It's My Blog's Seventh Birthday (Let's Party)

It's hard to believe that I've been writing this blog for seven years. (Actually I thought it was my 8th anniversary, but then I counted back, and it's only seven.) But still - seven years blogging! that's like 45 in blog-years. I'm like a blog-granny or a fairy blog-mother. What started out as a little exercise in party idea-sharing has turned into a place for me to share my life-journey, with all the fun of the circus, and all the stomach-dropping ups and downs of a rollercoaster. > > Where/how this blog began Today to celebrate my blog-birthday I'm sharing with you my favourite parties, in case you've missed any. I've made the pictures clickable, so if you want to check out a party from days-gone-by just click on the picture and it'll take you to the post.

Read on for a GIVEAWAY to celebrate my seven-year blogiversary...

[ CONTINUE READING.......]

Taking Stock After Six Years Blogging

Six years is a long time in a child's life. Sheesh, it's a long time, full stop, really.

Six years ago today I logged in to Blogger and and wrote my first-ever blog post. A lifetime has happened in those six years. Our family has gotten older and taller. My then-newborn is now older than my oldest-child was then (and taller than he was as well).

It's simply not possible to summarise six years in a blog post, so I'm not going to try.

Instead I'm going to simply share some photos through the years, and do a bit of "taking stock" while I'm at it...

In 2008 I was...

MAKING: the most of baby's sleep times and blogging like a only a newbie madwoman can
COOKING: only the easiest of dinners including way too much spaghetti bolognese
DRINKING: endless cups of tea
READING: nowhere near as much as I wanted to
WANTING: an unbroken night's sleep

In 2009 I was...

LOOKING: a little less like I was still pregnant
PLAYING: Tea parties on a regular basis
WASTING: Too much time blogging, when I could have been cleaning, or playing
SEWING: Sewing? What's that? I began my love affair with my glue gun
WISHING: There were more hours in the day

In 2010 I was...

ENJOYING: Taking photos on my new (bigger, flasher) camera
WAITING: For the Terrible Twos to kick in (they never did)
LIKING: Watching home Renovation shows on TV
WONDERING: If I'd ever get to makeover my kitchen
LOVING: Having three kids. Three is the new two.

In 2011 I was...

HOPING we'd have an awesome trip to England in September (we did)
MARVELLING at how much easier it was to travel with the kids now they're older
NEEDING more books to read. Always.
SMELLING the Roses a little more than I used to
WEARING out my keyboard with my constant blog-typing

In 2012 I was...

FOLLOWING loads of blogs, commenting and trying to get more social-media savvy
NOTICING that comments were dropping off and wondering why...?
KNOWING that blogging was becoming a bit of an obsession, a place to escape to from my reality
THINKING I needed to figure out how to get a better blog/life balance, among other things
FEELING pretty much out of my depth as a parent. 2012 was a hard year.

In 2013 I was...

BOOKMARKING websites about Dyslexia. And Aspergers. (Grateful to finally have some answers).
OPENING up my thinking to include new understanding about my self and my kids.
GIGGLING at all the funny things the kids say. Always.
FEELING like we're getting there, wherever "there" is. 

SEEING the light at the end of the tunnel.

In 2014 I am...

Making : The most of what I have, as much as I can
Cooking : My tried and true favourites (including good ole spaghetti bolognese)
Drinking : Nespresso coffee every day (I am so blessed)
Reading: Anything I can get my hands on, and loving it
Wanting: To be a better parent. Always.
Looking: At my kids and wondering how they got so big, so fast.
Playing: More than I used to. But not as much as I need to.
Wasting: Less time than I used to on the computer. I'm a FIFO* blogger these days.
Sewing: Sewing? What's that? I'm still in love with my glue gun
Wishing: I could sew, just a little bit.
Enjoying: Having older kids and all the heart-to-hearts we have
Waiting: For the hormones to kick in; puberty could strike any day day now...
Liking: My kids. They are good people.
Wondering: Who they will become.
Loving: being a working mum after eleven years at home.
Hoping: I never run out of things to say and stories to tell.

