how are the resolutions going??

Greetings all,
So we're almost a week into the new year, did you make resolutions or just vow to live better??

We are swimming & spending our days outdoors . . .

 eating healthy & making rainbows . . .

 spending time doing craft & the things i love . . .

 exercising with lots of Yoga . . .

 & walking the puppy twice a day, he's exhausted (& embarrassed) . . . the sunglasses were only the start, after the first laps of the oval, he sits down in the shade & i normally have a child or 4 on bikes, so poor puppy has had a bike helmet strapped to his head, daisy chain necklaces & flowers in his fur.  He's so patient!!

 Most of all, spending devoted time with the children, playing dress ups & being silly.

Not including the rainbow cookie, i've been watching what i eat & am serious about getting in shape.  Summer sunlight & a swimsuit will do that to you!!  Eat less, move more, sounds so easy & why not start off the year the way i intend to continue it, best of . . . undistracted. 
How about you??  I feel like a better me already.  Love Posie

like my parents always said "the joy of Christmas is watching children play & feeling lucky you have them!!"

Greetings all,

I had a charmed childhood, i was truly lucky & knew nothing of unhappiness or wanting for anything - toys, travel, love, siblings, pets, friends - shockingly, we weren't spoilt brats, as good manners & appreciation was top of my parent's list of priorities.  My parents were born in the Depression & instilled in us, if you have children, you make them feel so wanted & give them the best you can offer, if only your love, time & energy as sometimes that is all you have.  Hell yeah, been there!! 

Christmas can be a mass consumer explosion if you let it.  We've lived on a tight budget for a long time & i don't think my children even realise we give them clothes & things they need as 'gifts'.  Trust me when i say they needed the new bikes - it's freedom & adventure.  I like the basics, the outdoors . . . do trampolines ever disappoint??

 We went to Bowral on the weekend to visit my sister for an early Christmas.  It has certainly taken the edge off Christmas day for me, i've seen some family & while it's another Christmas with my husband away at war, we can still have a typical Australian Summer of fun. 

 Those Australian Summers also include severe thunder storms!!

 Not that it made any difference to the children - look at that rain!! 

 They had a huge seven-cousin-spa to warm up, then we opened presents.  Fantastic - the entire Harry Potter book & DVD set.  My darling boy started reading the first book in the car trip home (my children are keen readers, my husband is a voracious reader too, good for them, i'd rather be sewing!!)   

 I forced my children to surrender my sister's new pussy cat - her husband found this darling little creature at a work site, why are people so unkind, to animals??   This cat has won the lottery with my sister's 3 gentle animal loving children & kudos to my tough brother-in-law with his marshmellow centre.

 Loving the new tyres on my 4WD as it poured the whole 400km trip.  I knew it wasn't good when i saw an ambulance, then rescue truck, then police cars, then this mess - you can just see the blue sign, it says 'stop, revive, survive' in front of a car wrapped around a tree.  It was a timely reminder how lucky we are to be alive.  Full stop.   

So grim.  No point pretending bad things don't happen (we're realistic with my husband's line of work) so i used it as a lesson in defensive driving for my eldest, who will be on the road in a few short years.  There are constant fears & hurdles to overcome with your children, driving has to be one of the biggest.  In the meantime, very much embracing the joy of watching my children play & feeling so so lucky i have them this Christmas.  Love Posie

why i never complain about muddy footprints

Greetings all,

Ever have comments & thoughts which play on your mind & stick in your memory??  I want to share some wisdom from my late teens & early 20s. 
One incredibly important facet of part time jobs when you're in your teens, is learning to work with different people, from all walks of life, at a variety of ages & stages in their lives.  While i was at Uni & about to take on the world . . . I worked in retail with an immaculate, well travelled lady in her 40s.  She talked of state dinners in Washington, her children's nanny in London & exotic holidays in the Pacific.  Alas, she was serving behind the same counter as me.  Her husband's high flying international business went bankrupt & the only property the bank couldn't take, was an apartment in Sydney.  The only job either of them could get, was her working at a department store.  She was humble, positive & grateful for everything, above all, she still had her marriage & her children. 

