Mastering Photoshop

I've decided that i am not happy with the layout of my blog so i have decided to play around with some blog backgrounds and next week when the kids are on holidays and i finally have more time to sit and play around instead of spending 1 1/2 each day running kids back and forth to school i am going to learn how to use photoshop and maybe even igital scrapbooking to see if i can come up with a page i am happy with. as i have never used either before i am sure it will take a while!!! but i am up for the challenge.

Bribe Chart

We have started using a reward chart to encourage the boys the behave better and help out more (especially with cleaning up). We are also using it to help encourage then to try in areas where they are struggling a bit. For example Daniel with his toilet training ( which is an ongoing battle) and even little things like getting Ethan to wait outside his classroom for me after school instead of waiting inside and looking out the window. They absolutely love the "train chart" and actually now try to do these things that they normally dont try. It's also become a great bribe when i am totally frustrated with them and they just aren't doing what i ask! hopefully the excitement with the chart will continue as it has been a great week.

The last Bit

After Anders chocolate factory we took a detour through Dunorlan/Weegena area. I love this area. Some of the best country side around. I would love to live here ( however wont happen as matt is all City!!!).

and our last stop before we arrived home which was matt's choice of the old historic bridge at Ross. It was a fun Family trip and glad we took it as we haven't done anything like it for SO long. But very glad to be home in my own bed and to have the internet again!

Leaving Burnie

We had a few hours to kill on wed morning while matt was finishing off so we found a "really cool park" to play at!
We also went and had a look at the boats at Winyard warf.
On our trip back to Hobart we made a few stops. One was at Anvers Chocolate Factory. We had lunch there and some Yummy chocolates. I think next time we will just have dessert there as they looked SO good, and main menu is a little fancy for our taste and we just arent fancy eaters!

The grounds were absolutely beautiful at Anvers, and well worth a visit if you are passing by.

Burnie continues

The boys loved the beach and would have love to have spent more time there. It was a shame it rained so much.
The lighthouse at Wynyard. as you can probably tell by looking at the boys the weather was aweful, windy , wet and cold. but they still loved the lighthouse.
apparently at this park there were meant to be platypus in the river but we didn't see any. but it was a beautiful fern park which would be a great picnic place on a warm day!
One of the beaches along Burnies coastline. taken at sunset. we were waiting to see the penguins come home. and after a lot of patience of standing in the cold we finally spotted on which came and burrowed right under feet which was great!

Family Road Trip

Last week Matt told me that he had to go away for work, which is does every now and then. Normally to Melb or ACT but this time it was to Burnie and did i want to come with him,...Now to say that I wasn't very excited about Burine is an understatement but since i had to take time off work i figured we may as well go and have a little famliy trip. The boys were so excited about going on a "holiday" and staying in a hotel! WE left on Monday afternoon and of course had to stop at the park which has the trees cut into animals which the boys thought was really cool. Then with a few other toilet trips we got to burnie before dark and found our hotel and some food to eat (yes it was 3 days of take away!). I must say that my only memory of going to Burnie was with my Nan when i was about 11 and i remebered it as industrial and mucky brown water and a pretty ordinary place. Now years later i still dont think of it as a place that i would choose to take the family (except when the tax office is paying) it wasn't as bad as i remembered. The beaches and the water were beautiful and the water SO blue.

The Neglected Child

Daniel loves to show his muscles at the moment!
this is what happens when a mother neglects her children for 1/2 hour to check email and of course catch up on others blogs! ( i had only cleaned the room a short time before !!!). Clearly he and Ethan had way too much fun