I LIKE...

I like . . . my family

My husband Matt .... and kids Tamika and Logan

Mum . . . and Dad

Rebecca and Anthony. . . . and Catalina, Zander, & Amelia too

Josh and Kristy. . . and Cooper and Hayden

Tamara and Pranil . . .

Lynne and Terry . . . and Chris and Sami

I like . . .

photography 

jessica sprague . . . Candace Stringham's photography 101 was a great beginner class for me

Cameras ... canon . . . nearly every single camera we've ever owned

Scrapbooking... only when I get a chance, which isn't very often any more

Leisure 

Walking and some exercise... Love to try to walk daily as it clears my head and doesn't make me feel as tired.

Bushwalking and exploring.. as long as there aren't any snakes about.

Holidays... any where but especially beside the water

I like . . . 

reading blogs and creating my own...though I am not sure if 

anyone reads them.

Exploring my computer and different programs... we have recently moved to Apple computers and I just LOVE the programs available.

Try to Enjoy the Ride that life throws at us.

I found this quote and instantly liked it. I need to remind myself of this when life gets extremely busy and hairy.

Motherhood...

I've been thinking a lot about motherhood lately.  What my role entails, the pieces in this family that are uniquely mine, the things that I need to do because no one else is going to do them for me . . . .

I am a homemaker . . . our home is supposed to be a sanctuary from the world.  It's my job to create an environment where everyone can feel comfortable, safe, loved.

I am available . . . Unfortunately I am not a stay at home mum so only I have limited time, but in a way I think that this makes me a better mother.  Though I feel that this year it is my responsibility to keep myself and my kids from becoming over-scheduled, which from a working mother's point of view can be quite hard to fit everything in on limited time.

I am a listener . . . my favorite is when I hear, "mum, can I ask you a question?"  My job is to keep the lines of communication open, sometimes I do say that I tend to try and do too many things at once. My target this year is to REALLY listen,  to listen when they need me and to let them know. They know that they can talk to me about anything but I need to show this at ALL times.

I am a motivator . . . the pusher, and yes, the nagger.  Sometimes (a lot of times) my job includes making them do things they don't want to do.  Because I can see the bigger picture.  Additionally, I have to be motivated myself.  Apathy, complacency, and laziness just aren't going to work.  If I don't do it, then who will?

I am a teacher . . .

I am an enforcer . . .

I am a giver of love . . .

I am a hugger and kisser . . .

I am a mother . . .

I want to be a good wife and mother. Its a very simple goal and one that I've yet to meet despite it being so simple! I am sure a lot of other people are in the same boat, especially in this day and age. But I feel as if I let my family down.

So how do I become a good wife and mother I ask myself. The answer is very simple really. It is understanding the needs of my hubby and children and fulfilling them. It is all about knowing and understanding my husband and kids really well. It is knowing the way to their hearts. But knowing is not enough. The next step is doing or fulfilling their hearts desire.

For my hubby, the way to his heart is to become more dependable, more organised and to do many more things together with him more frequently. It is also to just deal with what I have to do as a mother and a wife without complaining. Getting him to open up and remembering to talk and communicate is another issue. But it is half my fault too!  Yes, love really does go round. When you give love, you receive love.

For my kids, the way to their hearts is to listen to them and to play with them. Thats even simpler but again I have trouble fulfilling this simple thing. I have all sorts of excuses from me time to lack of time. I don't fulfil it and as a result I get kids who at times shout at me when I ask them to do something or to help me out. My son still needs guidance as to how to play and interact with out people as he can have a bad, short temper. I know that the way to my kids hearts is to listen and to play with them. And when I do this, they don't act up. They become very nice, loving kids who listen to me.

So now that I've written down the simple things I need to do to become a better wife and mother, like any other goal, I must break them up into smaller more manageable tasks so that I meet those goals.

Mother's Day

I've made mistakes being a Mum, sometimes more than I'd like to admit. But I will always be there for you, to hear you, to cheer for you, to laugh or cry with you, to protect you with my life and sometimes tell you things you don't want to hear. I will love you for eternity. No one will ever love you more than I do, because I am your Mum. 
Love you always Tamika & Logan.
Mother's Day was a fairly quiet day. We went out for breakfast with mum and one of my sister's. It was a fresh morning but lovely to have the sun blazing on my back as I ate my eggs and bacon breakfast.
I love watching the kids faces as they give me their gifts that they specifically bought at the school Mother's Day stall. Logan's were bangles and Tamika nail polish.
Tamika and Matt made a lovely homemade gnocchi with tomato sauce and Tamika made dessert - coconut macrons into a ice cream sandwich.


Hopefully all you mum's out there had a lovely Mother's Day!

Easter

It didn't really feel like Easter this year, except of course for all of the Easter eggs at the shops. To much had been going on around our house during the two weeks leading up to it.

I just love watching the kids run through the house in search for Easter eggs. As a kid the best thing I remember about Easter is the hunts and then of course  tipping the eggs out on the floor and counting them. Sure enough that is what both of mine two did after they finished hunting.

The Easter Bunny left such a mess on our floor this year... Logan reinvented this on the front footpath during the morning.  For luch we went to the Lynne and Terry's house to see Nan Nan.

We celebrated Easter a day late with my family and had a lovely roast dinner and more egg hunting.

Happy Easter for another year!

Coleambally - saying farewell!

On April 18th Uncle John passed away being sick for a few with cancer. We spent many childhood Easter at Uncle John and Merna's house in Coleambally. We loved spending this time with them and seeing farming sights that many children would never get to see.

Uncle John was farewell in a community funeral which saw many businesses close, a 2km funeral procession and 450 people attend the funeral and burial. Uncle John did a lot for this farming community including put them on the map for growing rice.

 Since retiring from farming (his son Ian took over), he had began a vintage group in Coleambally and put all his time into fixing up the old farming machines and cars that he had sitting on his property for years.

 This is his beloved Rio truck carried his coffin to the burial grounds and many other vintage cars (that the guys spent the morning washing) followed behind.

 The family men and friends that meant a lot to John carrying his coffin into the burial grounds. This was my first ever burial and it was hard to watch my brother do this to a men that he felt was his second father.

He would have loved his funeral, except for the part at the end where he would have been given the bill for grog at his wake at the club. He would have been crying!