Food ... glorious ... food ...

Master 16:  Mum ... there's nothing to eat.

Me:  Sure there is ... look in the cupboard.

Master 16:  I have ... and there's nothing ... and I'm starving.

Me:  Make yourself a sandwich ... or some toast.

Master 16:  No ... I need proper food ... and there's not a SINGLE THING to eat.

Me:  Are you sure?

Master 16:  There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to eat in this house ... I'm STARVING ... I'm getting a HEADACHE ... you're going to have to go out and get me some KFC ... ASAP!

39/52

"A portrait of our children, once a week, every week in 2013"

Master 16:  All long legs and huge feet ... if you watch close enough ... you will see them grow.

Master 13:  Surveying the scene from his vantage point in the sand dunes.

We went off to the beach ... cause the weather was fine,

And took these warm, sunny photos ... for Week Thirty Nine.

Joining in with Jodi.

Week One ... done and dusted ...

Well that's the first week of the school holidays completed, concluded and closed.

I'd like to say that we have spent the last few days at an exotic locale ... filling our time with exciting and adventurous holiday style activities.

I'd be lying.

We have whiled away the days without doing much of anything at all ... though I must admit lolling around the house like a giant sloth has been a particularly popular choice.  

But I understand that nobody wants to read about the idleness of my bones ... so I wracked my brain ... separated the highlights from the lowlights ... and came up with a list of things we have done this week.

• I decided to spring clean the house and reorganise everything into a super efficient, highly functional, well oiled machine type household.  You know ... like Martha Stewart.  So I put some DVDs into boxes, moved three blankets from one spot to another ... and cleaned one window.  Then I gave up and decided to become a Jabba the Hutt type instead.

• Master 16 had three professional driving lessons.  You know, the ones you have to pay for.  It's comforting to know that he can now drive forward with confidence.  Unfortunately he has not yet learnt to turn around or park. So as long as he never comes to a dead end ... or wants to stop the car and get out ... then he'll be just fine.

• I need a new project like I need a hole in the head ... but I started one anyway.  Here's a sneaky peek ... all will be revealed when I complete it ... in around seven and a half years.

• Master 13's PlayStation broke ... his life is officially over.

Roll on Week Two.

Ikea ... how I love you ...

Yesterday was Day Two of the school holidays and so I did what all self respecting, doting mothers do ... I went out and left the kids at home.

For I had a day out planned at that mass consumerism mecca of the world ... Ikea.

Oh Ikea ... how I love you.

How I love your faux living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, everything.  How I love your vast market hall and it's abundant supply of things I don't need and never will need ... but must have anyway.  How I love your meatballs.  How I love your ostensibly well priced items ... that add up to an eye watering, panic inducing total once I have pushed my trolley along your yellow arrowed route.  How I love everything about you ... until I have to admit to Hubby how much I spent ... and what I spent it on.  How I then curse you ... for your wicked, irresistible seduction of my senses.

My sister and niece were my partners in crime.

Some of us committed more heinous offences than others.

My niece will be let off with a warning.

I can expect to be given a good behaviour bond, community service and my cash card confiscated.

My sister ... guilty as charged.

Playing on the beach ...

This week's SHINY T TUESDAY prompt is "Playing on the Beach".

Now it's the school holidays here at present ... so this gave us the perfect opportunity to head off to the beach ... for a play.

The sun was shining ... which was a very good start.

Master 13 was all for it.

Master 16 ... not so much.

Master 13 can be seen wearing the very latest in hand me down shorts and hand me down t shirt.

Matching and co-ordinating his clothes is clearly not a priority to Master 13 ... though it must be said, they do co-ordinate extremely well with his surroundings .... which is entirely coincidental.

Master 16 can be found wearing the very latest in t shirts from Roger David ... and the very latest in shorts from Factorie ... with Master 16 it ALL about being the very latest.

He was informed this week by the manager of Roger David ... that he is their best customer.  He is a 16 year old boy and he is their best customer.  I'm not sure whether to be chuffed that he is the best anything ... or alarmed that obviously way too much of his burger flipping coinage is being spent there.  I'm leaning towards the second option.

