Great Fun etc

19 August 2013

Grateful for Kindness (and Lessons Learnt)

It's Grateful Monday. Time to focus on the blessings in my life and all the things I am grateful for. Last week I was grateful for FRIENDS. This week, even more so.
More specifically I am grateful for the KINDNESS of friends.
Kindness pulled me up out of a desperate slide into a pit; kindness halted my descent.
Kindness turned a day which began with being just plain overwhelmed, into a day which ended in being overwhelmed with KINDNESS.
Kindness has the ability to do that. It has magical superpowers.

Here's what happened last Thursday, the day when I “hit the wall” so to speak.

My husband is away in the UK for three weeks, leaving me with the three kids (you may already know this if you're a regular here). Not easy at the best of times, but in the middle of everything Miss Fab broke her arm (her WRITING ARM). This made it uncomfortable for her to sleep, so (of course) she came into my bed, which kept me awake too. The next morning she point-blank refused to go to school when all that was keeping me going was the promise of a quiet day to myself. It was the final straw and I broke.

In that moment of weakness (tears like a waterfall, feeling sooo lonely and sorry for myself) I wrote a sad and desperate FaceBook status, then thought better of it and took it down almost immediately.
(I didn't want to hang out my dirty laundry in order to get sympathy, but I lacked the courage to actually ask for help. Facebook took the brunt, momentarily.)

I wasn't quick enough with my deleting. Some friends spotted my sad status during the 20 seconds it was up. All of a sudden I was barraged with txt messages, kind words and offers of help.
A friend turned up on my doorstep with spring daffodils and a care package (on her birthday). One friend offered to take my son to football training, another offered to have my daughter on Sunday, another to have her for a sleepover.
A friend said, I'll come over to your house tomorrow, we'll have coffee.
Another friend said, My hubby is away next week too - let's have a fish'n'chip night together on Monday.
One friend and her hubby just dropped by unannounced (found me in bed), gave me a hug and after a few words of encouragement, left. She came by just to hug me.

I was overwhelmed with kindness.

Thanks to the kindness of those wonderful girls whose kindness lifted me and turned my day around, I have been able to find a new burst of courage and hope to face the remaining week.

[We turned my room into a dormitory and had a weekend sleepover - lucky I have a big room!]

Even though the weekend was not without drama (seeing us back at White Cross for more medical attention, after dash got an infected spider bite) I have been able to cope. Even when broken-arm lefthanded girl tried to cut her own hair (she never learns) with her right arm, I held my cool.
After all that kindness I was feeling so on top of things I even had the energy to declare a family sleepover and we had a lovely weekend all camping together in my room.

[Dash was gutted that his infection ruled him out of Sunday's tournament, so he was ecstatic when it was postponed]

Instead of dragging myself to the finish line (when hubby returns on Thursday) I'll be strolling in style. With fish n chip nights and weekend family sleepovers. With daily trips to White Cross for dressing changes and managing to get my kids to school on time and get the washing pile under control. Mostly.
All thanks to the boost-giving Kindness of friends.

This is a lesson I will take to heart: Ask for help. People want to help. Friends CARE.
Next time, no sad FB posts, just courageous requests for support.

I have also received a reminder as to the power of Kindness and the miracle that can happen when someone takes the time to say, "You matter". "I'm thinking of you".
I've always been a huge fan of kindness. But from now on I'm going to try and be more active in paying forward the generous day-changing kindness and support I have experienced from my friends.

P.S. Read this lovely post over at Mothering from Scratch about Mums being overwhelmed but not asking for help. Note to Self: Asking for Help is NOT shameful.

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

If perchance you happen to write a grateful post on your blog, you can link it up below. 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...

Gratefully Yours,

17 August 2013

Family Movie Night: Rise of the Guardians

Every Saturday we will be sharing with you our ideas for family movie nights. Movie reviews and fun theme night ideas.

Our Super-Cool-Fab Review Team...

Our crack team of expert Movie Reviewers are this week reviewing Rise of the Guardians.

