Loving... NOT loving...

Golly gosh it's been years since I've written a "Things I'm Loving"post. What better way to get back on the blog-horse than with a random collection of life's moments, right?
Because when it's been so long and there are so many stories piled up that you want to write, you have to start with the easy ones, just to get the ole ink flowing.

First up, I'm loving jasmine.
It's everywhere down my street, and when I'm walking past hedges of the stuff, I can grab a bunch and fill my home with the smell of spring. Every time I walk in the front door, it hits me. The sweet sunshiney smell of jasmine.

[ CONTINUE READING.......]

At My House: Things I'm Loving and Doing

Sometimes I have so many ideas for blog posts running through my head that I end up writing nothing at all.
Today I'm going to just let the pictures do most of the talking and show you what I've been up to round my place lately.

See that picture above? It's my mantelpiece, which is sporting a new pair of dipped cast-iron candlesticks found at SaveMart for $5.99 the pair. Brightening up the room with a bit of seasonal cut beauty, are some crabapple branches. I think they look amazing. Who needs flowers when you have branches?

[ CONTINUE READING.......]

Weekend Rewind: Linking up with Maxabella & Co Right Here!

Yay, Friday, my favourite day of the week. This Friday is even more awesome than usual because (among other things) tonight I'm a guest host on Maxabella Loves' most excellent linky Weekend Rewind!

Weekend Rewind is one of the very few linkies that seem to be still alive and kicking these days (and the only one I still link up with), so when my favourite blogger and fellow-party-nut Maxabella emailed, inviting me to be a guest host, I was like, I am there.

Actually, thing is, at the moment I am not actually there (or should I say here?)
I'm having to let auto-post do its magic because right now as you read this I am actually up North in Whangarei, eating dinner with some fellow bloggers, after spending all day learning how to decorate cupcakes FANCY (at a workshop with my lovely party partner, Sandra, from KiwiCakes). Just one more reason this Friday is even awesomer than usual.

I'll tell you all about our adventure next week - and I promise pictures, lots of pictures. I am REALLY looking forward to learning how to do those fancy icing techniques - I do my best but I'm no pro. And I really want to know how to do those roses!
I'm also very excited to get to hang out with a bunch of lovely blog pals and I'll FINALLY get to meet my blog-friend Neetz in person. I bet there will be some hugging.

[Cross Country is a very serious race, obviously]

In the meantime, I've got pictures from today's fun episode of The School Cross Country. This event has always (in the past) provided ample blog-fodder. There have been stories about running while injured, coming in first (and second) place unexpectedly, and stories about what you do when you fall down (um, you get up and keep running, in theory).

[See? Serious.]

But this year? Well it was a bit of a story washout.
Miss Fab (Ten Year Old Girls) made a pact with her pals to jog round the route and try their best to avoid getting a place and therefore having to run again at InterSchool Champs (last year's torture).
So no drama there.

[One of the youngest in the group, sure, but still one of the tallest]

Meanwhile Scrag (who is still six) had to run with the Seven Year Old Boys, and while meeting with no disaster, and finishing a respectable 15th out of 50, was also unhelpful anecdotally.

So I'll just leave you with the pictures, and a round up of my latest posts and an admonishment to drag out you best post of the week and come link up on the awesome linky as soon as it opens (just scroll past the pictures of the little children running...)

IF YOU'RE VISITING FROM THE LINKY (Hello! and Welcome!): You can find out more about me on my About Me Page OR you might wanna go straight for the good stuff...

• Parties: All my ideas and tips (including Parties for No Reason and Theme Dinners)
• Printables: All my free party printables in one place. How convenient!
• Recipes: For people who like things simple, easy and delicious
• Blog Tips: Tips and freebies for beginners, code-phobes and bloggers of all kinds
• Parenting: Confessions of a lazy mother and other gems...

