This Saturday, I'm grateful for... "oh look!! Bub's up THERE!"

The joyous simplicity of children.

This Saturday AM, the back doors were open and I was inside getting dressed. My husband and daughter went outside and shared a quiet moment.

They must have been outside for at least a few minutes.

"oh look, bub's up THERE!" my daughter proclaimed suddenly.

"Nicole! Come see!" shouted my husband.

So I came. And I saw.

Elliott was up in the flower pot.

IN. The flower pot.

Quiet. Content. Picking little native daisies one by one. Tasting. Feeling.

He must have been in there a good few minutes before anyone noticed him.

The joyous simplicity of children. This Saturday, I'm grateful for that. x

Daisy chains on a Sunday morning...

So, it's Sunday morning. Real early. I'm up on top of a mountain with my 2.5 year old daughter - perched by the roadside, sitting on the grass waiting. Daddy is racing his bicycle. He won't be back around for another hour. And, aside from a bottle o water and a packet of Tiny teddys I've brought no entertainment. Hmm that should fill in five minutes... What to do?

But thank goodness nature provides it's own sources of creative entertainment and on this occasion it didn't let me down. Daisy chains, folks. An oldy but a goody. Never loses it's charm, does it?

 

White is the new black?!

Folks, check this out! We all love chalkboards, right? But you have to admit, they = dust throughout your house, crumbly sticks of spent chalk pieces that end up in your kids mouths, and the boards never look quite as shiny and black as the day you painted it once its drawn on....

well, how is this for a fun alternative:

its...... whiteboard paint!!

I know, right. Just THINK of the possibilities! And - granted - you might need a bravery medal to let the kids loose with whiteboard markers, but imagine the look on their little faces when you actually gave them permission to draw on the wall with textas!

I saw that this paint is available through our local Colour Inspirations (Dulux) store. No idea how much it is, but I think I need some. Immediately, if not sooner! Im not brave enough to put it in the kids' room, but I definitely see it working in my new creative space which is currently brewing inside my head and about to be put to paper. Working from the kitchen table is no longer feasible as Bubby Makes Three grows and my horrible space downstairs is screaming to be turned into a creative studio/ kids playroom. I see a little feature wall of whiteboard paint would come in handy for a calendar/ to-do list and work schedule... Stay tuned, folks!

Have a lovely weekend... x

"Busy Bags"... the instant, mobile BOREDOM BUSTER!

Completely by chance while playing about on Facebook, I stumbled upon a local photography business called The Storehouse Project. I liked what I saw and probed further, visiting Emma's blog. Turned out I visited at just the right time, because Emma was seeking volunteers for a "busy bag" swap. Until then, I'd never heard of a "busy bag" but five seconds later I decided it was the world's best initiative and signed myself up!

What is a busy bag, you ask? Why, it is a little zip-lock bag of creative goodness stowed away in your handbag/ car/ anywhere in fact... that you can pull out and entertain your dear small offspring at a moment's notice!

The bags contain a simple activity - something your young child can create or do that afterward, you can simply zip-lock back again for future emergencies!

You're liking this already aren't you?

The swap I have held my own hand up for involves 12 volunteers -- each of us constructing 12 little busy-bags of our own choice. Each person chose a unique activity so that next week -- on swap night -- we bring our activities along and swap with one another so that we each end up with not one but 12 delightful busy-bags to hide smugly away, knowing that at a moment's notice, we can pull one out and get a half-hour or so of reprieve!

You can imagine just how useful these would be at the doctors surgery... on an airplane (oh gawd I wish I'd had one of these last week for Elliott on the plane to NZ!)... in a restaurant... and in any number of other situations!

A little stumped on what to make for my own busy-bag, I did a web search and unveiled some of the following ideas:

from here

from here

Button Snake from here

If you love this idea and want to host your own local busy-bag swap, I found this link with a bunch of really great activity ideas to get you started. Another good one, complete with a linky-thingamy is this one, with tons of pages of cool and creative activities for kids!

Wondering what I'm going to make for my bag?

Well I'll share with you... I plan to make some mini-chalkboards! I am somewhat chalk obsessed at the mo so it seemed kinda obvious... Not entirely sure how I'm going to do it yet but I will need to sort it out quick-smart, because the swap is on Monday night! I'll post pics of my masterpieces over the weekend once I've made them, if you are interested.

