would you blog the same way, if you started blogging today

Greetings all, 

Would you blog the same way - if you started blogging sooner than when you launched your blog - TODAY - or later with all the knowledge & expectations you have acquired since wanting to create a blog.  I ask this as so much has changed since i hit 'publish' on my first blog post 6 years ago.  

I was living in Darwin, my 4th baby had commenced preschool, my business was humming along, i just launched a wholesale range of products & blogging was newish.  I posted 30 times over those first 3 years, little stories about my small business & family.  The blog was a neat tool for niche exposure, resulting in 50 stores around the world stocking my products, being featured in almost every glossy magazine published in Australia (Frankie issue 6 was my first) & loads of media interviews.  With four young children & a soldier husband, fledgling business, interstate moves & wars, i was too busy to blog frequently.

Things i did plan for where - protecting my children's identity - not using their real names, birth dates, schools or where they might be . . . nicknames, vague party timings, no logos  & past tense events.  I figured, my blog & business were my ventures, they didn't ask to be exposed or identified on line . . . & if my husband had his way, their faces wouldn't be photographed either.  I never joined in nasty debates, petitions, forums, band wagons or got fired up about anything published on line, just like in real life, people have their opinions, it's one sided, only here i had the power to delete the weirdos more easily.  I didn't wish to be dragged into other people's negativity, when in reality, they were total strangers!!  We were more cautious back then!!  

  I realised social media was an essential business tool 3 years ago, when i was established in the market scene in Canberra & meeting loads of other people who were blogging.  I changed my business direction from wholesale to direct sales.  It was less stressful & more profitable + very enjoyable, dealing directly with my customers.  Blogging regularly over the past 3 years has seen my tiny statistics grow to over 25K+ hits a month & i've added Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest to the mix over the past 12-18 months (with 3500 extra followers to my platforms) & just 2 months ago, i discovered Instagram.  I still don't really understand Twitter; Facebook is handy for friends who don't blog; i upload Pinterest in bulk & run as it's a time zapper; Instagram is my new love: point & shoot, easy & speedy, quirky & friendly.  All those hits & followers, i am very glad my popularity came slow & steady at a pace i could handle.  

If i blogged 10 years ago . . . my life would be very different, of course with a preschooler, one year old twins, a husband away at war, living in a 3 bedroom town house in Sydney & sewing my days away.  I had to beg American fabric companies to ship Amy Butler, Michael Miller & Alexander Henry fabrics to Australia.  My life was very quiet & i had to count my groceries as i shopped to ensure i had enough money to pay for them.  I babysat the little boys of two friends (full time) to make ends meet.  It was busy, however, i was truly in my element as motherhood came naturally to me.  Would you want to hear about breast feeding, mashing up food & seeing my toddlers in giant cloth nappies though??  

Then there would have been 9 months of me vomiting all day every day, unglowingly pregnant, helplessly dragging myself through each day caring for 5 children, sewing the few orders i could manage.  Imagine my posts??  Dreary!!  I never joined a mother's group as i couldn't stand the comparisons with same aged children, i doubt i would have read stay-at-home mummy blogs for the same reason.  In my spare time, i didn't want to read/ talk/ catch up with people living the same life as me, i wanted to dream of travel, fashion & design. 

 If i waited to start my blogging life now . . . i would be overwhelmed by the options - blogging is so popular + there are trolls, spammers & stalkers, eek.  Would i even start if i knew people who have never met me, think they know who i am & judge me, even dislike & argue with me, just from what i have written on a two dimensional blog??  The on-line-social-media-world seems more angry & nasty now, i do post social commentaries with my strong opinions on topics & they are well received, however, i find the light fluffy posts (on love, fashion, colours, animals, fabric) just as satisfying.  I can't worry about offending someone who has misinterpreted something i've written - i know i have a good heart - i'm not a trained or professional writer & this is not a mind-blowing-cerebral-blog.  I avoid sarcasm - it rarely works & i'm not out to enrage people or spark uprisings.  I try to keep it positive & interesting, current & colourful. 

