those flash-before-your-eyes weeks & it's only Wednesday

Greetings all,
I feel like a year has flown by in a moment, so busy!!  One thing i am really loving while recovering from hand surgery, is taking time with my children.  My eldest is helping with cooking (saucepans weigh SO much), my middle girl is very enthusiastic with washing (the boring part - folding, sorting & putting away), my 3rd girl is my heat pack warmer & cushion positioner, not to mention vacuumer, gardener & puppy feeder, then my boy, well at 8, unless he can drive his sisters to school, he's just here for cuddles & dimples.

Why has my week flown by??  Well i really miss my husband & i'm guilty of wishing time away until i see him next & already this week i've . . . 
met with my wonderful hand surgeon, he's so pleased with the results & recovery, concerned about my numb left thumb, but he'll check again in 2 months.  My eldest had a Moderation Day, where all the private high school children (it seems) have a day off school (year 12 had classes/ tests) & converge on every shopping centre in Canberra.  I know this as i took my sweet teen to the cinema in the south, then shopping in the city centre, with a grocery top up in the north.  Teenagers EVERYWHERE.  While we waited for the primary school bell, we indulged in ice chocolates, mmmm.

 Then a swimming carnival.  As swimmers, my children make great runners, but this young lady has started coming 4th in all her races now, great improvement.  She took her role of vice house captain seriously, leading cheer leading & entering all the races - for the house points!!

 My sequined child was exhausted & only swam one race, it was nice to hang out with her.

 As my boy is a child of 2004 vintage, this was his FIRST competitive swimming carnival & he swam his heart out.  Dressed in anchor shorts & boat shoes, he looked more yacht ready than swimmer, but he got a place in every race, with a 1st in breast stroke.  We might finally have a swimming ribbon to add to the athletics ones in the study nook.

Poof, my hands are aching, i really do need to allow 6 months for them to repair, no boxing classes for me!!  I normally assist at the carnival, stop watch in hand, but it was fun to relax & be a spectator, massage my numb thumb.  So happy to be pulling back on everything in my world other than my family, i love looking at their faces, they are growing so fast - how did i suddenly have a child in year 8??!!  When i hug & kiss her in the school carpark, she still says 'love you mummy' ok, under her breath, but yay.  Love Posie

a long weekend, happy birthday Canberra

Greetings all,

Well what a long weekend, celebrating Canberra Day (happy 98th birthday).  I was very good, i ran a school fundraiser BBQ, went to the gym every day & there was a LOT of sewing.  I really believe sewing it therapy for me, it's pretty full on raising 4 smart, social, sporty children & high school is a whole new pressure (for both of us) alas, sewing melts all my stress away. 
Ditto for Yoga - very excited, did a new Yoga class on the weekend with a new teacher, she's American & her voice is like honey, so soothing & encouraging.  She's teaching many new poses i'd never heard of (mind you, i haven't been devoted to Yoga for a good 8 years, but i'm making a come back) like a dolphin, camel & inch worms, yyyeeeooowww!!

Ready, set, sew . . . i loathe spooling bobbins, i get my children to do them.

View from my sewing table . . . television (cooking shows) i watched Eat Pray Love twice, i'm still trying to get into it, either i'm too happy with my life, young or immature, i'm not sure, i'm certainly not looking for the same thing Liz Gilbert was.  I'm not a flighty person, anyway, i'll watch it again if only as a spectator into someone else's life.  Maybe it's because it's Julia Roberts & she's such a personality i find it difficult to look beyond her & see who she is playing.

Out the window, i really should mow the front lawn.

I made 4 dozen baby body suits . . . trying to do them a little different (yes, i know everyone does applique onto baby body suits or onesies) i still enjoy making them 7 years on & think these vintage boys & girls are really sweet.

They're all in the Posie wardrobe at Shop Handmade now!!

These are like dress ups - just add the baby head, tee hee.

