launch your children into outer space with this MEGA LEGO G I V E A W A Y

Greetings all,

Oh yes, it's MEGA Lego G I V E A W A Y time.  Launch your children into outer space with $500+ worth of Lego!!  There are 2 complete Lego CIty NASA Space sets to giveaway. 

Are you ready for the count down??

 Control centre ready for launch sequence.

 Have we packed space food sticks??

 Look at all the complicated Lego computer screens.

 BLAST OFF!!

 The gorgeous folks at One Green Bean & Lego sent my 4 lucky children the complete range of the latest Lego City NASA Space to test drive . . . 4 boxes of rockets, launch pads, trucks, moon buggies & astronauts.  Oh boy have they been having fun, playing together, helping each other build & set up all sorts of space launches, landings on the moon, excellent.  The boy even follows the instructions - yes, I am even creating a future man who actually reads instructions, my gift to the world!!   

 My mother used to find me asleep in a pool of Lego on my bed - our boy sleeps with Lego too.  He has ALL my childhood Lego which my parents so lovingly kept, waiting for the day i had children (which was the 2 big years between me leaving home to get married & having our first child in my early 20s).  They still have my Uni text books, ha!!  The children love all the Lego they inherited, from my brothers' 1960s truck pieces to my 1980s Fabuland Lego animals. 

 This full set is fantastic, with so many parts to play in the space missions.  Your children will be launched into outer space & beyond (if they're into black holes, time warps & all that geeky space galaxy stuff).

 It's a WHOLE lot of Lego to win . . .

 boxes & boxes . . .

 & hours of fun with your imagination.

Want to win one of two sets, valued at $279.96 each??  Just follow this blog & tell me what Lego means to you, who will be the playing with this amazing prize??  Extra entries per Blog/ Twitter/ FB mention of this giveaway too.
Good luck everyone, winners drawn Sunday 29th May at 9p.m.  Love Posie

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

i'm grateful for 'slowing down'

Greeetings all,

Ah, life, it's only as busy as you make it, 'tis my new bohemian approach to slowing down life this week.  I've only ever had one nanny in my world, for my first baby when i was an oil baroness fueling the mining industry.  She said "don't rush, be organised & make your children feel special, not an inconvenience you have to hurry".  I grew up with a neighbour who was always rushing her children around, honking the car horn, it was constant chaos.  My mother, she floated around raising the 4 of us, in constant calm, we were happy, organised & punctual.  I don't like being busy, I loathe rushing.  I like to tick things off my 'nice to do' list & centre myself.  I think it's a good example to my children too, don't overschedule or overcommit.  Leaving the P&C wasn't easy, i've had phone calls & emails asking me to stay on, sorry, i don't want the responsibility anymore. 

So i'm a short hair girl who is low maintenace (irony) & had the most fabulous & graceful Japanese young man cut my hair this week.  I like his work, no more boy band hair cuts for me & lots of friends have noticed, my dead-straight-thick-hair has bounce & life again.

 I made another batch of hot water bottle covers, international flavour.

 Oh, pretty butterflies with a Bambi button & a transport one with a car button.  I got to school early each afternoon this week to do some hand stitching in the car, therapeutic & a great car spot too.  Love not rushing!!

 We spent two whole nights ditching homework for Lego.

Even the car got a pampering at the drive through car wash.

 Farmers Market on a brisk Saturday morning, oh the orange juice will do my itchy throat the world of good.  Have to admit, i've felt run down all week, but always better after the gym.

 We picked up fresh flowers & all the ingredients for homemade carbonara (free range eggs, leg ham, mushrooms, Italian bread) which i'll make with my youngest daugther tonight & test drive our new cutting tool to make frilly fettuccine.

