Kid 1 - Adam

The above is a photo of me and Adam taken a few months ago when we went on the steam train for Heritage Weekend. The train ran past our property so it was fantastic to see the place from a different angle.

Adam turned 2 in March. He is such a wonderful little boy. Don't get me wrong, he is a NIGHTMARE to take shopping (grabs everything off the shelves, hates getting in his car seat etc.). BUT, he is wonderful in many other ways... He is so brilliant to his baby brother and loves him very much. Ads (or Addy as he is commonly refered to) is just starting to string sentences together like" I love you mummy". He has such a cheeky smile and is always the life of the party. He loves to sing and dance, and he loves his dogs, especially Jules (who is extremely patient with him!) He is a really laid back kid who plays well with others, and generally shares... He is obsessed with trains, cars, trucks and buses. His other passion in life is Toy Story and Shrek! He loves animals too - cows, sheep, dogs, fish... Just love him to bits and can't wait to watch him grow in a young man... Love you Adam xoxo

Cardmaking Challenge Week 3

June 15 – Make a gatefold card.



June 16 – Make a card using no less than 3 brads/eyelets.



June 17 – Make a card with heat embossing on it.



June 18 – Make a card with a stamped background.



June 19 – Make a card using the colours purple and yellow.



June 20 – Make a card with something metal on it.



June 21 – Make a card for a new baby.



This week was tough as many were first time cards for me. Loving it though!

Picture Books about Libraries

One thing you may not know about me is that I collect picture books that feature libraries and books. So far I have a collection of about 40 or so... They are locked in the "special" bookcase to keep prying hands away from them! It's easy to get newly published ones and thanks to Bookmooch I have amassed many others from around the globe.

Bookmooch

Logo artwork courtesy of BookMooch.com

I know we are all heading towards e-books and such devices but I am still a massive fan of the paper book! I do borrow from the library but generally I acquire second hand books from shops, markets, garage sales and my favourite book swapping site Bookmooch. BookMooch lets you give away books you no longer need in exchange for books you really want. I really encourage you to take a look. I have traded hundred of books over the years and have found hidden gems from all over the world...

Saturday Crop Day

Today I headed to Melton for a full Scrapbook/Cardmarking crop day. Basically you bring what ever project you are working on and all sit down and scrap and chat together. The above pages are half finished. They form part of my sons album which celebrates "When he was 1". These snaps are from when we went camping with a group of friends to Lorne early last year. I have never been to a crop day before but just loved it. I achieved so much (I did some of this weeks cards too for the cardmaking challenge). Here's hoping I can make some more crop days (though hubby generally works weekends...)

Friday Scrap Class

On Friday night I headed out to my friends for a scrapbooking class. We made the above double page and all I need to do is insert photos (when I decide what to use the pages for). I love heading to my friends as it's a group of women and kids who come together and scrap and chat. A nice relaxing evening once a month... Am hoping to attend more classes but alas am time (and money) poor!

My Other Personal Learning Network...

My other big Personal Learning Network (PLN) is my Mother's Group. These women are both amazing and fabulous and have gotten me through the first 2 years of motherhood with plenty of advice but most importantly warmth, love, friendship and lots of laughs. Each are amazing in their own way and the love and support has been invaluable.

The above photo is at Jo's parents farm. We all headed down for the day so the kids could feed the pigs, potty calves, chickens etc. Followed by a sausage sizzle for lunch and naps on the way home.

Tired...

Tonight I am EXTREMELY tired due to the following little munchkins:



I absolutely LOVE being a mum but sometimes it can be very draining. Last night Adam was up for almost 3 hours in the middle of the night - for no apparent reason. Highly unusual for him. Luke on the other hand still requires settling at least once each night. Generally I can function well and power through the day - IF I have enough sleep. So anyway, here's to a night of long peaceful sleep (I hope!)

Cardmaking challenge, Week 2

I struggled a bit with week 2 as we went away for a few days and I sort of lost my mojo. Happy with most of the below but it highlights to me how many more supplies I still need!

June 8 – Make a card using no less than 3 buttons



June 9 – Make a card using glitter




June 10 – Make a card in a shape that is not square or rectangle




June 11 – Make a card using the colours pink and orange




June 12 – Make a card that features some chipboard




June 13 – Make a card with lots of distressing




June 14 – Make a card using paint somewhere

Book: Rosalee Station

Summary: Sarah Clarke's dream is to experience life in the real outback. When her boyfriend Brad offers her a job with him on Rosalee Station, she can't believe her luck. But within days of arriving, her relationship is in tatters, and the dream is fast losing its lustre.

