Tuesday 4 November 2008

New beginnings ...

So I have finally found a way of accessing blogger - hurray!!!! We most definitely can't get broadband where we are and although I have now signed up for dial-up it is most definitely not to be used for anything with pictures! I signed on to blogger the other day and sat waiting for 3 minutes and the dashboard still hadn't fully appeared. So I am currently sitting in a cafe that does the most amazing flat whites, these are similar to the English latte, and has a wifi connection.

So much has been going on and I've really wanted to keep a record of it. I realise that blogging has provided me with a fantastic way of recording our daily life and I've noticed that since I haven't been able to post I haven't taken that may photos - strange how something creeps up on you and you only realise how much when you don't have it anymore.

The girls are all well and truly settled in, in fact I have just dropped Maia of at her first kindy session this afternoon. A couple of days after arriving she asked me if there were schools in NZ and so we have found a lovely little kindy which she'll attend for 2 afternoons a week. Cassia seems to have grown up overnight since arriving here. The freedonm they both have is just amazing.

Big differences I noticed so far:

1 No cars parked on the roads - they all have a drive and/or garage!

2 The pavements and roads are really wide so the girls have freedom to walk on their own on the pavements (and there's also way fewer cars where we're living!)

3 The quiet - we have peace at last - just birdsong and the sound of surf (in fact we are wondering why we would want to move form this area but more of that later!)

4 The coffee is fantastic - there are a lot of coffee roasters in NZ and they roast the beans quite differently from Europe to give a much mellower taste but they make it stronger in the cafes - just the way I like it!

5 The big sky - the sky always seem bigger over here, even when the weather's not great!

6 The great outdoors - we've spent loads of time outside since arriving - in the garden, the park, the beach, eating etc, etc


Things I've missed so far:

1 The snow - what was that? I've been sent photos of the snow that came at the end of October and the girls would have loved it!

Is it bad just to have missed one thing?!!!!! We've not been gone long enough to miss anything else but I'm sure it will come. Now I need to catch up on everyone else's going's on!

PS Got some fanastic bargains to share but just need to get organised with the camera!

Thursday 30 October 2008

We're here ....

and safe and sound!! So a very quick post to let you all know that we're are all happily on firm ground again. I wouldn't say that we are all with it yet but no doubt that will come over the next few days! The flight, of course, was very, very long but the girls were wonderful. I think Cassia has developed a defence mechanism and every time the plane took off she fell asleep and stayed asleep - no complaints from me!

It's very surreal to be back here with both girls and to know that it's not just a holiday. The weather was freezing when we arrived and I hadn't packed any winter woollies but luckily the sun is out in full force today and I must go and get some sun block!

I'm posting this from the library because we have no internet access yet and we can't get broadband where we are - aaaaarrrrghhhhh what am I going to do? How am I going to keep up to date with all the lovely blogs I read? I see myself finding an internet cafe with good flat whites and no children - not so bad eh?!

Tuesday 21 October 2008

Almost on our way!

The good news is that we are able to fly on Wednesday - hurray!!!
So I am just left with the last minutes things still to do - and there seem to be ever such a lot of them. We are leaving our house tomorrow to stay at my parents so I feel a late night coming on tonight. I had my first real panic yesterday and went into overdrive - it served it's purpose though because I looked for my Rescue Remedy to take and couldn't find it. Better yesterday than on the day we leave! All the boxes but 2 are packed and all the necessary paperwork/admin is done, the suitcases are another matter entirely!!!! Although I have been running down food stocks there was the inevitable items left and they have just been collected by a lady for the local Salvation Army Soup Kitchen, my last chance to extol the virtues of freecycle!
I probably won't get a chance to post again now before we leave and we don't have broadband set up where we are headed so I don't know when I'll next add to this, or have the time to read everyone else's blogs - I'm going to have a lot of catching up to do.
Please keep popping back to see because I've really enjoyed doing this and receiving all your lovely comments. Au revoir! xxx

Saturday 18 October 2008

A little glimmer of creativity amidst all the chaos!

