heart hands

ladies...hold ON to your uteruses!

cover its eyes or send it out of the room...

...because these lips do not want to be responsible for an influx of babies born 9 months from now!


this afternoon, i had to wake Sawyer from his nap so we could take Jada to her netball practice. and there he was, all lips and cheeks and squish...and his hands in the shape of a heart! /melt.
and even though i have been solo since before dawn (and still am!), i am sticking fast to my new week's resolutions and today has been much better. thank you for your comments of solidarity. and especially this offer of help i received:

 if you need a maid I have some spare hours I can give you, and apart from moping floors which i detest I'll do anything else, and i don't pass judgement on peoples parenting, or their kids, or talk about their home lives with other people, i mind my own business, get on with jobs, am pretty flexible and won't tell you kids what to do, and kids having tantrums or being little terrors don't worry me at all!

 (you're all going to be asking me for a contact number now aren't you?!)
~d.


(some of you will have seen this picture on instagram already. if you're on instagram, come and say hi at @deeconstruction)

new week resolutions

{hey boys, whatcha up to?}

oh! 

nothing! we weren't doing anything..

...just hanging out and smooching.

see? 

aw, i love you, Brother...

{yeah, right...;) }

so last week was just a big, mean bully and i let myself play the victim. the repetition and workload! a lot of solo night-shifts (and morning shifts), a lot of driving around and then a fair whack of relational drama thrown in too.

BUT this week, i'm standing up to the bully and not going to be a victim. i'm hoping to make things MUCH slower and be more accepting (even, joyful?) about the workload. 

this week, i want to smile often at my children, speak to them in a soft tone and treat them with kindness. i want to remember we're on the same team and enjoy their company.

do you have any New Week resolutions?

~d.

(home)school lunches: week 1

because we home school i may be relieved of the arduous task of making packed school lunches every day but it doesn't mean my kids don't get sandwiches thrown in their general direction most lunch times. i'm lazy and very last-minute and they're just so easy to slap together. however, because our lunches don't need to fit into a lunch box or keep fresh until lunchtime, i really want to start having a more nutritious approach and steer away from the sandwiches.( i've also been trying to make a conscious effort to broaden certain young palettes beyond bread and cookies.../ahem.)

so, these are my (self-imposed) rules: 

it must be affordable, quick and easy to prepare, interesting (taste & texture) reasonably nutritious and low in sugar. 

week 1: vege pita pizzas

how::
I used extra large, extra thin pita bread(we buy these 5 packs from a local fruit and vege shop for a mere $2 per pack!), smeared it with tomato paste, sprinkled some italian herbs for seasoning, grated some zucchini (so fussy fingers can't pick it off!) and some cheese.
I preheated the pizza stone/plate in the oven, placed them on it so the undersides firmed up while i grilled the cheese on top.
i folded them over, cut them in half and served them warm.
kid rating: 5/5 - begging for more!

...

i am certainly no fancy chef - i am all about in-n-out with as little effort as possible. i don't expect to wow any foodies at all, but, by making this a regular post, i hope to keep the Lazy Lunch Lady (ie, me and my sammies) away. 

guess away

when is a giveaway not a giveaway? when it's on facebook.

pages on facebook aren't allowed to give stuff away in exchange for likes or comments,

so i am giving this away...in exchange for guesses.

so, go to my facebook page, guess where you think i would like to 'run away' and you could win this A4 sized, fabric collage picture.

the guess-away will close on Saturday 28th April.

25 April

today, in Australia and New Zealand, it is ANZAC day.

so we made some (a LOT) of anzac biscuits:

it is also my mum's birthday.
and because she shares her day with the ANZACs, she loves poppies. and so, i made her a dee*luxe doll with the PERFECT purple and red poppy fabric Clare sent me last week:

she has been wanting one of my dolls for awhile. i hope she likes it.

and in the spirit of ANZAC day, i wanted introduce you to some of my fave Aussie bloggers and friends:

ivy nest

Tania: a gorgeous mama of 3 stunning children, her blog is subtle and has a beautiful easy pace. so refreshing and inspiring!

che and fidel 

Jodi has such a peaceful and nurturing space, i want to crawl up and hang out there. a genuine and generous lady.

naughty shorts

Bec: this lady knows what's what with sewing pretty dresses. such a fun and talented lady. 

tea with lucy

Rachel: another beautiful mama with a subtle, peaceful blog. i always enjoy visiting her space.

high maintenance hippy

Allana: the sweetest lady, living in Tasmania, who warmly extended friendship to me when i first began blogging. 

very grateful for all those who have fought for our freedom.

~lest we forget~

{Sawyer's Seat} 2 months

hello~

i turned 2 months old last Thursday (9 weeks yesterday)! don't i look so grown up already?

i used to look like this:

then this:

 and now, this:

(does the term "weed" spring to mind?)

{A Tale} by Danny Arlo

{as told by Danny, 2 years}

 {oh look! i see some red elephants!}

{i caught it! would you like to pat it?}

 {let's cut him in half!}

{would you like some red elephant too? here you go.}

{1 2 3 4...6 7 pieces!!}

i stumbled upon Jada and Danny playing a 'safari' game this morning. one of my absolute fave things in the world is observing imaginary play.

i mean, red elephants that you can hold in your hand. really? a 2yo mind is brilliant!

have a lovely weekend friends!

x

{wardrobe wednesday} polka dot + floral

as well as stripes and floral, i do love a bit of polka dot and floral.

