The One Where I Make A Complete Fool Of Myself.

Sometimes writing a blog just doesn't capture entirely what I'm like.
Words can be taken in many different ways, what I take from a story someone else may take something completely different.
Sometimes that's how I feel putting my writing out there. That what I am intending may be taken a completely different way by others. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good.

Well, I'm a bit of a dag, and hope this can cheer up your rainy day, if you're having one like I am.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's just someone stuck in the 80's.

Keep an eye out on a local phone booth near you!
Do we even still have phone booths?

What's In Your Baby's Bowl? - Giveaway!

It's no secret, my kids have been raised in different environments.
Bluey was the "test dummy" as we call it, where we stumbled around and worked out what not only felt "right" to us, but what actually worked, when raising him.
It was lots of fun, and lead me to an array of experiences, that by the time we were expecting again, I had pretty sure idea's about what would work for us as a family, and I was also pretty settled on the fact that if something doesn't work, move on to something else, and try it again later if you have your heart set on it.

When it came to food Bluey would eat any and everything, excluding one thing, my homemade baby food. This broke my heart having studied Nutrition For Young Children prior to his birth. He would gag on it (even the puree's) and spit it out, or simply refuse to open his mouth. So the store brought baby food route we went, and we tried to get him to eat off of our plates as much as possible, which seemed to be zero problem at all.

Greenie was the opposite. He was fussy with what foods he ate, and would only eat homemade foods. He also seemed to have a sensitive gag reflex and didn't like to eat off of our plates, he instead preferred his pureed food.
I loved making him foods and would spend one day a month having a big cook in the kitchen and freezing and storing lots of different foods for Greenie. The only trouble was coming up with new "meal" ideas. I tended  to keep foods separate and pulled out which portions I wanted for the days meals in the mornings, and popped them in the fridge in a container.
Later came his food allergy to egg, which threw a massive spanner in the works to how I cook. Most "food allergy cookbooks" do not actually cater for an egg allergy. It can be very frustrating having to search for alternatives, and quite....disastrous trying to wing it and guess if you can alter the recipe yourself.

I was recently sent a fabulous book written by Kim McCosker one of the co-authors of the fabulous 4 Ingredients recipe book, Baby Bowl.
It is now something I shall be giving any of my friends or family should they become pregnant, let me tell you why.

This book talks foods from birth. Yep, that's right, it talks from the moment your little darling takes their first breath, and it doesn't push breastfeeding simply says "Milk: breast or formula".
I have witnessed mothers feed their 2 month old yogurt, simply because they didn't know that babies shouldn't have ANY solids until at least 4 months, but that they should be delayed ideally until 6 months.  

It has a weight converter chart which is SO helpful when you get given something in ounces and have no bloody idea (or brain power on the little sleep you're getting) how to convert it into something you can use, like grams or millilitres. It talks about the tools you will need (patience and a sense of humour included!), goes over the basic techniques used, how to store the foods you're making and hygienic practices, what type of nutrients you find in which foods (very important!), and reflux.

It also has a handy and straight forward chart about which foods to try at what age group, which is important because there are certain foods you are meant to delay with your baby.

It even mentions allergies and intolerance's and how they differ. This is something extremely important to me, because as I said above, we deal with an egg allergy here.
It goes on to separate chapters with recipe ideas for specific age groups right up to 12 months, including idea's for foods in the car and if your baby has a cold. I found many of these recipes were easily adapted to finger foods or side dishes for my kids, who both gobbled up a variety of the recipes I tried out with no fuss at all (so they must be tasty!).

Also at the start of each recipe there is a chart to indicate things like egg-free, gluten-free, lactose-free, vegetarian and freezable, for the foods that can be frozen and stored for a longer period of time.  This was pure gold for me because as I said above, many allergy cookbooks do not include egg allergies. Remembering that I am trying to feed a toddler so I still need to make it appealing to them.

Now tell me this hasn't got you curious about a tiny little book that has all of this in it?
I have three copies to send to my readers, all I want to know is your biggest food disaster! Doesn't have to be child related.

You must be a follower of my blog.
You can gain an extra entry if you tweet this giveaway " Booktacular Giveaway by @MissPink_TMA http://bit.ly/otY0Y5  " make sure you come back and leave a separate comment telling me you have done so.
You can also gain another entry if you Facebook this giveaway. Make sure you come back and leave a separate comment telling me you have done so. 
Entries close Friday 7th October.
Winners will be drawn by random.org and announced here on the blog on Saturday the 8th October.

