Card making....

On Saturday I went out and crafted, or more precisely, stampin up-ed!

A time long ago, before children, I quite enjoyed making cards and had a few stamping tools. So it was nice on Saturday to be reminded of a craft I once quite enjoyed and be inspired to dust of my stamps.

It was nice have a ladies night out too.

This is the card we all made ....

Our demonstrator was a friend from church and you can check out her works of art at
http://www.fionastamps.blogspot.com/

I am always trying to find a gift tag/card as we are walking out the door so I am going to try and be more organised and make a few in advance. Now I just need some inspiration...

Aussie kids are Weetbix kids...

I have never liked the great Aussie Weetbix. Maybe it is because I was not born in this country, although I did eat my first solid food here. I do like Vegemite and lamingtons though!

My cousin is has moved to Australia this week to finish the last three years of school. She will be living with Aunt and Uncle and we are heading over there tonight to meet her. I have not been back to the country of my birth for about 20 years and as she is only 16 years old, the maths will tell you that I have never meet her.

I wanted to give her something to welcome her but without knowing what she likes and doesn't I have gone with baking. I have decided to introduce her to the Weetbix in slice form, so I have just finished icing a Weetbix slice. A little Aussie snack time treat.

I might be eating the bits that 'accidently' break off as I cut it!

What else are some must have Australia delicacies to try?

Fireworks...

Last night I learnt that there are many ways to respond to fireworks...

MiniMe loved them, she was in awe of the brightly coloured sky line that blossomed in front of her.

Goofy enjoyed the quiet start to the spectacular but then as they got louder was, to quote her, 'a little bit scared'.

JJ screamed in fear. She was woken from the quiet of her pram by this loud machine gun sound and was not happy by the interruption and then looked on in fear for her life as she saw what was causing the commotion.

I was indifferent to the actual fireworks but loved seeing the delight on MiniMe and Goofy's face. Such wonder. A much more precious view to me.

One week to go...

I have been looking forward to my eldest little girl starting school this year. When the noise is deafening and the nails-down-a-chalkboard whinging repeats itself I tell myself that it is only a week to go and then the decibels will decrease in our house.

Now I am not so sure....

For a start Goofy and JJ are capable of producing noise both individually and as a team, they do not require MiniMe's assistance, even though she eagerly provides it!

What I have started to think about more as the big day approaches it that MiniMe is now out there on her own 5 days a week, more time than she is at home with me. She will have to navigate her way through the classroom and the playground. Figure out who she wants to be friends with and who wants to be friends with her. By herself. For the next thirteen years I have to learn to loosen the hands that have held on to her so tight.

I have to remember that her school experience will not be the same as mine. The things I struggled with, she may not. The things I loved, she may not. The girls I went to school with will not be going to school with her. It will be different.

I have to also remember that my worrying about her is not going to help her. What will help is making sure we talk so that if things are troubling her that there is time for them to emerge in our conversations. And that there are time for the good things to pop up too!

I never thought I would be one of those mothers who needed to take tissues when they took their child to their first day of Kindy but now I am thinking I better have a few in my pocket.....just in case.

Made it Monday.... library bag

MiniMe starts school this year so I made her this library bag for Christmas. Her favourite princess is Belle, hence the attempt to get her front and center.

Goofy got a Mickey mouse print bag and cousin, DJ, got a soccer ball print bag.

They are my test cases to see how the design works and lasts! I could not find a pattern/blog tutorial on how to make one so I made it up myself which was a first for me!

I look forward to seeing what library books come home in it!!

Funny....

There was a spilt second where I had to decide - do I save my child from possible strangulation or do I take a photo first?

The camera was next to me - I opted for the photo.

I am entering this photo in a competition but I need a caption to go with it. Any ideas?

Who would you choose?

My choice?

Yesterday I blogged about the book 'the brightest star in the sky' and how the book is tied together by a 'presence' that is deciding on who it will become the child of. This leads to the question...

Who would you choose if you could choose your parents?

