~ grateful for ... our family Easter time ~

gorgeous and easy choc/noodle nests (with mini-eggs!)

I've always loved Easter.

As a child, I remember trips up north to our friends farm near Stanley.

We would hunt for thistles, round up cows, drink amazing iced chocolates and play endless games of 500 and scrabble.  There was always a complex jigsaw on the go, the Nut to climb and mountains of delicious food.

I want my children to grow up with that same sense of it being family time, time to indulge and enjoy, time to relax and unwind, time to see old friends.

We made Emma's nests yesterday for old friends from Melbourne and we've constructed amazing Lego creations today.  We've baked and cooked and tonight we had a lovely, loud dinner with family.

I'm grateful for this time to enjoy my family, to indulge our love of chocolate and to keep making those special memories.

However and whatever you celebrate at this time may it be joyful.

♥

(linking with Maxabella for all kinds of gratefuls)

~ garden mood board for March ~

There's not much happening in our garden at the moment.

A few last tomatoes, some straggly lemons, giant grapefruit we keep forgetting about.

We do have some carrots coming if the kids don't get them first.

Luckily there are little pockets of flowers to cheer me through these greyer days.

I'm joining Karin to share a monthly mood board.

How does your garden grow at the moment? 

♥

~ grateful for... facebook solutions to life's little dilemmas ~

It's really not that long until Easter.

I had been casually scanning the shelves...watching for mini-eggs

(the Cadbury ones with the speckly hard shells and the yummy centres)

...but had come up with nil sightings.

I was getting a bit worried.

(they're my favourite)

So I put a little call out on face-book... and lo and behold my friends came to the rescue.

Several options of where to buy...some offers to post them to me...and some amazingly generous girls who went out of their way to buy my some.

Who wouldn't be grateful for that?

I certainly am.

Not my resolve to not snack that had been doing so well, and not my cholesterol level...but me, definitely.

(I'm munching on them now...so good) 

What do you use social media for?

What are you grateful for this week?

I'm linking with Maxabella...its always fun.

♥

~ lovely lavender ~

Loving the flowers again for wordless Wednesday.

Linking with  my little drummer boys.

♥

~ hello, my name's Ally and I'm addicted to instagram ~

Do you instagram?

I've fallen for it completely in the last month. 

(I'm waaaay beyond a crush...its more like stalker territory)

I jumped on the February photo-a-day challenge from fatmumslim and am loving it.

I'm relishing the challenge of coming up with an idea to fit the word of the day and really enjoying seeing what others are doing too.

I'd always looked at those 365 challenges on flickr and found them too daunting...but a month...or more....that I can do.

If I can work out how to make a little button-y thing on the side of the blog I'll put my link there (but if that's beyond me you can look me up on instagram...I'm sapa there).

Are you playing already? (What's your username?)

Do you like little challenges like this? 


♥

~ charming californian poppies ~

Loving floral wordlessness.

Linking with  my little drummer boys.

♥

~ donate life ~

 

Its donate life week.

Some time ago I promised another blogger that I'd write about organ donation.  
Its particularly pertinent to her as she's on the list for a double lung transplant.

I think its important for all of us.

When I was in fifth year medical school I spent some time at a small (ish) country hospital.  There was lots to learn - not least the nitty-gritty of being part of a small community and being kind of apart from it as well.

One of my most profound memories from that time is of a young man we treated there.  I didn't really meet him...he had tried to commit suicide and was in the ICU (or equivalent) being kept alive by machines.

I was part of the medical team speaking with his parents about organ donation.

They were in shock.  They were devastated.  At times they were barely coherent.  They were adamant that his organs should be donated.  Other family members vehemently disagreed with this.

I've never really mastered the whole detached professional thing.  I certainly hadn't as a 22 yo student.

I have very clear memories of sitting next to his mum crying with her as the debate went on.

He did go on to donate organs.

I was allowed to watch the harvesting (a huge privilege).

I cried then too.

I saw his mum a few weeks later.  Gaunt and hollow eyed.  She made a point of saying that the only good thing to have come out of the whole event was that other lives had been saved/changed.

This was despite the fact that her own mother was still upset by the fact that she felt she didn't get to say goodbye properly; that he was with strangers in an operating theatre when he died.

I've since been lucky enough to look after patients who have had successful transplants and seen their lives transformed.  

Hope manufactured from the depths of despair.

I was always a believer in organ donation.  I still am.

I carry my card.  I've registered.  I've discussed it with my loved ones.

Have you?

 ♥

 http://www.donatelife.gov.au/decide

~ grateful for... fresh starts ~

{also grateful for my children who indulge the photographer mummy}

School started again this week.

Cue cheery excited faces, books to cover, routines to be re-established.

We've had a fabulous summer but they were ready to be back.

Me, not so much.  
School's been tough for the last 2 years - not for the girls but the fight to save our school (the Tasmanian government is trying to shut small schools to save money) and the trials and tribulations of  working with a very difficult woman who had a "reign of terror" at our school.

She's gone and suddenly everything seems brighter.

There's a freshness at school, a new vibe, new energy and it's feeling great.

Our new principal actually stood up on the first day and acknowledged he will be fighting alongside us to save our wonderful little school.

I'm so grateful that we have the opportunity for a fresh start this year.  That there's hope and something still worth fighting for.

 ♥

What are you grateful for this week?

