I am proud & thankful for 2009...

After Kate's post I couldn't not do one also...

1. I am so extremely thankful that our dear little Itty Bitty was kept safe in my womb! She is a survivor! After Parvo Virus (the human version) and Swine Flu are amazed that she is here and amzingly healthy! I too feel that a donation for a Birth Attendant in a third world country is a brilliant way to express my gratitude. Thank you Lord!

2. I am so very thankful for and PROUD of my big (almost grade 1) boy, Connor.

This year he has grown up so much! He has done so well at school. He is reading & writing things I didn't even know he could do! And he has made friends with some lovely children. I am so proud of him!

3. I am so thankful for and PROUD of my big 4 year old girl Ella! She is turning into such a lovely little girl! She has come leaps and bounds since starting kindy at the beginning if the year! What a delight to have her in our family. She is always cracking us up with her chitter chatter...

4. I am so EXTREMELY thankful & grateful for my loving husband! Without him this year, I simply would not have survived. With the stress of pregnancy + parvo virus & all the worries and concerns that came with that, he stayed calm. When I had Swine flu, he looked after me. When I had the horrific caesarean at the end of a horrific pregnancy, he took care of all 5 of us.

I am PROUD of him when he had all four of his wisdom teeth out, it was an aweful exprience, but he survived. We all survived! I am PROUD of him for fixing the stairs at our old house so we could sell it and for all his assmebling efforts of IKEA furniture at our new house!

I am just so thankful that he makes my love tank feel full most of the time. He is so wonderful! Thanks Dan xoxo

5. This year I am proud of all I have accomplished;

• I was pregnant
• Looked after two energetic children whilst suffering aweful morning (all day) sickness
• had a baby
• recovered from major surgery
• was a bridesmaid during that recovery period
• bought a house
• sold a house
• packed up our house
• house sat
• moved into our house
• started an etsy store (albiet very small at the moment)
• unpacked lots of boxes
• helped assemble lots of IKEA items
• did the christmas shopping
• restored some order to our lovely new [old] home.

6. I am so very thankful for my family and friends! How wonderful is life when you have great family and friends around you!

So instead of saying Happy New Year, this year I might say Happy OLD year!

And the winner is....

Well it's Christmas Eve!! Time to draw a winner for my giveaway!

First we wrote the names...

Then we scrunched them up & put them in the watering can...

Then Connor shook it up & chose one randomly....

And the winner is...

Congratulations Le @ whoopwhoop !! I will contact you about where to post it!!

Keep your eye out for more giveaways in 2010!!

In the mean time,

have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

xoxo

A new adventure for, For fun and fancy?

So last night Santa's little helper (that's me) got busy making this tea party set for Miss Ella.

I wanted to make her a little table cloth & matching napkins for her to use for her Tea Parties.

I bought the cupcakes a couple of months ago at the handmade expo.

Appologies about the poor picture quality. I took the photos at about 11:45pm, the light was bad! I wanted to take some pics before it needed to be hidden away! Anyhow, What do you think?

I am thinking about making sets like these for both the Markets & for my Etsy shop!

So I am wondering a few things;

a) Would you buy one as a gift for a little girl you know?

b) How much would you pay for such a set which would include;

• 1 child size tablecloth
• 4 matching napkins
• 4 cupcakes
• A matching bag for them all to go in

c) Is there anything else that I should include in the set that I have forgotten?

Obviously the actual tea set (cups & teapot) are not included.

Can't wait to hear your feedback!

Oh! And don't forget about my give away here! :)

For fun and fancy GIVE AWAY TIME.... (it's my turn)

I have decided to run with the festive season and have my own giveaway!! Hooray for free stuff!!

So here's what is up for grabs...

It's a funky hairclip!

How to enter:

1. Post about it on your blog

2. Leave me a comment here, linking me to your post :)

You can only enter once! Good luck!!!

I will do the draw on Christmas Eve, so be sure to enter before then :)

Comments

Appologies all for having to reinstate the word verification on my comments. Annoying I know. But was getting spammed! How rude!

And no more anon comments allowed either. Sorry guys :(

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

And then she was FOUR!

