Top tips for running a cake stall

Last weekend I decided to run a cake stall to raise money for the Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia (Australia) charity. Its such an amazing cause and, despite pouring rain and with lots of help, the cake stall was a roaring success.

Here are my top tips and tricks for making your cakes stall as hassle-free and lucrative as possible...

1. People like old-fashioned cakes like lemon drizzle and orange cake - the kind of thing your Grandma might have for morning tea at home.
2. People like big cakes.
3. Learn to make glace icing. It looks delicious, goes hard and won't stick to the bags.
4. Have some things that lend themselves to freezing, like banana bread. People want to support you and are often happy to buy a more cakes if they can freeze one. 
5. Matching white plates, cellophane bags (available on ebay) and ribbon make your stall look great, as do table clothes.
6. Making one or two slices and cutting them up makes LOTS of plates to sell.
7. Price up - people will pay more than you think but do be conscious of your area's demographic.
8. Try to make all cakes a round dollar amount. It makes it easier to give change.
9. Sell cupcakes individually but offer to package them if people want to buy a few. 
10. Have spare plates and bags.
11. Have napkins on hand for individual cupcake sales.
12. You need access to a gazebo. Believe me on this! 
13. Be friendly and excited about whatever you are raising money for.
14. Tell your friends what you are doing - they might offer to help makes cakes, or they might be your first customer.

Have you run fundraising cake stalls? What are your top tips?

Do you eat sneaky treats and hide it from your kids?

I just found myself wolfing down a packets of corn chips while hiding in the bathroom.

How pathetic (and gross, now I think about it).

After all I'm an adult in my own home so why on earth shouldn't I eat whatever I want, whenever I want.

The answer is my kids.

I want them to be healthy and they already have way too many treats and there is no reason why they should have corn chips on a Monday afternoon.

But I really can't be bothered coping with mega tantrums today, and even I acknowledge that eating chips in front of them would be a bit mean. They aren't really up to understanding the concept of 'do as I say, not as I do,' yet.

So I enjoy my corn chips in the bathroom.

Or I eat chocolate while driving the car by hiding it in the door pocket and sneaking it one delicious piece at a time.

And I refuse to feel guilty about it because their time to enjoy sneaky treats will come... my Mum used stir her brown sugar into her porridge so we would think she was eating it plain like us and now I eat corn chips in the bathroom. It's all about the circle of life, right?

And in the mean time it's for their own good!

Do you have sneaky treats or do you think it is unfair to you kids (or yourself) to eat food you won't let them have?
 

Five beauty products every Mum needs

I'm not one of those girls that adore makeup but I do like feeling good about myself.

When you are a Mum the challenge of getting your family dressed and out of the house doesn't tend to leave much time for leisurely makeup application but making a bit of an effort will really improve how you feel about yourself.

So here are my top five beauty products for Mums (fast, easy, cheap and they can mostly be purchased at a supermarket).

1. Strawberry Chapstick - slightly tinted, keeps your lips soft and tastes yummy.
2. Tinted moisturiser - light even coverage, soft skin and ideally a little bit of sun protection. Look for a colour that matches you skin tone in case you only get around to putting it on one side of your face.
3. Waterproof mascara - when people are tired they tend to rub their eyes so it is important to wear mascara that will stay put.
4. Nail polish - whatever about your finger nails but painting your toe nails feels a bit glamorous and will dress up thongs.
5. Perfume - I know it isn't really make up but a tiny squirt of perfume take 2 seconds and will make you feel just that bit more special.

What makeup do you wear every day?

Ten fashion tips for Mums (mostly learnt from Play School)

Most Mums will tell you that going from working an office (wearing some fabulous little outfit you spent hours shopping for) to staying at home with your kids is a big fashion adjustment, especially at a time when you usually only have one income and are likely to be feeling a little insecure about your body.

In the beginning you don't care - frankly getting out of your PJs is an achievement in the early days but eventually you will start to be less exhausted and overwhelmed, you will start to leave your house and you will start to question what the hell to wear when your day revolves around finger paint and trips to the park.

I floundered in the blackhole of 'Mummy clothes' for a long time. I still wouldn't say I am out the other side but I do have more idea, make more effort and feel better about myself than I used to.

So here are my top ten tips to help you find your Mummy style!

