Our Big Boy Turns Three

It was really quite hard to believe that William was turning three already!! How the time flies! He is such a fun-loving, outgoing, sweet boy who is loved by so many. 

Here's how we celebrated...

He insists on pulling these crazy faces when getting his photo taken!

The weather was perfect & we celebrated well into the late afternoon with friends & family.

Details on how I created our Cars themed party in the next blog post.

Til then,

Mel xx

Making a Guest Room

With three out of the four of us celebrating our Birthdays in the next couple of weeks, we needed to get a space sorted for my parents who will be coming to visit at different times, starting with my dad arriving at the end of is week.

We have a small area near our main bathroom that we decided to transform into a guest room. It will also be a place for Ben to sleep when he is on midnight shift & needs to sleep during the day as it is away from the main living/dining area.

So, this is our guest room...



Most of the items in here were things that I already had around the house.

The bed had been sitting in storage & I purchased the quilt cover & sheet set from Target for around $50. The throw rug & cushion were items I pulled from elsewhere in the house.



I got this folding table from the local thrift shop, as well as the lamp, which I had sitting in a spare room out on the farm. The basket with goodies (hand cream, body lotion etc) was on sale at Target. The green jar & fake roses came from a local hardware store that also sell home decor.



I love this bag! I picked it up on my last trip to Sydney. The button heart wall art also came from the local thrift shop(on sale!)



I bought a couple of blank canvases, also from the local thrift shop (love that place!) & covered them in some fabric I had lying around from previous sewing projects.

I think the room has come up well & I only spent around $70 for the all the decor.

Can't wait for our visitors to arrive now!

What do you think of our guest room?

Til next time,

Mel xx

Moving On

A little over two months ago, we made the move from farming life to suburbia.

While we are still waiting for the farm to sell, we have happily settled into town life. We love all the conveniences (take-away, ducking down the street for milk, dining out) & it's so nice to spend the weekends catching up with friends, playing golf or heading to the park.

So, let me introduce you to our little home in the burbs.

While it's no palace & needs a little work, we love our little space...

 

Can't wait to use that pool!! 

Hope you enjoyed this little tour of our home.

Have you moved recently?

Do you dream of a tree change or a sea change?

Til next time,

Mel xx

Mother's Day 2013

So I know Mother's Day was over a week ago but, better late then never right?

Mother's Day this year was a really enjoyable one for me. It was my third one but it was the first year that Ben didn't have to work & we could actually celebrate.

While I didn't get the sleep in that I really wanted, the boys spoilt me with lots of love & some lovely presents. We hit the golf club for breakfast & it was a gorgeous day.

It was so nice to just hang out as a family & enjoy the day. Unfortunately I don't get to see my mum on Mother's Day as the distance doesn't allow it but it's nothing a phone call can't fix :)

Presents :)

Ready to head off for breakfast

My mum (on our wedding day) 

Hope your Mother's Day was just as wonderful.

Til next time,

Mel xx

Showtime

Living in a country town, the local show weekend is something we always look forward to. Not that it's anything spectacular, but it's nice to get out and be part of the community. And now that William is that little bit older, I have to admit that I was quite excited about the fact that he might attempt his very first show rode this year!

We ended up having such a fun afternoon, catching up with some friends & letting the kids run wild. Watching all the horse events & the woodchopping.

And, of course, sideshow alley....

[caption id="attachment_37" align="alignnone" width="224"] Ready for some fun![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_40" align="alignnone" width="224"] Love a bit of Mickey[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_41" align="alignnone" width="224"] Taking it all in[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_42" align="alignnone" width="300"] Proud mummy moment - his first show ride![/caption]

Can't wait to see both the boys enjoy next year's show!

Do you attend your local show?

What's your favourite show ride??

Til next time,

Mel xx

Reinventing the Old

I have had this dresser since I was a little girl. It originally had a mirror on the top but when we found out that our second child was to be a boy, we removed the mirror & put it in on the wall of our new bedroom. The dresser now sits in Angus' room, housing all of his clothes & I have been itching to make it more boyish, but the thought of doing all of the prep work for the makeover just wasn't appealing to me.

