Unplugged: Annual Leave...

I’m taking annual leave from online activities (blogging, facebook & twitter) for a couple of weeks.  I think it’s really important that I take this time for myself and for my family.  I know many other bloggers take a little time off in secret, and schedule posts to go live without them needing to actually do anything – but that’s not for me.  When my husband takes holidays I want him...

Christmas Around the World...

One of the best things about becoming a blogger has been the friendships I have made along the way.  Most of these friendships have been here on home soil, but I have also made wonderful friends overseas.  At Christmas, especially, the world doesn’t seem like such a big place.  For all our differences in climate and culture, at our heart we are all mothers who want the best for our kids, and are deeply grateful...

Bright Star Giveaway...

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Its loveliness increases; it shall never Pass into nothingness…” (John Keats) As a lit lover how could I go past a movie about one of the greatest romantic poets of all time?!  If you haven’t heard about it yet, here is the preview for the film Bright Star, plus a few other gorgeous features you might like to check out!  (If it doesn’t load below,...

Gifts that Give...

Did you catch The 7pm Project last night?  They ran a story on giving gifts like goats instead of spending billions of dollars on, well, stuff. I blogged about gifts of Compassion a couple of months ago but I’m more than happy to mention them again because they are a charity and ministry I truly believe in.  I also truly believe most of us have more stuff than we could possibly need, while others have barely the...

Toilet Roll Nativity...

Making the toilet roll nativity scene has become somewhat of a tradition in our house.  This is the fourth Christmas with children in our home and the fourth rendition of the loo roll nativity! The first year my daughter was still very young, so I just made Mary and Joseph and a little manger for baby Jesus.  She was at the crawling and chomping stage so the characters were pretty well trashed by the time Christmas...

Let It Go (Parenting Aus)...

Christmas is just over a week away and I’m now officially less organised than I thought I was.  I’ve bought cards, and stamps, but not combined the two and posted them yet.  I’ve bought most gifts, though a few are still outstanding and none of them are wrapped.  And there’s still a lot of cooking and decorating and organising to do for Christmas Day.  I need to remind myself that I can’t...

A Little Glamour...

Over at Childhood101 this week Christie is running the Everyday Glamour Challenge, encouraging us as mums to make a little time for ourselves.  She has shared thoughts on hair, makeup, jewellery, body image and more. I’ve found that most mums fall into one of three categories when it comes to glamour: #1.  A little glamour a lot of the time. #2.  A lot of glamour a little of the time. #3.  What’s glamour?! Many...

Nativity Felt Board...

I just love being able to get out this fabulous felt board set each Christmas.  My sister-in-law made it for my kids a couple of years ago.  The board is a simple mdf square, and the background felt is attached with velcro dots.  All of the characters are cut from craft felt.  (If fiddling with felt pieces is not for you, check out my friend Narelle’s suggestion for making nativity felt board characters using...

Little Kids, Big Words...

I think it’s so important that we choose appropriate books for our kids.  Appropriate in terms of content, length, language and more.  But I also believe it’s important to stretch our kids a little.  It’s easy to fall into the trap of only buying and borrowing “toddler” books right up until formal schooling starts!  Don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying we should read novels...

Three Easy Wreaths...

Nothing acknowledges that you are embracing Christmas quite like a wreath on the front door.  It says, “We’re happy it’s Christmas and we’re happy you’re here too!”  Have you got one on your door yet?  If not, here are three super easy wreaths you can make with your toddler, all using paper plates as an inexpensive base. For each of the wreaths, start with a plain paper plate. ...