 There is also money to be made with advertising & promotions, which direction would i desire??  Is my aim to share, build a community, catch up with old friends, network with fellow designers, or seek fame??  I'm closing down my business, hardly anyone i knew before i started blogging (school, uni, jobs) has a blog . . . i only have my lifestyle to post about with sporadic giveaways.  If i was starting off a blog now, with children aged almost 9 to 13+ . . . i'm a different kind of stay at home mother/ house wife . . . STILL at home??!!  The demographic is hard to pick, you can over think it, who might be reading - either go private or remain guarded.  You can always stop & delete if you don't like it, or block weirdoes.

Would i start a blog in the future . . . if i hadn't already started, yes, absolutely.  The blogging community i'm in is friendly & largely unhostile.  I really admire the bloggers who don't seek out any attention other than creating a diary of their world, they are the most delightful.  If anyone goes along for the ride, lovely.  I don't like drama or seek out the more emotional blogs,  I've had plenty of garbage slung my way, i don't bite, i just continue to plod along happily in my little world, dreaming of a farm & future with my husband, as our children slowly head off to university & their own lives, we'll still be young & have plenty of living to do too!!  You should build yourself up so that it is very difficult for others, particularly strangers on line, to ever mess with your happiness. 

I adore blogging, my readers are my 'colleagues', reading posts are our daily chats at the water cooler & enrich my day.  I'm glad i started where & when i did.  I believe slow growth = small hiccups.  I hope the balance of my life - my love for my husband, our fun children, the chickens, eggs, farm dreams, fashion, decor, baking, cooking & all the other colourful facets of my days - are enjoyable to read, including my social commentaries, i'm over due to post one, some many topics buzzing in my head . . . to those who are starting a blog now, good luck, if you're honest & true about what you like, say & feel, blogging will come easily.  All i know is that i am comfortable with what i've posted so far & my photos now are wayyyy better than they were when i started 6 years ago, even 6 months ago!!  Love Posie

PS had so much fun tripping down memory lane to dig up these photos of my children, all posted on my blog 4-6 years ago!!

& the school holidays continue . . .

Greetings all,

I'm all about free fun for children during school holidays.  I guess it stems back to when we first had children we didn't have cash to throw around, so we made the most of free activities or hanging at home.  Personally i use school holidays to clean out the children's rooms & they need them to relax from going hard at school all term.  Staying home is not a chore, it's a pleasure.

So here is a typical free fun day at our place . . . 

starting with a dose of home juiced goodness.  I did wash these celery sticks again!!

 Nothing wrong with window shopping & not spending, my children are largely unspoilt with stuff, this Santa falls under the category of unnecessary stuff, no dropped lips or tantrums, she completely understands the word 'no'.

 This is our 3rd school holidays now with chickens, they are the pet that doesn't get old.  Chickens have so much personality.  Pets are the ultimate school holiday activity, to feed, play & nurture.  Dare i suggest our chickens have a fabulous diet.

 I have always found that my children naturally pair up, or enjoy a good dose of solitude in their own rooms during the break.  I have strived to make their rooms inviting & cosy, so they want to be in them.  Actually my twins have talked about moving back in together. 

School holidays are the perfect time to exploit child labour - gardening, cleaning, tidying, baking & cooking.  My guys make a mean chicken schnitzel.  As a housewife, these jobs are normally mine during the day, so i trade with them . . . i unpacked the dishwasher!!

 Then there are the not-a-school-night treats like sleeping out in the lounge or siblings bedrooms.  This is still a huge hit with my son, he's 8 & will bring half his bedroom with him too.  He got a bit cold one night so slept with ear muffs on.  I cannot get enough of this little fella.

So we've stayed home these holidays, one trip to the cinema - with $6.50 tickets - it was hard to resist while i was recovering from a migraine, in the dark with quiet children.  This is how we roll almost every school holidays.  We're not massive must-go-away people, it's too expensive for a family of 6 on a single income, we remain realistic & homey.  Love Posie

social commentary Sunday . . . 'are you feeling older & losing your cool with every year??'

Greetings all,
Well, what to do a social commentary on??  Annoying ads on television - if you haven't prepaid your own funeral = you're a selfish bastard . . . & The Young Talent Team children are already irritating me.  Driving home from midday Pilates today, P!NK came on the radio, yay, give me some of your kiss-arse-lady-rock to sing my lungs out.  Sorry, what, a power ballard??  Nooo, just because you're a mummy, don't lose your cool Mrs Hart. 
It got me thinking, as my 37th birthday looms, am i actually getting old in the head too, thinking like a fuddy duddy??  I don't even find Hamish & Andy funny anymore, they're immature!!  My clothes are current & i like Top 40 Music (or is it 30, or 20, or iTunes).  I'd consider myself one of the groovier mums at school but being a housewife hardly keeps me up to date with cool words, expressions, technology, hand gestures, busting out the latest moves or cooking with trendy spices - i'm yet to find harissa at the supermarket!!

