Brave me....

A wonderful friend of mine asked me if I wanted to catch up this week -

great idea!

That wonderful friend then suggested that we do it at the Museum of Contemporary Art with the kids -

SCARY idea!

As much as I longed to see her and to have some time doing one of the things that I love the most,the thought of it with the kids filled me with dread!

The night before it was raining... so I send a text to my friend asking if we would still go

if it was raining..... secretly hoping....

She responded:

"I'm game"

This is something so out of my comfort zone with the 2 kids by myself.

I know that to some of you, it's no big deal..

but the thought of it

made me panic

a bit

Anyway... brave me took the kids to the Museum of Contemporary Art to see the

Annie Leibovitz exhibition.

Finn insisted on wearing this hat

Watching the ferries while waiting for our friends

We were a bit early so we had a wander around Circular Quay.

The kids were so excited.

They loved watching all the ferries come and go

and waved to all the passengers and tourists.

So after some morning tea we entered the Museum.

 Just as an aside - on the way in, I explained to Finn and Ruby that we would be going

to an Art Gallery. Finn thought about it for a while then asked

if an Art Gallery was a bit like a Museum! I thought

"Oh what a clever boy"

until

I asked how he knew that - to which he replied

"Olivia"

No, not a friend.... the cartoon pig!

The exhibition was amazing - she is one talented lady - very inspiring..

her photos tell stories and are pure poetry.

Some photos are confronting in a way that you almost can't look at them,

others have such emotion emanating from them that it makes you catch your breath,

some speak a million words.

And some are just cool.

I would have liked to have some more time taking it all in.

The kids?

Well they weren't too bad,

considering.

Ruby was great for the majority of the time. Finn got a little bored and just wanted

to go back down to Circular Quay to see the man playing the

didgeridoo

While Ruby wasn't so keen on him or his music - Finn was absolutely fascinated

and would have watched and listened all day to him.

So, I'd like to thank my wonderful friend - for if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have stepped out

of my comfort zone and had such a lovely day...nor would my kids have

been exposed to a world that their Mumma loves... and misses.

( And for the record... it was much more than a 2 for me x )

Danni xx

Sub-Urban Camping

Finn has been wanting to "camp" for a while now. He just casually mentions it from time to time. When he knew his Gran was visiting for the weekend, out of nowhere, he asked if she had a tent. The Big Cheese told him that Gran did have a couple of old tents from when he was a boy.

And so... an idea was born.

Gran decided to invest in a new 3 man tent and brought that with her. Finn was beside himself with excitement!

So, while Ruby and I nursed our head colds in the comfort and warmth of our beds... and Gran was tucked up in the spare room, Finn and the Big Cheese camped out in the back yard!

Just between you and me - I think the Big Cheese was pretty excited about it too - he couldn't wait to pitch the tent!

Finn just couldn't WAIT!

Just testing Mum!



Mum, I think this is going to be pretty cool! 

He was loving listening to Gran and the Big Cheese tell funny stories of when they camped years ago... then he decided it was his turn to tell a story to us... it went something like this:

"... well... one day, I was just jumping on my trampoline....

and SUDDENLY... I felled off ...."

He amused himself... and I have to say Gran and I stifled a laugh! So out they went at 7ish - torches, pillows and Finn's night-time reading in hand... ready for the big adventure! I wanted to come out and take a photo.... but no girls were allowed! 

 We were half expecting them back in by 9pm.. but he didn't wake up until 4.30am and all he wanted to do then was sit in a chair and look at the stars with his Daddy....

Could think of worse ways to wake up!

Danni xx

Summary Sunday

My beautiful 4.5 yr old niece made me laugh and smile so so much! Finn asked her if she would marry him - she very seriously replied that cousins can't marry - and that she is already going to marry someone else from kindy because she loves him... ( let's call him Jake). So I asked her about Jake.. her reply: " Oh.. I am obsessed with Jake, Danni. I love him and he loves me and we're going to get married. He is soooo kind. He is sooo caring ... and I just ... LOVE him " - all said with her head on the side and a gooey love struck look on her face. Priceless... absolutely priceless. Thank you darling girl for reminding me of the innocence and purity of children.

Tidying up after the kids, it made me smile ( and laugh)

to find that Shrek had commandeered Barbie's

car to run away with a ballet dancer

I makes me smile that Ruby would much prefer to sit on her brothers

lounge each morning with him than on her own

I loved that Ruby wanted our neighbour to come and watch her dancing concert- he's 6 months older than her and she just loves him. I love it even more that he did come and watch and said she was a good dancer!

