Returning To This Space...

I never intended to stay away from this space of mine for quite so long, but before I knew it, the single month I intended to have 'blog-free' rolled into the next and between the bustle of daily life with little ones and managing a household, the time and motivation to write simply weren't there.

Three months on though and I am feeling the need to document our days once again. I have our first interstate family holiday and Grace's 6th birthday party to share (albeit belatedly), as well as other less significant day to day happenings. I miss recording snippets of our family life and of my thoughts, of connecting with the handful of lovely souls who continue to visit this space and in particular, I miss having a reason to pull out the 'big' camera.

While my posts won't be as frequent as they once were, it definitely won't be such a long silence between the occasions where I do pop in here to write...

An Interview At Mum's Closet

Today I'm being featured over at the blog Mum's Closet, belonging to a good friend and one of my favourite bloggers, Claire. In her 'Fabulous Females' series, Claire interviews a different lady each week about a variety of topics and I must say, I was very humbled when she asked me to participate.

Claire and I became friends around four years ago through our blogs and both being primary school teachers, with children close in age and sharing many similar views on life, we seemed to 'click' right away. She is such a gem and I appreciate her support, admire her passion for celebrating the positive things in our days and am constantly inspired by her style-filled yet down-to earth posts.

Pop on over to Claire's blog here to read what I have to say about motherhood, blogging, decorating and daily life in our home...

New Year Reflections

A new year ahead of me and a fresh outlook.  A year of change, opportunity and hopefully, balance...

Between Christmas and New Years, I always find myself doing the same thing... winding down from festive celebrations, nibbling on leftovers and Christmas goodies and reflecting on the past twelve months. Over the past week and a bit, I've been doing just that...

Initially, as I've done for the past few years, I was determined to uncover a word to guide my year and my actions.  I toyed with 'mindset', 'embrace' and 'now' but in the end, have decided there will be no word of the year for me.  Instead, I want to simply accept each day as it comes... to be grateful for all that it offers and to deal as best as I can with any challenges that may arise.  I want to view changes ahead of us in a positive light, focus on the present moment (as opposed to dwelling on the past or worrying about the future) and to fill our days with fun family times and togetherness.

While I'm a little late, as 2014 begins, I want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to visit my space and for sharing in my corner of blogland.  I love connecting with all you like-minded souls, appreciate every comment that you leave and wish you all a new year filled with an abundance of love and happiness...

From 21 To 31

My birthday is only five days away, and so a bit of self-reflection has been going on in my head lately.  About a month ago, as I sifted through the contents of the keepsake boxes hidden away at the top of a cupboard, I stumbled upon some notes from my friends’ speech at my 21st birthday celebration ten years ago.

Reading through what they'd written however and looking at the photo above of the fresh faced, sun tanned 21 year old girl at her party, I can't help but wonder where 'that girl' has gone...

My friends talked about my adventurous spirit and busy social life.  They described me as a perfectionist who had schedules and lists for everything, 'typewriter' handwriting and who put a lot of thought into all that I did.  They said I was dedicated to my waitressing job in Fremantle which I fit around my uni studies, was a beach lover, loved all things blue, always had perfectly painted nails in some pearly hue, jewellery coordinated with my outfits and refused to change my boring mobile phone ring tone.  Reading about the qualities they thought characterised me brought lots of memories flooding back.    

Since then, the past ten years have been such a decade of change for me.  My fun loving, bubbly persona has given way to a more nurturing and serious side. I'm more homebody than social butterfly these days.  I’ve become a wife and a mother.  I've experienced several hardships (which have made me a little bit stronger and a little bit wiser).  I've developed firm beliefs, values and ideals.  I've experienced great joy and great sorrow.  I've worked hard.  I've travelled. I've made a home for my own little family.  I've achieved goals.

Underneath however, I hope I’m still the same thoughtful, sensitive, talkative girl they described. With such changes over the past ten years, it makes me wonder what the next decade has in store…
 

 

Desperately Belated Award Thanks

With my blogging time more limited these days, I've been a tad slack at passing on any blog awards I'd been tagged for recently, blog awards which were appreciated so very much and which I would love to continue on in order to share around a bit of blog love...

Going back a little bit now, I was kindly tagged for a Liebster Award by two lovely ladies, Claire of Scissors Paper Rock and Catherine of A Time To Create.  Thank you so much ladies!!  This award is all about the number 11... I have to list 11 random facts about myself, answer 11 questions and pose a series of 11 questions to the next bloggers I tag.

However, before I get writing about myself, I also want to thank Claire of oscarlucinda who passed on a Sunshine Award to me a few months back and Sue of Sweetpea Family who tagged me for a One Lovely Blog Award.  Rather than boring you all with too many insignificant facts about myself, I'll use the Liebster Blog Award to continue sharing the blog love.  Here goes...

