Wordless Wednesday - Sunglasses Divas

It's always on the coldest and wettest days when there's no sun that the sunglasses come out for play!

Linking up with Trish at My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday

Sharing The Love

I have never been one to gracefully accept praise when it is given. I'm one of those awkward people who when given an award or some positive feedback I tend to look at my toes and mumble a 'Thank You' as I'm a little bit embarrassed that anyone would think me worthy as I just go about my day living life and doing what I do to get through the day. So I feel very humbled by being awarded a lovely blogging award which is awarded to bloggers by fellow bloggers for blogs with under 200 followers who inspire others (can I fit any more 'blog' into this sentence?).

The Fabulous Jo at Country Life Experiment has very kindly awarded me the Liebster Blog Award. Jo has a fantastic blog documenting her move to the farm from the city, Jo takes wonderful photos and shares lovely recipes and stories of her life on the farm.

There are a few rules for accepting the award:

• Copy and paste the award on your blog
• Link back to the blogger who gave you the award
• Pick your five favourite bloggers with under 200 followers who deserve to be recognised
• Hope the five chosen bloggers will continue to spread the blog award love

  

I have been a little  bit slack in getting onto sharing the love but here are 5 fellow bloggers who inspire me. For some I have no idea how many followers they have so apologies if they have more than 200 followers. Also no pressure, if you don't want to participate, that's no problem.

AnnieCookie - Katie has recently changed her blog from 'A Sunny Home' to Annie Cookie, she has wonderful craft ideas for kids and I LOVE the fact her blog is named after her invisible twin from when she was a child.

McCarthy Designs - Nellie is a new discovery of mine, she has fabulous taste and I love that she's set up business in the country, only a few hours from me

Mama of 2 Boys - Julie is a fabulous read, with awesome pics, and yes I know she's been awarded it before but I think she inspires me so much looking after two rowdy boys in a small space, that I can award it to her again!

About a Bugg - Renee writes a truly inspiring blog about herself and her family, as they raise their daughter Poss who has Asperger's Syndrome.

Teapots and Tractors - Annaleis lives in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia and posts about her life on a farm and her beautiful kids, and a bit about craft too.

Please take some time to check out my fave reads and feel free to suggest some new ones for me.

Sharpest Pencil in the Ice Bucket

For AGES and AGES I have been struggling with the girls craft and drawing, struggling with it being spread from one end of the house to the other, struggling with their individual craft boxes they were given as presents by a well meaning family member. These boxes, while much loved, have finally given up the ghost, with sides ripped and lids lost. Their loss has given me the perfect opportunity to bring some order back into at least the colouring in stuff.

On my last trip into the largest town nearby I popped into the Bag a Bargain $2 shop (you know the ones I mean where you can find anything from feminine hygiene products in brands you've never heard of, to really tacky ashtrays with the Australian Flag plastered all over them) to see what I could find. The pencil tins and pots I had been thinking of were all gaudy with decorations that would quickly fall off and annoy me no end. I then happened upon these lovely 'mini champagne buckets' as they were labelled. They were just what I was looking for and the Muddy Kids love them. So much so, that next time I'm in town I plan on picking up a couple more to further organise the craft area.

The added benefit has been it has kept the Muddy Girls entertained for hours (literally hours) sharpening pencils and sorting crayons, deciding which ice bucket to put them in, and 'Is it sharp enough' as they sharpen them to within an inch of their life. They've been re-inspired to get back into the colouring in, and it has been a daily activity ( several times throughout the day). I'm now looking for new storage ideas for the rest of the craft paraphernalia and am looking for any suggestions as to how you keep order in the chaos of craft.

The Baby Kookaburra

We have a friend at home at the moment, a Baby Kookaburra, the Muddy Kids get very excited when they see him. He is however being bullied by the other birds. He finds a nice sunny spot and they flock to him and swoop him and it's not long before he flies away, having had enough of being bullied by the other birds.

Joining in with Trish at My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday

May Mayhem - In a Shade of Green

I'm not sure what happens Nine months before May but in our family, whatever it is has resulted in 4 cousins all sharing May for their birthday. This means we've had a few weeks of presents, cake and birthday goodness, all culminating in a big joint birthday party on Saturday. The Dress code was 'A Touch of Green', and because I get carried away when there's a theme, there were green invites and whatever green lollies I could find at the shops, there were grapes and green balloons, green lolly bags and a treasure hunt for green turtles that were bubbles! The dessert was a green (peppermint) ice cream slice and my Muddy Sister-in-law did a stellar job with the Green Turtle Birthday Cake.

