Category Archives: Uncategorized

these two.

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imagination imagination imagination

these two. i tell you. they are the funniest pair & i just adore them. but i’m not going to lie to you … sometimes they make me go a little bit crazy.

at the moment miss v has started to assert her independence in a biiiiig way. she is one strong little lady (& let’s face it, she has to be with two brothers!). the day mark left for his trip she climbed out of her cot, refused to sit in a high chair & pretty much grew up & out of the baby stage. it was amazing to watch. i am so incredibly proud of her. she pushes me to my limits even though she can’t speak in sentences and sometimes at the end of the day i am so relieved to see mark walk through the door that i could just cry. i am learning as much about myself as i am about her. i am learning patience, kindness, gentleness, love, joy, peace, self-control, goodness… she has no fear of anyone or anything and my favourite two things she does at the moment are singing twinkle twinkle little star and her happy dance. she is getting ready to be a big sister & she is going to be fabulous at it.

joey … my oh my … i thought the craziness would end post two … but we are now on a whole new level. no-one told me about four?!?!?!?! i just love this little guy to bits. he’s my little man. he is always doing nice things for me and telling me when something is a ‘good idea’. gee, thanks little man … but at the moment, i think ALL my ideas are good (especially the ones about eating your veggies) ;) he also pushes me to my limits. last week mark sent me an article on the four challenges of parenting a four year old. i had one of those ‘ah-ha’ moments. it must be so frustrating being a kid. pretty much all your decisions are made for you & you just have to fit in with what the rest of the family is doing. it must be so hard to express yourself & how you are feeling when you don’t even have the vocabulary. but i am so proud of him. my favourite thing that he is doing at the moment is imaginative play. today we made a milkshake out of cars, a spy glass, pink, icing and captain barnacles. he is constantly taking me on a ‘holiday’ on our ‘boat’ (aka my bed) with pretty much every single indoor and outdoor toy & any clothes that are lying around. he is so excited about having a baby brother & persists in telling me that he will be a ‘boy’ where as our ‘old’ baby (miss v) is a girl.

i swear, these kids are running circles around me & have me wrapped around their little finger. parenting is the hardest thing i have ever done (am doing), and it brings me the greatest joy.

xx

sundays in the city.

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mama & v bellies big belly mama and her chicks snack time

this week we had a twist to our ‘sundays in the city’ trip. we didn’t actually make it to the city… but we sure did get a good look at beautiful sydney! i tell you, there is nothing like walking through a park with loads of picnic’ers about, overlooking the harbour, watching ferries & yachts, admiring the bridge & opera house … and all in a quick train ride. we love sydney. if you have never been, seriously … get over here quick !! it is simply stunning & never disappoints.

on sunday we travelled to milsons point by train, then ran around in bradfield park before munching on some snacks. oh, and didn’t i tell you? neon & stripes are the in thing ;) this trip was totally spontaneous & i find that always makes for a better time. we were on route to purchase a soccer ball & bike helmet for joey, then detoured to the train station because the afternoon was too beautiful to miss. sydney autumn is my absolute favourite time of year. the weather is perfect during the day, and at night there is room for a good ol snuggle.

luckily mark got some snaps of me & boy liddell too. we’re bang on 38 weeks so fingers crossed we’ll meet our little man soon !!

xx

family portrait.

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family 1 family 2 family 3 family 4 family 5 family 6

we celebrated a very special birthday for my MIL recently. since she absolutely adores her (continually expanding!) family we thought it totally apt to give a gift of a family portrait. so after a few discussions with my SIL, a rummage through our garage, wardrobes & homes we set up the tripod and took many a happy snap in our backyard. we had such a fun afternoon creating and snapping. my MIL just loved the portraits & I can’t wait to see where she puts them up in her home. these photos are by no means professional … but i think that’s what I like about them.

oh, and by the way, how adorable is my nephew?!?!?!?!?!? not long now until he is joined by his youngest cousin :)

xx

Sundays in the city.

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flowers in the city ice cream 1 ice cream 2 ice cream 3 ice cream 4

Sundays in the city are quickly becoming one of my favourite times of the week. anything could happen. this time the ferry trip was really rough due to high seas. the lower deck was totally soaked & the kids had a blast passing by the Sydney heads. the city was windy windy windy so we figured the best thing to do was eat ice cream.

yum !

xx

Sundays in the city.