My creativity has faltered unerringly to a long slow stop - I am doing nada, nothing, zilch! Starting this blog back in July I was really in to my sewing and that then morphed into crochet. I think it was reading inspiring blogs and of course finding out about, and subsequently joining, Ravelry. (To begin with I thought it was just knitting so imagine my delight when I realised there was crochet too - I sent off my 'application' straight way and was gobsmacked to see that there were thousands of people in front of me waiting for their invite to be processed - this knitting/crochet community must be huge!) Since the beginning of September, once we'd actually booked flights, I've not done anything crafty (in fact my sewing machine is almost in NZ as we speak!). So this little show is the only thing I've been working on and was shown as WIP here. Earlier this year I sent a blanket to Cuddles, see here, and I made a pledge to myself to make a blanket to donate each season. So this is the blanket for autumn (not autmmn themed mind!).





It was very different this time because I knew I was making the blanket to donate. This really focussed my mind on the reasons for the need for donations and, of course, made me count my blessings over and over again. With the general frenetic pace of life and the ensuing chaos of an international move, I haven't always looked beyond the immediate picture and have sometimes got bogged down in what are, taken at base value, inconsequential things. Last night as I sat finishing the blanket, I thought about the girls having chicken pox, the chance that we may not fly out next week, the amount of work left to do if we do fly out next week and realised how lucky I am to have these so called 'problems' to contend with. Life is so precious it really is too short to worry about things beyond your control. Wishing you all lots of love and a very peaceful weekend. xxx

Friday 17 October 2008

Visitors to our home, the welcome and not so welcome ...

So we have new visitors in our house, the mouse below is a very welcome addition. A wonderful present for Cassia from her very talented Nannan! Thank you very much Mum it's fantastic.



The other visitors, chicken pox, are not so welcome! Well certainly not at this time - did you know that airlines do not let you fly with chicken pox?!!! I am suddenly very up to speed with everything associated with it. As a truly magnanimous gesture Maia has shared it with Cassia - when we went to put her pjs on after her 'birthday party' her whole trunk was covered in little red bumps! Now we're assuming its CP because it would surely be way too much of a coincidence for her to have something else, but it's presenting so differently from Maia that I just don't know!! Well here's hoping that they both get better soon because although we can get a medical note from our doctors (they are no longer contagious 5 days after the rash first appears) in an ideal world you wouldn't chose to fly a few days after a child had CP and as it stands today I couldn't, with a clear conscience, put them through a long-haul flight! Keep everything crossed for us!

Wednesday 15 October 2008

A very happy, if somewhat spotty, birthday ...

Cassia turned 2 today and if there's anything I've learnt since having children is that plans are made to be broken! A family birthday tea party was planned but her big sister has chicken pox so just the 4 of us had a lovely day instead.

A Sunday afternoon of family art produced this lovely banner


Hollering down 'her' phone whilst Daddy was on the phone to her uncle in NZ





What to do when plans are sent awry? Decorate biscuits!




After much playing, lots of jigsaws and some art the birthday girl slept soundly - 3 hours later than normal naptime - and then only for 20 minutes!



Birthday crowns made earlier in the day




The birthday cake! Now how much guilt did I feel that Cassia didn't have a homemade birthday cake?!!! We'd been up during the night with Maia for the previous few nights, most of the baking things are packed and I decided to take the easy way out - much better for me so why did I feel so bad?!! I couldn't leave it totally shop bought so Maia and I made it into a caterpillar.




Making her birthday wishes





Shop bought or handmade? It certainly looks like Cassia enjoyed it to me!



Sunday 12 October 2008

Today ...

I've just found this whilst packing and thought I'd share. I'm not sure where I got it from, probably Parents Centre shortly after Maia's birth.

TODAY

Today I left some dishes dirty
The bed got made around two thirty
The nappies soaked a little longer
The odour grew a little stronger
The crumbs I spilled the day before
Where staring at me from the floor
The dirt streaks on the window panes
Will still be there next time it rains.