1. Most days you will wear jeans. Accept it and buy a couple of pairs that you love. 
2. Bright coloured tops are the answer, otherwise you will feel like you wear the same outfit (black top and jeans) every day.
3. Layer - this will make you look younger, like you made an effort and has the added benefit that if your baby is sick on you (or worse) you can just remove the top layer.
4. Accessories make you look like you made an effort, particularly scarves.
5. Sunglassses are your best friend. Buy a pair you love and protect them from your children.
6. Consider wood chip when choosing your shoes. Most parks have embraced wood chip as the soft fall of choice. It gets in your shoes so either wear slides of some kind so you can just shake it out, or full enclosed shoes that it can't get in to.
7. Make a tiny bit of effort with your hair. Just adding a clip or small braid at the front and then pulling the rest into a pony tail will make you look and feel like you made an effort. 
8. This is not the time in your life when you should be buying expensive tops. Whether they cost $5 or $50 your kids are going to put stains on them. Go for quantity not quality.
9. Paint your toe nails. It will seriously make you feel better about yourself (and make your thongs seem like a fashion choice instead of the easiest option to put on while carrying two children, three dinosaurs, a nappy bag and a bike.) 
10. If you run out of ideas .. watch Play School. The presenters look casual, attractive and fun. They're wearing jeans but you never doubt that they made an effort, and looked in the mirror before they left the house.

What do you wear to the park?

In the country you can't...

One of my dearest friends lives in the country. Their property is amazing and their dedication to it even more so.

It isn't their first property in the country - before this one they lived in the mountains behind Cairns and it was there that I discovered why living in the country is not for me.

Like their current property, their place in Cairns was stunningly beautiful. It was lovely and quiet. Their kids could run around outside all day. They had pets and an incredibe veggie garden. Sounds perfect right?

Well actually NO!

There is no takeaway in the country!

That sounds bad, doesn't it.

I mean bad about me, rather than bad about the country.

The thing is, my family doesn't even eat a lot of takeaway but the idea that, after one of those long painful days with the kids, there is no option but to cook dinner is pretty much more than I can cope with.

When you are a Mum there isn't a lot you can do to give yourself a little rest, even if it is just for a few moments. The only thing you can do to make more time in your day is to outsource something ... and the easiest/cheapest/most immediate thing to outsource is cooking.

And that's why I can't live in the country.

Because I could never cope with the idea that, at the end of a crappy day, I have NO OPTION but to cook my family dinner.

For what it is worth I think my friend is superwoman!

Persuading kids on to the toilet - the job I can't wait to be rid of!

Parenting young children is wonderful and you should enjoy every moment ... at least according to all the older women at our local supermarket.

In my opinion parenting young children is sometimes absolutely wonderful, but clearly time dulls your memory of all the times when it isn't wonderful at all.

I think every parent has one milestone in their children's road to independence that they dream of. For my sister-in-law it was the day her two boys could put themselves in the car and do up their own seatbelts.

I personally can't wait for the day that my children going to the toilet is nothing to do with me.

I truly long for that moment every single day.

I am so sick of asking "Do you need to do a wee or a poo? ... Are you sure?'

I'm sick of having to stand guard while Wild Man (who is currently terrified of monsters) goes to the toilet.

I'm sick of changing nappies, of dealing with nappy rash, of toilet training, of cleaning the bathroom (or couch) when there has been an accident, of bribing Wild Man in order to get him to wear undies under his shorts, of specifying how much toilet paper should be used, of insisting on hands being washed and so on (and on and on and on and on ...)

At the moment I feel like I spend half my life in our bathroom and it is driving me crazy.

Princess is still in nappies and I know it is years and years until I can wash my hands (pardon the pun) of being involved in my kid's toileting but I can't wait!

What 'kid job' are you looking forward to never having to do again? 
 

Honest to goodness, PUT DOWN YOUR BLOODY PHONES!!!

I read an amazing post by Hands Free Mama this morning.

Rachel, the blogger, had received a heart-breaking email from a childcare worker talking about how much parents use their Smart Phones and the impact it has on their kids.

Frankly it was a pretty devastating story and made me SO glad that my Samsung Galaxy is complete crap and I have never been able to get it to access:
- the internet
- Facebook
- my emails
(and no, I wouldn't recommend the phone!)

Among other things the post really raised the question 'why can't everyone put their phones down for a while and focus on their kids?'

I am far from perfect at this parenting caper and am definitely guilty of sneaking off to my computer while my kids are playing (or eating dinner!). But I'm not guilty of over-enthusiastic Smart Phone offences and thank goodness because otherwise the comments from some of the kids in Rachel's post would probably have made me cry.