She filled me with all sorts of incredible advice on non material things like relationships . . . 'address the petty issues before they fill you with resentment' & maintain the romance, 'even with children, show them you love each other, light candles every night & kiss often'.  It made me notice it was exactly how my parents were with each other & how i wanted to be.  It's how my marriage started & continues!!  The word 'resentment' is incredibly powerful & . . . a waste of time.

Another memorable influence was the wife of the Family Circle magazine Husband of the Year 2001 (my husband, Mr NT was a runner up, the winner, Mr Qld was hard to beat, already a father of 4 & a fireman, say no more!!)  Anyway, his beautiful wife & i were talking about motherhood.  She said, 'i never complain about muddy footprints, my friend just lost a child & the last thing she can remember saying was "don't run through the house leaving muddy footprints" & then, he was gone . . . she wishes she still had muddy footprints to mop up'.  That has haunted me & ruled my ethos that yes, children can be messy, but nothing a mop can't fix at the end of the day. 

Last night my twins were invited to a 9y.o. birthday party.  I had 3 hours with the other children, 25km from home.  Rather than driving back & forth, i took them swimming then out for an early dinner of calamari & chips, which we ate at the Mt Pleasant Look Out.  It's fabulous up there, views of Canberra from the airport to Parliament House to the Telstra Tower.  A storm rolled in & it started to rain, my children were in swim suits & towels anyway, so . . .   

 they jumped in puddles . . .

 over & over . . .

 ran around the walls . . .

 & pointed out the rainbows!!  So glad we stayed out to experience this.  The laughter was deafening & i was out in the rain enjoying it too.

 We came home, late & exhausted (the party girl's mummy wanted to chat, i was available to listen!!)  I had children to run through showers to clean off chlorine & face paint + we had a guest, so the lounge room is a sleep-over make-over & guess what, the floor is covered in muddy footprints!!  Do i care, no, i love it, they tell a story . . . 'we're free, we have friends, we've had fun & our mum let's us jump in puddles in the rain'.  The floors can be mopped later, AFTER our guest has gone, everyone is in bed & i can walk around spotless floors on a Sunday night, kiss my happy able bodied children tucked up in their beds, then look forward to another week of active children & their muddy footprints. 

 I often hear mothers talk of obsessive cleaning "i have OCD" & perfect homes "it's the perfectionist in me, i can't help it".  Could you possibly put more pressure on yourselves??  Trying to make your surrounds perfect is because you're not happy with something inside you.  You're also teaching your children these behaviours.  They are your audience, they notice, they'll copy, they'll stress.   
My children are taught respect for property & to be tidy, our house is always squared away, we keep things simple & uncluttered.  Sometimes you still get muddy footprints.  I'm house proud but don't kill myself cleaning daily, we don't use antibacterial hand wash & my children never get sick.  Guess what people notice when they visit . . . clean floors or fun, relaxed, interesting, enjoyable children??!!  Who are we really trying to impress??  Our husbands, our girlfriends, ourselves, or our children??

Have lovely Sundays everyone, i hope they're filled with muddy footprints.  I'm sewing, baking, playing with children all day so i can spend my evening, you guessed it, mopping & steaming those floors, i'll love it!!  Love Posie

UPDATE: auctions now ending at 9p.m. on Monday 24th January & raffles now ending at midday on Wednesday 26th January.  Thanks for your support in raising over $600 at this little Posie blog so far, keep those generous donations coming!!  For more auctions & raffles, go to Make it Perfect, Queenslanders are feeling the love.  Oprah has told you to support it too.  Did you know during the few hours after her first Oprah Australia Adventure show went to air, the public donations increased from $100M to $120M??  Did you also notice she has weather perfection everywhere she went??  Her amazing positive power is out of this world!!

top of the morning to you

Greetings all,

Happy New Year!!  As my piggie calendar tells me it's 1.1.11 so a top of the morning to you all.

