This will revolutionize your life!

I kid you not, this WILL revolutionize your life! A wonderful friend taught me to do this years ago and it has been my favourite (and I might as well admit, only) party trick ever since. What to do with all those shopping bags that we all end up with? Despite my grand intentions to be "green", there are times when I forget my bags and end up with a whole load of plastic. Now since they have made the bags thinner and thinner, they don't always make it out the other side of a grocery trip intact, but when they do, there are myriad uses for them. The only problem is storage ... plastic bags take up a lot of room. Well they do if you haven't yet mastered this amazing trick. Read on and then by all means grab your own bag and give it a try. I know you can do it and I will be so proud of you!

 Think of all the places these little triangles would be handy .... in the car, in your handbag, in the nappy bag, for wet bathers when the kids go swimming, for dirty washing on school camp .... the list goes on and on! Enjoy ...oh, and you're welcome.

A spot of gardening

To say I am not a gardener is somewhat of an understatement. In fact, my most recent attempt at gardening involved me trying to prune with what I thought was secateurs but actually turned out to be tin snips! Dear husband was not amused.

But I have decided to throw my hat in the ring again this year and try a spot of gardening. I would love to have a fabulous kitchen garden full of vegetables and salad offerings but my dear husband has suggested that I start small, very small (in fact, maybe not at all, I think I heard him mutter ... just buy some from the supermarket; it will save us all a lot of heartache!) But I am determined to give this a go. I thought maybe herbs. Surely they can't be that difficult.

I have seen some amazing kitchen and herb gardens on Pinterest but I am contenting myself for the time being with my one little planter. I will keep you posted but hopefully I will be harvesting my own basil for homemade brushetta in the not too distant future. Fingers crossed.

Happy though married

Last month, David and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. We were on holidays in beautiful Apollo Bay and I happened to be sitting with a cuppa reading the newspaper. I read an interview with Leslie Mann, actress and main character in the movie, This is 40.  She was saying that she was sick of seeing movie marriages portraying happy couples; holding hands, kissing, with great sex lives etc etc. She complained that no one has a marriage like that. So she and her husband (who is the also the director) decided to make a movie that tells it like it really is. (Incidently, this movie is very entertaining, if you can get past all the swearing.)

This article made me just a tad cross! "Why are you expected to be unhappy if you are married?" I demanded of David (who was busy reading his own book at the time and had no idea where this question had come from). Why would you be content with an unhappy marriage, especially if you are planning to do the "til death we part" bit. So on Valentine's Day, here are my top 10 tips (in no particular order) for a HAPPY marriage.

DISCLAIMER: We don't have a perfect marriage or relationship! But we are happy together.

1. Hold hands.

2. Be affectionate.

3. Don't EVER wear flannel pyjamas (unless you are on a girls weekend) ... that's all I will say about that - my mum reads this blog!

4. Don't keep score. No marriage is 50 / 50. Put in 100%.

5. Communicate. Don't do the silent thing. I am a yeller! I get it off my chest and then I can start over. (Please note: I am not actually recommending this. I am sure there are healthier ways to communicate ...) Just keep communicating.

6. Do stuff together.

7. Do stuff by yourself.

8. Reminisce. Relive the fun times you have had together.

9. Say sorry. David is much better at this than me .... (I won't say anything about him having had more practice!) Seriously though, I find this hard but do it anyway!! We have the same rules as we have for our girls: be specific, use the person's name and say what you are sorry for. And no excuses get to be included with an apology.

10. Keep working at it. Some years seem to be much harder than others. No person is perfect nor is any relationship.

Oh, and on a side note, the girls have loved waking up to new hearts on their bedroom doors each day (and David too). This new tradition is definitely a keeper. Happy Valentine's Day.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I have been on a mission since we returned from our summer holidays: to declutter the house of all the items we do not use or love. I have, of course, tried this many times in the past but this year I have my serious hat on. No cupboard is safe. It is time for all those unused items to go. That is until I reached the cupboard that has housed all my baby clothes. 4 precious, beautiful girls equals a LOT of clothes I can assure you. And each one is a trip down memory lane as I recall who gave it to us as a gift or what occasion/s it was worn on. I dare say I could give you this information for almost every item of clothing my girls own. So, what to do with it all?

For us, we are done having babies {sigh} but these items really tug at my heartstrings and I have struggled to let them go. I have put aside one special outfit that I associate with each of my girls as a tiny baby to keep in their memory boxes but that didn't seem to be quite enough. And so back into the cupboard it went.

I recently came across a lovely idea that I think might just be the answer to my sentimental side. It is called a memory quilt. I have seen them made out of favourite t-shirts before but never thought about making one out of those favourite baby clothes. My heart sang when I saw this. It was just what I have been looking for; a way to preserve those items I love but in a new, practical form.

