Monday, May 31, 2010

Not so Pleasantville



I haven't been blogging lately, oh I have been crafting, visiting blogs but just not posting.
You see it has not been "Pleasantville" around here, more like....well it has just been un-label-able.
The expression of drowning not waving seems about right. LOL
Talk about chaos! I just can't seem to achieve completion on any task around here and my kids seem to be possessed, the weather is just depressing and cleaning up around here just feels like shuffling deck chairs on the titanic. Kids losing their glasses, the dreaded fund raising boxes of chocolates entering the house in droves, favours been asked, meetings to attend, fell off the smoking wagon (I know I am a pig) G has been away and is again (not much changes there) But the worst experience of this horrid epoch has been, well what feels like I have, terrorised by the "appropriate" police that dwell in high ranking positions at school.
Son number one was removed from class for singing a highly intelligent ditty about "connie-con-condoms" and swore in protest at his removal....Naturally the next day I come face to face with one of the management and get a lecture of "appropriateness"......Apparently I am too lenient about not wanting to demonise condoms (I was pretty unimpressed at his display of protest-man if only that kid could channel that stuff for good!) But God was on my side that day because after I was dismissed by my "lecturer" I noticed as I walked passed the foyer display of grade six art there was a display of "caricatures" with none other than Chopper Mark Read and Gordon Ramsay and Gary Ablett. Three men that are either murderers, crims or make a living from bullying and abusing people!!!!!!
"Oh excuse me" I say, "Mrs xxxxx, whilst we are on the subject of appropriateness may I ask why is there a pictutre of Chopper Read. Smoking. Drawn by a student?" Naturally I made this point with fairness and grace and NOT a hint of sanctimonious tone, none at all!!!! Heh heh, yay one for the non chosen parents! "OK" I am told. "But if we are going to atone to the concept of appropriateness, shouldn't it be a consistent level? "OK" I am told again, sternly" you have made your point.  And at that moment, it was so strange, I could remember every single word of the zippity do dah song as I ushered my kids to the car!

You know it's the little victories in life that keep ya going!



'

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

My goodness! Another award





My lovely bloggy friend over at Hester's garden sent me this award! Over atwww.hestersgarden.blogspot.com you will see her and her lovely little girls get up to all sorts of things and see some beautiful quilts and get to discuss some "real" girl chat....Love ya Hester!

Now I need to undertake the "acceptance" tasks involved with this award. Nice and simple. 5 things I love to do and then pass it on.  I am a bit pushed for time as Mr G is away and I am flying solo so I will just do the 5 things at this stage.

1.  I love to knit and craft

2. I love to walk  alone and think and pray and ponder.

3. I love the noise within my walls, even when it does get a bit crazy

4. I love working in my job as a mental health outreach worker - it is such a privilege to work with people who are brave enough to be so honest to facilitate their recovery.

5. I love blogging, it has really filled a place in my world






Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Dance my ballerina, dance








With birthdays cometh the craft


Tully's birthday party was last friday night at the local bowling alley (yay for out sourcing- thank you Keatingism )....Tully selected the colours of his cake, so bright it gave me a headache and the party bags 
are something that I usually get really into, but without a specific theme (9 year olds don't have these apparently)  so i scratched around my several bags of tricks - okay boxes of hoarded baragains and found a dozen Lucky Troll keyrings. Don't ask why, I cannot remember, but there they were.  The kids loved them and the bags were full of chocolate and bubblegum and I can kiss goodbye making new friends with this lot of parents heh heh.


Friday, May 14, 2010

Happy Birthday TUllster!

He is the "Tullster". He tames dragons, and is rainbow charged. He has blonde tousled hair and is known for his wackyness. His mates are varied, and amongst his besties he counts some very great girls.

He spent some time being Batman-perpetually: Batman dress ups were washed and worn as clothes not dress ups, sometimes one under the other.

Once he was washed down a waterfall at the age of 6 - I praised his "over arm" swimming technique for being key in him saving himself - he corrected me, assuring me it was use of the "force" (Star Wars phase), which made sense because he did kind of look like Yoda at birth.




He is such a cool kid. I love his naturalness, his "true to self" ness.
I love that he doesn't "dare to be different, he just is that way.


Love ya Tulls, don't go changin'! xoxoxx Happy 9th Birthday love from Mummy


Thursday, May 13, 2010

Mother's Day flowers


I had a lovely Mother's day.
I got lovely flowers, a musical card, a sequinned shower cap, a candle, a "best mum in the world" to match my other 4 hee hee. And I will show in another post the present they all MADE me.

