Things I'm Loving

This is the first time linking up to

From Paisley Jade

 Things I'm loving this week.....

Many people warned me when Lil Miss was a baby

" With three older brothers, she is bound to be a tom boy"

Well so far, she's a princess! 

Sure she has learnt to stand her ground...

but she loves all things 'girly'.

( no influence here! I swear )

Playing with my late Nanas bead necklace

so special!

Also loving the new corner in our kitchen area, dedicated to Lil Misses toys, and the boys video games

Picnik.com!

If you haven't tried this site........ DO!

I'm hooked

Really would love to do this under the stairs in our new house

( when we build )

image source

or this

image source

And lastly loving that I think I have finally cracked Middle B's

dislike for reading. 

We have been reading

found here ( thankyou Grandma )

Its starts of easy and then gradually gets more challenging with each story.... I am really proud of him persevering with this.... and sorry school, but your books just don't grab his attention..... and he's still reading everynight, so this is what matters... am I right?

Thrifty Finds

On the weekend while visiting Mikes Mum and Dads,

we arrived early on a Friday afternoon.... so while passing the

Salvation Army Store, Mike was kind enough to let me stop in

( often we get there too late and they don't open on the weekends )

Look What I scored!

These were in a Fabric Bin, and bundled in the piles in the above picture,  they were $3 buckaroos each, all in perfect condition,

 and each about 2mts plus, some 4! 

 And the best of all, was about 4mts of a lightweight denim!

 (can see a skirt for me and Lil Miss )

I have already made a couple of items out of the grey knit,

( with posts to follow soon )

After purchasing all these I had a goofy grin on my face all evening, I couldn't wait to get them out of their bags for a good look!

Why you ask? 

Well when 1 mt of knit fabric is atleast $9 or more, to get all of that fabric for the same price as one!  I think you get the gist.... I'll stop rambling now...

I also found the mini me to my large tupperware jug....

not a fan of orange tupperware.. but they come in handy :)

Square Necked Dress

I searched everywhere for my Ottobre magazine last week, I looked high and low, could I find it ..... no!
Ahhhh! I was nearly pulling out my hair............ so I gave up and drafted my own pattern.

TA Da!

My inspiration for this was from the No Big Dill blog here

 ( great blog do check hers out if you haven't already ) 

I have loved this square necked blouse for ages, so I decided to make one

Although I have to admit I made a mistake with the neckline... I made it too deep, but with a couple of tucks and a few more stitches, the neckline doesn't gape anymore.  I will fix this next time around...

I quite chuffed with this, and it looks cute with tights.

And you know what, afterall that I found the magazine! 

Where?  In the Ottoman Storage with all the board games......

must get more organised.... Hmmmmn?!

Oh and I will be linking this up to

 Tea Rose Home Link Party

and

 The Train to Crazy - Make it Wear it

Taking a step back in time

Its been 3 months now since I have converted to reusable nappies.

And I don't think I would go back... actually wish I had done it sooner...

Sure,  there is more work involved, but once your in rhythm with this.. it is easier than you think.  I actually find that my whites get washed more often, just because I have to wash nappies everyday.

As my mum said, "its lovely to see a line full of white nappies blowing in the breeze".... I have to admit it I love it too!

Pros:

• Money saver ( one pack of terry towelling cost me $49nz, two Snappies, two overnight nappy boosters, and handknitted soakers ) Not only am I saving on buying nappies, but I am saving in on our rubbish bags ( 4 bucks a council bag here! yikes )
• Natural cloth bums - just something nice about natural fibres close to the skin
• Helping reduce landfill - I know, an obvious one, but definately one of the reasons I chose cloth nappies.
• Washing is more regular - This may not be great for everyone, but I have found this to be a great motivator to keep the washing pile down, I have found the bottom of my washing basket quite alot, and my woolens are washed within a couple of days rather then piling up ( if only there was a motivator for the rest of the house work )

Cons:

•  More Washing - Have to be honest here, not everyone would find this a pro
• Regular Changing - Although this can be a pro, I'll be the first to admit of leaving my child in disposable diapers for too long
• Regular clothing generally doesn't fit - big bulky diapers, don't fit under many modern day clothing, lucky I can sew!
• Get used to getting close and personal with poo - you can't avoid it, no wrapping it up in a diaper and throwing it away! But really it is just a earlier introduction, because once toilet training happens, many accidents occur in underwear.
• Bulky diapers = Big butt - yes this is cute, but unless you know that a child is wearing cloth diapers, I have found people tend to mention how large your child is.... my lil miss has a big scrumptious belly, rolls on her legs, a sway in her back + a cloth diaper, it makes her look much more bulkier than she really is.... this is obviously a personal opinion, and one that I have a issue with ( one that I need to get over, but just being honest )

I'm sure there are other pros/cons, but these are the ones that stand out to me.  There are great resources out there if you would like to make the change.  I am a mum of four, and although I briefly did the cloth diaper nappy stint with my first child,  it took me a couple more kids to give it a try again! So glad I did....

A couple of helpful links

• http://www.thenappylady.co.uk/public/articledetails.aspx?id=140 for loads of folds, and they are shown via youtube.  I am using the gaynor fold for girls
• www.thenappynetwork.org.nz  lots of information, and forums with lots of information ie: how to lanolise your soakers.

By making this choice, I have been able to put my knitting skills to good use, and use up some of my stash. 

I knitted these vanilla soakers by Kelly Brooker on Ravelry.

Great pattern and seamless, which I love.

