My Love is

Bogged.....

2012-01-16T09:25:00.000+11:00

It's true lately I have felt bogged........ weighed down by things that are insignificant and need to be shrugged off/pushed to the side. I sincerely do not want to be this girl..... the one that gives weight to petty, mindless nasties and helps them grow and fester into something that takes time and attention away from the beauty in life.

So I breath, move, fill my day with things I love and focus on the beauty. Hoping to dissolve that ugly stone that has grown beneath my surface. A stone filled with the hurtful, mindless words and thoughts of others. Attempting to shift focus from them back onto the wonderful-ness that is our everyday life.

Somedays I stumble on something that shifts my focus so much that my heart aches when I think "OMG! Life is short, precious and beautiful! There is beauty everywhere everyday. Why can these people in my life not see..... why do they focus there lives with such a grey light when there is colour and opportunity for happiness everywhere?"

Today I share this beautiful tribute to love, support and family......

xxAbby

2012

2011-12-31T23:08:00.000+11:00

Of all the things that 2012 has to offer the one we are most excited about is this......

Welcoming this sweet little one into our world and turning our family from 5 to 6!

Making Pretty

2011-12-26T21:57:00.000+11:00

Since moving into our new space I have been struck with renovators/decorating block. I have a blurry vision of our new house 12 months from now when we have truly stamped it with our personalities...... but in the mean time its a case of too many blank walls and no idea which corner to start with.

That was until last week when I finished hooking away on cute baby things and did not want to stop! So I jumped to work on a few cute things for my girl.

Some gorgeous hot pink and bright blue bunting to be exact.

Then the next thing you know I had found my corner and the home decorating had started and the inspiration is off the charts....thank you pinterest!

I have a few more cute changes to share since this pix was snapped so stay tuned!

Welcoming Baby

2011-12-19T09:02:00.000+11:00

I have a very cute friend who is almost ready to increase her even cuter family by one. I rallied against the pre-xmas craziness and channeled my creating into some cute things for this soon to be cutie - I must admit though creating itty bitty cute things is hardly a chore ;)

A couple of cute hats.

An itty bitty hexy..... perfect for the car seat or pram ;)

An even smaller shrug OH! this is impossibley cute IRL!

A couple of stars to decorate babies room using leftover hexy circles!

Now to pop these in the post and we have a till next year to wait and meet this cutie!

Teachers

2011-12-16T09:30:00.000+11:00

This yearBig Brother spent 2 days a week at preschool.

My guys was all over it..... not a tear shed or a nerve shown he rocked it everyday and begged for more.

He meet some great mates and fell in love with his amazing teacher!

His class graduated earlier this week in a concert that would put most rock stars out of business.

With the closing of the school year we had a chance to show our appreciation for his teachers and the wonderful job they did/do.

We got to work and made a big batch of homemade museli....

Decorated some jars...... and gifted with love.

Judging by the warm thank you for my guy I would say they were well received :)

Now onward and upward to "big school" for my big guy in 2012!

Ready

2011-12-11T10:40:00.000+11:00

Today my sweet guy turns three.

For three years I have been entranced by this guys smile and wrapped up tight by the warmth of his love. He is my sweet cheeky #2 cutie and I love him top to bottom.

Late last night I put the finishing touches on his cake (Nigella's Devils Food ;) ).

My Original plans for the cake involved an earth moving/construction theme. That was until the sweetest blue eyes in the world looked at me on Saturday morning and breathed excitedly whispering the details of his number 3 cake. Including Lightning McQueen and a race track :0

There was no way could I disappoint this sweet guy on the eve of his entering boyhood??

So I kept the construction theme and added the essential Lightning who raced so fast he crashed off the track causing such a mess he needed a construction crew to get him out!

Pretty awesome huh!

Happy 3 my sweet boy!

Hooked!

2011-12-10T22:39:00.000+11:00

All it took was a Wednesday at home, a shrug of the shoulders towards the housework, an unexpected rediscovery of my hidden stash and I was hooked on yarn once again.

Flower Garland

OH how I have missed the sweet tug of yarn through my fingers and the instant gratification of a quickly finished project or two.

Santa

Not to mention that there truly is no better way to reignite the yarn fever than with some cute gifts for some even cuter cuties!

Pebble Vest

Now off to ravelry for some more yarn dreaming.

Wiggley Party

2011-12-06T08:20:00.000+11:00

A little over a week ago we hit our nations capitol to party we these guys......

I swear it was the most "wiggley" fun we have ever had......

I have danced in the isle to Jagger and rocked out to the tunes of the Hunters among many others but these guys these crazy "wiggley" guys put on the greatest show of all.......

Screaming crowds, booty shaking tunes, acrobatics (YUP peeps those 50 year old dudes have moves that would leave my toddlers breathless) and the ability to keep an arena full of cuties captivated for 1.5hours....rock stars I tell ya pure rock stars.

We HEART The Wiggles BIG TIME!!

It's Here.....

2011-12-05T08:19:00.000+11:00

The first of December rolled past stopping me in my tracks .........

"OH!! Where did I put the Christmas tree??".

A few days later I found it under a pile of unopened boxes in my shed (yup in our new place I have a shed that is separate from my guys! WOOT).

