Childhood Musings

My dear Oscar, almost 20 months old

Empty, thankfully. A victim of the wind.

My clay creations, while attending a children's workshop.

The babies shelf

My view while breastfeeding

I love the way the third baby is just so at home in whatever space he occupies. He just seems so comfortable. At home, at friends houses, at the shops. He climbs up in to laps for cuddles. Chooses the most comfortable seats. Sits himself in his bed and sucks his thumb to admire his books. Last week he fell asleep sitting in a shopping trolley - arms folded, head on arms - to the delight of several older ladies! He is just as comfortable and fearless at playgrounds. Following in his sister's footsteps as if he were equal to her three years in age. I think pure joy is the look that radiates from his face as he slides down a slippery slide all by himself.

Next month Emerson turns four and she will no longer be my toddler. Instead, Oscar will well and truly assume that title when he turns two in May. Until then, he is still my 'baby'. It only hit me last week as we drove to the library that this is my last year with Emerson at home. (She's not going to kindy, just as Cohen didn't.) Next year she starts big school. Just last month it was still two years away, suddenly it's just one year away! And just as she is nearly four, all too soon she will be turning five. Oh how true the phrase - 'the days are long but the years are short'. She really is the middle child, I find myself thinking of her as one of 'the big two', when she is with her older brother, and one of 'the little two', when she is with the baby. Her moods and communication skills swing between their skill levels. One moment kind and articulate, the next frustrated and loud. With a little space though she is sweet, imaginative and loving with a slight obsession for pink and dolls.

My sweet seven year old can't wait to get back to school. He pours over his school pack as though it were a gift from Santa, and treats his first calculator like a Gameboy. He adores school. He loves being surrounded by children, playing at lunch time and all the new and interesting things each day. He has learnt so very much these holidays though - spending time in nature, exploring galleries, museums and aquariums, and reading, reading, reading. He won't leave the house without a book. Sometimes it's his favourite book about snakes, other times it's extreme weather. His seven year old obsessions are Pokemon and Lego Star Wars, and he has encyclopedias for both, which he carries with him everywhere. The names and details he can recall amazes me. 

My sweet children. I hope one day they read these little sketches about their lives and it brings back memories for them, or at least gives them a glimpse of how very much I love and adore them.

Christmas Photo Shoot

There are so many things to love about running your own business (although a guaranteed income is not always one of them) high on the list of pros is most certainly creative freedom. Only in my own business can I be a designer one moment, jeweller the next, social media marketer before lunch and a copy writer after lunch. Much like Mothering really, where one moment I am referee, next I am nurse, then I am counselor, and then cook. If I wasn't born this way, then having three children has definitely made me a multiskilled multitasker. 

I remember when I was an employee at jewellery stores, I watched with interest as photographers picked up and returned jewellery, then returned once more with product and lifestyle photos. It was all very exciting and out of the ordinary for me. Especially seeing those images in print, and having brides-to-be bring in magazines and point out our ads. I once watched on from the sidelines as a high end jewellery catalogue was produced - models and locations chosen, jewellery pieces designed and created, days spent photographing on location and in a studio while the Marketing Manager apparently sat around bored, as she was bound by insurance to wait with the jewellery. 

But now, as a multiskilled multitasking small business owner, I can create my own photo shoots for my own jewellery pieces, and have an absolute ball while doing it! There is a lot of tea and laughter involved when photographer Trudi Le Brese and I get together for a photo shoot. While Trudi specialises in portrait and family photography, she was brave enough to throw herself in the deep end with me when I proposed our first photo shoot - a product and lifestyle Look Book of my jewellery. I bribed my beautiful yoga teacher at the time, Harriet, with jewellery so that she would model for us, another friend allowed us use of her library and garden as our location, and together we stumbled our way through our first shoot and produced photos that I am still so proud of!

This time around, with a little more confidence, I decided to tackle a Christmas shoot to create content for the holiday season, and broke the rule again about working with children and animals! As Harriet had moved overseas (please note jealousy) I put myself in the firing line, together with my youngest two, with my kitchen and dining room as our location. Together we baked, decorated, faffed and styled our way through the shoot. And I think, for two self taught multiskilled multitasking Mama's we did a darn good job at creating some amazing images!

