After a sweltering hot day we were grateful to have a swim and BBQ at the Latrobe Pool for our Ward’s Australia Day activity. I didn’t even know that Latrobe had a public swimming pool, it was lovely and warm and a nice way to cool off. I hadn’t planned on putting Lil in the water, but the water was just too tempting so we put her in in her clothes. She absolutely LOVED it, was kicking and splashing and giggling away. So cute. We have been at the beach all day today (more about that later) and she loved the water there too.
Such a happy-go-lucky easy to take anywhere little girl.
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FATHER'S DAY
After being housebound for two rainy and cold days on Monday and Tuesday, Oscar and I were excited to get out and have our monthly “play day” with our friends. Usually we get together at someones house, but this month we decided to check out the new Kids Paradise in Launceston. It was fantastic – well worth the trip in, especially on a yucky day. There is heaps for the kids to do there – big slides, jumping castles, mini supermarket, beauty salon, travel room, play gyms, ball pit, etc. Oscar’s favourite was the jumping castle, he got all giggly and was so excited to be jumping around on it! I even had a bit of a jump, hoping that it will speed things up with the baby coming! 9 days until due day now…lets hope it is sooner rather than later!
To nap or not to nap…that is the big question of the day around here…
Miss Lil has reached that awkward stage where she can go without a day nap most of the time, but often ends up in a foul mood by the day or sometimes accidentally falls asleep on the couch like this.
Most days she will still have a sleep but means that she won’t go straight to sleep at night time. Oh, what to do?
(and YAY! I finally figured out how to make my photos BIG in blogger. Thanks Chels for the advice…now I’ve just got to work out how to get my little grey birdies back next to the header! Anyone know how to do it??)
Now I really want to go through my blog and make my old pictures bigger too! Haha – now that would just be a waste of time…or would it?
We have moved, unpacked, de-junked, and are feeling settled into our new place. Before moving I was pretty organised and did lots of strategic packing and sorting and a lot of the clean up in the old house before moving day so it was a lot less stressful and hectic than it could have been. We are loving all of the big windows, natural light and warmth of our new house. The kids are settled and happy and sleeping at night – what more could I ask for??!
Having no internet for a few days made me very aware of the time-waster it can be. I got more done in a day ans ended up with a bit of “me-time” each day. So I have now placed myself on recreational internet restrictions…it will be good for me!
The day before moving I sewed up these two skirts – the pink one, an order for a customer and the yellow one for me! I love it! No, I wasn’t THAT organised that I had sewing time, I just needed a break from looking at the bomb-hit house and didn’t want to deal with it!!
Quilt Market is in about 6 weeks and I’m starting to get really nervous…it is all pulling together, despite major printer issues which will hopefully be ironed out tomorrow when I take it in to be fixed. I wish I could just click my fingers and have everything magically finished and ready for me! 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE MATTHEW!
Today Uncle Matthew turns 40 (he is wearing green in the photo with his brothers and sisters below).
Just wanted to let him know that I love him and hope that he has a great day today! Affectionately known to his family as Monkey, he is a big softie when it comes to family and never misses a birthday or celebration or just a quick hello to let you know that he is thinking of you.
We love you Monkey – have a brilliant day!
Sunday was a special day for our family. Jaron gave Tommy a beautiful blessing and we were lucky enough to have lots of extended family travel to be with us.
Jaron’s parents and three of his siblings came over from New Zealand on Thursday night and stayed with us until this morning. My sister, Filipa and her husband Chris are down from Sydney for a few more days. This is the first time for all of them to meet Tommy and he has been thoroughly spoiled with constant cuddles. 
Oscar and Lil have had the best 5 days, with someone new to play with all the time and lots of outings they were absolutely exhausted today. Oscar asked me this morning if we could just have a “home day” today! So, home day it was! Catching up on lots of house work and washing while the kids made forts and slides out of blankets and mattresses in the spare room!
I don’t think I have written about where Tommy’s name came from. My Dad (on the right) is named Tyrone, has always been called Tom and his kids call him Tommy. Jaron’s Dad’s (on the left) middle name is Ross. So our Tommy Ross is named after his two Grandfathers. Lucky little dude.
