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Wonderful

December 30, 2011 By Janine 7 Comments

Princess Child today asked "do you ever have a day when you just feel your life is wonderful?" "Surrrre" I replied (OK hesitantly) "Do you feel like that?" I asked. "Yep I do" she replied and my heart soared. So all the tears and meltdowns during the year have disappeared in the languid calm of the summer holidays. The joys of childhood. When … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family, Family Living Tagged With: Family, Family Living, Life Experience

Condeming my children to a life of under-achievement

December 28, 2011 By Janine 8 Comments

I may be holding my children back from achieving their true potential. I know it's hard to fathom given the amount of time, energy and money I've invested in them. This Christmas Hippie Child was given the autobiography of Jessica Watson, the teenager who in 2010, at just 16, became the youngest person to sail solo, unassisted and non-stop around … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family Tagged With: Family, Jesse Martin, Jessica Watson, Jordan Romero, Mountain Climbing, sailing

Christmas Come and Gone

December 27, 2011 By Janine 13 Comments

Well it's over for another year. Christmas come and gone in a mad whirl of shopping, cleaning, cooking, entertaining. It was hosted for the first time this year at Shambles Manor. We did successfully clear up enough room for people to be able to physically enter the house, OK it was never going to pass any sort of white glove test and the rumour … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family, Family Living Tagged With: Christmas, Cooking, Family, Family Living, Life Experience

Christmas countdown on – are we ready? No we’re not.

December 22, 2011 By Janine 6 Comments

Three days remaining until the Christmas festivities. Or 62 hours, 26 minutes and 9 seconds at the time of writing, if you count Christmas day as starting at 6.00am on the 25th. As the time ticks away the frenzy gets that little bit more intense because, as per usual, we are not ready. You would think with 364 days notice we could get our act … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family, Family Living, Humour Tagged With: Christmas, christmas festivities, Family, Family Living, humour., Life Experience, time christmas

The Day I Killed Santa

December 18, 2011 By Janine 10 Comments

It is now 12 months since I committed the crime. It began as such an ordinary day. I was trying to clean up. When the Princess Child approached me mid sweep. "Mum, Sam* said his mum told him Santa wasn't real. Santa is real isn't he?" Now look I've never been comfortable with the Santa thing, it always felt, well a little deceptive. However, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family, Family Living, Humour Tagged With: Christmas, Family, Family Living, humour., Parenting

Because I’m too slack to send a card …

December 17, 2011 By Janine 6 Comments

Over the years I've become very slack at sending christmas cards. It's not because I don't care or I'm not thinking of you, I'm just slack. I leave everything until the last minute then realise it's too late to get everything done. I also hate sending a card with Dear XYZ lots of love from all of us. We haven't heard from each other for a year … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family, Family Living, Humour, Uncategorized Tagged With: Christmas, Christmas letter., christmas newsletter, Family, Family Living

The Sunday Drive

December 14, 2011 By Janine 12 Comments

Anyone else remember the Sunday drive? Mum and Dad and the kids (sometimes the dog too) packed into the car to take an aimless road trip around the local area? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family, My Favourite Posts, Photos Tagged With: David Fitzpatrick, Family, Family Living, Life Experience, Photographs., Photography, Sunday drive, Vintage car by the beach

Advice to Mums of Young Children

December 11, 2011 By Janine 20 Comments

Today there was a tiny report in the Sunday Telegraph declaring mums want other mums to be more honest about the challenges of raising a baby. Apparently research released by Motherpedia says 93 per cent of Aussie mothers believe there needs to be more honesty between mums about motherhood. Really? Honesty is going to help? Well, at the risk of it … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family, Family Living, Humour, Parenting Tagged With: Family, Family Living, humour., Life Experience, Mother, Parenting

Weekly Photo Challenge – Celebration

December 10, 2011 By Janine 13 Comments

70 years of living celebrated with friends and family. [slideshow] … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family, Family Living Tagged With: Family, Family Living, Photographs., postaweek2011

Letter to my 16 year old self

December 9, 2011 By Janine 25 Comments

Have you seen the book "Dear Me, A Letter to My Sixteen-Year-Old Self"? An array of celebrities write a letter to their teenage self. If you could jump in the DeLorean and head back to the future to meet up with the kid you once were what advice would you offer? Here's my attempt. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Books, Family, Family Living, Humour, My Favourite Posts, Project 44, Writing Tagged With: Aging, Book, Family, Family Living, humour., Letter to 16 year old self

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Janine Fitzpatrick is a personal blogger with an untidy house, imperfect children and no celebrity friends.

