true love is

When he ushers me out of the kitchen and says

You're making milk. I'll make butter chicken.

weekly gratitude

Four images, expressing my gratitude for the week.

Grateful for getting out and doing stuff together. Watching whales is much easier on dad's shoulders.

Grateful for ABC Kids.


Grateful for somehow cranking out super-awesome baked dinners out of an oven with a mind of it's own. A mind that thinks "I would like to burn down this house".

Grateful for finally finding a fantastic beautician to tame my eyebrows. image credit
Joining the gratefulness at Maxabella

found on friday and a wardrobe malfunction

Today's found is brought to you by the raining down of all my clothing when I opened the door to my wardrobe some day last week. On top of my head fell scarves, hats, jumpers and pyjamas. I sighed and walked away.

A few days later, having walked past and ignored the pile as best I could, I realised that the problem was two-fold. I a) have too many clothes, and b) don't have appropriate storage. So off we trotted for a family pilgrimage to Ikea. Seven one-dollar-hot dogs and four ice creams later, I now have a lovely storage drawer unit thingy inside my wardrobe, the name of which I can neither remember nor pronounce.

To solve problem A took a little more effort. To determine which clothes were to stay or go, I had to come up with a creative solution to a lack of full-length mirror (that's right, when I leave the house I have no idea what I look like). So I took photos of myself using the webcam. My photos folder now has a large series of pics of myself, standing in much the same awkward pose, wearing ill-fitting or ugly clothes. Sometimes both at once. I chucked this much stuff

ready for donation. Sort of putting out some op-shopping karma for later. I was proud because I threw five pairs of shoes out. Until I counted how many I have left. Who needs this much stuff? I mean, really? So many clothes, but still nothing to wear. Then it becomes clear. I have a liking for bold prints. Yet I look better in plain. My tops don't match my skirts. My pants match the tops better, but none of them fit. I have too many ugly jumpers. In my head, I look like Nina from Offspring. In reality, I...don't. Well, at least I have come across the amazing Nikki at Styling You. Maybe she can save my fashion bacon. Or perhaps I shall win the amazing competition at Maxabella loves for a super-dooper party outfit and I will just wear that every single day. I'm sure a Leona Edmiston evening dress, fab earrings from Elk and self-designed shoes from Shoes of Prey are appropriate for the school run, right?

The cool thing was, when I finally got to the very innards of my wardrobe, I found some cool stuff. A box of 'spare gifts', including three baby girl outfits. Wait I thought I have one of those! Awesome. New outfits for the small one. And a box of children's books we hadn't got around to unpacking. In it were some of my books from childhood, so the big boy and I have started reading Enid Blyton. He chose to begin with The Adventures of the Wishing Chair. Good times. Oh, and this really old book, no clue where it came from though.I wonder who Edna was?
S.

things are different now...

As I sit here with my cup of organic, fair trade green tea, I am prompted to reflect on how life has changed for me in the past months. How I have changed. How we as a family have changed. I have been worried that my beautiful friends and family may think we have gone a little mad. Some of our changes have been very consciously made, others have just kind of flowed naturally following our decision to move to the beach. We are more focused on living in the world. Moving to this beautiful area, it was certainly a well-thought benefit that we would spend more time in the outdoors. Finding ourselves living in a tiny house with a not-very-useful backyard has forced us into nature. It still shocks and exhilarates me, to see how the sea changes every day. We drove around like overexcited teenagers following whales a few days ago. Amazing.
We are more free-range in our parenting. Maybe this is because we are up to number three, but I can see marked differences between the way we parent each of our kids. The big boy has it the toughest I think. He was on strict routines, even as a tiny bub. The baby girl is 'worn' a lot of the time. When she was unsettled last night, we just fed her and cuddled her, and allowed her to be unsettled rather than fixing it. I did prenatal yoga, and had a very different birth with the baby girl. Now my wish is to ease up on the big boy a bit, be more free-range with him (it's hard with the eldest, though, isn't it?). I am reading Buddhism for Mothers. Yes, I am.

We (well, really, I) am more conscious of the impact of our consumerism, on the world and on our lives. I have become more and more anxious at the thought of being overcrowded, drowning in stuff. I am certainly no green expert, but I am more aware of questions like "Where is this from?" "How was this made?" when I make purchases. I am certainly realising the benefits of buying better quality, looking after what you have and re-using or re purposing old items. And living by the family motto "Stuff that. I can make it for cheaper."
So, it sounds like I am turning into a massive hippy. I've promised my bestie that I won't be growing my armpit hair. But if we meet for coffee, I will probably have a chai latte. And be wearing my baby. And I might be wearing something I picked up in an op shop. I will definitely be having the chocolate cake though.
S.

famous last words: episode one

"Let's just duck into Ikea."

challenge: a year of meaningful giving

It's Toy Sale time in our parts. We are inundated with thick, glossy catalogues and loud, jingly ads, reminding us The Sale starts at midnight! Grab your bargains! Lay-buy for Christmas!

I have gifting fatigue.