Marvelling: That we're all still here. It's been six years since I started sharing my life on the interwebs. My kids have survived with me as a mum, they haven't starved even if they eat way too much spaghetti bolognese

Needing: To do more exercise, always. Some things don't change.
Smelling: Jasmine in my kitchen and freesias on my driveway. Spring is in the air (I love spring).
Wearing: Smaller clothes than I did six years ago. Some things DO change.
Following: Less blogs than I used to (where have all my blog friends gone?)
Noticing: That less of my old blog friends are still at it, and missing them.
Knowing: That I'm not giving up on blogging anytime soon. I still love it, even if I FIFO*.
Thinking: Man, time goes fast. Where have the years gone in such a hurry?
Bookmarking: Actual books. I love to read. Always.
Opening: My home to anyone who needs brunch or coffee. I'll even pick you flowers. (I do love a tea party).
Giggling: At the silly things my kids say. Still.
Feeling: Hopeful. Grateful. Sentimental.

It's been a crazy six years, and it's all here, recorded for posterity. All my stories, the good and the bad. the parties, the fun times, the holidays and celebrations, the laughter, the tears and tantrums, the struggles and the worries. It's a mixed bag, a rollercoaster ride, an adventure we like to call LIFE.

Thanks for being part of it.

......................

PHEW. If you made it to the end of this post, congratulations!
I want to say thankyou to my loyal readers and celebrate reaching this milestone by holding a giveaway of one of my favourite things - BOOKS.

The winner can choose the book from Book Depository (something you've been wanting to read) and I'll send it to you.

 TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY:  Leave me a comment (either here or on my Facebook page) and tell me what you love best about my blog. I'll read (and enjoy) your comments and pick a winner on Tuesday.

{OPEN TO READERS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD}

............................

*FIFO= Fly In, Fly Out (a style of blogging which suits me just fine right now)

"Taking Stock" list found on Meet me at Mike's Blog

The Winners of my Christmas Book Giveaway (is it YOU?)

Today's the day; the winners have been drawn.
Thank you to everyone who entered my Christmas Book Giveaway!

The Prizes are all ready to be dispatched: for two New Zealand winners and one Aussie winner, a signed copy of the book, a mix CD of my favourite Christmas Carols (to help you get in the Christmas mood) and some charming wooden Christmas decorations to hang on your tree. (The overseas winner's book will come direct from Amazon)

So who are they, these book winners? They're right here on the Rafflecopter gadget, randomly drawn from 159 entries...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations  Cass Henderson and Simone Jaunay in New Zealand, Sophie Blanc in Australia and Nikki Clark in the UK!

Tomorrow morning I'll be popping your prizes into the mail, so keep an eye on your letterbox in the next few days.

Thank you to everyone who has shared the book on social media and on their blogs; I really really appreciate it.

Here's some of the blog posts people have written:

Rachel from Our SouthSea Island Home

Miriam from Create Hope Inspire

Meghan from MNMs

Vicki from VegemiteVix

Sophie from Little Gumnut

(If I've missed your blog post from this list please let me know!)

I spent yesterday morning writing out envelopes and posting off all my book orders to date. I have now received all the books I've ordered from Amazon in the States to on-sell direct to my NZ readers and won't be ordering any more. Once they are gone, they're gone.

If you have bought a copy of my book, would you help me out by posting a review on Amazon for me, once you receive it? The more reviews it has, the more likely people are to find my book in searches. And if you love it (which I hope/think/believe you will), please show it to your friends and tell them where to get a copy of their own.

It has been a massive effort to pull this together in such a short time after my illness in September/October, I'm proud of how it has turned out and now I'd just love the world to discover and fall in love with my little story.

If you didn't win a copy of the book, here's where to get it:

• NZ readers (buy it direct from me and save on shipping; limited copies available to get in quick)
• Amazon.com (International readers; buy the print book and get the Kindle version for free)
• eBook now available on KINDLE

And in case you haven't seen it already... here's that brilliant St Pauls video clip of my story...

Merry almost-Christmas ♥

*if you liked this please share it* 

It's my Birthday... but You're Getting the Presents (GIVEAWAY)

Happy birthday to me! Today I am forty-four and to celebrate I'm giving away some copies of my book. A bunch of copies, to bless you or (if you've bought one already) a friend.

