My Creative Space

I've been on a mad clean up frenzy today & to my surprise, I found a bag with a knitting project I started a few years ago!  I hadn't actually 'forgotten' about it, I just got a little board of it at the time.  It's going to be a blanket and I've decided to get it finished in time for winter.  I plan to use up whats left of the colours I have and throw in some bright cheery colours too.  I'm so excited about completing this - my granny square classes will have to wait!

To share your creative space, pop over here.

Pottering About...

Holidays have almost come to an end.  I'm a little sad they are over already. With all the drama we had early on with sick children and hospital stints, our holidays have just flown by.  Having said that, I'll be pleased to get back into the school routine, to catch up with friends & to begin a new year.  We have a big grade 3 boy (I can't believe how quickly the years have gone), we have one starting school & one off to 3 year old kinder - hopefully! This is proving to be a very sensitive topic as he is refusing to go, begging & pleading through his tears to please not speak of this 'kinder' place.  I keep telling myself he'll be just fine when he gets there...we'll cross that bridge when we come to it...

In the mean time...back to these little treasures I picked up at the op shop last week.  I've decided to make a table runner to liven up our dining table.

Also, I found some paint out in our garage that I'm hoping will be perfect to white-wash the mirror in the living room.  At the moment it's all gold and regal looking, which doesn't really suit the style of our house so I thought I'd dress it down a little - fingers crossed, let's hope I don't ruin a perfectly lovely mirror!

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week!

Happy Australia Day!

Out making & flying kites this morning with most of the town & visitors too! We are having loads of fun except that our kite is about the only one on the beach that refuses to stay in the air! We may need to call it quits before we take out one too many casualties...

 

A great big "HOORAY!" to the members of  Ocean Grove Lions Club for volunteering their time & patience.  Happy Australia Day everyone!

Fun Times & Precious Moments

A great weekend  was had by all, a lovely way to wind things up before we settle back into the school routine.  We started off with brekky at the Dunes, this has become a regular thing of a Saturday morning & I absolutely love it, a long lazy breakfast enjoying our kids & catching up on the week gone by.

We followed this up with baby's first trip to the movies.  It is so gorgeous watching them take it all in for the first time, the wonder of it all.  His classic comment as the movie begins is "Who has the remote?" which had us in fits of muffled laughter!

Sunday we went swimming, then out for coffee & a play at the nursery, another delightful place we love to pass some lazy time.  And after coming home for some quiet play, a nap & a potter about, we headed off to dinner on the pier & the carnival. 

As usual we are reminded of how blessed we are to live in this amazing place.  We watch all the holiday makers soaking up every moment of their holiday by the sea, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere before they head back to their lives & we thank our lucky stars that we never have to leave!

Out and About

Look! My Cuddle Cushions have been featured over here at Owlsome Blog.  If you love owls, pop over & take a look, there are some incredible owl products - just lovely! 

It's such a thrill to have people enjoy your work, isn't it! I've had so much fabulous feedback about our little owl friends - looks like I'm gonna have to do something about it - so exciting!  If anyone knows where I can get lots of wooden buttons with four holes, I'd love to know.  The last lot I managed to score from a local op shop & cleaned out their jar.  Thanks for the exposure Owlsome Gifts!

We've also been doing a little local shopping of our own over at the studio for BOB & MABEL and 5 Star Baby! You must take a look at their stunning range of children's wear, woman's wear & accessories - I love it all!  Two very clever, lovely ladies!

I picked up this gorgeous pencil case & some bag tags.  They were meant to be gifts but I think I have to keep them for myself!

More Op Shop Finds...

We've been op-shopping again, it's a favourite pass time actually! We all love rummaging around looking for treasures, and we are rarely disappointed. 

Look, I picked up a powder blue linen table cloth, an extra large gorgeous vintage table cloth & a set of these sweet little bowls...

and all these doilies...I have plans for this lot...

Eddie scored yet another Buzz Lightyear while Jimmy picked up a Batman wizzy thing - happy customers...

Tantrums - aaagghhh!

His motto is 'fight to the death!'...

