Five Friday Felt Finds

I've been absolutely loving Emmas wee Felt showcases, and have decided to join in. For the next few Fridays I will post a smattering of lovely things I have found on Felt, in the hopes of sharing some handmade joy, and perhaps inspiring a sale or two? Failing all else, it sure is some sweet eye candy.

This week is a celebration of Spring!

Spring meadow bonnet by Heart-felt

felt pansy brooch by Jojobooster

Tui earrings by Furnisstudio

Blue Mountain Swallowtail - Butterfly Wing Earrings by Insectshop

Wendel the book worm by Missybooks (with FREE book!)

A Croutons giveaway.

Heads up! I'm having a wee giveaway on my Facebook page.

To win a $25 voucher to my Felt shop (which is pretty cool seeing as nearly everything in the shop is under $30!) all you have to do is head over and leave a comment.

Extra entries for mentioning it on your blog, or sharing it on your FB page. Just leave an extra comment letting me know you've done so.

Will draw a name out of the (electronic) hat next Monday!

Hooray!

Good-byes.

With two deaths in our family this week, there has been a LOT of talk about mortality with the kids.

'Nana Icella dived, aye Dad?'
'She died, yes.'
'Are you going to dive, Dad?'
'Hopefully not for a long, long time yet.'
'Am I going to dive, Dad?'

It has been hard for me.

Both because I'm one of those people who cries reading the newspaper, who cries during a funeral on T.V (even if I've never watched the series before) and who breaks down at the very thought of losing someone.
And the thought of anyone in our wee family 'diving' is just too much for me.
 

I know that fear of death is incredibly normal, I mean, it's the biggest unknown in life, huh? It's the biggest mystery of all. It's a major.

And also because it's times like these I wish I had some sort of faith - a belief of where we go, or what happens to us, after this.
I have tried and tried to work out where I stand on this one, but nothing seems to resonate with me. Not yet, anyway. Turns out you can't MAKE yourself believe something, unfortunately.
I'm quite envious of those of you who truly believe, and have such strong faith, in an afterlife. You are very blessed to have such reassurance.

I know that both Abraham's Nana and his Great Aunt, who passed this week, had faith that they were headed to a happier place, where they would be reunited with their lost loves.
I strongly, strongly hope that that is exactly where they are now.

Rest in peace, beautiful women.

Five Friday Felt Finds

I've been absolutely loving Emmas wee Felt showcases, and have decided to join in. For the next few Fridays I will post a smattering of lovely things I have found on Felt, in the hopes of sharing some handmade joy, and perhaps inspiring a sale or two? Failing all else, it sure is some sweet eye candy.

Cat Cushion by The Weekend Chums Club.

Ranunculus Floral Wreath Crown by Wildflowernz

Merino Wool Scarf by Silvereye

Ubercool wool waistcoat from iconic Kiwi blanket age 1-2 by Piccalilli

Mr. & Mrs. Pillow cases - Hand Screenprinted! by The art room

Sorry for the tardiness this week, it's been a loooong one. Onwards and upwards though.

The List - Take Two!

A few years back, I made a list of things to do from one birthday to another. I had a great time ticking things off, and managed to complete most of it. It was good to check through it each month and keep things interesting. This year I've decided to do it again!
So, I present you with '28 things to do before I'm 29'.
The things on the list are all (hopefully) fairly attainable. My main goal was to have a bit of fun - and give myself something to blog about, too! But, because it's quite a collection of tasks, I'm going to cheat and  let myself start now even though I won't be 28 until just over a month from now. Such a rebel!

'The List' is as follows:

1. Make myself some undies.
2. Make soy ice cream.  
3. Buy a Diva/menstrual cup.
4. Go on a train.
5. See a roller derby game/match/bout.
6. Sew a 'Crepe' dress.
7. Host a games night.
8. Plant Ottos placenta.
9. Get rid of 1000 things (TradeMe/donate/rubbish)
10. Make 200 sales on Felt (97 to go!)
11. Do a market stall.
12. Visit a farm.
13. Visit Rainbow Springs or Paradise Valley.
14. Change out bedroom curtains.
15. Get a(nother) tattoo.
16. Take a road trip.
17. Go camping.
18. Take a photography course.
19. Plant a Summer garden.
20. Complete Playcentre course 2.
21. Get a bra fitting.
22. Learn to crochet granny squares.
23. Have another blogger meet-up.
24. Find an exercise routine.
25. Sew something for each of my family members.
26. Make sushi and miso.
27. Buy some decent boots.
28. Be kind to myself.

