Category Archives: 52 Weeks of Grateful

Gratefuls from my thinking time

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This week has been an absolute whirlwind, I have spent so much time in the car travelling here there and everywhere that today I am so Grateful to be home – ALL DAY!

As I have travelled in the car I have had lots of thinking time and so I have lots of little things to be grateful for this week:

I am grateful for my car, it’s comfort it’s easy riding on the road, it’s multiple cup holders and bluetooth in the radio.

I am grateful for my wonderful family for stepping in for Muddy Hubby and I while we were away.

I am so grateful for having fabulous friends and them stepping in to lend a hand when needed or simply being there to listen.

I have been grateful this week for my resilient Muddy Kids who have coped and been relatively well behaved while I have been missing in action.

Grateful also for the wonderful Preschool Director who listened to my concerns about my Muddy Pixie and didn’t hesitate to say ‘I’ll keep and eye on and it let you know what I think by the end of next week’.

We had my Muddy Organiser’s school concert on Wednesday and I have never been so grateful for the choice we made in schools, for the wonderful job the teachers are doing and continue to do and for watching my little girl up on stage speaking into the microphone and dancing, two things I didn’t think she would have the confidence to do, it just warmed my heart.

Today though I am most grateful for being at home, for the mundane, the washing, the vacuuming, the ducks, the sunshine and the normality.

Linking up with Maxabella at Village Voices for 52 Weeks of Grateful. Make sure you head over and check it out!

Grateful for Organisation

Muddy Bubby turned One this week and to be honest it was a little subdued, I didn’t make him a cake, we used the leftovers from a cake I had for a meeting (he still hooked into it and there wasn’t much left).

I had a mild panic attack on Wednesday when I realised I had no presents for him. Then I stopped and breathed and had a light bulb moment ‘I bought his presents months ago and hid them’ HOORAY! He had a lovely Tonka Bulldozer to unwrap and a beautiful book and Care Flight Bear, all sorted.

So this week I am grateful for organisation and forward planning. Without Organisation and Forward Planning things would be a lot worse in our household! My house may be a shambles, my floors may not be clean and the toy room looks like a bomb’s gone off, but I can still be organised. I make lists and try to stick to them, and I am always packing and repacking days before we go anywhere, which drives Muddy Hubby insane, but keeps my sanity intact. It’s the little organisation beforehand that helps reduce my stress levels when we go anywhere which makes for a happier Muddy Family. It also means my Muddy Bubby actually had a present to unwrap on his birthday.

I still plan on making him a cake of his own, with a family lunch this weekend, to appease for my mother guilt in almost letting his birthday slip by unnoticed, but for now he is a very happy One Year Old pushing his Bulldozer around.

Linking up with Maxabella for 52 Weeks of Grateful at Village Voices. Please take some time out to check out the lovely Grateful posts, they will put a smile on your face and warm your heart.

Grateful for the little things

Life has been moving in a blur, and I’ve realised that really I’m kidding myself if I think things will slow down, if anything they’re only going to get busier. I’m trying to make a conscious effort not to sweat the small stuff, focus on my priorities, make lists and work my way through them, all of the tried and true stuff, some days it works, some days it doesn’t.

This week though I have made a conscious effort to think about the things I’m Grateful for, I let it slide the last few weeks and it hasn’t been fun, I like to focus on the positives. So this week I’m grateful for all the little things.

The delicious chocolate pudding I got to enjoy all on my own while away for work, and a wonderful job that presents so many lovely opportunities.

The small smiles of joy as my Muddy Kids enjoy their new ducklings and spend lots of time getting to know them and look after them.

I am grateful for having a wonderful manager at work who has made the return to work just that much easier.

The wonderful Muddy Hubby I have who makes each day just a little easier to get through when things are busy.

A caring teacher for My Muddy Organiser who was adamant she wanted to go to school despite her ear infection.

The silence of a motel room on my own, just to sit quietly and read.

Good friends who listen and love you just the way you are.

It’s the little things I’m grateful for this week to keep me smiling and moving forward.

Linking up with Maxabella at Village Voices for 52 Weeks of Grateful. Head over and check it out, it’s definitely worth it!

Grateful for our ‘Local’

When I was growing up I can always remember the TV show ‘Cheers’, not that my parents were big TV watchers or even fans of the show, but the theme song, it got me every time and I can still sing it today (always badly). ‘Where everybody knows your name’, I can remember wondering how in a big city a place like this existed, but there you have it, that’s the magic of TV shows!

Well we do have a local pub, ‘where everybody knows your name’, it is nestled in the little village straight up the railway line. There isn’t much in the village, a shrine of remembrance, an RFS shed with firetruck, a few homes and the grain silos and of course the CWA rooms. This pub used to be a sad and sorry sight, when I first started visiting Muddy Hubby out here he’d take me down for a cool drink and 9 times out of 10 it wouldn’t be open, or you’d be lucky enough to find it open and be halfway through your drink and the publican would declare he wanted to go home, so you’d either skull your drink or leave it behind before he shut the doors on you.

