Allirah by the sea

Simple

2011-03-23T22:19:00.002+11:00

Sometimes I get caught up in all the things I want. I am getting much better at this, but still it can be hard. Lately I have once again been cleaning out the clutter, the things that seem to multiply overnight on my kitchen bench and dining room table. I am really starting to look for and enjoy open and bare spaces around our home. I like to decorate with pieces from nature, some shells, a bowl of beautiful rocks and I am forever bringing home sticks(I think my husband is saving them for fire lighters :) )

The last quote made me smile but at the same time made me a little sad, because I have on occasion thought that better than clearing the clutter. Though we know the damage fire can do having gone through one when our shed caught on fire when I was living at home. We lost so many things and that was just a shed, and what the fire didn't destroy the water did.

The quotes I found here, and thought I may need to read them a few times over.

"If you can't find beauty--for free--when you are poor, you won't be likely to have it when you are rich...even though you may have bought and paid for it." ::: Elizabeth Gordon

"The only real security is not insurance or money or a job, not a house and furniture paid for, or a retirement fund, and never is it another person. It is the skill and humor and courage within, the ability to build your own fires and find your own peace." ::: Audrey Sutherland

"What a happy woman I am living in a garden, with books, babies, birds and flowers. Sometimes I feel as if I were blest above all my fellows in being able to find my happiness so easily." ::: Elizabeth von Arnim

"It is essential to change the present mindset and abandon a lifestyle of over-consumption and greed that inevitably leads to social injustice and inequality. The Apostle Paul teaches that greed leads us to the worship of material goods, which is idolatry, the greatest sin. The Church teaches not greed but 'oligarkeia' (namely, living a simple, laconic life)." ::: Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople

"Don't own so much clutter that you will be relieved to see your house catch fire." ::: Wendell Berry

2011-03-18T19:32:00.001+11:00

Loved this post from hearblack I had to repost it here.

a businessman was at the pier of the small Tuvaluan island when a boat with a fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were fish. The businessman complimented the Tuvaluan on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The fisherman replied only a little while.

The businessman then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish? The Tuvaluan said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The businessman then asked, but what do you do with the rest of you time? The Tuvaluan fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a nap with my wife, Puna, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitars with my friends; I have a full and busy life."

The businessman scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats; eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. You could sell directly to the processor and eventually open your own cannery. You would need to leave this small fishing island-nation and move to Australia, then LA and eventually New York City where you would run your expanding enterprise."

The Tuvaluan fisherman asked, "But how long will this all take? To which the businessman replied, "15 to 20 years." "But what then, sir? The businessman laughed and said, "Thats the best part! When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and make millions, flying around on your own corporate jet!" "Millions, sir? Then what?" The businessman said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing island where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a nap with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your friends."

The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, "Isn't that what I'm doing right now?"

-Author Unknown

2011-02-17T13:44:00.000+11:00

Books are the quietest
and most constant of friends;
they are the most accessible
and wisest of counselors,
and the most patient of teachers.
~ Charles W. Eliot ~

A-Ha Moment indeed

2011-01-28T16:01:00.002+11:00

One of my favourite blogs and books is Simplicity Parenting. This video I found via this post is amazing. I have watched it too many times to count(think double figures) and I believe that everyone can learn something from it, not just parents. It is well and truly worth the 20 mins of your time.

Summer Flowers

2011-01-16T19:57:00.001+11:00

In our bathroom, they smell divine.

Flood

2011-01-12T09:22:00.002+11:00

Heartbreak is happening in Queensland, please help anyway you can.

2011

2011-01-07T20:00:00.003+11:00

It took me a long time to shake my Christmas funk this year. What I realised a little to late in the season was I had lost my way. A quote from Edna Ferber via Sarah Ban Breathnach's 'Romancing the Ordinary', "Christmas isn't a season, It's a feeling" left me wondering how was it that I felt no excitement over the season at all. Upon further reading, Sarah really nailed what was missing for me. "Once upon a time, you believed that Christmas was the most magical time of the year. It can be again." I knew then that I had to let go. I hold onto my ideals so tight about how things should be done and the gifts that should be given, that I have no mystical wonder left. I know all that is being given and received down to a dictated list of gifts that I want from my husband. I remembered that the sparkle for me comes with the unknown. The things I loved about Christmas as a child was the waiting, the anticipation, the unknown and the giving. I think that I need to give more of myself and except more from others in return. For now I just want to remember this, because this year I want to feel that heart racing, butterfly stirring, giddy headedness right down to my little toes.

Overwhelmed

2010-11-18T21:24:00.002+11:00

Today, well for the last little while I have felt overwhelmed. I feel like my to do lists are just getting longer and I cannot do all I hope, and so I do nothing. I should be cleaning, sewing, cooking, organizing, planning, I don't. I am feeling quiet, and sometimes a little sad. Some days are better then others and some days, I just do the things that matter the most. Bathe my babies, feed them and us and maybe a walk around the block. Some days though, we don't even leave the house. I love Christmas, but it feels like a big race that I don't have the energy for and the deadline is looming.

Wedding Quilt

2010-10-26T11:34:00.003+11:00

This is the quilt that I made for my brother and sister-in law for their wedding. I wanted something very modern that would suit them and their home but I wanted to keep it neutral to blend with their belongings.

From the moment I saw this quilt, I knew I wanted to give it a go and I followed the same tutorial as Leslie.

Then I saw this wall that Caitlin painted and that led me to Nicole's painting and I knew I had to use grey and white.

I would also love to make an aqua version but my Christmas to do list is growing my the day so it may have to wait until the new year.

I am linking to

Home again

2010-10-18T12:29:00.002+11:00

We hopped a plane for the first time as a family and flew off to Noosa for my brother and now sister-in-laws wedding. We had a lovely time, you can see a short video here.

Apron

2010-08-27T19:35:00.003+10:00

An apron, I made my Mum for Mothers day. Navy and cream ticking with her cross stitched initial, on the linen pocket.

Linden's Nursery

2010-08-09T16:01:00.003+10:00

The day we moved him from his bassinet to his cot I cried. It was at that point my husband realised that his earlier scolding for buying the wrong milk, really had nothing to do with milk at all...

Weekend

2010-08-02T09:33:00.005+10:00

On Friday and Saturday we celebrated my beautiful husband's birthday.

On Sunday I went shopping with my parents for a dress for my Mother, at Chadstone. No dress but we stopped by the Lindt cafe and I had to bring a little something home.

For my sister

2010-06-05T20:10:00.000+10:00

who is missing the boys....

My Symphony

2010-05-30T04:43:00.000+10:00

To live content with small means
To seek elegance rather than luxury,
and refinement rather than fashion
To be worthy, not respectable,
and wealthy, not rich
To study hard, think quietly,
talk gently, act frankly
To listen to stars and birds,
to babes and sages, with open heart
To bear all cheerfully,
do all bravely,
await occasions,
hurry never
In a word, to let the spiritual,
unbidden and unconscious,
grow up through the common
This is to be my symphony.

