These Boots Were Made For Walking...

The signs were all there – the traffic chaos on the roads; the full carpark and the distinct lack of shopping trolleys. I should have realised earlier and aborted my mission...

But no, I chose to plough on ahead and visit the great Toy Sale of 2012. Having survived with only a slight back strain, I now pass on my wisdom to others wanting to conquer these sales…

    1. Don’t take your children! Despite the name, the toy sales are no place for children. Serious shoppers have no time for children and will show no mercy if you have brought yours along…

    2. Do bring your own trolley. Because when you discover there are no trolleys, you will be forced to cart your purchases around the store like a well-trained (or not, as the case may be) donkey.

    3. Do wear your walking shoes. There is no rhyme or reason for the location of toys in these sales. You will be forced to do lap upon lap of the store (while carrying your purchases on your back) until you find the damn toy in the first place you looked.

    4. Do pack your manners! There is no need to drop the F bomb because someone stops their trolley in front of you (as my friend learnt the hard way!).

    5. Do take a ute to bring home your purchases. Because despite your best intentions to layby, the length of the layby queue will send you running to the checkout, just to get the hell out of there!

Leanne :)

What’s your craziest shopping experience?

5 Reasons Mummies Go Back To Work

I will miss my little man terribly when I go back to work but there are a few reasons why I am secretly glad to be returning to the paid workforce...

1. Being able to go to the toilet whenever I want ON MY OWN!!!
2. Being able to drink a HOT cup of coffee whenever I feel like it.
3. Not having to hide inside the pantry to eat some chocolate.
4. Having people actually listen to what I’m saying, THE FIRST TIME!
5. Having a LUNCH BREAK and not resorting to eating the remains of my son’s soggy lunch.

Apart from financial, what are some good reasons you have for going back to work?




Leanne :)

Mummies Behaving Badly

What is it about birthday parties that make even the most mild-mannered mummy turn into a stark raving mad lunatic? 

My friend had her little girl’s first birthday party a few weeks ago. There were party games, party bags and hand made decorations – this was a well planned event. 

But it all ended in tears when she discovered that her husband had not cooked the right number of sausages for all the guests! I pretended to not listen as she ranted at her husband in the kind of high pitched tone usually reserved for a confession of sleeping with your best friend.

I have another friend who made a 3 tier watermelon cake for her son’s first birthday party (that none of the kids ate) and then at midnight the night before the party, she decided to bake hundreds of allergen free cupcakes. You’re probably thinking that’s crazy, right?

Well, you know what they say about people in glass houses… I have done some pretty crazy things for my son’s birthdays as well. For my eldest son’s 1^st birthday, I spent a week scrapbooking individual invitations. And then there was the Bob the Builder cake I made for his 2nd birthday that took me 3 days to ice… and let’s not forget the lady beetle cake I made for his 6 month old birthday (yes, you read that right) that was completely inedible. I think you get the idea...

Well, this year I have made a concerted effort to keep my son’s birthday parties low key. A mini-golf party for my 5 year old and afternoon tea in the park for my youngest. The only inkling of mummy madness... a giant 1^st birthday balloon that could quite possibly be seen from the moon. 

Well, as they say, you can take mummy out of the madness but can you take the madness out of mummy?

Leanne J


What crazy things have you done for your kid's birthday parties?