Creating Childhood Memories

A perfect Summer afternoon.

2012-01-26T23:36:00.000+13:00

This afternoon we headed out to enjoy the sunshine (although a little breezy at times) a picnic, splash in the pool and a play at the local play ground. The kids had a great time hanging out with their cousin / best buddy Miss Delightful.

Look at how cute they all are sitting in the pool chilling out watching the other kids around them.

After a fun filled afternoon the kids came home and crashed. Hopefully we have plenty more sunny days to come where we can enjoy the pool and play ground.

Monarch Caterpillar turning into a cocoon

2012-01-22T11:42:00.000+13:00

Yeasterday we were lucky enough to watch the amazing transformation of one of our catterpillars turning into a cocoon.
It happened so quickly we didn't want to miss it to find the camera so if you are interested watch this cilp. It is amazing how it all works. Miss3 was fascinated by the whole process....but didn't like the look of the skin coming off.

We now have 4 cocoon’s, 2 about to turn into a cocoon sometime today and another 9 still munching away on the plants. They were super happy yesterday when we bought inside another plant for them to munch on. So hopefully we will have some more fat caterpillars ready to transform any day now.

I'm Loving.....

2012-01-20T19:54:00.000+13:00

My little family clown. He is happily showing off once again singing "Oh, Happy day" on stage ( the coffee table). It happens to be his favourite thing to do at the moment......Loving his microphone :)

Watching the kids playing with water outside. The best way too cool down after a hot afternoon.........

Finding hidden toys in the back of the cupboard. The flower press.....Miss3 has been out in her flower garden picking flowers every couple of days and re-filling it. The pressed flowers she has been creating beautiful cards, art work and creations for special people in her life. It has been a favourite activity this week. So cute - it reminds me of my childhood. It use to be a favourite activity of mine.

Our caterpillars started turning into chrysalis today.....YAY.
It has been an exciting day as we check on the two that are transforming regularly to watch the progress. What a surprise - we just went to check on them and all day they have been hanging thinking about transforming and in the last hour they have made their transformation and we missed it. Luckily we have 11 more to watch over the next few weeks.

Can you spot the naughty caterpillar who made his chrysalis on the pool net. Now it is unable to be used till it turns into a butterfly.

some of our very hungry caterpillars stripping the plant of all its leaves.

(Yes they are inside. We have turned our laundry into a temporary butterfly house as the wasps started to eat the caterpillars. so we did have over 30 and were left with 13 by the time we realised what was happening)

Linking up with Paisley Jade

Today's Adventure.

2012-01-18T21:08:00.000+13:00

This is what summer is about........
I am loving this sunny weather and getting the chance to catch up with friends for a good play and picnic in the park.

The kids had a ball playing in the large paddling pool while the mummies had a good chat followed by a yummy lunch in the park and a play in the play ground. Happy Kids = Happy Mummy.

Miss3 said on the way home "I had so much fun playing can we go again" so We will definitely make a regular trip to this park at least once a week during summer.

Looking forward to another similar day tomorrow picnicking with another bunch of great mums and kids at a friends life style block up the road. So nice that summer has finally arrived.

6 week $100 Gorcery Challenge.

2012-01-17T21:45:00.000+13:00

Joining in with a couple of friends with the $100 Grocery Challenge (that started this week) I decided to start making use of what we have in our pantry.....so one very squishy banana sitting in the fruit bowl and the neighbours coming for morning tea I decided it was a great opportunity to make some yummy muffins.
Check out this recipe as it is worth trying

Was very surprised how nice they turned out when I only added one banana and it asked for 2-3 (we did add extra vanilla in for more flavour).

Later in the day we hit the shops and managed to spend bang on $100. Was surprised as this included a whole watermelon, cron cobs, lots of yummy fruits and veggies, and all the essentials we needed. including some stocking up of new born nappies. So week one = success. Lets hope we don't run out of milk or bread.....might be making some bread later this week :) luckily fresh bread is easy to make and so tasty.

Look forward to next week and seeing what meals we come up with within our budget :)

$100 is to feed two adults, two kids (both huge eaters) and a dog so I can imagine as the pantry empties it will get more challenging, but Im up for a challenge and hopefully to learn a few tricks to continue through the year.

Things I'm Loving.....

2012-01-13T14:55:00.001+13:00

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is.

Here is what I am loving & Thankful for this week.....

Cherries......nothing like the taste of central Otago in summer.

Nice reminder of when we lived in Dunedin. if only we could get them as cheap as in the south.

Being organised (well one step of the way) and tidy.
I have been on a little mission since Christmas tidying up around the house, outside and garage.
We have cleaned out the garage with a trip to the tip and sorted out a pile of stuff to give away that we no long need.
My biggest achievement so far......... the last two days I have been making the most of my live in nanny (thanks Aunty Em) and I have been sorting out the play room / office.

My desk all tidy and with everything I need accessible.

The floor - I can see it again after almost two weeks of tripping over things and closing the door at the end of the day thinking I would clean it the following day.

Ahhh my shelving. I cleaned out 3 rubbish bags full of material scraps, paper, art work and just junk. It feels so nice to see everything again and have everything accessible.

Who would think I had that much material hiding away....4 large boxes and two small boxes later the material is sorted....But there is more. One large box in the garage of material I hardly need / use so out it went for when I need it.

Loving having everything accessible, looking tidy and organised. Now I can be in the room with out feeling stressed out with the chaos and mess around me.

Two spaces cleaned out......Four more to go.

Loving how fat our caterpillars are getting.

Lots of fun watching them each day and counting how many we can spot on the plants.

And lastly I am loving Miss3 and Mr2. So thankful for how caring and loving they are and how much fun we have had with them recently.

Oh but I can't forget that I am loving that "Things I am Loving" is back. I had been missing reading everyone posts and thinking about what I have enjoyed during the week.

Linking up with PaisleyJade

Toilet Training..........

2012-01-11T19:57:00.000+13:00

I haven't said anything till now as I really didn't know how well it was going to go and I didn't want to jinks it........But I think I can safely say we have a little boy who is out of nappies during the day. to be honest I was so nervous about starting this journey from nappies to big boy undies. It has not bee as easy as Miss3 was, but much easier than I expected it to be.

I am so relieved as I was not too keen on having two kids in nappies and I didn't want to be toilet training with a new born again.

I had been warned that boys were harder and take longer and usually don't toilet train until 3..........But surley if he was showing signs and interest there was a small glimor of hope. So while Hubby was home over christmas on boxing day we started the journey to toilet train. Day 1 = DISASTER. So after 8 changes of undies, multile floor cleaning of number 2's and 1's We decided he was no where near ready.
On New years eve we decided that maybe we needed to just push on with it and see what happens and to our surprise he was showing more interest.

Day 1 = 5 accidents but multiple successful toilet trips.
Day 2 = 3 accidents but again multiple successful toilet stops.
Day 3 = much the same
Day 4 = Disaster
Day 5 = 1 accident and lots of successful trips.
Day 6 onwards = happy parents and the occasional accident.

So now after a couple of weeks we are getting better and better at this toileting thing. he is starting to know when he needed to go before he has a little accident and he is so proud of him self. He even takes him self to the toilet when out and comes home dry which is a huge relief (although we have used Buzz Undies - Pull ups on the odd occasion if we were out for too long. But he has just thought of them as undies so has asked to go toilet.

Only issue we currently have is Mr2 getting engrossed in a game or activity and leaving it too late. But I am sure in the next couple of week he will be getting much better at this toileting thing. and for a boy who has just turned two I am so proud of how well he is doing.

Two very proud and happy parents and one very proud little sister. She even went to the supermarket with some pocket money to buy him a special treat for doing so well and having no accidents one day. I could not have been prouder of her that day. She has such a sharing heart.

Date night.

2012-01-08T16:58:00.000+13:00

Hubby and I went out for a belated Anniversary dinner last night.

On our Anniversary night we took to the kids to a life group shared fish n chips at one of the couples life style block in Matangi. Was nice sitting back and relaxing while the kids all played sports, on the tramp, bikes, fort and were happy for hours. Was nice watching the dads playing sports with the kids while the mums did what mums do best - talk :)

Since my sister is staying we decided to go out a night later on Saturday to celebrate our Anniversary.

We decided to try the new Californian Burito take aways.
Mmmmmm YUM is all I can say. was the best take aways I have had in a while. I can't wait to have more :)

We then went into town for a hot chocolate and cake at the new Chocolate Lounge. Nothing beats a good Chilli Chocolate and a good cheese cake to end the night.

Was lovely having some one on one time with hubby with no interruptions and a good time to talk about our dreams or the future.

Welcome 2012

2012-01-07T22:00:00.000+13:00

2012 is going to be a year of Appreciation.

I am so grateful for my little family, for the joy they bring and the delight I get in watching them grow. With Mr2 turning 2 I realised that my kids are growing up fast. Next year Miss3 will start school and for me that is a biggie. My little girl, my baby is going to be a school girl. So this year I want to appreciate the kids while they are so little and appreciate this time I have with them as they grow so fast. I wish I could capture the preschool years in a bottle and never let them go.

I want to appreciate all that God has provided for our family, for the blessings he has placed in our house and for the long term plan he has for my life and my family. I look forward to seeing what 2012 has in store for the family.

Aside for embracing Appreciation and slowing life down a little I do have a couple of "Goals" for the year.

Physical - I would like to find time to fit in exercise.
Emotional - take each day as it comes. Hopefully this year will be a relaxing year in terms of stress levels and learning to accept help, support and how to live in an untidy house :) Washing can wait until tomorrow to get folded or until the pile has been used up. Toys can be picked up later and not right now. And people can see the mess - it is normal to have kids and an untidy house......Don't stress about it.
Family - ensure I have more quality one on one time with the kids and the husband, but also as a family unit.
Spiritual - Trust.....to do so I really need to make sure I do some more bible readings and pray on a regular basis.
Social - Make sure I spend quality time with friends. Some child free, others with the kids, others with the entire family.To make sure that no matter what I am there for my close friends.

these "goals" are all ongoing, just need a little work on them to make it more achievable. I do however have one real "goal". It is a biggie and possibly not the most achievable. But time will tell.
My one and only real Goal for the year is to attempt a VBA2C in a few months time (you can follow my story and Journey here).
Other than that I would like 2012 to be filled with all things family, friends and surround us in a life that is filled with Hope, Trust and in his word.

A week into 2012 and I am ready to embrace what 2012 has to throw my way.

Rainy day holiday baking.

2012-01-07T15:02:00.000+13:00

What is with this weather.......... Where is summer?
It feels like it has rained non stop for weeks. The kids are getting a little bit of cabin fever as there is only so much you can do on rainy days both at home at out and about.

So today we hit the supermarket to buy some more essentials (banana's for Mr1 who would eat 10 a day if I let him and some more milk) while we were there we decided to find some fun things to bake. So picked up the ingredients to make Lolly Cake. I have been Promising Miss3 for a while that we would make it.

Miss3 and Aunty Em (my lovely live in baby sitter for the next week - YAY for younger sisters) made Lolly cake this afternoon and I have to say it was a very easy thing for little ones to make and it tastes so good.

This is the Recipe we used. This website is such a cool one. lots of NZ recipes to try out at some stage. If you have a moment pop over and have a look.

7 years today......

2012-01-06T09:05:00.000+13:00

I married my best friend, my soul mate.

Who would have thought that 7 years on we would be living where we are now, with 2.5 kids a dog, 3 turtles and still the same car :)

Thanks for all of your support, love and for being such an awesome Dad and husband xxx

Baby Turtles.

2012-01-04T22:14:00.000+13:00

We have some new little additions to our family........

Hiding in the sand and in a damp little tissue paper nest is two tiny little turtle eggs. Unfortunately they are not from our useless turtles that would not know what laying eggs meant.
Long story short. The kids sell fish from my parents goldfish farm as a bit of pocket money for swimming lessons and to play junior soccer.
So an older lady came to pick up some tadpoles and goldfish the other day and while here we got talking about turtles. Turns out her turtle had been thining baout laying eggs and she asked if it ever eventuates into anything would we like the eggs. So the following day we got a call to say that she had two little eggs ready for us to pick up and incubate.

it is a bit of a trial and error to see what happens. But if they were left in the sand with the turtles they would more than likely die as it would get too cold for them.
We are currently keeping them at about 27-30 deg at all times in damp sand in the hope they develop and hatch.
We have to wait 3 months to see if they turn out to first be fertilised and secondly to see if they are living. Being left in a cold sand box over night may not have done any good. but time will tell.

We should see the eggs change shape and become a little flatter over time and if they are dead then the eggs will grow a little mould. So here is hoping our little babies hatch and we get a cute little turtle or two to add to out turtle family.

Miss3 and Mr2 are very excited and keep wanting to peep at the eggs to see if they have hatched. 3 months is going to be a long time waiting.

Will keep you all posted with updates.

