i just can't stop....

I just can't stop lying in late in the mornings because I go to bed so late at night, and I do love my sleep too. It's a vicious circle. I know I need to go to bed earlier so I'm not so tired in the mornings, but I just love the night so much - the kids are asleep (mostly) and I can go about watching my favourite tv shows, packing orders/working, chatting to friends online, all on my own, without children following my every move or saying 'Muuuuu-uum!' for the 50,000th time.

I've always been a night person. Even as a child, my mum will tell you I was always up late, either reading, playing or rearranging the furniture in my bedroom - again. I think some things are just embedded in our personalities, and I'm afraid this is one of them. Occasionally, I get myself to bed early, and I do feel better the next day, but then I feel like I've missed out on a few hours of 'me' time!

The one thing I'm really not looking forward to next year, is that while it will be great Josh is starting school, it will mean getting up early and getting school bag and lunch packed and taking three children on the school run morning and afternoon. No sleep-ins. An end of an era. I'm exhausted just thinking about it! At the moment I'm fortunate that Josh is happy to do his own thing in the morning until I get up, and Zoe is still in a cot and will lie quietly and play until I get up to her too. It's a bit dangerous they are so quiet in the morning though - doesn't give me much incentive to get up! (Though having said all that, my version of 'sleeping in', is far from midday, I'm not that cruel!! My sleep-in is probably  teenager's version of waking up far too early!)

So there you have it. That's my divulging done for the day. So tell me, what is your habit you can't break? What is the thing that you just can't stop doing despite really trying?

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how's your head this winter?

Are you starting to feel the cold where you are this month? We are definitely feeling the cold nice and early here in Sydney! Brrrr. The heaters have been going and all the wintery blankets and clothes are coming out!

New to Zoe's wardrobe, in light of the cold, is this beautiful winter woolly too.

Well, Zoe's is pretty close to this.....hers has a flower button! Currently my mum is the only one who has a picture of Zoe with her beanie on, and I couldn't get hold of it in time to do this post! Will post a pic when I get it, if I don't get another photo sooner.

These lovely Benji beanies are handknitted with lots of love by a wonderful friend of mine who has just started her new little business, AnneCanKnit. I love the simple design of them, I love the quality and the colours of the wool Anne chooses, and the sweet little handmade buttons finishes them off beautifully. So far, Anne hasn't been able to knit fast enough to keep up with the demand, and I'm not surprised! 

Please head over and have a look at AnneCanKnit. Each week of two, Anne releases a new lot of Ready To Wear items, and often a few new custom spots are available too. Anne also makes the beanies in adult sizes and has also just released a new item for women, scarves. If you buy a scarf a portion of your purchase will go towards the Red Cross NZ Earthquake appeal too. Make sure you 'like' the page to ensure you won't miss out on information about new products and custom spots. 

To make it easy too, I'm popping up a button for my favourite winter woolly store over there << on the left hand side too!

And let me know if you buy yourself or your little one a beanie!! I'd love to see a pic!

hunter valley gardens

Back at the beginning of April, we were fortunate enough to be invited out to the Hunter Valley Gardens for a sneak peek of their Easter activities. It had been a while since we had done anything just the four of us that was remotely different and exciting so I jumped at the chance. We were driven up in a coach, so we could just sit back and relax for the trip up there. There was a DVD shown on the way and the way back to keep the kids occupied!

It was such a fantastic day that both our kids especially enjoyed. On arrival we were driven on a little train to to a grassed area complete with morning tea and a giant bouncy castle. Lots of fun here! Then the kids got involved in an Easter Egg hunt (plastic eggs only!), and lots of games. By then we had worked up an appetite and were treated to a beautiful lunch too. Kids all got a little easter bag with easter eggs and Hunter Valley Gardens goodies which they were super impressed with. 

After lunch, there was a reptile show. The host of this was really great, I learnt loads about reptiles, and everyone got to pat a few reptiles at the end if they were up for it! Josh loved that part!

We also had lots of free time in the afternoon to check out the rest of the gardens at our leisure. There are lots of different gardens and all are just stunning. I'll leave you with a few pics of our great day out. Make sure you get yourself there some time this year. It really is a great day out for the whole family. Check out their Events page for more information about special programs coming up. They even have a special Christmas family event coming up, so stay tuned for that!

Zoe on the Easter Egg Hunt

A rare mummy and Zoe photo, watching the boys do activities

Zoe in the egg and spoon race

And he's off....Josh in the egg and spoon race

Josh with the reptile man and his new best friend the croc

Zoe and Josh checking out all the figures and characters in the Storybook Gardens

The little girl that Georgie Porgie kissed and made cry. My two were a bit concerned for her!

One of the many beautiful gardens

Best part was we jumped straight back in the coach to go home which was a welcome treat since we were all so tired. Both kids even managed a nap on the bus which was even better for mummy! Thank you to the people at Hunter Valley Gardens for such a wonderful day for all of us. We loved every minute.

You can also find the Hunter Valley Gardens on Facebook and Twitter.

thank you

Thank you everyone for your well wishes and congratulations. I'm glad to be finally feeling a little better and hopefully back to normal eating very soon! I'll be trying to catch up on some blog reading and letting you know if I've stopped by with a comment. And I will back soon to share a few things that I've been up to with my family while I've been on a blog break as well as share about a lovely new store that has lots of woolly  goodies to keep little heads warm this winter.

I'm off now to get stuck into some house work. That's what the first trimester does to me.......I let the house go too far in the wrong direction and it takes a lot to get it back to a decent state! Wish me luck!!

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ahem....mumtoddlerbabe + babe on the way

So, here I am out of hiding finally. 

And I'm back with news. 

There is another little babe on the way! Coming mid-November. Part of the reason I have been out of action, out of energy, feeling bleurgh and so not inspired to blog. But I'm starting to breathe again and feel like writing in this space, so I'll see how I go. I've also been pretty busy with this little venture too.

I'm not sure many of you are still out there......but I will be back again soon with some other tidbits to share.

PS. I may have to think about changing the name of the blog. It's more like mumpreschoolertoddlerbabeontheway! Bit of a mouthful......

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