Bless the flowers and the weeds, my birds and bees

I have a friend with a severe allergy to bees.... So extreme that the system deemed it necessary for her to be desensitised... After some initial tests she was booked in to spend two days at hospital while the process was started - one that would go on for years....

I saw this little guy on Pinterest a few weeks ago and alarm bells  ambulance sirens went off in my head :)

A few days later he was  ready to go and fulfil his duties as a faithful friend and friendly face throughout this process, without the nasty side-effects his living counterparts : )

Ironically the system has now decided that although extremely severe, Cat's allergy isn't severe enough to have the treatment... This little guy still went to live with her and will hopefully continue to be the friendliest bee she knows : )

Have a great weekend everyone!
L x

Hot Wax

A few people have posted about creating melted crayon art lately... and that proved to be just the motivation needed to finally do this with my girls : )

We got ourselves some canvasses from the $2 shop and crayons too.  We stuck ours to the canvas using craft glue.  In retrospect I would have mounted the crayons a little higher possibly or perhaps used a larger canvas to allow more room for the "rivers of wax".

And then we got stuck in with the hairdryer...  it took a while but the hands on approach helped the waiting!

Tada! Two proud girls looking forward to showing Daddy what they made : )

Now on display on their bedroom wall : )

Will have to start thinking about what to make next!
L x

More of the same, same

Today:
We're eating:  Pikelets for lunch
We're taking:  Temperatures for feverish girls
We're making:  Lists for a busy week
We're listening to:  The XX

Last week:
Tuesday:  Dancing at MM
Wednesday:  Enjoying regular Wednesday mornings with girls and friends :)
Thursday:  Lemon Meringue Pie - seriously yum, melting crayons
Friday:  Watching my big girls at Ballet again - one in Pink and one in Orange...
Saturday:  Coffee and Lunch out with a friend
Sunday:  Playing with my new toy ; )

I'll probably be doing a couple of reveals this week and next...  and not because I am trying to create suspense over these goodies... no simply because they are gifts and I'll finally get to hand them over!

Have a great week everyone!
L x

Today

Today:
We've Danced - At our new Tuesday Morning Hangout - Mainly Music
We're Baking - Fresh Bread and Chocolate Fudge Cake
We're Listening to - Imagine Dragons

Last Week:
Monday: Watching dancing giggling girls amuse themselves and me
Tuesday:  Heidi recalling with crystal clarity and singing songs in the afternoon that she'd heard once only earlier that morning at Mainly Music.  Amazing what they take in and remember.
Wednesday:  Crafting with friends and children :)
Thursday:  A great day on many levels that restored a little bit of hope.
Friday:  Watching my two big girls at their first Ballet Class.
Saturday:  A wonderful quiet and green drive out to Kumeu on my own.
Sunday:  A quick lie down resulting in a nana nap...
Monday:   Wonderful early morning snuggles with H before we Had to get up

On another note, I have been pottering away at various projects and will be able to reveal some in the next few weeks.  Looking forward to sharing it with you lovely folks :)
L xx

Quick Monday Catchup

Hi Lovelies,
Hope you've all had the bestest weekend and the week ahead is Awesome!

Here are my Highlights from the last wee while:

Friday:  After a frantic day sitting down with a cuppa
Saturday:  Cuddling a friend's newborn baby - bliss
Sunday:  A happy Father's day
Monday:  The girls singing the chorus from "Feel Inside (and stuff like that)" at the top of their lungs
Tuesday:  Guinea Pig babies!
Wednesday:  A perfect morning spent with a friend
Thursday:  The smell of bread baking in the oven...
Friday:  Tying Anya's hair into a ponytail the elastic breaks... Me: Oh no, you must be joking, not again...  Anya: No Mummy I'm not joking, did the hair-tie make a funny joke?
Saturday: 3 Little Girls relishing ice-cream for morning tea at a local cafe.
Sunday: Ecstatic giggles from two little girls as baby guinea pigs scurried up and tickled/buried in their necks :)

Now I'm off to keep tackling the list of jobs that's as long as my arm... blah.  But currently I have two dancing girls beside me giggling and laughing and having the greatest time thinking they are just the cutest and most amazing performers... I might just have to watch them for a while :)

Happy Monday!
L xx

Babies!!!

