Rainy Day Activity - Make a Table Playhouse!

Hello my sweets! Well, as promised today I have a guest post from a new blogger on the block - her name Emily and her blog is The Beetle Shack. Emily contacted me out of the blue on a day I received an 'anonomous' scathing remark from a reader about my noticeable lack of parenting skills (remember this post) and was considering throwing it all in (my blog, that is!) when a lovely email came in telling me how refreshing my blog was with its lack of sugar coating motherhood and thanking me for providing an entertaining read! Emily was just starting her blog but upon visiting her I was immediately inspired. She's from the Central Coast like me, she's crafty, shes into decorating, she's got little kids and - AND - coincidentally, her rainy day activity comes from a book I mentioned a while ago on my blog, called Cool Spaces for Kids! I love what Emily has done here, and I'm inspired to make one for Fern and Elliott... just as soon as I finish the other 47 billion sewing projects I currently have on the go.

Emily's project? A table cubby house! I'm loving the retro inspired fabrics; the cut-out windows, the little string of bunting across the doorway... love love love!

Check it out:

Wouldn't YOUR kids go spare for one of these? I know mine would.

Inspired? Why not give it a whirl yourself! The following instructions are sourced from Cool Spaces for Kids, which you can buy here. And I recommend you do -  it is full of ideas for creating fun and stylish spaces and projects for kids; I reread mine all the time! Have fun!

Materials:
Large sheet of sheeting fabrice to fit over your table
Tape measure
Tailor's chalk
Scissors
Fabric scraps
Pinking shears
Sewing machine and matching thread
Plastic sheeting
Dressmaker's pins.

Instructions:
1 Decide on the height and width of the door and windows needed. Measure and mark up on your sheet with tailor's chalk and cut out.

2 Cut a door 'curtain' from a scrap of fabric using pinking shears and making it 2cm wider than the doorway. Stitch it to the top of the doorway.

3 Measure and cut out plastic 'windows'. They should be about 4 cm bigger than the window opening. Pin these in place behind the openings and stitch down.

4 Measure and cut four curtains from matching scraps of fabric, using pinking shears. Attach thse to the 'outside' of the sheet, carefully stitching them to the house along the top of the window, and taking care to conceal the plastic window seam beneath. Make two fabric tie backs per curtain and stitch in place.

5 Cut out window box flowers from floral fabric and hand stitch to the 'house' just beneath the window. Or collect beautifully made silk flowers and glue into place.

Source: Cool Spaces for Kids (2009), Sam Scarborough, Octopus Publishing Group




Have YOU got an inspiring rainy day activity that you'd like to share via my blog? I'd love to feature you! Email me!

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6 Months & Nursery Update

Six Months!!
I can't believe I'm at this point in my pregnancy already! I get more and more excited each day. 

Nursery News

Her nursery is coming along so well! First click here to see the before photos!

Here are the during pictures...

And here is what is looks like now!

We still have to add decorations, blinds, and well more baby stuff, but I'm loving it so far!



Momma & Baby Update
Overall, I'm feeling good! According to my anatomy scan I had a low lying placenta at 19 weeks. They say it's pretty normal and will likely move up but doc is sending me for another ultrasound so we can take another look at it in three weeks. So I will get to see my baby girl again! Thinking positive that everything will be in normal position! As for littles..she is now weighing over a pound and almost a foot long, she will begin to put on baby fat. As of a few days ago her heartbeat is at 150. My 24 week check up went well. At my 20 week appointment I was at my starting weight. Since then I have packed on a whopping six pounds. Eek! But my doctor is happy and so am I. I needed to gain a little weight for my little bug.





(I promise the mirror isn't dirty, it was all the sun glare!)

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wordless wednesday

Playing along here with the lovely Sarah.

