2015..... You Sucked...

2015....

Wow where do I start.....you sucked....big time!

From the day that we returned home from our relaxing Christmas holiday in January you decided to bite us on the arse with a flea infested house and a fridge that did not work.

And you didn't stop there....there was the lawn mower that died, the shower head that broke, the microwave oven that started to send out sparks, hubby's car broke down, the hot water service sprung a leak, the kettle gave up the ghost, my car needed a new water pump....a week later it needed a new radiator....hubby's car needed a new battery....and that's not even the half of it.

Add to all of the above the fact that work was scarce and hubby had to spend a lot of time working away from home just to get some turnover.

The money worries that 2015 brought made me quite literally feel sick to my stomach. There were days when I did not know what we were going to be able to eat for dinner.  Days where I didn't know where the next mortgage payment was going to come from.

There was stress, there was worry, there were tears.

Suck as you may have 2015 you couldn't keep us down.  There have still been some good times, there have still been some laughs and there has still been a lot of love.

There were even times throughout the year that I believed in miracles.  When hubby would be away and I would literally be down to my last few dollars there must have been someone watching over us.  Sometimes it would be some money arriving in the mail from my in-laws, other times it was something that had been listed on eBay for months finally selling.  A random act of kindness from a Facebook follower just before Christmas really touched my heart and it was moments like these that kept me going.

You don't go through a year like 2015 without taking a long hard look at your life and thinking of ways that you can make changes for the better.

I've been a stay at home mum since forever and whilst I don't really want that to change I had to look at the bigger picture and eventually started looking for work...I even went for a job interview...my first in a very, very, very long time!

I didn't get the job but that prompted me to think outside the square and a few months ago I decided to put myself out there as a Virtual Assistant....Virtual Veronica !!!  I've completed a few jobs and now have to look to grow my business so that I can contribute financially to the household ......without leaving home.  So if you, or anyone you know, needs a VA....let me know  ;-)

I also signed up as a consultant with Jamberry nail wraps....love the product so thought why not!   Pop over to my Come Wrap With Me page on Facebook if you want to find out more!!  

It's all about not having all my eggs in the one basket!!

So as I sit here at home for Christmas and New Years and every day of the holidays because we clearly can't afford to go away.....I am counting down to the end of 2015 and I am full of hope and enthusiasm for 2016.  

Wishing you all a wonderful new year!!  Here's hoping that in 2016 we can kick arse !!

10 on 10 Photography Circle - December

When you do a monthly project it really highlights how damn fast the months go!!!
Here we are at the 10th of the month again, time for our 10 on 10 photography project where a group of us share 10 pics from an hour, a day, a week...or if you're like me from pretty much whenever!!!

Those of you who follow me on Facebook would know that there's not much Christmassy happening around here at the moment as we move furniture from one room to another!  

But I have not missed a single month of the 10 on 10 photography circle...and long time readers will know that I usually can't stick with anything!!!  So for fear of missing out on this month I grabbed my iPhone, scrolled through the camera roll and ta-da...I present you with my November highlights!!!

Once you've checked out my chaotic life be sure to pop over to the next member of the group and then make your way around the circle!

We went to the Circus!!!  And this is the only photo that I still had on my phone...the others were no doubt deleted to make way for other photos!!! 

The last time we went to the circus was about 12 years ago and I have wanted to take the girls for ages but well.....expensive much !!!!  So when The Great Euro Circus came to town and set up in the grounds of where my sister works and she got free tickets and gave them to us....OMG awesome!!!!  It was amazing....and the tickets were for the night of Miss 7's birthday so bonus!!

Having rushed to eat dinner and get to the circus we then headed home for birthday cake at like 10pm...because you know, 7 year olds will not compromise!!!

That weekend Miss 11 went on a 2 night girl guides camp.  I have no idea what she is doing in this photo!!!  But she packed up her bedroll and off she went!!

Same weekend Miss 17 and I went formal dress shopping for the first time and a week out from the formal...eek!!!  We did not take after photos because they would not have been pretty!!!  

Same weekend, coz we love to cram everything into one action packed weekend....yep that's how we roll!!  Soccer presentation for Miss 17 (it is actually the day of her birthday so from here on she will be miss 18!!), Miss 16 and Miss 14.  The pic is of the coach (hubby lol !! ) giving miss 16 her trophy for being players player...woohoo!!!

Yep same day, home for dinner with the in-laws for Miss 18 and Miss 7's birthdays!  And Miss 18 doesn't like cake so a cheats pavlova base purchased from Woolworths after presentation it was!

