The Alannah Hill coat

Last weekend we attended a fundraiser for the Windermere association. They help disadvantaged children, many whom are disabled and often given up by parents. The night was a success with lots of money raised but also LOTS OF FUN. 

It was held at the Hilton on the park which has a great ball room and heaps of dancing, some a little dirty dancing, was had.

We were entertained  by Tim Cambell who was terrific and James Reyne, who's always brilliant. We had an awesome time....maybe a little too awesome, I was still sick at 6pm sunday night and had to have Craig help bath feed etc the kids. I was a write off which is a bit sad because I'm 36 not 19. TOO OLD EMMA

Stacey and I with our mate Tim.

Anthony Callea, Tim Cambell's partner was there just as a spectator and he was sooo sweet. Although we kind of tried, we couldnt get him up to do a quick rendition of 'the Prayer' He was a real doll though!

NEW ZEALAND

Our helicopter delivered us to this winery...really could you think of any thing more decadently FUN?

So many things have happened, we spent a few days in New Zealand, basically just eating and drinking, found an awesome bar that do amazing things with Pimms and had my first helicopter ride. It was fun, we had no kids,no major plans and a fun couple to enjoy it with. We stayed at the Westin which was lovely and slumbered on their Westin heavenly beds. It was a great little trip with great company. I'm already planning another getaway for us soon. I really want disneyland but think it's best to wait another 12 mths for Kitty to be just that bit older....maybe a weekend up the bush to visit Kristen???

 Anyway the title of this post is the Aalannah Hill coat, this coat I'm talking about isnt just any coat, it's the 'she twitters!' coat. THE coat of the season. I bought it in Berry at the start of winter and have rarely parted from it.But today.....I walked into the Doncaster store and there it was , the 'she twitters!' coat in HOT PINK. 

It was like when they put your just born baby on your tummy for the first time and you just know it feels so right, this is yours and you'll be together forever. That's how i feel about the hot pink swing coat. I have to have it.

Stay tuned because there will hurdles to clear to get my hands on it BUT I'm not afraid of a little high jump, blood, sweat and tears of pleading to Craig to get my baby (hot pink coat)

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I need this

I was looking through a new kids website the other night and fell totally and madly in love with this light fitting. I HAVE to have it for Kitty's room ASAP.

The site is www.ministyle.com.au 

Bali baby

We came home from 10 days in Bali on Thursday.

I'm still working my way through piles and piles of ironing.

The trip was amazing, we stayed at the Club at the Bali Intercontinental for the 3rd time and everytime we stay there I'm blown away by how amazing it is and couldn't recommended highly enough. Anyway....I really wanted some pic's of Miss Kitty taken in traditional costume to give to my Dad on Monday for his birthday. It took 3 sittings to get her to have them taken and her not scream and fight. She finally let us do it as long as we left her bows in her hair and didn't put a Balinese headpiece on her.They took about 125 pics and I'm in love with about 123 of them. I just love them in sepia, the only thing is it gives her brown eyes. I wonder if the kodak man can change them to blue?

Too Long

Stanley Chasm, NTAyers Rock

Christmas day

Christmas day

Yep, I'm back. It's been such a long time that I almost thought about stopping all together but, naaa!

Since my last post we have,

been to the Gold Coast for a quick get away,

enjoyed Christmas and the food so much I'm now battling 4 'Christmas kilo's',

spent a totally unplanned week in the Northern Territory and visited 'The Rock',

finished none of the work on the backyard we had planned to do over summer,

and so many other mundane things i just can't think of right now.

Em.xox

Last Saturday was my birthday. The kids had stayed with my parents the night before and we went to my favourite restaurant, Longrain with two other couples. We had a great night of cocktails and amazing food and I woke up the next day a year older, but in surprisingly good shape with only a hint of a hang over. We had planned on grabbing the kids from Mum and Dad's and heading up to the Red Hill monthly market. A lady at the market sells curried scallop pies and we were planning on a pie feast. On the way back from Red Hill we had to stop for a Koala to cross the road and pulled over so the kids could get out and watch it from a 'safe' distance. The kids thought it was great and Craig and I were both laughing about what a good day we were having, little did we know it would all 'go to shit'. We were expecting all of my family over that night so headed home to do a quick tidy up before they all arrived.

While Cooper went to work on his disgracefully messy room, Craig took Kitty outside with him while he cleaned the BBQ and started getting ready for the 'Cup Day' party we were throwing on Tuesday. About 5 minutes later I heard Kitty screaming and Craig fly through the kitchen door with her in his arms, her face covered in blood.He said he heard her scream looked around and saw her bleeding next to our young dog Dolly. She was thrown straight into the car and we made our way to hospital. She had 3 punctures, 2 under her left eye and one on her left cheek. There were also less serious cuts on the side of her eye.

After me screaming we needed a plastic surgeon, the drs decided stitching the punctures would scar more than gluing and taping them, the whole process was awful and in the end the nurse was crying with me.