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wordless Wednesday : all shopped out

welcome to another week

please make sure your blog posts are wordless

just an image is all you need

& please link back to here so others can join in too

thank you for playing along

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Bohemia

Wall Stickers, Oiseau Sur Branche

Trophy Deer, Glass Paperweight, 'Paris is always a good idea'

Wall Stickers, Printemps

La Tennis Liberty, Vert

This week for my 'shops i love' page, I bring you my lovely sponsor Bohemia. An award- winning lifestyle boutique selling bohemian clothing, accessories, bath and beauty products, gorgeous home furnishings, stationery, babywear, children's clothing, toys and gifts. Bohemia opened their first lifestyle store in 2006 in their home city of Edinburgh in Scotland. They source products that are exquisitely decorated or beautifully simple. Only one rule applies; they must love it!

I am loving the pretty Summery wall stickers, Miss Etoile bird weights and decorative bird cages. On my wish list is the ever so cute floral tennis shoes to wear on my Summer bike rides and a Trophy Deer head for my dining room. I am also lucky enough to own one of their Morrocon pouffes in white with silver grey embroidery, which adds glamour to my living room!

Have a sweet day!

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More on being a bit weird

Almost a year ago I wrote a post about what an odd person I am and it turned out that I wasn't really so odd after all. We all do weird things.

Like, I've come to terms with the fact that every time I wash the dishes I get an excruciatingly itchy nose but I can't scratch it because my hands are wet because I'm washing the dishes. A little bit of torture each and every day.

And I'm okay that the few times I've managed to get my act together to go on twitter, my conversations are remarkably brief for a talker like me because every single time I'm suddenly busting for the loo. Once I've been, I forget I was ever twittering in the first place.

The other day I nearly gagged when I realised that I'd started to eat my steak before I'd finished all my vegetables.

There is no way I could fall asleep in a room with a cupboard door open.

If I kill an ant, I worry for days that millions of ants are coming to get me. This actually happened to me just this week as my pantry is full of ants and I'm pretty sure I stepped on one last Monday. I can hardly sleep because they've infiltrated the house and they are obviously coming to get me.

Before the ants can get me, I will probably get myself. I can't drink more than three glasses of alcohol without fretting that I'm going to wake up in the morning and wonder what happened the night before. This comes from experience, sadly, but at the age of almost forty and after a mere three glasses over an entire evening, you think I would have gotten over my paranoia. But I am coming to get me.

Finally, I will leave you with this random oddity. I can't sit with my back to the door. What am I, Vito Corleone? The Feds are after me? It's particularly embarrassing at work because they just move you anywhere they want you and I fret that my new desk will be the one where my back is to the door. I made my colleague swap once (thank you, Johnny), but so far no one else has noticed this odd little habit of mine. If anyone caught on, it may go some way to explaining my amazing punctuality at meetings. Every meeting you go to, there I am, the chirpy early bird facing the door ready to brightly welcome you to the room.

Like I said, I'm odd. But we all do weird things, right? Right?

[For my image we've been paid a long overdue visit by the lovely Suse Bauer from Revoluzza]

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local charm and produce . . .

 . . . sunday . . .

 just the 2 of us and of course the "big belly" slowly exploring and negotiating our way around our

local organic markets.

our recent farm visit has inspired our little family to enjoy more of the 

fresh produce at our city farm. 

a basket or oranges, banana's and a bunch of kale purchased.

 herbs and fruit trees inspected and of course chickens to visit and chat with.

home to bake apple and cinnamon muffins . . . 

snuggled in for books and we slept the afternoon away . . . just what we needed really!

we made these with our fresh kale. you can't just stop at one, two or three. yum!

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a Melbourne lane way

this was one of the first stops I had planned for my photographic walk around Melbourne last weekend

 it was full of colour passion devotion & artistic flair

& even more exciting was

 the opportunity for me to

 capture this artist at work

 as he worked on his little space

& made his mark in this eclectic piece of town

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Not visiting, drowning

I'm writing, I'm posting (always writing, always posting), but I'm just not getting around to visit many blogs right now. I hope you will accept this lovely picture I've found as my apology. It depicts myself as I perform graceful acrobatics whilst slowly drowning under my work load.