I'm joining in with themed gratefuls at kidspot Thanks Maxabella.  
I broke the rules this week.  I'm always grateful for nature and I post wordless posts about this every week so I thought it would be ok
xx

~ fancy forget-me-nots ~

 

 

 

Loving floral wordlessness.

Linking with  my little drummer boys.

♥

~ grateful for.... food filled memories ~

{my grandmother's recipe book}

What triggers your memories of places you've travelled or special events?

Seeing the snapshots?  Maybe certain scents or music that you associate with that place/event that brings it all flooding back?

For me and the Doc it's always been about the food.

I remember what we ate on our first date rather than what I wore or what he said.

We reminisce about our travels through Europe with stories about our meals rather than the museums or churches.

Our highlights reel is full of fabulous pastas, amazing hidden restaurants that we stumbled on, great gelatis, the search for the best coffee in Italy.

We even have "bread rules" and "dessert rules" (he gets the larger serve of bread, I choose dessert).

Even when we are not travelling, food is the way we index our life, our memories.

My recipe books are full of recipes listed thus;

•    Kerrie's rice salad (that we ate at the AFL grand final lunch)
•    Susan's mud-cake (which we had for Lily's first birthday)
•    Nan's brandy sauce (made religiously every Christmas)

 - this is a family trait; my mum and my grandmother had hordes of hand-written recipes always annotated with the event, the person responsible or the response to the food.

I've caught the kids at it too: "oh you know, that place where I tried broccoli soup for the first time", 

" can we go to the cafe where they have "those amazing biscuits".

I'm grateful we life a life full of such abundance.  

That our relationship with food is so healthy.  

That our memories are so sweet.

 

 ♥

What are you grateful for this week?

I'm joining in with themed gratefuls at kidspot Thanks Maxabella.

~ fabulous fuchsias (wordless) ~

 

Enjoying floral wordlessness.

Linking with  my little drummer boys.

♥

~ grateful for.... reasons to smile ~

Lots to smile about this week (and I'm always grateful for smiles).

Our girls (and their twinny besties) heading off to tennis camp.  I am so grateful my girls have these friends in their lives.  Girls they've known their whole lives.  Girls who are sleeping over tonight and who I can still hear chattering and giggling away (at 10pm!) even though they've spent ALL week together.

My little man heading to his first dress-up party.  With his spider man hat on backwards.  Not caring it was a pirate party.  At all.

A perfect night for a picnic on the lawns at Salamanca.

Holiday food - pancakes for breakfast and then "Muuuuum - we really should have SOMETHING healthy this week".

 

I didn't think I was going to like being told what to be grateful for each week.

But it turns out I'm really quite enjoying it...

 ♥

 I'm joining in with themed gratefuls at Kidspot.  Thanks Maxabella.

~ grateful for....kindness ~

I think kindness is one of the most under-rated attributes. 

Even used sparingly it is one of the things any of us can do to ease the path of another.

Unlooked-for and unexpected kindnesses can make even the greyest days brighter.

I've been watching for kindness all week.

I found examples every day - little things that made my heart sing, put a smile on my face, made my day.

My husband stopped on his way home to bring me coffee, a friend offered to look after my children so I could go to gym class, a text message commenting on the letter I wrote to the paper, comments on my blog, the grocer guy offering to carry my stuff to the car, the understanding smile from another mother when the 3yo let rip with yet another tantrum at the beach.

More amazingly I've watched my children being kind to each other.  Even in the middle of their long holidays when they've been thrown together far more than normal they are treating each other with respect and kindness.  Letting the 3 year join in the card game even though they know he will wreck it before the end, giving up the favourite red spoon to a sister, letting someone have first choice of the lollies; - watching out and caring for each other. 

I value kindness. This week I've been more aware of it than usual - but I'm always grateful for it.

I'm joining in with themed gratefuls at Kidspot.  Thanks Maxabella. xx

~ the one without the resolutions ~

I don't do resolutions.

I'm just not that into them.

They feel too hard.  Like a list for failing. They never last.

Hopes and dreams I can do.  Wishes too.

I hope I can reach out and grasp at opportunities, to seek challenges and find joy.

My dreams are for my family - for health and happiness, for nuturing and empathy, for fun.

I wish for world peace.  
Or a huge tattslotto win.  
Or simply some fabulous summer days as we while away our summer up at the shack.

What are your hopes, wishes and dreams for 2012?

What's your summer looking like?

♥

~ letting go gently ~

We're saying goodbye to 2011 quietly tonight.

The Doc is working from home and we're having a few friends over for casual dinner and drinks.

Some chatting, some slip'n'sliding, some silly pictionary and scattergories games. 

Lots of bubbles and laughs.

We'll remember a happy, busy year:

• When we moved back into our house and loved it so.
• When we adopted two kittens and loved them so.
• When Lily spread her wings at a new school and blossomed.  
• And Gracie had her own space at school and revelled in it.
• When Jack continued his love affair with trucks and cars and maxi-taxis.
• An amazing conference, a fabulous adult getaway with old friends, time at the shack, the fabulous Wednesday dinners, new friends, blogging, raspberries, Tuesday play days, family traditions (new and old), soccer games, a quilt in progress, lots of photos,  ballet concerts, priceless art works, precious moments....

We'll go gently into 2012 too.

Counting our blessings, looking forward to new challenges and enjoying the little things that make every day special.

Wishing the same to you.

Happy 2012!

♥