i'm grateful for . . . 'chit chat'

Greetings all,
Coming down from the high which was a family reunion/ 4 flights in 4 days/ my father's 80th birthday last weekend, i've had a busy week maintaining the momentum with children's events . . . Academic Awards, volleyball clinic, Suburban Challenge (think town planning for senior primary schoolers, then imagine my 3rd girl winning!!)  Of course, a whole lot of chit cat is involved . . . at the school gate, with teaching staff, at sports games & with my family of marathon talkers.  Can you overdose on chit chat??  Impossible for me . . . which is why my only-speak-when-has-something-worth-saying-husband is so complimentary to my world.  I remember on one of our first dates, he actually said "you don't have to fill every silence & externalise every thought that pops into my head".  Gosh i love his confidence.
My children are all varying combinations of chitter chatters . . . my 3rd girl can play in her room for hours, in solitude, where my first born can gabble away like any teen, but loves her silence.  I'm sure she was reading in the womb, like handsome soldier, she can read for days, it's an escape.  Makes her a fabulous flying companion & easy to entertain.  She just read The Hunger Games yesterday, as in, before school & after dinner, gobbled it up, asleep by midnight.  How??  Took me 4 days of dedicated reading chunks & neglecting housework!!   

My next girl, wow, she floors me with her ability to read, as she is such a huge talker & story teller, yet she reads all 7 Harry Potter books every school holidays, over again.  I love this balance of social jibber jabber & silence, she fits more into her day than anyone i know.   

I often wonder how my constant banter affects my children??  It has been a very successful experiment in socialising them, as until recently, every 2 years they were plonked into a new school/ city/ environment & left to make friends - just like that.  No consistency of childhood friendships, constantly leaving what they know & being dropped in the deep end.  Their conversation skills have assisted their resilience & made every Army move easy.  The teachers always say "you're so social Jennie" but personality traits don't automatically translate to children, i guess i got lucky.    

I know my boy craves more time with boys, he loves his cousins, he misses Daddy.  I don't care so much for this genderless society which is politically correct, boys need men in their lives, good solid male role models.  They talk about completely different things to me. 

On my weekend away, i shared a room with my son (the 3 girls had their own room) & i love having him to myself.  Being alone with your child, one on one, they think, ask questions, it's special.  Then he asked me to talk him to sleep, the last word on my chit chat skills!! 

Small talk with my parents, i miss this, my Mum's Alzheimer's has taken this away.  Aimed at me is polite conversation, like i'm the waitress at a cafe, gone is any depth or recognition of our history.  I can't have indepth debates with my father either, as Mum constantly interupts or he's distracted by her, it's really hard to process, it's exhausting actually, small talk is all we manage. 

So Maxabella Loves, I'm Grateful for 'chit chat' which runs very deep with me, love Posie

i'm grateful for . . . 'food presentation & home made goodness'

Greetings all,

Poof, what a week, back to school & we all know what that means - enthusiastic school lunches & feeding hungry bellies at night to refuel them for another action packed day of street smarts, sports & socialising.

By Friday night i really felt like a juicey tastey burger, my children aren't big on burgers but i wanted one, i'm the mum/ cook/ dictator, so . . . we had homemade burgers.

 With what little strength i have with my hands (thanks for the carpal tunnel surgery congratulatory comments in the last post, can't believe by month's end i'll have 2 new hands!!) i lovingly sliced salad & cheese, added snag jam & olives, delicous.  Fed the family for $8 - the price of one Milk Bar style proper burger.  Oh i just realised i didn't add beetroot, what is wrong with me??  I only used 4 meat patties for 5 burgers, they are too big otherwise, so i have 4 left, for another round of burgers, this time WITH beetroot please.

 What do you get a dear friend in her very early 40s for her birthday?? 

 So easy, she loves retro, picnics & 70's lollies!!  I found this amazing stacking picnic trio of melamine containers at Myer in Brisbane & filled them with fun.  I've seen Jamie Oliver use metal ones years ago, i've coveted them ever since.  OMG when was the last time you ate TV Mix or Lolly Bananas??  

 I'm trying to perfect the size of my jam drops, i've been baking them with the children - who are trying to perfect the amount of jam they add.  They are so delicious & i make plain biscuits for the non jam lovers, freaks i know!!

 HOW good are the grapes at the moment??  Don't they look even more inviting presented in a Donna Hay Royal Doulton colander??

 While i was away in Brisbane at the bachelor pad, where my husband has inherited all my Tupperware plain white picnic plates & plain blue cutlery (read: plain boring) . . . i wanted to brighten things up a little.