(This photo makes me smile too)

An old photo but probably the most recent of us together

I am grateful for the Big Cheese. He has been travelling a lot for work these last couple of weeks and he came home one night with a book for me that he saw at the airport. The Big Cheese is not a reader, but I love that he encourages my hobby and he remembers which authors I like . He used to surprise me quite often with a book. He hadn't done it for a long time. It made me smile.

Finishing a batch of "Toy Story" cookies for a friends little one's 1st Birthday

made me very happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the fact that there were only a couple of casualties

when Finn knocked one of the 2 trays on the floor

made me happy too

( although not so at the time!)

I love that although my day started with this:

It ended with the tiling being started - who couldn't be happy about that?

I have a lot to be thankful this week, hope you did too

Danni xx

Is your Beacon Shining?

When I posted initially about Inspiration, I think I neglected to mention music. Music has a way of speaking to me. I have eclectic taste in music. ( That statement greatly amuses a friend of mine.... maybe more about that another time) Music can affect my moods dramatically and I love that. ( I realise that I'm not Robinson Crusoe in this, but bear with me... I am leading somewhere here) Music can make me laugh, smile, reminisce, feel like dancing, it can make me sing and make me cry ( A LOT of music makes me cry) Music and lyrics make me think too - the messages that they can send can be very powerful.

I heard a song recently - titled "You Can't be a Beacon ( if your Light Don't Shine) " I heard it on a day that I needed to and was meant to hear it. I have heard this song before, but this time,it really spoke to me and I haven't been able to get it out of my head ever since. It's not the music with this song- I'm actually not partial to the nasal drawl or country-fied feel of the song itself - it's the message.  I guess it's reinforcing what I've talked about before - that we need to behave/think/act like we wish others to - to lead by example.

I feel this is something I really need to work on at the moment - and I guess that song was presented to me for a reason. How can I expect my kids to treat each other with patience and kindness and tenderness - when they are not seeing those around them practice this way of communicating. Lately I have been letting the little things get to me and have been reacting in a not so exemplary way - especially where the kids are concerned. How can I then reprimand them for their behaviours when they are simply replicating mine? It is a true awakening for me some days.

You can't be a beacon if your light don't shine
You can't be a beacon if your light don't shine
There's a little light in all of us by God's design
But you can't be a beacon if your light don't shine

How can you ask for truth when you do not truthful live
How can you ask forgiveness when you don't forgive
I don't mean to bring you down or speak to you unkind
But you can't be a beacon if your light don't shine

You can't be a beacon if your light don't shine
You can't be a beacon if your light don't shine
There's a little light in all of us by God's design
And you can't be a beacon if your light don't shine

How can you ask a child to be honest and true
When he can only judge what's right by what he sees in you
How can you offer vision yet walk around blind
No you can't see a beacon if it's light don't shine

You can't be a beacon if your light don't shine
You can't be a beacon if your light don't shine
There's a little light in all of us by God's design
You can't be a beacon if your light don't shine

May God's love surround you, may you find a brighter day
May He grant you the peace you seek in every way
God's light burns in each life, in yours and mine
And you can be a beacon if you just let it shine

You can be a beacon if you let it shine
You can be a beacon if you let it shine
There's a little light in all of us by God's design
And you can be a beacon if you'll just let it shine

You can be a beacon if you let it shine
You can be a beacon if you let it shine
There's a little light in all of us by God's design
And you can be a beacon if you let it shine

I think we can all learn something from this - for the better we are/act/feel then the more we shine - which in turn,  then reflects in others.

You light the way.

You become the shining example.

I hope I will continue to be reminded, to grow and 
to shine much brighter

Danni xx

Vintage Visits

I take Ruby and Finn to visit some Vintages at a local(ish) Nursing Home

from time to time.

I like to call them Vintages - sounds much nicer for the kids than

 "Oldies" or "Old people".... it has a richness to the sound of it

that comes with the territory of age and the fondness

that we feel for them.  

 Unfortunately we haven't been in a while - only a couple of times since

Christmas I think and Finn asked today if we could go.
Writing this reconfirms for me just how much I love going and how much I miss it.
 Must aim to make it a more regular part of our lives again.

Before we starting going - we didn't know anyone living there

( but I do know one of the RN's)

We know quite a few of  them now.

Ruby and Finn each have their favourites ( as do I - sssshhhh) and the

Vintages love having the kids around. A lot of them suffer from

dementia and other illnesses that deprive them of their

dignity and in a lot of ways their history - but it

certainly doesn't deprive most of  them of their character.

