Why we love The Wiggles

Hi there!

When I was a preschooler I loved a t.v show called Romper Room. The host, Miss Helena was the most beautiful and amazing woman, and I ached to be one of the children actually AT Romper Room, playing with her.

The consolation for not actually being at Romper Room was that at the end of every episode she would look into her magic mirror, and she could actually see the kids who were watching from their lounge rooms - SHE REALLY COULD!

How do I know? Because she would tell you who she could see, man - I'm not kidding!

" I can see Sarah, and Ashley, and Peter, and Toby, and Emily, and Rosa..." and on and on she would go. Okay, so I never actually heard her say my name, but have no doubt I hung on her every word just in case she did!

The Hatchlings don't have Miss Helena to worship, but they do have The Wiggles. I couldn't resist capturing their "active tv viewing" of The Wiggles a few nights ago...

Sure I could have been more productive with my time (i.e. by cleaning up the apparent bombsite in our tv room), but where would the world be without footage like this to blackmail our children with at some later stage?

Jen x

The Butterfly Ball

In 1979 nothing filled my heart with joy more than hearing Roger Glover's voice belting out The Butterfly Ball on ABC television before Playschool started. Nothing that is, except for watching the video clip that went with it!

For a step back in time, visit www.theletterbug.blogspot.com to watch the original Butterfly Ball. It will be the best 3 minutes and 14 seconds of your day - I promise!!

Jen x

Mother's Day, babies and stuff

It must be a Mother's Day hangover or something, but I couldn't resist sifting through some baby photos of the Hatchlings this morning. This was the day that Hatchling No.1 arrived here on Planet Earth. Isn't he absolutely the most beautiful creature you've ever laid eyes on?

That's what I thought on the 20th October 2005. Look at that perfect little mouth. And the look of utter peace and serenity on his face. And those tiny fingers... Awwww.....

Biased? Me? No way! Hatchling No.1 really was the most beautiful newborn ever in the whole world, EVER.

No, really...

Really!

What a snoozy little character he was too. On day number one I couldn't wake this little Hatchling for love nor money. Good grief things had changed a bit by day number 31, but snoozing is still pretty high on Hatcnling No.1's priority list!

Okay, so he must have woken up at some point to schmooze Union Jack with his loving gazes.

Who knew that those tiny fingers would one day reach four and a half years old and at this very moment be throwing a ball for Phoenix at Granny Annie's place? Or getting his first taste of Aussie Rules football?

I want a newborn baby to hold - just not one that is MINE!

I am ready for that newborn baby smell, long cuddles and a hopelessly floppy head that needs holding up...

Just as long as I can hand the little bundle of joy back to their Mummy when:

A) they need a nappy change.

B) They are crying a LOT

C) They need putting to sleep

D) I get bored and want to do something else, like swing my arms, pick my toes or do the Macarena.

Anyone want to take bets on whethere there'll be a Hatchling No.3 coming any time soon? Hahaha!

Jen x

Photoshop - The Time Machine.

Recently I was lucky enough to get my hands on Photoshop CS3. As you probably know, Photoshop is fantastic photo editing software - there is pretty much nothing it can't do. CS3 is not the latest and greatest that Photoshop has to offer (CS4 is now available), but it is more than enough for a newbie like me.

HOWEVER!!!!

There really should be a warning in bold on the side of the packaging, because Photoshop is also a time machine. Really!

I can sit down to do a quick 20 minute editing session, and when I look up 3 hours have gone past. Similar to being abducted by aliens (so I believe - I have never personally been abducted by aliens), Photoshop is leaving me with many 'missing hours' in my week.

There is no time for this! I rush everywhere! I brush my teeth while I make the bed! I wash the dishes while I cook dinner and read 'Where is the Green Sheep?" to the Hatchlings!! Time (or the lack of it) is my enemy...

...I kind of love playing with Photoshop though. With persistance and a little help from The Pioneer Woman, I'm really learning a thing or two.

Take a look:

This is a picture of the Red Star cordyline that sits in a pot on my driveway.

Here it is again with a 70's effect applied to the image. Now it looks like my Red Star cordyline's Grandmother from, well, the 70's I guess.

And here she is again all funkied up for 2010. Vibrant, sharp, groovy cordyline. I like it!

Quality photographers are able to capture the perfect moment when a bee searches for pollen amongst the petals of a flower. What do I manage to photograph?

An ant.

What is an ant doing when he climbs up into the highest branches of a shrub and pretends he's a bee? I think he is an ant with big ideas and a lot of ambition. You can't knock him for that...