"For shame, O lazy one" you say
And "Just what did you do today?"

I nursed a baby while she slept
I held a toddler while he wept
I played a game of hide and seek
I squeezed a toy so it would squeak
I pushed a swing, I sang a song
I taught a child what's right and wrong
What did I do this whole day through?
Not much that shows, I guess it's true.

Unless you think that what I've done
Might be important to someone
With bright green eyes and golden hair
If that is true, I 've done my share.

Saturday 11 October 2008

Autmnal colours ....

Of course there are the wonderful leaves ...




and then I found some in some fabric I was packing ...

These are a pair of curtains made up in a William Morris print which have been hanging in my wardrobe for a year since I bought them at a Jumble Sale. I had been awaiting inspiration, and was secretly a little afraid of cutting into them and then wishing I hadn't, but they are now packed away so will probably have to wait another year, or two, before they are given new life!

Not sure of the provenance of this fabric, but again a pair of curtains found at a Jumble Sale.

Now these are another matter entirely. I do not want to cut them up I want to use them and would plan a room around them! I don't usually go for fabrics like this when making curtains but there's something about them .... I don't think the photo does it justice but they are a beautiful rich green with the floral pattern picked out in white, pink and gold - in fact they don't sound great when described either. We'll have to wait and see where they eventually end up!

Thursday 9 October 2008

Baking recipe

I didn't have time to post the recipe for the rock cakes I made on Saturday so here goes:


8oz plain flour
1/2 level tsp salt
2 level tsp baking powder
2 1/2oz butter
2 1/2oz sugar
4oz dried fruit (I just used sultanas)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (you could use more if you like it)
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
  • Sieve flour, salt and baking powder together
  • Rub butter into flour until mixture resembles breadcrumbs (I put mine in a processor and it works just fine)
  • Stir in sugar, fruit and nutmeg
  • Beat egg and milk and add to flour mixture
  • Mix well with a fork, the mixture should be stiff but not too sticky
  • Divide mixture into 12 and place on greased baking tray
  • Bake at 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes



These were mine - have to admit they were done a little much, quite a common occurrence when you are busy with little ones and forget the baking! Doesn't look like anyone was complaining though!


The white container held chocolate and cinnamon butter which went on the fruit and nut loaf - as you can see someone wiped their finger around the dish - yes it was that nice!

Sunday 5 October 2008

Baking and memories ...

We had my sister-in-law and her children around for afternoon tea today which is always greeted with great excitement from Maia and lots of baking from me! I wouldn't usually condone writing in books but my recipe books are an exception. It's nice to make notes on how a recipe went or if you made any variations and also the date you made it and if it was something special.


The first thing I baked yesterday was from my trusty Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook - rock cakes. The note by the side reminded me that I had first made it for friends in Tauranga after their second child was born. Just seeing the few notations bought back the whole day and the celebration of the occasion.


The next recipe also bought back huge memories but of a very different kind. When we were in New Zealand last year overseeing the sale of our house I made a bacon and apple loaf to take for morning tea at Pop's - Craig's grandfather's. He lived in Waihi and always used to bake the most amazing things himslef but at 94 we thought we'd take the food! It was also the first time he would meet Cassia. I was always overwhelmed when I thought about it because I never knew any of my grandafathers and yet my girls had a great-grandfather. He loved the loaf which was a great compliment and he thought the girls were amazing! Sadly that was the last time we saw him. Shortly after we returned to UK he headed up to Auckland to a home and quickly deteriorated. He turned 95 on Boxing Day and slipped away the next day. And with him went a whole part of the pioneering spirit of NZ - but that's a story that could fill a whole blog in itself! My life was immeasurably enriched by knowing this man and I am in awe to think that his blood is running through my children - if they do a quarter of what he did in his long life they will have done well.
Pop (94!) and Cassia (6 months), Waihi, April 2007

Pop (93) and Maia (17 months), Waihi RSA, February 2006

Rest in peace Pop - we love you and miss you terribly. xxx

Saturday 4 October 2008

The good, the bad and the ugly ...

