we love boxes and new fabric

Today started out like any ordinary day at home. I made the executive decision that we were not going anywhere (yay) so we are wearing whatever we like, we played outside in the gorgeous weather, did the laundry, had 2 minute noodles for lunch and then keira ran to tell me that a big truck was in the driveway! 5 big boxes of fabric from Japan - woohoo!

I was excited because it meant new fabrics for the store but the kids were thinking one thing.........boxes! We've made cubbies, cars, trains and aeroplanes so far. Fabrics up in the store now. I practically killed myself unwrapping and photographing it all and keep forgetting about this big belly of mine which slows me down. 

But here is a sneak peek to keep you going.......

flowers flowers everywhere

Wow, you guys really love a giveaway! I'll keep it open till sunday night and draw the winners then. And my next giveaway is a chocolate one so keep your eyes peeled for that one. Who doesn't want to win a bundle of chocolate??

And, I thought I better show you my hexagon tally so far. Making these babies forces me to put my feet up and r-e-l-a-x.......something I'm finding hard to do this pregnancy with so many things on the go. From memory, I need 18 large flowers for the grandmothers flower garden quilt I'm making but at least am half way there....on the large ones anyway!

And since it was such a lovely weekend, I also went into the garden to find the first flowers I could find.......mind you the leaves are looking a bit sickly so I'll get the gardener (aka retro daddy) onto that. I'll also have to sneak up to the plant store on my own as he refuses to buy me anymore hydrangeas for my yard this summer.....so looks like I'll be doing that myself!

And I'm still so impressed with the photos I've been taking on the Panasonic Lumix G2 and hope you've all entered the giveaway....you have until September to get your entry in and I really do hope one of my lucky readers will be the winner!

long time, no giveaway

Yes I feel it's that time again, time for another giveaway! Just leave a comment and I'll draw 3 winners. I'm giving away one pattern of your choice or one charm square pack of your choice or a couple of fat quarters from the store.............

I'll call it a just because giveaway.....................

starting baby's wardrobe

With just over 6 weeks to go, reality is hitting home, a baby is coming to this house! And we are not ready, people!!!! So I indulged in a bit of retail therapy this morning at DJ's and Country Road for my little one on the way. But it's very important to not consult your husband before you do this because he will tell you that surely with 2 girls already there are plenty of things upstairs to wear - um no retro daddy, wrong season! And it's also a good idea to send him elsewhere otherwise he tries to rush you out of there and tell you that you are done now....

So, I think baby's style this summer will be classic baby meets english rose as everything is very delicate and floral.  And what is that I see - some blue - a little departure from pink. Both Keira and Tillie were always head to toe in pink but I couldn't resist this little floral number.

And then after all of that shopping it was time to go to Target for lots of baby singlets and plain onesies for a spot of applique........................

Dumbo is coming out of the vault

Sponsored by Nuffnang

There is something very special about watching a movie with your children that you enjoyed as a child. And I just loved Dumbo the movie and book as a child.  Now I'm not 70 years old myself, but it is actually the 70th anniversary of the original release of Dumbo. And so the movie is coming out of the Disney vault to celebrate.  And we were lucky enough to be sent a copy to watch and review. This now means that  my Keira thinks that Mickey Mouse himself is personally sending her DVD's in the post!

So we sat and watched it together as a family and the little ones have been watching it since. The twins haven't stopped saying to me 'dubbo dissy ddd, dubbo dissy ddd' as they want to watch it again and again! And translated that means (of course) Dumbo Disney DVD.

The entire movie has been digitally restored for the first time and is now on Blu-Ray HD and with the excellent quality of the DVD you honestly forget that this movie was released 70 years ago. It's such a sweet story with nice values that we want to be teaching our children, old fashioned songs and music and very cute humour. Here are Keira and Finn watching their favourite part of the movie where the stork (why the stork comes to deliver babies to mummies, of course)  is trying to keep Dumbo on the cloud. It makes them all laugh hysterically every time and I mean every time!

I love that this movie teaches children about accepting everyone despite their differences, friendship, believing in yourself and more. There are also all new bonus features at the end of the movie which keep everyone entertained and Keira is fascinated by the old cartoon drawings of Dumbo and the other characters. Here is the Disney trailer but be warned - it will make you get all sentimental and emotional!

The movie runs for 63 minutes which is perfect for little people's short attention spans and it's a perfect alternative to the latest stuff they normally watch on TV. We love the old Disney movies  that come out of the Disney vault and also have Sleeping Beauty and Snow White which the kids adore as well. So if want a trip down memory lane and a good old fashioned movie then definitely get yourself a copy of Dumbo. It's available in stores now and will be a classic Blu-ray or DVD for all of the family.

