February 7th, 2010
Ella’s front tooth, which has been getting progressively wobblier for weeks and has been sitting at an awkward angle for days, has finally broken loose, with some help from some small fingers. I have no choice now but to admit she is actually growing up and will not remain my little girl forever, a theory I was quite happy having blindly believing in!
But it did give me an excuse to make a tooth fairy pillow which seems to have been accepted as suitable by Ella, though not very interesting when competing with the excitement of losing her first tooth. But I guess it serves it’s purpose, despite my hurried,wonky stitches.
3 Comments | In: Crafty Stuff, Family Stuff, Kids Stuff | tags: felt, kids, tooth fairy. | #
December 18th, 2009
It was the end of Ella’s first year (well nearly) of school and I had not realised what a blur of assemblies, morning teas, productions, shared lunches, picnics and prizegivings this would be! Not that I didn’t enjoy it all but it has put me behind a little in my crafting schedule. I tried jellied oranges for the shared morning tea and was quite happy with how they looked and tasted and they all got gobbled up so apparently the kids found them acceptable also!
While I often think it would be nice to have a white christmas – building snowmen, sitting in front of a warm fire etc, but a trip to the farm always reminds me that there is nothing not to love about a fabulous summer christmas – digging up fresh potatoes and picking fresh peas and raspberries and the gorgeous flowers that bring so much colour to this time of the year. Harvesting our own vegies and berries has become a bit of a family tradition in the weeks before Christmas and the girls favourite things to do. Only seven sleeps to go!
2 Comments | In: Family Stuff, Food Stuff | | #
October 18th, 2009
We booked a holiday home in Taupo at this time of year expecting some fairly nice spring weather but were not expecting to get to stop and play in the snow on the side of the road in Waiouru, but what great fun for the girls! More so for Ella who had a great time bombarding us all with snow balls while Phoebe instantly complained that the snow made her feet cold and would only stand near the edge but then became absolutely hysterical when we had to get back in the car because she wanted to go back and play in the snow. I have never seen so much snow on the desert road at this time of year and it made for a very scenic drive.
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September 7th, 2009
We have had a wonderful and busy weekend celebrating both Father’s day and Dan’s birthday and since I finally have a new camera, I will (for once) let the photos do the talking!
Hope you all had a wonderful Father’s day!
1 Comment | In: Family Stuff | tags: fathers day. | #
July 23rd, 2009
Some classical music, sparkly dresses & felt crowns make for a twirling & dancing pair of princesses before bed.
2 Comments | In: Family Stuff, Kids Stuff | tags: crowns, dancing, felt. | #
April 25th, 2009
An autumn afternoon in the park last week (prior to the chicken pox).
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April 24th, 2009
Things have been a little slow around here since Ella has the chicken pox, she was fine one day then covered in spots the next. Fortunately she has been pretty good about it & hasn’t been too itchy though we have been very liberal with the calamine lotion from the moment we noticed a spot. I am just waiting for Phoebe to get spots now but unfortunately Dan has not had chicken pox & I have been told it can be extra nasty in adults so we are keeping our fingers & toes crossed!
We are in the process of updating Ella’s room to a proper big girl’s room – creating space for a desk for her school work, a stereo & changing round the things on her walls etc. I will have some photos when we eventually finish things, but in the mean time, I did come across a toy I made a wee while ago from one of Ella’s drawings – a Seahorse Person. Ella chose all the fabrics & gave careful instructions about where everything should go. I did get one thing wrong along the way & that caused much disapproval but I think it turned out quite sweet & she just loved the whole thing. Ella has built up a pile of drawings she wants me to turn into toys now I just need to find some of that illusive sewing time!
4 Comments | In: Crafty Stuff, Family Stuff, Kids Stuff | tags: seahorse, sewing, toys. | #
April 14th, 2009
A few images from Easter at our house.
The Easter Egg Hunt in our back yard.
Homemade Hot Cross Buns – minus the crosses which I didn’t quite get around to doing this year.
Some details from an Easter Drawing I did for Ella to repay her for all the lovely pictures she makes for me!
The girls had a great time, even Phoebe who, despite an intolerance to cows milk, managed plenty of loot in the form of little marshmallow fondant eggs I made for her out of left over icing from Ella’s birthday cake (it stores very well in the fridge), dyed boiled eggs & a little Dora tin filled with Fejoas (her favourite fruit of the moment).
Ella even organised her own egg hunt for us grown ups & lead us around the back yard with “hot” & “cold” to help us find them all – she really doesn’t like anyone to miss out!
I hope everyone else had a great easter!
1 Comment | In: Family Stuff, Food Stuff, Kids Stuff | tags: baking, drawing, easter. | #
March 30th, 2009
It has actually happened, my little baby I am sure I brought home from the hospital just yesterday has turned five! She tells me she is a proper big girl now and suddenly I keep getting the response “I can do that myself Mummy, I am five you know!”
Ella desperately wanted her party at the fairy shop so that left me with only the loot bags & cake to occupy myself with. The loot bags were little drawstring bags with the first letter of each childs name appliqued on it & filled with a selection of glitter glue pens, fruit scented mini markers, stickers, fairy colouring sheets, pencils, erasers & fairy balloon.
The cake seemed a good idea in my head but turned out to be much more work than I anticipated. I have only done one small cake using fondant before & it was fairly simple so this three layered one was a bit of a leap. I used the Marshmallow fondant recipe which came out great & was really fun to make – there is nothing like sticking your hands into a huge pile of warm gooey melted marshmellow & icing sugar! My decorating skills certainly didn’t reach perfection but I think it turned out suitably girly & certainly got a great response at the party.
Just to make things more complicated, I decided to make the inside rainbow coloured as a surprise. The kids loved it but seemed disappointed that it didn’t taste like a rainbow – if I had thought about it before hand I could have flavoured each colour with different flavours to make it more exciting.
All and all though, we have had a wonderful couple of days celebrating with Ella & hope she will remember it as fondly as we will.
1 Comment | In: Crafty Stuff, Family Stuff, Kids Stuff | tags: birthday, cake, fairy, loot bags, sewing. | #