Wish me luck!

Mollies Chair : 4 Months

Mollie
4 Months

FOUR months!
Mol is really starting to feel like part of the family now, if you know what I mean. We are starting to form a real routine (finally) and get back into the swing of things, and Mollie is really finding her place in all of it. The 'newness' is wearing off a little.
It's a bittersweet feeling, especially with this being our last baby. I had really hoped she would stay small and squishy forever, but I guess, if she can't, then it is good for her to be slotting in so nicely.
Mollie is absolutely delicious. She has rolls in all the right places, and the cutest gummy grin I ever did see. I still think she looks a lot more like Abraham than the boys did, especially with her cheeky half-smile. She is inching closer to rolling over, and is fascinated with looking at (and chewing on) her hands. She has just started grasping toys and bringing them to her mouth - very cute.
Mollie has discovered giggling in a big way, both involuntary 'that tickles' type, and 'hah! Crack up!' type. Very infectious.
Her favourites are still her brothers though - nearly always a guaranteed grin! 

Slimewars!

Slime (1 part cornflour and 1 part water) + a huge $2 bag of plastic animals from the Sallies = SLIMEWARS (apparently).
It also equals the perfect cloudy morning activity for two boys who I struggle to get outdoors. Win!

I thought the slime might be a cool thing to touch and play with, but neither of the boys seemed keen to get their hands dirty. They decided, instead, just to fill it with creatures. They each started out choosing animals that might want to fight each other, but then quickly began choosing out animals that live in water, or swamp type environments. I think we'll try this one again soon, with different containers to measure and pour the slime, that might encourage a bit more 'hands-on' play!

A Playcentre Mum, afterall?

Nearly two years ago, we started going to Playcentre.
It took a bit of convincing to get me there but, once we had had a few visits, it was clear that Otto is very definitely a Playcentre child. He thrives on the freedom of play and huge range of play areas, the social interactions and relationships and the general philosophy. He adores his time there, and the people we attend with. He was easily won over.

I, on the other hand, have always maintained that although I might attend Playcentre but I am NOT a 'Playcentre Mum'. I've never really felt like it was something I wanted to get too involved in. I have resisted the processes - delayed getting a 'role', put off creating a profile book and dodged any sort of education for as long as I could. I have attended the bare minimum of meetings, stayed out of most decision making processes and not really contributed in a big way to the session planning and activities. I'vebeen a total slacker, basically.
When I, lately, stopped feeling like our sessions were filling my social quota for the week (due to people leaving/relationships changing etc), I was even (selfishly) considering leaving altogether and putting Otto into homecare fulltime instead.
(Cause I mean, really, if I couldn't sit around the kai table and catch up on the gossip/bitch about not getting enough sleep, surely it wasn't worth going?)

These past few weeks though... I have felt an urge to dive, head first, into it all.
I think, maybe, the 'Playcentre Way' is slowly inching its way into my brain, turning me into far more of a traditional Playcentre Mum than I ever thought I would be.
I completed my course 1 (finally!) recently, and I have been relishing writing learning stories the past month. I am aiming to write at least two a week this term, and am well surpassing my goal! (Loving this, actually! I take back anything mocking I ever said about scrapbookers. Hah!)
And I've filled out my enrolment forms for course 2, with plans to start next term.

I'm not sure what has caused this shift.
I think, perhaps, it has a lot to do with accepting that I will be there for another 5 years. Accepting that this is not a 'in the meantime' thing to do before the kids head off to kindy/preschool. I think I've realised that this IS their pre-school education, and I want it to be the absolute best it can be.
I want them, and me, to get as much out of it as possible. And that involves me being as educated and 'into it' as possible. It involves me taking a lot more ownership and responsibility, and sinking in a lot more energy and emotion. It pretty much means I need to get off my butt, and really start pulling my weight and doing stuff.

It is both exciting and rather bloomin' daunting, but I can't wait to see what difference this shift makes to our Playcentre experience.
And I can't wait to see how much it, in turn, changes and strengthens my relationships with my kids. That, afterall, is the main reason and driving force behind it all.

