Wordless Wednesday......{Minnie Mouse is in the House}

{For more WW photos...pop into Sarah's gorgeous Blog}

See you tonight at 7pm {QLD time} for our first ever Facebook Garage Sale! Clear out sale.....huge bargains for grabs!!

Have a great Wednesday Everyone :)

At My House.....{Feeling Christmas In The Air}

Happy Tuesday All :)

I'm a little late with 'At My House' this week.....yesterday I was away from my computer & camera all day & night! It was my school's end-of year concert last year so we had rehearsals all day and then 2 shows last night :) And as a Year 1/2 teacher and one of the dance teachers, it was a BIG event for me :) It was FABULOUS, it all went off without a hitch....I love the people I work with & the kids truly did SHINE!!Our GALA NIGHT is always the highlight of my teaching year :) And....the staff performance as always went down with a BANG! So much fun!

But....onto the post that is!

At My House.....we've been doing the usual 'Ella & Mummy' activities such as a baking {the tangy lemon squares recipe from one of my lovely bloggy friends {Sonja} was so easy & oh soooo good! And then chocolate cupcakes today....which I took out of the oven a little too early and they are still gooey & soft in the centre.....totally unplanned....but O.M.G....so good!} And, We've been crafting.....yay...the Christmas Crafts have officially begun....yeeehaaah!! {more to come on them soon}! We've been shopping online....I've managed to do 90% of this year's xmas shopping ONLINE...a big cheers to that!! We've been to ballet lessons & a library playdate this morning with a dear friend! We've been practicing ABC's and Nursery Rhymes and tracing letters. We've been avoiding housework.....rest assured, the basics have been done, but I seriously need to find the motivation to attack the bigger jobs again like cleaning blinds & skirting boards & sweeping outside {like this one}!

In January of this year, I gave our Christmas tree {still decorated with tinsel, lights & all} to The Salvation Army! I was adamant that we were in need of a new, bigger tree that was OUR FAMILY Christmas tree & would be a special part of our yearly festive season! I picked up a new tree & some gorgeous decorations in the January sales.....yeeehaah to that! And then have bit by bit, bought the other pretties over the past month! I literally CAN NOT wait til the weekend when we are going to put up the tree! It truly is my favourite time of year, and now with Ella at an age where she understands what's going on...I am so excited about decorating our house with Christmas and truly kicking off the SILLY SEASON! I love the idea of continuing our annual festive traditions & making new ones! I love that Ella has gained my love-of-Christmas-genes and is also just as involved in the merriness and magic of it all! Have I mentioned that I CAN NOT WAIT.......and LOVE LOVE LOVE CHRISTMAS??!! Yeah, I think I have.....but I'm sure I'll manage to mention it a few more times lol. 

And on that note.....my Christmas Cards are made, signed & in envelopes.....I'm just holding out another week or 2 before I mail them......yep when I love something....I'm organised :) And here's a few photos I took whilst playing with some Christmas Photo Ideas.....

Sporting her BUTTONS BY LOU LOU Christmas Clip of course :)

More photos to come {soon....when I get a chance to pop up for air!} of our Christmas Crafts, some lovely Christmas decors I've bought on MADEIT for our home & our usual weekly antics :)

I'm playing along with Lou's At My House link...pop over for a visit!

P.S. I'm having a FACEBOOK Garage Sale to clear out a heap of my prints & products...tomorrow night...Wednesday 24th Nov. It starts at 7:00pm {QLD time}....I will upload an album of photos with prices of the items, the first person to write SOLD under the photo...GETS IT :)) Simple!! And they are going for BARGAIN PRICES.....perfect Christmas presents!!!! See you there!! {Join my FACEBOOK group here to be apart of the sale!}

Week~A~Boo.......{Fairies in the trees & Proud Parents}

This morning we woke to this: FAIRIES IN THE TREES......

And why you may ask?? Hmmm....well.....little Miss Ella did something SUPER, hit a new milestone, grew that little bit more & did something that has me beaming with pride....but also has me mourning for my no-longer-baby .....but-now-an-official-BIG-GIRL.......

More to come on that with all the details....at the end of this post.....let's get to Saturday first:

Saturday started at 5:30am....with "Quick Mummy wake up!!! It's concert day!!" And.....Yep, it was concert day at Ella's kindy.....but at 5:30am c'mon Ella {I so wish she had my gene pool of sleep-loving! boo hoo}.

