We're almost there!

What we're NOT having...... how funny is this! Frozen Christmas dinner - Swedish style.

I've done the grocery shopping for Christmas. My kitchen is buried and I am writing a list of things that I can prepare today, what needs to be done tomorrow and what needs to be finished off at the last minute. (We're partying here on Christmas Eve.) I always write a list of what we are eating because otherwise I inevitably forget something in the back of the fridge until everyone's gone home. At Moo's first birthday I made lollie bags for everyone and didn't realise I'd given them out until most people had left..... D'oh.
MIL is doing a baked ham and BIL a roast pork with crackling. SIL a chocolate cake and me a layered ice-cream cake with berries on top. We're also having meatballs, Janssons frestelse, Gravlax, prinskorv, salads and all that. I'm even making punch! My Aunt is bringing cheeses and cold meats from the Yarra Valley and it's going to be awesome! Writing this is getting me all excited so I'm going to go and start cooking. Happy holidays everyone!

Boo

I can't believe I have the most disgusting cold in the world. *Blah*
All my plans out the window......
BUT, I did manage to pop into the op-shop on my way to the chemist to get cough medicine this morning. (Before I started feeling too awful.)When I was in there a man came in with a bag of darling little aprons/smocks handmade by his mother who used to sell them at markets. The poor old dear had 'done a hip' and wasn't doing markets anymore so 'the goods' were given to the oppie. I bought 3 because my little Moo is the messiest girl I know and we have bought her an easel and other art supplies for Christmas. They will make a wonderful addition to her loot. Yay! Op-shop Gods smiling on me again : )

No need to call Fox Mulder from the X-files

If you were thinking of calling the police this morning because you saw me ironing the bed linen I urge you not to do so. Although it may appear that I have been abducted by aliens and replaced by some weird cleaning and ironing freak I can assure you that this is not the case. I'm not sure what has caused this anomaly but I kind of like it so please don't do anything silly and call the authorities.

Time wasting

I scored an 'A' in high school. A 'high distinction' at uni. All homework sessions were preceded by a room and desk tidy. Pencil sharpening and sorting. Flower picking and arranging in a vase on my desk. Now I'm no longer studying I've had to branch out from desk tidying to other activities.
Tonights procrastination session was catching up with this year's Julkalender. I watch it every year. It's a 15 min program for children that run's from the 1st of December until Christmas - hence the name 'Christmas calander.' I have to admit I even laugh at the corny jokes.
I love time wasting.

What is the world coming too????

I was very sad this evening to read that new US regulations on toys and childrens' products will make handmade toys, clothing, nappies and baby carriers illegal as of February.
It's America you say, you don't need to worry. Well, given that we in Australia just love to follow everything stateside and have ourselves become a litigious society it may not be long before these kind of laws come into effect here. I know it's for safety but gees! I have kids. I think I can judge what is safe and not safe. Just take a look at some of the 'safe' toys for sale in the $2 shop made of crappy plastic and containing God knows what and made in sweatshops in third world countries. Rant. Rant. Rant.

If you're in need of a smile....

... check out this cute video of 5mth old Moo having a giggle.

Whenever I need a laugh I sneak a peek. : )

I think I might be back.....

.... but we'll see! We're right in the middle of the craziest time of the year. I've been busy getting ready with our first Christmas gathering this Sunday (Dad's family). Mum's family is next Saturday and my mother in law's birthday bash is on the Sunday. We have Christmas Eve (Julafton) at our place, breakfast at hubby's Dad's and then it's down to my parents on the Gippsland Lakes. In between this I'm learning to drive, (Watch out! Don't worry, I'm taking driving lessons with dual control....), baking, making space in the house for guests and getting all the presents are ready. Digging out entire rooms from under accumulated debris (Moo's toys) and dust, toast crumbs and God know what. Home made cards too. Am I crazy?
Now, as to where I have been for the past little bit.... More than a few weeks ago we found out we were expecting munchkin #2 but the happiness only lasted a few weeks and so I have been recovering both emotionally and physically. Not only that but my father in law and his wife have been away and when they are not here I take care of his business. My FIL imports parts for large transformers - the kind that are on the electrical grid - quite technical but thankfully I'm not required to be an electrical engineer! I did do physics in year 12 but that's as far as it goes! Anyhoo, that requires time when Moo is sleeping for emails, phone calls, receiving goods, repacking them and sending them around the country. Business has been booming with storms in QLD and NSW. But I bore you!
On the craft front.... I haven't done any sewing but have baked Christmas presents and used Martha's site for some packaging ideas. Moo did fingerpainting and I framed them for the Grandparents. Pics to follow.
So, Happy Christmas crafting and here's to me getting my (crafting) mojo back!

