I think this camera needs a name…I am leaning towards Minx. Or Trixie. Not sure yet.

Our morning looked like this through her eyes…

The camera arrived with the mail yesterday so I have not had a chance to give it a proper play beyond charging the battery and adding my own SD card, but I must say that it happens to be the most darling little thing I have ever seen. I am going to get her a tiny strap and wear her as much as possible, treating this little digital gem like an instant camera. I am going to embrace her grain and give her the light she craves.

Come on, Minx/Trixie, we have places to go…

A proper review will be coming on the 10th of Feb when I post my next 10 on 10 series that I plan to shoot with this little Minox tomorrow. You can get your own on the Photojojo webstore.

It is true, I have an Android phone and still post some of my “phone-tos” to Instagram.
The reason I do this is, for over a year now the majority of my phone shots went into a Facebook album where no one but friends could see them and no prints or magnets or books or fun things of any sort could easily be made from them. I wanted a place just for my phone shots that was not Flickr (the community aspect has gone from there like a pack of lemmings over the proverbial cliff) nor Facebook (everything looks terrible on there). I also did not want to start a tumblr or what-have-you… I think I am pretty close to my maximum maintainable web home limit. I was, however, craving the interaction that I used to have when sharing and browsing images on Flickr. Oh, the good old days of 2005-2008.
Basically I was missing my photo-based photo community. Apparently they have all gone to Instagram and who could blame them?  Instagram is the perfect spot…well perfect if you are lucky enough to have an iPhone.

I just HAD to join.
Now, I wish I had some simple hack for you, but I don’t. This is just my workaround and it requires and iPod.

I shoot all of my phone-tography on my Android based HTC Desire with the AWESOME Vignette app. I have tried so many of the Android photography apps and ended up deleting most of them for Vignette. It is a simple app that enhances the in-phone camera, but without much of that hip filter stuff. For that photo/filter play, I sometimes use the pixlr-o-matic app and web based editing program.  I have created my standard square shot format on Vignette and it takes pretty good photos. I can even add and adjust a faux tilt shift to those shots. The black and whites are all done in Vignette as well. I have always loved square format film (one of my first cameras being a Hasselblad) and especially love the aspect for phone camera shots as to me it adds a little bit of interest and harkens back to lo-fi film days. You know, when we did not expect plastic perfection and thought grain was gritty, not ugly.

I come home and upload the ones that I want to share to my iPod Touch. It is a first generation touch with no camera. Despite upgrading my OS, the version of Instagram app that I am stuck with is one of the first versions. I can’t do much and am missing some of the better filters. The only reason I have the iPod is because I listen to music on it. Well, I used to listen to music on it before the battery up and died and can now only stand to be disconnected for about 2 hours. Hello, Android phones that have replaceable batteries and sd cards for storage, I love you!

I understand that the Instagram developers want to keep the quality of the imagery on their program high and avoid spammers…at least that is their listed reason for not opening the API to upload capability, but I want to play. I promise no crap shots (on purpose) and I can’t figure out how to spam on there anyway. I am happy to have this little workaround, but really it takes away from the life on the go aspect that I adore about camera phone shots.

I may begin transferring all of my favorite phone shots from their lonely Facebook album over to Instagram…it will take a while as I don’t want to be one of those spammers they talk about. I am going to do this though as there are so very many adorable tiny products you can make from your adorable tiny Instagram photos. Magnets, itty-bitty books and stickers! We love stickers!

Here are my top web vieweers for Instagram so I can easily look at all the lovely photos of the people I follow…even if Instagram doesn’t actually want me to play along.

INK361

Statigram

Webstagram 

Followgram

Now Instagram if you are reading, I hear those rumors of your pending Android app AND I am happy to beta test that for you!

It really is kind of hard to ride the momentum of the New Year’s great intentions and get back to work with a bang when there are three children not-so-silently staring me down from the other side of my desk as I try to type this. While I might really be eager to knock things off my multiple to do lists, my kids are on school holidays…for summer time. This means that they need at the very least guidance and more likely some entertainment. If left to their own devices, they can be quite creative if you consider making thousands of pieces of confetti out of the left over Christmas cracker crowns a really awesome idea. Yes, I thought it was pretty clever use of their time and leftover things too until they spilled the box and somehow emptied the entire contents over two floors of the house. I am not sure how it got there, but I even found some confetti in my underwear drawer a few days later.