William Henry Channing

to remember

2010-04-10T04:04:00.003+10:00

After feeding Linden during the night, Dalton calls out to me to tell me he wants a cuddle. When I go into him, he says with a smile but his eyes still closed "Mum, you are not going to believe this,I want to marry you... when I get bigger." My heart melts.

Easter Bunny

2010-04-09T00:56:00.001+10:00

He made it to our house, did he make it to yours?

Happy Easter

2010-04-03T10:22:00.003+11:00

Wishing everyone a safe Easter. Here are some little bags I made for the boys. Inspired by these, I added a striped lining, tie and their names. Hope Easter Bunny remembers to fill them up.

Happy Anniversary

2010-04-03T10:15:00.002+11:00

Happy 34th Anniversary to my parents today xx

Linden

2010-04-01T17:20:00.006+11:00

We have been very blessed to have such a beautiful little boy come into our lives. He has been very good at eating and sleeping, a far cry from bringing home Dalton from the hospital.

The two pregnancy's were very different as were their births. Dalton was delivered via emergency Caesar 16 days early and Linden naturally 14 days late. I think that babies show their personalities right from birth so it will be interesting to see how Lindens evolves. Looking at him is like de ja vue, he looks just like Dalton at the same age. You can certainly tell they are brothers.

Dalton "loves him to bits", he tells everyone, as he covers him in kisses. I think he has adjusted very well after being the only child for four years and I think my husband and I are so very lucky to have these wonderful boys as our own. Now if I could only stop thinking about going back for another.....maybe it's the hormones talking.

Happy Birthday

2010-03-26T08:24:00.003+11:00

Happy Birthday to my Mum who had her birthday yesterday.

We had lunch at a local restaurant a relaxing afternoon at her house, and nibbles for dinner. We followed that up with some vanilla cupcakes with a lemon whipped meringue icing, the same cupcakes I made for my sisters wedding cake. I was hoping that by making them, I might temp her into coming home sooner rather than later....

And this photo.... not really sure how that got in there, maybe because he is so sweet to look at.

Our Anniversary

2010-03-19T23:22:00.004+11:00

10 years of marital bliss and 2 babies, what more could I ask for? xxx

Here he is...........

2010-02-26T14:14:00.002+11:00

Linden David
Born Monday 22nd February 2010, 5.41pm
7lbs 15ozs, 14 days overdue.

How about some Nursery photos while we wait.....

2010-02-20T21:38:00.007+11:00

My Dad built this beautiful shelf from a photo I had shown him, I love it. Thanks Dad xx

PS- 12 days and counting, my Doctor has not pressured me at all of which I am grateful. I head back to see him on Monday and we will take it from there.

And the wait continues

2010-02-18T20:08:00.002+11:00

10 days over and still waiting. My husband decided to take his 3 weeks leave as of today and we have enjoyed him being home with us. I go back to my Doctor tomorrow and see what he says. He had wanted to do a Caesar on Wednesday, but I bought myself a few days grace. I had to have a blood test and ultrasound to make sure baby was ok though. As Dalton was born via Caesar, I cannot be induced, so I am happy to wait a little longer, though I have a feeling my time is just about up. I think if I don't go naturally before my appointment tomorrow, he will book me in very soon. I am trying some acupressure points and Clary sage oil, hoping one of those will do the trick....

Still waiting

2010-02-11T08:24:00.003+11:00

I have good news and bad news. The good news is my sister is flying all the home from Hawaii and will be arriving tomorrow night, yeah. We are very excited. The bad news is, I thought that the baby would have been here by now and we would have been in and out of the hospital already. It seems as though this baby has grand plans of its own and has decided to wait for Aunty Leah's arrival as well. Can't say I blame it, she is a pretty cool Aunty.

Sewing, decluttering and nesting

2010-01-31T14:31:00.003+11:00

So, I have been spending my time doing the above things and just trying to take it easy, before baby arrives. My goal has been to buy as little as possible and use what I have. I may have broken this rule when I came across the sale at Purebaby, just after Christmas, but beautiful organic baby clothing on sale....I bought a few things for the coming year, not just newborn size.

I have cleaned out cupboards and draws, wardrobes, linen press and the like. I still have a lot more I could let go of, but it not all belongs to me (Leah; I don't mean your boxes, they are all still safe). I would love to get rid of some of our sons toys, he has far too many and I am really starting to resent all of the plastic and commercial things. I have never really liked them, but I am now finding them particularly annoying. I much prefer the classic and wooden, but even then he is getting quite a collection. I read an interesting article here about writing a letter to family about alternative gift ideas, I love the idea about just spending some time with them, but this seems to be the one thing most people now days have the most problem with. It's easy to buy something rather then give time in today's world, but in years to come it will be the trips that the children remember rather than another toy in an already overflowing toy box.

Not only have I decluttered cupboards and the like I have also cleaned out products, both cleaning and cosmetic. I have changed out my moisturizers and body products for a simple jar of organic coconut oil, I have made my own deodorant (recipe here, I added some drops of orange essential oil to mine). I am slowly changing out my makeup to this one here. I am buying less and less and also thinking a lot more about what I am allowing to come into our home. I am looking for local made if possible and choosing wood and glass over plastic. Even the new baby's hair brush is a bamboo one from the body shop rather then the plastic one from Target. I am finding the more I stay away from the bigger shops the more I hate them when I have to go. My husband is not yet on the same page as me but I am hoping that with the money we save in the long run he will see my side a little better (for some reason, saving money speaks to men). I think it will still take me along time to get to where I want to be but at the moment I am enjoying the process.

My Dad has taken the time to paint our nursery for us, and built a beautiful shelf for the wall from a photo I showed him. I am still to take any photos of the room though. I must get on to that. Baby clothing has been washed and put away and the bassinet is all made up and ready to go. I have made some clothing, a couple of things for the baby and some pajama pants for myself. I am just about all packed for the hospital and have about a week to my due date, so now it is just a waiting game. I still have some more cleaning I would like to get done, but it won't matter too much if it doesn’t.

Dalton starts back at Kinder tomorrow, and he goes 3 times a week this year, so it will be different and we will all have some adjusting to do. We had to wait so long for both of our babies but it has been worth it. I will be sad to come to the end of this pregnancy as I don't know if I will get to do at all again. IVF and my body are really not that great a friend. We still have a frozen embryo, so never, say never, but I don't think I could do the whole cycle again. They always seem to end up with me in an ambulance and the emergency department, something that I am really not so fond of, neither is my husband.

So lots of talking today and only one little photo, that is not at all related. I just love this stone that is at my parent's home. I think my Dad already knows that I would love to have it, but it can get messy with seven kids. There is a great story behind it, but I will save that for another day....

A bag for animals

2009-12-17T09:57:00.000+11:00

A little cotton drawstring bag, I have made for my son for Christmas. I love these little animals from Schleich they are just beautiful and so well made, nothing like the toy animals I had growing up. He already has a collection of baby farm animals from this brand and a Zebra that we bought him from the zoo. He picked out some more that he would like and I added the elephant and the duck. I hope he likes it.