A few days later Miss 16's year 10 formal!!  Quite a transformation for our jeans and batman boots wearing gal!!

And the very next freaking day!!!  Miss 18's year 12 formal!!  In the rain!!!  But we were prepared!!  By the way what she is wearing is actually a dress with a skirt over it!! Yep it's the dress in photo #6 from last months 10 on 10 photography circle  and the heaviest tulle skirt ever!!

And right up there as a highlight for November I discovered that you can cook bacon in the oven....OMG this is totally revolutionary!!!  Pop it on an oven tray, into a preheated oven at about 200 degrees celcius, 15 mins later crispy bacon!!  

And this is not breakfast...it's actually dinner...but they should just be thankful that they got food at all!!!!

And to end November we had to drive an hour and a half to Wollongong Uni for Miss 18 to receive and award for her year 12 design and tech major work.  She won overall best product runner up!  Then we drove an hour and a half home again!!  

I think I may have caught a glimpse of the ocean for a millisecond on the decent down Mount Ousley...or maybe I dreamt it!!



So there you have it....November!!!  No wonder I was tired and broke!!!!

Be sure to pop over and see what Cathy has been up to this month....she never fails to impress me with her photos!!  Just click here to see them!

And don't forget to make your way around the circle!!

Christmas Gift Guide - 11 and 14 year old girls

So last post I gave you an insight into what Miss 7 would like for Christmas....if you missed it you can check it out here.

This week I am sharing what Miss 11 would like for Christmas and that's pretty easy because the only thing on her list is a watch....but oh no, not just any watch to tell the time with , hell no!!  She wants a Baby-G watch...what the heck...Google here I come again!

Okay so luckily I was sitting down for my first search because the prices coming up were totally WTF......seriously  $269 and above.....for a watch......so she can tell the time.....when she doesn't even have anywhere she needs to be...!!!

We tried a bit of gentle persuasion, you know the kind where you tell her that there is no way on earth that we, ahem I mean Santa, is gunna go for that.

So she took to google herself and presented us with a list of links to places that we could get the watch that she liked at a better price.

Eventually hubby and I decided that if that is all that she wants from Santa then it's better than getting 10-12 things just that will just clutter up our diminishing space even more.  

So Ebay it was!!  And the watch will be here next week for well under $269, in fact for half of that....so she might still get that handball that she has been wanting too!!

If you are thinking of buying a Baby-G watch for anybody this Christmas be sure to check out www.cocomi.com.au for huge savings on some of their watches...and make sure you get the code to get $10 off your first order.


Now let's move on to Miss 14.  Now you don't get a traditional handwritten list with a Miss 14....oh no!  Here's what you get....

Pinterest boards....yes a whole set of Pinterest boards that she then makes you follow from your account!!!

Take a look at them here!!

But wait, there's more!  You might even get an email with links to all of the things she wants as well!!  Like all of these clothes....listed in order of preference...OMG!!!!

http://www.dressgal.com/New-Lady-Womens-Fashion-Sleeveless-O-Neck-Sexy-Slim-Mini-Hooded-Solid-Casual-Jumpsuit-g21955.html

http://www.dressgal.com/Summer-Women-O-Neck-Sleeveless-Printed-Loose-Blouse-Cool-Shirt-g24316.html

http://www.dressgal.com/Stylish-Women-Sexy-Single-Shoulder-Slash-Neck-Irregular-Hem-Spring-Autumn-Dress-g27355.html

http://www.dressgal.com/New-Stylish-Ladies-Women-Loose-Long-Sleeve-Warm-Pullover-Hoodie-Coat-Outwear-g25267.html

http://www.dressgal.com/Women-Set-Sport-Suit-Sweatshirt-+-Pants-Cracking-Gray-Tracksuit-Gold-Heart-shaped-Port-Suits-g23605.html

Total -$47 

Order most to least needed 

Good value 

Good price 

So there you go....Christmas list of the 14 year old!!!

It's probably time that I actually pop over and check out those pinterst boards...after all it is only 2 and a half weeks til Christmas.....eeeek!!!!!


Linking up with Essentially Jess for #IBOT 

An InLinkz Link-up

Christmas Gift Guide - 7 year old girls

With less than 5 weeks til Christmas I have had the girls writing up their Christmas lists with the hope that I can get through the shopping and wrapping over the next few weeks and avoid the usual Christmas Eve all-nighter!!

Miss 7 basically grabbed her birthday list, crossed off what she got and renamed it her Christmas list!  Then she re-wrote it, added a few things, coloured it in, fluffed about some more and here's a few of the things from her list as it stands at the moment....


