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...