I have, in the past, enjoyed watching my (then) three-year-old eldest peruse the catalogues. He called them 'comics' for the longest time, and I thought that he was developing early reading skills by looking closely at the little details, turning the pages and so on. This year, when the Toy Sale catalogues arrived, I hid them. I have, in the past, dropped the children at Grandma's so that the hubby and I could fill a trolley (and then some) at the Toy Sales, stocking up on Christmas and birthday gifts for the coming year for the beautiful children in our lives. It just made economic sense, right? Well, it would, if I wasn't staring in exasperation at the giant pile of toys that our own children have, and can't possibly play with all at once. I know I'm not the only one in my circle of friends with a too-many-toy issue. Yet we keep giving each other's kids more toys?

I have, in the past (like, last week!), given money to a loved one, saying 'Use this to have a massage or something'. Because I didn't have time to organise a gift properly. Didn't have time? To think about my loved one a reflect on something that would make them happy, and go to the effort of presenting it nicely? Lovely.

My fatigue is around the process of giving, and how meaningless it has become for me. I was so excited last year to have our family come and spend a meal with us in our new home at Christmastime, I couldn't have cared less about gifts. My mum got so frustrated with me, "You HAVE to tell us something you want!" This is not how I remember the joy and excitement around receiving a gift when I was a kid. For me, the gift is in the process that the giver has undertaken, to think about you, and want to shower love on you.

When I think about it like that, I have been failing in giving. I have lost the process.

So. Today, I am going to undertake a challenge. I am going to address the next twelve months with meaning in mind. When it comes to giving a gift to someone I love, I am going to recapture the true essence of giving. When approaching the task of choosing a gift, I will consider the following criteria:

1. Handmade. A gift that I make myself is easily the most thoughtful. It is layered with effort and love.

2. Recycled/ Upcycled/ Second-hand. This may be a little trickier. Whilst I am very happy to wear and used second-hand goods, others may not be so comfortable. But I am determined to have a go anyway, and perhaps give second-hand selectively.

3. Toxic-free. I am really new to this consideration, so there will be a lot of research in this area. Basically, I will make the effort to choose products containing the least possible toxins.

4. Ethically-produced. Again, this is a new area for me. I am looking forward to giving gifts that support sustainability and human rights.

5. Beautifully presented. I am ashamed that recently, the best I have done by way of presenting gifts has been to shove it in a bag and hand it over with an apologetic shrug. I can do better than that.

Wow, looking at the criteria in writing makes me realise that this is going to be quite a challenge indeed. Please understand that I hail from suburbia, where time disappears under bright fluorescent lights as you roam aisles in strategically-stocked department stores, buying noisy objects someone else tells you that you need. My habits are going to be hard to crack, but I am determined that I can give gifts that are meaningful.

Will you join me in this challenge?

PS These photos are from my golden era in gift-receiving, and were taken by my dad.

found on friday

I thought, yesterday, that I would give this op-shopping thing a go. All the cool kids are doing it. And I need pants. You know that period in your life where the lovely soft roundness of being a mummy stops your pants from fitting? I've moved into a rental apartment in that town. Temporarily, mind you. Must stop my pack-a-day biscuit habit I guess. And I haven't been seriously op-shopping since my uni days, when I would wander around Sydney in a floral flowing dress, black lace-up boots and a cherry beret (still have the beret).
So after dumping the big kids lovingly taking my boys to their places of education and care for the day, I packed miss tiny into the baby carrier and headed into the shop.
Immediately struck by the smell, I was reminded of my beautiful Nana. She volunteered at St Vincent de Paul for many years, and many of our gifts as kids were from the Vinnies shop. This kind of lost it's sheen by the time I hit the surly teenage years. My sister and I would giggle at the out-dated, musty smelling clothes and handbags she would find for us. I hope I have grown a bit more in terms of gratitude. I certainly miss receiving a card in the post for my birthday each year.
So, I meandered. You know, wandered around, looking at things in a idle kind of way, with little consideration of the time. It was lovely. And I found these things:A pale blue pencil skirt, which is so ridiculously flattering on. Awesome with my new boots.
A knitted grey vest. Because I regularly lie to myself that I can pull off man-style dressing just as well as Katherine Hepburn.
Stripey jumper that reminds me of neapolitan ice cream.

And this scarf. Which I think is so freaking groovy I have been staring at it since I bought it. One problem. It's grooviness far outshines my capacity to live up to it. I have no idea how to wear such funkiness. Please. Please help me on this. Or it may become a cushion.

Please note the total absence of pants. Which I still need. Looks like I'll be back next week!
S.

weekly gratitude

aaah...Fridays. This one marks the beginning of two weeks of school holidays, and in glorious fashion, too. Marvellous not to have to do the school run in the pouring rain for a couple of weeks! Yep, I'm grateful for that. And also for umbrellas. And rainy days. And stretchy pants. Just some of the things I was thinking of today.

What a lovely week to look back on. Sorting through photos from the past seven days gives me many reasons to smile, and helps me prepare for the coming week with the possibilities of joy in clear focus. A delightful Friday night ritual.

Wrinkly forehead...nuzzly mouse noises...tiny spider fingers: newborn love!

Sharing a meal with my family.
Sharing my Poppi with my daughter.
Sharing a mandarin with the little man. Twice the deliciousness!

Hope you shared moments with special people this week.

S.

PS Joining in with Maxabella and the gang this week