And the Strawberry Shortcake Cake...

... was a hit!

Happy Birthday sweet Ella xoxo

Ho Ho Ho!

Believe it or not, this is the kids first photo with the Merry man!

In previous years they have been too frightened. They were thrilled today when we went to say hi to Santa.

And might I add, he was the best Santa I have ever had the pleasure meeting. He had a good ol' chat with the kids, and when Connor asked for a remote control Roary, Santa explained that they were very expensive & that he would have to see, because afterall he had lots of other surprise things ready to go. He was also very kind to Ella and spoke to her about her birthday (which is tomorrow) for quite some time.

I love christmas time :)

The Handmade Expo...

Saturday was the last Handmade Expo for 2009 and my 1st time as a stall sharer! I shared a stall with Scurrette and another good friend from church.

Here are my goodies...

We had a good day and I spent all my earnings on a house warming pressie for Swift Jim & I...

Isn't it pretty!!! It looks perfect in our hallway!!

Oh dear.

You know you've been cross with the children a lot lately when your [about to turn] 4 year old daughter says to you;

"I don't want you to be cranky at kindy today Mummy"

:/

It makes me sad that she finds me cranky most of the time. Must rectify that and make it my mission to be a fun mum these summer holidays.

Last day of school & kindy today. I will need your prayers for the next 6 weeks I think...

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!!!

We have been using a prepaid wireless internet thingo whilst awaiting the arrival of our new BoB. The prepaid thingy was sooo sloooowww.... Which was bad for looking at blogs. Good for my Etsy addiction though (meant I wasn't looking so much). But BoB has arrived & now our internet connection is super fast & it's AWESOME!! I shall be reading & commenting on your blogs more often now :D

A train wreck today!

Well I feel like one anyhow.

Lack of sleep. Late nights for the past couple of weeks. Due to lots of sewing and assembling of IKEA furniture.

Then last night, what a doozie. At 10:45pm Swift Jim & I finally decided to go to bed. As we were brushing our teeth a fight started out the front of our house. A drunk man was hurling abuse at some teenage kid which escalated into a brawl. *thwack* I heard a punch connect with I assume the 15 year old kid. Swift Jim called the cops. As we waited for them to arrive there was more yelling, crying & threats of "I am going to KILL you". Then they all started to diffuse. By the time the police arrived they had all left.
Scary! So I then lay awake for AGES thinking about all the 'what if's' that could happen.
I finally started going to sleep at about midnight, only to be woken by Ella calling out. So I got up and went to her, only to discover she was yelling in her sleep. This happened several times throughout the night. Then at 4:20am as the sun was rising she started yelling;
"No NOT YOU Daddy!!!"
So I went into her room & she was sitting on the floor next to her bed, I asked her what was wrong? She replied with " I didn't want Daddy to brush my teeth!" I said, "he didn't, I did it"
She said " NOOOO at our OLD house". Then promptly climbed back on her bed & went to sleep again....
I also climbed back into bed & went back to sleep... for a little while.

I wish I could sleep til midday...

Do you find this cute?

I don't. I find it incredibly frustrating and infuriating!

Now I look at this and see that it is cute. Children's handwriting always is. Particulary when the E has extra lines. However, my children cannot seem to keep their pencils, pens, crayons only for paper! They just have to brand everything they own with their name.

This is brand new. Out of it's packet on saturday. I could have murdered them this morning.

For the record, this is Connor's handywork. Although Ella can infact write her own name also.

Chitter Chatter

Ella's 4th birthday is approaching quite quickly. I asked her what sort of cake she would like...

Me: What sort of cake would you like for your birthday this year Ellie?
El: [thinking for a moment] A strawberry shortcake one please.
Me: Ooh, that might be a bit tricky. I dont know how to make strawberry shortcake ones.
El: [excitedly] yeah you can!
Me: but i dont know how...
El: [very matter of factly] You just wear a chef's hat & then you will know how to do it!!
Me: oh so thats what I have to do...
El: [nods head] Yes.

So apparently all cake making knowledge is found in a chef's hat. Must get me one of those...