FROM THIS WEEK:

• The Power of One (plus One plus One): My thoughts on the XFactor NZ bullying debacle. Obviously everyone was fed up hearing/talking about it by the time I posted; the comments didn't exactly flood in!
• Ninja Turtle Party Printables: I shared the Free Printables I've designed for Scrag's upcoming TMNT party. No-one ever comments on those posts. It's OK. I'm used to it. (It would probably help if my comment system was mobile friendly, but there ya go)

And if you haven't met Maxabella yet, you should. Go there right now and say hi from me, OK?

While you're at it the other Linky co-hosts are also pretty Awesome: Life Love & Hiccups (looks like my kind of blogger); Sonia Styling (if style is your thing) and Kelly Exeter (has written a book about living Life Less Frantic).

OK HERE COMES THE LINKY...

(***WARNING: I am a bit crap at figuring out time zones and/or following instructions, so it's highly likely that this post will go up before the linky opens. Don't worry, just roll your eyes at my daftness and check back in an hour or two...)

Making my Day (one of those "loving" posts)

I spotted these words on my son's bedroom chalkboard wall this morning: Think of Others.
At first I wondered if his dad had written it there to inspire him... but no. It was in his own 11-year-old handwriting.
He must written it there to remind himself - I can think of no other reason for it.

My heart did a little flip-flop, I have to tell you, at this little sign of a wonderful person emerging from the chrysallis of childhood.

Sometimes your kids surprise you in wonderful ways. This made my day.

Also making my day was the sound of silence resounding in my house at 7.40am this morning. This lot were all up and ready, breakfasted and dressed, with lunchboxes made the night before... leaving for school under their own steam. Scootering, walking to the bus, leaving me in my PJ's contemplating a Day Off.
Oh there are some truly wonderful aspects to your kids growing up!
Hearing them say, "Mum it's your day off so we'll scooter to school so you don't have to take us."
And when the big one begs for a ride because he's lugging three boxes of cupcakes for his class's bake off, hearing your daughter say, "No Josh, it's mum's day off. You should just take them in a bag and walk."
So he does, without a fuss.
Bless.

Making my night last night were these two Baking Buddies. Dash comes running into the lounge after dinner in a fluster: "Mum! I forgot! It's the BakeOff competition tomorrow and I have to bake something for my whole class! Can you help me?"
Me, I'm really not in the mood to start baking at 7.15pm.
So I suggest he asks his sister - a dab hand at cupcakes - to help him bake something.
Bless that girl, she's a wonder, coming to her big brother's rescue and helping him whip up a batch of mini-cupcakes - and then cleaning up the kitchen as well!
I got to chill on the couch and enjoy the sounds of cooperation and teamwork coming from my kitchen.

It wasn't too long ago that those two were at each other's throats, as he found her completely annoying and she (feeling rejected) would constantly annoy him in retaliation. It drove me crazy.
But lately? He's been really beginning to appreciate his sister.

Take for instance the other day. We were watching XFactor and it was "judges homes" where the boys were going gaga over J-Lo. One of them says to the camera, "I mean, she's amazing. So beautiful. the most beautiful woman in the world...!"

Quick as a flash Dash blurts out, "Well you've never seen my sister!"

I LOVE IT.

Something else which Made my WEEK was an email I received from Katherine, the reader who won my Book Giveaway.

She wrote:
I also wanted to share with you what my best ever use of your blog has been to date. Three of my sisters have children, so as a gift for each family last Christmas I gave them each a family fun night, based around some of your family night and birthday party ideas. They were totally stoked with the gift of time together and shared experiences. For example, one sister has 4 kids (2 boys, 2 girls, aged 5-9 years) and I gave them the Cowboy Cookout with Truth or Dare, complete with nerf guns for playing cowboys and indians, ginger beer with your printable labels, marshmallows for their brazier, and an instruction sheet for cowboy food and the Truth or Dare game. My 9 year old nephew's face was all lit up as he recounted their evening to me - the highlight for him was drawing a face on his tummy and making it talk to each family member! And my brother-in-law appreciated the questions that gave him the chance to get to know his children even better. 