 So the lovely Rachael from Gidgi & A Room For Everyone blog answered my prayers with these amazing cutlery sets.  Choose from mixed & polka dots, i love both & as a thank-you-for-what-your-husband-does-for-our-country, darling Rachael asked if she could send a complimentary set (before i even had a chance to order!!)  Now i have 3 sets & i want more, greedy i know but they are soooo pretty.  Thank you Rachael!!     

 Cannot wait to grow my own fruit like my country brother, herbs sure, but fruit, glorious!! 

 Just couldn't resist adding this last image into a post link about . . . I'm Grateful for 'food', my parents country cottage oven.  I've seen one with a kookaburra on the door at a museum, but this is REAL & in my family.  Mum can't cook like she used to, i wonder if she realises (Alzheimer's) but she was better than Bree Van Der Kamp in perfect execution, dinner parties for 12 - back in the day when you entertained your husband's boss for a promotion & they were judged on how their wives cooked (maybe not so much for Naval officers).  Thank goodness my husband doesn't rely on that - burgers anyone?? 

Now who has a rumbly tummy??  Love Posie

i'm grateful for . . . 'feeling the love'

Greetings all,
With Valentine's Day coming up, i thought i'd do a pretty picture post.  I'm often told my blog oozes love, well right back at you, from your comments - i feel it & kind of need it.  Coming up on 5 months since i last saw/ held/ hugged/ kissed my husband . . . needless to say we don't bother celebrating anniversaries, ANY day we spend together is special.

 This week's Kidspot Grateful is about smiling at strangers, well i smile, chat & laugh with strangers ALL the time, i was raised with the old "if you don't have a smile, you can have one of mine" smiles-are-free-attitude.  With my teenager, sometimes that smile comes with a poke, tickle or joke (& a crowbar) why they frown so much, i have no idea.   

 So you know what puts a smile on my face??  Coming home from holidays to 2 Mollie Makes magazines & i'll share them with smiley friends & we'll suggest Mollie to strangers in craft shops who'll smile too!!

 Oh sweet embroidery, i can't wait to regain my skills!!

 Crochet love heart bunting, say no more!!

 My sweet boy received a Valentine from his adorable preschool girlfriend & is returning the favour (5 years & counting).

 Made for a great school holiday activity.  All the children made up cards & letters for their Daddy too.  I love the image of soldiers receiving heart stamped, pink & scented mail in war zones.

So my friends, this is our last weekend before school resumes on Tuesday & first weekend home since Christmas, so it's a blur of pressing uniforms & piecing sports uniform emsembles together, mowing lawns & weeding.  Needless to say my hands & elbows (ouch) are on ice each afternoon.  Forgive me if i'm a bit quiet for a few days, remembering how to be a school mum.  Love Posie
PS the Laura Ashley scarf in the top image was an i-love-me gift, under $20 on sale, such a beautiful shade of watermelon red!!

i'm grateful for . . . 'the goodies of wrapping up the year'

Greetings all,

Maxabella Loves last I'm Grateful For the year . . . so it's a Christmas cracker of a finale!!
Lovely goodies sent to me this week (my postmistress Anna calls it 'fan mail').  A little house of love Christmas ornament from Leonie at Kiwi At Heart blog & this delightful red bird ornament from Ally at Everyday Miracles blog.  Thanks ladies, big smile on my face & warmth in my heart.

 Canberra locals know & LOVE Erica Soy Candles.  Erica offers half price refills & lives arond the corner (home delivery) yay!!  My latest refills will make our home smell fresh (lime & sandalwood, lemon grass, Victorian rose, pink grapefruit, 'relaxation') & festive this Summer . . .10 tins of Christmassy smelling candles for teacher's gifts: gingerbread, spiced orange, mistletoe, frankincense & myrrh + more.  Wish this was a scratch'n'sniff blog!!

 I read on Tania McCartney's blog a neat review of Lotta magazine, produced in Australia & aimed at school holiday craft projects, delightful.  Better yet, $10 & ad free!!  I've been hanging out for the Christmas edition of Mollie Makes magazine.  Found myself with time to kill in the car the other day, so grabbed New Idea, i don't think i've ever bought a copy but i'd like to know how Rebecca Gibney lost the weight too!! 

