Nothing. Nothing at all.

While we play "I'm A SUPER" alot we aren't achieving much superhero things.

Why no blogs?

Because absolutely nothing is happening.

I thought when I sent all the kids off to school I would have sooooo much more time.

Just me and one little one.. easy right? right?



Except it just seems a big rush in the mornings and then she never wants to leave the school playground, we finally meander our way back home. I sigh at the trashed house, and we wash dishes and clean breakfast /getting ready mess. I sit down and check the internets (mistake) then before lunch I start cooking dinner/snacks/desserts. Sometimes this takes me hours. Then I realise little miss has been watching tv the whole time so we play a little. Then I try really hard to make her nap (which results in me fallling asleep and her doing whatever she wants) and then its back to school to start it all over again starting with dreaded homework and afternoon trashing the house and eating dinner causing more mess.

Sometimes I wonder that all I accomplish each day is 2 loads of washing, cooking and cleaning the kitchen and lounge. Nothing anymore than that gets done! sigh.. because I've gotta get deeper than that!


When the 3 girls first went back to school I told myself that I will give myself a week of doing nothing to recover from school holidays. Then I will pull up my pants and write a schedule for me and Miss N. We will do 'school' and activities. We will meet daddy for lunch in the city. We will make things. We will do things (and therefore have things to blog about). We will have an super clean house, and be organised, and just have oh so much fun!


I think the kids have been back at school for 5 weeks now?

hmmmm and I don't have any of the above done. None at all...


and nothing to blog about this week except for this post about nothing being done.

One Night Camping

We went camping for one night on the weekend.

It was a group camp with other people from our church

We had so much fun.

Never have we camped where we have known every person in the campground.

There were around 60 of us and we had the campground to ourselves!

Before we left I said

This has the potential to be an awesome weekend full of fun
Or I am imagining the little children forming packs of wild crazy kids not being able to calm down because of so many friends in the same spot. Lord of the flies here we come.

I had also heard several "I'm sleeing with ____ in their tent"  "____ is sleeping with us in our tent"
The details seemed to change daily.


I am so pleased to say that the former happened and not the latter.

Apart from the teenage boys with fart bombs and water bombs the children's behaviour was great!

So much fun I hope to go camping like that again!

activities:

Fire and more fire

Toasting marshmallows

Big Screen outdoor movie

waterbombs and running around crazy

Making face paint out of charcoal/fire leftovers

Group running/obstacle course games

Thanks always to the Mr who put in A LOT of work to go camping for just one night. We had a packed to the brim trailer with tents, a huge tarp, everything for outdoors movie (computer, projector, speakers, extension cords etc), ropes, first aid kit, ax, hammers and the list goes on. He set up a lot of stuff and then had to pull it all back down the next day.

Charity. A real love.

It's the day of love

I didn't accomplish half of what I pinned {on pinterest}


{will I ever?}

A few years ago I decided that we should give the girls things on Valentines. Not that I want to buy into the commercialism of spending money on one day to show your love, but give them one simple thing ~ like a single flower, a chocolate, a homemade card, a heart shaped pancake breakfast. As a gentle reminder that their parents love them. Whisperings of being kind to others, to share love with the world. The world can always use a little more of {real} love in my opinion.

{Today's gift was heart pancakes and red valentines balloons}

I've been reading on Charity lately. Click here for all 53 Scriptures that mention Charity
{great reading for valentines day!}

We all know if we have not charity we have nothing.


However a few others that caught my attention mention to be clothed in charity or to put on charity.


1 Peter 4:8 
And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: ^afor ^bcharity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Doctrine and Covenant 88:125
And above all things, clothe yourselves with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace.

Colossian 3:14
And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.


I really liked these statements. Sometimes we all feel like failures in this tough gig called life. Especially if you have high expectations for yourself. I'm always questioning if I do indeed have Charity :the pure love of Christ.