Everyone got into the spirit, including the Muddy Great Grandma who came out home for the celebrations, decked out in green attire. I never realised just how many clothes in green the Muddy Kids had until I went to get them dressed on Saturday morning, I even found stripey green socks for Muddy Bubby.

There's something special about the Muddy Kids and their 6 cousins (my Muddy Sister-in-laws have 3 each), they have a very special bond that never wavers, when they see each other each time it's like they've not been apart, there's not the Muddy Kids usual shyness or reluctance to leave my side, they're straight in the swing of things. We live about 2 hours away from each set of cousins and between the 10 cousins there is only 4 years and 9 months that separate them all from oldest to youngest. I'm not sure whether it's this closeness in age that has bonded them so firmly, or whether it's a feeling they get that these people will always have my back, will be by my side. Whatever it is, it is so lovely to see, and to watch them together. I do anticipate though, after watching their antics together on Saturday as thick as thieves, that they will certainly be getting into some mischief together as they get older!

Firm Friends, Muddy Bubby and his cousin, born 3 months apart.

Muddy Bikers

My Muddy Pixie was gifted with a beautiful new bike for her birthday, this meant a move up the chain for my Muddy Puzzler, from the 3 wheel trike to the littlest two wheeler (with training wheels). We've been out and about the house paddock practicing our peddling and getting better and better each day. My Muddy Organiser likes to make a race of it, in her funky gumboots she's like lightning streaking away from the others, practicing her turns as she comes and loops around us all, as we try to catch her.

As we all get better we're riding a bit more each day, a bit further, and a bit further. Our next challenge is the long driveway to the front gate and letterbox. Last time we tried I ended up pushing the Muddy Puzzler and the Muddy Pixie walked 3/4 of the way, bike abandoned at the first bend, while the Muddy Organiser's training wheels kept getting stuck on the rocks, it was a long slow ride. How quickly things change, and things like bike riding remind me that my babies aren't babies any more, they grow and change so quickly, so it's so important to capture these special times on camera, at the same time as being in amongst the fun.

Grateful For Sisters

I am an only child, my mum said 'a smart woman never forgets the pain of childbirth' and decided that one was enough for her. Mum said I only ever asked once for a brother or sister, other than that I was content. Happy to play with close family friends who were like sisters and then I have my BFF who is like my sister from another mother. I never wanted, I had good friends and a loving family.

Then I married into a large family (well large by my only child standards), Muddy Hubby has 2 sisters and 1 brother. Just before I got married my 2 sister-in-laws gifted me with a lovely photo frame with the heading 'Sisters' on it, they made it quite clear that they didn't wanted to be treated as 'sister-in-laws' they wanted to be 'sisters'. I have never forgotten and it has always been that way, we have talked and fought and cried and laughed together.

Last year my Muddy brother-in-law got married, he married the most wonderful girl and we enveloped her into our family fold as another 'sister' despite the fact that she already had two sisters of her own. This week I am so grateful for all of my sisters. I was in desperate need of a babysitter so I could go to Boot camp this week and one of my sisters stepped in. We're throwing a big party here today and surprisingly it has so far been stress free. We have divided up the tasks amongst ourselves, cake with one sister, lunch with another and venue, dessert and lolly bags with me. All sorted thanks to my wonderful sisters.

It is only in the last few years as my parents begin to age a little and I have had children of my own that I have had a real yearning for my own sister, someone to share the load with and confide in. My sister-in-laws have been so wonderful in stepping in to fill this void that I only get an occasional pang for a sister of my own blood. For now though I am very grateful for my BFF (sister from another mother) and my 'Sisters' and their helpfulness that gets me through a week with a little less stress and some time for boot camp.

My Hen's night when I look soooo young and was gifted with two 'Sisters'



October 2011 where we got an updated photo for my 'Sisters' frame.
Photo Courtesy Pink Bug Photography

Linking up with Maxabella at Village Voices for 52 Weeks of Grateful.