We first saw Rise of the Guardians back in January when it was first released in cinemas. We'd seen the trailers and thought it looks like the kind of movie we could all enjoy as a family. A friend had told me she thought I'd enjoy it because it had great "morals" (as in deeper meaning, allegory).
She was not wrong.
Though on the surface this film looks like just another animated kids hero movie, all the way through it I got little rushes of goosebumps as I spotted truths embedded in the story. I'm funny like that. (Goosebumps, from a cartoon. Yay me.)
So when the movie was release on DVD, we added to our Fatso Queue, never expecting it would turn up so soon.
What a nice surprise when we opened our packet and there it was. Rise of the Guardians. Perfect for a cosy goosebumpy family movie night... served with "deep and meaningfuls" on the side...

[source]

Movie Plot Summary: Jack Frost doesn't know who he is or why he is. He stares up at the Man in the Moon and wonders, "Why am I here? What am I for?"
Meanwhile in the North Pole a very cool Russian edition of Santa Claus sees a shadow from an old nightmare, warning him of darkness to come. The BoogeyMan is bummed out that nobody believes in him anymore (since the end of his heyday in the Dark Ages), and he wants to change all that. He wants to be believed in and feared again. He has a plan.

Santa calls the Guardians of Childhood together and as he tells them he's seen the BoogeyMan, the Man in the Moon shines through the window. He shows them that to face this new/old threat they need the help of a brand new Guardian - none other than the outcast, Jack Frost.

As the movie unfolds we learn that each of the Guardians has a special role to play in guarding children and childhood. Santa Claus guards "wide-eyed Wonder"; the (Australian) Easter Bunny guards "Hope"; the Tooth Fairy is the keeper and guardian of "Memories" (she collects memories along with the teeth) and the SandMan is Guardian of children's Dreams. This role comes from their "centre" - who they really are at heart reveals what their purpose is.

As The Boogeyman begins turning children's dreams into nightmares and extinguishing belief with fear, it is up to Jack to figure out who he is at his centre and why the Man in the Moon chose him.

See why I got goosebumps? Oh, and it's funny and cute too.

RATED [PG]

Here's what our experts have to say about Rise of the Guardians.

Dash. B. Cool: "I liked the fighting and it's a good family movie. The Santa Claus guy was pretty funny. I think this is a good one for family movie nights."

Dash scores this movie's "coolness" as: ♥♥♥♥♥ (that's 3½)

Foxy Fab: "It was funny. My favourite character was SandMan, cos he was funny and interesting. I think everybody would like this movie, it's really cool."

Foxy rates this movie's "fabness" as: ♥♥♥♥♥

Super Scrag: "It was sad when SandMan died. I liked about it that bit at the end when people didn't believe in the BoogeyMan. I liked this movie a lot."

SuperScrag scores this movie's "super-ness" as: ♥♥♥♥♥

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

All together I wholeheartedly recommend this movie to you for all but the very youngest and most sensitive children (there are some sad moments where a beloved character "dies"; the BoogeyMan's Night Mares might also be a little scary for some.) OK, so it is a little cheesy in parts, it has probably been done before in some other form, but it has great potential for opening up conversation with your kids about knowing who they are and what they're about; it's got some good laughs along the way and a great thread of meaning running through it. Give it a try.

What are your favourite family movies? Send me an email or leave me a comment with your suggestions so we can check it out and feature it here.

Have a great Weekend!

16 August 2013

Download Free Fonts: My August Favourites

I Love Fonts. When I was polytech (doing the course where they never even bothered to print the certificates) Typography as one of my favourite subjects.
If you've followed my blog for any length of time you'll have seen how often I switch up all the fonts here.
On Pinterest I love to browse for other people's font recommendations - so helpful, so purty.
So today I decided to put together a font collection of my own, after scrolling through DaFont.com
I think I might do this on a semi regular basis, so all you fellow fontphiles out there can discover some new and lovely typographic gems.

Here is August's Font collection:
(click on the link under the graphic to download the font you want for free, from DaFont.com)

daisymae

TO INSTALL:

Download the free font onto your computer and save it somewhere accessible and easy to find
Click on the downloaded file and extract the fonts straight into your Windows/Fonts folder
Have fun creating headers, buttons, and printables of all kinds!

