My week in focus

I'll be quick because it's friday night and a snuggle on the couch is in order.
After my last post I told you I would stay aware and be grateful for my loves and the little things around me...so here we go:

grateful for beauty

grateful the days are stretching out

grateful that Spring is so close

and as much as I love my jeans, I was grateful today that as the weather heats up, I won't have to wash and iron these legs for a while.

And of course always grateful for these peeps:

(and of course, grateful for my Treashy, but he'll get his own post on Sunday!)

Happy Weekend Everyone

Liv xo

Life is like a rambunctious toddler.

Today I'm linking up with Em at The Beetle Shack  who says life is like a rambunctious toddler..."sometimes it's cute and clean cut and wonderful and other times it's face is covered in snot and you need to wipe up some serious metaphorical boogers before you can face the world ". I have to agree Em, life is definitely made up of naughty and nice moments, and as a young family all too often we focus on the naughty ones. I often catch myself thinking 'can my day get any worse', but in the scheme of things they are petty and passing, just moments.
A few of those moments occurred this week:
- Loosing my temper and considering boarding school most mornings and then mulling over it all day and beating myself up for even considering it.
- Putting my second favourite woollen jumper in the dryer, it now fits my big toe.
- Breaking 2 wine glasses (at different times with a house full of people) and then having to wrangle the vacuum cleaner amongst the guests.
- Vomit after vomit (not my own, but mine to clean).
- Burning the toffee for my big boys cooking project.
- Lining up with every other Australian citizen at the Post Office on Tuesday and half way through the line Bear announces that he has done a poo (there was really no need to be told, the odour spoke for itself)
- Generally just doing grocery shopping with a 2 year old.
- Having the carseat debate with the the same 2 year old. every. single. day.
- Racking my mid-week brain to decide what to cook for dinner and come 6pm no one is hungry, late lunches all round.
- Attempting to get a screaming child out the door (who doesn't want to go) whilst holding armfuls of apparently necessary items and then dropping the keys on the way to the car, bending down to get them, using my chin as a 3rd arm and copping a big fat wet lick from the dog right across my face.
- Walking past the big boys room 100 times a day and just shaking my head.
- Daily: wiping wee from the boys toilet seat, picking up empty toilet rolls, scrubbing hardened toothpaste from the sink, hanging up wet towels, picking up cushions, school bags and shoes, closing doors, turning a million lights off. (I know what you are saying.....)
- copious piles of ironing banking up
Bloody hell I'm a whinger. sorry.
But these are just moments. They pass (albeit slowly). It's part and parcel of family life.
Ok, as a 21 year old bride I didn't think too much about these moments, in fact they never crossed my loved-up mind, but they are what they are. I still don't like them but they will pass, I have to keep reminding myself of that and rather focus on the happy moments: the fun, mundane, loving, generous and carefree moments that make up the best of family life. Like unconditional love from my best friend and hubby, having him cook me breaky every morning and enjoying it together whilst our babies sleep,  letters from the kids, cuddles on the couch, carefree moments on the lawn as the sun is going down, dinner on the deck as Spring approaches and the evenings stretch out, umpteen drawings and crafty gifts, daily watching our kids strive to reach their goals and sometimes attaining them,  moments of hilarity, wacky jokes, family outings,  and unimaginable amounts of priceless love - not always in the form we expect but always, always present. These are the moments that make the tough ones bearable.
So today I'm going to look out for and freeze some of those precious moments.