After a quick visit to the iTunes store on Sunday arvo and a little furniture rearranging we were all set to start getting ready.

We checked lights, assembled the tree and decorated with abandon all the while Micheal Buble and The Wiggles fought for our listening pleasure ;)

A few hours later with the cuties happily dancing under the glow of the lights I realised happily "It's here.... Christmas is really here!"

Own....

2011-11-19T08:53:00.000+11:00

Looking out the back door last week 6 teenage chickens ran past in a flurry of excitement I laughed as I thought wow this place really is our's.

There are hand prints on the door, washing in piles in the laundry and a tomato stain on the carpet.

The dishwasher is never idle, the Tupperware cupboard needs reorganising and vege patches are being planned.

Shed floors have been painted, compost piles started and the back lawn is covered in bikes and toys.

There is a space for sewing, a space for playing trains and a space for blocks.

There is high ceilings and large windows making for great acoustics and lots of natural light.

We are planting fruit trees and planning motorbike tracks.

We are settled in this new space and 2 months in it is finally dawning on me that we own it!

Celebrate....

2011-10-25T17:02:00.000+11:00

We have had many reasons to celebrate over the past month.....

Turning five.....

Turning thirty four......

: )

FULL....

2011-10-24T13:58:00.000+11:00

Life sure has a way of filling up on you. Lately my life has been full in the most wonderful ways.

My cup truly runs over :)

Embracing - Dora Style!

2011-09-10T18:52:00.000+10:00

We hit the "city" last week for a little shopping and a show......

The kids were so excited, they sang and danced their way through the whole show.

Highlights - Big brother loved that he knew the storyline by heart. Little Brother was crazy excited when Diego joined the show. Baby Sister was crazy about the booty shaking tunes and the mama...... well I loved being able to sit still for a whole hour! BUT my fave bit was whe another mama saw me struggling with my cuties to get a picture like this.......

She took the reins (and my camera) and captured the moment for me......

Join in the Embrace

pssssst......

2011-09-06T08:31:00.000+10:00

It's true.... we really do!

Clean Out

2011-09-05T09:23:00.000+10:00

Last Friday my plans included the usual day to day and then pack up the dreaded front room in anticipation of our move. In true procrastinating fashion I found myself cleaning out the pantry and baking up a storm. After prepping dinner for not only Friday night but also Saturday I got really busy.....

Bakerella's Choc Chip Biccies

Date and Nut Balls rolled in chia seeds and dipped in dark choc!

Cheesey Scrolls.....

Whew! After all that baking it was definitely time for a little knitting ;)

What about the packing you ask?? Maybe another day!

Happy Fathers Day!

2011-09-04T19:52:00.000+10:00

Happy Fathers Day!

To the guy that made me a mama....... the greatest dad I know....

I love you babe! You had a tough act to follow......

But you rock it everyday!

Shout OUT!!

2011-09-03T19:47:00.001+10:00

Sending a big shout out to anyone reading from ACT/NSW.

My mama is going to be at the Hall Markets tomorrow (Sunday 4/9/11) selling her gorgeous hand knitted, embroidered, sewn and quilted pretty things. Included some of my absolute fave kids quilts ....... hello gorgeous Spot the dog quilt! She will also have a variety of steelworks items at her stall including stunning heritage gates.

Pop along and check out her wares and give our Granny a little love from us.

Pride

2011-08-28T08:37:00.000+10:00

This year was my first offical year as a soccer mum.

This year my guy played his heart out and his team made it to the grand final.

This year I almost burst apart with pride.

Of course none of it could have been achieved without his number one fan and future soccer star..... (number 2 fan had his head in the team orange dish!)

The final game was action packed and FUN!

Our guys were the season runnners up! WOOT!

How did we celebrate??

With GIANT snakes of course!

Bring on season 2012!

Escape....

2011-08-26T06:15:00.000+10:00

They did not escape the winter bugs this year.

My cuties are sick.

They are hot and sweaty, clingy, flat and exhausted.

If kisses made it better the bugs would be long gone.

Instead we rock and cuddle. Sip herbal infusions laced with manuka. Rock and cuddle some more.

There will be laughter and energetic play any day now until then when move a little slower while we wait.

Getting Doughy

2011-08-25T05:33:00.000+10:00

Play Dough!

It's a fail-safe weapon in many mama's arsenal. Great for relieving cuties of boredom and diffusing fights. It has some pretty great stress relieving properties too!

This week we made ours with a little sparkle and some eucalyptus oil in a hope to cheer and cure our sick cuties!

Oh Playdough we love u!

In the Post....

2011-08-24T05:33:00.000+10:00

A few more cute things making there way across the nation this week....

Some Camp Out Mitts for a new QLD friend......

A beary cute hat for a brand new baby girl.....

Whats coming or going n our mail this week??

Getting our Move on!

2011-08-23T05:30:00.001+10:00

We are gearing up to move house. On the moving to do list this weekend was yard clean-up. One of us took this job very seriously......

Inspecting the equipment....

A little supervising from the pink chair....

Job Done!

Catching Up....

2011-08-22T06:24:00.000+10:00

The MOTH was home unexpectedly yesterday which meant that the cuties were preoccupied monitoring their dad's every move and shadowing his every step freeing the mama up to catch up on some odds and ends.