Home Made Guacamole

2012-01-03T23:48:00.000+13:00

This is such a simple and tasty Guacamole recipe that I had to share.
Earlier in the week we were given a bag of fresh Avocado’s from a friends friends Avocado farm. With so many of them we decided that having Nachos for Dinner with home made Guacamole would be a great idea.
We managed to convince Miss3 who kept telling me she does not like avocados as they are yuck. After just a little taste she was hooked and enjoyed Nacho chips in the guacamole dip more than the Nacho mix.

So if you have an excess of Avocados this summer give it ago. So simple and delicious.

Best Guacamole Recipe

The trick to great guacamole is - of course - good avocados. Make sure your avocados are ripe, and the Hass variety is best in this recipe. Add some chilli powder if you like too. Serve this dip with corn chips or sliced raw vegetables.

Ingredients

Serves: 16

2 avocados
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preparation method

Prep: 5 minutes

Cut the avocados into halves. Remove the stones, and scoop out the pulp into a small bowl. Use a fork to mash the avocado. Stir in lemon juice, onion, salt and olive oil. Cover the bowl, and refrigerate for up to 1 hour before serving.

Note: Avocados have lots of protein, beta carotene and vitamin E. They are also high in monounsaturated fat - a 'good' fat! Combined with the olive oil in this dip, which is about 75% monounsaturated fat, it's clear that you'll definitely benefit from a lot of dipping.

Strawberry Picking.

2012-01-03T19:57:00.000+13:00

This afternoon we headed out to Country Providore to pick strawberries.
What a great way to fill in an afternoon. They have a cute little play ground surrounded by strawberry fields. A lovely cafe (it was closed due to it being a public holiday - but I have heard great things and it looked nice) and a cute little country gift shop that makes real fruit ice cream and lots of other yummy treats.

The kids had great fun picking strawberries and eating all we could.
It is dangerous putting a pregnant lady in a strawberry field and telling her she can eat all she wants. I'm sure I ate more than I picked.

Why use a container when you can use a net......

typical Mr2 had to "catch" his strawberries.

Mmmmm yummy

The cool old tractor that the kids could ride.

And a cute little play ground with a HUGE trampoline.

Hours of fun could be had at this play ground.

The kids had a game of "chess" - well move the stones on the board.

A great afternoon out. We will be back in the near future.

Farewell to 2011

2011-12-31T22:19:00.001+13:00

What a year of memories, decisions, heartache, change and fun.

The year started with a fun summer family holiday away with our amazing friends.

February was a busy month with Hubby heading away for work and true to form Miss3 had a trip to the Dr's for a head injury. Luckily she has recovered from her fall just fine.

March was the month of enjoying the last of the sunshine with friends and family, planning for a 3rd birthday and the fun of Balloons over Waikato.

April started with Miss3's birthday. What an exciting time of year for her. Birthdays are a big thing for her.....but it is mainly about the cake and hanging out with friends than anything else. The end of the month was a wonderful Easter weekend with family.

May was a great month with a girls weekend away to Rotorua with a good friend. It was great to do what we liked when we wanted and not have to worry about children.Looking forward to repeating this again sometime......possibly this year.

June I found the love for Pinterest and became totally addicted. To this day I still have a little peek at least once a day and have found many new recipes, crafty ideas to make or just great ideas that have been shared.

July I was feeling a little low and felt I needed a change. After almost a month of taking, deciding and finally making up my mind I decided to join a gym and fell in love. This seemed to cure my need for time out away from the house and needing something for me. We decided that two kids was our magic number and a third was not the majic fix, a job was not what I needed right now....but I did take on a parenting tool box course once a term that has helped my itchy feet. So life started to pick up as we had a plan in place.

August was my birthday and I was spoilt rotten by my family. I also got to sneak away for a weekend away in Australia for my cousins lovely wedding. This was a quiet month for blogging as my mystery tiredness turned out to be a surprise baby hence the lack of energy and feeling so sick.

September was fathers day and we had a guest (Flat Stanley) come to stay for a few weeks.
Miss3 wrote this lovely letter to dad for fathers day.

October My passion / energy for blogging came back. I found time for sewing again YAY. and created lots of fun things. NICU gowns, Birthday presents, Christmas presents, My most popular and favourite designer wrap. The Kids had fun in the garden as it warmed up with planting seedlings, making cute outdoor creations. Hubby won an award at work that we had a celebration dinner for.

November My little girl became a big morning kindy girl. We announced our newest addition to the family and I fell in LOVE with this song. We also had a wonderful family weekend away with some wonderful friends and we got ready for Christmas.

December has been a full on month with sickness, Mr2 turning 2, Daddy away and then of course the reason for the season......Christmas.

It amazes me looking back how much the kids have grown. How our year has turned out. I look forward to seeing how 2012 turns out. I look forward to the challenges, development of the kids and the fun times with family and friends as we embark on a new year.

Meet our latest family additions......

2011-12-31T21:02:00.000+13:00

Miss3 was so delighted today when we discovered that her Swan plants had lots of tiny hungry caterpillars munching away on the plant. She had planted these from little seedlings and has carefully looked after them since.

A few weeks ago she was excited to announce that a butterfly was playing with the plants :) and that soon we would have little eggs that would hatch into caterpillars that would grow bigger and bigger and bigger until they ate so much that they went to hide in a cocoon to turn into a butterfly.

So today when we showed her the teeny tiny caterpillars she was just so amazed and excited.

One cheeky caterpillar was found on dad's shirt when we came inside. Miss3 thought this was just so funny that it snuck onto his shirt and inside. She decided to "rescue" it and have a little play with the caterpillar before carefully returning it to its plant.

She then found a nice leafe for the Cute little caterpillar to go on but was horrified and scared that it was falling off as it was going under the leaf. Poor girl was so upset that the poor things was going to fall off and die. We explained how the caterpillar likes to hide from rain and the sun so they all like being under the leaf....."just like a big umbrella" she announces :)

I love how the minds of little ones work.

Busy time of year.

2011-12-30T22:07:00.000+13:00

What a week.
With the business of Christmas, Hubby painting a fence or two or three....well eventually all of the fences. We decided to pack up and visit family and friends up north in Whangarei.

Was lovely to catch up with friends who have recently moved. It was so cute when their little girl was on the deck squealing with excitement and saying hi to the kids. It amazes me how much little ones remember friends and miss them over time. Sadly being 4 hours away it will be a while until we see them again.....but hopefully before number 3 arrives we can sneak another trip up.

We also caught up with the grandparents.....well that is Hubby and my grandparents and the kids great grandparents. It was lovely to see the delight in the grandparents faces as they got to spoil the kids with chocolate and juice and they were not worried about the kids bouncing off the walls after :) Luckily for us they crashed in the car on the way to my parents farm where we had dinner before heading home.

With visiting out of town, having family come stay, getting ready for Christmas and catching up on house stuff and cleaning up the garden from winter life has been a bit busy here. I am guessing once Hubby returns to work next week then life will return to normal with the kids driving me crazy. But for now I can enjoy relaxing baths in the morning (until the kids discover I am in the bath and want to join me), sleep ins while they jump on the trampoline and I "watch" them from bed with my eyes closed and lots of family quality time while we potter around home and go visiting. It is unfortunate about the rain.....but at the same time it is great as it is forcing us to have some much needed quality family time.

Hope everyone is enjoying their family holidays.

Recycled baby bounder.

2011-12-27T22:54:00.000+13:00

A lovely friend offered us a bouncer for baby number 3. As it was a vibrating one I took her up on the offer as our original one was also a second hand rocking one and I found that baby could not make it move on their own and I prefer the bouncing one for younger babies.I had planned on buying one off Trademe, but am so blessed to be given one. And what I love more is now that it is transformed, free of its old wear and tear it can be passed onto another person in need of a bouncer when we are finished and hopefully a few more babies will get some use out of it.

So I transformed this.....

(not to obvious from the photo but it had some wear around the edges, rips and some of the stitching had come undone. It was still fine to use, but I thought it would be nice to give it some life so that another baby or two can get some use out of it when we are finished)

Into this........

Forgot to add the toy bar in the first photo - It had a red and black n white A toy, a box that rattled and one toy missing. This has all been replaced with a whale, fish and a rattling square.

for all of $8.50 (got to love a Spot Light sale) Baby now has a cute whale / under the water bouncer.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T16:58:00.000+13:00

What a day. The kids were spoilt rotten by family from Christmas eve till Christmas day.

We started Christmas on Christmas eve with Hubby's family visiting.

Waffles for Brunch with tones of fresh blue berries and strawberries YUM

Followed by present opening

A water fight with plastic squirt fish

Daddy got an inflatable shark

Long funny story.....but he got away that night. OOPS

You might be able to see the little speck in the air that is Mr Shark making a get away while he could.

Later that afternoon / evening our lovely neighbours popped over to say Merry Christmas with the biggest bunch of lillies I have ever seen (and boy they were heavy) and a present for each of the kids. It was a lovely surprise. We gave them a little gingerbread house and the Dog gave them some replacement tennis balls as she keeps running off with them when they come over our fence. It has become a bit of a game. So to say merry Christmas and Sorry we dropped a little surprise at their door earlier in the week. They couldn't resist but to say Thank you as they were blown away.

Family all arrived and set up camp in the living room, play room and Where ever they could find a spot to sleep :) My parents being the smart ones booked a Hotel room down the road for the night.

We then had fish n chips for dinner and Santa's little helpers got to work on putting up the Christmas present while the kids watched a Christmas Movie.

(All the men could not resist to help)

We then headed off to the Christmas Lights at temple view. It was an amazing display of lights again and Miss3 was so excited to be going with the big people while Mr2 stayed home with Oma and slept.

Christmas Morning started with a lovely sleep-in. Thanks kids :)
We then had Christmas stockings in mum and dad's bed followed by Christmas breakfast of poffertjes fresh fruit, custard, yoghurt and yummy fresh juices. What a way to start the morning.

While I was getting Breakfast ready Miss3 comes running in.....Mummy mummy you didn't know that Santa got me a trampoline in the garden. I have a trampoline........Lol this was meant to be kept a surprise till after breakfast. But she had a good play on it before and that helped pass the time away.

Breakfast was followed by LOTS of present opening. the kids were so spoilt this year. While the kids convinced various family member’s to go jump with them lunch was being made. We enjoyed a lovely Christmas BBQ out in the sun for lunch. The family then had to leave for Auckland so we were then able to sit back relax and enjoy a family day. We relaxed in the pool, played on the trampoline and ended the day with a Christmas Movie before bed. What a perfect day.

Blueberry Picking.

2011-12-23T14:03:00.000+13:00

With only 2 sleeps till Christmas day we thought it would be a bit of fun to go blueberry picking with the family (and we have a special visitor - Aunty E has come to stay for a few nights).

Here is a few photos of the kids having fun picking berries, splashing in puddles and of course eating as many berries as possible.

Blueberry picking with our fav Aunty E.

Why Pick blueberries when you can pick flowers.

Cheats way of picking blueberries.......they taste so much better if someone else picks them.

Oh I found another yummy one.....

Oh big puddle to splash / jump in. So much fun.

Things I'm Loving......

2011-12-18T12:39:00.001+13:00

It is December. The Christmas tree is up, decorations are out and it's nearly holiday time. I can't wait till Christmas day to have a fun filled family day and to see the look on the kids face's when they see what we got them.

Marshmallow strawberry Ice cream...mmmmm

Miss3's love for baking and making birthday cakes. She designed this cake all on her own. She got to pick a packet of betty crockers cake mix - she decided vanilla would be yummy. then decided that her little brother loved fish so she was going to make a fish pond. she then asked if we could make the cake blue like water, then decided that using a silver mixing bowl as a cake tin was a good idea because it would then look like a pond. I loved the way it all turned out and her imagination and creativity to get it how she wanted. Mr2 was delighted in her creation and said to her "thank you Miss3, cool cake". I see a little cake maker in the making.

I am loving having hubby home after nearly three weeks of him being away for work. It is so nice to have an extra pair of hands and happy kids Happy to have daddy home.

I am loving the delight on Mr2's face when he was sung happy birthday to. The cake was the high light of his day. I just loved how excited he was and how he sung to him self and clapped at the end. mr2 is just adorable.

Having a girls night out at Trees at the Meteor. Lots of amazing creative trees decorated by amazing people from Hamilton. What I loved the most was the amount of trees that were decorated by people I know through Church and one of the lovely ladies I went with decorated an amazing tree with her girls using remnants from dresses she had designed and made for her girls this year. She is an amazing designer and her dresses and clothes blow me away. The tree had a lot of memories and connections to her family it was just lovely. I loved looking at the material and guessing what dress that remnants came from.
Over all a lovely night with the ladies, a good coffee catch up at the end and I'm thinking I might have to find someone creative to enter a tree with me next year. it looks like lots of fun.

I am loving my early Christmas present......I have not had a chance to learn how to use it, but once I am better and we have more time on my hands then I can spend a few days playing with my new camera working out all of the little gadgets and tricks to get nice photos. Like a little kid I was so excited to see the package at the door delivered from the courier. I have wanted a digital SLR for so long. After a year of saving my dream came true and the kids have decided to come photogenic now with the new camera so I am loving capturing how cute they are rather then getting photos of them hiding, grumpy or of their back.