Parenting can be amazingly boring, frustrating and lonely, everyone who does it is incredible and some days having contact with a person who can wipe their own bottom is the only thing that keeps you sane. I'm sure it was always thus and that the parent's who have gone before us just had to go a bit further to get that contact, like down to the village well.

And I don't dispute that Smart Phones are an amazing invention - who would have thought that you could access every single piece of information in the world from something you carry in your pocket) but I honestly wish they didn't exist because you can use them EVERYWHERE and it is very hard to resist just 'a quick check'.

No one would ever set up a computer next to their bed so they can check their emails one last time, or update their Facebook status before they go to sleep, but they have no hesitation logging in with their phone and don't even see it as being rude to their partner.

And when did it become more important to post about your amazing dinner with friends, instead of enjoying your amazing dinner with friends?

Do we really need to share everything, all the time?

Are we just showing off? Or maybe we are all so insecure that we actually do enjoy our dinner more if all our friends (and people we used to work with 10 years ago) complement us on our menu choices. Surely not?

It truly drives me crazy when the people I am with can't leave their phone alone but I hadn't really thought how much more devastating it would be if I were a child and the person obsessed with their phone was my parent until this morning.

And it seems that it is pretty devastating indeed!

Are you a Smart Phone addict?

Why change if it ain't broken?

They have changed the schedule at Wild Man's preschool this year. Instead of finishing the day with group time inside the kids now have free time from 2.30 to 3pm and we can just pick them up whenever suits us in that time.

I don't like it.

Last year, when they finished with group time inside, my favourite part of the whole week was seeing Wild Man come to the door with all the other kids. He would spot me waiting for him and his whole face would light up.

It was pure mothering bliss.

I also miss having time to catch up with the other Mums. Having to wait for the kids outside was really social. They kids didn't come out until 3pm so we all had a chance to have a few minutes chat. Now, everyone just tends to grab their kid and go.

My other concern is that the old way seemed safer. I know the teachers provide excellent supervision but surely having all the kids leave from the same door at the same time decreases the chance that a child could leave with someone they aren't supposed to?

And I think it is better for kids who will be going to school next year to learn about finishing as a group and leaving the classroom as a group? (although I can see that the new way would be better for Mums who need to pick up early so they can be on time to collect their school aged children).

Mostly though, I just really miss seeing my beautiful little man's happy smile when he looked out the door and saw me waiting for him.

What is your favourite moment in the week?

Christmas, it's just not for women!

In the last three weeks our family have:

- celebrated an 18th (and had a big party at our house)
- celebrated Christmas (and had a big party at our house)
- been to a big Boxing Day party
- Spent 5 days away with 35 other people to celebrate New Year
- celebrated a 4th birthday (and had two separate parties at our house)

It has all been a bit much really and I'm seriously tired.

So today I've been trying to work out what exactly has been so overwhelming and I've finally got it down to one thing ... FOOD.

Deciding on what it will be, how much, how much to spend, is there enough, trying to fit it all in the fridge, deciding what order to prepare it in, finding enough bowls, deciding the right time to start serving, worrying people won't like it, worrying they will like it and there won't be enough and decorating bloody birthday cakes!

Oh, and lets not forget cleaning up after people have been eating food at my house.

Honestly I'm so over food that I would be happy to eat cereal and takeaway for the rest of my life.

We're going away next week and the rule this year is that we will have at least one bought meal per day.

My husband asked why (!!!). I calming and quietly (not) explained that otherwise it isn't a holiday for me.

I think my Mum summed it up best when I was at her house at 10.30pm on Christmas Eve (you guessed it ... dropping some food off) she came out with this immortal line "Christmas, it's just not for women."

I do love Christmas but that is so true!

Have you been exhausted by the 'holidays'?


 

You can call me Samuel Johnson!

Samuel Johnson

For those of you who haven't, um ... seen Blackadder, Samuel Johnson is the guy who wrote the first proper dictionary.

His book was called A Dictionary of the English Language and it took him nearly nine years to complete. Obviously it was an amazing achievement but I didn't quite comprehend quite how amazing it was until recently.

Wild Man wants to know what words mean.

All the time.

It's driving me crazy.

The problem - apart from the endless questions and stream of consciousness conversation that is part of life with a three year old - is that it is hard to define words, especially if you have to assume the person also doesn't know the words that might help you understand the first word.

For example, the other day Wild Man asked me what a metre is.

The easy answer is that it is 100 centimetres.