 Truth be told, i've had a migraine for past 3 days, but blogging & housework in small doses was possible.  What a joy to wake up to a 90% migraine free head + all these wonderful, meaningful comments - you guys are the greatest, i've never thought of myself as 'inspirational' i'm just an Army wife & mummy who sews a lot!!

 My chipper handsome soldier is making pancakes for the children . . .

 & i should start removing the upsidedown birds from the Christmas tree.

 It's hard to put away super fun decorations like this Oxfam reindeer from our gorgeous friends Rob & Lisa (thanks you two!!)

 But the recycling needs to go out, 'twas a good Christmas (says me, the non drinker & starting today . . . non chocolate eater).

So if you're in Australia, no doubt you're having a scorcher today or humid blast of hot Summer rain, we're swimming our cares away!!  Wishing you all the best in 2011, love Posie

surf's up

Greetings all,

After a nice way to wrap up the year & an unseasonably cold Summer . . . head to the beach on a glorious day, Coogee (Sydney Eastern Suburbs) to be precise. 
I really wanted a nice photo of our 4 children together, i thought the beach would be a perfect backdrop for 'a keeper' - the kind of photo you put on the 'mantle' of happy childhood memories (especially when you're raising them 3 hours inland!!)  I was clearly asking too much.  They were too cold, too tired, so this was as good as it got (trust me, this is the best of ten shots!!)  I haven't given up, i'll try again & again, i'm a tenacious mother & i want a fantastic photo of 4 children.  

 Walking from our $4 per hour car space to the beach, our son who has always stopped to read signs, was fascinated by all the things listed here that you can't do at the beach.  He said to me "Mum, it's just like all the things you can kill with fly spray".  Sure is matey.

 Coogee is a great beach for children, especially at 9.30a.m.

 I had uninterupted views of my children from my beach towel.

 Two of our girls getting confident in the water.

 When my husband was posted to Randwick Barracks years ago, he used to run along this beach for physical training.  Life is tough, to be paid to run on the beach, ahhhhh . . .

 This girl is a bit more of a land lubber & had a ball in the wet sand.

 The boy would warm up then go back for another dip!!

 It's all fun & games until someone gets dumped!!  Our eldest daughter was quite the lifesaver & it fills me with pride when my children are kind and loving to each other.

 They kept going back into the water & wore themselves out in an action packed hour of surf fun!!

 Why anyone goes to Bondi is beyond me - sure it's iconic & famous, but really, the day we were at Coogee . . . around the corner they had 40 000 people on Bondi Beach.  It's too scary, especially with tourists who can't handle our surf, or, you know, SWIM??!! 

My husband is a strong swimmer (he's a water polo player, thus the shoulders) & is very keen for our children to know how to handle themselves in the surf.  He teaches them about rips, currents, gusts - the lot!!  He's not bad for an Inner City boy. 
Today, back in Canberra, was spent at the pool (more my pace) & relaxing.  Love Posie

every time i go to Sydney i swing by Retro Mummy . . .

Greetings all,

Well sometimes it IS who you know & i know Corrie from Retro Mummy.  We've been great pals for 'babies' (when you're a mum you don't necessarily measure friendship in years, but babies!!)  It's an easy friendship with all the basics in common, love for our husbands, 4 children with twins in the middle, sewing, baking & a healthy fabric obsession . . . so when i go to visit my parents, i always politely excuse myself & run off to see the latest & greatest fabrics at Corrie's house.  

 Come on, as if i could resist . . . entire collections of stunning florals . . . 

 & every coordinating style to match - all in my studio waiting to be made into beautiful handmade goodness!!

 Seeing it was getting late we gossiped while we measured, cut & coo'd with this little one.

 Then bright & early this morning we took the children to Coogee Beach for a swim, before the long drive back to Canberra.  More shots on this fun adventure later (i took 2 shots & the camera battery died) so the rest are on my husband's iPhone. 

