Black is the new black PART ONE

We have moved away from all the beige and decided to do something a little bold in our kitchen. It has been on our "gonna-do" list for some time now and we finally got the balls the go ahead with it. I like having a little bit of time to think about things first. Makes me less nervous about big changes. And going from beige to black is a big change in my eyes.


BEFORE


At first the idea was pure black board wall. Black board paint is a bit expensive and annoying because it isn't a water only clean up task. So off to bunnings for some black paint. The look on the colour assistants face when we told her we were painting a wall black was priceless. It didn't bother us because we are used to people not being able to forsee our visions.

I jumped straight in and started edging

Then Clint took over and did all the proper preparations

And he did all the rest!

How exciting

So we now have one coat on! And stage one is almost complete. A few more coats and then the pantry door is next on the transformation list. Stay tuned for Stage 2..........

a wedding to end the month with

Well as promised November has been very busy for us. And we topped it all off last weekend with a wedding.

We started the weekend off with a spot of painting... But I will tell you more about that in another post. I love the suspense! Then I had some gal pals over and a super clever friend spray tanned us. (she has a beauty business - nothing dodgey and no oompa loompa results) So all bronzed up we got dressed in our party clothes on Saturday and headed to the ceremony.

The bride was beautiful. And the men in their suits were so spunky. I really enjoyed the fact that everyone was dressed up and looking their best.

BH's before we murdered the dancefloor.

The Groom's sisters made the cake. There are so many clever people around!

He is so handsome. And all it takes is a suit. NY resolution is to find more reasons for him to weat a suit!

The tanning goddess - for Movember.

The whole thing almost made me want to get married again - to the same man of course. Although in all reality I would still prefer to run away to the Mauritius and elope. I'd let the kids come with us.....maybe.

A playground all to ourselves

Don't you just love it when you go out to a playground and no one else is there and you get to just be silly and not politically correct or polite. We found this playground down on the foreshore and it was completely surrounded by soft white sand, which was great because it was particularly high for our kids so we could worry less about injuries from falls. We were the only ones there for the hour or so we played - and by we I mean that even myself and Daddy bear got into the action.

And we even got a great photo that will definately be framed on our wall of fame-ily. Great photography spunky husband.

proper messy fun!

Today we had an opportunity to have a midweek family outing. Clint works so hard and sometimes that means he is very tired, so we look at every little moment of energy as a possibility to enjoy family life.

We had heard about the new playground at Kings Park - the Rio Tinto Naturescape,

and it was really cool!

It gave our kids a rare chance to play messy. Get wet. Build dams with smooth rocks and make mud.

Plus we got to play with the new camera and capture some of these happy memories



attempting to dam the creek




either side of the little water hole was these "dingo dugouts" So cute





Good "clean" fun. Thankfully we didn't have to worry about leeches or any other disgusting creature.




Even I got my pins in for a paddle




Then followed a little bush walk path to dry off



Yes we are still with you. This wasn't a Hansel and Gretel situation




Peek aboos




Lastly a bit of rope climbing of course





Oh and here is a shot of Mr Handsome with a freshly manicured "stash" for Movember.





Half way mark

I have made it past the half way mark on my personal fitness challenge! Today the kids and I caught up with friends for breakfast. While the kids played we had talked about how good we are feeling in ourselves. She had remarked about how others thought we were nuts. She was one of my inspirations to get going and I think since we both started (we do different things in a similar way) we feel stronger, not only physically but emotionally. Definitely an unexpected benefit.

The idea of another 19 workouts before Christmas seems completely achievable.

My new motto (www.pinterest.com)

What are you goals for the rest of 2011? Is it to get through Christmas without any family arguments? Is that possible? Is it to try and get all you present shopping done before December?

Shower Pretty

Shower pretty - you know - the ultimate accessory to wear when you are wear nothing else - in the shower.

Clearly this is not me modelling

However I would love to have her complexion - not one freckle, pimple or wrinkle anywhere!

Flynn took a liking to the her, especially with the Xmas hat on

Come up for air son!

 My insanely clever friend has a really amazing ability to see beauty in things that others just can't see. See seems to be able to take ordinary items and tweak them into one of a kind, personalised magic. I remember when she was pregnant and she would arrive in the most gorgeous dresses and we'd all be hounding her for the shop where she found it, and she would just smile and tell us how she rescued the item and smocked here and snipped there. Voila. She is more than a clever sewer. Simply because she doesn't need instructions or rules. She can see beyond something into it's fantastic potential. (Secretly I hope that is why she is my friend and she can see some future fantastic in me too!)

This is what is going to help this little girl grow long beautiful healthy hair

Well it was in fact this same friend that made these beautiful shower caps. I love shower caps and now Lucy is in the good habit of using them too. These ones are so handy because you just throw them through the wash every week.

Can you see the gifting potential too? Teamed up with a body scrub and other goodies.....

our first community fundraising event

Yesterday we participated in the John Hughes Big Walk for PMH. We  have always intended to participate in these types of events but have always neglected to commit to anything.

Rain was forecast for the day (so we dropped the kids at their Grandma's) but it ended up being a beautifully sunny morning and the walk around Burswood and the river was really lovely. We were home with the kids by lunch time so it didn't cost us a lot of time really either. A lot of money was raised and hopefully it will help change a few children's lives for the better.

Also over the weekend we celebrated a birthday with our Sister-in-law, and I even squeezed in a session of Body Balance(It will take me a long time to get all that bending and stretching right) We ended the weekend with Clint and his mate trying to build a flying fox. It hasn't worked yet. But I hope they had fun trying - at least the kids had fun playing.

Cutie pops - love Miss T's missing teeth, she is growing up too fast

These 2 rascals are besties one minute and enemies the next. Flynn has already mastered the boy trait of pushing all her buttons! She takes the bait every time. So funny to watch

A late night bounce on the trampoline

Made time for some gaming (The remotes weren't working but they didn't know)

No sleep ins this weekend Dad!

motivation meltdown

He didn't quite understand where a moustache fits on his face!

Almost there.

 I have hit that point in my fitness challenge where I have to really push myself to keep at it. I guess this is the point I would usually fail all my past diets and then gain double what I had lost.
I refuse to pack it in this time, but still need something to re-kick start. I am proud to say that I have dropped a full size in my jeans and feel stronger. Maybe a new mini goal?
Tonight will be workout number 16 of my 40 that I had initially set myself. Plus this weekend is the PMH 6km big walk and hopeful a Zumba class. Who knows maybe I will feel different next week.

Eeek - must remember makeup!

Hello movember

NOVEMBER IS HERE. I'm sure we must have skipped a few months because this year is just zooming by at top speed.

This is what November 2011 holds for us:

A couple of Birthdays

A friends wedding

Watching our lovely niece perform a lead role in her school play
At least 16 trips to the Gym (sigh)
Swimming lessons, Monkey Bars and Yoga
and

www.pinterest.com

Moustaches!
That's right moustaches. November is Movember. you can check out http://au.movember.com/about/ for more info, but is basically an initiative to help raise funds and awareness to men's health, prostate cancer and male depression.
Usually Clint will start the month clean shaven (which is odd for him) and then grow his mo for the whole month. We have a wedding to attend this month so he will need to look respectable for photos and not silly. So I have decided we - as a family - will all feature moustaches in our photo's through out the month. I am making moustache props out of the above pic and we will pose with them. I challenge you all to join in. and please share you photo's
Let's make November memorable