The flow on effect from that gift was that my other sister started creating her own fun nights based on her kids current interests. She's done Angry birds, Lego, and a couple of others I can't remember...
You have such great ideas - keep them coming!

Is that the BEST or what?! I was totally blown away that Katherine had been able to use my humble ideas in such an amazing way.

She also wrote:
[My sister] had 3 girls under 5 years and so for their family I gave them the Fairy Pass the Parcel Poem from your fairy party. I wrapped up the parcel with the clues for where to find each treasure in between the layers, gave my sister the gifts and told her where to hide each item. I suggested they dress up, had dainty fairy food for tea, did the pass the parcel and did some fairy dancing. It was a total hit and the next morning my nieces got dressed up in their fairy gear and wanted to do it all over again. Even my brother-in-law, totally outnumbered, got into it and raved to me what a fab time they had all had.

I think this is a BRILLIANT idea for a family gift. This totally made my week.

If you've never seen them before, here's the blog posts Katherine was talking about:

• THEME NIGHT: Cowboy Cookout with Truth or Dare
• Fairy Party with printables and games

One final thing that made my day this week: I found my Christmas Book on Book Depository!
You know what that means, right? FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING!!!

I had no idea you could get my book on Book Depository; I've been frustrated by the hideous shipping costs to this part of the world on Amazon, and I'm not even sure why I decided to search for my book title while I was on Book Depository the other day.
Blow me down when my book came up! I think I squealed, then raced to post it on Facebook.
And now I'm telling all of you - you can now get my book delivered FREE anywhere in the world!
(So happy).

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

That'll do for now; there's a whole bunch of things that've made my day this week.
Anything made YOUR day lately?

Snippets from my Rollercoaster Week...

Life really is like a Rollercoaster - it has all the ups and downs, thrills, laughs and terror of a theme park ride. I'm not one for theme park rides, generally speaking, and I'll take peace and tranquillity over thrills, anyday.

Here are a few of the ups and downs from my week, to tickle your funny bone, make you gag and let you know you're not the only one on this crazy rollercoaster ride.

The stuff my quirky kids say and do is always good at making me smile. Just this morning we had...

• the first day of August (eek) and a race with Dash to be the first one to blurt out "a pinch and a punch for the first of the month". As I sidle into the bathroom, he sees me coming and knows what I'm about. We both pinch and punch each other (with love and affection) and fall about laughing while retorting: "a slap and a kick for being so quick..!"  It's the little things that make your day, isn't it? The hallowed family traditions that give life meaning (ha). One of these days I'll beat him to it!
• a developmental milestone on the road to puberty. The "Embarrassed of Your Parents" milestone. That moment when your almost-12-year-old son asks to be dropped around the corner from the bus stop  because he doesn't want to be embarrassed. "Why because I'm dropping you off in my jammies?" I ask, pretending to be wounded. "You're embarrassed to have people see me? Well you can take your embarrassment and walk it to the bus stop next time!" Ha ha. He laughs. He knows I'm not really offended. And he exits the car (around the corner as requested) calling out, "Bye mum, I love you, have a great day...!" *SIGH*
• a too-big-jeans backhanded compliment. I'm getting dressed and Miss fab is lurking nearby. She asks, "Mum are those meant to be skinny jeans?" They are. My size 14s, the ones I had to buy when the size 16s became too big. "Well I think you need new ones cos those ones are too baggy. They look too big and they're wrinkling under your bum. You need some smaller ones..." Made me smile, really nice and big and wide. I need smaller jeans. *WOOP*

I popped two slices of bread in the toaster this morning, and within seconds my nose was wrinkling with a curious smell. A faint sizzling sound was coming from the toaster, now there's a whiff of smoke, the smell is getting worse... WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?

