Two for the price of one!

I originally planned to submit the top layout as my entry for this month's Kraft plus challenge, but a little birdy told me that I could submit more than one entry...who knew? I had such fun with this month's challenge.  I usually have a world of trouble selecting colours for my layouts, but not this month!

K+ challenge-March 2016

I can't believe it has been a whole year since I have been able to produce an entry in the K+ monthly challenge!! Life sure does get in the way of some serious scrapping time!! Anyway...here it is...

K+ March Challenge

Here is my interpretation of the K+ All That Glitters challenge for March.  I hope you can find some time to get on over to the blog and check out all the amazing entries this month...spectacular!

K+ February challenge

Here is my take on the Mango Breeze challenge over at K+.  I was given an 8x8 album for Christmas so I thought I would try my hand at a layout of that size.  All-in-all I am pretty pleased with the result, I hope you are too.

When Grandma went to Heaven

Up until now it has been too painful for me to write about our dear Mum/Grandma/Best Mother-in-law Ever, who lost her battle with cancer just 18 months ago.  Helen was a loving Grandmother and mother, she adored her grandkids and all things Christmas.  In July 2014 (only 2 days after I left for a trip to Canada), Helen went to Heaven.  To this day I feel guilty for not being there for my 'boys' as they dealt with the loss of their mother and grandmother.  It was the first time our little boy had lost anyone close to him, and my husband was too sad to spend much time helping Ben through his pain.
When I arrived home (after being away for a month), I was met by two very sad people.  The first night at home, while I was preparing my little boy for bed, I turned to close the curtains as I usually do.  He stopped me with a sudden "No! Don't close the curtains! Grandma won't be able to see me!!"
A close friend who had looked after Ben while my husband helped to arrange the funeral etc... had told Ben that his Grandma was now the brightest star in the sky! Such a beautiful sentiment...and Ben had taken hold of it and ran with it!  To this day, when we see the first star in the night sky, we all send a "hello" up to heaven.
We remember her fondly, we continue the Christmas traditions for her (Christmas shirts, decorations, family get-togethers), we talk to her whenever we think of her, and we will never forget her.

A little bit of medication.....and a lot of magic!

Our beautiful, bright, funny boy was struggling....really struggling.  He was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 6, but we decided to hold off on medication and see if a change in diet and some behaviour management would help him through his school days.
Despite our best efforts, Ben was getting into trouble at school most days and was very disruptive in the classroom.  Then in July this year 2 significant events occurred....I went overseas for 4 weeks (Paul &  Ben stayed home), and Paul's mum (Ben's beloved Grandma) died.
In the first 3 weeks of term 3 Ben had 2 suspensions and 2 behaviour cards! Our boy was desperately unhappy. Now the death of a family member is hard enough to deal with, but when you are 7, your mum is away and you have ADHA....well at some point something has to give...and it did!
After a meeting with Ben's teachers I decided to take him back to the paediatrician and see if medication was the answer.  The doctor agreed that it was time to try a low dose of Ritalin.  I was nervous, wondering if we were doing the right thing.
The first day at school (on medication) Ben excitedly told me that he got to choose a sticker for the excellent work he had done that day! Wow, what a breakthrough....dare I hope that this was really the answer to our prayers?
I waited patiently for the week to end, each day anxious that the phone would ring, or a note would be sent home from school detailing Ben's unacceptable,behaviour that day....but neither came!
Today, I received a text from Ben's teacher....just to tell me what amazing work he had done today, there was even a note in his book...he even got to show his work to the principal and received an extra sticker for his efforts.   For the first time in a long time our boy was coming home from school happy and carefree...just as all little boys should!
The change in Ben's behaviour made such an impression that a girl in his class went home and told her mum what amazing work he had done today!
To say that we are proud of our boy is an understatement....we are ecstatic!
That tiny little white pill has provided Ben with a very special kind of magic.....and we are so incredibly grateful!

Kochie's a Comedian!!!

There are so many 'conversations' that I have had with our beautiful boy.  Many that I have committed to memory, and many more that I have not written down or recorded in any way, that will be lost forever.  This latest one was just too funny to let disappear!!
We were driving into town (so many of these conversations happen in the car it seems), when Adam Hills was  mentioned on a radio program we were listening to. 
Ben: "Adam?"
Mum: "Yes, Adam Hills"
Ben: "Who is Adam Hills?"
Mum: "He is a comedian"
Ben: "What's a comedian?"
Mum: "A comedian is a person who tells jokes and  makes people laugh"
Ben: "Oh! Like that man on TV"
Mum: "What man?"
Ben: "You know mum, the one on Sunrise with glasses and no hair!"
Mum: "You mean Kochie?"
Ben: "Yes that's him, Kochie.  Kochie is a comedian!!"
Once my laughter died down I had to explain to Ben why I was laughing so hard!!!
I thought that the Sunrise team would find the story amusing, so sent it through to them.  Not really sure if they will even read the email...but thought it was worth the chance!!

Aaarrrgghhh!!! I just need to be more selfish!!

I have decided that there is an enormous amount of guilt associated with being a wife and mother.  The constant worry of "Am I spending enough time with my child?"....GUILTY, "  "Am I giving my husband enough attention?"....GUILTY, "How do I work full time and keep up with the housework?...I don't"....GUILTY.  There seems to be a never-ending stream of media images implying that as women we can have it all and do it all. 
Well you know what, I DON'T WANT TO DO IT ALL!!!  All I really want to do is feel satisfied in my career, live a happy life and teach my son that love and kindness to others is essential in this life.
I had a 'lightbulb' moment last week, you know, one of those moments when the lightbulb flashes above your head....and you just get it.  It had been an extremely stressful week at work, we got home late most nights, rushed around to get dinner and bathing done so that bedtime was not too late, and to top it all off, work rang on the weekend to see if I could come in!!!
In my stressed out state, just after this phone call my son decided he would initiate the following conversation:
B: Mum, adults forget lots of things don't they?
GREAT! I thought, he is going to choose right this very moment to remind of something vitally important that I had forgotten this week!!!
Me: Well, anyone can forget things honey.
B: Yes, but adults really forget things a lot.
Me: I guess so (insert guilty look on my face)
B: Yes, they do (nodding his head to himself)...it's because they need to make more room in their brain.
I looked at him for a moment...and then burst out laughing!!! I thought, how wonderful to be reminded of a child's very simplistic and literal take on things.  My laughter could have very quickly turned into tears at that moment, so I grabbed my beautiful boy, hugged him and told him how precious he is to me.  The sound of his laughter lifted my mood significantly, and at that moment in time...the guilt ebbed away.
So, my lesson last week....let go of the guilt and live in the moment.  Because it is the moments in which we are mindful, that create such meaning in our lives.   XXX

Our son Ben is what people describe as 'an old soul'.  From the minute he was born it seemed as though he had been here before....his furrowed brow reminds me of a wise old man, contemplating the world's great mysteries.  Ever since he could talk, Ben has been able to engage in the most amazing conversations.  We often have to remind ourselves that he is just a little boy and that adult conversation is not always appropriate.  We drive the 20 min trip from home to town at least 10 times/week, that's a total of 200 mins mum/son time...and it is during this time that the conversations we have are the THE BEST!!! This blog is a way for me to record these special times.