Busy, busy, busy

2009-12-15T13:55:00.000+11:00

I have been busy as of late, doing lots of sewing. The apron below is one that I have made for my Mother-in-law for Christmas. It was inspired by the ones at Flora and Ceres. I love their website, so many beautiful things. I have also been doing a lot of sewing for baby, but I am not ready to post pictures yet, as it would give away the sex and I am not going to share that until baby arrives. (Note to my Mother: don't bother looking, you will never find them....hehe)

I have also started packing for the hospital, as I have had 3 dreams that I was in labor and very strong Braxton hicks. I also had two different people tell me today that I look like I'm going to drop....I hope not, I still have 8 weeks to go, and too many things on my to do list.

A simple Christmas

2009-11-30T20:03:00.000+11:00

This year I am keeping this simple. Apart from being 30 weeks pregnant and it getting hot here for Christmas, I also think that less is more. So simple it is. Last year I saw these, and thought they would be simple yet beautiful. So I started on them yesterday. Here is link on how to make them. They sit at home with a soft tree I made a few days ago and some beautiful shells.

Etsy Love

2009-11-27T22:23:00.001+11:00

So a few weeks ago while browsing etsy looking for Christmas gifts, I did a little shopping. While I bought nothing for Christmas, I was still very happy with my buys.

From peanut tree designs some cotton crocheted washcloths and two crocheted bottle covers. I bought these for our glass baby bottles. I am hoping that is time around I wont need any bottles, but I would rather have them ready just incase. When Dalton was born, we had some trouble. After about 3 weeks and numerous visits from domiciliary nurses, lactation consultants and health centre sisters. The last one looked me in the eye and said as much as I hate to say it, this boy needs formula. For a few weeks after that I still breast feed then gave him formula but it got to the point where he would end up screaming until he got his formula. I was shattered and I am hoping that this time will be different. When I look back at photos of him from that time, he is skin and bones, and looks like a little old man. He was born 16 days early and a midwife told me it is not uncommon for this to happen, she said while they are not classed as premature babies they often act like them. She said I should try to cook this next one a little longer :)

I also ordered a variety pack of soap and candles from Oakmoss, they are beautiful. I think that my favorite would have to be the lemon wood blend followed by the spring blend. They were so nicely wrapped it made it hard to open them.

Joseph Banks

2009-11-26T15:37:00.000+11:00

Yesterday I went along to the art gallery in town, for the 'Joseph Banks and the flora of the Australian east coast' exhibit and talk. It was really interesting and such beautiful engravings based on Sydney Parkinson's original drawings recording the coastal plants collected between Sydney and far north Queensland by Sir Joseph Banks and Dr Daniel Carl Solander, during Captain James Cook's first Pacific voyage (1768-71). It is a traveling exhibition and if it comes to your area I highly recommend going along to check it out.

4

2009-11-24T14:28:00.000+11:00

A snail cake, as seen here. When Dalton saw this a little while back he wanted one of his own. I even had to make it a carrot cake as Hanna had.

He spent the day with family and new some new gifts. We bought him a scooter, as per his request. He has since had one little accident and thought about not riding it again. That didn't last long though.

He did wake up crying a week later, and when I asked him what was wrong, he said he was thinking about his birthday and he no longer wanted to be 4. He then asked how does he go back to 3? My little boy who hates change, how I love you so.....

Brown paper packages

2009-10-12T17:23:00.000+11:00

From here

Filled with beautiful wooden eggs

Time off

2009-10-08T21:47:00.001+11:00

My boys

My husband has had this week off from work, and we have been enjoying our time together. We have had a trip to the pool, tested out the new ice cream shop, been out for lunch and coffee. Baby has had a sleep over at Nanny and Poppy's and Trav and I went out for our favorite dinner and rented a dvd. The week has moved along at a nice pace but I have no photos to show for it as I have left the camera at home all week. It has been fun though and we will miss having him around all day, when he heads back to work next week.

Show us your life - baby gear

2009-10-04T11:04:00.026+11:00

I am taking in part in Kelly's show us you life posts. This weeks subject is baby gear.

The things I loved for our son were as follows;

Anything by Bonds, but the wondersuit is a classic staple in Australia. It seems to have been around forever. In fact I am sure I wore one as a baby, and I know all my siblings did. I also really loved to read that rumour has it that they make the wondersuit at a loss to keep them affordable for us.

Tizzie Hall's book "Save our Sleep", our son loves routine, this is a great book. I also love that she is so very local to me, as in it would take me about 5 mins to walk to her house.

Amber baby necklace for teething. Take my advice you want a genuine Baltic Amber one with polished rounded beads, like the one above.

I love this Ikea Antilop highchair, it is so easy to keep clean. It is great if you need to take it when you go somewhere as the legs are easy to remove, as is the tray. Loved this alot.

Here is Dalton with a couple of his favorites, his Nuk dummy and his whoopie (he is also wearing a bonds wondersuit). He has 4 whoopies, incase we ever lose one or they need to be washed, etc. Even now though, at almost 4 years of age if he finds all of them he will carry all of them around.

Dalton and I also loved his Bubba-Moe sling. I used this a lot when he was first born.

We also used a baby sleeping bag once he got to big to swaddle. I love to wraps babies up nice and tight like little parcels of fish and chips. My favorite wraps were called Minko baby, they are a very soft cotton that has some stretch to it. I got mine at Target (Australia) in a pack of three.

Now some things for the Mums;

HOTmilk lingerie, so comforable and so beautiful. I have the set shown above and I just love it.

Beautiful slippers, from My Sweet Feet. Perfect for hospital and kicking about the house. I am on to my third pair. The ones pictured above are my favorite and I live in these around the house. The also make a great gift and a couple of years ago, I bought them for all the girls in our family for Christmas.

Bio-Oil, this is great for stretch marks, dehydrated skin, aging, scars etc. and it smells nice too.

Thanks for visiting, I hope you enjoyed your stay.

Today

2009-09-24T13:57:00.000+10:00

Looking at gifts recieved for our new little one...can you tell I like neutral things?

Thinking about and starting lists for the hoilday season

and baking bread, no knead style

Tired

2009-09-16T17:38:00.001+10:00

I am so tired today, well maybe everyday lately. We have all had a cold/flu type thing this past week which hasn't helped at all. I also have a very bad case of baby brain.

I forgot my pin number to my bank card that I have had for a couple of years.....it was like it fell out of my head. For the life of me I could not recall it.

We have also been accident prone. My husband has had a sore shoulder for weeks and had to have an injection in it, to try to make it better. Then he dislocated his finger at football training, no one was able to get it back in, so we had a trip to emergency.
This morning, Dalton knocked over my cup of tea and burnt his little arm. Thankfully it was not bad, but between his crying and my frustration of getting him to listen to me I broke a flower pot. The day got a little better. We headed out for a drive and bought a new bread bin and called in to visit my Mum, who is now also sick. We like to share in this family. Then we headed home and baked a cake. Now I think I need to go back to bed. I am so tired.

Thank you for all the kind comments on my last post.

We're having a baby!