Sarah stays on to prove herself in the unforgiving land, earning the admiration of Matt, the station owners' son. Beneath the wide outback skies, the pair are irresistibly drawn to each other, until a stolen kiss leads to disaster. Sarah leaves Rosalee, convinced she'll never see Matt again – but fate has a way of intervening . . .


Loved this. Only criticism is that there is ALOT of Aussie slang - much of which I don't know. Otherwise awesome outback romance! Love that this genre has grown so much the last few years.

Long weekend, Day 3

Whenever we stay with our friends (or vice versa) the board game challenge is on. I absolutely love board games but we only play a few times a year with these friends. Generally we play Cluedo, cards and most importantly Monopoly! The winner reigns supreme! This weekend consisted of lots of cards: spit; gerzunk and canasta. Then Boogle and multiple games of Monopoly. Can't wait for my boys to grow a little bigger so we can sit down to good old fashioned family fun!

Long weekend, Day 2

The next day we headed further afield - 20 minutes to Walkerville. This beach is a gorgeous spot which overlooks Wilsom's Prom. The beach has lots of rocks and caves to explore and is much more secluded and the waves are MUCH smaller. Adam had more fun splashing about and playing here than at the BIG BEACH!

Long weekend, Day 1

On Thursday afternoon we headed off to the beach for three lovely nights. We stayed with friends down at Venus Bay in South Gippsland. We are so lucky to be able to head down to this gorgeous location a few times each year. Adam was VERY excited to go to the beach but like at Xmas it takes him a few days to warm up to it. We had been there about 2 minutes before he was waving and saying "good-bye" to the water. He slowly progressed the next day at Walkerville...

Book: How to make a bird

Summary: Mannie is escaping - from small town life, from family mysteries, from grief, from her fragile former self; she's heading for the city in search of an elusive 'something' to make herself feel right.

A good teen novel about finding ones self. I enjoyed as she was from the country in a place not too far from here so I always enjoy reading about places I know.

Off to the beach soon for the long weekend so posts may not be forthcoming dependant on internet access!

Library Storytimes...

I worked back in public libraries when I was 18-21 on the service desk and in tech services so I kind of got what storytime was about - sort of...

In reality it hasn't really been embedded into me what a fantastic asset they are until I had my own kids. We go to Rhyme time every Friday to see Sam (fantastic girl - does a brilliant job). Over the past few months I have really seen Adam blossom and each week he now picks up more actions to the rhymes etc. I also love the special storytimes that we take part in.

In Library and Information week we went along for the National Simultaneous Storytime session to hear Phoebe's Feathers being read by the local Mayor. Adam hardly listened and was more interested in the toys but it was still lovely to be part of the event.

Today we went to the library and the Gruffalo came to visit. Adam is probably a little small for some of these sessions but I still get a kick out of taking him. At least he got to "draw" afterwards - one of his favourite things.

We've also been for Easter where we made a bonnet and a basket and got chocolate eggs. We've also go when authors come to read their own work. All in all a fantastic service offered but one I probably gave little kudos to until I started using it! Thanks to all the brilliant staff at CHRLC.

Cardmaking challenge, Week 1

This month I am a glutton for punishment. I am taking part in a "Make a card everyday of June" challenge too, care of Scrap Everything. Each week we are given a brief on what to make - the rest is only limited by your imagination. For instance, this week was:

June 1 – Make a square shaped card for a male




June 2 – Make a sympathy card




June 3 – Make a card using the colours blue and brown




June 4 – Make a card using at least 3 different ribbons




June 5 – Make a card using die cuts




June 6 – Make a card using flowers




June 7 – Make a card using the colours red, black and white




All in all I'm pretty happy with how most of them turned out. I'm still just a newbie to cardmaking so I look at others work and think WOW, AMAZING. But in reality, who cares! I'm loving participating and that's the main thing! More cards in a week!

Personal Learning Network

Some recent blogs such as Tania and Kate (and others that I fail to remember at this point) have been discussing the benefit of their Personal Learning Networks (PLN's). You can catch me on Twitter @gemmas1980 however I'm not a big tweeter - more of a silent observer. I'm more of a face-to-face girl and have immensely enjoyed that last few days catching up with my lovely library girls!

