Lams go Kiwi; Rotorua

Back to my long saga about our trip to NZ! I hope you're still tuned in!On our second day in Rotorua we started out by driving 20mins to the Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Wonderland and watched the Lady Knox Geyser erupt. It, helpfully, erupts at 10:15am daily (with the aid of a little soap powder) so don't be late! It erupts pretty high too, though the water is so hot that the steam obscured our view a little. Never mind, it looked really high on our day!We then took a walk around the rest of the Thermal Wonderland Park. Well, the sulphur pools anyway. Cos after you step into the park, and the ungodly aroma of unpleasant open sewer mixed with pit toilet (that is, the stench of the sulphur pools) hits you, you'll want to run around that 20min track like you were vying for a gold medal! Or at least that's what happened to us! Will actually gagged and dry retched in places, and complained that the inside of his nose was burning when the sulphur cloud blew across the walkway! It really was quite unpleasant. Just after I took this pic we had to hold our breath and run through a 20m section of walkway obscured by the stinky cloud! That was pretty much the final straw for poor Willy! LOL! It was an interesting place to visit though, with the bubbling hot pools and all the interesting colours of the minerals in the water! Take breathing apparatus though!
After that we needed a release, so I did the ZORB! The giant plastic ball that rolls down the hill. It was awesome!! Here is Jaimeson congratulating me on being such an awesomely adventurous Mummy {wink!} If you scroll down to a previous post you'll see me straight out of the ball, sopping wet and with a giant smile!For dinner that night we went to the Mitai Village for a Hangi. if you've ever been to a Hawaiian Luau, it was pretty much the same, only with Maori stories and dancing. It was a really enjoyable night, and though I was a bit apprehensive about going cos I wasn't sure that Jaimeson would handle it, he did great! He watched the concert rugged up in his pram til he got restless then watched the rest sitting on my lap, then went to sleep during our meal! What a good boy!! Here he is all rugged up!Oh yeah, the food was really good too. Plenty of Lamb and chicken cooked in the Hangi, and the most delicious smoked sweet potato out of the Hangi too. {drooling}. YUM!
:) C

WJWW (a special one, cos I'm a day late)

hi y'all!
I know I am a day late with my "What Jaimeson Wore Wednesday", so I decided to make it a special one today. So today it's WWWW. Yep, What Willy Wore Wednesday, and the answer is.... Jaimeson! Here we are at Rotorua waiting for the Lady Knox Geyser to erupt! Jaimeson enjoyed the view, he loves the Baby Bjorn!So here is what Willy is wearing:
Jaimeson: a Lam production (LOL!)
Jeans: Vans
Shirt: Levis
Baby carrier: Baby Bjorn.
Great work Willy!
And here is a little bonus pic of what Jaimeson was wearing:

My sunnies!
And BTW, that is not my hairy hand on the left, though the angle of the camera suggests it is! I looked at it, expecting it was mine and I was like "OH!" {shocked look} when I saw the hairiness! Til I worked out it was Will's arm bent around at a weird angle. Totally weird. {giggles}
What a cool dude ;)
:) C

Some Baking Love :)

Is that the wafting smell of baking cupcakes in the air? Well, it soon will be!
I got a sweeeet package in the mail this morning from The Australian Woman's Weekly! You see, Mum bought my sisters and I each a copy of WW "Little Squares and Slices" cookbook for Christmas. It's a lovely book (go out and buy yourself a copy!) and I have made a few things from there now. So you know, I'm not a beginner baker. I mean, I'm no Martha Stewart (cos I don't love myself. Lol!) but I am a bit of a Sally Homemaker, and love to don my apron & whip up a cake, slice or cupcakes with my Kichenaid "Betty Beaters". So I made the Banana Slice from the book to take to Fliss's about a month ago & it turned out nothing like the pic. I read and re-read the recipe cos the pic looked like a layered slice & mine looked more like a flat banana cake! It still tasted good, but I couldn't work out where I had gone wrong! Not one to let it slide by ( I didn't think I could have got it Sooo wrong!) I emailed the publisher. Well, while we were in Nz they emailed back to say I was right & the pic for the recipe on the previous page, and the banana cake recipe, had been transposed! They offered me a cookbook for pointing out the error & this morning it arrived!
I expected a small magazine type book & it was a MASSIVE baking Bible! It's a doorstop! It's got a selection of recipes from all their popular books as well as tips & hints. I'm so looking forward to making something from it!!
It pays to speak up if you think something is not right then!
:) C
Postscript: just sat down to have a read & I see the book has been inscribed to me by Pamela Clark, the director of the WW Test Kitchen! Sweet!!