Linking up with Paisley Jade

Happy 2nd Birthday little Man......Goldfish party

2011-12-18T12:08:00.000+13:00

I can't believe that my little man in now 2 (all thought if asked he will tell you "I 6 not 2")
When we woke on Tuesday morning we heard "oh my presents, my happy birthday......YAY".

All of his goodies. He was one spoilt boy. My parents gave him a train set. His big sister gave him a ball and mummy and daddy made him the ten, safari park, and we got him a few little bits over the year like the Lego light, a wheel barrow, Remote fire truck, some fish to catch and a couple of Thomas trains. And best of all he was seeing his reaction as he opened all of them.

He was a little shell shocked but got into the swing of things very quickly. By the end of the week (we had his party in the weekend) he was saying thank you to people for his present and very carefully opened them all.

Here are a few photos of his special day and Gold fish party......

Big sister wanted to make Mr2 a blue fish pond cake. With a bit of help from mum here is her creation. I was very impressed when she picked the cake tin she did. It is a silver mixing bowl but she said it looked more like a pond so would make a better cake - which it did. She is going to be a great cake maker as she gets older.

The master piece.

Mr2's party Birthday cake. He was so in love with his cake that I was not aloud to put it in the fridge while he stared at it for hours the day before.

My first attempt at cake pops.

Mmmm lots of fish party food.

Mini fish cupcakes.

Fish in Jelly.

Take home gift. Real fruit Marine (I would call them lollies, but they are from the snack isle in the supermarket) Bubbles with a gold fish attached, some goldfish stickers and a plastic fish.

Party game - fishing in the bath (Due to weather we had to keep the party in doors)

Excited little boy. So happy to see his cake and have everyone sing Happy Birthday to him. I loved how he started singing happy Birthday to him self. Funny boy. then he gave him self a big clap.

Over all a very successful birthday (even if he was sick the poor little man) and a lovely little party with his special little friends. He has had a fantastic week.

Duplo City

2011-11-29T14:11:00.000+13:00

My house is silent. the kids are busy playing with Duplo City.
Mr1 and I started building with Duplo this morning......I should have been doing house work, but decided that I needed a distraction and playing Duplo sounded like more fun. So when Miss3 came home from Kindy we continued.

Duplo City now has a house, supermarket, post office, bus stop, fish farm - with a poppa and Ziggy the dog (Mr1's request), road works, a Zoo, camp ground, air port, park and a mechanic with a petrol station.

It is great just watching them interact so nicely together and being so entertained.

Personalised Santa Clause is coming to town Subway art.

2011-11-28T13:48:00.000+13:00

Excuse the microwave reflection in the back ground....

I saw this cool idea on line in the weekend and thought it was so cute how it was personalised with the kids names. So last night I set about making my own version. So simple and so cute. I only printed it at home this year, but next year when number 3 is part of the family I plan on adding their name and printing it as a large photo so the quality is much better. That way it can be a decoration we use for years to come.

Activities Advent Calendar

2011-11-27T21:37:00.000+13:00

I saw the cutest idea (on pinterest of course) for an activity advent calendar.
I'm not one for the chocolate calendar’s that you can buy in stores. Since miss3 came along I made a very simple felt calendar that we have used until this year.
I just loved the idea of the kids having a Christmas activity a day leading up to Christmas so I made up some activities getting ideas from here and here along with a few of our own to specialise it to our family, community and christmas activities we have participate in. I also wanted to make sure that it was not all about the kids so added in some community service activities that suit their age and also activities that were free, cheap to make it affordable.

The activity tags were "gift cards" that I stuck the activities onto the back.
We had the Advent Calendar given to us a few years ago and never has a use for it....but now it has come in handy as it fits the purpose of this calendar nicely.

this is what we came up with:

Decorate the Christmas tree
Go shopping for a new decoration (this is a family tradition that the kids get to pick a decoration each year fro the tree. When they leave home they will have a box of decorations to take with them)
Make a Christmas craft with mum
Write a letter to Santa
Ge a photo taken with Santa
Visit the lights on Harrowfield St
Visit the temple view lights
Go to the Santa Parade
Family sleep over in the lounge watching a christmas movie
Make Christmas cards
Make a gingerbread house
Make a Christmas gift for your teachers
Go shopping for Christmas gifts (they get to pick a present from the $2 shop for each family member)
Wrap Christmas presents
Make Hot Chocolate and listen to Christmas carols
Read a Christmas story
Shop for a gift for the Christmas wishing tree (this goes to kids in NZ that would not normally get presents)
Pick a Christmas treat for the food bank
Write and send a card to your sponsor child (every member of our family has a sponsor child from world vision. The kids children are the same age as them so they are part of our global family)
Watch a video message from Santa
Go to a Christmas eve service at Church
Christmas Dinner with the J family (this family are close family friends that are more like Aunty and Uncle that we have a special dinner with at Christmas)
Make Christmas Cookies
YAY Christmas Day!

I am sure these might change as the kids get older, but for now we are happy with our choice. I can't wait to start on the 1st....only 4 more sleeps to go.

Things I'm Loving......

2011-11-25T22:17:00.000+13:00

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is.
Here are a few of the things I am loving this week........

Finding photos on my camera.........Miss3 was so proud to tell me she took the photos because "it was just too cute all the babies on the couch"

But this one just cracks me ups. She loves taking self portraits.

We have a guest from Denmark staying and to my excitement he found some very cool advent candles for me. Hubby went in Feb this year and was disappointed he could not find any so our guest remembered and bought some back to NZ for us.....exciting. I can't wait to use it next week.

This is not the actual candle but a photo of a similar one.

Getting mail but even better some very cool Christmas decorations from my swap partners from the Christmas ornament swap 2011. But you will have to wait a little longer till I share the awesomeness with you all :)

The dinner time anticks that occur in our house.....Mr1 will often pretend he is a monkey, giraffe, lion and makes all of the noises. I also love the look on his face when he is enjoying a meal.........

don't you love the mess. You know one is messy when you have to clean him up before he can have a bath. This is a common meal time in our house at the moment.

Linking up with Paisley Jade

DIY Geo Board....Lots of fun for the little and big people.

2011-11-23T13:14:00.001+13:00

Do you remember these from school???

I have a little girl who is not the best at independent play unless it is educational and "interesting" according to her. So After hunting through my New Entrance resources and finding lots of fun alphabet things for her to do I remember about Geo Boards. Luckily we had all the right equipment needed in the garage to make it.

All you need it:

A piece of wood - not too big or too small. roughly 25 x 18 we used.
Nails - Not too big. We used some small medium length ones.
Rubber bands - Multi coloured and Multi sized ones are more fun.

Draw a grid on the wood then nail the nails in the middle of each cross.
as simple as that.

Then get your rubber bands and start making shapes / pictures and seeing how big you can stretch one rubber band.

Miss3 has had so much fun playing with it. It has been well worth making it.And even better it was made up of stuff we all ready had laying around that hubby didn't need :)

Resene DIY Dream Room Competition.

2011-11-21T13:08:00.000+13:00

A few months ago a friend sent me a link for the Resene / Treasures DIY Dream room competition encouraging me to enter......so with the thought of having to soon move two kids into one room when baby arrives we decided why not give it ago and enter the competition. That way we could make the room more unisex as it is currently blue and make it more run for the both of them to share.

This is what we sent away.......

Inspiration board. All the things that I loved and gave me ideas for our "Dream Room". Decided on green and White as the feature colours as it was gender neutral, refreshing and funky.

Kids room layout. It is a tiny room so had to be creative with what went in such a small space.

Feature wall - painted green with a dark shade of green circles stuck on. Love the circles (Hoop decals) and the draws painted in different shades of green on the front surface. the rest is white.

Book Pockets for the kids to keep special things and favourite books in it.

Magnetic wall surface. A space for them to make the room theirs and be creative. And a big space that they can share.

So that is it....The competition closed last Friday. Now the waiting game to hear if we were one of the lucky three to win $750 products from Resene and $750 spending money.

I'm Loving.....

2011-11-20T20:10:00.000+13:00

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is.

Here are a few of the things I am loving this week .............

Weekends away.

Lots of yummy food, time relaxing with family and friends, visiting the beach and checking out a new city.......very little sleep but still lots of fun had by all.

The kids experiencing their first Milk shake.....mmm Chocolate goodness. What a treat. Luckily the were so good at sharing it.

My Hubby.....He won another award for Work. YAY so now to sort out a baby sitter so I can attend prize giving with him in a few weeks. I'm so proud of all his hard work, long hours and late night finally paying off.

Fresh Strawberries.....mmm so good.

Linking up with Paisley Jade

Loving this song at the moment

2011-11-17T13:44:00.000+13:00

Francesca Battistelli - This Is The Stuff (Live Fan Video)

I had to share this video clip. The open line always makes me smile....I'm always loosing me keys in the big unknown and loosing my phone......And the tune is catchy. The kids and I love dancing in the lounge to this song :) It always makes me feel much hapier if I am having one of those days and the kids are always much happier after having a little boogie in the lounge.

Morning Kindy Girl

2011-11-17T08:52:00.000+13:00

My Big girl has started morning Kindy and to celebrate we got her a scooter so she can ride to Kindy with Daddy. All the big school kids ride scooters to school (the Kindy is in the school grounds) So she feels very grown up. I can't believe that I have a morning Kindy girl, she is growing up too fast.

Homemade pasta

2011-11-16T20:46:00.000+13:00

I have found the love for making Pasta again....i think it has something to do with the kids getting older and having just a little more spare time to do things I use to do like make pasta from scratch. really thinking about it, it is not that hard to do and the kids love helping so I should try and do it more often.

On the menu tonight was pasta so time for the pasta maker to come out of its box....the first time in years.

To make pasts you need three simple ingredients and about an hour to prepare it.

Ingredients:
6 medium eggs
3 cups plain flour
Directions:
1. Mix your eggs in a bowl using a fork and then tip in the flour. Time to get your hands dirty. Mix and squeeze and mix until there is no flour left. If the mix is wet and sticky at the end you will need to slowly add flour until it is no longer sticky. If the mixture is too dry then you will need to add water JUST A FEW DROPS AT A TIME. Water goes a long way! Knead vigorously.

2. Remove from bowl and knead vigorously to ensure that the smooth dough has all the components mixed. Roll it into a ball cover with a damp tea towel and let sit the 1/2 hour.

3. Cut off a piece of the dough and roughly flatten it on the table using your hands. Push it through the first setting of your machine. Do this about 4 times until the dough is the same width as the rollers. The ends will be oddly shaped but just ignore that. Do not stack your finished sheets on top of each other...they will stick together. Rather spread them out on a well floured bench. You don't need to make it all the way to the last setting, but remember your pasta will expand with cooking. The second or third to last setting is normally best.

All machines have fettucine or you cut it by hand. If cutting it by hand, then fold the dough sheet upon itself several times to make cutting easier.

We made a chicken fettuccine for a friend who has not been very well today. We also made a fresh salad - using the lettuce from our garden - exciting as this was the first time we have been able to use it. Can't wait till the tomatoes are ready to eat.

The kids LOVED the pasta they kept asking for more - it is so different to store bought stuff. So this will be made again in the very near future.....I just need to work on getting the pasta thinner. But practise makes perfect :) mmmm lots of pasta for us. YUM

Rice Bubble Slice

2011-11-15T12:57:00.000+13:00

A new favourite recipe in our house has to be Rice bubble slice. So simple to make, mostly mess free and child friendly so the kids can make most of it with help from an adult to melt the honey, sugar and butter. oh and it is quick to make. The kids love licking the bowl clean :)
This recipe comes from the Chelsea website.

Ingredients

1 1/2 Tbsp honey
100g Chelsea White Sugar
100g butter
3-5 cups of rice bubbles

Method

Melt the butter, sugar, and honey in a saucepan. When melted, boil for 3 mins, take off the heat and add rice bubbles, mix in.
Put in a swiss roll tin and leave to cool.

I'm Loving.....

2011-11-11T16:16:00.001+13:00

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is.

Here are a few of the things I am loving this week .............

My Lovely ladies at Mums group on Friday mornings. love being able to go and have a coffee, eat lots of yummy food, chat about life, kids and anything else while the kids all play nicely on the play ground and with all of the toys. Even better is one of the mums home schools her 9 kids so we have 4 big girls to help look after the little ones and they do a great job at it. Miss 3 loves going to play with the big kids. It is nice for once Miss 3 is making friend with kids her age and Mr1 also has friends his age in the group. So both are entertained for the morning - It is pure bliss.

I am loving my vege garden. Its 3/4 finished. Now the hardest bit to do. but that can be this weekends task......

Raspberries.

The start of the garden with all our little seedlings planted.

Strawberries and passion-fruit in the distance.

