The Project, Updated

Hello lovely readers. Please excuse my recent slackness. My exciting news is that I am on my final ever prac experience… my internship! So I have a pretty good excuse.

Internship means that we’re back at my Nana and Pop’s for six weeks, and Mayana is most happy to be spending the days with her Nana and Pop. Nana and Pop are most happy that little miss can now communicate with them. Mayana certainly keeps them on their toes though, she’s a total nutter, climbing and jumping off everything… she has no fear whatsoever, and has given us all a few extra grey hairs in the last few days. Tonight, for example, about half an hour after she’d gone to bed I heard a noise and went to check on her. She had climbed out of her bed (she was in a double bed), pulled open the set of drawers, climbed up them, and switched on the fan. Yeah. She’s been demoted from the spare bed and is spending the night in the portacot. Though I’m sure we’ll find her tomorrow morning having found a way to climb out of that, too.

Anyway, that’s not why I’m here. I wanted to stop by to update you all on the shed project that I told you about when I was on prac last. You know, the one where my Pop had purchased the dilapidated old cordial factory and was turning it into a house??  Well, it’s definitely looking a lot less like an old cordial factory, and more like a real live dwelling. I have to say, I was very impressed when I saw what Pop’s done. It’s gorgeous!!! But don’t take my word for it, here’s the proof!

‘Pop’s Lounge room’. It’s huge!!! The light fittings and fans look great, and the venetian blinds are very classy against the corrugated iron.

 The kitchen! Isn’t it beautiful!! I love it. In case you’re wondering, it’s from Bunnings. There were supposed to be kickboards going in, but we’ve all agreed that it gives it an entirely different look being off the ground like that, and I’m pretty sure it’s staying that way.

The main living area. Hasn’t Nana done an awesome job at choosing the colours?? The feature wall looks a but more purple than this in real life. And Pop’s little garden feature in the corner there is also very cool.

The view from the back. The big tanks have all gone, the roof has been painted and the solar panels have been installed. There will be a deck installed on the right hand side, and Nana and Pop’s motor home will live under the left hand side awning.
Pop has started on the bedrooms and bathroom, and Nana’s sewing room is nearly finished. I’m sure I’ll have another update or two in the two months that we’re here, so stay tuned!
All positive feedback will be passed on to the very proud renovator :-)

Can you point your fingers and do the twist?

Mayana can.

She can also stand on one foot and shake her hand; rock-a-bye her bear; roll down the sand dunes and do the knickerbocker number nine.

Yes, my daughter has discovered The Wiggles!

I’m most impressed that she can sit in front of a Wiggles concert DVD for over half an hour, and actually stay focussed on it. She stands up and sings, and follows all the actions.

I’m quite happy she likes the Wiggles. They do have educational value, and as far as kiddy music goes, they’re not so bad. I kind of love that the Wiggles are wowing their second generation of kids.

As yet she hasn’t been exposed to Dora, and I’m putting it off for as long as possible in the hopes that she won’t be interested – purely because that show drives me nuts!!! Same with In The Night Garden and the new Hi-5. So for now, we’re sticking to Wiggles and Vegie Tales.

Gotta love the classics!

Oh Happy Day!

Today was my very last day at uni!!!

Well, we are having a celebration day after prac, but this was our last day of actual learning at uni. I can’t believe it. As in, it really hasn’t sunk in yet, at all.

It’s been a long five years, for both Peter and I, and it’s so amazing to be at the end of it. At the end of one road, and at the beginning of a new and incredible journey. Far out!

I’ve loved this year. I was so nervous about starting this year with a bunch of strangers – my original cohort having graduated last year. But I can honestly say, I have loved being a part of this group of people, and I’m so proud to be part of their group of graduates. I have made wonderful friends, and I truly hope they’ll be a part of my life for many years. How soppy is that!!!

