Absent

Dear Readers,

I am sorry I have been absent lately.

Things have been busy, chaos really.

But I promise to be a good girl now.

Lots to share.

Regards,

Liz

xo

Rightio, so , what has been happening?

A bit of partying! A combined 3rd Birthday Party for our Mothers Group at one of the girls houses.

We all had different jobs to do, their was a mini bouncy castle , a game, some swimming and some free play! They all had an absolute ball and got a present (bought by parents)

Patiently waiting for Serena to had out the pressies!

Stella opening her present, a Barbie doll head she can do the hair

The awesome cake made by Bella's Mum!

There has also been some playing and dressing of Gypsy, and some chilling out at home to calm the days and a bit of respite for Mother dearest.

Some cruising and walking!! Max is getting pretty clever!

Lots and lots of eating and snacking , by everyone, the favourite is still corn cruskits with vegemite and fruit!!

Some classic "tanti" chucking and losing it in utter exhaustion at the dinner table!

And then , at the same time, on the other side of the table, the sweet and cheeky smiles of precious Lacey!

And the new face she pulls when you ask her "Where's your teeth?", Lacey got all 4 top teeth at the same time, with no hassle at all! A very different teether than her Big brother!!

Some typical Max antics and mess, emptying 2 bags of feathers during craft time!! Argh!! I can tell what sort of kid he is going to be already!

Some more antics and playing with pegs! Who needs toys when there are so many pegs around?

I have lots more to share, but I am actually going for a cup of tea and a wee rest, Noel is away, and the kids  played the tandem game through the night, they must know Daddy isn't her! And who sleeps that well when their beloved is away anyway?

Not me!!

*Yawn*

The Chop

I've been growing my hair for a while now, actually, ever since I had the twins, so nearly 12 months. But it was look awful. Like really bad!! I don't really know the real reason for the growing, other than the fact I just did not know what I actually wanted to do with my hair!!

However, since selling up, I was looking forward to going and sitting in a salon and saying exactly what people have said to me thousands of times "Do whatever you think!!" and so I did!!

And it was liberating!

It was so nice to ask for a cut and not be asked a million questions as to how, length, layers , fringe!

My friend Claire just did what she does best and I LOVE IT!!

Now all I need is the greys gone and I will be a new, liberated, non-business owner, woman!!

Hope you like it!

The new do and my beautiful boy (baring in mind this is hours later at the dinner table!)

Short hair, ahhh bliss!

Edit: Please note I am not picking Max's nose, but putting in his dummy!! I am holding the handle! Maybe I should have chosen the other photo!! ;)

My Birthday

Sooo.... last Monday was my birthday! Don't get me wrong, everyone around me tried to make it special, BUT, its just not the same when you get older!! I know, I know, I am not old, but I really expected to wake up with that excited bug in my tummy still. That was not the case.

I made no plans for the day, took Stella to Dancing as per usual, then was on my way home when a friend called and asked if I could fit her in to my schedule and plans. Pfft it was wide open, so she bought over some afternoon tea and a coffee and we chatted! So nice!

Then the usual family dinner, pizza and pasta (My Mum read my blog and made the most amazing prawn pasta dish, it was to die for!!)

The kids had fun, watched a movie and we chatted and ate!

Noel and Stella eating their Icecream cake

The one different thing I requested this year for dessert was Lemon Meringue Pie!! And Boy did Mum deliver! I have never, EVER, seen a pie that looked this amazing! Have you? Mum works full time, and does my Dads books, and does my books (for the salon) and runs around like a headless chook, so it was the Cheesecake Haven that prepared this beauty!!
Heaven!

OMG!!

The kids had a blast!! Watched a movie, ate icecream and pizza, the stuff dreams are made of!

And the Pressie loot!

Gorgeous bangles and necklace from my sister



And she bought me a Laundry tin (by request) and 8 mega gorgeous hand crocheted coasters!



She also made this gorgeous brooch!!

AND these Cat Hamill bracelets (she really spoilt me, thanks Kristy!!)

A new cool watch

Some goodies from my good friend Jess!

And more!

And the usual stuff like undies, clothes etc.

Noel also bought me a new lens for my camera (yippee!!) and a voucher at Finity (and Mum did too, so I bought a dress, top and some Morrison pants)

I got absolutely SPOILT!! And had a fantastic day and feel very , VERY loved!! Thanks everyone!

Valentines pressies

Now I know Valentines Day was over a month ago, but you may have noticed I am a wee bit behind on posts!! I even have people breathing down my neck !! haha Hi Daisy Girls!

Anyway, just wanted to share a few things that the man of the house (the big , hairy one, not the adorable chubby one) received!!

My good friend Rachel, from Wootwoo Designs is very very talented in the Graphic Art department and a few friends and I were lucky enough to have her create a print for us for V-Day.

These are the song lyrics for our Bridal Waltz at our wedding, and she has put them into a subway art print, that I just framed up in a Ribba Frame from Ikea (all hail Ikea)

Our Bridal Waltz was to Edwin Mcains - "I'll Be"- DEVINE!

