{2013} An end of year sign off

2013...

You have been all kinds of challenging... but oh so awesome at the same time.

This year I have felt my heart burst with love with the birth of our little Finnley, only for it to break when I was completely betrayed by people close to me only a few months later. Add in a multitude of medical problems along the way, the birth of our gorgeous niece and I have learnt so much this year...

I have learnt how strong and brave I actually am.

I have learnt that my friends are awesome, supportive when the times are tough and their relationships are precious.

I have also learnt that people may say they love me... but they don't really mean it.

This year has been tough... but I am so glad I have lived it.

As I walk out the door of 2013 with my head held high and my little family with me.
I am more ready for 2014 then I thought I would be 2 months ago.

2014 LETS DO THIS!

May your NEW YEAR be full of wonder!

BIG LOVE x

Tara




image 

{2013} The year that was

The weather was hot

The air con broke

My belly grew

We prepared for Kinder

Many days spent at the beach

We spent lots of days at home

We were tourists in our own town

We had people over to stay

Ronan started kinder

I walk around aimlessly

My belly grew

Days were busy

My belly continued to grow
Hospital appointments

Easter weekend

We went away

Weddings

Thought about getting the impending babys room together

My belly grew

MORE hospital appointments

Made some changes to the house

Sleep ins

Mothers Day

Ronan filled dreams {Jay Laga'aia}
Dentists

Baby Showers thrown
Baking

Belly growing... I see a theme here

Birthday Celebrations {mine and Ronan's}

Due Dates pass

Belly CONTINUES to grow

Health scares

Learning about patience

WAITING!

Birthday Celebrations {Husbands}

The BIRTH of our second born!

Belly shrinking

Breast feeding trials

Washing machine breaking {timing!!!!!!!}

Sweet baby newness

Health trials for Ronan

Anniversary
Lactation consultants

Trials

Babys growing

Professional photo shoots in my home

I am able to stand long enough to bake

Still getting to know each other

My niece was born

Bigs had to learn how to share

Washing!

Baby grows {time needs to learn to slow}

Mind is getting stronger

Fathers day

High school reunions

Heart break

Survival

New Camera

New baking equipment

Learning about myself some more

Becoming stronger...

Learning {again}

Blog re-launch {yaaay!}

Paddle-pop weather

Dance partys

Christmas Celebrations beginning

Summer bucket lists written

Learning and growing {all of us}

Christmas Elves causing havoc

Summer bucket lists

Celebrations

Fun

What a year it has been... I have learnt so much this year!

I have learnt that its not all that cracked up to be.

People who you trust will disappoint you.

I have learnt that I am stronger and braver then I thought.

That people I have to call family aren't

But people who aren't, are 

I have pushed myself beyond recognition 

That I am a good Mumma

No matter the distance or time spent together... friends are still friends.

That there are friendships there you just have to lift the layers.

Through all the trials and triumphs...

2013 I thank you.

Stay Safe!
Have Fun
But most of all...
Stay Fabulous!

Tara

See you in 2014!

{Summer Bucket List} Pick Strawberries.

Your words and comments from my last post were truly beautiful and heart felt. It was a hard post to publish, as vague as it was... thank you and BIG LOVE x

Strawberries... 

Simple as they are, they are little bulb of pure joy for my biggest love. His first ever try of strawberries was four years ago and it was of strawberry jam that came with my Devonshire tea when we went to the strawberry farm with some family and friends. 

It sent him Hyper... 

Like crazy...

'twas hilarious.

From then on each time he ate strawberries a similar reaction would happen so I had to 'time' when I was giving them to him so that he wasn't expected to go to sleep while in a strawberry induced happy place.

...you know... the whole avoid setting him up for failure thing... yea sometimes I didn't get that bit right... 

Why not just avoid giving them you ask...

Well because HE LOVES THEM!!!

We were torn... Give him something he LOVES or avoid them because they make it hard to parent him for a couple of hours... 

