Green Tip # 2 - Beautiful Bi-carb

This is a really useful tip given to me by Stacey. Now, my armpits are pretty pongy but this is the BEST and cheapest deodorant ever: it's bi-carb (or baking soda). All you have to do is wipe a little bit over your armpits. They can be damp or dry but I've found damp works best. I put mine into an old spice sprinkling jar (not "Old Spice" - eek!) to make it even easier. Then, if you want, you can add your favourite scent over the top (mine is rose geranium). You will greatly reduce your throwaway packaging and there'll be no more nasty chemicals going on your pits (and into your body). This deodorant is SO effective I personally guarantee you will not have any B.O. at all. If you don't believe me, you can smell my armpits!

And just another of the many great uses for bi-carb is a remedy to stop the sting of GREEN ANT bites - those little buggers that spoil our summer! When your little - or big - one screams, you run to the kitchen and make a quick paste out of a spoonful of bi-carb and a few drops of water, then coat the bite area with it. You'll be so happy with the results! I'm not sure exactly how it works, but I believe it neutralises the acid in the ant's bite. Don't take my word for it, check out Janine's post here. xx

Big-Eyed Cookies

Yum, cookies!

Well, maybe not this one. Ouch.

Little Brooches

Hey Jess, I think I have worked out how to make rosettes. What do you reckon? Is this what you meant?

This is my latest project to work on during car trips. (While Matt is driving, naturally.) I have always suffered from car sickness, but surprisingly craft in the car doesn't upset me - yippee! The drive up the Bruce Highway is sooo much less boring now. These little rosettes are a great way to use up scraps. I made some others, but they just ended up looking like "First Prize" at an equestrian event; I think these are okay though. Just let me know if I look like a horse.

Green Tip #3

Heating generally takes a LOT of electricity. The iron, kettle, toaster, hair straightener, heater etc are all culprits. One little green tip for us all is to only fill the kettle up with enough water for your needs - if you're just making one cup of tea, then only fill it to the minimum. Easy! And don't iron your undies. xx

Escaping the Madness

It is just such a pleasure to get out of the house in the evening for a peaceful dinner by the bay.

I never used to quite understand when people talked about "arsenic hour" until Kees stopped having naps. Now I understand. It starts getting crazy at 4pm (usually on the dot) and doesn't really stop until, with a sigh and a "Yes!" we limp out of the kids' bedrooms and collapse on the couch. With a tub of chocolate soy ice-cream. Oh yeah, that's after we clean up the kitchen, the toys, the laundry....

Taking our dinner to the park just makes everyone happy. I really appreciate these peaceful moments in the breeze, watching the sunset with my cuties, instead of barking out orders and rushing around like a chook with its head chopped off. Even though I love our home, I sometimes feel like everywhere I look there are angles, furniture, colours, mess, things that need to be done and still haven't been done and maybe won't be done for another year!! And so much noise! Then, when we go to the park...it's quiet, the kids can run and swing and play in the sand, and there's only the sky above us and the water in front of us. Everything slows down, and we can finally... exhale. ;0)

Jimmy's Special Tree

On the weekend, we finally planted Jimmy's placenta with an avocado tree.

What a dear, dear, lovely, bonny little fellow he is. I LOVE HIS HAIR! It's like a fluffy dandelion.



We are so lucky to have him.

May Jimmy and his tree have a long, happy and fruitful life!

Monster Mash

So, this is what's on our fridge at the moment, not that monsters are a new fad around here.
I do love this many-eyed one,

but this monster, with his huge roar, is my favourite.

Here is Kees in his monster t-shirt, which suits his personality very well.

Monsters are really fun to sew and pretty hard to get wrong: the wonkier you make them, the better!

Dressing Up

I wonder how much longer Kees will enjoy this for?

Green Tip #1

For the love of the Earth, I have decided to add a few Green Tips here on my blog, just in case someone feels like making any little positive changes to their lives.

