helping the water cycle to do its thing

~i understand that the following post cannot possibly be supported by science, but i would be interested in your thoughts~

i have been thinking about our dusty, crunchy grass for a while now and perplexed by the storms that have passed through coating everything in a layer of red dust. in an attempt to save every drop of water in our dams, the current water restrictions have meant that we are not to water our lawns and only bucket water to our gardens. this is a great way to save the water in our dams but what about the water cycle? how is it able to do its job over suburbia if there isn't any precipitation to soak up and turn into clouds??? (ignore the fact that pools exists in many back yards) so in an effort to help the water cycle out, my little family have been recycling the bath water. we have been traipsing back and forth with huge buckets and watering the lawn and mister moo has hooked up a large tube to the washing machine which empties onto the lawn as well.

now i know this post wouldn't stand up in court but you should have seen the look of surprise, happiness and satisfaction when we had recent thunder storms and great big rainfall over OUR suburb!! we are continuing to recycle our water and hoping for more rain clouds to form over our little piece of earth.

so what do you think, could our theory work?? perhaps more of us should give it a go, especially those living in toowoomba,(*wink wink* Kris). whether this theory works or not it is nice to be doing our little bit and makes us more conscience of how much water goes into our bath...

click to see this lovely rain (this photo was takena few moths ago but this is the sort of good heavy rain we had)

the girls have also been busy doing chores as they are both saving to buy something special. they need $13 each and have both saved over $6 each. they like to do chores but love getting that 20 cents or whatever it is at the end of the day...i often hear the words 'it wont last' but if they want pocket money in this household they are going to have to earn it. i don't mind buying tuckshop on Friday as a reward for being good girls throughout the week ( we never spend more than $3 each ). i took some photos of the girls so that i could remind them of their abilities....

lili vacuums THE WHOLE house without a break.

then the mopping begins.

the cupboards were well overdue for a wipe down, Mia did a very good job of this.

i insist on my clothes being sorted into piles before i can fold them, this is a very easy job and a favourite of all the girls.

there is no doubt in my mind that i could trust my girls to clean the house to an acceptable standard. they are very capable and keen as mustard when a carrot is dangling at the end of the line.

i will leave you with a photo that i found on the camera, an example of why the cupboards never stay clean!!

have a great weekend

xxrosey

is there such a thing as spidergirl?

hello blog world...today i am trying my hardest not to think about having to go back to work next year as it just puts panic into my soul. i seem to be thinking about it so much that i am not enjoying my long service as much as i should. and working towards holding a market stall seems to be consuming my every thought which also puts me in panic mode because i cant manage to make enough and do all of the house work that i WANT to do while i am off. am i making sense? the answer is that i hold all the power!! i don't have to have a market stall this year...i should just take the pressure off myself and plod along. in my heart i think the thorough cleaning of the house is more important and this is a great opportunity that i shouldn't miss. anyhow, i decided to take a break and blog about some things that have happened recently. this menacing look is so typical of our little hammy

our girls school had the much anticipated school carnival on Saturday and like all good parents we took them along. being relatively new to parents of school aged children, i didn't realise the enormity of a carnival. we have been donating various items for the past 10 weeks in the lead up to this one big day. we purchased $60 worth of armbands which entitled the children to unlimited rides(such a bloody scam) and i volunteered 2 hours of my day to help out with the prep stall and the year 2 stall... well how naive was i??!!

the carnival started at 10am, i arrived to help set up the devonshire tea stall (not even my children's class) at 7:30am and set about whipping cream and filling little containers with jam. i had to head to my year 2 stall at 10 so that the mum could go watch her child play her instrument. meanwhile mick came up with the girls and he had already had enough and wanted to go home =]

i wasn't needed on the plant stall so i headed to the drinks stall and the lady was in such a panic and need of help i offered to stay and there i stayed for the next 2 hours while poor old mick wandered around and lined up for ages to get our children onto rides. needless to stay mick had had enough and by 2pm we trudged off home. i actually went back to help at the drinks stall for another hour while mick had lunch with the girls. i wonder how out of 26 families why on 3 or four could help out on the day?? it is over for another 2 years THANK GOD. here are some pics of their face paint....

this little one had a great time and chose to be painted like spiderman, go figure..

beautiful butterfly

another butterfly but slightly wiped off... next time lili will be old enough to go off with her friends and call us when she wants to come home.

it is amazing how exhausted i was from all that volunteer work.. but i had these goodies to cheer me up...

the lovely Linda from lilly cottage gifted me a bottle of scotch for my birthday and a gorgeous book full of hand made ideas for little presents and a gorgeous collectible Dorn wool felt rabbit to say thank you for helping out while she was in hospital!

take a look at this little lady (click pic to enlarge) isn't she just gorgeous?! she is the perfect partner for this dandy fellow...

i bought him at the bear an doll show earlier in the year and he has been ever so lonesome til now #_#

and they are great company for the little collectible lili bought...

she has such great taste in purchases. she used some of her birthday money to buy this little pup, cute as a button! a happy little family all living on my hutch.

thanks linda, you didn't have to!! working for you isn't like working at all. oh how i wish it were my job for real...

and the last blurry and not straight pic is of my customer order for some shabby Christmas pretties

not the best picture but you get the idea, one garland is missing from this pic and i gifted her a large heart as well. i am working on more of these each spare moment i get.