The answer was simple

GIVE THEM TO HIM!

Four years on...

It's much the same... the the strawberry induced happy dances are not so 'big'. 

But the love for them... 

NOTHING has changed.

he can smell them out... honestly... he will open the fridge and say 'hey there are strawberries in here...'  if you try and sneak one he will sniff you like a bulldog and between long drawn breaths he's like *snnniiiiffff* you've eaten strawberries *sniiifffff*... creepy... HECK YES!

So the other day when he found out that we were going to the strawberry farm... 

he nearly lost his 4.5year old mind!

We went with a girlfriend and her two boys... because the more people to do a strawberry induced happy dance with the better... or we are crazy... either one...

Beautifully plump red strawberries... picked by beautifully plump 20month old hands...

So meticulous... he literally walked every aisle to pick the best and the juiciest strawberries...

"just the juicy ones Mumma"

Finn enjoyed watching the boys...

In his own kind of heaven...

They even managed to go on a bear hunt while they were there as well...

You can really see why he was meticulous such scrumptious-ness

It took us 45-60 minutes to fill two of the larger punnets...

A trip to the strawberry farm isn't complete without a stop at the cafe

BRING ON the strawberry induced happy dance.

HAPPY DAYS

Have you been to pick strawberries?
Its really something isn't it...?
What gives your child an induced happy dance?
Are you crazy like me too?
Want to read more about our summer bucket list?

Stay fabulous

Tara

A letter to you

Dear You,

Life in the last 1.5months has been tough. 

Very tough.

Every body goes through hard times at some stage or another. 

But lately instead of having one 'hard' thing to deal with as well as every day life, I seem to have several.

And with a four year old and a new baby... that shiz is hard.

The other night I put a photo on Instagram and didn't say much with it.

"Caught up in my thoughts today...Actually. To be honest. I think I'm struggling. Sigh."

I didn't do it for any other reason other then to vent... to lighten 'my load'.

A lot of the comments were encouraging...
A lot suggested jotting things down...

Some suggested 'seeing' someone to talk to...

That's the thing... I was in the car park waiting for my appointment with my psych.

To talk it out. 

I go weekly.

Every week it is hard... 
So many more things to talk about, so many more things to work through. 
She has helped with so many things and is still helping me move past a lot of others. 

But...
Right when we were at the cusp of finding reasons for some things and causes for others. 

Something happened.
Something big.

My life was shattered into a million pieces

Actually make that two million.

It was so left of field... 

Such bad timing {metal health wise} 

I had {at the time} a 3.5 month old and a four year old that needed me. 

You have no idea how much I needed them... to be normal... to keep busy.

So life went on...

A life went on.

But now... 1.5 months later... I still don't feel like I am living my life.
I still do not feel like I am me...

Life feels like it is going on around me and I am still stuck in that same place...

The exact same spot I was in 1.5 months ago.

I now have a 5.5 month old a a 4.5 year old WHO still need me. SO life must go on

But.

I miss laughing... oh to laugh.

I miss crying at the sad AND the happy things.

I miss feeling comfortable in my own surroundings.
I miss being comfortable around others because I constantly feel like I am being judged/scrutinised.

I miss me

Would you look at that...

Would you look at that... the very first year of Kinder is over and done with...

I.can.not.believe.it!

It feels like just a week ago I was writing about his first days

It has been a massive year for this little man... 

Trying to find his place in the crowd

Becoming a big brother

Having some medical issues

But through all his trials and his triumphs he is STILL the most amazing little man... 

He lives in the moment... is spontaneous and SO full of love and life.

Dec 2013

And I am just so VERY proud of him!












Do you have kiddlets?
What year are they in?
WHY is it the years are flying by?

Stay Fabulous!

Tara.

Weekend Happenings

Weekends... do you find yours fly by too?

They should be three days long at this time of year... the Monday being a mandatory rest day

Some of our weekend in pictures...