So it’s the end, but not really the end- and I think that’s why it hasn’t sunk in properly. I’ve still got one assignment to hand in by Monday, followed by 6 weeks of internship, then two more assignments. For now I’m going to try and focus on one thing at a time though. And today, I’m focussing on the fact that I no longer have to climb all those dang stairs in G-Block, I’ll never again have top poke at Peter to stop him falling asleep in lectures (okay so that only happened once and he had a pretty bad flu), and most of all that I had a fantastic last day.

weekend… (and other ramblings)

It was party time this weekend… we were back on the coast for a 60th birthday party and a 6th birthday party!

It was a bit of a whirlwind trip, but good fun. The worst bit was, we forgot our camera. And when I say ‘we’ I mean Peter. And yes I’m totally putting all of the blame on him.

But we had a lovely time, even if we are a little tired from it all. I don’t know about you, but we stayed up pretty late on election night, waiting to see if we would have any answers. The matter wasn’t helped too much by the fact that a certain little miss decided that 4am was a great time to wake up and play tickles with us. She seriously has never done that before – wake up ridiculously early and want to play – and my goodness I hope she never does it again!

So I don’t have any great shots to share with you of our lovely weekend, but I do have a couple that I took with my phone that I thought you might enjoy.

[Mayana deciding she’s now a big girl, and will ride the trolley accordingly]

[Latest fashion trend? And yes, she did this all by herself.]

[Giddy-up!] 

Sorry the quality’s not great, but the subject is as gorgeous as always!

The rest of our week is going to be crazy. It’s our last week ever of university classes! The thought hasn’t fully sunk in yet, but it’s pretty crazy to consider. We just have so much to do in the next four days that there’s just not time for it to sink in.

We start our internships next Monday, and in about eight weeks our degrees will be all over red rover!!

I’ve enjoyed this semester – even if has only been six week’s worth. We’ve formed a pretty close group of friends, and it will be sad to say goodbye.

I’m starting to get excited about the next chapter in our lives though!

Owl!! Hoo hoo!

That’s one of Mayana’s favourite things to say that the moment. She’s really into owls for some reason.

So when I came across this incredibly delicious fabric at Felix Loves Fabric’s eBay store I couldn’t resist.

I was so delighted when I received it, it’s so gorgeous. Mayana’s eyes completely lit up when she saw it, she wouldn’t let me put it back in the envelope! She spread it out on her lap and pointed at all the owls, saying “Owl. Hoo hoo! Pretty!!”. And she’s so right.

I have a few plans in mind for the different blocks, and tonight I’ve finished off plan number one.

I’ve appliquéd my favourite square to this t-shirt, and added a cute and frilly crocheted border. I think it sets off the gorgeous print perfectly, and I’m very happy that it turned out pretty much exactly how I imagined it.

I also made this t-shirt for Mayana tonight…

  I’ve done a lot of sewing lately, but it’s been a while since I’ve made something just for my girl, and I really enjoyed it. It was even worth the huge burn I’ve given the inside of my elbow with the iron (yeah, ouch!).

Keep an eye out for photos of my little cutie-patootie modelling these in the near future :)

Oh, and I have t-shirts similar to the second one available on my facebook page. I can also make to order, in almost any size (subject to availability!)

Surprise Visitor!

We were very blessed yesterday… my dad gave me a call to ask me what we were up to, and luckily for us it wasn’t a uni day… because he was an hour or so away and wanted to drop in for a surprise visit! Yay!

Mayana didn’t believe me when I told her, she laughed and said “Noooo!!”. But I’m pretty sure she was glad to be wrong.

We had a lovely afternoon tea together, and Mayana enjoyed sharing bickies, showing off her toys and playing with Opa’s iPhone.

Thanks for coming Papa… we loved having you!

What a weekend…

We drove to Brisbane… to meet my family half way. Because they missed me so, and we all missed them.

Mayana was so excited to see everyone. She was waiting at the top of the stairs and as each of them came around the corner, she exclaimed their names… “Boo!! Lala!! J!! Kaka!!! (Kami) Opa!!”. They were pretty excited to see her too.