I am pleased to report that I have now sorted through ALL my baby clothes (many, many tubs full!) and I have put aside the special pieces I want to include in my memory quilt. All of the others I have either listed on a local Buy, Swap, Sell site or given away. You cannot believe the amount of cupboard space I have reclaimed. And I feel like a weight has been lifted too.

I can't wait to start assembling my own memory quilt. It will be something I can treasure forever. I may even use it to cover my grandchildren one day. Who knows?

(* Photos of memory quilts from www.maidenjane.com)

Out of the mouths of babes ...

If you have children (or spend any time around children) you will know that they tend to say exactly what comes into their little heads. This can make for some hilarious moments. It can also cause their parents excruciating embarassment from time to time too! I would love to remember all these funny little things they say but the truth is that I have a mind like a sieve. So I have resorted to more permanent record keeping methods.

I am a scrapbooker (that sounds like a confession somehow) and each of my girls has their own album or albums. To ensure that I don't forget those funny little things they say, the last page of each album is dedicated to recording their precious words. When I start a new album for them, I design a page with room for me to write bits and pieces so that I can record them as they happen. This is my best defence against a failing memory. The girls think some of the things they said or did when they were younger are incredibly funny. It's a nice way to remember them at those younger ages.

Megan: "In the olden days, the world used to be in black & white" (passing on some 7 year old wisdom to her younger sisters. She had seen a black & white show on the TV).

After watching the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics, David said to Alison "Would you like to learn archery Ali?"   Ali: "Yes but I don't think I'll do the flaming arrows". (I don't think that is actually an option they give 7 year olds!)

 

I really encourage you to do something with those funny little tidbits. Some people use a notebook or a journal, if you are good enough to use one regularly. Use a jar with post it notes or scraps of paper. You could even have funny quotes from your children printed on canvas to hang in your home. But whichever way you choose to do it, just do it. You might think you will remember but writing them down is a good insurance policy.

Organising your ideas on the go

I am an ideas person. I love a good idea, hints and tips, that kind of thing. I am forever picking up ideas from friends and family and when I am out and about. I used to be a scrap paper collector. I would scribble a note about an idea I had seen or heard about on a scrap of paper which was often never to be seen again, well, certainly not when I was actually looking for it. So I came up with the idea of carrying a little notebook with me, divided into sections, so that I could keep everything in the one place and have some hope of finding the appropriate information in a timely fashion.

You know by now of course that I do love my stationery. There is something intoxicating about a new notebook without anything written in it yet. Full of possibilities...... (apologies, daydreaming about stationery!) Add little tabs to said notebook and I am in paper heaven. I create a new notebook each year; it is one of the jobs I do during my summer holiday at the beach. Love to get organised for a new year.

 My book is divided into sections as follows:

(1) Party Ideas - a section for each of my girls, theme ideas for their next birthday celebration,
guest list, food ideas, games / activities etc

(2) Birthdays / Special Occasions - a list of dates by month so I don't forget what's coming up, ideas for gifts, ideas to celebrate / new traditions etc.

(3) Christmas - a list of everyone I buy gifts for (with room to write in what I have bought), colour scheme (we change this from year to year), recipe ideas, new traditions etc

(4) Blog Ideas - you never know when inspiration will strike!

(5) Great Ideas  - a catch all for amazing ideas!

(6) Books / DVD's - a list of the authors we like to read and which books we have already read / own and ditto for our DVD collection (both are extensive .... might have to consider putting them on the computer so I can just update the printout rather than re-write it every year). I also have a list of book / author recommendations or movies we want to see.

It really is a treasure trove of information and I would be lost without my little green book. Try it. It will revolutionise your life! Happy organising :)

A New Valentine's Tradition

We love a good family tradition in our house. Traditions bind you together as a family. It's the little things, as well as the big things that you do together that are important. Songs you sing together, things you say to each other (Bec tells me "love you to the moon and back" every morning when I drop her off for school), regular "events" (Friday night movie and freddo frogs).

I am always on the look out for new traditions I can incorporate into our family. Recently I saw an idea for the lead up to Valentine's Day. We don't really celebrate that one at our house with romantic dinners or gifts but it is a good reminder to tell our families that we love them. Everyone needs to hear this and they need to hear it often. So every morning between now and Valentine's Day, when the girls and David wake up, there will be a new heart on their bedroom door telling them something that I love about them. (David's will actually be on our bathroom mirror where he will see them while he is getting ready for work.)

 
To make it even easier, I sat and cut out lots of hearts last night while I was watching some TV and wrote on them. Now I can just grab one each night before I go to bed and stick it with the others. The girls were curious to find these on their doors this morning and I look forward to seeing their excitement as the hearts multiply.

Spread the love peoples!