 With handsome soldier in town & his fear of freezing (this is a man who has ice climbed in Canada & patrolled through -20C Afghan Winters) he made good on his offer to replace our newly wed underlay & doona with luxurious new ones from the David Jones preWinter 30% off sale (if you ever want to sponsor me DJs, don't hesitate).  Well, um, $2K RRP (gulp, no wonder we only replace this stuff every 15 years & wait for sales) we will dive onto this gorgeous Summer/ Winter reversible woollen underlay . . .    

 under a new wool quilt + new pillows, new doona cover & this new silvery quilted bed coverlet tonight - we're using it as a throw, but there is double doona potential.  I don't sleep well when i'm on my own, but i think this can only help.  Beautiful bedlinen, ah, heaven.

 When we build we will might reupholster this bedhead (i still like the shape & style) but it's a decade old & now has custom design additions - an alien drawn with green texta & a chap stick love heart, i.e. it screams "we have children who jump around in here" rather than boudoire.

 The doona cover is actually a jet green (the darkest green ever) & very masculine.  Yes, i'm the floral patchworker who loves Cath Kidston, Amy Butler & Rachel Ashwell, but i can't imagine handsome soldier feeling at all sexy in such surrounds, so i've never inflicted florals on him.

Finally, as per last week's Grateful post 'breaking point' i marched the broken bed base into Harvey Norman (yes, the WHOLE FULLY CONSTRUCTED bed base, which made for an interesting ride to school that morning with 3 children trapped under it) & the staff could not have been more wonderful, professional, understanding & quick to say "we'll replace it completely".  Glee, mind you, i did look like a woman who was not going to take no for an answer.  Now this mattress stands in the hallway, waiting it's new bed.  Ah, have a dreamy weekend & find more gratefuls at Maxabella Loves. 

Next week i'm spending more time thinking up other ways to slow down, which will contradict me screaming "run run run" as my 3 youngest try out for Cross Country.  My biggest girl is already in the regional high school team, yippee.  Love Posie
PS not so grateful that Blogger stole 48 hours worth of comments & denied me leaving any comments anywhere in blog land, sigh.

things i'm loving 'knitted goodness & school photos'

Greetings all,

I'm always up for a new way to adorn an ensemble with necklaces, bangles, earrings . . . or another brooch to feed my addiction, like this swirl of strawberries & cream knitted brooch from Prim & Pretty.  When gorgeous Rachelle delivered a new collection of brooches to Shop Handmade this week, i knew i'd cry or wrestle any customer who tried to buy this particular beauty.  I've already worn it twice & for some strange reason, our German Shepherd lunged at me & tried to bite it off my jacket, clearly he agrees it's good enough to eat.

Love a bit of packaging detail - these brooches come attached to vintage knitting patterns, glee.  Rachelle makes amazing brooches & necklaces, involving a bit of crochet, knitting, buttons & ribbons + she's a mummy of 4!! 

This week my primary schoolers brought home their school photos.  I LOVE school photos, such a time capsule snap shot of how you wore your hair & styled your uniform (or in my case, the ONLY photo evidence i had a childhood).  I still can't believe my 4th baby is in year 2 & on the SRC for the 3rd year in a row.  He's not power hungry or an obvious leader, more a quiet achiever.  I think it's the dimples that keeps the votes coming & eyes which change from green to blue, he's a popular little bloke with the girls in class. 

 Just because i teased Kristy from Paisley Jade about her 'creative space' offering being held together with pegs yesterday, i promised her some pegs would appear in this post.  They are from Typo, totally cute, especially at half price!!

This year my twins are in the same class & sitting next to each other as they are 2nd & 4th shortest in year 4.  Their group photo was printed strangely, the whole class has black creepy killer eyes??!!  The individual photos were beautiful though, providing a great history of their teeth - which ones are missing each year.

Find out what other people are 'loving' over at Paisley Jade today.  Love Posie

EDIT: did anyone else lose all their comments for today's post??

my creative space 'hot under the covers'

Greetings all,

Embracing Winter is the trick to enjoying it.  I thought i'd dig up ye olde hot water bottle cover recipe (which consists of laying a hot water bottle onto fabric & cutting around it) & mix it up with different fabrics, organic batting, quilting stitches, bias binding, fabric buttons . . .

 I took half a dozen into Shop Handmade today, they're already featured on FB (thanks Tania).