We met up in the city, and strolled around the museum, and on a whim decided to visit the science centre. It was such fun!

Mayana & Jordan… heads on platters Just in case she didn’t feel little enough already… Crazy spinny tunnel… I think we’re all on a slight lean… New favourite photo. I know there’s a new one every week, but you gotta admit this one’s pretty special. Boo and Maisie Playing chimes and taking it all very seriously. Playing twinkle little star on the thongs and PVC pipes. Best instrument ever.Alexie and I and our dream bodies… teehee.

We walked across the bridge into the city, and my sisters shopped and I wished the clothes looked good on me. But that’s okay. We had Hungry Jacks for lunch, you know, in that creepy 3 story one right in the mall. And there were pigeons in there which made it all the more creepy.

Then we walked back to Southbank, flew past the markets. The family left and Mayana cried, which made my mum and sisters want to cry too. I wanted to cry, but only because my feet were killing me (note to self: do not wear boots next time you’re walking around the city all day).

Then I bumped into a friend from uni, who graduated last year and now lives in NSW. It was a fabulous coincidence. Mayana took a great liking to her boyfriend, and I’m pretty sure he liked her a fair bit too.

Then we went home, and half an hour later I got picked up for a ladies night at church. ‘Twas great.

Church today… then home for naps. Spot of shopping in the afternoon, and a delicious dinner for the three of us.

Papa gave Mayana nutella sandwiches for lunch, can you tell?

And there’s our weekend!! I need another weekend now, to recover from this one.

I hope your weekend was lovely too. I’d love to hear about it!

Sophie Kinsella

More catching up on the books I’ve been reading…

I’ve recently discovered Sophie Kinsella. You would most likely know of the movie based on her book, “Confessions of a Shopaholic”, although you may not have realised that it was based on a book. I haven’t seen the movie yet, and I’m a little dubious because from reading the back cover, it’s got very little in common with the original.

But anyway. As I was saying, I’ve recently become acquainted with Sophie Kinsella. I’ve read a number of her books lately, including the following from the Shopaholic series:

* Confessions of a Shopaholic
* Shopaholic Takes Manhattan, and
* Shopaholic & Baby

There are quite a few titles in between, and I’ll get to them, but I’m only reading them as they become available at the local library.

The ‘Shopaholic’ is Becky Bloomwood, a twenty something ‘journalist’ (inverted commas because she’s not really much of a journalist!) and expert money-spender who is ALWAYS in massive debt from her multiple credit and store cards. She’s kind of infuriating, and you get annoyed at her because she’s SO stupid with money, but there’s also something endearing about her. The books follow her as she gets herself into debt, and out of it again… over and over. She also has many misadventures in love, and a few career changes along the way.

All in all, it’s a fun, light big of reading, especially if your a fan of the “chicklit” genre.

Also by Sophie Kinsella, I recently read, “The Undomestic Goddess”.

This one has quite a different flavour than the Shopaholic books. Its main character is Samantha Sweeting, an unapologetic workaholic high-profile lawyer, who through a very unfortunate series of events finds herself posing as the hired help in a stately English home. Samantha has never cooked in her life, and her only forays into housekeeping have involved hiring cleaners. With the help of the gardener and his mother, she muddles her way though and sells herself as a highly capable maid. Of course along the way, she falls for a guy (you can guess who, haha), and the whole crazy situation comes to a head when her past comes back to haunt her.

I quite enjoyed this one, it had a few laugh out loud moments, and a mostly satisfying love story. Not a bad read.

And finally, my favourite Sophie Kinsella book so far… “Twenties Girl”.

This book has two leading ladies, Lara Lington, and her deceased great-aunt Sadie. Sadie, having recently passed away, has begun haunting Lara, looking for help in finding an object of great importance to her.

As if having a demanding and opinionated 1920’s flapper stalking her isn’t bad enough, Lara is also going through a number of personal crises, including facing massive business problems as her business partner and best friend has disappeared into thin air; and her love life is in a shambles.

