119/365 LOVE.

“To the people who love you, you are beautiful already. This is not because they’re blind to your shortcomings but because they so clearly see your soul. Your shortcomings then dim by comparison. The people who care about you are willing to let you be imperfect and beautiful, too”  - Victoria Moran.

118/365 Moody Skies. Pastel Threads.

Moody skies. Pastel threads. Day drifting into night.
The view from my front deck.

Introducing Buster B!

A few days ago I told you about my new collaborative project with da' boys: creating facebook pages (which I will run in association with my Rainbow Mama page) for their own creative / fun / exploration / work / play.

Hug's page is called BUSTER B CREATIVITY STUDIO :)

You can follow, share and like it here.

He enjoys sketching characters; pouring over the Pixar catalogue he bought in Paris and old Disney books. Phantom comics and retro star wars. He also loves Lego and will most likely want to feature some of his wacky vehicles and inventions. Please show him your support! xo

p.s. L's page is Kingsley Tiger and you can link to it here.

117/365 My Muppets

Today is the last day of the holidays. 

It's back to school tomorrow. Eeeek! I think the boys are more than ready and I know that they are excited to reconnect with the friends they started making in the two weeks before the break. I'll breathe through the first few days and then find my flow. I know! But I'm still getting used to our new life.

Breathe Mama.

We went and saw the new Muppet movie this morning, then dragged them along to our accountant - who has seen them exactly one a year since they were each born which is a funny thing to reflect on! - and now we are having some 'wifi time' in town. Lol. The things that make kids happy these days. Oh yeah, and mamas ;)

116/365 Fluro Nights

I haven't shot much at night in a long time. But the darkening sky was so beautiful against the harsh contrast of the fluro lights when we stopped for fuel that I had to capture it. And it makes me lust for the cinematic beauty and colour of night. 

115/365 Introducing Kingsley Tiger

Well my #photoaday2014 for today isn't exactly a photo - it's an illustration! 

I am launching a facebook page for each of my boys - a fun place for them to display their artwork, sketches, lego creations and more. They are pages linked to my own Adventures of a Rainbow Mama account and uploaded by me - with the children supplying the art and inspiration. It's part of my plan for continuing with some of the work and creativity that we focused on while we were homeschooling. A segue from homeschooling to life-learning / world-school / all of the other names I can think of for that subtle division of life between life and school ;) I hope that we will find they integrate well. 

Our Lovely (8) has been creating uber-cute-but-wacky characters since he could first draw. His page is the first to go live and he would love your support! 

So please take a look at The Adventures of Kingsley Tiger and - share and 'like' it! ♥ Merci! x

p.s. Lovely has has the name Lovely since I started this blog when he was a wee babe in arms! I've wanted to change the both of the boys 'blog names' for a while now... and I think now is the perfect time :) Hug's fb page is called Buster B - I'll blog about it in the next few days so stay tuned! - and that will be his new Rainbow Mama name too. Yay! New adventures await... XO

Early Morning Raindrops

I grew up an early bird. I always loved mornings. But about four or five years ago I started sleeping in... or, to be more precise, going to sleep later AND waking later.

Maybe it was motherhood catching up on me. 

An attempt to fill a chasm of sleep-deficit. Maybe. And definitely driven by a need to carve out time for myself after everyone else had fallen asleep.

It's been a strange thing. T has been pretty kind about it and in fact has taken the role of our house early-bird. But, I miss the things you miss when you sleep in. 

I miss the light. 

The raindrops. 

The air. 

The silence. 

The peace.

And so I'm trying to go to bed earlier. In an attempt to be present. 

And these are the gifts that it gave me today :)

nb: Part of my inspiration is the Breakfast Club Diaries group. An invitation to capture first light. Have you joined us yet? x

114/365 The Breakfast Club Diaries

I have joined a facebook group called The Breakfast Club Diaries.

The Breakfast Club Diaries is an invitation to you. The plan: Take a photo of a moment during an early morning walk and share it with the world.

The goal is simple. To document, share, explore and discover the uniqueness and diversity of the human experience within the global community, as seen through the lens of personal perception using digital imagery.

