tears for those less fortunate

image via 

I’ve been watching Go Back To Where You Come From  on SBS the past couple of nights. I shed tears as I watch. It is heart breaking stuff.

This morning my eldest child whinged and whined to me about how he doesn’t have … {insert a long list of complaints}. I was so cross. Really really cross with him. I asked him to tell me just ONE thing he was grateful for… and yes there was plenty of tone in my voice and perhaps an elevated volume. I was pissed off. He is not yet six years old, he doesn’t really understand how in the scheme of the world he is so very very fortunate, and to his credit sitting on the back seat of the car on the way to school he was rattling off a long list of things he was grateful for.

I try to make the point to my children that happiness and contentment is easier when you notice the people that have less than you rather than the folk that have more. The glass half full tastes sweeter than the glass half empty.

How do you teach children just how fortunate they are in the suburbs of a “lucky” country where so many people believe they have it hard? My goodness how well has Australia faired after the Global Financial Crisis in comparison to so many economies? Yet media and politicians talk about how tough it is. Sometimes I find it tough too, money is tight and the pressures to spend intense, but it is all relative and when I regain perspective about my place on this planet then any complaints about “toughness” are laughable. People, where I live, where I rest my head on a collection of fluffy pillows, safely sheltered from the elements, I would walk at most five meters to get a glass of safe drinking water.

It has been a strange week for me in terms of understanding my relative political position. Don’t get me wrong. I know what my views are on so many issues, including the refugee one. I’m a “the more the merrier” believer, “a friend who cares is a friend that shares” motto-ist (thanks Holly Hobby!). I’d always considered myself to be a left-ist on the asylum-seeker issue. So you can understand my surprise when I discovered this week that I agreed with Clive Palmer on an aspect of the refugee/boat people debate.

"If a family wishes to fly to Australia and they don't have a visa and can safely fly, the Australian government should instruct airlines to allow them to board," he [Clive Palmer] said in a statement on Thursday. (via)

More unsettling turbulence in my political outlook as Peter Reith, a politician I have loathed for so many years (based on his policies – not personally – I try very much to not let politics be personal) has been elevated in my esteem. Whilst I will never agree with his Howard-ist policies ever ever ever, I must give him kudos for participating in a program like Go Back To Where You Come From. After all this time it is a bit unsettling.

Allan Asher made the point in tonight’s program that individuals can make a difference just by doing better. It gets me thinking about what I can actually do? I’m a big one for ideas and opinions and theories and… but not such a great do-er. I need to change this. Refugees and asylum seekers deserve more than my tears, they need more than my tears. Let’s face it, my tears are really just self-indulgence.  Doing better will not only benefit people less fortunate than my family, I have an inkling it will also assist my children to appreciate just how good they’ve got it.

So I’m interested (and a little bit desperate) how do you teach your children to be grateful? How do you assist them to understand just how fortunate they truly are?

crocheting along

I’ve been playing in a crochet along. Every fortnight I’ve hooked a square. They’re different patterns and varying sizes but they all use the same yarn. The plan is to eventually join them all together for a bit of an eclectic picnic rug.

I’m not  sure which one is my favourite. Maybe the granny bauble square or the crocodile flower one. Not sure.

Which one is your favourite?

a weekend of baking and celebrating

What a wonderful weekend!

There was baking on the Saturday and celebrating on the Sunday. The youngest member of our mob is now one.

We were blessed to share our celebration with good friends and spectacular weather.

Our little one had a marvellous time, particularly relishing his birthday cake.

 

…and now I am completely and utterly knackered!

this moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.   A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

Playing along with soule mama.

a year on

My baby boy celebrated his first birthday today. Wowa! Where did that year go? We had a quiet celebration at home. We played with his new toys, made a cake and just relished hanging out.

More reflections on the boy’s first year soon, but for now…

Happy Birthday my darling baby boy!

It is a privilege to have you in our lives and we all love you so very very much.

getting grubby

*exhale*

Last week just got away from me a bit. Nothing in particular. I was tired. So very very tired. Children weren’t sleeping well. It was just a bit flat. So at the very last minute I arranged an annual leave day for the Friday (seriously people I have one of the greatest bosses ever!) and packed the children off to school and day care. It was just what I needed. A rest.

Re-charged and re-energised we spent the weekend getting grubby. We powered through the jobs that had been building up… most notably getting stuck into the gardening. Even baby O helped out!

this moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

Playing along with soule mama.

bits and pieces

These bits and pieces are in my creative space this week, waiting to be joined so that they can come to life.

little aeroplanes for my not so little babe

Not a lot of sewing going on in these parts of late. The couch is so much cosier so you’ll most likely to find me tucked in under a blanket either knitting or hooking away rather than shivering at the sewing machine. Still Baby O. will insist on growing so some new trousers were in order.

I used fabric in my stash. Some pale blue cotton drill and some  especially sweet drill with little embroidered aeroplanes. So cute. I fear my days with a dedicated sewing space are numbered so I’m on a mission to stash bust this coming year.