 

  

 (Dee Doll joined me for moral support today)

top: cotton/silk fabric, thrifted.

skirt: vintage, made in NZ, thrifted.


thanks for your suggestions on what to wear while breastfeeding. i'm not convinced about unbuttoning a dress all the way down the front but maybe i'll try it around home and see how (exposing) it feels before 'going public'! 
~d.

joining in:

{let's be honest}...about no.5

i've had 5 kids for 8 weeks now and i'm going to be honest with you...

• although, after having Danny, we really felt there was one more in our family the reality of having 5 initially made me cry. but it feels so right to have him here, and to be 7.
• i spent wasted a lot of time during my pregnancy freaking out about how little everyone helped out and how much more i'd have to do with a newborn and how on earth would i find time to sit down multiple times a day and feed the poor child and if i were to find the time, how could i possibly maintain a decent milk supply when i am this busy already? etc,etc.../hyperventilate. and now, my most favourite thing is this little guy's hungry tummy forcing me to sit still for periods throughout the day. it is blissful.(and judging by the chins, milk supply isn't really an issue either...ha!)

• i was convinced that because i'd had 2 delightful, super-cruisy babies in a row surely my luck had run out and no.5 was bound to be a colicky, hard-to-settle, total troll babe. he isn't. at all. it took me 6 weeks to stop holding my breath and realise that he is in fact a dream baby. he sleeps so SO awesomely (but i kinda don't want to skite too much about that just in case...)
• in fact, he slept so much for the first few weeks (rarely opened his eyes and then when he did he wouldn't make eye contact for aaages) that i thought he knew i had cried when i found out i was pregnant and was totally in a snot with me!

• he took so much longer to come into himself and respond than Monte (no3) and Danny (no4) did. but i found it correlated with me coming back into MYself. i felt extremely open and vulnerable after the birth this time around. i have been extra aware of over-doing it and being really intentional about being gentle on myself emotionally and physically.
• he pukes. a lot. like, allthetime. it doesn't bother him at all, but i'm kinda ticked about the wasted milk. dude...! (see that white bit on his tongue up there? exhibit A)

• and yes, it would have been totally lovely to have a little girl for our no.5 but God knew who our family needed and this guy is pretty darn sweet. (and besides i'm still convinced a little girl would have been totally spoilt). i sometimes mourn the absence of a sister for Jada but it reminds me to pray for amazing girlfriend-sisters for her life.
• most days it blows my mind that i am living this - that these are my pictures and not some one else's. that i get to be here again, for the 5th time. our baby-having days are over and i'm so grateful for this period in our lives. i want to savour this one last time but not be dreading the end of this season so much that i choke it with nostalgia or sadness. i want this 5th child to have the freedom to grow and mature into an amazing man - and not be burdened by his birth order or his mother's need to have a "baby". 

ok, who am i kidding, he'll always be my baby...but you know what i mean, right? i just really don't want to make a big deal of it that's all :) 

{recipe} potato buns

so you know those times when you've served as much mashed potato onto everyone's plates as you possibly dare but you still have that cupful left over? 

well, after you try these buns you are going to make sure you have a cupful left over next time you serve mashed potato!

and to make it easy for you (so you'll try it) i've typed the recipe out for you - click, copy, paste, print. bam!

(background lined paper image from here)

enjoy!

~d.

{wardrobe wednesday} a skirt + a bow

this week i'm inspired by the high-wasited-with-tie style skirts i've been seeing around (here and here) for awhile. so i finally made one from this gorgeous fabric i was gifted last week.

i had a squizz at this tutorial by Creative Spaces but decided at 7 weeks postpartum it'd be wise to have a flexy-waisted skirt (plus, i wanted to avoid sewing in a zip) so added elastic in 3 separate strips, to the back half of the skirt.

i must admit that i do feel like my butt and hips are about 10x bigger in this style but it feels super comfy so i'll give it a go.

~d. 

ps i NEED some breastfeeding-friendly fashion ideas! i miss wearing dresses...

linking here:

Happy Easter!

i wanted to stop by quickly to wish you all a safe and happy Easter.

JR is away all day tomorrow (Good Friday) so me and the kids are going to read the chapter in 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' where Aslan dies in Edmund's place, and the White Witch thinks she has won...

we are going to discover and celebrate the parallels between that story and the real Easter story.

be safe and blessed.

~d.

...

{image: the quilt is an amazingly generous gift from Talia Christine and t-shirt is handpainted with bleach following this tutorial at A Beautiful Mess)

{wardrobe wednesday} a dottie cardi

{THIS RESTYLED CARDI}

{MADE FROM THIS}

{INSPIRED BY THIS}

(the ever peachy Dottie Angel)

linking in here:

{by Jada} hot air balloons

Last Thursday our family got up early. Do you know why? Because we went to see the hot air balloons!

My favourite was the mama kangaroo. She was orange. There was a dadda kangaroo as well.

He was brown. Do you know how I told the difference between them? Because the orange kangaroo had…..two joeys! They were so cute. There was a boy and girl. Brown and orange again. I called them Joe and Josephina. 

Here are some pictures.

When we got home Ty drew a monster hot air balloon. He called it…'Little Steven with Whiskers'! Haha ha ha ha ha! 

..........

Jada (8) is learning to touch type and so will be adding posts every so often.

enjoy~