Many of the Vintages don't have  visits from friends or family,

so we like to be substitutes .
Kid/Vintage therapy - works both ways!

( I did have a laugh though when Bob* asked me who I was there to see
and I said everyone.. he thought about it and said - "Including me?"
I nodded
He thought about it again and looked at me like I had lost my mind
and said
" But I don't know you from a bloody bar of soap"!!!!)

Some weeks Finn takes in his "guitar" and leads them in a round of

"Row, Row, Row your boat" and hands out tambourines

and castanets for them to join in

Sometimes  a quiet cuddle and a smile is all that is needed -

he's good at that too - and he just seems to know

Ruby likes telling the Vintage ladies that their blankets are pretty-

gives a little tickle on their hands or feet and a big grin that

melts any heart.

She gives good cuddles too.

Leonard* and Finn like to play coits sometimes - Finn knows where they are

in the cupboard and takes them over to him.

He encourages Leonard in a way that is almost a complete

role reversal.

I love it.

Stan* is wheelchair bound - but quite independent (read strong willed) Not the happiest

about where he resides but happy to complain to

anyone who stops still long enough to listen!

Finn often asks Stan if he's happy today or grumpy???

Stan is never happy - but I do see a twinkle in his eye at Finn's question.

Lillian* asks me several times every visit, quite conspiratorially:

"How is it that
 you have managed to have one blue eyed and one brown eyed child?????"
.... my secret is safe with her - she told me so - with a wink!

Dolly* is my all time favourite. She is just so sweet I could squeeze her.

Poor Dolly doesn't always make a whole lot of sense

when she chats to you, but I can tell you~

her smile when she sees the kids

speaks with the clarity of by gone years.

She loves a laugh - and loves it even more if you laugh along with her.

Dolly's eyes are amazing - such depth - she could be a poster girl for

the saying that the eyes are the mirrors to the soul.

 So sad her family live within ten minutes of the

Nursing Home but rarely see her.

I would have liked to have known her in her younger years

One of Finn's favourites sings all the time. She sings instead of talking -

 for the most part anyway. Some of it makes sense - other times

it's a case of repeating:

"Dinga Donga dinga donga.. ding ding dong dong dinga donga"

Finn calls her "Dinga" when he talks about her...

he thinks she's hilarious and loved it when Stan was

 grumbling about something near her

and she just started singing:

 "Buggar off silly fool buggar buggar buggar cranky old man"

I love that Finn and Ruby ( although she's a little young)

 never question why she sings instead of talks... that they

just accept that people are in wheelchairs without asking why,

that they are not frightened by the distortion and fragility that age can bring

nor do they show any fear when Milly* is shaking so much that she takes

ages to even say hello then spills her lunch down her top. Finn simply

smiles, waits and suggests I get her a wipe while Ruby says

Uh-Ohhhh like she does when she spills something.

He lets Dolly hug him and pull him onto her tiny lap

and rock him back and forth while saying

"lovely boy, lovely oh isn't he lovely"

He just goes with it and smiles.

I hope that compassion and caring never changes

Danni xx

* Names changed out of respect

Loving....

Today I'm sharing some things that I love

Wing backed chairs.

They remind me of my Granny

Fresh flowers - especially Irises, Hydrangeas,

 Lisianthus and Rununculas

My Mum's house always has cut flowers

( usually from her garden)

Books

My Mum once told me that I'd never be lonely

as long as I could read

The sound and smell of rain

Music - in all shapes and forms. I love that it can represent so

many things. It is a universal language.

"Music speaks what cannot be expressed,

soothes the mind and gives it rest,

heals the heart and makes it whole,

flows from heaven to the soul"

Companionable silence

The sound of my kids laughter - best sound in the world

Dandelions.... close your eyes

make a wish

and blow

What do you love?

Danni xx

Do you ever wish....

That the people you love and care about could see themselves through your eyes?

Just for one day?

Maybe then, they'd see:

 That their inner beauty shines much stronger than

any blemish  that may be on their face

That the size of their heart and what lies in it is means

far more than the size of their thighs

That their smile brightens any day,

far more than the sun

That their words of encouragement and approval mean
more than they'll ever know

 That a bear hug from them is much more warming

than any woollen blanket

That their warmth, honesty, fun and friendship defines who they are

not the laugh lines around their eyes

Just how important their friendship is to me
 and that my life is so much better with them in it

....I do

Danni xx