Cool Craftiness

So, we like to make stuff. 
But not if it's too hard.. 
Or too messy.. or too.. glittery. 
Or if it takes, like ages  to do. 
Or if you finish it and the kids are like, "What the hell is that?" 
And not if it's too cutesy,
Or ugly...
Or too pretty.
We like making stuff that is easy and fun and over quickly and is easily identifiable. And involves felt.

We were sent a pack from Riot Art and Craft to try out, and it totally fit in our parameters. Now that they boys have started Kindy, they are definitely getting better at following instructions and understanding the sequence of tasks. I might send the Awesome Teenager to Miss Julia for a brush up....

So, we made two Ricky Riot Rainbow Feltboards. We went a little off script and glued the pieces down to make a permanent picture, but you could follow the instructions if you are not a revolutionary individualist like me.  You can also watch Ricky Riot make lots of awesome projects (including the feltboard) over on thier website.

The boys loved it. They like to glue stuff and they are awesome at telling me to be careful, because scissors ARE SHARP! Yes, they are brainwashed.

This was a fun project. The bits and pieces retail for about 16 bucks and it took about half and hour. Easy Peasy Bosom Squeezy.

As you can see, the boys are loving themselves sick in this photo. They love to admire their finished work and expect EVERYONE to repeatedly reaffirm how totally awesome they are at least half hourly. Just like mummy...

What's the last crafty thing you made with your kids? Or with your husband. Or your cat.

* I was sent a Rainbow Feltboard pack to try out. All opinions are my own and I wasn't paid for them. 

The Awesome Almost Grown Up

Whoah. Just noticed that I haven't posted in 13 days. What the hey? Same old story, life, blah blah blah, busy, crap, big deal, no one cares that you haven't blogged, dumbass.

Anyhoo, one cool thing that happened in those 13 days:

My Teenager turned seventeen. I KNOW! I must have been 10 years old when I had him!! Someone call Today Tonight!!

The family got together at the local Mexican Restaurant to celebrate him. He is a lovely man. He is trying so hard to navigate this confusing time, and despite the drama and the chaos of late, I am pretty bloody proud of how he is managing. He is a special kid. I have to say that, I'm his mum. But ask anyone. He is Awesome.

I gave birth to this person when I was 21. The day he was born was two weeks before his due date. I was on the way to a summer barbeque. I was involved in a car crash, resulting in me being admitted to hospital, the baby going into distress, many things going wrong and a very unpleasant, traumatic birth experience. It took me a long time to get over that day....

But I got a baby. The most perfect baby. When most other things in my life seemed unstable and built on quicksand, this little boy and me were rock solid. He has always been unusual, unique and so very strong. He has navigated his way through the last seventeen years with a keen sense of humour, a definite sense of identity and (I hope) an enduring sense that he is loved. Always loved. Always supported. He has not always gotten it right. He has made questionable choices. But I will always be his cheerleader, his defender. I will always be on his side.

And how cute are he and his girlfriend? Answer: SUPER.

How do your teenager's birthdays make you feel? Old? Nostalgic? Hungry? Sleepy?

being a teenager

I wouldn't be a teenager again for all the tweets on Twitter. 
I thought it was hard in 1990. We didn't have social media. We didn't have a computer in our house, let alone in our bedroom. We did have the opportunity to make bad choices. And we made them. But the consequences didn't seem as dire.... The potential for disaster, not as extreme. 

Of course, now I am the parent... not the teenager. I am on the worrying side, Not the 'Don't worry!' side...

Trust is given, and taken, and abused and re-earned. Temptations and choices and distractions descend. I remember my heart breaking open in my chest the day my mother said, "I am just so disappointed".... And I remember my heart re-breaking in that same chest 20 years later when I said the same words...

Nothing is unfixable. Nothing is too late, too hard, too much. That heart is not broken, and it will always be open and full of love. Being a teenager is not always awesome... It sucked in 1990 and it sucks in 2012. It is hard and confusing and filled with extremes. Our job is to just hang in there. Just hold on and help them get through. NO matter what stupid shit they get up to. And you know what? MY teenager will always be Awesome. 

making my day

I like days like this. Days when all my boys are with me. 
The Awesome Teenager is becoming more elusive and time spent with him is getting rarer. That's how it goes with these teenager people, though, isn't it? A vague presence in your home, emerging for food and to request the reconnection of internet networks.... He is so clever and explains geeky stuff to m. He loves pop culture almost as much as me. And he still kisses us goodnight every night, so I think we are good.