So far we have lots of yummy strawberries, passion fruit (I am hoping this year they grow well....last year they were all eaten by slugs, but I now have the answer to that problem and we almost have a slug free garden....YAY)

We also have lots of herbs, lettuce, rocket, Onions, corn, sugar peas, broccoli, cauliflower, Spinach, perpetual spinach, raspberries, rubharb and cranberries.

I can't wait till it is all finished. (Yes I cheated and used weed mat, but being preg and trying to weed this garden was not sounding fun....but it does keep the ground very moist so hopefully that will help the plants grow well)

I am loving seeing the turtles chilling in the sun. Oh how it would be nice to just relax and enjoy the sun all day

It is a miracle to see Max and Molly sitting in the sun while we watch....they were given to us and very afraid of humans. But it appears they are getting more comfortable with us around :)

My fav turtle - Levi. He is so friendly and social. Loves attention and is happy to come say hello when we are outside. Chilling in the water.

I am loving the things the kids say.........Last night Mr1 stood up in his chair sticks his tummy out and says "Oh mummy got a BIG BIG Tummy"......"I got Big Tummy like Mummy" It was so hard not to laugh at him, but obviously he has noticed that my belly has grown in the past few months :)

I am loving fish n chips nights with good friends. YAY for no cooking, catching up with friends on a lovely sunny evening and the start to a busy but fun filled weekend.

Linking up with Paisley Jade

Our family in the eyes of a three year old.......

2011-11-10T19:40:00.000+13:00

I am so proud of my little girl.
She wrote her first little story today. It was meant to say "this is my family going on Holiday"
But she got to "that is my family" and stopped because she decided that she wanted to just draw a photo of her family. She had very little help with the writing, just asked help to spell a few words.

Mr1 - wearing sun glasses, Mummy - with long hair, Daddy - has tall legs because he is tall and Miss3 - with beautiful hair and short legs because she is little.
I love how she has great delight in telling us what her drawings are all about.

Simply Sinful Cinnamon Muffins

2011-11-10T09:19:00.000+13:00

These are so good....I would say so bad for you but oh they are so good.

I am loving anything Cinnamon at the moment and the smell of these muffins cooking are making my mouth water. They are to take to friends for morning tea this morning....But I had to taste one to see if they were any good, which they were.
I didn't add the icing as they are sweet enough as they are.

So I had to share the recipe with you all. It is one I found on Pinterest.
Boy Pinterest is a dangerous place. I find so many new and good recipes to try. This has to be one of my favourites at the moment :)

Enjoy.

2011 Christmas Ornament Swap

2011-11-07T14:20:00.000+13:00

I am hoping by now that the ladies in my swap group have all recieved their envelopes with their ornament.

Since I have a birthday to plan, A hubby going away for most of Dec and lots of presents to finish making I decided to make the ornaments in advance and get them all posted before I ran out of time.

Here is a little sneak peak of what I made.

Ill show you a photo of the real thing once I know everyone has their ornament.

Party planning has begun.

2011-11-06T21:42:00.000+13:00

In just under 6 weeks Mr1 will be turning 2....eek where did the 2 years go.
He is so Fish Crazy that we decided that we will have just a little birthday celebration with a bit of a fish theme. It will be so close to Christmas that we are going to try keep it low key and small to save on stress.
I love parties and specially the cake making part. So I have almost decided on what cake he is having.
here is a little taster of what his party is all about......

I am so annoyed. As I blocked out all of the details I noticed a mistake.....Need to stop doing things when I'm so tired and in a rush.

Things I'm Loving

2011-11-06T13:09:00.001+13:00

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is.

Here are a few of the things I am loving this week .............

McDonalds Sausage and Egg McMuffin....if only they sold them at 10pm when I REALLY want to eat one. Oh and mince pies. Oh how I love mince pies at 9.30 in the morning on the way to our morning groups shhh this is a little secret of mine :) Im not normally one to eat a pie or McDonalds, but Ill blame it on the baby bump and the cravings for savory.

My cool new Maxi skirt. it is so comfy that i have warn it every day since I made it...time to make a new one so this one can go in the wash :)

That Christmas is so close and I can start making Christmas decorations.

Family nights at home. DVD (Robots) home made Curry and Naan (one of the kids fav dinner and here is the link for the best Naan bread ever). Diner followed by strawberries, kiwi fruit, banana, apple and mandarin with chocolate dipping sauce - YUM. tonight was such a lovely family night in and just what we needed, followed by an early night for the kids.

Mr and Mrs Grass head grew hair this week. The kids are loving how cool they look.....thinking Mr Grass head might need a bit of a hair cut soon :)

But most of all I am loving that it is finally getting warmer, the sun is starting to shine and the kids can spend time outside, we can spend time in the garden and the dog can go out side and not come in all muddy :) Oh how I love summer.

Linking up with Paisley Jade

Introducing our little Chocolate Fishie.

2011-11-03T10:06:00.000+13:00

The reason why everything has been rather quiet on the blog recently.

After my trip to Australia I came home to a bit of a surprise. After feeling so ill for such a long time about a week after my little holiday I finally gave in and did a pregnancy test. To our surprise we were now expecting baby number 3.
A bit of a shock to the system, but after a week we got our heads around the idea and now extremely excited. Chocolate Fishie is due in End of April next year.

If you are curious about the name Chocolate Fishie here is the story:
When we saw the MW I was measuring at well a head for dates. the heart beat was too weak so the MW thought it was twins. that afternoon we got a rush scan done to check if it was one or two. On our way Miss 3 says to us, why is mummy going to the Dr again (I had seen the MW and had blood tests done all in the same day) we told her it was to see how many chocolate fish Mummy had eaten as we didn't want her to spill the beans till we had our head around the idea of being pregnant and the possibility of twins (miss3 and I had a chocolate fish treat that afternoon). So from then on baby has been called chocolate fishie.

30min DIY Maxi skirt

2011-11-03T09:57:00.000+13:00

A few days ago I saw this pattern on Pinterest on how to make your own Maxi skirt. It looked so comfy and easy to make.....and it is easy to make. only took 30mins.
I have piles and piles of the right material to make a skirt like this so after deciding between black and grey I went to it and had a skirt whipped up in no time.
I am so in love I think ill have to make a shorter one and possibly another long one......excuse the camera.

Hmm I guess this photo now lets the cat out of the bag.....

Cute little NICU Gowns.

2011-10-28T22:59:00.000+13:00

I have just finished making some super cute NICU Gowns for a little girl in Aussie. They are currently winging their way to her as we speak. A lovely lady contacted me to see if I could make some for her friends baby who was born very early. So I thought what the heck every little baby deserves something special to wear. I normally only make them for Early Buds to put in their little Prem Packs so this was a little special project.

It was lots of fun picking cute girly material. I am loving the little duckies. Wish I could make Miss3 something with it, but I don't think she would be that keen....might have to make her dolls a little dress.

Beautiful Designer Wrap........

2011-10-28T22:11:00.000+13:00

I have fallen in love again. This time with the lovely Blue Bloom Custom Designer Wrap. Almost every time I create a Designer Wrap for a customer I want to keep it. But this one has such a fresh summer feel to it with the light Grey colour and the light blue panel. I hope the new owner loves it as much as I do :)

I'm going to find it hard to part with this wrap tomorrow at the post office.

Mr & Mrs Grass Head.

2011-10-28T22:02:00.000+13:00

This morning a friend came over for a play date so for a bit of fun Miss3 and I decided we would make a craft.
The kids made a Grass Head Person each....with a bit of help from the mummies.

More seed mum.....I just sprinkled mine into my sisters Fairy garden........

Hard at work creating Mr Grass head's clothes.

The beautiful girls hard at work creating their Mrs Grass heads. The girls made pretty skirts for their Grass head people.

Mr Grass head finished.....before one had was broken off and the other left hanging and the poor Mr Grass Head got squished :)

Mr and Mrs Grass Head. The kids will come up with names, but for now that is what I have called them :) Will do an updated photo when they have hair :)

They are so easy to make and the kids had lots of fun. Now to wait patiently to wait for the seed to grow.

Mr1 loved his a little too much and carried it every where for the first bit. It is now sitting safely on the window sill hoping it didn't get too squished and might start sprouting in the next week.

Fairy Garden.

2011-10-25T14:38:00.000+13:00

Since we watched the Tinker Bell movie. Miss 3 keeps finding little things she though would be great for in a fairy garden. After weeks of her talking about it I gave in and surprised her with a trip to the Warehouse to pick some flowers for her Fairy garden. while we were there we found a cute pink fairy that she has named Tinker Bell.

We came home and got out some old post from under the house and using a few things from around the home, in the craft pile and garden we created this cute garden. Miss3 was very helpful and full of great ideas that helped create the garden (with very little guidance from me). I think it looks great and she has done a great job. I love her idea of using an old plastic pot as a pond - it helps water the garden :)

All ready she has had hours of fun taking "Tinker Bell" around the garden and looking after the special plants.

I got the idea from this post on Pinterest. Our fairy Garden is not as cool as this one, but we love it and Miss3 adores it and that is all that matters :)

Seedlings.....

2011-10-16T22:19:00.000+13:00

Today Miss3 and I got stuck into the garden. A couple of weekends ago we started the de-weeding process. this took a while as the garden was well and truly over grown from winter. But now it is looking slightly better. We have 1/3 finished with the herbs and some lettuce seedlings planted.

Today Miss3 and I planted some seedlings. She had so much fun putting potting mix into the containers and talking about what seeds went where and how many. It was such a lovely way to spend the afternoon with her. We don't have a glass house at this place and don't really have any where in the house house or outside to keep the seedlings in a sunny spot. We needed to go to bunnings to get a few tomato plants and while we were there we found this nifty little plastic glass house for $30.

The kids had great pleasure in helping Dad put it together and before we knew it they had both run down to the seedlings and tucked them away in the glass house all by them self - only one accident when Mr1 dropped a whole egg try of corn. Luckily it was an easy clean up.

It was great seeing the kids getting into the gardening and getting pleasure from simple things in life.

Miss3 now wants to get stuck into the rest of the garden and get more plants in. But that will have to wait for some nicer weather. It is meant to rain tomorrow :(

Celebration Dinner

2011-10-12T13:47:00.000+13:00

I got an awesome email yesterday afternoon from my husband. He emailed to let me know that all the late nights, hard work and stress of writing up his teaching portfolio and making sure that his lectures were written just right had paid off.
He won the Science and Engineering Teaching Excellence Awards for 2011.

I am so excited for him that all his hard work has paid off and he finally gets some recognition for it.

So to celebrate we made an impromptu surprise dinner with lasagne, garlic bread, a yummy salad and cake and lollies for dessert to celebrate. We even had L&P in wine glasses for the kiddies......Miss3 thought she was very special.
Was a lovely dinner by candle light and nice to sit and celebrate Dad's success with the whole family.

Here is a photo of our yummy cake - hubby's favorite carrot cake.

Flat Stanley's Adventures.

2011-10-11T13:23:00.001+13:00

Flat Stanley's visit with us has come to and end. After a 2 week stay in New Zealand he is being packaged up and sent back to his owner in Brunei.

here is a little sneak peak of what flat Stanley got up to while he stayed with us.....
On Tuesday the 28^th of October I Flat Stanley went to Kindygarten with Miss3.

He had lots of fun playing with all the kids, painting, listening to stories, singing songs and having afternoon tea with all of the kids.

On Thursday the 6^th Flat Stanley went to feed the ducks with Miss3 and Mr1 at Waikato University.

On Sunday the 9th Flat Stanley got to have a Kiwi favorite - Fish and Chips for Dinner. This was his last dinner before he went home.

We turned Flat Stanley's adventure into a little interactive book.

One of the thigs the school asked for was for us to include a little bit about the country Flat Stanley went to visit. we did this by taking Flat Stanley to the supermarket and writing in the book all about the Iconic NZ foods and added photos of things like Watties tomato sauce, pineapple lumps, L&P etc.

We also included a few post cards that flat Stanley "sent" home to his owner with information about his trip to Auckland and what he saw on his way like the sky tower, harbour bridge, sheep and cows....my drawing of a sheep and a cow is well questionable. The sheep looks like a fluffy dog and the cow looks like a spotty cat with a big tongue poking out.

here is what out book ended up looking like:

Post cards written by flat Stanley for the kids to read.

Miss3 drew some pictures for some as we didn't have photos to share.

Flat Stanley is now on his way home to Brunei with his other friends that got to visit Hamilton. I hope the kids enjoy the book as much as Miss3 and I enjoyed making it :)

Things I'm Loving.....

2011-10-07T09:05:00.000+13:00

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is.

Here are a few of the things I am loving this week.......

Marshmallow Hot Chocolate by Avalanche.

I went to open the letter box while waiting for a friend to arrive so we could walk up to Kindy to pick up the kids. Inside along with lots of junk mail, bills and the news paper was an awesome little surprise from a Mystery hot chocolate fairy who thought I needed a little something to make my week better.......it didn't take too long to work out who it was from. It was just what I needed and definitely made my week :)Oh and it is super yummy. if you see it in the supermarket I recommend you try it.