If I ever see another flake of confetti it will be too soon.

Now the other problem I have is that all three of my children think that they are in charge when I leave the room. As you can imagine, that never turns out well for anyone.

I get that they need to play, but I just can’t take 2 months off of work while it is school holidays. We do have special days though where after my morning coffee and email/internet session, we have some fun together. Here are the 5 top things that get my little family through the summer months of no school.

Crafting :: Woah, what? Didn’t I just lament my children’s adventures with scissors at the start of this post? You are right, but this is controlled crafting. From a box. While I have Pinterest boards full of ideas and would love to be a hipster Martha Stewart whipping up all sorts of fun stuff from bits and pieces I happen to have lying around my perfectly organized crafting closet, I am me. I need a box, pre-measured supplies and detailed directions. That crafting closet exists in my dreams. Luckily Gemma has a lot of kits that she has received as birthday presents. Our favorites have moved from the artsty crafts to the science based activities. The latest endeavor was lip gloss making!

Water Play :: It is summer and we don’t have a pool, so I call the plastic sand box on the back deck filled with rain water from our tanks our personal pond. We fish for plastic carp with toy fishing rods, we take Barbie and her troop of buddy Barbies to “the tropics” and we even add weeds from the garden to create a Jurassic spa for all the plastic dinosaurs. The kids love to play in water and when we make it interesting, they tend to forget that their pool is too small for swimming.

What? No photos of the dancing? Well, there does not need to be any image of me dancing posted on the interent. You will just have to use your imaginations…it can’t be worse than the reality.

Dance Par-tay :: If the kids are going to invade my office anyway we might as well have some fun. I load up their requests on iTunes or find it on Spotify and we can easily spend an hour in fits of laughter and veiled exercise while showing off our moves. The best part, the kids think I am a great dancer. I like to take control as DJ to reduce the number of songs covered by The Chipmunks on the playlist. Seriously, did you know The Chipmunks have pretty much covered every song. Ever? On top rotation now are some great 80′s pop bands, the ever present ABBA and of course, the Bruno Mars record.

E-activities :: We are a wired household and that includes the twins. When I absolutely have to sit down and get work done, sometimes I must plop the kids in front of something that plugs in. I do try to limit the screen time and have it as something that they earn the privilege of playing. The twins are really excited to lie on the floor and read books with their Storio or learn phonics on my Asus Transformer Android Tablet with a few different really great apps. Gemma goes straight to her Moshi Monsters, Mathletics or plays with her own digital photos on her laptop. I can have all the kids in the (home) office with me and we can all get a bit of work done.

Museum :: We do love to get out of the house though. That is really what keeps us all happiest during the school holidays. As I mentioned earlier this month, The Melbourne Museum is one of our favorite spots. I love that there are inside and outdoor places for the kids to play and learn all in one stop. I don’t need to tell them to “stop touching”, “settle down” or “shuuuuuuush!” There is so much for me to see and learn there as well. We can never do the whole collection of exhibits in one day so it provides a few trips out during the long school holidays.

Second part in a series of posts sponsored by Nuffnang. As always, sponsored posts are my true feelings, my images and my own words. I only accept what my family is interested in and therefore keep the content relevant to my readers. 

Just a few days before Christmas, the kids and I took in a preview performance of a Victorian Aboriginal creation story at the Melbourne Museum. The tale, Tiddalik the Thirsty Frog, is something that Gemma has learned in school and was eager to see brought to life on stage by the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre in collaboration with Ilbijerri Theatre Company.

I was excited for my first real taste of Aboriginal storytelling. Being fascinated by the history and animals of my new homeland and really not knowing enough about either, I think this was a great place to start. This particular story belongs to the Gunai people of Gippsland and touches on the issues of drought in the form of a greedy frog who has drunk all the water in the land all by himself. How are the other animals going to get the water back? They must make the frog laugh so he will spill what he has taken! There is music, dancing and laughter on stage and in the audience. The set was lovely and the actors were so enthusiastic…the whole show is engaging. My kids can’t wait to go back in January.

