Mollie's Chair: Thirteen Months (Polka dot edition)

Mollie
13 Months

As you can see, the chicken pox are still lingering with my littlest one. Slowly all drying up, but still very much all over her - she is polka dotted!

This month Mol has taken it upon herself to start walking! Crawling is still her main mode of transport, but she's definitely taking steps in the right direction (heh). She delights in walking around pushing a pram/lawnmower or holding onto the hand of a proud brother. There have been quite a few unassisted steps taken, too, slowly, stopping inbetween to clap for herself!Sleeping has gone downhill slightly, eating is brilliant, talking is coming along nicely, still just the two teeth.
No complaints here : )

I had to really work to get a photo with a smile yesterday. The poor lass really is still under the weather.

Those spots on her right eyelid are so horrible - it's even more puffy and red, in the flesh.

I was getting concerned, when even her Tiny Eyes doll didn't get a smile! Luckily, she then decided throwing the doll on the ground and yelling 'Uh-oh!' was pretty hilarious.

It didn't take long for Mol to decide the photoshoot was all over. She slid down off the chair, and went on her way. Such a big girl now!

(Also, she FINALLY fits the vest I made way back when I first found out I was pregnant! Wish I could find time to make a few more - it really is my favourite knitting pattern, ever.)

Foxy Giveaway!

STOP THE PRESS!
This giveaway is aaaaaammaaaaziiiing.
That fox dress is to.die.for.
I'm one of those people that very rarely wins things, despite entering all the giveaways. Maybe you would like to enter, and just donate me the fox dress?
What's that? Okay? Oh, you're the greatest!

Either way, this giveaway is happening over on Stella's super-dooper blog. Head on over : )

(Say hello to) My little exercise friends...

See this? Yeah, it's a cross trainer. MY cross trainer!

Sooo, I bought a cross trainer (off TM) in the weekend. A touch extreme, yes, but I feel that extreme measures are called for sometimes. My scales and my mood/general wellbeing are telling me that shits gettin' real - something needs to be done!

I have been getting out walking 2-3 times a week, but not nearly as often as I'd like. There always seems to be a boy-child home sick, dinner to be made, rain pelting down, walking clothes in the wash etc. Always an excuse to be had! See that cross trainer? I can use it in my undies, on a pouring wet day, with both boys watching from the couch, if I have to. Not many excuses I can make for that one!

Inspired by Pip, Abraham and I are doing the 'C25K' programme on it. Figured it would be good to have a programme to stick to, for motivation. Abraham is kindly playing along, for moral support. He's a good man.

I'm on Week 1, Day 2 of the programme and I can tell you, I'm so pleased I've been walking - if I went, literally, from the couch to this.. I think I would have died. Phew! Sweaty much! Knackered much? But I LOVE it.

I have also purchased a journal from the clever Emma at Emmamakes, to keep track of what I'm eating. I'm not cutting out whole food groups etc, but I'm trying to make portions smaller, avoid eating so much sugar (especially baking!) and up my fruit and veg. Simple but, hopefully, effective.

My final purchase, the most expensive, is a new pair of trainers.

I've had my last pair around 4 years, and my toes poke through at the end and sides - not such a good look. They're a pricey thing to replace though! And it's a hassle to spend time at the store having your feet assessed and shoes fitted properly.
(So thankful to be able to do this without kids. Love you, Abraham!)
I was lucky enough to have Mum go halvsies with me on these, so I could afford to get the comfiest ones I tried. Way more enthused about exercise when my feet are cosy!

So yes, it really is ON!

What about you guys? What's your exercise routine?

Chicken Pops!

The 'chicken pops' have taken over at the Larsen home.
Aesop had shingles the week before last (poor guy! Horrible!) and it appears the two littlies have contracted the pox from that.
It's one of those things, really. You don't want your kid to feel terrible, and be covered in itch, but it's a bit of a blessing that they then won't get them again later in life (when it is much more dangerous). Aesop had a mild dose when he was 2 or 3, and it appears Otto is also getting a very mild dose.
Mollie, on the other hand, is pretty well covered. These photos were taken yesterday morning and, since taking them, the spots have travelled allll over her wee scalp, down her neck, on her belly.. heck, she even has one on her eyelid and one in her ear! Nasty little dots!
Thank goodness for calamine lotion, huh?

Needless to say, we are taking things easy this week.
There will be far more screen time than we generally allow, there will be a lot of smooching and cuddling, lots of breastfeeding, lots of stories read... if it weren't for the high temps, nasty coughs and snotty noses, it would be quite blissful!

A Weeks Work.

I'm not going to lie, this is not actual not a weeks work. I just like the title!
I intended to post each week with the things that I had made that week, but I didn't factor in custom orders that wouldn't be able to be shown until they were received and things that I am waiting to chuck on Felt etc.
So, instead, heres a smattering of things I've made in the past two weeks.

These two hoodies were made for a sweet boy named Echo. His Mum and Dad are super wonderful, very supportive and have helped me with lots of businessy things lately. I know that they love to dress their kids in Croutons gear, and I'm so appreciative. I had heaps for fun putting together these jumpers for them, and for Echo.
(I was also stoked to receive a few custom orders when I popped these photo on Facebook. I'll be at Spotlight next week buying all sorts of cool fabrics to create the applique hoodies with - choice!)