And here we are trying to get a family photo. I swear, I will pay a lot of money to the person who manages to take a decent snap of us all together one day. My children are NOT good at posing for the camera when WE want them to! I guess this is really us and they will be happy to look back at a lot of crazy family photos in the future!
A blissfully sunny day today. Lil joined Oscar and I outside while I hung the washing on the line. It was her first time hanging outside in the sun.
Oscar has started to call Lil “Bay-bay”, he sings it all day long – he also finds it amusing to try out his “wake up Jeff” shout when Lil is asleep to see if he can get a good reaction from her. Usually she sleeps through it, but when it does wake her up he thinks it is hilarious…I don’t!
Here’s the thing…running your own business and working from home is awesome. When I started selling my sewing patterns, I never did intend to make a business of it, but over time things have fallen nicely into place and now I find myself “working” from home and contributing to the family bills. With any kind of commitment, comes work though. Unfortunately I don’t sit around and sew all day (ah, wouldn’t that be great?!). Aside from the usual day to day jobs that come with being a wife and mother, I spend many hours on the computer answering emails, working out finances, writing up patterns, not to mention keeping the blog updated and things running over on Facebook. There is lots to think about every single day. I love it though. If I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t be doing it.
But sometimes I miss the old me. The me with had a baby or two at home, got bored because there was “nothing to do”, managed to take a walk every day without feeling like it was wasting precious time, the me who would cook for the sake of it, sit on the couch and watch a bit of midday telly and read a magazine in the afternoon. It was pretty cruisy back then!
So yesterday I declared it “house-wifey” day. I didn’t do anything “work” related. I got the kids up at the bench and we cooked cheese and bacon scrolls followed by caramel popcorn together. There was delicious chicken noodle soup for dinner and some of Clare’s scrumptious rocky road to finish it off. Then I went with Mum to visit a sick friend. Came home and did a bit of housework and sat on the couch and read with the kids for awhile. I felt like I had accomplished a lot, my mind was refreshed and it didn’t matter that there were still a gazillion emails sitting unanswered and I hadn’t worked out the tricky bit on my new pattern.
Next time I’m feeling over it, I’m scheduling another “house-wifey” day – kinda like taking a sickie from work but I feel good!Actually, today is turning out to be a bit “house-wifey” too – I’m about to turn this 10kg of tomatoes into fresh pasta sauce and stock up the freezer because after making fresh pasta sauce in the thermomix, I don’t want to eat it from a jar again. Maybe I’ll have a go at making some relish or tomato sauce while I’m at it – yum!
P.S. If you used to be my friend on Facebook, sorry I ditched you. For many reasons, I’ve been mad at Facebook lately. Although I didn’t ever write much on my personal wall, I did procrastinate my time and have a browse around a couple of times a day when I should have been doing something else. I didn’t like how when I saw someone in real life, I wouldn’t have anything to talk to them about because I had already read it all.
I am however, happy to keep going with my Make It Perfect Facebook page – I like the personal contact I can have with people who support me in my business and find it is a quick and easy way to get answers to questions. If I deleted my personal account, I couldn’t keep my Make It Perfect page, so I decided to unfriend everybody and will no longer keep my personal page going. So if you need to talk to me, lets chat in real life – or you could call me – or send me an email! It feels good to be rid of another thing on the computer that has been eating away at my time.
P.P.S. If you are Facebook-lover, I’m not judging you…it just isn’t working for me…each to their own.
I’ve been holding onto this fabric since 2009! One of my absolute favourites from Lizzy House’s first range, Red Letter Day.
So I guess it goes to show how much I love the Zip-It dress pattern…I didn’t have any trouble cutting into the fabric at all!
Love the lime green with contrasting blue – always nice to have a change from pinks and purples for little girls.
And I think it looks absolutely adorable on Lil – I can’t wait to sew some more for her!
The Zip-It pattern giveaway is now closed. Thanks for your entries and excited feedback! Congratulations Erika, you’ve won a copy of the pattern – I’ll send you an email 🙂
And remember, if you want to get your hands on a copy of Zip-It, you can purchase an instant download pattern here or find a stockist here.
Happy Mothers Day to all of the beautiful Mum’s reading – this message is for you!
