15 reasons my toddler cried today

Some days parenting a toddler is really hard. There's some things that simply can't be explained or accurately described in those books you read when you are pregnant and blissfully unaware of what you are getting yourself into. 

Nothing seems to go right and you find yourself at loggerheads with a 3 year old who appears to have taken on the personality of Napoleon. Barking orders, screaming when things don't go her way and pushing buttons that I never knew I had. Tears are inevitable and sometimes Ava cries too...

Today was one of those days. It actually started quite early this morning as I left the house to do the first yoga class I've done in 3 years. I thought I'd start my Sunday all zen like. Umm, nice try.

I guess the combination of being 3, fiercely independent, extremely smart and really knowing exactly what she wants at all times can get a bit much sometimes. Today was one of those days, where I just couldn't get it right for my little girl.  

So here's just some of the reasons Ava cried today.

1. I'm thirsty
2. I don't want water
3. Daddy cut my apple into triangles, I want it round 
4. The blender is too noisy
5. The hand dryer is too noisy
6. I fell over, it was Daddy's fault
7. I don't want chicken soup
8. I want to butter my own toast
9. I want Mummy to butter my toast
10. I don't want toast
11. I don't want dinner
12. I'm dirty
13. I don't want a shower
14. I want my special shower cap
15. I'm hungry, I want my dinner

Thanks goodness today is nearly over. Ava is finally asleep and as exhausted as I feel, I'm actually looking forward to her calling out to me at 4am for a snuggle in Mamma's bed. All the meltdowns, rages, defiance and endless negotiation is forgotten as I carry her warm and cuddly little body into our bed for a few hours of precious snuggles.

Our Sunday morning Mecca

I love our little home in the inner west, it's close to the city but just far enough away to avoid the feeling of being stuck in a perpetual rat race.

We have everything we need at our finger tips. Amazing coffee, parks, shops, kids activities and community right here on our doorstep.

One of our favourite weekly rituals is the Marrickville Organic Markets. Held at the Addison Road Community Centre, it's become our Sunday morning Mecca. 

Every Sunday morning Ava asks me if we will see the ponies and get a face painting. Even this week, while on holiday in Melbourne, she asked for a face painting!

I recently caught up with the lovely Jane from Marrickville Sundays to answer 5 questions about why we love the super child friendly organic markets. Checkout the blog here, it's a must read for all Inner Westies with kids and market lovers alike!

Embarrassing stuff kids say

"Mummy, that lady has big boobies just like you!" Yes, you read that correctly. This is what Miss 3 yells out on the train today while pointing at an attractive young South American girl sitting opposite us.

Umm, thanks for that! If you have heard my daughter's voice lately you will have a pretty good idea how this played out. She's a foghorn, not sure where she gets that from. And if that statement didn't get everyone's attention, there's more.

Next thing she lifts up her top. Oh to clarify, Ava lifts her top. Unfortunately for my dear hubby it was not the attractive young girl lifting her top. She was probably totally mortified that her boobs are being compared to mine. Despite sitting opposite the crazy family (that would be us) she is completely avoiding any eye contact whatsoever. I am also hoping like hell that this girl does not understand a word of English. Not that it mattered, the lady next to us definitely understood English.

So with her top lifted for all on the train to see, Miss fog horn screeches "When I'm a grown up I'm going to have big nipples and boobies just like mummy."  Gold. No really, it was gold. I had to give it to her, Burnsie and I had nowhere to go from there. We were speechless.

It's times like this I have mixed feelings about having a smart and articulate toddler. I know it's not unusual for kids to embarrass their parents in public, it was just a bit of a shock when it happened on a busy Inner West train.

It's not the first outburst. Previous gems include. "Mummy I have to go to the toilet. I have a wedgie." And "Mu Mummy has a baby in her tummy". The former was true, the latter was not for the record !!

Ever since my sister came to stay with the gorgeous 12 week old Gabi, Ava has been obsessed with babies and boobs. She pretends to breast feed from me and talks endlessly about her boobies. Is this normal?