My children are hip, so atleast i'm not bringing down the next generation.  My husband dresses like a catalogue model (helps with his handsome good looks & physique, but i buy his clothes, oh, i'm a stylist!!) but he's cool, he has a cool stance, a cool job with cool gadgets & cool sayings, he's in the cool gang & is the cool boss.  When we were new at our latest primary school, my twin girls threw an all-class birthday party.  One boy's Mum told me he was so excited to get the invitation from 'the popular girls' & it made me think, are some people just born cool or is cool only reserved for the young??  I used to be cool, i think, frowny face.
Please know i'm not clutching at my youth, i loved being a teen in high school & partied at Uni, i accept it's over - i have zero desire to be my children's 'friend'.  I can't remember the last time i went to a nightclub or danced in public outside of a Zumba class.  I don't drink & my husband is always away, i don't have long term girlfriends to relive-a-well-spent-youth with in Canberra, i'd rather go to craft camp than a club to hang wit ma homies, not a deafening, dark & expensive bar!!  Word.  LOL.      
But i'm really excited, an opportunity to get my cool back on . . . my husband & i have been invited to a wedding in June, yes, that means a) he's home in June, b) first wedding we've been to together in years, c) i get a new frock & d) i get to dance into the night!!  We've been married 15 years, I have to find my social cool again, that includes weight loss & a makeover.  Looking at myself in the mirror at Pilates, i thought, hmmm, i really let myself go, but why beat myself up about it, i'm at the gym, doing something about it. 
Am i alone in this thinking??  With every birthday, do you feel you're getting a bit less current, the cool factor is dipping??  I am happy to be age appropriate, i just have to lose this frump & dowdiness, update my list of interesting topics to discuss.  Can you imagine me opening the table conversation at the wedding reception with a bunch of 20 year olds "hi, i'm a blogger, my blog's about craft, children, i have 4 children, baking & gardening, OMG, this is the first time i've been out at night, in a 5 years".  Wrong demographic??  Now that would be uncool, i know that much.  Giggles, love Posie

OMG my sisters are playing with me

Greetings all,

Oh school holidays - they reveal children at their raw sibling elements.  I'm thrilled to discover the girls are playing with their little brother & making him the star in games they create.  It aint easy being the only one of your gender in a family (just ask my husband, he'll tell the hell of having big sisters who excluded him from everything, spitfully) so we're determined to not have our son exeprience the same - in turn he's not allowed to 'be a victim' OR an annoying little brother.  Harmony, ahhh.   

Look at this face, who wouldn't want to include this sweet boy in their games?? 

 So i found my boy reading this note with sister 3.  These two possibly clash the most, they rival for 'baby of the family', even though she's a twin & he's the actual baby.  I'm the baby of the family, so is my husband, it's a great position.  If i ever went back to do Honours in Pyschology i'd study birth order!! 

 Oh this boy needs a hair cut.

The note is a treasure hunt clue, created by sister 2 & it reads:
"Please lend me a helping hand,
To find the key you must search the land,
First hunt high,
Then close under the seas,
If you want to find the key,
Enter the silver cage,
There i will be."
I thought it was a brilliant piece of writing.  She said when they had a relief teacher they had to do poetry & she wrote pages of pirate treasure rhyming clues.  So me hearties, he did find her & they played poker all afternoon, gambling (??) um, it's good for their maths.  Love Posie

hello Decorating Forum, how do you do??

Greetings all,
This week the lovely Julie-Ann is featuring my little creative blog over at her Decorating Forum.  It's a great site, take a peek, you'll find lots of familiar designers & bloggers chatting over there.

 . . . Posie.
Welcome new readers, how do you do??
I've been sewing full time in my design business for over a decade, inspired by my grandmothers, Edna & Alice + my mummy, Barbie.  I'm passing on my skills to my enthusiastic children - who share my passion for handmade.  I love old fashioned values & home baking; i decorate with vintage fabrics & restored furniture.  I blog about these craft adventures, along with my beloved handsome soldier & our 4 smart, sporty & social children + our country lifestyle plans as we settle in Canberra. 
With my husband away at war, a house filled with children & a cottage industry, i could have been born 100 years ago!! 