Ride 'em Cowboy!!

Connor is into Cowboy's at the moment.. (it's all because of Woody from Toy Story).... So for his new bedroom I am going to make him a new doona cover & matching curtains.

I just ordered these scrummy fabrics to create it with...

I think he will love it... I will keep you updated with my progress :)

A house.

No inside pics as yet, coz all you will see is boxes LOL... as a room is done I will post :)

Lucky ME!!

Thank you Micky from HANDMADIES for my award!


I was given this Kreativ Blogger award! How chuffed am I!! Now it's my turn to pass it on to 7 of my fellow bloggettes who's blogs I love to read & admire.
So there are some things I am to do to receive this illustrious award -7 rules to keep it growing:

1. Copy picture and post on your blog
2. Thank the person who gave it to you and link to their blog.
3. Write 7 things about yourself we don't know: Here goes!

• I am going to be an Aunty for the first time in May 2010 (yay)
• I hate peas
• My favourite season is Autumn
• I am a shopaholic
• I drink way too much Coke
• I like singing (and am ok at it)
• I was going to be a hairdresser to the stars (until I met Swift Jim)

4. Choose 7 other bloggers to pass the award to.
5. Link to those 7 other bloggers.

• Tea Pony
• Bumpkin Bears
• Monique's Stitches
• 2 Little Bunnies
• Cranberry Lane
• Cute as buttons
• Little diva

6. Notify your 7 bloggers
7. Have a happy day

Thanks again!! Enjoy your award Kreativ Bloggy friends!

12 Fat Quarters! Yes Please!!

Wanna win them? Check out retromummy for your chance :D

I know

You are all hanging out for photos aren't you!

I am slack! It's been crazy here, I havn't even taken any pics yet! But we are IN! YAY... Love the house! Though we are discovering a few quirks...

1. Old houses dont have many power points.
2. Floor boards are NO good in a toilet/bathroom. Wee soaks into the boards & no matter how much you scrub, the stench will not go away YUCK! (lucky a bathroom reno is on the cards first up eh!)
3. There is no normal t.v antena. A Foxtel one, yes. But I dont want Foxtel! ( I missed the Australian Idol Finale last night & I'm gonna miss Packed to the Rafters!! Woe is me!)
4. There is not enough cupboard space in the kitchen. (again, lucky a kitchen reno is on the cards second up)
5. Old houses dont come with fly screens. Poor Ella has been eaten alive by mozzies in her sleep!

So our "to do" list is growing... but I still LOVE all the character and charm our new [old] house has... no regrets...

I will post photos soon I PROMISE!!

What a weekend!

Today is settlement day... in 1/2 hour Swift Jim will collect the keys to our new [old] house!!
I however sit here at home ill. The gastro bug hit me at about 2 o'clock this morning, How's that for timing... blergh!
I am hoping I am better by tomorrow.. The handmade expo is on & I was planning to go for an hour first up in the morning, then on to moving house... I hope I'm not laid up in bed!

Buns!

We have BUNS! Do remember my post a while ago about Ella's hair? Well this morning we tried buns...

It's probably still slightly too short, but it still works :)

She is growing up so much!!

Ooh these are NICE!

Visit Sarah + Abraham to check out their cute as family labels! I was needing some new return address labels since we are moving house & these are just perfect!!

The ones pictured here are gift labels, but they have things for all occasions!

How classy are my letters going to look now !

Chitter Chatter

I was having a cuddle with Connor on the lounge late this afternoon;

Me: I love you mate
Connor: I know you do Mummy
Me: How do you know?
Connor: I can just feel it

Love my boy...

Happy Birthday to YOU!!

Happy Birthday Femina!!

Wishing you a truly fantastic birthday!! I have loved getting to know you better in bloggy land & hope that one day we can meet IRL!

Sending lots of love to you today xoxo

Heavenly Handmade

This morning I popped into Handmade Heaven to do a wee spot of christmas shopping. I was sorry to miss you Leisa, but I hear there are exciting times ahead :)

Well I didn't find anything for the person I had in mind, but I scored a few goodies for some other loved people in my life...