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Weekend Notes

WATCHINGI went to see Fiona O'Loughlin last night. She's the comedian who survived alcoholism, a two week coma from not realising, in her drunken state, that the heater in the dive she was living in was leaking carbon monoxide.  Then went on to spend … [Read More...]

Weekend Notes

Watching We headed to the movies this weekend and saw the latest Spike Lee film, BlacKkKlansman. It's the story of the first black cop in the Colorado Springs police force, Ron Stallworth, who in the late 70's managed to infiltrate the Ku Klux … [Read More...]

Sleepless

So I've been awake since 3.00am. In that time I've signed the family up for an organizing app which can run a joint calendar, shared shopping and to-do lists and has downloaded a series of recipes that are supposed to make my "what's for dinner" … [Read More...]

Grey stairs.

The Widow Goes On A Date

The last time I went on a first date Bob Hawke was Prime Minister, Liam Hemsworth was being born, Madonna was singing Vogue on the radio, Macaulay Culkin was being left Home Alone and Kevin Costner was Dancing with Wolves. It was a long time ago … [Read More...]

Father with two daughters.

Another Father’s Day

Hi Simon, How's things going up there? Did you have a beer with your Dad for Father's Dad? We blatantly ignored the day here. Just pretended it wasn't happening. We still think about you every day. I didn't post anything on Facebook because it … [Read More...]

Daisy flowers

Hellooo Again

  Hi, I'm just here unwrapping the dust covers, brushing down the spiderwebs and sweeping up the left-over dreams of my tiny little space on the internet. I know I've been gone almost 12-months. I'm not even sure how that happened. A … [Read More...]

A messy scrapbooking desk

Milestone Moments

Hey Simon, Despite my best intentions to ignore the milestones they keep on happening, with or without you. We celebrated your Mum's 80th birthday back in August. A rushed trip of some 1,850 kilometres all up with just four days to do the 9 hour … [Read More...]

Weekend Notes

What have you been up to this weekend? Watching  We caught Home Again in the cinema. It's the latest Reese Witherspoon film.  It's a fun little comedy. Reese plays Alice a just-turned 40 divorcing mum of two. At her birthday drinks she … [Read More...]

Picture of a beach.

Weekend Notes

  As the weekend draws to a close here's a little of what caught my eye in the last 48 hours. Watching Saw Battle of the Sexes the new Emma Stone movie about the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. Oh what a time … [Read More...]

A Bag of chips, wine, chocolate, lemonade and magazine. A parody of a bug out bag for the apocalypse.

Could You Survive The Apocalypse?

South Koreans are buying "survival bags" and turning to YouTube for tips on making it through a nuclear blast. The New York Times is writing articles on How To Survive The Apocalypse and the doomsday preppers are starting to look like the smart ones. … [Read More...]

chocolate and wine

Home Alone: The Empty Nest

The empty nest looms in my near future. One more year before the youngest heads out into the world without my micromanaging her every move. I can feel the rotor blades on my helicopter starting to slow.   I heard a whisper of what may … [Read More...]

Weekend Notes

It's a long weekend here in Australia.  So it's been a lazy time. Perfect for some catch-up TV, movies and reading.   Watching I've been enjoying Doctor Doctor it was shot in my old hometown of Mudgee and gosh it's looking … [Read More...]

iVillage

Janine Fitzpatrick is a personal blogger with an untidy house, imperfect children and no celebrity friends. Read More…

Grey stairs.
Father with two daughters.

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