 How about some fake-it-until-you-make-it outdoor decorating?? 
I dream of next year when we purchase a farm & build a spacious homestead, with perfect green lawns spotted with a dozen Adirondack chairs . . . in the mean time, we live in Army housing in the suburbs with an unmanicured tiny patch of grass. 

 Gather up 8 crates from a dark alley, lay down a thick beach towel, plonk 2 large floor cushions on top & da dah, instant day bed, cost: $0!!  Just add a good book & glorious sunshine.  I cannot tell you how comfortable & pleasant this is, freshly washed puppy entertainment included. 

 Not exactly the Hamptons, but close your eyes & soak up that holiday atmosphere . . .

 my middle girls were born for comfort & relaxation, with the addition of an umbrella, it's like another version of a cubby house to them.

 I have half a dozen of these glorious Donna Hay huge floor cushions, they make a great bed for children's sleepovers too.  The towels are old Country Road ones, when they made them really thick & luxurious, always with tassels please.

 We wrapped up the school holidays in Canberra, with a massive dose of Spring sunshine, ready to tackle the final term of school for the year.

 Now the children are have resumed primary & high school today, it's back to . . .

for the next 10 weeks!!  Love Posie
PS Embroidery photographed from the Dottie Angel book, dainty, doily, stitchy & clever.

i'm grateful for . . . 'weekends with my children'

Greetings all,
A super dedication this weekend to our fabulous children who made me a mummy & my husband a daddy.  Handsome soldier might have missed a dozen wedding anniversaries, but he rarely skips a Father's Day, funny that!!  It's not easy being raised 'military', having a papa who they love (more than me, they tell me, i am judged, daily) living interstate & moving all the time, yet they flourish in every new town we plonk them down in. 

Our gorgeous first born daughter, she struggles in the role of daughter & not being the mother/ leader/ in charge.  Yet for the past fortnight she has been flat, lethargic & ticking every ailment box there is . . . suspected Glandular Fever.  I'm so grateful her blood tests came back negative, must have been one hell of a virus & she actually allowed herself to be the daughter, with me to mother her!!  I loved it!!

 I'll admit, i was worried, she never gets ill & after winning a bunch of academic prizes in her first semester of high school, she had clearly made her mark.  Glandular Fever is that awful, unknown recovery/ relapse nightmare many teens suffer, it's not welcome here.  So tomorrow we'll go for a run, slowly, to build up to the athletics carnival next week. 

 Our middle daughter, she takes herself very seriously in the eyes of others, however, happily plays the goof ball when it suits her, like wearing crocheted headbands, you just have to laugh, on her terms.  She's in the Tournament of the Minds team for Literature & something, i should pay more attention as the taxi driver & costume maker.

 I watched the performances yesterday, she is playing Cameron Diaz & nailed the comedic actress genre.  I love providing a happy, nurturing home for my children, with homecooked meals & handmade goodness, i will watch & cheer them on at sport, any sport, i love it . . . but listening to children play musical instruments or perform in plays, i will admit, it's my downfall category in mother-of-the-year awards. 

 Oh our third girl is plain quirky, ethereal & bohemian.  We met up with her birthday boy cousin at the Canberra Wood Show (carpark) this morning to hand over gifts & balloons, after the Farmer's Market.  This is what she wore to the market & carpark, complete with gum boots.  I can see she'll be the one we'll be waiting on as a teen, what to wear, it's a farmer's market, i know, a Greek dancing ensemble from Country Road.

 She's also doing Tournament of the Minds, Maths & Engineering.  These events are hazardous - about 11p.m. the night before the dress rehearsal, she surprised me with a piece of brown fabric demanding i create a cape for a boy who i don't know (age, size, height) in the dark, & on whinging about this at school, ALL the mums had the same nightmare.

 Our darling only son, i'm trying to curb his role as 'only boy = victim' in the family to one of empowerment, this is challenging as he plays 'annoying little brother' so well, he's just so cheeky, yet irritating to a tween girl, or three.  His room is his haven, he is allowed a little television time at night after homework & reading . . . 