The good - I realised that I had never shown this although it was finished in July! I first blogged about it here and said I needed to make some contrasting tops and bottoms. Well here's one finished and as for the other? Well Cassia just wears the floral dress on its own!

The bad - I started this tanktop all the way back here and finally decided to do the front the other night. I was just going to rejoin the yarn to finish the last shoulder and held it against the back. Aaaaarrrghhhh I had done it wrong - all the way back to the shaping of the armhole! I guess I will unpick it one day but until then it will sit languishing in my knitting bag!

The ugly - I thought I'd make something for Cassia a while back and decided on a named wall hanging. So I was happy with the fabric square, I was also happy once I'd sewn on the letters of her name and then it all went down hill. I didn't really have the right material for the backing or binding but just wanted to get it finished so 'made do'. Why did I do it? I was working on it knowing that I wouldn't like the result but continued anyway. It's all out of square, the binding was atrocious and it's been stuck under a pile of fabric since it was finished! Lessons to be learnt - 1) be patient 2) sometimes you can make do and somtimes you just can't!


Thursday 2 October 2008

3 weeks to go!!!! And a plea for help ...

It's now only 3 weeks until we head off to NZ!!!! How do I feel? Excited? Yes. Nervous? Yes. Totally overwhelemd by everything that's left to do? Absolutely!


One or other of the girls has been sick these last couple of weeks and then I got it at the beginning of the week which didn't bode well for the packing. If I could I would have rested but decided to just do a little each day and have early nights and I seem to be OK. The latest thing for me to think is that there's chickenpox at pre-school - aaarghhhhh! Neither Maia or Cassia has had it and I remember Maia mentioning that she was playing with Ellie last week - oh and isn't Ellie one of the girls who has got it! However, there's no point worrying because there's nothing I can do. In the past Maia has been playing with people twice who have then developed chickpox and she didn't catch it either time - so here's hoping.


Cassia is too young to understand what's happening but Maia isn't - I don't know if this is good or bad! She knows we're going to NZ but thinks it's for a month (not that she has a real concept of time) and she is very exicted. She remembers when we were there last year and people and places. She also really likes packing! I guess it's what you grow up with but she gets very excited when the packing boxes come out and loves packing and unpacking - you can imagine how helpful she is! The downside is that I know her little mind is doing overtime. When we sold the car last week she asked when we were getting it back. When I explained that we weren't she then said that dad was selling his so what car would we have when we got back. She also really wants certain people to come with us and has got really upset a couple of times recently when I've told her that they are not coming with us. I guess we'll just take things as they come and hopefully 'she'll be right'!


Everything is now booked - we're flying straight through! We've done this route before but did think we'd stop over this time. However, when we really thought about it it comes down to the same thing - you stop over, you go to the hotel and one of the girls doesn't sleep so you end up awake, grumpy and tired in a hotel when you could be awake, grumpy and tired but getting closer to your destination! We're going to have one night in Auckland before getting a domestic down to Wellington. Now this is where I ask you girls for some help (and I am notoriously bad at asking for help but thought what they hell!). When we first arrive we're going to be based at Waitarere Beach (about 1 /1/2hr north of Wellington) and just wondered if anyone who reads this happens to be in the area? Or if anyone knows anyone in the area? It's the area that Craig grew up in but has been away for a long time and I know no-one. I just thought if there was someone who had young children then I would love to have someone to catch up for coffee with and for the girls to have someone to play with occassionally. So there you go that's my plea for help!

Do you think the girls could go like this?!!!!!

Into the house ...

These beautiful little creatures arrived at our house last week. They came from the talented Becky over at different-choices and were a swap for some crochet hearts. Very many thanks - this is the only time that they have all been together since they arrived because the girls love them!



A jar of apple jelly. Whilst we were at my mum's she made this and the colour is beautiful. They were very small, very red apples which produced this. When you ate them the red colour bled into the flesh hence the vivid colour of the jelly. Thanks Mum!


Some pretty old hankies from my lovley aunty A. Thank you!