Which part of the DNA would you pay particular attention to? The 'presence' comments that they wouldn't mind the physical attributes of one of the couples but another is intelligent and yet another has a kind heart. Aim for a middle road of all three?

Would you base it on the relationship between your future parents? Being born into a family were the parents like bring together has to be an advantage?!

How about on where they are living, their jobs, income potential, faith, cooking skills, desire for a child, if they like horse riding, how long they will live, if they have lots of extended family.....????

After some reflection I think that it just as well that we don't have to make that decision. I am terrible at decision making at the best of times so I may never have been born if the vital decision of who to be born to was left up to me!

It also leads me to question - would my daughters have chosen me?! Again, lucky it is not up to us to decide!

Maybe MiniMe's favourite saying holds true here, 'You get what you get and you don't get upset!'.

The brightest star in the sky...

Normally I am quite a Marion Keyes fan. Her books are normally a great light read, interesting and entertaining. The jury is still out for me on this one.

We start the story on Day 61 and work backwards to Day 1. This alone was annoying as I wasn't sure if we were meant to be assuming that what happened on day 60 came before day 61 or if the story was sequential even if the chapters numbers were not.

Then there was the fairy type narrator voice that keep adding snippets. I felt like I was reading one of my children's books.

It was all a bit distracting from the storyline for me.

So I was about to give up and I thought I would skim the last few pages to see if I was missing something spectacular. The 'fairy' character became obvious and it all fell into place (SPOILER ALERT - if you are planning on ready this book!). The 'fairy' was a baby floating around a particular block of flats in Star Street deciding on which parents to choose and they had 61 days to implant themselves! Once I had got my head around that I could enjoy the characters stories. Who would get together to be able to make a baby possible on Day 1?

The characters were likable enough but none really tugged on your heart strings and made you wish they were your BFF. There were a few surprises in the storyline and it was well written so that at the end of each chapter you had another piece of the puzzle and you wanted to read on to get the next piece.

It is a good summer holiday read (when you get over the fairy!).

Mummy daughter date No. 1....

On Sunday afternoon I took Goofy out on a date. Before MiniMe started preschool I took her on a date to see her first movie at the cinemas so I wanted to do something special for Goofy too.


She was so excited to be going out with just me, no siblings!


Goofy isn't as into TV as MiniMe was so I took her to a place I knew she would love - a chocolate cafe!


I let her order whatever she wanted. Tutti-frutti waffles (waffles with chocolate sauce, strawberries, banana and vanilla ice-cream) and a hot chocolate were decided on.


The sugar hit her system and she started doing laps of the table so I enquired as to where she would like her carriage to take her now.


A park with swings.


She climbed, she swung, she ran around, all with my undivided attention.


At dinner she asked if she could say grace.


'Thank you for our dinner. Thank you for Mummy. That you that she took me to a special place. Amen'


Priceless.

Going to make it for you Monday....

MultpileMum is making me something and I in turn am paying it forward and making something for five others.... could it be you?!

Pay it forward it going around blog world and I couldnt help but jump on board. I love making little things and this seems like a great excuse ... sharing some love.

So here is the deal...

I promise something handmade to the FIRST 5 people who leave a comment here. However, to be eligible, you must repost this message, offering something handmade to 5 other people. The rules are that it must be handmade by you, and it must be sent to your 5 giftees sometime in 2011. Ready, set, GO!

he11o the office...

This week channel 11 was launched and I was a little (very!) excited when I saw that it was showing 'the office'. My not-watching-so-much-TV-this-year-plan has been going along quite nicely as there hasn't been anything to watch.

My brother and his wife gave us season one a couple of years ago for Christmas and then we borrowed their season two and three. This left us with the assumption that Jim and Pam had finally got it together but you could not be sure. I think their non-verbal banter is what makes the show. The rest of the characters are pretty annoying really!

The only problem is that channel 11 has started midway through season five so last night I hopped it to the video store and got the first part of season four to try and catch up. After a particularly witching witching hour is was nice to be laughing out loud!