2009-09-03T15:41:00.000+10:00

Dalton and I, just home from hospital November 2005

So, after a long wait, filled with treatments and hospital trips and near misses, we are finally having another baby. I am 17 weeks pregnant and we are all excited to meet our new little one come February.

Baby had an accident....

2009-09-02T17:04:00.000+10:00

As he was climbing onto our bed, he tripped on the pillows and came down hard on my bedside table. I don't know who was more upset, him or me.

Where he hit

What he hit.....

I could not believe he broke the corner off.

We are very lucky,

It could have ended up so much worse than it did.

Nans Birthday

2009-08-31T15:51:00.001+10:00

Today would have been my Nans Birthday. She passed away on the 26th May 1994. The following is a story I wrote for school after her death.

That summer

The orange and black woven wool of the bedspread itched beneath my bare legs. I scratched at my mozzie bites, counting another three from the last ten minutes of sitting in the flat.

My Nan and Pop had a roomy three bedroom house with two flats to one side. One of the flats had a lounge room and kitchen and the flat to the back of the house had two bedrooms. My Aunty, Uncle and three cousins stayed in the flats for the summer. Though I too, spent most of my summer with them.

I stood on top of the bed and attempted to jump across the room on the other matching bed, but my toes slipped on the edge and my knee whacked into the metal base causing a gash across the skin just beneath my knee.
Tears ran down my face. My Nan stood before me and two cousins to one side. They were both frantically trying to cover for me, as Nan patched my cut. I just cried harder.

"I hope you weren’t jumping from bed to bed girls...." Nan said. "No, Rennae just slipped on the floor" Lisa said, thinking that had sounded pretty realistic.

“Rennae, stop crying, it’s just a little scratch” Nan told me. “But it’s bleeding”, I sobbed. Cherie and Lisa pulled me to my feet and helped my hobble back outside.
“Girls, try to be a bit more careful ok” Nan called behind us.
* * * * * * * * * *

“Rennae, shut up! Don’t sing it if you don’t know the words” Lisa yelled. “But I want to, couldn’t you teach me?” I asked. “I don’t know. It’s pretty hard, and you have to be able to sing like I can” Lisa told me.

Cherie rewound the almost worn out tape. We listened for the click, and then pressed play. The sounds of Whitney Houston singing “Greatest love of all” sounded in our ears, complete with the scratchy sounds of a radio recording.
Twenty minutes later, we thought we were experts. We sounded great, all singing in time, but if the truth be known we were well off key.
This would be the summer I would remember as the three of us being best friends and worst enemies. It would be the summer of leaning to sing, dance, hate and love. It would be a summer made for memories.

The summer nights were as hot and sticky as the days. Most nights the three of us would share a room. We would try to keep cool, by sleeping in our underwear. We were very uncomfortable, recovering from sun burnt backs and noses or our cracked lips and our sore stomachs from eating too many green nectarines from the huge tree in the back yard after being warned against it.

Our days were filled with making new dances and singing new songs. It was the 80’s and we loved the songs ‘Candy girl’, ‘Mickey’, ‘Jump’ and ‘Let’s hear it for the boy’. Our Sunday afternoons were spent watching Solid gold.

Some days our parents would bundle us up and walk us down to the river. Older kids could be seen jumping off the little jetty. Cherie, Lisa and I opted for the sand bomb game, or wetting a heap of seaweed in the water, rolling it in sand and then trying to make one another eat it.

Cherie and Lisa were as different as night and day. Cherie and I were best friends that summer and I am sure that Lisa sometimes felt like the third wheel. Though Cherie and Lisa did fight a lot, when we danced it was different. It didn’t matter, nothing mattered. It didn’t matter that Lisa was just that little bit older than us. It didn’t matter that she was just that bit more mature than us, or so she thought. Nothing mattered.

The three of us learnt many things that summer. Little things that we would never forget. We learnt that if you swing on the towels when they are hanging on the line, the pegs snap. That Pop’s shed is always out of bounds, as it is filled with things that are deadly in little hands. (Though, a great place to hide is wedged between that and the laundry). We also learnt that a grandparent’s love is never ending, and that sometimes you take that for granted.

We are all older now. The summer we were at our closest is in the past. It is only something we can relive through our memories.

We have lived through harder times, such as the death of our Nan. She was the greatest impact on all of our lives and morals, and although sometimes you didn’t want to listen to her, you did it anyway.
Her death may have bought the three of us back to that summer so many years ago, back to our closeness, back together.

So now maybe this summer, on the darkest night, I will once again hear the laughter of three young girls echoing through our over heated house, and the morals of our Nan being inflicted onto our overflowing minds, and once again my tears will flow.

Gifts and Dinner

2009-08-24T18:25:00.005+10:00

When I came home this afternoon from running some errands, a parcel greeted me on the doorstep. Since it was addressed to our son, I had to wait for him to open it (he was busy playing with Poppy and his Uncles). So when he came home he tried to tear it open, but I had to help with the scissors. He was very excited to receive some cookies Aunty Leah had promised to send him and some baby bath bombs from her work. She also included some soap for me, thanks Aunty Leah.

He is in the bath right now enjoying one of the bath bombs and I'm not sure how long those cookies will last, he is a sweet tooth.

And for dinner tonight I made my husbands famous chicken. He made this for me when we were first going out.

Swiss Cheese Chicken

Chicken breasts

Sour cream

Black pepper

Flaked almonds

Swiss Cheese

Take the chicken breasts and spread a thin layer of sour cream over the top. Sprinkle with the pepper and flaked almonds (not too much) and top with the Swiss cheese. Bake for 35-45 mins depending on the size of the breasts at 180 oC.

Serve with hassle back potatoes, roasted carrots and green beans, yum.

The Tizzbomb

2009-08-19T13:44:00.004+10:00

Yesterday my brother Tyler, or Tizzbomb as he is known in these parts, celebrated his 17th birthday. We went to Mum and Dad's for a Pizza Dinner. I took a big Greek salad, which I think may have been more popular than the pizza. Most ended the night with chocolate cake, but not me, I'm on a no sugar thing which I will blog about soon.

Aidan's 3rd Birthday

2009-08-12T18:42:00.003+10:00

So, I have been very slack in keeping up with my posting. I have a very good reason, which I will soon reveal.

So dating back to the 8th August, my beautiful little nephew, Aidan turned 3. He and his family came down for the weekend and we spent his birthday at the waterfront, eating lunch, playing on the playground, and eating ice creams. We ended the day with party food, and chocolate mud cake, covered with dinosaurs (his favorite). I made him a toy dinosaur for the occasion, which I think he liked. Hope you had a wonderful day Aidan, we enjoyed sharing it with you so much.

Trav's Birthday

2009-08-12T18:27:00.003+10:00

So tomorrow makes two weeks since my Husbands Birthday so I think it might be time to post some photos.......

A happy birthday sign, I sewed to use for everyone's birthdays

Baby, playing on part of Trav's birthday present.