They are also looking forward to the other activities that will be on in conjunction with the performance. There are frog masks to paint in traditional Victorian Aboriginals designs, live Victorian frogs to learn about and an exhibition of Koorie youth art. All of this is FREE for kids and included with the price of an adult ticket. What a great way to spend a day of your school holidays! For a chance to win yourself and a friend a pair of passes to the museum, keep reading!

The show runs from January 3rd – the 31st and there are 3 daily performances (11:30am, 1pm and again at 2pm) except Saturdays…no shows on Saturdays! You don’t want to miss it , so give yourself plenty of time to find a parking spot in the area (or spring for the underground parking.)

While the show was what brought us out that morning, Melbourne Museum is one of our favorite spots and we spent the rest of the day exploring just a very small part of the downstairs.

There are dinosaur bones! Everywhere. Even under foot.

There are amazing learning opportunities, like this one about Sam the koala who survived the Victorian bushfires.

So many places to roam and play…

inside…

and out.

Seriously, the kids run out of steam before this place runs out of things for you to see. We only had time to do the show, the forest walk and the left half of the downstairs (with a lunch break at the cafe) before it was time to head home.

We will be back. Again and again.

Want to go and enjoy this for yourself? Here is your chance to win one of three pairs of tickets (that is 2 adult entries as kids are free) to Melbourne Museum…Since we are talking stories and Australian animals, make up a book title for a story featuring your favorite Australian animal. So easy, you don’t even have to make up the actual tale, just the title. Me, inspired by the plentiful amount of wombat roadkill on our recent camping trip, I would tell the tale of The Worried Wombat Who Can’t Sleep.

Your made up book titles are due in the comment section here by the 12th of January and then I will draw three winners! You must live in Melbourne or be coming to visit soon to get use out of these tickets, so tell your local friends!

The little outing was sponsored by Nuffnang. All words, thoughts, photos and ideas in this post are my own…just like every other blog post.

When Clover and Kieran were born, we got ourselves a BIG GIANT pram for these teeny tiny twins (Ok, for twins, they were actually not that small weighing 6lbs 11 oz and 7lbs 3oz at birth thankyouverymuch). Trying to get that thing into cafes or down the aisles of shops was a joke. At the time, I was not really thinking about those elements of practicality, so we ended up having to get an additional stroller that could go through doorways and fold up easily to fit in the car. That second twin stroller was always a nightmare to push and I dreaded having to take it out. Well, cut to a few years later and those little babies have finally grown too big for the original pram so now both of those old strollers are no longer relevant. The problem is, we still need a stroller! When we go into the city on a big adventure, bringing a stroller is a must. Even though the twins are now three, they still can’t make it out all day long just walking and there is NO way that I am going to carry them. Now that I was no longer in a fog of maternal hormones, I knew what I wanted from my stroller. Some of my requirements are easy maneuvering with a great turning radius (it sounds like I am shopping for a car), simple to fold and great style. Basically, I wanted, small, light and not ugly.

I started my search and actually took the twins out to try many different styles in store. I was having a really hard time finding something that fit all my requirements and did not cost a fortune.

Then Valco called me! They are based here in Melbourne, so I was able to get a sneak peek at their new stroller ranges (they have so many gorgeous ones) and found that the reason I was having such trouble finding the ultimate stroller for my needs was that Valco had just designed it and it was not yet in stores! I really wanted to take the display model, but while that was not an option, they did say that if I could wait just a bit they would give me the brand new Valco Baby Evo2 for 2 stroller to test out. I weathered a lot of whinging about walking from the twins while I waited for the actual stroller to be released and am so glad that I did. We are loving it. If it had been around when the twins were born, I could have just purchased it as it covered all my needs.

Valco designed this stroller (and the single version: Evo2) with a “no pinch hinge”. Keeps little (and big) fingers completely safe from getting pinched when wrestling with folding. And the folding! Super easy, just like any other umbrella stroller. With 3 easy movements, I can fold the stroller up and have even done so while holding coffee in one hand.

Other great features include an adjustable footrest and full reclining seats which both operate independently on each seat, as well as the “EXpanda Hood” which provides great coverage and protection. I have used the special hood to completely cover the twins when we recently got caught out in the city during a rain shower.

Some other features include:

• Lockable Front Swivel Wheels
• Tubeless Wheels (no more popped tires!)
• Compact Fold with Carry Handle (light enough to carry one handed)
• Peek-a-boo Window for Each Seat (would have been perfect when they were small)

There are 3 design styles to choose from, with a variety of accessories that you can add to it.

