Birthday girl..............

I am a bit late with this post as it was actually Talia's birthday a couple of weeks ago now. I had a bit of a problem loading photo's and a birthday post without pictures of the birthday girl wouldn't have been the same!

Big changes have occurred in my little girl's life recently. She reached the grand old age of 5 and is now a big school girl. She is just LOVING school, no problems there at all. Having her brother and 2 cousins at school has made the transition very easy for her and all the girls in Kalem's class have very sweetly been looking after her too. She is absolutely loving all the attention and her teacher told me that she always has her hand up wanting to answer questions even if she doesn't know the answer.

Leaving kindy was hard, well for me anyway..... Her teachers there were so lovely and I think that I am going to miss them more than Talia. I actually cried when saying goodbye, very embarrassing actually. Can I still blame breastfeeding hormones????? I made all the teachers little fabric hearts stuffed with dried lavender and wool, I also added a drop of rose oil and a couple of drops of red mandarin oil. They smelt lovely, unfortunately forgot to take a photo.

I finally managed to make a birthday crown for my little princess, I have been meaning to for a couple of years now. I actually made a few presents for her this year, but still need to take photo's. You can get a glimpse of the toadstool house I made in one of the photo's below, but will take some better ones soon.

Talia wanted goody bags for her birthday and I did actually go to one of those cheap shops that sell plastic rubbish especially for party bags, but I couldn't buy anything. I hate all that horrible plastic junk. Instead I bought some cute little paper bags and filled them with chocolate and a few sweets. Julian made some gingerbread men, Talia decorated them and I wrapped them to give the children when they were leaving. I also made some little toadstool needle felted badges for the little fairies at the party. A bit more time and effort, but I felt much better about giving something handmade.

Talia had a few of her friends for a fairy tea party and then other friends turned up throughout the day. It was so much fun having lot's of gorgeous little fairies and a couple of pixies running around the house.

Of course there was pass the parcel, here is Lola opening a parcel with a bit of help from her big brother.

Happy late birthday Boo, sparkly fairy girl. I hope that all of your school days are full of fun and laughter. We are so proud of you... X

LOVE.....

Recently during one of my classes we were asked to write down the name of the person that we most admired and respected. This was a very quick and easy decision for me as it has pretty much been the same person throughout the whole of my life.

This person is strong and clever, creative and inspiring, fun and loving, special beyond words and the most generous, kind person I know. This person is none other than my very own Dad.....

Ever since I was a little girl I have looked up to him and have know that I could go to him with any problem and he would solve it. We have of course had our father daughter rows over the years, but they never lasted long. He has given me the strength to live my life with the knowledge that I will always have him (and Mum) there as my safety net. This feeling of being protected, all be it from afar, really is a priceless gift. I am 100% a daddy's girl and proud of it and I really hope that my girls grow up feeling the same about their daddy as I do about mine.

So to the wonderful man I am blessed to call my Dad, I love you and I hope that you have a brilliant birthday. Wish I was there with you.. XXX

A Perfect Day........

For a perfect day you need some wonderful friends, a chilly bin full of yummy food, a few beers and some warm clothing. A couple of weekends ago (yes it is taking me a while to get back into blogging...) we went to a mini music festival called Earthdance. We packed the kids in the car on a cold 'spring' day and drove one hour out of Christchurch to a place called Little River. Here we parked the car and walked up a hill (loaded up like pack horses) to a field in the middle of nowhere...... This place was STUNNINGLY beautiful, pure NZ countryside, green and lush and gorgeous. In the field there was a stage, one long drop toilet and a whole bunch of hippies. Boy was I in my element!!!!!!!!!!!!! We sat in our beautiful surroundings wrapped up warm, drinking beer and listening to some brilliant folk/blues bands while the kids ran around the place free as birds exploring the bush. Totally and utterly my idea of a completely PERFECT DAY..... Oh and if you get the chance, which you will probably only get if you live in NZ, go and see The Eastern play live, their music is FABULOUS. Gorgeous friends.....

Beautiful surroundings.....

Lola and Daddy having a boogie.....

Daddy with his very serious looking girls.....

Lolly on the swing, this girls loves to be on the 'wing', as she calls it!

A couple of plastic toboggan's and a hill is really all you need to keep a whole bunch of kids happy all afternoon. They had so much fun and YES I did go down myself......

Okay this photo has absolutely nothing to do with this post, but I love the way she has squeezed her cute chubby little bum into this dolls stroller.

At the moment I am half way through the NZ National Homebirth Conference, which has so far been amazing beyond words! Today I experienced the feeling that I was in the exact right place and the exact right time with the exact right people, I was exactly were I was supposed to be. It was actually a really powerful feeling that I still have not totally processed, but it felt good to know that I am on the right path. Have you ever felt like this? Do you know what I mean?????????? Anyway am super tired now so off to bed. Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend as well... X