Oh and another little morning tea fairy that dropped off some yummy berry muffins last weekend when Hubby was away and Mr1 was so sick. Was nice to get a yummy treat to sit and enjoy after a night with no sleep.

I treated my self to some tulips this week.

Coming from a Dutch family there is something about tulips that draws me to them. So when I saw them at the supermarket and so cheap I had to get some to brighten up the house. There is something special about having flowers in the house that make me smile and make me feel happy.

The sunshine. it is so nice to have some warm rays of sunshine pouring into the house (when it is not raining), the doors wide open with the summer air flowing through the house.....all though today looks rather grey.

Lining up with Paisley Jade

Operation Christams Child.

2011-10-06T17:17:00.000+13:00

Christmas is on its way. Every year we take part in Operation Christmas Child and fill a box of goodies to send away to a child in need.
It is such a fun activity to do with the kids as they get to pick things, think about what another child would need and like. The box comes with a little list of things that would be needed to give you an idea. We ticked off the list as we got things for each category.

This is what Miss3 and I have picked for our little box of goodies. Since it was an activity for Miss3 to do she picked a girl between the age of 2-4 years.

Book of Opposites
A Yellow blanket with stars to keep the girl warm (miss3 picked this one)
Bangles
Necklaces
Hair ties
Hair clips
A teddy
Sun hat
Stickers
Note book to draw
Crayons
Dora tooth paste
A cat tooth brush
Maracker
Hand clapper thing
A card from Miss3

And I think that is about it - well all I can remember from looking at the photo. the box is all packed and ready to go now - so Im not going to attempt to unpack it again. It is hard to squish all of this into a little box :)

I had to share the cute card that took miss3 all afternoon to create. she is so proud of her drawing of the little girl and her self playing with the presents.

I Spy Bags!!!

2011-10-06T14:53:00.001+13:00

I have been meaning to make these for a while and finally got a chance to last night. They were so simple to make and even better, once again I used up bits and pieces from around the home. Scrap pieces of material, Bias binding that I have had in my sewing box for years. This is the firs time I have ever had to use it. Offcuts of plastic from our plastic mat on the table (we need it for the mess Mr1 makes), Orzo pasta that had been in my cupboard for YEARS. I think possibly 5??? but it was sitting in the craft pile waiting to be used on such a project and rice.

The little objects were just little things from my craft shelf, little things I had lying around like miss matched buttons, tiny toys that are too small for the kids to play with and bits from my sewing box.

After laminating the print out with all of the objects I now need to do one last touch - putting a hole in the bag so that the printout and the bag can stay attached and not get lost. But that can be tomorrows job.

Then two are going into my Christmas pile, the other two are being put away for special gifts.

Now to find a project to keep me busy tonight while Hubby is at work.

Parenting Hot Tip....

2011-10-05T14:36:00.000+13:00

I got this quote sent to me from The Parents place.
I think it is so true that I had to share it with all you mummy bloggers and followers.

Hot Tip: Children want to know we believe in them and think they are capable enough to manage life's challenges. Be careful not to do too much for them.

Safari Creations.

2011-10-05T14:23:00.001+13:00

So Mr1 is turning two in nearly 2 months time.
With it being so close to the busy season Im starting his birthday planning.
We have decided to get the kids one big Christmas present from Santa this year and because it is so big I have decided to try and make most of Mr1's presents simply because he has lots of extended family that spoil him rotten and I have so many ideas of things I would love to make him that he would just adore.

First thing I completed the other day was this cute little shoulder bag to house his African animals. It is a super easy and cute bag to make. Luckily I had enough material in the scrap box so I didn't have to buy anything.

Inside the bag is this cute little safari mat for him to play with his tigers.

He just loves African animals so we are going to buy a few more plastic animals to make the set complete. I know the fish are not quite fitting with the whole safari setting - but he also loves goldfish so I added in a few fish buttons to the water to make it a bit more interesting. He is going to love this. At the moment his tigers like to drink from ponds and eat from grass an hide under trees that his sister draws for him on paper so hopefully this is as much of a hit as his sisters creations.

Hopefully this weekend I can start making his second gift using some cool camo material that I have had waiting since I was pregnant with him to be turned into something fun for a little boy.

It is has been a little quiet recnetly.

2011-10-03T17:12:00.000+13:00

What we have been up too.......
I know we have been very quiet here recently. I have had a few people ask me where we are. Well we are still around, just getting on with the real world and having very little time for blogging.

We have been doing the usual activities for the weeks - Swimming, groceries, play center, kindy, mums group twice a week and then there are the play dates we have been trying to fit in with all our dear friends. Life just seems a bit crazy.
On top of all of that nearly every evening the past few weeks Hubby or I have been out. Weekends have been full with visitors, trips to Auckland and work for Hubby. I am hoping the next wee while is going to be a little quieter.

Miss3 has turned in to a very helpful mother hen. she let us have our first much needed sleep in on Sunday. kids woke up just before 7 so we said how about you go and play quietly and we will get up and make breakfast shortly. next thing I hear Miss 3 feeding the dog. an hour later she comes into our room and said I have feed the dog and the kids have made the kids breakfast. Sure enough she made rice bubbles and gave Mr1 a straw so he didn't make a mess with the milk - clever thinking. She then came to ask if mummy and daddy would like some toast as she had made us peanut butter toast :) I am so proud of how independent she is becoming and how caring she is towards others.

Mr 1 has been in the wars. During a fight over toy tongs (for the kids kitchen) Mr1 got his finger stuck in the middle of it and managed to cut it around just under the nail....causing lots and lots of blood and needing to visit the Dr. After a clean up it was not as bad as first thought, but it needed sterile strips (they don't stitch fingers, only use like butterfly stitches or glue) and a big bandage. the hardest part has been keeping his had out of the cereal bowl and any liquids....we have to keep it dry for at least ten days.During his observation from the Dr he picked up on a rash on his hands. Turns out the poor boy had tonsillitis and a viral bug.....but it did not end there. So he has been a very unsettled clingy boy this weekend. Very little sleep had in our house and a boy that constantly cries :(

In the weekend we had our first Movie night and sleepover in the lounge - turned out to be a good thing with a sick boy. Dad was away in Auckland watching the Rugby so the kids and I got lollies, popcorn, chocolate and the Tinkerbell Movie.
The kids loved it so much with the mattresses all lined up on the floor and in our PJs we had a sleepover. Can't wait to do it again. Unfortunately our camera is flat and I have no idea where the charger is at the moment so no photos :(

So that is about us. I have found a little time to start my list of creations that I have been meaning to make. Ill start writing about them soon. I have borrowed mums sewing machine and I am in love with sewing again. Nothing beats an older sewing machine. I think it is time for mine to go in for a service while I have hers. So watch out I will have some creative and more interesting posts coming your way shortly....when the camera is up and running again :)

Look at what arrived in our letter box this morning....

2011-09-17T22:28:00.000+12:00

Welcome to our guest for the next few weeks - Flat Stanley

You may ask who? well let us tell you a little about our friend Flat Stanley.
Stanley came all the way from Brunei to New Zealand.

The package came from a class of school children from CFBT Education school.

The class had read the book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown (go to this link to see an awesome website with more info)
Each child in the class then created their own "Flat Stanley" along with a letter about their classroom project, info about the child who sent us our "flat Stanley" and a photo of the child with "Flat Stanley" to post around the world. 19 "Flat Stanley's" have been posted around the world visiting different families for a few weeks.

While our Flat Stanley is visiting we need to take him along on all our adventures, take photos of what "Flat Stanley" has been doing. Then we send it all back with a story of his holiday along with information on the country he has been visiting.

Our awesome "Flat Stanley" is such a Dude. I can't wait to take him on all of our adventures. So watch this space over the next wee while to see what Flat Stanley gets up to in our house.

Things I'm Loving

2011-09-09T13:55:00.001+12:00

It has been a while (in fact it has been about a month - far too long) but after such a roller-coaster week I am back with lots of things I am loving.

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is.

Here is what I am loving this week:

Fun adventures with good friends.
The kids always enjoy getting on the bus and going to the mall for a coffee. And they are always so well behaved after an exciting ride in the bus.

The lovely warm sunshine that spring has produced. It is so nice knowing that the warmer days are just around the corner.

Kids that sleep in till just after 7. This is a small miracle in our house. But I love it even more when I wake up to the sweat sound of Mr1 singing "Oh happy day, Oh happy day" at the top of his lungs and muttering the rest of the song.

Mr Mega Cute - he thinks he is so funny and brings so much laughter into out house.

I am loving the pictures and paintings coming home from Kindy. Miss3 is getting so good at drawing people. This week I got a fantastic painting of "mummy dancing in the sun" she proudly told me in another drawing that I had a nice big tummy - once I looked again I realised what she meant was that she had drawn a picture of me with a tummy as usually it is the head with legs and arms :) It is so cute watching the development of her people.

And lastly I am loving supportive, loving friends who I can share my secrets with.

Lining up with Paisley Jade

Blue Bath Fun!!!

2011-09-05T22:23:00.000+12:00

I often find that bath time (as much as my kids love it) can end in disaster as they get bored quickly and end up having water fights, tipping water on each other or making a mess in the bathroom - involving water. But I have found a solution to the problem..........Making bath time different. sometimes it is a bath full of bubbles (Half bubbles half water. it looks like so much fun I would love to have a bath like that). This has to be a favourite in our house.
But this week I remembered how much the kids I nannied for use to love having coloured bath's.

So i got out some of my cheap food colouring and the first child to finish dinner got to choose the colour of the bath. Mr1 was the first to finish so he picked blue. It sure made miss3 eat up quickly as she realised she was missing out on a blue bath. They played so nicely during this bath and no water related incidents.
I'm looking forward to buying some more food colouring so we can have a different colour bath nearly every night :)

The good thing about the cheap food colouring is that you don't need to use much to change the colour and it does not stain the kids, bath or facecloth :) and the kids love it.

Happy Fathers Day.....

2011-09-05T13:46:00.002+12:00

Daddy got rather spoiled in our house yesterday.
Miss3 had a collection of wonderful gifts she had made at Kindy, Dynamites and a book we had made as a family. He also got a selection of his favourite treats selected by Mr1 and Miss3 in a pink gift bag (miss3 thought he would love a pink bag) and a wonderful story written by miss3. I just love this story it made me and Hubby laugh out loud. It is great seeing the world from a child's perspective.

Daddy likes to go on the farm. He watches TV. Samantha likes to jump in puddles and get mud on Dad's old clothes. He loves old Clothes and he's got some old clothes. He likes to drink water and eat porridge.

This made us laugh out loud as Hubby often wears his old clothes in the weekend when he is doing things around the house. He does drink lots of water and he always has porridge for breakfast. not to sure where the farm bit comes from as we don't go to my parent's farm very often, but obviously she enjoyed jumping in the mud puddles with him :)

Here are is a selection of photos we took for fathers day to put in a book for Dad.

Photo 1: You tickle me and make me laugh
Photos 2: You are the best ever daddy at all Love Samantha.
Photo 3: You give the best snuggles.
Photo 4: you make me yummy honey weet-bix for breakfast Love Samantha.

We had a lovely morning starting with a sleep in - thanks kids :) then the kids and I made pancakes for breakfast. We had a shared lunch with friends then a lovely afternoon in the sun as a family. Don't think we could have asked for anything better. was nice to have a family day.

Hope you all had a lovely fathers day.

Back to the land of living.....

2011-09-01T14:07:00.000+12:00

Wow I can't believe how long ago it was since I last posted. Life has been a little crazy here recently. I have written half a dozen posts but never got around to finishing them.....

I have just come back from a lovely and busy 4 days child and husband free in Australia. I started the day last thursday at 4am but after a lot of mucking around due to the plane being cancelled,finally after lots of waiting around we were bused to Auckland and I finally arrived in Brisbane airport 5hours late. But Im not complaining as others on the same flight were not arriving until later that night or the next day and I got upgraded :)

I got some shopping done while I was away, had a lovely time at my cousins wedding and catching up with the family. It was strange not having the kids around to worry about, but not as strange as I thought it would be.
I came home shattered. I have had an afternoon sleep every day since coming home and last night slept for about 14hours.....Woke up feeling a little better, but thinking an early night is in store again tonight.

So hopefully once I get a bit more time, energy and motivation ill be back blogging properly.

Hope you are all keeping warm and well.

Do you want to win some Awesome hand made cards......

2011-08-12T09:39:00.000+12:00

A friend of mine gave me some lovely cards for my birthday that I just LOVE. I can't wait to share the love and give a card away.

Over at Me in a Snap she is sharing the love and giving away 2 packs of 5 - just the same as what she gave me for my Birthday. Head over and have a look.....you could win some of her awesome cards.

It has been a busy week all about baby wearing in our house the past few days.

2011-08-11T16:51:00.000+12:00

I have been hiding away sewing this beautiful custom Mei Tai for a lovely lady and her little man.

I can't wait to see them try it out for the first time tomorrow.