Good luck!

I don't want to know

Last week I was tagged in my very first meme by the hilarious Glowless.
I'm supposed to tell you things you don't want to know about me, but lets face it, we all want to know what we shouldn't about others. I'm just going to go with things that you probably wouldn't know about me, even if you knew me, but maybe you will see now that i've told you?
Following me?
Good.

Image from here

1. I can't curl my tongue. My kids think it's hilarious because they can and I can't. Whatever, I don't want to do it anyway. *Madly flicks tongue out to try and curl it in frustration*

2. I have a knack for cooking, and love to try out new recipes, but I rarely will eat something new that I've cooked. I also prefer to bake than cook. Warm cake is the best.

3. At 17 I taught myself how to play the piano. I stopped playing after I had Bluey and now can't remember anything I used to play. Instead I clumsily hammer out chopsticks like a 5 year old.

4. I live by the motto "Work first, play later" and cannot relax or enjoy something if I've put off "work".
I parent by the motto "Lead by example" and hope that that, combined with a few discussions, will be enough to make my kids turn out alright.

5. If something is happening at one of the neighbours I like to watch out my windows. Domestics, parties, burying bodies....yep, I'm sitting there watching you...

6. I don't, and can't diet. As soon as I tell myself  I can't have something to eat it's all I want, so I don't. Instead I try to follow my body's cues, which seem ok because I do have cravings for good foods as often as I do "sometimes foods" (as Bluey calls them). Food is something to be enjoyed in my opinion.
It helps I have fabulous genetics. 

7. I'm a pessimist and neurotic. Both combined are really tough on me. Things like people not replying quickly to my messages, or not being able to catch up with me have me feeling like they hate me. Does that mean I should add drama queen to that list?

8. You couldn't pay me a million dollars to eat a grass hopper. Fried or not. Those things are fucking scary.

9. I hang my washing on the line in a certain order. Yep, I have THAT much time apparently.  

10. I'm curious. Extremely so. I want to understand the world and things so deeply, but I'm direct, so I ask lots inappropriate questions, because I learn about things differently to most. This frustrated my high school teachers to no end.

I'm going to ask these 5 people to tell us what we don't want to know about them on their blogs:
Then There Were Four
The Mummy K
Just Me
Musings Of Mama Grace
Mothers Love Letters

What did you enjoy learning the most about me? Are you guilty of any of the above? 

 

For the love of all that is Holey

It had been a long time coming.
The itch.
I'm a Gen-Y-er after all. You don't need to understand us, we don't care so much, as we do what we think is fun in a split second.
Yep. Sometimes pain is considered fun. Don't ask me to explain it. I can't. But it's addictive.

Taken immediately after getting the piercing. Zero swelling, just really bad skin (this was prior to starting Cetaphil)

So the itch. It started back in October, after getting my most recent tattoo. Mr Black and I spent the afternoon talking about plans of more tattoo's. As enthusiastic as I was, I am not ready for more ink. I know that I would like at least one more, but as to what I am not sure yet. Lots of idea's, but nothing that stands out as "the one".
I'm not about to rush into a new tattoo when they are so permanent. Made that mistake once before.

I've talked about my desire to get dermals before. I've wanted them for a very long time. Mr Black has been insistent that they may not be a good idea and may catch on my clothing easily. It's a good point. It causes me to pause. I still want them, I am just left with a pause because it isn't as simple as just take them out and let it heal.

Three days after, rocking my "Australia says no to domestic abuse" look. Yeah, the swelling was that bad.

So on the spur of the moment I just went for it and got myself a new piercing.
Mr Black wasn't very impressed with the placement. But after the hair change, I think he's coming to accept i'm not his barbie doll, I'm my own. My looks are for me to play with, and i'm not doing anything without discussing it. Ultimately it's my decision though.

Ten days after the initial piercing, one week after the last shot. Good news, the swelling is very short lived.

I've always been a bit left of centre. Ask anyone who had the pleasure of putting up with me in my younger years. After becoming a mother though I felt I needed to be "proper". I'm starting to realise that there is no such thing as "proper", we are all different and we need to embrace it in order to teach our kids to embrace the differences in others as well as themselves.

Six weeks after the inital piercing. New bling.

