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Sugar, Sugar

Both Toby and Meg have their birthdays in the next fortnight. Of course they are both very excited about the prospect. We have had numerous discussions about birthday cake designs  and lots of earnest studying of the Woman’s Weekly Birthday Cake books (I have several) for inspiration. Toby is adamant that he wants a front end loader cake – he has even mentioned it in his evening prayers several time: “Dear God, Thankyou that I can have a front end loader cake…”. Meg has decided on a red dinosaur cake.

The problem with having their birthdays four days apart is that there is a lot of cake to be eaten, and a lot of butter, sugar and lollies. I did my monthly grocery shopping yesterday, and couldn’t believe how many different types of lollies we ‘needed’. Meg came shopping with me to check that I didn’t skimp on the lolly front, and we probably bought more lollies than we buy in the rest of the year. I felt embarrassed buying that much junk.

Going through the check out I put the birthday candles on the top of the pile of lollies, colourings, and butter, in a vain, non verbal attempt to signify to everyone that this was a special occasion, and not my every day (month) shop. I don’t really think that anybody really notices or care what I buy, but I still felt the need to justify the outrageous amount of sugar I was purchasing.

It was strange because I don’t usually care what people think of me, but  here I was, trying to give the impression of ‘Super mum, trying to make her kids day special with some treats and an amazing home made cake’, rather than ‘stupid mother stuffing her kids full of crap all the time’. As if  people are judging my parenting ability based on my shopping cart contents. And as if one cart of food says that much about my parenting anyway!

Crazy what we think about isn’t it!

Tell me, do you look at other people’s shopping and make judgements about what kind of parent they are? Do you look at your shopping and wonder what it says about you? Are you blown away by how many lollies it takes to make two birthday cakes? Got any tips on how to make an awesome front end loader or dinosaur cake?

Linking up with With Some Grace for FYBF

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Comments

  1. Maxabella says

    July 13, 2013 at 8:27 am

    I love looking at people's shopping baskets and it always amazes me how different everyone's combinations of food actually are. I would never judge the contents, but it made me smile that you were showcasing the candles so hard. x

    Reply
  2. Anne M says

    July 12, 2013 at 10:05 am

    I do tend to judge some people with loads of tinned soups, jars of sauces and packet mixes. I just feel like saying, "grab this, this and this and you'll have a much nicer tasting meal" but you never know what the story is. Same as you. Some health nut might've seen your trolley and tsked, tsked, tsked but they wouldn't have known it was for your children's birthday cakes and parties. Who cares what people think Jo? all that matters is what the kids think and they'll remember that Mum made the that front end loader cake or red dinosaur cake for the rest of their lives. xx

    Reply
    • Jo says

      July 12, 2013 at 12:54 pm

      I know what you mean with all the packet mixes Anne. To you and I it seems silly to buy them, but it is amazing how many people have never learnt to cook.

      Reply
  3. Me says

    July 12, 2013 at 4:31 am

    I must be honest, most times I am running through Coles so fast I don't have a chance to even see other people (I just hope I see them in time before I run them over) never mind look in other people's trolleys !! I wonder if anyone has looked in mine and wondered what on earth I do with what I buy because sometimes the combination looks a little odd !!!
    Sorry – I have no tips on front loader or dinosaur cakes – hopefully someone else will be able to help !
    Have a great weekend !
    Me

    Reply
  4. circleoftoast says

    July 12, 2013 at 4:25 am

    I'm usually too busy thinking about my shopping list to check out other people, although I occasionally look at my own trolley and think, jeez, better stick a bit of vegetation in there, just to balance out the junk!

    Reply
  5. Cassandra Wunsch says

    July 11, 2013 at 11:56 pm

    No to judging other people, but yes to assuming I'm being judged way harshly because of what's in MY trolley.
    Oh, actually there was this one time when I noticed a quite elderly couple buying lube, and I thought "You GO girl!" but that's it.

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Jo

I'm a city girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a few presents, an afternoon swim and dinner on the veranda as the sun set. Time to stop and be thankful for the many blessings of the year. I hope you had a lovely Christmas too!
We have been mulling over how to fix up the drivew We have been mulling over how to fix up the driveway and lead up to our house for a while. Currently it’s just a dumping ground for old bits of metal and a big pile of mulch, but C would like to create a turning area and put in a garden. First up though, there’s a huge old stump that needs to go. What better excuse is there to have a fire on Sunday afternoon? C and the kids jumped on the quad bike and trailer, and hauled back a big pile of sticks and logs to help the stump burn. Once the fire was going, marshmallows were found and roasted. No better way to spend time together.
Team work makes the dream work. We were asked rec Team work makes the dream work. 
We were asked recently whether we “make” our kids work on the farm. The answer is of course not. Having said that, all three love to help out whenever they can. They all work hard because they want to; because they take pride in working hard and contributing in a meaningful way to our family life; because they love living on our farm and don’t remember life before we moved here. Whether it be planting trees or doing sheep work or feeding animals, they all want to be involved. As a parent, nothing is better than watching them grow in skill and confidence as they work along side you. We’re so glad that we get to spend time with our three, working together.
We’ve had an unexpected addition to the family ☘️🐑. She is a lot easier to look after than the other family members but she does try to escape her yard and head butt people. Poddy lambs are super cute but they tend to think they are a human. Clover the lamb is sure that Meg is her mum. Can’t think why… 🤔🤣
The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: toge The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: together, cooking damper around the remains of the bonfire.
It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got through shearing without a hitch (thankfully 🙏) but we’ve had a run of the flu followed by Covid run through the family since then. The kids and I have tested positive (this is my second time getting it 🦠) though so far C has managed to avoid it. There has been a lot of lying on the couch feeling pretty ordinary. Han had to reschedule her driving test for a 4th time due to Covid, which is disappointing for her because she wants her freedom and for us because it would be so much more convenient if she could drive herself places. Just to add in to the mix, our hot water system has chosen now as a good time to die so we’re on cold showers until we’re all out of iso. This is not meant to be a whinging post but sometimes life just sucks a bit and it’s good to be real. Fortunately, the sight of the fire going with a stack of wood next to it cheers us up. Things will improve soon. Onwards we go…

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Hi, I’m Jo

City girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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