Oh hello Hello Kitty, bit of a fan of these new prints!!

I started the weekend by spreading out 3 new patchwork quilt tops onto the floor.

Loving the darker shades & textures of Anna Maria Horner.

Then something a little lighter & brighter.

Spots & florals, stripes & patterns, love!!

A little Saturday night Christmas pudding made by this lovely lady - she runs a Handmade EMPIRE & makes a pretty fabulous pudding gift too.  As always, i'm fish bowl cleaning.

Finally a little giggle, i first met Lisa from The Red Thread when she was sourcing some Cath Kidston fabric 6-8 years ago??  Anyway, i had kept the postcard she sent me with the swatch - tell me this has made your day??!!

"gosh he went well with her drapes"

I chose my husband to match the window dressing, did you?? 
I need a good giggle today, a high school swimming carnival made for a very long day, yawn, love Posie

i'm grateful for . . . 'children who trust me'

Greetings all,

As you dish out advice left, right & centre to young children, often like a drill sergeant, mostly as a caring guide . . . it's so great to see them grow up & really show that they trust you.  That's what i'm grateful for this week with Maxabella Loves.
Like many parents, i sent children offschool with crazy hair to raise money for luekaemia & all was fine until we pulled up into the high school car park & we didn't see a single girl with crazy or coloured hair.  I was dressed for the gym, NOT for walking into a private ladies college front office, but i saw panic in her eyes, she said i was way too enthusiastic with the cans of coloured hair spray . . . so i got out of the car & confirmed with staff.  Still not having seen a wild hair do in sight, this rainbow hair girl got out of the car, trusting me that she'd be all right.  Fear not, i had to return 3 hours later with her left-on-the-counter-lunch-box & had a quick word to student services that she was fine (you know, as they only have 1050 other girls to worry about) but . . . they knew her, had seen her & said her hair looked fabulous!!

Next child along . . . my husband is a great swimmer, school water polo captain & swam on the Army team for butterfly.  Our children are super keen from birth, however, they're not big strong swimmers . . . yet.  Anyway, every swimming carnival my girls dive into the pool & swim their hearts out for the house points & finish around the middle of the pack.  Sorry this image is blurry, i was too keen & hit 'snap' before focus.  Perhaps she shouldn't trust me to take her big-moment photos??  The red wrist bands = competant swimmers.       

On to the 3rd girl, so adorable, she was down the end of the pool 2 heats after her twin sister, warming up like an Olympian, shaking her legs & waving her arms in swimming actions furiously.  She swam so brilliantly & just needed a bit of extra cheer to finish.  So trusting this one.

 My boy, born in 2004, still not old enough to swim competitively.  He is our biggest fish yet wasn't allowed in the kiddie pool (they put the teacher with the loudest voice in charge) but he couldn't help himself.  He trusted i'd defend him if he got caught . . . let's just say the words "get out of that pool" were yelped . . . as my son was mid-bomb . . . everyone looked . . . there was just a huge orange splash.  It was hilarious!!  Pretty sure i'm on detention. 

Did i mention our swimming carnival was in freezing wind & rain?? 

Even the spare dry towels for the trip home were soaking.

So i'm grateful that my children trust me, that i'm there for them & their Daddy will see their point of view too.  These 3 all had a lovely warm bubble bath when they got home.

You do your best to raise them properly, then find images like this on your camera!!

Oh & of course, the day after purchasing a replacement apple stamp, my children found the original.  No fear, it will be gifted to someone who i know will love it!!  If you fancy your chances at winning gifts, check out my giveaway, just follow this blog & leave a comment at that post!!  Have gorgeous weekends, we have a long way for Canberra Day!!  Love Posie

mother guilt - why it's a waste of time

Greetings all,
i've been pondering an angle on this topic for a while, i loathe the expression 'mother guilt' & i think it's a complete waste of time.  You do what you do as it's best for your family, so why feel guilty about that.  Who are you comparing yourself to & do you think they are judging you anyway??  No one knows your real, true, honest home life - if you're a working mother, or at home, or combination of both, whatever, it's each to their own.
Do your children suffer??  Just ask, they'll tell you & it might give you a chance to explain the situation so they understand better.  If you work you might miss an open classroom/ concert, if you're at home you might not be able to afford piano/ karate lessons - i'm sure they'll still grow up to achieve great things in life, regardless of the damage you might feel you're doing in the moment. 

