14th Birthday Party Fun

I'm still having trouble believing that my baby turned fourteen last Monday, it doesn't seem that long ago when we welcomed our youngest into our family.

Being born in January means that he has not had the chance to have many birthday parties that include his friends. Most of the time they are away on holiday or we are, so most years we have celebrated his birthday as a family only.
He has never missed out on the 'party' atmosphere, but lets face it, having your friends around to celebrate with you is the ultimate 'awesomeness' when you are a kid.
This year however the stars aligned and everyone was home. Finally a birthday party was on the agenda that included his closest and dearest friends.

Yippee !

A sleep over, swimming and movie night was what Mr 14 requested, and so on Saturday, Mr 14 waited excitedly and impatiently for his tribe of friends to arrive.
Excited, noisy and full of laughter. It was party time.

They began to arrive at two thirty, Mr 14's excitement was contagious. It was wonderful to see him so happy.
The first stop was swimming. They played games and swam for ages, ending up with pink noses despite sun cream being applied (thank goodness for aloe vera)

Swimming makes you hungry and so food was served......and for the short time that they were feeding their faces was the quietest that they were all night ! Finally for a short while, my ears had a rest : )
After a few board games and some rowdy playstaion fun it was time for cake, for what is a birthday without one ?
So while everyone was within cooee of each other I rounded up the crew and led them in a rowdy rendition of Happy Birthday....

Mr 14 was slightly embarrassed to say the least, and it was caught quite well on camera as the photo above shows. His friends were enjoying themselves immensely and on the quiet side, so was Mum : )

They are a great group of kids, polite and full of fun, the kind of kids you want your child to make as they take on their first year of High School. It certainly makes you more relaxed as a Mum knowing that your child has chosen well and joined a great 'group' of kids to 'hang' with.

Not much sleep was had on Saturday night, but when you are a kid pulling an 'all nighter 'is half the fun !
I'm so glad that my boy finally had a birthday shared with both family and friends, memories were made and fun was had....
Now lets hope that he doesn't have to wait to long till the next one.

Happy birthday possum xx

MONDAY MUNCHIES

CURRIED RICE SALAD

Looking for a tasty side to spice up your evening meals ? This spicy rice salad looks as good as it tastes, and was one of three recipes that won me a fridge in a competition run by the ever popular Super Food Ideas magazine (read about that here)

This Curried rice salad is a family favorite, and is my choice of dish to bring to gatherings when you are asked to bring a plate.

I hope that if you give it a whirl, you will enjoy it to !

Ingredients :

2 cups of cooked long grain rice, chilled
1 apple peeled, cored, chopped
1 red onion finely chopped
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup flat-leafed parsley, chopped


Dressing :

1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup white vinegar
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 garlic clove crushed


Method :

Combine chilled rice, apple, red onion, raisins and flat-leafed parsley well.

Put all dressing ingredients together into a blender or manual shaker and mix well.
Pour dressing mixture into the rice mix and gently stir to combine.

Salad will keep fresh in a tightly sealed container for 3 days.....

Enjoy
beck xx

Sharing this recipe with Jess and all of Crafty's readers on today's IBOT : )

Happy Birthday My Possum

On Friday the 13th 2000, we welcomed our fourth son into the world, Benjamin James.

 He was small, healthy and compared to his brothers very quiet. 

Ben was welcomed into our family with much love and excitement,

 which thankfully he took all in his stride.........

Ben, your laughter is infectious making those all around you happy. 

Each day you bring such joy to my life,

You are my world, you are a delight,

My heart bursts with joy to introduce you as my son, my youngest, my pride and joy.

Your brothers dote on you,

They are your fierce protectors, but also the first to call you a pest !

Brotherly love......

It melts my heart and it drives me crazy

You are a determined child.
Strong willed, independent and feisty !
You know what you want, and you fight to get it.
Some days there is no use arguing with you over trivial things.
You will go far in life, of this I am sure.

I have been so very lucky as a Mum,
From the first moment that I have held all my sons,
We have shared a close bond that continues today.

Ben you were, and still are a wonderful addition to our family
The moment you were born our family was complete.
We treasure you, adore you, love you unconditionally. You are a huge part of our world.
Without you I can not even begin to imagine what life would be like.

So Ben as you celebrate your birthday today,
Remember how much you are loved.
Enjoy every minute that life offers you and never take anything for granted.
You have given me so much in life to be thankful for.
Each day that I look into those big brown eyes I thank God that he gave you to me.
You will forever be my possum and your Dad's shadow
No matter how big you grow......

Happy birthday Benny
Love always Mum
xxx

Because We Can (party like the young ones)

Our family are BIG music lovers. Not a day passes without music playing in our home. Between the six of us, our taste in music varies. We listen to everything from Pop, Rap, Country and Rock. As I said, we love music.

Many of us even play an instrument.

As much as we love living where we do (Mackay QLD) not many 'big' acts bring their stage shows here. And as you can imagine, as parents of teens we are not willing to let them travel and stay so far away from home on their own without adult supervision (call me a prude but I am concerned with my sons safety)

So as the boys grew, discussions were had, and we agreed that for each of their 15th birthdays, we Mum and Dad would accompany each of our boys to Brisbane to see the Concert of their choosing.

We have been SO lucky.......

Mum and Dad have not had to attend a Concert that we have not enjoyed. 

In fact I think that we may have even partied harder then our children (because we can)

This year was teen number three's turn. He is our party animal and we knew that he would not settle to see just anyone.

His choice.......BON JOVI  

'winning'

When we take our said teen to Brisbane to see the concert of their choosing, it is a weekend for just us three. Mum, Dad and teen. After all it is their birthday present, and since we have four gorgeous boys, they at least deserve some time just focused on them.