Lams go Kiwi Stop 3: Orewa to Rotorua

It's time for more Lam adventures in NZ!
En Route from Orewa to our stop 3 for the trip, Rotorua (back on real highways, yay!), we drove through Auckland and had a stop at Mt Eden for brunch. Have you seen the tower in Auckland? It makes Centrepoint Tower in Sydney look like a puny ball on a stick. This thing in Auckland is MASSIVE! You can see it from absolutely ages away and it's huge. Did I mention the size? {giggles} It's big. Sometime we'll have to go back and actually make the trip up the tower. It looked pretty cool! And large. Big. Huge.... Big.There was 2 Op Shops in Mt Eden, neither turned out to be good, but we did rock up to this cafe for brunch! I chose it cos it looked cool {smiles} and Jaimeson is having a Circus First Birthday Party so I wanted to soak up it's vibe!Turns out the vibe is only on the outside cos the inside of the cafe was a bit boring, but the food was quite good! Jaimeson enjoyed sitting up at the table in a highchair eating his breadsticks. Then some of Willy's big breakfast too, mushrooms, scrambled egg, sausage, it's no match for our little fella! Pity he couldn't share my waffles with caramelized banana and maple! YUM! {licking lips!} Though they didn't give me enough maple syrup. That's my least fave thing about ordering waffles for breakfast, they seem to feel it is ok to put the maple syrup on for you, not like with pancakes where they put it in a jug on the side. Where's my jug people! I need to drown these babies!The architecture of the houses in Auckland is just gorgeous. I do love a beautiful federation style home, and they have HEAPS of them. They love building with timber in NZ, and they aren't afraid of an interesting architectural detail like a bay window or whole bay-room! I didn't actually take many pics of the houses cos, honestly, they just sit on my computer and I never look at them again, but I've got plenty of mental pics of their gorgeous houses for whenever I get to have my own! These are just 2 houses near where we parked our car at Mt Eden. So beautiful!Tally Ho, and it was back in the car and on to our B&B at Rotorua (after a brief shopping trip at a new centre at Hamilton called Te Awa. Worth the visit!). Our B&B was called Westminster Lodge and was set high up in the hills above Rotorua, and consequently, above the stink that is the volcanic activity! Believe me, it stinks. It stinks real bad! Not sure why it was sooo stinky when we were there, but it was!
The B&B was recommended by Mum and Dad, and it was a lovely house set on a little farm in the hills with the most amazing manicured gardens! Will said it felt like he was in "Escape to the Country!" We did enjoy our stay there too. And it had spectacular views of the sunrise over Rotorua!Here is Jai and I in their garden, in shadow form anyway! And here is Jaimeson enjoying a little play on their soft and springy grass!We visited their miniature cows in the top paddock, and although Jaimeson loves his toy cow and loves his musical animal book where his fave is the cow, he HATED the cows in real life! He got all nervous and furrowed his brow and kept squeeking "huh, huh, huh!" cos he wanted to get away! Even when you moo'ed at him afterwards he would go "huh huh huh" nervously again! Oh NO! I've bread a city kid! LOL!
Are you still reading? Give yourself a little pat on the back, this was a loooong post!! Good work for making it to the end {belly bump!}
:) C

Vintage Tea Plate finds from NZ!

