Three Ring Circus

Wow. I am truly blessed to be part of this community.

It is so giving and encouraging.

For a socially inept person, like me, someone who is clumsy and not confident in a crowd, getting positive comments and feedback really boosts the morale and does alot for the self esteem.

This week I have been gifted with four awards.

 

The first two are from the amazing Michelle at In The Life Of A Child. Michelle is having a terrible time of it at the moment with illness and trips to the emergency room, so I thank her from the bottom of my heart for thinking of me.

I have to give the friendship award to Trish at My Little Drummer Boys and Tracey at Why Bother because they have always been there for me but I also want to give it to my XBox man. His blog is a great read. It is a threadbare look at a male’s journey into trying to conceive. It is often funny, sometimes heartbreaking but always honest.

I am giving it to Veronica at Sleepless nights even though she has already been awarded this,she’ll just have a double up! I’m going to give it to Kim at Frog Ponds Rock too.

Both Veronica and Kim always find the time to comment on my posts.

The Christmas Spirit award easily goes to Kelley at Magneto Bold Too and to MamaLee at Full Plate.

Note: This award is a little different… It’s actually a flash movie, so click here to get the code so you can post the award on your blog and pass it on.

Thankyou ladies for keeping the season merry and bright!

Speaking of Kelley at Magneto Bold Too.  she has been very busy.

It is a new award that she and her daughter created, called the <3 . You can read all about it here.

If you haven’t been over to Kelley’s blog yet - GO! What are you waiting for? I’m sure she is the only blogger you will ever meet who dresses up like a Ninja for her readers!

I am awarding this to Kate from Picklebums, Karen from Pediascribe, Michelle from In the life of a child, and Jennifer from Playgroups are no place for children  I love all of these blogs for different reasons.

Just tonight I received this award from Veronica at Sleepless Nights.

Veronica is amazing! A wonderful blogger and a brilliant Mummy to her revolution leader baby Amy.

I would like to give this award to Mrs Chicken from Chicken and Cheese. Her posts are a wealth of emotions, another who blogs with her heart on her sleeve and also to Laura at Adventures in Juggling. I love reading about the rich tapestry of her life.

Thank you to all of you. It’s so nice to feel loved!

The gorgeous Childlife from In The Eyes Of A Child has bestowed upon me this award!

It is an award that was started by Chrissy at Chrissy’s This and That to honour wonderful women and was inspired by a post that her husband wrote about her.

I am truly honoured. Thank you.

If you haven’t had a read of Childlife’s blog, you should pop on over. She is a wonderful writer and her posts can make you laugh out loud, leave you in tears or have you thinking about things for days. One of my favourites! Also an amazing wonder woman!

There are lots of wonderful women out there, whose blogs I have come across. All of them wonder women in their own right. How do you choose?

The very first one who comes to mind is my friend Trish over at My Little Drummer Boys. She has overcome so much and she really is so amazing and generous and kind, in real life and online.

The next wonder woman is Mountainmama over at Careful What You Wish For. Again, another inspirational lady who takes life as it comes and appreciates all she has been given. She is a gifted writer as well.

Finally, Megan at Imagine If. I don’t know Megan very well at all but I love her blog and what her writing represents. I’m not sure what her life has seen but I do know that her want to make Child Protection one of our most important issues stirs alot of emotions in me.

Where are you going,  my little one, little one?

Where are you going, my baby, my dear.

Turn around and you’re two,

turn around and you’re four.

Turn around and you’re a young girl walking out of my door…

(Lullaby)

 

When Imogen and Madeline were little, way back in the Summer of ‘97, there was hardly a dress to be found. Unless you were in one of the higher income earning brackets and could afford boutique label frocks (don’t you just love that word, frock? It kind of just rolls off the tongue). I was not one of those people, so it was Best and Less and Target when we really wanted to dress up.

I’ll just pause here to say it still is mostly those shops that we frequent. Not because of income brackets but because they are affordable and nice and wear well.