Sadie takes Lara on a wild adventure, which has her dressing up in vintage 1920’s fashion, and forcing unassuming men into crazy dates. I could see the story playing out in my head like a movie, and I know it would make a great one.

Do yourself a favour and read this book, it will definitely make you smile.

And me? I’m keeping my eyes peeled for more Sophie Kinsella reads, she’s definitely made her way onto my (very long) list of favourite authors!

I just finished reading….

Lots of things. I read so much. Maybe too much? I don’t know if that’s possible, but I do read a lot. I adore it. But I’m sure I’ve talked about all that before. And I have a whole lot of these types of posts lined up to finish and publish.

You can always have a look over there ----> in my sidebar if you want to see what I’ve been reading.

I recently finished reading the book, Her Mother’s Hope, by Francine Rivers. Now, Francine Rivers is one of my favourite authors. I’ve NEVER read a book of hers that I haven’t LOVED. I very highly recommend her books.

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Her Mother’s Hope is her newest book, and possibly one of her best. 500+ pages of Francine Rivers is just a little bit like heaven.

The story follows the story of Marta, as she escapes from her hard and sad family life in Switzerland to become a ferociously independent woman who begins a new life for herself in the US. She finds love, and starts a family and her life takes another huge turn, as she follows her husband into a hard life of farming.

The story explores the effects Marta’s childhood have on the way she parents her own children. We follow the story through as Marta’s daughter grows up, and begins her own independent journey – though with such a different heart and intention than her mother, and with no idea what it is that makes things the way they are between her and her mother.

I just love big sagas like that, that follow generations along until you feel like you know the characters. The relationships in this story are fascinating, and so interesting. I honestly couldn’t put it down.

Best of all? It’s part of a series, so in September, there will be more!

When do we grow up…

When do we make the change, from being wonder-filled, happy and full of light little people… into grumpy, stressed, over-analytical big people.

I watch my daughter, and she just amazes me.

She is so vivacious, and happy. She takes delight in little things, like birds on the fence, the owls that are printed on the feet of her sleepy-suit, a pink balloon, picking up pegs in the yard.

She loves with abandon, and with her whole heart. She comforts others when they’re sad. Her face lights up when she sees the people she loves. And her cuddles and kisses are the best in the world.

She learns something new every day, and it always excites her.

She knows when she does something good, and something right, and it makes her happy. She claps and laughs and does it again.

If she’s scared or sad or hurt, she knows she just has to call out to me, or her Papa, and that we’ll be there and we’ll make everything right in her world. 

She loves to draw, and make music, and play and eat… and most importantly, she doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her. In fact, it doesn’t even factor in her thinking.

She amazes me. She inspires me. And I wish I could be just a little bit more like her. 

How about you?

The Berry…

She’s had a fun week this week.. here are some photos for your viewing pleasure! Mayana went to her first birthday party this week, her friend Laylah. She spent most of the time playing on Laylah’s slide, and being mothered by lots of Laylah’s school friends – which she coped with a lot better than I actually thought she would.  She ate lots of party food – stationed herself right in front of the chip bowl.

Deep thinker…

Mayana LOVES these pyjamas. She has a thing for owls at the moment. She loves them. It’s one of her newer words, and she knows that they say, ‘hoo hoo’.

She has also been showing a lot of interest in her ‘bah-beees’ (a little set of twin dollies we bought her at the toy sale). She found a pile of wrapping paper and a basket and busied herself making a bed for them. They have to sit in her toy pram while she eats dinner, and she checks their nappies and puts them on the potty routinely throughout the day. I only just caught her trying to put one of them on the big girl toilet. It would have been bye-bye baby that’s for sure!

 This looks like a bottle of bubbles, right? Well no, apparently it’s her bath baby. She wraps it up in a washer and rocks and pats it and tells it to ‘shhh’.