Hi y'all!
Well Yvette, here is one of the long anticipated posts about my vintage finds from NZ! Mostly I had to just nip into the Op SHops while Will waited in the car cos Jaimeson was sleeping. Sometimes I got a good long look in a shop cos Will and Jaimeson came in too, and thankfully Will can amuse himself looking at all the second hand junk {cough} sorry, treasures, too! So I was pretty happy with what I was able to find, considering how long i had to find it in!
First up, we have all the beautiful vintage Tea Plates I found! Starting at top left: I had been wanting to get something Crown Lynn seeing as it's made in NZ and I came across this plate for $5 at the Red Cross Palmerston North. It has pretty sweet little brown and gold flowers on it. I thought it was retro cool! Next along is a Alfred Meakin Rose plate from Salvos in Papanui, Christchurch. I think it might actually be a Gravy Boat plate, though the Gravy Boat is long gone. I like it as a tea plate anyway, that's what it will be for me! It was $6 which was maybe a bit hefty, but I liked the turquoise line around the rim and it's oval shape. And I was on a roll in that shop! On the right is a beautiful Alfred Meakin "Marlborough" tea plate that was $10 from a junk/collectables shop in Hokitika. Its a real Tea plate. So pretty! Middle Row left is a Iron Stone Made in NZ oval plate that was $4 from the Hospice Shop in Palmerstone North. I loved it's sweet Cherry Blossom design, and once again it's oval shape. Usually i think ovals are the most boring and old fashioned of all shapes (is it ok to have a "favourite" shape? LOL!) but I really liked these plates! Right side is a uber cool fluted edge J & G Meakin plate from the Salvos at Papanui. It was only $3 which was a steal. It's soooo unique! Then front centre is my absolute FAVE plate. I think it's just a pin plate cos it is so small, but it's "Pinewood" by Palissy which looks to me to be handpainted. It's just gorgeous! I loved the turquoise base with the pinecones. SOOOO cute! It was a whopping $8 at Salvos Papanui, but the nice lady gave it to me for $4. {Score!}So what do you think? I have never really been into tea plates, but I love all these that I bought! I might have to start looking at them in Aussie Op shops too!
I am linking up with Her Library Adventures Flea Market Finds. Go check out what others have found this week!!
:) C

Lams go Kiwi; stop 2: Orewa

Hi y'all!
I'm glad you're still here, reading along with our NZ trip!
The second long drive on our journey saw us head from Paihia in the Bay of Islands, to Orewa, which is considered "North Auckland" I think. I guess like the Central Coast is to Sydney. It's a beachside town with a few Op Shops none successful! LOL! Though we did stop off at Whangerei (pronounced something like Fungeray! Weird!) and I got some awesome stuff at their Op shops. More about my vintage finds in another post {wink!} Stay tuned!
The drive was back through some of my fave scenery on the trip, the Brynderwyn Mountains in Northland, though it also meant we were back on those crappy roads. Worth it though, for some awesome views. Unfortunately I was driving and Will was sleeping, so I have no pics! D'oh! {slapping hand on knee in regret!}
I do have these pics though from Orewa :)We stayed at the Orewa Top 10 Tourist Park, which is a glorified caravan park, in a cabin. The location next to the estuary and beach was great cos Willy got to go out late that night to do a spot of fishing, and he actually caught a small snapper! {High five!}In the afternoon we went for a walk along the estuary at low tide, and Willy checked out the areas for fishing. Jaimeson enjoyed a little play in the sand too, which was cool! We haven't been to the beach all Summer cos it just hasn't been warm enough. And tho he was still in a jumper and long pants, he did enjoy the feel of the sand between his toes and all over his hands!
How sweet are his little feet in the sand, next to Will's big man hoofer in the sneaker! Too tiny!
As you can see, it was a bit windy! LOL!!! I just {love} the expressions on both their faces! {belly laugh!} I had to run across the sand to catch a lady's stroller that was zipping away across the sandy flats without her (and without a baby cargo) cos the wind had caught it! Those wheels weren't stopping for anyone!
We chose Orewa to stay at because it was a good half way point between Paihia and Rotorua, but I'm not sure I'd bother going back there. Nice, yes, but I'm sure there are more interesting places to stay {ouch!} That's my NRMA review for you Dad!
:) C

Hello Aus! We are home!!

