Card Fun

The last few weeks have been a bit hectic and I haven't had a lot of time for Crafts. I've always enjoyed making cards and Chloe had a birthday party to go to last week and I had a little bit of time to make this cute card. What do you think? I pasted the Cow print flannel material on to paper and then cut it out. The letters are with stencils. Very simple but I thought it was a fun design. Chloe then went to town decorating the card and I forgot to take a pic of the end result!

Do you know Scoodi?

Have you come across Scoodi yet?

Do you have things you don't want anymore but think its a waste to throw out? Or just haven't got around to taking it to an Op shop or finding someone who may want your old loved things?
Try Scoodi.

Ha ha I sound like a sales lady. I just think this is a great idea.

Its a great site for giving away or selling things you don't want anymore to people who are happy to travel to you. No going to the post office or the tip. It means we reduce landfill and recycle more. You can also find things that you may need or want on it too.

I love how you can select the distance you are happy to travel, makes browsing for new stuff fun!

We first came across Scoodi when living in Brisbane. Actually Mic knew the guys who created it and asked us to check it out. We found it great. Got rid of a few things that we were happy to throw out but were too big to put in the bin so a tip visit was required. We didn't have a car big enough nor a trailer. Some guy thought our broken desk and bike(that we had no idea how to fix) was worth something, he came and collected them and fixed them up for his grandkids!

I've been talking to the guys at Scoodi about reving up some business down here in Sydney as everytime I look there is barely an item on it. They have told me that if I can list at least 10 things and encourage some others to, they will then run an article in the local paper. It is a FREE service so they can't easily run a advertising campaign. The problem is it can't grow without any items on it as when people look and see nothing they don't use the site.

I think this is a fantastic site and I would encourage you in the next few weeks to find just a few things to post on it and see how you go. It can be anything from furniture to toys, books, cds, old computer parts, plants, craft surplies, clothes. Anything at all.

www.scoodi.com

Amusement

Some days the strangest things amuse me. The other day I decided that my coffee shelf really looked terrible and I should make it look nicer. I have a strange kitchen that doesn't quite make sense to me. I struggle to make it not look unorganised and messy. My house was a real mess that day but I couldn't focus on any house work and just wanted that shelf to look better! Maybe it was more about every other job being big and this was something I could tackle and potentially finish in the time I had. Anyway, I spent some time finding some nice jars I had tucked away to put my tea in that was in the shop boxes and looking rather ratty. By only using what I had in the house, I tidied it up and was rather pleased with the result. It amuses me each time I look at it that I spent so much time trying to make it look nice when no one else may ever notice. I like how the jars still sparkle, I bet they don't in a months time!

Being a Mum

This week I have been told many stories of struggling within parenting or just having a bad day. Nobodies having a whinge, just people struggling with every day life of parenting. Some situations are more unique then others. There is the mum who burst into tears when I asked how she was going. She is just really sleep deprived and today was struggling to smile. There is the dad who has taken time off work to help his wife who is not coping with three little kids and needs some time out and some help to catch up on things. The wife who doesn't understand why her husband doesn't get how much work staying at home with kids is, how tired she is being pregnant and how much her hormones are effecting her this week, she wants some time out, and the dad who thinks he has to change careers to be able to be more supportive of having a family. They are some of the stories I have heard in the last two days!

Two dads this week said to me that they don't understand how mums can function on so little sleep, that they knew they would be a basket case if it was them. I think the reality of this statement is that many women don't function well on little sleep. That we do some times burst into tears, or ask the husband to stop the car and then get out and walk home, or forget essential things for school or a birthday or an event, forget groceries or a doctors appointment or to pay a bill. That we do yell too loud sometimes at the kids, or binge out on chocolate or other indulgence. That some days we want to give up. Want to scream at the top of our lungs, want to go back to bed and sometimes do. I know I have done many of these things, many times.

Being a parent can be hard. One mum said to me this week: "I can do this, the mum stuff its not that hard, but without sleep I can not, nothing happens when I am sleep deprived". There is no question about that.

I have found that it is really important to be honest about how you are going. To ask for help when you need it. To source resources that are available to you.To know what your weaknesses are, what tips you over, what causes you to fall apart. To set up plans for when your weaknesses are called upon so you can cope when that time comes. And then if all else fails, turn on the tv, have toast or weatbixs for dinner, have a friend who is sympathetic, give them a call and have a glass of wine. Tomorrow is another day.

I wrote this today because everyone I spoke to this week brought up something along these lines with me. I remember when Chloe was a baby and we lived far from family and I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't know these basics then, but I am slowly learning ways to parent better, ways to function better and ways to smile more. I hope that this is somehow useful for you today too.

x Jo

Back to school

Hmmm, I started this blog during school holidays. Wow I had so much time to sit and do entries and think about things I would like to share, time to do my crafts and relax a bit. Now school is back in term, I am finding it so much harder to keep it all up. That morning rush, the afternoon attention that is required, dinners, baths, lunches, uniforms, readers, sight words, and on and on. I've also started feeding Oliver solids now. Its amazing how much time all these things take up. However, I strive to still find time for my self, to have time for a cup of coffee, time to read emails, do some crafts (though at a slower rate) and maybe even a bit of time to read. And then after all that I hope to do some blogging. :) I am still here, just at a bit of a slower rate at the moment.

I finally tracked down a copy of this gorgeous book I read about on some local craft blogs. Meet me at Mike's. Stay tuned for some fun crafts coming out of it.

I recently acquired some balls of wool of various colours from my late Grandmothers place. She was an amazing crafts person and has inspired me so much. I have been mucking around a bit with the wool trying to work out what I want to make. Started some Granny squares last night. Tossing up between making a scarf or a blanket. Will see how fast I can get making the squares before decide!

Also made a cute crochet necklace for a friend recently. It was lots of fun making it.

I've added some Hat's and more autumn photos to slide shows.

Hope you are having a great autumn week.

Autumn

Autumn is my favorite season. I love the sunny days that are not too hot, the cold snugly mornings, and the beautiful changing leaves. Yesterday I managed to get out and take some photos of some of the local trees. See my sideshow to the right.

Hat of the Day

It was suggested to me by another mum at school this week that I need a "Hat of the Day" blog due to all the hats Oliver wears. So I have decided to start a little slideshow titled "Hat of the day". My first entry is this cute quote and picture I found this evening in a book shop at Leura. It made me laugh. Check out my slideshow on the right.