Weekending

How busy the days are in December! The most hectic month in a jewellers calendar, and a Mothers too I would argue. Between an influx of orders, school craft days, a looming seventh birthday, preparations for Christmas, and a holiday by the beach, it's a time for breathing deep when the to-do list threatens to overwhelm, A time to ensure there are scheduled time outs to enjoy life as a family and not get lost in the hustle and bustle of break up parties, school assemblies and swimming lesson blocks. And so was our adventure last weekend, as we explored the GOMA markets, APT and the museum. Amidst the visual feast. we were all taken by the carpet of flame tree flowers between the galleries, and they way their colours popped against the green of the grass.

I hope you are enjoying the season of celebrations, and finding time to explore and discover as well too! xx

Behind The Photo Scenes

'Doc McStuffins wants to be in a photo too, Mum.'

The realities of working with children. :)

My new About page photo, by Trudi Le Brese Photography

Highlights From The Week

Six year old and three year reading 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar.'

Cohen: What's your favourite colour?
Emerson: I like the caterpillar.

(Caterpillar is my new favourite colour.)

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On the phone to Telstra...

Him: How do you spell that?
Me: LOWRY
Him: Hmm, I still can't find your account. LOURY, right?
Me: LOWRY, it's a W
Him: W as in Unicorn, right?

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Miss Three: I just saw an airplane. It landed on a tree.

Me: Oh, airplane's don't land on trees.

Miss Three: I think it was a bird then.

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Photo by Trudi Le Brese

Technology and Children

Wild wallabies and curious children at Daisy Hill Koala Centre

Following on from yesterdays post, I have been musing about technology and children and how navigating these murky waters can be so difficult. I have seen it often with my friends and family, and I have used their experiences as inspiration in making my own decisions regarding the consumption of technology in our household. I know my children are growing up in a technological age, but I resist the possibility of them being sucked in to a world of video games and you tube clips. We are not without technology in our house. My husband and I both have smart phones, we have one lap top and one tv. However. we have no games on our phones and no games on the laptop. We have no ipads or ipods. We do have Foxtel (as part of our internet bundle) and Netflix - which is purely a luxury. So what they do get is limited access to the television, where they can choose which programs they want to watch.

What I have found is that my children do not miss what they have never had. While many of their friends are spending hours on computers and ipads each day, they have access to neither. Last year Cohen had used Reading Eggs on my computer for Prep, but he has out grown it now, reading chapter books instead. He has occasionally asked for games like minecraft, as his friends play them, but he soon looses interest in the idea.

I don't want for my children to be technologically illiterate. I know computers will be a large part of their future. But I also see how unhealthy habits develop quite young, and how important mindful carers are to ensuring children don't shun outside play in favor of virtual worlds of their creation. I'm quite sure that computer games have their merits, and that there are important lessons that can be learnt from them. But with a six, three and one year old, I also feel there is plenty of time for that in the future.

How do you handle technology in your house? 

Does the good outweigh the bad, or vice versa?

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Pick Your Own

The Berry Patch

Berries for days

Rule breaking one year one old...

$23 well spent

We are two days in to two weeks of school holidays in these parts. Holidays that I found myself particularly looking forward to as they approached. The idea of doing nothing in particular was so appealing; the six year old and I both needing a break from the school-day-routine. Some time to do nothing in particular. Sleep ins, reading in bed, long pajama clad mornings. And so it was we approached the holidays without plans, but rather a 'potter and play' attitude. 

Our first outing was a last minute whim organised with friends over the wonder of Facebook messenger, in which one can have a conversation with several people all at once (remember when that wasn't possible?) As a result three mothers guided seven children through row upon row of strawberries, and we all delighted in the chance to 'forage' for our own berries. Furthering our delight were the strawberry ice creams for the children, and the huge $6 boxes of 'small' strawberries each Mama brought home with her.

