10 on 10 Photography Circle - March

It's time for this months 10 on 10 Photography Circle with my blogging friends.  So make sure you make your way around the circle by following the links at the end of each of the blogs.


This week is hubby's birthday....a 'special' birthday ;-)

So here's a look into our birthday celebrations....which seem to be lasting all week!!

Hubby saw this cake on sale for $1.60 on the weekend and so the birth week celebrations began!

With Miss 15 going away on camp on the day of hubby's birthday dinner celebrations were moved to birthday eve.  Dinner out at one of our favourite restaurants.

Then time to head home....

.....for present time

....and the big reveal.....a family holiday....and hubby is all packed!!  You can read about the surprise here!

And then the actual day of hubby's birthday rocked around so we headed out for brekkie after the girls were at school

And then his birthday dinner.....ya gotta love a guy who chooses tinned spaghetti on toast for his birthday dinner because he knows that you've had a busy few weeks learning a new job and because the kitchen is still partially trashed due to the broken dishwasher

And then time for another cake

so now hubby is officially the big

And for my pic #10 I'm throwing in a video.....note to self things are not as easy as they seem on facebook but overall it was not a bad first attempt!  Clearly making videos is not my forte so apologies for the darkness!






We've still got an all you can eat dinner on Sunday night with hubby's parents!!


Pop over to see what the lovely Lauren from Life At Number Five has been up to this month...warning...there might be photos of her gorgeous baby girls...cuteness overload!!

Bedroom Fantasies....

Image courtesy of WorldWideStock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Now it's not what you're thinking ladies!!!

My bedroom fantasy is to have a bedroom with clean crisp sheets and coordinating quilt... and so many pillows and cushions that have to be removed each night and replaced each morning....it's to have functional and aesthetic bedside tables.....it's to have a lamp in the corner so I can read at night....it's to have a serene place to sleep.....it's to have a place to hide from the kids!!

You know how you always have 'that room'....the one where you hide the piles of clean washing, where you shove boxes under the bed, where you cram a few things in the corner....and then you shut the door when guests are coming over....yeah well that room is our bedroom!

At the end of last year....just before Christmas mind you....hubby decided that the layout of the house would work better if we converted our lounge room into two bedrooms...one for miss 18 and one for miss 16....and if we moved our tv/lounge room into the garage so there was more room for guests at Christmas etc..

So with Christmas day looming every time one of the girls asked where to put something that didn't have a home the answer was inevitably our bedroom....which was okay for the first one or two boxes or tubs....but it soon turned into a disaster!! 

The bedroom door barely opens enough to squeeze on in, inevitably something comes crashing down as I try to scale into bed quietly so as not to wake hubby who has to get up early for work....let's just say it is so not working, or peaceful or pleasant!!

So what is a girl to do when her bedroom is out of control and she dreams of new linen....she creates a pinterest board that's what!!!!  Well a girl can dream can't she!!

Maybe 2016 should be the year of the bedroom makeover....!!!

Pop on over to my pinterest board and drool with me over gorgeous bedroom decor!!

https://www.pinterest.com/MumOfFiveGirls/bedroom-makeover/


Linking up with Essentially Jess for #IBOT

10 on 10 Photography Circle - February

10th of February already!!!  And we know what that means....time for this month's 10 on 10 photography circle with my great group of blogger friends!!

This month I am featuring photos from a day out to Featherdale Wildlife Park with fellow blogger Cathy and her beautiful daughter Ludmila who are visiting from France!!!  

It was an amazing day out and it felt like we were catching up with an old friend rather than meeting for the first time!!  I just love the opportunities that come from blogging and this has to be one of my favourites to date!

So here's my favourite 10 pics from the day....

Ugh cuteness overload!!!

Be sure to pop over to check out Steph's photos at Steph's Joy and then follow your way around the circle!

The End Of An Era

Back to school 2016 marks the end of an era for me.....it is the last time I will be sending all five girls back to school because this year Miss 18 will finish school..!!!

Actually I've had a slight 'reprieve' in this department because Miss 18 technically should have finished school at the end of last year but since she undertook the HSC via the 'pathways' program due to suffering from migraines so she will complete it this year instead.

So this back to school comes with mixed emotions!  

There's the usual cheering (from me!!) but also a little bit of sadness that things are about to change....but more so there is excitement at the boundless opportunities that lie ahead for Miss 18 at the end of this year.

She wants to work and save and travel and study and go to uni and.......!!

So here's to a year of change.....the end of one era and the start of a new one!! 



