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Wordless Wednesday: Superman. Or Super Mario Man
This is how Jasper is choosing to dress of late, in super hero attire and pronouncing “I’m Superman!” complete with wooshing sound effects. It all started on the long weekend and it’s super cute. But, we lost his Mario hat today, he’s going to be crushed tomorrow and the thought breaks my heart.
Linking up with Trish for Wordless Wednesday
It’s my Party and I’ll get Mauled if I want to
Recently, I turned 30 and last weekend we celebrated with my family. Given that you only turn 30 once and, as all of my family live elsewhere, it was a whole weekend of celebrating for myself and my youngest brother, who was 18 last Tuesday.
It all started Saturday with balloons, party food, face painting, party bags, a cute little guest book we filled with Polaroid photos of those attending, lots of laughter and fun.
As the food disappeared (it does that quite quickly with three ‘young adult’ males around), chatter gave way to James cooking a delicious roast while Grandpa, Uncle Caleb and Kahlei did some singing and dancing (in Kahlie’s case). It was a concert complete with alluring scents.
Uncle Caleb even got his first birthday cake made by mum. Josh and I used to get the most amazing cakes. You know the Woman’s Day Birthday Cake Book? We would pick one out of that and she would slave over it and make the most perfect cake. My favourite was the fancy-pants castle she made me complete with ivy on the towers. But, when I was turning 10, mum was pregnant with Ethan and the cake making turned into a meltdown which resulted in no more home made cakes, so it was a special occasion for him.
I just want to know where’s my cake making skills? I have to outsource to James as he does it 100% better!
Once we devoured the gorgeous lamb roast and the kids were in bed, we played cards well into the morning, which is one of my favourite things we do when we get together.
The next day we dragged our tired selves up to spend the day at the zoo. We so love our little local zoo that we wanted to share it with everyone. It was all very lovely, we were listening to the talks and watching the animals and, mostly, spending time together, UNTIL my oldest friend (we went to kindy together) arrived with her fiance.
I went to meet her and she says to me “I hope it’s alright, but I’ve organised for you to feed a Tiger.” Even though doing exactly that was on my wish list, I had a bit of a freak out. I had left my family and had no idea where they all where and it wasn’t very long until ‘the feeding’. So, I went with Jess to sign some paperwork. The lady we were speaking to says “Sign this in case you get mauled.” (I am sure there were more words, but they are the ones that stood out to me) and all I could this was ‘this crazy woman has come to celebrate my birthday and is feeding me to a tiger’.
You could say I had a momentary freak out full of some quite unrealistic fears. Even so, I signed my life away and tried to enjoy watching the other animals while we killed time.
Thankfully, when the time rolled around, the keeper we were to go with, Clive, was friendly and gave us the back story on the tiger we were about to meet, Kinwah. Clive hand raised Kinwah and they share a gorgeous bond. Clive made Jess and I feel comfortable and gave us lots of information about Kinwah, his life as the tiger’s ‘parental figure’ and about tigers in general. By the time the 120kg Kinwah made his way to us, I was completely relaxed and simply enjoying watching him. 
The whole experience was absolutely amazing. Patting, feeding and talking to a tiger, not something I ever really thought I would do. I get a buzz every time I remember it or look at photos. If you ever get the chance, do it! I know you’re all on the edge of your seats, desperate to know if I was mauled during my tiger encounter. I was not. Collective sigh of relief. I had even come unintentionally prepared by bringing Superman to the zoo, thankfully I didn’t need his help, I’m not sure how reliable he is – even if he is super cute.
It was a wonderful, gorgeous, surprising birthday weekend and I am starting to think 30 might not be so bad after all, you know, once I kick this head cold I’ve had since everyone left.
How did you spend your long weekend?
If you could have an encounter with an animal, what would you choose?
Linking up for #ibot
Wordless Wednesday: Attitude
I have a feeling ill be in trouble when these girls are teenagers.
Happy Birthday to Me and a Giveaway for You!
I am totally thirty today. Happy Birthday to me! I am not sure what I will be doing, but hopefully it will be something good. To celebrate I have a lovely giveaway for you guys to say thank you for your support. Thank you for reading my words, being part of my community and making me feel so much less lonely and strange.
For everyone who never wanted to grow up, but did anyway (hello), the classic tale of Peter Pan is perfect and thanks to our friends at Disney we have 3 copies of Peter Pan on Blu-Ray/DVD to giveaway to celebrate the June 5th Blu-ray and DVD release, . It seemed fitting, given that it’s being released the actual day of my birthday and I am feeling a little like I want to ‘get back to childhood’.
Visit Disney to keep up to date;
Art Journaling has been a special part of my life for a little while now and I want you guys to know how easy it is to start and how good it can be for you. Blue Bazaar have kindly offered us 1 x Mixed Media kit, valued at $62.00. These are my favourite things to buy (from my favourite store) since beginning my Art Journaling journey. I have discovered and used so many great products which I wouldn’t have tried otherwise.