I wrapped some presents... NOW its really starting to look and feel like Christmas

Simple... yet festive!

Love ticking things off our Summer Bucket list

 Every year... We hold the Mothers Group Family Breakfast. This year was no different... It was a fabulous relaxed atmosphere with lots of good food and even better company... THIS YEAR THOUGH we had an extra special visitor...

SANTA!

Ronan's face was like this the whole time... sharing hugs with his friends and when Santa finally called his name after he waited so patiently for most of his friends to receive their gifts it was finally his turn!

*
FOR YEARS I have wanted to get a Santa photo with these kiddlets...
I absolutely ADORE this photo... it is our little family being them crazy little selves and I love them all.
{Finn featuring his classic... 'laaaaaadies' face}

Thank you Santa for visiting us!

How was your weekend?

Did you spot Santa in your travels?

Have you wrapped yet?

Stay Fabulous!

Tara

*Photo used with permission

{almost a} Wordless Wednesday

Mind Flip...
I had driven The Husbands car to the hospital and when I was leaving I had to stop and think about which car I had driven.

Saw this floating around the interwebs and I couldn't resist... forgive me I can not remember where.

Things like this... Making the decision to move harder every time

I am NO food blogger BUT this roast vegetable quiche was DELISH in my humble opinion

Sleepy 4.5year old... oh.my
P.s. Lashes love!

I am really enjoying being back... just need to remember to find the stories... 

Ever been mind flipped in a car park?
What memories are now permanent features in your home?

Do you think we could cut the concrete out when we choose to go?

Stay Fabulous!

Tara.

A Christmas tradition

Every year we go as a family to the local Christmas tree farm and pick our very own Christmas tree for our home... the perfect one is picked each year so that it can help us decorate the house... protect presents lovingly put underneath it with care... and to make the house smell Christmas-o-rific.

This year was no different... except the fact that we have an extra person { HAPPY DAYS!}
Because of this extra person requiring lots of things that has taken up half of our house, I decided that we should put the tree on our corner table this year rather then next to the back door because the baby swing is there.

We went in search of a 4ft tree and we found one... she is beautiful

One other tradition we have is putting the star on the tree... Ronan has done it for the last couple of years and seeing as Finnley is still only little, Ronan got to do it again this year...

Do you get a tree every year?
Who decorates?

Who puts the star on?
Any special traditions that you do?

Stay Fabulous!

Tara x

A repeat: Mould-able 'sand' anyone?

I was asked during the week how to make the mould-able 'sand' so I thought I would put it back up on the blog. 
Have fun x

Hello again!

{have to say I am a bit excited to see so many page views THANKS}

Anyways back to business...

Its been HOT and HECTIC in our little house over the last few days. So we spent yesterday (Sunday) at home for some well earned RnR and some 'us' time.

Master R seemed to enjoy being at home all day in the cool thank goodness.

Yesterday we did loads of activities together to try and keep cool and entertained.

One that I think is worth a mention, I came across this on Pinterest (big shout out for pinterest) if you haven't had a look yet I suggest you trundle off and have a look after you've finished reading here of course.

Master R wanted to build SAND CASTLES but our sand was so dry that it just wasn't working and I had remembered the above mentioned pin.

SO we made mold-able flour

It literally took no more then a minute to put together and all it was 8 cups of plain flour and 1 cup of baby oil.

Ta-daaaar.....

I added some plastic cups, some spoons and different size measuring cups and we were good to go

It makes fabulous 'Sand Castles' and smells good to!

So good to scoop

Even Dad joined in...

It was good apparently have to love a WIN with the BIG kids as well

We made tunnels

AND even ventured in with our toes

We all played with it for about an hour and it made a fabulous mess. But lucky it was just flour if it was sand Id be still finding it everywhere I walked (blah).
We have put it away for another day...But there was already a request for it this morning so who knows we might have it back out this arvo.

How do you keep cool and calm on really hot days? Would love to hear your activities.

Thanks again for stopping by.