I am super excited to introduce you to "Daisy"... Santa is going to bring her to Miss Libby for christmas. She is so delicious!! Made by Selina Harding, Daisy is made of lovely pastel coloured chenille...mmmmm so gorgeous!

Here are some of the other goodies I scored... I could have spent a fortune...oh wait I DID LOL...

The end of an era...

Tonight I will go to sleep for the last time in this old beloved house. It has done us well for the past [almost] 8 years.
Tomorrow we start hoarding everything out.
A bittersweet feeling.

There's a jungle out there...

The view from my seat on the lounge...



The mess is sending me cRaZy!!!!

You are all so nice!

Thanks for all the kind words in my last few previous posts.
We had a better weekend with the kids, it helps to shift the way we are thinking a little. We even had a little fun with them :)

My back is 0k. Just achy muscles from all the packing & moving of boxes etc....

Thanks for all the lovely comments ((hugs)) to all....

Peaceful.

I am discovering that getting up before the rest of the family wakes up is quite nice. It is dead quiet. There is no whinging, fighting or screaming from the children. I start my day positive, rather than waking to the sound of whinging, fighting & screaming. So although my back is hurting (which is why I am up so early) I feel like today is going to be a good day...

I do however think I will need a nap later...

Something New...

Here is my lastest shop item....

ForFunAndFancy.etsy.com

A bad place.

Recently my children (the big ones) have been testing me like nothing else. I imagine that the stress of moving etc isn't helping. But they are just being so rude & disrespectful towards me, and their constant fighting with each other has me feeling dislike towards them. I hate it!! They are beautiful children, they are. And I do love them pieces!! But at the moment I just dont like them. Does that make any sense? Probably not. I am just a bad mum who isn't enjoying parenthood at the moment.
I want to enjoy them.... I dont want to be grumpy at them all the time. They will grow up too soon....

:-(

:-)

let me explain...

lately often when i leave a comment, i have not been using capital letters. i do appologise for my lack of grammatical manners... usually the reason is because i have a baby in one arm drinking milk. as i do now.

i hope you don't mind....

We heart Femina xx

I recieved a parcel in the post today. I love getting parcels in the post!!

Thank you Femina.... big smoodgy kisses from Libby xoxo

Here Libby models her new beautiful pink cardigan & doll....

Isn't Femina a clever lady!! xoxo

Long Lost Things #1

When packing up the house ready to move, one often finds things that had either been forgotten about or missing in action for a really long time or that you just didn't know you had....
So far, here is what we have found... I am sure the list will grow just as the pile of boxes under my house grows.

• Unused postage stamps from when they still only cost 50c
• An undelivered handmade christmas card addressed to Mr & Mrs de Elba and their unborn baby (nat)...
• kitchen scales
• a dead rat it was under the house in amongst stuff. Gross!
• Swift Jim's mum's guest book from her 50th birthday party a few years ago (why did we have that?)
• A long lost teddy called Morris. He was found on top of the display cabinet in amongst dried flowers.
• Some of Swift Jim's nice cologne (right at the back of the bathroom cupboard)
• Our Wedding and Engagement videos. Now THAT was a giggle to watch again

There are a few items that I havn't found yet that I hope to... but's fun finding things you had forgotten about :)

And so the packing continues ....

For fun and fancy....

My wonderful friend Scurrette who is not only a talented sewer, but who is also a wizz in photoshop whipped this banner up for my Etsy shop...

You like? I LOVE IT!!! Thanks so much Bec xxoo

For Scurrette ~Fluffy Butts ~

Scurrette made Ella some extremely gorgeous BIG girl Fluffy Butts!!!!
Christmas print ones... super cute... Here she models them!

Don't mind the mess in the background LOL

Dates.

We have dates.

So this house settles on the 12th Novemeber, which is a Thursday. So we will actually have to move all our stuff out on the weekend prior to that because Swift Jim actually WORKS on Thursdays (and every other week day for that matter). So that makes moving day for us the 7th of November. Two weeks from tomorrow....!!!!!!!

