My place and yours - Our collections.

I love collections!

I love the way having a few of something together changes the way it looks as a single thing.

I have so many collections, mostly craft related but for this post I am limiting myself to one and have chosen my rubber duck collection.

This collection sits in the kid's bathroom on the window ledge (too dark in there today). The ducks I have bought are always second hand but I have been given some gorgeous new ones over the years. The ducks are pulled down and dragged around the house, but I don't like them in the bath because some of them are a bit old and used. I haven't bought a new one to add to the collection for ages because the window ledge is quite full, but I have considered building them their own shelf so I can.

Bren collects tools. No rules about where they come from or new or used, just lots and lot of tools. A while ago he had a dream that he was driving around the back streets of Daylesford and came across a new hardware shop hidden away. Somewhere only the locals knew about. He was disappointed when he woke up.

Indi collects owls.

Jazzy collects Barbies.

And Pepper collects words. I can't remember what the other two were like at this age but her language and sense of humour astounds me. She calls her toy turtle Armpit, she told me last night that she wanted to sleep in a huge bed (not a cot) in Indi's house (room), and she calls Bren Brenny, 'Bye Brenny, I taking the big girls to school now'.

Thanks so much for playing along this week and letting us have a look at your collection and thanks so much Pip for letting me choose and wear the crown for the week.

Announcing the theme!

I am thrilled to be this week's theme queen for the My Place and Yours game over at Pip's lovely blog.

After a week of changing my mind and deciding and then redeciding, I have come up with a theme that really excites me and I hope it really excites you too.

My theme is MY COLLECTION!

I want to see a photo or photos of what it is that you collect.

Then if you feel like it you could let us know what your collection rules are;

Does it have to be green? Does it have to be from another country? Does it have to be second hand or a gift? Does it have to be old or complete?...

What constitutes a collection for you? Is it more than three of the same thing? Is it rare things?

Is your collection ongoing or is it complete?

...what's your story?

I am so excited to come and see.

For those that have never played along, this is how it works.

1. Sometime over the next few days post on your blog your personal interpretation of this week's theme My collection. At the bottom of your post link back here to my blog, as this week's theme queen, and to Pip's blog, Meet me at Mikes, so other people who read your blog can see what it is all about and play too. Here is my last week's entry so you can see what it looks like.
2. Tomorrow morning Miss Pip will post a blog over at Meet Me At Mikes announcing the week's theme, My collection.
3. At the bottom of her post will be a list of all the people playing this week.
4. At the bottom of the list, next to the last number, it will say You are next. Click here to enter your link.
5. Once you have clicked there, you will find a space to fill in your name. You can put your blog name or your real name it really doesn't matter.
6. Under this is a space for your blog URL.
7. Click on the enter your link button and you are officially playing.
8. Pour yourself a cuppa and click on some of the other links to have a sticky beak into the homes of other people all around the world and at their collections.

Does this all make sense?

Are you excited?

I am!

I really hope you can play along so I can come and visit you sometime over the weekend.

My creative Space.

In my creative space this Thursday I am putting the finishing touches on my softie for Mirabel. Because the temperature is going to be in the high 30's today, she thinks she needs a hat.

I am thinking of creative things to do with broad beans. We are having felafel for dinner tonight.

I am planning and dreaming about all the wonderful places these shoes are going to take me. I found them in the children's shoe pile at the local op shop for 60 cents yesterday.

And I am trying to be creative with their hair styles.

Indi, Jazzy and sometimes Pepper are making Fimo shapes.

How divine is that purple crochet hook?

And Bren has been creative with this irrigation system. I'll try to explain it on my other blog at some stage if I can ever understand it.

Now you've seen ours, why don't you pop on over to Kootoyoo to see what everyone else is doing.

My nest.

Now that I've been less emotional for a week, I have found myself revisiting that time and slowly going through all the issues that came up and trying to acknowledge them in a happier space.

One of the biggest issues for me at this stage in my life is babies. For the past ten years I have been pregnant or breastfeeding and now I am neither with no plans to do either ever again.

When Pepper weaned herself a few months ago it didn't really worry me, but for some reason her second birthday did. I no longer have a baby and wont again.

I always thought I would know when it was time to move on to the next stage in life. My four pregnancies (one miscarriage) resulted in three healthy, wonderful children. So why on earth am I struggling right now?

The practical truth is that I got really sick during my last pregnancy and don't think our family could cope at the moment with me spending months and months on the couch or over the toilet. Also the farm has really kicked up a notch over the past two years and managing it is more than a full time job for Bren.

But none of this matters because these feelings are in my heart and body not in my head. My biological clock has a strong grip on me at the moment.