Baby set up and played his own drums(two wooden bowls & spoons), just like daddy

Helping daddy blow out the birthday candle

My beautiful boys

Happy Birthday

2009-07-30T15:48:00.003+10:00

Happy Birthday to my beautiful husband, hope you have a great day xx

Home again, home again, jiggety jig...

2009-06-17T18:48:00.005+10:00

I had a few unplanned and unexpected days away from home over the last week, but I am very glad to be back. Yesterday my future SIL Jacinta stopped by and bought me some beautiful roses and a box of chocolates.

I have just been trying to catchup with some cooking and housework. I made these chocolate chip biscuits that I saw HERE via HERE, and now I also see posted HERE. They are really good too. I may or may not have eaten two hot from the oven......

And I have been spending time on the couch knitting THIS, which I found via HERE. I'm using this wool HERE, in Ocean Spray. It is very nice to knit with even though I know it will leave little fibres over everything when I wear it.

Happy 1st Birthday Archer

2009-06-01T15:00:00.002+10:00

Are you really one already? We love and miss seeing you everyday. I have lots of kisses coming your way xxxxxxx

Mothers Day Recap

2009-06-01T10:35:00.005+10:00

So Mothers day was only almost a month ago now, so better late then never right.

We had my husband side of the family over for breakfast and then had afternoon tea at my parents house.

A couple of my secret projects that I was working on were of course mothers day gifts.

For my mother-in-law I made her a knitting needle holder, with her name cross stitched on it.

And for my Mum I knitted her up a red scarf. Red being her favorite colour. I used this beautiful wool in Geranium.

And I received my first Kindergarten card from my beautiful boy, with his hand prints inside and his photo on it.

Lilian Jean~ My Nan

2009-05-26T01:56:00.006+10:00

(Mothers day circa '87. Nan on the far right, with my Mum and Aunties. Me, trying to sneak in the photo, rockin' a pair of pale pink gum boots.)

Today marks 15 years since she left. I still hear her voice, still see her smile, still catch her scent in the air and still sense her near me. She was the light in my life. Time cannot take away what we had. I love and miss you more each day xx

Happy Anniversary

2009-05-05T17:58:00.003+10:00

Today, is my baby Sisters 1 year Anniversary, love and miss you both xx

Today

2009-04-29T18:04:00.003+10:00

I have been keeping warm by the fire, still working on secret projects.

Made ginger biscuits with lemon icing and a slow cooked beef and veggie casserole for dinner. I love Autumn.

Weekend

2009-04-28T22:07:00.004+10:00

My Dads birthday present, a purple (his favorite colour) beanie and apple and pomegranate jelly. Both a first for me.

A list from a most enjoyable weekend

Friday night, was my Dad's birthday. We enjoyed nibbles and cake at my parents house and caught up with friends and family. It was a really good night.

Saturday was ANZAC day and I spent time reflecting on what the day means to me.

Saturday was also my nephew's birthday, and we enjoyed afternoon tea, more cake, the ANZAC day football game, and catching up with more family.

Dinner on Saturday night was scrambled eggs on toast, with tomato relish I bought from the local Easter fair, it was really yummy.

Sunday was spent reading the last pages of 'The lion, the witch and the wardrobe' and browsing through 'Autumn in Piemonte" while sitting in front of our fire, drying my hair.

Sharing a cup of tea in the afternoon with my parents, topped off a really relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

ANZAC Day

2009-04-28T21:49:00.002+10:00

Least we forget

pictured below are my Dad's Uncles letter and medals. He died as a prisoner of war. On the photo of the letter is my favorite medal. It is the one sent to his mother, it has a gold star, representing one son lost.

This is my Dad's medal for his time spent in the National Service

A catch up

2009-04-23T21:05:00.003+10:00

So our computer is ok now it seems, thank goodness. My husband has since backed up all of our photos etc , just to be on the safe side.

I have been working on a few secret projects for things that are coming up soon. So not alot of photos or much of anything really. I have been making lots of sewing plans but are still yet to start anything but I have also made lots of knitting plans to which I have dove into head first.

I am still learning alot in the way of knitting but I am really enjoying it. I can not believe that it took me so long to learn how to purl. I remember learning to knit at a very young age from my Mum and my Nan, but it was only a couple of years ago that I started again and I have never really finished anything much past a scarf. If all goes to plan that is all about to change. I have stocked up on wool and needles and have jumped right in. Though I still need help fixing some mistakes (thanks Mum).

The photo above is of a Black Apple doll I made for my niece Ashlee, she had her tonsils taken out last week and I thought she might need a friend for the hospital. You can find the pattern HERE.

Technical difficulties

2009-04-16T09:53:00.003+10:00

It looks like or computer may have died. We lost power the other night and now it wont switch on. We are looking into it, but we may have to get a new one. I have just come around to my parents to check my emails and such.........fingers crossed xxxxxxxxxxx

Coffee table makeover

2009-03-30T19:45:00.003+11:00

I am always inspired by before and after make over blogs like, A beach Cottage and Nesting Place. I always wanted to do things but I worry about the outcome, but after much blog surfing and to quote the Nester, "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful", I went for it.

My mother-in-law bought a new coffee table and we were lucky enough to get her old one. A little work on my behalf and it has a new life in our little home.

Before

After

And because there is no show with out Punch around here.............

Autumn in the air

2009-03-09T19:31:00.005+11:00

Today I felt the change of season. There is one day each season when I feel it happen, it is a scent in the air and when it happens the season changes from one to the next. Today it is Autumn.

It could be that I was making apple hand pies at the time and fresh air was blowing in through open windows. It has been colder here and we have added a blanket to the back of the couch for snuggling under, but today was beautiful. It was warm but with a cool undertone rather than the heat. I am not really a Summer person. Autumn is my season, it starts to get dark earlier and you need to wear layers. I think about lighting the fire and watching old DVDs in the rain. It might also help that my birthday falls in this season but I love all of it.

I pulled out all my copies of past Donna Hay Autumn issues and picked out some recipes I would like to try.

-Roasted garlic & Autumn vegetable pasties

-Roast pumpkin & feta frittata

-Vanilla rice pudding

& soup, lots of soup..... the perfect food of the season

Apple Hand Pies

I cheated and used frozen shortcrust pastry

4 Apples diced

2 tbls brown sugar

1/4 cup plain flour

2 tsp cinnamon

Put diced apples into a bowl and sprinkle sugar, flour and cinnamon over and mix until all the apples are coated. I cut each square of pastry in half added some apple mix and folded as in photo above. Cut some vent holes brush with water, sprinkle with a little caster sugar and baked at 180C for 25mins ( I baked mine at 150C because my oven cooks way too hot)

Best served with a big cup of tea and family

I also had some left over apple mix because I ran out of pastry. I just threw it in a saucepan added some water and simmered until soft. It makes the house smell divine and tastes pretty good to. Just ask my brother Jacob, who had it for afternoon tea.

Gifts

2009-02-17T09:47:00.003+11:00

This is my brother Jeremy and his fiance Jacinta (shh...I may have stolen this photo from facebook). They went on a holiday to Hong Kong recently and we were very lucky to receive some gifts on their return.

