Vegie Garden

I thought today would be a good day to report back on how our little vegie plots are going. We have two plots at a nearby community garden. Chloe and I originally planted brocolli, cauliflower, spinach, beetroot and peas. The garden already had capsicum, potato and rhubarb in it growing. Since planting out the garden almost three months ago we have eaten alot of rhubarb, stewed with apples, we have also eaten capsicum, spinach and potato. We had stuffed capsicums for dinner last night (stuffed with chicken and rice) and we eat the stewed fruit with custard. Both the girls have been eating the spinach in different meals which I love. I have only pulled out a few potatoes so far and I mashed those up for Elyssa with some other veg. We are loving looking after our garden, we try and get there a couple of times a week. It is next to a park so Chloe usually rides her bike, we stop at the garden then we go over to the park. Ben came this morning for the first time. He isn't really into gardening!

The garden was recently over run with snails and cabbage moths but I have dealt with that now and the garden is starting to recover. The peas however where the first to go, they literally disapeared over night when they were just seedlings. I am trying to decide what else to plant in there place. Here are some pics..

Chloe and her Paper Flowers

My little Chloe is a vibrant happy girl but struggles to sit still for more than a few minutes at a time. So I was very surprised yesterday when she announced that she would like to make paper flowers on straws like she did at Kinder. I had no idea what she was talking about but I remembered a craft project I used to do with kids that involved patty pans and straws so I got out all of the bits we needed and helped her get started. I thought, this will keep her amused for ten minutes but how wrong I was. By the end of the day she was making them completely on her own and we had about 80 of these flowers all over the place! She made them for hours, none of them rushed, each of them with the same amount of love and care and thought as the next. I suggested a few different ways she could do it but she wasn't interested. She had the process down and wasn't changing it for anything. I had no idea that she could stick at a task for that long, or that she could follow a project with so many different steps. Im very proud of her but now I have to figure out what to do with all the flowers! I think a few family members will be getting bunches for mothers day! I stuck some up around the house and the rest she is playing with.

My Girls

Ok, this is just an excuse to put up more pictures of my lovely girls. These photos were taken when Elyssa was 6-8 months old, Chloe is 3.5 years old. I love watching them interact more than anything, it always makes me smile.

Blowing Raspberries

Easter 2010

We started a new Easter tradition last year with some friends of ours. We decided that as Christmas is a really extended family driven holiday, Easter was going to be more about our family and catching up with friends. So Nell, Glenn and Brenda came down on Easter Sunday for lots of yummy food and drinks. They all stayed the night so that we could enjpy all of the left overs the next day. Chloe loves it when the gang comes and couldn't wait. We made chocolates and Easter Egg biscuits (arrowroot biscuits, iced with melted chocolate, then decorated with sprinkles) while we waited for them all to arrive.

Chloe and Elyssa waiting for the gang to arrive

When everyone arrived the food fest began. Brenda made awesome shortbread biscuits and other treats, Nell made an incredible Easter cake shaped like a basket and Ben cooked up a beautiful Roast Pork. Nell also made some champagne punch. The night included a trip to Emergency because Elyssa had Croup but other than that we had a great time. We played the Wii and had lots of chats and listened to music. The next morning Ben made a Mexican breakfast feast that was to die for. Lots of food was eaten, punch drank and we all had a fab time. We can't wait for the next gathering!

Goodbye Little Car....

To My Dear Getz,

The time has come for us to part ways, life has moved on and our family has grown and we no longer fit in you comfortably. You were never meant to be a family car...you were my 'just finished uni and just got a job so Im going to treat myself'car. I loved your beautiful greeny blue colour, the way the seats sat so high up, the way your lovely split back seats folded right up and you became a tiny little wagon...

We have had so many adventures together, like the time Ben moved up to Batemans Bay for work, but then the job fell through and together, little car, you and I drove like knights in shining armour to rescue him. Our first ever adventure together was driving to Adelaide to visit Bens family about three days after I got you.