As soon as I can find a spare second in my crammed life, I will be over to catch up with yours'.

x

[Image found here. Please let me know if this is your image so I can credit your loveliness.]

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Learning to dance in the rain...

Oh my goodness, it is raining so so hard at the moment! I mean it is bucketing down and has been for days... I'm trying not to get (too) down about it but anyone at home with kids will know - one day of rain is a novelty. Two days and everybody gets a bit antsy. Three, and if I had a knitting needle handy, I'd be close to poking my own eyes out! Well, maybe not that rash, but gosh-darn close. The kids are bored. I am bored. But there are a squillion things I could do to make the most of being cooped up inside and today I am going to get cracking!

I just love this print and today it is my motivation to creep out from under the doona:

www.etsy.com

Tomorrow, I have a guest 'rainy day activity' post to share for you! It's a cracker and something I myself have had on my own to-do list for some time! I hope wherever you are there are more rainbows than clouds... only 12 weeks til Spring!! x

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Turquoise & Lime Interiors

Today in my series of posts "Inspirational Pins", I bring you a gorgeous Summery interior palette of lime and turquoise. For more gorgeous turquoise interiors check out my Shades of Turquoise Pinterest board!

• Amy Butler
• Stacey Willey
• Amy Butler
• Design Shrine via French by Design

If you are not already on Pinterest and would like to be, please e-mail me and I will send you an invitation.

Have a sweet day!

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The trampolining nudist

A little while ago the Tsunamis and I went for one of our 'little walks' where we just head off for a wander and talk around the neighbourhood. We were passing by one of Maxi's classmate's house and they all begged to go in for a visit. I had reservations because as much as I love a 'pop in' (I'm a country girl after all), I wasn't close to the mum and didn't know if it was appropriate. I figured we could just knock on the door and I could say 'we were just passing by and if it's not convenient we'll head straight out'.

Which is exactly what we did. But the minute she opened the door, I knew it was a mistake, she looked frazzled and caught out and not at all impressed to find us on the doorstep. I made to leave but she insisted that we come in and wouldn't hear of us going. I felt trapped by her politeness and annoyed that I hadn't thought the scenario through properly. This is the city, people, and city people just don't do the pop!

So we sat down for a cup of excruciatingly polite conversation while the children went outside onto the trampoline. Between helium-light exchanges about work and school and babies we could hear the children outside having enormous amounts of fun. Ah well, I thought, it's worth it if the kids are that happy.

Then the cry went up: "Ha, ha! Maxi's got his pants down, Maxi's got his pants down".

Oh dear, I thought. There he goes again.

Maxi-Taxi is a born naturist. Ever since he was a baby he's loved to get his kit off and let it all hang out (so to speak). He is famous for his after bath 'rudey nudey runs', which even at seven he still proudly does for Gran and Pops when they come to visit. They are thrilled, as you can imagine.

My companion looked concerned. "Did they say his pants are down?" she asked. "Underpants?"

"Oh yes, probably Maxi's alwa -" Before I could finish the sentence, she had shot out of her chair like a gun going off, the chair falling backwards and clattering to the floor with an almighty bang. She raced across the room and flung herself onto the balcony that overlooks the backyard, her face as white as a sheet. Oh my god, I thought. Did I miss something? I leapt after her at speed.

The scene below was a nudist carnival. By this stage all six children had their pants down and were jumping up and down, chanting their new favourite song, the "pants down on the trampoline" song. It was a merry sight indeed.

"Oh my god!" my companion screamed over the balcony. "Get your pants on! Get them on! Dear god, put them on!"

"Oh, come on, they're only children," I soothed. "Just having a bit of fun."

"Fun!?" she screeched. "Fun!? My daughter has been exposed to a Penis and you call it fun?"

Uh oh. She used the capital P word. Uh oh.

