The secret ingredient to a successful Mermaid party Just add water Amidst the wettest springtime our kids have ever seen, what could be more appropriate for a birthday party theme than ‘Mermaids’? Especially as this time last year we were all sporting sunburns from a scorching Halloween. But this year was looking less like It’s Sunny in Philidelphia and more like Waterworld. Half the state in flood and chaotic winds that would rip the toupé off a Trump’s behind, our mermaid party looked as beached as a bloated whale. But come hell or ‘literal’ high-water, we would make it work one way or ano ..read more

Princess Kingdoms in a Pinch With only ten days between Halloween and Alice’s 5th Birthday, we pretty much had to prep our Princess Party in a pinch. Last year’s Tinkerbell party was a sunny outdoor succes. The weather forecast this year looked bleak, so it had to be an inside job. Armed with streamers, balloons and our disco ball projector, I set to work on the Kingdom of Alice. I worked on the decorations while Mumma got busy with the Princess cake. A great decorating tip for setting up a room with limited time: the sheet. Our playroom looks like the first draft of Santa’s Workshop. Toys (re ..read more

Storybooks for Heroes My kids love storybooks before bed. Until their eyes glaze over, they fidget uncontrollably then roll out the “I’ll be right back, Dad” routine. Urgh, so frustrating. It’s like herding cats. That’s when I have to tell the book we’re reading, I’m sorry. They’re just not that into you. Harsh I know, but it’s better coming from me in person than via a text message. I’m old-school like that. So why do we keep breaking up with these great bedtime stories? The answer is simple; it’s not about ‘them’. Let’s be honest. Aside from Mumma, the most important people in my kids’ lives ..read more

Into The Halloween Spirit There was certainly a lot of buzz around our house today, both figuratively and literally. Primarily, because of the intensive weeks I spent meticulously prepping our Halloween decorations. Which were an absolute hit with the neighbours. I pruned our leaf-less fruit tree weeks ago and left the prunings to use as a ghostly hedge. We dug holes in the front garden bed and installed the spindly prunings, which we decorated in coloured spider webs, plastic spiders and fairy lights. I transformed my car into a giant redback spider. The legs were thin pvc pipes covered in ru ..read more

Say Hello To Your Kids Books For Me As synonymous as vegemite and sexier than Dame Edna, Rove McManus is one of Australia’s most-loved TV Personalities. An award-winning comedian, producer, television and radio presenter and 3-time Gold Logie winner. (Wait, am I looking into a mirror?) Rove’s career success extends around the globe, hosting a number of shows in the US and voicing over twenty characters in animated films and TV shows such as Finding Nemo, Kitty is Not A Cat and Monster Beach. (Yes I am. A Luna Park mirror.) There are more feathers in Rove’s cap than Elton John’s wardrobe. Addin ..read more

The Big Camp In – Victoria Bursting at its seams like Kyle Sandilands’ Levis, our car is packed to the hilt, kids faces mashed against the glass as we venture to the great outdoors for The Big Camp In: Home or Away. A Fathering Project initiative that aims to inspire and equip fathers and father-figures to positively engage with the children in their lives – for the benefit of kids. A great opportunity to spend some quality mano-akido time with the kids and get some much needed fresh air…just breathe Daddy, breathe. The best thing is, after registering our family for #TheBigCampIn, The Fatheri ..read more

Like an unprovoked kick to the nuts or texting while crossing the street — BOOM! I didn’t see that coming. A suspected allergic reaction to Parmesan Cheese. Say what now? He’s never been allergic to anything his entire life!…(Til now). I sprinkled my pasta with the majestic tastiness of the jewel in the bolognaise crown. Indy sat beside me at the table and after a couple minutes, complained of itchy lips. The kind of itch that forced him to rub his shirt collar along it like a woodsman sawing timber at the Lumberjack Olympics. He asked what it was I’d sprinkled on and regaled him of the zest ..read more

Who’s Your Favourite Fairy? Shiver me timbers, another year gone and our little gal’s evolving from a princess to a Tinkerbell. That may not seem like much of a stretch, but of all the fairies she’s chosen to align herself with, Tink is by far the feistiest of the bunch. And seeing as our Alice doesn’t fall far from that tree, it came as no surprise when she decided this year would be a Tinkerbell and Friends Birthday party. As I mentioned last year at her 3rd birthday party, Alice has quite the imagination. So when it came to crafting ideas for this year’s party, she delivers the goods again ..read more

School kids! We have school kids here. Or as we like to say… ‘How the hell did that happen?’ It seemed like only yesterday, our kids weren’t in school. That’s because yesterday, they actually weren’t. They were very hungry caterpillars in a fairy garden. Then suddenly, BOOM. They’re bloomin’ butterflies, in the blink of an eye. Today was Indy’s first day of school and Alice’s first day of 3 year old Kinder. Here they are with their new apartments on their back. Click to enlarge images Dropping the kids off on their first day of school feels a lot like gambling at a casino for that last big ..read more

If you could put ‘sleep’ in a box and sell it, there would be a clambering of parents spanning the globe several times over. Like the pandemonium of the Boxing Day sales, there would be a tsunami surge of weary-eyed mums and dads who would stop at nothing to get their hands on that tranquil holy grail. And the queue starts with ME. You think gold is a rare and precious commodity? Ha-ha-ha-ha, I laugh in your face, ‘gold’.  You are but a worthless wooden penny against the rarity and value of a good 40-winks. Hell, the street-value of an uninterrupted 15 minute power-nap is beyond the compu ..read more