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..

May Themed Dinners #2 - Dinosaurs!

Yesterday was our second 'themed dinner' for May (you can read about the first HERE..)
This was one I was quite excited about - Dinosaurs!

I really enjoyed the planning and brainstorming for these dinners, and I love the fact we decided to go with ideas that we all loved. But also, we chose to go with ideas that didn't involve anyone getting too stressed out from all the effort. I didn't want to go all out and over the to - it would completely ruin the treat factor if one of us didn't have fun preparing for it!

The first step in our Dino-dinner was a wee snack, as this was a meal that took a little longer to prepare.
The boys (big one included) snacked on a dinosaur egg, while they drew some decorations for the table.
Otto was especially amazed by this, he wondered how on earth I snuck into the nest to take the eggs.
(I went through the back door, and nabbed them while the dino was on his Ipod, of course..)
I think there is a better way to colour eggs, rather than the basic foodcolouring and vinegar I used, but this was a last minute addition so no time for research!

We decorated with plastic dinosaurs, cacti and the beautiful drawings (attached to kebab sticks..). I found some animal print fabric in the cupboard and we chose out a record with a prehistoric scene on the cover. (Though we ended up listening to Jurassic5. A little abstract, but sort of in theme!)

Dinner was a hearty feast of baby T-rex bones, trees and roasted potatoes. We ate with our hands, of course, which the boys really relished. Otto proclaimed part-way through the meal that dinos also probably ate with their mouths open - we chose to risk authenticity and try to eat with ours closed. Hah.

Even Mol got into the spirit of things, gnawing down on a bone. We had a good roaring session, too. Turns out our baby dino can roar along with the best of them!

Dessert was heaps of fun to prepare.
I had this fabulous idea to make a prehistoric swamp cake so, with a little help from google search, the $2 shop, some green jelly and a tonne of icing.. a super dooper dino-dinner-dessert was born!
I love the 90's feel - it would be right at home in the Australian Womans Weekly cake book.
The boys thought I was pretty awesome, and even Abraham was impressed. Quite proud.

All in all, a roaring sucess!
(Get it? Roaring? Oh ho ho!)

A bit of a trim.

Both of our boys have been blondies. And both of our boys have had long hair for their first few years. And we have received a lot of schtick for it each time.
I'm not sure what it is about long tresses on a boy, but it seems to cause a lot of discussion. Even complete strangers feel the need to comment sometimes.
I can understand the confusion factor - especially with older people. We've never been ones to correct people rudely (if at all..) when they call Otto a 'lovely wee lass' or say 'good girl' to him when he uses his manners. Generally, it is easier to just nod and smile, and then have a wee giggle with him when we get to the car. I must say I don't get the niggling implications that we're being mean giving him a 'girls' haircut. pish posh. We love keeping his hair long because a) it suits him and b)we're in no hurry for him to grow up/ look grown up.
Unfortunately, the side comments are starting to get to Otto. He is starting to ask for a haircut like Aesop's, or like Dad's. He is starting to ask to go to the barber and have a haircut with the clippers. A 'boys' haircut. Sigh.

I'm not quite ready for my sweet boy to lose his cheeky look, so we made a wee compromise.
We visited our favourite hairdresser, and we asked her to take off a little more than usual. Baby steps.
She is such a wonderful stylist - Otto sat on the special kiddos chair, eating organic mandarins she shared from her lunch, and spraying the mirror with the water bottle. Otto decided he would like his hair spiked up, and that is exactly what she did.
(I asked Otto if I could have my hair spiked up too, after my fringe trim, and he said that ladies were not allowed that type of hair.. but I was allowed to slick it down onto my forehead, if I liked!)

And, as if that was not cool enough, Otto was then allowed to help to take my money (all ten dollars of it!) and then she paid him 50c for his effort. You can see why we love her, no?

Otto took his money right to the dairy around the corner, and purchased a few lollies for him and Aesop. He said 'Thank you very much', and the man behind the counter said 'Good boy!'.
Maybe sometimes Mama doesn't always know best?

My weeks work!

Over the past fortnight, I've been working on a big custom order of accessories. I can't show it to you juuuust yet - not until all pieces have been received by the people who are getting them.

It was so much fun to do something a little different, but it was also nice to be back at my sewing machine, creating little wearables again.