Have you embraced your differences? Have you ever taken the plunge and done something to your looks that you were a little scared of doing?

Putting the Art in Par-tay

I'm a bit of an old fashioned homemaker type of mum.
Sometimes it leaves me doing things the hardest way possible, but I still do it with a smile, even if sometimes that smile is through gritted teeth.
Sometimes I wish I had the common sense most people have, and the ability to be able to let things go and do it the easy way, especially when I don't have the time or resources to do it "my way". Guess it's something I need to work on eh?

With that I leave you with my attack on The Golden Arches and Big Red.




What kind of parties do you host of your kids? What kind of party's do you enjoy taking your kids to?

Bloggy Botox

You may have noticed a few twitches on the blog this week.
I know I've been tweeting for a few weeks about my trouble in writing a new bio.
I've been fiddling around for longer with my entire blog layout but I am not very tech savvy at all.
Finally with a lot of help from the uber fabulous Mummy K it has all come together.
A new domain, a new look, and an updated me.

Do you like it?
Are you after a new look yourself?

If you're not new are you old?

So my first year bloggerversary has come and gone.
No fanfare for it. I'm still feeling quite new. Like a very small fish in an ocean.
Once I get the hang of, or an understanding of one aspect of blogging, I am thrown a whole new concept to learn.
It's fun, but can be exhausting.
What I want to know is...

When do you stop being a Blogging Newbie?

Image from here

Is there some moment you come to and you realise "Hey I'm not new to this anymore. I have knowledge and wisdom I feel I am experienced enough I can share with others."
Or maybe it's when everyone knows who you are and has read your blog at some stage or another?
Is it after a set amount of time?
Or perhaps once you've clocked so many blogging hours?

If it's one of the above then  I am certainly still a newbie.

I have been blogging for 5 years. Many people do not know this. This blog, this part of me has only been around a year though. I guess it's a bit like having a second child. The first you throw every ounce of yourself into, and you make mistakes, you stumble and trip along. Then comes the second, you have more of an idea, you're able to see into the future a little more, make more definite plans, but you still stumble and trip along. You still make mistakes. You're still learning.

Are you a blogging newbie?
When do you think the "newbie" title needs to be dropped?

Phase Three

So far we have talked about my hair makeover, and last week we talked about the importance of a daily facial routine, where you are cleansing and moisturising with a product that suits you, not only your skinds needs but your budget. This week we are going deeper into your skin.

Making sure you wash your face twice daily doesn't always ensure that you are going to have the skin of a porcelain doll.
Actually nothing does, but we still try, right?

Beauty on a budget means that I sadly cannot afford to be getting a weekly facial at my local beauticians. However I can afford these little beauties...

They are a single pack, but I can actually get two face masks out of them. I like to think it's because I have delicate features, but really it's probably because I'm a tight arse.

The only problem I have with a face mask is keeping my face still whilst waiting for it to do it's thing.
However, to make it easy, I have come up with a couple of beautifying things you can do whilst you face soaks in the goodness of a face mask. 

Give yourself a manicure or pedicure. A quick and easy pick me up is when you look down at your hands or feet and see a pop of a favourite colour. Nail polish is fun, and a small way you can express yourself.

Another favourite way to relax and get into the "spa" experience, is to jump into a Lush bubble bath. I like to take a good book in there with me and just switch off for a bit.
Mr Black and I have a deal where twice a week I get an hour to myself where I usually have a bath, and I slap on a face mask at least one of those times.

Don't forget an important part to your face care routine should be to exfoliate with a face scrub once at least once a week also. This helps to get down deep into the pores and also scrub off any stubborn excess grime on the surface.
I also love using Pore Strips. I just love the feeling of pulling them off and the satisfaction of looking at the gunk on the strip that was once in my face. It sounds gross yes, but it is addictive.

Are you a face masker? How do you spend your face mask drying time? Do you have a favourite facial scrub? Do you have an addiction to pore strips too, or am I just a weirdo?

Products I'm loving... Formula 10.0.6 Skin Clarifying Mud Mask $1.99 10ml, Formula 10.0.6 Oil Absorbing Mud Mask $1.99 10ml, Formula 10.0.6 Ultra Cleansing Mud Mask $1.99 10ml, Clearasil Blackhead Clearing Scrub $9.99 150ml, Formula 10.0.6 Down to the Pore Blackhead Strips $5.99 6pk

A Little Peace and Quiet

Some weeks it's harder to find the good things.
Sometimes not even the little things come up on your radar of bleakness.
This week I needed to make myself stop and look for those little things, and I was reminded of one of my favourite parts of the day...