SUPPLIES:
Make It Perfect, Zip-It pattern
Lizzy House, Red Letter Day, Ugly Duckling in Pond
Suzy Ultman, Suzy’s Dollhouse, Dots in Blueberry
I don’t think I have mentioned it on my blog yet, but we were lucky enough to win the Rikrak Studio Handmade Olympics in the “Fave Nicies” category for coordinating the Queensland Flood Auctions. We won some lovely prizes – my sister got to spend $50 at this Etsy store and I got a $50 voucher to spend at Ikabags – an amazing France-based Etsy store selling gorgeous bags.
It was REALLY hard to narrow down my very favourite, they have heaps of lovely bags to choose from. I finally settled on this green and white striped beauty though – Stockholm in Green Apple.
My bag arrived in the mail last week and I was SO impressed. These bags do not look handmade at all. They are made from thick, high-quality cotton and lined with water-resistant tent canvas – making them really strong and sturdy. I didn’t get a good pic of the inside, but it is full of pockets and big enough to use as a day-to-day bag without feeling like you are carrying around half the house!
So if you are looking for a quality, handmade bag – I highly recommend Ikabags. Thankyou Feyza, you made my day 🙂
Last Sunday Oscar was baptised as a member of our church. It was a really special day and we were so proud of him and of his decision to be baptised now that he has turned 8. He was so excited during the week leading up to his baptism and we made a big deal about it all week, having a special Family Home Evening, having them missionaries over for dinner to talk about it and also having our Home Teachers come and give a message about baptism.
We wanted him to have a lot to do with the day and he decided who was going to speak and say prayers at the baptism and what songs were going to be sung. We also got him to write out the programme in his own handwriting – this is going to be a tradition in our family as it will be a nice, personal keepsake for them to hold on to. (Lil painted a picture of Oscar being baptised that we used inside too.)
Jaron and I were feeling a little nostalgic all week – it really does only feel like a couple of years ago we were having our first baby and starting a family, yet here we are after 12 years of marriage and 8 years of children with a “big” family for this day and age!
Time really does go too fast. Oscar being baptised signifies the beginning of having older kids, everything is going to happen so quickly now. Before we know it he will be turning 12, then 18, then heading off on a mission and leaving home! And the others will quickly follow behind him.
Funny how for the first few years of being a mother everything seemed to go so slowly. We were stuck at home (we only had 1 car until Lil was born so had to walk everywhere!) and every day seemed to drag on. As soon as they hit school age though, time just seems to fly by. They leave for school in the morning and before I can manage to get much done at all it is time to pick them up again! On Sunday evening I have grand plans about everything I’m going to accomplish during the next week and before I know it it’s Sunday night again and my list looks pretty much the same as it did a week ago!
I’ve had a few reminders over the last few weeks to take time to slow down and “smell the roses”. I’m finding it easier to drop the unimportant tasks and focus on the here and now…the little things that will make a difference to the children and our family. Everything else can wait and I know that if I focus on the important things then I will find time for everything else.
We were so grateful to friends and family who joined us for Oscar’s special day. I love that we are surrounded by so many wonderful people who care about our family and teach my children how to be Christlike through their quiet examples.
Happy Baptism Day spunky boy!
And before we know it, Summer holidays are over. It’s always bittersweet, sending the kids back to school. Sad, because our relaxing, holiday mode is over for awhile but nice to get back into routine and for the kids to see their friends again.
This year, we are very lucky that a brand new Primary School has opened just down the road from our house. The school is amazing, with everything brand new and architecturally designed. The classrooms are just beautiful and it was really exciting to go and have a look around this morning when we dropped the kids off for school.
Lil is in Prep this year (her first year of full-time school) and was feeling very grown up this morning and excited to see her little friends again.
Oscar started grade 2 and wasn’t as enthusiastic about going back to school as Lil was, but once he got there he was okay and had a really good day too.
Lucky today was Tommy’s daycare day because this little boy was adamant that he was going to school too! It’s going to be tough dropping the others off every day and taking him home with me. I’m predicting some tantrums already so will have to make sure we have some fun things to go home to every day!
