Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night...

Goofy has just opened up door number 3 on the advent calender! How did it get to be 3 days till Christmas!?!

With a long list of things to get done before Christmas/camping I thought it was wisest if I sign off blogging till 2011. I plan to come back next year with a new dedication. So far I have enjoyed entering blogland but have found finding the time to fully get my hands dirty hard so next year 'let's get muddy' as Dirtgirl would say!

Besides a peek into the garden of blogland there are been many other new adventures this year. JJ bounced into our lives bringing great joy, U2 opened his new business, MiniMe started (and ended) Prep and Goofy found her voice (and it is quite loud and usually cheeky!).

In a lot of ways I feel like I was just getting through 2010 so I am looking forward to venturing out more in 2011.

Thank you for checking in to Dancing in the Rain this year and I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Made it Mondays.....Aliens..

We have fairies, princesses, bumble bees, chefs, ballerinas but no alien dress ups.

So when we were invited to an alien dress up party I saw it as an opportunity to expand our dress up collection and to try out a pattern I have had sitting on my sewing table.

The above it the result - Alien fairies.

The girls each made their own fairy wings by using glitter glue to stick on lots of colourful googly eyes. I did put a matching band of netting at the bottom but they both complained of it being itchy so they ended up remaining upturned.

I did make an alien hat too as I have been wanting to try that out too but the neither of the girls wanted to wear it! Oh well, I had fun making it!

I wonder how often they will come out of the dress up box!?!

Make sure you stop by....

Maxabella loves... is having a great give away this week.

So go and check it out and you never know, you may be the lucky winner!!

It is well worth the journy to Maxabellaland even if you are not!

While you are travelling you may like to check out Posie Patchwork too.

Another worthwhile journey to make would be to And then there were four.

The last is what encouraged me to put on my blogging shoes and see where the road took me.

Happy travels!

Are you having another?

JJ is 9 months old and the third girl in our brood. It is amazing how often I am now being asked if we are going to have another baby. I dont know if it is because there is no male heir to carry on the family surname (not that it is uncommon) that makes people think that we will keep going until a boy is born or if it is that more people are having more than 2/3 children or if it is mainly people with no children asking me if I will be producing a football/netball team.

Growing up I had in my head that I would have 2 or 3 children. For many a Christmas I asked my mother for another sibling. This is not because I thought I had been ripped off in the sibling department and wanted a replacement but a compliment to my brother as I thought he was pretty cool and wanted another one. Although it probably did co-incide with when he wouldn't let me put him in dresses anymore!

There have been a few brief seconds when I look at the gorgeous smiling face of JJ and think it would be nice to do it again, but they are very brief and I am enjoying knowing that this is my last time. I don't think I have the physical or mental energy for more children. I want to be able to spend time with each of them, be able to listen to their woes, not worry about finances, take them on adventures, let them try different activities and not feel stretched in a million directions. For me that means stopping at three.

I know there are mothers out there who can and do manage with more and those who set there limit at one or two and others who had that decision taken from them for numerous reasons. So I am grateful for what I have.

How many children do you have? Are you having another or two or three.....? How did you come to that decision? Did you change your mind later?

The smell of Christmas....

The scouts were selling Christmas trees on Saturday were we take the girls for swimming lessons.

They have never had a real tree so I took them over to smell the trees.

I love the smell of Christmas trees. It takes me back to Christmas time as a child. I use to love coming home in December and scent of the tree hitting you as you walked in the door. It was the sensual reminder that Christmas and all its magic was just around the corner.

We picked a few little branches off the ground on Saturday and I have them in a vase and occasionally the perfume radiates.

Maybe next year we don't think about the mess and the cost of a real tree and invest in the smell of Christmas.

What smells remind you of Christmas? Do you go real or fake with your tree?

Dear Baby...

Dear Baby,

The weekend just past would have been quite different had you made it out into the world. We would have been celebrating your first birthday.

After deciding that we would like a third child and watching the months go by until two blue lines appeared there was excitement that you had arrived. Although I never felt quite right, somehow I think I knew you wouldn't be around for long.

Only 6 weeks. Enough time to start thinking about summer with a newborn baby. To wonder if you were a girl or a boy, what you would look like, how you would fit into our family, to glance at baby clothes in the shops again...

But it wasn't to be. You will always remain a lovely potential.

Love always,

Mum.