Hi y'all!
We are back from the land of Fush & Chups, and the Long White Cloud! We had a great time on our little family holiday! Though, I decided it was really toooo much driving (we drove 2860km!!!! WhoA!), and we should have spent longer in each place. At least we know the places we would like to go back to, and spend more time in, next time!
So prepare yourself for the photo onslaught!
Stop 1:
We flew in to Auckland and picked up our Jucy Hire Car (low cost, but also low power and a bit of a fuel guzzler, so probably didn't work out that great in the end! LOL!) and drove straight up to Northland and to Paihia in the Bay of Islands.
Now the roads in Northland are very rural, like the Pacific Highway was 20 years ago. Maybe even 30 years ago! Very windy around mountains and 99% single lane in each direction with the occasional overtaking lane, lots of roads right on the edge of mountains with no safety barriers too! It made me realise just how far our roads have come! Oh, and remember to put petrol in whenever you see a petrol station, cos they're few and far between! But in Northland they still have a "Driveway concierge", a man who puts the fuel in for you! {giggles!} So cute! I wish we still had that! Needless to say at the end of a very long day travelling we collapsed into bed and slept soundly!On our second day we did a Dolphin Cruise to the Hole in the Rock, in the Bay of Islands. It was excellent! Despite being an overcast day we still really enjoyed it, and we did get to see Dolphins! A MASSIVE pod of about 20-30 dolphins swam all around our boat chasing Blue Mahi Mahi fish, which we could even see so clearly cos the water is crystal clear! Just beautiful!And the dolphins played around the boat, swimming in our boat's waves for about 20 mins, they were sooo close! See my joggers in this pic?! They kept swimming right below me. Uber cool!
And there were some massive dolphins too, like easily 1.5 times the size of an average man. These were no little pups, they were huge!
There's the hole in the rock! They can usually drive the boats right through, which I was looking forward to, but the currents were too strong {sad face} so we had to content ourselves with just a close up view.
We all had a great time though! Didn't we Jaimeson! {belly laugh!} He loved it!
Northland is really a beautiful part of NZ, the scenery is stunning, the hills are magnificent, and though the roads are a bit rough it is totally worth a visit. Just stay longer, cos the drives take you much longer than Google Earth says (which I relied upon when planning!). We even began to joke that they had used the "Google Ferrari" cos if google said a trip would take 3 hours, it always took us 3.5 or longer to drive! Therefore, they must be using the Google Ferrari for their drive times, cos they certainly weren't travelling in a 2004 Nissan Bluebird! {wink}
:) C

Wjww(actually Thursday) in Queenstown

Hi y'all!
A day late with my WJWW post cos we haven't had wifi access. But here I sit at Joes Garage in Queenstown with my big breakfast & free wifi so here is what Jai is wearing today!

Shirt: target
Life vest (lol!) Puffy Vest: target
Pants: best & less (bought by Granny!)

Toast: part of Will's breakfast!

And don't worry Mum, he did have slippers on but he just pulled them off. I'm not letting his toes freeze in this weather!