Aside from having a tiny bit of stage fright about rocking up to somebody's house that I don't know and meeting a bunch of girl's that I also don't know to exchange these bags, I am quite excited about it, and isn't it a great way to meet new people! 

I'll report on how I fare next week - should I be brave enough to bring my camera along to the swap?

x

A bit of LOVE on a rainy day...

Remember my 'rainy day' stamping project inspiration from the other week? Well, I was at Hot Dollar (which is privately becoming my one-stop-shop all things crafty and/ or obscure) scouring the shelves for fun things for my daughter to stick to paper with glue, when I discovered one of those multi-coloured ink pads I didn't know where to find for just $4! Grabbing this - along with a pack of erasor-ended HB pencils, I had everything I needed to give this project a go!

I'd like to say I let Fern do this project... but I wanted this one all for myself! I placated her with pencils and paint while I worked on my masterpiece. Unfortunately, the ink pad wasn't the best quality and my colours aren't quite as vibrant as I had hoped -- but I still kinda like the end result!

Fern's Love heart on her new art wall.... she likes it!!

What do you think??

Fern's art wall is a work in progress. I believe in empowering children with their creativity and showcasing their work with pride, so her room will be a kind of evolving art gallery for whatever weird and wonderful masterpieces she might create!

See another of my idea for incorporating children's artwork in your home here.

How are YOU coping with this awful weather? Got a crafty activity you'd like to share? Do do send your ideas/ inspiration through to be featured!

x

A Polka Dot Nursery

I have a son! Oh wait, have I already mentioned that?

And I love decorating! But perhaps I have mentioned that previously also.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that boy things are (generally speaking) not always particularly inspired. Clothing, for instance... Blue robots. Blue trucks. Blue Aeroplanes. Blue blue blue. Blah blah blah. But now I have my own boy-o, I am challenging of uncovering and discovering unique and inspired designs outside the Thomas the Tank Engine cliche.

Today, I'm uncovering ideas for decorating a little boy's room or playspace. And as a time-poor mother of two, I'm looking no further than Etsy for my purchases, aside from the lamp which I sourced from My Messy Room.

The theme?

Polka Dots!

Here are some fun and handmade ideas for decorating a gorgeous brightly coloured polka-dot themed nursery for your little one. Just a bit of fun on a Wednesday. I hope you like!

Enzo the Weiner Dog US$26

Customised Letter & Name Print US$18

Feelin' Patchy Hand Tied Blanket US$40.95

Fly a Kite Onesie US$25

Japanese Fun! Lamp $65

Fabric polka dot mobile $US75

And Bubby Makes Four... Introducing Elliott Daniel!

He's here... the teeny weeny, marshmallow-scented, satin-skinned, fluffy haired piece of perfection I never knew I desperately always wanted.

Until now.

Our son!

Eliott Daniel Cleary was born into the world at 1.02am on Monday, August 23. His weight was 7lb6 and his length was 50cm and he is so adorably little that I want to take a knife and fork and literally gobble him up!

The birth itself I'll share with you in a little more detail tomorrow if you are interested (I love hearing other people's birth stories!) but suffice to say it was full of intrigue... mystery... suspense... comedy... drama... thrill... and a little romance. Just like any good movie oooops I mean birth story!

A son! I'm not sure why I'm surprised - there was always a 50% chance of having one, but I come from breeding stock that tends to make girls. So when Elliott popped out, I had a slight moment of shock! Actually if I'm honest, the first day was sort of a hazy blur and I couldn't quite process my new baby at all. I stared at him through the side of his clear capsule with a kind of bewilderment. Who was this little creature with my name around his wrist? But then, somewhere in the dark hours of that first night - alone, just him and me in our hospital room... I fell in love.

It happened for no reason. Although he wasn't crying, I got the urge to lift Elliott out of his capsule and bury my nose into his soft dark hair. He hadn't had a bath yet; how could he smell so cookies-out-of-the-oven good? And my heart swelled beyond the infinite love I already held for my daughter and stretched into unknown realms. I realised I loved this person and would protect him until the day I died. And, that first night, a bond was tied between us, forever.

Here's our first 'family portrait' - snapped a few hours after Elliott's birth. Fern was fairly non-plussed, more fascinated with playing with my hospital tags and hiding in the curtains than adoring her little brother!

There were a few heart-melting moments though...

... and the 'gift' from her little brother worked a treat!