 I have many more cut out, in screen printed fabrics & boy's themes too.  The quilting takes ages, but it's fun.  I also like the smaller hot water bottles (no idea where to get them but we have some which came with covers from Peter Alexander) so if i find the mini bottles, i'll make some covers!!

 Oh look at this one merchandised with Sheep's Clothing & Soft&Lush at Shop.

 All this heat inducing goodness - just in time - those are snow clouds above school this afternoon.  My darling husband is coming home this weekend, leaving sunny warm Brisbane for a Canberra forecast of -6C on Sunday night.  He's already researched that woollen underlays & doonas are 30% off at David Jones.  Mega investment pieces for the next 15 years of marriage.  He might be a soldier used to roughing it, but when he's home, it's all about comfort.

My oil cloth bunting is in Shop Handmade too, super cute cubby house mini style & a larger version for outdoors.  Happy Creative Space folks, i'm sewing up more hot water bottle covers.  Love Posie

PS i could start every new post with a 'thank you for the comments on the previous one', you're all so awesome out there in blogland, THANK YOU!!  Seems i'm not on the only one who didn't shine on Mother's Day, sigh.  The IKEA giveaway was huge & stay tuned (follow this blog) as next up it's a mega LEGO giveaway!!
EDIT: did anyone else lose all their comments for today's post?? 25+ comments just up & disappeared??

Mother's Day - the truth in our household

Greetings all,

Anyone else completely ready to konk out by May each year??  I am, i think it's a combination of post-Easter-holiday-back-to-school mania & the chill in the Canberra air which makes my body scream for a cosy place to run & hide.  It's going to be single digits tomorrow, 9C, but still beautiful & sunshiney, that is what a love about Canberra Winter, icey cold but still looks like Summer with blue skies & beaming sun rays.  

Ok, so i thought i might share how my Mother's Day really went - especially seeing i had dinner with Julie from Handmade & i said "well, it's Mother's Day & i cried into the washing basket as the children didn't sort & put away the washing when it was the ONLY thing i wanted them to do for me all day" & she said "like you're going to blog about that".  Ha, called your bluff madam.  Not everyone has a glorious Mother's Day & having spent 10 of my 12 mothers' days with my husband away & not home ordering the children to be my enthustiastic slaves . . . it's really just like any other day - i cook, clean & care for my family. 

My Mother's Day started with my 3rd daughter saying "you really want to make pancakes, don't you" & batted those dinner plate blue eyes at me.  Then she presented me with her handmade card from school which had a poem inside . . . "Felice madri giorno mummia, amore si mumma. Non come buora cuoco come papa. Ma che e’ ok mi ancora sie grazie si" (FYI she's teaching herself Italian on the internet, hand wrote this translation into the card, then emailed it to me for good measure, as you do when you're 9 years old).  English translation . . . "Happy Mother's Day Mummy, love you Mum. Not as good cook as Daddy. But that’s ok i still love you. Thank you."  Nice touch, being told i'm a bad cook in two languages!!

My eldest daughter wrote a lovely card with some joke about housework & that i was the number one mother in the world, but her boyfriend's mother was the second best mother in the world.  She's keeping her options open.  

The middle girl had made some crepe paper flowers with straws & dug them up from the bottom of her school bag, squashed, along with a dozen school notes to sign.  At least she considers me useful.

My boy, well he made a beautiful card which read "Happy Mum's Day, why are there twice as many girls in this family as boys.  I love you anyway" complete with diagrams of boy & girl stick figures to emphasize his point.  Um, sorry mate.