1. I am attracted to anything blue - duck egg blue or navy blue in particular.
2. I have only ever lived in two houses - my childhood home and my current one.
3. I have a mug of Milo each night after tea.
4. I'd love to have chickens in our backyard - sadly Paul and our council laws don't agree.
5. My favourite thing about Christmas is wrapping presents.
6. Growing up, I wanted to become an architect, a graphic designer or a journalist.  I became a teacher.
7. At 18 months of age, I was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis - I outgrew it in my early teens.
8. I still have an 'old school' mobile... time for a long overdue upgrade soon...
9. The only time I brush my hair is right before I wash it as brushing curls = frizz
10. I have a freckle on my nose.
11. I have never tasted oysters or mussels.

Here are my responses to the questions Claire asked me...

1. One word that best describes you? This is a hard question... I'd like to think 'thoughtful'
2. Sweet or savoury?  Sweet (there is a raspberry muffin on my plate next to me as I type!)
3. Why do you blog?  To connect and share with like minded people, to record memories for my family and to fulfill my love of writing
4. What are you reading at the moment?  'French Children Don't Throw Food' and 'Simplicity Parenting'
5. Favourite film of all time?  There's a few... Little Women, Anne of Green Gables and The Notebook.
6. If you were a colour, which would you be and why? I Googled 'personality colours' for this question... I would have to say white because of my strong desire for simplicity 
7. Reality TV, love or loathe?  In general, love it
8. Describe a perfect day...  Cups of tea, fun with my girls, a clean house, time for blogging and crafting, pottering around the house, a family outing in the sunshine, not having to cook tea and an uninterrupted night's sleep 
9. Somewhere in the world you're dying to go to?  The UK
10. Biggest fear?  Ill health

I'd like to pass on the Liebster Award to the bloggers listed below...no pressure, only if you feel like joining in and haven't yet done so...

• Jenn of From Me To Mum
• Shelley of Four Point Four
• Nicole of Milk & Manna 

And the questions I'd love for them to answer are:

1. Favourite flower?
2. What colour is your handbag?
3. How long have you been blogging for?
4. Poached, fried or scrambled eggs?
5. Winter or summer?
6. Do you have a regular holiday destination?  If so, where?
7. Favourite day of the week?
8. Which famous person would you love to invite to dinner?
9. Do you have any siblings?
10. Daily must have?
11. Favourite perfume?

Thanks again to the lovely ladies who thought of me for these blog awards!

The A to Z Of Me

A few weeks back I noticed some bloggers posting an alphabet list of ‘get to know you’ type questions. I always enjoy learning more about the people behind the blogs I read so when I saw this list again over at Jane’s during the week, I thought it would be fun to join in myself. Here goes…


A. Age:
30

B. Bed size:
Queen 

C. Chore that you hate:
Cleaning the bathroom (in particular scrubbing showers) and hand washing, although I’m learning to use the ‘delicate cycle’ on my washing machine more for this

D. Dogs:
Asha, our lovely natured Blue Heeler

E. Essential start to your day:
A quick shower to wake me up and help me start the day feeling refreshed

F. Favourite colour:
Definitely blue, pale ‘Donna Hay blue’ in particular or aqua.

G. Gold or Silver:
The jewellery I wear every day is gold (yellow and white) although I do have some silver pieces too

H. Height:
163cm

I. Instruments you play:
Nothing these days except a few simple songs on the piano for Grace to sing along to

J. Job title:
Stay at home Mum - prior to babies I was a primary school teacher

K. Kids:
Grace (who’ll be three in May) and Sophie who just turned 5 months this week

L. Live:
Perth (south of the river) - driving to Fremantle or Perth takes us virtually the same amount of time

M. Mother’s name:
Diana

N. Nicknames:
I don’t really have any, apart from my cousin who has always shortened my name to ‘Mand’

O. Overnight hospital stays:
A procedure to drain fluid from my knee when I was six, stays when I had both girls and a few days with Sophie in the paediatric ward before Christmas

P. Pet peeves:
People dragging their sick children out in public eg. to playgroup and school. If your children are ill, keep them home people!! This particularly annoyed me when I was teaching.

Q. Quote from a movie:
‘That is going straight to the Pool Room’ (The Castle)

R. Right or left handed:
Right

S. Siblings:
A younger sister, we are five years apart

T. Time you wake up:
Generally around 6.30 or 7am - I haven't had a sleep in for a very long time, but I don't miss doing so as these days I'm definitely a morning person

U. Underwear:
Simple Bonds hipster bikinis

V. Vegetable you hate:
I don’t really hate any – my least favourite is probably eggplant

W. What makes you run late:
The girls! Someone always needs a toilet stop or dirties their clothes or misplaces something just as we’re heading out the door

X. X-Rays you’ve had:
Hips, knees, wrists, fingers, teeth - I had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis as a child so have had many x-rays

Y. Yummy food that you make:
Ginger fluff sponge - I shared the recipe here

Z. Zoo animal:
I love the otters – they’re so playful and cheeky and full of life


And that's it folks!  If you haven't already, play along... I'd love to learn a bit more about you...