First let me give you a spiel (humour me - it's my birthday, after all)

The story was originally written as a gift for my children in Christmas 2011. The idea came to me as I was pondering how baby Jesus’ arrival on Earth was not at all what any of us humans (in all our wisdom) would have chosen if we wanted to change the world. The whole thing really was completely unexpected. The story just came to me all of a sudden, as I imagined the angels in heaven being shocked at God's crazy ideas and one (small but clever) angel saying "Brilliant! They won't be expecting that!"

I sat and wrote it down in twenty minutes flat then illustrated it  with photos of my kids (turning them into the angels); I printed it and gave it to them on Christmas Eve. 

[the original version, printed on Snapfish]

Friends I showed my homemade book to suggested I try to publish it, which I did (self published through Blurb) for the first time last year.

In Christmas 2012 I also submitted my story in script form to the creative geniuses at St Pauls in Auckland, who create "Glow - Carols by Glowstick". Each year they create a film for the event and then share it with the world on YouTube - They chose my script and made it into a gorgeous little five-minute movie.

 


After its release, An Unexpected Christmas quickly gained popularity, getting around 200,000 views in the three weeks leading up to Christmas. (We hope that this year it might go completely viral).

This year I've managed to find a way to make the book available on Amazon and Kindle.
I have refined the design and added other “angels” - gorgeous little ones borrowed from friends and family. They represent the children of the world, with roots in the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe, as well as my own angels from Downunder.

The story still gives me goosebumps. I think you will like it too.

SHARING THE BOOK WITH THE WORLD THIS CHRISTMAS
Now that I've worked so hard to get my book onto Amazon and Kindle I need to let the world to know about it. Which is why I'm holding this giveaway, in an attempt to entice you to share the book with your friends and followers.

• View a PDF of the book's interior here

Some of you wonderful people may have bought the book already. That's OK. You can pass the prize onto a friend if you win and I'll send them the book as a Christmas prezzy from you. I'll even giftwrap it.

Four books to be won:

• Two to be won in NZ - plus a bunch of Christmas goodies 
• One to be won in Australia - plus a mix CD of my favourite Christmas tunes
• One to be won in the US or UK - sent direct from Amazon.

Here's where to get the book:

• NZ readers (buy it direct from me and save on shipping)
• Amazon.com (International readers; buy the print book and get the Kindle version for free)
• eBook now available on KINDLE

Use the Rafflecopter gadget to enter the giveaway. there are lots of ways to get extra entries. And remember - you can keep the book for yourself or nominate a recipient xx

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winners will be announced here on the blog next week on November 25th and will also be notified by email.

Spring Declutter: Pantry Complete (+Tupperware Winners)

So here we are at last: the final stage of our Pantry Project, where we add some beautiful new storage and finish it off with a flourish.

The first exciting thing that happened was hearing a knock at the door and discovering two boxes of beautiful new Tupperware had been delivered right on schedule...

I've never had Tupperware before, though I've admired it in other people's pantries. When Tupperware emailed me about reviewing some baby feeding sets, I cheekily suggested they might want to come on board with this project instead... and they agreed*! Very exciting. As I unpacked the box I was rather surprised just how big the containers were - much bigger than what I'd imagined from the photos. And I am in love with those black lids...

I had fun transferring all my baking ingredients, rice, pasta and whatnot into the containers ready for natalie's next visit, where she "went to town" with her label maker...

Now there will be no confusion about what's what. Everything stacks beautifully - Tupperware's Modular Mates system is designed that way - which means that although the containers are really big, they take up far less room in my pantry than my old cylinder ones from the supermarket.
I can quickly see what I am running short of, Miss Fab can find everything she needs for her baking adventures, and things will last and last inside those magic airtight seals.

*(Tupperware supplied me with 2x Super Pantry Sets for this project - plus one spaghetti dispenser which I love to bits. Thankyou Tupperware! I'm a convert forever).

A few other exciting things arrived in the post too. Some lovely bits and bobs I found on TradeMe (NZ's answer to eBay) after Natalie suggested some other clever space-saving devices....

A Door Mounted Spice Rack...