So a lovely little getaway up to Sydney - a huge family lunch, fabric mania (thanks Corrie), car craft & a swim in the ocean.  Must stop making these trips so short & be more touristy around my home town!!  Love Posie

i've been tagged to reveal 'my 3 top travel tips with children'

Greetings all,

Tania McCartney has tagged me to reveal my top secret tips of "have children, will travel" to actually be fabulous & fun.  Tania gave wonderful tips on destinations on her blog & that girl has travelled, but i'm going to take a different approach.
1. ATTITUDE: so you're parents, deal with it, make your holidays family orientated or hire a babysitter & pretend you're just a couple again.  Blunt enough for you??  Make it a great holiday & find your inner child.  I'm a very relaxed parent who is happy to devote my holidays to children's activities & my husband is thrilled to see us all having a great time & pays the bills.  Know your children & your husband - when do they get tired, will Daddy want to have an afternoon nap??  Will he get annoyed at your shopping??  Will you need to have a place to hide shopping in an unmarked suitcase??  Will you be happy to spend a morning alone with the children so he goes off to the city & does his own shopping??  Realise that it's a holiday for everyone.  Finally deal with the fact you may only get one ace holiday every few years.  We actually make our 'moving' interstate a holiday & rarely take a trip inbetween. 

2. PLANNING: So i've previously confessed i'm a planner, well guess what, forewarned is forearmed - whether you are flying overnight long haul with small children OR going to war.  I do the hard work in advance, finding the best rates, read the small print & find failsafe activities - but we have children who travel well & are very easy to please - especially if you take them to . . . Disneyland!! Ok, seems indulgent but our 4 children went 9 long months without a Daddy & with Army travel allowances thrown in, we made a trip as a family of 6 to Hong Kong Disneyland in 2007.  Out of Darwin, it cost us personally about $6K for all flights, taxes, meals, 2 rooms at the Disneyland Hotel on Lantau Island, shopping & entry to the park for a week.  I read the fine print - if you bought annual passes (cost less than 2 days entry anyway) you got 30% off breakfast & 35% off week day room rates.  We had to book 2 rooms, we made it 5 week nights & booked in low season (shorter queues too & we went to Disneyland 5 times - morning, all day, night for fireworks, you name it).  Easy!!  Plus you get to feel like the BEST parents in the world because you're taking your children to Disneyland!!  I like baths, so always book a room with a big bath (also convenient for hand washing) & my husband is tall & loves huge beds, so we book a room with a king size bed when available.  Local knowledge is also useful - as a blonde child travelling to Asia i found people would pull my hair & grab me for photos, so taking a set of 4 fair haired children to Singapore, Macau, China & Hong Kong, we knew what to expect.  I'm talking tour buses stopping to have shots with the children!!  Blonde twins sent them wild (Asians have the lowest incidence of twins)!!  Let's just say, hundreds of Chinese have photos of our children in their albums & the girls would smile but the boy, well he had enough & would cross his arms & frown, you know, vampire angry kind of frown!! 
3. KNOW YOUR FAMILY: do they like swimming at home??  If not, don't take them to a tropical island holiday & expect them to suddenly love swimming!!  If they are terrified of people dressed up in suits, i don't recommend them finding their confidence at theme parks either.  You've probably spent a lot of money, time, energy & annual leave organising this holiday, so make sure you're taking the kind of holiday which will leave you with happy memories & experiences, not pent up stress & resentment.  I feel ill when i see children on holiday or at a restaurant with an iPod, DVD player or game boy & their parents let them use them!!  Oh the horror, why bother bringing them if you don't plan on engaging with them??  I believe pencils, books & activities, even iPods are fine for travelling long distances when there is nothing to see & to keep them from nagging.  Know what they like - my children love swimming, tropical weather, pirates, princesses, international food, rides, running free - so for us, Hong Kong Disneyland was a perfect focus for a holiday.  The children were aged 3 to 8 when we went, so we informed our little fella that he might not be tall enough for some rides & we'd take turns revisiting rides he could do or sat out with him.  He was fine.  Also, little ones might need a pram, favourite toy, snacks, rest spots & a day off from all the excitement.  Splitting children up also gives them a break from each other - girls with Daddy, boys with Mum or vice versa.  Finally - if you wear them out during the day, they'll collapse in a heap & sleep so THEN you can feel like a couple again & have the evening to yourselves.  Love Posie

today: nothing escaped the chop!!