Now I know I should be clearing out because of the move, and honestly I am, but a few more things have sneaked in via the car boots!

And the best thing I've found recently? A Buzzy Bee for 50p - to you Kiwis that's about $1.30 - which is an absolute bargain since they cost $30 new! We were given one when Maia was born and the two girls fight over him so when I saw this I just had to get it - and at that price I had a smile from ear to ear!

Wednesday 1 October 2008

Today has been full of ...



lots of these,



lots of these,



and, unfortunately, lots of this!!

Tuesday 30 September 2008

Aaaaarggghh .... I've now got 'it'!

So Maia had 'it' first and she passed 'it' onto Cassia who has had 'it' for 10 days and now I've got 'it'. What is 'it'? A horrible, snotty, achy cold! I had woken up with a sore throats every day last week but managed to keep it at bay but it's now here in full on strength. We're heading off on the big bird 3 weeks tomorrow and there's still soooooooo much to do. Any tips for getting rid of it quickly?!!!!!!

Monday 29 September 2008

A weekend of treasure hunting ...


This was the first weekend for a while that I have been actively seeking treasures! On Saturday morning there was a car boot, in the afternoon a jumble sale and on Sunday morning another car boot.


This item alone was worth the trip on Saturday:


I was loaned this book but the guy who helped us do the garden earlier this year - and it's great! I had just been thinking about it again on Friday night and thought I should look on ebay and amazon to see if I could get a copy and there it was on Saturday morning!!!! The lady was selling 3 books for a pound and so it cost the grand sum of 33p!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not only do I now have a copy but I got it at such a good price!

Nothing else to show at the moment because I left my bag at my mum's!

Saturday 27 September 2008

Things about me meme ...

I was tagged a while back by the lovely Gabes over at SweetP Knits for a random things about me meme. So here it is!

Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.

1. I have been somewhere on this earth where no-one else has ever been (probably!). When I was 17 I went on an expedition to Iceland. The main aim of the expedition was to map the lava tubes for the Icelandic government and carry out some botanical studies in the region. Lava tubes are underground hollows/tunnels caused after a volcanic eruption when the surface of the land cools in contact with the air but the lave is still running underneath. So one day 3 of us went to do some plotting in the most fascinating underground environment. We crawled through spaces that just took our body width and found caverns and caves - awesome! Although when I think about it now I don't think I could do it!

2. I hate celery!!!! We went to an ante-natal get-together when Maia was about 15 months and they had celery sticks there. She found them and thought they were great. Luckily for me the dads were at that one too so that Craig could pick her up and put her in the car - when I tried I really gagged and couldn't do it!

3. I really want to be a 'surf chick', although I'm not sure that's the word now that I'm a mother heading to 40! When I headed to NZ to see Craig before we got married I was convinced I was going to become a surfer. He has surfed since his teens and I thought he could teach me. How wrong could a girl be?!! I first paddled out on his board at Pekapeka and caught a wave in and so had the bug and bought my own 2nd hand board. I had fun learning in the shallows at Lyall Bay and could paddle out and catch the waves but couldn't get up. Craig would be with me for all of 5 minutes before spotting sets out back and having to head off! I'd still love to do it but would probably now settle for a surf school and huge long board!

4. Although Craig and I travelled before we met we have never travelled together - something that we'll have to rectify in the future.

5. Not including when I've been travelling, I have lived in 28 different houses! I have physically moved more than this because I/we have lived in certain places more than once! So another international move is just another feather in my cap!

6. I would really like to be able to play the guitar.

Now as I'm pretty new to this I don't really know 6 people to pass this on to. So if you read this and think you'd like a go then please do - and let me now your entry is up.

Thursday 25 September 2008

A seasonal swap...

Well finally I have done it! It was supposed to be done and sent so that the recipient could open it on Sunday but with children being ill I fell way behind in things. The swap was set up on the GP Forum as a seasonal table swap and I had a few ideas going round in my head. When it came to executing a couple didn't work so what S is getting is a lavender filled heart with a little pocket for all the autumnal goodies. She is a very patient, understanding lady - thank you!