My situation, we live a simple life so i can be a housewife (10 years & counting), i have the education & could work in well paid fields, but i LOVE being at home with the children, i'm the constant parent as my husband is away so often.  We have chosen Canberra schools & stability over moving to Brisbane with my husband for 3 years, that might sound insane & unimaginable, but my husband is going back to war, he can focus on training & he'll be away regardless of where we live.  I have been drawing an income from my design business for a decade & it's been a financial life saver.  I'm lucky i can fit it all in, i'm hyper organised & family comes first, especially with teenagers on the horizon.

On to mother guilt - wow, first up, i refuse to let my husband have father guilt as he is providing for our family & i won't bang on about servicemen, but his sense of responsibility is incredible.  I encouraged him to join the Army, everything we do it a joint decision.  He is a fantastic hands on husband & father when he's home, it's quality parenting, no guilt required. 

So based on my situation, because it's my blog . . . i'm a housewife, my children know if they forget sports gear/ homework/ show&tell/ assembly/ canteen/ concert/ carnivals/ excursions/ class craft/ reading/ sick bay - i'm willing, able & available to be there (& remind them about responsibility).  Sounds like i'm one dedicated mother right??  I used cloth nappies, breastfed, made organic food; taught them to swim, count & the alphabet; first steps, words, teeth, immunisations; i bake, grow vegetables, sew; i haven't missed a minute.  We've had zero hiccups with health, sibling rivalry, moving houses, bullying, academics - i talk to them, nurture them, listen to them, cuddle them, read to them, love them.  A+ parenting??  I thought i was pretty close, until this enlightening converstaion with my first born today . . . made me think 'perception is reality, but by GOD i'm going to adjust her reality for her'.  

Children have selective memories so go toss that guilt you're holding on to, they either don't care or won't remember what you missed or the effort you put in.  

My eldest daughter is off to her first high school swimming carnival, they apparently dress up.  I pulled a vintage T from my collection which is perfect for the 'theme' (considering she’s swimming, I thought it pointless to go in full costume) & she asked if she might get in trouble with the Tshirt effort.  I said, “I’ll be there if there are any issues”.  Well, cue the brewing-teenage-angst . . . “you’ve never come to a swimming carnival before”.  Sorry WHAT??  I have been to EVERY SINGLE athletics, cross country, concert, special assembly & swimming carnival EVER.  To me it’s the whole point of being a stay at home mother, you are available for every event, dress in team colours, pay your entry, sit in the seering heat or freezing cold, then leave with exhausted children wrapped in towels or blankets, times 4 children.  Alas, I’ve never seen our eldest swim at a carnival??!!

I volunteer/ marshall at these events & you follow the programme so you can watch your child race . . . she's forgotten that i've been there to cheer her on & hug her wet body when she finishes each race!!  Huh??  Last year as mother of the house captain i made pom poms & took balloons, i fended off buying junk food from the on site canteen for her friends & took home stray children for an impromtu sleepover - nup, all forgotten!!

FYI as i write this post she's at her *boy-friend's house, i sent her off with freshly squeezed orange juice & homemade cookie dough icecream, what a terrible mother!!  

So i'm going back to how i judge myself as a good mother - i always feel pretty superior & satisfied when we have a full fruit bowl.  That's my standard.  Love Posie
*I say boy-friend, he's a lovely boy from her primary school who she has always hung out with as her number one choice of friend on weekends, it's in that a-friend-who-is-a-boy way, 'tis all.