Specifically sewing in ends and attaching flowers on a few overdue orders!

Whew..... that feels better.

Hello Blog!

2011-08-21T11:01:00.000+10:00

Hello Blog I have missed you.

ALOT!

I have yearned to sit down and spill my mind into a post. But lately my cup has been full to the brim with the everyday lately. Check it out.....

I have been sharing cuppa's with my cuppa-holic cutie (nice little strawberries and cream infusion going on inside that big cup!)

Enjoying the beauty of this.....

Basking in the glow of this....

Checking things out....

Oh and excitedly stealing moments to test something beautiful for a gorgeous new knitwear designer.

Thats us! Tell me how has your everyday been rolling ??

My Latest Obsession

2011-08-04T10:41:00.000+10:00

Lime Tea, Gwyneth's Apple Crumble Muffins with a side of lego ;)

Let's take a closer look at those muffins.....

ummmmm yeh I took a bite.... these muffins are off the charts good and so healthful that you could serve them for breakky guilt free!

I'm not the only one who loves em.....

What is your latest obsession??

Squishy Skyla

2011-08-02T23:18:00.000+10:00

I feel in love with Amanda Keeyes Squishy Love pattern the second I laid eyes on it.

It didn't take me long to rustle through my stash and come up with some suitabley squishy yarn to knit one up for my cutie.....

A skein of Spud and Chloe yarn and some pearl look buttons and my girl was ready to tackle the morning chill.

OH! Looks cute from the back too!

But as you can see girlfriend is blessed with her mama's superfine hair....

Oh well....

Nothing that a quick spritz of conditioning spray as she runs past doesn't sort out.

Update...

2011-07-30T19:27:00.000+10:00

Need a little cute girl fix.....

I know I do.....

Hey cutie come over here!

*love you too baby*

Organising!

2011-07-29T06:21:00.000+10:00

I am currently in the process of turning this mountain into something a little more inspirational.....

WHOA!

stay tuned ;)

Catching Up....

2011-07-28T09:44:00.000+10:00

Things got a little crazy in my shop for awhile. Just when the orders started lining up and I got into production line mode my cuties got the dreaded winter lurgy. Not all at once no..... one by one. Then dad got it and passed it right back to the cutes ALL.AT.ONCE! OH MY.

Mary Janes for baby Alyssa

loopy boots for baby Alyssa

Thankfully all is well again and my orders are caught up. Whew.

Camp Out Mitts for my mate (and creative genius) Clare

Now I can focus on new cute things for my littles.

I can also spend a little time daydreaming about a new shop.......mmmmmm.....big cartel Im looking your style ;)

Stay Tuned.

More....

2011-07-27T21:24:00.000+10:00

WOW!

This week has seen my blog reader grow in the best possible way filling up with my gorgeous mama mates.

Today I am so happy to send you over to say hi to a gorgeous aussie mama mate of mine Kristy of Happiness is a Journey not a Destination.

Pop on over and welcome her back to blogland.

Welcome

2011-07-26T07:30:00.000+10:00

baby bestie time circa 2008

I am super excited to welcome one of my best mama mates to blog land. After years of my not so subtle hints this gorgeous mama has started her very own blog. I would love it if you all could pop over to Mumsie Hynds and welcome her.

More....

2011-07-20T10:26:00.001+10:00

Fueled by my last sewing success I immediately got snipping away on some more Ottobre goodness. This time I turned the dress into a top for my girl.

Cute Bird cotton from Spotlight heavily reduced!
Pattern Ottobre 4/11

The third time around I decided to line the top with some flannel to warm up my cccccchhhhiilllllyyy girl.

Cute cotton and flannel from my LFS.

I am beyond happy with these cute tops!

Quick tip ...... when shirring through 2 layers of fabric you may need to shirr each layer individually unless you fancy some intimate time with your unpick when you have a shirr FAIL like I did.

OH MOJO!

2011-07-19T09:32:00.001+10:00

After a miserable few weeks away from my beloved sewing class two weeks ago I FINALLY made my way back. I was sad to report to the ladies that I had not sewn a stitch in the almost 2 months I had been MIA. During class I plodded along at a long forgotten project and by the end of the night I felt a little better.

The next morning the strangest thing happened....... I pulled out my latest dogearred copy of Ottobre and traced.out.some.patterns. Actually I traced out all the patterns I had marked. Then that night things got stranger still....... I sewed..... and sewed ....... and sewed.....

Pattern 4/11 Ottobre.

Fabric cute knits from Spotlight for $1/mtr

Pattern Ottobre 4/11

Fabric super soft cord from my LFS.

So super soft this stuff is ridiculous!

I was so proud to be back in the sewing saddle that I showed my home mades off to a few friends last week. One sweet girl gushed over the tee and said "OH Ab! What cute jammies!"

??????????

Ummmmm...... not really mate!

OH! Hello mojo I have missed you so.

CUTE

2011-07-18T09:55:00.000+10:00

Stop my heart this guy is cute!

In the middle of his 4 year old internal testosterone war he is the sweetest guy.

Last night he came to me in tears after having a conversation with his daddy that went a little something like this.....

