Colour Me Happy

Wednesday was New Beginnings Eve. An evening where we celebrate all the girls that are turning 12 during the year and invite them, welcome them and inform them all about the Young Womens program and how excited we are to have them swell our numbers. Go here to find out more about church and what Young Womens is.

I put quite a bit of thought and effort into little things this year and then only took a photo of what I put in the gift bags and not one photo of the room! I am gutted, but anyway I can tell you about it at least. 

My incredibly talented friend Gell @ Design Sponge created invitations for me for the evening and thank you cards - which reminds me, I need to deliver those, and created an amazing design for me for the mutual theme this year. I had it blown up and printed onto card at the local Quick Copy shop and it looks fantastic. Seriously, go here and here to her facebook page and etsy store. Design Sponge is amazing.

So the theme for the evening I called Colour Me Happy, because the rainbow of colours that are the young womens values fill our lives with 'colour' as we live the values. Living the gospel in this way brings joy and happiness to our lives. Hence Colour Me Happy. After I sat down from doing my little introduction I realised I didn't even verbalise this thought, doh :(  The room was decorated with our Yw things that we put on our table each Sunday, the framed year theme, our chuppa chup flower which the girls get to take a lolly when they complete something PP, the completed ribbon bookmark, I got hanging lanterns in the yw value colours and hung them in clumps from the ceiling with fishing line, bright yellow gerberer flowers. It was cute. Each of the girls coming up got a gift bag with YW goodies in. I think they looked sweet and I would have been really happy with them if I was 11 nearly 12.

All the girls had a task to do, such as introducing the theme and mutual theme for the year, explaining what personal progress is, what the values are and how completing the personal progress has helped them in their lives. Also we gave the girls food assignments to bring a plate of food in a colour. It was a rainbow of colour. White coconut marshmallow pops, orange doritos and dips, rainbow cup cakes etc 

Everyone did a fantastic job, and the new girls that will be joining us soon all seemed to have a fun evening, well I hope they did anyway.

School for little ones

Well the day came. February 6th 2013 and little Sophie started full time 'big school' as we have been calling it.

She was excited, nervous, shy and outgoing all rolled into one if that is at all possible and mummy (me) well I was happy, sad, excited for her, and unsure as to what my future looked like all rolled into one too. What a mixture of emotions :) 

Sophie got all dressed into her uniform and we dropped Liv on time came home and took some pictures and then back to school and the Kindergarten intake (Sophie's year) were to all get to school for 9.30am  and go to the big hall. There the teachers came to the front of the hall and the children in their class names were called and the kids went and stood with the teacher. Sophie got Mrs Reynolds, the teacher that she did the Best Start testing with a week ago and I was happy. She seems really nice and has a firm but lovely reputation which I think will suit Sophie down to the ground. 

So here are a couple of photos, sisters together and Sophie ready for big school. 

The kids, teachers and parents then all went to the relevant classrooms where drink bottles were put on desks, along with fruit break snacks and morning tea food. Hats put into hat bags on the back of chairs and little ones sitting in their seats with their name tags on and saying bye to Mums, Dads, Grandmas and Grandpas. She looked at me with such a don't leave me mummy look and her eyes started to well up and my heart broke a little for her. She was scared and didn't want mummy to leave. I held it together and told her I would see her later, come here to her class to pick her up and not to worry, it would just be like pre-school, lots of fun. I left her crying with the teachers aid holding her hand and walked out. 

I love big sunglasses that hide so much.

I was sad, it is the end of an era as a stay at home mummy. I am not a cleaning fanatic and don't like it and am not going to spend my days cleaning the house, however much my husband would like me to, but I havn't worked out of the home in nearly a decade, actually finding someone who will hire me and give me a part time job is another problem. I did cry a little, as I am sad that that phase of my life has ended but it is onwards that I go. New challenges and more things to do.

As one friend said to me, "well there is more time for sewing now". What a true statement. After a week or so of not much happening I have started and I am loving it. Of course I will share with you what I have been working on. Stay tuned.

Holidays are over

What can I say, well over due but at last picture is added and posting again.


It is a sad day in this household as the summer holidays - yes it is January but we live in Australia so Dec/Jan are when our long summer holiday are held are officially over. We love the lazy mornings, trips to the beach, pyjama days hanging out at home, swimming in the pool, hanging out with cousins and sleepovers, so we are all a little sad to have the routine back. I know that once we get going it will be fine.