Along with all this nappy business, I have kept to part of my new years resolution with baking more, which has helped reduce the food bill.  With only a $150 dollars a week to spend on food, a weekly menu to stick to has not only helped day to day routine but also reduced the food bills..... add foraging to the mix and my vege garden ( love you courgettes ) and it has become a personal challenge to end up with change from my $150, last week I spent $70 yippee!

Above Clockwise: Foraged Plums ( yum jam ), Busy People Bread by Annabel Langbein, Homemade Tortilla ( so cheap to make and much better than store bought,  Chickpea salad with pizza ( dough made with crusty flat bread recipe, another of Annabels )

I still buy at least three 3lt bottles of milk a week, and one 1kg block of cheese, plus a load of butter when on special. 

But to counteract this, I have reduced the amount of meat we eat ( even mince is expensive here 12.95 a kg for crap mince ), and increased pulses, veges in our diet, plus it is possible my kids are getting sick of rice :)

The biggest help to achieve this, has been planning ahead of time, and not being caught out at the last minute, too often a trip to the four square ends up being $30 or more when we are caught short.

I guess all I am doing is taking a leaf out of my Mums/Nanas book, and although it is hard work, it is rewarding ... so bring it on!

Back in the groove

It's been a while since my last post, I guess to be honest, after a break from blogging over christmas, the weeks just kept ticking over until, hey presto 2 months had gone past! 
It just goes to show how easy it is to have large 'bloggy breaks' as many other bloggers put it.


Alot has happened in the past two months, lots of knitting, (not much sewing)  kids holidays and then the readjustment back to school, plus my laptop broke down and I lost 6 months of photos....I am still hurting over that one : ( 
There has been alot of hospital visits, most of which were for a family member who had a stroke, luckily they are home, and finally recovering well : )

Luckily though I was able to recover photos from Ravelry so the following are of some pics that I completed  over my break;

The first one was a jacket for my nephews christmas present



The pattern is Duck Soup by annypurls on Ravelry.  I especially loved the knitted closures.... it was a first for me, and I would definately do these again.



It was past Lil Misses bedtime when the following photos were taken, hence a not so happy girl....

Number two, was finishing the Tikki KAL ( knit a long ) before christmas.  I knitted the Sorello the girl version.  Knitted in cotton, so Lil Miss will be able to wear this both seasons.

I love the puffed sleeves

Not shown is the back lace peplum.

Third and last to show for today is a little summer/autumn transitional cardie for Lil Miss

The pattern is from Sublime #613 Childrens Double Knitting, the pattern is called Camille

I knitted this up in a Angora Merino as suggested, and the result is lovely.... it is sooooo soft.  I would like to knit myself something in this, if only it wasn't so expensive!

Phew! glad out got this post out of the way....

Welcoming 2011

2011 .....

Well I have never written my news years resolution down on paper before.  Sure I have always had the usual...

Lose weight / eat more healthy

Have more patience with my kids

Excercise

But when you just make these promises to yourself in your head, it is so much easier to bend or break them, don't you think?

This year hopefully will be a big year, afterall Mike and I plan to make the move up north this year.  So we will both have to be very disciplined if we are to make our plans to come to fruition.

So I am documenting it this time, my record....

1. Back on to a budget, which includes baking more for the kids lunches and not falling short the night before and having to send Mike out down to the very expensive Four Square.
2. Cleaning the Kitchen after dinner, instead of leaving it to the next morning.  If I do it at night I can rope Mike in to help, and then I avoid feeling bitter about doing it by myself the following morning
3. Sticking to my house schedule.  Last time it was written up, we lasted about two weeks... this time it is even more important, since Little J starts school this year and there will be three lots of homework!
4. Start reading books at night to the kids again! Most important... we always did this, but we found it hard to keep up, again because of the homework.
5. Of course, I have to mention.... excercise more! no excuses this time with all the boys at school this year and only Lil Miss and I at home.
6. Stop procrastinating on the business accounts, remember it only makes you feel worse when you leave it to pile up!!!
7. More Mike and me time.  Mum gave Mike and I a night off last time we visited her and it was wonderful!

Now I could make many more new year resolutions, such as fold the laundry and put away immediately.

But I can't have too many or I will never be able to honour them all, so I'm keeping it simple and lets see how I go..............

While I write this, I am reminded by the giggles of my kids in the background ( movie night ) of why I wrote these personal vows, because afterall happy me makes for a happy family.

 Fishing with the boys at Russell, our first family holiday.... hopefully more fun times like this to come.

Christmas Dress and Lil Misses Doll House

The Christmas break has been very busy travelling to my Mums and back then to Mikes Mum and Dads for Christmas.

During this time we had one day at home before setting of for the next destination, so I was determined to make Lil Miss her first Christmas Dress in this time. 

Here she is actually trying to climb into the doll house her grandfather built her

I didn't quite finish it before setting off for the grandparents, so I took my sewing machine along and finished the last ruffle there.

The pattern is Feliz by Farbenmix, although the pattern went together well, I would only suggest this pattern for a experienced sewer, as the explanations for the construction are not step by step.  Not sure if  anyone else thought this.  But as you can see it is definately worth sewing. I am really happy with the dress

 

Lil Miss loves Grandmas dog! Follows it everywhere much to its horror!

As for the dolls house, wow its huge..... Mikes Dad has done a wonderful job, and as you can see Lil Miss had a great time playing with it, including her big brothers!

It also opens up at the back and has a gazebo that attaches at the end of the front porch

Even Mike had fun....

 (although he was just taking a movie )

I can't wait to make some bedding, curtains and many other furnishings for this house.  

 So I guess everyone will get alot of enjoyment out of this house.

I will be linking this up to Tea Rose Home Wednesdays Link Party