Bad attitude...

I thought it was just teenagers that went through the bad attitude stage but a quick survey of parents tells me it starts much, much earlier.  I have proof!

Ok so he was actually impersonating Ben 10 here which is strange because I think he's only seen the program once but he has Ben 10 colouring books and stickers - could the attitude have stemmed from here?

The "I don't want to wear this' Attitude - could it possibly be because he has a vast amount of clothes to choose from?

Is he destined to be an angry boy?

Or is it all just a stage? 

(Please say yes here)

Personalised Books...

Image found here

Remember the personalised books you used to have when you were a kid?  I don't know what happened to mine but I used to think it was so cool having a book written about me (ok so I know this isn't entirely true now) with my brother's name included.  I know you can buy similar books now - I've seen them in fliers and while they would make a nice gift I think the book they sell on Mooo is a hundred times better. Just my opinion.  Buy the book here.

Mooo sells a wide range of personalised gifts - name puzzles, canvas art, stationery and loads of other stuff.

They ship all over the world and you will find their postal rates in the FAQ section.

Wordless Wednesday

Ka-cha-ka

Guardianes de Amor - El Perro, el Gato y Yo

Every year when the sun returns I like to pull out my cassette tapes and reminisce.  Yes you heard right - cassette tapes!  Thankfully most songs can now be found on YouTube including this one.  For those of you who don't know me IRL you probably won't know I spent a year in Paraguay on a student exchange.  While I got very, very homesick, I did have a great time and the friends I made then I still consider friends now.  We have the likes of bebo and facebook to thank for that.  It's hard to believe it was almost 15 years ago - it only seems like yesterday with the memories being so clear.

BTW the song is in Spanish but don't let that stop you listening - the beat is/was very popular back in the 90s but I'm not sure about now.  I'm sure someone will be able to let me know.

A forgotten post...

I should have posted this a lot earlier (like a month ago) but somehow it got lost in all the drafts.  My sister made me these for my birthday - she likes doing crafty things too and is learning to sew.  I've been trying to get her to set up her own Felt shop but as to date NOTHING has happened.  Nicky!  What's going on???


(oh and thank you again for the cool pressies)

We survived Day 2

We met up with an old high school friend for lunch today.  Because we had Elijah in tow, we decided Maccas might be a good option.  At least I know he will actually eat something there.

After parting ways I took Elijah for a walk over to Tai Ping Supermarket.  I grabbed a few goodies for us both - seaweed salad and aloe juice for me, chocolate milk and gummy worms for Elijah.  Yeah I'm weird - I like my foreign foods and I can't tell you how happy I am to have found a 500g bag of frozen seaweed salad for $6 considering most sushi places will sell you 50g - 100g for $4.

The weather was so beautiful and we are now looking a little pinker.

A few weeds had sprouted in Elijah's strawberry patch so he pulled them out (always his job)

I'm getting used to my new camera.  It's a simple wee thing which is all I need.  I'd love to learn to take better photos though.  All these are uploaded straight from my camera without editing.

I had never heard of the macro feature until my sister pointed it out

This strawberry had us giggling

Hope you're all enjoying this gorgeous first week of the school holidays

Collecting for Jazz...

My sister Jazz is due the end of March 2011 with her first so it's no surprise that on my op shop missions I keep this in mind.  I am, after all her Xmas swap partner (something we're trialling this year in a bid to cut costs and stuff) and I'm limited to $20.  You can get a lot for $20 if you go secondhand.

I wish I had had a Baby's First Year book - you think you're going to remember everything but nearly four years later there are some details that are really patching - I'm remembering firsts (first tooth, first word, etc) but other little things - blank!  And it makes me sad :(  

This is a great little book that I think Jazz will find quite useful even though it's a lot older than she is

And how could we not bring this little orphaned baby home - she even has her own crib.  It needs a little work but I think it could make a nice Xmas present for my niece Ella.