This vlog was brought to you as a part of the wonderful Maxabella's Grateful Linky, which is being hosted by Mira Narnie this week. Go and join in the fun link up!

Recently I was lucky enough to score myself a Microsoft Lifecam thanks to competition on Nuffnang. This baby is awesome. It lightens up the room, and even automatically tracks and focuses on your face, as well as a tonne of other cool features. If you don't have one, get one, it totally shits all over my built in webcam.

Make a call. Send a Text. Write an Email.

Words.
Three little words.
Words that my kindergartner can write.
How come we aren't being asked enough though?

Go on, do it, when you sense something isn't quite right, speak up and ask your friend/relative/work colleague/stranger "Are you okay?"
It may just pull them out of a deep dark place where 'no one could possibly care about me'.
That is the most dangerous of places to be. When you are so sure that you are unnoticed, uncared about.
And if they tell you they're "fine" or "ok" or they laugh it off and you're not convinced? Ask it again. Keep asking it and make sure they know you are there. Sometimes, some people need a little more coaxing and assurance that someone really does care no matter what it is, and isn't going to be scared off. That it wasn't just hollow concern.
Keep asking them, because it could save their life, it could help them to blow off some steam by just having someone to talk to, it could help them to get some help from a professional that they really need.


It isn't all up to the people asking the question though, it's up to the people suffering too. You need to speak up, you need to say "You know what? Actually I'm not." You need to realise this isn't something you have to do on your own, and it's something you cannot do on your own. You need your "people", a support network, or this won't work. For those people to qualify as a support network they need to know what you're battling, or they can't really help you. No one is a mind reader.


Suicide is the largest killer of 15-30 year olds in Australia.
How tragic is that? 


RUOK Day is September 15th.
I feel like it's an important day, whether you've suffered depression yourself or not, I guarantee someone you are close with has or is suffering.
Don't let your concern be limited to only one day though. This isn't time sensitive, people need to be asked all the time.

RUOK Day is important to me for many personal reasons.
Lately I have been watching someone I am extremely close with go through their own personal hell, which has included thoughts of killing themselves.
It is something that will shatter you to your core, when you have to spend a night up on "suicide watch", when you have to beg and plead for someone to please get professional help. That you'd never sleep again if it meant that they would be happy.
Don't put your loved one's through the awful pain of deciding for them that they don't care about you.
They do.
Don't put them through the pain and endless worry about you and your safety, both physically and mentally.
Let them help you. Listen to their words, because it is all being said with love. If they are pushing for you to do something like speaking to a doctor, do it
It may actually help.

Are you really ok?

What Are Your Kids Doing?

So a little about me as a mother.
I'm pretty out there with my methods. Many times people have looked at me with a look of surprise or maybe it's pure horror at the things my kids are allowed to do or not allowed to do.
One of the bigger things I'm passionate about for my kids is television and video games.

Back in my pre-kids days I did a research project on the affects of television to young children.
I didn't think too much about it at the time, but I did after I became a mother.

Image from here

Let me start off by putting right here before you click that little x button, that I am NOT against television. It certainly has it's place, and there are times it has saved the day when I've been sick as a dog and had a toddler and baby to look after, or if I've had a rough day and just need an hour to myself and it's raining and Mr Black is at work.
That being said TV has it's place.

Here at La Maison Juane, the TV is off until 6pm when we sit down for dinner (really, I should work on that rule and ban it until after dinner, even though the way we are seated Mr Black and I can watch it and the kids can't). Sometimes I turn it on to watch a DVD or something whilst Greenie naps and Bluey is at school, but not always.

I know some people may think "But you only have one kid at home, that's easy" but it's been this way for many many years. Winter sees a little more TV time where I sometimes put it on in the morning until 9am. Weekends the kids are allowed to play a child appropriate video game for an hour in the morning.

I guarantee you it will change the way they play.