:) C

Page of Randomness

I love it when you're sitting at your desk and in amongst the piles of crap (and be honest, there's a lot of stuff you could probably chuck away), you find a little collection of pics that were extras from this or that project and they all scream out to be put on a page. That's the story of this page!
After doing my December Daily album, and printing extra pics for my wallet or other pages etc, I had this little pile of pics of everyday life. So I stuck them all down on a page and added a little embellishment and it turned out to be one of my fave pages in a while! I think I love all the different little moments that are captured here in one go. A few years back I did a Monthly page for every month of the year, which I really enjoyed looking at in my album, but now I think the design would be too cumbersome to repeat. Maybe I should modify it and do a similar idea as this page for this year {bing, light bulb goes on above head} Great idea!!
Fun stuff: I love the bunting sticker. I have been waiting to use it (hoarding) for a little while now, maybe 2 years?! But it was worth the wait cos it looks so sweet here! I love the lettering stickers which i have been legitimately hoarding for about 5 years now {somebody slap me!}. And that cute journal spot with the picket fence makes my country heart smile {memories!}
Missing me yet?
:) C

NZ- where vintage linens go to die...

.... Or go to the op shop, to be bought by me!
How do you like these latest acquisitions? From the Salvos, Hospice shop & the interestingly catch-phrased SPCA- Opting for the animals (animal op shop!) in Rotorua!
I hope this pic is clear enough!! I have had an awesome time collecting these linens! Mind you, I visited another 2 shops in Rotorua, and 2 today in Napier that weren't good. But the SPCA shop was like retro pillowcase Mecca and they had all flocked there for pilgrimage! The top left pic is just pillowcases.
Check out the MOST gorgeous round tablecloth in the top right pic!! I'm Gonna have to get a round table now! It's sooooo cool! It was $4 at Salvos, Rotorua. Too cheap! Also in this pic are some sheets & 2 cups that you can see close up in the bottom pics. The cups were 20c each. Lol! The wheat one is Anchor Hocking & I wasn't going to buy it but I love it's delicate shape & it was 20c so, come on! I had to get it. Good thing I haven't been buying souvenirs- I've been op shopping it instead! Lol!
What do u think?!
:) C
Ps I'm linking up with Her Library Adventures so go checkout the other finds this week! (use the link on the sidebar if I couldn't get this one to work!)

I zorbed!

I love adventure! So I had to ZORB while we've been in Rotorua! It was awesome!! Like the best tubular waterslide I've ever been on, only faster & more random. I loved it!!!
I did the "wet" one where they pump water inside the ball with you so you sloosh around as you roll down the hill! It was so cool!
Off to Napier today!
:) C

What Jai Wore Wednesday

Hi y'all!
Another remote post (from the past, e.g. before we went to NZ!) and I fully imagine that Jaimeson is wearing a lot more than this in NZ! It's probably cooooolllllddd!! I may refute that at a later date, if it turns out to be shorts & t-shirt weather. Stay tuned!Bodysuit: Appliqued by Mum. I love the colours of the stripes! When Mum asked what I wanted appliqued on it I said a Whale, and when she gave it to me it was a gorgeous whale! Much nicer than the one i had imagined in my head! Thanks Mum!
Shorts: Beau by Bardot. From Aunty Lil. They are gorgeous! I love their roughed-up look. He's so spunky in them!
Remote: Tivo (lucky we had a spare cos his doesn't have batteries in it so he can't change the channel. It always catches Will out though, who tries to use Jaimeson's one all the time. LOL!)
Glowbug (top right of pic): Mine when I was little!
What are you wearing today?
:) C

Vintaging in New Zealand!