"When I was little my dad told me when to go to bed and I did it! Now it is my turn to tell you when to go to bed and you are to listen! When you grow up and have kids you decide when bedtime is!"

"Who will marry me dad??"

"You will find someone nice and have cute babies."

tears....quivering lips...... "I don't want to find someone nice. No-one will ever be as nice as my mum. I love her the best. I want to marry her!"

"Mate.....don't cry when you get a little older you will see that you can still love your mum and marry someone else."

running....crying....

Me... "OH whats up babe!"

"Daddy says I cant marry you cause he is and I will NEVER EVER marry anyone but you. I love you the most!" hysterical tears.

Stop my heart I love him!

About time....

2011-07-09T09:45:00.000+10:00

See this sad face......

You might have thought from my last post that our horrible day made her this sad.

Not true!

She is so so sad because she has NO handmade clothes...... not a single stitch.

Seeing her sad shop bought face I was hit with the mama guilt and figured it was about time I whipped up a couple of cute things for my sweet girl.

Like this itty bitty soft cord skirt.

And this stop-my-heart-its-cute tutu along with another in red.

While I as on a sewing role and while I had such cute helping fingers I whipped up this bag to wrap around my friends birthday present.

Lined with a thrifted calico bag.

Whew..... that's better....

My sewing mojo is firmly back in place and further fashion-related-tears avoided.

Mind you I couldn't have done any of it without this helper.....

So what is your favourite kind of helper?? Itty Bitty, Spunky guy, chocolate bearer??

Today....

2011-07-07T20:44:00.000+10:00

I wanted to write a post about the amazing choc brownies I made last night.....

I wanted to right a post about the tasty blueberry muffins that we are obsessed with lately....

I wanted to share a post about the insane chai latte cheesecake I made for my friends birthday today....

Today I wanted a lot of things and not all of them worked out so well for me......

Today I started the day with clashing with my four year old who delights in answering everything I say with a firm "NO!".....

My two year old decided that today was the perfect day to start producing a little more testosterone and increasing his level of aggression towards his brother and sister (and me).

Today my one year old channeled her inner diva and mastered her "uhuhuhuhuhuh NO!" while shaking her hands at me every chance she could.

Today I dropped my piece of birthday cheesecake on the ground 3 times.....

Today I tended one blood mouth, two bruised foreheads, one grazed knee, one bumped blackened eye and a blood nose....

Today the contents of my bag were randomly emptied by one of my little's in inappropriate places 4 times ...... public toilet, car park, coffee shop counter and driveway....

Today I sat in the bathroom taking deep breaths for over ten minutes....

Tonight I am remembering that tomorrow is a new day.

Camping Out!

2011-07-05T08:21:00.000+10:00

I love a good Camp Out and these mitts by knitwear designer Tante ehm really fit the camp out bill.

I had the most fun knitting these up with some gorgeous Noro yarn. I decided agaisnt using 2 skeins to produce matching mitts and went for the mismatched effect that comes from using one gorgeous skein and I am so glad I did.

These mitts are destined for a close friends birthday this week and I can hardly wait to gift them.

I was so smitten with this pattern and Noro yarn that I had to cast on IMMEDIATELY for a cute pair just for me. WOW it has been a long time since something came off the needles that was just for me and these mitts make me feel so happy!

I made a few modifications to the original pattern in the effort to use an entire skein of this gorgeous yarn. But at the end there was still a little left over.

So knitters lets talk about Noro....

Have you used it??

Did you love it??

For me it was like art in motion....OH those colour changes :)

Get ya Mug out!

2011-07-04T12:04:00.000+10:00

Cruising through blogland the other day I found the most adorable post by Petchy. I loved it so much that I thought it was time I got my mug out for you....

So out it came while I was finishing off a couple of pretty things and aching for a little quiet time to read. I filled it up with some steaming miso soup and relaxed a little. My favourite mug is.....

YUP! A Jamie Oliver "Top Dad" mug.

We got the Top Dad mug and the Super Mum mug at the same time. I'm not sure what it means when I went through 3 x Super Mum mugs before I gave up and just slowly took over Top Dad .....

Feel like joining in?? Reach into your cupboard and get your mug out, fill it up and give us a peek :)

Red Riding Hood....

2011-07-03T18:37:00.000+10:00

When one of our fave girls turned 3 recently I thought it was just the right time to introduce her to one of our other fave girls..... Little Red Riding Hood.

Hitting my fave bookshop I ordered in a copy of this gorgeous pop up book....

A quick browse through ravelry and I was happily clicking away on the second half of her present.

Little Red by Erica Flory is such a fun quick knit and the shaping is so gorgeous this literally flew off the needles!

Of course there was a little cutie test driving before we wrapped it up!

First he was a beautiful princess but eventually....super man!

What is your favourite fairy tale of the moment ??

Time....

2011-07-02T18:36:00.000+10:00

Time.....

It flies by..... it sneaks up on us..... it's fleeting....

Regardless of the time whenever I glance down I see something a little like this.....

.....and suddenly I forgot all about time ;)

Ellie's Everglade

2011-06-26T10:26:00.000+10:00

I was extremely flattered to be approached by Big Brothers preschool teacher a few weeks ago and asked to make a couple of hats for her and her daughter. I was even more flattered when she left all aspects of the design up to me. YUP! I had free license over pattern, colour, ply and style.