And what about me? What did I get up to on my child-free day today? I’ve had a lovely break from Make It Perfect work over the holidays (I think I worked out long ago that there just wasn’t any point trying to keep it up in the holidays!) and was eager to get stuck back into it today. I did lots of planning and a little bit of sewing – I want to try and have a few patterns up my sleeve to give me a break once I have the baby so have a few action packed months ahead of me! ** Have you tried the new choc mint Kit Kats? Best things ever! This pregnancy has turned me into a Kit Kat lover – before, it was always Cadbury, but since being pregnant, I’m liking Nestle more. ** Inspired by a few fellow Instagrammers I put a little note and chocolate on each of the kids beds to surprise them with when they got home (they loved it!) ** and quickly baked some muffins for afternoon tea (thankyou Betty).
But it wasn’t all work…I managed to put my feet up for half an hour before school pick up and have a little rest in my absolutely silent house – I love Tuesdays!
Most days, our table is a mess of pencils, sticky tape, scissors and tons and tons of paper. No matter how many times I quickly pack it up during the day, it isn’t long before they notice and get everything out again to do some more making. As much as the mess drives me crazy, I really do love that they love to draw, cut, stick and create awesome stuff every day.
Today was particularly funny…Oscar was busy making something at the table, I was in the lounge room watching the events of Cyclone Yasi unfold and heard Oscar call out to Lil, “Lilsy…I made you a new t-shirt, come and see!”
The.Cutest.Thing.Ever.
Big brothers officially rock.
I finished my production line of About A Boy caps. These are just as addictive as the Lazy Day Hat to make (I’m just warning you…)
These photos were taken before Lil’s bike accident. (I wish she healed this quickly!) Her face is lovely and scabby now, although looking a little better every day. Good old Pawpaw Ointment has been doing the trick I think!
Hopefully all of this hat making will encourage the sun, which has started to hide it’s cheerful face to stick around for a bit longer 🙂
SUPPLIES:
Monaluna, Circa 50, Cars in Multi
Valori Wells, Del Hi, Stones in Cinnamon
Heather Bailey, Nicey Jane, Hop Dot in Olive
Alexander Henry, Harlequin
This is usual for me. I tend to go through a phase of buying lots of sewing/craft stuff and then putting it all away in a box and thinking I will get around to it one day. Then one day come along and I have a sudden urge to empty out the box and make EVERYTHING I have stashed away! So this is the result of my Melly & Me spree of late.
These fish were by far the easiest to make, quick to finish, very cute looking and prefect for using up scraps. So I only have one pattern left to try in my Melly & Me stash…the dinosaur…the problem is, they keep releasing more cute flossies…oh those girls are very clever – and Aussies too!
Happy Fathers Day to everyone who is celebrating out there! We had a splendid day here 🙂
I waited until Jaron had gone to bed last night and sneakily hung up this Fathers Day banner I had made for him…I think I have a new love – message banners! Have seen a few popping up on Pinterest and think they are great. Super easy to make too – I just used some sheets of 12×12 scrapbooking paper and drew the letters free-hand then cut them out. I like the slightly wonky, unevenness of them. Strung them together with some cotton twine and a big needle and used a bit of blutac to secure each end on top of the architrave. Simple! I’m looking forward to our next celebratory event so that I can make another…or perhaps I’ll make one “just because” – no need for a special event!
During the week I asked the kids a heap of questions about Jaron and made their answers into a book – some of them were very cute/funny. I wasn’t intending to do it scrapbook style but when I was rummaging through my supplies I found an unused album so popped everything in it. The intention is that we can add to the album each year – maybe something different next year…portraits of Dad or memorable stories?
Along with a few needed gifts (new shaver, squash racquet) Oscar chose a Nerf Gun – last year he gave Jaron some Lego…smart kid! I have to admit that I have always been anti-guns in this house, but these look like fun and it has provided a full afternoon and evening of entertainment! We have plans for a big family Nerf Gun war at Christmas now! I’m still sticking with my no Wii, Playstation, video game rule though – would rather save a special gift like that for when the kids are much, much older and it will mean more to them.
Happy Fathers Day Jaron – you really are a FAB DAD!
Quilting is my “go to” craft. I always like to have a quilt in progress and I can “go to” it when I want a break from my usual sewing. Quilts usually take me 6-12 months to make. I don’t like to be too speedy with them because, really, what are you supposed to do with a gazillion quilts lying around?!!
I started a coin quilt each for Oscar and Lil almost 12 months ago and this week I finished hand-quilting Oscar’s and have started on the binding. Nothing like some cool rolled up binding photos to brighten a cold, rainy day! I should be finished in the next couple of days (got some Masterchef to watch!) and then hopefully will get a nice day to take some photos to share.
