60's House - Update

The renovations of our 60's house have slowed somewhat, 
as we let life take over and enjoy just living here.

Our house still needs a lot of work and being patient about this 
is not my strong point but it is a lesson I am learning  . . . slowly.

We have added and completed many tasks in the last year, 
one of the major ones being the front deck.

We completed it just before Christmas last year and I have loved
how it has changed how we use the space. Outside is now inviting 
and used often for twilight dinners or picinic lunches on the weekends.

I love how, when we open up the large glass sliding door from the 
lounge room to outside, the kids footsteps don't even miss a beat 
as they run through; playing and enjoying both spaces.

Rosie refuses to call it a deck, she corrects us and insists that it's
called a stage instead. And there has been many a concert performance
in the last year believe me.

I also love that we built it ourselves. Luke and his ever brilliant design,
me and my motivational, rose coloured glasses outlook - pushing forward
to make it happen. The kids helping and laying out planks, countersinking
the screw holes. It is all of our sweat that made it happen. And now we 
get to enjoy it. And I can honestly say I can build a deck. 

And as we slowly plod through the never ending list of jobs that will 
invertibley take us years to complete, we take pleasure in the small things.

Like this great fabric that came to us as a present and made just the right
kind of artwork for our vast bedroom wall. Just the right shade of grey and
ever so retro in it's colour and patterns.

We take pleasure in the small things and learn to wait for the rest.

She is 5!

Our tiny girl, born the weekend after Easter, 5 years ago.

How she has grown. 

She is her own person, with her own ideas and desires.

We didn't have a birthday party last year so this year we went all out!

A Tea Party.

10 friends from her prep class.

Real china cups and teapots filled with pink lemonade.

A special day for a special girl.

 

 My Rosie Moo.

Love you beautiful girl.

One Decade

  Luke and I celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary on Friday 1st March.

Married for 10 years.

Best friends first. 

 

We have been through a lot together, 

and we plan on going through a whole heap more.

And I can't wait.

On the Land.

During the Christmas break it was wonderful to pack up and take a drive.

We headed out to Warwick, driving south-west from Brisbane for just over 2 hours.

The kids are really great at this, they love to look out the window, 

play eye spy and count the windmills.

No need for DVD players in our car.

We saw white cows, black and white spotty cows and brown cows.

We saw termite mounts and tractors.

We spotted, emus, sheep, goats, horses, wallabies and  alpacas.

  

And when we arrived at "Uncle Mark's" house there were more treasures.

This grand house on the outskirts of Warwick, that Mark -

Thommy's brother [Luke's Uncle] is building. 

A beautiful site, sitting atop the rise and made from local trees forming 

the structure of the house.

  Chickens to talk to.

 Lots of dogs to walk. 

5 dogs in fact. Rosie was in heaven.

 Boulders to climb and conquer.

Rocks to test all your superhero strength.

Caves to find. 

And hide in. 

What an extra special experience for city kids.

Rosie even brought home a souvenir . . . a tick!

Such an awesome place, this wide brown land. 

Spending just a little time "on the land" was a great experience for me too.

We listened to some songs from John Williamson's 

Warragull album in the car on the trip,

and his words are still ringing in my ears.

 . . . . And you're drowning in the sunshine
As it pours down from the sky,
And there's something stirring in your heart
Bright colours fill your eyes.
As from here to the far horizon
Your beauty does unfold,
And oh, you look so lovely
Dressed in green and gold.

To the homeless and the hungry
May we always open doors,
May the restless and the weary
Find safe harbour on our shores.
May she always be our dreamtime place
Our spirit's glad release,
May she always be our shelter
May we always live in peace.

May we always live in peace.

What a poet. 

What a day.

Back to school LIFESAVERS!

This is a tribute to all those mums out there who will 
do anything to make the back to school slog easier.

Below are a few products I have found very useful in this process.

First of all, the non-spill Contigo Water Bottle:

It's spill proof and pretty tough. They come in a range of colours, sizes and even thermo ones that keep things cold or hot for 12 hours. I have one that I use for coffee and water, and it is fabulous. You can even buy the replacement lids. 
Find them at Gocontigo.com



Next are these great Fridge-to-Go lunchboxes:

They are insulated with a very slim ice brick inside the base. We pop ours in the freezer every night and it keeps lunch cold all day. Even the things that come home uneaten are still cold. They come in small, medium and large and a variety of colours. They are easy to clean and the ice brick is removable too. Find them at BonitoBaby.com.au



And lastly these brilliant Spencil book covers:

They come in so many great colours and they fitted all our books really well.

Best part is you just slip them on the book and don't have to 

fuss around with contact or paper.

Also you can get different ones for each different book, 

so the kids get to know which book is for which subject or activity.

Last year I covered Eli's books with paper and they did not last the year. 

These are durable and fun. There are even matching stationary and pencil cases!

 

They are available online at sbg.com.au or you can get them 

at the Newsagent at either Stafford City or Kmart Arana Hills.

So easy even the kids can do it!

Also when you are online check out the Best and Less Back-to-School site.

Found at www.schoolzone.net.au

You can get all those other items like shorts and jumpers and hats that cost so much more from the school uniform shop. I found that I really had to shop around all of the other big retailers to find sizes and even then they did not have much of our school's colour.