Over the last 5 years though it has undergone a massive transformation, it was bought by a young couple who reintroduced regular community BBQ’s and functions (this weekend they’re doing Camp Oven lunches), they have renovated the pub inside, it is now open and light and welcoming, and the fact that they’re smiling, happy publicans helps too. It’s child friendly and when it’s a quiet Sunday afternoon like the one just past the kids can hang out and eat their chips and iced water and give us some respite as they enjoy their well earned reward.

Yes, I do bribe my Muddy Kids with a visit to the pub for Chips and a cup of ice, the publicans have a little girl 3 months older than Muddy Bubby, so there is always toys to play with and some company for the Muddy Kids. In winter there’s a roaring fire inside and a fire outside as well. The Muddy Kids love to run around on the grass or play in what was the ‘Ladies Lounge’, while we catch up on the local gossip!

This week I am expressing my gratitude for my wonderful local, for being warm and wonderful and a place the whole family can enjoy, and for being an excellent reward when you don’t have a park within a 10 minute drive.

Linking up with Maxabella for 52 Weeks of Grateful at Village Voices. Head over and check it out, you’ll be pleased you did!

Grateful for a night away

Last Friday this was what greeted me in the evening when the sun was going down, it had been a big week, it had rained lots and the Sunset I took as a sign of good things ahead. I was right! Saturday afternoon Muddy Hubby and I headed out, not just out, but away for the night! The whole night, away from the kids, away from the noise, away from the early risers.
We chilled out at the motel, before getting all frocked up for my Muddy Brother-in-law’s 30th birthday celebrations. We walked to the venue (it’s been years since I’ve been able to do that), we enjoyed some good company, some lovely food and some nice wine. We chatted without being interrupted, we got to eat our food warm. We got to walk back to the motel (again unheard of) and sleep soundly knowing our children were safely tucked up in bed (until 2:30am when they woke up for Nana, Sorry!) and wouldn’t be coming to wake us up in the morning. Bliss, pure Bliss, I did wake up as per usual early, but I just lay there enjoying the silence, dozing lightly, not having to think about other people’s breakfasts or what they’re going to wear, just soaking up the quiet.
This week I am grateful for my Mum (and Dad) for looking after my 4 Muddy Kids to allow Muddy Hubby and I this precious time away (24 hours in total). I am so grateful for that morning of silence, to help me recharge and get back into Mummy mode.
This was the AWESOME Birthday Cake, perfect for a sheep farmer.
Linking up for 52 Weeks of Grateful with Maxabella at Village Voices.
What are you Grateful for this week?

A Week of Gratefuls

This week has been a tough one, second week of school holidays and we’ve been busy busy, so to try and pick me up this week I’ve tried to focus each on what I’m grateful for in each day. I saw another grateful blogger do this the other week and I loved it. It has worked well for me, so this week following on from last week’s grateful post:

Saturday – I was grateful for a dear friend having a girl’s only 40th birthday party and I got to spend a lovely evening, child free, catching up with some lovely friends and getting to know some new ones.

Sunday – I was grateful for some time on the four wheeler shifting sheep with my Muddy Pixie, we didn’t fight, she wasn’t throwing tantrums, we just enjoyed being on the bike together, a rarity nowadays.

Monday – Saw me be very grateful for my Muddy Hubby taking 2 of the kids so I could race into town and do some jobs with only 2 Muddy Kids, definitely lightened the load

Tuesday – Gratefulness was in abundance that it hadn’t rained yet and we could keep shearing the sheep for a bit longer

Wednesday – Ironically I was grateful for enough rain to give our crops a much needed drink

Thursday – I was grateful for having such a lovely little red head with me when my Muddy Organiser came shopping with me, we had some lovely time together with Muddy Bubby before school starts back, we ate lunch in a cafe and enjoyed being together. We even bought some new fish for the fish tank.

Friday – I am very grateful to have my Mum and Dad visiting so I can try and restore order to my house, getting some time to fold washing and put it away, do the office filing and catch up on the farm accounts.

Linking up with Maxabella at Village Voices for 52 Weeks of Grateful, head on over and check it out. What are you Grateful for This Week?

Love a Good Preschool

I am a big supporter of Early Childhood Education and I’m a get involved kind of person. When we first enrolled our Muddy Organiser in Preschool I didn’t hesitate to put my hand up to lend a hand and volunteer. At times the behind the scenes workings get you down, but more often than not I find it rewarding to see the enjoyment the kids and staff get out of events or fundraisers.
One of the BEST things I’ve been able to watch is the process towards renovating the outdoor space at preschool. It was already pretty cool with a bike track, cubby, massive sandpit, climbing equipment and a few chooks. What they’ve done now though is build the area into a more natural environment. There’s a slide built into the hill and a climbing wall. There’s going to be an ‘outdoor learning area’ and at the moment the Landscaper is working on improving the mud patch, so it will have donkey pumps and a bridge and all manner of get messy stuff.
I had a meeting last Thursday for the upcoming Trivia Night Fundraiser and all my Muddy Kids had an absolute blast exploring the updated area showing that it has definitely been worth the work. I feel so very lucky to have such a fantastic resource in our town, I know so many towns struggle with staffing and funding, so I am extra grateful this week for the fantastic Director, Staff and Preschool we have here in town.