I recounted the details of our day to my husband as I hulled and froze that box of berries, and felt rich not only in strawberries, but friends, children and simple pleasures.

Little Stories

My blog turns seven next month. (Seven!) Which means my first born will celebrate his seventh birthday before the year is out, for I posted those initial, self-conscious and naive blog posts while awaiting his arrival. What started out as a way to write and encourage myself to be creative each day, also became a way to document the early days of mother hood, my creative aspirations, and eventually the beginning of my business. 

How my blog and boy have grown and changed over that time, and just as certainly, myself also. When I was pregnant and first started blogging I couldn't cast my mind forward this far and try to picture it. I couldn't even picture what my baby would look like, the scans showed grainy ghosts of images that I could never truly reconcile with an actual baby. I spent my time imaging the birth and those first few years, where we were both new and awkward in our roles, and I learnt to mother him as he learnt everything he knows up until this point. What a gift that has been. To watch him, guide him, love him and learn all there is to know about him. Then slowly let him drift off in to the world of school where he will experience things I'm not there to share, and that he will have forgotten about by the time I walk him home and ask about his day. But oh, all the little stories he does share. His favourite Pokemon character. A game they played at lunch. The boy that took his hat. The girl he is in love with. A new wish list of party attendees for his seventh birthday. The largest animal in the world. So many little stories and room for so many more. Each one perhaps inconsequential, but making up a tiny part of a greater whole.

I feel my blog is so much the same. Full of little stories that I've captured with words and images over these past seven years, with room for more. More moments captured. More musings detailed. More inspiration shared. And so I continue to write.

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I found this lovely article called 15 Reasons I Think You Should Blog. It is just the thing to those who may be thinking about starting a blog, those who are feeling that they are in a bit of a blogging rut and even those that ask themselves - why do I blog?

A Day Trip

I've been soaking up time spent with my twin sister this week. Squeezing in as much as possible during her stay before she heads back to chilly Canberra. There has been gallery visits, temple wanderings, late nights spent chatting over wine, as well as her PhD graduation. Today the children and I joined her on a day trip to Toowoomba to visit family. Our jaunt took on a magical quality as we drove up the mountain and in to the fog blanketing the Range. 

I've never driven through such fog before. It seemed almost exotic, given that I live in a neighbourhood that never sees frost and seldom sees a decent fog. (It's amazing how very different the weather can be a two hour drive from home.) We found our way to the Danish Flower Art market, a rambling set of buildings bursting with beads, gourds and flowers, surrounded by grassy paddocks where guinea fowl, ducks, chickens and peacocks are free to wander. The soft light, misty haze and lush greens made for postcard perfect scenery. The children and I were tempted to set up house in the cabin style cubby and stay forever. I brought a bunch of long, dried poppy flowers wrapped in paper as a souvenir, which now grace an enamel teapot in my lounge room. A beautiful reminder of a happy day. 

It was such a lovely day, despite the very long drive home with three very tired children...

For the Love of Photography

I failed a photography elective at University. Not many people know that! I loved the idea of it. I wanted to take 'photos', not just photos. So I took a Photography subject as an elective while I studied Fine Art. I learnt so much and loved it. But as an 18 year old I had rather romantic ideas about experimenting with film and playing in the dark room. Alas, my tutor had more technical and traditional ideas. With disappointment I realised I would never be a 'photographer'. However, this failure didn't diminish my love of taking photos. 

Soon after, I met my husband to be, who was working in a photo shop during the week and as a wedding photographer on the weekend. He had a mind for the technical aspect of photography in a way I never did. He understood cameras inside and out. He understood lighting, apertures, speeds, depth of focus. I left the photography up to him while we dated, while we honeymooned, while we traveled the world. Then at some point in our relationship he gradually put down the camera and I picked it up. Perhaps when he changed careers? Perhaps when I started blogging? Perhaps when I was at home with a baby all day? In any case, I became the photo taker in our house hold. 