Wondering about our choice of name? Well, we deliberated for ages and came up with some pretty slim pickings on boys names. We liked 'Atticus' until some girls in my mothers group unknowingly bagged the name (not knowing it was my top contender!) and put me off it. Aside from that, Elliott really was the only name we both liked that seemed both fairly unique and 'normal' and sat well with 'Fern'. His middle name is my husband's name, it was important to Dan and I didn't mind - actually, Dan can't understand why i didn't want Fern's middle name to be Nicole! Hers is 'Lucinda', if you are interested.

Elliott likes:

- Being all warm and cocooned in blankets

- Mummy's milk

- Cuddles

Elliott dislikes:

- Having his nappy changed

- Being cold

- Being naked in general

- Baths (he wonders why he has to get naked for such an event?)

And mummy? Mummy loves everything about her little boy-o so far. And it all seems easier second time around. He sleeps and eats when he's supposed to and rarely cries in between. Even the night feeds seem marginally less evil than the first time, and although I'm a wee bit tired, I'm coping much better than I thought I would! Now, I just need to work out how to get dressed before 10am, how to get two bubs in and out of the car and leave the house generally and handle Elliott'd boy-bits with a touch more confidence and I'll nominate myself for mother of the year!

I've missed you all, can't wait to catch up on all your blogs... x

What's in a Name?

From the files of 'way too cute not to share' comes this little trinket... earlier this week, I realised that we have as yet no set name or even a shortlist really for our unborn bebe. This didn't seem such a problem a few weeks ago... but suddenly I flipped the calendar and it said AUGUST and I realised I was having a baby this month and a tiny bit of panic set in.

You know you're in trouble when you read an entire naming book and find not a single name you like.

Naming Fern was pretty easy. For starters, we found out we were having a girl pretty early on, which narrowed our decision down straight away! Secondly, the name Fern had been in the back of my mind for years, I first encountered it as the character of the little girl in the children's story Charlottes Web, and fell in love with it straight away. I pretended to consider other names, but really the minute I knew it was a girl, it was Fern thereafter. I just had to convince my husband! He liked Lucinda - we both did actually - and so that became Fern's middle name. Fern Lucinda. And would a rose by any other name smell as sweet?

It's different this time around. Our shortlist is way too short at this late stage and I'm beginning to fear I will be one of those awful and annoying indecisive types who waits until days after the birth to name their child. And I've had 10 months to think about it! The easy solution is of course to go back to the 'B' list from the first time around... and we have! But those names all seem so boringly 2 years ago now, and we're pretty much over all of them!

But perhaps all is not lost... explaining our predicament over a bit of burnt self-saucing chocolate pud the other night to our friend and Fern's godfather, Crawford, he offered the services of his slightly eccentric and agreeably adorable 10 year old Charlotte to assist. He got her on the phone and she agreed to draw up a shortlist... and true to her word, she did. Bless. I'm sure she won't mind my sharing it with you:

What do you think - any contenders? I kind of like 'Goobie' or maybe 'Chippie' for a boy and 'Lolly' for a girl! Out of the mouths of babes!

What was on YOUR 'B' list... anything I might like and be able to steal?

Have a great weekend x

Easter Bunny Scramble

Today being our last gathering before Easter, us mothers held our homemade Easter bunny scramble at the local park. It was lots of fun, and while we responsibly neglected to serve our children alcohol chocolate, that didn't mean we abstained! Honestly, this Easter I have already eaten my own body weight in hot cross buns and Cadbury eggies!

In my excitement, (and the fact that Fern was wrapped around my leg for most of the morning) I neglected to take many photos... here's what I grabbed to give you a little taste of the day!

... and of course, a pic of Ferny modelling her new dress (see her little rabbit tucked into the pocket - cute!) She had a matching little orange hairclip, but that got lost somewhere in the abyss of my car on the way to the park:

ps. Tomorrow is my big unveil of my homemade chocolate Easter eggs. It's been a process, let me tell you. But I've been determined!

x

Ferns leather lounge

Ferns leather lounge, originally uploaded by pinkorchid_designs.

If you have been following my posts over the last couple of weeks, you will have noticed my slight fixation on finding a comfy chair for my daughter to sit on while she watches telly/ looks at books/ chews on my mobile phone etc. Just as I had comfortably resolved not to worry about it, and to make do with a floor cushion and a couple of propped up pillows, my husband came home with this leathery lounge ensemble (pictured above) yesterday. You see, he's worse than me like that; once he gets a bee in his bonnet about something, he can't rest up until he's either got it, or... well, until he's got it. So my make-do solution drove him quietly crazy until he went out and bought the above chair himself.

