sniff

31st October, 2008

trick or treat?

the best thing that happened today? 

the girl next door (actually she lives across the road, 

thinks she's a boy & has far more fun kicking the footy with our sweet P than being oogled at by little M) 

walked across the road, up our drive, & knocked on "milo's door". 

Oh. 

My. 

Goodness.

the worst thing that happened today?

the girl next door took her handful of jelly snakes & went to the next house. with little more than a side ways glance at the little wizard. dressed to impressed only for 'tasha'. when she left the costume came off & was not to be mentioned again.

sniff

I guess I'm off to nurse a broken heart!

to create

31st October, 2008

A quiet corner for our little one to create within....

 

papa's drum serves as a table for supplies & inspiration

lavender fresh from the garden 

a gorgeous thrifted pottery vase 

smell so, feel so, draw so delightful stockmar beeswax crayons

& I'm reminded by the lovely soule mama that to have a creative home you need to create a space within which to create. 

So I pulled out my dusty easel, propped it up by little M's & had a wonderful time remembering what it felt like to use paints & pens & 

a blank canvas.

and look what I made :)

inspired by this loveliness & this memory  

(sorry for the dodgy photo's, I'm not so good with stationary subjects!)

much more

30th October, 2008

Umm....

Feeling a little shy these past weeks. 

                    *eyes downcast & blushing slightly*

I have been so overwhelmed by the beautiful comments & email messages I have received from friends & strangers who visit this space. 

What started out as a (cheats) way to record the memories of my babes life has grown into so much more. A place for me to have the occasional rant. An opportunity to reflect on the day or the stage or the decision. An acknowledgment of my achievements. A reminder of all I have to be grateful for.  

So I apologise for my absence from this space. Your messages of encouragement & support mean so much to me. They truly make my day sunnier. So please, don't you be shy now.....

a beetroot mishap

23rd October, 2008

The sun is shining it's warmth all through our home this week. Warming our bones & brightening the dusty corners. It lifts our moods & inspires us to create, to do & to imagine.

Priority number one on our family list is to redesign our sleeping routine after reading Elizabth Pantley's wonderful book. (More on that process to follow). 

Which of course is an excellent opportunity to also redesign our sleeping room. 

I wanted to create a cocoon effect. A place of calm & welcoming. The heavenly colours of soft blues & pinks to encourage a gentle drift into dream land. 

So I began to gather supplies in my mind....

Then a quilt cover, over & over I went, around & around. We are trying so very hard to not purchase new unless there is not an alternative. Especially items like cotton which are so costly to grow.

Then I remembered. An old quilt cover in the cupboard. Unbleached cotton from many moons ago. All but forgotton. Perfect.

I hung it on the line & filled a spray bottle with beetroot juice ~

"Nudey Painting" little M called it. 

'Avoiding pink stains all over our clothes'  I thought.

What a fun way to spend the afternoon. How joyful for him to create the art under which he would sleep. And all natural, all recycled. Perfect.

Then after it had dried in the sun for two days. I washed it.

And do you know what... not one single pink beetroot blemish was left on that entire cover. What did I do wrong? Every time I've ever splashed beetroot onto anything it stains. 

What went wrong?

awakening

22nd October, 2008

Well, I feel like I have nothing interesting to say today but am compelled to write all the same. 

The busyness of Spring is driving the intensity of energy in & around our home. I feel inspired by it but also overwhelmed. 

Where to begin?

Where to place my own energy & focus?

Skillfully I 'hide' in preparation of tasks to begin. I think this syndrome is widely known as 'procrastination'.  Yes, mm hmm.

I find myself called to 'midwife' (to be with woman) those I hold dear to my heart. In ways I've not know how before. I'm finding purpose & truth in simple acts such as cooking a meal for a friend, sending a message of luck to another. To be able to simply sit & hold the hand, the body of a love & to light a candle & hold space in my own heart for another. To see the beauty in those around me. And also to call upon my own tribe when I feel the need to be held.

In doing so I honour myself. To see the value & the beauty I can offer to these wonderful souls.  

It is a pleasure & a joy to honour another beautiful woman who is midwife to me through this awakening.

Thankyou sweet Sister.

promises

21st October, 2008

I promised some more pics from a special shoot in September......

Such loveyness in this wee family. 