All of my mob are shooting up at the moment so there is great demand for Mama to get her sewjo back and make some new clothes. There are some projects cut out ready to be sewn which I fear have been grown out of before the first stitches have even been made. I might be lucky though. One lesson I learnt early on with this sewing caper is to cut a size up when sewing for kids.

Any tips on how to find one’s sewjo?

and even more squares

Look what arrived in the post! A parcel stuffed to the very brim with knitted squares. It was sent from Sarah and her Tassie buddies. Amazing. So many wonderful squares, every one of the absolutely beautiful. Excitement plus for moi.

So many colours. So many patterns. So many glorious stitches. So brilliant.

Look at the pile now…

THANK YOU!

the week thus far

I was the parent helper at E.’s school on Monday. I try to volunteer at once a term. It is tricky because I need to find care for Ms. M and baby O. while I’m at the school – our support network is very limited. When Dave can arrange to take a day off I volunteer to help out at the school. I missed term 2 though because we were blitzed with medical appointments with a number of specialists for E. and there is after all only so much leave available to Dave.

I really enjoy helping out the in class room. It is so nice to put faces to the names, and also to get a sense of how E. is doing. E’s class is learning about space. I am so utterly impressed by how much E. has learnt about the solar system. His teacher has created a space corner for the children to play in and had plans to make some space-ish dress-ups for the children. I couldn’t help but volunteer to help her out. Her plan and vision was very simple – the idea being let the children’s imaginations fill in the blanks. What five year old isn’t drawn to bright and sparkly fabric? I picked up some neon-orange thread to use when sewing the rolled hems – it just struck me as out of this world.

In the afternoon I had a dental appointment, my first since E. was born. I am always put off from going to the dentist by the the cost. There is always something else that I could spend the money on. It was playing on my mind though that it had been so long since I’d been so I picked up a Saturday’s overtime at work with the intent of using the income to go to the dentist. Before I’d even seen the dentist the receptionist was telling me that I would “need” to pay extra and get x-rays to check my teeth. This is my primary fear of the going to the dentist… cost. It is not as if you can shop around for a dentist that you can trust. I’ve seen lots of dentists in my years – some better than others. The worst was like a pushy hairdresser pushing products and treatments on me while I was vulnerably flat on my back in the chair.

The dentist I saw yesterday afternoon seemed trustworthy enough. She wasn’t arrogant, she didn’t make me feel bad about my teeth and she wasn’t pushing treatments and products on me. Even so, the appointment that took less than half an hour cost just under $300. I really do feel that dental care should be included in our Medicare system, I can’t understand the logic of why it isn’t? Afterall, hospitals have dentists so why aren’t they viewed as health providers by Medicare?

Today? Well today has been a slow day. I haven’t been feeling very well so I spent much of the day crashed out on the couch watching season seven of Entourage. Gosh I like that show.

The rest of the week? Hanging with these two while their big brother is at school.

sunday snippets

Picked up some overtime at work, good for the bills but not so great for the work-life balance. Only got to the gym once and on Saturday night we indulged in some take-away.

Ms. M, E. and I all had our hair cut. E. decided he liked having his hair cut so much that he would give it a go himself and now has a few bald-ish spots on the top of his head!

Baby O. really really loves to crochet. His eyes light up when he spots a crochet hook or a ball of yarn that is within his reach and can play hooky for a long time so very content. I love it.

Linking up.

more squares

The pile of squares is growing.

(click the photo to follow the link to the maker’s blog)

This is getting exciting. The pile of squares is growing.

… and isn’t this just one of the most delightful cards ever?

I’ve been going to some card making classes facilitated by one of the mother’s at E.’s school. She started running classes in her home and when she sent out the email inviting people to come I really wanted to show her some support even though scrapbooking & card making really isn’t my thing. It’s a brave person who starts their own business, no matter how big and small. The cards we make are stamped and punched and embossed and … well frankly are very polished and sleek and … well … for me a little bit soulless. The same cannot be said for this card from Maureen. It is packed full of soul and heart. The kind of card I’d prefer to make.

baby boy booties

By the time I had finished making these baby booties for O. his feet were too big to fit them! Boo-hoo! He grows so fast and is turning ONE at the end of the month. My my. I’m an officially an old lady because one of my recurring comments these days is “how the time flies!”.

One of E’s friends at school will be having a baby brother at the end of the year. His mother found out it was a boy yesterday. These little booties have been wrapped in a brown paper bag ready to be gifted this afternoon.  It will be totally unexpected, so I am rather looking forward to school pick up this afternoon. Unexpected gifting is often the most fun, don’t you think?

sunday snippets

			I went to the gym four times.
		Ms. M gave me lots and lots of smiles.
				Baby O crawls and explores.
	There were rainy days and rainbows.
			Raja, a constant companion.

Linking up.