I won't tell you what I think about the chair, but tell me what YOU think. Don't hold back. And then we can forever hold our peace on this subject!

Lounging Around

You might recall my rockin-good-time constructing a Cocoon Couture beanbag for Fern a couple of weeks back. I thought I'd found the perfect solution: stylish, practical, cute, affordable... how could I go wrong?! But alas, it appears that this beanbag is a little too big for Fern just yet, she can't get comfortable in it and in short I am back to the drawing board!

I went shopping today for solutions, and let me tell you there are slim pickings on the kids furniture front. The only thing the remotely served a practical purpose was one of those fold-out foam lounges you can get from Toys R Us. I laid one on the floor and Fern immediately clamoured onto it. She loved it! Did I snap one up immediately?

Um, no.

Why why why why is most kids stuff so gaudy and emblazoned with images of Barbie or Thomas the bloody Tank Engine? In this particular instance, my only available option was Spiderman. Nothing against Spiderman, I certainly like Tobey Maquire (hot!)... but I simply cannot bring myself to have a Spiderman lounge in my living room, even if it was only $50.

I briefly toyed with buying one and attempting to sew a new cover...but I've only ever done it once, and that was for a piano stool which seems a lot less ambitious. Still, it might be the only option given the only other fold-out lounge I can find which doesn't have Disney all over it are these ones from Urban Baby, but I'm sorry, I am so not paying $250 for one!!

I am also considering this one priced at $140 from Ezibuy:

And this one is cute AND practical, with bonus toy storage. Priced at $129 from Hipkids:

But I've decided I am going to try Big W later, the word on the street is that they have plain covers available for the fold-out sofas for $5. I figure Fern will use it for so little time, I don't want to waste a lot of moolah, and she has her beanbag for later on as well. I'll let you know how I go...

Have you been through this with your toddler? What furniture solution have you come up with?

Postscript: well, went to Big W and it delivered nothing. It's meant to be - - I always hated those lounges anyway. For now, Im improvising with a floor cushion, a pillow and the beanbag as a backrest! xo

I accidently bought this....

Fern is kinda at that age where she's happy to sit and watch Play School (for 30 seconds, anyway) but it's not overly comfortable sitting on the floor, and she can't yet climb up onto the lounge.

Have you ever noticed there are awfully slim pickings on children's couch options? I have of course seen those horrific practical 'lounge' thingamies you can get at Kmart, the type that fold out to make a sort of sofa bed. Practical for littlies, but the only available themes seem to be Thomas the Tank, or Barbie. I know I've let a lot of things go since having Fern, but I can't do Barbie. Not yet, anyway.

For a while, I've had my eye on the stylish (and also practical - bonus!) beanbags by Cocoon Couture. But they are expensive options; my local boutique sells them for $125 each! Im not sure I can part with that much moolah for a baby beanbag, no matter how cute it is..... I might, however, part with $75. Oh wait -- I already did.

I was surfing listlessly this afternoon, whiling away nap-time when I stumbled on this NZ site called PeaKnuckle. The beanbags were listed cheaper than Oz anyway, and when I did the currency conversion it turned out they could ship Cocoon Couture to my doorstep almost half of the price of the one I can buy down the road! I know I know, buy local! But sorry folks, I'm a mum on a budget now!

I chose this one, I liked the colour and the owl motif:

So, I get the double whammy of a funky new chair for my babe, and the pleasure of stalking my mailbox over the next week or so. I'll let you know when I receive it!

Handmade with Love - Rabbit Softie

It was my niece's birthday last week, and I realised this... a couple of days ago. I am a bit hopeless like that. If you WANT me to remember your birthday people, please do me a favour and send me a courtesy SMS a week or so before hand. I am then more than happy to bestow birthday love upon you! Anyway, things are a touch hectic at the moment, and I had absolutely no time to get to the shops and buy her a present. So yesterday whilst Fern was sleeping I found some scrap material, dusted off the sewing machine and whipped up this little rabbit softie!

It is sort of meant to be a sort of cushion that I picture sitting on my niece's bed. It is a tad smaller than intended, but with no pattern and a quick naptime window to complete the task it was the best I could come up with at short notice! I have made a few softies before, but this one is the first I've made on a whim, with no real plan of how it will turn out. Do you think she'll like it???