I am wearing a pair of my ankle biter jeans ... in order to further justify their purchase ... by mentioning them in two blog posts.  I co-ordinated them with a top I nicked off my Mum ... years and years ago.  Hand embroidered ... by someone with a lot more patience than me.

And then of course it was time to "play".

How about we "play" a hand or two of Uno ... on the beach.

Or perhaps Master 13 can "play" his harmonica ... on the beach.

He never knocks back the chance to "play" games on the iPhone ... even on the beach.

I was going to bring the Monopoly ... but I thought I might lose the boot in the sand.

Master 16 wouldn't "play" anything ... he was too busy keeping his head down and praying that nobody he knew would see him there ... with his Mother ... oh the everlasting shame.

Swans, sofas and other scintillating events from the weekend ...

Hubby is in mourning ... his ensemble of last weekend has taken a dour turn.

Yep, on Saturday night ... his dearly beloved AFL team the Sydney Swans were defeated ... they were slaughtered ... they were smashed ... they suffered a flogging of epic proportions.

So there goes that celebratory Grand Final winning overseas trip I was planning.

But when a man is feeling low and disheartened ... there is nothing like a hearty breakfast to warm the cockles of his battered and broken heart.

Specially when someone else has cooked it.

And as I told Hubby ... nothing will cheer him up faster than a little spending spree.  It will make him soooo happy to get that new sofa anyway ... you know the one we wanted last weekend ... back when he was still happy.

Somewhat surprisingly he agreed.

I think it had something to do with the fact that dibs have already been placed on all the seats ... of that sofa we don't actually own.

Hubby dibbed this one.

Master 13 dibbed this one.

Master 16 dibbed this one.

Which left me with no choice ... but to organise this one for myself.

In this fabric.

On which absolutely no boys are allowed ... EVER.

38/52

"A portrait of our children, once a week, every week in 2013"

Seems that this is the week for looking pensive whilst wearing sunglasses.

Master 16:  On the laundry doorstep ... wearing shades.

Master 13:  Up a ladder ... wearing shades.

Seems wearing your sunnies is a family trait,

As you battle the glare ... in Week Thirty Eight.

Joining in with Jodi.

Sew there you go ...

My mate, Mrs C and I meet up every Tuesday.

Sometimes we meet at the shops ... and spend money.  Sometimes we meet for lunch ... and eat food.

Recently we decided to meet at my place and have a sewing bee.

It was decided that we would each make a skirt ... the same skirt.

So we went to "Spotlight" and deliberated long and hard over the pros and cons of each and every skirt pattern ... before deciding on this one.

We liked the A-line cut and the way it sat lower on the hips.

We each deliberated long and hard over our fabric choice ... until finally I chose this one ... alas I did not get a photo of Mrs C's fabric choice.  The very best thing about this fabric was not only the retro charm ... but the fact that it was reduced to $3.00 a metre.  Mrs C's fabric was a whole $16 a metre and I'm still feeling rather smug over that.

Then we met up the following Tuesday to get this plan underway.

Mrs C has a particular sewing style ... which does not necessarily complement my own.

She thumbs her nose at such things as tailor's tacks ... she scoffs at the suggestion of cutting notches.  She poo poohs the existence of instruction sheets and declares measuring things to be a waste of time.

It's enough to make me break out in hives.

So we cut out our fabric ... and I even managed to snip a few sneaky notches into mine.

Mrs C likes to live on the wild side ... and so decided she would amend her skirt a little ... by adding a previously non existent zip ... and shortened it by cutting off the bottom in a carefree, non measured way.

My eyelid started to twitch.

I like to live on the safe side ... so I followed the instructions ... religiously.

Fast forward a couple of days and our skirts were complete.

Mrs C declared hers a disaster ... and swore it will never see the light of day again.

Mine turned out to be straight ... not at all A-Line ... and sits on my waist and not my hips ... and will never see the light of day again.

Except for this shot.

And the moral of the story ... well there is no moral ... except that next week we will definitely meet for lunch and eat food!