I have also been busy organising a give away for New Zealand Baby Wearing Week. Snuggle Bug is giving away one Wrap to a lucky winner. Head over to New Zeaalnd Baby Wearing Week's blog or the facebook page to see how you can win.

I am also in the process of sorting out another exciting move for Snuggle bug Wraps. As it is just in the pipe lines at the moment you will have to wait for the announcement. But in the mean time head over to Sweetpea Baby Supplies They have lots of lovely baby products that are currently being loaded on to the website, which will be launched in the next few weeks.

Hopefully ill be back with a non baby wearing related post with lots of photos later tonight :)

Baby wearing cuteness.......

2011-08-08T21:06:00.000+12:00

My little Snuggle bug now has his own wrap to carry his "bubba" in. Now he can be just like his big sister and Mummy.

He thought he was very cool with his Kids Snuggle Bug wrap.

Here is my little Snuggle Bug enjoying being warn in my Snuggle bug wrap

Im Loving.....

2011-08-07T22:18:00.000+12:00

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is.

Here is what I am loving this week.......

My new hair cut...... it is almost the same length, just a lot lighter and more shape. YAY for layers.

Birthday's.........My Awesome hubby who took the morning off to make me pancakes for breakfast and gave me a few hours to go and get a hair cut and spend some time at the gym. I could not think of a better way to start a day or a better way to spend my birthday.....he also helped a little girl make me a birthday cake for after dinner. It is a yummy chocolate cake with berries in the middle and chocolate icing....

Yummiest looking birthday cake ever. Then a lovely friend came to look after the kiddies while hubby and I went out for dessert (I know two desserts, but at least I was good and only had a very small piece of Miss3's cake and left the rest for this weekend).

Factory shops that have great deals......We heard about how good this factory shop was, but I was so surprised.

1kg of honey roasted peanuts for $3

2kg of Muesli for $2

A HUGE bag of yummy croutons for $1

8 packets worth of Mother earth Muesli bars for $5.

They also had lots of nuts, dried fruits, chocolates and other muesli bars. Miss3 is in love the with Muesli and croutons as a snacks. Luckily they were so cheap :)

Bath time in our house tonight......

Linking up with Paisley Jade

30 Day drawing challange.

2011-08-04T20:02:00.000+12:00

Some of my mummy friends have decided to take part in a 30 day drawing challenge. it has been a bit of fun so I thought I would share.

Feel free to join in. Make sure you let me know so I can come and check out your drawings.

Betty Crocker saved the day......

2011-08-01T22:58:00.000+12:00

We woke up to a special surprise at the door step last week.
The courier had left a parcel at the door......not expecting anything we we very excitedly opened the package. It was a Devil's food cake and a whole tub of the yummy vanilla icing from Betty Crocker.
We applied to do a review on this product and what better day to arrive at the door step but on a cold, grey day with kids recovering from sickness.

In the afternoon once Mr1 was fast asleep Miss3 and I had fun in the kitchen.
I was instructed that she was the baker and I was the photographer and helper. So after measuring out the amounts into measuring cups I left her to it.

Easy to follow instruction :)

Everything all set up for Miss3 to bake her creation.

Miss3 decided that she wanted to make cupcakes rather than a cake. so we created cupcakes out of the cake mix.

I recommend it for a fun kids activity. It is so simple and almost fool proof that they can bake how they want without much adult supervision.

The icing is so good I will be buying that again. It has a strong vanilla flavour that I like - it is kinda like ice cream. Only down side is it is too tempting sitting in the fridge. I just want to eat it by the spoonful (mmmmm secretly it is very tasty)

What a fun way to fill in an afternoon. Thank you Betty Crocker. You saved our afternoon.

Things I'm Loving.....

2011-07-29T22:47:00.000+12:00

Exceptional Italian Almond tea by Dilmah. YUM

Buying my little man his first packet of 5 Dinosaur Undies. He has had three successful afternoons so far. (I have only been brave enough to have nappy free at home)

A cold afternoon activity that has turned into a permanent fixture in the playroom this week. Miss3's hut. It has provided hours of fun for both kids. Miss3 is having a sleepover in her hut tonight. With her doll who has a special bed made on top of a plastic toy storage container :) oh and we can't forget the oven in case her doll gets hungry she can make her some dinner.

Good night Big sister......Excuse the miss matched PJ's. His daddy dressed him tonight.

Fresh sweet juicy oranges from our lovely neighbour's orange tree.

Linking up with Paisley Jade

My new love

2011-07-28T15:37:00.000+12:00

I signed up for the gym a few days ago. So far this week I have been a couple of times and I LOVE it.
I find it clears my mind, funnily enough kinda relaxing and I am super surprised that I am much fitter than I thought I was. It has been a good 4 nearly 5 years since I have been to the gym. I managed to do a good 15min run and in total an hour work out without too much problem yesterday afternoon. Im looking forward to tonight to get a programme written up and next week to join in some of the classes. Im thinking a Yoga or pilates class will be a bit of fun but they also do a spin class and various other classes that look like fun. A friend has also joined the gym so it is nice to motivate each other and meet up for some of the work out.

Now to go and finish icing cupcakes with the kiddies.....its going to be hard not to eat the icing as it is so yummy :)

mmmmm......Curry night

2011-07-27T22:28:00.000+12:00

We were lucky enough to review a Butter Chicken simmer sauce and Butter Chicken paste by Tandori Palac. I was excited about this trial as the kids just love curry night.

Last week we tried the Butter Chicken simmer sauce. To be honest I was disappointed. It did not have much flavour, was not very creamy, and the colour didn't look natural to us. We still ate it, but it is not a flavour our house hold enjoyed. I would say it was a very westernised watered down Butter chicken flavour.

Tonight we tried the Butter Chicken paste. This pleasantly surprised us. We liked the Butter chicken paste a lot more than the butter chicken simmer sauce. The paste had more flavour, a much better colour and smelt more like a butter chicken curry. The kids were happier to eat this one and enjoyed it. I was a little disappointed we had to use the whole jar to make it more flavourful which would make it an expensive dinner compared to our usual way of making Butter Chicken for dinner (the jar suggests you use half a jar per meal). But we did enjoy it a lot more than the Simmer sauce.
I would consider buying the paste if it was on sale, but it would not be my first pick.
Here are a few photos of curry night in our house:

Miss3 making Naan bread

Butter Chicken using the butter Chicken Paste.

To see other reviews check out Kidspot to see what other mums have to say about there trial.

Weekend wind up.

2011-07-24T21:16:00.000+12:00

Another lovely relaxing weekend in our house. The kids have been a sick so we are all a little sleep deprived in our house as a little boy has been up for about 2-3 hours for the past 3 nights and then waking up at 5am. he thinks sleep is over rated right now and he is doing a great job at reminding us why having a third child would be a bad idea. It is like having a new born in the house again.
But other than the lack of sleep we had a lovely weekend.

We went to a special little girl's 2nd birthday. Her mum did an amazing job with the decorations, attention to detail and the awesome cake. The kids and us adults had a lovely time.

We then had a last minute visit from Nana and Granddad. followed by a family movie night. We rented Madagascar. It was a huge hit as it had all the favourite animals and no scary bits. Then mum and dad had a movie night with an adult movie which was lovely.

Sunday was a fun morning at church. Miss3 loved the kids service with the bouncy castle, lots of fun activities including watching the big kids getting gunged. The church ordered 1000 pieces of chicken from KFC for a combined chicken, salad and rolls lunch followed by a cake competition.

We then had an afternoon at home. Mr1 had a sleep, Miss3 built an awesome hut where we played with her babies before I went to the gym. After an early dinner we all went and watched Daddy and Uncle G play soccer.

So over all a lovely weekend packed full of fun activities. Looking forward to a quiet Monday and hopefully we can find things to fill in the last week of the holidays.

Things I'm Loving.....

2011-07-23T22:29:00.000+12:00

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is.

This week I am loving.....

Our new fish. Mr1 got his wish and we set up a tank with three fish for him to sit and watch all day long. I also love the names.....Nemo (the gold and white fish), Fish (the white fish) and blue fish (the gold fish). Nemo is Miss3's and the other two are Mr1's.

Having friends visit and bring new babies to snuggle. Miss3 was super excited about them visitng as she has been dying for a cuddle with this special baby for a very long time. the cutest part was that Miss3 was either cuddling baby or trying to steal her from me or baby's mum.
Don't they look so cute together.

These cute necklaces that miss3 lovingly made for her a special someone's 2nd birthday.
Miss3 came up with the idea of making a gift and decided that a necklace, bracelet and card would be perfect. she even wrapped them up and hid them in a secret place so no one would find them till the party....they were so well hidden that I am pleased she remembered where they were.

This week I also loved

having a friend and her little one pop over for a play date / lunch and having time to catch up.
going to the funky monkey's concert then treating the kids to McDonald's - this is a huge treat in our house as we never go to McDonald's. Boy the kids were super excited.
having days and days of lovely sunshine. It was so nice sitting on the bean bag in the afternoon reading miss3 a story while Mr1 slept.

Linking up with Paisley Jade

the balancing act of parenthood and life.

2011-07-18T13:28:00.001+12:00

I was reading a lovely blog post by Sammy at Cherished last night. I have been following Sammy with her journey for a while now but as I read through her post along with the other blogs she linked to I realised that I am not alone.
Particularly when I read this post that she linked by Kristen at Rage against the mini van
What rang true to me as I read this post is that most days I feel that I am totally wrapped up in my life, which for me means my kids life, running a house and creating baby carriers to fulfil orders. It is sad to admit it but I am sure the kids have more of a social life than I do.

Im not complaining as I love having this luxury of being able to stay at home with them and is a choice I made after returning to work for a very short before Mr1 came along. But I do feel so down at times that I have less time for people that matter (friends and Family) I have less time for things I love to do and I have less time for hubby and I as a couple simply because by the end of the day I am so drained and need some blob time.

I think this post came at a good time for me to read. It made me realise that right now at this time in my life, my life revolves around the kids, around giving them the best childhood possible to grow them into the most amazing human beings I can do with the time I have. This is a very precious time that I will look back to and wonder where it has gone. As much as I would love to return to work or have just one or two free days to catch up on all the things on my "to do" list I am going to hold off and enjoy the small things in life one day at a time. One day ill have free time to complete all of these things and catch up with everyone I need to.

So for now I am going to work on the NOW and work on the things that matter and give life a little more balance.

Oh and on that note after this post I have joined a GYM for 6months, hubby now has a work free day so Saturday evenings we can have some couple time - this week we watched a DVD which we have not done in ages. I am also going to structure the days more so that the evenings are not filled with chores and I will have some time to go to the gym. I am very excited. But in the mean time while I find the right balance life will continue as normal and I will get back to having more time for things as life hopefully balances out a little more

Thanks for your post Sammy it was a pleasure to read.

What a lovely weekend.....

2011-07-17T12:37:00.001+12:00

Pancakes for Breakfast followed by a morning shopping, child free with a good friend. It was nice to look in shops that are not pram friendly let alone kid friendly, a coffee with no interruptions and a yummy slice. Followed by more shopping. We both managed to find some good deals and some lovely bits of clothing for our selves. It was a lovely morning and a lovely start to a sunny weekend. I can't wait to do it again.

Then when I came home Hubby had cleaned the house for me (he may have misplaced part of the vacuum cleaner in the process so we can't finish vacuuming till we find it....but he did most of it so I'm not complaining) He hung out washing and made the bed, feed the kids and got the little one to bed :) .

We then went out in the afternoon for a bit of a family trip to find the fish some snails and some plants to make it a little more interesting. and home for a DVD night starting with the kids Toy story - that was a hit (thank you Christine for recommending it) and The kings speech for the adults.....I may have fallen asleep for the middle bit. So ill have to watch it again another day before we have to return it.

Then this morning we went to the early service that started at 9am, came home and went to the lake down the road to feed the ducks. it is lovely at the uni lake as it is always so quiet. This afternoon will be spent relaxing and hopefully watching daddy play indoor soccer if the little one is awake in time.

I love weekends like this :)

One fish, two fish, even more fish.....

2011-07-15T20:39:00.001+12:00

Mr1 was super excited when he woke this afternoon. Poppa had arrived with a whole container full of gold fish to put in his very own fish tank. He thought all his christams's had come at once.

I am super excited about this as I am a little sick of having to go to the garage each day to talk about fish.....it is a little too cold at the moment let alone a bit boring :) So I thought we would fix this by setting up a tank inside that he can sit and watch.

While I was busy setting up the tank I could hear him running towards me saying "catch, catch, catch fish"....sure enough he had caught his first real fish and was running around the house with it in the net. And yes they were up high on the table, but that does not stop him. he is an expert at climbing the table these days ahhhhh.

So after a bit of a panic I sat the fish back in its bole nice and safe and made him put it back. we had a little talk about how fish don't like being caught all the time and it was naughty. Luckily the camera was out and on sitting on the bench by me so I could capture some of the moment.

Here is the poor little fish being released.