Some Godiva chocolates, a mirrored compact and some shorts and T-shirt for baby. Thanks guys we love them.

Bushfires in Victoria

2009-02-10T11:01:00.004+11:00

This has been heartbreaking to see,

31 Fires have been burning through our State

173 is the death toll so far

More than 750 homes have been lost

Donate HERE

Kinder

2009-02-06T08:59:00.002+11:00

Yesterday we had or first official day of 3 year old kinder. It went well better than I thought it might. I was expecting maybe some tears or at least some major clinging to me. But I walked out of there after a kiss good-bye and a little prep talk ( do what you are told, play nice with others etc.)

Then I kind of felt a bit lost. I didn't really know what to do or where to go. I rang Trav to tell him it all felt a bit easy, I was half expecting one of the Teachers to run after me and take me back to him. Then I walked around the corner to see my Mum at work. Still feeling lost I just walked back to my car and went for a drive and ended up at a near-by Op shop and wandered around aimlessly and bought a few little trinkets. A quick stop at the Supermarket and I headed back to the kinder and sat in my car reading until it was time to collect him.

He took it all so well, better than me I think and he is excited to go back next week, so all is good I guess.

My sister thought it mean that I made him a kinder bag rather than letting him pick out a commercial one plastered with Thomas or Bob the builder. I must say he was the only one with a non commercial bag, and well to be honest, that made me kind of happy. He helped me to make it and picked out the fabric himself (natural linen and lined with yellow stripe ticking). I asked if he wanted anything on the front but he wanted it left plain.

We took some photos before we left and you can see that there was a little stowaway in the name of Whoopie in his bag. He never made it out but he knew he was there if he needed him.

My baby is growing up......

Musings

2009-02-04T09:51:00.003+11:00

We have had a few things going on. We had another birthday party on Sunday for a BBQ lunch for my sister-in-law Bek, though it is really her birthday today. She is having a holiday at the moment on a Queensland Island. Happy Birthday Bek.

On Monday, Mum, Lyncoln, Dalton and myself headed over to Torquay for a coffee and a shop. I only ended up buying for my husband though. He was happy because he says he always misses out (I like to buy for baby). He ended up with some new shoes, work shirts, socks and bathers (we went to the Rivers outlet).

Baby with his bubbachino

Lync and baby

Last week, my sister sent my over a few things from Hawaii. The photo is not very good, as we have had the blinds down all day to keep out the heat. Though the last few days have been better, except we have lost our power 3 times. She sent Everyday foods, a book bag and some lips gloss (which baby has already claimed). Thanks Leah xxx

I did manage to find myself a packet of pale blue cards yesterday, which I love. I saw some in the Martha Stewart Weddings mag a while ago and could not find them anywhere, except at Tiffany's. They were not too bad, price wise but they were so pretty that I don't think I would be able to use them, so I was happy to find these ones.

I also made the skirt below, I went out the other week to pick up the pattern before it got hot and I already had the fabric, so I stayed out of the heat one day and sewed it up.

Avoiding the heat

2009-01-28T09:22:00.004+11:00

Trying to keep cool in this heat wave. The other night when my husband came home from work we headed down to the river to cool off a bit. It was really nice.

Yesterday we stayed around home, blinds closed, fans on. I got to do a little sewing and we watched what we call the baby movie. We have watched this a thousand times (I'm not joking).

This morning it is even hotter and I would love to stay home today as well but it is a big day around here. Dalton starts 3 year old kinder today. It is just a short orientation of 45 mins. We will see how he goes. I think it will be good for him.

Australian Day Weekend

2009-01-28T08:57:00.004+11:00

We had a long weekend here in Australia, to celebrate Australia Day. Our celebrations were very low key. We had a BBQ on the Sunday night around at my parents house and that was really about it.
On the Sunday we went out for lunch to celebrate my Uncle Richard's 60th Birthday. I made him rich chocolate fudge and a simple garter stitch scarf.

We went to The Peninsula Hotel, I had the Chicken Caesar salad. (I took this after I started eating)

The boys had fun in the play room, it was fun for me trying to get a photo of them together

Archer

Me and the Birthday boy

Me and Uncle Richard and Aunty Jenny

Pop, Aunty Des, Uncle Richard, Mum and Aunty Jane

It was nice to catch up with extended family at the party, and it was nice having my husband home for the extra day, all in all it was a good weekend.

Slave labor and a road trip

2009-01-23T19:58:00.006+11:00

I tell my husband that I do house work every day but really this is how things are done around here.....

Just kidding, these are some cute older photos I just found.

Today I headed down the Great Ocean Road to Anglesea to see my Kinesiologist. I always feel so much better once I have seen her.

My husband updated my Ipod and taught me to use the Itrip he bought me for Christmas last night, so I had some good music to listen to.

I am one of those people that loves to sing in my car when driving, not a good singer mind you, every time I sing with my son in the car he says "Mum, don't sing".

I enjoyed the drive and this song I had forgotten about.

Clean sheets and trains

2009-01-22T19:33:00.005+11:00

Other than changing the sheets on our bed and doing some washing, or days around here start and end with this little guy below.

It starts when we wake, and watch Thomas and friends on ABC at 8.15 every week day and then spend the rest of the day, playing with said train, maybe watching some more of him on DVD and always reading the books that Santa bought.

I have had a headache for 2 days, I'm starting to wonder if it's just from the opening and closing credits of the show. Though it has been very windy here and I always seem to get a headache when it is windy.

Birthday Season

2009-01-20T21:13:00.005+11:00

Birthday season is here. Without much of a break after Christmas, birthday season starts today. It is my Sister-in-law, my Aunty and my Uncles birthday today. Oh did I mention that we also like to have multiple birthdays on the same day?

After a slow morning, doing some house work, trying to keep out of the heat, and of course watching Thomas. We headed out in the late afternoon, to return a top I had bought and do a little shopping. I picked up the bag and shoes below from Kmart. I hardly ever go to Kmart, Dalton asks everyday if we can go to Target (he likes the train and car toys) but we had some time to kill before we picked up Trav from work. Both the bag and shoes were cheap, but I liked the way the bag looked like something my Mum would have owned in the 80's or early 90's. It is a bit more tan than the photo shows.

Then we killed a little more time at my In-laws, before heading out to dinner at Tony's for Lisa's birthday. Trav and I used to go here all the time, and this is were we had our first date. It has been ages since we had been but the food is still great.

Baby liked to draw on the paper tablecloths, he said he wrote " I love Leah"

Trav and I

My almost sister-in-law Penny, birthday girl Lisa, and my niece Ashlee

My dinner, Greek salad, it was just as good as I remembered

Trav's Mick and Maria Pizza( It used to be called Mick and Anna) I also had some of this, it was yum.

Dalton and Aunty Bek, he is reading her all of the Thomas trains names.

And what a better way to finish off dinner than a 50 cent cone from McDonald's.

Now he is fast asleep in bed, good night.

Family love

2009-01-20T09:36:00.005+11:00

So my sister tells me she checks here everyday for an update, so I thought maybe I should try to update a bit more often. She misses everyday stuff so I'm trying to include lots of little things for her. I hope this helps with being on the other side of the world Leah. We miss you so much.

