OMG my sisters are playing with me

Greetings all,

Oh school holidays - they reveal children at their raw sibling elements.  I'm thrilled to discover the girls are playing with their little brother & making him the star in games they create.  It aint easy being the only one of your gender in a family (just ask my husband, he'll tell the hell of having big sisters who excluded him from everything, spitfully) so we're determined to not have our son exeprience the same - in turn he's not allowed to 'be a victim' OR an annoying little brother.  Harmony, ahhh.   

Look at this face, who wouldn't want to include this sweet boy in their games?? 

 So i found my boy reading this note with sister 3.  These two possibly clash the most, they rival for 'baby of the family', even though she's a twin & he's the actual baby.  I'm the baby of the family, so is my husband, it's a great position.  If i ever went back to do Honours in Pyschology i'd study birth order!! 

 Oh this boy needs a hair cut.

The note is a treasure hunt clue, created by sister 2 & it reads:
"Please lend me a helping hand,
To find the key you must search the land,
First hunt high,
Then close under the seas,
If you want to find the key,
Enter the silver cage,
There i will be."
I thought it was a brilliant piece of writing.  She said when they had a relief teacher they had to do poetry & she wrote pages of pirate treasure rhyming clues.  So me hearties, he did find her & they played poker all afternoon, gambling (??) um, it's good for their maths.  Love Posie

social commentary Sunday . . . 'sibling rivalry - when you're an adult'

Greetings all,

Oh yes, this old chestnut . . . sibling rivalry . . . when you're an adult, really, will it end?? 
Today's post was triggered by my sister, who enjoys the role of gossip information conduit in the family.  It's easy when she calls our parents 3 times a day!!  As much as i love her, she was the sibling who would say "no offence, but you're ugly" . . . it's not constructive, it's plain mean.  She also starts every conversation with a passive aggressive "have you spoken to Mum & Dad lately" when she knows i only talk to them once a week or less.  I save up interesting things to tell them about my life, they know i care, i don't hassle.

Anyway, while i was recording the 'leaps' at the 13y.o. girls' long jump at Athletics yesterday, my mobile was running hot with SMS from my sister.  To wrap it up, I texted "hands sore, pressing buttons hurts, will have to have surgery soon".  My carpal tunnel has hit new heights of swelling, aches & numbness.  By the time i got home . . . Dad had already called twice, freaking out with worry (he has Mum's Alzheimer's to deal with, he's on a need-to-know basis about any of my dramas). 

I said to my father, this was my business & not for her to tell you, 2 minutes later.  I was going to tell him after i had confirmation of surgery options next week.  Ok, so you're thinking 'she's caring & worried about her little sister', but this is the millionth thing she's blabbed about before i've had a chance to tell my parents.  Flash back to when i was 18 & she delighted in telling my parents that i had sex!!  Was not in a rush to share that news, but it was my news.  Spending most of my adult life not living in Sydney, i've enjoyed my privacy & independence, especially raising our children.    
Don't worry, i've told her exactly how i feel, like i have the million times before.  I just can't believe it still happens.  Why!!??  I've suffered carpal tunnel since i was 28 & was pregnant with my son, it's no secret, everyone knows i sleep with metal hand splints, it's been 8 years & recently escalated thus considering surgery. 
I realised in our 20s . . . when my sister, Mum & i would get together, my sister would strive aggressively for Mum's attention.  So i backed off, i had my own relationship with our Mum, & with my new attitude, our get togethers would go swimmingly.  Seems like my sister has never let go of the sibling rivalry (my sisters-in-law tell me my brothers are the same).  Isn't that weird??  All grown up, we get on brilliantly, until our parents arrive & the competition for their attention is on.  Trust me, we all had plenty of positive attention from our devoted parents throughout our childhoods!!  We are all so different, careers, children, lifestyles, futures, i don't know what any of us is trying to 'rival'?? 
Do you notice sibling rivalry in your adult version of being a sister or brother??  What triggers it??  Are you dreading the upcoming festive season of enforced family events??  Love Poise
PS my crafty friends with sore hands . . . my surgeon brother said if i left my carpal tunnel any longer, i could do irreparable nerve damage. Yikes!!  Surgery here i come.  Edit: surgery can be done with a local anaesthetic, by a general surgeon in their office - who knew it could be that simple??  I didn't & i've put it off, suffered severe pain, now i feel quite silly.  You can seek out a hand specialist & a general anaesthetic if you wish . . . if you have 'the hands of a surgeon' or something special.  You can even drive an automatic car & continue on with your life immediately (as much as i'd prefer to be treated like the Queen & wave to my subjects - make their own bloody lunches!!)  Warning: if you do both hands at once, who is going to wipe your bottom??  Just saying.   