"Bye Fish" Bye"

Watch out fish as I can imagine this will not be the last time it happen....luckily the tank does have a lid so that might stop him - I hope.

Here are the 5 fish - Mummy's fish, Daddy's fish, Zoe's the dog's fish (it is so tiny only about 1.5cm) Nemo (miss3's fish) and Feish (Mr1's fish)

Thinking a trip to the fish shop will be tomorrows afternoon's outing. The tank is a little bare. We need a plant of some sort to make it a little more exciting.

Things I'm Loving.......

2011-07-15T14:16:00.002+12:00

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is.

This week I am loving......

This yummy vanilla candle that a lovely friend gave us. It smells so good like a vanilla milkshake. When you walk into the lounge the room often smells so good.

Finding this great skirt and a few others at a second hand shop for $3. They also had dark purple (it is in the wash today as a little someone just loves her purple skirts) They were brand new with tags and they had a whole pile of them, so we got some the next size up as well.

Having snuggles with the newest addition to my friends family. It is so nice to have new born snuggles and what a cutie he is.

I am loving this cute necklace that Miss3 made for me at kindy

I love how it named with a tag - it says "Miss3's Mummy" and her one is labelled Miss3.

I am also loving having a spare moment to do a I am loving post :) I have missed the last two Friday's.

Linking up with Paisley Jade

Entertainment for the kids.

2011-07-13T19:35:00.000+12:00

Oh how i love educational finds on line that are free.
This game is lots of fun for both miss3 and Mr1. It is an game that has lots of different things to do for each latter along with teaching the kids capital and lower case letters. It makes the sound and teaches them a few words to read.
It was nice watching the two kids playing nicely as they participated in the activities. It is cute watching them talking to each other about what is happening but mostly miss3 telling her brother what is going on and asking him questions (I'm thinking someone might be a natural teacher). Mr1 loves watching the action as he tells his sister what to push next.

This game was my life savor Monday night and again tonight when Daddy was home late from work.....and I am hoping it will continue to be for the next few weeks as daddy has lots of late night coming up.

Time for a change......

2011-07-13T14:21:00.000+12:00

It has come to a time in my life where I am in need for a change.
I have only felt this way 3 times in my life. Once when my oldest was 6 months old I was itching to get back to work....I did part time for a bit when she was older but only for a very short time before we had our big move when I then had a new house to unpack, a new life to build in a new town all with 5 months before a new baby entered the world.

Then when Mr1 was about 6 months old I had the itchy feet - I needed a change, I felt stuck and isolated and like my brain was turning to mush......but after a few weeks it settled down and I got on with having fun with the kids.

Now I have the need for a change again, but this time it is different. I am at a blank as to what will help fill this blank. I have thought about many things.....is it the need for a third baby? is it the need to go back to part time work? is it just that I need to find some time once a week to do something for me like join a gym, a night class, or a hobby that I can fit in around the kids? is it just that I need some me time to email friends out of town regularly to catch up, or finish the kids scrapbooks or to make something?

It is not like I don't have things to keep me busy. I am on the Toy library committee, I now facilitate parenting tool box courses every term for 6 weeks, I attend a mums group, We go to mainly music, we go to play groups, we regularly visit friends, I have two afternoons a week child free when Miss3 is at kindy and Mr1 is sleeping. I love the quiet, but miss the kids dearly and I am often busy making wraps / cleaning / doing the washing and general house hold things in my quiet time that I just don't get a moment to sit and have some quiet time for my self.

so now to fill the blank and find the answer......
I hope that it comes to me soon as I am so ready for a change. Be it a small change or a big one.

I am so in love....

2011-07-12T14:32:00.000+12:00

Oh I am so In love with my latest creation for the Snuggle Bug Wrap designer range.

It is so soft and snuggly and the yummiest colours. I just hope it finds a new home soon or esle I will have to find a baby to borrow or one of Miss3's dolls just so I can wear it :)

Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

2011-07-11T19:47:00.000+12:00

Miss 3 wanted to bake some cookies in the weekend so we went on a hunt for a new flavour cookie. After a little look around on the internet for ideas she decided that the peanut butter ones sounded tasty and boy she was right. They were soooo good that we will be making these again. Even better fresh out of the oven.

You Will Need:1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 c peanut butter
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1 1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 c chocolate chips

Method:Preheat oven to 190˚C.
Grease and line baking tray, set aside.
Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars until light.
Add the egg beating well until fluffy.
Shift the flour, baking powder, soda and salt together and add to the butter and sugar mixture.
Stir through the chocolate chips.
Drop spoonfuls of mixture onto prepared baking tray.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden.

I can see a rainbow.......

2011-07-07T12:19:00.000+12:00

I love watching the excitement and pleasure on Miss3's face when she see's something new. This morning when I opened the curtains there was the most amazing rainbow across the sky. So bright and vibrant. I called Miss3 in to have a look and with big wide eyes and a smile on her face. She watched for ages asking questions and pointing out things she noticed about the rainbow.

I just loved how she stood and watched for so long singing the rainbow song till it disappeared. She then asked where it had gone.
The cutest thing she said was "mummy we should get in the car and go and find the rainbow so we can see it closer" .....trying to explain how a rainbow is made is a bit of a difficult concept for a 3 year old :)

This time two years ago.......

2011-07-04T22:15:00.000+12:00

we were packing up our life in the south and getting ready to make the second biggest move in my life (the first was moving to Dunedin from Auckland when I was only 18 years old)
I will never forget how incrediably excited, but also scared and nervous I was.
Every where I went I remember thinking this could be the last time I ever come here again, see this person or see that sight. It was a time to soak in the things I loved, make lots of memories and visit the places we loved and start saying the good byes to the friends we had made over the 9 years we lived in the beautiful city we called home.

Two years ago we took these photo's........

I love this photo.

Having a snow fight with the Dog :)

The view from our lounge. It was white right down to the sea.

After it warmed up a little....still snow every where. (and the dog ran around like crazy in the snow...she is a real snow puppy as she was born in the snow. So when she woke to snow she could not help her self but run around crazy lol)

These photos were taken just over a week before we left Dunedin. I just love them as they are a good reminder of how cold Dunedin use to be, but also because I dreamed of a snow day before we left and I was lucky enough to get one of the best snow days we had for a while. It was lovely being forced to stay home, no one could go to work, pre-school, the shops or anywhere. So we had a PJ day at home keeping warm by the fire. But we did manage to brave the cold and head out side for some family fun before coming inside for warm showers, milo's and my favorite polar fleece PJ's. Oh how I miss snow days and waking up to airy sound of silence that snow days bring as the city is at a stand still. The sound of laughter as the kids would brave the cold mid morning and make snow men and have snow fights, the pure fact that you had to stay home and you got payed to stay home in you PJ's as you could not go any where. This is one piece of Dunedin I truly Miss.

Secret project completed......

2011-07-04T21:31:00.000+12:00

I have been a busy beaver working away on a secret project this past week, hence the no "things I am loving" or any other posts this week as I ran out of time.

A friend asked me to make her work mate some ken outfits as a leaving gift for the guy. So from two photos I managed to produce these costumes.....
Can you guess what they are?

First costume.......

(Yup this one was easy....its the Pope)

Second Costume....

(This one is a little harder. The Cat might help.....He is a Vet)

Here is all three.
There is a third outfit. This one only came about last minute as one of the Action men had a black singlet on so they wanted black tights to make him a third outfit......Can you guess what this one is?

(He is meant to be a gay guy)

So this is why I have been missing in action recently. It has been a bit of fun completing this challenge. I hope it is enjoyed tomorrow morning when they go to my friends work. Now To complete some other things on my to do list while I have the motivation.

I can't wait till Miss3 has a few Barbie's and Kens to make outfits for :)

Favourite Things Party....

2011-06-29T08:58:00.000+12:00

Here's how it works:
Each person brings their favorite thing (anything you like.. your favorite lip gloss, favorite kitchen tool, favorite gift wrapping supply, a gift card for your favorite frozen yogurt, etc.). It can't cost more than $6, and each person brings five of the same thing. When you arrive at the party, you write your name on five slips of paper and throw them in a big bowl. The bowl is passed around, and each person takes five names (making sure you don't pick your own.. or two of the same name).

One at a time each person introduces their favorite thing and then reads the five names they picked from the bowl, passing out their gift to those five guests. After everyone at the party has presented their favorite thing, each person should end up with five gifts to take home. It's always interesting to see what people choose, and some guests have started to bring a notepad and pen to jot down what people love.

This would be such a fun thing to do with all the ladies one night.

I found this idea on Pintrest, but the original idea comes from a lovely lady over at Inchmark.

Things I'm Loving......

2011-06-24T22:17:00.000+12:00

I am loving this little saying right now.....Ah how true it is in this house right now.

Now this is a good excuse to leave the cleaning till another day :)

New life.

In the past two weeks we have had four friends welcome a special wee one into their family........ and hopefully any day now there will be another little one welcomed into the world. I can't wait to meet them all.

I am loving how the mind of a certain three year old is working.....

Mummy how do you spell tree / light / road / school / the warehouse / supermarket / car.....and the list goes on as we are driving past places and objects. I have now started asking her what do you think it starts with.

I thought I would never say this, but I am loving the questioning phase. this week I also got asked how do you make books? It just amazes me her little brain is starting to figure out the world around her. It just blows me away how much she processes, observes and absorbs each day.

Lastly I am loving......curry night (see I managed to find a food this week that I am loving :p)

The kids are in love with Tikka Masala. We make it together from scratch including the Naan bread (yes ok I do cheat and make a big batch that we freeze and use over a few meals, but once every couple of weeks we make naan as well) For some strange reason the kids love curry night. they help prepare it, set the table and demolish their dinner in seconds and ask for more every time. So I am loving being able to eat curry and the fact that the children love it as much as we do :)

Linking up with Paisley Jade

Cute Air Guitar T-shirt

2011-06-24T17:48:00.001+12:00

I saw the cutest little t-shirt on Pintrest a few weeks ago. With no pattern to be found any where I figured it is not that hard to make so had a crack at making Mr1 his own little air guitar t-shirt. I love it and think it would look very cute on a baby singlet.....

here is my little rocker playing his guitar (excuse the tutu....his sister was doing some ballet and he decided that he needed a tutu as well)

Excuse the blurry photo. Someone would not keep still

This is why he likes to wear a tutu - so you can play peek-a-boo...........

Sometimes you just have to laugh.......

2011-06-22T12:34:00.001+12:00

Miss3: Happy Birthday daddy. I have a present hiding for you.........

Waiting for the kids to return a few seconds later we hear paper being unwrapped and the kids talking. Miss3: Oh wow pretty, thank you daddy for the chocolates.

Mum: are you bringing dad his birthday present?

Miss3: yes i opened it............ Here it is daddy you will like this, it is yummy. I have another one for you ill go open it just for you.

The back ground to this story.....Miss3 was given some money to go and buy Dad a birthday present. she originally picked some chocolate animal biscuits, but I managed to get her to change to chocolates.

In the shop she kept telling Daddy what she had gotten him and when we were at home she showed him and said Ill wrap it up for you for your birthday.

Yesterday Miss3 wrapped it up and "hid" the present. But when Dad got home she said....."daddy I have a surprise for your birthday, It is hidden under my bed". that night she told him about 5 times before she finally went to get the present to show him that it was all wrapped up.

Three year olds are not the best at keeping a "secrete" are they lol

The importance of rough and tumble.

2011-06-21T13:54:00.000+12:00

Did you know that playing rough and tumble with your kids, both boys and girls is beneficial for the development of your child.
It does not need to be real rough and tumble, but getting down at their level is important.

Here is a little video clip that was on TV last week that you might find interestin.
(sorry I was unable to work out how to get the clip attached to the blog, but if you click on the link above it will take you to the video)

I found it cute how hubby found the link and showed it to me. I think he liked it because he feels that his "play" with the kids is not just silly, but it does help them develop and grow their little personalities.....so let the rough and tumble continue in our house :)

Things I'm Loving......

2011-06-18T22:53:00.000+12:00

Linking up with Paisley Jade

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is.
So here is a few things I am loving about this week.......

A certain little girl who like to dress up pretty

And a certain little girls brother who think he is so cool in his sisters tutu playing peek a boo (it was his choice to wear it as he came asking me to put it on.......he is going to hate these photo's when he is 21 :) )

I am also loving that this little boy is insisting on using the potty after dinner and before his bath each night with success. It is so cute how proud he is. But even cuter that his Bubba has to sit on the potty as well and watch Thomas.

I am LOVING and I know I have said it before, but I am truly addicted to Pintrest. I have found so many awesome ideas that I just can't wait to make.....I have even signed up for an account to make my addiction even more of an addiction.

wow can you believe it....a I am loving post with out food for once....

Linking up with Paisley Jade

What is it with people feeling they have to comment on your parenting style.