I like that it might not necceasrily be something that is with us always, BUT we can still choose to cloak ourselves with charity.

I felt the symbolism of a beautiful shawl that I can pick up and it will warm me when I need it.

At times it can be hard to have charity, Especially when we don't feel certain people deserve our charity. In our families we might think.. but THEY need to be kind/help out/say sorry to ME!

Do I like to help people that can help me back? Do I  like to help people who through their own bad choices have ended up where they are. Do I feel they deserve to be there, or don't deserve help?

I can choose the cloak of charity - its always laying right where I need it, within arms reach. I can cloak myself with it and give the pure love of Christ.

Instead of romantic love {which the Mr tried to tell me we have everyday so why do we need to celebrate on a forced/commercialized day?} maybe I can use the day to celebrate love for mankind.

Today may be a day designated for romantic love. But I think it is ok, if not better, to firstly love ourselves ~ how unique, special and wonderful we are. Treat yourself. Secondly love your family. It doesn't matter if we don't have a significant other today. We all have family. Let's tell them we love them. A call or letter to mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers. Lastly show a kindness to a stranger.


And we all will be better off for celebrating a day of love.


I've received two random acts of kindness from strangers today already! And I found a heart shaped leaf laying on the road {you know I see and photograph any natural heart}


Time to pass it on xx


Happy Valentines to all my family, friends and strangers alike who read this blog!

I LOVE YOU!

and I fell off a waterfall...

It's my birthday and all I got was this huge gash to the head...

Well Ok not really. The day started out like this:

Where she received all her desired gifts : Sunglasses, watch, hat, mini book reading light and bra's!

Then a morning shopping with mum to spend birthday money and to buy new shiny kids high heels for church. Then off to lunch at the children's favourite place of Sizzlers...

But the day ended like this:

and 7 hours in Emergency.

The poor little darling today is sore and tired and says 'she feels like grandma and it hurts to bend over {we've since talked that she will now have more compassion for old people and her grandma that has a sore back}shes got a nice headache and wants to lay down all day.

A walk with friends to a waterfall shes been to several times ended with her slipping on some moss/algae and falling 5 metres off said waterfall. Friends mother carried her all the way back down the path and bought her home and we took her up to the hospital. Her Dr was very nice and looked after her really well she said. He even called home at 11pm to check on her.

She had large bruising to her back and hip, a few scrapes and a 6cm gash to the top of her head where afterwards the doctors said they could see her skull and it was bruised.

She did say a few times.. why did this have to happen on my birthday?


We told her she is lucky she is alive with no broken bones and that it'll make her 9th birthday one she will never forget xx

Pool Party for Nine

It seems I am a sucker for parties.

My children seem to get a party {however small or simple or large} every birthday.

I know people who only do parties every second year or every four years
{1,4,8,12,16 - all important birthdays - I really LIKE that Idea!}

However it just seems we always do parties.

Have I told you what lovely neighbours I have? {I do...3 very nice ones}
Well one of them let us have Miss A's party over at her house. Why you ask?

Because they have a POOL!

Miss A felt very lucky to be able to have a POOL PARTY for her birthday.

Me? I was just happy that amongst all this rain, there wasn't any rain or storm happening. I had to walk 8 children + my own 4 home from school to the party. I also had no back up plan. This was to be a very simple party.

Simple is my favourite!


Curly Straws and Softdrink
Packets of Chips
Cupcakes

and LOTS OF SWIMMING.


Just right for a birthday at this time of year.

And I think they enjoyed it very much. I couldnt get them to leave the pool when their parents arrived.

13 years ago...

