The week before school begins = crazy times

So its that time of year again, when parents start to both rejoice and dread all at once. Those mixed emotions of happiness that kids will be out from under foot and back at school using up their endless energy elsewhere lol and the dread of early morning starts, school lunches and homework.

This year my 4th child starts Prep *sigh* where does the time go :( . Hudson is eagerly counting down the days until he can go to school, he is more than ready. Me on the other hand still can't believe I will have 4 children at school.

Hudson

Macallum will start kindy this year. He has never been in care away from us and I worry every day about how he will cope. I know he will adapt but still it tugs at my heart. It will be a big testing ground for us with him - he has a speech delay and is quite hard to understand even for me but I spend my time living in ignorant bliss about the level of problem, just happy he is talking at all. He was well past 2 before he spoke more than a few words.

Macallum (Moo)

Will talk about some of the other squidlets next post - promise <3

Last but not least need to mention another sewing achievement -  faced my fear of bias binding head on and WON. I won't say the fear is conquered but I am on the way.
This set is for an upcoming February Showcase with the theme "A walk in the Park"

Anyway I'll leave it there for tonight, and start putting terrorists to bed

Cheers
xx

Well it's been a while........................

It's been a while - some might say that's a bit of an understatement - its been well over a year since I have come here to chat. I'd love to know what happened but I went from a person with several blogs and lots of things to say to someone with NOTHING to say at all. Hence no blogging. It has only been the last couple of weeks that have had me thinking " hmmmmmm I think it might be time to start blogging again".

Still not 100% convinced that I have anything to say yet but I do feel like talking again if you know what I mean :)

The only major thing to have changed in my blog absence is our return to the Gold Coast from our idyllic rural retreat. We spent almost 3 yrs living on 20acres with cows, pigs, horses and chickens, and loved every minute of it ( okay lets be honest not EVERY minute - but a lot of it ). But for one reason or another we chose to come back to our home - not sure we made the right decision but I do really enjoy my job, not something that I could say before :)

Anyhoo back to business - 2012 was not a great one for CouCou - not only did I lose the blog love, I lost the love for CouCou. I have come to the realisation that I do not have the time to put into her and as such will never have the profile or followers of other business's BUT I have also come to realise that that is okay. I am happy to just sew as often as I like, make whatever takes my fancy and have fun with it :).

In 2013 I have given myself the goal of  1 charity auction and 1 showcase per month. If that is all I do I am happy with that. If I get orders or make anything else then thats good too. So far I think I am on track with 2 charity auctions booked in - Jan and Feb, and 3 showcases so far - which has Jan, Feb and March covered. I have also been challenging myself with new skills with great success so far :)
I have tackled shirring and can honestly say I have fallen in love - don't be suprised if everything I make this year is shirred. (And for those that do follow along on FB will definitely know this is true lol).

Challenge number 2 has been the dreaded zipper. Starting with some simple coin purses I am slowly but surely conquering my fear - I even have a dress for me in the works with a zip :)

Anyway i think that where I'll call it quits for tonight. But I do promise to come back later this week with links to the upcoming charity auctions and showcases. :)

Nadine
xx

10 things you didn't know about me!!!!!!

Okey dokey I was tagged my the lovely Nicole from Birthography to share a little about myself. To those that know me - I am a pretty private person ( and in fact I could probably write a book of strange random things nobody knows) but hey what the hell - its all fun right :)

1. I am turning 40 this year and trust me I don't share this one lightly LOL. I am starting to feel old :(

2. I haven't seen my father in 20 years, and still after all these years and despite him being an real a-hole I feel a real void for not having a father/grandfather in mine and my childrens lives despite the fact he doesn't even know or care that they exist.

3. I suck at sports and video games of EVERY kind

4. I don't make friends easily......I try and I try but I am awkward along with any number of other things that seems to put people off and it just doesn't work well in real life - BUT I have made some lovely people on line that I really do consider friends even if I have never and probably will never meet.

5. My kids drive me insane EVERY day, but I love em and wouldn't change them for the world for all their feral, crazy, loud, quirky ways - they are mine, I made them and I love them.

6. I was a chef in my previous life, and I was good, but somewhere along the way I lost the love of food and now my husband cooks every night. Now I am a clinical coder ( google it ) LOL

7. My 2 favourite non people related thing is the colour green and trees, Just love love love all things to do with trees and anything and everything that is green :)

8. I swear ( a lot ) - feels like something that I need to change

9. I have a really ugly mongrel dog called Murphy, she is the kind that is so ugly she is cute. She is very unique - her father was a ridgeback and she has a heart shaped ridge on her back, her mother was the skinniest kelpie you have ever seen and she is the same and has the ability to wiggle her back end around so much when she gets excited she is U shaped ( yes she can get her bum up around near her head )

10. I consider myself a loyal Queenslander but I was actually born in Whyalla, South Australia and raised mostly in Adelaide.