(1)   A handball ....that sounds do-able....wait what...a handball with eyes and mouth
       ugh!!

Okay so I've googled here and googled there with no success but there are some pretty cool handballs at Toy R Us if your little one isn't as pedantic as mine!

http://www.toysrus.com.au/spalding-high-bounce-balls-hands_10486288/

(2)    King Bob Pop Figure   ............... I don't even know what this means!!!!


This time Google was my friend!!  And eBay has plenty of these in stock!!

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/121802827862?limghlpsr=true&hlpht=true&ul_noapp=true&hlpv=2&chn=ps&lpid=107&ops=true&viphx=1

(3)  Shopkins....well actually that is 'more' Shopkins as she received her first lot for her birthday...and my suggestion to you is that if you buy Shopkins you buy a container for them to live in or else their home could very easily be the vacuum cleaner...they are so tiny!!

So apparently there is Series 1, Series 2 and Series 3...I'm still trying to figure out what exactly they even are!!

But the one good thing is that you can find them pretty much everywhere!!!

I kinda like this icecream van set...yum icecream!!  And you can get it at Big W so easy peasy!

https://www.bigw.com.au/product/shopkins-food-fair-scoop-ice-cream-truck/p/WCC100000000209658/

So maybe there's a few helpful ideas for you there if you have a Miss 7 in your life!

Next week I'll let you know what Miss 11 wants for Christmas so check back then!!

Linking up with Mummy Mondays over at The Multitasking Woman

and joining Kimba Likes to bring you a Christmas Gift Guide!!

An InLinkz Link-up

10 on 10 Photography Circle - November

Wow another month has flown by!!   Welcome to this months photography circle!

Only 10 days into November and we have already had miss 6 turn 7 and miss 17 turn 18!! 
And as if that wasn't enough this week sees miss 16 and miss 18 have their year 10 and year 12 formals respectively.

One trip to the shops with the non shopping loving miss 16 a few weeks ago saw her dress purchased at the second shop we went into.

I knew shopping with miss 18 was not going to be the same...!!

Here is what 6 hours of formal dress shopping looks like!!

6 hours, 10 shops and countless annoying sales assistants later we bought a dress....but you'll have to come back on Friday to see pics!!!


Believe me Mrs Fields was my saviour !!

This month I am linking up to the lovely Cathy!  You will absolutely adore her amazing travel photos....check them out here and then be sure to follow your way around the circle!


Linking up with Essentially Jess for #IBOT

Unique Gift Ideas For Teachers

So today marks the end of three years of Miss 17 having a maths tutor.

He has been absolutely brilliant and has not only helped Miss 17 to catch up on the work that she missed out on due to her migraines, but he has also built up her self esteem and confidence and she was awarded first in course overall this year at her school.

So we put together a thank you/goodbye gift today.

I like a gift to have a bit of thought behind it, to be a bit personalized.   Now the tutor has a great sense of humor and Miss 17 can be frustrating at times so we put this gift together with these factors in mind.


Here's the gifts that we collected....

Then we wrapped them and numbered each (you'll see why in a minute!!)....

Miss 17 typed up a thank you note and wrote equations on seven small envelopes.....

Then we packed it all into a box, tied it up with string and put a note on top....

The note on top instructed the tutor to open each envelope in numerical order.....in order to do this he had to calculate the equations on each of them to get the answer which gave him the order!

As he opened each envelope he was to open the corresponding gift.


Here is the message that Miss 17 typed .... and the gift that goes with it!!

1. I just wanted to say thank you for being my maths tutor!  I'm sure it was no picnic 
   gift - picnic bar
2. There were probably times you wanted to throw in the towel
   gift - hand towel
3. Or I gave you a headache
   gift - panadol
4. Now I'm going to be on the ball
   gift - handball for his sons
5. I'm totally going to ace it
   gift - deck of cards
6. As far as maths tutors go, you are one of my favourites
   gift - box of favourites chocolates
7. Thanks for all your work, have a great break before you come back to tutor my sisters muhahaha!!
   gift - kit kat chocolate 

We had a lot of fun putting this gift together and the tutor was quick to respond that is was very inventive!

If you are thinking of putting together a gift like this here are a few more products that you could incorporate....

• Minties - for moments like these
• Sinkers - sink or swim
• Fan - as in I'm a big fan
• Compass - for giving direction

Are there any other products/items that you can think of to add to this list?