Hi y'all!
I'm posting this from stinky Rotorua!! Yep, it really does smell like fart! But we're staying in a lovely B&B, recommended by Mum and Dad, which is high up the hill above the smell. Yay!!
I got to drop by 3 op shops in Whangerei on our way thru yesty & also 3 in Orewa. The Orewa ones were crap but I scored some vintage sheets & bits at the Salvos and the Hospice shops in Whangerei.
The top pic on the collage is what i got from the salvos. I got 2 vintage sheets, a pillowcase & 2 small square tablecloths as well as a bag of bias binding for $2 and some heavy duty woven trim for $2, both for some craft projects. I also got some board books for Jai, all up $21. Yay!
Then I RAN to the Hospice shop, pushing Jaimeson along too cos Willy had gone to a fishing shop & I had 10mins before our parking expired and I found 2 more sheets & 2 pillowcases. I'm gonna have to make another quilt after all this!! How awesome is that brightly coloured one??!
There was even another 3 sheets I could have bought at the Hospice shop but I was pushed for time and I don't want to fill up all my baggage allowance before we reach the South Island!! I decided I'll just buy what I like if I'm pushed for time, then if I find something better I'll donate the other one back again and consider it a small charity donation! I don't want to spend the rest of the holiday wishing i'd bought something and knowing I can't go back for it!! But in this case, buying more than 4 sheets in one day seemed excessive!!
I have been searching for Homewares too but haven't found anything Pyrex that I've liked yet (I've only seen 3 Pyrex dishes and my NZ op shop count is now 8!) I saw 2 lovely Made in Nz stoneware mugs today at the Hospice shop at Mt Eden on our way thru Auckland but they were only small & I like a large mug of milo, plus they were $4 each which was a bit rich! I think Mt Eden might be the Newtown of Auckland. I passed on the mugs.
But I plan on visiting another 1 or 2 op shops while we're here in Rotorua. If I get the chance. Wish me luck!!
:) C

A Good Morning Page!

Hi y'all!
Well, here's hoping we reached NZ all ok, with all our luggage in tact and accounted for! This is the first of the random posts that I've set to post while we're away. Smart! {Pushing nerd glasses back onto face}
How could you not want to wake up to this face every day! Oh he is just such a cutie! Jaimeson's cot is at the end of our bed, and in the days before he could roll around and destroy his cot set-up (as he does now) I would wake up to the sound of his little voice having a chit chat. I would sneakily lay down the end of our bed, pull back the wrap that covered that side of the cot and say "Good Morning!!" to which I would get the most gorgeous big happy smile!! What a beautiful wake up every morning!!
These days, Jaimeson is still a happy camper when he wakes up, it's just that he has rolled all around, pulling down all the wraps, and talks at the top of his voice! I put a couple of different toys in the top of his cot after he goes to sleep at night, for him to find the next morning when he's rolling around. So usually I wake up to him shaking away with a rattle and singing along at the top of his voice! It's cute too {smiles} I just love my boy!
Fun stuff on this LO: I love that Red Riding HOod paper, I got it on our Honeymoon at a Scrapbooking shop in Vegas {hugs to Willy for being so accommodating & letting me shop on Holidays!} I also love the "Little Sugar" sticker. {Sweet!} And Yvette's blue journalling spot. I love these spots Yvette! Do you still sell them in your Etsy store?
:) C

We have arrived!

Hello! Family, this is for you cos my mobile is not working over here in NZ! It was a mammoth day today. It really was too long a drive straight after our flight but we were SO happy to finally  get to our motel! Which incidently has free wifi & im playing on Willy's XOOM. Forgive my mistakes cos im not going to bother correcting them!
Jaimeson travelled so well! He enjoyed the flight, especially playing with the remote for the entertainment system. He loves remotes! He looked out the window then played with my Mimco travel wallet I got for my birthday. OPen/shut/open/shut. Lol! After an hour he got a bit cranky so I snuggled him into me and he went to sleep for 1.5hrs! Good boy!, I even ate lunch over him. Only got a few crumbs on his face! Then he slept in the car a bit but lost it an hour out of Paihia so we had to sing Old Macdonald had a Farm with every creature imaginable!,
Up early tomorrow so good night!!
:) C

Off to NZ tomorrow!