Over the last week when I have questioned other women about these issues I have learnt that most women don't definitely know. I have been met with tears on more than one occasion and sadness in many.

Perhaps moving on to the next stage is confronting. The other day I was at a cafe with some friends when a group of girls came in and sat at another table. These girls are similar ages to us but they had all recently had babies, while we had all finished having ours. Until recently they would have sat with us, but not anymore or for a while. I will never sit at that table again.

Maybe I am scared of having to become who I want to be now I am grown up. When you are pregnant or breastfeeding people are interested in the belly or the baby. I could always stand behind, happy as my role as their Mum. Now I need to stand alone and it is a bit scary. Who on earth am I anymore?

I have no answers just lots of questions.

I do know though how blessed I am to have three amazing daughters and be in the incredibly fortunate position to be able to spend lots of time with them.

I adore my family and know that it is complete, my body clock is just taking a while to catch up.

Funny, this morning I was wondering about what photos to publish with this post when Bren came in with this nest the boys had found in a tree they cut down yesterday. This nest is such a perfect metaphor for a mother preparing and nurturing her babies. This nest is also a perfect symbol for my role in my family, as it is woven from bits and pieces found around our farm, my home. That clever bird dragged twigs, cable ties, bits of wire, blackberry, hawthorn, willow, hay band and anything else it found to make the best, cosiest nest for its chicks.

Today.

Today my house is a tip.

Today there is slumber party residue every place I look.

Today my friend's Dad is so sick in hospital and I need to make her and her family a lasagna.

Today I really have to work on my softie. I'm not good at these long projects, I'd be a terrible quilter.

Today I need to do the week's lunch box baking.

Today there is constant chainsaw noise as the trees too close to the house are being cut down.

Today I have not yet seen Bren who woke up and went to work before I opened my eyes.

Today I need to wash the school uniforms as I never got to them on the weekend.

Today I had a lovey coffee with my Mum and Dad and Bren's Mum before they all headed back home to Melbourne.

Today I need to heat set and label more clothes to go to Dear Prudence.

Today I need to food shop for the week and to shop to set up Bren's parents' house across the road which will be our bush fire refuge.

Today I have to pick up the big girls at 3.20 so realistically a lot of this list will be seen again on tomorrow's list. Isn't it funny how some days you feel overwhelmed, where on other days the same list feels ok? Luckily I am having an all is ok week.

The top two washers are the ones I sent to my swap partner in Jodie's wash cloth swap. They are; It's a spring thing and Garden swan.

I made the Little garden girl for our house.

And the Knitted baby feet cloth I made for a beautiful friend who is making Indi's best friend a sister.

Happy Birthday Indigo!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful nine year old!

What a wonderful few days we've had.

You had six of your best friends over to celebrate with you. You played games and you designed your own pizzas for dinner.

You played conversations and pass the parcel (with questions not music).

You watched a Hannah Montana: the movie and made me cry when you all sang along to 'Butterfly'. You ran and played and ate and looked after each other when you were hurt. You cuddled your teddies to go to sleep and slept in a tight little huddle from 11pm to 8am.

You danced and sang and laughed and ate pancakes for breakfast.

You painted wooden symbols and calico bags and jumped and trapezed and flipped.

You lit your own candles and blew them out many, many times.

And when your girlies left you spent the day entertaining a constant stream of family and friends until you crashed into bed exhausted to listen to your new ipod.

At nine you seem so grown up but still so young. Nine seems like an age of contradictions; you know so much and are so aware but are still so naive with the world to experience.

I'm so proud of who you are Indi and wish for you all the happiness in the world and a little bit more.

My place and yours - Through the front door.

Today our front door has a sign on it saying slumber party. Tomorrow Miss Indi, my big girl, is going to turn nine and in honour of this she has six of her besties sleeping the night at our place tonight.

We are not a very neat and tidy household but we've tried to make room for them by shifting things aside and making piles out of the way. This shoe stack is right behind the front door, its probably time to put away the gumboots and bring out the sandals and thongs.

Through the front door at our place today the air is full of baking smells.

Cupcakes are waiting to cool so they can be iced.

Pizza dough is rising for dinner.

And yoyos are cooling before they are stuck together.

I feel calmer about this party than any we've thrown before. At nine, the girls are quite self sufficient with their activities and because they are here for such a long time, I can wrap parcels, get out paints and fimo, cut up fruit and veg and do any other preparation while they are here.

There's 45 minutes until they arrive, time to get into our jammies.

Thanks to Shelley from Femme de Montmartre. for the theme and Pip as always, for being the hostess with the mostest.

Hey and did you hear the exciting news, I am to be next week's theme queen. Yay!! How exciting! Better dust off my tiara and come up with a good one.

I hope you are having a great weekend.