For those of you not familiar with the pathways program it is basically a program that enables students to study year 12 over more than one year...Miss 18 chose 2 years but you can choose up to 5 years!  It has many advantages in that you have less workload so can focus on the subjects that you are doing, it means less stress and less to catch up on when she does miss school through migraines.  Not necessarily a disadvantage but it did take a little bit of settling in when she had to return to school this year, with this years year 12's.  She had to make new friends etc..  It also means a bit more running around for me because some days she only has one or two lessons and since buses don't run to her school frequently I am dropping her off or picking her up more often than usual!  But overall it is a program that I would definitely recommend!


Linking up with Essentially Jess for #IBOT

Sebamed Product Review

Last year the girls and I was lucky enough to be sent some skincare products to review from Sebamed.

Sebamed is a German company founded in 1967 that provides skin care products for all ages.  You can read more about their amazing range here.

My pack contained a hand and nail balm which was perfectly timed as I had just become a Jamberry consultant and was wearing nail wraps for extended periods of time and finding that my nails needed a bit of hydration in between nail wraps.  The balm was lightly fragranced and non oily.  It is great to use daily to moisturise your hands and strengthen your nails.

My pack also contained and healing and protective ointment for use on grazes, cuts, blisters and minor burns.  Again this product came in handy when I received a burn on my finger from moving trays in the hot oven....in fact I often burn myself in the process of cooking dinner.  Again this product was lightly fragranced and provided instant relief from the burn.  I continued to apply it for the next day or two and then thankfully no more treatment was required.

I also received an everyday shampoo.....and even though I know you shouldn't I do wash my hair everyday.....I just can't help it!!!  The shampoo had a nice fragrance.  I felt I had to use a little bit extra to get it as soapy as I like but overall it left my hair feeling really nice and clean.

I found the liquid face and body wash that was included in the pack to be a great product to use at night before going to bed.  I'm not always good at removing makeup and skin care routines so I liked the ease of this wash and again it was lightly fragranced.  My face felt clean and fresh after using it at night.

My last product in the pack was a body lotion which I used each morning after showering.  It was non oily and lightly fragranced and left my skin feeling moisturised which is quite essential with the hot summer days we've been getting here in Sydney this summer.

I've got to say that for someone who usually spends no time on themselves with skincare products it was truly like being pampered trying all of these goodies!

I'd like to thank Sebamed for the chance to try them all, they will indeed be incorporated into my daily routine from now on.

If you would like to know more about their products you can check out Sebameds website, facebook page and instagram.


The girls also blogged about their products on their blog....you can read about what goodies they got and what they thought about them on their blog here.

2016 is going all right....

Okay so I know that we're only 12 days in to 2016 but you know what, so far it's going all right!

By comparison 12 days in to 2015 and we had a flea infested house with a refrigerator that wouldn't work and a lawn mower that died.  

Hubby has work, the school holidays are going along pretty smoothly, I've lost half a kilo this past week simply by reducing sugar....it's all good!


We have been chilling at home most days and I have been getting my domestic goddess on!  Seriously I have been blitzing up fruit juices, making our own iceblocks, creating edible dinners every single night!!

On top of all that l won a pair of FRANKiE4 footwear shoes.....OMG I am sooo excited!! Cannot wait til they arrive!!

And maybe the best part to date....thanks to our finances being totally crap last year my tax return was better than usual and I have used half the money to pay off some huge bills that we had and I am using the other half for a little family holiday to celebrate hubby's 50th in March....well our little holiday will be in April to coincide with school holidays.....and it's a total surprise....and it is killing me to keep it a surprise!!!!

So here's to a great start to the year!  I hope 2016 is treating you well so far!


Linking up with Essentially Jess for #IBOT

10 on 10 Photography Circle - January

Welcome to the first 10 on 10 Photography Circle for 2016

Just to recap, the 10 on 10 Photography Circle is when a group of fab bloggers post 10 photos on the 10th of each month and we link to each other so that you can follow the links around the circle to see some talented photographers!

My 10 photos for January were taken the day that we cut down our Christmas tree last year....just next to the Christmas tree farm was this amazing old Church so after cutting down the tree and putting it in the trailer we popped in to take some pics.  These were taken on my iPhone and edited in Be Funky.

I'd love to go back there with my big girl camera one day!

Be sure to pop over to check out Ellen's amazing photos of her family day out in Sovereign Hill here  and keep following the circle til you get back to me!  Enjoy!!