Wednesday 24 September 2008

What mothers do ......

.... especially when it looks like nothing!

This is the title of a great book I borrowed from my LLL meeting library (click here to see book) and also what I've been upto the last few days! Since having two children I've found that sickness seems to linger - one gets it, the other gets, one gets a relapse etc, etc and we all go stir crazy!


So today, whilst it may have seemed to me like I was doing nothing, I was in fact:

  • making playdough flowers
  • making a hospital from playdough - and a boat to get the patients to the hospital!
  • doing jigsaws over and over again
  • making friends with a spider, who Cassia called Toad and despearately wanted on her hand - this actually took over half an hour!
  • reading, reading, reading lots of books to Cassia
  • drawing, gluing and sticking
  • making and eating food
amongst all the other day to day things us mothers do!


And we sold a car. It was due a service this morning and then we got the news that the repairs were going to be over a thousand pounds - ouch!!!!! So we sold it and got an OK price for it. Now all that's left to do is sell another one, rent out the house, sort, organise and pack and then get on that plane to NZ!


Oh we also found these:

Vintage Rupert the Bear snap cards - aren't they just awesome? And great to see a golliwog!

Tuesday 23 September 2008

An accident ...

On Sunday I opened my second package from Jem, which was part of the seasonal table swap on the GP Forum. In it was a beautiful handmade painted red leaf - many thanks Jem. Now I have never had a seasonal table as such before, things are just usually strewn all around the house! So this was the motivation I needed to make a specific place for all our bits and bobs, however with a sick little one I knew it would have to wait so I placed the leaf well out of reach of little hands in a safe place. It was therefore with some dismay that when I went to make lunch yesterday I saw that the leaf was broken ......... and it was Craig who had done it! I am so sorry Jem - but I am going to stick it back together and it will have pride of place on the seasonal table!



A big heart ...

Just remembered this little snippet.
On the morning of Maia's birthday party my sister rang to say that her daughter was not very well and wouldn't be able to come to the party that afternoon. When I got off the phone I explained the situation to Maia and immediately she said "Mummy we must save some cake for C when we're at the party so that Aunty S can take it back for her when she's better enough to eat it"!! She really is turning into a lovely generous and considerate little girl - apart from when she's arguing with Cassia of course :)

Sunday 21 September 2008

And the winner is ...

Me actually - look at what arrived in the post yesterday!

The note reads:
PLEASE OPEN ME ASAP! I WAS MADE ON TUESDAY NIGHT AND I AM FREEZABLE.
Things like this never make it to the freezer in our house because they are always eaten way too quickly (and Jem if you're thinking that you posted more than this - the others are already in our tummies and they are delicious!!!!). This were sent by a lovely lady, Jem, from GP Forum for our seasonal swap - the other pressie is not to be opened until tomorrow. Big thanks to you Jem!
The question when it came to making the draw was not "Where's a hat?"

but more like "Which hat will we use?"

Maia pulling the name out of the hat and the winner is ...................... Julie! And she really was meant to win because Maia decided to draw from the hat at least half a dozen times and it was Julie she pulled each time! Let me know whether you'd like the crochet heart or the beanie!
And yes that is a swimming costume Maia has on - she must know she's heading to warmer climes soon, although this week has been amazing. Unfortunately for me I have had two very sick little girls. Maia is almost better but Cassia is still at the incredibly irritable and clingy stage with gunky nose, eyes and bum! The best thing about breastfeeding a sick toddler? Instant silence for the time they are at the breast. The worst thing? Snot absolutely everywhere!

Wednesday 17 September 2008

A big move in the offing ...

It's already been a week since I posted a photo of packing boxes and I've not got back to it since - where does the time go?! For those of you who don't already know we're heading back to NZ. The whys, hows and wherefores are not all worked out yet but the flights were booked yesterday - so we've at least got one definite!