And a cute little card made by moi!

He also got some boardies, and singlets but more because he needed them and I wanted to buy him something, than for a Valentines Present!

Hope you like them, and if you are interested in your own Subway art ( I am going to get one for the play room with rules on it) then feel free to contact Rachel , she is an absolute delight :)

26.......

On this day that I turn the ripe old age of ........26 , I feel that I should share with you 26 facts about myself! (the Pressie loot is to come!!)

I am a Pisces (derrrrr)

I am addicted to One Tree Hill , Like a teenager, soooo terrible yet soooo good!!

I LOVE olives, eat them outta tha jar sort of love, anytime , anywhere

Every year for my birthday we have Pizza and Spaghetti, the same thing we have had since I was 2, and only because I can't think of anything else to have!

I am a night owl, I try and go to bed early and that is 10pm still

My favourite colour is white, I know its not a real colour but I loike it!

My husband and Mum are my best friends,  cute hey

I am so indecisive about my hair at the moment, I have left it boring as anything until I decide

I wish I could swim, I can swim, but not like a fish, I want to be a fish !

I am a month behind on Project Life!! ARGH!!!

I LOVE photos, have them everywhere, take them serially and am addicted!

My favourite food is probably prawns, give me a pasta with prawns dish and I am sold!

I cry at anything! TV, movies, the news......

I have a sister and her name is Kristy, she is clever, wish I was that clever ( and she is making me something for my birthday and I am excited!!)

I get claustophobic, even under doonas

I hate driving up steep hills (Gero people think Snowden!) and my feet and hands sweat and I freak out!

I Love handmade items, gifts, cards, jewellery, anything!

I love summer, hate winter and am never happy with the weather!

I am secretly a Home and Away fan, but I guess its out in the open now! Maybe its made worse with the arrival of these beach boys!! hmmmmm

I rarely eat breakfast, just not into the breakfasty foods and it doesn't interest me

My favourite place we have visited would have to be Florence!! Ohh my, its amazing!

I start lots of books for "Book Club" and rarely finish them, its my addiction to magazines I blame!

I have a fear of heights, even on a ladder!

I am about 5ft 5" tall, and my husband is 6ft 9" , we look odd, but dont care!

I LOVE my family, my husband and my precious kiddies more than life itself...

I actually found this quite hard to write, so if you have a question, please ask, I need more ideas for next time!

Enjoy your Monday!

Grandad

Sometimes you meet someone in life that you instantly LOVE. It doesn't happen very often (as I usually like to get to know someone first before making a judgement) but sometimes within 5 minutes of your first encounter, you feel like you have known them forever.
Thats the way I felt about Noel's Grandad...
Having never had a Grandad, well I have had them but both died before I was born, I fell in love with Grandad and have adored having him in our lives. He welcomed me into the family with open arms ( which was a bit different to some of the others but that is another story and all ancient history now), always had something entertaining to say and sat with a sweet little smirk on his face , all . the . time!
A kind, gentle and jovial soul, always the one for the cheeky remarks, and a smile from ear to ear, we have been truely blessed to have had him in our lives, and especially those of our children, his great grandchildren.
He served our country during the Second World War, and yet never spoke about it, never attended ANZAC Day and never like recognition or praise, it was too emotional for him anyway, but thats the type of person he was, a quiet achiever.
Yesterday, 16 days shy of his 93rd Birthday, Grandad fell asleep for the last time and went to a better place
A place where the fishing is great, the wine is sweet and the sun shines so brightly, perfect for basking in!!
Ohhh how he will LOVE it there!!

We feel so SO lucky that we went to visit him on Friday night, he got to see the kids who he loved. Got to hear a few of his cheeky lines to the Nurse, and got to see the beautiful man for the last time.

What an innings!! 93 years old. 6 kids, a farm, a war, 60 years of marriage and the oldest man I know that up until 12 months ago was going to the wharf everyday to fish off the rocks!
Legend!
He will be missed, immensely, but he has left a legacy and memory in Stella that is priceless.
He taught her "See you later, alligator" and "In a while , Crocodile" and got her to eat her crusts at his house!!
She was proud as punch to show Grandma and Grandad her dancing outfit and loved their Monday mornings at their little house.
Last night Noel and Stella picked a bright shining star in the sky and named it Grandad, and she has already asked this morning if she could go outside to see him again.  This will take time for her, and her Dad, who have always had him around, and it will take time for me too, but he is now pain free, in a better place and who can argue with that?

At the twins Christening in October 2010

So, today, I dedicate this blog to the best Grandad in the WORLD.
Rest in Peace, we hope you can catch a big one!!
xoxo

Lucky.....

We have all had them.... Those times when something happens, there is a Kodak moment and you think, "Gee, I wish I had my camera handy", by the time you go and get them, the moment has gone, never to return again.

