A wishlist for Mother’s Day 2012

Preface…

I was feeling all excited last night, dreaming about the goodies in my post below. It can be a laugh to dream of what you could have if you could have anything. ‘What a fun idea; to draw up a wishlist for Mother’s Day’ I said to myself. When I jumped onto the computer this afternoon to publish this post, I ducked around the interwebs checking out a few of my favourite blogs before I published my own. That was when the ever-wise, ever-real Eden Riley tore at my heart with her latest post over at Edenland.

Eden is recently back from a trip with World Vision to Niger, Africa and her experience whilst there and since she has returned has been…. well…. harrowing to say the least. The haunting guilt she is going through is heart-breaking and I don’t think I could tell her enough how much her readers are sharing that guilt and frustration with her – myself included. After reading the post We Must All Be Haunted, I returned to my WordPress tab and looked forlornly at the completely self-indulgent post below. How could I possibly want all these things when there are still places like Niger in the world.

Eden you are an inspiring human being. Your strength in the face of what you went through may be dashed, but speaking as a woman who quite possibly may not’ve even made it back with my mind intact, you are stronger than you give yourself credit. No one has ever got through to me about the importance of GIVING for this cause. I’ve watched the ads on TV and thought ‘That’d be a nice thing to do’ but never acted. But I’ve read your posts and I GAVE. You make people ACT. You make people THINK. You make people GIVE. And that’s all you need to do. Don’t hate on yourself because you can’t save Africa tomorrow, love yourself because you are helping save people tomorrow.

I nearly didn’t publish my post below. But then I started thinking – what about us, what about our lives? Surely we shouldn’t play the martyr and give up our hopes and dreams and food and shelter and healthy children to solve the African Food Crisis. But I guess that’s it – that word – GIVE. No you don’t need to give up your first-world life. You don’t even have to give up your flat screen or your Kitchenaid. But maybe you could think about giving something and help make a difference. Visit World Vision to show your support.

Now… On with the Mother’s Day Show! And Eden, just for the record – you are definitely invited to my AWESOME LADY DAY party (see below).

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I can’t believe Mother’s Day is nearly here again. That means it’s May. That means only 33 weeks until Christmas. That means I’m only two and a half months away from holding a  newborn in my arms! AAAHHH!

Mother’s Day is really just like most other days in our house. Hubby’s work still goes on. Dishes still have to be done. Meals still have to be made. I might get a card and some chocolate. I might EVEN get a little sleep-in. But mostly, I’ll take the opportunity to remind myself all day about how lucky, happy and thankful I am to even be able to celebrate what is essentially a “Hallmark Holiday”.

Maybe they should rename Mother’s Day ‘AWESOME LADY DAY’. That would be one heck of an all-day-party!

But back to my simple Sunday at home revelling in the happiness that motherhood can bring… what if wasn’t just like any other day? What if it kinda was like ‘AWESOME LADY DAY’? Where I get to dress up in my pretties and go out for delicious cocktails with all the other AWESOME ladies in my life and be AWESOME and talk about AWESOME things? Where I get showered with AWESOME gifts of AWESOMENESS?

How AWESOME would it be? Here’s what I would be packing into my AWESOME gift bag on AWESOME LADY DAY:

I have wanted one of these for like EVER! A beautiful green Kitchenaid Bench Mixer. Nothing quite says AWESOME kitchen goddess like one of these babies, and I’m absolutely positive everything mixed inside it would taste like rainbows.

I may have a little crush on technology, and one of these bad-boys would be given a fantastic home in my hot little hands. I just love the versatility of the Apple iPad and being able to fit it in my bag and whip it out with ease whenever it’s required is the biggest bonus of them all. Recipes, notes, calendar, email, twitterverse, facey, interwebs, photos, BOOKS, tunes… This contraption is an organisation freak’s catnip… mmmmm… appley-catnip.

There are two simple, never-fail ways to this AWESOME LADY’s heart. Flowers and chocolate. Give them to me and I’ll love you forever. Flowers could really be any kind, but deep down my favourites are these gorgeously vibrant specimens – Tulips. They are the flower that just keeps giving and I love every part of their ‘cut-flower-cycle’ except the bit where you have to throw them out *sad face*. 

And chocolate… Well I’ve always been partial to Cadbury for as long as I can remember, but for a special place in my heart, feed me Lindt! Not to be confused with the stuff floating around in the washing machine… I’m talking about the deliciously velvety, creamy goodness that is Lindt Milk Chocolate. I would possibly lose the will to live if this chocolate became extinct. Thank God for the Swiss.