So there you have it - 10 things you probably didn't know about me. I am going to drop the lovely Emma from tiny violet,  the talented Alysha from  Inkidink and hmmmm who else ....... how about Rhoda from Draigerai in it. Have fun girls <3

And we have a winner

Thankyou one and all who entered my first little giveaway. I am hoping to do these regularly so spread the word.

Anyway for those who haven't seen it on Facebook yet - drumroll please ............ the winner is Niki (mama koala). Congratulations I have sent an email so all I need now is your postal address and I will send it off for you :)

 names in a bowl

drawn by Tanner the old fashioned way

xx

GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes I am shouting - its GIVEAWAY  time - happy dance, happy dance

I have been thinking I might aim for a little giveaway every month but don't hold me to it, I have a habit of making these little pledges and then forgetting half way through. I am quite happy for anyone to give me a little poke if I need one though :)

Okay down to the serious business - This is what is up for grabs - Size 3 Christmas T-shirt. Brand new and just for you <3 . If you would like to be in the running to win this shirt - simply comment on this blog post with our name and some way for me to contact you. . Easy right? Want another entry - simply hit the follow button and follow along - Its not the most interesting blog on the block but I promise I will try to be a better blogger lol.

Anyway comment away, let your friends know - even if its not the right size for your little one - maybe you have a friend who might like it. And remember totally free - I'll even cover the post.

Cheers
xx

The Truth

I have debated with myself whether I should post this or not but oh well here goes....

The time has come to be honest, and open

- I am not superwoman
- My house is a disaster
- I do not have it all together
- I am angry too often
- I yell far far too much
- I do not feel enough

I have post natal depression..............................................

It has taken me a while to acknowledge this to myself, and now I am saying it outloud. I am hoping by saying it out loud, owning it that I can begin to take control of my life and start to become the person that I was - maybe even better than I was.

Why you ask have I decided to share this very personal piece of myself.........honestly I don't know, it feels right. I want to know I am not alone. I want to hear it will be okay. I need to do this for my family, I need to be better - a better mother, a better wife, a better me.

I know in my heart I have just taken the first step, and thats all I can do - one foot in front of the other, one step at a time

xx

My Other Life

I thought today as a nurse a sick baby ( and can't do much of anything else except type one handed) that I might write a little about "my other life" - my life away from CouCou/sewing and Facebook.

My goal/dream is to live a simple life - where we make what we can, mend rather than replace, grow our own food and basically tread as lightly as possible on the earth.

We left the hustle, bustle of the Gold Coast with this idea very much in our minds - moved into a rented house on 17acres with very grand plans. Well we got off to a flying start planting out vege gardens, buying some pigs and chickens, making our own bread, jams etc. Today things are a little different - I still want all those things - even more than I did before - but I have learned a few things - okay a lot of things about myself and we will be starting again from scratch very soon I hope.

Firstly I learnt - I hate renting, now I know it works for lots of people but going from our own home to renting has proven difficult for me. It doesn't feel like mine and I can't fully relax here. Don't get me wrong I love this ramshackle little run down place - but I am never fully comfortable. I worry what the kids are going to break, draw on, or ruin next. I don't want to spend money on planting trees and veges knowing I could be asked to leave at any time.

Second lesson - we don't like pigs much, sure the piglets are cute, but they eat a lot, are smelly, and not very cooperative. We no longer have pigs, we sold some piglets but most of them and their parents were given away. Happily the mums and dads went to a not for profit organisation that teaches school kids about farm animals etc and they will breed from them again.

Lesson 3 - I like to jump in at the deep end when I should be taking baby steps. I try to do it ALL now and end up burning myself out.

So where are we now - we are looking to sell our Gold Coast property and buying somewhere to turn into OUR home again. We don't want much - I don't need all the bells and whistles - just needs to fit us all in and have a bit of land :). I have also learned that we can't afford the kind of land that i would like so my dream of a milking cow is out the window, but instead will focus on trying to find someone to supply me with raw milk.
I still make most of our food from scratch but have noticed more convenience foods creeping in to our diet, which is okay but would like to reduce that again. I am very proudly still shampoo free and will soon start making my own soap and laudry detergent.

I just can't wait to stop working and have more time in my day to little by little start back on the road to my dreams. The biggest lesson for me so far has been - one day at a time and that those changes that I make slowly and gradually are the ones that stick. No more jumping in the deep end - I will make changes one at a time and when that becomes habit, I will make another change.

xx