That was until I discovered Chalk Paint. Not to be confused with Chalkboard Paint, it was given its name because of the chalky, matte finish it gives. So i jumped online at gracesgoodies.com.au to pick out a colour. There were SO many to chose from but I ended up with Greek Blue. It arrived within a few days and I was ready to go!

Now, the BEST ting about Chalk Paint is that there is NO PREP TIME required! None at all!! You just slap it on to whatever you like. It sticks to plastic, stone, concrete & metal AND you can also use it to paint walls & floors.

I took me about an hour to do the first coat at lunch time & I did the second coat that night. And it was done! TOO EASY.



First coat

[caption id="attachment_28" align="alignnone" width="300"] Second coat[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_29" align="alignnone" width="300"] Complete![/caption]

I LOVE IT! Can't wait to start my next Chalk Paint project!!

Til next time,
Mel xx

Our Happy Easter

This Easter was a little bit more special for us as it was the first year since we've been married that Mr B didn't have to work!
It has been so fantastic having him around for the whole Easter break & the boys have especially loved sharing all the excitement with Daddy!!
The boys are still a bit young to really understand what Easter is about nor do they realise what the Easter Bunny does, but it was still exciting to watch them discover all the little pressies that the Easter Bunny left them.
I thought I'd let some pictures do the talking...

Hunting for eggs

The Easter Bunny delivered

CHOCOLATE!!

Brotherly Love

We love our pets

Sandpit fun

Til next time,
Mel xx

Two's A Plenty

This post is a response to all those people wondering if we are going to add any more children to our family or 'try for a girl'.
When my husband & I started talking about having a family, we were keen on having four kids. I'm the youngest of three & my husband has a sister & a half-brother. We liked the idea of having a large family.

Then we had our first child.

From the time I found out I was pregnant, I hated it. I was so sick. And not just for the first 12 weeks like all the books say. I was sick, as in pulling up on the side of the road on my way to work EVERY DAY to throw up sick, for a 6 whole months. And then when the sickness finally ended, I got terrible leg cramps & suffered from high blood pressure which meant numerous trips to hospital that lasted hours. This was followed by a not-so-good birthing experience & a non-passion for breast feeding before finally settling in to being mum.

I can remember saying to my husband after about eight months that we should try for another baby. I was pretty sure by this stage that this would be the last one & wanted to get the pregnancy over with as quickly as possible & so a month later we were expecting again.
While this pregnancy was a little easier, I still hated it & now I had a toddler to chase around as well. EXHAUSTION

We found out the sex of our babies as soon as we could, both times. And we were happy to share the details with all of our family & friends. When I went to that 20 week scan with baby number 2, I had mixed feelings about the sex of the baby. A part of me was hoping for a girl as it would be something new but I was also keen on another boy to give our first boy a real mate.

I think I am totally blessed to have two boys and I also believe that there may have been a higher power involved in giving me another boy. While I may miss plaiting hair, shopping trips & painting nails, I'm happy to admit that I am greatly looking forward to my husband & the boys going off on some expedition while I enjoy some solo shopping time or pampering.
So we are done, as far as expanding our family goes. I feel totally complete with my two gorgeous boys & love watching them grow every day. I look forward to lots of cuddles with all of the new babies that any friends or family bring into the world in the future. And I will be more then happy to hand them back!

Til next time,
Mel x

 

Introduction

Seeing as this is my first post, I figure the best place to start would be to tell you a bit about myself.
I'm a full time mum to two boys, William who is two & a half, & Angus who is one. We live in a rural town in northwest NSW. Originally from Sydney, I moved here after meeting my husband & love the country lifestyle. My husband works at a local mine & we live on a 200 acre property not far out of town.

I'd like to think I'm not your average, conventional mum. I take pride in being different & standing out from the crowd, and I'm not afraid to say what I think - good, bad or ugly! I enjoy spending time with my kids but also like to do my own thing, when I get the chance!

I started this Blog, mostly to keep a record/journal of our family life & it alos gives me an opportunity to share things with my family & friends. And it also gives me a bit of time away from the kidlets!

I love doing crafty things & have recently become a bit of a sewer (check out my other fb page The Sewing Sistas). I also love planning parties, cooking, fashion, shopping and DIY & am looking forward to sharing all of these things with you in the future.

So feel free to share with me, this journey that is Life. And ENJOY

Mel xx