day trip to Sydney

Greetings all,
'twas a whirlwind Sunday - we headed off to Sydney to visit our families, as we generally do when handsome soldier is home for more than just-a-weekend.  We literally dragged ourselves out of these delicious toasty new bedcovers . . . 

 & into this icey car.

 My husband changed the oil on Saturday afternoon & left the car outside the garage.  Brrrr.  He's used to Brisbane's lows of 15C overnight, we're more like -5C!!

 I was organised with car craft.  Inspired to try hexagons in the school holidays, so i made up my own method & pressed these hexagons on Saturday night to stitch together in the car.

 First stop, my parents in St Ives.  Our eldest daughter chose to interview Grandad for an Integrated Humanities assignment.  He ticked all the boxes . . . born in the depression; decorated military war history; & a sharp memory - questions included "who is the oldest family member you can remember".  I found out so much more about his life, my ancestry & his grandfathers.  Our children were on the edge of their seats listening to his stories, including one which, let's just say didn't end well for the kittens the family cat kept having.  Very graphic & my father doesn't come with a PG warning. 

 We named our first born after my father & he always says "i have 14 grandchildren but number 8 is named after me".  They have a very special bond. 
 

 Is there a fence my children won't try to climb or a hill they can resist rolling down??

Then we headed to the cemetery to lay flowers at the tombstone of my mother-in-law.  The children hadn't done this for a while & had a good look around her neighbours graves.   

 We had lunch & spent the afternoon with my father-in-law in Summer Hill, various family members popped in, then we headed for Bowral.  It was getting late & i was feeling very run down, so we had a quick visit with my sister & her family.  She presented us with eggs from her chickens & snacks to sustain the last 200km of our trip home to Canberra. 

By the time we got home it was after 7p.m. & simple 'farm fresh' fried eggs made for a suitable dinner, then i raced my husband back into our new bedlinen for a good night's sleep.  Sure it was a long trip of 700km in 12 hours but, we sang, laughed & danced in the car.  The children read books, played games & were all round fabulous.  Ah, here's to a beautiful week of sub zero evenings, cross country trials & lots of sewing for a Sunday market.  Love Posie

grandparents undermining your parenting

Greetings all,

Wow, quite the response to my previous post.  I thought i should put in a small retort to those of you who don't know me better.  I am one of the strictest parents around, my children have firm boundaries & with a husband in the military, they know very clearly what is right & wrong.  Taking those toys from my parents house . . . i should add more to the story.  My mother has Alzheimer's & forgets which things at their home belong to my siblings.  My children were playing with those toys, so my mother encouraged them to take home.  I loathe this practise, my parents know that.  They think i'm mean, in fact they used to call me after visits to tell me exactly how mean & strict i was by not letting my little ones (when they were little & would cry/ tantrum) take a toy home with them.  Forget the fact i spend 50-70% of my time with a husband away, i command good behaviour & as the children out number me!!
To find that they brought the toys AGAIN is my issue & blog post, alarm & concern.  As it turns out, they did try to leave them, my mother said take them, i said no, so SHE pushed them (quietly).  This is more a Mum Vs Grandma issue now.  So i won't be calling the Federal Police (in the capital, we call the Feds) & turn them in.  I'm so annoyed the children are in the middle & my mum will have forgotten now anyway & she gets upset,mood swings, so i have bigger things to explain to my children - above theft, it's dealing with grandparents undermining me combined with the egg shells of Alzheimers.  FYI we have been burgled, i've had products stolen from my market stall & customers use fraud on credit cards/ lie about using a card & getting refunds for products which they clearly ordered themselves & received, they just refused to pay.  I know life sucks, that's 10 years of business, you have little crappy episodes.  My children see how it hurts people.  

Just wondering who else has had to deal with visiting grandparents recently & have them undermine your parenting??  I can appreciate a grandparently gesture & treat but mine spoil them.  Sure my children have just had bedroom makeovers but that is what they wanted for their birthdays & Christmas, they never ask for anything they see advertised or things from the supermarket.  They are incredibly unspoilt, i don't just say no, i explain why i'm saying no & they are intelligent & understanding.

To wrap up this post on a prettier note, just got these fans & lanterns from Beach Vintaage, thanks Simone!!  She also has an on line store & Just Plain Gorgeous shop in Brisbane.  Lovely, can't wait to put these up.
In the mean time, i'm off to Shop Handmade while my husband puts the latest bed together, love Posie