Modkid Patterns now in stock

I've just discovered Patty Young's website full of her gorgeous fabrics and patterns (yes I am probably the last person to discover this) and am so happy to now have a range of modkid patterns in the store. Here is one of my favourites...

It's so nice to see my little store filling up again and just look out, September is going to be huge as I still have some big orders to come in including Far Far Away II.........yay!

lecien flower sugar

Spring has sprung here at retro mummy.........this is one of my favourite ranges and I can't wait to use it for dresses, quilts and my sewing projects in the coming months......mind you it sent keira into tears as she kept wanting to take the pretty fabrics off the table to play with.

I missed out on this range the first time it came out but now it's out again in a new range. I wasted no time in ordering plenty. 

And here are some gorgeous polka dot fabrics which are so bright and also festive and co-ordinate with the range beautifully. 

Fabrics now up in the store here and here...12 new bolts in total!

Kidspot Top 50 Blog Your Way To Dunk Island

Well there is an all expenses paid holiday to Dunk Island up for grabs on kidspot for it's top 50 bloggers and I just have to enter and win because our last family holiday was back in 2007.  You see having 3 children in less than 3 years means that just the thought of a holiday sends us into a panic.....and just when we thought 'OK, we can do this', we discover baby number 4 is on board (but what a nice surprise that was!). 

Shibuya

So our one and only family holiday was to Japan when keira was one and it was definitely an amazing experience. I learnt so much on that trip about travelling with children (ok well 'a child') and she was just adored by the japanese people. They would spot her a mile away and pinch her cheeks and call out 'kawaii' to us. They were oh so forgiving of her behaviour and as soon as we'd enter a restaurant our shopping bags were taken, a high chair was produced with a little fork and spoon and bowl and she was patted and stared at.

We spent most of our trip in Tokyo and then headed to Kyoto for a few days. Kyoto is such a pretty city but not so much when you get rained out and then have a typhoon on the day you should be taking the shinkasen (super fast train) back to Tokyo. And do you think there were english messages on what time the train would leave, oh no, so we spent 1/2 a day at the train station with miss keira and kept her entertained with food, toys, more food and more toys. 

Nikko

Here are my top tips I learnt on that trip which I hope to put to use again....

- plan, plan and plan again. With the internet you can do so much research now on where to stay, where to eat, where to go with kids so put in the time at home and be rewarded while you are away. Be sure to include your children too and make sure that each day there is an activity they will love. In Japan this was as simple as taking keira to Tokyo's largest toy store (7 storeys high!) and buying her a toy from there, the acquarium or park.

- pack new books, toys and favourite snacks for the flight. For the kids not you, let's not kid ourselves, you won't have much time to read a book on the plane.  A bag of jelly snakes or something to drink for takeoff and little ears is also essential in your bag.

keira eats up in the first class lounge before boarding the plane

- Don't rely on food being provided on the plane, we had a stuff up with keira's meals so she needed to share ours and I was so glad I had packed plenty of baby food, formula and snacks for her.

- Share the load - make sure you fully brief daddy that he is not to put on his headphones, drink beer and watch the movie the entire flight. Don't laugh, on the flight home retro daddy saw we had the bassinette so settled back in his seat and put on his earphones - fear not I quickly reminded him I wasn't doing this solo................

- eat lunch and dinner early. Everywhere in Japan has lunch specials which were really reasonably priced so we'd eat lunch in restaurants and for dinner we'd have sushi train as there was no waiting for food or we'd bring food back to the hotel room. Eating early means beating the crowds and avoiding long waits. By the end of the day the little people can have the crankies and sitting around waiting for food in a restaurant when they've been out all day can send them over the edge. Trust me, been there.

-  always pack something special from home like a favourite soft toy or comforter for night time. We found getting a 1 year old to bed in a hotel room was challenging and often we'd fall asleep while getting her to sleep. Double check cot bookings - we arrived to find that in Tokyo the hotel room wasn't big enough for a cot and that was that, no cot our entire stay.

- pick up a lightweight stroller for the trip. Don't assume that your toddler/preschooler will walk everywhere just because they walk at home. I also recommend getting something reliable not just the cheapest on the market, this one reclined, had a great big basket underneath and was comfortable so keira would often nap in it while we were out.

