life

my baby girls blog

i like that i can tell her mood by her uploads!

actually i'm just grateful she shares it with me

having a teenager is like walking a tight rope some days, lord knows how i'll cope with two!

breathe, just breathe

❤

life

taking a walk in the sunshine

i let my baby girl have a mental health day yesterday

she's been having a really tough time at school 

high school started off so well, she loved it, especially loving the whole feeling of independence and growing up

and then it all came crashing down 

girls can be so, so cruel to each other

and it is so heartbreaking to watch my beautiful girl struggle with the emotional roller-coaster that life has become

after a pretty scary sunday afternoon spent in hospital dealing with a panic attack and hyperventilation,

we are taking things easy

if it all gets too much we stop and sort through the pain and emotions and if that means taking a day off school to stop and smell the roses, then so be it

life isn't meant to be this hard at 13

and life can be way too short

so lets embrace all the positives we can

love you my baby girl, big hugs xoxoxo

❤

life

a glimpse of sun : reserving my 5 o'clock wine and cheese deck chair : and so glad to see my pretty little bush orchids have survived the torrential rain of the past few days...

happy Australia Day : ) 

❤

life

you know when it all seems just that little bit too hard

when you look around the house and see all of those jobs that need to be done, that you've put off again and again

when the kids seem to have been at each other for hours...niggling each other relentlessly

 when the clock is ticking faster and faster towards 6pm and you don't have the energy to even give dinner a thought...

sometimes it can be the little things that can give you a huge boost

the 'vintage' champagne glass that came from my mum's house will always make me smile, 

picked up on our last visit home, a little memento of her

filled to the brim with delicious sparking gold bubbles all the way from the bottom of stem (oh so chic!)...

a little aperitif and a quiet moment thinking about mum

yes, feeling much better now...

ready to take it all on

❤

ps. "it's all g" as Emma would say : ) 

g as in good ; )  

life : I resolve

I'm hopeless. Utterly, utterly hopeless at new year's resolutions. I gave up on them long ago. But this year, with so much having gone on over the past 3 and a half years and with so much on the horizon...moving house again, settling a tween into high school, coming to terms with life without my mum & making decisions with my sisters on what to do with mum's house, trying to re-enter the workforce after a long stint at home (I've just spent a butt numbing long time on the internet trying to find tips for "mature age" re-entry into the workforce & I'm terrified), getting a grip on my health & fitness... I've decided to make a quiet little resolution to myself, for myself.

I resolve to do more for me. Just me and me alone. Find a quiet moment each day for me, outside all the busyness of the household, the kids and school and well, you know just all that stuff that goes on in life,  just so I can focus my mind on what I want from the future. What I want for me. And also to focus on what makes me happy (I've realised that I focus most of my time on keeping the peace and keeping everyone else happy) and how I can harness that and keep it close to my heart each and every day (because I'm pretty sure that it's not really chocolate that makes me happy!! Although...).

And hopefully in doing so I will find my bliss (thanks Leese) along the way...

...hopefully...we'll see

I'm pretty sure this would be an ideal spot to indulge in a quiet moment of me time!!

❤

*oh and while I'm at it I should resolve to be a little bit more relaxed this year, and a little bit less tense and cranky pants all the time...the kids and Matthew will appreciate it, I'm sure!! ; )

image via here

the past few weeks in pictures...

and a few words...

from Christmas to pre-Christmas with love

Christmas Day...finally some sun!

merry christmas from my babies

Em leading us up the garden path! 

enjoying the most relaxed christmas our little family has ever had...
no travelling, just us...nice, very nice

happy anniversary baby (got those peonies that never thought i would)

the end of primary school for my big girl

celebrating (anniversaries and graduations) at our local Thai restaurant

a cheesy grin self portrait

another self portrait...a girl and her blue shoes

kicking back at Issy's birthday party

happy birthday gorgeous girl

the birthday girl and the proud mamma 

so pretty

cranky pants

pulling into the quay

taking a pre Christmas stroll through the city 

the beautiful sparkly Swarovsky Chrissy tree in the Queen Vic

waiting for the fireworks at Darling Harbour

yay!

sparkly lights : love this city : ) 

happy holidays ❤

and ps...I think we've sold the house..fingers crossed

* thank you to Em for the photos xxoo

Snippet(s)

Take one Friday school assembly and a trip to the corner shop on the way home from school and this is what you get...

"Hurry up Mum and open the car and don't put these photos on facebook.  Or your blog!" Em. 

❤