gratitude | Little Lou Lou Handmade

Two pink lines

December 17, 2012 By Lou Lou Leave a Comment

Hello baby!

How I have waited & longed for you and yet I’m so surprised to see you! I’m sorry if I act a little strange, know that I love you with every inch of my heart already and I pray in every second that you stay with me. I haven’t told your Daddy yet! This is the biggest secret I have ever kept from him! But it’s his birthday tomorrow and I can’t imagine giving him a more perfect gift so until then I guess it’s just the two of us. Our little secret!

I need you to know that whatever happens next I love you right now more than you could ever imagine.

Your Mummy

Filed Under: gratitude, Life, Love

733 days.

February 25, 2012 By Lou Lou Leave a Comment

It’s been 733 days.

I’ve thought about what should have been almost every one of them.

It gets easier and harder.

Tears for you continue to take me by surprise.

A dull ache, a longing.

I stare at babies and bumps and I wonder about you.

I kept thinking that I wanted to try again, when all I really wanted was you.

Not a baby, I wanted my baby.

The one that existed for such an excruciatingly short time within my womb, but kept safe in my heart forever.

It’s so hard to reconcile that life can be created, and lost, and the world doesn’t skip a beat.

So I just wanted you to know that you mattered.

You were loved & wanted.

And for what it’s worth I will be your mummy, for always.

Not in my arms, but in my heart.

“Gonna burn your name right across the sky
So I never forget what the feeling’s like

I want every single soul to know
That I love you for what you are

So I sound the bells that praise your precious heart”

Filed Under: gratitude, Life, Loss, Love, Things that suck

Sisters.

January 16, 2012 By Lou Lou Leave a Comment

“Finally you got your long-awaited privacy, your own grown-up life, and you wound up calling her all the time just to see what she is doing.

You wouldn’t have guessed it years ago while you were yelling at her through the bathroom door, but there’s so much comfort, such relief in having someone in your life who has always known you, who gets your jokes & accepts your eccentricities. Who else has humoured you throughout your rebellious phase, your intellectual phase, and that one weird health food phase?

No matter who you’ve become, your sister knows where you began, how it all started. She may be the only person who has the ability to recount every good, great, or stupid thing you’ve ever done. She understands the girl inside the grown up woman you are today, and that is no small thing.”

It started a little like this..

admittedly it wasn’t exactly love at first sight!

Back then I thought you were a pain in my rear.. but looking at this picture now I realise just how precious you were & I wish that I had been a little nicer to you. Like that time I dragged you through the bindies.. If I could go back in time I would take better care of you, I would let you know that you are a great dancer with an awesome voice & pretty fabulous style.

Time changes everything…

It has been so beautiful watching you grow.

(I remember when you bought that dress, I was a pain in the ass that day, I’m sorry about that too.)

You met a boy… who changed everything.

(and so began the serious of photos in various stages of undress that I will continue to tease you about, are you sure your husband actually owns clothes because he never seems to be wearing any :P )

I’m not sure that ever I told you this, but you were so beautiful that day.

And every day.

“Your sister will do anything for you, as proven by the bridesmaid dress she wore at your wedding.”

and I forgive you for that too.

lemon meringue anyone? :P

I met a boy too..

And I think you approved because..

When you first saw me on my wedding day you looked at me like this..

and told me I looked like a princess!

(Thank you for always making me feel pretty)

You looked really pretty that day too, and I couldn’t have done it without you there.

I remember exactly the story I was telling you here, who else would have been as suitably outraged as you? Thank you for ‘getting it’ and always having my back.

One of my favourite parts of the whole day was just lying here with you, two girls on a bed (and a charming young man who I also adore) , having a chat. I pray you always find time to lay on my bed for a chat.

But not just girls anymore, also mothers. Have I told you lately that you are a beautiful mother? I hope you know that, I don’t think you get enough credit. Fierce as a lion protecting your gorgeous cubs, even if it takes a good zapping! ;) You make me want to try harder, do better. I would love my child to think I am half as good a mother as I see that you are.

I love your girls as if they were my own, or perhaps in a way they are because they are a part of you and you a part of me. Know that I will be here for you & them for always.

