BUG DAY

Our JK has been doing a little stint of kindy in his life.

He is attending our local Montessori School House and loves it. 

Completely suits his way of learning and socialising.

On Wednesday it was Bug Day. JK announced a week earlier that he would like to go as a Cicada. Mummy subtly moved him away from that idea (thinking to myself "how the HANG am I gonna make a Cicada costume!!!") and he went on to the idea of a grasshopper (me groaning to myself) but eventually he settled on a butterfly. He's been quite fascinated how the whole caterpillar to butterfly process works..." Mum, the caterpillar eats and eats and eats until it can't eat anymore, then it becomes a racoon"......priceless.

I got out the fabric scraps, the sewing machine and other paraphenalia ....WHALAA! 

A Butterfly emerged!

Baby Thoughts

I was just having a little meander through the photos on our computer and came across a file named "LJ's Birth". They brought back lots of memories of that first day and week, along with the reality of having to do the whole labour thing again.
I felt quite tearful looking at the photos as LJ and I were seperated for 3 hours following his birth as I was transfered to the main hospital from the birthing unit.... he had made a bit of a mess. I still remember being in theatre and thinking....'damn this is just wrong, I should be bonding with my new bubba not lying here in this most dignified (NOT) position listening to the theatre stuff discuss family and work'. ( I know it could've been a hang of a lot worse....but still). I have a wishlist for this labour....if God will just cover 2 of the bases, I'll be stoked.
LJ bonded with his Daddy for those 3 hours, a bond which continues on even now. They have something a little extra special going on between them.
As most parents we did wonder how our the 2 and half year old JK would handle going from an only child to sharing his world with a little brother. Well we needn't have worried.....look at the photo I found ...............................

JK's Quilt

FINALLY!!! i have managed to get JK's quilt on the line for a photo. It's only been 4 months since it was finished and gifted to him for his 4th birthday!!
He requested the colour scheme (blue and green) and found a picture of a quilt with courthouse steps as the pattern...he decided he quite liked it.
Some of the fabrics where chosen purely for their colour but many were chosen for their NZ designs. We have pukekos, kiwifruit, korus and ferns. It was loads of fun to make and JK just loves it to bits.

Just Because They're Cute

An Ice-Cream to commemorate the beginning of Spring

A very satisfied smile from LJ following a fluffy at a new "kid-friendly" Cafe.

JK with yet another flying creation

Check out that expression!
Anybody would've thought LJ was listing to music through those earmuffs!

JK showcasing his new clothes

Winter Busyness

It's that wonderful time of year when the evenings are long and the need to be in close contact with great colours and textures is paramount. It has been rather chilly over the last month and very wet so lots of time to be indoors working on projects etc. I think it's not only the weather but also my pregnancy that motivates me to be home....even when I'm offered an evening out, I am happy-as-larry to be home keeping my hands busy with a new challenge.

Here are some of the things that are happening......and it's not just me but the kids too!

Jordan and Levi with hammers, nails, softboard and wooden shapes.....they LOVE it.



And then there's Mummy's projects.....

The Wheat Sacks requested by my Ken and Dad, they have been divided into 3 compartments to stop the wheat travelling from one end to the other and just a little bit of lavender to keep it smelling yummy.










I knitted a baby beanie from leftover wool to add to a small pile of baby gifts that I'm trying to gather for my own and all those up and coming. It was a quick satisfying project (anybody get the feeling that I need quite a bit of instant gratification!!).



The following knitted item is not my work...you can tell cause it's not very simple looking!!.....my Oma in Holland knitted it for our new bubba.



For my twin sister's birthdays I made them each a messenger bag to take with them on their year long family adventure to serve on the mission field in Ethiopia. They have magnetic closures and the fabrics were esp chosen for each twin. Just in case you don't guess.....one of them is a bit horse crazy. Here are photos of the bags I made.

Bag #1 was made from denim and cute cherry print cotton with an appliqued flower on the outside for a bit of fun.





Bag #2 (sorry no close up photo yet....am doing some adjusting to the strap length....what a mare!!!.....hehe no pun intended) Made from vintage bark cloth picked up at the local sallies and lime green lining. This one even has a pocket on the inside.



And then of course you need to have something sitting to the side to do when ya finish the projects currently on the go (pjs for JK, nappies, flannels, baby cardy, baby hats etc etc) so I purchased 2 patterns from Sew Liberated (formly Montesori By Hand). The apron will be part of my little sister's 21st pressie and the Mei Tai carrier for a friend who is having her first bubba any day now.

Walks, Autumn Leaves, Playgrounds and Helicopters

I LOVE summer!!! Especially with two rambunctious little boys who do some much better when they can burn off their energy with running round outside, swimming and more running.
Therefore the minute winter starts to crawl up, I hold my breath and wish the months to go quickly. I'm a bit lazy so even though I say "oh yes, no matter what the weather they WILL go outside EVERYDAY", in reality that doesn't happen, as the thought of MORE washing etc etc just puts me off.

I've been making an effort to get out with the boys to do what boys do best....adventuring. This is what we've been up to........

VISTING PARKS

WEEKEND WALKS WITH DADDY

NAVY HELICOPTER VISITS @ DADDY'S SCHOOL
(We live @ school....one of the perks)

FUN WITH OUR FRIENDS FROM ACROSS THE FIELD

Quilt Madness is Upon Us!

It's time again....
Time for what??? you may very well ask....
Time to dominate the dining room table with fabric, sewing machine, cutting mat etc and the floor with fabric, thread, left-over fabric......and probably more.


My husband Jumps with Joy or is it....Grimaces when I start cutting a quilt.....he knows it'll be a while before he gets the dining room and lounge looking tidy and orderly again.
It's JK's 4th Birthday at the beginning of May and he requested a 'cool blanket like LJ's' as his present and he would like it in blue and green and he likes the courthouse step pattern.
Huh!! opinionated.....NOT AT ALL!!
So I've done the mad dash to Spotlight and the Fabric Barn for material (no trouble with the blues, but the greens seemed to be mainly in muted colours.....weird....a bit limited!). I've cut 11/2 inch strips and 2 inch squares (actually I cut 21/2 squares cause I didn't re-read the instructions...but we'll downsize as we go).
Last night I put together my first 2 courthouse blocks and this was the result...................................

PRE-CHRISTMAS RELAXING!

Amongst all the rush and madness that Christmas has become, we decided to take a few (4) days out to relax at the end of the school term. We have friends who have a bach in Whiritoa and had kindly offered for us to use it if we ever needed to get away from it all.....and we did. We took our kids plus my Brother (J14) and my Brother-in-Law (T15). We had a lovely time as it was wonderfully quiet at the beach. Here are some photos of all that we got up to:

PLAYING AT THE BEACH

CATHEDRAL COVE WALK















ALL PACKED UP, RELAXED AND READY TO GO HOME

FANTASTIC FUN & FRIENDS

Karen and her lovely kids meet up with my little whanau every fortnight for some like-minded fellowship and play. The last time Karen was at our place in the Tron we visited the Hamilton Gardens for some fun in the sun and exploring of all the lovely gardens.
We visited the Japanese, English, Italian and Modernist Gardens and investigated The Sustainable Backyard, Kitchen and Herb Gardens.
We had lunch under the shade of lovely fresh green leafy trees and the kids just loved the exploring. Here are some pics of our afternoon out and about......