Just before I left for Melbourne, I went on my first ever photo shoot with my photography class.
It was soo much fun!
We had 5 brides who were willing to get out in the wind, get their gowns a bit roughed up, and let a bunch of photography students snap away.
I have a whole new respect for wedding photographers, and portrait photographers in general!
These photos were taken at Plimmerton, near the Fire Station.
While lawnmowers buzzed around us, our family relaxed into our public holiday on Labour Day. **Bliss**
We eventually made our way out to The New Dowse to see their new Fuzz, Felt and Fur exhibition.
I thought it was very interesting how alongside the pieces of art, they supplied a cushion-like example of the textiles used in the displays. (Sorry my photos are blurry. They said I could take photos, but not with a flash.)
The children were able to touch and feel tapa cloth, satin, felt, wool, harakeke (flax weaving), and my favourite scratchy texture, tulle. My kids excitedly told me their favourite was the velvet cushion.
They even had a big furry interactive wall.
That’s an outline of my 3 year old that my older daughter made.
We ventured into the gallery, and the children were just old enough to not touch the works of art.
My favourite had to be the oil painting by Sam Foley. The painting came to life when a projection of running water played over the top of the painting (it even had the sound of rushing water!)
Go to Sam Foley’s website to see the actual Otira Gorge oil painting.
Just off the entrance of the museum is a long room with a number of activities that kept the children occupied until it was time to go home.
There is a cafe on site if you get a bit hungry or need a hot chocolate fix.
The New Dowse is a much smaller museum, so we pretty much did everything that we could do in about an hour.
I will definitely keep an eye out on the exhibitions coming up, so we can come back as a family or even on my own. 
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 10 – 4.30pm, Sat and Sun 10-5pm
Cost: Free Entry
Location: 45 Lainges Road, Lower Hutt
For more information:
website: www.newdowse.org.nz
email: newdowse@huttcity.govt.nz
Do you remember the scene on Mary Poppins, where she looks like she could fit right into her bag, as she searched for items when she was decorating her room? (Who could forget the huge lamp shade that came out of her carpet bag?!)
Well, sometimes my handbag can feel like a bottomless pit when I am searching for an illusive pen!
Thankfully, the Borne Naked Handbag Liner came to my rescue.
I had the opportunity to take part in the Borne Naked Handbag Makeover Challenge, along with other bloggers from Kiwi Mummy Blogs.
It arrived beautifully wrapped.
The medium liner was not too big, not too small…it was just right for my handbag.
Since it is a Makeover Challenge, we need to have a before and after photo.
Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly (Yes, I did contemplate culling my bag before the photo, but this is reality blogging….and we’re all friend here right?!)
I would say that half of the contents of my handbag were things I didn’t need to carry around with me!
After de-cluttering my handbag, I put my handbag essentials in my new Borne Naked Handbag Liner. (Wet Wipes, Pen, Tissues, Mini First Aid Kit, A Fold up Bag, A couple of Notebooks, and my wallet…I keep my cellphone in my pocket)
AFTER!
Everything is so easy to get to! No more Mary Poppin moments for me!
Love it!
I noticed that I am more aware if something from my Handbag Liner is missing from it’s allocated “spot” and needs returning or replacing. (eg when I gave my daughter the tissues, or lent someone my pen.)
Having the Borne Naked Handbag Liner in my bag means there is a clear distinction between my “essential” items (everything in my liner), and other random items that have found there way into my handbag. I can easily take those items out, and keep the clutter from taking over my bag again *phew*!
Hopefully, I will no longer inadvertently carry around stowaway objects for weeks without knowing!
Like these little beauties I found at the bottom of my bag:
Other great things about this product:
I can also see how the Borne Naked Handbag Liner would come in handy when transferring all our essential items from one bag to another with ease.
I really appreciate it when talented people, share their creations for all to use.
I Share Printables [via Organzing Your Way], is a place where you can browse a gallery of free printables, and print off any that strikes your fancy.
This would be a great place to showcase your own creations that you have made as well.
For more information: http://www.ishareprintables.com/
Loving these mummy treats!
These cookie-suckers by HowDoesShe.com, are made with Oreo Cookies. (There is a video tutorial as well!)
For more information: http://www.howdoesshe.com/halloween-cookie-suckers
This mummy was made by Skip to My Lou, using a gingerbread man cookie cutter.