 Thursday's Brindabella market was delightful . . . Mel from Canberra Airport organises the marquee, trestles, linen tablecloths & we just display our goods & sell, awesome deal right??  Thanks Mel!!  This time, after nagging Tania for 2 years, planets aligned & she was available to have a stall.  She had baked each of my children personalised GingerBreadMen.  They were exactly the kind of gingerbread we like (soft & chewy) & so cute!!  Thanks Tania!!

 My children's Christmas bikes have been the gift that keeps on giving - especially when they return with a bounty of flowers from the neighbourhood.  I expect their 'wanted' descriptions up on posters shortly, they promise they only pick flowers from the nature strips & paths!!

 Stacey from Cheeky Textiles blog had a 'shopping event' at her place on Friday, it was really great & we're all keen to do it again.  Inbetween the morning & evening sessions, i had a delicious P&C Thank You lunch & collected the children from school.  Jam packed day.  Rachelle from Orange Whisk was selling her incredible gingerbread & vanilla biscuits (you can find them at the Essential Ingredient in Manuka too).  She bought SO many things from my stall, the 3rd time she came around i insisted "take what you want & pay me in food".  Mmmm, so glad she did.  Thanks for having us Stacey!!

 My high schooler has wrapped up year 7 with a bang: parties, discos, gifts, sports ribbons, dancing with their teachers & she lost her last baby tooth (parceled up by a teacher with quite the demand to the tooth fairy).  Her much adored maths & science teacher "Mr B" is returning to Canada with his wife & 4 daughters, after a year long exchange.  He gave her a Canadian twoney ($2 coin) & i promised we'll go to Alberta one day & hunt him down.  My husband went to Canada on an adventure training exercise with the Army 12 years ago & i'm still jealous!!   

 I'll admit, Saturday started off with nibbling gingerbread on the way to athletics, then the Farmer's Market.  Picked up double of my regular purchases of fruit, foccacia, chocolates, sausages, dips & breads.  My fruit bowl is overflowing with apples & pears.  Should survive the first week of high school holidays, my little ones are stuck at school until Wednesday week.  They have 2 days off before the Christmas weekend??!!

 Yay, can you believe this bounty from Donna Hay??  She's offering very generous specials in the lead up to Christmas on line & at her General Store in Sydney.  Next week i'll have 4 prizes in a Donna Hay giveaway, stay tuned, i just have to bake first & we're spending the rest of the weekend in Bowral.

Sending you great festive vibes people.  Love to you all, lots of gratefulness for following me & supporting me this year, love you all & thanks Bronwyn from Maxabella Loves blog for hosting mucho appreciation this year!!  Love Posie

i'm grateful for . . . 'medical advice'

Greetings all,

Thank you so very much for the kind thoughts & comments about my hand issues over recent months.  Story goes: i was diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in both hands while pregnant with my son, i used splints instead of surgery & now, 8 years later, with hands getting worse, i sought out a confirmation diagnosis so i could have surgery.  I'm not taking drugs, it's a dull throb not pill-popping-agony.  I saw the neurlogist on Thursday.  I was so excited - reconfirm the CTS & book me in for surgery, end my days of useless, clumsy hands & sleeping in metal hand splints . . . only . . . I don't have CTS.  What??  Seriously?? 
So, back to square one.  I am numb & disappointed.  Was my initial diagnosis wrong??  I probably did have CTS, typical while pregnant, but why all the persistent symptoms since then??  RSI maybe??  Friday my hands were quite good, i started to wonder if i had hysterical CTS or was it psychosomatic??  Trying not to dwell, i'll keep resting my hands in the meantime.  I was frustrated that the neurologist was there to confirm CTS ONLY, nothing else, fine point of the needle specialist attitude, no consultation or advice, just my $275 for 15 minutes in his office, thank you very much. 

This week i took each of my children to the optometrist.  My son gets headaches & last year was squinting, so he had a thorough check (all good) & my 2 eldest girls were fine, then my 3rd girl had her appointment on Friday morning . . . cut a long story short, she is super far sighted & requires low script glasses. 
Just to refresh your memory, this is my sensitive soul, my Nina, who skips through life & curls up on toadstools, she loathes that she has mild asthma & eczema, she likes her fashion style to be left of centre, not her health.  When the sweet optometrist gently said she'll need glasses for 'reading & computer work' my daughter mouthed to me "i'll just stop reading", i could feel her freeze up.  She held it together, we chose some cool blue Converse frames, $598 later (phew $280 back from private health insurance) we left & then the tears started rolling.  I suggested her long distance eye sight was too good & made Six Million Dollar Man sound affects, she was not impressed.