I’m also a lover of elegance…. and cake. What could be more elegant and cake-related than this gorgeous get-up from another AWESOME lady - Donna Hay. I’m all about the beauty in ‘simple’ and this just screams to be on my kitchen bench. I will deal with how I’m going to keep a toddler out of my cakes at a later date…

                                       

Anyone who loves little sewing projects really needs to check out the lovely Pip Lincolne at Meet Me At Mikes. I would LOOOVE to get my hands on this gem of a book for AWESOME LADY DAY. I saw it online and just know it would be a very well used part of my sewing arsenal.

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I’ve always been a sucker for bags…. and notebooks. And where does Michelle go to dream about bags and notebooks? Why Kikki.K of course! I just adore this FABULOUS tote which I can only ever dream about; and a girl addicted to lists like me can never have enough notebooks. What do I make lists of I hear you ask…? Why, anything AWESOME of course!

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Anyone who knows me will know that Scrapping has been a recent introduction into my life. And boy do I love it. I’m currently working on Project Life by Becky Higgins and do quite a lot of hybrid scrapping which led me to the AWESOME LADY that is Jessica Sprague. Her site is full of gorgeous digital scrap stuff (including Project Life) and fantastic classes (which I have done plenty). A gift voucher to Jessicasprague.com would be a very well appreciated addition to my AWESOME LADY DAY gift haul.

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I love coffee, I love George Clooney and I’m a sucker for marketing. Therefore I must include one of these Nespresso babies in my AWESOME LADY DAY gift pack. If George happens to be in there too… Well… I guess I could share a coffee with him…

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And last but not least, I have a very important piece of sewing equipment to add to my list. An overlocker! My childhood sewing adventures involved my mum’s trusty Janome overlocker and now that I’m actually sewing REAL stuff (not just headbands to sell to my friends for 50c) I have come to appreciate their AWESOMENESS so much more. I have no idea where it might live in my tiny house, but it would be welcome all the very same… 

And that’s my AWESOME gift bag for AWESOME LADY DAY! I am seriously almost as excited about listing these dreams down as I would be about actually receiving even one of them next Sunday. *sigh* A girl can dream can’t she…

What would you put in your AWESOME LADY DAY gift bag?

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A hello, a baby, and a great big wheel-barrow…

Why hello there!

It is me! I have returned!…… again.

So much has happened since I last blogged. And it’s been happening everywhere – my home, my neighbourhood, my friends, my mind and not least of all MY BODY! For those out of the loop, this should explain a few things:

Bump #2 at 12 Weeks

Yes, that’s a baby bump you see. Our three is due to become four in early August. Here’s hoping it’s a little less fast-paced than Will’s entry into the world, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

I’ve really been feeling the pregnancy this time around. Where it was a breeze with Will, this little one has been nothing but trouble (which I’m hoping is not a sign of things to come). And not trouble as in stuff-wrong-with-the-baby trouble, just trouble as in I-think-I-might-be-having-every-bad-pregnancy-symptom-under-the-sun trouble. The first three months were so icky-sicky that I struggled to do anything and Will was lucky he was bathed and fed most of the time. Poor little ferret – but he’s taken it all in his stride and is still as rambunctious as ever.

A rambunctious little toddler...

Onto my head though… It’s beginning to clear from the pregnancy fog, but (and you know I love metaphors) have any of you just found yourself piling so much stuff into your barrow that you begin to realise it’s tipping over? What do you take out? What should you replace? Do you really need that in there? Anyone want to help me push? Oh Bugger! The wheel fell off! That’s pretty much my head at the moment.

I have so many things floating around in my brain-space right now and I find myself getting to this barrow-about-to-floweth-over stage; that’s when big changes in my life happen. The last time my barrow nearly tipped over, we moved 250km to a new house; a new town; a new outlook. Looking back at some ‘barrow moments’ in my life, I’m beginning to realise that this might be how my head chooses its way. I pile all of these potential paths into my barrow and when it tips, the one that I manage to grab first seems to be the one true path that I was looking for and end up pursuing whole-heartedly. Kind of like the first thing you’d save if your house was on fire.

What’s in my barrow at the moment I hear you ask:

1. Knowledge is what I crave. Should I go back to Uni? Would Psychology be beyond me? How on earth do you muddle through the application process without your High School Career Advisor pulling out the stops? Could I handle a study workload with a toddler and a newborn?

