year in a Great Way!!!

 

I got very little sleep on New Years, sadly I wasn't out partying.. although we did have a fantastic night at home with the boys having a BBQ dinner, sparklers, Christmas crackers (that we forgot to bring out on Christmas) and lots of dancing (Mr 1 loves to boogie). 
 

 

 

We watched our local fireworks at a family friendly time and were later disappointed that they didn't do midnight fireworks this year (because it was the first night we'd stayed up to watch them..) so that was an interesting drive home with an upset Mr 7 (who was quite overtired by midnight but desperately wanted to see the new year in!)

 

After everyone else was tucked into bed.. I lay awake.. wrestless.. so I played too many apps on the Ipad until the early hours of the morning and fell asleep somewhere around 5am.. partied hard.

 

I woke up again at 8am.. to a new year.. 2013.. what do you have in store for me?  I think that is what I lay awake pondering so many hours before.. although one can never really predict what the year is going to bring/hold so I probably shouldn't have lost so many hours sleep..

 

But whatever the year was going to bring, we decided to start it off on the right foot and head to the beach!  Beautiful weather, the sun was shining and the boys were nice and happy, despite their late night antics so we headed up the coast to beautiful Mooloolaba on the QLD Sunshine Coast to go to Underwaterworld.

 

 

Iv been to Underwaterworld a handful of times, but I particularly love taking my boys when they are young.. Mr 7 first went when he was 11 months old and I loved seeing how in awe he was of everything (particularly the vending machine and the cane toads back then..) there is just so much for the little ones to see.. Mr 1 (17 months) had an absolute ball yesterday, checking out all the fish, calling the seal a 'goggy' (dog) and was absolutely mesmerized by all that he saw.. Mr 7 loved his return visit (having not been in about 3 years..) his favourite was of course the sharks and the otters. 
 

 

  

 

I personally love the turtles they are just so peaceful.. quite the opposite of my life I guess, hence the attraction.. :)

 

 

 

After Underwaterworld (and a quick stint in their gift shop where Mr 7 got a huge soft toy shark and Mr 1 got a soft toy stingray) we walked the dock and had a look at some gorgeous little shops that are there.  My favourite was Marine Dreams and after writing this I MUST go and see if they have a Facebook page because they had the absolute best beach homewares I have seen in a long while.. they were truly gorgeous! Im sure if they do have a Facebook page or a website Hubby will cringe because I believe I could spend a lot of $$ in a shop like that!  He was just thankful we live a fair way from it.. LOL.


So after shopping we then headed to Maroochy Beach for a picnic lunch and some beach play.  We didn't go into the water due to the 'marine stingers' warning (and we saw a few blue bottles here and there on the beach) so instead we built sandcastles (that Mr 1 destroyed), hunted for shells and rocks (to add to our 'beach bottles' keepsake) and went for a long walk admiring the beautiful sea and got our feet wet.. 

A beautiful day and a great way to start the year.. There should be more days like this one in 2013.. I hope 2013 brings you great health and happiness and that your new year kicked off to a great start xxx Dani xxx