- If you can afford a room that has a separate bedroom you will be thanking yourselves the entire trip. There is nothing worse than sitting in a barely lit room,  volume on the tv down low and whispering to each other while you try to keep the little people asleep. This has driven retro daddy nuts so he insists on this from now on even for just one night away.

- if breakfast isn't included in the room rate just stock up on some juice boxes, muffins, bananas and yoghurt. You'll save money and the kids can eat breakfast while watching cartoons and there is no waiting till everyone is dressed and ready to go down and find some breakfast.

- room service can be a blessing. I know it's expensive but when we go away for a night, keira just loves when the man delivers dinner to the room and sets it all up for her. Pizza and chips have never tasted so good.

- Make sure both mummy and daddy get some time to themselves. With shops open late in Japan we'd take it in turns to duck out and do some shopping or walking at night while the other was in the room babysitting. No surprises that I went out shopping. 

Well weren't those photos a trip down memory lane- keira and I have been in hysterics over these photos. She sure was a chubba bubba and it brings back a lot of memories of when we were a little family of 3. So please let me know when your last holiday was (was it 3 years ago??) and your top travel tips too as I'm always learning. Now that the twins are 2 and can have their own seat on the plane we are looking forward to taking another holiday some day....and maybe it will be dunk island?? It won't happen overnight but it will happen.....our next family holiday that is.

And if you haven't voted for me yet (you know you want to!) you can just go here and help me win a lovely holiday to dunk island .............

Bega Cheese for the little people

Sponsored by Nuffnang.

Cheese, cheese and more cheese! We eat a lot of cheese in this house, as in 1 kilo a week. I generally buy the biggest block I can buy and cut it up for the kids.  But I think that will all change now that we've tried the latest Bega cheese products for kids and they can help themselves to the cheese out of the fridge.  We were asked to try two new products, Bega Junior Cheese and Bega Shapers Puzzlers and I knew it would be pretty easy.

And for a photo opportunity we had a little cheese picnic out the back. I have to admit that my memory of cheese sticks growing up was of plastic - both look and taste and I've never bought them for my own little ones. But the Bega Junior Cheese is all natural colby cheese, nothing artificial or plastic about it and it tasted just as if I'd sliced it myself from the block. Keira was very proud of herself as she could open the sticks up for herself and the twins too. I think these will be perfect to pop into my handbag for a quick outing - something I can't quite do with the 1kg block of cheese I buy each week.

And look at Keira's concentration as she fits the Puzzlers together - she was determined to get them together. Finn on the other hand just saw cheese to be eaten, yum.

The Bega Puzzlers are cheddar cheese pieces cut into puzzle shapes and there is nothing artificial in them either. They come in a resealable ziplock bag and are perfect for a snack, to fill out a plate at home or pop in a lunchbox.  These were also eaten at record speed in our house.

In fact, I started out with 8 bags of these yummy cheeses and a couple of days later am left with 2 bags in the fridge. I'm happy because they are all natural and a healthy snack and don't taste like the kids cheese I grew up with. My kids,  well they don't care about how healthy it is, they just love that its yummy and fun to eat. So be sure to keep your eyes out for these and try them- they won't last long at your house.

country cousins

Retro daddy is one of 7 children and with all of the husbands and wives and kids it makes for a big family (and I love it!). We are the only ones who live outside Victoria but I do love a good get together and especially to let keira get to know her cousins. So Julie and I organised a little park playdate while they were up in Sydney. 

We had to meet halfway as Sydney is such a big city so we headed out west to Parramatta Park. Keira was so excited to get the chance to really get out there on her Barbie bike and the twinnies went nuts amongst the tambark. Less than 2 minutes at the park and I realised dressing them head to toe in black would have been a good idea as that tambark was m-e-s-s-y. Napisan here I come....what I was thinking putting Finn in a light coloured rugby top, well I don't know!

It was such a great photo opportunity to have 5 little cousins together but the twins are so hard to keep still and look at the camera and smile but we got there (with a little help and guidance from the adults!)

We gave the kids a really good run around playing chaseys (which ensured my lot slept on the way home) and then we said our goodbyes. 

It was a great morning out and so nice to catch up. I wish Julie lived closer so we could craft and go fabric shopping together, but I'll see her again at the quilt trade show in November which will be here in no time................

Don't forget Daffodil Day

You might have noticed the little button down there on my blog for Daffodil Day. You see, next Friday 27th August is Daffodil Day, the annual fundraiser for the Cancer Council and this year they are hoping to raise $9m. For my family it has special significance as my mum's cancer doesn't seem to get the message to go away. My family have asked that I not blog about it but her brave battle is never far from my thoughts. So I decided to get the message out there on this little blog of mine about the upcoming day.............

