Summer. finally!

We lucked in! After an horrendous start to the Summer, we got terrific summery weather when we went to the beach/bach. SO GOOD! Just heaven. Kids in heaven. Bliss.

My friend Soteria watching the kids while I sit at the end of the section with my cup of tea! This is first thing in the morning. 

This is how we sleep after a hard day at the beach!

Bump shot! Over half way through now. Like my preggy togs/swimming costume/bathing suit? It's a genuine 70s dress style one that I've had for years. (long before I was ever preggy!)Not that you can see much of it, but you get the idea..

At the end of the section, watching the gannets dive!

Checking Uncle Mike's catch out!

Happy Days


Off camping in a couple of days...
Yay!

Might get a chance for blog browsing/commenting when I get back!

Happy New Yeah!

Belated New Year wishes! Yeah! 

Hope it's a good one!

I don't usually do the resolution thing - I don't want to set myself up to fail!

But I tidied out my wardrobe the other day (preggy stuff in, Winter stuff out - finally!)

and I found myself saying that this year I REALLY should not ever, never,  say: "I have nothing to wear" If I'm saying that, I'm just being lazy!.

I might even try to frock up on Fridays.. 

The weather in NZ has been SHITE! The worst summer in years. Or ever. I think there have been 5 rain-free days so far. 

Off to the beach tomorrow - we'll see if we get some Summer weather - hoping!

Happy Days!

SNAP SHOTS

I never seem to get a chance to get on here and put up a post.. must be the holidays!
So I am going to roll several posts into one here.. Well I'll just put a few snap shots in.. I haven't been dedicating myself to photo taking lately. Too much to do! Too hot!

MAKE BAKE SEW GROW

I got a couple of PMs asking what I made for the people I had to make bake sew or grow for (that's how we did our presents this year - it was great)
So here are 4 of them. I also made my oldest nephew Josh some freezer meals as he has just left home.. We pull names randomly out of a hat to work out who to give to. As I have 4 kids, we had 4 kids to give to, plus one couple..  

We had lights just like this when we were kids.. This was for my sister and BIL

Flower Fairies for one of my nieces.

This was for Isla to put her hair clips on (the ribbon) and I put a loop in the ribbon at the bottom to hook her hair bands in. 

Macaroons that ended up looking a bit like psychedelic hamburgers. Hmm. 

CHRISTMAS DAY

I will not bore you with Christmas photos.. just 4! We had a great day. Usual morning excitement for the kids, following on from the night before excitement!
We hosted Christmas day festivities here at our place. 

I FINALLY resisted, after a lot of  hinting, asking and pining, and got them NERF guns. They have entertained themselves endlessly ever since, shooting the foam bullets at targets and windows, Which has been quite good actually as it has rained solidly here for 3 or 4 days. 

Challenge: arranging seating for 33 people of all ages, shapes and sizes!

Iris + christmas pie + one of nephews on christmas eve at my sister's house



I have enjoyed having a quick gawk at everyone else's festivities. What a great time of the year!
I will try to dedicate myself to more blog posts in 2012!
I am writing this one at 4am as that is when I can get on here for any length of time!
+ I can't sleep (it's a pregnancy thing!)

Happy Days!

Festive Frenzy

Summer is here.. CORN COBS! Yum!

Actually it's not. I'm not really stressed. Busy, but not stressed. 
Christmas is for the kids. That's the thing about it - it's SO exciting for them. And we don't have enough festival action in our western lives I recon.. so we make it a yearly ritual. Traditions.


I thought I'd put some photos up of what's been going on.. as I am one of those people that like to get rid of Christmas on about the 26th if I have the energy! I HATE seeing Christmas related stuff around in the new year..


So..

JOhn gave these to the kids in his class on the last day.. Cute.

TREES AT THE METEOR.. a fantastic event here in Hamilton. Basically as art exhibition - decorate/make a tree. AMAZING every year is utterly entertaining..
This tree won the overall prize - it was called MARBELLS and kids could roll ball bearings down the flowers and it made a tubular bells effect.. Very cool. Iris hung out there for literally an hour.

And this is where my boys hung out for ages! A lego diorama. Such a cool carnival scene. NZers - the white carriage had a ghost selling 'ghost chips' Classic.

Loved this one made of jeans.

The Giving Tree. Op shopped stuffed toys.

This one was called SOCIAL COMMEN-TREE. 

Kids with their free hot chocolates!

There was a great slide show with loads of classic paintings featuring captions like this. Theme of the whole thing was Compassion vs Consumption.


With my family this year (my siblings etc) we are doing MAKE, BAKE, SEW, GROW for presents, so that it what I'm trying to get finished. I leave things to the last minute. It's how I get things done!


Hope YOU'RE all enjoying the festive frenzy and making merry!

No longer Camera-less

I left my camera at my Dad's place in Auckland. Doh! I was just about to resort to using old photos when Dad paid us a surprise visit yesterday.. A good effort for the old fulla as it's a 1 1/2 hour drive and it has been POURING with rain all over the land for the whole week. It was the first time he's seen our house actually, which we've been in for a few months now..

I went out for a Turkish feast last night with some friends. I didn't get any photos of them or the food! What kind of blogger am I?!!

I've mentioned before about how I find it IMPOSSIBLE to get good photos of myself, by myself. And I don't live with a photographer! 
So this was an attempt at a frock photo. Mmm. Not great! I look like a grumpy old housewife. 
You can see a bit of a bump there. I must be nearly 5months. I lose track a bit..
Preggy frock - gifted from my sister-in-law. Love it.
Cardy - had it for years and years. Op shopped. I once wore this when I was about 18 and an ex boyfriend commented that I looked like I was wearing a grown-up version of a baby outfit. He was trying to make me feel embarrassed but I was SO proud and happy!!! Aside: I think I might have been able to do the buttons up back then LOL!!

This was a scene from our Auckland weekend.. I LOVE Iris eating her way through the decorations.


The kids finished school today for the Summer holidays! YAY!! I LOVE the holidays.
So excited today - they could hardly get to sleep tonight. You'd think christmas was just around the corner..

I am hoping to get a few things sorted around this place over Summer... am I dreaming? Probably - but I'll do my darnedest!


Love and light..
x

December - whaat?

Don't you just love this?!! It was on the cover of the sunday supplement that comes with our paper, last year. Dressed in their best, but look at the grim faces. Love it!

I find it a bit too frenzied.. but I do love the traditions and excitement of christmas for the kids.

It was SOOOO exciting for us as kids, and I guess that all comes rushing back to me at this time of year.

I found these at a garage sale for 50c last year. I like to keep them in their box though - they look so nice in there! In an original Swan Lake choc box too.

Summer has arrived here. Lots of sun and getting hot. And the FRUIT!!  Yumness!

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my last post. Very comforting. xx

My Mum

Yesterday (1st December) was the day my Mum died, 10 years ago.

I didn't think it would affect me as much as it did, yesterday. After all, it's just another day in 10 years..

I was fine until I went into an op shop and a song came on the radio that reminded me of her.

And that was it for me.

Not a great photo of any of us.. but never mind.. 

About 5 weeks before she died. She looks unwell, but was managing a smile, bless her heart.

When I got home I looked on facebook and saw lovely memory messages from my two aunties (Mum's sisters) and one of them had changed her profile pic to one of Mum, in memory.

That pretty much finished me off. It all felt so raw and such a greyness hung over me all day.

I pretty much cried all day, on and off.

I love this quote. It has helped me through times such as this. 

" .. love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign.. to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone,will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin."

(From Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling) 

(Sorry about the misery - next post will be cheerful, I promise!)