Image from here

With the TV off I noticed that the kids sit and actually play with their toys, using their own imagination and making up their own stories or games.
With the TV off the house was quieter. Dare I say it because they are not trying to compete with the sound coming from the television? They don't screech or shout at me, they speak, for the most part, at a decent level of noise and....my reason for taking this action originally, I can now actually hear my thoughts.
With the TV off the back chatting stopped quickly, less toys were pulled out, and they packed up when asked faster than with the distraction on the television.
With the TV off the kids are playing outside more and more. Something I really push with them. Outside there are far less rules, I let them run crazy and burn off all that extra energy, I let them get dirty and explore with nature, and they're getting some very important vitamin D.

After a few weeks the kids stopped asking for the TV to be turned on altogether. Now when I tell them we're having a movie night (meaning they get to stay up a little later and we watch a family movie) they are giddy with excitement, sit there happily, and then go to bed zero fuss.
That on those days I need a bit of a time out, I can pop it on for half an hour and get exactly that, silence, no arguments over what to watch because they know how special it is to have it on at all.

Now Paediatricians are doing more research into it and are encouraging parents to not only restrict their children's viewing time to the recommended 1-2 hours per day  (zero for children under 2), but to also think about what you are showing your children. Not every "children's show" is targeted at your kids. Some children's shows are targeted for kids 6+. That means it's not made with intentions for your 3 year old to watch. Although I still believe it's parents discretion. There are shows that I refuse to let Bluey watch, even though they fit his age group.

What can seem innocent enough to you, may be completely beyond their comprehension levels and cause confusion to them.
Something that really pulled at me was how it shortens a child's concentration span. We have enough problems with this and we restrict out time majorly. When you have a child at home, you won't realise this, but when they start school and are required to remember their best manners, be conscientious of others, absorb and process the information they are being given and then interpret that into their school work, and do that for a few hours, well yeah, they need to be able to concentrate for that.

Lets be realistic though.
Is this post going to make your throw your TV away? Gosh no. Is it going to make you feel like you're an awful mother because yeah, your TV is on right now as you read this? I bloody hope not! Are you going to ensure your child under 2 doesn't even know what a TV is? Not likely.
All I hope is that for at least some of you, you will try to restrict the hours (we started with TV off between 930-3), or even just turn the volume right down, so your kids aren't trying to yell over the top of it and are instead being quieter so they can hear it. (Trust me it works, it's also a trick for if you want to get kids to listen to you.)

Think about it.

Phase Two

Last week we got started on possibly the most striking and important first step in The New Look. The Hair.
But what good is a hair transformation if it stops with that? Isn't it just "new hair" then?
You'd be correct.

So next on my list was working on my face. Yep, your hair is drawing attention to your face, and lets face it (get it, get it) you are always going to be judged on how you look. It's a fact of life. Yes there are lots of people who will still get to know you and allow for their impression to be changed, but there is still that first impression before you open your mouth. I needed a lot of work in this department.
It wasn't just about make up though. No no no.

It was about the skin.

Afterall what is good make up if it's over crappy skin? It's not going to be helping to accentuate features, and may end up drawing attention to the flaws you're trying to cover up.

I have been an avid user of the Nutrimetics Hydrafinity Range since I was 18. I had found over the last 9 months however that it didn't seem to be changing anything. I was still breaking out like a 14 year old school girl, and those ugly red pimples were not being soothed.
I was about to invest in a pricey product, but was stopped when the ever so glamourous Nikki from Styling You (and she is my guru, seriously, you need to be stalking following her blog) advised that I check out Cetaphil for a reasonable price and something you can easily pick up from your local chemist.

I love pump action products. So easy to use.

I did. Thank you Nikki, not only did you save me a lot of money, but you saved my skin.
I have been using Cetaphil for a month now and it has completely cleared up the jawline zits that took up residence for 3 months, that my expensive Hydrafinity Range was not budging.

It wasn't just switching my face wash products. There were other tips I picked up along the way, like replacing your usual face moisturiser to a SPF based moisturiser of a morning. This way you're getting the dewy goodness of your moisturiser but the added benefit of a little sun protection helping to fight off any wrinkles the sun might be starting to bless your face with.

Garnier Daily Detox Express Cleansing Wipes

Also I invested in some facial wipes making sure to take off my make up as soon as possible and giving my skin the chance to breathe.
Did you know that you age 3 days simply by not removing your make up before going to bed?
I am bad for this when i've come home from a night out with some bevvies. Using these wipes is so easy, and I can do it while i'm on the loo before passing out in bed.

There is one other thing I comitted to for my skin, but you will have to wait for that next week...


