congratulations to....

Angela :) Isaac did the lucky draw for me and you are the winner, please contact me with your postage details and I will get the dress in the mail to you.

angela said...
Oh lovely owl quilt. Is the very thing in scrapbooking papers this year. I just love the red.
The dress is so cute. You should sell them.

My little girl would look very cute in that dress too.

8:28 PM

DQS Opening Day and a Giveaway

Today was official opening day for the Dolls Quilt swap. This morning as soon as soon as Jazz and I were awake, I let her open it...We had to give some guidelines of likes/dislikes etc to help our swap partner with ideas - my only request was an actual dolls quilt (could be dolls quilt or wall hanging) which was predominantly pink and pretty.
Well I think Tania has nailed it. This is the first ever quilt she has made, and she did an awesome job. Thank you so much - Jazz and I think its just perfect.
I love the fabric selections, they are very prety, and the little matching pillow is so cute!

It got the seal of approval...the 'twins' got covered up and kissed goodnight straight away.


My swap partner was Esther (& Beth) After seeing her gorgeous quilts I was SO nervous about making a quilt for her, but I was pretty happy with the way it turned out. The piecing and quilting are a bit wonky in places, but I hope they dont mind too much! After all the sneek peeks Ive shared, here is the quilt I made....
front

back

I really enjoyed being part of this swap and hopefully will join in again next year! Now I have to put the thinking cap on and start making for a couple of Secret Santas Ive signed up for, and for my PIF. Thanks to the three ladies who have joined up for my PIF - please let me know your
postal details at some stage, so I can send a little crafty goodness your way sometime in the next year!

And to finish off Ive decided to have a little give away. The other day I made a little dress for Jacinta using this tutorial. Its made from a pretty sheet I picked up from the op shop and its beautifully soft and cool. Unfortunately she was asleep and I just guessed measurements and it turned out too big! I would say its about a size 2 - 3 dress (would probably fit up to a size 4 as a top)

Instead of trying to adjust this one, I made another one that fits her. So this one needs a new home. To enter into the givaway just leave a comment on this post. You can get an extra entry by blogging about and linkng this give away on your blog - just make sure you leave an extra comment letting me know! Will only post to Australian addresses. I will draw a winner on Monday 15th November (too much happening next weekend!)

Pay it forward

OK..out in blog land there has been a little PIF scheme happening for quite some time. Ive been tempted so many times to play along,tonight Ive finally succumbed and joined in the fun. Ive put my name down on Cars blog for her PIF.

If you would like to play along and pay it forward leave me a comment on this post. The first three people to comment will be choosen. The rules are simple. I will make you a hand-made gift and send it to you sometime within the next 365 days. All you have to do is pledge on your blog to Pay it forward in return - you will have to make three other people who comment on your post something within the next 365 days. And so on, so forth. It's all about sharing the love.

20 months

To my sweet little Jazzie,

Another month has passed. You are growing up so quickly now, my 'baby' has gone and has been replaced with a sweet little girl. I had forgotten what a delightful age this is. You are amazed by everything, you love to play little games, sing little songs and laugh until you give yourself hiccups - just because you can! Despite looking like a sweet girly little girl, you can more often than not you can be found playng with dump trucks or cricket bats or any other of the stereotypical boys stuff that is always laying around here.The other day you woked out how to make the little wiggles car go forwards all by yourself. You were so excited. Now you can ride around and around the table with Isaac. I think its time to get you a little ride on of your own. Toni gave us this old one of tanners, but it doesnt even have a seat...not that you seem to mind!

You are still attracted to dirt and mud, thank goodness that its finally starting to warm up, and the puddles of mud have dissapeared. The other day you and Isaac were outside alone for five minutes and this was the result. Seriously I didnt know where to start, it was right through everything.

You have started to take a real interest in the couple of dolls you have as well. You try to feed them, and wrap them up and kiss them goodnight - its very cute to watch. Im still hoping Grandpa will make you a cradle (just like I had) for Christmas so you will have a special place for your 'babies' to sleep. More and more you are beginning to engage in pretend play with Isaac. You both love being dogs, crawling around on the ground chasing each other, tounges hanging out, panting like puppies. Tea parties are a regular occurance, and you were thrilled that we had some real water in the cups the other day - one of the advantages of the spring weather finally arriving. Ive done a couple of little photo shoots of you having a tea party with some of your great Nannas tea cups, it was lots of fun.

Your language skills are developing rapidly now. There are new words being mastered, and in between all of your gabbled conversations a distinguishable word will suddenly appear and take us by suprise. You say Mummy, Daddy, puppy, up, off, moolsh (milk), cup, cack (quack), hat a;; the time.

We got to catch up with Tracy, Chloe, Mia, Carina and Damon this month. Mia and Damon were born around the same time as you, and Mummy became friends with Tracy & Carina through an online parenting forum. All of our babies were due between the 15th-29th Feb 2008. There are a group of us who are still in regular contact, and these are the two that Ive had the pleasure of getting together with in real life.