I'm so glad clever Natalie suggested this. As well as saving space, the door mounted spice rack also makes stuff really really easy to find. I can swing open the door and Hey presto! there's my Tumeric/Vanilla/baking soda. Mr G was very clever at positioning the rack so the door would close. the shelves are easily adjustable and fit the salt and pepper grinders as well as the cute spice jars I also found on TradeMe (and which Natalie labelled so sweetly)...

Then as if all this is not enough to have me leaving the pantry doors open, just for the view, Natalie had one last brilliant idea:

A Pantry Door Blackboard Shopping List

This brainwavey idea is like the icing on the cake. I found the blackboard stickers on TradeMe, being sold in a 200cm x 45cm roll for the princely sum of $16.
It's removable. Easy to cut to the size you want (if you use the handy gridlines on the peel-off back, which I didn't discover til afterwards so mine is slightly crooked on one edge...). Perfect if you're in a rental property or simply don't want the hassle of painting a blackboard.
And it looks so very... Pinteresty.

(It is a two person job though. You'll need a buddy. Me and Nat had a good laugh taking these photos).

I love my new pantry. If you come visit me for coffee (or deliver me a pizza) you'll most likely be dragged into my kitchen to ooh and ahhh over my domestic miracle.

I can't tell you what a different this decluttered, reorganised, upgraded cupboard has made to my everyday life. I'm no longer nervous about looking for a bikkie to dunk in my cuppa tea. I no longer tremble in fear when Miss Fab announces she wants to bake (as she does. A LOT). When we run low on stuff, I know about it. When We have enough of something, I know not to order it on the shopping. Dave the Cat's pet food is now written on the purty new blackboard shopping list. She won't be going hungry next week.

[Top Left: The Pantry BEFORE; Top Right: the Pantry STAGE 1; Above: The Pantry COMPLETE]

A friend once remarked that she didn't know how I did it with such a small amount of pantry storage for a family of five. I agreed with her, sadly nodding. But not anymore.
I can't wait to show her my new pantry, where there's now plenty of room for everything...

I am in love with my new pantry, where there's a place for Everything, and Everything is in its place, thanks to my decluttering guru Natalie. I can't recommend her enough.

(If you need help getting started on decluttering, if you're moving house or have a really tough mission that you could use some help on, give Natalie a call. She's clever and so good to work with and she's willing to tackle anything. She's non-judgemental, full of great ideas and really really good at what she does.)

I'd love you to join with me for the Spring Declutter. Natalie and I have more projects planned down the track.  If you want to tackle your home's problem areas, make sure you take "Before" photos - so you can share your "before" and "after" photos to my Facebook Page and/or blog about it and link up below and/or post to my Facebook page. (If you're blogging your decluttering projects, here's a button for you to grab; the linky will remain open until December.)

<div class="Spring Declutter" style="width: 180px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href=" http://www.greatfun4kidsblog.com/search/label/Spring%20Declutter" rel="nofollow"> <img src="http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy162/donnasimone/springdeclutterroundsimple_zps357b9eeb.png" alt="Spring Declutter" width="180" height="180" /> </a> </div>

And now what you've all bee waiting for: The Winner of the Tupperware Giveaway... Who has won the two beautiful Modular Mates Pantry Starter Kits, valued at $NZ190. (One, a reader in New Zealand. One, a reader in Australia. Visit the Tupperware website to see the range...)

And the Winners are:

NEW ZEALAND: Melissa Jack
AUSTRALIA: Emma Rowe

Congratulations ladies! I wish I had More Tupperware to give away to more of you :(
The entries were randomly drawn on Rafflecopter - the first name up was Melissa (from The Best Nest) who happened to be Kiwi; then I had to keep drawing names until I got to an Aussie... first Aussie up was Emma Rowe (from Frog Goose and Bear).

Ladies you need to email me your mailing details so I can pass them onto to Tupperware and your prize can be dispatched.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

P.S. If you didn't win and are now heartbroken and weeping into your trim flat white, because you had your heart set on Tupperware but find it usually out of your price range, my friend Lyn might be able to help you find a way to get discounted Tupperware. You can email her on lynmareeb@gmail.com; mention my blog and she'll help you out.

Find more posts about Home & Living on my At My House Page