Pirate Party - Preparations Continue.

Preparations for the Pirate Party this weekend are well and truly underway now.   So far we have made the treasure map,  as you can see the Captain got into the spirit of things:

The clues for the treasure map are stored inside these little pouches I found at a $2 shop.  The sword is the final clue and is the weapon to "open" the Treasure Chest pinata:

Filling the pinata full of "pieces of eight" (chocolate coins):

Making the pinata shell, hopefully when it is finished it will loosely resemble a Treasure Chest:

I am making 21 of these newspaper swords, see Alphamom for the tutorial: 

The Captain's hearty approval:

Lastly I chopped up the sun-shade umbrella to begin converting the outdoor table into a pirate ship.  Do you think my husband will be cross?  As he has been in Melbourne, gallivanting about and wining and dining with friends and I have been at home, alone with two children.  Left to deal with amongst other day to day things, a rogue snake (eeek!) and a broken dishwasher (gah!), he had better not say anything:

More on the rogue snake and other recent domestic issues tomorrow!

Have a nice day then!

Conversation with the little one at 7pm last night, moments before bedtime:

LO: I am going out.

Me: (grabbing camera off kitchen bench to fire off a few snaps quickly) Where are you going darling?

LO: (Smiling beatifically for camera) To work.

Me: Really?  Are you sure you should wear the bunny ears to work?

LO: Yes, dadda always wears bunny ears to work.

Me: (Laughing, all other photos now blurry)  Does he now?  I must have a word with your father about that then!

Embracing thrift with cute cowboys!

As I have two boys, my intention has always been to buy good quality clothes for Boy One and then hopefully pass some of his wardrobe onto Boy Two.  Boy One though has turned out to be extremely active and enjoys playing in the dirt, trees, sandpit and other typical boy joy places.  Most clothing has survived the mud and the dirt very well.  Seed, Country Road, Gap and Old Navy are definite favourites.  However, almost all of Boy One's pants have suffered in the knee area.  It seems so wasteful to throw out a pair of trousers just because the knees have worn through, so in the spirit of thrift and with noble thoughts regarding the environment, I asked my lovely Mum if she could sew some knee patches for me.  I am so pleased with the end result that I am blogging about it!

I knew that if I was to be happy with the patches that the fabric had to be cute.  So after quizzing a clever pre-school Mum (Thank you Susan!) I found some gorgeous cowboy fabric at a nearby quilting shop.  A fat quarter of cowboy fabric cost a few dollars and if you think about the cost of buying a new pair of decent pants, a few dollars is nothing. 

The patches were stitched on by hand, with some additional fabric stitched onto the inside leg of the jeans (basically behind the patches), in order to meet boy play standards.  This will come in handy as Boy Two is following in Boy One's gumboots and is equally as fascinated with mud, dirt and general outdoor mischief.  

Perfect play clothes for the little one! Thanks Grandma!!!

The Gruffalo

This morning I took the pirates to see the stage production of The Gruffalo.  The Captain, who can almost recite The Gruffalo in it's entirety, just loved it and the baby watched wide eyed and adored roaring when the "mouse" requested that the children in the audience roar!  To anyone who is unfamiliar with the books and has young children, I highly recommend all of Julia Donaldson's books but in particular The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child.  Written in rhyme, the story will appeal to most children and is so clever that I actually don't mind reading it over and over again!

Berrima

I met up with my parents for lunch today in Berrima, a lovely little town a few hours south of Sydney in the Southern Highlands.  They have very kindly had The Captain to stay for the last few days and so we met in Berrima so that they could return him to me!  I adore meeting up with them here as we can have a lovely lunch at one of the numerous cafes and then I can have a leisurely stroll through the many antique shops whilst they entertain the grandchildren in the park!  Today we had lunch at The Magpie Cafe on the verandah. 


The Captain dancing about with excitement on the verandah at the cafe, telling me all about the wonderful time he has had with Grandma and Grandpa:

Although it would have been just as lovely to eat outside on the pavement under the blosssoms, petals were drifting down with the slight breeze and filling the air with their delicious scent:

The highlands are in the midst of Tulip Time and there were half barrels full of tulips lining the streets:

Even the post office had tubs of flowers outside:

       This cat is a local identity.  He gracefully permitted me to photograph him outside his home:

A must in Berrima is a visit to Peppergreen's.  An absolute favourite of mine:

It is full of vintage kitchenalia:

Glassware:

Vintage linen:

Other collectibles:

Beautiful things:

There are several rooms full of collectibles and it truly is a feast for the eyes!

Thank you to my wonderful parents for having The Captain to stay!  He had a marvellous time and we had a lovely break!

It was far too quiet...

I was on the phone to my husband, discussing the necessity of my latest nursery order (as in garden nursery, yes it is a weakness.  Note to self:  think about making NYE resolution preventing future nursery purchases!)  Anyway, during the course of the phone call I suddenly noticed the absence of the little one.  Wandering through the house looking for him, I spotted this:

That would be a 2 kilo jar of sugar next to his feet.  I hastily said to my husband. "Um... I need to go.  Bye!"  I grabbed the camera, as I really regret not taking the photos of this child covered in permanent marker aged 3 months (didn't find it that funny at the time... unfortunately!).  Licking his lips:

Quickly shovelling in the last mouthful whilst Mummy snaps a few more photos:

Mwaaahhaaaahaaahaaaaaa!!!:

I recall saying some time ago that this child has a sweet tooth!

Addendum: all nursery purchases for CURRENT garden need to be completed by Christmas 2010

Pirate Party - the Invitations

So this is what I have spent my morning doing!  I copied a treasure map image I found through google images, faded it to make a background and then typed the invitation wording across the top. The font is blackadder.  Once printed, I cut out the invitation and dunked it in a baking tray of very strong tea.  Singed the edges with a lighter and lastly, tied with twine!

I think I will have to hand deliver them!