I have had the stroller for a few months now and have been able to take it on many practical test runs. One day when Gemma was out of school we decided to spend the day in the city. I was able to take all the things we needed for 3 kids and myself (including my camera) in the baskets below the seats and my bag hung over the back. Unlike other umbrella strollers, it did not topple backwards from the weight when the twins hopped out. It was also surprisingly easy to push, feeling much lighter than the old prams we sold. The most amazing thing was not just did it fit through the doors of shops, but I can actually push this down the aisle of the train! That meant that when we accidentally got on the train where there were no free seats, we could just move down the car to another area. Before I would either be stuck for the entire trip or I would have to get off and back on at the next stop. Freedom! Kieran fell asleep, so I reclined his seat and pulled the hood over him while Clover was able to keep sitting up and enjoying her ride.

If there is one con, it would be for Alec when he is pushing it. Because the stroller is small and has a 3rdwheel in the middle, Alec sometimes kicks it while walking and pushing. I have not had that problem though, but I am a bit shorter. For me, it is all the perfect height.

This particular model is available only in Australia because each country has their own set of standards to meet. Valco does have a great range of comparable models available in the states as well.

The kids love their new wheels. I am hoping that they will not still be needing a stroller when they are 5, but until then, I am happy to have this one for them to enjoy.

NOTE: All images taken back in July when we first got the stroller and the color ones were processed with my upcoming Warm Film action for Photoshop that will be available for free (soon!) as a download for fans of my Facebook page.

But I am.

Summer is here (most days) and it is just going to get more intense over the next few months. I am getting very used to the routine of putting sunscreen on the kids every morning. One thing that is hard though is finding the perfect formulation as this IS part of daily life for my kids. Now when I say that, I am not talking about how it smells or the greasy factor even though those things do come into play. No, I am talking about a trickier variable…what will not cause a massive eczema flareup on Clover.

The poor little girl. Her skin is nowhere near mine…we hardly even look related. While I tan, she burns. It does not take much time outside unprotected for Clover to begin turning pink before my eyes. As a baby she got a terrible burn from an accidental sun exposure at 4 in the afternoon. It has not gotten much better for her. After that initial blistering incident, I thought she would just be one of those kids that needs a sunscreen shower every morning and plenty of re-applications during the day. That was before we discovered that her eczema is extremely sensitive to sunscreen most of all other triggers.

Short of getting her some sort of full body sunsuit, I was not sure what to do. Hamilton has sent us three of their sunscreens to try out on the kids and I am thrilled to be able to do my own tests on her delicate skin. By using all three (Family, Sensitive and Toddler) and reading the ingredients, it was easy to find the clear winner for her and it has given weight to my theory to what is the main irritant.

Toddler was perfect. It is 4 hours of 30+ UVB and UVA protection free of the zinc that dries out her already dry skin and it works with the minimum active ingredients so she is not exposed to a lot of extra stuff. It is fragrance free so despite my love of sniffing warm and salty sunscreen scented children during summer, I know that she is not going to have an added irritant just for my sensory memories. We are writing her name on the bottle and sending it off to school with her to ensure it is the only sunscreen she wears when she is in their care. Completely unrelated to my choice and just a happy bonus for Clover, it is the one with the pink lid.

The rest of us in the family can use the family formulation and I am going to buy a 500ml pump top bottle to keep by the door. It is not greasy at all which is what I demand in a sunscreen for myself.

Hamilton has been at this sunscreen business for over 75 years and clearly they know what they are doing.

This is a sponsored post, but I only review things that I feel are going to be of use or interest to my readers (and my family). While I was sent the 3 bottles of sunscreen to try for this review, I was already on the lookout for a sunscreen that Clover could use this summer and my review and words are my true feelings…just like everything else I post on here.

There is a chance now for one of my Aussie readers to win a three pack of the Hamilton sunscreens for their own family! Just leave a comment here on my blog to be in the running.