Linking up with Essentially Jessfor #IBOT

Jamberry Nail Wrap Giveaway

So last week I told you all about my new found love of Jamberry Nails here.  And by 'new found' I mean one day I had never even heard of Jamberry or even nail wraps and the next day I was signing up to be an independent consultant.....nothing like a bit of spontaneity to spice up life!

Well today I have decided to share my love of these nail wraps by having a little giveaway!!

So Jamberry nail wraps are non-toxic vinyl nail wraps that you apply with heat right there in your own home!

They have just launched here in Australia and are rapidly gaining popularity due to the ease of use and to the 300 plus amazing designs.

I never have the time or money to get a manicure so I am in love with the DIY at home side of these nail wraps.

Another thing I really love about the Jamberry nail wraps is the Mommy and Me range which feature matching nail wraps for both mum and daughter....how cute would these be!!  (and so much easier than applying nail polish to 50 nails when all of your daughters want to do at home manicures at the same time!!)

To apply the nail wraps all you need is the wraps, a hair dryer, a nail file and nail scissors....so easy!

You can use nail wraps on each of your finger nails (toe nails too if you like!) or you can simply use one wrap on each hand as an accent and apply nail polish to the other fingers, you can even apply the clear patterned wraps over nail polish for a layering effect!


The Giveaway:

Okay so that's enough of me raving!!  It's giveaway time!!

To be in the running to win here's what you need to do....it's as easy as 1 - 2 - 3...

1.  pop over to my Jamberry Launch Party on facebook and request to join the group
     Come Wrap With Me - Facebook Launch

2.  pop over to my Jamberry Online Shop, click on the SHOP tab and take a look through the amazing designs
     Come Wrap With Me - Jamberry Shop

3.  pop back here and leave a comment below telling me what is you favourite design from the online shop and why.


The Prizes:

There will be 3 winners chosen based on the creativity of their answer provided.

First prize winner will receive a sheet of Jamberry Nail wraps (the one that they commented about in their answer) valued at $22.00  plus 1 Jamberry Nail lacquer (under the lacquers tab, no the gel enamels)  of their choice valued at $22.00  (total prize value is $44.00)
(it is a possibility that nail lacquers may be unavailable at the time this competition is drawn, if this is the case the prize winner will receive 2 sheets of nail wraps)

Second prize winner will receive a sheet of Jamberry Nail wraps (the one that they commented about in their answer)  (total prize value is $22.00)

Third prize winner will receive a nail application kit that includes 2 alcohol wipes, 1 pair of nail scissors, 1 pair of nail clippers, 1 buffer block, 2 orange sticks, 1 rubber cuticle pusher and 1 nail file  (total prize value is $18)

Terms and Conditions:

1.  Competition is open to Australian residents only

2.  One entry per person.

3.  The winners will be chosen by Mum Of five Girls based on the most creative answers as judged by her.  No discussion over judging will be entered into.

5.  Competition starts on Monday 12th October at 8.00am AEST and ends on Friday 30th October at 5.00pm AEST

6.  The winners will contacted via facebook using the account with which they joined the Jamberry Launch Party page.  Winners will be announced on Monday 2nd November
7.   If there is a problem with the availability of a specific prize listed above the winner will receive an alternate prize as close in value to the specified prize as possible

Good luck!!

Linking up with Eva of Multitasking Mummy for Mummy Mondays!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED THIS COMPETITION!!
THE WINNERS ARE...

1st PRIZE   -  LAURA S.
2nd PRIZE -  LARA
3rd PRIZE  -  POLLY

CONGRATULATIONS LADIES!!

10 in 10 Photography Circle - October

So this month I am suffering from a severe case of FOMO.....fear of missing out!!

The 10th of October has snuck up on me quite unexpectedly and I had nothing prepared for the photography circle  but I totally didn't want to miss out so here are 10 pics I've downloaded from my iPhone with no editing at all from last weekend when Miss 16 returned from a 3 week exchange program in Japan.

Gotta admit that as much as we can't wait to see Miss 16 leaving home at 5.20am kinda sucks.....and my windscreen needs a good clean!!

Woohoo after waiting over an hour for the girls to collect their luggage Miss 16 is home!!!

And Miss 6 is glad to see her....well at least until she hands out the presents!!

Random pic!

Ugh unpacking sucks...well except for the pressie part, that's pretty good!!

Can you see where Miss 16's priorities lay....get as much food out of Japan as possible!!

Cute as!

Send the gal to Disney Sea and yes she comes home with a huge Minnie Mouse hat!