Thanks Em for making today a 'grateful' one.
Liv xo

Siri

Every time I have sent an email these past few weeks 'Fred sweet cheeks bubble pop' comes up in my address bar. I smelt a rat and after 2 weeks of saying I'll get to the bottom of it, I finally did tonight.
I called my darling boys in and asked who the culprit was. Fingers were pointed, blame was laid, accusations were slung back and forth...but deep down I knew who it was, my nerd Jim.
After explaining how embarrassed I was after realising I'd sent his teacher an email from 'Fred sweet cheeks bubble pop' (a white lie, but necessary), he giggled and said: "well mum you have to agree it's pretty funny."
He assured me he knew how to fix the problem and proceeded to talk to Siri.
I have heard of Siri, but we've never been introduced until tonight and I sure as hell didn't expect that she could change my name at the drop of a hat (or a cheeky kids request for that matter).
So Jimmy and Siri had words to this effect:
(loud and slow)
Jim: "Siri can you please change my mums name back to Olivia."
Suri: "I'm sorry I do not understand."
Jim: "oh I mean can you change Fred sweet cheeks bubble pop back to Olivia Denahy."
Suri: "I'm sorry I do not understand. Do you want me to call you sweet cheeks bubble pop because you are my friend?"
Jim: "No, I don't want to be your friend, can you just change my mums name back"
Suri: "I'm sorry I didn't get that"
Jim: "change Fred sweet cheeks bubble pop to Olivia Denahy you idiot"
Suri: "Well you are entitled to your opinion"
Jim: "What?"
Suri: "I'm sorry I do not understand"
Jim: "FAR OUT, YOU ARE DUMB. Just change Fred sweet cheeks bubble pop back to Olivia Denahy"
........... this went on and on and on and on............until finally Jimmy and Siri came to an agreement and my identity was restored.
A lot of pranking goes on in this husienda and sometimes I feel I'm loosing the battle like here and here and here. But one thing boys underestimate is the power of a woman's words, and I don't think Jim ever wants to cross paths with Siri again.
I won today.

Until tomorrow
Liv xo

Weekend wrap up.

I had my biggie home sick on Friday with the vomits so needless to say I didn't snap many pics of him over the last few days, it wasn't a pretty sight. Infact I'd go so far to saying that it was possible the biggest vomit I have ever seen. I did two loads of washing at 11pm on Thursday night just to clean one chuck. That was it, just one. The next day precaution and man-flu ensured he scored a day off school, but he magically got better when it was time to go and watch 5 rugby grand finals with Dad on Saturday.

We hosted an end of rugby season BBQ at our place yesterday for Jimmy's team, and the day was so spectacular that they all jumped in the pool (Winter, what winter???)

He crashed last night and gave me more fodder for this post .

It must have said something in that yellow book 'The boys book to survival' about sleeping under your bed makes you tougher?!?!

Pink Dot, had her 'Book Week Parade' on Friday and she went as Ariel from The Little Mermaid, but her bothers insisted she looked more like Lady Gaga (how the hell they know who Lady Gaga is was more distressing  than their comment).

(she forgot the memo 'go bare foot')

...and Bear just rolled with the punches, witty as usual.

Other things that happened in our world:

We made a visit to the cousins in the Blue Mountains, and Spring has definitely sprung early there:

The best Dad in the world framed some more paintings for me:

Visit my Etsy store :

Lulu introduced the neighbours horses to her horse.

I scored myself a new Riedel glass:

Shenanigans. Always shenanigans. 

And the winner of my painting give away is:

 Angels have Red Hair

(Congrats! send your postal address to odenahy@gmail.com and I'll send it to you ASAP. I hope your red headed boys enjoy a splash of pink! )

I hope you all had a lovely and sunny weekend

Liv xo

PAINTING GIVE AWAY

 

Lets just say my style is a little left of centre and I don't mind the odd thrift piece or ten, nor the odd upside down cane bed head with bangles and fedoras dripping from it...even an entire bedroom with a plethora of canvases, paint palettes, paint tubes, brushes, boxes, bubble wrap....etc (just to set the scene!)
A few nights ago as I lay in bed I couldn't help but notice the shear amount of artwork building up around us (space is an issue, so whilst I save to fund the studio which so far only has brick piers, one end of our bedroom has doubled as my art space), which led to this conversation:
Me: (smirk) "I hope you like artistic sanctuaries Honey"
Paul: "what do you mean?"
Me: "Well, the last time mum came in here she commented that THE bedroom has to be a sanctuary, she obviously thinks our space needs a bit of a romantic overhaul."
Paul: (Silence for a while) "She's not wrong, it's like the bloody Guggenheim depot in here....and with the bed head and the bangles, hats and paint....I would say it's......it's not.....it's ummmm.......well it's like.....ever heard of 'The Twits' ?"

Yep....every single photo was taken in our sanctuary bedroom. The whole damn lot. 

But swings and roundabouts I say, he also has his fair share of The Twits in him, check out his corner!

These take up the other half of the sanctuary room, and only one pair are mine, the tall sexy caramel pair closest to the camera. Ooooo yeahhh. I love these babies, haven't taken them off in two years (except for the photo!) 

So after that whopping intro, I've finally decided to get my act together and set up an etsy store. 

This room needs sanctuary status. 

So if you like my art and want to win yourself my first ever Give Away, sign up to my blog (up there in the top RHS) and a winner will be drawn next week. 