Terms and Conditions of Entry for Hamilton Sun Giveaway

1. Information on how to enter and prize details form part of these conditions. Entry into this Promotion is deemed acceptance of these terms and conditions of entry.
2. The Promoter is Nuffnang Australia Pty Ltd ACN  133 905 647 of 36B St Edmonds Road, Prahran VIC 3181 (“Promoter”).
3. The Promotion will be open from 12:01 am Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time (“AEDST”) on xxxxx, 2011 and will continue until 5:00 pm AEDST on xxxxx, 2011 (“Promotion Period”).
4. Entry is open to all Australian residents, aged 14 years and over, other than management, employees or contractors of the Promoter and other agencies, firms or companies associated with the Promotion (including suppliers of prize), and their immediate families (“Eligible Entrants”).
5. In order to enter the competition participants need to leave a comment on one of the participating Hamilton Sun blog posts listed below.
Participating blogs:
A. http://www.racheldevine.com/blog/
B. http://www.sameliasmum.com/
C. http://helloowl.blogspot.com/
D. http://planningwithkids.com/
E. http://retromummy.blogspot.com/
F.http://childhood101.com/
G. http://www.writingloud.blogspot.com/
H. http://beafunmum.com/
6. Bloggers will determine their own question for the competition and then one (1) winner will be chosen from each participating blog. There will be eight (8) winners in total. Nuffnang will shortlist all entries. From this list of entries, Nuffnang will judge the winner.
7. The prize is as follows: :: 3 pack of Hamilton sunscreens::
8. The winner will be the entry deemed most creative by the judges.
9. The judges’ decision (including any decisions as to prize distribution) is final and the Promoter will not enter into correspondence regarding the result.
10. The winners will be notified via their preferred contact method, and will be asked to provide their email and contact phone number at that time.
11. To claim the prize, the winners must reply to the winner notification and accept the prize within 14 days of the winners notification, as well as indicate their preferred address for the the gift card to be sent. If the winner does not respond within 14 days, they will forfeit the prize.
12. The winners will be published on the Nuffnang Australia blog, the Nuffnang Australia Facebook page and Twitter account. Nuffnang Australia also reserve the right to publish the results, including a photo of the winner, in the media.
13. The Promoter and its associated agencies and companies will not be liable for any damage to or delay in transit of prizes.
14. The Promoter accepts no responsibility for any problems or technical malfunction of any communication network or for any late, lost, incomplete, incorrectly submitted, delayed, illegible, corrupted or misdirected entries, claims or correspondence whether due to error, omission, alteration, tampering, deletion, theft, destruction, transmission interruption, communications failure or otherwise. The Promoter has no control over telephone communications, networks or lines and accepts no responsibility for any problems associated with them, whether due to traffic congestion, technical malfunction or otherwise. The Promoter is not liable for any consequences of user error including (without limitation) any costs incurred.
15. The Promoter, its associated agencies and companies and the agencies and companies associated with this Promotion (including Blogs, Facebook, Forum & Twitter if the Promotion is conducted via a Facebook Platform, Blogs, Forum & Twitter) will not be liable for any loss (including, without limitation, indirect, special or consequential loss or loss of profits), expense, damage, personal injury or death which is suffered or sustained (whether or not arising from any person’s negligence) in connection with this Promotion or accepting or using a prize, except for any liability which cannot be excluded by law (in which case that liability is limited to the minimum allowable by law).
16. Nuffnang Australia reserves the right to change these terms and conditions. If any changes are made Nuffnang Australia will notify the public via its website.

So my kids are pretty tech savvy as you can imagine with a photo-blogging mom and a IT digital director dad. One thing I have always worried would become lost in all the electronics though was good old fashioned reading. I was late to that party…really digging my heels in and only just got an e-reader last year for myself. It was love at first sight and I could not believe I had resisted for so long. Right away we began reading stories to the kids that we had downloaded to that device. I kept thinking how great it would be to find an e-reader made for kids. I have finally found one and it does more than what I had even hoped for.

I was given the opportunity to review the VTech Storio e-reader for kids and jumped at the chance. It really sounded like something I had been wanting for the kids.

I got it out of the box, loaded it up with (not included) 4 AA batteries and sat down with the instruction manual. While I was sorting through the instructions, Kieran took the Storio, put the Cars 2 book cartridge in, turned it on and was able to get to the main screen without any help from me (or Clover.) It was super easy to show the two of them what to press to have the Storio read out the story to them and they took turns pressing the button to turn the virtual pages. It was an instant hit.