{what I was doing the night before I got married: My awesome Sydney Friends took me out and dared me to wear this granny outfit they bought along. I was too scared to wear this out in public}

We didn't really have much opportunity to celebrate (alone) this weekend for our 13th Wedding Anniversary but as we tiredly drifted off to sleep on Sunday night we had a conversation:

Do you remember what you did the night before we got married
Could you sleep (I was confused to what bed I slept in..my whole family in a hotel room?)
What time did you get up the morning of
Were you nervous
Thoughts running through your head

It was funny to hear my husbands side of things after all these years. 
He was nervous, alone, praying really hard, cried (happy tears of course)

{I have a terrible memory. I couldn't remember much at all. Maybe this blog is a good idea!}


If you could go back what would you tell your younger self?

You are doing the right thing. Life will turn out pretty perfect. Relax, he will turn up (he was stuck in traffic and late for the interview with temple president - I was petrified to go alone and worried that my tears of nervousness would be mistaken by the Temple President as a young girl who didn't want to get married) Enjoy and write down every feeling and thought from today, because believe it or not you WILL forget.

I was a pretty relaxed bride I think. Flowers bought the day before from the florist across the road {I still have a love for those Irises} Photos, Lunch with family in the Temple Cafeteria {it was great} and escaping for a slow drive back home to Brisbane stopping for whatever we wanted, and a Wedding Reception back home a week later.

I may at times want to cringe at the simpleness of it all {which felt far from simple at the time}but I loved it. I just wanted to get married, be happy with the Man I loved and not be in any debt. Pretty sure I covered all that, and the pattern has continued since.

I am that younger girl, and she is me.

Never forget. Use each day to love more. Make your goal to be more in love today than on that day.

Sci Fi Birthday Party

Sci Fi party: The Mr decided on a Dress up/Themed party for his 40th Birthday.

His once-in-every-ten-years-party. So he wanted to put a big of effort in.

Invites

The Mr is celebrating the end of his fortieth year on the planet.

Turning 40 is "halfway" through his life he says and so

he wishes to celebrate with some of the things he likes.
The theme for the party is SCI FI.

Dress up in costume as a science fiction character from either film or television.
 His Favourites, include, Start Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, Babylon 5, Dr Who to name a few.

Here are some of the details of the party:

Fancy Dress. Here are our Fun friends and family who dressed up as per invitation.

1. Star Trek  2.The Milky Way  3. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

4.Alien Baby  5. Captain and the Enterprise  6. Astronaut

7.Bazinga!  8. Mulder and Scully  9. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Birthday number from photos and more paper stars
(I told you they are quick, easy and addictive - I still have the ones from Christmas up!)

Dry Ice for fun effects

The Tardis Door/Entry

We arent big party people. We love to entertain and its not unusual for us to have people over weekly, but it isnt very often we try to throw big parties. I believe we've only had four between us (my 21st and 25th and The Mr's 30th and 40th)

What we have learnt:
::Let people know that their presence is more important to you than their outfit (yes several people told me they didn't come to our party because they couldn't think of a costume.... sad face :(

::We asked for adults only party because between our invited friends there would have been 60 children (and our house just aint big enough for THAT party) however this also prevented quite a few people from not being able to attend. I need to think of an idea where kids can be somewhere nearby but not 'at the party' (hello... dear neighbours.. I need a favour.... ;) suggestions appreciated.
        

::The Mr recluctanly joined facebook last year. He thought of all those invites he missed getting via facebook and did the same. Maybe not that many people actually check their facebook   - handwritten invites next time!

::Whilst it may look like we are loser no friends (well, its always a possibility ;) several people also had to work. I really think there should be a ban on people who have to work on Saturday nights. Really.

:: Over invite if you want a big party.
(except the time you do that everyone will come and your house will explode with people ;)


But even though we were low in expected numbers - and felt a bit silly, I learnt that it doesn't matter. We were there and our children were there. We had fun coming up with ideas and preparing. We had fun decorating, creating and having a common goal. The girls spent hours decorating and making their own outfits.

They dreamed, and planned, and giggled and spent hours days experimenting with dry ice effects.

And I suppose that is the best gift one can ever give.


Hope you enjoyed and loved your birthday party Mr


 see you at 50 ;)