They happen in the morning, the afternoon, the middle of the night, there really are no limits as to when, where or how long they last - 3 year old tantrums are just part of our every day life!  Whether we're at home or out & about, they come pretty thick and fast.  In fact, it's kind of like living with this little walking, talking time bomb that could just explode at any moment without warning!  It doesn't matter where we are, my coping techniques are always the same, I don't give in, there are always consequences for him, I try with every ounce of my being not to get upset.  I stay calm (at least it appears this way on the outside, if the inside were visible I think I'd be committed) and I pretty much wait for it to be over.  At home he'll go on the 'naughty mat' until he's ready to stop screaming like some crazed feral cat, always telling him I'll be there when he is ready to be nice & have a cuddle.  When we're out, say in a cafe, I'll take him outside and tell him he won't be coming in until he's ready to be nice. 
All of this usually works well and fairly quickly, until today when we were out for a nice day in town, to have treats, spend Christmas vouchers, & basically hop from one toy shop to the next.  He wanted to go on the Wiggles ride, you know the ones, they are everywhere you look & make life a flipping nightmare at the best of times, so anyway, I explained that after we'd been into a shop where the other two were planning some very exciting purchases, we'd come back & have a ride.  Of course this was totally unacceptable in his 3yr old mind & so began the loudest, longest most disturbing & offensive tantrum every known!  It continued all through the store, through the checkout, through the shopping centre, down two escalators, through to the car park, in the car & home.

Needless to say we didn't get around to doing most of the things we'd planned, but I was determined not to let the other two miss out on making their purchases that had been long planned & looked forward to.  He, on the other hand got nothing, in fact lost a few of his favourite things which he can earn back with good behaviour.  What is most extraordinary & embarrassing is the way people look at you or feel they are entitled to make a comment or a judgement about your out of control child or parenting skills! While others look at you with that look that says 'You poor woman, I know just how you feel' or 'I am so glad to see this happen to someone else & not just me' - you know, a little solidarity! 
Fortunately, he is as adorable as he is horrid, and I take great comfort in that...

A Little Inspiration

We went past the Op-shop today & of course were drawn in for a good 40 minutes of browsing, when we came across this little gem.  Perfect for my little school starter, and he loves it!  I'd never have thought it possible, but he's even more excited about going to school now!

 

And something about this...

and this...

has really inspired me...I'll keep you posted...

Keeping Cool...

We've been lucky with a beautiful cool sea breeze over the last week.  Today, however, is just plain stinking hot! So we're all keeping cool indoors today with some movies, quiet play & relaxation.  While everyone is so peacefully occupied I'm going to catch up on some things that have fallen by the wayside over the last couple of weeks...

Finishing off a neck warmer for a special little friend about to turn 6.  Not quite the weather for it now but I hope she loves it when the time comes...

Our vegie garden is thriving with all this heat.  The tomatoes have taken over & we can barely get past them to tend to everything else.  When it cools down later we'll go in & take out the rest of our gorgeous beetroot.  Hubby made a delicious beetroot risotto on the weekend, we'll probably pickle the rest...

The cherry tomatoes on the deck are a treat too.  I love how the kids just pick them off to eat as they run past.  I'll try to salvage these to throw in a salad tonight...

Then hopefully a cool southerly will blow & we'll park it out here with a refreshing G&T...aaahhh my favourite time of day....here's hoping anyway!

Happy New Year!

My Family

Happy New Year to everyone! Time stood still for my family for a little while there with a very sick little boy in hospital for 11 days.  It was a very frightening and trying time for us all, especially my little man, but we've made it through and making a slow but steady recovery, ready to re-start our holidays & make the most of what is left before school resumes.  Going through such a traumatic experience has changed my way of thinking in a lot of ways.  I feel a lot more tolerant of other people & their sometimes irrational behaviour, I'm more relaxed and able to put things into perspective instead of letting silly little things bother me.  In fact, nothing at all seems very important right now, just having us all back at home together and enjoying one another.  Spending time with family and amazingly supportive friends.  There really isn't anything more to life really, is there!  It's a shame it takes such an ordeal to bring you back to earth and make you appreciate the treasures that surround you.

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and are thoroughly enjoying your holidays.  I'm looking forward to catching up with you all in the world of blogging, and I hope 2010 is a great year for everyone of you...  May the new year begin!! XX