 I distracted her with a mini shopping spree at Seed.  Ok, she won't wear fabulous designer frames which will benefit her eyes, but she'll wear cow glasses??

 So i bought her a plastic gelato fan too, plus mini paint set, piggie bank, headband, sticky notes & bird whistle - you know, stocking fillers!!

My little lamb, or calf, she's certainly made my hand worries melt away.  She's 10 years old, getting glasses is a HUGE deal.  When i took her to school after her appointment i bumped into her cool-young-guitar-playing-gorgeous-maths-teacher who said she had to wear glasses as a child & she tried to forget/ lose/ leave them behind but soon reaslied glasses helped her & there was no escaping them.  Then my son's pro-ice-hockey-teacher said his youngest daughter needs glasses & she can't wait to wear them.  Of course i wear glasses but i don't count!!  I saw all her friends crowd around her, saying how lovely she'll look in glasses, they are beautiful friends & she has many.  Tania McCartney, the fantastic children's author, offered to write her a letter (email) & confessed that she too needed glasses when she was 10, she was nervous, then realised wearing glasses was special, made her feel smart & helped with her work.  Then Tania said cute things like "if anyone can rock a quirky pair of glasses, it's you!!"  She even attached images of celebrities who wear glasses, yay!!
So she's calmer now, still demanding she won't wear her glasses but also asking questions of how she'll care for them between classes.  I smell a breakthrough, absolutely thanks to all the instant positive feedback.  The glasses might only be required for a year, to prevent future eye issues & she has asked if she can bury them in the garden after 364 days (yes, one day shy of a year, that's my girl!!)  She'll have them for the last week of school, then holiday light reading to get used to them.  It's all about how you approach this situation, the atmosphere, the wording - i said "oh reading, & you know, craft, stitching, drawing & art" all the things she holds dear, or i would have lost her!!  Last thing she heard as she fell asleep tonight was "i'm so proud of you".  Bless her heart, i love how she always lets me know how she's feeling, internalise & implode otherwise.
Thanks Maxabella Loves, i'm grateful for medical advice, in all it's forms, love Posie

i'm grateful for . . . 'feeling the love'

Greetings all,

This week i'm so grateful for the love i'm feeling from family, friends, bloggers & . . . sales assistants.  How sweet is this little stamped heart on my Chrismtas ornament parceled up with love??  I was in Kikki-K purchasing a gift for a friend & said to the sweeet girl behind the counter "oh, & the white love heart Christmas decoration please as i love me too." 

I grew up with a ridiculous amount of love, time, compliments & attention from my parents, i used to feel awkward when girls would say about other girls "oh she loves herself" when i thought, i love me too, why is that bad??  Of course they meant 'that girl is a stuck up selfish cow' not generous of heart & oozing love!!  My end result has been a self assured & confident female, able to accept, embrace & return lashings of love.

 I would never term myself as a needy person, my husband is, just ask me when he gets 'man flu' & right now he is homesick.  I'm sending lots of love, attention & parcels his way, i have plenty to give.  It's just that when he comes home in June next year, he still has 6-18months in Brisbane, totally 3-4years living interstate (it was meant to be 2 years).  This is his 5th deployment & i'd hate to tally the total number of years he has spent away (courses, exercises & training).  I support him, imagine how it is for the guys whose wives & gilfriends have had enough, but the boys still want to be soldiers??  

 I collect hearts, not as some blazen heart breaker, hearts like this . . .

 they make me smile & after watching 6 romantic comedies this week, boy am i lucky to have found romantic love & stayed in love!!  My husband & i have a very uncomplicated relationship, i don't play games & there is an enormous amount of respect.  He is none of the RomCom cliches - the moment he met me, he wanted love, committment, marriage & babies, no arguments there!!  I was so young but it was so right, he knew he wanted to join the regular Army too, he can love us both, thanks to my attitude.

 I cry in movies, um, i cry in animal documentaries & long distance telephone ads, it gives me a break from being strong, determined & tenacious.  I can't watch The Notebook, way too close to my Mummy's Alzheimer's.  After 56 years of marriage (i came along after the 20th wedding anniversary) they still hold hands & walk to the letter box together.  My father was career navy, over 30 years at sea & went to war too, i know what they think when they are out there in danger, it's all about home & love.     