Made it Monday.....grilled zucchini and halloumi salad

After a big day out yesterday we were looking for a simple dinner. We have been getting a lot of zucchini in our fruit and veg box the last couple of weeks and so I was looking for a way to incorporate them and U2 and I both like halloumi so when I stumbled across this recipe it seemed perfect!

Grilled Zucchini and Halloumi

And it was great, very tasty, simple and quick to prepare.

An excellent summer's sunday night dinner!

Thanks Closet cooking!

I am planning on trying his red pepper pesto tonight!

We are going on a wombat hunt...

A friend very kindly invited Goofy and I to join them on a trip to the zoo this week.

On the way I asked Goofy what animal she wanted to see.

'Wombats!'

Anything else?

'Lions!'

The warm summer sun had comatosed the lions and they lay sprawled out in the shade at the back of their enclosure.

Our friends had to leave and we had a spare half an hour before I had to leave to get MiniMe so Goofy and I went on a wombat hunt.

We followed the path which promised wombats at its end. Goofy politely told me that her legs were tired of running. She hopped in the toddler seat and I pushed her up and up the hills. Hot. Kangaroos were spotted. Surely we were close if we were seeing Australian animals?

I looked at the map and I could not for the life of me figure out where the wombats were in relation to us. Sore legs.

'Sorry Goofy we will have to go home and see the wombats another day'

I turn around and the sun sparkles off a purple sign - Platypus and Wombat!

As our eyes adjust to the darkness of the cave all I can see if rocks, dirt, scrubs. No wombat. The platypus is doing some beautiful gliding and diving.

We leave. Goofy request one more check before we go. Back into the cave. The rock at the front moves, scratches itself in its sleepy state!

The wombat!!

Two seconds later Goofy is ready to go home.

We are not going on a wombat hunt again!

Meet my babysitter...

"I feel so bad I have just had little Johnny in front of the TV so I can get XYZ done..."

Why is it that we feel bad about letting our children watch TV? If it appropriate for their age and is not all they do all day everyday then I don't see the harm. I say this as my two eldest are watching ABC for kids while JJ is sleeping. We are going out to carols tonight and we all need a little quiet time and JJ needs some uninterrupted sleep. Is someone looking for some justification?! In general they will watch up to two hours a day if we are home all day. That sounds a lot when I write it but the quiet it brings does not seem that long!!

I read a book that asked would you trust your children with a babysitter who dressed inappropriately, swore at them, told them not to listen to their parents, to desire many a material thing, who modelled bad relationships etc. When you think about it many TV programs and advertisements are doing just this. Somehow I don't think they were talking about ABC for kids TV! I think they were more referring to letting your children watch 'adult' TV shows but it did serve to make me think about what shows I put on for my children and what things my 'babysitter' might be teaching them.

I like what Playschool has to teach them and the other day they were watching a show where they were thinking about what to do when you feel angry in a way that I hadn't thought to express. Bindi the jungle girl has been popular the last few weeks and MiniMe has been telling me different wildlife facts. Bindi can came and babysit anytime!

What is your stance on children and TV? How much do you allow your children to watch a day? Any babysitters that are not invited back?

2011 here we come...

This week I purchased our 2011 calender. We have started getting some appointments/invites for the new year and I feared loosing all the bits of paper I was writing them on. So I am excited to have found this one at Kikki K.

Looking around Kikki K it is a shame we have become a paperless society in some ways, I have always loved new stationary and Kikki K had some beautiful stuff. Be warned though they don't return items. I bought the biggest calender and then when I got home it didnt fit the calender space so I changed it for the smaller one and they wouldn't refund me the $5. You could think returning it within 2 days would be ok. So now I have a credit voucher which is a bit annoying. Anyway...

My 2010 calender has been less than satisfactory. Besides having a very cute picture of a fairy in the garden drawn by MiniMe at the top it has been a bit annoying so I am very excited about my new calender.

It has a column for each member of the family, one for birthdays and space to write notes at the bottom.

With MiniMe starting school and Goofy at preschool I feel like my calender is going to become a crucial part of my daily routine.

I feel like I have one tool in my belt for 2011 now...what else do I need?

Tiny Tots Tuesday....JJ

I started this blog when JJ was only a few months old and so it was hard to come up with a suitable blog name for her. She hadn't really been around long enough to think of what would capture her.

JollyJumper largely came about because when I was writing her introduction she was outside contentedly in the Jolly Jumper. JollyJumper is a bit long to write so I have recently taken to shortening it to JJ here in blog world.

