Picture
It's that time of the year again, yep that's right, the day you're left wondering what on earth you are  going to buy for your kids to give to their fathers on father's day?

I guess once your kids have reached a certain age they can sort that stuff out for themselves and it's really out of your hands, but with little ones I'm often left scratching my head.

We have an even bigger dilemma at our house in that it is also my husband's birthday at this time of year. Sometimes it actually falls on the same day - but we still have to celebrate both Fathers day and his Birthday at the same time. The conversation goes a little like this. "What do you think you would like for Fathers / your birthday this year?" to which he often replies (as he did again this year) "I don't know". So if you've got someone who can't even mention a few things that appeal to them, how are you supposed to get them something they might like?

One year I left my son in charge of the present buying and sent him off with some cash to the Fathers Day stall at school and being only six at the time he was very excited about having free reign. Unfortunately, he bought home a coffee mug with "The World's Best Grandfather" emblazoned across it ..... for his father.

So now we are back to the yearly dilemma of what to buy for someone who doesn't even know what he would like, even if he could buy it for himself. Sure you could go the usual socks and undies (hardly very inspiring) or a Bunning's voucher (not very personal).  Last year we thought we would give him an experience to remember, so we brought him a flight in a Tiger Moth (which he had actually said he would like) and then he developed claustrophobia and couldn't bring himself to get in the plane. So you see my dilemma. 

I like to be organised and I usually have presents on hand well before the date of an actual celebration, whatever the event is but sometimes my husband comes in a number of days before said event and claims to know what he wants now. Which drives me just a little bit crazy. The thing is, even though he often gets on my nerves he's a good Father. He loves them,  cuddles them, kisses them, reads them stories and tucks them in at night. So, it would be really nice to have something which reflects that. And then there's my father to buy for as well, who has now decided to go off on his last hoorah trip to Columbia (it is not my place to question why, just to wave him off at the airport).

I hope that you all find that perfect gift for the Father's in your life and that your children have a man in their lives who loves them as much as you do.

Cheers,

Lee


 
Picture
How sad am I - getting excited over some free herbs and spices ... yep, that's right free! Yay, who doesn't get excited when they win something or get a freebie!?

Yes, I know it's a little hard to get excited over herbs and spices but here I am! As you may well know from a previous post I am a member of the coles circle (www.colescircle.com.au - if you would like to join it yourself... I would thoroughly recommend it!) and from time to time you can put your hand up to try some new stuff out.

So, as a result of this, I have been loitering around the mailbox anxiously awaiting some new product samples and yes, before I go on, I know how desperate that sounds ... but I feel you've gotta get your thrills where you can!

Anyhoo, this time it was a voucher for three free coles brand (of course) herbs and spices of my choice. So I had to schlep down to the actual store to get them (which wasn't as nice as getting all the stuff delivered to your home like the last time I received a box full of lovely skin care products) but I figure, they don't know what I'm going to make with it ..... and they gave me a $10 gift card towards ingredients, so it's all good.

I also received this very cool looking masterchef apron -  So you just know I know what I'm doing in the kitchen!!

Picture
OK - so you can see from the backwards print that I took this in the mirror. Considering I couldn't be bothered putting makeup on - you're pretty lucky there's a pictures at all!
The down side of the free stuff is that now I have to cook something with it so I can report back - but I guess we are going to eat anyway, so it's really only a matter of time before I actually have to cook something...... 

Another bonus with my pack was that I received some $1 vouchers for my friends, so they can also give some of the herbs and spices a try. Yeah, I know $1 - big deal! But some of the herbs start from $1.65 - so that's not too shabby I thought. 
Anyway, the upshot of all that is that I have four $1 off vouchers. You can only use one with each shop so there's no point giving them all to one person, cause seriously, who can be bothered going back four different times to save a little moola on another bottle of herbs.
 
So, as this is my circle - the first four people to post a comment at the end of this blog and say they would like one will be sent one. I know as far as giveaways go it's not that exciting, (I mean it's not a car) but all you have to do is tell me you want one and I'll do all the heavy lifting. That's just the kinda girl I am.

Cheers,

Lee
 
Isn't it amazing how quickly kids today love something and then hate it? I don't ever remember being so inconsistent as a kid. If you loved A-Ha or Donkey Kong or playing elastics, you loved it. Full Stop. And even when you grew out of it you still remembered it fondly because you had spent so much time doing it, thinking about it or listening to it.

Not so, with kids today. This was brought home today when Lazy Town was asked for, for the 50th time. ( I have shared a video from Lazy Town, in case you missed that fad - it's one of my 2 year olds latest favourite shows). It's fun, it's colourful and makes an effort to teach kids about the importance of brushing your teeth, getting outside, exercising and not eating too much junk.  I remember and I am sure it was not so long ago, when my older son couldn't get enough of Lazy Town, Sporticus and we could even talk him into eating more fruit by calling it "sports candy".  Well now, apparently it's lame.

Ben 10, who we could not live without, is now lame. Bakugans, where you had to troll numerous toy stores to even be eligible to pick up new ones because they were walking off the shelves. Are L.A.M.E.

With all the big toy sales being marketed so heavily at this time of year, encouraging us to get in early and lay-by for Christmas, you don't want to feel like a crap mum and have your kids miss out on the latest, greatest, must-have whatever it is. But it got me thinking about the next thing I would be having to vacuum around because it's just "too lame to pick up and who cares mum, we're over it anyway."

It used to be that if you were into something, that fad could last for years. Now we'll be lucky to put it on lay-by now to hide away for the festive season and not have it be oh, so yesterday, by Christmas. Do we continue to indulge in the lastest, greatest must haves? Do we send the kids outside with a stick and say "In my day, you could have had hours of fun with that. Go and entertain yourself!" It is a tough one. 

I have to say it's nice having the age gap with the kids as I get to relive some of the old favourites again and I don't mind a bit of Sporticus. Come on, they had to add something to keep the mum's entertained..... anyway, I would love to hear of some of your passing fads and the one's you wished they would bring back.

I would also love to get opinions on todays trend of consumerism gone mad. Do we just go with the flow or bring back the humble stick??

Cheers,

Lee