The twins are hilarious and continually evolving. Eli has started using the word 'actually' with alarming regularity. "Well, actually mummy, I just really need a little tiny bit of yoghurt." Well, if you actually need it. Not figuratively. All right then.


Jasper refers to Eli as "My little brother" or "My best friend Eli". Both are ridiculously adorable. He introduces Eli to me daily. "Mummy, this is my little brother Eli!" Complete with Game Show Host style hand gestures and intonations.


My Lovely Husband continues to be lovely. He supportive and encouraging. Sometimes, all I need is for him to say, "You look nice." and I am OK. I love that he MUST say 'heinous' in a stupid way, repeatedly, every time we watch Law and Order SVU. I love that he makes Jasper laugh his weird dirty old man laugh. 


Life is stupid and complicated and annoying a lot of the time. But then, it's not. It's colouring in at a cafe. It's taking pictures in the sunlight. It's being with the man I love and the boys I have created. My days are made by the little tiny (actual) details.


What are the little things that make your day?

handing it down

 Over the weekend, my gorgeous Awesome Teenager passed a portion of his huge lego collection down to the twins. Max was a massive lego geek when he was younger, and there are tubs of it under our house, that have been waiting for the boys to be old enough to play with it.


And now they are.

Max got a little sentimental about the handing down.... and  I got a little teary. It was like a tangible, physical representation of the fact that all my boys are moving into new stages in their lives. Max is no longer a child. The twins are no longer babies... It makes me a little sad, but mostly proud. Then sad again. Then a bit hungry. Then tired.....

Max told the boys that a big part of playing with lego was putting it all back in the box when you are finished, so you don't lose any of it (or mummy doesn't suck it up in the vaccuum.....)

When they were done playing, Eli started bossing Jasper around, "OK, put the lego away now. Back in the box. Come on, Jasper." Awesome.

I am now planning on getting Jasper to teach Max how to put his clothes in the washing basket, seeing as they are passing on skills.

I love seeing the concentration on their faces as they play. They get lost in these little worlds that they create. One day they will be rocket scientists. Or ballet dancers. Or architects. Or whatever.

The awesome teenager did find a few bits that we wanted to keep... Han, Luke, Leia and Yoda might have made their way back to his room. Purely for sentimental reasons. And if he does play with them, I am sure it's ironically.

Eli has not been without a piece of lego within clutching distance since the weekend. Even when he is sleeping. Just like his big brother used to be.

Kylie dressed up as Miley?

As we prepared to go Christmas shopping this morning (yes, we are insane going to a Shopping Centre a week before Christmas), I said to The Awesome Teenager, 
"Does this dress look too young for me, Mate?"
"...Um .... maybe... a bit?" he replied, with that male look of terror in his eye, flinching as he waited for my response.
 No, I didn't go medieval on his ass, (I asked the question and always want an honest answer from the males in my house) but as I changed into what I deemed as a more age appropriate outfit, I started to wonder,
"What is too old?"
"What is 'Age-Appropriate'?"
"Is it creepy for a 37year old to wear a baby doll dress?"


It's not like I dress like Brynne Edelsten...

(Who I think is supercute, by the way. And I could give her a run for her (husband's) money if I had a corset like that too!!)

With age I have learned to tame the bosoms, lower the hem and the platform heel, but sometimes I wonder if I have crossed some invisible threshold from cute and edgy to middle aged and embarrassing. Are people pointing and giggling? Am I making The Awesome Teenager cringe?

But, then I think... So What?! I don't feel 37. I don't think I act 37... 

But what is 37? Who gets to say who I should be at this age, or any other? Who gets to say what I should wear or how I should feel comfortable.... Answer? 

ME.

I figure as long as I don't look like Whitney dressed up as Britney, or Kylie dressed up as Miley, I'm good.