MORE BLOG DESIGN TIPS AND FREEBIES:

Guide to Good Blog Design

Blog Tips & Tricks for a Delicious Blog

Creating Pages to Organise Your Blog

Making Photo Collages & Using Photoscape

Make a Grabable Button for Your blog

FREEBIE: Make Clickable images and Sidebar Buttons

FREEBIE: Grab Free Social Media Buttons

FREEBIES: Simple Black Social Media Buttons

FREEBIES: Typewriter Style Social Media Buttons

My Custom Blog Design Service

15 August 2013

If I Didn't Laugh I'd Cry

[a Miss fab selfie, pre-DIY-haircut]

Actually no, I DID cry.
My husband has been away for two weeks and this morning I "hit the wall".

I was in the bedroom crying over Scrag's messy bedroom and other last-straw-like events, when my eldest son Dash comes up and says: "Mum you need a hug..."

While he's hugging me so kindly I say: "It's just hard doing it on your own and not having someone to lean on..."
And HE says: "Here mum... lean on the wall!"

He was dead serious, he thought I needed to literally lean on something, bless him.

Dash was amazing this morning. He scootered with Scrag to school (after making his breakfast) and was very patient with his little brother and helpful to his mum. He's a great kid.

This was particularly a blessing because Miss Fab was refusing to go to school...

(The Backstory: she broke her elbow on Friday, just to keep things interesting. The cast is on her left hand. She's left handed. She can't get to sleep because of the discomfort. She is tired. She had a meltdown and refused to go to school...)

I tried to call my hubby and finally got through after three hours (he's in Prague) but had to hang up when I realised someone was weeping disconsolately in the background...

The weeping child was (of course) The Fab. She had tried cutting her fringe (a trick she has never grown out of) with her right arm (remember, she's left-handed) and was upset with (a) the result and (b) the fact she knew I was going to be really really mad. I found her hiding under her covers...

And so life goes on in the madhouse that is my temporarily one-parent household.

One more week til daddy comes home and I can collapse in a heap... ha!

13 August 2013

An Open Letter to John Key (not about Snapper)

[source]

Dear John Key
I am one of the people who voted you into government in the last two elections. (Silly me.)
Recently your comments about New Zealanders caring more about snapper than about their right to privacy have disturbed me deeply. I am not usually particularly political, I dwell in the Centre of the political spectrum, usually leaning slightly to the right. I'm conservative and usually tend to avoid controversy and political debate. I am not a political activist. I don't have an axe to grind or a political agenda.

But you John Key (with the GCSB Bill and your dismissive comments about voters like me) you have awoken my sleeping sense of political justice and provoked me into speaking out.

[source ]

You say, "If you've nothing to hide, you've nothing to fear..."
I beg to differ.
I fear that we are not being listened to by our politicians.
I fear that you are pushing through unwanted legislation that you have no mandate for while hoping we will be distracted by fishing quotas.
I fear you are completely ignorant of the fact that you are alienating your own voters by treating us like we are stupid.
That's what I fear, John.

We don't want this legislation. We don't want our information traded to the USA, we don't want our Government spying on us - even though we are upstanding citizens who contribute to our community and "have nothing to hide".

One day a government might decide that what we consider to be freedom of speech is suddenly subversive or dangerous. That is a chance I don't want to take.

I have lost all confidence in you and your Government.
Pushing through unwanted laws "for our own good" and changing forever the fabric of our country.
Telling us we don't understand, distracting us with snapper.
I'm insulted. And annoyed. Angry even.

I have three children who will reap the harvest of these spying laws. Who knows what kind of people will one day take this information and bend and twist it for their own benefit?
We are not stupid John (except for me. I am a bit stupid for voting for you - twice - but I won't make that mistake again.)

Don't think that just because the Opposition are in disarray your disillusioned voters won't jump ship come Election time.
Remember the Anti-smacking legislation? That was a bridge too far for Labour. Even their own supporters couldn't swallow that one being rammed through for "their own good".
And this is a bridge too far for you now.