I look into the toaster and nearly gag. THERE IS A SLUG INSIDE MY TOASTER, sizzling against the element, stinking up my kitchen as it cooks.

A bloody SLUG.

There's no way I can get it out, no way I even want to look inside the toaster, let alone scrape slug guts from its walls... the gag reflex is strong.

I unplug the toaster - my good and faithful wedding-present toaster - and walk it sadly outside to the bin. It's long years of service are over. Rest in Peace, dear friend (not you, you creepy slug! Ugh! Gag!)

After 14 years of faithful toasting, our old Breville toaster is laid to rest and a shiny new four-slice toaster now sits in its box on my bench. Thing is, how do I prevent another bloody slug from crawling into this one?

The courier dropped off a new box of Nespresso capsules... I have coffee again!

Also on the upside I enjoyed coffee today with my dear friend Sammy after WAY TOO LONG. She's the best, and I plan to make her a fancy brunch soooooon.

Another bonus, while having coffee together we did a spot of shopping and I found another tin sign for my collection...

I have to admit to feeling a little bit invisible lately. A bit Lonely and forgotten.    I've been having a bit of a Pity Party and wishing with all my heart for The Village. 

Did you stumble across this post that was doing the rounds of Facebook? It made me get all yearny.

I shared it on my profile and had this conversation with a couple of members of the Village in my heart...

I can have a pity party and feel sorry for myself cos my phone hardly ever rings and I sometimes feel like I'm always doing the inviting... or I can put on my Big Girl Pants and realise that the Village is what you make it. (On the upside, once I'd gotten to grips with this, I've begun to find opportunities to connect with others; the Pity Party is over). 

My girlie's 10th birthday was on Monday; there was nothing exciting left in the cupboards, and since it's against The Rules to have a boring lunch on your birthday I whizzed up to the dairy after work, picked up some treats and dropped back into school to surprise her. 

What do I see? My birthday girl, sitting ALONE, head down, reading. Where are her friends? Why is she alone? (It's her birthday, being left alone is against The Rules). 

She sees me, bursts into tears and throws herself into my arms. "I'm having the worst day ever, mum. THE WORST."

Well, that is completely against The Rules! The Birthday Rules state clearly that having a bad day on your birthday is SIMPLY NOT ALLOWED. 

So I sign her out out school and we head to Little and Friday. Her birthday improves from there. MUCH.

[This is actually Bluebells Cakery, from a different day, but you get the idea]

That's been a few ups and downs from my week. So much more I could say, more ups, more downs, but this post is long enough. And the main thing as I've taken the time to write it all down here, I've realised that the ups outweigh the downs. And where there were downs, we turned them into ups. Or at least bought a new toaster.

Have a great weekend!

(What have your ups and downs been this week?)

Life Round These Parts *a Loving post*

Well, hello. You're still here.
It's been a week of it, that's for sure, what with the dramatic events of last Thursday and its aftermath.
(Did you miss that post? I got sick, dehydrated, fainted, banged my head on the way down and got knocked unconscious. Ended up being taken to hospital in an ambulance and have been woolly-headed with concussion ever since).

Today I thought I'd ease back into the blog with a wee round-up of life hereabouts, as it's been a while since I did that. A "things I'm loving" meets "wow I'm grateful" combined with "here's the haps".

I'll start with today.
Friday is my day off and since Scrag woke up in the middle of the night with a nasty cough, I kept him home. We've been playing schools. I've been putting to use all the things I've learnt since becoming a teacher aide, which means my kid has been doing spelling, handwriting and maths all morning.

Here he is on this very cool maths programme called SumDog. The kids at school use it to play math games where they can play against kids from all over the world. There's a paid-up version you can subscribe to but the free version does plenty. I introduced it to Scrag this morning and he's loving it. (that name again? SumDog. Try it, it's great for younger kids, very visual and fun).

After our lessons we had lunch. It was sunny, so we ate it on the porch.