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O House

O House

Scootin' with dada.

Scootin’ with dada.

Pirate Ship

Pirate Ship

Scootin'.

Scootin’.

Dinner time.

Dinner time.

Shoe & Sock

Shoe & Sock

Recently we have been rekindling an old tradition of ours: Sundays in the city. Before miss v was born, we would travel each Sunday morning on the ferry into the city. We would walk around Circular Quay, past the Opera House & into the Royal Botanical Gardens for a picnic breakfast of eggs & bacon rolls. We would fry the eggs & bacon on a portable stove & fry pan … then enjoy the sunshine, on the harbour, as a family. Sometimes my brother would join us, or my SIL & BIL. We have good memories of this little tradition.

The great thing about Sundays is that public transport costs $2.50 total per adult with a child. This may not sound very attractive, but when you have one or two little ones in tow who love to ride on ferrys, busses, trains, etc. this is a VERY attractive deal. $5 for a family outing?! Yes Please !

A few weeks ago we decided to get back into the groove of Sundays in the city. I think it may have had something to do with my mother’s group throwing me a baby shower for high tea at the Intercontinental…. Oh it was glorious ! Anyhoo, we have mixed things up a bit to enjoy the last of daylight saving. We have been catching the ferry into the city in the afternoon with a picnic dinner, then eating where we choose. Here are some pics of a trip a few weeks ago … fun fun fun.

We love the city. Let’s hope Sundays in the city continue post baby boy !

xx

meg’s place part 1.

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lemon tree strawberry one strawberry three strawberry two tomato one

look at this garden. i mean, just take a good look at all the fresh goods. i am so proud of my friend meg for all her hard work in making this little veggie patch grow so well. i honestly don’t know how she does it all … raising three girls, working part-time, maintaining an immaculate house, entertaining loads of friends & family, serving at church, looking gorgeous all the time, growing her own fruit & veg … etc. etc. etc. she is just one of those high capacity gals … & i love her & how she inspires me :)

we absolutely loved looking after meg’s little veggie patch while on holidays. it is something that we’ve dreamed about setting up at our house one day. we picked the tomatoes and ate them in a salad with the fresh basil (which you can see here growing out of control!), we marvelled at the strawberries, we picked some ripe lemons to squeeze into our water & on our dinner, we picked some green chilli for a dip with cashews & basil. meg, we thoroughly enjoyed your produce ! little miss v loved watering the garden each afternoon & joey loved picking the produce when needed. i love that everything is organic and pesticide free (unlike our heads at the moment !! hahaha….). it just feels so sweet to eat home grown fruit & veg.

meg … thanks for letting us enjoy your sweet little garden. i can’t wait to see what you do with it this year.

xx

snow.

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we are currently on holidays at the snow ! we are having the best time. i am so proud of my 2 yo who is skiing like a little champ. mark & i have been having some really good morning sessions & it is super fun hanging out with friends & family ! we’ll be back next week so i will post some more photos then. have a great day !

xx

DIY party rock anthem.

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i am not kidding. on saturday a friend of mine organised a flash mob for a very special lady’s birthday party. let’s just say it was a little bit too fun & i am so proud to say that i actually learnt this. yessssss !

if you are unfamiliar with it, here is the party rock anthem. ‘ever since that song came out … every day he’s shufflin … it will get in your bones …’ 28 days later …

here is the DIY.

It looks hard, but let’s face it … every day i’m shuffilin’.

xx

goodbye autumn.

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autumn is by far my favourite month of the year.

i am sad to see it fade away into the distance as winter is now in full swing.

but i am looking forward to lots of hot chocolate, skiing, snuggling with my babes, picnics, hot croissants early in the morning & boots.

what do you like most about winter?

xx

today …

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i caught joey …

unfortunately by the time the lipstick incident happened i did not have the ability to laugh it off :( sometimes i take myself too seriously ! so the only option was to end the day by going out for some …

when we arrived home some dear friends of ours had sent us some books in the mail with a letter entitled ‘disciplining our kiddos’. it made me laugh. you can see the books here and here. we can’t wait to get into them.

what a funny day.

do you have days like this??

xx