So in a nut shell, i got 4 unsolicited opinions of what kind of mother, breeder & cook i am.  Did you fare better than me, be honest (or lie to make me feel better), love Posie

social commentary Sunday . . . 'celebrating Mother's Day' & IKEA giveaway winners

Greetings all,

EDIT: SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: IKEA GIVEAWAY WINNERS . . .

chosen by me - Jill at deux chiens et un garcon who wrote:
"as an old ikea employee(mid 80's) i still feel connected to those cheery sheets and doonas.  so lovely for you to offer as a giveaway.  I love sun dried sheets, warm bath to get all nice and crispy clean and then rubbing my feet along the goodness and snuggling down. Little man still loves his ealry moring visit/breast feed to begin our days.  Wishing you lots of man cuddles in the near future and for all your dreams to come true.  xo jill"

chosen by my husband - Laurel at Miss Muggins who wrote:
"I desperately need a new doona cover. I foolishly let my 16 year old borrow it (we did a swap for a week)and she got fake tan, blue pen and nailpolish all over it!  I can visualise Mr M and I snuggling in clean new bedlinen - and Miss A can keep her grubby mitts off it! ha ha!"

& chosen by the gadget, 1-93, comment 22, Mikaela at Mikaela Made who wrote:
"At the moment I'm sleeping with a coverless doona, so this would be perfect for me =P What keeps me warm? Like you Posie, hubs is good, but we also have the two labs and kitty cat snuggle with us on a weekend morn under the covers in our big bed, it is bliss! We are savouring these moments now as I guess it will all change in 4.5 months when baby #1 comes along..."

Congratulations ladies, all very special mummies & a mum-to-be, Happy Mother's Day!!  All worthy winners - a former IKEA employee; a mummy whose teenager ruined her linen; & a school teacher sleeping under a coverless donna!!  Please email me your postal address & your IKEA bedlinen will be at your place via courier shortly.
Thanks to IKEA & One Green Bean for this lovely giveaway, pleasure as always.

It's Mother's Day in Australia, yay for we mummies!!  Ever noticed that people poo poo Valentine's Day & similar "unnecessary commercial greed" occasions, yet no one messes with the day we worship our mothers & shower them with cards, gifts, jewels & flowers. 

I'm celebrating Mother's Day without the prompts, pomp or ceremony of my husband guiding the children to present breakfast in bed & behave flawlessly, but . . . some lovely mummies are taking me in for dinner tonight.  I have flowers ready for 3 super gorgeous mummies - mother of Handmade Market, mother of Shop Handmade & mother of my eldest daughter's friend-who-is-a-boy . . . this extra special lady has 4 sons, is living in a barn while they build a house in the country (this is her 4th Canberra Winter, brrrr, she has stamina & oozes positivity) + this week her number 3 son broke his arm, so she's been sleeping in a hospital bed - ONLY a mother could handle all that with grace & a smile. 

 I just adore these women, i'm talking wet-my-pants depth of laughter & our children have sleep overs kind of friendship!!  We're all mums, thrown together here in Canberra, mostly through our husband's work, left to create a community & network for ourselves.  You never know when amazing people are going to drop into your adult life, even when you're not advertising.

Wishing you all sunshine & happy memories today, a bunch of flowers (??), a day off the have-to & swap it with the love-to.  I'm off to Pilates, then bake dessert (meringue mousse), curl up with a magazine on the lounge & hear my children playing happily in the garden (read: away from me, tee hee).  Then jump in the car which has magically filled with fuel & head out to dinner.  I really find fuelling up the car such a chore, it's always so windy at service stations!! 

Remember my measure of motherhood is a full fruit bowl, mmmm, look at this seasonal goodness from the Farmer's Market.  I'm doing better already (thanks for yesterdays comments - you are the best cheerleaders in blogland, i love you!!) 

Finally, last chance to win this IKEA bedlinen, 3 sets to giveaway, drawn at 9p.m. tonight/ when i get home from dinner, just in case, i might be late, can you believe i'm a talker??!!  I should press the school uniforms & organise Monday lunch boxes now, humph.

Just because it's mother's day, please help yourself to an extra entry, to celebrate yourself or a mummy in your world.  Don't be shy or feel greedy!!  Leave a comment at the giveaway post & come back tonight to see if you're one of the lucky 3 winners at this post!!  Love Posie

PS 'twas carbonara for dinner (egg yolks) so i had the egg whites for the meringue - clear & clever thinking, i feel so alive, Autumn air, fresh produce, sewing, i'm giddy with calm.