But Wild Man doesn't know what centimetres are either! And so suddenly explaining what a metre is becomes a serious challenge.*

And that's why I have this sudden, overwhelming admiration for Samuel Johnson.

It is seriously hard to define a word, let alone a whole dictionary full of them.

* In case you're wondering a metre is one very big step by Mummy.

First world problem: who has ownership of the toothpaste?

This is petty. 

I know it is petty and definitely a first world problem but...

When I recently took Princess to hospital, as I was packing my toiletries, I carefully packed the spare tube of kid’s toothpaste for myself, rather than the single tube of grown-up toothpaste that was open on the bathroom sink.

My reasoning was simple – I didn’t want to take the ‘good’ toothpaste and leave Spunk Rat with the crappy kiddy stuff.

Two weeks later Spunk Rat went to Melbourne for work and he packed the good, grown-up toothpaste leaving me with the dud kid’s stuff that tastes of banana (AGAIN). Arrh!

I know this is pathetic and petty, I honestly do, and I also know that Spunk Rat was oblivious to the fact that I had previously sacrificed myself and taken the less good toothpaste. 

I’m am 100% confident he gave it absolutely no thought at all. 

But still, it was annoying!

So  who was right? If you are the one going away for a few days do you have a ‘right’ to the ‘good’ toothpaste?

PS. I do know that the answer is to buy a spare grown-up toothpaste and keep it in the cupboard but you’re crediting me with more organisational ability than I currently have!

  

Time together with time to spare

We are friends with an amazing couple who have been together since high school. Seriously, she was 16 when they went on their first date and now they are in their mid 40s.

In a world of divorce and low boredom thresholds it is pretty impressive and I feel like we could learn a lot from them.

One of their tricks, especially while their kids were young, has been to always have two weekends away together each year.

As they describe it "One for each set of grandparents."

Some years they have been to expensive hotels, and other years they have gone to the cheapest place they could find. But they have always made that time together a priority.

We went away this weekend. Without our kids. For the first time in two years.

And it turns out we do still have things to talk about that aren't related to when the recycling needs to go out or whether Princess' nappy should have been changed an hour ago.

In fact, it felt remarkably the same as when we were dating.

We discussed current affairs.

We walk along holding hands ... minus the small boy in the middle yelling out "1 2 3!"

And without the endless touching of two small children who have no understanding at all of the term 'personal space' it was actually nice to stop and hug each other occasionally.

The only disappointing thing was that we seem to have lost the knack of sleeping in ... although perhaps 7am does count as sleeping in when you are normally up at 5.30am.

It seems obvious that time together, focusing on each other, is a really important part of staying connected as a couple but in the crazy world of a family it can be easier said than done.

Still, this weekend truly showed me having that time is worth the effort.

Do you find time for yourselves as a couple? Date night? Weekend away? Sunday brunch?

Who's your baby?

So, I went to the park recently and I saw two boys who I immediately recognised.

One glance and a selection of stories about them and images of them flashed up from the depths of my memory.

But I couldn't place how I knew them.

Eventually I realised that they are the children of a Mum whose blog I read relatively regularly and, in fact, I don't know them at all.

I was completely intrigued by them. It was like seeing the kids of a famous person but better because I had heard the stories from their Mum so they were clearly true.

I was sorely tempted to comment on their Mum's blog and tell her what lovely kids she has. But then it occurred to me that that would be very weird because I DON'T actually know them, or her for that matter.

And that got me thinking ... is it a good thing that I recognised them and knew so much about them?

Clearly I don't feel comfortable blogging about my kids in a way that makes them recognisable. I live in fear that Wild Man's future employer will one day Google him and be able to read all about his behaviour as a three-year-old.

Other people do feel comfortable posting about their kids in a more specific way and that's entirely their decision.

There's no right and wrong here, everyone's blog and life are different and I'm in favour of the live and let live approach to these things.

But seeing these kids at the park did make me feel a little uncomfortable on their behalf.

How would they feel, knowing that this strange lady at the park knows so much about them? Quite possibly they would thrive on the attention. Maybe not. Who knows.

A.A.Milne's son, Christopher Robin, spent the rest of his life angry that his father had included him in his stories. I wonder how our children (however they are described) will feel in the future - will they read our blogs and consider them to be a lovely record of the ups and downs of motherhood, or will they feel that their privacy has been invaded?

Only time will tell, I guess.

What do you think? I'd LOVE to know. How have you come to your decisions on this and do you have any regrets?