I don’t want you to go. Not while I still need you around. Though I know I can’t ask you to stay..

But can you? Just another day, or maybe even forever?

Who else do I know that would stop in my driveway for a Kentucky fried chicken picnic and a phone call? Yes, I totally took that photo, you should know me by now ;)

” And there is the miracle of sisterhood. Without knowing it, in fact sometimes without even liking it, the two of you formed a powerful, unbreakable bond created from thousands of tiny, seemingly forgettable moments.

Today you can see it- that your ideas about loyalty, fairness & cooperation have been formed by each other. You’ve been one another’s teacher, mirror and friend. And deep down you understand what only sisters can know: That you belong to each other in a way that can never belong to anyone else.That a love that grows through stages and phases is even stronger for having been tested. That sticking together works for almost anything life can throw at you. That you’ll keep moving forward, shoulder to shoulder, through every phase of life. And that makes all the difference”

I love you Jomo more than you will ever now. But for now I’ll miss your smile

Filed Under: family, gratitude, Life, Love, PDA

Sunny Saturday-What fills your cup?

July 30, 2011 By Lou Lou 3 Comments

I’m a super huge fan of Sunny Mummy . I remember reading an old blog post of Stacey’s one morning and having this one phrase stuck in a loop in my head all day long “what fills your cup Lisa? What fills your cup?”. No, I’m not talking about my morning Jarrah pseudo latte, it’s white chocka mocha by the way! I’m talking about what fills my soul cup, what replenishes me? What nourishes and nurtures me as a woman, wife and mother.

After a fabulous but exhausting weekend away recently, I mentally bookmarked this weekend for a scheduled soul-cup refill. Where better to start than one of my favourite places to be, the delightful little town of Maleny. I think somewhere along the way I left a little piece of my heart there because it always feels like home to me.

First stop-food! There are a bunch of lovely little cafes that beckon as you walk the Maleny high street, most of which we haven’t tried as we tend to buy our yummies and take them with us! However today we were hungry with plenty of time up our sleeves so we decided to try one. They all looked and smelled great but most were really busy. This probably means the ones we skipped were fabulous local haunts but in all honesty I like a little bit of quiet and the illusion of privacy when I go out to eat. Plus, children are loose cannons when dining out, you never know what stunt they will pull to publicly humiliate their parents (like the time my little ~~feral~~ angel took her nappy off, left it under the table at a restaurant and mummy had to go back and discreetly PUT IT IN HER HANDBAG!)

So we were delighted to find that “Monica’s” nestled away near the end of the street was alive, but not chaotic. What really swayed me was the sight of french toast on the specials board and a glimpse of comfy couches and loft dining! Wherever available, I will head straight to a couch in a cafe. We ordered a Giant cookie and freshly squeezed orange juice (her), chicken pesto panini (him) and sweet potato and lentil pattie on toasted panini with curried tahini dressing (me). I love, love good vegetarian food, it’s literal soul food for me, nomnomnom. Of course mummy and daddy ordered the obligatory lattes too!

Scrummy menu

Mummy's scrummies

Illicit substance for the parental figures

The food was delicious! Mine looked like a rainbow and tasted like one too. I tasted hubbie’s and it was also fabulous, he sat back at one point and declared it ‘the best sandwich ever!’ which I thought was kind of cute. Little miss gave her cookie and juice the thumbs up too. I was so obsessed with my sandwich that I came back later and bought the dressing! Lmao. Ok, ok , I do love my food : P

obsessed much?

In order to keep Miss 6 on board we decided to alternate between things she wanted to do and ‘boring grown up stuff’ so next stop was off to the lovely timber park.

Miss 6 and her ruffles

Excuse the attitude face, don’t know what that was about. Possibly because I had the audacity to make her stand still for 5 and a half seconds in order to take a picture of her when there was serious playing to be done. And yes, she owns other clothes, we just can’t get that bloody skirt off her! She calls it ‘ruffle’ and gets way too excited when she sees it come out of the wash. Those shoes are another point of contention but I try to ignore them. I suspect they will soon fall apart and the battle will be over. Or perhaps that is naive parental optimism talking.

The next stop was actually the toilet but thankfully none of us posed for a photo..