I just hope that if enough of us speak up and use our freedom of speech while we still can, a couple of flip-floppers might just flop our way and defeat this legislation.

from your former (very disappointed) supporter
.........................

Here Endeth the Letter.

[photos sourced from this photo story on the GCSB protest march on Idealog]

Now my Kiwi readers, watch this video and hear John say it with his own words:
New Zealanders care more about Snapper than the GCSB

If you are horrified (as I was) go and vote on John Campbell's opinion poll...
Have your say on the GCSB Bill

And then "like" this page
Stop the GCSB Bill

And if you want to read more here's an excellent blog post on the subject by Sophie Slim
And a somewhat controversial article on Stuff:
Why you should care about the GCSB Bill

Or start a conversation with your friends on Facebook (like my friend did... it was pages long; here's just a snippet with the surnames blocked out. But the spies would be able to hack us and find out what we said if the bill goes through...)

Now I'm off to go and email Peter Dunne (our best chance of a vote switch) peter.dunne@parliament.govt.nz

12 August 2013

Grateful for Help from My Friends

These are my babies, beautifully illustrated by the super-talented FaerySarah. A Portrait commissioned by Mr G for his mam's 60th birthday. Didn't she do an amazing job? (She's accepting commissions if you want her to turn your offspring into art too).
The portrait is now framed and hanging on Grandma's wall on the other side of the world. Where my husband is...

[She doesn't look a day over 45 in my opinion]

Meanwhile, as hubby parties it up in the UK and Prague (where he is right now as I type this) I am here keeping the home fires burning. Juggling football tournaments and trips to A&E.
I'm managing (and feel like singing, "I get by with a little help from my friends") but oh boy I am exhausted.
It's tiring being a sole parent. All you single mums out there, I take my hat off to you. I don't know how you do it day in, day out.
It's not so much the practical "doing" and having to put out the rubbish bins and break up every sibling argument my self, it's knowing that I'm IT. It's all up to me.
Figuring out how to get everyone where they need to be - sometimes in two places at once - I couldn't do it without the help of my friends and neighbours.

This post is dedicated to them, my Angels, to whom I am most deeply grateful...

The Angel Friends List

Friends who have my kids. The first Saturday Mr G was away, it was the inaugural Blog Camp and I had agreed to give a talk on Blog Design. With Mr G away, this meant finding people who were willing to have my kids for most of Saturday. Three kind friends stepped up: Justine, Nic M., and Karen. They allowed a member of my noisy tribe to descend upon them at an ungodly hour and included them in their Saturday doings. Angels, every one.

Friends who volunteer to "come with". My lovely friend Meg made space on her Saturday to join me at Blog Camp as my support person. Having her with me made all the difference in the world and I was able to be (mostly) calm and deliver my talk without panicking. Having Meg with me made this task do-able. (Plus we had a great time at Blog Camp and learnt heaps - and Meg even took away an amazing prize).

Friends who visit. I had Nikki come to stay with me and she took to my kids like a duck to water (and they liked her right back). Then Vicki txt'd and offered to bring over dinner to say thanks for helping her with Blog Camp. Oh yeah! We munched on Turkish, and then Cat joined us for dessert and sangria. We hung out, we talked, we laughed. Aren't blog friends awesome? I am grateful for all the wonderful women I meet blogging (especially when they bring food).

Sisters who take your kids on Friday night. My sis came by with my nephew and my up-visiting niece for a lovely drop-in on Friday. Of course my kids went nuts showing off (as kids do); backflips on the trampoline etc. Nek Minit an Air Raid Siren: Miss Fab has landed funny on her arm. Oh no, off to A&E I go to spend Friday night waiting for XRays. My sis took my boys off for dinner at One Tree Hill and games with big cuzzies. So grateful. (Arm not broken; not sure if I'm more grateful or ANNOYED).