2011-06-16T14:32:00.001+12:00

Ok so I know I am not a perfect parent - who is. we are all learning as we go and as each child brings about new "challenges"
I would never comment on a parents "style" as each family has a different way to parent and bring up their child and I am fine with that. As long as your child is loved and well looked after do what you please when it comes to how you parent your child, but really there is no need to comment on the way others are parents.....specially if it is very different to your style.

So today I was out at a meeting (I am not going to say what or where as NZ is a small place and people I know might know this person - even though I have never met this lady until today). They hold the meeting in a new building so the carpet was all lovely and clean.

Any way Mr1 wanted to eat and I had asked him nicely to sit down while he eats as that is a rule we have....for a good reason. He makes a huge mess and I didn't want to be cleaning it up. Any way he got up and started to walk around while eating. I picked him up and quietly asked him if he had finished, which he replied with No so I sat him down and said remember we sit when we are eating.

As I was saying this to my child a lady I have never met and until now was on the opposite side of the room walks past me and said "wow that was very DIRECT wasn't it"........ I responded with "yes it was" What I really wanted to say was "Yes it was that is how you teach a one year old rules and get them to listen to you". But I didn't as I hate being confrontational.

I am all for child lead stuff, I even follow some aspects of this parenting style. But when it comes to something like this come on a child has to respect a mother who has all ready asked him to sit down......Just my opinion but man she annoyed me. the rest of the meeting she was judging my parenting while her child ran around destroying stuff and not listening to any one (ok so yes I was being judgmental there, but her child needed a few boundaries)

I just wish people would get on with parenting their child - sure enough if another child is hurting a child or in danger and the parent is not around then help the poor child out, but when it comes to every day rules and parenting respect each others style. I have lots of friends who parent different to me and I would never say my parenting was better....each style has its good and bad points and each style is different and every single one of my friends I respect the way they parent. they all parent that way for a reason and have the understanding and knowledge as to why they are a particular style of parent and it is usually based on their family and child's needs.
It was not as if I was holding down Mr1 and forcing him to sit, I gave him the option and he chose......He is a very strong willed child who needs his rules and boundries much more than miss3 and he sure needs his parents to be direct other wise he does not listen.

So rant over.....but in the real world there is no perfect parent. we are all still learning and growing as parents with all the ages and stages.

So I have a bit of a problem.........

2011-06-15T20:24:00.001+12:00

I am totally ADDICTED to Pintrest
there is so many awesome things to dream about that makes me go awwww. I end up in a different world dreaming about things I would love to buy / make / eat / go see.
So many lovely ideas for interior design, crafty ideas, the best ever food ideas / recipes.....the food always makes me hungry and at 10pm I find my self wishing I could make a cake and eat it all lol

If you have not check out Pintrest you should check it out there is lots of awesome little bits and pieces to drool over.

for example looks at these awesome finds that I have fallen in love with :)

Party Tent

Mmmmm everything you need to make Smore's

Cool saying's....that are so very true....well my mum and hubby

would say this one is me.

If I was a teenager again I would so do this to my nails.

Tree Shelf - isn't this just the coolest shelf for a kids room? I Love it.

Look at this cool idea....It is a memory jar. fill up the jar and at the end of the year read all of your memories. So going to do this one next year.

What an awesome idea for a kids room.

How cute. Would love this in out play room.

So many more ideas I would love to share, but you should go check it out. you will find your self totally addicted :)

How to love Motherhood.....

2011-06-13T19:45:00.000+12:00

Doughnut muffins.

2011-06-13T16:37:00.000+12:00

If you like doughnuts then you will love these.........they taste just like doughnuts? I kid you not...they taste exactly like doughnuts and so easy to make.

Doughnut Muffins

Ingredients:

For the muffins:

1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup milk

For the middle (if you want Jam filled)

For the coating:

1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin tin.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
Combine oil, sugar, egg and milk in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients and stir only to combine.
place a teaspoon in a small muffin tin. Then press your finger into the middle to make a little crater. fill with a little bit of jam and place another teaspoon on batter on top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. While muffins are baking, melt butter in a small bowl. In another small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.
Shake muffins out of the muffin tin while the muffins are still hot.
Dip muffins in the melted butter and then into the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place on a wire rack and allow to cool.

YUMMY.....enjoy :)

So excited........

2011-06-13T10:15:00.000+12:00

This weekend on our little adventure to Auckland for a baby shower we stopped at our fabric suppliers to pick up some material. I am so excited because I now have heaps and heaps of Grey in stock for my Snuggle Bug wraps.

Loving the Slate Grey.....Can't wait to have a little play and make up some Grey designer wraps.But I also can't wait to take them along to the Waikato baby wearing meeting next Thursday. They have invited me along to bring some wraps and let some mums to be or mums with little ones have a play and try out our wraps (so if you are in Hamilton feel free to come have a look)

Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding......

2011-06-11T22:06:00.000+12:00

I am loving this recipe for microwave self saucing pudding.
It was soooo Yummy and a good treat on such a cold and wet evening.

Chocolate pudding, self-saucing

1 c self-raising flour
pinch salt
3/4 c white sugar
1/3 c cocoa
1/2 c milk
60g butter, melted
1 t vanilla essence
1/2 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c water
3 t coffee powder - I replaced this with cocoa.

1. Sift flour, salt, white sugar and 2 T cocoa into a 2-litre casserole or souffle dish. Stir in milk, melted butter and vanilla essence. Mix well. Scrape down from sides and level the top.

2. Sift brown sugar and remaining cocoa over pudding mixture.

3. Combine water and coffee powder. Micro-cook, high power, 2 minutes. Pour carefully over the pudding.

4. Micro-cook the pudding, high power, 8-10 minutes. or until the sponge rises up through the sauce.

Enjoy!!!

Things I'm Loving........

2011-06-11T21:55:00.000+12:00

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is.

So here is a few things I am loving this week...

Chocolate self saucing pudding on cold wet winter nights.

My little one's coming to bed for morning cuddles - it is the best way to wake up each morning with snuggly kids who tell you how much they love you.....

Our new bird feeder. I love watching the birds coming and going all day long and I love how they are getting friendlier and hanging around when I bring out the food in the morning.

(the camera has been flat - time to charge the battery so I can get a photo to prove that the birds are loving their new bird feeder as much as we are)

My new storage cupboard in the play room (ok it might be half finished as it has no doors yet, but it is still awesome and holds sooooo much stuff). I love having the toys all sorted and put away in a neat and tidy order................................... lets see how long this lasts.

I am loving being at home with my kiddies. It is challenging at times ,but more often than not at the moment it is so much fun.

oh and lastly i am loving these cute hair clips a friend made.................. I can't wait for them to arrive.

Linking up with Paisley Jade

Big Boys Room.

2011-06-09T14:11:00.001+12:00

Well the time has come and my baby boy is no longer a baby. He is now a big boy and to mark this moment it was time to turn him room into a big boys room with things that he liked and to make it a place he loved hanging out in and a place that he could call his own. So down came the baby animals and jungle themed things and up with the fish themed things on the wall.

He is still in a cot and we still use the change table, but other than that he is now in a big boys room.

My little fish nut now has a room filled with things he loves.

The school of fish swimming around his room - in an ideal world they would be gold fish, but this was what we found on a budget. But they are still fish and he LOVES them and that is all that matters.

His cute car / farm mat so he can drive his diggers, cars and truck around. he got this for Christmas and it is great to see him finally get the idea of what the raod is for.

This has just been finished off today. A large printed framed photo from Dr Seuss. I am in love this this print and can't wait to get it on the wall when the boy wakes up :)

Inside his box house. We screwed the rocket light on to the side (the box is very strong so it holds well) and made it a nice cosy place for him to go and chill out. he love sitting in here reading his box and playing with his rabbit.

It was so cute watching him with excitement go into a room full of fish. He still says good night to most of the fish and points out the blue fish. We often hear him talking to them when he should be sleeping.....so cute

Chair bags......

2011-06-08T13:16:00.000+12:00

Do you remember back at primary school when you had a chair bag to store your stuff in???

Well I decided it would be kinda cool for the kids to have something like a chair bag to store unfinished ar work in, letters, etc. But then I thought it would also be cool to have something that was I could write them letters and pop it into the chair bag for them to find "mail". Miss 2 is loving getting mail at the moment. So instead of building a wooden one that would not really have any where to go I thought this cute little chair bag would be a bit more fun. then when her "mail" phase has been and gone we can use it to store things in.

Luckily I had lots of the same material in my material pile - the denim was meant to be a skirt that I attempted to make many years ago (pre children) and obviously gave up on and ran out of time... It is so good to use fabric bits I have laying around waiting to be used for something.

I am so in love with these cute little chair bags I am thinking of making some up for my Felt shop.

Miss 3 is in love. she has been writing her self, and her brother letters all morning. And when she woke up this morning she had a little card that said "good morning, I Love you" inside her's to surprise her.

Inside the bag - it has a little pocket on the inside - unfortunately you can't see it very well as it is the same denim material so it is a bit dark to see.

The back of the chairs. it Velcro's onto the chair so it can fit a few different sized chairs.

Inside the bag - this one also has a pocket that is hard to see :)

The new and improved bird feeder.

2011-06-08T13:09:00.001+12:00

We made a plastic one last year that started to look a bit worn, so about a month ago it was taken down when hubby cut the tree tops off and finally we got a new and improved replacement.....that I am loving.

Finally with the long weekend Miss3 managed to convince daddy to build her a bird house. She has been waiting a few weeks for this one. The funny thing is once daddy said "yes Lets go and make one now" (after the 10th time she had asked) the little miss decided that playing outside would be more fun.
Hubby kept saying to her...."can you come and help me hold this piece of wood....or count the screws....or drill a hole" her response was "I'm just a bit busy riding my bike.....on the swing....playing" by the end of it she did help drill a hole (and break a drill bit) count out a few screws and that was about it. Funnily enough she still tells everyone she made it all :)

So here is our new bird feeder. The birds are loving having a new feeder up and enjoying the yummy snacks the kids leave for them. It is neat sitting at breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner watching the bird eat. The kids just love it. Unfortunately they are a little scared by us at the moment, so all going well in a week I will be able to get a photo of them using it. at the moment they fly away every time we open the window to take a photo.

Sticky Lemon Slice

2011-06-04T09:12:00.002+12:00

Ingredients

225g unsalted butter, softened
75g icing sugar
275g plain flour

Topping
400g granulated sugar
4 medium eggs, beaten together
4 tablespoons plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Grated zest 2 lemons
90ml or 6 tablespoons lemon juice, strained
Icing sugar for dusting

Method

1 Put the softened butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until whipped, then add the icing sugar and process until light in colour (creamed). Sprinkle the flour over and process until the mixture starts to form a ball. Tip into a non-stick jelly roll pan (32 cm x 21 cm), with the bottom lined with parchment paper, and press flat. If the mixture is sticky, keep your fingers dusted with plain flour.

2 Bake in an oven preheated to 350˚F (regular) for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven. While the base is cooling, make the topping.

3 Tip the granulated sugar into the bowl of a food processor and pour in the eggs. Process for 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, then sprinkle the flour and baking powder over, and add the lemon zest and juice. Mix together with a large spoon.

4 Pour the mixture on top of the base (it will fill the tin), then return it to the oven and bake for a further 30-35 minutes, or until golden in colour and firmish to the touch. Cool in the tin, then dust with superfine confectioner's sugar and cut into squares. Transfer to an airtight container when cool.

This super-delectable, sweet-but-tart 'slice' is quickly made in a food processor. If you don't have a food processor, cream the butter and icing sugar and work in the flour. For the topping, whip the sugar and eggs together with a rotary beater.

I got this recipe from the recipe book "A Treasurey of New Zealand Baking" the recipe is from Julie Biuso - I am still slowly working my way through the book and so far each recipe has been tasty.

Enjoy :)

Things I'm Loving.....

2011-06-03T22:08:00.000+12:00

Things I'm Loving 6......

My Mum.....she is awesome. She has kindly paid for some of my ticket to Aussie so I can join her to attend my Cousin's wedding in August. I can't wait.

This cool trike from the Toy Library.

I love how both kiddies (plus bubba the rabbit of course) can go for a ride so no fights :)

This week I am loving Sitting in the warm sun enjoying some quiet time......a hot drink, the latest treasures magazine that arrived on Tuesday, then luckily on Thursday the parenting magazine arrived so I could enjoy a different magazine each afternoon while one slept and the other child was at Kindy (and luckily it happened two afternoons this week. It was Bliss and I had to take advantage of the quiet while it lasted)

And it isn't a I'm loving post with out food......

Sticky Lemon slice.....mmmm it is heaven.

(will add a post with the recipe shortly as it is so good I have to share)

Linking up with Paisley Jade

It arrived....

2011-06-02T14:24:00.000+12:00

A while I go I was on the search for one of these.
Well I found one at last at a bargin price of $8.

Miss3 loves playing with it, she likes to dress it in PJ's and put its sleeping face on (it came with 4 magnetic faces so you can change her expressions)

Secretly I am having as much fun as miss3 with this toy.....hours of fun for her and I :)