Then we found a charming little quilting shop tucked away off the main street. Actually, I found it last time we were there but at the time could not convince the husband that stopping was a good idea. This time my feminine wiles worked and I dragged him into Quiltopia for a quick browse. While I do the majority of my fabric shopping online you really can’t beat the simple pleasure of getting to see, touch compare and even smell the lovely fabrics in a bricks and mortar fabric shop. The owner Ann is lovely and clearly knows and loves her fabric. She looked so happy there in her lovely little shop! I fell in love with a Moda print and dragged the husband back later so that I could adopt it, I’m not sure what Ann thought when she saw us back again!

Divine print

As promised, next stop was chosen by Miss six and predictably we ended up at the sweet shop. ‘Sweets on Maple’ is about 245 kinds of awesome and truth be told I love going in there just as much as my chocolate munching counterparts. I am completely fascinated by the American sweets section, or is that shamelessly lured by the promise of Reece’s Peanut butter cups? Seriously, how splendid is the combination of PB and chocolate?

See what I mean? I am powerless to this aisle.

We always try something a little fancy..

The champagne truffle was delightful but we both ran to the park bubbler after trying a ‘chilli bite’. It looked divine with a sprinkle of gold leaf dust but it really did have some bite! Goodness knows what we were expecting? Much restraint was exercised when I left this baby behind, next time giant freckle, next time!

Super Yums

After approximately 35 laps around the store I finally decided upon these to add to my private chocolate stash..

better than sex?

That Reece is my new boyfriend I swear!

Next stop was my favourite bookshop, I super dooper love this place. Where else are you allowed, no actually ENCOURAGED to do this?

Yes, I do it too. Every time. Don’t worry there are enough comfy couches for everyone, and cushions! In fact I suggest the folks at ‘Rosetta Books’ keep an eye on me because I could totally move in there! After miss 6 asked me to read her a ‘Bratz’ novel the other day which resulted in me almost throwing it across the room in disgust, I decided that some classic Enid Blyton was in order and I am really looking forward to reading them….to her. ahem.

Bratz antidote

A lovely day was had by all and to top it all off we made it down the winding Montville range without being hit by a wave of projectile vomit from miss six in the back. Won’t somebody give me a high five? (Yes, that really did happen last time)

I came home, had a warm shower and snuggled into my pj’s for a bit of a blog and a bit more of a certain chocolate bar..

My cup, heart and tummy are well and truly full today and I am filled with gratitude for simple pleasures.

Filed Under: family, gratitude, Life, Yummy

Sleepy Saturday..

June 18, 2011 By Lou Lou 1 Comment

Desiderata

By Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,

even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons , they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals,

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life,

keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

I LOVE Saturdays! From the moment I open my eyes at *cough* 8am, life seems to move a little slower. I think there is this universal rule about complaining, bitching or gossiping on a weekend too, most people don’t seem to be as cross, people are less pushy & shovey, people are smiling : )

Though of course there is always one or two that didn’t get the memo.. sucks to be them!

Saturdays are for…

Baking! Oh how I love to bake!

Tutus. Though every day is a perfect occasion for a tutu when you are 6, or 29…

Magazines, a wicked indulgence for a mama!

Checking our fruit! We are in a recurring race to the ripe fruit with the wildlife around here, wildlife 5 : us 0.

Swinging-weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Daddy does it better apparently-hmpf. I do try and have a go occasionally but the tree starts making funny creaky noises that tell me it is in pain. Hmpf.

Gratitude. Being grateful for that which is beautiful, just the way it is. No edit needed.

Pink painted nails. Big ones and little ones. I did a slap happy mess of it , but it’s pink so she thinks we are princesses!

Gymnastics. Is this bad parenting exhibit A? My heart is in my throat when she does this but she is having so much fun! So far we have escaped any trips to the emergency room but I am sure our time is coming..

Choosing fabric for play rather than work. Library bag and tunic for miss 6, skirt for mummy!

and sewing for a friend, because crafty love makes the world go round. Or something like that!

Enjoy your Saturday beautiful people, and be HAPPY! : )

Filed Under: eats, family, gratitude, Life, Love, Yummy