My Mum calls it karma! I think there may have been a few occasions that I embarrassed her a little when I was Ava's age. So is it karma or just normal curious and innocent toddler behaviour ?

Ava's 3rd birthday party

Gotta love a party loaded with sugar!! It's not often that I wilfully feed Ava bucket loads of sweets, but birthdays come only once a year, so why not make the most of it.

Bursie really outdid himself with this cake - although it wasn't gluten free so I am already paying for the cheeky slice I had to have. My contribution! I did the writing and a bit (ok a lot) of micro management of the final touches...poor Burnsie.  

Ava seriously lost her shit (but in a good way) when she saw it before that party this morning. She said it was the bestest cake ever in the whole wide world.

I should also mention that our rather fancy Ilve oven decided to pack it in the night before the party! Seriously???  It's only 4 years old grrrr!  Luckily the cake was done, it just meant that we had less savoury adult food as I had planned on baking a batch of GF mini vegetarian quiches. 

Ava and her best friend Marli had a ball playing together in the park. They have known each other since they were born. 

We didn't invite too many kids, just Ava's cousins and her best park buddies Marli and Emily. She had so much fun running around the park, playing chasing and bossing us all around too!

The kids enjoyed blowing bubbles, playing pass the parcel and snacking on a mix of both wholesome and sweet treats.

These fruit cups were really easy to make and were a hit with the kids and adults. We chopped up watermelon, cantaloupe, nectarines, grapes and berries that morning, put them into a big container, then filled the cups at the park. Simple, beautiful and really healthy!

For a twist on fairy bread, we made wholemeal hundreds and thousands pin wheels which disappeared pretty quickly.

To make these I asked the baker to cut the bread loaf long ways. You should have seen his face, he had never been asked to do this before and thought I was totally insane.

Actually, I think he was worried that his cutting machine would destroy the bread! However he cut the bread perfectly and it was so much easier to make them rather than cutting long ways yourself.

Tip!! Flatten the bread out with a rolling pin before you butter it and sprinkle on the hundreds and thousands. Once flattened out they are so much easier to roll up. Then you cut each roll into three pin wheels. So easy.

Can you spot the dodgy one I made???

The marshmallow sticks are another super easy and very pretty sweet treat. What kid doesn't like marshmallows??

Bunsie insisted on making home made LCMs. I am not a fan, they are sickly sweet and full of sugar. As you can imagine the kids loved them...

So it kind of backfired for Burnsie, he was hoping to have them all to himself.

Inner West Buy Swap Sell

Like most families, we have accumulated a lot of crap over the years. And I mean a serious load of crap, much of it sitting unused and gathering dust in drawers and wardrobes or collecting cobwebs in our carport.

We don't really need much, we have good imaginations and are quite easily amused. Yet I cringe at the many times Burnsie and I have trotted off to the shops for the latest must have product we just know will enhance our lives considerably.

We live in a pretty wasteful society, where most babies have more tiny clothes than a Paris runway show, more toys than Santa's workshop and enough products to keep a small country well moisturised. And while I stand high and mighty on my soap box, I am also the first to admit I love new stuff and have spent a small fortune on much of our treasured crap! Well it's time to offload some good quality crap! And as the old saying goes, one person's trash is another's treasure!

After a particularly gruelling clean out which included multiple trips to the Salvos, a full bin and a lot of recycling, we still have a heap of stuff too good to throw out. And I really hate seeing things go to waste, I really do!

So I decided that instead of wasting my time on eBay or at the markets, I would try to find homes for our unwanted goods locally using my BFF the interwebs. I went searching for an online trash & treasure or buy swap sell on Facebook, but there doesn't appear to be one for the Inner West. So I've set up one myself....it's aptly named Sydney's Inner West - Buy Swap Sell.

Please like and share it with your friends. The more people who like it, the more crap you can offload and the more bargains you can score!!

Please check out facebook.com/innerwestbuyswapsell and list your items, or check out the crap erm treasure up for sale! Share the love and do your little bit for the planet, it might get you a little cash on the side too!