With all of this freedom I thought "Why not try something new??"

So a grabbed a skein of Shiloh Wool Alpaca blend and spent a little time cruising through Ravelry. It wasn't long before I settled on Woolly Wormhead's Everglade.

This was my first ever Woolly pattern and it was such a fun well written and quick knit. The Shiloh yarn flew through my fingers and off the needles. After a little dinner plate blocking Ellie's Everglade was ready to give. Ellie and her mama were very happy with their hats especially this pretty slouch.

2011-06-25T05:23:00.000+10:00

I love those posts that chronicle "A picture every hour for a day" so much that I thought I would give it a go. My day of photography started off well but once the arvo hit I kinda fell out of rhythm.

Friday ....... was a day that was supposed to be jam pack with hair cuts, play dates and scenic bike rides. All this went out the window when my cutie woke up sick in the middle of the night :(

5am...... panadol, respiratory tea and manuka honey for my number two guy :(

6am..... mmmmmmm....looks like Big Brother is making his own breakky now??

6:30am..... OHNO! There goes my quick coffee hit :(

6:55am..... hi there cutie wanna help mama blog??

7:30am ..... more respiratory tea & manuka for my cutie

8:30am...... good morning eggs.....

9am...... hello omelet what took you so long?? OH and hello garden turtle what brings you inside??

9:30am ...... hungry guy = happy mama

10:30am .... still too cold to play outside.

11am ...... YAY Outside!! Oh! Hello neighbour puppy :)

11:30am ...... still a bit cold out there for my sick cutie..... come in babe and join mama for a cuppa ;)

12pm OH! Thats where my last chocolate biccie went .....mmmmmm.

12:30pm ....... sword fights and a little bob the builder action .....

12:35pm..... brother lunch.....

1pm ......hello knitty....... oops false alarm..... goodbye knitty....

2pm .......

230pm....... I left a surprise on your desk mama cause I love you......

3pm ...... big sleep = late baby lunch.

4pm..... mama lunch.....mmmmmm....fetta.

430pm..... packing and unpacking..... packing and unpaking.......

5pm....... where did I put my camera?? KIDS!! Where is my CAMERA??

Now its your turn...... how was your Friday??

Not a Hat....

2011-06-23T10:11:00.000+10:00

WooHoo!!

I am finally posting some pictures of something that I have recently knitted that IS.NOT.A.HAT!!

This cute vest has been off the needles for a couple of weeks. It has been living a solitary life on my desk shuffling form spot to spot as I make promises to sew buttons on soon (mind you why a 2 y/o vest needs buttons I am yet to work out but I'll roll with it).

At last I did it and now I can proudly show you all that I have broken the early winter hat curse .....whew :)

I knitted this Julian Vest in some steel blue yarn that I had in my stash (more of that glorious unlabeled Wangaratta Wool Mills score). It is beautiful and soft and compliments the blue eyes of my cute number two perfectly.

Tell me ..... Whats has been coming off your needles this June??

For the Love of Joy....

2011-06-22T18:44:00.000+10:00

Have you met Joy the Baker??

Me either but I kinda cyber stalk her blog and try out her tasty baked treats.

Let me tell ya that Joy the Baker she sets me right.

Like when she sorted my guys birthday with that amazing Drenched Lemon Cake. Last night she stepped up again when she held my hand through this tasty Strawberry Upside Down Cake.

My food styling might be slightly challenge with three cuties and one hungry guy grabbing at the plate but don't let that fool ya this cake is AMAZING!! Joy has hooked up some butter, brown sugar, vanilla nad cardamom for the perfect cake marriage.

What's Happenin'.....

2011-06-21T18:47:00.000+10:00

Nothing much just kicking back with the cuties....

Pasha Love....

2011-06-16T06:56:00.000+10:00

Last year I attempted to knit along with Tangled Yarns on the gorgeous Pasha. Of course I missed the deadline and finished it mid spring instead of early winter. Once I finished it I tried desperately to pass it off as a spring beanie/beret..... that lasted 2 days.

Roll on this winter and my Pasha became my fave accessory. I wear it at the hint of a chill, to disguise bad hair days and warm frost bitten ears.

Some of my friends like it too. They like it so much I thought it was time to share the love. Mind you I now love this one that I am having trouble saying goodbye.

Birthday Bliss....

2011-06-15T20:56:00.001+10:00

Over the weekend we waited patiently as our fave guy had his birthday sleep in. Once awake we showered him with love, homemade cards, manly gifts and a blueberry muffin breakfast. Then we kicked back and enjoyed the tranquility of a day at home with dad.

We finished it up with this unassuming but over the top delicious Drenched Lemon Cake from our fave baking rock star Joy the Baker.

Seriosuly guys try.this.cake. You won't regret it!

In the Post....

2011-06-09T07:07:00.000+10:00

Even though there are times when the hook is still and the ends are all tied in that I would love to keep them they are in the post and on their way....

Look out NSW, SA & QLD here we come :)

Shhhhhh....

2011-06-08T16:00:00.000+10:00

The boys are sleeping.......