Anyway, the best you could get were these sort of wash and wear sack like things. They were…functional but not pretty, girly dresses.

The majority of clothes available for little girls included shorts and t - shirts. Bike shorts were all the rage. (Sorry for anyone out there who still owns bike shorts and likes them). I think there were some denim overall type dresses but the girls claimed them too hot for our Summer and  would peel them off at the first turn of my back.

It was the same deal two years later when Lily was a toddler.

When I was a little girl, it was the 70’s. A time of gender equality. I did own some dresses but I was mostly in brown cords and skivvys in Winter and shorts and tops for the hotter months. I remember having a beautiful lime green number, which I wore with white knee high socks (are you getting a visual here? I looked luscious!). I thought I looked nice. I felt pretty but my peers didn’t think so. They thought I looked like a booger… in cork high heels and told me so, often.

So, when Ivy started to get past that growsuit stage and I cautiously looked out into the brave new world of clothing  for baby girls, imagine my glee (ok, I have been reminiscing my 70’s childhood, people, so I think I can use some of the  language of that era, just for tonight) when I found dresses, lots and lots of pretty, flowery, twirly, pastel shaded, gorgeous dresses! Since then, Ivy has been mostly clothed in them. With the exception of the middle of Winter days, frocks are her norm.

I love them! I have so many for her, I think her wardrobe is about to explode but I just can’t seem to get enough. David has tried to curb my buying them but it is no use. If I see a dress in the shop I like I have to have it. I don’t know what it is. Or maybe I do. Maybe I just explained my need for all things frock in the above paragraphs.

Ooooh, self analysis.

Scary stuff.

At first, I found Gymboree, through the internet. Their little dresses had me drooling onto my keyboard. Then the Spring and Summer range started to come out here. I discovered Cotton on Kids and a few other internet stores and went crazy.

Today, after waiting six weeks for a parcel, I was sure was not going to arrive, it landed on my doorstep containing the most gorgeous skirts and dresses I have ever clapped eyes on (I’m a freak, I know).

Today my mind is already ticking over with the different combinations that I might dress Ivy in tomorrow. Ahhh frock therapy… thank heaven for little girls, especially little girls who are toddlers in 2007. (Photos to follow. Ivy is not a willing muse most days).

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My friend Trish has given me this:

 

 

Nice matters. Oh yes, it does. In these times when everyone is rushing and some can’t stop to help others or offer a kind word, to me, nice is important.

Thank you Trish. She said that I was one of the nicest people she had met over the internet and I could say the same for her. So, right back at you, friend!

I’m going to share this with some people.

Triplets plus one mum, Michele S: for sticking up for another multiples mum. (See post above).

Meg from Dipping into the Australian blogpond because when you comment on her blog she always comments back. it’s like a conversation between friends. Something I need to work on, my commenting skills.

Finally to JohBlogs from Because I can…well, because I can really and because she wrote a very nice comment about my post on communities, that boosted me up, made my day and made me feel as though I had made a contribution out there in blogworld.

Thank you all for your niceness. Please pass it on.

Trish from My Little Drummer Boys passed along this sweet treat created by Hootin Anni.

 

The idea is to pass it on to people who have popped in to look at your blog or left a comment for the first time, spread the blogging awards around to new friends but I’m going to give it to a couple of others too.

So, I’m going to give some sugar to:

Veronica from Sleepless Nights. She always leaves encouraging, sweet comments.

Domestic Goddess from The Bisdak Experience. A first time visitor. I went and had a look at her blog today. A new find for me!

Another new find and a new visitor to the circus is Dallas Meow.  I’ve enjoyed scrolling through her blog this afternoon too.

Magnetoboldtoo is a great Aussie blog and new read. She is having a terrible time of it at the moment - she got hit by a car and her mum didn’t care! I think she needs a treat too.

One more to a  friend but a new blogger; Tracey at Why Bother.  Hope you get some more readers!

There you go.  Spread it round, won’t you?