Stopped off at The Grounds of Alexandria after leaving the airport.....because coffee was needed!!  Saw this awesome wall and was being all totally hip and cool trying to get an awesome pic of the girls altogether....

but these are what I got lol !!!!

So there you have my pics for this month!!  It is so good to have Miss 16 home again!!

Be sure to pop over and check out Michelle's awesome pics for October over at  Gee You're Brave and then work your way around the circle back to me!

Come Wrap With Me - Jamberry Nails

I'm not going to lie, a week ago I had never even heard of Jamberry Nails or nail wraps....and now I am an Independent Consultant for Jamberry.......woah crazy I know but all it took was one free sample to have me hooked!!

I'm not a go and get a manicure kinda gal because well time and money!!  I sometimes dabble with nail polish at home and yeah well the result is not always pretty and I am usually reaching for the nail polish remover within an hour because there are chips or smudges!

But then the Jamberry nail wrap arrived in the mail and I thought what the heck I'll give it a go.  Essentially it is a heat activated film that you apply to your nail....with fab results!

I watched the instructional video and basically all I had to do was cut the wrap in half, heat it with the hair dryer, apply, heat again and apply pressure....seriously less than a minute and I had done 2 nails and was feeling pretty proud of myself!!  (I only did 2 nails as that's what one wrap covers).  In fact I have shown everyone that I have crossed paths with in the past 72 hours.  

I have washed the dishes a dozen times, organised bathing and showering, washed and hung too many loads of washing, I even mowed the front lawn...and the wrap is surviving the perils of everyday life like a trooper....it still looks as good as when it was first applied!

There are heaps of other advantages to Jamberry nail wraps.  For starters they are non toxic and they are not tested on animals.  They are latex free, don't chip and there is no drying time!!  They are sooo easy to apply and there are sooo many designs to choose from!

If you are keen to learn more you can pop over and join my launch party on Facebook....it is going to be totally awesome with fun and games, prizes and freebies....and you can enjoy it all from home in your pj's!!  Check it out here.

You can also pop over to my website to place orders, host a party or join my team!  You can check it out here.

If you have any questions or would like to know more feel free to email me at mumoffivegirls@gmail.com

Finlee and Me Product Review #3

Today I am reviewing the most adorable letter pad from Finlee and Me....okay so the products that we received were for the girls to play with and for me to review but when you forget to buy party invitations for your daughter's impending birthday and it is 10pm on the eve of the last day of the school term when you realize that you have to get the invitations out to the children THE NEXT DAY because her party will be the week after school goes back from the holidays.....yeah well that's when you whip yourself up some easy invitations using the Katy Jane Designs My Letter Pad !!!

In actual fact I've got to admit that I just want to keep this letter pad and use it myself!!  This particular design is called Vintage Bluebird and it is just the most beautiful design.  And it only costs $14.95 to buy....I'm sharing a link here because if you are anything like me you won't be able to resist the little bluebird saying.....BUY ME! BUY ME!

The greatest part is that after you write your note on one of the beautiful pages you simply fold as indicated, stick it closed, address it and post it...or in our case quickly give it to your friends at school!!!!!  

How easy is that!!  And just check out how gorgeous the enclosed stickers are...

And just to complicate things the letter pad is available in a few more cute designs.....like the Party Bunting...eek I love bunting!!  There's also Rainbow Delight and Airplane.....I need them all!!!!

This post is perfectly timed as Angela from Finlee and Me has just launched the Finlee and Me Kids Pen Pal Program to  help reignite the passion amongst children for actually writing and receiving letters.....you know the ones that come in the letter box!!!

And as if that wasn't a great enough initiative on its own the entire $5.00 fee that you pay to join the program will go straight to Rafiki Mwema which is a very worthy charity in Kenya that supports young girls who have been sexually abused.

So if you have a child or children between the ages of 2 and 17 pop over to the Pen Pal program by clicking on the link above and sign them up....and why not click on one of the links above and buy a beautiful writing paper pad for your kids to start their pen pal journey with......and what an amazing journey it might just turn out to be!

Watch out Angela I am popping over to sign my five girls up right now!!!!

Do yourself a favour and follow Finlee and Me on Facebook and Instagram too.....after all there are only 11 more Fridays til Christmas people...!!!!!



Here are some links to previous reviews I have done of products from Finlee and Me....and believe me they are all totally awesome...just ask my girls!!

http://mum-of-five-girls.blogspot.com/2015/04/finlee-and-me-product-review-1.html
http://mum-of-five-girls.blogspot.com/2015/06/finlee-and-me-product-review-2.html