Who has your back?

I know there is that saying that it takes a village to bring up a child but this morning I was thinking about how many people it takes to support a Mum.

Being the Mum of small kids is harder than I ever imagined and, to be completely honest, if it wasn't for the people around me I just can't imagine how I would cope. 

The pressure on your relationship, the tiredness, the sickness, the mess, cooking endless dinners, the tantrums, the guilt and millions of choices ... it can all be very overwhelming and being at home with your kids can feel a lot like being locked in a pressure cooker with two hyper monkeys who are determined to break you!

So how do you cope, let alone enjoy it?

I think the secret is to share the load. (This shouldn't be confused with palming off the responsibility for your kids.) 

I'm really lucky, I have a wonderful extended family, a brilliant husband and the best friends in the whole world. And I rely on all of them to get me though in very different ways.

Being able to let off steam, having someone to babysit occasionally or having someone turn up unannounced at 4.30pm, holding a casserole and say 'I've brought you dinner, can't stay the kids are in the car', can make all the difference.  

I love the old saying 'A problem shared is a problem halved' and it is never more true than when you have kids. It is like dropping a rock into a pond ... the ripples get smaller and smaller the further away from the rock they get.

But it does occur to me that different people help you in different ways, so here is the run down of how it works in my world ... is it the same for you?

Grandmas are for babysitting, and realistic support and advice about parenting and marriage. They also love your kids unconditionally which is amazing when you need to vent, and they tend to be able to see the big picture!

Husbands/partners are for hugs and physical comfort, companionship, making you feel attractive (mostly) and enjoying your kids together (sometimes, sometimes it feels more like you have a common enemy!). They're your family.

Friends are for sharing the unvarnished truth, non-competitive comparisons of where your kids are up to,  and dinners in times of need. They have your back.

And if all else fails I can refer back to my awesome friend Louise's favourite saying: "This too shall pass." 

To which I normally respond: "I bloody well hope so!"

So, how does your support network work? Could you cope without them?

Getting dinner Yum Cha style - a Mummy tip

When you have a baby you really learn what you can and can't do one handed.

Chopping up a toddler's dinner is one of the things I really struggled to do one handed ... until I took a leaf out of the Yum Cha restaurants' book and started chopping it up with scissors.

My revelation went like this ... the ladies pushing the Yum Cha trolleys need to cut your spring rolls in half, but they need one hand to hold the plate because there isn't anywhere to put it down so they cut the rolls with scissors.

There's no sawing and the food doesn't get pushed off the plate. It is neat, easy and one handed.

Believe me, even if both your hands are available using scissors is so much easier than trying to chop up spag bol with a knife and fork.

And if you are trying to get dinner while holding a baby .... it is so much easier that I have no words!

Seriously people, try the scissors!

Dear God, Thank you that all the dinosaurs are dead. Amen.

Every night Wild Man and I stop and talk about all the things that we are grateful for.

We turn the lights off and lie on his bed together, sharing the pillow, and whisper about our happy family and lovely friends, how lucky we are to be healthy and to have enough food and clothes.

For us it is praying but it doesn't have to be.

Whatever your religious beliefs, it is nice to take five minutes at the end of each day and talk to your children about all the good things.

Wild Man tells me what he is grateful for and what made him happy that day, and then it is my turn.

I don't want to overload my kids with the world's problems but I do want them to appreciate how lucky they are so we also talk a little bit about people who are hungry or cold or sick or scared.

I hope that learning to recognise that, even on a bad day, life is still full of reasons to be grateful and happy will help my kids be resilient through whatever life throws at them.

The phrase 'first world problem' comes up a lot at the moment and I love it. When I don't have time for a coffee or I can't find a parking space thinking 'first world problem' really takes the wind out of my irritated, sleep deprived sails!

But someone very wise once said to me that no matter how minor it seems compared to war and starvation, the worst thing that has ever happened to you is still the worst thing that has ever happened to you and it is OK to be upset.

So although most of my kids problems are very definitely first world problems they are still problems and there will come a time when they will feel overwhelming. I hope that taking the time to stop in the midst of  our crazy, privileged life and think about all the good things will help them (and me) on the overwhelming days.

For Wild Man his reason to be grateful is the same every single night (he's a simple chap).

'Dear God, Thank you that all the dinosaurs are dead. Amen.'

Do you take time to reflect on the good things with your kids? 

Nappy rash tip

If your little one doesn’t want to sit down in the bath because of nappy rash (the very time they really do need to sit down and have a good soak) try this.