Shhhhhhhh..... we don't want to share :)

One for my girl....

2011-06-07T06:58:00.000+10:00

At around 10pm last Thursday night I was hanging out the washing when I noticed all of these fine white wispy bits fluttering all around me..... "what the h#$%!". I scoped the starry night before realising that these bits were all over the washing....."OH!". Squinting into the dark laundry basket I noticed that the buts were wool.... "OH NO!". Looks like my girls pom-pom earflap hat had gotten caught up in the regular wash..... "OOPS!".

While it was definitely death of a pom pom the rest of the hat was OK but it just wasn't the same. No prob! A little late night hooking and she a had an even cuter one to pop on and most importantly tie up the neck morning :)

YUP! I definitely think this one is much cuter ;)

How are you coping with all of the winter washing ??

More Than JUST Hats....

2011-06-06T13:52:00.000+10:00

Around the middle of Autumn/beginning of winter I get so hat-logged that I sometimes feel the urge to cry out.... "HEY! I can make more than JUST HATS!!"

But then again there are a lot of bonus to making hats..... they are quick, portable, easy to put down at a seconds notice...... OH and they are C.U.T.E!

In the middle of all this mad hatting I have been clicking away on this for my sweet boy. A little arm and neck ribbing and I am done!

Sometimes something other than hats IS nice :)

Mum Money....

2011-06-05T06:58:00.000+10:00

Life has been a little crazy lately.

Oh....

Lets be honest.... my kids have been a lot crazy lately in that OMG where did these alien's come from kind of way. So when I stumbled on this little post over at the awesome Bluebird Vintage it go me thinking....... "Maybe there is something to this mum money thing!"

So a week later I am sitting at my desk with a pile of mum money madly rehersing what I am going to say to the aliens..... oops.... my cuties in the morning and madly crossing my fingers that this will work as well as it does for the gorgeous Miss Bluebird.

This is how it will work for us....

The kids will get $1 of mum money as a reward for doing extra chores and for extra great behaviour. Then $1 of mum money can be traded for $1 of real money in goods or they can trade it for leisure activities such as extra game or tv time. Although $1 of mum money = $1 real money the kids wont get actual money they will get treats, toys, outings, extra wii game time etc to the value of their mum money.

Deep breath in...... lets go!

I would love to hear about any reward system that you have tried :)

Boys R Cool

2011-06-04T16:24:00.000+10:00

Yup boys are pretty cool....

OMG I love them so :)

Pasta!!

2011-06-02T05:58:00.000+10:00

Last night with Big Brothers help and a little expert supervising from our baby girl we broke in our new pasta maker and let me tell you it was love at first roll....

We started with a little Jamie Oliver magic...

Made sure the supervisor was in position....

Got rolling and cutting....

Churned out a big batch of "noo noo's" ;)

Cooked them up and tossed them with some fresh lemon and basil and mixed it all with some Parmesan cheese and olive oil. Finally serving it up ontop of some gorgeous baby spinach for an extra tasty dinner.

We truly heart out new pasta roller and I can hardly wait to give it another roll :)

Catch Up...

2011-06-01T16:32:00.000+10:00

Some of my bloggy mates have been playing catch up lately and I think its time I did too.

Heres a little of what I've been up to lately .......

Sipping some delicious teas from my fave tea shop top three at the moment...Super Mood, Olive Leaf and Japanese Lime.

Scrapping the last of this locally collected honey out of the bottle because damn it!! I forgot to pick up more.....

Working away a row at a time on this super cute vest for my guy which I am starting to think might be too small despite perfect gauge swatching ad measuring :(

Oh well thats what itty bitty cousins are for :)

Reading cookbooks like they were novels and loving every inspirational moment of it! Seriously GWENTH who knew??

Sharing adorable and artistic new finds with my cuties and watching as they become family faves.

Avoiding this pile of clean wet work wear ugh!!

Loving the independence of my cuties.....

Repeating this every.lunch.time ohhhhhhh yeh!

Wondering when the sound of kids cartoons or music became so unnoticed as background noise that it is left playing hours after they are in bed ??

How about you?? Lets catch up! What have you been up to this week??

Snack Time....

2011-05-30T22:11:00.001+10:00

I stumbled on these tasty treats over at (never home) maker and whipped them up with the kids for a tasty arvo snack....

I used rice milk instead of almond milk and cashew butter instead of peanut. I also swapped out 1/2c of the oats for 1/2 cup of sultanas.

The only downside..... all those strict no nut rules at school mean they won't make it into the lunchbox :(

Oh well all the more for us at home :)

Easy like Sunday..... evening....

2011-05-30T13:53:00.000+10:00

Last night rolled on by a little like this.....

And with a lot of this....

I love an easy Sunday eve :)

Embrace The Camera - Show Style

2011-05-26T06:45:00.003+10:00

When we hit the show last weekend I was able to take a step back from the momarazzi role and get a little Embrace the Camera action in.....

we even captured Dad in our Embrace.....

Turn the camera around and Join the Embrace :)

You Can't Skip the Show.....

2011-05-22T06:35:00.000+10:00

When the Local Show rolled around this year I had the most overwhelming desire to skip it. It really felt like it was all way to much. Sitting here tonight amongst the debris of fairy floss, pop guns and showbags editing photo's of our day and I am happy to admit...... you REALLY can't skip the show.