So a few months on would I change the name I gave her (as if choosing her real name wasn't hard enough!)?

I could have gone for

• EarlyRiser - she has a bond with the sun in that they like getting up at the same time
• Cheeky - there is a definite cheeky sparkle in her eyes
• BlueEyes - we have got the trifecta of eye colours in our girls.
• Dymples - goes with a gorges smile
• Smiley - she greets us with a smile you just cant help but reciprocate
• LuckyLast - no more babies (in our plans anyway!)
• Bugalugs - not sure why but she gets called this a bit
• Boombaladas - she has a great set of thighs that you cant wrap your fingers around, very sqeezable
• Heffalump - she is by far our biggest baby
• MiniU2 - some say she looks alot like U2
• Mummy's Girl - she likes to have me in her eye line at all times
• Blondie - all our girls have very different hair colours and she looks to be a bit of a strawberry blonde
• Bubbie - she will always be the baby in the family!

In the end I think jolly describes her very well. She is a lovely jolly baby. 

U2 and I both liked the idea of having a child with a middle name starting with J so that they could have a two letter nickname so JJ satisfies that desire. And she still loves to jump.

So JJ it remains.

Made it Monday...check out..

I have stumbled across a problem in my Made it Monday posts. All the things I have been making recently are Christmas presents for friends and family, most of whom do check out this blog occasionally! So in order to keep the surprise for Christmas I will have to defer posting until gifts are given!

However, I thought I would mention a great sewing blog that I have been following.

ikatbags has lots of great sewing tips. Recently she has done on series on how to make different types of pockets. Excellent stuff and has saved me a trip to the shops! One project I am working on needed a little something extra so I was going to buy some buttons to add to it but I got inspired by ikatbags to attempt a pocket instead. Will let you know how it goes!

So check out ikatbag...

Blue skies...

The rain has held out today and it has been a lovely sunny days with blue skies.

My brother and his family came round for a play this morning which was great. Always great spending time with them.

MiniMe wrote a surfboard book for my brother as he enjoys a paddle. Goofy planned to share her spray bottle with her cousin. I love is when they are thoughtful.

We then went to MiniMe's new school for a picnic only to find that this weeks wet weather had meant that they had cancelled it yesterday. Apparently we should have called to see if it was one. I saw the blue skies and didn't think twice. It was nice to meet a few other mums anyway as we have a picnic anyway!

Hopefully the blue skies continue for the weekend.

What have you been doing with the clearer skies?

Seeing the forest....

 

Some of you may have noticed that I have been trying to work on a theme for each day of the week for my blog. As I am partial to a bit of alliteration in my head we have...

 

• Made it Monday for crafty things that I have made or want to make!
• Tiny Tots Tuesday to reflect on my three lovely ladies - two were born on a Tuesday so that works quite well!
• Whatever Wednesday for random observations
• Think it through Thursday to encourage me to think a bit deeper
• Frivolous Fridays to have a bit of fun.

 

I might not stick to these rigidly but at least it gives me a framework and then if you don't like a reading about crafty things then I can save you the trouble of stopping by on a Monday, for example!

 

So today I am thoughtful. I had my last bible study of the year where we looked at the Bible (next week is a social brunch). We looked at Psalm 73 which starts with Aspah almost angry at God as those who are wicked are the ones that are prospering. Often it can seem that doing the right thing gets you no where. The people who lie, cheat and steel seem to get further in life and are even sometime praised for it. In the psalm Aspah takes a step back and looks at the bigger picture. These wicked may prosper now but in the light of eternity their time in the spotlight will be short and they will then be judged by God. Sometimes it is hard to see the forest for the trees.

This week I am going to try and see the forest.

 

 'All he believes are his eyes, And his eyes, they just tell him lies.' Bob Dylan

Woohoo Wednesday!

Finally our internet speed is back to normal . We had reached our data allowance a couple of weeks ago and I have been battling with a snails pace internet connection so it great that today is the 1st December and we are back to normal. Woohoo!

I think I may be finished my Christmas shopping. Woohoo!

I spent a lovely day with a very dear friend on Monday. Woohoo!

I have had very kind Dads (U2 and BIL) take the kids to school the last two mornings so I haven't had to take everyone in and out of the car in the rain. Woohoo!

JJ looks like she might attempt crawling soon which will save my aching arms. Woohoo!

The countdown to Christmas is on.  Woohoo!
(An aside - We started our Advent calender this morning. do you start at 1 or 24?)

Anything making you go woohoo?