Kia Ora!
Or at least we will be saying that tomorrow when we touch down in Auckland! {imagining the "Dance of the Flight Attendant"- you know, seatbelt adjustments, drop down air mask, the usual!}
We are (almost) all packed, I hope we can gather up the last minute things, like Jaimeson's bowls and spoons and drink bottle. Oh can't forget that or he'll be sipping from the lid of my Mt Franklin, which takes quite some time and patience. Yes, I've tried it. Surprisingly, it works (to feed small cranky child even smaller amounts of water) but having his own sippy bottle is, not surprisingly, eons more efficient.
Travelling certainly changes when you have a child, and all the associated paraphernalia that goes along with him! Portacot, stroller, clothes, 2 sets of sheets, wraps, nappies, nappy sacks, wipes, bath stuff, sleeping bag, cot blanket, bibs, bowls, spoons, baby food, baby cereal, drink bottle, Baby Bjorn, Sleep Sheep, Bonjela (cos Jaimeson decided this week is the perfect time to pop his first tooth!), Baby Panadol, toys, books..... whoa {taking a nap from all that effort packing}. It's insane! Mum, I have no idea how you ever packed all 4 of us into the Tarago for our Christmas trips to Sydney, along with clothes and presents! {Shaking Mum's hand out of respect!} Unbelievable.
So, don't miss me too much for the next 2 weeks! Willy bought a Motorola Xoom Table Computer today, as his special new toy, and he's taking it to NZ with us, so hopefully I'll get to blog now and then!! Keep your eyes peeled! And also, cos I want to keep you on your toes, I'll set some posts to randomly post now and then so you don't get bored without me!
:) C
P.S. I'm including this freebie pic from the recent "Lam's go Bike Riding" outing, aka Jaimeson's First Ride on a Bicycle. He loved it!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Happy Birthday Dad!!This is not a gratuitous excuse for me to share some pics from our Wedding (or is it??) But I do love these pics of Dad and I taken just before he walked me down the aisle. One of the privileges of having 4 girls, Dad is very good at walking you down the aisle. He's had lots of practice!
I hope you have a great Birthday Dad!! And a safe drive home from Canberra! xoxo
:) C

WJWW

Hello my friends!
Only 3 sleeps til NZ now, I'm so excited!!! At first I was only kinda excited cos I've been to the South Island before, but now I'm totally excited cos I've done lots of research on sites, shopping & eating & I'm itching to go! I love travelling, especially overseas. Yay!! {party hooters going off!}
I'm hoping to be able to blog once or twice using free wifi while we're there. I want to keep u all up to date!!
So here is Jaimeson for this week's "What Jai Wore Wednesday". Have I mentioned how hard it is to get him to keep still or lay flat for a pic these days! He's a rolling, commando-crawling ball of energy!
Polo shirt: Mothercare (on sale for $5, can't beat that! It was purple week at playgroup too so, good timing {high five!})
Shorts: Beau by Bardot (from Aunty Lil)
Sandals: Mothercare (hand me downs from Xander)
Rolling cow: Playskool.

He didn't especially want to wear the sandals, in fact they lasted about a minute. Lol!
:) C

Project 365; Collages 14 & 15

Hi y'all!
Time for some more Project 365 pics!Day 53: Daddy took us out to lunch at Noodle House. YUM! It's basic decor, but the best food. That's probably better than the other way around!
54: Day trip to Granny and Papa's. Papa set the swing up low to the ground this time, not high up like a skyscraper swing like at Christmas time! More of an ankle swing now, rather than a shoulder swing! I think Mum was a bit worried that the strings would snap & he'd plummet too far down!
55: Blood collection time. Put your hands together for the good people of DHM.
56: We spent the day at Fliss's to clean our her wardrobe and Jaimeson got to sit at the Little People's Table to eat his morning tea. How cute are the cousins, sitting all together?! Just missing Tassy! Though Jai couldn't sit on his own, I am propping him up from behind. He loved sitting at the table with the kids!57: Jaimeson's first bike ride! We recently got a Bike Seat for Jaimeson from Aldi, and it's really good! We rode to the local Tennis Courts to play Tennis with our work friends. Jai was so happy and contented, he enjoyed the ride. He also enjoyed trying to wiggle his toes under my butt as I rode though!
58: dropping off to Salvos, the 5 big garbage bags of clothes we cleaned out at Fliss's on Saturday! {high five!} And a spot of shopping for me {wink!}
59: A Hot Chocolate treat and a wander around the shops at Top Ryde City after playgroup. If you every come across an Oliver Brown Chocolate Cafe, I recommend the Dark Chocolate Hot Chocolate with Waffle Balls. Thank me later. And yes, you will thank me!
60: Lunch with Daddy again! This time an Adana Plate at New Star Kebabs, Auburn. If you don't get shot, you will seriously love their kebabs. LOL!! Jokes about the shooting... this week anyway. But an armoured truck and a car nearly had a collision in the rain right outside the restuarant while we were eating there. Lets just say screetching tires and honking truck horns don't go so well with a nice calm lunch!
:) C

