Mom's Overture by Anita Renfroe

This made me shed tears of laughter! I hope you enjoy it too!

dilbert | February 12

Jonathan bought me the dilbert page a day calendar a couple of weeks ago. I really like dilbert - it tickles my sense of humour! Like this one that showed up last week on the calendar! :D

to the J-man!

I had fun creating this by looking on google images - it's not always easy to find what you want...

I grabbed the idea from photojojo

What a great way to get the message across visually!

candy hearts...

Your Candy Heart Says "First Kiss"

You're a true romantic who brings an innocent hope to each new relationship. You see the good in every person you date, and you relish each step of falling in love. Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a romantic dinner your sweetie cooks for you Your flirting style: friendly and sweet What turns you off: cynics who don't believe in romance Why you're hot: you always keep the romance alive

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

Happy Valentines Day!

Love is in the air!! :)
But then so is a little rain... :(

I tend not to go in for all these, what I call "American" Holidays. They seem to be a little over the top, a little contrived... It's only been the past 2-3 years that we've done much of anything for the day, and that was mainly for the girls. This year I gave them little tote bags, with 3 bracelets and a little felted heart (which I made very last minute, last night!).

I haven't been able to do anything much for my man, mainly because both Hope & Briahna are sick. :( I know he understands - it's part of what I love about him.

I think perhaps the best thing about Valentines Day is remembering why you love the people you love. So bare with me while I take a moment to tell you what I love about Jonathan. It's a little bit mushy...

I love that he puts other peoples needs above his own. He will always talk listen to me on the phone if I need to unload. I think he is cute - he still gives me butterflies! I can talk to him about anything on the planet and he doesn't laugh at me or make me feel small. He adores our children, and is a great FANTASTIC dad. Every day I am learning something new about him, but in saying that I feel very comfortable with him. I am going to spend the rest of my days with this guy and that feels good and right!

I love you Jonathan - I am ready to say that in front 0f all blogdom. The past 15 years have been a blast! Happy LOVE Day to you!!!

Happy Birthday Mo!

Woohoo! My little nephew is one! Seems like only yesterday he was born! His present is in the process of being made (see teaser over on sew-funky!)

little boxes

Parachute here we come!!!!

So, we couldn't get a dog sitter (which means we can't stay on-site cos we need to be at home) but we'll be there!!! We're gonna travel today and tomorrow (Friday & Saturday have the best line ups). The kids are with their grandparents, so we are free and easy.... hehehe! The manic laugh starts!

My hubby runs the unofficial blog about the festival - go there if you wanna know what it's all about!!! (just click on the image above)


They're running a competition that can win you a pile of DVD's courtesy of Filmguide which my hubby is also involved in. :) Unfortunately, you can only enter if you attend Parachute Festival!

vomiting... eeeew!

My middle daughter has been throwing up all morning, I woke up to her trying to be quiet about it in the toilet. So sweet, she didn't want to wake us up!

The poor thing is really HATING it! I'm somewhat annoyed at the parents who took their sick boy to swimming lessons on Saturday - don't they know it's not nice to bring a child who was throwing up an hour before the lesson?!?!! He was half way through the lesson when his dad explained to the instructor why he was swimming slowly... Grrrrr!

I really don't have the stomach for vomit - I think that happened when I was pregnant and throwing up 10 times a day for the entire 9 months! I've done my dash with it!!

So think of me today - my arms around my sick daughter!

Jaymee's 5th Birthday!

Today, we were all invited along to my good friend Jodee's daughters 5th birthday. I think Jaymee liked the gift I made her!

It was a dress up party and as such we had to find costumes for the girls to wear.

Briahna wanted to dress up as a flower fairy. She loves fairies, it's her "thing". So it was simple really - she wore her ballet leotard, pretty sequined shoes and glittery wings made by her and Hope. She also "had" to have flowers in her hair so a dash out to the garden provided agapanthus flowers!


We decided Aimee should go as a cat - we had black tights and a black leotard, a good start anyway! Excuse our messy house - it's the school holidays, at least that's my excuse! I don't know what hope was thinking, she looks upset... Hope didn't go to this party, she went to her friend Cherry's instead!

I made ears out of fabric and card and a tail out of knit fabric, and she looked great!
All the kids hopped into the pool after lunch - it was a HOT day! - Aimee still wore her cat ears! Briahna is having fun with a friend!

