Bubba Bridie's Big Second Birthday....

"My most treasured possessions are not things; they are only things. My friends, family... are what counts"  ~ Olivia Newton John


I firstly apologise for the lack of posts recently... I have been having issues with my camera charging and I didn't want to post without something to look at,. Yet the issues are continuing and I cannot upload or even turn my camera on, so please bare with me- I shall post the pics at a later date xox  :(

On Friday the 25th Feb, our baby girl turned 2yrs old. Where has the past 2yrs gone? We still cherish and remember the day she was born like it was yesterday, the very moment she was born in fact. The waiting, the hoping, the praying... and she was most definitely worth all of it!! Even on her bad days lol.

You see, she has bought so much joy and laughter back into our lives after the loss of our baby Lola. We were all obviously devastated after her loss, and we ourselves were totally at a loss too... where to go from there, what to do. Do we try continue on with our lives like before this had even happened, do we try to move on and forget? But if it wasn't for the words from our amazing Dr, and his encouragement and support, we wouldn't have made the extremely hard decision to try for another baby. And we are so glad today for all that he helped us through and achieve! Thanks Doc!

So... now we are blessed with our lil Biddy! And so is everyone else ;)  Sure she can be loud (she sure has a good set of lungs on her), and be very challenging at times too... but she is just the most amazing, funniest, cutest, most amazing (have I said that already? lol) little being, and we are just so blessed to have her in our lives! And the kids just adore her so much too... she truly did finally complete our little family, and for that we are eternally grateful!

So a huge thanks to her close family and God Family for making the effort and also for organising a little get together for her (and us, all of a sudden it was upon us and I had nothing organised) and helping to celebrate Biddy's 2nd Birthday in style in the park! She had an absolute ball, and is so lucky to have loving, caring, precious people like you in her life!

Happy Days xox

Making progress...

"Time moves not like a river from here to there: we do that. Time moves in waves- it ebbs and flows. There is a time for everything"  ~ Anon


Slowly, slowly I am making progress on my mini Granny Square crocheted blanket project. It is something I like to pick up and hammer away at when I have a spare moment or 2, or when I am unable to keep going on my many other makings and orders. It is actually one way I like to unwind as well, as I have never been good at just sitting and watching tv, or being a passenger in a car... so I crochet then instead!

Yummy crocheted goodness... I am making (slow)
progress! Can't wait to see it all completed!

I am seriously loving the colours after much
debating and rearranging... it's gonna be mint :)

And as there is flooding happening all around us at the moment (bridges have all been closed off, therefore we are isolated for the time being... but we won't be getting wet due to flooding rivers though thank goodness! But are getting a good downpour of rain at the moment) we have a mandatory home day tomorrow! Even school has been cancelled tomorrow- much to the delight of our happy, smilely kidlets! Luckily we stocked up on essentials yesterday while in Geraldton... and so it seemed did everyone else! The place was like a mad house- complete with blinking shop lights and big buckets and fenced off "wet" areas all through the Shopping Centres... crazy weather!

All those crazy colourful squares calling out to be sewn together
with 599 other square-like friends!

... and such a long way to go yet though. Bring on another 429 squares!!

So in between my crafty goodness for BnB Factory, I have been slowly increasing the number of mini squares for my heirloom blankie... I am currently up to 171, with only 429 to go!!! Bahahahaha... but I love a good challenge!

MMMmmmm... nice, fresh apple and cinnamon muffins!

And watch as they get gobbled up... such an awesome thing to
bake (and devour) on a lazy Sunday arvo at home!





Go Denbi Mae!!! Yum yum

And what else to do on a rainy, humid day stuck inside after all the chores are done? Crafting, baking and enjoying the time spent together! And the rain on the tin roof here sounds amazing, especially as it gets heavier and heavier... just hopefully not too heavy! Wish us luck!

Happy days xox K

Some yummies for our tummies....

