A strange thing happened to me on the weekend. I felt a sense of calm and clarity that has been missing for a long time. I opened my computer and did a search for some decorating blogs.  Can you believe it?  I can’t!

I haven’t had an inkling of decorating urge for the longest time.  At least 5 years, and that’s a generous estimate.  I’ve had 74 lime lane in my reader for a little while, but have been just glancing over the posts.  Well on the weekend, I did a dig deep into the archives there.  Oh, the cuteness and inspiration.  I spent far too long immersed in etsy.  I even subscribed to Martha Stewart’s blog for goodness sake!

Then I went to the library and borrowed some decorating magazines.

It’s all very weird.  But nice.  I feel like I’m ready to tackle the mundaneness of the house and finally put a stamp on it.  Finally, after years of just cleaning up and making it look presentable, I’m inspired.

rsinner via flickr

Even more remarkable is I took action.  Yes, I finally found a use for the cute white frames that have been sitting in the corner of the study for 2 years.  I’ve printed out the images from this post and arranged them (very artistically, if you don’t mind) in the girls’ room.  I hung a mirror in there for them, too for a bit extra pizzaz.  Who would have known that all it took to get them out of my bathroom was a mirror on their bedroom wall?  I should’ve done that one a looooong time ago.

So here’s to my new decorating urge.  I don’t know how long it’ll last, but I’m going to enjoy it while it’s here.

Our recent road trip up to the Coffs Coast involved nearly 3,000 km (about 1,860 miles) of driving.  That doesn’t include sightseeing once we got there.  All in all we spent a good 2 1/2 days in the car each way.  I knew the road trip would be tough on the kids.  We have a Commodore wagon – only 5 seats, so the three little darlings were pretty much crammed in next to each other for 6-8 hours each day.  A recipe for love and joy. Not.

Squashed between two car seats, it can't be a comfortable journey

I was prepared though.  I read through my Planning a Caravan Trip – Keeping kids happy in the car post.  I went through the aisles of the local $2 shop and picked up little goodies that would keep the kids amused for hopefully an hour or so.  I spent a bit too long in the toy department of Kmart choosing a couple of extra “special” toys for each child.  Then I sorted and stashed them all so I would have something new and exciting to give each kid a couple of times a day on the road.

• For the boy (8):
  • A selection of matchbox cars
  • Rubik’s cube
  • Two of those annoyingly difficult metal ring puzzles (sorry, I don’t know what they’re called!)
• For the girls (6 & 4):
  • A selection of Polly Pocket/Littlest Petshop toys
  • Travel tick tack toe
• For everyone:
  • A plain notebook and pencil for writing or drawing
  • A colouring book in the favourite character of the moment
  • A few coloured pencils each (don’t use crayons – they melt in the car and create a hideous mess)
  • A map of where we were going

I also loaded up the iPod with kids’ songs, Monopoly and UNO.

Having a boy and girls ranging in age from 4 to 8 makes it hard to find something to please everyone, but I did my darndest.

We’ve resisted the temptation to buy a DVD player for the car or PSP’s/DS’s because I’m of the possibly misguided belief that road trips are a perfect time for family bonding.  More about that later …

Rest stop in Albury, NSW

We made sure to stop every couple of hours for a wander, snack and toilet break.  Good for the driver, good for the kids, good for mum’s sanity.

By the time we arrived at our final destination I was still feeling quite happy with my goody bags. The toys were very eagerly received and were having the desired effect of keeping the kids from strangling each other.  I even had a couple of things left for the trip home.  Most of all I was on holiday and relaxed.

That was my mistake.  While I was unwinding the kids found the goody bag. “Can we have the toys in the bag, Mum?” Not wanting to move my sprawled out self I yelled back, “I suppose.”  Then I promptly forgot about the goody bag.

I paid.  I paid big time.

This is our study.  It’s a calm, but bright and cheery place where I can sit down to write, edit my photos and of course, study.

What feral animal was locked in there overnight that created this mess?

Oh, wait.  It was kids.  My kids.  And they weren’t even locked in there.  They did all this in the name of entertainment while I turned my back to do something selfish – like cook their dinner.

Actually, they’re not that horrible.  They were writing letters about our holiday and making special little gifts to post to grandparents.  Very thoughtful really.

I just wish their thoughtfulness extended to cleaning up…

PS:  Just as soon as this shamozzle is rectified, I’ll get to writing a bit about our recent holiday to the Coffs Coast.  I can reveal now, however, that the weather was a whole lot better than it is here in SW Victoria at the moment!

Does anybody like ironing? I’ve tried to make it as bearable as possible.

I listen to my iPod while I’m mindlessly waving the iron back and forth.

I bought a “you beaut” Laura Star iron (which I love – but not in the same way I love my coffee machine – and is worth every cent I paid for it) to cut ironing time.

I (mostly) systematically fold the washing as it comes in off the line.

But no matter what I do still it’s one of those jobs I dread doing. I put it off and put it off until I end up begrudgingly spending a Sunday afternoon ironing work shirts and school uniforms. Why?

I think it’s because it’s never finished. As I near the end of one pile I know there’s another one on the line just waiting to come in. I don’t even put the ironing board away anymore.

Why didn’t somebody warn me about this before I made a deal with The Thinker? I would bear his children and iron his shirts. In return I could become a stay at home mum.

There must be a way to give him the shirts back and keep the good bits!

One of my favourite foods from my childhood is lemon slice.  My auntie used to make the most delicious one and it was all I could do to stop myself gobbling a whole plateful when I visited.  Then I learnt to make it in Home Ec and there was no stopping me.  Until I left home that is, and went through an “I don’t cook phase”.

That lasted about 8 years I’m sorry to say and I forgot some of my favourite recipes (no, I didn’t write them down – I had a mind like a steel trap back then.  Gone now, but that’s another story).  Like how to make lemon slice.  I knew the ingredients, but when I wanted to make it again I could never get the proportions right.  I was either too dry and crumbly or too soggy.

Then, one fateful day Planning Queen posted a lemon slice recipe on her blog.  It was THE ONE.

Crush a packet of plain sweet biscuits.  This is a fun job for the kids.  Stand back though, they can get a bit wild with the rolling pin.

Add a cup of coconut, 3/4 tin of condensed milk, 100g melted butter & the finely grated rind of a lemon.

Stir it all till it’s well combined.

Press the mixture firmly into a slice tin

Ice with lemon icing – about 1 1/2 cups of icing sugar, the juice of a lemon and water if needed.  Sprinkle with coconut and pop it in the fridge for an hour or two, till the icing is set (if you can wait that long).

Delicious.