We go on prac again in about three weeks (eek!!!! bit scary!), and we have been preparing Mayana for another few weeks with her Nana and Poppy. She has this set of foam letters which stick to the wall in the bath, and we line up the ones that begin all our family member’s names. The clever little miss can point out which one stands for Nana, Mummy, Papa, Boo, Lala, Opa, J & Kami! She blows me away with the things she can remember and understand. She’s so clever! This is her pointing out ‘Nana’.

Aww love her!

Consider my thoughts provoked.

I was catching up on the blogs I love to read and came across this post from my friend Talia’s blog. You should pop over and read it.

It’s left me pondering Big Things ever since.

A lot to do with the election. This will be the second federal election I have had the opportunity to vote in. I choose to consider my right and responsibility to vote as a privilege, and I don’t take it lightly. I do a lot of reading, a lot of watching (though admittedly I don’t take much notice of the pathetic propaganda-like mud-slinging TV ads – they make me seethe, and I think it’s pretty embarrassing how pathetic our pollies can be), and a lot of talk to people. I want to make an informed choice when I vote, and I want my vote to count. And Talia made some points which I totally identify with.

And like Talia, I’ve been thinking about lots of other Big Things too. Like, next year. Getting a job. Well, for that matter – this year and finishing uni would be a good start! The fact that the thought of working full time and therefore having Mayana in daycare full time makes me want to cry. Whether I’d be happy doing relief work or something part time. Whether that’s even a choice anyway – it might end up being my only option for all I know.

Uni is so scary at the moment – everyone’s always talking about the Big Scary Unknown, and using all these education-related acronyms, talking about Ten Standards and Roadmaps and Action Research Projects and Literature Reviews. It makes me feel like I don’t know enough ‘stuff’ to be a good teacher, and I can’t wait to go out on prac where I know I’m doing the thing I was made to do.

Prac is only three weeks away now, which is pretty darn exciting, but also makes me  feel the need to ask for a paper bag (you know, so I don’t hyperventilate). And it’s only 15 weeks until we pack up and leave this place!

So yeah, lots of things to think about. And I promise you, this brain never stops ticking. It’s somewhat exhausting actually. So thanks for letting me ‘blah’ here :-)

Off to find a paper bag…

who is this child?

And what has she done with my baby??

I swear, every day Mayana is looking less and less like my little berry, and more and more like a big girl.

She’s so much fun to have around though, and I wouldn’t swap her and all her big-girlness for anything!

some photos of our cherub this week….

A friend of mine sent me this gorgeous outfit by Noo Designs. It came with the pants and top, hat, bib and little booties. So dang adorable.

I put the bib on her just to take the photos, but for some reason she thought it was completely hilarious and refused to take it of. She would pull it up over her mouth and nose and then laugh herself silly. It was very funny.

She’s just the cheekiest kid around! Mayana and her Papa were having loads of fun in the bath tonight, as Mayana discovered she could stick her foam letters to her head. She called me in to look, and was awfully delighted when I took photos.

She even got Papa in on the act!

She’s such a clever kid, we were playing with her foam letters in the bath yesterday, and I stuck them on the wall and told her different names which begin with the letters… N for Nanna, L for La-La, H for Happy (which made her sing the song if you’re happy and you know it) etc. I would mix the letters up and ask her where they were and she would point at the right ones!!! Tonight, when Pete pulled out the ‘N’ she straight away yelled out, “Nanna!!!!”.

She totally blows me away with the things she understands and remembers.

She’s also settled into her new daycare routine.. she’s three days in a row now, and it seems to be helping with her sleeps. This week she slept for more than an hour every day, which sure beats the 30 minutes or less that she seems to have always done until now. She’s still having two hour naps at home, and it’s nice to have a little reprieve from her very constant busyness.  She also has settled into her new big girl bed – it’s been a far less stressful experience than I was expecting.

And that’s about all of our Mayana news for this week!

I hope your weekend was wonderful..