Also, from Blue Bazaar, we have 1 x Smash Tasty Kit, valued at $45.00, which includes access to online instructions by Kellie Winnell to complete kit. The kit contains;
- Smash Clips Icon Shaped
- Smash Doodle Pins
- Smash Journal Tasty
- Smash Paper Pad Transfer
- Smash Punch Out Assortment
- Smash Punch Out Pad
- Smash Rub Ons Nautical Tattoos
- Smash Tape Clear Triangle
AND, if that wasn’t enough (I know, right?), Blue Bazaar have kindly offered readers of BeckyandJames.com a 15% Discount to use on your next order. To use this discount, simply enter the code BECKY15 at checkout. Discount offer ends 30th June, 2013. Not applicable on subscriptions or already discounted items.
Get Art Journaling;
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Recently, I walked past a gorgeous stall at our local markets and I stopped to say hi and take a business card because the jewelery on show was divine, not to mention the amazing photographic prints on display. If you’re a regular reader, you will know that this moment was a big deal for me, generally I just walk on by, admiring with maybe a nod of acknowledgement. But, what I saw spoke to me and pulled me in such a way, that I had to break away from my social phobia. I have since been in touch with the lovely Dannelle of Pebble + Nest and she has offered a gorgeous ring and necklace from the “Falling” – the Winter collection for one lucky reader.
Feel free to buy me some, too;
Sometimes, you come across a soft toy that could be perfect for your child OR it could look perfect sitting atop your dresser. I love those kinds of dilemmas. Thanks to Nana Huchy we have 1 x gorgeous soft Scarecrow to giveaway to a lucky reader. Share this soft toy with your kids or keep all to yourself!
Find more gorgeousness;
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Want to make some yummy, healthy treats with these pourable, 100% pure chunky fruit pouches? Thanks to Fast & Fruity you could win 1 of 3 ‘School Holidays Cooking Packs’ to keep your little angels busy, and fed, during the school break (is it really almost that time again?).
Each pack contains;
- 6 Fast & Fruity – 2 x 500 gm pouches of each of the three flavours, be-licious berry and apple; golden peaches with a hint of vanilla; and sunshine sweet tropical fruits
- 1 icy pole maker (makes 4)
- 1 Sundae Glass
- Jelly crystals
- Recipe cards for: Tropical Jelly Fruit Stack, Hummingbird Cake and Yummy Fruit Blocks
You can purchase Fast & Fruity
At Coles Supermarkets
Want to make sexy chocolate recipes such as Chocolate Shortcake with Mascarpone or make and relax in your very own Chocolate Bath? Then, you’ll love that I have 1 x copy of 50 Shades of Chocolate by Claire Preen to giveaway to a lucky chocolate lover.
Claire Preen is a qualified chocolatier and owner of Blue Mountains Chocolate Co., so you want to check out more
And, because I am uber excited about having party bags at my little gathering later in the month, we have 1 Party Bag from my party to giveaway! They’re not yet complete and they’re all James’ doing, so this prize will be a surprise! I bet I know what you all want to win now 
Love me (it is my birthday after all)
To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter widget. Good luck!
Hosted by Three Lil Princesses
Wordless Wednesday: Me. 30
Me. 30. Tired eyes, fluffy hair and all.
Linking up with Trish for WW.
P.S. please pop over to my birthday giveaway to enter to win some lovely prizes!
Smile File: May
It’s JUNE! Do you know what that means? It’s time for another Smile File! In April, I started recording my smiles and I have continued to do so throughout May. It’s been so very enjoyable and I adore the little snippets I catch. I’m starting to think I should begin looking into purchasing a video camera for this new love!
Would you like to record and share your smiles with me this month? I plan to share bits and pieces that make me smile during the month with the #JuneSmileFile hash tag. I will be doing my normal Smile File post on the 2nd of July and will put up a linky if any of you show interest. Please feel free to join in however you like. Video, photos, daily/weekly posts… Join me in finding the good.
Linking up for #ibot at Essentially Jess.
Updating the Update: 30 Before 30
After posting last week’s update, I have a few things to clear up!!
1. Get a tattoo – Fail DONE! I didn’t think it would happen and, even once I was booked in and out the front of the shop waiting for the tattoo artist to arrive I thought I might run away, but it turns out the pain of getting tattooed is not nearly as bad as my mind had me thinking it would be. I love it just a little.
13. Have a romantic night away – including a romantic dinner in a restaurant - It’s on the books of next Saturday night! I was so looking forward to this as I need a break something shocking but our accommodation fell through at the last minute and we couldn’t get anything else. Instead, we snuck out for dinner while the kids and Nanna had a party. And I doubled my cocktail intake by having one. Two cocktails before 30, crazy right? So, a half fail.
27. Sell 5 of my photographs – I had sold two and didn’t have this on my mental ‘possible’ list to have done by Wednesday and then, last night I got an email saying I had sold something. I was thrilled. And then, when I had a moment to actually read the email I realised I had sold 5 somethings. Just days before my birthday. Coincidence? If you were the one who bought my prints and you’re reading this, thank you – I am humbled – and I hope you love them. And if you are who I think you are? You can never know how much I appreciate and value the support you’ve given me. You’ve been my biggest believer.
Do you have a tattoo? Did it hurt much less than you expected?
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About Becky
Wife to James, the man behind the scenes who keeps things running and fixes things when they invariably go awry, mother to my three Munchie-Bums; Ellie, 5, Kahlei, 4 and 2 year old Jasper.
I am blogging my journey through parenthood, as I fight my Postnatal Depression and focus on bringing positivity into our family life and being the best I can be.
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