Run Rings around these Cards... Circus Rings!

Hi y'all!
For Jaimeson's First Birthday I am planning on throwing him an "Under The Big Top" Themed Party! We're big into themed parties in our family, as you may have worked out! I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to his party, it's full of fun and awesome Circus ideas, I'm really looking forward to it! Though it is still over 2 months away! {giggles}. I do hope Jai enjoys it as much as I will! {belly laugh!}
I broke out my "Under the Big Top" stamp set from Stampin Up recently, and made a couple of cards to get me in the mood! This set has the sweetest little collection of Circus animals and people. I {heart} the Strong Man! He's got the awesomest moustache! There's my moustache love again. Who knew I'd like them? {shrugging shoulders at moustache love}.
I think Primary Colours probably go best with this set, and also red/white combo, though I haven't done any in that combo (yet) {whip cracking in the background}. I'm thinking I could use this set at Jaimeson's party to make the invitations, or to stamp on Lolly Bags to take home, or to make Cupcake Toppers. Not sure yet, but I'm sure he'll at least get a card made with them! It's definitely one of my favourite sets at the moment! And I reckon I might be able to belt out some more girly cards with them too, I might have to break out a softer colour palette though.
What have you been up to this week?
Only 4 sleeps til we go to NZ!!

Project 365; Collages 12 & 13

Happy Friday y'all!
More pics from Project 365. I love doing this fun project a lot more now I have an iphone (when I'm not wanting to throw my iphone against the wall, for other reasons. An iphone is both a blessing and a curse; they love you, and do heaps for you, then they come back and smack you in the face with stupidity and stubborn-ness. Well, at least mine does. Soooooo frustrating!!)Day 45: Meeting up with Granny and Papa at Macquarie centre. I do love our "Tuesdays once a month meeting up!" {hugs}
46: Milton the Monster! Jaimeson's new toy I made {smiles!}
47: I do love seeing this little fella's washing on the line. It's so small and cute!
48: Jaimeson and I stumbled across this baby bird cowering in the long grass on the edge of the path while we were out walking. I think it might be a baby Mr Puffy! I called WIRES and they said to put him up high somewhere cos his parents were likely around. I was worried a cat or dog would get him! He was soooo cute and fluffy and sat neatly in the palm of my hand! I put him on a brick fence next to where he was. I hope he ended up ok!49:Jaimeson's first ride in the seat part of the shopping trolley! He lasted the whole way around Coles, he was such a good boy! He waved at the Butcher (a big man too, who waved back, cos how can you not wave when such a little person is waving at you!), and charmed the Baker lady who oohed and aahed at him! Then he chatted away to the checkout chick! It was soooo cute. He loved being up high, not stuck down low in his pram!
50: Piecing out my Quilt on the study floor. I've even sewed some of the strips now too (not finished though! EEK! I am so easily distracted!)
51:My cheeky boy pulling faces while he eats his dinner. So cute!
52: Jaimeson enjoying himself at playgroup. He's never played with a hoop before!
Hope you have a good weekend!!
: )C
P.S. I also found these 2 old collages from January/Feb in my 2009 Project 365. Enjoy the little walk down memory lane!