The house we are buying settles, wait for it... on the 21st of DECEMBER!!!! Yeah you read that right! That's OVER a month between houses. Not just a day or two.... not even a week or two!! Almost 6 weeks!! *GROAN*....
We couldn't settle earlier than that because there are currently tennants in the house and their lease doesn't run out until the 19th of December. We can politely request that they leave earlier than that, however they can say no if they dont want to. BUT we cannot ask them that magic question before both houses go unconditional on the contracts. That happens next week. So if we ask them next week if they would mind leaving early that will only give them 1 week to find a new place and move in!
What are the chances of that happening? [in the wise words of Hip Jen] APPROXIMATELY NONE!
So it looks as though we may have to fork out $1200+ to put our stuff in storage, and house hop with all our friends and family so that we dont out stay our welcome with anyone over that 6ish week period! How much am I looking forward to that? [Again in Hip Jen's wise words]...
Approximately none........

One of these days...

I will actually WIN a giveaway!! I will... wont I? hehe

I REALLY want to win The Handmade Expo's latest giveaway! Every bloggette that leaves a comment on their giveaway post = $1 (so it is not per comment, it is per bloggette)So..the more bloggettes that comment and follow, the more money.
The money goes toward a voucher for the November or December Market!! So if you live in SE QLD, go and enter the giveaway!!

And then watch ME win it!!! Mwahahahahaha.... ;)

Every parent should watch...

I just saw this, and it is very powerful. I couldn't not share it...

Having second thoughts...

Today I sat and sewed. I enjoyed myself, but I started to wonder whether I was kidding myself with all this..... Probably because I was attempting to make some christmas decorations that well, they just ended up looking a little wierd.

(the red spotty one is the back)

Maybe I should just stick to hair clips and the like?

A lovely weekend indeed...

Saturday started out with a mad tidy up for a "just in case" open house, then Swift Jim and I dropped the big kids off at Grandma & Grandpa's house so we could spend some quality time together at the Handmade Expo. I picked up a few beauties, but the best thing was from Bubba Chenille... It was the last stall I visited, and there hanging on her rack of goodies was this little cherub...

Now I must admit when I saw it on Bubbachenille's blog I thought it was a kids skirt, and of course had Ella Bella in mind.... but no no NO, it is infact an ADULTS size skirt, and low & behold, an adults size skirt in MY size!!! WOO HOO!! Very excited about that! So I grabbed it and very proudly wore my new wardrobe addition to church this morning! It was lovely to meet Leisa, Micky and the gang from Handmade Heaven too...

Then at lunch time we headed to Ella's kindy's 30th Birthday celebration. there was a jumping castle, face painting, ice-creams, the kids sang some songs and we watched the mayor (and the kids) plant a new climbing tree. (The previously adored climbing tree died last year & had to be removed. It was very sad). It was a lovely afternoon. The kids had fun & it was really cute watching Ella sing some songs with her class mates.

[ I will insert a photo here once Swift Jim gets home and can figure out why it's not working for me ]

Then today after church we went to a friend's place and had pies for lunch. It was great to catch up with them!!

And now after all that I can relax a bit in my own house because I dont have to worry about strangers trapesing through the house as prospective buyers :) No more open houses!

It up and running...

forfunandfancy.etsy.com

I havn't had a chance to pretty it up just yet, but I will get to that a little later.... enjoy :)

I had a date with my sewing machine today...

Look!!!!

My handsome boy models for you...

The Front

The back

I am quite pleased. I have never made shorts before & I didn't even have a pattern!! My first attempt at applique too...

What do you think? Connor was rather chuffed!

I have decided...

... on an Etsy shop name that is. It comes from a Ruthism (things Dan's mum used to say when he was a kid)...

The Ruthism, was in response to the age old question "but whyyyy?" ;
"Oh, for fun and for fancy and to please old nancy!"

So hence, my etsy shop name will be... I hope you like it.

ForFunAndForFancy

I will link you all once I get it going....

~Fluffy Butts ~

Thanks Scurrette for making Libby's the CUTEST butt in town :D

You can visit her Etsy Shop "Stylish Little Critters" Here....