After All These Years

2013: One Little Word

I love the One Little Word concept and if you're new to it, read about it here. 

Usually as the end of the year gets closer, my word finds me. And this time was no exception. We had a difficult 2012. But we have learnt so much from it and the biggest lesson is that life can change in an instant, you never know what's around the corner. 

My word for 2013 is play.

"Play energises us and enlivens us. It eases our burdens. It renews our natural sense of optimism and opens us up to new possibilities."

I love that quote and it sums up perfectly what I want from 2013. I want to live in the moment more, worry less, clean less and play more. I want more energy and new experiences. 

So today I had a little play in my scraproom.

I just pulled out a few supplies that make me happy and made a little something for this frame from Ikea. This is how I will keep my word present in my life this year.

I'd love to hear if you choose One Little Word. 

From My Family To Yours: Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a happy and safe new years and of course, a wonderful Christmas! 

It's the start of a new year, and with it comes lots of new goals and a renewed sense of inspiration!

2012 was a hard year for me and my family. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for my many blessings but we had to deal with some drama that took us by surprise. And I have to say that I'm glad to put 2012 behind me!

I've missed blogging, and scrapbooking lately! I'm definitely going to get back into it starting today! I've been having a huge cleanout of my scraproom and am actually downsizing a bit but I'll devote a post another day to organising! 

Oh, and I've chosen my one little word for this year and I'll share it in a couple of days! 

Thank you to those that keep checking on my little blog, even though it hasn't been updated so much lately. That is changing. I feel renewed and ready for fun!

 

{Soon}

Be back very soon. My husband has had an accident and is in hospital :(  He's doing ok, just will take some time and I'm just taking things day by day. 

Gail x

{I Don't Know How She Does It}

Have you seen this movie? I watched it recently and was somewhat comforted. My plate is very full. I'm struggling to keep up with the washing. And I always seem to be tired. Eeeek! But I know I'm not alone in feeling this way!

This is not just a whiney blog post I promise! Because I know that when I feel this way I need to get back to basics - documenting and recording the stories and being grateful of course. 

• I'm about to register for this class from Ali Edwards. It's come at just the right time for me! 
• I'm almost up to date on my monthly gratitude layouts.
• The shop is going so well! I've got new product to design and source!

 

Of course, taking up most of my time is my beautiful family! I've been terribly slack at documenting Noah's first year so far so the rest of this catch up post if for him!

At nine months old:

He is pulling himself up and furniture surfing! Nothing is safe!

Has two bottom teeth.

Crawls so fast when he wants something.

Doesn't like to be put down much . . .

Loves his food (obviously).

Puts everything in his mouth.

Gives the best snuggles.

Gives the biggest smiles with his gorgeous dimples.

Still loves his bath!

Still gives high pitched squeals when he's happy or wants attention.

His sister always gets the biggest giggles!

Is such a good baby and sleeps wonderfully!

We love him so much!

 

{0 to 4 In The Blink Of An Eye}

Today is my girl's 4th birthday and I can't help but reflect upon these last four years . . . how amazing they've been . . . how fast it has gone. 

From my first ever PINK layout!

Oh I love this girl so much! 

xxx

{January Gratitude}

I'm a little late posting this month's gratitude list but nevertheless, here is January's list:

1. A great Christmas/New Year's break, the longest holiday my husband's ever had from work! 

2. A handy husband - doing some minor renovations and he does it all!

3. Amelia's extreme love for her baby brother. Still smothers him with love most of the day.

4. Noah. He is a dream baby right now - sleeping and eating so well and playing happily for longer.

5. 7 hours sleep a night. Most nights. At least. Hooray!

6. Balancing my time slightly better. Finding time to work on Greatest View, keeping up with house stuff etc.

7. Coconut M&Ms. Yum. 

8. A smooth start to Kindy for my girl. I was a nervous wreck.

9. Blogs. Gosh I've "met" some nice people through blogging.

10. My baby boy's giggles every single time he gets undressed! 

{Catching My Breath}

Well, it's over for another year. What a busy month December always turns out to be! I had grand plans to do so much but I let it go. I didn't get to make photo ornaments for the tree. I didn't get to make an advent calendar. I didn't get to do a lot of baking. But, I did get to spend more time with my kids hanging out. I did get to do a massive clean out of our house (while hubby is on holidays). I did get to catch up with some old friends.

So now we are in recovery mode. We are re-organising the house to make room for all the new toys. We are eating our way through the leg ham and chocolates. And I am making plans and goals for next year. I love the enthusiasm I have when the new year rolls around!

{November Gratitude}

This project gets me thinking throughout the whole month, to be grateful for the little things. And that's exactly what I wanted it to do! So here's my list for November:

1. My family's health. A few people I know have had/are going through a rough time health wise. It's always in the back of my mind.

2. The kindness of strangers. I'll tell this story another day . . . 

3. Amelia's creativity. I just love when she draws me pictures and puts them up on the fridge herself. And I love that I can tell what she's drawn LOL!

4. Sleep. I've had a bit more lately and it's awesome!

5. Farex. This has allowed me to get more sleep! 

6. Online support. I am humbled and so happy that I've finally launched my first online class!

7. Early Christmas shopping. I'm nearly done . . . the shops are getting so busy.

8. Weight Watchers. I took the plunge and joined with my BFF and I love that it's teaching me the correct eating habits again.

9. A new camera which is inspiring me to snap more photos everyday.

10. My husband. We recently had our fifth wedding anniversary and I can't believe it's been five years already! How different our life is now . . .

Don't forget to let me know if you want to join in this monthly gratitude project!

It's filling up but it's not too late to join in!  There's still plenty of time left before class 'officially' kicks off and to get your kit in time! Read all about it here.

{October Gratitude}

Any time in my life that I feel a bit out of control, overwhelmed (and lets face it - down in the dumps) I refer back to the principles in this book, namely gratitude. This is where the idea for a daily gratitude journal comes from. 

While I don't keep a gratitude journal, in the times such as those listed above, simply taking time each day to be grateful for anything helps. It really does. 

Don't worry, I'm absolutely fine - am feeling inspired actually!

I'm going to dedicate a blog post on the last day of each month to gratitude by listing 10 things I'm grateful for that month. Who knows, I may even make a mini album for them one day!

So here goes for October:

1. Good friends who text to check up on me when I don't make it to playgroup.

2. The abundance of 'help' for babies with digestive issues. Godsend. 

3. The imagination of my 3 year old daughter.

4. Getting 1-2 hours each evening to do something for myself again.

5. Grandparents. 

6. Warmer days but still cool mornings.

7. Venus Spa Breeze razor. Seriously, if you haven't tried it, you need to!

8. My gorgeous boy's smiles and giggles. Finally.

9. Tivo. It ensures I have something to watch during a late night (or rather early morning) feed.

10. Catching up with old friends.

You are welcome to play along. Please let me know if you do :)

{Work In Progress}

Over the next couple of weeks, I'm working on some changes to my blog so it may look a bit strange/different each time you visit! I'm in the midst of a fantastic online class that's teaching me lots of tricks that I could never quite workout for myself! 

A couple of pics to share . . .

He is keeping me busy (and up at all hours of the night)

She is keeping me on my toes as she never stops! Here's my little tiger playing the drums in "Africa" at Australia Zoo.

This is keeping me sane, inspired and GRATEFUL at the moment. Have you read it? I think you should. I read it every couple of years when I need to remind myself how lucky I am.

Ok, back to playing around in Typepad!