It is all here in one place and they have free shipping - with conditions of course!

Hope your back to school slog is going well.

A Little less "Christmas" this Christmas?

Photo from Real Moms Guide

Well this year is almost over and we are all worn out, 
mostly from the festive season itself.

A little fuller and rounder than we need to be.

A little poorer than we would like to be.

A little more overwhelmed and exhausted. 

And the presents. Where to start. Well as per usual I spent hours post Christmas day in each of my kids rooms tidying things out and finding a home for all the new things they acquired. And yes, even we give them way to much, things they just don't need. 
And I said "no" to heaps!

While I am there I usually have a big clean out and go through their clothes, toss out any Maccas toys they have forgotten about and fill a bag or three to go to Vinnies.

And this year it seemed like there was a little less somehow. 
A little less stuff to find homes for.

Now, I am certainly not complaining! Less is good . . . less is great. It may have something to do with the fact that my husband's side of the family has been doing a "no presents for the adults" thing. We give all the money we would normally spend on each other to purchase a school or a women's clinic through organisations like TEAR and OXFAM.  

We have been doing this for a few years now and believe me it feels great when I don't even have to think about gifts for his side of the family. The kids still get something but there is not the urge to go overboard when we are doing something meaningful for everyone else.

Also, it could be due to my attempts to encourage others to give my kids experiences instead of gifts. Yes - it is nice for them to have something under the tree to open, but they will grow up sooner than we know and a trip out to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary for Christmas with Aunty B, is something very special indeed.

For a few years now my sister has caught the vision of "experience presents" rather than gifts and has been doing something special with the kids for their birthdays. She brings over a large cardboard box and paints it out in the yard with the kids, all noisy and messy like, and they play with it; making cubby houses and popping in and out of it. Then she has a sleep-over at our place and they get to wake her up at the crack of dawn instead of us. They absolutely love it!

Others too have been seeing the light and are making changes to the way they celebrate.

Check out this article on the Real Moms Guide Blog.

So perhaps we are doing it. And to be honest it feels great to know that in some small way we are downsizing "Christmas" and making it more about family, more about peace, joy, hope and love. Less madness and materialism.

I do hope that there will be a little less "Christmas" next year too.

The Christmas Story by Eli Blake

God decided to send Jesus to earth as a baby.

An angel came to Mary and told her that she would carry God's son 

and call him Jesus.

Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem and it came time for her to have the baby,
 but there was no room in the inn so they had to stay in a stable.

 Mary had her baby, she named him Jesus and laid him in a manger. God was there too!

 An angel appeared to some Shepherds in the fields and told them about the baby Jesus.

The Shepherds were afraid but then a host of angels appeared and told them not to be afraid. They followed the star to where baby Jesus was. 

Three wise men also saw the star and followed it to go and worship the baby.

Han Solo and Princess Leia together forever . . .

It was bound to happen. The day when precious things get lost.
Luke and I have told the kids time and time again not to take their most favourite toys out with them but to no avail. Neither of them listen. And yes, we have lost things before but never such a dramatic or poetic fashion.

We have just spent the week at our usual camping spot Elanda Point which is on Lake Cootharaba and as usual the kids had packed a handful of Star Wars figurines to take along.
During the week a large group of us packed up some morning tea and headed out to go on a canoe / kayak expedition across the lake and of course some toys came too. Rosie had Princess Leia and an Ewok and Eli took Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. 

In the canoe on the way across the lake Princess Leia was swimming in the water and "went to be a mermaid with the fishes". Rosie did look a little sad and forlorn for the last part of the trip. But then, not long after we had made peace with the situation, had some morning tea and boarded the boats to return back across the lake, Eli lost Han Solo to the depths of the lake also. 

I saw his face as I arrived back to the beach, all was not well. After a few moments of silence and a very sombre mood, he spoke. "Well Mummy, at least they are together. Princess Leia and Han Solo are in love, so they can be lost in the lake together . . . forever. Do you think they will find each other?" 

I could only say one thing, "Yes darling I do."

While the cat's away #2

These school holidays it is yet again the Daddy who is doing the 

stay-at-home job of looking after the kids while I go to work. 

For two whole weeks!

And they have been up to some mischeif.

 MONDAY: Building cubby houses with sheets and having tea parties inside.

TUESDAY: Making cakes and eating them.

WEDNESDAY: A visit to the Science Center

 And then out to Vapiano in the City for dinner!

 THURSDAY: Some dancing, some doctors kit dress-ups and some decorating.

 After a trip to IKEA and some hard work by Daddy, 

Rosie's new room is complete . . . well almost.

After being together in the same room since Rosie was born, 

we having finally got the kids in their own rooms.

And FRIDAY: Well the short story is Daddy booked tickets 

to see Cirque Du Soleil but after getting all dressed and ready, 

Eli  . . . yes Eli reads the ticket and calls out in the car 

as we are about to leave "It says JULY"!

So instead we made a visit to see our friends new puppy.

TOO CUTE!

Hope your holidays have been full of mischief!

photodayMay

FatMumSlim [a very groovy blogger] has set the challenge.

Take a photo every day for the month of May. In line with the theme for that day.

And seeing as I need some practice with my photo taking skills, what better way than to take up this challenge. So I shall.

Check out some more about the challenge here, and maybe you could join in?