And then there are the times (which do tend to happen alot in our house!!) that you think " This might make for some good pictures" and you thank your lucky stars you can yet again, capture a beautiful moment that your kids are sharing together

This was one of them.

A warm day ( no different than the last month of temps over 30 degrees) and Lacey and Stella had awoken from their sleep,  and we decided to have some water fun!

And boy did they have fun!

Isn't she so beautiful (biased but thats a mothers right!!)

Cuddles

And then you capture images like these that melt your heart;

And the main man Max wakes from his slumber, to join his sisters. This is when I started to get wet from all the splashing! He is one excitable baby!

And a moment with the big sister!

Our little water babies!

And the cutest bottom around!

I hope this is inspiration or a reminder that sometimes the most beautiful images can come from fairly insignificant and spur of the moment events, and yet that memory will now last a lifetime for our precious 3 bundles! ( And fill a full page in Mummy's Project Life!!)

Happy Weekend everyone!! I hope it is a good one, we have a list of jobs a mile long, some Easter Crafting to do and some fun to be had so stay tuned for the outcome!

A Ride With Bro

You know when things happen around your house, and they usually involve your kids, that make your heart melt? Well this was one of them!

Max has been walking along the furniture, letting go and standing and everything for quite some time, and has never taken the steps for walking. Its different for us, as Stella crawled at 6 months, stood at 7 1/2 and walked at 9 1/2 months and all with ease and determination. Max on the other hand is happy to crawl as he is fast as anything and gets up to enough mischeif as it is!

So we got out the trusty Ikea trolley, put some bricks inside and let him walk it out. It was still a little light so on went the little sister (by 2 mins but that will count one day!)

Lacey absolutely loved it, Stella was most excited and Max was so chuffed with himself. Such a Kodak moment and it made my heart go mushy!

They were ready for bed, however this stirred them up a little, but it was all worth it!

Aren't they THE CUTEST!

Loved Up House

Wow!! What a massive few days weeks we have had in our house lately!! I am utterly exhausted! The body is packing it in and getting sick, and I can fall asleep sitting up on the couch!! Thats when you know you are tired! Noel went to Bunbury for the weekend playing Country Week Waterpolo, cos thats what he does, and I spent the weekend with a good friend and her beautiful family. Thanks Jess!

However, single parenting 3 little kiddies for nearly 4 days, bathing, feeding , changing , 3 kids in the car, pram down, 3 kids out of the car, pram up, packing bottles and snacks etc sure does takes its toll on a lone soldier Mummy!!! Its amazing how much of a routine we are in , and Noel and I just know what to do for each other and when, and it makes life so so much easier!! Max and Lacey did NOT like the porta cots, change in routine and therefore slept terribly, and that was BAD, BAD , BAD! Haha

Anyway, regardless , we had a great weekend, got some shopping done, a trip for mini putt, and some chilling out and free play for the kids! LOVE!

Next weekend I am having a sleep in and break for sure!! Noel owes me BIG TIME!

Anyway, on my trip to Perth, I happened to,  on purpose, stumble across Bed, Bath and Table and stocked up on some Easter goodies, that I can NOT wait to use, decorate and do, so I thought I had better show you our Valentines decorating and display before it is transformed into a eggy, bunny, citrus-y one!!

Remember when Stella and I do some Salt Dough goodies HERE ?? Well this is what we did with them ....

I have wanted the massively gorgeous stick tree from Bed, Bath and Table for some time now, but never had the spare money and then couldnt' justify spending it, so I was on the lookout for something special for our house. A few lovely ladies from my Playgroup told me about using these cactus flowers (found in droves down the beach ) just before Christmas , so I sent Noel on a hunting mission with a saw and he got a few for me, they were intended on being Christmas trees for our patio area but time got away with me and it never happened!! However, they were perfect for this. We just took a saw to the base, to make it the size we wanted, cut off the bottom branch to make it sit in the tin better then spray painted it with flat White paint.

A tin bucket from Bunnings and some sand in the bottom and voila!!

The Salt dough hearts were just painted with Stella's Poster paint and then I varnished them with a Kaiser Crafts clear gloss that comes in a tube next to all of the paints in Spotlight.

Some ribbon matching to the colours, red for red, pink for pink, and they look fantastic and Stella is so proud to see her artwork on show everyday!

 

Then there was our hallway display, very simply and not overcrowded.

A few glass jars, with lollies in red, pink and white ,and a tea cup with a red garland around it , that did hold Lollies but they were gobbled up pretty quick!!

The subway art in the white frame was a free download off the eighteen25 blog, and I had it printed as a 8 x 10 at a Photoshop. The colours are fantastic and I love it!! A red cushion souced from around the house and its a loved up entry way, but not too OTT!!

Sorry these pics are blurry, I didn't realise until afterwards, but I had a little helping grabbing my legs, hmmmmm not such great balance, thanks Max!

Noel is making me resist putting the Easter stuff up just yet, but I am dying too!!