So what advice would you give a young Mum (just turned 20) about what she does and doesn't need?  I know I fell into the trap of thinking I needed this and that when really the basics are all you need.

Could this be Summer on it's way?

Day One of the school holidays and the weather could not have been better.  After we'd been op shopping (more about that later) I took Elijah to one of the local parks.  I came across it one day when I was filling in time before kindy.  It's at the end of a small cul-de-sac so we were the only ones there.

There's the address!  Some of you will recognise where it is.

It's simple but clean and has the obligatory slide and swings as requested by Elijah

And a few extras like the twirly thing

Looking a little rosy - it was still so hot out

Oh that charming face that keeps popping up in photos

Elijah thought the clouds were the funniest thing ever

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Oh yeah the wibbly wobbly thing was hilarious

As was his hat falling off mid-swing - Kathmandu you have failed the swing test!

We went home after a couple of young boys turned up with a small motorbike - as you can see Elijah was a tad distracted.

It's almost 5pm - we haven't had lunch!  Don't you love it how warm weather takes your appetite away.  Of course Elijah has been snacking all day as usual with an Up & Go - his choice from the 'orchard'.  Just as an aside, never go to Selak Orchard on West Coast Road - they have hardly anything in there!  One cabbage, two pumpkins, a few bags of carrots and a few small bags of apples does not make for a very good 'orchard' - so disappointing that we walked out with a loaf of bread and a couple of drinks!

Antique?

I had to laugh when DH arrived home from the Sunday fleamarket claiming to have bought an 'antique' highchair.

He has grand plans to list it on Trade Me and make a small fortune.  I admire his enthusiasm but told him don't expect to make much more than the $5 he'd spent.  What more can I say?  I guess at least he tried.

PJs

Forgot to add these in the last post BUT if my stitching holds I expect Elijah to still be wearing these when he six possibly older because there is plenty of length and width and I used ribbing (which by the way is awful to sew!)

KCWC Days 4 & 5 plus an op shop find

My Mum picked Elijah up on Thursday afternoon and took him to stay with her overnight.  I used the time to sew and although it felt like I was forever sewing I didn't get that much made.

I finished off the second pair of these pillowcase pants

Made some checked 'rockstar' pants 

Some linen 'going out' pants - these have a flat front and have elastic at the back

Clearly he is chuffed with these red pillowcase pants - I used a scrap from the other pillowcase pants to make  slots for his cars (4 pockets)

And I picked up this monkey puppet from the local op shop.  I saw her there a few weeks ago and still nobody had bought her.  I felt sorry and decided to take her home anyway but unsure if Elijah would love her or be scared of her.  Thankfully he loves it!

I still have a few things to make for Kids Clothes Week but I'm not too worried if I don't get them finished this week.  I'm just glad that elsie marley has given me the kick start I needed.

Pillowcase Pants

You may laugh, you may cry but I bet you remember when this style was in.  I had a mini-brainwave last night, if you can make a girl's dress out of a pillowcase then why not boys pants?  Of course these are pj pants - I think I'd be embarrassed if Elijah asked to wear them to kindy!

KCWC Day 3

This morning was spent finishing off what I had already started.  Four pairs of basic Summer shorts, one pair of upcycled trackies and an upcycled tee that Elijah says he's NEVER going to wear.

I started these when Elijah was a year old and they had been in my pile of WIPs since then.  I've made two in this design which he likes even though they're covered in flowers

This tee used to be Dad's - Elijah isn't in love with it even when I told him pirates wear stripes.  The pants were also Dad's and I've added a pocket and patch to match the hoodie I made yesterday.

He loves these yellow shorts though so has two pairs.  They are lightweight so will be great for kindy where the kids like to run around under the sprinkler.

 After dropping Elijah at kindy I came home to these.  They seem to have made themselves right at home in our front yard.

We had visitors this morning after a dumping of rain and hail.  NZ weather is crazy, it really is four seasons in one day.

Right I have an hour up my sleeve before picking Elijah up from kindy so I better get my scissors out and start snipping!