Perhaps comment on this post and tell me how I could turn this "Guggenheim depot" into a sanctuary and the best answer will be chosen by mum, the knower of sanctuaries. Then pop over to my Etsy Store and buy an artwork for your hubby (wink wink, yourself) for Father's Day, that way they can move from one sanctuary to another.

Here is my GIVE AWAY prize:

35.5 x 35.5 x 4 cm

I will post it to you next Tuesday. A little bit of fluro love might brighten up a corner of your sanctuary?!  

 

        

(eww...those cream walls are ghastly, they'll be the first thing to change when I clean out the depot) 

Thanks for the "sanctuary" advice in advance

Liv (the knower of depots) xoxo

Be warned, serious hat.

Dare to be different. Learn to say No. 

"....Doubt. Vanity. With furtive smiles and drumming fingertips they feast on my virtue until I am hollowed and empty."  (Natalie)

I read the above passage today and it screamed at me.
I am sure I'm not alone when I say that I feel ashamed of getting caught up in trap of femininity.
I always curse my fat legs, my round face, my flapping arms, my fair skin, my post-baby stretch marks, my birds nest hair, my stumpy fingernails and how could I forget, my 5"2 frame. The fact that I am happily married and respected by a wonderful man should make me care less, but it doesn't. The media is so aggressive and sucks us all in. We spend our lives jumping from diet to detox, chasing a false idea of perfection.

I fear for those precious young woman trying to find their way in todays world. Being a woman is awfully difficult. We are conditioned from all sides to be perfection in form, but little to no emphasis is placed on our heart and souls. The world critiques every inch of our bodies, every item of clothing, every word we speak, every emotion we show and every dollar we earn.  We are told to thin down, wear less, expose more, give everything, lose your soul. Then we are expected to be fragile at the whim of a stronger man's desires and yet strong and capable of influence. No wonder women struggle with inner demons, the juxtaposition of our rolls in society is so stark that we all fall victim to our "inner" being smothered by the trappings of our "outer".
 NO. Simply NO.
Ladies, stand up for yourselves. Learn to say no to expectations. Free yourselves, free your body, mind and soul and find happiness in your individuality. We have to arm ourselves with resilience and self confidence and help each other  to find happiness within.

We are not just boobs on legs, we are women, daughters, sisters, mothers and mentors.

We have to stop chasing a false perfection, it doesn't exist on this earth. The way God made you is the way you are most beautiful.

Dare to be different.

Sorry for putting on my serious hat mid week when all you want is a laugh to get you through the week, but I'm saying no to expectations!

Go girl power,
Liv xo

Brand names

You know you've made it when someone is named after you, even if it is their second name. You feel important, loved and respected, and it comes with a sense of responsibility to that child and his/her family.

I used to think it would be the same if a product, brand or company was named after you, even coincidentally, but my thoughts have changed dramatically this week.

Walking around the shops the other day it struck me how many brands have peoples names in them, for instance:

Laura Ashley

Michael Hill Jewellers

Lorna Jane

Jimmy Choo 

Paul's Milk

Ignatius Press

Gloria Jeans

Ralph Lauren

Hugo Boss 

Tiffany & Co

Marcs

Eggs Benedict

Granny Smith apples

Earl Grey Tea

John Dory

Magarita

Bloody Mary 

Ben & Jerry's

Calvin Klein 

..........the list is endless....but they bloody well should have ended it years ago...now look what they thought was a good idea:

Thanks ALDI, another reason why I don't feel so mighty shopping there, just like I didn't here.

And I don't think many Mary's would be happy either.

Liv (not Olivia) xo

33 years young ?!?!

This old chook turned 33 yesterday and there is a lot to be thankful for.
Thanks Mum and Dad for the gift of life, Hubby for the gift of Marriage, Sisters & Brothers for the gift of unrivalled friendship, Kids for the gift of Motherhood and friends and rellies for everything else.....
It was a beautiful, sunny day and I was surrounded by love, laughter, music and sangria.
My brother surprised us last week and returned from Europe unannounced, so yesterday we combined 33 female years with 9 months of the male travel bug and had one big birthday/welcome-home PARTY!

I was spoilt rotten and showered with gifts and love...thank you to each and every one of you.

(If I hadn't drunk so much sangria I may have taken some decent photos of everyone!)

I know these material things don't compare to the lourve flying around yesterday, but they did put a smile on my dile:

Mum knows I love a pop of colour!

Thanks one and all for making my day special. 

Hugs

Liv xo