& loveyness to yours too.... x

surprises

10th October, 2008

While you are all being so accommodating of my rant, here is one more link you will want to follow.......

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/10/09/1223145589248.html

I'm not telling what it is, you'll just have to see for yourselves!

sunniness x J

moving. slowly. moving

8th October, 2008

I try hard not to get on any political (or other) rants here in this space. I save it up mostly for my Sweet P & other more expecting friends (& foes too).

But I feel the shift in the air. The culture of acceptance in our society for the honesty of government & institution is moving, slowly, moving. 

Rarely do we question the chemicals in our foods, our pharmaceuticals, our beauty products. We believe that in this first class society, regulation protects us from nasties. Well my friends, I'm afraid that is not so. It is shocking & alarming to know the adverse side effects caused by many products deemed 'safe' by our regulators. 

Why is it that we are so conscious of what Miles (& ourselves) eats, wears, plays with, consumes? Because we have a small understanding of the effects of chemicals in many everyday products. We say no to lollies, not (only) for the sugar content, but for the myriad of colours & preservatives.  We do so to increase his joy & pleasure rather than deny it as is often thought, I'm sure. 

So, my friends, if you choose to consider, to question, to be aware of what goes into your bodies, here are a couple of links. Very short articles which offer a glimpse. I highly recommend you do. 

Scientists at Harvard Medical School studied more than 3000 women and found using talc once a week raised the risk of ovarian cancer by 36%.

Fluoride 

Food Additives

in peace & health x

blowin' in the wind

4th October, 2008

It was early on Saturday morning. Sweet P was sleeping in, I was cleaning up the kitchen, little M was playing in the sandpit. 

I could hear a tune blowing in the breeze, "Mr fwog jumed out of a pond....".

I found him with a little frog figurine in his hand, leaning over a (huge) empty sand toy basket which had a rain puddle in the bottom.

I smiled at him as I took the 'mixing' bowl from the sandpit & placed it still with sand & rain water on the deck beside him. 

I took a handful of stones from the agave pot by the step & placed them gently in the bowl. 

I smiled at him again, now intently watching my actions, I walked to the birch tree hanging over the sand. I pulled off a small piece & said softly 'thanks tree'. Then slipped it down the side of the bowl. 

I put my hand out to little M as I sang his song,

"Mr frog jumped out of his pond one day, and found himself in the rain."

He walked over to the bowl

"Said he 'I'll get wet & I might catch a cold, ah, ah, ah choo' so he jumped in the pond again"

The little frog quickly jumped into his new pond & the little boy continued his play & song for the next 20 minutes.

and yes, as expected, 

before too long the boy had become the frog, 

jumping in & out of the pond :)

a little nervous

1st October, 2008

So I had an email a little while ago from a woman wanting to book a session with her 3 little cherubs. She'd done a google search & found me ~ yay, located on the Mornington Peninsula, just like her. A couple of back & forth emails & then I got her home answering machiene. 'Hi you've called R....., ....., ....., ...... & ........ leave us a message'.

I thought huh? I know these people - or I use to anyway, pre babies. 

So on Monday I got to hang out with them all. We chased fairies around the garden, dreamt about fat quarters & caught the interactions between parent & child that shape families & minds.

Here is one little piccy. I won't get to proof the pics 'til Thursday arvo but this one caught my eye. I'm sure there'll be more to follow.

It was a pleasure & an honour. And even though I was a little nervous, I needn't have been. 

I left feeling so energised & inspired ~ To go home & play with my own little cherub..... & to (finally) make that quilt I've been thinking & thinking & thinking about.....

thanks Rob x

my m i l

1st October, 2008

We love this woman.

How blessed are we to to have her in our lives. 

Her best assets? The way she always sees the best in people, that she will learn a new skill anytime it takes her fancy & not be stopped by age or priors or expectations, her vegieburgers, her ferocious love for family, her imagination equalled only in size by my small child, her hugs.

Today we celebrated her birthday. What to get a grandmother recently retired with back problems caused by a lifetime of hard physical work? Her first powertool of course. An electric hedge trimmer to play with in the garden she's learning to love so dearly.

Happy belated Birthday Heath. 

You are one in a million. We count our lucky stars every week.

x from Jules, Paulie & Milo