Oh, and I most definitely want someone to take me aside for a stern talking to if I ever start to look like and elderly woman playing the lead in a production of Annie.....

What do you think about 'Age Appropriate' dressing? 

And, 

CAN I GET AWAY WITH THE BABY DOLL DRESS????

x gillian

The Awesome 16 Year Old

Max is 16 today. I don't have enough words to express how proud I am of him, or how much he has brought to my life.

 He is a fantastic son, a rockin' step-son, a super cool big brother, a wonderful cousin, a lovely grandson, a great nephew, an excellent friend, and above all, he is my Awesome Teenager.

Teenager's get a bad rap sometimes. I tell people I have a teenage boy and they recoil in fear and say, "How's THAT going?" And they are always surprised when I say... "It's awesome. My teenager is awesome. Don't you read my blog????"

When Max was younger, we had a running joke that he was going to sign a contract saying that he was not going to be a jerk when he became a teenager. We never actually put it on paper, but I am so glad I don't have to take him to court and sue him for breach of a verbal contract. 

If he turned up to court looking this smooth I would definately lose anyway....

Happy Birthday, sir. You are makin' all those other teenagers look like jerks.

(I am sure there are other non-jerky teenage boys out there. They  are not all stupid hat wearing, bad swearing dicks. I hope.)

(Oh, and Max, I'm so glad you grew into your head. That thing had it's own gravitational pull!)

x mum

Happy Zombie Day!!!

The Zombie masses of Brisneyland took to the streets yesterday for the annual Zombie Walk to raise money for the Brain Foundation of Australia

I was the Zombie sympathising chauffeur for an awesome gang of teenage zombies

As someone who is having an MRI tomorrow and has a family history of brain hemorrhage and aneurisms, I was so happy and amazed to see the 10,000 or so Zombies lurching through the streets to raise money and awareness.

But, let's get real, for these guys it was about costumes, covering themselves in blood, checking out hot nurse zombies and screaming at the crowd. They stayed in character for the whole walk and they rocked it. Their commitment to the Zombie experience was almost fanatical!!

I was transported back to myself as a teenager, and how passionate I was about performing, dressing up and standing out from the majority. My Awesome Teenager has always marched to the beat of his own drummer, and it was just so fantastic to see him marching alongside his people yesterday.

It was a crazy day, and I was so proud of Max and his mates. What a polite, well spoken, respectful bunch o' zombie-guys!


X Gillian 

In front of the red door

 For the next 3 weeks, it will just be me and the little boys. My Lovely Husband has returned to the mother country. I will miss him very much and will try my hardest not to drop my basket while looking after the little monkeys!! My Awesome Teenager is also away, but I have called in the cavalry and will have some help from my beautiful family.

So, on Saturday we took some pictures, so I could remember what everybody looked like.

They look beautiful.

I miss him already.


Three weeks is the longest Gav has been away since the babies were born, so I am a little nervous. I know it ill be OK, but I can't guarantee I won't drop my basket a little...


How long have you flown solo with your kids?
*major props to single mummies with little ones... especially twins- you are super rockstars.


x Gillian

The Awesome Performer

Last Wednesday night, Mum had I went to the Awesome Teenagers Drama Performance night. The theme was Physical Theatre. The kids had attended workshops with Zen Zen Zo theatre company, and then had to come up with a piece on a given theme. Max's theme was 'Facing the Hidden'


 Now, I was a total Drama kid at school (when I wasn't being called 'Freak' my nickname was often 'Theatrehead'... like that's an insult!). So, on the way there, I said to mum, "I think we are up for lots of Black vs White/ Good vs Evil kinda action tonight!"
And boy was I right! But, I didn't factor in that it's the year 2011, so there was also zombies. Lots of zombies.

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I was totally blown away by these kids. They took the challenging genre of Physical Theatre and embraced it. On the whole, they were fearless and committed. I loved that they were so into it!! I loved the kid making Frankenstein monsters with his little hip hop moves. I loved the  Black versus White/ Good versus Evil beauty myth group. I love the fluro painted group. Fluro Zombies. Yeah man.


And,
HOLY SHIT!