2. Writing is my passion. Why have I stopped? Will all (yes, the whole handful of you) my blog followers still remember who I am if I came back to blogging? Do I really want to grow my blog into a business? I should really go to a conference/networking event and get my bloggy-mojo flowing (reading all the tweets about Digital Parents Conference 2012 is sending me greener and greener as I type). I’m craving some article-writing for happychild and I really should email the gorgeous publisher, Yvette. Must make time must make time must make time!!!!!

3. Creativity is happiness.  I think I officially have 1 million creative projects on the go. I really need to catch up on Project Life, do some sewing for our new arrival, and stay away from creative inspiration for a few weeks so I can be inspired to finish the stuff I’ve already been inspired to start!

4. Community is filling a gap I never knew existed. I’m throwing myself into roles in my local community and it’s a good feeling to be making our area just that little bit more awesome. Have I bitten off more than I can chew with a Project that I am developing through a Leadership Course being run by our local shire? Is it really as good-of-an-idea as it sounds in my head? Am I even really qualified to be considering this?

5. Life is hard. The house always needs attention. There are people to be fed and watered. There are not enough hours in the day, dollars in the bank or chocolate bars in the fridge. I should spend more quality time with my husband. There are too many loads of washing. Fuel and groceries are ridiculous and I should really make more of an effort to save money. 

Ranty brain-dump over. The worst part about running around with a giant, metaphorical wheel-barrow all the time is that you get tired. I really need to work out a different way of fielding my needs, wants, hopes and dreams. This barrow is getting too heavy to push at 5 months pregnant.

Do you cart around a ‘barrow’? How do you sort out what’s really important to your happiness?

*Image source: Happy To Inspire*

Raising Will’s Top 11 photos of 2011

Hmm…. Confession: my blog has been a bit inactive lately. Well, that’s not really a confession is it – it’s pretty bleeding obvious! Alas, I have been inspired by a lovely blog I follow – Click.Pray.Love. – to get back on that old horse again. How have I been inspired I hear you ask? By the linky party Click.Pray.Love is hosting:

 

I couldn’t pass up this challenge, to choose my top 11 photos for the year, because you all know how I love to take piccies…

 

So, without further adieu, I bring you my cream of the crop for 2011:

 

MARCH  

 Look at me! I’m a Lizard! : This shot was taken the day Will discovered that his tongue actually came OUT of his mouth. I swear no baby ever had a tongue this long – I was in stitches on the floor with him and the camera – It was like he knew it was hilarious and he was doing it to make me laugh. Just when you think you can’t love them anymore, they go and do something adorable.

 

MAY

 Will and his Dad hiking up to Wineglass Bay Lookout – Tasmania: We had just walked up a million steps and were having a rest after being filmed by a Japanese film crew (yes that’s right, we’re big in Japan). The sun was about to set and the light played all over the rocks and trees and faces of the two most important boys in my life. I snapped away at them as Daddy played ‘peek-a-boo’ with Will. Such a beautiful place, on a beautiful holiday, with my beautiful family.

 

 The Family in Tassie: The very last day of our holiday, about an hour before we could board the Spirit of Tasmania, we checked out the light house at Devonport. My husband managed to self-snap this shot of us, and I think this is up there with my favourite picture of our family so far. I just love it love it love it!

 

JULY 

No mum, I didn’t slobber on the windows… : Just like when he discovered his tongue, Will discovered what glass felt like to lick, and there was no stopping him then. I have never met anyone that cracks me up as much as this little guy. When you can’t hold the camera still for all the laughing – you know you’re onto a good shot! LOL… It still makes me laugh.

 

AUGUST

A Tractor for a Special Birthday Boy: Will’s first birthday and I’m so very glad Hubby’s brother managed to snap this shot with our camera. The joy on Will’s face when we opened his tractor was so amazing it made me tear up – especially as we were two weeks away from moving house to rural Victoria so Hubby could work on the farm with his own father, driving tractors and the like. Now Will gets to ride in the real thing and his expression is still priceless – though this will always be where the seed was planted…

 

OCTOBER

More Cake Batter Please!: We had been at our new place long enough now for me to finally do some baking – not that I bake OFTEN – but it was good to have things where they needed to be and not packed away in boxes (mind you – we still haven’t unpacked some stuff four months later). We were making chocolate muffins and Will, being the standard issue toddler that he is, was whingeing at my legs for attention, so to shoosh him up I gave him a bit of the muffin batter…. and BOY was that a mistake! If I thought the whingeing was bad before… Long story short – somebody ended up with a bowl and spoon to lick much to his delight.