Ella's Junior Kindy class has been practicing songs for weeks to perform at the fun fair / family day! She has been soooo excited about this day...practising the songs to anyone & everyone who was willing to listen, talking about it NON-STOP, ringing the Grandparents to invite them along, the outfit picked....you get my gist?.....literally bursting for Saturday to arrive!

And.....it was GRAND....one of those amazing Mummy moments where you are just in awe of this little being that you created! {However.....after all that build up....she got stage fright & stood on the stage giggling her little heart out in nervousness......awwww bless her!}

She made a Christmas Decoration with her Nanny & Grandma :)

And got her face painted!!

I really love her Kindy! The staff are awesome, the facilities are top-notch & they really look after my Princess so well on her 2 days/week! It is a lovely 'peace-of-mind' feeling whilst I'm at work!

Ok.....after a morning of serious family fun at the Kindy Concert, we enjoyed a few hours of lazy couch time, snoozing & a whole lot of nothing! It was then that Ella & I were cruising an online toy store doing some xmas shopping for her cousins....when she started asking for things! I explained {again} that she can't have everything & to wait til Christmas to see what Santa brings....OR....let me know when she's ready to give her dummies to the Dummy Fairies & she might get some prezzies then!! We've had the discussion about handing the dummies over for a few months now....we didn't want to push it, because we know with Ella....everything works a lot better & fairer & smoother when we wait til SHE'S ready! I did try the dummy-weaning-thing when she was about 18months old...and I caved....after half a day of tears & heartbreak....I couldn't do it! So....we've let her have it for sleeptimes & car trips only since. The thought of weaning her off excited me.....but also scared the hell out of me for 2 reasons {1} she has NOT slept without it since she was a teeny baby....she has NO idea how to self settle of fall asleep without it.....EEEEKS! And.....{2} that would officially be the last of her baby-ness on it's way out!!! So, although I had promised her, the Dummy had to go by her 3rd birthday....I also didn't push it! We were all too happy just cruising along as is!

BUT.....on this Saturday afternoon....I briefly mentioned it {again} and she jumped at the chance....."I'm ready Mummy!!!!" she exclaimed!! We chatted more about it....I re-explained what it all meant....."Yes, I'm ready Mummy....let's tell Daddy!!!" {Oh sh*t, I thought.....the shops are near closing time & I don't have any 'presents' to give her from the 'dummy fairies'!} So, we raced to the local Big W, she picked out a "We're-proud-of-you-present' from Mummy & Daddy whilst I sneakily hid a few more little treasures in the trolley & away we went! We then did this:

She wrote a letter {in best 2year old's writing haaha} to the Dummy Fairies saying that she was giving her dummies to all the new babies in the world & she didn't need them anymore!

We parcelled them all up & decorated the envelope.....and.....

Hung them out in the garden for the Dummy Fairies to find :)

She seemed adamant this was going to happen & we just went with the flow {confession: with an emergency dummy hidden in the pantry.....coz we're easily convinced when this little girl's heart is breaking LOL}

The evening rolled on....we ate dinner, we bathed, we laid down on the couch & watched Ice Age as a family...all snuggled up & warm! She asked for her dummy....we reminded her she had chosen to give it to the fairies! I took her to bed & embraced myself for a massive bedtime meltdown....but NOPE....she asked for it once, accepted my answer & WENT TO SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course when she arose in the morning {after only waking once in the wee hours...which is also an amazing thing for her, she didn't make a fuss about the missing dummy!} there was some presents outside...covered in glitter {fairy dust} of course and a silver Tinkerbell hanging from the tree......OH THE MAGIC!!!!

Today...a little weep after lunch for 'THE DUMMY' but that's it!!! We kept her distracted & busy all day with trips out for sushi & ice-cream & to get photos printed & drew pictures to send to Pa Ken up the coast:

And at bedtime tonight....she crashed without a fight!! She's off to Grandma's for a sleep-over tomorrow night as I'm working super late {school concert time} and is Chris jet-setting off on a business trip soon!

But......OH.MY.GOD!!! My BABY is no longer a BABY!! Chris & I are so amazinlgly in love with this little girl! She has yet again, made us soooo proud! She's growing up.....sniff sniff!!