Do you have any tips or products you use daily that your skin is loving at the moment? 

Products I'm loving: Cetaphil Oily Skin Cleanser $15.99 500ml, Cetaphil Moisturising Lotion $16.99 500ml, Garnier Clean Detox Refreshing Cleansing Wipes $7.99 25pk, Olay Complete Defense SPF30+ Daily Moisturising Lotion $14.69 75ml.

The Words Have Gone

My body ached for the sun, it's warmth and happiness.
The first day of spring hit with exactly that.
A deep warmth spread through out my body.
Little sparks of happiness as my garden held me in that magic for hours.

Spring had arrive.
It was long awaited.
By the second day though the warmth, I could feel it
But no longer did it reach right into me.

It's like holding your numb hand up to a flame.
You can feel the heat
And you know that you should feel that heat soaking right through
Only you don't
It's like it's not touching you at all.

Today the rain came to visit
And I felt like this was home
The weather was reflecting my mood for the last week
Cold, unfriendly, unwelcoming
That is me.

A Is For Apple

Bluey is a very special kid.
I know everyone says that about their kids. And I promise your little one is a beautiful genius too! I whole heartedly believe there is something special in each and every kid, but Bluey? He is a very fast learner.

Image from here

See, I get upset with myself because sometimes I sorta wish he wasn't so clever. Especially since starting school this year.
Which makes me furious because I want as many doors opened for him as possible. 
Everyone automatically assumes because he is one of the youngest kids in the year he is on the lower scale for his acedemics. Rightfully so! When you haven't met a kid I guess it's easier to group them according to age and assume they will be around the same level for tasks.
I thought the Best Start assesment they have brought in was a brilliant idea, but I guess there isn't too much emphasis on it? At least that i've noticed in our case.

Bluey gets home from school bored. It's not challenging for him at all. He is very social, despite never having gone to preschool, and adjusts easily to change. All you have to do is tell him what is expected of him and he's sweet.
When I appraoch his teachers about his boredom I always worry that firstly they won't believe me, or what he is telling me may not be the case in class, and secondly that i'm coming off as the pushy overbearing mother.

But what are my choices? To shut my trap about my concerns and hope for the best and then find out later down the track that I should have spoken up?
Or do I speak up and run the risk of being the parent the teacher dispises approaching them?

I've always lived by the rule of doing what's right by my kids, what I feel is in their best intrests because I am afterall their advocate.
Lately though, i've been questioning it.
I think i've become the mother that teachers cringe when they see.

So now I worry that my speaking up on occasion (I promise it's not every day, or even weekly) is going to come back to hurt him.


Do I just need to shut up? What would you do if your child came to you complaining that their school work was too easy on a regular basis? 

For the record Bluey has a wonderful teacher. I cannot sing her enough praise. She works with him mostly on a one on one basis, or sets him up on work that is a little more advanced than the rest of the kids, as well as sending home extra homework and is always thinking ahead about how to involve him and push him individually. It's just that he's still complaining to me things are too easy, and zips through his homework with zero problems. I feel torn between if I need to speak up, or if I need to talk to him about slowing down. 

Phase One

Welcome to the new weekly segment on The Mummy Autobiography.
After a year of personal growth, I found myself in the uncomfortable situation of no longer feeling comfortable in my skin. I had kicked out all the past hurts, but I was still reminded of them every single time I looked in the mirror.
I was also no longer the mother of tiny babies, my kids were growing up, giving me more time for me, and their independence reminded me that I needed to have a sense of identity away from "mother".

With it came the chance of a makeover. The New Look.

Image from here

Let me start this segment by saying I have no idea about this beauty/fashion/hair stuff. Seriously ZERO.I do know a few people who do and I have asked, and prodded, and poked at their brains in order to learn. This is one unfashionista to another. 

One of the first parts of my transformation was to change my hair.
I played around with my hair a bit in high school but never had I lightened my colour from the dark chocolaty brown it was. I had always been a brunette and admired those who could pull off both light and dark locks, but had resigned myself to never being one of those people.

After several months of not feeling like my appearance matched who I now was I decided I needed a drastic change. I needed to take a plunge. So I went blonde.

I was very nervous about the change. Actually very nervous is an understatement. I had idea's in my head of what I wanted. Fairly specific idea's, but with the mind frame that it needed to be tweaked to suit me. I swayed back and forth for a couple of months until throwing all care to the wind and deciding I needed it done in a couple of days.  No chance to umm and arr and change my mind yet again.

