Have you ever made something that just makes you giggle? You know, the kind of thing that's so deliciously easy to make, but always brings a smile to your dial whenever you look at it. I made one of those this morning.

It's soo much fun having three little girls to sew for, who appreciate ruffles, frills, and the finer things of life. I put this skirt on Dede and could hardly get her to stand still for a photo...

I think it's a winner. :-) Let me know if you want to know how to make it... it's soooo easy, and literally no sewing involved. Just a glue-gun, if you're that way inclined. (I sewed, because it was already set up, and I didn't have the patience for the glue-gun to heat, haha).

And this is what I've been working on, every now and then, for the past few weeks. You know the drill: The girl next door comes over, so you cut out some squares together; it's nap time for the younguns, so us oldies (Dede and I) cut out some squares together; it's time for a Sallies throw-out, so you recycle some of your favourites, and cut out some squares... yeah, that kind of thing. It's fun!

I have a hard time getting my head around the Spotlight here in Rocky. The customer service isn't bad....once you finally get it. They're soo sloooww (maybe it's just fabric stores in general? They're kind of a slooowww place aren't they? I mean, have you heard the music in them? There is none. The air is stale. Even a snail would go to sleep in those stores...) Anyway. It usually takes about 10 minutes to serve each customer. And there's usually a line of 3-4 people waiting ahead of you. Which, quite obviously for us math buffs, means a waiting time of 30-40 minutes. Just to get your fabric cut. argh! I'm not the most patient of people, and always on some kind of a mission, so this just drives me around the bend! Plus! Having to keep 4-5 young kiddies happy while you're waiting? Needless to say... buttons, beads, lace, fabric bolts, and zippers go everywhere. And that's just on a good day. :-) Sometimes I end up just leaving my bits and bots, and coming home to chop up and make my own fabric out of old clothes. Haha! Which is exactly what I did with this...

Not bad for a freebie, huh! I did nick into Spottie this morning to grab some soft fluffy fabric for the backside. We got there right on opening time, and were the first in queue! Whoo! So, for $13 Livvy now has a soft warm blankie to snuggle into on these cold Rocky nights (haha).

<---Hey Trace. I finally got to use one of these! hehe.

In which I became as a child.

Playing shops with the kiddies. Who knew it could be so fun!?

Since I'm on a mission to make sure I'm enjoying life with my littlies, I'm spending alot of time on my hands and knees dressed up to the hilt in all sorts of wild and wonderful costumes. Playing "shops" with them, one day after school, was a hit and has been requested every day since. Even Rachie enjoys popping on the fireman's costume and pretending to "steal" from the shop. Then, of course, Jimmy (dressed in his  mechanic's hat) has to put her into jail...

It really is such delicious fun! Completely tires me out though. No wonder children often throw tantrums around dinner time... they're so tired from all that playing all day! Poor little tykes.

My latest obsession has totally been sewing, though. If I'm not doing the barest minimun of housework, or playing games, then you'll find me at the sewing machine. Today I made Livvy and Rachie the sweetest little dresses. A reversible superman/batman cape is on the cards for tomorrow, along with some pants for Rachel if I'm feeling daring enough. I've found the most wonderful blog online, and she explains things sooo well. Beautiful pictures, and illustrations as she walks you through creating the most faaaabulous clothing and accessories for children. So completely easy to follow (I'm a novice sewer, and even that is an over-statement!) but they turn out just gorgeous. I was planning to show off the little dresses to you tonight, but the girls wanted to put them on so they could do twirls for Daddy when he got home. And who am I to say "no" to showing off to Daddy hmm? And then I completely forgot about the fact that they were wearing them for their delicious home-made spaghetti dinner and chocolate custard.

Uhh. Yup. Off to the wash they go.

...and I just added that picture because loooook how cute and doll-like Bethany looks in the background. Haha. She is happiest when she can watch the older ones playing. You shoulda seen the fuss she kicked up when they left her there and went onto bigger and brighter things. 

And while I'm on the subject of Beth, I just have to boast for a moment...

She slept for twelve and a half hours last night!!

What can I say?! She's an angel. I ended up waking her up to make sure she was breathing. :-/ 

Oh, and did I mention that we're going back to New Zealand for Christmas?? Just me and the kids. All five of them. One of me.

Lord have mercy.

Some days are just like this, eh?

This morning was pretty special. The library near us was having a "National Storytelling Week" morning, with lots of stories and prizes to be won. So we (in true Hartley style...) shined ourselves up for the event, painstakingly picked our favourite costumes, and headed on down. All geared up to take out all the prizes, and have some fun (and use up a lonely Saturday morning, while Daddy was busy selling cars).

We arrived an impressive 20 minutes early, and proceeded to charm the socks off the ladies organising the event. However. As it turned out... there was also a Dora event being held elsewhere and a circus somewhere else... which apparently is more enticing to the kiddies that live in Rocky.

So. There we were. Dolled up for this huuuuge event, and ready to compete for the prizes listen quietly to the stories... and we made up half the crowd.

Yup. Half the crowd. There's some benefits of being in a big family!! We were now down to a 50/50 chance of winning those prizes!!

With the taste of victory in our mouths (the chocolate Freddos that every single one of the eight children got....) we were hit gobsmacked with reality. They'd decided not to hand out the big prizes. After all, there were only eight children there, and with four of them being in the same family...well, there'd be more winners than losers (well, equal number actually. But that's what I'm guessing their reasoning was...).

So. No prize.

But, we still had a great morning and got to enjoy all the fun activites right in the only front row.

I did feel sorry for the organisers of it all, being such a small turn out and all, but hey - they got 100% satisfaction from the kiddies, as they were all very happy with their Freddos, and everyone missed out on the big prize, so everyone was happy! Is it just me, or does that seem a little twisted?! haha.

This is precisely how I spend my days at the moment. Life just doesn't get any sweeter than this... (or does it?? Time will tell!)

Livvy and I shared a special moment tonight...

Then we were joined by Christian...

And then Rachel...

And then Jimmy...

 

Gotta love a group hug before bedtime. :-)