We had an amazing time, and seeing Bon Jovi was amazing. It was kind of fitting that our boy chose them to see, as hubby was the same age as him when he first saw them live.

Our boy was beyond excited, happiness was all around and it made my heart ache with joy to see just how much it meant to him to spend this one on one time with us and to see his favorite band.

READY TO ROCK

Dad was teens age when he first saw Bon Jovi live *memories

The 'oldies' ready to 'rock on'

Ahhh the man

We had really good seats

We had a fantastic time with our boy making life long memories. It wont be too long before it is our babies teen number fours turn to see if he can keep up with his 'partying' parents at the concert of his choice.

Happily linking up with the lovely Jess for another 'Rocking' IBOT :) 

Time To Create

Hi I'm Beck, and I am addicted to craft.....

If you have ever taken a quick look at Craftypjmum, you have most likely seen a crafty post or two amongst my other ramblings. There are not many because for a while there I had lost my crafty mojo.

Well it's back and I am raring to go !!

For the past few years (yes years, and I am SO over it) we have been renovating our home. It is nearly done thank heavens and I am itching to begin the 'fun' part.....

Decorating !!

I am on a mission to complete one room at a time, no matter how long it takes me. After waiting so long, I just want to take the time and make sure that everything turns out just the way I have been dreaming of.

Paint charts and craft magazines have taken over my home, and I am spending a lot of time searching and pinning madly on Pinterest (the family have stopped asking what I am doing on the computer)
My love of craft and beautiful things are being very well taken care of, and I have a list as long as my arm of things that I am eager to try my hand at.

Cushion love, you can never have enough cushions. I fell in love with these crafty cushions and cant wait to give them a whirl......

Tassel's can be used in many ways. I am going to use them to tie back my curtains. I may even add a few beads to mine.

Nick knacks......I am addicted to them and love to have pretty things scattered throughout my home. I have so many that Hubby just rolls his eyes.
These gorgeous fabric and twine balls took my eye and they are high on my list of must haves. I can see a trip to Spotlight and Lincraft near my near future.

Hopefully I will be madly at work very soon making a crafty mess, documenting it all so that I can share my projects with you all here on Craftypjmum.

Now if only I could win the lotto :)

beck xx

New Years Day

What better way to kick of the new year then a day at the beach. Family fun in the sun, you just can't beat it, especially when you live in such a beautiful area as we do.
I'm not going to 'rave' on in this post (lucky you) instead I am just going to share our family day through our photos.

Sharing our New Years Day photos on the first FYBF of 2014 with the lovely Grace
Happy New Year everyone.

beck xx

Every Heart Has A Story

How much of yourself do you really share with your loved ones ?

Over the past few months, happenings in my life have led me to do a lot of soul searching, which has made me realise just how much I bottle up inside. I, like many others, hold things close to my heart, keeping my feelings and inner most thoughts to myself. 

I've been afraid I guess to let my feelings show, I don't know why and I guess now that I see it in black and white, it seems a little silly.

What I do know, is that every ones heart has a story to share and so that is how I am aiming to spend 2014.

Sharing.....

I am starting off this brand new year with the aim of being honest with myself, with my family and friends and of course you, my online family ! 

My word/motto for this year sharing, will popping up often on Crafty (please don't abandon me out of boredom)  I will be sharing things with you that inspire me, be it my family or parts of my everyday life. I hope that you to will open up and share things with me also. Whether it be by comments on my posts, on twitter, facebook or by email.

Let us take the time to share big things and little things. No matter how insignificant they may seem it doesn't matter, for every heart has a story that should be heard.

                                                                                  beck xx

New Beginnings/Fresh Starts

Let me begin by wishing all of Crafty's readers a very Happy and prosperous New Year.

Can you seriously believe that it is 2014 already ? I must say that I for one am welcoming the New Year with open arms. Weeks ago I began to jot down all the things that happened to make 2013 what it was, I was determined to write a post recapping last year, but the more I thought about it, the more I just wanted to leave the past in the past and start from scratch. I do love new beginnings, fresh starts, the wonder of what lies before us.

                                       
 So here we are, January 1st 2014.......

Today I made it a priority to start the year off by spending quality time with my family. The ones that were not working their little butts off at double time and a half of course !


Sun, sand and surf, that was on our agenda, so off we went, and hit the beach.
There is no better way to clear out the cobwebs and ready yourself for the new journey that lays before you.



Of course Shadow being a huge part of our family also came along for a 'surf', he had the time of his life splashing in the waves and   running wild and free with the boys.

We walked along the beach taking in the view, chatting and wondering why we don't spend more time at the beach. It's time we slow down and enjoy life instead of watching it pass us by. We watched puppy and the boys dig in the sand and play in the ocean having the time of their lives.


And hold onto your hats everyone, but I even went for a run !
No kidding...


This year my aim is to continue blogging about my family antics, the ups and downs of raising my boys, sharing recipes and also to add more craft ideas. Hopefully that doesn't scare you away !



My goal (and I really hope this happens) is to post something each and everyday, whether it be a full blog post, a word, a quote or poem. Or even just a photo that means something to me or someone I love.
This year for me is all about sharing. Sharing love, sharing hope, sharing advice or even just a smile.

I have been lucky enough to have some amazing people stop by and read Crafty. The comments I have received have made me smile, laugh out loud and even cry.
I have truly been overwhelmed with the support you have given me with my little insignificant blog and I hope that this year I too will be able to do the same for you.

So please continue to walk with me, laugh at me or with me. Yell at me or whisper advice. I am open to it all.
Lets walk through 2014 together, supporting each other and most of all sharing what is in our hearts, for we all need someone to lean on, and who better then friends we love and trust....

A new beginning, a fresh start. Forget what is gone, appreciate what still remains, and look forward to the unknown journey that awaits you........

                                                                                                                   beck xx