My Kitty after the hospital




By the time we arrived home I was drained and shocked. My baby had been hurt and I felt guilty I hadn't protected her from it. Although Craig had seen her crying with our young dog next to her, Kitty insisted it was our old dog, Ketut. We've had Tut since a few weeks after we got married and she was like our first child. She's always been unbelievably good with kids but the last couple of weeks I'd noticed a change in her. She was walking into things etc and was aging fast. She had also developed what the vet thinks was a cancer on her back and also around her nose.

We still don't really know what happened. All we know is our baby was bitten badly on the face and we really have to be thankful it wasn't her eye or worse. Kitty kept telling us it was Ketut who bit her but we've both seen Dolly bite playing and it was starting to get so bad lately she was ripping Kitty's clothes.

After a very sleepless night Craig and I decided we couldn't risk it happening again, next time it could be much much worse. The kids were taken to Mum's and we took Dolly to my sister's house while we both made the horrible trek to the vets to have Ketut put down. It was heartbreaking and sad and like a bad dream and I still can't write about it without tears running down my face. She was put to sleep cradled in Craig's arms.

We now think she may have had a brain tumour as she'd shown subtle changes in the week leading up to Saturday. My sister took Dolly to the RSCPA who assured her Dolly would find a new home really quickly and they would make sure it was a family with no small children. So now we are without our 2 gorgeous dogs and can't help but feel the loss every time I look out the window. Because I grew up on a farm I don't know what it's like not to have a home without dogs. I'm lonely without them although I know as a parent my babies well being has to come before anything else.


Kitty blowing out the candles on my cake. (yes she's wearing boys pj's, she hates girls pj's)





Kitty and Tut last week and yes she has jeans a dress and her brother's old gumboots on...her choice.

Happy

In the pic below I look a little out of it, like someone just out of rehab!! But I just love my Coopies smile and the way he always has to give bunny ears when he's having his pic taken. (actually I look a bit drugged up in both but how cute does my boy look?)He has the most amazing skin,obviously not from Craig or I!!

This afternoon while Craig was washing my car (with recycled water where he keeps his trucks) Cooper and I were bored. We started snapping photo's of ourselves for something to do. Now everytime I look at his smiling face in the mobile phone taken pics I feel happy. When you really think it about...think,.... aren't you at your happiest just playing with your kids? Not really doing anything in particular, just playing, laughing, hanging out. Just enjoying them. It's what makes me the happiest I can be, just BEING with them.

I love weekends with them. Yesterday Craig had to leave for work at 5am. So when we woke, both kids jumped into bed with me and they watched cartoons and I read a book. Altogether in the king bed until about lunchtime. It was heaven. Just me and them and no hurrying to get up to do things, just chilling out together. I'm so lucky, I really am.

I love it.

There had to be a catch

A few weeks ago at a kids party a girlfriend showed me her gorgeous new shoes she had bought at Sambag http://www.sambag.com.au/. Having severe mental issues when it comes to clothing and websites I drove home at breakneck speed to get onto their site and have a look. When I saw they had ballet flats in silver I almost fell off my chair. I'd been looking for the perfect pair of silver shoes for a couple of weeks.

So on a wet rainy day during school holidays I put both kids in the car and my Nan who could sit with them while I raced in to buy my much coveted silver shoes.I went to the Albert Park store only to be told they had sold out of my size but there was one pair left at the Pranhan store.

It was like some kind of stupid comedy movie, I got the Prahan store it was pouring rain and the girl had closed the store to duck out. So here I was standing the rain like a wet dog waiting to get my sparkly shoes. I needed these shoes, I wanted them so bad I could taste it. Pathetic. The sales girl finally came back and opened the door and I almost pounced on her telling her what I was there for. I slipped my feet into them, they fit ok, a bit stiff but they would wear in right??

I decided to wear them the next weekend to a little bbq we were having. THEY KILLED ME. I made myself wear them but by the end of the day my feet were red and swollen, my toes felt dislocated and my heals were starting to blister. As with all of my stupid shoe purchases my Mum told me what an idiot I was and that I'll never learn. I've now vowed that one day they WILL be comfy and will wear them around the house with socks until I have broken them in.....lets hope thats before the end of summer!

My sister in law's an interior designer and has a show room not far from their home. We were having dinner there on Sunday night and she had to run to work to grab some string so took all of the kids for a walk. When they came back Kitty came home holding a divine pair of Silk Route house slippers my SIL had on display in the shop and said Kitty could have. They are totally gorgeous, still too big but will fit in time and we decided to put them on display in Kitty's room. There's only one problem, they STINK.They smell like some kind of dead animal. I'm not sure why or what it is but it's bloody revolting.But now Kitty's in love with them I'm not sure how we're going to get rid of them until the smell wears off(if it ever does)
We were shopping at the kids shop in Collins place last week when Kitty spied these black glitter numbers....they fit, seem comfy, have no odour and we both love them, I guess two out of three isn't too bad.