Tonight 'the office' will be screening in our house again, what will be screening in yours?

Flour bombs...

U2 and I met and started dating during our final school years. We were both doing cadets in our final year. The whole unit went away to play some 'games' in the bush, one of which involved finding your 'enemy' and then pelting them with flour bombs (flour in small white paper bags).

My section (mainly girls) were discovered  by a group of boys and were well and truly 'killed'! As I was the leader some of the boys decided that is would be fun to tip bags of flour over me and then follow this up with a splash of water. The result - glue in my very thick long hair!

The young U2 lost it and I don't think those boys will ever think of doing anything like that again. At the time I was slightly embarrassed by this public display of protection (not helped by seeing some of the teachers have a little snigger behind their hands while trying to appear cross, although I can now understand their reaction!). U2 then painstakingly helped remove the claggy glue.

Yesterday I was reminded of this little incident so long ago. I was feeling quite unwell as I had to fast all day for a medical test and U2 was dropping me off at the surgery. We had talked about him staying or going back to work while I had the test and as I was throwing my vomit bag outside the surgery in the bin he decidedly stated that he was staying with me.

Now I can fully appreciate the protection and comfort U2 constantly provides. When life throws you flour bombs it is a great blessing to have someone there to defend you and help clean you up afterwards!

Made it Monday....Christmas presents

Before Christmas I mentioned that I had been making Christmas presents but so as to not ruin the surprise I had not posted pictures. Well, the gifts are given and here are a few...

JJ loves her Snuggy so I made one for a friend's baby boy.

For his two sister I made some matching dresses. This first one is an interesting pattern. You cut out the dress then sew bias binding around the all the edges and dress is basically done. You then add a tie at the back and a tab with two buttons at the front (that join the two back pieces under the front piece - if that makes sense!?!).

This is the alien outfit I made last year but I found a picture of the hat I made so I thought I would add it in!

I have a few sewing blogs I follow but does anyone have any ones they would recommend? What am I missing?!

Friday's family fun night...

We copied the idea from a friend to have Friday night as a games night in our household. We started calling it Family Fun night in case we were too tired or out on a Friday night we could do it on Saturdays. Generally, if it doesn't happen on a Friday is doesn't happen though! We probably could have just called it Games night too but I liked the idea of emphasizing to the kiddlets that it was about doing something as a family and that that is a fun thing so Family Fun night was born.

Since JJ came along we have been pretty slack at doing it as I am generally feeding her at the time when it usually happens, between bath and bed. MiniMe and JJ also don't know when Friday is so they cant keep track of when it should be!

But this year I want to resurrect it, starting tonight. Besides having a good time together, I feel like U2 and I get to share in marvelling how our girls are growing. One game the girls like is a memory card game and the last time we played Goofy was giving MiniMe a real run for her money, a few months earlier she was just the card turner but now she can really participate.

Snakes and ladders and Guess who are also popular choices. I can see Pictionary coming into our repertoire soon (do they make a junior Pictionary?)!

What things do you do as a family? Any games you recommend to play with 3 and 5 year olds?

What a day....

2am - JJ made her unhappiness at being along in bed known to all. She then slept on and off in our bed, her little hands gripped on my pyjama top making sure I did not move away, till 6am. After feeding her she slept, still holding on for dear life, till 7am. U2 kindly took her then so I could grab an extra 30 minutes sleep.

8am - A friend called to offer us a zoo pass for the day. Was hopeful we could squeeze it in so raced around packing zoo outing essentials.

9am - JJ into bed for a morning nap. Tried to get other two girls dressed quickly so that i could get come work done while JJ slept.

9:29am - opened work document.

9:30am - JJ decided that was enough sleep.

10am - Friend kindly dropped in zoo pass, would have loved to have had a cup of tea with her but needed to get girls to Mardi and Pa to I could get to work meeting

11am - One on one training for new job. Using part of brain not used for a very long time!

1:30pm - Rush back to get girls and drive to zoo.