Today started with coffee down the street with Mum, my brothers, Dalton and myself. I finally got the muffin I was craving last week and it was worth the wait. Peach, strawberry and white chocolate, yum. After a few messages and a short grocery shop, we headed home to stay out of the heat.
It didn't get as hot as predicted and by mid afternoon I had opened all the blinds in the house for some much needed light. Dalton had been asking all day to open them, he hates it when they are closed. Monday is my big cleaning day, so I got most of the washing done and dried and cleaned the bathrooms.
After dinner of chicken stir-fry with rice noodles. We walked around to my Mum and Dads. Our walks consist of Dalton running way out in front and Trav and I yelling to stop and go slower.

My Brother Jarrod, sister-in-law Danni and two nephews Aidan and Archer are down to visit for the week. We were are so happy because we love and miss them so much. So this is the first time we have seen them since Christmas, so we still had some gifts to give. Dalton is very good at helping the boys with the unwrapping part.

Then we had to try some jelly cakes Uncle Lyncoln had made for dessert.

Then to burn of the cakes some bouncing on the trampoline was needed and Uncle Tyler helped out with that.

Well after a big day it was time to for Archers bottle (love that belly peacking out) and we headed off home to get our baby in bed. Well that was an event in itself. He kept insisting it was morning and light out so it was not bed time. I think he was over tired and had had so much fun with Aidan it all caught up with him. So I read him some books and he finally fell asleep. Good night xx

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my.....

2009-01-09T07:54:00.004+11:00

OK, not just Lions and tigers and bears, but it was a great day we spent at the Melbourne Zoo, last week. My Mother and Father-in-law took us up for the day. The weather, was good, a little chilly at first, but it warmed up just enough, not to hot for all of our walking. We had a very happy little boy, because animals are high on his list of things he loves at the moment and he had never been before. Just one small thing he was a little sad because he didn't get to see any hippos, which after giraffes are his favorite, so maybe a trip later in the year to the Werribee Zoo maybe in order.

Christmas time

2008-12-14T17:10:00.005+11:00

This years Advent Calendar is a simple bowl of mini chocolates wrapped and numbered.

Icing gingerbread men and snowflakes, these were more popular than I thought they would be.

I still feel like I have a lot to do before Christmas but I am trying to keep this very low key. We have been out to a couple of Christmas parties and I've written out cards (though I still need to post them).

We are trying to finish up all of our shopping, wrapping etc, this week. Then my husband is off work for a couple of weeks and we can sit back and relax, until the big day.

A birthday and other things........

2008-11-23T11:18:00.004+11:00

My baby turned 3 a couple of weeks ago, pictured above with his main gift a wooden kitchen that he has been asking for, for months. He was very spoilt and received way too many gifts. Lots of cars, he loves cars at the moment. His favorite colour is yellow so we hung some yellow balloons and I made vanilla cupcakes with a lemon whipped meringue icing, topped off with yellow sprinkles.

I also made him some felt food, which has become a bit of an addiction. So easy to cut a sew and I can carry it around the house with me. I have even made some more to put away for Christmas. Lots of inspiration out there, start looking HERE.

The week after he turned 3, he caught tonsillitis off one of my brothers and was very sick and had a high fever for a week, he has just gotten better in the last couple of days. I too have been back to my specialist after still having problems a year after my surgery and have had a couple of new things pop up so I'm trying to deal with that as well. We also had to buy a new car as mine had a major meltdown and we did not want to spend the thousands to have it fixed. Which I why I had a bit of an unplanned break.

Moving on, now I'm ready to start to deal with Christmas. I'm looking forward to decorating, gift shopping and wrapping, but I still want to keep things as simple as possible. So here's to a simple Christmas and holiday season....

Made by me Part II

2008-10-27T19:44:00.005+11:00

Navy linen/cotton blend with blue & white seersucker lining. Wooden button found at Wildpurl.

This is what I made for myself, when I should be making things for my sons Birthday and Christmas.

I have felt inspired to start sewing once again. After a tough last year health wise, it had been about 12 months since I had a desire to sew anything. Now I find myself doing something everyday, no matter how small.

Inspiration found at tiny happy as is also the tutorial.

Thank you Melissa.

Made by me

2008-10-23T19:50:00.004+11:00

A little purse made by me for my nieces birthday this past weekend. I put some money in it for her upcoming overseas trip. The tutorial is found HERE, via tiny happy.

Little gifts

2008-10-17T13:44:00.003+11:00

Waiting to be sent off to my nephews, who I love and miss.

My brother, sister-in-law and nephews just moved, and we miss them around here. Archer's gift is the stocking from the last post and Aidan's is a little book and stickers. He already has a stocking.

First Christmas

2008-10-17T09:56:00.003+11:00

Handmade for my nephew Archer on his first Christmas, it has become a little tradition. I made one for my Son for his first Christmas, then Archer's brother Aidan and now Archer. I hope I can keep up the tradition, I have six siblings....

Monday Night

2008-10-14T11:13:00.002+11:00

Last night after dinner, I snuck away to the Spotlight 20% off sale, minus one little boy. It was still busy at 7.30pm when I arrived and still busy at 8.45pm when I left. I picked up the fabric above for a pretty good price. The top one is a heavy Japanese spotted cotton, under that is a light weight anchor print cotton, followed by a stiff red and cream ticking, a navy cotton/linen blend and a grey fan print cotton I'm hopping might make it into a dress. Now I need to go and wash it all while the sun is out.

Sunday Afternoon

2008-10-14T11:07:00.004+11:00

Spend with family at the "Farm"

Saturday Morning

2008-10-14T10:04:00.004+11:00

The view over our back fence

Yo-yo's

For Aunty Leah

2008-10-11T12:01:00.003+11:00

Trying to take a photo of baby in the T-shirt Aunty Leah sent him........

Motherhood

2008-10-10T13:52:00.002+11:00

My cousin just sent me this in an e-mail. I think it is worth sharing.

Being a mother

We are sitting at lunch when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of 'starting a family.''We're taking a survey,' she says, half-joking. 'Do you think I should have a baby?' 'It will change your life,' I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral. 'I know,' she says, 'no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations....' But that is not what I meant at all.

I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but that becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable. I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking 'What if that had been MY child?' That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of 'Mom!' will cause her to drop a souffle or her best crystal without a moment's hesitation. I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood.

She might arrange for child care but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of her discipline to keep her from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.

I want my daughter to know that everyday decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that rest-room. However she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother. Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child.

That she would give it up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years - not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs. I want her to know that a Cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor. My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks.. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving. I hope she will understand why I can think rationally about most issues, but become temporarily insane when I discuss the threat of nuclear war to my children's future.

I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or a cat for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real, it actually hurts. My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. 'You'll never regret it,' I finally say. Then I reach across the table, squeeze my daughter's hand and offer a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all of the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.

This blessed gift from God!
Being a Mother.

Please share this with a Mom that you know or all of your

Girlfriends who may someday be moms.