I can tell you, I never thought I'd say this but I can actually (for the first time in my life) see the appeal of homeschooling. *GASP*
Settle down, I love my local school, and I'm not-on-yer-life gonna pull my kids out of there and start trying to teach them myself, but I have to say there's something very satisfying about working one-on-one with your kid, setting your own pace etc. Like I said I can see the appeal.

Now that I'm a *ahem* working woman again I am completely LOVING my job (which I was sadly absent from for a week after my dramatic demise). It's hugely satisfying, tremendously rewarding and perfectly tailor-made for me.

All my mummy-skills are being put to good use, I get to be creative and proactive; every day is different. Since I started I've taught my student to ride a bike without trainer wheels (!) and together with another student who I also help, we've created a super-hero called SuperCat, among other things.

We are making progress in spelling, oral language and engagement with others. Best of all, the teacher who's class I'm working in has told me my efforts are making a huge difference in the class as the boys I'm working with have settled down and it's had a flow-on effect to the rest of the class.

I am sooooo glad I acted on impulse and walked into that office last term!

While I'm gratuitously patting myself on the back, I might as well mention my writing efforts elsewhere. Here's the cover of the latest Parenting Magazine, and there's my article in the big blue writing: "Encouraging Independence". Yep, that's me. Writing about how to get your kids to do stuff for themselves so you can put your feet up and spend longer reading/doing DIY/planning parties. Haha. Seriously, it's a great parenting strategy! I wrote in brief on the same topic for the parenting website Mothering from Scratch, where I am a "MOMtor" (regular contributor): "Teaching Kids Independence". It's a survival technique.

Right. So now I have spent way too long on this post and I'm gonna run out of time to bake muffins with Scrag for our after-school visitors, so in brief:

The football World Cup in Brazil has got us up early, biting our nails, rooting for our team (England). See that box of tissues on the coffee table? Yep, we needed them.

Bye, bye England. Uruguay knocked them out. Sniff sniff. It's a valuable life lesson in dealing with disappointment, I guess. Poor Dash. His dad has had a lifetime of practise (getting his hopes up every World Cup only to have them dashed), so he can sympathise and give you some pointers. Just as well we have a life outside football, aye guys? 

In general apart from an increased level of muzzy-headedness and general confusion, life goes on in its usual circus-like fashion. This is how my dear daughter turned up to school the other day. Ha.
She's a clown, alright.

Anyway, best get off here and get baking.
Have a great weekend.
xxx

Loving Lately... (some goodness from my week)

Monday morning and all's quiet on the Western Front. The cyclone that was meant to ravage our shores took a detour and never eventuated (surprise surprise) so although the weekend was wet and windy, it wasn't too wild after all. No power cuts, no downed trees - at least not in our neck of the woods.

This morning, despite having no milk and nothing exciting for the lunchboxes, I managed to get all children to school by 8.15am, fed and watered (after an emergency run to the dairy) and ready to go with no shouting of any kind. Some kind of a Monday Miracle.

So as I sat down to gratefully sip my coffee (with milk) I decided to take a wee detour from the invitation orders that came in over the weekend and reflect on the goodness in my world over the last week/weekend as a nice way to start the new week.

The first bit of goodness is Miss fab getting her cast off - wahoo! She still has another two weeks being careful (no cartwheels, no monkey bars) but at least she can shower. Ha.

Next, there's my kitchen revamp project which is crawling along slowly. I am LOVING my upcycled dining table. Lo-ving.

Look at the difference a bit of white paint makes. Before, the table disappeared in a sea of woodenness. Now, after a rough sand, a coat of "smooth surface sealer" and a topcoat of semi gloss (waterbased) enamel, it's a joy to behold. It lightens the whole room. L.O.V.E.