So...in a nutshell {Ok a really big nutshell.....like the giant macadamia nut up the Sunshine Coast that is a tourist building....yeah that size!!!} that was our weekEND!

What my lovelies, did your weekEND entail? I'd love to know! Join in below....please, getting to know other bloggers and to be inspired by them, is such a joy!

A Little List of Lovelies.......This Week, I'm Grateful for.....

Today, I'm grateful for a few little things! So, I thought I'd pop them all into a list....a list of lovelies that make me smile or make my life easier :)

• Slow cookers ~ raw food goes in, life goes on, cooked food comes out! What's not to be grateful about that??? Slow cookers are a godsend! Especially during my busy weeks of early mornings & late afternoons!
• I've finished my class's term 4 Report Cards!!! Yeeee-haaaah!
• Coffee ~ Oh my dear, sweet caffeine, how I love thee!
• Christmas!!!! Have I told you how much I LOVE the Christmas season? And we are now in late November and I can smell the silly season in the air......LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I got the last of Ella's Christmas prezzies on Wednesday {still waiting for a few ETSY purchases to arrive, but finished getting the store-bought items} and I had so much fun buying them & hiding them away that night :))) I think I'm more excited than her lol.
• I'm also grateful for TV SERIES on DVD! I don't watch much TV.....none really...except Dora, The Wonder Pets & Sid the Science Kid {haaa}, so late at night when I've finished working & craving a little bit of ME time before going to sleep, I love to curl up in bed & watch old TV Series on DVD....this week it's been Season 1 of Gossip Girl :))
• Helper Parents! It's concert time at school {Monday is the BIG night!!} and I would NOT have coped without the support, help, sewing talents & care from some lovely Mums {and Dad's} of children in my class to help share the load with me :) And my DAD, who is helping us out BIGTIME by being the Music/Sound Man for my school's concert!
• Overcast mornings ~ don't get my wrong....I LOVE sunny, blue-skies-kind-of-days so so SO much! But, the occasionally overcast Saturday morning, is the perfect excuse to stay in PJ's for a little longer, have breakfast a little later & cruise along doing a whole lot of nothing! It's a nice change :)

On that note, I'd LOVE to know....What are you grateful for this Saturday? Head over to 'Maxabella Loves' blog to see what other bloggers are inspired by & loving this week :)

{this image from here}

Happy Saturday All!

Finding Magic.......In An Ordinary Day

Last week, whilst I was reading through some of my favourite blogs, I found a link to a YouTube video via the lovely Seven Cherubs blog. The video was 7mins long and I nearly didn't watch it.....but am SO glad I did!

So many times, here on my blog, I've written about my desire to make the most of life....to live it as full as possible.....to seep every bit of goodness out of it as possible! This desire has always been in me....but the anti has been lifted 100% since becoming Mummy! I want to give Ella an amazing life.....a full life of education & adventure & fun & MAGIC!

And this video reminded me that life passes by way to quickly and sometimes it's hard to imagine life being any different. I remember Ella being an extremely fussy, unsettled & tiresome baby......it felt like that phase was never going to end! But guess what? It did!!! And looking back now.....in the scheme of things.....it wasn't a very long phase! And whilst we were going through 'that phase' we were also experiencing moments of love & bliss & magic!! It's all part of the balance of life I guess! We try to wish away the bad times and savour the good. So many of us, think that memories can only be made if we're traveling, or on a holiday with our family, or dining out or surrounded by millions of friends.......But really.....it's in the ordinary days where so many little memories are made! Although, I love so much to be out & about & busy with friends & family and experiencing new things.....I also love the days spent at home, with no plans, no direction......just chilling & living in the moment of an ordinary day!