On Nathans birthday and you loved helping to blow out the candles. You loved the cake even more!

Your bedroom is finally finished. I bound your quilt, and got all the finishing touches done. Its a really pretty room, and I was thrilled to have it featured on Spearmint Baby.
You really are a sweet little girl. You are quite clingy to Daddy and I at the moment though. If we go any where you spend most of the time climbing up my legs. You want to sit up in the lounge with us, but as soon as you get up there you want to hop back down again. You follow us around the house like a shadow, and like to be right in the middle of what ever we are doing. You have discovered how to open cupboards and are always getting cups and plates out, or your toothbrush out of the bathroom or putting things in the rubbish bin. If we growl you burst into tears. If someone takes something away that you want, you yell. If we try and give you something you dont want, you will either not take it, or throw it away. You love giving us kisses and cuddles, but love the power that comes with being able to shake your head and giggle cheekily if Mummy asks for a kiss and you dont want one. You frighten easily, and are not at all brave. You have woked out how to get safely up and down the stairs at Auntie Vics place, but cant manage the two steps down from Georgias cubby house. Now that daylight savings has started Ive been trying to push your dinner and bed time later so that you can eat with us. You no longer let me feed you with a spoon - either you do it yourself, or you flat out refuse to eat it. You prefer a plate of finger foods that you can pick up and eat yourself. You will usually still let me feed you your weetbix for breakfast - you still have three most mornings. You drink mostly water, although milk is your drink of choice at the moment. You love to run away naked when I have dried you after your bath, and you still kick and carry on nearly everytime I dress you. You love shoes - yours and everyone elses, we are always looking for one of our shoes that you have slipped on and left in some strange place around the house or yard. You like to push things around on the tiles - the noisier the better.

I love you so much my baby girl.

Mummy xxxx

my cake worked!

Here is my Apple & Oat cake recipe from today- mainly so I dont forget it, because according to the children, it absolutley delicious....which equates to, it is pretty much all gone already! Its loosely based on a couple of different apple cake recipes I found this morning. Ive had a go at making it a little healither than the usual butter and sugar filled versions.

Im always on the look out for some yummy treats that are remotely healthy - Im happy for this as an after school snack...might even manage to fill them up for a while!

Apple & Oat Cake

2 apples, peeled and chopped finely

1 cup sugar (could probably get away with 3/4 cup)

1 cup instant rolled oats

1 1/2 cups SR flour

3/4 cup extra light olive oil

2 eggs lightly beaten

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1. Mix all ingredients with a wooden spoon until combined. This is quite a dry mix.

2. Gently press the mixture into a greased and floured round cake tin

3. Bake at 180 degrees C (fan forced) for approx 45 - 50 min or until a skewer comes out clean.

4. Remove from tin and cool on a cake rack. Can be served warm or cold.

Wednesday 21 October 2009 | 1.30pm

As I walked through my house just now, this is what I could see.

I thought I would record some of the everyday life stuff - excuse the not so perfect photos, they really are just snapshots!

Apple & Oat cake, Chocolate muffins & scones that we baked this morning.

As much as I love the computer, it really is the one big distraction when Im trying to get things done.

A pile of stuff to re home after the big declutter of Isaacs room on the weekend, and a fishing rod that was being used to catch a baby sister earlier.

Thank goodness for the dishwasher!

Isaacs dump truck quarry which has kept him amused for the last week, and which I just packed up - I wonder how long before he notices?

I spend half my life sweeping up. I tend to leave the broom sitting here where I can grab it when ever I need - drives Craig crazy!

One of the joys of having little ones in the house - always toys laying around

One boy, sound asleep..and he still is!

With four males in the house, this is a sight I have had to get used to..and why is it so hard for anyone to put a new roll of toilet paper on?

and while Im wondering why?, kids dirty clothes on the floor - right next to the basket!

Another hazard of having a larger family - the amount of washing...its never ending!

One little girl, who has just woken up.

The beds are unmade, but in all, quite tidy for a change!

There is always a pile of clean washing waiting to be sorted and folded.

This end of kitchen bench tends to accumulate all sorts of things that shouldnt be there!

The coffee machine is all set and waiting for me to make my afternoon cuppa - I still havnt got back to do that!

A little man and some trains that I picked up this morning, sat on the shelf while I did something else, and still havnt put away yet.

"mummy.....Muummy..................MUUUUUUUUUUUUMYYYYYYYYY...................{I look over and smile}......BOO"

I think she is ready to get up now!

Bye!

One dolls quilt - finished

Its all ready to be packed up and sent off to its new home...I hope they like it. I will put some pics up of the completed quilt after opening day...and share what we recieved as well!

A few final sneak peeks...

My big kindy boy

Today was Isaacs first day of kindy - well pre entry anyway, one two hour session a week for the rest of the term. He had a great time, but as usual was less than co-operative when I wanted a 'nice' photo before we left home...