Don't forget to look at my recipe blog!

It's been going a while - but only has 33 posts - hehehe!
Still click on the link and you'll find some of our favourite mainly dairy free recipes!

Good little, bad little girl

Yesterday, the girls and I went op shopping, and it was one of those times that you do it for. I swear it's like a drug addiction! Sometimes, you go away not finding a thing you like and then other times, like yesterday, you find a great haul of stuff!

I have written over on sew-funky about all the crafting stuff I gathered. But I also found a copy of my all time favourite golden book! Excuse the picture as it's taken with not much light or experience! ;)


I used to imagine I was the little girl in the story. I mean I had the dress and I was 5 or 6 at the time! :)

Some more things that were re-homed were two average looking school uniform tops for Bree - I got them for $1 each, way better than the $35 they charge for new ones! And great for spares!

The girls got a fix too, spending $5 each. Hope bought books, Aimee bought a little scooby doo and Bree bought a doll, hand bag and bibs for her monsta Kail (notice spelling change as it's a girl not a boy, her words not mine!). You can tell what their current loves are, just by looking at what they bought!

THE BIRTH ORDER OF CHILDREN - funny!

This made me laugh, especially since we have three children - thought you could probably do with one too!

THE BIRTH ORDER OF CHILDREN

Your Clothes:
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your doctor confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.
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Preparing for the Birth:
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing..
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.
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The Layette:
1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?
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Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress-a whimper, a frown-you pick up the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing..
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Dummy:
1st baby: If the dummy falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the dummy falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.
______________________________________________________
Nappy Changing:
1st baby: You change your baby's nappy every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their nappy every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their nappy before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.
______________________________________________________
Activities:
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd ba by: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.
______________________________________________________
Going Out:
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.
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At Home:
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby..
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.
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Swallowing Coins (a favourite):
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays.
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!

What Dione Means...

You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row. You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace. People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Hmmm, it's one of those quiz's that you can find what you like in... I bolded some of what I agreed with - but how can I be both dependable and irresponsible?

our garden; beetroot

Mmmmm! Yummy beetroot - fresh out of the garden. I pulled the last of the beetroot out the garden yesterday. So I am guessing thats what we are having for dinner tonight. Nothing like being able to have something fresh out of the garden.

The pumpkins are beginning to grow too! Who'd have thought I would get so excited about this, but it's so cool to see something you've planted from seed come to mature into vegetables!!!

Do you want to know what I've been up to craft wise?

Take a look at my new blog - just click on the above image!

STOMP STOMP - new blog

Jonathan has started a new blog that chronicles our family tramp's - which we plan on making regular events. Especially since the girls have really been enjoying them! Just click on the pic to be taken there!

We finally made it; Cosseys Dam Walk

We finally got there on Saturday! And it was SOOOOOO worth the effort too!

After last weekends fun with the bee, Hope proved to make it fun again tripping up and having the blood to prove it! Still, it wasn't as bad as the bee sting and we pushed on to make it around the 3 hour loop.

The view was stunning!!!

Hard to believe that at one stage this was all just dry land.

We all felt the pain (well at least the older one's of us felt the pain) on Sunday and hobbled around the Clevedon Farmers Market. Which is another awesome thing to do as a family on a lazy Sunday Morning. While we were there we stopped in at the Clevedon Chocolate Shop - hmmmm, yummy I could spend a whole lot of money there! And then it was off to the Italian Country Market to sample some fare! I had the most delicious plum ever, taking me back to my childhood and the amazing plums I had one summer at my Grandma's! Needless to say, we'll be back for more!

fun free things to do in Auckland

What can you do with 6 weeks of holiday's and 3 "bored" kids?

Well, we've discovered going on tramps (walks) in the local bush have been a fantastic way to keep them entertained.

Yesterday, we attempted a nice tramp in the hunua's to go to Cossey's Dam. The excitement began with needing to cross a small river over rocks, and ended too quickly with Hope being stung by a bee about 20 minutes later after having to climb 200 steps (no exaggeration!).

That hasn't deterred us, today we climbed Mangere Mountain and walked to the local pools and back to have a swim.

All free activities, except for the petrol to get to Hunua and Mangere.

The Recipe For Dione

The Recipe For Dione

3 parts Whimsy 2 parts Instinct 1 part Magnetism Splash of Allure Serve over ice

What's the Recipe for Your Personality?