Bugger.

Having a bit of a personal crisis. Going to take a break for a little bit but will be back soon! Promise.

This is........ three weeks of 'This is.....'

This is 'something I'm surprised I like.'
Oh, I can't believe I'm even admitting this. I like Quarter Pounders from McDonalds international evil empire. We mostly eat organic food but there's just something about the cheesy, oniony, pickly taste of a quarter pounder that I can't resist. The bun is so soft and sweet and disgusting - how could I????? Yes, I am surely surprised that I like it.

This is 'a favorite recipe I would like to share.'
From my Grandma:

COFFEE OAT BALLS.
1 cup rolled oats
4oz margarine
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 cup coconut
1 tablespoon instant coffee
Cooking chocolate
Walnuts

Cream icing and margarine. Add all other ingredients. Roll into balls. Place in freezer for 1 hour.

Dip in melted chocolate, place a walnut on top to decorate. Store in refrigerator.

This is 'my favorite quote.'
I used to have so many quotes that I like but these days I have to be honest and say that I don't really think about it that much. Let me think....
I remember reading this quote before I had children and thinking that it was nice. Now that I'm a Mum this quote can easily bring a tear to my eye.....

“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”
Elizabeth Stone

Now, I am going to try really hard to keep up with 'This is....' from now on. Promise.

And to make me smile.

My Moo who thinks Mummy's sunglasses are waaaaay cool!~

Busy busy busy

Do you ever feel like you've been crazy busy but when you try to think what you've done you can't think of anything? I feel like that today. The past few weeks have been mayhem. I'd like to blame the bathroom but I'm not a plumber or a carpenter and haven't had all that much to do with it really. I guess it is time consuming talking to the tradies and letting them know exactly what we want, making decisions and the like..... And having a building site in the middle of your house isn't exactly good feng shui (or pungsu if you are Korean!)
I've also been really tired which hasn't helped. A few days I have had to go and lie down when Annie has her nap because I just can't function. Hopefully this will pass soon!
There's been a lot of washing to catch up on. The weather has been bad and with Annie having been sick there was her extra washing that got priority which caused me to run out of undies on the weekend. D'oh.
Hubby has been doing uni assignments so he hasn't been helping as much as he usually does either. *blah* I hope I can be more organised soon. Before I loose my marbles.....
And, if you didn't manage to guess from the feeling of this post, there has been NO crafting done here. My sewing machine (poor thing) is sitting on top of the heater in the dining room. Looking all lonely and forlorn.....

Things have been crazy around here.....

More 'before' shots.

I removed the wallpaper above the tile line....

Our 'beautiful' bathroom light and ventilation doodah.... thankfully no longer residing here.
The hole in the floor, and you can't see it well here, but the electrical outlet right under the shower taps was quite 'interesting.' Whoever did this bathroom originally should be punished!

Days one and two: Ugly light removed! Woo hoo! Sheeting for the tiles put up and water proof membrane painted on. Plumber came and checked out all the pipes etc before the tiles went up.

Hole in the floor fixed, shower base installed. We are having a completely tiled floor with a drain in the bottom for the shower. The shower frame will be glass that sits directly on the tiles.

IXL fan/light/heat lamp installed and dangerous electrical outlet removed. Second outlet moved so it is not so close to the sink - illegal as it was! Day three: tiles start to go up. The pencil tiles make a line that extends around the whole room. The colour is 'taupe.'

Whole in the roof patched up....

Now in day four so I will update again later....

YUK!

Moo was really sick this week. You could have filmed a remake of 'The Exorcist' at our house.

**insert horrifying picture here**

Poor little thing was so shocked and appalled every time she was sick. We had two very sleepless nights but I am glad to say that things are back to normal now and our cheeky 'diving from sofa into beanbag' monkey is back and smiling!

Dress

Do you think I could get the model to be still???? NO WAY!