I whipped up five of these little sets this week; Two custom orders, two gifts for little friends' birthdays and one for Mollie.
I especially love the little (charcoal) merino leggings, I do so wish I could make some in my size! So snuggly. I hope their new owners will agree.

I also made this wee top, to match this pair of leggings that my Mum gave Mol after a recent trip to Cotton On Kids. The main fabric came in a parcel of fabric from the lovely Nin. It has a slightly brushed feel on the back, making it nice and warm.

These outfits are so much fun to make - and pretty much the perfect small girl get-up. The pieces work well together, but also as separates. And you can easily chuck a merino underneath, or a cardi on top, and they go through the cooler seasons, too. I have a feeling I'll be making many more in the coming weeks!

May Themed Dinners #1 - Breakfast!

Generally, our household has takeaways once a week. It's meant to be once a fortnight, but since Mollie has been with us we have indulged a lot more often. It's a matter convenience, but also a treat (especially for the boys.)
Unfortunately though, our wee town lacks any really awesome takeout food. We, nearly always, end up with something pretty ho-hum, and it feels like such a waste of money.
I had the idea that we could have themed dinners instead. Obviously, it won't be a convenience thing, but it will certainly be more of a treat! Good food AND a bit of fun - all that takeaways should be, but never are.
We sat down and had a brainstorm about possible themes, coming up with such brilliant suggestions as 'Butcher', 'Minecraft' and 'Puns'. We then each voted for our favourite five, and narrowed it down to the most popular five themes. We wrote lists of ideas for both food and decor, it was heaps of fun!

We decided to start with the easiest one first - Breakfast.

We donned our PJs, decked the table out with a checkered table cloth and a vase of flowers, and indulged in a 'big breakfast' type feast. We had bacon, little breakfast sausages, hashbrowns, mushrooms, tomato and scrambled egg. Nyum!



We scoffed down some mixed berry pancakes for dessert - with a side of ice cream/soy yogurt and chocolate sauce, of course. So good.



The evening concluded with a husband, and all his children, in front of a rugby game. Cosy.

I'm really excited for next Fridays theme. Watch this space!

600 Likers! Holy!

To celebrate reaching 600 likers on Facebook (blown away!), I'm giving away a bag.
The winner will be able to choose which one of these sweet bags they would like. I'll probably even chuck in an extra wee treat - because I'm good like that! Heh.
To enter, just head over to my Facebook page, find the photo and say which bag you'd like to win.
(If you don't have FB and would like to enter, just comment here and let me know, I don't discriminate!)
Extra entries for sharing on FB/twitter/blog etc. Just let me know which you've done.

I'm so grateful to have such awesome likers - and getting to be so many!- I actually do wish I could send something to every single person. Feeling the internet love, big time.

Presents from brubbas.

For Mol's birthday, I had an idea that it would be really cool for Aesop to make her a present. Normally, on siblings birthdays, a card is made and the present is bought. I am really keen to change this norm, and introduce more of the handmade into our gift giving.
I asked Aesop what he might like to make, and he said a teddy bear. I asked him to draw a, relatively simple, outline of the shape he would like it to be - and the picture above is what he came up with. I love the little stumpy leg.



Aesop carefully chose out the fabric, and the felt for the details. I had planned for Aesop to do the sewing himself, but we ran out of time a little so I sewed it up, and then he stuffed it with the polyfil. He was so incredibly proud of himself!

Meanwhile, Otto decided that he also needed to make Mollie a soft toy. Unfortunately for me, he didn't want to make a simple creature - he wanted to make a puppy and it had to look 'JUST like the picture, Mum!' I had just an hour up my sleeve, and things were going to be a little tight, but who could refuse a boy who made such an AWESOME puppy picture?

(Otto told me, after I had started, the black bit at the bottom of his face is a beard. Silly me, I thought it was his tongue!)



The boys were so stoked with how they turned out, they were almost bursting at the seams for Mollie to unwrap them - and as soon as she did, they grabbed them off her to show them to Abraham (and then to Mum and Dad and anyone else who would look the next day..) and they even insisted on taking them to bed that night! Haha Guess it's the thought that counts, right?





You can't see him in these pictures but, just off to the left, Otto is waiting for me to take the picture.. then he is going to swoop in and snatch the puppy back off Mollie. Poor girl! Haha.
Luckily it won't be too long before she'll be able to design a gift for Otto, which she can then refuse to actually part with!