I shared Mother's Day with number two child's birthday, this happens every five or so years. The last time we shared the day, he was in Batman mode and we went to lunch with Batman to a nice restaurant- well Batman enjoys a fine meal too!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Green Reason

My dear friend Deb over at treasure hunter girl posted this article and tested to see how her family stacked up. Impressed and always setting goals of being greener in lifestyle I thought i would also post Trish's article (check out her blog simple mom she has great ideas).

SO here goes

40 Ways to Go Greener at Home (Besides Just Recycling)
by TSH on APRIL 21, 2010
in GREEN & FRUGAL LIVING

1. Plant an herb garden. It’s good to have a reminder around of where our food originates.
I have a few pots of rosemary, basil and mint. I have mint growing amongst the roses...could do better I guess.

2. Switch all your lightbulbs to CFLs (or at least switch a few).
We are almost there

3. Create a homemade compost bin for $15.
We have a worm farm, but could probably make another one for chunkier compost

4. Switch one appliance to an energy efficient model (look for the “energy star” label).
I am about to buy a new dishwasher and that will be an efficient one - we do aim for the best ratings.

5. Stop using disposable bags – order some reusable bags, or make your own. My favorites areEnvirosax and Flip & Tumble.
A few years ago I made the committment to green bags. Of course in the first few months I managed to collect a gazillion green bags

6. Buy an inexpensive reusable water bottle, and stop buying plastic disposable bottles. Then watch The Story of Bottled Water, a short movie about the bottled water phenomena.
We all use our own refillable bottles, especially after finding out how much oil it takes for the production and transportation of one bottle

7. Wash laundry in cold water instead of hot.
You know, I have never known different. My mum ALWAYS washed in cold water.

8. Turn off lights when you leave the room.
Yes! We do this and always do this

9. Don’t turn on lights at all for as long as you can — open your curtains and enjoy natural light.
Yes we do that too

10. Drive the speed limit, and combine all your errands for the week in one trip.
After copping a speeding fine this year I learnt my lesson - I granny drive now : 5km under!
And I since going back to work I find the supermarket an unabearable way to spend time, so I tend to do it less and less. Whatever I can do via internet I do, and petrol fill ups, people pick ups etc are done in round trips

11. Better yet, walk or ride a bike to your errands that are two miles or closer.
I am trying to use my local green grocer and always shop locally but I can't say i walk - maybe I could try to do that once and while

12. Support your local economy and shop at your farmer’s market.
i must get to one - anyone know a good one around the banyule area?

13. Turn off your computer completely at night.
My husband is always telling me to do this

14. Research whether you can sign up for green power from your utility company.
Hubby has just changed us over last week in fact!

15. Pay as many bills as possible online.
Is there any other way?

16. Put a stop to unsolicited mail — sign up to opt out of pre-screened credit card offers. While you’re at it, go ahead and make sure you’re on the “do not call” list, just to make your life more peaceful.
I must confess I love junk mail, but the time has come to say no junk mail, *swallow , gulp* I'll do it.

17. Reuse scrap paper. Print on two sides, or let your kids color on the back side of used paper
I often use the envelopes that i receive in the post for shopping lists

18. Conduct a quick energy audit of your home.
Will get on it to

19. Subscribe to good eco-friendly blogs. My favorites are The Daily Green, TreeHugger, andKeeper of the Home. Of course, you gotta subscribe to Simple Organic.
Great idea, there are some great Australian bloggers around that would be able to provide a more local context for us Aust bloggers

20. Before buying anything new, first check your local Craigslist or Freecycle.
Freecycle! I love this idea and will blog about this in detail later.

21. Support local restaurants that use food derived less than 100 miles away, and learn more about the benefits of eating locally.
Yes, we do that

22. Fix leaky faucets.
Never! Not in water saving Melbourne!

23. Make your own household cleaners. I’ve got quite a few recipes in my e-book.
I use WAM : water, amonia and metho....cheap and sound. I use bia carb and vinegar too

24. Line dry your laundry.
Yes unless it is an emergency or there is two weeks of rain
25. Watch The Story of Stuff with your kids, and talk about the impact your household trash has on our landfills.
Saw that the other day and will watch it with kids - on my to do list

26. Learn with your kids about another country or culture, expanding your knowledge to other sides of the world.
Great idea, my kids are in CUB Scouts, they could do a badge

28. Lower the temperature on your hot water heater.
Will look into this

29. Unplug unused chargers and appliances.
We try hard at this but need to try harder

30. Repurpose something – turn one of your well-worn t-shirts into basic play pants for your baby. Or save egg cartons for paint wells, seed starters, treasure boxes, or a myriad of other crafts.
I think there are a number of bears, monsters etc around here that were once clothes or curtains.