I know lots of my readers and their families and friends have been affected by cancer too, so let's not forget. I will be donating to the cause and hope when you see someone selling merchandise that you'll do the same! The statistics are scary and there is no cure but wouldn't it be wonderful if there was..............

worry doll whoopsie

Thank you for all the birthday wishes for retro daddy! I'll tell you about our dinner dramas when I hear back from the supermarket and food authority (it's a bit of a gross story). Let's just say we ended up going to our favourite sushi train and left the creamy mashed potato on the stove..........

But yesterday I enjoyed a few hours to myself in my sewing room. I now have a lovely babysitter who comes over for a few hours each week to give me a bit of time to myself. It's heaven. So, after a quick trip to Spotlight, I came home motivated to get cracking on the cushion from Kellie's gorgeous Worry Dolls pattern.

Selecting fabrics took me a while and then I got the hair wrong not once but twice. So overall I spent almost 1 1/2 hours just getting to this stage. I thought it was all perfect, I ironed it, I was so excited! And then I saw it..........waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I just wanted to cry...can you see what I did? I didn't put the hair and head together properly so I've given her a wonky neck and you shouldn't be able to see the change in fabrics.

So I'm thinking of giving her a turtle neck or peter pan collar to hide my whoopsie and hopefully this weekend I'll get some free time to do the applique stitching. 

happy birthday retro daddy

yes, retro daddy that old cradle snatcher is 35 today! Ok, so I'm kidding about the cradle snatcher thing as there is less than a year between us! Gosh I married a wonderful guy, and I don't really go all mushy on my blog about him but he is a wonderful husband and daddy. We met in Rome in 2001 on a contiki trip of europe and for the first time in my life I met someone I really fell in love with. We had a lot in common but it took us a couple of days before we got our act together and let our true feelings be known. And I had some competition from some of the canadian ladies who loved the 'ossie guys on the bus'.

I still remember how I'd secretly hope he'd come and sit next to me at dinner or on the bus just so that we could talk. Ahhhh young love. But our trip came to an end, we spent a week in the very beautiful San Sebastian with his friends and people from the trip and then went our own ways. He went to a luxury chateau in France for some management training and I went to a grotty hostel in london for a week. Oh my, I know where I would have rather been. He then got a job in Paris and I started working in London and for the next 2 years we spent most of our weekends together and getting to know each other more. We lived in london together for a while before we got engaged and came home to sydney to get married.......and the rest is history.

For as long as I've known him he is very driven and ambitious. He works very long hours but still manages to be up and out of bed early on saturday and sunday to do family things and the kids adore him. Adore.

He still isn't fully house trained yet but now I just laugh about it rather than get all mrs bossy pants on him but he does all the outside jobs, the pool, the bins and washes my floors on a sunday night, awwwww now that is love! And he once told me that being married to me was easy because we were like best friends and never really argue and I'll always remember that. 

We have very similar hopes and dreams for our family and I love that he is such a family man who just doesn't mind the comments or jokes about our rapidly expanding family (for example he is australia's most fertile man...oh yes, so funny).  

 

So happy birthday to my gorgeous husband and  wait till you get home and see the chocolate cake that the kids are all helping to decorate today - wow it's going to be a real work of art!

I cheated on the pesto recipe

Firstly, thank you for your reassurance about Tillie, I am feeling sooo normal this morning!

Last night I had the best dinner and thought I better share. I bought all the ingredients to follow a recipe for pesto but as dinner time rolled around (and kids were going nuts for dinner) I decided to just go with it. So I'm calling this my cheat's pesto as I didn't follow the recipe, I didn't follow quantities, didn't chop a thing or toast my nuts. I just made it to taste and let my blender do it for me. Have I shown you my blender? Earlier in the year I got a Kitchen Aid blender to match my kitchen aid and the dear little thing hasn't had much of a workout but pesto put her to the test yesterday.

2 bunches of basil (roughly 2 cups and you just want the leaves)

2 garlic cloves (peeled and flattened with your knife)

about 100g pine nuts (you can toast them if you have time but I had none and was in a rush)

about 1/3 cup grated parmesan

about 3/4 cup good extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

So I just chucked in the basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, parmesan and 1/2 the olive oil and blended. Make it as chunky or fine as you like. I made ours fine because I wanted to test it out on the kids. Then add in the rest of your oil while the motor is running and you have the consistency you're after. Season with salt and pepper. Put in a bowl/jar and cover with a bit of oil so that it doesn't dry out or turn brown.