For more information: http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/10/19/halloween-cookies/
Simple Mom has Robin Dance of Pensieve doing a couple of guest posts about parenting teenagers.
As my daughter approaches double digits early next year, I can relate to this quote in the post where Robin’s friend said this about her 10 year old daughter “She’s already lived half the amount of time she’s going to be with you….” YIKES!
If you do not have teenagers, you can still put into practice some of the advice, but I would also bookmark it for future reference.
For more information:
Seasons in Parenting: The Teenage Years (part 1): http://simplemom.net/parenting-teenagers/
Seasons in Parenting: The Teenage Years (part 2): http://simplemom.net/parenting-teenagers-2/
iswish is an interesting way to de-clutter your family’s wardrobe. You sell your clothes for credits, and then use those credits to make purchases from the range of clothes, bag etc on their website. Niceeee!
For more information: www.iswish.co.nz
I just found a couple of unused curtains that I was wondering what to do with. The Sustainability Trust has set up a Curtain Bank, so that low income residents and those with chronic health conditions have access to free curtains to keep warm during the winter and keep heating costs down. They even accept curtain rails and fabric to make curtains too!
(I emailed them to see if there was anywhere I could drop off the curtains locally, and they said they were doing work in my area and came and picked up the curtains from my house!)
For more information: http://www.sustaintrust.org.nz/OurProjects/Current%20Projects/Curtain_Bank.htm
You know what is ironic, October last year I produced the MOST posts, ever. 41 posts apparently! It is now 21 October 2010, and I have managed 5 posts! 
Having 2 weeks away on holiday and away from “life” has been fabulous. Now I’m just trying to get through all the things that were on hold.
The time that I usually spend blogging has been used to organise the home (my new favourite past time…for the moment!) and going out in the evenings or chillin’ with my hubby. All good stuff…but how to balance everything?!!? (Let me know if you find the answer!)
So what have been my highlights this month?
I had a read of what I wrote in October 2009, and it was fun reminiscing. Here are a few highlights:
I wonder what life will be like in October 2011?
Life has returned back to normal. We arrived home late Sunday evening (to a delicious Japanese dinner with my family in Wellington…YUM! Homemade gyoza, rice and miso soup…**swoon**) The older kids are back at school and my youngest and I have been pottering around the house for the last couple of days. I even escaped the housework and had a playdate (read: more of a playdate for the mummys than the littlies) on Monday which was loovely.
The trip away has really recharged my batteries and helped me to see the bigger picture of what is really important.
I just love my hubby even more!
Everyday I want to parent a little bit better than I did the day before.
I want to be more picky with how we spend our money, so we aren’t spending it on impulse buys, or junk that we don’t need.
I am finding homes for homeless objects in my house, and eliminating clutter.
Most of all, I want to stay and linger on the good moments. I want to soak them up, instead of focusing on what is lacking, or what is going wrong.
We were about to leave to pick up the kids from school, when I noticed that a couple of lights in the car were left on (those with toddlers can probably relate!). Yes, the car battery was flat.
So, I whipped out the pram, whipped on some comfortable shoes and we quickly walked to school, and made it just after the school bell.
I was grateful it was a nice day so we could walk, and we weren’t too rushed.
I was grateful that we had a good pram, even though it kind of clicks as I push it along.
And even though there were challenging moments with each of the kids today, I didn’t lose my cool and it worked out in the end. I am grateful for that.
One of my favourite things about blogging, is how it helps me to reminisce on all the good moments of the day.
Oyasuminasai (Translation: Goodnight in Japanese)
I’m sitting here listening to the squeals of delight from my 3 year old daughter playing with her 5 year old cousin.
(Just as I finished typing that, my daughter fell and cried. Doh!)
After cuddles, she went right back to playing with her cousin like nothing happened. Typical huh.
So, I’m back in New Zealand with my kids! Yay! We are in Auckland with my brother’s family in the North Shore.
I flew in from Australia yesterday…and boy do I get anxious before I fly (and when we are about to take off, and land!)
Ever since I had children, I get all sorts of horrid thoughts of leaving my children motherless whenever I have to fly. Lots of prayers said yesterday! So grateful to be back safely with my kids.
I have been spoiled with the check-in kiosks and the online check-ins. It took 30mins to check in with Air NZ at Melbourne Airport.