As I am currently on maternity leave I'm not as often in touch with those who I regularly called on for help with library related issues. On Sunday I caught up with Michelle (local), Laura (Melbourne) and Sherrill (Geelong) who travelled to Ballarat for lunch. It was great to catch up on library news and just to discuss life over wine. Something I have missed immensely the last few months.

Today I travelled to a kids indoor play centre in Hopper's Crossing to catch up with Tania (who is also on maternity leave) and Jill who is just starting back in the library world after having time off to be a mum. We chatted about libraries, life and motherhood! A fantastic time where the two toddlers could play and we could chat. Rather different to the dinners and library events where we normal meet.

To me these PLN's are invaluable. Though I benefit from networks such as Twitter, nothing beats the face-to-face interaction for me!

Book: Bark Cutters

Summary: Sarah Gordon knows what she wants: the family homestead, Wangallon. When it comes to working the homestead she’s a natural but as a woman, it’s not her birthright. Even when her beloved brother, Cameron James, first born and heir, is killed in a tragic accident, nobody looks to Sarah to inherit. Instead her grandfather passes management to the one man she truly loves. Feeling betrayed she runs away to Sydney to try to put Wangallon, behind her, but it’s in her blood. She is constantly drawn back to Wangallon but when will she finally admit that it’s not just Wangallon she longs for but the station’s manager, Anthony.

Loved this one. Was a bit more in depth than some of the other rural romances I like to read. Have the sequel at home. Just so little time and so many books...

Clunes Booktown 2011

Once again I was lucky enough to head out to the picturesque town of Clunes located only 15 minutes from my door. Booktown is held annually and consists of thousands of rare and second hand books, writers talks and street performances. This year I only bought about 10 books which was pretty good for me. I was however lucky enough to catch a couple of writers talks and my notes from these are below:

Writing Family, Peter Rose, Anne Deveson, Tara June Winch

AD - Wrote it 2 years after his death
PR - About brother who became a quadriplegic, written 1 year after his death (Brother, Uncles, Fathers all played for Collingwood, Father coached them)
ALL - Started from tragedies and deaths
AD - Help came from the most unlikely of places - the plumber!
PR - Sometimes books are over dramatised to draw in readers. Lots of woe. Not always that bad though. Hard to write memoir due to repercussions etc. But don't baulk at it, write it. Very liberating.
TJW - Characters are an amalgamation of the traits of different family members/friends.
AD/PR - People approached them thinking they were experts on schizophrenia/quadriplegia etc. as they had written about them in their books. Also having mental illness/disability in the family soon highlights those friends that are loyal.

Bob Hawke, Biography
I was lucky enough to hear Bob Hawke speak this year, last year it was Malcolm Fraser. Just so fantastic the array and calibre of guests they are drawing. Anyway, here's a bit of what Bob had to say, such a character:

Thinks Tony Abott is potentially dangerous as a future PM.
Good leadership is: capacity/willingness to listen; intelligence; readiness to take risks.
Doesn't think any international leaders stand out as fantastic. All are good - but not great.
A lot of politics is charades. No genuine debate if you already have the numbers.
No such thing as free education - it's who pays? Hence introduction of schemes like HECS.
In reflection he thinks his performance as PM was overall "pretty bloody good". But in hindsight could obviously improve in some areas.
Enabling people to make judgements on knowledge - biography/autobiography.
Today's big issues - climate change; economy; indigenous disadvantage.

Just had the most brilliant time there. Well worth going to!

Book: North Star

Summary: Since her divorce a year ago, Kate Thurston feels like she's lurched from one disaster to another. Her teenage daughter, Georgia, seems to have morphed into a monster overnight, and her son Liam breaks her heart with his sad brown eyes.
When Kate receives news that her grandfather has bequeathed her North Star, the vast property that has been in her family for generations, it feels like the perfect opportunity to flee the hectic pace of city life for a calmer rural existence.
As soon as she arrives at North Star, however, Kate realises she's going to need every ounce of determination to restore the rundown homestead to its former glory and fulfil her dream of turning it into a bush retreat. And as for the farm, well it's in utter disarray. As she starts to make headway with the homestead's restoration, and falls for a local bloke, Kate finally feels like life is going right for her. Then her ex-husband comes to town and triggers a series of events that will change her life forever ...

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED. Awesome trashy country romance! Can't wait for more from this author!