This makes enough for 2 dinners so last night was just simple fettuccine with pesto and tonight I'm thinking some salmon fillets with pesto on top and some mashed potatoes (comfort food here we come). I don't know that I'll do PW mashed potatoes which are the ultimate comfort food with cream, cream cheese and butter..........

the tillie tantrum

It was so refreshing to read this blog post yesterday because my miss tillie and her tillie tantrums have been just exhausting me lately. It seems as if everyday we have a full blown tantrum which involves kicking, screaming, rolling on the floor, carrying on and they are loud!!!!!! Like close the windows so the neighbours don't hear loud. It could be because she doesn't want to get into the car, get into her pj's, we've walked past the sushi shop/wiggles ride/donut shop without stopping, doesn't want a bath, doesn't want dinner and so on.

We have no experience in how to deal with them because keira and finnie's idea of a tantrum is over and done with in a minute but Tillie is like the energiser bunny - she just keeps going and going and going! You try to ignore it, you try to make her happy, Finnie tries to give her a toy and say it's ok (this is very cute of him) but nothing works. So last night we were experiencing a tillie tantrum at 11pm. She had been happily asleep for hours then woke up crying and unhappy.

We checked her temperature, offered her a drink, something to eat, a cuddle, a kids tv show, a toy, a book....nothing was working. Retro Daddy kept saying do you think we need to take her to see someone.........and then after 1/2 hour of this the teletubbies came on......in an instant she rolls over, starts smiling and singing and calling out to the tv. The show finishes, she comes onto the couch, cuddles up to me and falls asleep.  So I'm guessing there is nothing wrong with her except that she is 2 and this is what her tantrums are like. Oh my, I hope she grows out of them soon as they are tiring me out. I love her to bits and love how she needs me but it is oh so exhausting trying to calm her down. Any tantrum solutions are warmly welcome here.................

And I had to share a picture of miss keira all dressed up for her pre-school photos today. It was kind of nice it wasn't her day as I popped her in a new dress (gymboree again) and got to fix her hair there (very important, you know!). They had her posing on the equipment and the photographer came in laughing to tell me that keira had said 'and now my photo will be in the newspaper' - oops! I think this girl of mine sees fame in her future..........

Kidspot Top 50 Bloggers

How exciting for little old me to be nominated as one of Kidspot's Top 50 Bloggers! There are some big names in the list there so it's exciting times.....and you can vote for me too. Oh dear, I'm no good at these popularity contests or asking you for things, but if you'd like to vote for me then I'll love you forever and ever and ever!

Image from here

Ok, well I love you all anyway but you get the picture............

and more hexagons

Oh I think I have my sew-jo back! I finished these two hexagon flowers over the weekend and am feeling pretty proud of myself for getting back on the hexagon wagon. I used 2 inch hexagon papers from here and some bliss charm squares for these ones.........

And here is a reminder of what I'm working towards from Rosalie Quinlan's 'A Stitch in Time'.......

Yep, I have a long way to go but am enjoying the ride................

I love sundays + hexagons

Oh I do love a good Sunday. We had church this morning and Keira was so excited to be going to children's liturgy now that is has started at our church again......and talk about being a good girl. She sat in the front row, did a beautiful sign of the cross, tried to copy the  prayers and put up her hand to answer a question (I just couldn't believe this because she was with much bigger primary schoolers). Oh so proud of her and she got so much out of it so yay to my church for bringing back children's liturgy.

And it was such a gorgeous day that retro daddy decided to take us all out to lunch!

And this is why you should always keep your camera in your handbag.........to capture sweet moments like this. Talk about twin love....they were just so cute sharing the same glass of water. Like little love birds.

And they knew it............................but then the weather turned pretty nasty on us so ice-cream plans were cancelled and we had to race to the car to escape the sudden wind, rain and sand blowing around everywhere.  I guess spring hasn't really arrived in Sydney yet! But I did manage a bit of sewing when we got home.

Last night I was very inspired by this lovely blog to pull out some hexagon papers and cute fabrics and start making things for the baby. The baby that is due to arrive in less than 2 months!!! Normally I would be so much more organised but I just have too much on and am also really missing my craft at the moment!

It was just so nice to plug in my machine and do a bit of sewing, it has been way too long. I used a blanket stitch and am just loving the finished onesie....so one thing made for the new baby!  Hope you had a lovely Sunday too......