Away in a Manger/A busy few days

I love Thee Lord Jesus

Look down from the sky

And stay by my side

'Til morning is nigh

Be near me Lord Jesus

I ask Thee to stay

Close by me forever

And love me I pray

Bless all the dear children

In Thy tender care

And take us to heaven

To live with Thee there.

Cake and Bubbles

The top was made of rice bubbles and melted marshmallows! Yum!

You can find a great tutorial for fabric cake bunting here.

Photo booth fun

Big boxes can give hours of entertainment for no money at all! For India's party we transformed a very large box into a photo booth simply by taping black fabric across the top (I gathered mine so it looked more like a studio). Add some silly dress ups, a tripod and photographer (this is our snappy looking one below) and you have hours of fun!

Circus colour

The stripey bags and straws were from Mon Tresor (and the leftover bags will look so cute in Elara's school lunchbox next year).

The circus canopy and take home gifts were homemade.

Costumes and characters

Before I start into this blog post you should know that I have a particularly well resourced family when it comes to costumes. My Mum has two rooms stocked front to back, top to bottom of costumes and fun dressing up clothes.

From day one India wanted to dress up as a clown, and we had a bright and silly costume all ready. Of course she changed her mind less than a week before the party (I'm grateful ...it could have been 5 minutes before...she is a girl after all), and wanted to come as a ballerina. So she got a pink tutu dress for her birthday (and she looked mighty cute in it)!

We all had a chuckle when Elara announced she wanted to dress as the ringmaster as she loves to organise and be the boss. But when I showed her some ideas for her costume, she realised that the ringmaster wasn't who she thought he/she was! What she had imagined was dressing as a marching girl. So I borrowed this box pleated skirt from my Mum's collection and made a uniform vest to match. She looked really grown up and was pretty good at baton twirling too!

My sister - a beautiful bareback rider, and my Dad - perfectly pulling off the ringmaster look.

We didn't think this one through... Tim was a bit scary for some of the children!

Justin wowed the kids with his stilt walking skills.

And my Mum helped out by 'selling' mini hotdogs.

More soon to come...

Roll up, Roll up!

Tomorrow is India's circus themed birthday party.

We're all excited as it's such a fun theme... loads of colour, silliness, and costumes!

I got the idea for the invitations from here, and spent a few nights in front of the tv cutting and pasting the mini bunting. I printed out some admission tickets to slip inside too!

Stay posted this week for more circus fun!

Short and Sweet Week: Panels

I made these on the same night...definitely a theme here!

Love adding a plain panel to a great patterned fabric.

(And check out this clever Mum who uses some great fabric panels in some of her creations.)

Short and Sweet Week: Packages

How much fun it is to receive packages in the mail (especially when they are unexpected)! Have a look at a few of the things that this sweet and thoughtful lady sent our little family recently.

Dressed up singlets with appliquéd braces and ties for the boy.

And some for the girls with lace and their own letters.

Thanks Bec and family...we really loved our goodies!

(and how about opening an etsy store soon??!)

Short and Sweet Week: Mint

Add some peppermint essence and a drop of green food colouring to your favourite white chocolate mousse recipe, then top with mint leaves and blueberries. Fresh!

Short and Sweet Week: Pyjamas

It was easier for me to make this pair of pyjamas for Elara, than to brave the shops (with kids in tow) to buy some!

Short and Sweet Week: Cakes

This one is Fleur Wood's rhubarb meringue cake.

My version (made for my sister's birthday) was yummy but not quite as pretty!

And I call these "Brett cakes"!

(For my brother).

Short and Sweet Week: Ruffles

Lately I have been indulging in some sewing/crafting/cooking in the wee hours of the night, in order to satisfy my need (or maybe want) to complete something (or anything) creative. This works for me because I'm choosing simple projects that my tired brain can cope with. Words though, (or ones that make sense), are not forthcoming in the wee hours of the night. So I have a few finished projects but very few blog posts.

My plan is to catch up over the next seven days with a "short and sweet week".

A few photos and a few words, each day.

Starting today!

A ruffly outfit for a new and pretty baby.

I just love purple and grey!

Quilt guilt

My first quilting attempt was 4 1/2 years ago.

It was a mini baby quilt for my new baby girl.

I was new at it and I think I made a pretty good attempt considering I was clouded in an "I've got a new baby" haze.

It's time for my second attempt.

(I've been inspired by friends Mandy and Debb)

It will be another mini baby quilt, but this time for a sweet boy!

I feel a bit bad that he is currently lying on a purple and orange (with flowers) quilt...

just because I'm a little overwhelmed at the thought of quilting.

So this one will be simple.

I'll keep you posted.

Cinderella Story

Their version: Fairy Godmother works her magic. Pumpkin turns into carriage. Girl looks beautiful. Step sisters get their just desserts.

Our version: Sisters work their magic. Girl turns into pumpkin. Girl looks beautiful. Girl makes spooky cakes for dessert!

Actually, I hardly helped at all with this costume as I kept zoning out from lack of sleep ;)

But I wanted to show it off anyway.

You can see more details and pictures of my sister Lauren here, and have a look at some other costumes we've made here.

For 30 minutes

I left the dishes on the sink.

I left the tidying of toys and pencils and play dough.

I left the washing waiting to be sorted.

I lay down.

I watched.

I enjoyed.

Him.

He smiled.

He cooed.

He smiled some more.

He looked at me and didn't change focus.

His eyes smiled.

Then they grew tired.

Then they closed.

Then the light shone across his cheek,

and made his hair look so soft,

his eyelashes look so long,

and his lips look so delicate.

Asleep in perfection.

Manna

In the first month after Zeb's arrival we were blessed with food from Heaven! Friends and family brought us beautifully prepared meals four nights a week. Help on the doorstep right in the middle of horror hour. A dream for the busy Mum.

In the 6 months leading up to this time, I was able to provide for my Mum friends in the same way. And it was fun! I baked so much but I have only a few random photos of the goodies (I'd usually pull my baking out of the oven, package it, and walk straight out of the door to deliver it)! I thought I'd post the few that I managed to snap amongst my thank-yous...

Big thank-you Deanna!

Thanks Jayde, Keith & Lauren.

Thank-you to Sam, Dale, Ange and Martine.

And to Bec, Zoe, Mel D, Debbie, Mandy, Tracey and Mel W.

We were fed and happy because of your help!

What to do with blue?

This is the first time that I've had a whole room to dedicate to the nursery, so I wanted it to be gentle, soft and fit for a babe. It's the first time that I've done a children's room without using pink and red, so I also wanted it to be blue, green and very boy. But trains, planes and racing cars just didn't seem right for a boy of ours. So I found some inspiration from this special toy Combi van that Tim was given many years ago, from his Dad. It now sits on the shelf with some Combi friends, some books for boys, and a Z covered in scrapbook paper.

Above the change table (that Tim made for our firstborn 5 years ago) hangs a beachy baby onesie that I love, by SOOKIbaby.

I made this surfboard artwork with scrapbook papers picked up at Spotlight, and some bunting in colours of navy, green, blue, orange and beige.

I sewed decorations (a palm tree, flip flop, surfboard, guitar and another Combi), strung them to a hoop and added a recycled and recovered movement and music device to make this mobile.

Finally, a couple of cosy cushions for the chair, and the room was ready and waiting for our blue bundle to arrive!