So, Green Tip #1 is: re-use your old plastic bread bags for picking up dog poo. Or any other rubbish. We used to use them for household rubbish; even though they may seem too small, at least it means you end up bringing your rubbish out more often and there is less likelihood of a smelly bin or - yeuucchh - maggots.

I Love Libraries!

I would like to open with a quote in praise of libraries, by a man called Dan Riley. He says, "...libraries speak of a culture's respect for its past, its faith in its future, and its dedication to seeking truth." He also talks about the generosity inherent in the building of libraries for all people.

I share his love of libraries and also marvel at the generosity of such a wonderful resource. How lucky are we?

I absolutely LOVE children's books, especially the ones with the kind of illustrations that transport you to another world and are so crucial to the development of little imaginations.
When we stagger out the door I can hardly carry all those books I just couldn't resist.

We love the library .... even if one of the highlights is wrestling in the cushions.

PS: I am always interested in your recommended reads! What great books have you read lately? I highly recommend "Year of Wonders", a novel by Geraldine Brooks, and, of course, "The Number One Ladies' Detective Agency" series by Alexander McCall-Smith.

Odd

I just thought this was kind of quirky and wanted to share it.

Kids sure are odd.

Avatar - My Talented Brother

I am here to openly boast about the awesome talents of my younger brother Dave. He was Animation Supervisor for Avatar!!! How cool is that? We finally got to see the movie after persuading Mum and Dad to babysit for three hours and we absolutely loved it. It really was truly amazing! We even both dreamt about it that night. Dave, you did the most wonderful job - a million congratulations!

If you go see it, look for his name - David Clayton - in the credits under Weta Digital 3D Animation (I think). We're all very proud. :0)

A Sandy Sandpit!

Ages ago, I asked around for some ideas for quiet play, and a sand pit was a great suggestion. So, having a handy builder in our family, we set to work. I think the chooks thought it was a cool idea, too.

Of course it is all about the process!


With a bit of teamwork, it was all ready, and has been a popular fixture around here ever since. Apart from Kees almost chopping off Isabel's finger with a hoe, it has been a peaceful and relaxing source of creative play for everyone. Thanks, Matt!

Welcome to Our Home!

I had been searching the op shops for a good book basket to try to tidy the loving sprawl of books around the loungeroom, and I finally happened upon this one. It was pretty manky with a gross dirty plastic lining with gingham underneath. I cut out the lining, but before chucking it in the bin....thought it just might be salvageable....

and after a bit of delectable afternoon time as the kids napped, which I relished with much glee and just a teensy tinge of guilt, ie, wasn't washing up or cooking dinner...

and some very diligent sandplay supervision...

and the addition of some jaunty spotted ribbon...

"Welcome" to our home!

I am feeling good about reusing that "awful" lining; I think I would have been quite handy in the Depression. Could've made Matt some undies out of it. ;0)


People sometimes ask me how I find the time to do these things. Really I love it, so I make time for it, but also, it is amazing what you can get done if you just do a tiny bit here and there: thread the sewing maching here, find a scrap of fabric there, iron interfacing here, do a bit of handsewing there. At first it can seem like a project is insurmountable - and I've had a couple on the go for years - but, if you just keep at it a little bit at a time, guess what? You will finish it! And you know what else? It's fun anyway, so who cares? The washing up, however, may just be piling up on the sink... now that's what I call insurmountable. xx

Kees Starts Kindy

It was Kees' second day at kindy today.

And he loved it!

Even though, last night, when I casually said, "You've got kindy tomorrow", he shot me a What-you-talkin'-about-Willis look and asked disbelievingly: "What did you say?" followed by moaning, "Owwww, I don't WANT to go to kindy!" and having a few little tanties this morning.


When he finished this afternoon, he came outside beaming and said, "Mummy, I didn't even miss you at all!" which I was very pleased to hear. Last week, on his first day, he came out and said, "Mummy, I missed you so so much! I was so sad of you!"

But we missed him!