Here's a few little moments that I cherish in an 'ordinary' day:

• homemade pancakes
• the aftermath mess of a session of kiddy's art n craft
• snuggles on the couch whilst watching a Disney movie
• the little gasps of amazement as Tinkerbell flies past the screen or when Cinderella's fairy godmother appears
• little pudgey baby fingers grasping everyday objects
• a hot coffee soothing our soul in the early morning
• staying in pj's til afternoon
• picking flowers {usually those yellow weed flowers} and putting them in a glass of water to give to Daddy when he gets home from work
• hearing my little girl's breathing as she snoozes by my side, curled around me, fitting into me like a puzzle
• a walk up to the local shop, which should take 10mins, but takes over an hour, because there are so many random things to look at & touch & collect on the way there....and then the quick play on the park on the way home
• endless cups of tea
• getting up ridiculously early with bubby/toddler but then realising you're up just in time to watch the sunrise together
• a sweet text from Chris during the day
• Ella dressing herself.....everything back to front or inside out.....but she's beaming with pride
• smiles
• a home cooked meal
• vegemite & cheese sandwiches eaten picnic style in the backyard for lunch

Oh....my list could go on & on! My point? There is so much fun, so much love & so much beauty found in the everyday! And as a Mother, I'm on a mission to not only see the magic, but enjoy it & savour it....because before I know it....this stage of life will be over....and we'll be onto the next!

"Life is what's happening to you, whilst you're too busy making other plans" John Lennon

Here's the YouTube video I was talking about....PLEASE {especially if you're a Mother} find 7minutes today to watch it!

Happy Friday All :))

Feature Interview with Melli's Designs

It's been a little while since I've done a feature interview on my blog {mainly due to disorganisation on my behalf!} But I'm breaking the dry spell today with a lovely chat with the gorgeous Mirela from Melli's Designs! Mirela is a Mummy, Wife, Blogger, Business Owner & I LOVE her work! It was such a pleasure to get to know her better through this interview!

Tell us a little about your business/job: Melli's Designs is all about creating  and designing Art for kids rooms, my artworks are made from 100% handmade products and are all custom hand designed.

Each art work is made to be Uniquely different and Original in many ways. I like the idea that each designs are never made to look identical, i believe each personalized gift should be as unique as the child,it makes it all that little bit more special.

Melli 's designs was created 2 years ago  and is my small home based business ,when i noticed i was doing a lot of paintings through mother's group and word of mouth, i got  myself thinking why don't i start  start my own business and show people what i can really create when i put my mind to it. It  has been a long time dream of  mine and loving every minute of it .

What/Who inspires you? Creative people whether they are Artists,Fashions designers or Interior designers....
Bloggers have a big part of my inspirations,i just love how there is so many beautiful and talented people out there.
My family inspire me everyday.

What do you love most about what you do? I love that i can create something from a blank canvas and create a piece that creates smiles.
I love that i get to meet lovely people that have similar interests than i do
 it makes my day when i get recognition from my work.
Most of all i love that i can have both of best worlds where i can work   from home and be with my boys at the same time.

What has been the highlight of this year so far?
opening up my own Made it store online and preparing for my very first stall market

Explain a 'normal' day in your life? Its as normal and busy as they get.....
wake up ..coffee.drop boys to school,coffee,emails,planing orders,coffee
spending some time with Lucas,post office runs,prepare dinner,pick up boys school,home-work,Dinner,Boys - bath-time,Boys bedtime..ME and hubbie time watching some TV,blog time and midnight MY bedtime. {wed afternoon,Thurs nights and Fri nights work in a men's clothing store.}

Your Favorite Quote/Motto: To accomplish great things,we must not only act,but also Dream,not only Plan,but also Believe

What are your goals for 'Melli's Designs', where do you see yourself in 5 years? Keep my Made.it store going and expanding new designs,open up my  store on Etsy,
but mostly my all time DREAM is having some of my artworks selling in a kids boutique  store one day 

Why do you blog & What do you blog about? There is three things  i love most apart from my family and that is PAINTING,INTERIOR DESIGN and anything BEAUTIFUL.
My blog is a mixture all the above and what inspires me the most.when i started blogging i wanted to have a place where i can display my designs and talk about my inspirations but it has become more than that its become my personal journal through my ART ..... with a little bit about me and my family mixed all on one!.


3 Things you are: Creative,Sensitive and Dreamer

3 Things you aren't: Loud,Messy, Sporty

Anything else you'd like to share with my readers:
Its never to late to be what you want to be

I recommend you all head over to Melli's Designs to check out her beautiful, custom made products! they would be the perfect Christmas gift :) You can join her FACEBOOK page here, read her BLOG here & shop at her MADEIT store here!

Have a great Thursday everyone! And thank-you Melli!