The Maori people identify the unfurling Punga fern frond or ” Koru” design, with values of youth, strength and vitality, life unfolding, the family or WhÄnau, its care and protection. It seems, therefore, a perfect symbol with which to celebrate Easter in New Zealand. Charlotte came up with the idea of Punga art for Easter, […]
Month: March 2010
Easter eggs, masks & baskets
A special Easter parcel arrived from Chicken Grandma and has kept the girls busy creating decorative Easter eggs (a fabulous Marks & Spencers kit), masks and baskets. With Charli off school due to a virus and eye infection the timing of the parcels was perfect. The girls are in their element being creative and turning […]
Chicken Grandma in more ways than one!
When Charli was very little my Mum used to make animal sounds on the telephone and one sound in particular stuck – that of a chicken. When Grandma phoned, Charli would say, ‘Chicken Grandma!’. Well, Chicken Grandma has been doing an art course and sent the girls a copy of one of her latest paintings […]
Charli’s first visit from the Tooth Fairies
Last night Charli left a letter with her tooth in the hope of a visit from the Tooth Fairies. We believe there’s more than one after having read, ‘The Diary of a Tooth Fairy‘ by Alan Durant (Author) & Vanessa Cabban (Illustrator). When Charli was younger she used to say she saw fairies and loved […]
Alice & Mummy have an all nighter!
12.30am One feed down for the night and nappy changed. Gotta love my iPhone in bed! Baby back to sleep and so must I… 2.30am And so my all night milk party continues; still rocking! Having a blast on the dance floor. Alice is necking back the drinks. 4.30am She’s on the heavy duty cocktails […]
Guess what’s missing?
It’s been hanging by a thread all week. Charli said, “It’s so hard to do my work at school, all I want to do is wiggle my tooth.” She’s so excited it’s out. She’s the last person in her class to lose one. Here she is reporting on her tooth, just moments after it came […]
Sophie’s finger puppet
She’s had a busy week and amongst other things she created this wonderful finger puppet: She’s also been cleaning the windows… And enjoying the sunshine in the garden…
The long awaited post baby bounce!
This afternoon I had the liberating experience of bouncing on the trampoline after nearly a year of saying, ‘Sorry, I can’t…’. The first few bounces caught my pelvic floor muscles (or lack there of) by surprise and I had to make a mad dash to the bathroom (Note to self – must do more pelvic […]
Coo, Coo! Alice at 5 week’s old :)
She’s all coos and her big sisters are right there to join in with some dove singing and ‘a goos’. Wow she’s getting strong with her neck muscles and rolling onto her side. She’s growing way toooooo fast and the time is passing us by quicker than we’d like. We are treasuring every teeny, tiny […]
A Jewel in the Crown: Queen Sally’s Diamond Deli
Lyall Bay hasn’t been quite the same since the devastating fire at the Maranui Cafe and surf life-saving club (reopening in 2010). Thankfully Havana coffee, wholesome food, jams and quality ice-cream is back in the bay with Queen Sally’s Diamond Deli, owned by the Maranui crew. The side-walk deli on Queen’s Drive, with European style […]
Sophie’s Quill Pen
One sunny autumnal day last week Sophie and I were walking along the beach. She started collecting seagull feathers, which promptly joined the bottle tops, leaves, pebbles and sweet wrappers in the bottom of my bag. I mentioned that many years ago feathers were used to write with and were called quills. She didn’t believe […]
Charli’s before school weaving
Charli never stops, from the moment she wakes until she reluctantly surrenders to sleep (and even in her sleep she talks – or screams!). She has such an active mind and is forever off in a corner of the house creating something, be it art, writing, a song or a dance; or in the garden […]
Sophie’s Tulips
We found a lovely quick craft idea to make tulips for Easter (we’re in total denial of autumn!). Sophie loved this little project. We started by painting old egg cartons green (as in the video demonstration on About.com), for the bud of the tulip, but then Sophie came up with the idea of covering the […]
Four week’s on…
… Alice has settled in beautifully. The past few day’s have seen an improvement in her ability to self-wind, which has meant a lot less walking around with her upright and propped up on our chests. She’s been feeding well and giving us big, hearty, appreciative burps in return. She’s getting stronger and more alert […]