Once they had listened to the story being read to them a few times over, I was able to show them how they could touch each word on the virtual pages to have it read the story word by word. I found that a wonderful option as I am currently trying to teach them when I read to them how the words on the page go in a certain order. Letting them control that order quickly made that essential aspect of reading clear to them. Touching certain words on the screen in another set up will give them definitions! I adore that feature of my e-reader and was thrilled to see it in the Storio.

The device comes with one cartridge, but you can download free ebooks from their website. I installed an SD card (not included) so that they could have these additional reading options and I even added some personal photos for them to use in the Art Studio. See the Storio is not just and e-reader, but also a gaming device with reading comprehension games, spelling games, number games writing games and much more. They can even do some drawing and photo play in the Art Studio.

When you register your Storio, you can download their Learning Lodge Navigator to virtually unlock so many more features like the downloadable books and even a parent center to track your children’s reading progress that the device has recorded. Since the Storio we received came with a Cars 2 book, I went online and got a more girly title for Clover to enjoy and two others that I thought looked fun! I already know that there will be more stories under the Christmas tree this year.

I am still just scratching the surface of what this Storio can do for the kids. Even Gemma loved getting her hands on it so the age range is spot on as suggested from 3 to 7. I really feel that this is a toy that can grow with the twins.

VTech Storio is available in all good toy stores now, and includes either a Disney Cars 2 (the one we have) or Dora the Explorer story cartridge. Additional story cartridges are available separately to add to your child’s learning library, including Disney Toy Story 3, Disney Princess, Disney Cars Toon, Disney Mickey Mouse and Scooby Doo.

For Australian Residents only we will have one VTech Storio to give away! To be in the running to win, leave a comment here on my blog answering the following question:

What is your bedtime reading routine?

Terms and Conditions of Entry for VTech Storio Giveaway
1. Information on how to enter and prize details form part of these conditions. Entry into this Promotion is deemed acceptance of these terms and conditions of entry
2. The Promoter is Nuffnang Australia Pty Ltd ACN, 133 905 647 of 36B St Edmonds Road, Prahran VIC 3181 (“Promoter”).
3. The Promotion will be open from 12:01 am Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time (“AEDST”) on 21-11-2011 and will continue until 5:00 pm AEDST on 30-11-2011 (“Promotion Period”).
4. Entry is open to all Australian residents, aged 14 years and over, other than management, employees or contractors of the Promoter and other agencies, firms or companies associated with the Promotion (including suppliers of prize), and their immediate families (“Eligible Entrants”).
5. In order to enter the competition participants need to leave a comment on one of the participating VTech Storio blog posts listed below.
Participating blogs:
1. http://retromummy.blogspot.com/
2. http://www.sevencherubs.com/
3. http://beafunmum.com/
4. http://planningwithkids.com/
5. http://www.racheldevine.com/blog/
7. Bloggers will determine their own question for the competition and then one (1) winner will be chosen from each participating blog. There will be five (5) winners in total. Nuffnang will shortlist all entries. From this list of entries, Nuffnang will judge the winner.
8. The prize is as follows:
1x VTech Storio
9. The winner will be the entry deemed most creative by the judges.
10. The judges’ decision (including any decisions as to prize distribution) is final and the Promoter will not enter into correspondence regarding the result.
11. The winners will be notified via their preferred contact method, and will be asked to provide their email and contact phone number at that time.
12. To claim the prize, the winners must reply to the winner notification and accept the prize within 14 days of the winners notification, as well as indicate their preferred address for the the gift card to be sent. If the winner does not respond within 14 days, they will forfeit the prize.
13. The winners will be published on the Nuffnang Australia blog, the Nuffnang Australia Facebook page and Twitter account. Nuffnang Australia also reserve the right to publish the results, including a photo of the winner, in the media.
14. The Promoter and its associated agencies and companies will not be liable for any damage to or delay in transit of prizes.
15. The Promoter accepts no responsibility for any problems or technical malfunction of any communication network or for any late, lost, incomplete, incorrectly submitted, delayed, illegible, corrupted or misdirected entries, claims or correspondence whether due to error, omission, alteration, tampering, deletion, theft, destruction, transmission interruption, communications failure or otherwise. The Promoter has no control over telephone communications, networks or lines and accepts no responsibility for any problems associated with them, whether due to traffic congestion, technical malfunction or otherwise. The Promoter is not liable for any consequences of user error including (without limitation) any costs incurred.
16. The Promoter, its associated agencies and companies and the agencies and companies associated with this Promotion (including Blogs, Facebook, Forum & Twitter if the Promotion is conducted via a Facebook Platform, Blogs, Forum & Twitter) will not be liable for any loss (including, without limitation, indirect, special or consequential loss or loss of profits), expense, damage, personal injury or death which is suffered or sustained (whether or not arising from any person’s negligence) in connection with this Promotion or accepting or using a prize, except for any liability which cannot be excluded by law (in which case that liability is limited to the minimum allowable by law).
17. Nuffnang Australia reserves the right to change these terms and conditions. If any changes are made Nuffnang Australia will notify the public via its website.