My 30th Birthday

Hi everyone!  Today was my 30th birthday and I've had a wonderful day celebrating.  My morning started with Paul and our gorgeous girls piling into our bed to help me open my presents before we were up getting ready for my lunchtime party (today was a public holiday in Perth so that worked out well!)  Initially I was just going to have a small gathering of immediate family to celebrate, but two weeks ago, I decided that was a bit boring and so the past week has been a busy one full of preparations for a party at home with 30 members of our family.  

I've had a really lovely day and received some beautiful presents including books, earrings, some cute Cath Kidston enamel bowls, two Willowtree figurines (ones I've always wanted to symbolise me becoming a mother to Grace and Sophie) and some vouchers which I'm looking forward to spending and using - especially the one my sister got me for a day spa.  However my favourite gift was the special '30th birthday package' which Paul put together for me.  It included a voucher for dinner at the restaurant of my choice and tickets for us to go and see the musical 'Mary Poppins' in April.  I can't wait!

I felt really loved and appreciated today and am so blessed to have such special family and friends.

Bump Update: 35 Weeks

Image source unknown sorry

My conversation with Grace this morning gives you an idea of how much my belly has grown lately...

Grace: "Where's your belly button gone Mummy?"
Me: "It disappeared"
Grace: "The baby take (took) your belly button... maybe when the baby gets bigger it give it back"

That's right, my belly button has finally popped. Apart from that, I'm still pretty much all baby with a little compact basketball bump, although I definitely stick out further than the gorgeous silouette above. I'll try and take another bump photo soon.

Last Wednesday I had to go for an extra ultrasound as my obstetrician thought that my belly wwas measuring small for dates. Thankfully, my placenta is working fine and there is plenty of fluid around the baby who was moving very actively and was only slightly under the average weight for this stage of my pregnancy. Unfortunately though, bub has done a major flip around in the past two weeks and is now in the breech position. I'm hoping he/she will move but until my appointment next week, all I can do is wait and see.

I'm starting to feel more uncomfortable as the weeks go on and sleep on some nights is becoming progressively harder. I am definitely finding myself slowing down more too and am giving myself until the end of the week to get all the essentials I want done. Anything I achieve after then will be a bonus. I have yet to organise my hospital bag but I have been putting aside some special gifts I have bought for Grace for when she visits me in hospital which I'll be sure to pack.

So fingers crossed bub goes back to being head down this week, otherwise he/she could be here a bit sooner than I'd anticipated and the birth I'd pictured might not quite eventuate. But I guess at the end of the day, I just have to trust my obstetrician and as long as bub arrives safely, that's all that really matters.

Bump Update: 31 weeks

I find it hard to believe that already, I find myself at the 31 week point of this pregnancy. With Grace, everything seemed to drag on. This time around, I'm feeling the weeks fly by. I'm at a point now where I'm so eager to meet our new baby and am feeling more relaxed about everything although I do find the thought of there only being nine weeks to go a bit frightening.

Physically, I'm feeling more energetic than ever. From my first obstetrician appointment until now, I've put on six kilos. I've been fortunate that apart from the usual negative pregnancy symptoms (heartburn, indigestion, leg cramps, rib-cage discomfort) everything has been going smoothly. However, I did lie in bed the other night feeling contractions (presumably Braxton-Hicks contractions) wondering whether I would be going into labour early, especially as I'd had a dream the night before that our baby arrived ten weeks prematurely!!

I've started sorting through Grace's old baby clothes and feel as though progress is slowly happening in the nursery. Any neutral coloured 0000 and 000 sized clothes are being washed and put into the drawers and anything girlie or pink is being put aside in a crate for now. Our old bed base finally sold on Gumtree so the cot is in position (although we'll be using a bassinette in our bedroom for the early months). Now comes the fun part of decorating the room which I'll be sure to keep you up to date with...

Happy Birthday To Me...

This past weekend in Western Australia has been a long weekend which is lucky for me because Saturday was also my birthday. I received some lovely presents including a few things I've had on my wishlist for a while now like some windchimes (to hang on our patio) and a small thermos (to take with me on picnics with Grace).

Not being a 'special birthday year' (that's next year for me), I just wanted to do something simple so we went for breakfast along with some family members at my latest favourite spot in Fremantle. In the evening, the three of us got a yummy pizza and took it to Kings Park to enjoy.

I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend too...