I have read & re-read a letter from an eloquent friend, who suggested that after a tumultuous year, her 'to do list' of gifts & commitments at this time of year was so long, she is sending out love: true friends will gracefully understand & she's being gentle on herself.  She is a giver & i applaud her focus on energy, where it is best spent.  I have 4 children & a husband at war + hands which can barely lift, so why exactly am i hammering myself about Christmas gifts for my enormous family??  I'm rethinking the gift list (we live interstate, no events, just gifts in the mail) the post man is handing over the gift, not me - with my smile, the message is lost??  I am going to do things differently forever more, i don't need the Brownie points for giving the best or most gifts in my family, i'd rather do something of substance with love!!  Love Posie

i'm grateful for . . . 'a liberating & genuinely hearty week of imperfection'

Greetings all,

I'm just so thrilled you came along on my week of imperfections with the right attitude, laughing with me at my mistakes, mishaps & silly choices . . . thank you, i needed it!!
I've had a particularly challenging headspace, with more Australian soldiers shot in Afghanistan . . . i've been distracting myself with Christmas shopping, friends & my website (open next week).  Then the very sobering experience that is Remembrance Day yesterday.  I went to 3 ceremonies in a row - the War Memorial; primary school (my girls were hosting); then my eldest daughter's college, with a catered lunch where i was the only uncoupled adult, so the gorgeous principal sat with me.  My husband would have been so proud to watch our children yesterday.  He loves my imperfections, i'm the opposite of his strict world of dogmatic routine & military precision, my inability to be perfect is what he loves about me the most!!??  It's amazing what a laugh can fix!! 
The ceremony at the War Memorial had hiccups . . . an ambulance took one of the gentlemen from the Australian Men's Rugby Choir away; a sailor passed out (i heard the crack of his body on the parade ground 50m away); & a sweet mum in the VIP area had her toddler run off onto the parade ground.  FYI no one walks on the parade ground in a proper military ceremony!!

 Our extremely impressive Governor General Quentan Bryce, laying a wreath, exquisite as always in speech, ensemble & occasion.

 The Prime Minister, being none of those things.

 The Federation Guard is a full time ceremonial unit made up of Navy, Army & Air Force. 

 I was trying to find a soldier with my husband's rank to show you what he looks like on parade.

 The Air Force have such an advantage with their uniform, nice colours to work with.

 The Royal Military College Band - check out the leopard skin drum (i think he's a Drum Major) but honestly, i really don't have a clue. 

Once they leave the parade ground, the officer who marches them off, hands over to the non commissioned officer in charge, who (between shouting commands) thanks everyone for their efforts.  I haven't seen my husband on parade for years, but he'd be the one out the front with the pacestick, yelling.So there you have it, imperfection focus over & back to my little successes in life. 
For more weekly Gratefuls, check out Maxabella Loves, love Posie  

i'm grateful for . . . 'check out what's in my rear view mirror'

Greetings all,

Oh i've been plotting, planning & saving up for the big Christmas gifts for my children.  Seeing we're not religious, i'm not going to lie, Christmas is all about the gifts in this household.  We don't need to stop on Christmas Day to remember what & who to be thankful for - we have a tight family unit who love, forgive, thank, celebrate & care openly about one another every day.  Even more so when my husband is away at war, it's a reality check. 

My husband & i agreed new bikes were in order, so i took the children to get them 'fitted' last week - it was a surprise, just as good as Christmas morning!!  Friday afternoon i picked up the goods.  It was so exciting, you should have seen them race out of school yelling "our bikes, our new bikes". 

 I arrived at the bike shop early to ensure i got the Thule bike rack bolted to the car properly + plenty of time to learn how to strap all the bikes in place.  I took photos of where the bikes were positioned, i am not the first parent to do so!!  

 Yay, buy 4 fancy bikes & haggle to get 4 free helmets, saved over $200.

 I also planned to arrive at school early to get a suitable car space at the end of the row.  I sat there & admired my rear view mirror.  It was that mother-of-the-year feeling, like when you take your children to Disneyland!!

They'll have a small gift to open on Christmas Day but they get to enjoy their bikes now.  They are great children who are not spoilt with material things, they have patience & impulse control.  The joy of riding a bike, it's so healthy & such an adventure, their imaginations will take them much further than the loop around our house.  For most children, riding a bike beyond their mother's view, it's their first taste of real independence & responsibility.  We have a flat, grassy neighbourhood without any thoroughfares, if you're driving here, you live here, it's a great place to learn road safety skills & confidence.  They have been raised on bikes, everyone rides in Darwin, and of course, Canberra!!  This round of bikes will last them into their teens, a fantastic investment.
What are you Grateful for this Saturday,??  Ask Maxabella Loves.  Love Posie
PS Wii Ready Set Grover giveaway ends tomorrow, get active folks!!