I also loved braving the "cyclone" on Saturday with the family who were desperate to get out of the house. We crossed the Harbour Bridge in those gale force winds, to pick up a new set of drawers for Scrag in our people mover. Then we headed for "Temping Bowling".
At the last minute (just before the last city offramp) I remembered that there was a new place open right in the city, Metrolanes, so we took the exit and rocked up. They have a cute little mini-bowling mezzanine floor, where you have short lanes and little balls and it feels like you have your own private bowling alley. What's more there was no waiting list for the mezzanine mini bowling, so we gave it a go. And Loved it. (Mr G whipped all our butts and I *ahem* did my best to come last. I'm nice like that.)

On Sunday we had lunch with friends and I Loved watching Dash snuggle their baby so tenderly. I whipped out my phone and snapped this moment. Dash Loves babies, and it warms my heart.

Later on that wet and windy (but decidedly non-cyclonic) Sunday we resurrected the Singstar for a bit of a laugh. It's been ages since we've played, like, years.
We got the PS2 and Singstar back when Miss Fab was a baby, and I have to say it's been great value.
I Loved listening to the kids belting out old classics, taking on their dad (and me). Mr G has a weird ability to sound awful but still win. Our Singstarring is not always tuneful, but it's always a good laugh and we all LOVE it. I think we might be reviving the SingStar on a regular basis now we've remembered that we have it.

Our crazy rock-the-mic-like vandals family. Flippin nuts (in the best loopiest way). Love them.



That's a few of the thing's I'm loving lately. What are you loving? (And did the cyclone affect you at all?)

Stuff I'm Grateful for and Loving etc

It's hot. Summer hot. The weatherman predicted rain for the weekend, but the opposite happened, for which I am truly grateful.
Summer has landed on the shores of NZ a week early (it's officially still spring) and Auckland is basking in the heat. The air smells of cut grass and growing things and there was not a drop of rain to spoil Dash's birthday weekend.
Aside from being grateful for the weather, I am also grateful the birthday party went off, and that Number One Son had a fab time with his friends. the party post will will be coming on Wednesday - once I figure out how to get the photos off my camera. Which is just not cooperating lately, despite having a brand new memory card installed. Gah. Oh well. Maybe Santa will be kind to me and bring me a Cannon.
(Ha! Who am I kidding? Maybe I'll sell enough books and I can get one myself. Ha! Who am I kidding??!)

Which brings me to The Book, which has also landed on the shores of NZ. I'll be writing out envelopes and mailing books just as soon as I finish this post. So if you bought one, keep an eye on your letterbox the next couple of days. And if you didn't, you have until this arvo to win one (along with a CD "mix tape" of my fave christmas songs and maybe some bonus gorgeous wooden christmas decos from PopRoc Parties).
I'd be loving it AND grateful if you'd enter. And/or buy my book. Just sayin. (ENTER HERE, QUICK! four books to be won; open to NZ, Aussie and Overseas readers. Details on the giveaway post)

Oops, I digressed a bit there from my grateful post. It's just that there's so much going on, and it's hard for me to stay on track.
Right, back to gratefuls, and things I'm loving...
I got a lovely surprise last week when my mum and dad turned up with their gift for me: a hundred-year-old heirloom print which once belonged to my great-grandmother, then my grandmother, then hung on the wall of my childhood homes... and now they got it reframed for me.
I was blown away, I can tell you. It's now hanging in pride-of-place on my dining room wall. I love it. And I'm super duper grateful too.

And lastly, before I start stuffing envelopes and mailing books, I'm loving Scrag's enthusiasm for Christmas. He requested The Santa Clause DVDs from fatso, and is now spending every waking minute playing "santa's sleigh" in the back garden.

We may see an upside down plastic table and some wooden sawhorses but he sees a magical flying sleigh pulled by Rudolph and Comet...

So while I'm grateful for childish imagination and a love of Christmas, I've gotta say...Christmas?!?!?! Eek!