Not sure if I mentioned previously... but we have two guinea pigs... and a dog and a cat... yes I know not too dissimilar from a farm really!  And all our pets, along with our human children were all of the female variety... or so we thought!

 Heidi was given these two Guinea Pigs for her 3rd birthday by a very dear friend.  They were both supposed to be girls... She named them after herself and for a number of weeks happiness reigned in their cage.  Until we discovered that one of them, H, seemed to be getting attacked by the other one, T...

Daddy H

So off to the vet to have poor H checked out and to make sure it wasn't something else and to find out what was going on and what we could do...  Mr Vet said well seeing as they're both girls going into puberty they're trying to assert dominance and become leader of their little pack.  Overall though little H looked good and healthy and... oh hang on... H is not a she... he's a he...  which means he's probably a rowdy little guy and T has had enough of his advances and is trying to tell him she has a headache!!

One of the girls was devastated that it wasn't a girl any more until we announced that if you have a Mummy and a Daddy of something you can generally count on babies somewhere along the line... and of course Heidi would not change the name to something a bit more boyish but that's ok.  We all like being special : )  Needless to say my husband was happy he wasn't completely outnumbered anymore : )

Mummy T and kids

Soooo, over the weeks mummy T's tummy grew and grew and grew...  it was truly something to behold that massive tummy on this little critter...  After a brief outing Tuesday morning we got home and whilst doing some chores observed that little daddy H was making some extreme advances toward mummy T whilst they were having morning tea...  I then noticed too that she was looking a bit slimmer than earlier in the morning too....  Mmmm I wonder....

YES!!!  3 beautiful little babies were huddling in their little house together waiting for mum to get back!  One looks just like daddy, the other just like mummy and #3 completely different from both!!  And they are tiny and gorgeous and just adorable!

Sister, Brother, Sister - all 3 easily fit into the palm of my hand

There has been huge excitement in the house and we are loving cuddling our new babies.  Just amazing seeing how these little things have arrived basically ready for life and how their mummy instinctively knew how to birth them and now how to look after them.  Yes - I absolutely love this stuff!

I'll stop going on about it now and hope I didn't bore you to death with my guinea piglet story... : )
Did I mention how cute they are?

Happy Friday everyone!
L xx

Linking up here

Bombed with Love

I've been meaning to write this post for aaaaages...  but back in July I was "Love-Bombed"!

I'm a mum of 3 girls - ages 4.5, 3 and almost 1.5 now.  They are busy and adorable and light up my life.  In addition to running the household and all that it entails, I work most evenings once the girls are in bed and over the weekends.  Like most mum's I am always exhausted and have little time for little else : )  In July my husband was away on work for 3 weeks (and unfortunately over my birthday), and on the back of feeling quite lonely and friends/people not showing when they said they would, among a raft of other "issues" ... this parcel arrived.   Someone was thinking of us and sending us love and kindness and would have come to keep us company if they could...  what a wonderful message to receive!

Thank you to whomever nominated me and to all the wonderful people who contributed toward it.  This is what I felt and said about it at the time:
Hi Ladies,Thank you one and all for the wonderful parcel we received this morning. My girls and I enjoyed opening it and they were thrilled with the items in it! I really struggle with receiving gifts - I am definitely a giver! - and don't feel at all deserving of anything knowing the struggles, worries and fears all the other nominations and recipients have/are going through. So thank you - more than anything it is nice to know that someone is thinking of me and believe we're worth it. Big big hugs to you all - be blessed xxx  

I have been an active member of the Sisterhood for a number of months now and absolutely love the it.  I like to operate in the background though and to remain anonymous.  The ability to bestow kindness and send happy thoughts, love and prayers to wonderful women all around the country is phenomenal and fantastic.

I strongly believe that no matter what our own struggles are - people around us are all dealing with their own difficulties too.  A warm smile, a friendly hello, a jar of biscuits or a love bomb are ways of showing that they're not alone.  But more than that tolerance and kindness, patience, love and understanding are all we need to show, to make a positive difference to someone's day.

Lots of Love, Hugs and Blessings to You All
L xx