 I loved my Awesome Teenager and his group! I nearly bounced off the ceiling with pride and joy and awe. Their concept was so spot on- it was tight, professional and really well devised. Their message was clear and they all performed beautifully.

Max (Evil) and his mate Hayden (Good) after the show.
Max is still in character...
(thanks Hayden's Mum for the pic... my camera died)

AND YES, I AM TOTALLY BIASED!!!!!!


My pride swelled and exploded when my Awesome Teenager was the one to come onstage at the end of the night to thank everyone for coming. He then called their teacher up onstage to thank her and he gave her a big hug! So proud.


I thought later, what happened to the little boy I have encouraged and protected for fifteen years, that I have worried about,  loved fiercely, sometimes felt enormous guilt over, wished to the universe for?


He is that tall skinny man I saw onstage tonight- so impressive, so confident and sure of himself. I felt an almost physical weight being lifted from my shoulders. He is almost grown. 


And he is Totally Fricken' Awesome.


X Gillian

Simon Pegg and blended families

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I am so in love with this poster right now.

We are a family who loves us some Edgar Wright-Simon Pegg-Nick Frost goodness. From watching the full series of 'Spaced' with my Englandy-sister Angela, to it pretty much being in our family contract for someone to say "A great big bushy beard!!" at least once a day.

The Awesome Teenager as Shaun for Supernova 2011. He's got red on him.

I believe that in-jokes were a huge part of how we all bonded as a blended family. The Lovely Husband and The Awesome Teenager had their little traditions from very early on- playing punch bug in the car, making fun of the way I said 'Avocado'... And then finding movies we loved, like the ones these guys make,  that we could claim as our own. It gave us a link and a constant- something that we all shared that no-one else really got.

Acting stoopid  is our bag, baby

We could crack each other up with our terrible impersonations of the Commando from The Biggest Loser talking to Ray Winstone.... Yes,  a lot of the time they don't make much sense... But it's the security of knowing that if I say, "Where do you think you're going?" in a bad Aussie Accent, one of my guys will answer in a shocking Cockney accent, "I'm here to kill your monster!!"

And that is awesome.

x Gillian for Tessie Designs

Teapot Love and Red Bionicles

As previously mentioned, I love me some Teapots. So, on my birthday recently, I got some new beauties!

Thanks Mum Dad, Jo and Tom! How amazing is this guy? I've never seen anything like it. It has a matching cup and saucer and it's so beautiful I'm a little bit afraid of it.... Love Love Love.

My Sally gave me the cutest set of tiny little teapots. this one is Orange... but I thought we looked cute in black and white!  Lovety Love Love

Jasper and Eli chose this one (with a little help from Daddy). Super Cute! Reminds me of the two of them. An my other great love- the remote control.
Love Love Love Love!!

The Awesome Teenager (when he was an awesome pre-teen)  once told everyone in our family over and over that all he wanted for Christmas was a red Bionicle.

 "You don't anything else sweetie?"
"Red Bionicle."

"Not, like, a bike or anything"
RED. BIONICLE.

"How 'bout some new clothes..."
"Listen Lady, Do I stutter?? RED BIONICLE!!!"

On Christmas morning, he was surrounded by about 6 red Bionicles. He was so not happy. He was all sulky and weird because he just couldn't understand why all he got for Christmas was RED BIONICLES!

SO, on my birthday evening, my Sister asked me if Teapots were my red Bionicle....

"Shit no! You can never have too many Red Bionicles!!"

What's your collectible obsession? And how many is too many?


x Gillian for Tessie Designs

A big one and 2 little ones

This photo makes my heart hurt... in a good way :-]
It is the future and the past.
It shows me that I have done a good job.
I have been a good mother to the big one. I have created a man I am proud of.
It shows me how lucky I am.
That the universe (who I am often cranky at for messin' with me) has been so kind to me, in giving me a second chance... to be a mother, a wife.
It makes my heart explode with love and excitement for the possibilities of the two little ones.
This photo makes me smile.

x Gillian for Tessie Designs

The World According to J & E

The following were all taken by either Jasper or Eli. A little snapshot into their little lives.

x Gillian