 & the Wii on weekends.  He's so athletic & academic, also prone to take himself too seriously, so this is a great 'mellow time out' for him.  Chatting to my yoga instructor about raising boys last night, she reminded me how they loathe nagging or being hassled, so i often let him be, let him find what he wants to do - read, run, climb, jump, Wii (all activities which can be done on the lounge) & give him space.  I'll save my nagging for his future wife!!  

So here's to our 4 fabulous little buddies, they are so good to me with beautiful, respectful behaviour most of the time, but i know they miss handsome soldier so much, i sometimes hear sobs from their rooms at night, it's heart breaking, i cry very easily & join them.  At least they don't bottle up their emotions, i hope they never internalise & let things manifest.  My psych degree comes in mighty handy, talk it through, only don't give me any "mother issues".  So much of mothering tweens & teens is just to be there, fully available, when they need you.  Daddy is on his way home to Canberra right now, they don't know it, they know he'll be here for dinner on father's day, but i'm just bursting that he's arriving in a few hours.  Got them again!! 

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful men who kept getting us pregnant & more 'Gratefuls' are over at The Beetle Shack today while Maxabella Loves has a little blogcation, basket weaving, learning Spanish & painting her toenails.  We miss you Maxi!!  Love Posie

Voulez parti comme enfants Français?? Want to party like French Children??

Greetings all,

Just as i was wondering what to post about next . . . email inspiration falls into my InBox from Dorothee in France, asking about wholesale for her store My Little Day.  Did you know i used to wholesale my Edna&AliceMay Vintage Sensibility label in over 50 stores around the world??  Why yes i did!!  But since my children nudged high school, i stopped that part of my business - it was fun & my bitsy French came in handy!! 

The My Little Day website is all about delightful additions for the sweetest of children's parties.

Yo-yo-tastic!! 

 Dorothee's styling & taste is exquisite.

 Wouldn't you rather your children leave a party with a cute scribe like this Spectacular Circus Parade rather than a bag filled with nasty plastic lollies??

 Never complain again about boys being left out, super hero underpants anyone??

 Now this is a puzzle worth framing, what an adorable keepsake.

 Dorothee has a beautiful range of costumes, from cowboys to princesses, Sherlock Holmes to Little Red Riding Hood.

 Image what you'll discover on disposable cameras at a child's party??
EDIT: this IS a water pistol, thanks Monet Paisley, OMG, i'd get squirted with this 'prank' i'm so easily tricked.  Still . . . wouldn't disposable cameras be fun for children, imagine what they chose to take shots of & their angle of the world!!

 Just a taste of the fantastic party favours available.

 Or make your own up with cowboys & indians.

 Better yet, Dorothee also has a blog, it's GORGEOUS . . .

 & delicious!!

Oh do go & visit!!  I have to pinch myself that someone on the other side of the world in France, with incredible taste & styling at her finger tips, contacted little me, a housewife & mother of 4 in Australia.  I don't regret quitting wholesale or returning to sewing as a hobby, it was a fun chapter in my life but my purpose is to be available to my children, that is much more rewarding.  I did refer Dorothee to another supplier, this post was just for fun & to share the love.  Enjoy, love Posie

things i'm loving . . . 'breakfast in bed'

Greetings all,

Things i'm loving with Paisley Jade this week was a no brainer - yesterday was a pupil free day & kapow, my gorgeous twinnies brought be breakfast in bed.  Surprise!!  Sliced up fruit salad, icey water + a fried egg on a pancake, presented on a Nigella platter no less.  This is what i woke up to, breakfast in bed & no school run, bliss!!

Yes, my independent almost 10 year olds can make pancakes, fry eggs, pop ice out of trays & slice up fruit - we've taught them how to use knives/ stove properly & how to be careful, they're not silly & check out what happens when you let your children shine - impromptu cooked breakfast in bed!! 

No, the high schooler was not supervising, as if she'd be awake unnecessarily.  In short, child labour is welcome in our home . . .

. . . we do provide them with quality stylish aprons to cook with!!

 

So an A+ to my super star girls who so lovingly treated me like a Queen yesterday morning.
Sorry about shodding images, i think the camera is a bit dodgy, it was dropped in the school holidays, no worries, it's only our 4th little Nikon Coolpix to meet with an accident.  I can hear my husband screaming all the way from Brisbane "4 bloody cameras Jennie", his sister dropped it, ha, not me for once!!  Love Posie