Rain, rain.....

2008-09-22T15:43:00.004+10:00

It has been raining just about all day. Not really a problem, I have no plans other than some housework and staying dry. My son has nothing planned other than watching as much Charlie and Lola episodes as he can get away with, which today I don't mind, as we normally read our way through mountains of books, but I have just about lost my voice from this cold/flu thing I managed to pickup a few days ago.

Dinner is already done, Apricot chicken. Need to make some snacks for my husband to take with him to work and cook some rice to have with chicken later.

Now I am moving on to thinking about Christmas. Making a list of things I would like to make and for who. Just starting to think out it. I love Christmas, love it. I'm a big sucker for Christmas movies , the works. But when I received an E-mail last week from Myer to say the the Christmas department was opening on the 18th of September I thought that was going a little to far. After all it's only September people! So, of course now I haven't been able not to think about it. But, just baby steps, first a list. We will see how we go from here.

Headspace

2008-09-10T20:03:00.003+10:00

As of late my head has been elsewhere.

A photo from the archives

Monday, my baby sister left to live in Hawaii. We miss her already. Thank goodness for skype. She just might be my baby's favorite person in the world, so this could be a long couple of years. Or, lucky for me, I might just take advantage of her shipping address.

The other place my head has been is with the Neilson family for the past couple of weeks. I have been thinking of them alot. I have been reading Stephanie's blog for quite sometime now, and she has been a huge inspiration to me on the joy's of motherhood. Current updates by Courtney Here.

Like Father, Like Son

2008-09-10T20:01:00.002+10:00

Hope you had a wonderful Father's Day

Soup

2008-08-26T17:13:00.007+10:00

Even though the days are getting longer and it is not so dark in the afternoon anymore, it is still winter in this part of the world. So soup is a hard meal to beat. This is my favorite. Even my husband will eat this and he is not big on soup or meatless meals and my sister who claims not to like pumpkin soup has been seen having a couple of bowls of it. The recipe come from my mother-in-law but before that I'm not sure, so it was christened after her, making it;

Joy's Pumpkin Soup

750gms Pumpkin, peeled and chopped

375gms Potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 Large Onion, peeled and chopped

4 cups of chicken stock(I use this)

200mls of cream

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Place all veggies and chicken stock into a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 25mins or until veggies are soft. Blend until smooth. Add cream and season with salt and pepper. Bring back to the boil stirring. Reduce heat & simmer for 5mins.

My Tip; serve it with a dollop of sour cream & sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Other notes; my Mother-in-law no longer makes it with the cream and it is still nice. I think that the cream makes it. So it's a matter of personal taste.

Around the yard

2008-08-17T15:14:00.002+10:00

TINE K HOME

2008-08-07T15:52:00.003+10:00

Found via Apartment Therapy. My decorating dilemma takes another turn. Inspiration gallery HERE. Catalogue HERE.

Morrison revisited

2008-08-06T23:31:00.004+10:00

I had blogged about this beautiful clothing brand 'Morrison' before. I just love it all. The collections, the stores, the philosophy. Check out their documentary, this feels very Australian to me.

Party, party, party..oh and a party...

2008-08-04T00:50:00.003+10:00

It all started with me husbands birthday on Wednesday. We had a lovely lunch with his family. Then followed up with my family in the evening with cake.(pictured here with our son)

Then this was followed up with an engagement party on Friday evening. A very fun time was had by all, with a photo booth/guest book.(My brother & future Sister-in-law)

Then my nephews second birthday on Saturday for lunch and cake.

Then we finished up the weekend with my mother-in-laws birthday afternoon tea on Sunday. (Left my camera on the car..oops)

Now we just need another weekend to recover.... and who knew you can get sick of cake?

Cleaning Love?

2008-07-29T15:59:00.003+10:00

I love the look of this new cleaning range. Beautiful, simple, organic, what more could you want.

I found it through the green issue of Madison. It features the home of creator Max & her husband Peter. You can read the article here. She even has a cute blog here.

Tuesday

2008-07-29T14:06:00.003+10:00

How is wish today was not Tuesday. I really felt like my favorite sandwich today and the bakery is closed on Tuesdays in winter. It is the most delicious thing, roasted pumpkin, kalamata olives, Swiss cheese, rocket and a fresh herb dill mayonnaise on house made sourdough. Yum, I'm hungry just thinking about it.

So, no sandwich today but some flowers instead.

Simple

2008-07-27T14:20:00.003+10:00

This spoke to me today. Nicole's blog is so simple yet beautiful, and thought provoking. Love it.

Fresh start

2008-07-27T00:33:00.003+10:00

I decided to start my blog from scratch as it was getting very depressing around here. For the past 18 months I had been so sick and in and out of hospital, I had let everything go.

It's time to lighten the load. I'm after some simplicity.

A couple of weeks ago, I started cleaning out the stuff in our house. Cupboards and closets and drawers. If it's not nailed down it could very well be out the door. Inspiration is all around.

I love all of Sara's blogs(here, here and here) and her outlook on life. I really love the idea of eating from wooden bowls also, and we have been enjoying this for a little while now. I love that you can put just about everything in them and that they don't go in the dishwasher or microwave. I even enjoy washing them by hand, it is nice to slow down and think about what I'm doing.

So while I want to redecorate. I really just want to start fresh and lighten up. I loved reading this, which I found today. Lots of white, some pale blue and maybe a dash of pink.(I'm a blue girl.)

Listening to Daughter- have to love knocked up

Something's gonna change around here.

2008-07-26T14:43:00.004+10:00

I'm a huge fan of the movie, Something's Gotta Give. In fact I love all of Nancy Meyers movies. So I have been enjoying reading a couple of blogs that have been featuring the movie sets and decorating idea's. I live in a beach town, and this house would fit right in around here. I have been wanting to make some changes and freshen our house up a bit, so I am looking about for some ideas. I think it will all start with a paint can. We will see how it goes. Read more here, here and here.

A Wedding, A Baby & An Engagement

2008-07-21T16:52:00.004+10:00

Things started to get a bit crazy around here back in March. It all started with my baby sister getting engaged.

This was quickly followed by her wedding about 5 weeks later. In that time her and her fiance, planned the wedding, and planned a move to Hawaii for work. The moved out of their unit just after the wedding, and in with us. Her Husband then moved over to Hawaii about two weeks after that. She is living with us for the moment until she finishes up her job in early September. Then flies off to rejoin her husband in their new apartment.

This was then followed by the birth of my brother & sister-in-laws 2nd little boy, "Archer Desmond" on the 1st June. Once he decided he was on the way he made a speedy entrance. Within the hour of arriving at the hospital and they almost had to pull the car over on the way in! ( This is a photo of my husband and son having a hold. My son pulls this face now when you say "Smile" )
Then without much time to recover, my next brother & his girlfriend got engaged!

So far it's been a big year and not showing any signs of slowing down anytime soon. More photos on Flickr

Starting from scratch

2008-07-20T20:00:00.003+10:00

I felt a fresh start was in order. Lots to catch up on. Check back for details and photos soon.