wordless Wednesday . . . 'brotherly love'

Greetings all,
My 3rd girl is really missing Daddy.  Baby brother to the rescue.

Doing my best at this wordless gig at Faith Hope & a Whole Lotta Love, love Posie

i'm grateful for . . . 'the park of all parks, best playground EVER'

Greetings all,

Well you are probably getting to know what kind of family we are . . . outdoorsy, active & all about our children.  There are terms like 'unplugging', 'free range parenting' & the 'let your children climb trees' movement - or you could just bloody well raise your children how you were raised - without technology, with parents saying "go outside & don't come back until it's dark" & allowing them to use their imagination & siblings for entertainment!!  Doesn't that make sense??  It's free & you'll find your children at their best, it's the greatest investment of everyone's time & energy.  

 I'm not even going to tell you how high this branch was!!  I don't worry or hover over my children, even as babies - yes, they were exposed to parks as new borns & loved spinning, swinging & crawling around . . . they knew their strengths, they don't fall & if they ask for help, i explain they are trying to do something beyond their skill or size, i'm not giving them a leg up.  To us, the park is their natural habitat (read: Army housing usually has crappy small 'rental' style backgardens of nothing). 

 I love that i have a high schooler who still loves climbing trees . . . 

 & a non-Avatar fan squealing with delight that this was the Navi forrest . . .

 it's actually the Cotton Tree Forest at the Pirate Park at Scarborough Beach near Redcliffe Qld, a short drive up from Brisbane & you pass all those Queenslanders to get here.

 Very glad this girl had leggings on under her skirt . . .

 she was practically doing hand stands on those big tree limbs.

 They climbed so high & right up the top . . . is my husband!!

 Our children started creating their own 'tree houses' & inviting each other over to visit . . .

 i took 80 photos here, it was hard to limit them for a blog post.

 This is the top of a cotton tree . . .

 & the children worked out how to get down themselves!!

Maxabella Loves, this week I'm Grateful For . . . the most amazing park find in the universe (& we've been to Disneyland) we only dragged ourselves away due to aching hunger, it was the true highlight to our school holidays & best of all, we had no idea this park even existed!!  Love Posie

a day trip with fabric on my mind

Greetings all,

I have a brother & a sister both born on the same day, many years apart.  Seeing my sister is only 200km away (compared to the birthday brother who is 1000km away) i opted to visit my near by Bowral sibling. 
It's such a lovely trip from Canberra, we stop to get up close with the cows . . .

 made the poor decision to take our German Shepherd . . .

 who sat between/ on the twins in the centre row!!

 But all the while, in the car, i was dreaming of the fabrics which arrived earlier this week.

 I don't think there is a Babushka fabric i have been able to resist!!

 I can not wait to sew with these sewing themed fabrics!!

Have yourselves a lovely wrap up to the week.  We're crusising into school holidays (finally), it's starting to get very cold here in Canberra . . . which reminds me - i need to purchase the Winter uniform for high school.  Kind of dreading the tights part of the ensemble, i constantly ruined my expensive official/  school/ regulation Winter tights, must have driven my mother crazy!!  I remember having to put nail polish on the ladders to prevent them from going the full length of my leg.  Classy but handy.  Love Posie