I sat nervously as the bleach was applied to my healthy hair, wondering if I was killing my long locks and setting up for the ends to break or turn to straw as I had felt in any of my friends who bleached their hair. I refused to look at myself in a mirror until it was "done". I had a very real fear that I would end up with that awful bright orange bleached look. Can you blame me?

It came down to worst comes to worst it looks awful and I just go back to a dark colour. Surely throwing a dark colour over the top will disguise the hair disaster that just happened?
At least that's what I told myself in my pep talk.

I am extremely lucky to have a very talented best friend who happens to be a hairdresser. She was able to talk me through the process, and the fact that she had to be seen in public with me after this leap of faith reassured me that she'd have me looking at least half decent by the end of the day.
And she did!

This is what she did. My hair was 100% it's natural colour before starting, meaning it should have taken any dye well.
She started by stripping it with bleach washing it out after 35mins. Then she divided and coloured two sections at the back mid-way down with a Dark Brown. She coloured the rest with a Caramel and threw in half head of foils. All of that sat for 40mins. After 40mins she washed it out and voila.

The end result?
Drum roll please....

I really put the term "dull and lifeless" to good use, with my frizzy locks before The Makeover.

So, what do you think? Mr Black says he isn't a fan of blondes or my new tresses, that it does suit me, but he still prefers the dark locks. Me, I think it will be sticking around for a couple of years. Even though the regrowth pisses me off. 

Have you ever swapped dark locks for light? Maybe you've gone from blonde to brunette? Tell me about your story and share pictures if you like! 

Products used: HI Lift Blue Bleach 500g bag $8.95 Silky Colouration Caramel Blonde (Number 7) $7.75 Silky Colouration Dark Brown (Number 3) $7.75 Koleston Perfect 7/77 $17.50

Bloke Talk

Hi peeps.
I've been nagging mum for ages now to let me have a turn at this blogging thing that she always seems to be doing. She told me it's for grown ups, but don't you know I'm a grown up too. I go to school now. I'm the smartest in my class, but mum tells me that I'm not, I'm just clever at some things, and that doesn't mean I shouldn't keep practising them. I roll my eyes when her back is turned.

Shh don't tell her.

So I was asking her when I'd finally get a chance to do this blog thing that she does the other day and she said "OK, I guess you can, BUT you have to write about Father's Day and what it means to you."

It's such a boring topic, but she is the boss, so I guess I better do as she says if I ever want to get another crack at this blogging thing. Hopefully without her lame idea for what to write about.

Father's Day is a day for all the dad's in the world.
Mum says we're supposed to show them how much we love them on this day, but I love dad every day so I don't really understand what she's on about.
I figured she just means to be really good on that day and spoil him like it's his birthday.
I figure he deserves it after all my dad does some really cool things for us.

Mum then asked "What does your dad do for you that makes you love him?"

Sheesh, I thought the above would be enough, but I guess she wants me to tell you about my dad?
My dad is a person that plays with me.
Dad's make really yummy breakfasts like pancakes when mum makes us have boring healthy stuff.
My dad can build cool stuff for us, like our toy box and the chook pen for our chicks.
Dad is so strong he can climb up on the roof and fix stuff on the roof. He can also hang the clock straight.
Sometimes he takes us to see Pop and Grandma, which is nice. Usually when Mum is out somewhere, because she usually says "No."
My Dad gets dressed how I want him to be. Mum sometimes wears funny clothes. She has a pair of bright green pants! They're weird.
Sometimes he lets me climb up the ladder and he holds me so I won't fall.
My Dad is kind and makes me feel happy.
My Dad loves me I just know.

I think it will be fun to be a Dad one day. Mum says that I have to finish school and get a good job first.

What is your Dad like? Is he like mine?

Who Are You?

Image from here.

When your kids are young you're so wrapped up in this little life that nothing else really matters.
You take on the role they require and every thing and every one else disappears. They are your world and you are theirs.
Then they grow up. Start doing things for themselves. Suddenly they don't need you as much anymore.

Everything you had become, you had put yourself into has evaporated.
You realise, unwillingly, that you don't know who you are anymore.

Time to be more than a mother, but you're back to working out just who you are now. Just where you place in the world is.


If not a mother, who are you? Where are you making a difference?