She turned back to the romping festival and her voice carried across the treetops all the way to China. "GET THOSE PANTS ON NOW YOU FILTHY LITTLE CHILDREN. NOW!"

Well, that was certainly the end of the "pants down on the trampoline" song. All children immediately stopped jumping. Except for the Badoo, who continued on her merry way and started to take her top off for good measure. Bless that Badoo.

"I hardly think they're 'filthy', um, that's a really strong word," I ventured, terrified of the moral indignation that was all white eyes and flaring nostrils beside me. "They're too young to know about such things."

"Not too young, never too young. My daughter needs to be Protected, can you not see that?" She glowered at me, repulsed by my lazy assessment of the situation. Her eyes shot bullets at this loose, moral-desert she found before her. "No wonder your child is Exposing Himself to his school friends!"

Whoa, Miss Nelly, I thought. But, you know, in life there are some battles that you just know will kill you so I elected to bunker down in the trenches. I resisted the urge to flash her my boobs and simply called "Get your pants on, kids. It's getting dark and we have to be getting home."

Amidst the inevitable "Oh mum, we just got heres", I bustled them over to the hedonistic freedom beyond the front door. 

"Righto," I said. "We're off. Thanks for the cup of, ah, tea."

"Oh, you're going?" she purred, all traces of righteous anger washed away by the sight of fully-clothed children. "That's such a shame. You know, we hardly ever see you. We really should get together for a family barbecue. Are you free next weekend?"

"Next weekend? Well, we do have that family Nudist Convention on," I said blithely. "But maybe the weekend after?"

Ha! Not true. I mumbled something about checking my calendar and got the hell out of Dodge. Shaken, stirred and downright offended. What the hell happened there?

Do you think children pulling their pants down on the trampoline and singing about it is morally repugnant?

Is it common practice for people to serve up a cup of righteousness along with their tea?

Is it wrong that I still laugh out loud when I recall this Perfectly bizarre moment in my life?

[Image via weheartit]

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while I am

busy looking through & editing all the photos I took last weekend during a trip to the big city I thought I would share some of the newest blogs I have added to my list
enjoy

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Now I am 9 Months...

9 months ago, I gave birth to an incy-bincy, cuddly little koala bear who liked to curl into a tiny ball inside my Baby Bjorn and sleep for hours...

... hmph.

in which it is near-on impossible to photograph the man-boy on his back...

Then, about 8.5 months ago, Elliott discovered he had arms. And legs. He regarded them with interest. These days, I am certain he has about 8 of each, his tentacles able to weave and extend and grip and wind and tug and wrap like he's an octopus. Indeed, just changing the boy's nappy requires sheer determination, brute strength and about half an hour; no sooner have you got two legs in the air than his little body has flipped like a pancake and he's trying to crawl off the end; its all I can do to get him over onto his back again before the process starts over...

Yup, the boy is a boy. In every sense of the word. His shoulders are square. His first word was 'yum!' (I swear this is true -- ask Fern!) He has a short attention span. He has a voracious appetite. He is messy. If you are sitting in his path, he will slip into 4wd and climb up and over, continuing on his merry way as though you were never there. And he loves his mum.... at night when he's tired (it's all I can do to keep him up til 6.00pm!) he crawls around the house calling out til he finds me, then he climbs up and holds onto my legs until I scoop him up and take him to beddy byes... and I get to hold him for about 10 minutes while he has his milk, to gaze into his huge greeny-greyey-browny eyes until he's full and he's on the move again, leaning away from me towards his bed where he wants to be deposited with his teddy and blankies....

Sigh.

9 months old and I'm still mad about you, sonny-boy. Who else with 4 teeth in their mouth could look so cute?!

the many faces of Elliott Daniel...

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the door...

Too little
has been said
of the door, its one
face turned to the night's
downpour and its other
to the shift and glisten of firelight.

- An extract from The Door by Charles Tomlinson

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