Such a beautiful day today…every January there is a Regatta at the beach by our house, it was on today so we took a walk down to it this morning to check it out. Lots of entertainment for the kids – FREE shows for them to watch, FREE crafts, drawing with chalk on the pathway and face painting, jumping castles and rides. Lots of yummy food and races going on at the beach all day long. 
This is how Lil spent most of the morning…
We were so hot by the end of it so when we got home Mum came and watched the kids for an hour while Jaron and I went for a swim at the beach….oh it was so so so nice! The waves were big today (by my standard anyway!) so lots of fun to play and splash around in. LOVE IT!
My baby sister is having her first baby any day now. I know how icky that last week or two of pregnancy can be – you feel big and tired and uncomfortable and just want to get the baby out, but at the same time are not quite sure that you are actually ready for a baby just yet!
So as a little “pick-me-up” to send my happy, positive labour vibes, I posted her a Little Box of Sunshine in the mail…
The idea behind it came from some pins on Pinterest (of course). There is a heap of awesome inspiration for gifts “in a box” – some of them on my Gifts board.
Here’s what I included:
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| Some yellow art prints from Leanne |
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| Herbal tea, gum and lip gloss |
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| Flake and Chomp bars, yellow nail polish, lolly pop |
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| Yellow m&ms, lollies |
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| Post-it notes, sunny earrings |
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| Lolly bananas |
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| Sunshine framed print |
And here it is, all packaged up – ready for express posting:
A box fully of sunny goodness to brighten up her day and give her something to munch while the waiting game begins- and I reckon she should paint her toe nails bright yellow ready for the big day 🙂
So excited to meet my beautiful little niece! I know she will be a perfect little ray of sunshine in Fil and Chris’ family.
P.S. Got other “gift in a box” ideas? Share them here – I love the concept!
We went to Queensland. But not for 1 month. I certainly can’t blame our family holiday for my blogging absence, but I’m not really sure that I can put my finger on the reason that my desire for blogging has gone down the drain lately. Maybe it’s the uninspiring weather, or perhaps after 5 years of blogging I was just ready for a break? It was getting to the stage where writing a blog post seemed to require a lot of effort and I didn’t want to do it if I didn’t enjoy it. I’m also at a crossroads as to how much family information to share on the blog. In the last year it has been very, very little. I’m missing having somewhere to record our day to day happenings but I just don’t feel that they fit on what the “Make It Perfect” blog has evolved to be. I’m thinking of starting a personal family blog to keep a record of the day to day events that happen in our family and keeping this blog for my creative endeavors with a spattering of the major family events here and there. Lots to consider and the break has been nice.
We DID go to Queensland! It was amazing. Really, the whole holiday was one big reunion and we got to spend time with family members from near and far all together in one place. My Grandad turned 80, which is reason enough for a family reunion. We stayed at a family-friendly holiday park in Maroochydore and the kids had the time of their lives running from cabin to cabin, playing catch and swimming, canoeing and frolicking in the river. And the weather – oh, the weather! I vow to take a winter break every year from now on. What a welcome relief to go from rugging up with our jackets and scarves to wearing shorts and tshirts every single day. So refreshing and lovely to break winter up a little bit. We got to meet new baby Poppy with her big eyes and cute cheeks, she is a delight but even more of a delight is seeing Fil and Chris as Mama and Papa – the rock at it! There was a bigger than big 80th birthday bonfire, a 5 year old birthday celebration for Miss Lil, Poppy’s baby blessing topped off with face painting for the kids, strawberries and passion fruit galore, sea-side knitting, Aunty Cath’s hair salon, Australia Zoo, Filipa making wise use of her time feeding Poppy while being pushed around in a wheelchair!, music, laughter and love – lots of love!
After our family reunion, we stayed in Queensland for another week and stayed with my sister-in-law Eve and her family. It has been waaaay too long since we last spent time with them and was lovely for the kids to get to know their cousins better. My in-laws gatecrashed our holiday by surprising us all with a visit all the way from New Zealand! So much fun and what a great way to end our trip.
Now, this is the part where I do a big, HUGE, unordered photo dump of our holiday – enjoy!