Greetings all,
Well in my last-day-before-school-resumes-Edward-Scissorhands mania, nothing around the house, garden or family was safe . . . i made nice with my lawn mower (bless this mower, it cold starts first time, without ripping out my chest).  Off i went, mowing in wonky lines across the nature strip, front garden & back garden with a neat end result. 
Next stop . . . that German Shepherd needs a good wash & massage, so he was tied to the clothes line (he loves the massage, not so hot on the cold water part) & yes, we all finished up saturated from his shakes & well, poorly managed hose skills from my twins!!  It was Khan's 2nd birthday this week, he's fully grown now, no scale required, he's MASSIVE. 
Then between grocery shopping & swimming, my son got his short back & sides hair cut at the military barber shop.  He loves it in there, the men, the Army photos, the toy tanks, the swearing (thankfully in heavy Irish accents he can not understand) it's his little taste of man land.  

We're all set to return to school, shoes/ uniforms/ lunches & i have all the prizes from my blog giveaway done . . . I'll reveal the 5 winners tomorrow.  Good luck & to those of you who like me, seem to have the very last children in the country still on school holidays, enjoy tomorrow!!  I've already managed to get myself invited to a meeting (canteen), a morning tea with a lovely mummy, then lunch with my best Army wife gal pal!!  Yippee!!  Just as i plan to get back to work in the studio child free . . . i'm happily distracted with adult company.  Yes please.  I'm so lucky to have really great friends.  Love Posie

Keeping them full of energy for the last week of school holidays . . .

Greetings all,
Our school holidays usually start & finish with sleep overs, a relay of sleeping bag hopping around different friends' houses all over Canberra.  It's a nice way to wean them off seeing their friends every day, then reintroducing them again.  Good, free, fun & entertainment, happening now!!
Keeping them full of energy to ride out that last week of day long swimming & extended bed times, here are a couple of my secret weapons . . . really generous fruit smoothies (fruit de jour is more often than not, mangoes, my children were all born in Darwin after all, when had mangoes dropping into our garden!!) 

A chicken roll (pan fried chicken in smidge of oil, cooled, tear apart, add mayonaisse & all the herbs you can gather from your garden) & a huge treat . . . sour dough dinner bread rolls at lunch time, yummo!!  It keeps their imagination flowing to make up costumes, like this pirate girl!!

Quick update on Miss 'Smashed my front tooth out on the footpath after coming off my scooter a month ago' . . . well the skin has grown back under her nose (which was like a red Hitler moustache) & her adult teeth are poking through.  Gosh, that dentist was right, "you were very lucky Mrs McClelland, so lucky" as indeed, if she came off her scooter in a couple of months from now, WHOLE different story with her knocking out adult teeth.  She will now wear a mouth guard, for the sake of the footpath & all those around her.  So not such a ghastly look for our middle girl to resume school with. 
Finally, i have to share what went on in the 3rd row of the car on the way home from swimming . . . one of the aunties gave us a "Hits for Kids" CD for Christmas, which my 1st grade boy put on in the car (have to confess, i didn't even know we still had a CD player in that car??) & well, it was pretty much like The Big Day Out only for 3rd graders & in my car!!  Boy, those 8 year old girls can sure belt out a tune (my 3rd grade twins have the sleep over guest tonight) much to the dismay of my year 6 daughter who is clearly above singing "baby get shakey after school" at the top of her voice, anymore.  Mind you, Miss Year 6 had the remote & kept putting up the volume.  Sorry, when did we get a remote for the car stereo??  Anyway, i wonder what kind of a night i'm in for.  Good healthy fun, love it!!  7 days until school goes back for us, i'll miss them.
Love Posie