Twenty-nine sleeps to go, Scrag tells me, and less than a week till we get our Christmas tree, he reminds us every morning. My baby has his first wiggly tooth (it's hanging by a thread), Christmas is less than a month away and I simply don't know where the time is flying off to in such a hurry.
Slow down, just a bit wouldya pleeease?

Join in with The Grateful Project
Use #thegratefulproject hashtag on Instagram and your "Gratefuls" will show up here automagically...

Use the #thegratefulproject hashtag to join us on instagram (and twitter)... or you can share your gratefuls in the comments section. There's even a button so you can let others know you're joining in...

<div class="The Grateful Project" style="width: 230px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="http://www.greatfun4kidsblog.com/search/label/The%20Grateful%20Project" > <img src="http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy162/donnasimone/thegratefulprojectbutton_zpsf9af8ea6.jpg" alt="Greatfun4kids" width="230"/> </a> </div>

Gratefully Yours,




*If you enjoyed this, please share it*

Blogging about Blogging...

I've been reading some very interesting articles lately, on blogs.
There's a lot of good stuff out there!
It's always inspiring to come across blogs that make you think, and bloggers who read your mind and write what you wish you had written...

Here's a couple of the posts I've read and LOVED recently, from around the blogosphere...

A Letter to Miley Cyrus by iamRihanna

After all the hooha and media frenzy about Miley's OTT performance at the VMA's, this blog post was a shining light of reason. Rihanna (not the singer, just a young blogger) wrote what I had been thinking. I had foolishly been drawn into a discussion on FaceBook, on a friend's post, and the comments some of the ladies were making just left me bamboozled. When I stumbled over this blog post, I had to share it, everywhere.
It would seem lots of people felt the same way - the post went viral overnight, and this blogger who had struggled to get 400 pageviews a day, all of a sudden had over a million hits.
That's the power of social media.
(Gosh darnit, if only I'd written that post, right?? Ha!)

Blog School on Village Voices: Collaboration by Pip Lincolne

Pip writes about the new environment of blogging, and wonders what happened to the days when a post would generate comments and interaction, and there was a wonderful supportive blogging community.
This one really resonated with me, as I had also been pondering a drop-off in comments and interaction and wondered, What have I done? Where is everybody?
It was nice to realise it's not just me who's feeling it.
I mean my stats are the best ever, but it's the connection, the sense of blogging community that seems to have slipped. A lot of my blog friends from the early years have either given up blogging completely or blog (and comment) rarely. I'm sure these newfangled mobile devices which make commenting trickier have a lot to do with the comment/feedback drop-off too.
But the article made me decide to redouble my efforts to be a nice supportive interactive commenty blogger. It's the community and connection that is the real pay-off when it comes to blogging. Without that, as a writer, you feel like you're just talking to yourself.
As a result, I aim to be more generous with my social media sharing. If I stumble across a post I love I plan to FB it, tweet it, G+ it... heck even blog about it (like I am now). So watch out. I could be coming for you.

Dear Blogger, Just Write by Deb at Works in Progress

Again with this post, a lovely blogger has read my mind. Deb (a personal fave, both In Real Life and in Blogland) has written a from-the-heart appeal to bloggers to stop second guessing themselves and tying themselves in knots trying to please everybody, and just write.
I loved her post, so full of goshdarnit good sense. So of course I shared it.

....and finally. The post that had me almost peeing myself laughing...

The Brutal Truth About the Third Child by Shannon at Relentless

All I can say is that if you are the proud owner of three (or more) children, read this while wearing a Tena pad. It's just so flippin hilarious, funny and TRUE. I'll say no more, just read.




Before I sign off and go do some kids-bedroom-swilling or dust-bunny bashing, I'd love to challenge you to join me in being more generous with our sharing of each other's great blog posts.
If a blog post tickles you, why not click a share button?
Like it? Share it!
Loved it? Let the author know.
Just a thought.
xx


(P.S. If you're a blogger, have you noticed changes in the blog community? A drop off of comments and interaction? If so, what do you put it down to?)