Put a few sachets of Ural into the water. I used four sachets. Don’t mix the powder in, just sit your little one down on top of the powder.

Ural is an alkzlinizer designed to help when you have a urinary tract infection but it turns out it also stops the bath water stinging when you have nappy rash.

Bio carb soda is also supposed to help but I found Ural better (but far more expensive). 

Wine, Wine, Wine - taking the edge off suburbia

I love a glass of wine at the end of the day.

Somehow it feels grown up and a little bit posh.

It feels like I'm doing something for myself.

And most importantly it takes the edge off the tension of the day and makes me a more relaxed Mum and wife.

And all of that is fine but, as we all know, having a huge glass of wine every night isn't good for your health or for your waist line.

Why are the divine things in life always a bit bad for you??

I was chatting a with a lovely lady the other day who is about the same age as my Mum. I made a comment about wanting a glass of wine and she said:

"Not for me thanks. I try not to drink too much now to make up for how much I drank when my kids were little."

Which made me laugh until I cried (possibly that was partly hysteria and sleep deprivation!).

Certainly when my step-sons came to live with us at the same time that I got a huge and very stressful promotion I used to have a glass of wine or two every night.

It was honestly the only way I could cope - I was so tired and overwhelmed and without a glass of wine I was either too exhausted to talk or just really, really cross with everyone.

And I've certainly drunk my fair share of wine since I had Wild Man - as it turns out I'm a coffee in the morning, wine in the evening kind of Mum.

The uppers and downers of suburbia.

But just at the moment I'm doing Weight Watchers (why are those last five baby kilos SO hard to lose?) and wine is a lot of points so there isn't much drinking going on in our house.

And it turns out that I don't NEED a glass of wine in the evening. I just WANT one.

And I'm kind of relieved to find that out, to be honest.

As it turns out, what with the irritation of having small kids and tonnes of housework to do every day, I wasn't sure whether it was a need or a want any more. Phew!

Do you drink much? Do you spend the afternoon hanging out for 'wine o'clock"? Do you feel guilty about it? 

If you think you might have a drinking problem you can find more information and help at Drink Wise Australia.

Ode to the hose

The single thing that entertains Wild Man the best, without any input from me, is our garden hose so I've written a poem in its honour.  (And yes, I am hysterical with sleep deprivation - thanks Princess!).

Ode to our hose
I'm sorry to Sydney's water supply
But so grateful for your help in making the day go by.

Whenever I have something I need to do
I send Wild Man out to play with you.

Time for myself or a cup of tea,
"I'll turn on the hose" I say with glee.

In the sandpit, in the paddling pool,
If I turned it off, I'd be a fool!

A change of clothes is a small price to pay
For something that uses a big chunk of the day.

And its a healthy and outdoorsy kind of pursuit
And from the veranda it looks really cute.

When your 3 year old finds money who does it belong to?

Yesterday Wild Man and I were in the Botanic Gardens in the city when he suddenly announced he needed to do a poo. Of course there wasn't a toilet in sight and as we have had a few accidents recently I resigned myself to taking him into a garden, behind a bush and getting him to go into a plastic bag - nice.

As you can imagine I was feeling a little sorry for myself at that point!

When we went into the garden (apologies to the amazing horticulturalists who work there, I know it is against the rules but this was seriously desperate times) Wild Man commented that the bush had red berries and money on it and could he eat the berries.

I was more concerned with the matter at hand and pretty much ignored what he said.

After the toileting was done I started ushering Wild Man out of the garden when he suddenly said 'Don't forget the money."

I said "Oh sweetie, it won't be money it will just be shiny rubbish."

He said "It IS money - look."

And I did and lo, there was a $50 note in the bush.

No one else was around and it seemed to have been there for a while so we took it.

But who does it belong to?

Me or Wild Man?

Clearly it was him that found it but he already has more toys than any three year old could possibly use and he gets lots of treats and outings and frankly doesn't need any more.

Plus he had just got to the end of a star chart (ironically for using the toilet) and been rewarded with a Fireman Sam DVD.

In the end I figured it could pay for the 'special big boy's day out without Princess' that we were enjoying in the city and also gave him $5 for his money box.

After all, he doesn't really understand the difference between $5 and $50 yet.

Plus if he used the money to buy the fire engine he has been eyeing at the shops what will Santa bring him for Christmas?

Was that the right thing to do? Whose money do you think it was?