I made these pants as a custom order for a lovely lady with twin boys. She loves colour as much as I do, and pretty much let me have free reign ( my fave!). The mail lady delivered them to her today - and she informs me the boys put them on straight away. Love it!

I made two pairs of these cowboy shorts. I've popped them in the Felt store.

It's lucky I also make Otto some Starwars shorts, otherwise he was about to insist he needed to keep the cowboy ones!
This fabric was given to me, in curtain form, by my best friend from primary school. These were her curtains when she was a little 'un. She tells me they were terrifying curtains for a little person - but I'm so thankful she (well, her parents) hung onto them! It's on of those fabrics I struggle to cut into. I like to only use tiny bits at a time. My kids have many Starwars patches and pockets in their futures. Haha.

May Themed Dinner #3 - Fast Food!

Our third theme for this month was 'Fast Food'.

My boys are big McDonalds fans. Aren't all kids?

I have no idea what the attraction is - well, I have an idea.. but I, personally, can't stand the stuff. The food tastes like nothing, and I always still feel hungry after eating something so... fake.

Aesop inhales a quarter-pounder, a shake and fries, and Abraham is a big fan, while Otto enjoys the thought of it far more than the actual food - he rarely even eats half of a happy meal (and then asks for different food!). I guess the toy might be the winning point for him.

Seemed a great plan to see if we could recreate a (slightly healthier and much tastier) Maccas meal.

   Since fast food is mostly of the takeaway variety (for us, anyway.. our kids have never 'eaten in', I don't think!) I didn't feel like we needed to do much in the way of decorating. I popped a red table cloth on the table, popped all of our 'American' style sauces (mustard, mayo, ketchup and bbq sauce) in the centre, chucked on a Beastie Boys album (with a take out menu on the front..) and voila!

The food speaks for itself, really.

Abraham whipped up some boxes for our fries and chicken nuggets (if I did this again I would make chicken tenders myself, rather than serve ones from a bag!) and I used a few sewn, recycled book, bags I had around the studio to put everything in (stamped with an 'L' for Larsen Burger, naturally! Heh). I wrapped the burgers in greaseproof paper, and we used the leftover cups and straws from Pop Roc Parties for our soy choc shakes.

My burger had a touch of greenery, but the boys had Quarter-pounder knock-offs. Meat, plastic cheese, onions, pickles, sauces.. all on a sesame seed bun. It got the seal of approval, too. Phew.

Mollie discovered a new love for chicken nuggets and Aesop inhaled the meal as if it were the real McCoy. Otto, well, he wasn't anymore enthused than he usually it. Guess it's just not his type of food (he is more of an antipasto type guy. I kid you not!), fair play.

 The biggest hit, of course, was the toy.
You didn't think I could make homemade Happy Meals without a toy, did you?
I hmmed and uhhed about what sort of toy to put in. I wanted something quality, that would not just get played with one day and then forgotten about, or broken. I also didn't want to spend more than $5. A difficult combination.
The choice was obvious in the end, though - Lego minifigures.
I was lucky enough to find them half price at Kmart, making them just $3 each.
(We even got 4 we didn't already have! Always a bonus!)

LOVING these nights. Already so excited for next weeks. Pretty sure we will be doing it all again next month. Are you tempted to join us?

Aesop's Movie Night Party.

Aesop turned 8 the day we moved into our new house - not the greatest timing, but these things are not always within our control. Being the sweet boy that he is, Aesop didn't complain at all - rather, he said that a new house was a perfect birthday present.
(Don't worry, we also got him Ipod acessories and sugary treats!)

We decided we would still have a party to celebrate, just that it would need to be delayed until things settled down. Settling in have taken a wee while.. but now, two months later, things are calm enough - so we had a wee 'Movie Night' party in the weekend.

Setting up for this party was all pretty straight forward. We decided this year, in keeping with our 'low-stress-party' theme, that we'd opt for more kids and less fuss.
Initially we planned for around 4 friends to come, but we ditched a few details and allowed Aesop to invite 8 kids ( a bit of a compromise to make up for the super late party..)
I ordered some sweet chevron bags, plastic takeout cups and popcorn boxes from Pop Roc Parties, dug out from red streamers and went to briscoes for a red sheet/table cloth.
We put lollies in the bags, and we filled some clear bags with jaffas. I topped those bags off with some card from an old Lone Ranger annual, for a bit of fun.

Food was good ole pizza (from Dominos! Shock horror!), mini spring rolls and sausage rolls. Eight-year-old boy food. The kids downed Lift and banana milk for refreshments.

Dessert was fun - ice cream sundaes. Easy, and super well- received.

The boys chose 'Wreck-it Ralph' as the main feature. It's a bit of a fave in our household.
I couldn't convince Aesop to take a risk on a movie he hadn't seen - but none of the other kids seemed to mind (they had all seen it, too!).
The highlight of the evening, for me, was the short stop-motion film that Abraham made to play at the beginning. It was a Larsen version of 'The Three Billy Goats', with a cheeky ending and got a great chuckle from the kids.
We're so lucky to have such a clever Dad in this house!
(I might see if he will let me share it with you..)

Only one more kiddo party left this year - phew..