...5 years ago...

...not long ago i *fell upon* a gorgeous blog...

...lou, boo and shoes...

...the *way* louise writes is infectious...

...& her photos gorgeous...

... i love to have a cup of tea in the mornings when the house is still quiet...

...just catching up on her thoughts...

...she has invited me to share mine in a little *pass forward* meme...

...in 5 years time...

*where were you 5 years ago*

wow...when i stop to think about where i was 5 years ago i am in a place of smiles & exhaustion.

our last little bambino was a month old & i was up at & down all night

eventually waking with the noise of the neighbouring kookaburras...

& then organising our other two little ones for pre-school & 'big' school.

we had just sold our first, very treasured, & too small *family* home...

& we were renting a great old apartment overlooking a beautiful park & sydney harbour

whilst we looked for the next *family home*.

i, rather madly, recall as a time of total inner calm, although we were making soo many big decisions.

i think i was just soo happy that our family just felt *soo complete*

*where would you like to be in 5 years from now?*

what a whopping big ol' question...

as i am now soo aware that life can take you anywhere.

if i had sat in those early hours, nursing gorgeous audrey, in that wonderful apartment

thinking about this very question...

i doubt i'd have thought the english countryside is where i'd now find myself...

i'd *like* to be back in *manly, australia*...

as it's soo important to me that my kids *know* they are australian

i want them to take for granted the things i did as a child...

the harbour bridge

sand between your toys

the sound of kookaburras

the hills hoist

lamingtons

bbq's

wet cossies on the balcony

salt in your hair

frangipannis

...& i know i can feel settled doing this after years of travelling with them as a family...

*what is on your to do list today?*

anzac bisuits

sewing orders

reading to kiddos

folding washing

ballet class

tea drinking

half-term holiday {other} kiddo minding

sorting my work desk!!!!

{& i'd like to pay *any* of the kiddos to sort out the sock basket...but i feel its verging on child labour finding sock pairs as i think its the most banal job of family life....}

*what 5 snacks do you enjoy*

aahhh...

{in no particular order}

olives

home-made bread {warm}

over-ripe tomatoes & maldon sea salt

 banana muffins

&

O.L.I.V.E.S

*what would you do if you were a billionaire?*

ahhh that question...

well to start with..i can't seriously *imagine* being a billionaire

even for a second.

it's not that i wouldn't exactly *want* to be...

it's just that i'd rather not have the...well the...pressure...

alot comes with having truckloads of dosh...

you always *have* to throw a great party

you always *have* to *shout* all your friends

you always *have* to be super generous beyond a fault...

if i *were* a billionaire...

i know i'd give a huge *whack* of it away

to charity....to kids projects...& to our families...

my immediate response would be to *mother* everyone else...

to *fix* their lives...

which of course it wouldn't but i like to think it would make a difference...

& i'm not a total saint...

so with the rest i'd finish that *family home*

move it to a waterfront beach block in manly..

& contiue to show our kids the world...

i don't think we could give them a greater gift than travel...

...Now to pass this forward to some wonderful blogging friends...

...of course i can't choose some of you...

...& not all of you...

...as i'd love to hear everyones story...

...so if you'd like to *share* your 5 years with us...

...please run with this & leave a link in my comments below...

...so we can all read a little about each other...

{& perhaps meet some new friends in the process}

...or just let me know if your kids want a really low-paid job as a sock-sorter...

{actually if i was a billionaire i'd just *chuck out* odd socks and have new socks home-delivered!}