It's not always going to be this grey

My stepdad passed away very recently. It really hurts.

He loved music, the Beatles were his favourite band. Before he passed he made us all copies of a cd he made up and titled-  'Nostalgia, 30 of Pete's top 5 Greatest songs of all Time'.

Here are my top 5 songs from a most cherished compilation for you to enjoy.

Go and hug your loved ones x

 

 

lego love

Well, this stuff isn't actually Lego, it's Banbao- a less expensive and compatible alternative. 

I love afternoons like these. The boy and I have just spent over an hour sitting side by side in front of the fire putting this together, his little hands carefully pushing on the pieces. It was supposed to be a Christmas present but I'm hopeless as I know how much he loves them : )

We use our 'breakfast in bed tray'- it's perfect for keeping track of the teeny weeny blocks.

We got our set from http://www.fishpond.co.nz/ where there's a range of vehicles for $11.97 including postage. The one I bought had 125 pieces.

Banbao is also crazy cheap on http://www.aliexpress.com

building with dad

 I'm very lucky to have a super lovely husband who does heaps for us and really enjoys being a dad x

He came up with this idea himself so, while I was out 'coffee and caking' for a friend's birthday he set up a saw and helped the kids make a sailing boat and house. He was very impressed with how interested and focused they were for such a long period of time. They're very proud of their creations - warm fuzzies all round!

We're joining in once again with the lovely Miriam at Create Hope Inspire and becoming the mama I want to be ( or in this case he's becoming the Dad he wants to be)

Becoming the Mama  I want to be is about taking time to enjoy the journey of parenting, to honour it's value and to hopefully inspire and encourage each other.

proud face 1

proud face 2

brown bear, brown bear ...

...what do you see? I see a new chair looking at me!

This last of the rescued chairs  do up was inspired by one of our boy's favourite books Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, illustrated by Eric Carle.

I also painted his desk drawers red, yellow and black. The fabric is a $6 fat quarter from http://www.bytheyard.co.nz/ . He loves it!

terrarium love

For a while now I've seen geometric shaped terrariums popping up all over the www and I like them lots and lots. So when I saw a nice big one at the Maudes op shop it I knew it was coming home with me and it was only $12! My dad was here on holiday and he (very happily) came to Bunnings with me to help pick out the little plants for it. I love it and it makes me think of him.

Yes I am an op- shop show off : ) , joining in with Max from Blackbird has Spoken

a lace crown

A friend made their kids some lace crowns recently and I loved them. I googled some instructions and most involved fabric stiffener- something I don't own. I wanted this to be a no cost project so decided to try using pva glue. The final product didn't come out super stiff but it definitely held its shape. M is happy so I'm happy.

Here's how:

1. Make a card crown template of around your little person's head.
2. Cover the card in something plasticy so that the glue wont stick to the card ( I used wide sellotape).
3. Coat some strips of lace in pva ( by dipping it in a small bowl of it).
4. Lay the lace around the card crown and then leave it to dry for a few days- ours dried by the fire overnight.

the template crown

all 'pva-ed' up and drying

finished and what the lace looks like up close

model nerves he he

princess x

Linking in with the lovely Miriam from Create Hope Inspire and becoming the Mama I want to be x

Becoming the Mama I want to be is about taking time to enjoy the journey of parenting, to honour it's value and to hopefully inspire and encourage each other.