31. Collect rainwater, and use it to water your houseplants and garden.
Saving for one at the moment

32. Switch to cloth diapers – or at least do a combination with disposables.
By the time I need these again, I probably won't be able to articulate my choice

33. Switch to shade-grown coffee with the “Fair Trade” label.
Have tried a few brands, yet to find one that stacks up to Lavazza. Would love to hear of some brands to try

34. Use a Diva Cup for your monthly cycles.
Thanks but NO thanks

35. Use cloth instead of paper to clean your kitchen. Be frugal, and make these rags out of old towels and t-shirts.
Would never occur to me to use paper for cleaning

36. Use cloth napkins daily instead of paper.
I have a gazillion of them, maybe I should put them into commission

37. Read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and open your eyes to the way conventional food is processed. Watch Food, Inc. while you’re at it.
Okay, I'll find that book

38. Repurpose glass jars as leftover containers and bulk storage, especially in the kitchen.
Yes, I do this

39. Five-minute showers – make it a goal for yourself.
Five minutes!!!! Bloody hedonism! 3 minute showers here thanks hey fellow Melbournians.

40. Donate to – and shop at – thrift stores such as Goodwill. You’ll be recycling perfectly usable items, and you’ll be supporting your local economy.
Preaching to the converted, hey girls!?

Which of these do you already do? Which ones are you going to focus on this next year? And what can you add to the list?



Written by Tsh Oxenreider
Tsh is the editor and writer of this place, and is the founder of Simple Living Media, a little company with the mission to help people live simply. While she waits for her first book to show up in stores late 2010, she spends time drinking coffee, being mama to her two little ones, and eagerly awaiting the arrival of number 3, due this summer.

OK, so we still could do more and we will. Thanks Trish for some great ideas...


Monday, May 10, 2010

smiley guy



Don't you just crack up sometimes at what the kids leave you? I found this play dough guy just sitting and smiling!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Mother's Day Craft by kids


Racking our brains what to buy Gran, what to make Gran. The older they get the sparser the range of gifts remain from which to buy - this Gran seems to have or have had EVERYTHING! But of course! Gran loves art by kids! So the kids drew self protraits on mini canvas and then we added a few drops of ink to a glass of water (purple is the colour Gran is CRAZY about) and we used this as a "wash" over the pencilled portraits. The kids sent it off with instruction for Pops to mount it on a nice pice of wood for framing (to send like that would cost a bomb in postage)....Gran's going to love it! It can be done on any size canvas and looks lovely!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Nightie Night


Well here it is finished! My first sewing class project. I finished it last week but it took another week to get the buttons - how slack!
Martha was so cute skipping around in it, she looked so pretty, very little house on the prarie! Love that child!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Wednesday-itis


I must get my butt out of bed. I have to go to work. Drop off the kids. But here I am blogging a post. I just want to drink pots of tea all day, maybe continue my sewing project from sewing class. I love my job, truly I do. But I feel so gazumped today, I just don't think I can cope with any crises that may arise today. There is crisis in my craft room, it is a mess and needs intervention, I need to apply a psychosocial therapy to it - accept that it is overwhelmed by crisis, move to the stage of struggling with the much needed change, live with it and move beyond it....in other words it is a freakin mess and needs law and order! Oh the things I could be doing today....but I am off to the shower and off to work.

Have a lovely day won't you? Why not pop in and tell me about your day?

Sunday, May 2, 2010

A post by Martha: thank you Trixi



My mummy is letting do this post....she is doing the typing though.
This week I got a parcel from George our postman - my mum's
friend sent me a present, a treat! Her name is Trixi and she makes good crafty things.
She made me a necklace with a fairy and beads and a tiny Christmas stocking!
I took this photo myself.

Thank you Trixi, you are really nice lady!


Yes, Martha was very surprised and I was too. It is such a lovely thing when a bloggy friend
sends a gift. Trixi is at Coloured Buttons and many of you would be acquainted with her fantastic crafts that she teaches school children during the holidays. I think many of us cased her wonderful little travelling dollshouse!

Thanks again Trixi, you made our day!