The One About the Hungry Kid, Pumpkin Seeds, a Scarf and Priorities.

It's Monday again.


What happened to the weekend?


What happened to the 48 hours that is meant to be Saturday and Sunday?


This is some of what happened to my weekend,


While hubbie surfed and worked, I went from laundry to kitchen to studies and back again.  There were some lovely moments of the weekend though, including markets and swimming for the boys and. . . .

Anzac biscuits - double batch and lucky for me (apparently) that they taste 'almost like Grandma's anzac biscuits.' *phew!*

Peanut and Cranberry biscuits - double batch.

How else does one keep up with lunchbox fillers for kids?

I am not a fan of packeted, processed, preservative snacks in lunchboxes, so I make my own.  I am not totally daggy though, the boys do get the occasional muesli bar/packet of tiny teddy biscuits, but it's VERY occasional.  

I do know that I will need to top up mid-week with a slice and the scary part is the eldest is still 5 years from being a teenager!

Pumpkin seeds that I popped into the oven after the biscuits were done.  Not sure mine turned out like the ones I get from the health food store.  They were ok.

A moment of ta-daaaa!  Another scarf completed to be donated to our local Cancer Ward. This is from some of the lovely donated yarns from my neighbour that moved recently.  I love these colours together, so feminine, and so soft.  It's all 5 ply yarns and was part of a bundle of odds and ends she gave me.   

Here is a close-up of the colours.  It looks sort of shimmery and also in reality although the yarns themselves are not at all shimmery and I don't even know what brand they are because they are all odds and ends and there are no bands, but gosh, so lovely to work with.

This was completed early hours of the morning after laying in bed not being able to sleep the last few nights.  It's driving me crazy, and each night I lay in bed wide awake, with a billion thoughts rampaging through my head, sleep button, far from turning on in my brain.  11 Units to be completed by 9th December neon light flashing disco light style under my eyelids.

I get up, walk through the house, check on my family, sit out the back under the moonlight, wander back inside and pick up my crochet.  It's rather quite soothing, crocheting while the house sleeps.  Its quite calming to hook and breathe.  Something about working my hands, slows down the racing heartbeat.  It gives me time to think, time to sort out my thoughts into little trays and mark them in order of priority.  It makes me stop and think about the strangers that I will never meet that are going to wear the scarf I make for them, and I wonder how their priorities are so much more simpler but more important than my own jumbled mess.  

That's my problem, priority!  I am stressing and stupidly so, yes, I realise that now, I am sweating the little stuff, and I shouldn't be sweating the little stuff, cause NONE of it matters.  

Seriously, who am I?  I am a MUM!  Number one priority - I am a Mum.  

Everything after that should come second.  It's the reason we moved from Sydney, it's the reason we had a family to begin with.  I stayed home on the weekend while hubbie took the boys down to the beach, I got more work done, however, what has happened to me?  I should be spending that time with my family.  It's the reason we didn't have our family straight away, we both worked, built our home, moved in and saved the money we made so that I could be the stay home Mum.  Sure we could have had kids earlier and sure we could have had more kids, but there is no way I could have been able to be that stay home Mum for them.  

There are ONLY 24 hours in a day, I can't change that and there isn't anyone I can pay that can change that, so I need to sort my priority trays accordingly.

Starting with now. 

When I collect my boys from the bus this afternoon, my books are closed.  I am going to hang out with my children.   I am going to be their Mum instead of some psycho freak look-a-like that has a pencil stuck behind her ear and tells them to play quietly while she writes more crap about first aid, tripping over a mat, hazard policy procedures, and scenario what if's.  (Yes, currently my unit is OH&S, and I am not belittling the importance of OH&S, however, I am putting what is important first on my list.)

Seriously, what's the worst that could happen if I don't complete the course by the 9th December?  

Do my ears fall off?  

Do I grow a monobrow?  (oh hang on, already got me one of those)

*sigh* if you have managed to read to *here*, then thank you.

If you didn't manage to read to *here* then I apologise if you had to gouge out your eyeballs.  I am truly sorry.

Do you sweat the small stuff?  Do you let things get to such a state that you can't see straight, can't sleep at night, can't remember what day it is, and when you lock up the house, go back three times, because you cannot remember if you locked the back door/shut the window/turned the stove off?

Just writing this here now makes everything so much clearer, I use my blog to escape alot of stuff lately, and I didn't even realise I was escaping at all.  

Have a wonderful afternoon with your little ones today.

Thanks so much for stopping by my place today.

b r e a t h e

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, 

and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

- Kahlil Gibran -

My prayers and thoughts with our friends in New Zealand.

No stories, no adventures - just a photo - just a breath - just 'be'.

Bless. xx

My Creative Space

I cannot believe it - My Rainbow Crochet Blanket is finished.  

Just in time too - as it's being used today to keep little Minnie warm while he is home feeling *ugg* on the lounge.  

He didn't want to be in any photos, which is a sure sign he really is quite *ugg*, so I asked if I could borrow it for a few quick photos to share.  