My kids are obsessed with trains, big and little. Mostly it is the little boy who is so keen. Some of our favorite together time has been spent packing up a picnic lunch and heading down to watch the metro trains as they head to and from the city. We have yet to get out to the steam train in the mountains, but we have plans to. Gemma has been begging for us to do that since we moved here. We are lucky that we live in a city with a great rail system because Kieran gets to actually ride on real trains and not just play with them. We do however have a very extensive collection of Thomas stuff at home. I got Gemma a wooden train when she was a toddler because I never knew if we would have a boy and thought she should be in on the fun too. Well, I am not sure exactly how it happened, but shortly after giving birth to my twins (one of whom if you are a regular reader, you know is a boy) there was Thomas paraphernalia coming out of the woodwork. Some of it came from parents of boys already who silently slipped us a wooden train or two with a knowing look and said “You are going to need this.” Other things just seemingly showed up in the playroom one day. I mean really, where DID that tiny wooden railroad crossing sign come from? Clover even has her own little engine, pink of course.

Then I heard about a contest. One that if won would most definitely be THE best day ever in the life of the lucky child. Thomas and Friends are searching for Australia’s (tiny) Trackmaster. Now being the Trackmaster looks a lot easier than it sounds:

“Thomas runs clickety clack on Trackmaster track that I click clack.”

Say it three times. Fast. (Balancing a Thomas train on your head in the bathtub *optional*)

See:

So parents of kids…it is really easy to enter on the website and there are some amazing prizes up for grabs there. All you need is a little practice and then click on their website to record a video right there online (you will need an internet connection and a webcam for that) of your child saying the Trackmaster Tongue Twister three times! The top prize is a trip to England to go to Thomasland as the reigning Australian Trackmaster! That is crazy cool.

http://www.australiastrackmaster.com.au/

My three little Thomas fans can’t win this prize ,but they had fun trying.

Now for the extra special part, a reader here has a chance to win a Thomas Play Set just for leaving a comment here with your answer to  the following question:

Who is your favorite train from the Thomas series?

This is a sponsored post. I only accept the sponsored posts that I am interested in so you can be assured that the topic or product is something that I wanted to write about. Getting compensation for a post will never affect my opinions or the truthfulness with which I express them here. Ever.

The two part sponsored blog post series for Australian Father’s Day has delivered the challenge this time to write about what I learned from my Dad. It has been nice to have the prompts to reflect back on how much my father meant to me. Hardly a day goes by where I don’t stop to think about him, but those thoughts rarely make it here. Volumes could be written about what my father taught me, but the greatest lesson came with his passing…value the time we have here and spend it doing what you love, with the people you love, because it really does go way too fast.

So despite the many other things we should have gotten done this weekend, my little family took Saturday off and went out to play together. We drove and laughed and stopped for sweet treats in some country town. We walked and drove some more and stopped to run free in a playground that that appeared to be plucked straight from the 1970s. We went and had a wonderful dinner with new friends who were just like old friends at the end of the night. Full and happy, we drove back towards the city lights and talked about country houses and fell into our beds way past all of our bedtimes.

The work and laundry all got done on Sunday, even if it was just that much harder to make happen. The point is, that while there was a lot that we could have done on Saturday, I am glad we did what we wanted be doing instead.

While this has been a sponsored post, all the images and words are mine and come from my heart.

Still need to get a Father’s day gift? Surprise
dad with Magshop’s online magazine
subscriptions before
4th October and you could win a Volkswagen Golf!