 

NOVEMBER

But I really want a biscuit!: Need I say more? I just adore his eyes in this picture. Many problems in the future will be allayed by those eyes…

 

Will-in-a-box! : There is nothing more fun to a child than a cardboard box, unless of course you have a cardboard box…. and PACKING PEANUTS! He was having the time of his life bathing in those starchy-morsels, especially enjoying their ‘rustling-capacity’ – a feature he looks for in any good play-thing.

 

 DECEMBER

Father and Son and Header: It was our first Wheat Harvest since our move and nothing excited William more than the big “bwoar bwoar bwoar” (or Header as it’s more commonly known). THere was no way he was staying in the car while Dad did the looking – always wanting to be part of the action our William.

 

 

Cuddles with his Gran at Christmas: This is my favourite Christmas time photo – I just love it. Don’t know if it’s because Will is looking straight at the camera, or because I finally have a photo of my Mum with a natural smile… who knows! But I love it and I know my Mum will too – this one’s for you Mum xx

 

 

So there it is – my Top 11 of 2011. Hope you enjoyed checking them out as much as I enjoyed selecting them for this great link up.

 

To all my readers – I wish you and your families a very sparkly 2012; may you achieve all you dare too and dream bigger than you have before. No promises as to my next post, but I really miss this blogging business so I’ll be back on board as soon as I can.

 

 

Toddler Meals: easier than you think!

OK. I’ll admit it. For the  first 7 months of his ‘solid-food life’, I fed Will food from a jar.

**awaits scorn and finger-pointing**

Why? I’m lazy. That’s really all it comes down too. That and fact that Will ate so very little and so haphazardly that any attempt at home-cooked meals would surely end up on the floor and/or in the bin. So I jar-ed on, dragging that old ‘mother’s guilt’ bandwagon behind me.

Then one day I decided enough was enough and I needed to start feeding my child real food. Don’t know what changed my mind really. Maybe it was the awesome inspiration that is Annabel Karmel. Maybe it was the fact that every jar meal of Will’s smelt the same. Maybe it was the fact that Will’s growth had always left a lot to be desired… Anyhoo, change was a-foot!

So I went on a mission – to find some delicious toddler meals for the little guy; and there is a plethora of information online – much to my excitement and the delight of Will’s taste buds. For all of those mum’s struggling with ideas as to what to feed their toddler, a Google search will turn up trumps with lots of recipes for your repertoire. But while your here, I’ve put together a bunch of toddler meal ideas to get you started. Check them out! 

I think Will’s favourite addition to his menu are the grazing plates I make up for him. Basically, whatever’s in the fridge/cupboard on a plastic plate for him to go bananas over. He LOVES them – and proves it by proudly decorating his hair with various condiments.

Will's 'Tasty Plate' and fruit smoothie - also a great snack idea!

 

Lunch Time! Will chows down.

 We’ve cooked lots of different meals for him now and I don’t know if this just mysteriously coincided with our change, but Will’s appetite has increased 1000-fold, and I swear he has grown heaps in the last few weeks. He’s sleeping better and arsenic hour isn’t as bad as it once was… All in all – wins all round. So don’t forget to check out Raising Will’s list of Toddler Meal Ideas and I’ll leave you to drool over some of Will’s Cottage Pie…

 

Will's Cottage Pie!..... I may have eaten some of it....

 

Pinterest: a procrastinator’s heaven…….and a special announcement!

A little thing that’s surfaced since I was last blogging is the amazing world of Pinterest.

For anyone with tendencies to dream of precious and inspiring things, Pinterest will definitely take away your time. Perfect for filling in that extra five minutes, relieving boredom, or LOSING A WHOLE DAY IN!!!! Yes, seriously, a whole day – I can hear the Pinterest converts’ weary necks creaking as they hang their heads in shame…

Soooo Very True....

For those not yet familiar with the phenomenon, Pinterest is a website that plays host to ‘virtual pinboards’ filled with images from the net that people love/hate/exclaim at/wonder at/laugh at/dream about/want to remember for that sleepover their child has in another nine years… These pinboards are created by members by ‘pinning’ images they find anywhere across the WWW via a simple little button that is installed on your internet browser. These ‘pins’ then permanently link to that very same spot where you found it, for future reference of course!