Our story to make Henson Park an official dog park made front page of The Inner City Weekender!

Very excited that our story about our community push to make Henson Park an official off leash dog park made it to the front page of the Inner City Weekender.

Our story is getting out there, please share the news so council hears how important this is! Come support us at Facebook.com/hensonpark4dogs.

Give our dogs a place to run, help make Henson Park leash free | StreetCorner.com.au

My article and picture of Chewy on the home page of @StreetCornerW
Give our dogs a place to run, help make Henson Park leash free | StreetCorner.com.au

Letter to Marrickville council

Below is the letter I have sent to Marrickville council. Please feel free to use this as a template. You can email council@marrickville.nsw.gov.au or use their online feedback form.

Dear Councillors

I am writing to you on behalf of dog owners and their pets in the Marrickville area to respectfully urge you to officially appoint Henson Park an “off-leash” dog park.

Over the years our local community of dog owners have frequented Henson Park to exercise their dogs and socialise with fellow animal lovers. We view Henson Park as a community area, designed to satisfy the needs of dog-owners and non-dog owners alike. We are respectful of our fellow neighbours and the environment, ensuring that we pick up after our dogs and that they behave appropriately. We also appreciate that Henson Park is a sporting ground and many dog owners stay clear on designated sporting days.

We believe Henson Park is the ideal location for an off-leash park. It has served this purpose unofficially over many years with the majority of park users on not sporting event days, being dog owners. We can work with the local council and associated sporting bodies to appoint designated off-leash hours/days and/or area based on other usage of the park, to ensure the dogs and owners do not impact on other activities and park patrons.

Appointing Henson Park as an official off-leash dog park will benefit the greater community in many ways including:

• Well-behaved dogs can exercise in a clean, safe environment without endangering or annoying people, property, or wildlife.
• Dog park patrons tend to be people who appreciate the park and take an "ownership interest" in it. As a result, they keep the area free of criminal activities and other bad elements.
  
• Park patrons want to ensure a clean and safe park for all the dogs attending. Feces pick-up and disposal is an integral part of retaining a clean park. A visit to any dog park will verify this observation. Owners watch for and pick up their animal’s feces, and when a dog defecates, other patrons assume that the dog owner simply did not notice and gently remind the owner to pick up the feces and throw it away. They also will respond swiftly if a dog is behaving inappropriately.
  
• Most dogs require exercise that leash restrictions do not allow. The cardiovascular benefit provided by healthy play with other dogs is great for dogs’ longevity and weight control. Dogs are social animals whose mental health is improved by interaction with other canines. Happy, healthy dogs are calmer and better behaved, reducing nuisance barking and other annoying behaviors exhibited by dogs who do not get regular exercise.
  

No off-leash dog parks currently exist in the suburb of Marrickville. Just as other taxpayers enjoy convenient public swimming pools, jogging/walking trails and playgrounds, dog owners need a place to exercise and enjoy their pets in an off-leash environment. As a working Mum with a toddler it is difficult for me to find time to go to another suburb to visit the dog park. I imaging this is even more difficult for other dog owners in the community who do not drive or own a car.

Again, we would appreciate your consideration in appointing Henson Park an official off-leash dog park and look forward to working with you to acheive this.

Thank you

Mamma on another mission!

Many of you know that we often take our other baby Chewy to the park to run off his energy and experience a bit of grass and socialisation with other dogs. Our local park is Henson Park, it's been frequented by dogs and their owners for many years!

Recently the council decided they would start dishing out fines to people whose dogs were not on leads. With no official dog parks in Marrickville, this is quite an issue for the local dog owner community who live in this great concrete jungle within the inner west!

Hence, I am writing to the council and local government and I've created a Facebook page to request that Henson Park be appointed an official off-leash dog park.

Please show your support by joining our Facebook page Please help make Henson Park an off-leash dog park and sending your feedback to council on their Have your say page at marrickville.nsw.gov.au.