I just love it, I just love that I finished it and it's being used right now to snuggle my darling boy.  I love that I can share this with you.  I love that he loves the colours, I love that I have enough yarn left over to do a cushion cover, I love that this room in our house is going to be a rainbow room through all of winter, I love that I am about to curl up with my boy under this very blanket while he gets better and I make notes for my next assignment and prep playgroup craft sessions.  I love that my Grandma, my Nanna, and my Mum took the time to pass on their love of craft to me.  

 To my Mum, my Grandma and my Nanna - thank you.  xx

For more creative spaces, pop on over to kootoyoo.

Thank you so much for stopping by my place today.

Have a wonderful day at your place.

Sending Prayers

Again my heart is in my mouth as I watch in horror another natural disaster on the news on tv this afternoon, coming in from Christchurch, New Zealand.  Category 6.3 earthquake, in the middle of the day, Mums and Dads at work, children in classrooms, lunch break for many.


My prayers and thoughts go out to our neighbours.  I cannot believe what I am seeing on tv.  My heart breaks for the devastation I see on the screen.  


'Whats on your Table - Tuesday', is taking a break this week.  I don't feel like talking about something so trivial.  


To all my blog friends in New Zealand, my prayers and thoughts go to you all and your families.


Bless.

A Weekend in Pictures.

Thank you so much for your lovely comments from last week.  

It's a new week, it's a new chapter.  

Hurrah!  Bring it on - I am ready!!

I have finished unit 3, it is printed and bundled ready to post - goodbye and good riddance unit 3 - I say with a kiss - travel the postal route safely to the hands of the red penned ticking person who is going to do lots of red pen ticking (please!).  

I hope you had a glorious weekend.

I certainly did.  There was lots of washing and cleaning and cooking to prepare for a new week, but then there was lots of family time as well.  Much needed hanging with my boys, it recharges me in the most wonderful way.  

Here are some bits and bobs of time spent with the ones I love the mostest.  

Beach boys. . . . and they both went jetty jumping for the first time, but Joyce didn't have the camera with her (!).  My big boy jumped from the topmost pylon and Minnie jumped from the little platform which at the low tide that it was, would have been from a floor to ceiling sized gap between platform to water.  They jumped over and over again.  Woo hoo!!

My big boy and I finished this book and so hired the movie.

Lots of laughs - two thumbs up!  Can't wait to start on book two.

I love this time with my boy, he is growing up so quickly and to snuggle with him and read each night really is very special to me.  No matter how tired I am, or what chores await me, I make sure I put it all aside to spend this time with him.  The chores are always there, they never grow up, they never change.  

Another completed scarf for our local cancer unit.  I need your help, I have more yarn to make possibly two more of this scarf.  What do you think?  Personally, me, I love it, I want one of my own.  This is 5ply yarn from the stash that was given me by my neighbour the other week.   Your honest thoughts would be greatly appreciated.  If the vote is no, it will be made into granny squares instead, so don't worry there will be no waste.

Yes, I cannot help myself, a new scarf on the hook.  

Sewing alterations for a friend.

Recorder time.  We had fun making music and little Minnie was on the harmonica.

This was our beautiful sky on Saturday night.  So brilliant.

Fresh blueberries from the markets . . . . picked Friday, bought and eaten by us Saturday.

You just don't get stuff like that in the city baby!!

I wish you a wonderful week at your place.

Thanks so much for stopping by my place.

B r e a t h e

Wish I was here.

It's been a bit crap cakes this week, but that's ok, it's Friday today and I am going to pull the plug on the week and say goodbye as it gurgles down the drain.  

Tomorrow begins afresh.

Thanks for stopping by my place today and have a wonderful weekend at your place.

What's On Your Table - Tuesday.

Oops, I almost forgot - it's Tuesday, yes, already, it's Tuesday!  

Here is what is on my table this Tuesday.

It's bright, it's colourful, it's shapely.

I am prepping craft for the Friday playgroup that I help out with.  

It needs to be easy, it needs to be quick, it needs to be something that little fingers can pickup and paste on.  It needs to be something they can take home and stick on the fridge.  

We are doing shape matching this week.  I am about to cut out all those lovely bright shapes for the children, so that come Friday, they just have to choose their shapes to paste onto the matching shapes on the white paper.  

Oh and the choccie cardboard is perfect for drawing up templates to make marking out a breeze.  I know, it would be so much easier to photocopy the pages, however, I am not at the playgroup until Friday and they have other sessions and office happenings going on during the day.   Besides, it has taken me away from my assignment which isn't bright and colourful and shapely and fun and giving my eyes a rest from black print on white paper.  

I love a bit of hands on when I can get it, I love a bit of tracing and cutting to break up the day.  I am making up 12 sets of this activity and I hope I will have enough.    

 So what is on your table this Tuesday?

Do you have any exciting happenings at your place today?

Thanks so much for stopping by my place today, take care of you, and have a wonderful day.