Olivia started back to school today and after being exceptionally nervous and quite emotional about the prospect of going she left today seemingly quite excited and ready to see her friends, show them her knee and the damage that she did to it and start the new year. She looked so smart in her new shoes and new school skirt as the tiny size 8 that she had been squeezing herself into was no where near being done up. We bought an age 12 as it would allow for some growing room, but it is still just on her knees, she is growing so tall, but she is happiest about the fact that it isn't tight around her tummy. 

The school has all the kids go back to their classrooms from last year for these next couple of days until all classes are sorted and settled. On Friday afternoon she will find out who her Year 4 teacher is and what classroom she will have. We will see what Friday brings.

Sophie and I have one more week together as Kindergarten starts next Wednesday when the big kids all head off to the swimming carnival for the day. The end of an era for me.

Les Miserables

Really all I want to say is go and see this film. I was transfixed for the 3 hours that it runs. I laughed, I cried and I jumped (as in I was shocked) and I left filled with beautiful music and touching, heartwrenching acting. Truely wonderful.

Here is a snippit.

There has been lots of talk about the film, but I thought I would share my thoughts. 

Hugh Jackman is faultless, if I had to pick a part of the film I really loved of him was near the end when he realises that Cosette and Marius really do love one another and that he is old and won't be around forever and it is time to let Cosette go to Marius. The emotion in his face and singing whilst at the barracades, loved it, and of course his soliloquy, Am I a man. 

Anne Hathaways' Fantine is heart wrenching, I dare anyone to watch her have her head shaved and listen to her sing I dreamed a dream as she really has reached rock bottom in her life and not be moved. Outstanding. 

Russell Crowe as Javert is stone cold as the character requires. Javert has my favourite song called Stars to sing and even though in the stage show the person playing Javert usually has a lower toned voice than Russell I still loved it and sang along (very quietly).  

Eddie Redmayne and Amanda Seyfried as Marius and Cosette were lovely, but Samantha Banks as Eponine, wow. Her version of I loved him, incredible. I had goose bumps on my arms and tears streaming.

If you see it let me know what you thought.

Starting afresh

2013 is here with a vengance.

New Year was warm, full of laughter and fireworks, spent at Waverton with wonderful friends. 

Yesterday was my birthday. 39 years old. Wow it seems like yesterday I was 19 at University, away from home for the first time and loving life so very much, then at 22 travelling to the other side of the world and finding so much joy in Australia. Then for the last 9 years being a full time mummy and loving my girls so very very much.

As for what has been happening here to me, to us, in the last few months of last year and trying to catch up here on my blog I think the best thing to do is just move on. I can't possibly catch up and can't possibly start the year afresh if I am looking backwards - so I won't. So I hope that you my readers (if there are any of you left out there) can forgive me, forget and happily move forward with me into 2013. 

Here we go...

Having said all that I will share with you the 2 things that I did make before Christmas as gifts for Sophie's pre-school teachers, Miss Sarah and Miss Janelle. Sophie 'graduated' from pre-school and so I wanted something other than chocolates and sweets that these amazing ladies who have loved, cared for and taught Sophie so very well could enjoy. Reversible tote bags were the way to go.

Looking at my rather large stash of fabric I saw some black denim and a fantastic Prints Charming cotton that I bought at Spotlight from their range, and a plan blue cotton and a heavier cotton drill fabric from Ikea that looks almost like little brick shapes in blues/beiges/pale yellows. These four fabrics would indeed make 2 great teacher bags that are fully reversible and can be popped into the washing machine if needs be. Miss Sarah got the black bag and Miss Janelle the blue. They were so happy with them and gave me such huge hugs. I really do hope that they love them.

Using the amazing Dana @ Made tutorial I set out to make 2 fully reversible boxed corner totes. Dana's pattern is for colour blocked bags which are so cute but not for the fabrics that I had on hand so I just went with solid fabric choices. 

I do like to critique the things I make so that next time I can be better so, try cutting the fabric the right way around Samantha!

Ok that is the last looking back to last year. Now this year.

Skyfall has been seen this week, I do so love James Bond films especially Daniel Craig and the Aston Martin DB5 swoon swoon, and oh my goodness the man looks a-maz-ing in a suit.

Tonight Les Miserables! Hugh Jackman!! yes he does deserve 2 exclamation marks and out with some friends for the evening. Fun, fun. Maybe being 39 isn't so bad after all.