Yup! Totally worth it :)

Cute Mama's

2011-05-21T06:23:00.000+10:00

As you know I love me some cute girls in cute hats.

But even more than that I love cute mama's who wear cute hats like rockstars!

When one of my fave cute mama's had a birthday recently I whipped up this beauty and sent it off with love.

Oh yeh...cute mama's rock!

Show Time

2011-05-20T23:15:00.001+10:00

We have been enjoying a little of this......

Check back for more tomorrow
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Customised CUTE!

2011-05-20T22:29:00.000+10:00

I was a little nervous when the girls convinced me to open up a little shop. I feel a bit silly about those nerves now as the past couple of weeks have been super fun.

I have even gotten in touch with some vintage mates who found me through the shop .... gotta love that :)

The past few days I have been working on a cute custom order for some even cuter 4 month olds in the western state. Check it out.....

All of this itty bitty cutness got me inspired to make a little something new for my girl. I am so in love with her new hat and I am trying all my tricks to get her to stay in focus for my photo shoot. Until then enjoy this itty bitty (size 6-12months) soon to make its way to the Luv Abby shop ......

OH! I love a cute girly hats.

Cute Girls

2011-05-15T06:35:00.000+10:00

It's true!

Cute girls deserve cute hats!

Especially when the cute girls live too far away to cuddle and kiss on their special day.

These cute hats are off to the big smoke to warm the heads of two of our fave cute girls ever :)

Happy belated birthday Leney and Lia we love you a whole bunch :)

So Much Fun

2011-05-14T08:35:00.000+10:00

I had so much fun at the market night last week and met so many sweet ladies who encouraged me to take the plunge into making a shop. YUP!! At long last I am finally selling my cute things. If you have a few minutes pop on over to my facebook page/shop (link in sidebar also) and check it out. You will find cute things like this.....

And much much more :)

While you are over there feel free to "LIKE" us and leave a comment saying hi.

Baby Welcome

2011-05-09T06:30:00.000+10:00

When friends have autumn babies there is really only one way to welcome them .........

With super cute knits.

Audrey's Earflap crocheted from EZ earflaps for freeeeeeee

Audrey's Owls knitted from Aly's Owls

Of course you have to wrap the gift up nice and warm....

And give it a little name...... gosh my new machine is wonderful..... I am working on my straight lines though ;)

Welcome Audrey Willa.... you sure are a whole lot cute :)

Every single day.....

2011-05-08T00:44:00.001+10:00

My littles are curled around pillows and snuggled under blankets, my guy is sleeping with one arm stretched to my side waiting and I am spending a moment breathing a little slower, listening to my favourite song and remembering that my cup really does run over. It is filled to overflowing with kisses, secret whispers, hand holdings, cuteness, running, jumping, showing...... love.

Happy Mama's Day today and Every Single Day.

Pretty Toes....

2011-05-07T06:41:00.001+10:00

Yup! It's started already....

But OH MY! It's cute!

To Market To Market....

2011-05-06T07:33:00.000+10:00

I have been hooking up a storm this past week or so. All this cuteness is for a little stall some of us craft girls will be having at the local markets :)

Whew...still hooking away.... don't think I will ever be ready :)

Embrace The Camera

2011-05-05T06:29:00.000+10:00

One of these days I will learn a new kind of Embrace.

But for now this one is my favourite kind of bliss :)

Grab your cameras and join in the fun :)

New Era

2011-05-04T06:03:00.000+10:00

This year has seen the start of a new era for my family.

My big guy started Preschool.

This has meant big things like best friends, school holidays, parties, more play dates and now.....

Soccer...

Soccer is so awesome that even little brothers have a kick during quarter time...

OH! and baby girls get in on the action too....

First Game, First Goal, First Win.

We Love Soccer.

In My Biccie Barrel.....

2011-05-03T06:15:00.000+10:00

Last week in preparation for camping I filled our biccie barrel with some of our old faves....

Pioneer Womens Choc Chip Malt Cookies -

These are seriously good cookies.

Raspberry Coconut Slice

I used the Australian Womens Weekly white cookbook recipe and homemade mulberry jam but this recipe from taste is pretty close.

What's in your cookie barrel this week??

Camp Food

2011-05-02T06:37:00.000+10:00

The days of baked beans and spam are long gone. Nowadays camp food looks a little like this.......

Pancakes....

Fresh Fruit....

Brocollini and bacon....

dirt..... ummm...ok.... well there has probably always been a little dirt :)

Brussels and bacon - don't judge everything tastes better with bacon - you know I'm right.

Fresh fish ..... and ummmm more dirt....

Yabbies.....

Oh we love camp food :)

Gone Fishing....

2011-05-01T06:33:00.000+10:00

This year in Australia easter collided with ANZAC day which resulted in a massive 5 day long weekend. With our fave guy all to ourselves for 5 whole day there was only one thing to do..... load up and go fishing :)

A few hours down a dusty road led us to the river.....

Located at the back'o'bourke..... literally.....

Once at the river we unplugged and went with the flow ......