To cut a very long story short we have decided to rent out our house in the UK and head back to NZ - whether it's 'for good' or not we don't yet know. Although what is 'for good' these days? Permanent doesn't seem to feature in our family dynamics - the longest Craig and I have been in one place since we met is about 18 months (and that's not all in the same house!). We have been called eternal gypsies, foolish, brave and much more by various people over the years and so it's not that much of a surprise to people that we are once again uprooting and moving back to the other side of the world! Of course one thing that is different now is that we have two children so they must be considered and it also sharply increases the price of any travel we do (this time they'll both be over 2 so have to pay 75% of adult fare - ouch!!!!!!!). I thought by the very fact of having children we would become rooted but 4 years later we're still not.

Lots of things have happened over the last 2 1/2 years, which aren't really suitable for public broadcast, but which mean that I have to focus on my immediate family - Craig, Maia and Cassia. And the decision has been made to return - an extremely hard one to make in some respects but we think it is the right one. However, we are not going with all guns blazing - we're going to rent out the house here and put our things into storage (those same things that were only shipped back from NZ last year!) and take some time to visit a couple of places we've dreamed about. It would, of course, be very easy to head straight back to Tauranga and our friends there (who I have missed dearly whilst in the UK) but we're after 'the dream' and so are heading off on our own modern quest to find it. Lots of places to visit, lots of questions to be anwered but I'm sure we're going to have lots of fun in the process along with some tears, heartache and frustrations!
No doubt I'll be keeping you posted - the whole nature of this blog will change for a little while because I don't see me having much time to be very crafty for the next 5 weeks with everything that needs sorting, packing and organising! Yep, 5 weeks until we go - so we'll make the end of spring in Aotearoa and are hoping for a lovely summer in which to explore the land of the long white cloud!

Party photos ...




Iced and ready to go - now I could have sworn there were two dozen last night!!!!!




Looking pretty on a stand - and they tasted pretty good too!




The birthday cake - yep that tasted quite good too! Along with the scones and tarte tartin that my mum made!





Vintage table cloth picked up at carboot for 10p




All laid up and ready for the guests




The birthday girl - in a dress that I had when I was little - she picked it as her 'party dress' -
of course I was very happy about that!

The birthday girl's little sister with felt all over her face - she must have been practising her moko whilst watching the All Blacks!

Monday 15 September 2008

A little maths ...

Friend's 3rd birthday party
+
9th anniversary
+
Maia's 4th birthday
+
first week back at pre-school for Maia
+
sorting and packing at our house
+
biopsy results
+
planning overseas trip
+
planning 4th birthday party
+
actual birthday party
=
one very, very tired mama!
PS remember there's a give-away on - click here and be sure to leave your comments!

Saturday 13 September 2008

Birthday preparations

Tomorrow's the day! Thank goodness I changed my mind at the beginning of the week as to what we were going to do for Maia's birthday party. It is currently heaving it down so I think it'll all be inside tomorrow - unfortunately for Maia, because she loves to play cricket with all of her cuzzies! Can you believe for her 2nd birthday we were all outside and in a swimming pool?! We headed over to my mum and dad's this afternoon and got most of the things organised so that they'll be no mad panic tomorrow (and of course not forgetting the finale of the Bledisloe is at 10.30am our time!).

I have now made 52 cupcakes in 5 days - waaaay too many!


The actual birthday cake is the one pictured above - an old family favourite. My brother and I always used to ask for this (he's going to be 40 and I'm 36) and I made it for Maia last year. When we started talking about this year's birthday she said straight away that she wanted a clock cake - a tradition continues! The recipe book is a copy of an old Hamlyn one that my mum had and I learnt to cook things out of when I was growing up. One Easter I went to the Book-a-rama in Tauranga and found the exact same book for $2 - I think the ladies were somewhat nonplussed at how happy it made me but hey! I've since found out that my sister has found a copy too so it's a real family book.

Just put the cake in the oven so all that's left to do tomorrow is the icing and decorating the cupcakes - and the girl's are 'helping' with that! It's strange for me to feel so calm and to be ahead of the game - fingers crossed there's no big hiccups tomorrow!