2:30pm - Yay, at the zoo! It was such a gorgeous day today. I loved walking around admiring the beautiful harbour view and discovering animals with the girls. We got to see the baby elephants playing in the water and the penguins gliding under water too. SIL and her tribe joined us as well which was great.

4:45pm - Goofy is exhausted. Does not want to leave the zoo, does not want to walk to the car, does not want to drink water, does not want the CD on , does not want Mummy to be able to concentrate on driving...

5:30pm - Get home and Dad is already at our place for dinner. Put potatoes on for mash and chicken, mushroom and sage pie in the oven.

6pm - Sit down with a glass of red wine. 


What did you do today?

Safety nets....

weheartit.com

The man recently widowed stands at the end of his bed, exhausted from not being able to sleep. He closes his eyes and falls into a dream. We see him tumbling, tumbling and then the faces of his closest friends spin into the frame. They are all holding a safety net, looking at him. He lands and gently bounces back into the air, a small smile creeps into the corner of his mouth as he comes to rest on the net.

This final scene from Married, Single, Other has stuck in my mind. This man's friends were totally 100% there to support him in his hour of need. But then a comment a lady made at a birthday party I went to recently also sticks in me mind.

She had got a Christmas card from a friend who had written something along the lines of, 'Now that we are in the same postcode hopefully I will see more of you'. This lady had responded by saying, 'There is only so much of me to go around'. I know nothing of their relationship but it would appear that she didn't have any spare hands to be holding onto her safety net.

So I have started thinking about the holders of safety nets. While the scene from Married Single Other is lovely it is not how it is in real life. In reality my friends have to have their hands on many nets. Their husbands, children, families, other friends.... As we have got older, the less time we have to daily check in to see where each other is at. In moments of crisis they will turn and hold onto my net, of that I am sure but. However, there are times when life is tough but it is not a crisis. Instead of silently falling and hoping that someone will turn around at the right time and notice, I may need to give a little call out. And I hope my friends will do the same.

Who holds your safety net? What have you learnt over the years?

Camping in the rain...again.... the end of 2010

weheartit.com

We have not been lucky with the weather when it comes to camping of late. You would think going in the last week of December you would be more concerned with how to stay avoid the hot house tent but no, we got rain! But we still danced!

We arrived on Christmas eve and got the taj mahal tent and tarp set up. As we unpacked our trailer of gear, another family unpacked the boot of their corolla. We don't rough it when we camp! There was even a touch of tinsel! 

A short 100m stroll and we were at the beach. Dinner at the local surf club with my aunt and uncle and we were then tucked up in our sleeping bags resting up for Christmas day. A lovely day at my aunt and uncle's new beach pad with 20 family/friends. Just lovely. Then ....

We ran out of petrol on the 10 minute journey back to the tent. Three happy little girls suddenly realised that it was past there bed time and that they would not be in bed soon and so became three cranky little girls. Fortunately my father was not far into his trip back to Sydney so he couriered some petrol to us!

Back at the tent and the girls are in bed. After 18 months, Christmas night (whilst camping at the beach) is the time my body decides is a good time for my period to return (could have been much worse, I had been in white pants all day at Christmas lunch!)!

It rains, it is cold and JJ doesn't sleep well in the tent for the next couple of night. She gets a temperature. I come home with JJ so we both can sleep. The world looks a lot brighter in the morning and it is not just because of the increased sleep. The sun is shining! The last couple of days of camping are beautiful. Lots of fun at the beach and the girls have a great time. We also catch up with some good friends. Mini is a few shades browner (the girls have figured out that MiniMe turns brown in the sun and Goofy goes red, unlucky Goofy!) and JJ has two new teeth poking out (who says teething doesnt bother babies!).

We arrived home the night before New Years eve and quietly welcomed 2011 in at home.

I feel like our camping trip was a summary of 2010. There were big highs and big lows, not much sleep, early nights, early mornings, life was basic and simple by necessity but we enjoyed being a family and sharing good times with our friends and family.

Maybe we should be camping this week to see what 2011 has in store for us?!