As the Australian father’s day comes up I am thinking about my husband, the father of my kids, but I am also thinking about my dad. It is many many years now since my father passed away, but he is still so present in my life. He gave me the gift of photography by footing my photo lab charges while I learned. He handed down to me my first camera and he looked at all my bad shots with encouragement. He filled the house with quality photography (and sailing and science and news) magazines, I am sure my father would have loved Australian Geographic Outdoor, it would have been right up his alley.  He kept some of the magazines for ages in perfect condition and one that I vividly remember poring over was the 1988 National Geographic Bicentennial issue on Australia. I studied the photos never knowing that I would one day be calling that land home. I will always be grateful to him for that.

Even though he is still such an influence in my life, I don’t often write about him. Maybe I should share some of that, but it never comes out as easily as all the other stuff that I put on here. I was given the opportunity to write this post with the topic of “Memories of times in the car with your father” and it hit me right in that place in your soul where bittersweet memories are stored so I accepted. When I close my eyes, I can still remember with every sense, the feeling of riding in his Red BMW 2002. It was the perfect shade of red, not too bright. I always had to sit in the back and I can even remember the cool feeling of the black leather seats and the distinctive waffle print they left on the back of my sunburned legs as we drove home from a day of sailing. Invariably, I would pinch my fingers in both the clip that propped the little triangle shaped window open and the buckle of the seat belt over my lap. I was terrified of that window latch, but it needed to be open or my father’s pipe smoke would settle in a little cloud over my head. I really can still smell that distinctive tobacco and I can even see the trail of the smoke emanating from the seat in front of me as he drove. That pipe was one of his trademarks. He fussed at me for sucking my thumb, but he always had that pipe like a pacifier in his mouth. Oh remembering it all brings such a smile to my face (even a few happy tears)…I am a little kid again and just for a moment it is the 1970s. The longest family driving trips were to The Outer Banks of North Carolina from our home in Virginia, but we did a lot of out family vacations on the sea in our boat. Some of those would be worthy of a spread in Geographic Outdoor Magazine for sure. That was our family escape. We would take the Tartan 37 out on the Chesapeake Bay for day sails and overnight trips up the Intercoastal Waterway. She was called, Buckeye Lady, after my mom who hails from Ohio, The Buckeye state. I am not sure every trip we took was the smooth sailing ones that I wish to remember, but they were exhilarating for sure. With only a 1970′s life vest on, I would straddle the vinyl covered corded railing at the side of the boat and drag my feet through the water as we raced along. Often the keel of the boat would be so steep that I would be up to my knees! I felt so safe to have that fun with my dad as the captain of our sailboat. There was one trip in particular though that Iremember in bits and pieces. I think I would have to consult my older siblings for the details, but the seas were rough and I think my sister actual left fingernail impressions as she gripped the teak lined edge of the seating abound the cockpit. I can still see my father standing at the helm in his “foul weather gear” getting us through the storm. We all made it and went out on many more sailing adventures as a family.

We don’t have a sailboat now. My husband is a cyclist and will probably get seasick just reading that story on the blog. I don’t wonder though what memories of the outdoors that the kids will have of their time with him. Alec makes it a priority for our family to get out and ride our bikes. We get to the beach, we walk as much as possible and we enjoy the outdoor life here in Australia. Our big family adventure plan though is to eventually hire a caravan and take the family on a proper roadtrip around this beautiful land. I want to see places that are not just the big cities. I want the kids to get covered in the red dust that is the trademark and heart of Australia. I also need to see some of the Big things…I think there is a big pineapple somewhere? I am so excited to explore all there is to offer here and of course, to document it all with my camera and share here on the blog.

While I may be a kid photographer by trade, I still strive to take photos like the ones in outdoor magazines. I really did try very hard on my recent trip to Italy to get some of that rich color and true in the moment feeling.

I miss having actual magazines come to the mailbox. It is now time to celebrate Alec as an Australian father, and I am thinking  a subscription is the perfect Father’s Day gift!

Subscribe from Magshop before the 4^th October 2011 and you could win a Volkswagen Golf Wagon 118TSI Comfortline valued at over $40,000! Check the discounted subscription titles on the Father’s Day promotion page!

All images in this post are slides from my childhood that I shot with my macro lens…

*Disclaimer* This is a sponsored post, but the images and stories are all mine and from deep in my heart. Enjoy.