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

Back at last....

WOW has it really been that long since I last blogged?????? Well life has been busy, busy, busy, but right now we are all on school holidays and enjoying a slower pace of life.

So much has happened since I last blogged. It would be fair to say that it has taken me a while to get my head around studying again, but I am now well and truly in the swing of it, which hopefully means that I will be able to keep up with my blog from now on. I have handed in my midwifery application and am now just keeping my fingers crossed, probably won't hear until sometime in November and the waiting is HORRIBLE!! There have been quite a few applicants this year so who knows if I will get in, but I guess that I will know soon enough. I have also had mid-term exams which were very full on, but I worked hard and so far have gotten all A's, it's good to know that my mummy brain is still in good working order!!

I can't even think about what we have been up to since I last blogged, we have had lot's of lovely weather so have spent heaps of time outdoors.

There has been pony riding.....

Stomach bugs that required sleeping outside in the healing sunshine.....(not sure why this photo is upside down)

Romantic walks along the beach....

....as romantic as walks along the beach with 3 kids can be........

Then most importantly of all, when I thought that life couldn't get any busy, along came our new addition to the family and yep life got a WHOLE LOT BUSIER!!!!! May I introduce to you our beautiful and extremely naughty chocolate Lab LENNY..........

He has torn so many holes in the kids clothes now that I have stopped even shouting about it.....

Seriously though how cute is this dog, we all love him to pieces, crazy, mad thing that he is.................

Not sure if anybody even reads this blog anymore, but hello if you do and thanks for stopping by. Have a great day, peace and love X

THANK YOU........

First of all a HUGE thank you to each and every one of you lovely ladies that left a comment on my last post. Your words of encouragement and support really mean such a lot to me!!!!

Well my first week it over and boy was it BUSY!!!! It didn't help that I had booked myself on a 16 hour first aid course over the weekend as well. So yes it's certainly been busy, but it has also been a lot of fun. I am really loving being a student again and am actually enjoying using my brain (it's been a while), which so far seems to be working ok.....

This week I have learnt a lot, made some new friends, got some exercise (and a very sore bottom) riding my bike to college and my little family are all coping really well with the changes. So it's all good so far, all I have to do now is figure out how I am going to fit in all of the home study that is required. I am sure that it will all work itself out over the next few weeks.

Last week I also came down with a stinking cold which was a pain, but I fought it hard so it only lasted a few days. On the day that I was feeling most poorly I received this gorgeous bookmark in the mail from Abi, which totally brightened up my day. THANKS ABI!!! She is so clever, I have mentioned before that out daughters are now pen pals and Abi has taken a drawing that Talia sent to Maia and embroidered it onto some fabric and made me this gorgeous keepsake. I LOVE it and so does Talia!

Right then I am off to read some chemistry notes before my class this afternoon, but thought I would leave you with this adorable photo of my gorgeous girls. Lola had her face painted at pre-school and Talia though we definitely needed a photo.......

Hope everyone has a great week and thanks again for the lovely comments. X

My journey begins....

Well it's official from today I am a REAL student, I even have a student card to prove it!!! I have my first lecture this afternoon and it is fair to say that I have one or two butterflies flapping around in my stomach. Oh well I have got my new pens and pencils ready, my recycled paper notebook is packed and my bike (yes bike...) is dusted down and ready for the off. I think I'm actually be more nervous about cycling to college than the actual lecture itself. I think that I have only ridden my bike 3 times in the last 3 years, got to be done though as parking is apparently a nightmare. I am really going to have to peddle like the wind to get there as well, which means that I am going to turn up to my lecture bright red, wheezing and panting due to my extreme UNFITNESS.............

It feels unreal actually, but today is my very first step towards my dream of becoming a midwife! Wish me luck................

At the beach

This week we have been blessed with more lovely sunshine. It has still been pretty cold though, but that hasn't stopped us from getting out. Monday we spent the afternoon at the beach, it was absolutely freezing, but the kids didn't seem to care. We packed yet another picnic lunch and headed off for our days adventure........

This photo was taken by Kalem, he was actually supposed to be getting Talia in as well, but never mind...
I LOVE the look on Talia's face in this photo, they were having so much fun together on that slide. They fight a lot, so it is always such a joy to see them enjoying each others company.

Lola loved tottering along the wet sand. She kept stopping for a bite of her apple which was pretty sandy, but she didn't care. Half way along the beach a dog came up to her and pinched her apple, then pinched another apple from the pram. The dog was really sweet , but I am always a bit wary of dogs and kids. Oh well the kids though the apple pinching dog was hysterical and Lola loved him. They REALLY want a dog of their own, perhaps one day!

My finished Featherweight Cardigan, I did have a picture of me wearing it, but I didn't like it and couldn't take another one as the camera batteries had run out. Anyway I think one photo of me a post (or year) is quite enough........ I made the sleeves so that they ended just below the elbow, looks good with a merino top underneath and will make a lovely light cardy for the spring. There are one or two mistakes, but you can't really notice them so in all I am thrilled with it.....

Am busy crocheting flowers for the Christchurch Arts festival, but more about that next time....... X