Then we had to weave through another line to go through the x-ray to check for liquids in our carry ons (although the guy walking around with a mic and speaker was pretty entertaining…he sounded like the voice over guy from the game shows, he was informing us about what liquids to declare etc…He was tipped that someone was having a birthday, so he got everyone to join in on singing happy birthday to him.)
Then it was onto the horrid line to clear customs (no smart card here!). I wished I had an audio book to keep me company and a portable fan..hot!
Although the silver lining was that I allowed enough time for all the lines and I got to see Eric Bana from the Time Traveller’s Wife lining up at the express lane at customs. YEEES!
On Saturday, we spent the whole day in Melbourne in a place called Fitzroy.
It is an amazing place.
Looking down the street, I kind of felt like I was in the middle of Newtown, Wellington with the old buildings dotted along the side of the road.
Fitzroy also reminded me of being back home at Cuba Mall in Wellington. It has the same laid back atmosphere, where one’s individuality is embraced. I love Wellington because it is so eclectic…but it has nothing on Fitzroy. I loved the people who looked like they stepped out of a 50′s movie with bright red lipstick and Katy Perry hairstyles (except they weren’t dyed purple like her). Shelly made friends with the guy who was giving out the pamphlets for the Rose Street Markets.
One thing I noticed when we first arrived, was the Graffiti! I have never seen anything like it!
I think businesses decided to get graffiti art because that is the only way they can avoid being targeted.
The main reason we ventured out to Fitzroy was because of the Rose Street markets.
It is a great place to pick up one-of-a-kind pieces of art and meet the creators.
Shelly and I fell in love with the jewellery by Nicole from Emerald Green Submarine.
We were drawn to the beautiful photographs at this table.
We found out the images were photographed by this lovely guy, who takes them whenever he is overseas on a volunteer project. His passion was contagious. All profits go towards Orphfund.com. I am excited about having a photo that has such a meaning to it.
We walked up and down Brunswick Street to see if we could find somewhere that would be the perfect place to rest our feet and indulge in some delicious food. We stumbled across the Vegie Bar, and were taken to their outdoor courtyard at the back. It was just right! Once again, fabulous service, and yummo food!
Brunswick Street is filled with loads of interesting shops. It was so much fun window shopping.
We had a relaxing drive back to Geelong after a full day. This is a photo of the Westgate bridge.
We ventured out to the Geelong Waterfront yesterday…it was a beautiful crisp day.
They have a gorgeous vintage carousel that has been restored (24 out of the 36 horses are original, and each horse took 300 hours to restore! Yikes!). I think I enjoyed riding the carousel as much a the kids!
I love ferris wheels, so jumped at the chance of going on the Sky Wheel to enjoy the amazing views.
After having a picnic by the seaside, it was off home to relax.
Then my friend and I did some late night shopping down at the mall.
It is a bit of hoot shopping with my friend. We are opposite body shapes, and colour pallets. So, if something doesn’t look good, we end up chucking it over the top of the dressing room to each other. Then there is the constant visits to each others changing rooms to check out our potential purchases. The giggles, the walking of the “runway”, the critiquing and even more laughter.
The fun night of shopping was topped off by re-visiting the waterfront to go to the The Warf Shed Cafe. The staff were awesome! The food was amazing! The ice chocolate was to die for (a real scoop of ice cream inside and a generous topping of cream on the top ladies!)
Then we drove past the ferris wheel that was now all lit up with colours that changed from green to blue to red…beautiful!
If you bump up your aperture and try to hold the camera steady on the car, you get this:
My body clock is totally messed up! After staying up past midnight last night, I woke up at 6.30am (when the kids woke up) and just couldn’t get back to bed. My eyes totally sting! I think a daytime nap might be in order today.
Yesterday, we took a nice walk down to see the time trials of the cycle races. It’s kind of crazy to see the entourage accompanying the cyclists.
Then we were off to check out the markets. They were selling all sorts, from clothing, to souvenirs to art pieces. The international food stalls were pretty amazing too. I bought some churros! (Yum!) For lunch we had some deliciously marinated pork and chicken served with salad from a Nepalese stall.
Then at night we relaxed.
I’ve been reading Matilda to my friend’s 7 year old son. Last night he asked me to say some words again. Then he said, “You say words differently” (Oh man, my friend’s son has forgotten his New Zealand roots and turned Australian on me!)
After the kids went to bed, we had a pamper evening and did facials…then we stayed up and did what we do best and talked and talked and talked (hence the late bedtime!)