Friends who take kids on a Sunday. Football tournaments are long and boring unless you're playing in them (or are the mother of someone who is). It's not the place for restless children. With hubby away I needed to farm out my kids on Sunday so I could support Dash at his tourny. Two kind friends stepped up. Sammy B., and Gail. Legends. (Gail turned out to be poorly on the day but she didn't bail on me; she never even let on - so grateful)

Cleaners who live across the road. My lovely cleaner may be my favourite person in the world right now. I am so incredibly grateful to have her services twice a week. I am also hugely grateful for the success of my little Etsy Shop which funds my beloved life-saving cleaner. To have a couple of days a week where you don't have to make your bed or empty the dishwasher. To not have to scrub your own loo. Could I BE more grateful?

[at Cousin Cath's wedding - a glorious occasion apparently]

So while hubby explores Europe, plays golf and goes to posh weddings without me *sniff* I will keep on keeping on, juggling sports fixtures and doctors visits, with a little help from my (awesome) friends for another week and a half. GRATEFUL MUCH.

(Now to check on my lad who has come down with diarrhoea - oh yeah. Also grateful to Linda for taking the other two kids to school for me today. Where would I be without my friends?)

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

Gratefully Yours,

09 August 2013

A 'Things I'm Loving' Post

"Lovely weather we're having, eh wot?!"

Supposedly it's still the middle of winter, yet it feels as warm and balmy as Spring.

I'm loving the ability to drop the kids at school and head to my local "mountain" for a peaceful stroll.

I'm loving my ipod and listening to music which stills my soul, as I walk around my mountain and admire my the view of my city. Lets be honest, I've managed it ONCE this week. But still, I loved it.

I'm also loving my city...

There are plenty of Auckland-knockers out there, but for me, there's no other place I'd rather live.

Where else in the world could I be surrounded on every side by beaches, have a nature walk at the end of my (suburban) street and though living in a big city, still be part of an awesome supportive local community?

So yeah, I love Auckland.

And this week I've been loving showing my city to my Wellingtonian friend, Nikki...

[Nikki up Mt Eden - that's a volcanic crater behind her]

Nikki (who blogs at Life's Wonderful Happenings) is living and teaching in London but is back visiting family in NZ. She took time to hop on a plane and come visit Auckland (and me) for the very first time. She's a brave girl, rooming with me and my kids in what could have been complete chaos and anarchy with Mr G away in the UK....

I'm going to invite her right now to come and offer her thoughts on the realities of staying at the ~~Mad~~ Fun House with us...

I've had the pleasure of not only getting to visit Auckland for the first time but to hang out with one of the most amazing people in the world. Simone has taken the time to show me the awesome sights of Auckland and let me be part of her family for 3 days. She's pretty choice, the kids are pretty choice - what more could I ask for? We've had so many hilarious laughs and awesome chats, which I'm sure has made Auckland all the more better! It's actually a pretty awesome city, way more spread out than I thought, and I just feel super lucky to have had this opportunity!

Awwww! I didn't make her say that honest!!! (I walked away while she typed and came back to find that lovely message).

In return, it has been awesome having Nikki stay with us. She has fitted in really easily with the kids, and hasn't minded playing basketball with Scrag or watching Miss Fab's netball. She's even put up with us watching House Rules every night. We did have a few laughs trying to decide whether to go "on the ferry or the Sky Tower". We kept missing the ferry, so in the end, opted for the Sky Tower...

[Nikki up the Sky Tower; scared of heights but still smiling]

We will miss Nikki when she goes (later today) *sniff* but I will console myself with my new vintage luggage...

I've been on a bit of a decluttering spree, in an attempt to restore some order to my world. I was drowning in kids (and hubby's) shoes, and decided I'd rather get some quirky TradeMe bargains to house our collection, rather than some plastic fantastics.

The above suitcases are genuine immigrants' trunks; the yellowish one from the 1930s, the blue one belonged to some "£10 Poms" - immigrants to New Zealand in the 1960s. I bought them for $25 each.
One contains our "Emergency kit" and the other hides my own pitiful shoe collection.

The kids are a bit mystified why I want to own such rusty old suitcases, but I LOVE my new storage solutions...

(This one now houses the mountain of kids shoes)

And of course, I'm loving that it's FRIDAY.

That's just a few of the Things I'm Loving this week....