With a black and white treatment he now looks like a 'pin-up' ant. You know, a poster boy, a super model perhaps...

And then with some sunshine added he is transformed into a retro hippy-ant on his way to Woodstock. If he wasn't naked he'd be in brown corduroy flares and a paisley body shirt, for sure.

I rest my case. Between exploring the joy of Photoshop and writing questionable posts such as this, the mystery of my colossal laundry pile is explained.

Whatever!!

Jen x

Making an AFL legend step one: AUSKICK!

Saturday was a very proud day for the Hatches - Hatchling No.1 and Union Jack in particular. With his socks pulled up SO high they were above his knees, brand spanking new footy boots and brimming with enthusiasm, Union Jack took Hatchling No.1 to Auskick for the first time.

Hahahaha - kidding!
No, it was Hatchling No.1 with the socks, the brand spankers and so on. But you have to admit that the mental image of Union Jack right now really is something else!

Anyway, here he was (Hatchling No.1, that is) lined up and ready for his first ever Auskick session. Woo hoo!

Third from the end, green t-shirt and looooong socks. Doesn't he look a picture? He might be in desperate need of a St Kilda shirt and a haircut, but at least he was looking in the right direction (i.e. where the action was taking place).

Check out that grin as Hatchling No.1 runs in for his very first tackle. Hey, what's not to smile about? The guy he's about to tackle has no arms - it's unlikely that he'll retaliate too much, isn't it?

Hmmm, I'm not sure if there is a policy on closing your eyes as you go in for a tackle... I'm pretty sure Nick Riewoldt doesn't close his eyes at the vital moment, but I guess they'll get to that later.

If there's one thing Hatchling No.1 has been blessed with it is hand/eye co-ordination. Kicking was a breeze.

Apparently the footy boots made Hatchling No.1 kick twice as far as normal, according to the man himself.

He was slightly perturbed when it started to rain, but when 'the blokes' explained that we play footy in rain, hail or shine Hatchling No.1 returned to his happy place once again.

At the conclusion of his first Auskick experience the first question was "Can we do Auskick again tomorrow?".

The landing was smooth, and the duck has taken to the water, just as we suspected he might!

Jen x

A weekend by the sea

In my book, skipping town for the weekend is always an exhausting yet invigorating thing to do. Last weekend we did just that and headed down to the Mornington Peninnsula. Everybody is happy when they visit "Grandpa's Beach House". Hatchling No.2 is especially happy when he is actually saying the words, "Grandpa's Beach House".

Lordy, if I heard him say it once I heard him say it a thousand times over the four days we were there! And for the week following our visit! It may take me a few more weeks to recover. You know, for the rocking back and forth to stop... that sort of thing.

I took the Hatchlings to the quieter side of the peninnsula on Friday (before Union Jack made the journey after work to join us).

I keep telling myself the Hatchling No.1 is NOT envisaging giving Hatchling No.2 a hefty shove, thus plunging Hatchling No.2 straight into the wet stuff right at this moment.

It couldn't be possible, we'd only heard the words "Grandpa's Beach House" 378 times by this stage. Not even I was ready to do anything so drastic!

By the way, it was the Hatchlings themselves who insisted on wearing their hats this way. Hatchling No.1 was terrified the wind might pick his hat up and blow it all the way to Tasmania.

French Island or Philip Island might have been more realistic possibilities...

Hatchling No.2 was just wishing his mother had bothered to do up at least one button on his polo shirt that day. I mean, how hard would it have been? My care factor for buttons really needs to be raised a notch or to, wouldn't you say?

Thank heavens Hatchling No.2 was far more interested in working the phrase "Grandpa's Beach House" into at least 7 more sentences before we stepped off the pier.

You can see him working on the possibilities while Hatchling No.1 looks for fish, sharks, stingrays, seaweed etc.

"This here wooden pier reminds me of the polished wooden floorboards at Grandpa's Beach House!!"

Got it!

"This metal mesh we're walking on is just like the security door at..."
You guessed it...
"Grandpa's Beach House."

Bingo!!

I have to stop now, I can feel the need to rock returning.

Jen x

We love the Easter Bilby!

Awww, this says it all really. The Easter Bilby is Hatchling No.1's latest idol, can you tell?

It is cupboard love, of course. After all, the love a Hatchling feels for an Easter Bilby is really only valid between the time of his first sighting on Good Friday until consumption of the last chocolate egg. Whenever that might be.

You can't beat a good Easter egg hunt.

Stay tuned for more of our Easter shenanigans just as soon as I eat another 127 Cadbury Dairy Milk eggs.

Jen x