Born out of one's desire to capture a moment and the desire of another to experience it, this collaborative arts project has been created by visual artists Susan Gourley and Zoe Trap from Byron Bay, Australia.

Just remember: EARLY MORNING WALK is the key here. How you interpret this phrase is entirely up to you. We look forward to meeting you and viewing the world through your eyes.

I won't be posting a photo everyday - my own #photoaday2014 challenge is time consuming enough - but I think it's a wonderful idea. Especially if it gets me up and out into the world nice and early more regularly!

Who would like to join us? x

113/365 Breaking Dawn

6:45am.
Alexandra Headland. Queensland.

112/365 Skate the Sky

Spontaneous shoot at the skate-park across the road from our hotel for #photoaday2014 tonight.

This kid is so in the zone. Very cool.

111/365 Night Vision

We are staying on the Sunshine Coast to attend the Voices on the Coast youth literature festival.

And even though we have only been home - and back living the country life - for a month, it's already exciting to stay in an urban environment again for a few nights.

Bright lights. Big city.

Well, not exactly ;) more like bright lights, quiet coastal strip! But still a contrast... and fun.

110/365 Joy!

Cousins frolicking in the Tea Tree Lake.
Family holidays are the best (and I love with this shot!).

109/365 The Surprise Picnic Guest

Why HELLO two metre long Goanna :)
Rocky Creek Dam. 

108/365 Morning Light

8am. Good Friday. Interior.

Wishing you a Happy Easter ❤

Wishing everyone a wonderful Easter full of chocolate and happy memories made.
Lots of love from our family to yours. xxx

p.s. I'm putting together a mega-post of Easters-past! Lots of cute egg and bunnies to come. Stay tuned.

A Collection of Fun Easter Activities

I put together a little collection of Easter-inspired activities from the archives :)

What craftiness are you up to this Easter?
Amber. x

Sweet Easter transfers



Stuffing real eggs with Easter treats

Dying a Rainbow of Easter Eggs

While you have the dyes out... | A little science experiment

Making Easter gifts with kids (chocolate alert!)

That one time I made REAL chocolate Easter Eggs! 

* Please consider kitchen hygiene, make sure you keep them in the fridge and eat them within 24 hours if you make these.

Pretty DIY Patterned Eggs

Easter is on it's way! Easy Easter bunny craft.

And finally - some photos from Easter 2013. Now I'm wondering which box I need to unpack to find these beautiful Easter mugs!!

107/365 Snot Smoothies aka. Mucous Milkshakes

I pretty sure I've mentioned on here previously that my husband likes to request I make him batches of slime "for work purposes". Lol.

This time it was a request for Snot Smoothies (aka Mucous Milkshake). And well, I couldn't exactly refuse!! No children were harmed in the consumption of this vile delight*.

* as far as I know ;)

You can make your own Snot Smoothies too!

+ Freeze two ripe bananas
+ Add frozen banana and milk to your blender (or use a blender-stick)
+ Add green food colouring (we were disgusting and used regular ol' food dyes - but I do imagine you could use juice some Kale or other equally GREEN veggie and colour it that way :)
+ Blend until thick and creamy. Yum.

Voila! Snot-on-tap. Enjoy ;)

106/365 Wait - This Isn't Summer!!

So the rain was definitely short-lived and by Wednesday we were back to this gloriousness. 

Hello! Wow, as much as I love exploring the world I have to admit that living somewhere that celebrates Autumn like this makes me feel very spoilt indeed.

Thanks to Hug and beautiful India for enjoying it so authentically for my camera ;)

105/365 Energy To Burn!

Are you ready for the splashdown?!

We were the only ones at the local pool yesterday. A whole pool all for ourselves! It could have had something to do with a morning of rain - which diverted us to the library - but suddenly the rain clouds departed and the sun came out and there we were... Boys need to be physical (I know that girls do too but I am constantly amazed by how much energy boys have to burn) and even one day of house-y puzzle fun must be countered with a good play. No matter how chilly the water may be!

I stayed out, trying to read my book - or at least keep it dry - and admiring the surroundings. There is something so retro and cool about public pools don't you think? That turquoise blue always makes me smile :)

Scarlet and Lulu | Byron Bay