Getting To Know Me

The lovely Jen of From Me To Mum has kindly tagged me in a little ‘get to know you’ game.

Jen's blog is a great read and I always enjoy her posts. She is a Mum to two gorgeous twin boys and I admire the way she shares with honesty and genuine love her journey through motherhood.

So, here are my answers…




What is your favourite time of the day?
I love mornings – I get up nice and early and enjoy some quiet ‘me’ time at the computer with a cuppa and then Grace greets me with a big smile and kiss when I go to get her up. The morning is when I get myself organized for the day, turn on the dishwasher, throw on a load of washing and water the vegetable garden so I always feel like I’ve accomplished something before we head out to run errands and so on.


Where and when did you meet the love of your life?
Paul and I met at the wedding of mutual friends back when I was only 19. He was the best man in the wedding party and I was one of the guests. We’ve been together even since then and really make such a wonderful team. We think so similarly, often go to say the same thing at the same time and share plans and dreams for our future and our little family.


What three words would your friends outside of the blogging world use to describe you?
I emailed my friend Kylie for this one and the first three words she said were thoughtful, organized and loving.


What country would you like to visit and why?
I’d love to see the UK one day, in particular London as it’s one part of Europe I am yet to visit. I'd also like to explore some of the English countryside.




What is your favourite dish to cook?
Cooking is something I love to do and my favourite things to cook are cakes. My favourite at the moment is a recipe for a lemon cake which contains almond meal, giving it a nice texture and it’s covered in cream cheese frosting – delish!!

Salt or sugar?
I do have a bit of a sweet tooth but ever since my taste saga, I’ve found I like things a tad less sweet and now I only have the teensiest amount of sugar in my tea. Also, lately I’ve found myself addicted to the cheese and chive scones our local bakery sells.


What are your must have make up or beauty items?
I religiously cleanse, tone and moisturise morning and night. If I’m home, I don’t wear makeup but when I do, for everyday wear I keep things simple and use Clarins Tinted Moisturiser, a dusting of MAC Bronzing Powder and mascara. As for must have beauty items, I love Nutrogena Facial Cleanser and the Natio Rosewater and Chamomile Toner.


What are your favourite flowers?
I love the simple beauty of white roses. However any single bunch of blooms in our house always makes me happy.


What are your worst vices...honestly?
I am indecisive and can take a long time to make a decision when shopping. I’m not much of a risk taker either and tend to stick to my little comfort zone.




At what time of your life were you happiest and why?
All the usual big milestones have been my happiest times such as our fantastic wedding day and the day Grace was born. I can’t imagine being any happier than I was on both of these occasions.


And now for a couple of other girls who I'd love to know a bit more about:

Sarah at My First Little Place
Renee at Four Little Finches
Samantha at Black Velvet Chair

I'd love to hear your answers if you have time and feel like playing along with this little 'about me' game…

Birthday Bliss

Today is my birthday!! I am planning on spending it enjoying all my favourite things - relaxing by the river, drinking cups of tea, playing with Grace, browsing through interiors magazines and catching up on all your lovely blogs. Tonight we are having a little barbeque here with some family and friends to celebrate. Hope you all have a lovely end to the week...

Image from here

My List of Seven

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend. We had a busy day yesterday with a friend’s wedding, so today is a quiet day at home. Last week was another good mail week with my little embroidered heart that Tina made me arriving. It is hanging in my study where I can enjoy it as I blog.

For today's post, the lovely Janette over at My Sweet Prints has tagged me to join in with the fun of listing 7 facts about myself so here goes…

1. I love being a stay-at-home Mum – I look forward to each day I spend with my precious little Grace and enjoy being a ‘homemaker’.

2. I am a teacher – I am currently on maternity leave from my position but before having Grace, I taught in a small primary school. I used to enjoy thinking of exciting lessons to do with my students and always tried to make learning fun.

3. I have really neat handwriting - People always comment on how it looks like it’s been typed, I guess it comes from being a school teacher :)



4. I am hopeless at knitting – My Nanna tried teaching me when I was a young girl. My project was a hot-water bottle cover for my Mum for Mothers Day. My Nanna ended up buying me a cover to give my Mum instead!!

5. I once did surfing lessons – After saying for years that my goal was to one day learn to surf, my lovely husband (then fiancé) booked me in for lessons as a Christmas present. I convinced him to sign up too and we had great fun learning together.

6. I always have painted toenails - I always stick to pearly, natural tones. A few weeks ago I gave red polish a try and it just wasn't me at all.

7. I love the Harry Potter books – I first read these novels when I was teaching to see what all my students were fussing about. I soon became hooked. I think J.K.Rowling is such a talented writer.


I’m going to pass this task on to Sarah, Catherine and Catherine. Please don’t feel obliged to join in, but we’d love to learn 7 new things about each of you…