The early photos on my blog as oh so cringe worthy! I tried hard, but with little success. I cherish those photos though. That time, that place, those out-of-focus photos. Over time, and many photos later, my style began to improve. I experimented. I took my clunky camera with me everywhere. Then I got an iPhone, and a whole new world opened up. I had a camera with me always. I was able to quickly and easily capture shots I would have missed by the time I had grabbed my big camera. 

It feels as if another world has opened up once again, since I began Kate and Peta's wonderful The Photo School Online. A sweet and simple photo course, by two uber talented ladies, that you can take at your own pace. Thanks to their works of wisdom I find I am already looking at my iPhone in a whole new way. It's making me stop and take more photos too. Pause to look at things. At light and shadows and angles and texture. While undertaking my homework I have been noticing and chasing the 'pretty light' that seeps in my windows early morning and late afternoon, which has resulted in the photos above. 

While I may never be a 'photographer' and take 'photos', I have been so enjoying incorporating Kate and Peta's lessons in to my day to day. And I am loving photography even more as a result.

*all photos taken on my iPhone in natural light and edited with VSCO Cam

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, savor and remember. - SouleMama 

Finding Balance - In The Workshop

1. What's in front of me at the bench

2. What's behind me in the workshop

There's been a lovely balance between life and work lately, a great rhythm to our days and weeks, that allows me to work and parent without guilt. As a stay at home Mum with a small business my time and energy is often pulled between my little ones, the household and my business. I'm so often asked how I fit it all in. Finding a flow that works for us is the key to juggling it all, and finding time to do the extra things, like a yoga class one night a week, a solo movie trip, a monthly book club meet up. While I can't fit in long stretches of time at the bench, by aiming to do 1-2 hours of bench work 2-3 days and 2-3 nights a week, it adds up and I am able to accomplish what I want to accomplish. Some weeks I do more, some weeks I do less. Having the freedom to be flexible, as well as staying organised, mean I am better able to go with the flow and face any challenges.

Being happy in myself is at the root of all of it though. It falls apart when I do. When I'm sick, when I'm overwhelmed, when I'm feeling negative. But I find I am able to return to a place of calm and happiness, thanks in part to age, and in part to the marvel of anti-depressants and the reduced anxiety I suffer as a result. With a clearer head I am able to experience more joy and feel gratitude for all my blessings (in a non-religious way). And with age and a little wisdom, I find I have let go of many of the things that concerned me in my twenties. My focus has shifted, I know myself better and I am more comfortable in my own skin.

So, here is a snap shot of our days lately.

6.30 - 8.15 Nice slow mornings with breakfast, morning pages, getting dressed and ready for the day, tidying up the house and washing a load of clothes - then the last minute rush to get all three children out the door!

8.15 - 10.30 After walking Cohen (6) to school and hanging out the clothes, we do something just for Emerson (3) and Oscar (1). Perhaps a trip to the park, the library, the duck pond, a play date, or sitting around in the nursery building up blocks and letting the baby knock them down in fits of giggles, like we did this morning.

10.30 - 12.30 Oscar has a nap and I get to work on the things that are more difficult to do with a baby crawling around, while Emerson joins me or fulfills her love of Doctors and Pirates with 'Doc McStuffins' and 'Jake and the Neverland Pirates'. Quite often she brings her dolls to my workshop for tea parties, pram walks, or drawing time, while I try to fit in 1 - 2 hours of bench work each day, three times a week, (plus 1 - 2 hours a night, two to three times a week.)

12.30 - 2.00 We make lunch together and play some more, paint, read, jump on the trampoline, garden, I squeeze in some blogging, emails or web work and another quick tidy up.

2.00 - 6.30 The walk home from school is followed by homework, play time and baths. Then it's time to prepare and eat dinner.

6.30 - 9.30 Bedtime stories are a must, and once everyone is tucked in it's time to tidy up again, spend some time with my husband, make Cohen's lunch and our breakfasts for the next day, and then head down to the bench to do another couple of hours of work. I make sure I'm in bed by 9.30 as I know that Oscar will wake to feed three times during the night (more if he is teething or ill).

Here's to balance and rhythm. May it last! xx