Is your family a Playcentre family?

Five Friday Felt Finds

I've been absolutely loving Emmas wee Felt showcases, and have decided to join in. For the next few Fridays I will post a smattering of lovely things I have found on Felt, in the hopes of sharing some handmade joy, and perhaps inspiring a sale or two? Failing all else, it sure is some sweet eye candy.
This week: Colourful Kids!

 Mr and Mrs Rabbits by Nord

 Money Monster by Zippitydoodah

 Shark carry case by Mushymoo

 Rustic Quilts ~made to order~ by Totaravale

Blue & Yellow Dress-up Wings by Mandh

I've started my 'Possible Xmas Gifts' list, and thinking all of these would make AWESOME presents! Heck, I'd be stoked to get any of them myself!

Birthday cards and boys.

A year ago, if you had asked Aesop to make a card for someone he would have sulked, and complained. And if you had pushed him to do so, he would have done a basic as drawing and written as few words as humanly possible. It is safe to say that he did not enjoy either drawing or writing.
I am over the moon that Aesop seems to have embraced felt pens, finally.
Aesop is one of those kids, that don't really like to do things unless they KNOW they can do them well. He also avoids anything that could even possibly be considered dangerous. He is not one to try new activities/foods etc and really prefers to do the same things again and again.
It has meant that he is a little 'behind' other kids his age in physical activity and coordination, and also in drawing and writing. Such a catch 22, when you don't want to do it because you're not very good.. but you only get better by practise!
He has made leaps and bounds this year though, in nearly all areas. He has even been on his bike a few times lately (his least favourite activity - involves both doing something he is not super good at, and the danger of falling off!) and is also getting really good at kicking a ball around and punching the boxing bag.
Hooray for coordination, and double hooray for creativity!

Otto loves to doodle.
He makes precise little circles or lines all over the pages of his art book. He carefully selects the colours and concentrates really hard on making his little markings.
Lately we have been practising turning those meticulous little orbs and lines into letters. He has all of the right shapes to form letters, and incredible control over his hand.
So far he has mastered his name.. sort of. Otot is close enough for now : )

Five Friday Felt Finds

I've been absolutely loving Emmas wee Felt showcases, and have decided to join in.

For the next few Fridays I will post a smattering of lovely things I have found on Felt, in the hopes of sharing some handmade joy, and perhaps inspiring a sale or two? Failing all else, it sure is some sweet eye candy.

Bear - Cute Companion By Minu.

Autumnal oak leaf pendant by Midgetdesign

Little brown rabbit upcycled wool jumper by Heart-felt

gold diamond amour by odi (small version) by Odi-design

Standing Fawn - a Timorous Beastie print by Ellaquaint


Happy Shopping!

Wardrobe Wednesday (late, as usual...)

I'm a day out this week, not tooo bad.
Thanks to Mollie sleeping nearly three hours, yesterday morning was spent photographing and listing bags in the felt shop. All of which was done in my pjs.. something you really don't need to see on the blog!
I decided today would need to make up for it.

I've also had a very negative body image this week, for some reason.
I've been down in the dumps about my lumps, if you will.
It is safe to say I fell off the Weight Watchers wagon pretty quickly.. and it has well and truly left me behind. (Left me exactly the same weight I was too, unfortunately.)
I'm trying ridiculously hard to remind myself it is early days/Mollie is still new/it's hard to lose weight on no sleep etc, but it's exhausting. It's a vicious wee cycle: feel stink-eat to feel better-don't lose weight. And so on and so on. Made a million times worse by my zombified state.
A few semi-decent photos of oneself goes a long way though. I might walk past a window or mirror this afternoon and feel a bit sick, but looking at these photos I feel half okay about my current body. And that's good enough to keep me going for awhile.

Sunglasses - ASOS.com $26
Striped top - Glassons $20
Dress - Glassons $50
Flats - The Warehouse $9
Necklace - Wild Bramble A gift from Abraham : )

Girl Style.

Cardi: T&T
Dress + tights were both gifted.

Have I mentioned how stoked I am to be able to use my uber-floral quilt? Sure, I could have used it for another wee boy, but with the little dresses it is just a million times cuter!