This dress is from Amy Butler's, Little Stitches for Little Ones. I finished it a while back but gave it to my Mum to do the button holes because my machine is old and annoying. The size is 12mths and Moo is 18 mths so it's a little short. But she's skinny so it fits - just. I didn't make it for her though so it's alright......
I was very pleased with myself for making a fully lined dress. The patterns are so easy to follow in this book so I am glad that I bought it.

Sugar soap is not so sweet

So, there has been little done on the crafting front as I have been fighting the wallpaper in the bathroom and there are only so many hours in the day. I've finished half the bathroom and have only got to sugar soap off the rest of the glue off the walls. YUK! It takes a LOT of elbow grease to get that stuff off the walls and I have to do it while standing on a ladder and concentrating so as to not fall off! I managed to spill a giant bucket of warm soapy water off the top of the ladder so it was a good thing we have giant holes in the floor....... *yikes*
In other bathroom news we have ordered and paid for the tiles - unpolished dark concrete for the floors, white gloss on the walls and taupe pencil tiles as a border around the whole room. I borrowed a crow bar off my FIL and have taken the skirting boards off. I had a look at the shower base and it's not even stuck down!! So, that will be easy to remove. And then it's just the floor boards which I will do next weekend. ~PHEW~

Check it out.

My brother in law's website is up and running. Mike's work is awesome and you can see it here.
His next exhibition will be in December with the next solo exhibition being in May next year.
GO MIKE! (Yep, I like to cheer for my friends and family!)

Stay at home Mum. Chef. Accountant. Project Manager.

Feed baby and husband. Check.
Feed self. Check.
Turn on Sesame Street and The Night Garden to keep kid quiet while on the phone. Check.
Tax return. Check.
Call Centrelink. Check.
Wait forever to talk to someone. Check.
Get annoyed. Check.
Order tiles. Check.
Call Bunnings. Check.
Call glazier. Check.

And it's not even 10. I think it's time for a cup of tea!

It may not be craft but it's makin'

I put together the vanity for our new bathroom!

All by myself and without messing up the instructions! Good thing I was educated at a technical school and know how to use a screwdriver. My time in Sweden taught me how to appreciate sitting down for coffee and a kanelbulle (cinnamon bun) and also how to interpret IKEA assembly instructions......

Now all we need is walls and a floor - yep - that is the underneath of our house you're looking at there! Hopefully there are no elves or trolls living under there......or come to think of it - SPIDERS~~~

Soon to be ripping out the floor and old shower base. Sugar soaping the walls and then it's all up to Mr Tradey to do the rest. Can't wait!

Impromptu fun

Last week I spied what I suspected to be asbestos in our 'to be reno-ed' bathroom. I called the asbestos man who confirmed my suspicions and so they came on Saturday morning to clean up. This meant that we were banished from our house at 8am - Moo and I were still in bed when they rocked up!
So, what do you do on a weekend morning at 8am? Go and have a lovely cooked breakfast made by someone else! Woo hoo~~ Moo and I shared a 'Big ass breakfast.' (I didn't call it that. It was on the menu!)
After we got the all clear we had a home pit stop and after parting with a few hundred hard earned dollars trotted off to IKEA. We managed to stick to our list and picked up the vanity/sink, towel rails and mirror without incident and without any talk of divorce. Hubby actually felt like looking around (what kind of miracle was that!!??) so we looked around and dreamt about kitchens and window seats and an organised wardrobe. *sigh*
When we got home hubby said, 'I feel like having a BBQ.' So, we ended up having a nice relaxed Saturday evening BBQ. Beer. Irish cider. Steaks. Lemon and herb fish. Kartoffel salat. Friends. Fun.
Sunday morning hubby was really getting antsy that he had not started his homework (part time uni student) but he also admitted that he was suffering from a severe case of procrastination. Then the phone rang. BIL rang and asked if he could come over with the family (new nephew!) We asked them to stay for lunch and MIL come over too. We enjoyed some family time. Moo and her cousin rough housed (and nearly broke the joint!) and I had the perfect excuse not to make tea for everyone - a tiny one week old nephew asleep in my arms.....
For a weekend that had no plans it turned out to be exceptionally fun.

And I just noticed.....

.... that I've had my 1001st visitor. That's exciting!

I guess.....