And the river was very kind to us :)

Wrapping up Easter

2011-04-30T06:26:00.000+10:00

Three little cuties woke up in the early hours of Easter Sunday 2011 to find that an Easter Bunny with a basket full of chocolate eggs had visited their house. While he was here he bounced all over the place bouncing those choc eggs right out of his basket......

Happy Easter Everyone :)

Eggs to Dye For....

2011-04-29T06:17:00.000+10:00

After the success of our egg art I thought it was time to give egg dying a go.

Using food dye, vinegar and water we got down to business.

We cooled some boiled eggs....

next we popped the eggs in some dye.....

I think they loved this most of all.....

Then again they were pretty wrapped with counting and organising their pretty eggs when we were done with dying ......

Now.....

The boys are busy with their eggs but what was my littlest cutie doing while her brother were busy with easter??

"What ya got there cutie??"

"ohhhhh an egg! you got an egg babe??"

"What ya doin with that egg babe??"

WOW you really got those eggs figured out huh babe??

Yup...sure do mama....

Tell me...... how did your eggs roll this easter??

Kid Art Eggs

2011-04-28T06:15:00.000+10:00

Cruising around my LFS the other day I stumbled on some foam eggs perfect for some pre-easter decorating.

WOW my cuties loved this activity. At first I thought it was the thrill of using textas but after awhile they ditched the textas for other media. They decorated and redecorated all the while telling tales of the bunny that would be coming their way in 4 more sleeps.

Definitely a bunch of easter fun :)

Easter Gifts

2011-04-27T22:03:00.000+10:00

A few days before easter I was inspired by this post by the fantastic Dana over at Made It. I had a little light bulb moment ..... what a perfect solution to avoiding chocolate overload at Easter.

So I grabbed my boys and shredded some preschool art.....

Grabbed some cookie cutters......

and got to work.....

squishing and squashing.....

seed sprinkling.....

drying.....

When they were dry we popped them out of the cutters, popped them into a thrifted teacup, added some mini eggs and wrapped them up for our cute cousins.

MMMMM...... better than chocolate??

I think so :)

Easter Baskets

2011-04-26T06:21:00.000+10:00

True to form I left the kids easter baskets until Saturday. Thats right the day that I supposed to have them made and filled ready for our Easter Eve celebration.

Despite this I turned to this fantastic Lion Brand Yarn Pattern and grabbed precious minutes throughout the day to hook my way through them.

While the kids were eating dinner I was sewing in ends and filling up baskets phew.

All this last minute prepping meant that my bunny baskets were just baskets but that is perfectly ok by me.

Lest we Forget

2011-04-25T06:38:00.000+10:00

There are many men and woman that protect Australia everyday in many ways.....

Today we take time to remember this in gratitude.

There has been many Australian men and women that have protected our great nation with everything they have to give, including their lives......

Today we remember this and take time to remind ourselves never to forget.

Take a few minutes in your day today to remember that we live each day in our sunburnt land, our "lucky country" enjoying freedom and personal autonomy that is largely due to our courageous soldiers.

Lest We Forget.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T07:49:00.001+10:00

Happy Easter frpm our bunny to yours!

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It's looking a lot like Easter...

2011-04-23T22:21:00.000+10:00

The night be fore the bunny arrives we take a little time as a family to celebrate life. The boys build their excitement telling stories of the Easter bunny. The Mama gently reminds them of the joy of life, love and nature. Our girl runs between us all thriving on the excitement and dad sits back and happy to enjoy the Easter ride.

Just before bed we exchange some treats.....

Our traditional Easter Pj's made from some super cute chick fabric that I have been drooling over at my LFS and a few other cute things.

Now my cuties are finally asleep with dreams of bunnies bouncing round their heads and we are enjoying a little locally made fudge with our coffee. Yup it's looking a lot like Easter.

Embrace The Camera

2011-04-21T06:07:00.000+10:00

Rejoining the Embrace this week with a bit of little girl love....

Stop my heart I love her.

Somedays....

2011-04-20T09:21:00.001+10:00

Somedays you get the rhythm just right.....

Somedays little girls give clear singles and mama's give good love....

Somedays it only takes one toe pushing gently on the floor to get the perfect rocking motion......

Somedays the weight of a sleeping babe is something you never want to let go of....

Somedays that smell is all you want to breath.....

Somedays naps should never end.

Birthday Treats.....

2011-04-15T07:51:00.000+10:00

I had great home made plans for my girls number one birthday but life rolled right on through to her big day and most of my homemade ideas stayed unmade. Last weekend I hit the machine hard and redeemed myself by creating a few treats for some cute friends and their special day.

A new Library bag for Mr 5......

Using an up-cycled calico bag as the lining.

A couple of cute skirts for a super cute Miss 3.....

Phew.... that wasn't so hard after all :)

D.O.R.O.T.H.Y

2011-04-14T07:51:00.000+10:00

Dorothy the dinosaur came to town this week and my cuties rocked it out!

Waiting.....

MUM!! I SEE DOROTHY!

Off to rock it out with Dorothy and Wags.....

Getting down with the Captain.....

Getting our Dorothy our groove on Dorothy style

Checking out Dorothy's ride with the cousin's.....

We sure LOVE Dorothy.