Linking up with Maxabella at Village Voices for 52 Weeks of Grateful. It’s definitely worth checking out, so head on over and have a look.

Grateful for the smiles it brings

I have been following along with Maxabella Loves… 52 Weeks of Grateful for longer than I’ve been writing this blog. There is something about it that is so special, something that gives you the warm and fuzzies week after week.

So this week on it’s 2 year anniversary I am Grateful for the 52 Weeks of Grateful. A special place that helps me to take stock of what’s happening and actually take the time to remember to be grateful for what I have and what’s happening in my world. That amongst all the parental angst and ups and downs that there is always a little light, something to be very grateful for, no matter how big or small.

I am not fabulous at writing a post to link up each week, sometimes life just gets in the way, but knowing it’s there each week I still stop and think about what I’m grateful for and what I might write about if I could get it all together.

I am grateful for having this space to see what others are grateful for and what lights up their world each week, because without a doubt each and every post that I read in the link up brings a smile to my face.

I am a big believer that big changes begin with a small first step, so for me 52 Weeks of Grateful is one of those small first steps towards making more and more people grateful for what they have rather than feeling that they are continually wanting, or continually ungrateful for the wonderful things in their life that so many others would love even a tenth of. If we can all try to be a little bit grateful each week then that can spread, and spread, and spread, and I just love this concept. I am an optimist like that, I think it’s ingrained into me.

Thank You Bron for the magic that is 52 Weeks of Grateful, it is a wonderful link up, that brings a smile to my face each week and I am very grateful for it, especially on those crappy days or weeks, because it can turn them around.

Linking up with Maxabella Loves at Village Voices for 52 Weeks of Grateful on this special 2 Year Anniversary. Make sure you click over and check it out, it is sure to bring a smile to your face.

Grateful for Family

At the end of last week I had a rushed trip to Brisbane for a family funeral, it was one of those times where I was thinking ‘do I go or do I stay at home’ and at the last minute I decided to go. Muddy Hubby stepped up to the plate and took care of the Muddy tribe with a little help from family and friends and I spent 24 hours with some family I hadn’t seen in a loooooong time.

So long actually that I had some of my cousins saying ‘gee the last time I saw you, you were only this big’ or ‘I haven’t seen you since you were a kid’. The best thing about it though was other than the conversations about ‘what do you do with yourself’ and ‘Really, you’ve got Four kids’ things were so comfortable and comforting at such a sad time.

We talked and reminisced and shared photos and stories. This is what I love, love, love about family getting together, particularly family that used to do so much together, is the story telling, the remembering and the sharing of favourite memories. This is so special, we talked about my Grandma and her two sisters, about their growing up and their courtships during and after the war, then the growing up and family gatherings.

Since I’ve been back my family has been emailing me lots of photos, and I have been sent a recording of my Grandma’s youngest sister sharing her memories (turns out my grandmother was dating two men at the same time when she first met my grandfather, scandalous!). My favourite thing from family has been the photo below taken at my Mum and Dad’s wedding, outside the church, the same church where I was married, and that lamppost, it’s still there!

So this week I am grateful for family, family spread far and wide, family sharing stories and memories and reminiscing. I hope my kids have the same comfort and love of family as they get older.

Grateful For Sisters

I am an only child, my mum said ‘a smart woman never forgets the pain of childbirth’ and decided that one was enough for her. Mum said I only ever asked once for a brother or sister, other than that I was content. Happy to play with close family friends who were like sisters and then I have my BFF who is like my sister from another mother. I never wanted, I had good friends and a loving family.
Then I married into a large family (well large by my only child standards), Muddy Hubby has 2 sisters and 1 brother. Just before I got married my 2 sister-in-laws gifted me with a lovely photo frame with the heading ‘Sisters’ on it, they made it quite clear that they didn’t wanted to be treated as ‘sister-in-laws’ they wanted to be ‘sisters‘. I have never forgotten and it has always been that way, we have talked and fought and cried and laughed together.
Last year my Muddy brother-in-law got married, he married the most wonderful girl and we enveloped her into our family fold as another ‘sister‘ despite the fact that she already had two sisters of her own. This week I am so grateful for all of my sisters. I was in desperate need of a babysitter so I could go to Boot camp this week and one of my sisters stepped in. We’re throwing a big party here today and surprisingly it has so far been stress free. We have divided up the tasks amongst ourselves, cake with one sister, lunch with another and venue, dessert and lolly bags with me. All sorted thanks to my wonderful sisters.
It is only in the last few years as my parents begin to age a little and I have had children of my own that I have had a real yearning for my own sister, someone to share the load with and confide in. My sister-in-laws have been so wonderful in stepping in to fill this void that I only get an occasional pang for a sister of my own blood. For now though I am very grateful for my BFF (sister from another mother) and my ‘Sisters’ and their helpfulness that gets me through a week with a little less stress and some time for boot camp.
My Hen’s night when I look soooo young and was gifted with two ‘Sisters’

October 2011 where we got an updated photo for my ‘Sisters’ frame.
Photo Courtesy Pink Bug Photography