Me time

So I had been planning to make something yummy from one of my new books. Something that I wanted to make, maybe even something I wanted to make and keep for me. Yeah right! I spent yesterday evening making a pleated skirt for Gage, she has a costume day at school and wanted to go as a manga/anime character and needed a black pleated skirt. I made one, quickly, it won't win any prizes but it's a basic pleated skirt and it does the job.

Great, now on to my things, ha! Neil asked me before he went to school this morning to check something he had been working on and if I got time to type it up. He is in a planning meeting after work today and won't be home until late and of course he has left this particular task until the last minute, he needs it for tomorrow. Yes I did it, read, checked and typed waiting to be cut and pasted into whatever he needs to put it into.

Great now on to my things, hahahaha. Evie is having a loud shirt day at school tomorrow, not content with just wearing something we could find in the wardrobe she decided she needed to decorate a shirt herself. It's a fundraiser for deaf children to enable them to get cochlear implants so of course I said I'd help.

After school we headed out to get some supplies and also new ballet shoes for her and me, we had to get the shoes today as the little shop is only open for 2 hours on Thursdays and 2 hours on Saturday. Shoes bought, supplies for the shirt decorating bought we headed to get burgers for dinner. All of a sudden from the back of the car I hear "Mom, I feel sick" I quickly emptied the ballet shoes out of the bag and threw it to her and she promptly vomited, great huh? Head back home, give her some neurofen to get rid of her headache and within an hour she was all OK again and decorating her shirt. Here it is.

Gotta love being a mom right? Here's my little stash of felted jumpers, waiting for me to get to them. Tomorrow I'm going to make time for my things.

Books to Inspire

My birthday was back in July and my parents had asked me what I'd like but of course I had no idea. I had been making a list of books I wanted to get myself so a week or so back I emailed my dad with three I was keen on and asked if they might get me one of them. I spoke to them couple of days later and he told me he had ordered them for me, all three WOOHOO!

They started to arrive last Friday, the first one was Betz White's "Warm Fuzzies" which is full of fabulously inspiring fun thinks to make from recycled wool sweaters. The second one arrived on Monday; "Weekend Sewing" by Heather Ross, another book full of wonderful things to make and I have already decided the first one I want to try is the kimono dress. We are just in spring here in NZ at the moment and I think it will be a great dress to have for those lovely spring mornings. The final book arrived on Tuesday; Amy Butler's "In Stitches" which again is full of inspiration. All three books are chock full of beautiful pictures and wonderful ideas. So not only books (which I just love) but beautiful and useful ones, what more could I ask for?

It was the arrival of these books that set me on my way to the op shopping (thrift shop or charity shop if you are not in NZ) I did on Monday which resulted in 8 lovely sweaters which I felted and am part way through cutting up. I''m not sure what to start on first, the dress, some lounge pants or something fuzzie; whatever it is I'll let you know when it's finished.

Tuesday Baking

After a quiet day of thrift store shopping and playing with Callum yesterday I am back to work today looking after Krysta. After having an extra day for the weekend with her mom she wasn't really in a being at mine frame of mind so we opted for one of her and Callum's favourite activities; baking.

I wanted a flapjack type slice to put in the kids lunches so we made one, didn't have a recipe I wanted to do so we just made it up as we went along, it turned out brilliantly so I've jotted it down so I know for next time. Best of all it's dairy, egg and nut free so suitable for all of us and Evie's best friend who has allergies.

If you want to give it a go here's a list of ingredients;

100g dairy free margarine

2 tablespoons golden syrup

150g rolled oats

100g plain flour

100g dark chocolate chips

100g dried chopped strawberries

To make just melt the margarine and syrup together in a pan, mix all the dry ingredients and then add the margarine/syrup mix to the bowl. Combine well and then pop it into a baking tray and bake it at 190c for about 10-15 minutes. Slice while warm and then enjoy!

We also made some coconut cup cakes using egg sub and they worked well. Haven't tried one yet so I'll have to let you know how it worked.

House of Sickness

Yes this week we have been the house of sickness. We had a selection of vomiting, sore throats, headaches, runny noses, coughs, colds, aching bones...well you get the picture right?

So Sunday has rolled along and we are finally all on the mend because obviously we weren't all sick on the same days so we spread it out and made each other miserable feeling sorry for ourselves, except Callum who even through the vomit and the subsequent snot fest managed to stay happy and full of beans. What is it with toddlers and energy? I really need to get myself some from the same place he gets his as it's so much longer lasting than the adult variety I have!

I haven't had much time to do anything much creative but here's a necklace I made for our most recent beadswap. It was inspired by Christi Friesen's candy focal beads.

It's a boy

Hooray a new addition to our family and a friend for Honey.

His name is Nike and he's six months old, we got him from a family who had only had him six weeks but hadn't bargained on the time and effort a dog, particularly a larger one, takes. They in turn got him from the Humane Society which is where we got Honey from so both are beautiful rescued dogs. We introduced them last night, some playing, some nipping and a little bit of full on biting as they try to decide who's the boss. Honey already knows her position in our family and is obviously not willing to allow a new dog to be in front of her. He is good with the kids though he is big and strong and we need to teach him how to play a bit more gently. We took them for a walk together last night and again this morning (hello 5.45am, I haven't seen you for a while!!) and they both behaved really well outside so I think with a little love and attention they'll become friends.

Here's our baby girl Honey who is 13 months old in the art canvas that Evie made.

Beautiful Spring

Hooray, it's officially spring and the weather has been sunny and bright as if to emphasise the fact. I'm so glad that winter is over. Winter is mild in Auckland, at least mild compared to the winters I am used to in the UK, though of course everyone still bemoans the cold, rain, wind...you get the picture. I think I must be getting soft too as I am so grateful that the weather has changed. Here's the view from my deck on this lovely afternoon, what a stunning blue sky.