It appears the ‘leanest election ever’ is still allowing for both Libs and Labor to still find ways of paying us for our vote.  We’ve had to say goodbye to an outright bogan lottery this time, because handing out random, one-off payments to various low socio-economic groups will be labelled as financial mis-management, no matter which team does it. So of course they’ve had to find less obvious ways, and tax rebates is again turning out to be the most popular.
This time, it’s the Education Tax Rebate. Also known as …

I just had a phonecall from Telstra, who were ringing to let me know I have a new account manager (whatever that is) and to ask if I was happy with my current plan and service from them.
Kind of a loaded question really. Should I mention that last year they accidentally removed the ADSL code from my line, resulting in three weeks without internet, because they couldn’t work out what was wrong, and the person who could fix it didn’t speak directly to customers or to the Telstra staff who …

I’m going to go ahead and admit I’m the poster child for passive neglect when it comes to parks and playgrounds.
The thing is, standing ankle deep in bark chips pushing a child on a swing for an hour isn’t really my idea of a good time.  It seems, however, whenever I take my kids to a playground, I’m alone in this sentiment.
This morning is a good example.  I had to drop the chaos duck at work early, so before dropping my eldest off at school, I stopped at the shops …

Since I haven’t fixed the broken ‘Spaghetti Blogonaise’, I’ll put this recipe in here for now. (Actually, now I think of it, I should fix this one too!)
Anyway, back to food porn.  Yesterday I made Black Forest Lamingtons, an invention born out of my need to use up some of the duplicates in the pantry (cherries, coconut and condensed milk. If I could have worked out how to add polenta I’d be singing, but sadly need to reserve that for another cake).
The cake recipe I used was one I found …

Rachel and Charlotte aren’t impressed that I’m going to see P!nk in concert next weekend, and they can’t come. They have tried begging, pleading – hell, Rachel even offered to clean her room! 
Finally the message has gotten through. They aren’t going. So Charlie, always the first to regroup and come up with a better plan, announced that she’s going to a concert that I’m not invited to. 
‘Since you’re not letting me go to pink, I’m going to the purple competition, and you’re not invited!’
‘It’s concert, not competition.’ 
‘Right. And it’s on …

Last week I signed up for their ‘online letters’ feature so I get an email instead of snail mail when they are telling me about Child Care Rebate etc.  Since these letters arrive days after the payments are made, they are redundant as well as a waste of trees. 
So today, I get the mail. There’s a letter in there from Centrelink. Telling me I’ve signed up for online letters.

Well, an Andre Rieu CD, that’s for damn sure.  I am wondering how many mothers and grandmothers out there will be unwrapping their present and screaming ’shoot me’ from their internal monologue over that one on Sunday. 
I actually bought my mum a really cool present. Unfortunately, I misunderstood the calendar (hey, it happens!) and thought that Mother’s Day was next Sunday, not this one, so there was no chance of it arriving in time.  It’s ok though, because now I’m really, super organised for her birthday. 
The duck needed to get …

Rachel: I have to write a poem for homework, but I don’t know what to write about
Me: Ok you have a think about what you like to talk about, and I will help you come up with something
Rachel: Oh, I know! I will write about a wombat who sleeps under a gum tree all day
Me: Um…ok, sure? Let me know when you need help
Rachel: *goes away and writes, coming back every once in a while to ask how words are spelled*
Rachel: Ok I’ve written it! *hands it over*
Me: Hey this …

I bought it today, finally. I can’t believe all this time I never owned it. I got it for $12.99 in a double DVD set with Swordfish. I think they took money off for that. It’s so old, it has an ad for DVD technology at the start.
Anyway, so, rainy afternoon it is, I put it on in the background while I was working in the loungeroom.  Rachel, aged 7, came home from school just after it finished.
Me: Rach you can put a movie on if you like, but you …

The Wiggles must enjoy seeing the messages from their songs being applied by the children in their audience, but I guess like all things even the Wiggles are open to interpretation. Take my 7 and 3 year old daughters who were asked to tidy up their play room. They were taking it really slowly as kids do, mostly playing and singing the Wiggles song ‘Do The Monkey‘, I asked them to hurry up which lead to the following duet to the tune of said Wiggles song;
7 y.o.: ‘Let’s do some …