"Hospitality consists in a little fire, a little food and an immense quiet"  ~ Anon


Pfft!!! Not in this household hahaha... there is always an abundance of food and usually the type of raucous that makes you look forward to bed time at the end of the evening LOL. But it is always a HEAP of fun!!!!

The creation of the classic, crusty homemade garlic bread- yum yum!!!!
Complete with my own homemade garlic butter with fresh parsely!

Cousinly love... such a sweet thing! Our LJ with
his lil cousin Max. Cuteness Supreme!

And all the above goes for the night we had this Saturday just gone. We were absolutely blessed to have the beautiful company of my Mum and Dad, and my Sister, Brother-in-Law and their precious lil tribe of gorgeous munchkins as well... and it's not often we all get together to be able to do this sort of thing so we really felt thankful for having them all! And thanks for making the effort for us again guys, we really appreciate it!

The yummy Brushetta (minus the hommos darn it- I forgot!)
was gobbled up in minutes... and there were 2 plates of them!!!

And a sneaky hand pinching another little morsel...

On the menu was homemade, fresh Brushetta and crusty garlic bread, with icy cold jugs of drink, and the yummiest of freshly made(base to toppings) rustic pizzas... even if I do say so myself! And a Tasmanian Apple Cake and Cheesecake for dessert- thanks a million Mumsy! For the pizzas, I simply cut up all a whole variety of topping options, and put them into my divided containers ready to go once the dough was rolled. Then once each pizza was prepared and rolled out, we all had a bit of a go at putting toppings and flavourings on and letting loose... and the results were amazing! Yum yum!

Think this one might have been our "Super Supremo" pizza...
complete with fresh boccocini and black olives!

Some of the many containers we had to hold our numerous yummy,
fresh ingredients!

Chris had also fired up his beloved bbq and decided to see how a few pizzas would go being cooked with the hood down... and I must say "perfection" (in his words lol), definately going to be cooking them out there from now on!

PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE:
(this makes enough for approx 6 medium pizzas)

800g plain flour (unbleached recommended)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp yeast
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Approx. 400ml warm water

*Combine all dry ingredients and mix well in a large bowl.
*Pour in the olive oil and enough warm water to form a dough (this will vary, I actually had to add   more water than stated).
*Knead until the dough is smooth on the outside
*Cover with clingwrap and put in a warm spot for approx. 1.5-2hrs or until the dough has doubled in size.
*Once doubled, knock the air out of it and re-knead it into a ball.
*Cut into required size of dough balls with a knife and roll into a pizza base shape.

This is our pizza dough slowly doubling
itself in size...

TIPS and HINTS:
*Any leftover dough can be stored in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.
*I added some italian style herbs and garlic powder to the dough mixture for some extra flavour.
*And remember when adding the water that less is more to begin with to get the right consistency... then add more if required.
*I turned the dough balls into a slighty flatter shape with my hands before rolling slightly, and then "tossing" in the air gently to stretch the dough out  the traditional way... and it's a heap of fun too!

And that's me tossing the pizza dough in
the traditional way- easier than I thought!

Some of the end results... we made about 7 or 8 pizzas in total-
WAY too much for all our little bellies hahaha

Oooh the memories... totally delish! And with fab company what
more could we ask for?!

All in all a fab night, with gorgeous company and a truly delish feed... need to make the time to do this kind of thing more often! Thanks guys for coming out and spending time with us again- we really appreciate it and LOVED spending time with our nearest and dearest! Let's do it again soon ok ;)

Happy Days xox K

Wild 'n' Wooly Weather

"Water is the softest thing on earth, Yet its silken gentleness will wear away the hardest stone"...


So we've had yet another spot or 2 of some wild weather here in the west of this wide red land of Oz. One night while the kids were just popping into bed, the wild suddenly picked up with such ferocity that Chris and I both jumped up and ran outside to see what the commotion was....