I can never forget your most impressive moments. It had to be the year I did family day care. You helped me squeeze those four children in safely and carried us from one point to another on our daily outings to parks and playgroups. We would put on the Wiggles 'big red car' song and change the words to 'little blue car'. The kids would shout this out so that we would over ride the CD.

You carried both my babies home from hospital safely and for this I will always be ever so greatful. You are the car that everybody knew because of your bright colour. Kids I taught would recognise me as I drove around Geelong and more recently you have become know as the car that belongs to the lady with the two kids that lives in the old squash court, how does she manage those stairs with two little ones?

Then there was the day you first got very sick...the day the mechanic accidently cracked your water casing without knowing it and your lovely little engine over heated on my wedding day, almost a year to the day that I had bought you. You never fully recovered until eventually your beautiful shiny engine became clogged and we were forced to replace it...you haven't been the same since.

So little car at this point in our lives we must go our seperate ways. You will spend some time in the car yard next door until someone after a fancy little car snaps you up. Hopefully your exhaust pipe remains attached for them....I thank you so much for your service and the good times we have had. I wish you all the best and you will never be forgotten....

Goodbye little car, my Getz that gets you places

Shell

Chloes first car ride

Elyssas first car ride

Chloe using her hat as a blankie when we forgot it one day

Elyssa

Chloe in her Dora seat

Elyssa, 6 months

Planting out the vegie garden

We had lots of fun! I think Chloe liked it best because it was an opportunity to run under a sprinkler. I turned the tap (tank water) up just enough that the water splashed just a little bit out of the garden bed and she had a great time. She also loved digging in the garden. We go back most days and water. I put the sprinkler on for 15 minutes, we go play at the park next door, then go back and move the sprinkler to the next garden plot. Its on a timer so we set it for another 15 minutes and off we go! Chloe likes to ride her bike to the park/garden.

Winter Dress/ Pinafore

The pattern called this dress a 'jumper' but its not any type of jumper I know of! Im calling it a Winter Dress because it is quite different than the Pinafore I made yesterday so I am re-naming it! After making the reversible pinafore yesterday I decided I wanted to tackle something a little more challenging. I still had all my cords out so I decided to make this dress. There were 14 pieces all together so lots of cutting and organising and also lots of sewing involved. I used a pattern I got at Spotlight a while ago for $2. It is harder than most patterns I have used because it assumes you know alot about sewing and doesn't give clear directions or clear pictures so I had to muddle through bits of it. I also had trouble because I live in a small town and it is hard to get the things you need to make it perfect, like zips and bias binding. I ended up finding a zip at the op-shop this morning but I could only find a purple one and it was really long. The lovely ladies at the shop explained how to cut it down to size before I sewed it in. I don't mind the colour of it because it matches the purple in the flowers. I had some bias binding  that I used for the sleeves. Overall I am really happy with it. The zip was challenging because I don't have a zipper foot but I didn't do a terrible job. I struggled a bit getting the hem even and I followed the instructions for the arm holes with the bias binding and did it as it suggested but I don't think I would do it that way again. The other issue was the size! It is way too big. I made a size 4 because the last few things I have made in a 3 have only just fitted. Rather than pull it apart and remake it I decided to alter it a bit. I sewed the shoulders up to lift the dress a bit so the waist of the dress sat in the right spot. Then I sewed the sides of the dress in below the arm holes. The skirt of the dress is a bit pinched because of this but I think the alterations were worth it because I can remove them as she grows and get lots of wear out of it.

My favourite part of the dress is the bodice, this was tricky but it came out really well. I also like my colour choices. At the last minute I decided to add the floral panel in the middle of the bodice and I love it. I only bought half a meter of that floral cord and so far I have made three things with it and there is still plenty left! I also love the floral panels in the skirt, they hide until she moves.

I think its going to look great with a white long sleeve top and white leggings. It will definilty be an inside dress though! Light pink, what was I thinking!!!