thanks for sticking through that loooooonng post..have a great week

%*_*%

lets play catch up

who would of thought being a stay at home mum would be so busy!! no wonder my head spins around faster than a top when i am working and being a mother, wife and running a household of 5. but it is a good kinda busy...especially when i am stitching or working on other goodies for my market stall. each day is filled with errands and daily routines, a bit like groundhog day :) i try to keep up with all of the blogs i follow and post a bit on twitter...my etsy and madeit shops need more stock (my dream would be to make another sale) and this computer needs a huge clean up!

today i cleaned the curtains in my kitchen and was appalled at the amount of dust stuck to the lace... my goal for this long service is to thoroughly clean each room and cupboard, that thought is actually overwhelming but i guess a little at a time and i will get through it. each weekend seems to be filling up with commitments as Christmas approaches, something that annoys mister moo to no end :p he is a real home body and i am a bit of a social butterfly so i get into strife for saying yes to every fun thing around...

anyhow i need to play catch up on a few things. firstly Suzie from an itch2stitch is going to kill me for not completing her blog award properly but i don't really know how to do it!! i have mastered the art of saving a picture and linking to other sites so i hope that she will forgive me for not knowing how to fill out the quiz. head to her site to understand what i am talking about. but here is the award...

isn't it lovely! thanks Suzie you are too kind.

the renovations are complete, on the outside, here are some photos.

the trims have been painted white since these photos have been taken. when i do get a chance to read and this one leaves me alone...

i have had the chance to flip through these...

and have the desire to decorate our room like this

i can just imagine how grubby that room would be from one hour with Claudia in it!

and of course baby blue was in the photo so i couldn't resist showing you one more photo of her. we are still very happy with our choice.

and finally my husband and some of his students took part in a competition which required them to build a human powered vehicle. his school came 3rd in their category and have been invited to Parliament house to receive a grant for their school!! i am so proud of him and he is thrilled to be going to such an important event.

that is all i can remember for the moment, i will be back to show you some lovely gifts i received yesterday from someone special...

bye for now%*_*%

this little piggys going to market...one day

oh i am having so much fun dreaming of how my market stall will look. forget the fact that i haven't even enquired about doing it, or that fact that i haven't got a tent to sit under or the stock to fill out the table...but a girl can dream cant she?!! the following photos tell the story :)

these arent quite finished yet...

just some of the items that i hope to have displayed on my table

visit sweet tidings to make your own catalogue card...and visit me at my market stall when it is all up and running...

i will keep you posted on my progress.

%*_*%

kids stitching

my girls love to stitch which is wonderful except that i have to thread the needles and set them up before they can start. god i am lazy...anyhow, the general procedure is...i sketch a little desired design onto some plain coloured felt and then they stitch away with whatever coloured thread they demand, or should i say, desire. they are quite proficient in running stitch so i guess i should spend some time teaching them how to back stitch, one day...one of their most recent projects were these two designs.

lili chose to stitch a love heart design

which she turned into a pillow. one day i will have to teach her how to blanket stitch too.

and mia stitched a cupcake, which she decided to turn into a little bag.

i left it up to them to choose the backing fabrics and they did a wonderful job but i forgot to take a photo of them before they were wrapped up and gifted out to their friends.

they are already asking to make another present for some lovely girls who made them some personalised bracelets. i guess the weekend might be the best time for some more stitching, if i am not lazy that is :)

have a great wednesday

mmmwwaahhh

tagged with a twist

i was tagged a few days ago and have finally found the time to repay the request. if you haven't visited babalisme YOU SHOULD! her blog is so innocent, cheery, creative, inspiring and generous. and she has the most beautiful baby girl that she gives peeks of every now and again. the rules of this tag are simple:

1. open your first photo folder
2. scroll to the 10th photo
3. post the photo on your blog and tell the story behind it
4. tag people to do the same

the first 3 are easy but the last is going to be open to all who wish to play along. i would really like to see your posts so come back and tell me if you do. i think my sister Anita who is living in London at the moment would have a great photo to share (hint hint Anita, post on your blog!)

the first folder holds pictures from baby Adelaide's christening and this photo...

is of baby Jed who is the first son of my good friend Kylie. Kylie has two children, her daughter abi (my goddaughter) is 12 so i guess that makes for a huge age gap :0) and little mister Jed will be a big brother next year, a much closer age gap...

here is abi holding jed, sitting with claudia, lili and mia.

here is adelaide with her mummy sarena and her daddy darren and in the background is one of her god mothers jenny. (not the best photo sorry daz, but mia had the camera) adelaides christening was a joyous occassion, she is surrounded by people who love her little soul. she is destined to have a very happy, normal and blessed life.

here we are with my good friend, and claudias god mother, miranda. miranda treated us to dinner, dessert and presents... tag you're it!

%*_*%

halloween month

i love October... i met my husband on a blind date on Halloween 1998!

i love the American traditions and like to decorate my hutch with all things ghoulish.

i have some crafty ideas in my mind...just need the time to make them :P

claudia likes to help with all of our decorating

i need a power board so that i can hang these on my hutch but for now they are up in our new room.

here is Claudia doing her best impression of a pumpkin

enjoy this month and make way for Christmas

%*_*% rosey