So for example, you find a recipe you really like. Using your installed pin button – you can choose the image to save to your pin board, add a comment and that’s it! You’ve got a photo bookmark you can visit anytime you want to cook that recipe. It will spell the end to wedding magazines – I’m sure.

The idea behind ME joining up to Pinterest was of course to get some inspiration for crafty things to do, and to laugh and wonder at all the funny and cute things that people pin. Will’s birthday cake – as some of you may remember from our Facebook Page, was inspired by Pinterest. So technically, todays post isn’t the FIRST thing I’ve made…. but I digress….

My second official Pinterest-inspired project has been this wall hanging for the little guy’s room.

Will's Wall Hanging - inspiration courtesy of Pinterest!

I think it looks great and I found it really simple to make once I found the right thing to use. My problem was finding the letters to use… then one day, whilst minding my own business, a TYPO STORE jumped out and ate me. It took me hours to get out of its stationery-hazed depths but I emerged with one (ok maybe it was more… but….. I….. don’t remember) (yeah - I may’ve needed a trailer to get home) (ok… yes…. a semi-trailer!) souvenir from my visit. A great little box with over 150 little craft wood letters inside! Then it was off to Spotlight to find the perfect frame. 

Putting Down New Roots…

OH MY! I may have dropped off the side of a cliff for a few months….. BUT I’M BACK!

And so much has changed.

The biggest change is we’ve moved – no longer in sunny Bendigo are we, but following a wish for our kids to grow up on a farm just as we did. We are renting a place about forty minutes north of Shepparton in rural Victoria. And I must say, I’m certainly enjoing the change of pace, although it did take me a while to adjust and I went through a nasty period of isolation.

Seeya later beautiful Bendigo...
*Photo courtesy of bendigotourism.com

I never thought I’d be the Post Natal Depression type… A whole 13 months after little Will was born, this is where I found myself, staring into the precipice. And I had a choice – I could turn and walk away from that deep dark chasm, or I could jump right on in. And at that point, jumping in seemed like all I wanted to do. I’d moved away from my home of nine years, left all my friends behind, my job, my support, my hairdresser, my local knowledge, my Doctor, my favourite coffee place. I’d arrived at my new life with my family. I slowly realised that they were not going to be enough to ground me and my new roots, and now I had no idea where I stood.

I went back home for a visit and as I turned the car and left sunny Bendigo once again, thats when all my feelings came to a head. My worry, my heart-ache, my home-sickness. I cried. A lot. I realised that I’d been feeling negative for a few weeks now, unmotivated, ill, tired, going through the motions only to stop my little guy from crying because it hurt my head. I cried because I realised that I was losing parts of myself. I got home eventually and spoke to my husband about how I was feeling. I am so grateful that I can bounce my ideas off him. I made an appointment to see a local GP and from there had some tests done to make sure nothing physical was wrong. All A-ok. So it was starting to look suspiciously depression-like. I’d now had some time to come to terms with the fact that jumping into this abyss WAS NOT what I wanted to do. I did not want to be that person any longer.

I made a simple appointment to see my new Maternal Child Health Nurse. And that was all it took. She took my hand – albeit in a her own odd way – and showed me away from that precipice. I’m sure she had NO IDEA what she had done, but those sheets of paper I was sent away with saved me. I joined a playgroup. I joined the gym. I joined the Toy Library. I enrolled in swimming classes for Will. I had put down those new roots and they were far far far away from that ominous cliff.

Before this whole saga had settled in and whilst my moving adrenalin was still flowing, I’d ripped up a piece of our lawn, hoping to plant some new grass for Will to play on. During my time at the precipice, the soil had laid bare and dry. As I admired my own new roots… I knew it was time to get grass planting. Now long and luscious, I look at the patch of grass as representing my journey. Looking closer – I see a little surprise. I can’t wait to find more…

Putting Down New Roots.... Can you see my little surprise?

 

 

Returning soon… Promise!

So as you may or may not have noticed, I’ve been on a little extended leave. I’ve started a new business (now your local Tupperware lady!) and have had our share of colds and flus travel their way around our house. Next thing I knew, I hadn’t been blogging for about a month! And oh how I miss it all. So provided I get my stuff all organised this week (maybe I’ll document my organising adventures…), I shall be back on June 27th with a Mealy Monday post for you all. For all those who used to ask me “Where do you find the TIME!”…. well at the moment….. I don’t. I think time might have gone to Bali for a holiday.

Returning Soon...

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