Looking out from our front door- you can see the solar garden lights
in the roundabout out front! The colours didn't look this vibrant to the
naked eye...

And here it is in pictures!!! Unbelievable! It actually even felt like it was more ferocious than the last storm we had go through... albeit it, both lasting just as short a time as each other.

And another with an amazing glow of colour... with a rooftop of big,
heavy clouds and a lashing of wind!

It was almost like being in the twilight zone... even the kids
got up out of bed to see what all the commotion was about!

But the colours in the sky were breathtaking, and the pics I managed to capture were just amazing- and they are obviously not retouched or edited either. I just apologise for the blurriness as I had the light meter set quite high and the shutter speed was slow, therefore I was blown around in the wind rather badly blurry  images resulted! Sorry!

An extremely blurry pic looking into our backyard...
with storm almost upon us! The wind was cyclonic!

Amd then we were hit by another much smaller little storm that raced through again only a day or 2 later.. which resulted in us getting a downpour total of 16ml of rain in a mere half an hour! Amazing! But no damage to report with either thank goodness! Let's just hope this heat and humidity give us a welcome reprieve soon... phew!

And yet another Summer Storm rolling on through!

And the wind turbine sounding like it was going to
whizz away into the abyss!

Gotta respect Good Old Mother Nature huh!

Happy Days xox

And back they go...

"We can see a thousand miracles around us everyday. What is more supernatural than an egg yolk turning into a chicken?"  ~ S. Parkes Chadman


And back went 3 of my little chickens to school again last week... Kaelin in Year 4, Levi in Year 2, and Denbi starting big Year 1, with LJ and Denbi sharing a classroom in split Yr1/2. They were all so excited, much to my discontent, but they were all at the stage of really missing their friends and needing that extra interaction with others too.

Our big Year 4 boy Kaelin Keede...

So excited they were in fact, that I am sure our day started mere minutes after 5am! After being told to try go back to bed for a little while longer, we couldn't hold the herds back and up we all got. Dressed, breakfast eaten and bags by the door ready to go by 6am! Phew!!! These are some super excited kiddies! And Daddy came home from work, to come and help us out at school to get settled and ready for a fresh new year ahead. Both Chris and myself just cannot believe Kaelin is now in his 6th year of heading off to school... he'll be heading off to high school in a few more mere years, I've already sent in the enrolement forms! Argh!!! Our babies are simply growing up too fast (and if anyone finds a cure to this, please share lol).

Cool dude Levi J... starting Year 2!

A new year, new kids, a new school bus and drivers, and lots to look forward to... except maybe one Little Bridie Lea who is missing her older siblings like crazy (but secretly seems to also be enjoying having the daily run of the house back to herself again lol). Yet it all seemed to cave in on me and with the stress of everything my immune system obviously became low... and I got a bug! A very nasty one! And basically got home from school and died... for 4 days! It was completely incapacitating, and just horrid with it all made the worse with not being able to rest and recouperate. But all on the improve now and feeling good ;)

Our Darling Denbi Mae... *sigh* Big Year 1 girl

And today, Kaelin was thrown into school swimming lessons as well to really start off his year with a bang! The older kids also start Tennis Coaching next week until the end of the term, and Denbi resumes her beloved Dancing Lessons with Jenny again this Friday! It's all go... crazy crazy but fun!

All 3 big kiddies looking very smart!

And on another unrelated note, I just want to express my most sincere sorrow and heartfelt love and support for all those who have lost homes, sheds and the like over the last few days in the devastating bushfires in the Perth hills. Please know that the whole of Australia is behind you, and all our thoughts and prayers are with you all now and forever. Stay strong xox

Our very precious little brood!!! Where have the years gone?

And on a brighter note to end... a HUGE Happy Birthday to my Poppa Bear for tomorrow! The strongest man I know, he is so loving and giving, generous and kind, unselfish and loyal, thoughtful and respectful, always fair and most of all, so very hardworking! And he is totally devoted to his family, and we couldn't ask for a better man to look up to. Love you Daddy xox

MWAH xox K

Growing up...

"If only youth knew; if only age could"  ~ Henri Estienne (1531- 1598)


So... it became time. Little Miss Biddy had started to procure some rather 'odd' behaviour, and by odd I mean... putting those large craft gems into her ears (and by ears I mean the actual ear canals- lucky they jutted out about half way!). And next came the chunky craft beads... hmm- getting slightly smaller, and what is this all about??

And the final straw came in the form of a smaller kiddie bead I "happened" to come across wedged in the ear hole!!! What is going on here?

It wasn't until a visit to my parents house and the said last bead was found in Miss Bid's ear that she finally exclaimed to us all "look, pwetties!!"

Miss Bridie with her new pwetty earrings...

Ahhhhh.... she wants earrings! AHA! The thought had never even crossed my mind as I had waited until Denbi was old enough and mature enough to ask for them herself (which at 3.5yrs old still kind of shocked me seeming too young to even know), and we had a dream run with it all. She sat still for each ear piercing (each done individually), and then was quite willing to let us turn and clean them as well.

With Bridie I wasn't so confident! She is going on 2yrs this month and just seems so little to me, let alone old enough to want, or even know, what earrings even are! But sure enough, that's precisely what she wanted! And when we asked her about it, she simply pointed to her ears and said "Hmm, pwetties". Ok then... let's do it (and hopefully save ourselves from a trip into the A&E to try remove any amount of unknown objects from her ear canals!).

And again the very special and much adored pwetties!

So how did we go??? Well, let's just say it was late in the afternoon, and not the most opportune time to take a boisterous (ie- feral!!) 2yr old to have little guns shoot holes in her ear lobes! Thank goodness Chris was with me, otherwise I might've chickened out, packed up and whisked us all home minus those darn "pwetties". However, the 2 assistants in the Chemist were very brave, and also willing to put up with a slightly (ok, a big load) tired little Biddy. You girls were amazing! Thankyou thankyou! And within minutes we had one very happy little girl with her brand new sparkly pwetties (aka- pretties)... sterling silver studs with amethyst stones- her birth stone. And boy!!! Does she like to show these babies off, it's so cute! AND she has even been a doll when it comes to the cleaning and care of them as well- so decision well made I think!

So proud of you my little baby girl... where has that baby gone?? Sometimes don't you just wish you could slow down time?!

Happy Days xox K

Mother Nature...

"In my best social accent I addressed him. I said 'It is most extraordinary weather for this time of year!' He replied, 'Ah, it isn't this time of year at all' " ~  Oliver St John Gogarty (1878- 1957)

View from our front yard- the wall of water you can see
coming up the driveway and across the paddock...

And as it reaches our home...

On the Saturday just passed (Jan 29th), we had a freak storm makes its way across our part of the countryside, wreaking havoc as it went. We managed to actually hear (and most definately 'see') it coming, just in time to get all the washing off the clothesline thank goodness... otherwise it might've ended up who knows where?!

And as it's about to unleash over our backyard (notice the lawn growing too-
pretty awesome huh!)

The total greyness behind the fence is the massive wall
of water coming towards us...

And our precious babes inside all safe n sound... and Bridie actually slept through
it all believe it or not!

This storm was unlike anything we've had in a long while, and while Cyclone Bianca was just off the West coast here, the 2 were apparently unrelated! Just one of those freak Mother Nature things I guess... and as quickly as it began, it also passed just as quickly, leaving a path of destruction and gaining in strength as it continued on!

The windturbine absolutely howling through the severe wind and heavy rain,
we've never seen it like it before!

And the trees as they cop a bollocking...

And the front drive entrance awash with all the massive puddles and excess water

And our most heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with all those who lost a loved one or sustained damage to homes and other things during this time also xo Stay strong

xox K