Paint Chip Circle Garland DIY

As you know I've got a bit of a crafty bent.

On one of my many trips to Bunnings I had the urge to collect (or should that be pilfer) some of the paint colour cards in my favourite tones of blues and greens.

I had an inkling they would be put to some crafty pursuit.

Having admired the many garlands strewn around Pinterest I decided a paint chip garland was just what the house of KATcapers needed!

My circle punch came in very handy for this activity.

Youngest KAT gave invaluable assistance pairing up the circles as I whizzed them through the sewing machine...the perfect opportunity to begin her education in tone and colour combining!

I used orange thread to add a bit of a punch.

I'm liking my garland draped on the Expedit bookcase...it may end up adorning the window in the lounge...only time will tell.

Cheery and bright and just our style. Verdict?

Uptime and Downtime

 

Unlike previous school breaks these holidays have been free of any "organised" activity.

Instead spontaneity coupled with plenty of down time for all of us has been our modus operandi.

Youngest KAT is off to big school and these holidays have been about spending lots of time with her big sisters....annoying as that can sometimes be for each of them:)

Oldest KAT remains preoccupied with her elevation to high school and the natural apprehension that it brings.

Middle KAT has been practising her basketball skills in the evenings with daddy whilst I constructively critisize Saint Mike's coaching technique and play with the other two in the adjacent park.

Two weeks to go. Shopping done, labelling underway. The excitement for a new school year builds.

Ready for big school

 

Having been through the preschool phase twice already I knew that Littlest KAT would reach that natural tipping point where she was really ready for big school.

I can confidently say that in her case we haven't had a gentle cresting of the hill and tipped gracefully over the top....no we've been on a headlong sprint to the edge of the cliff and jumped off screaming with delight.

Littlest KAT's brain synapses are firing so brilliantly you could see them from the moon.

When I collected her yesterday she spent most of the drive home recounting the science experiment the "senior" preschoolers had conducted that day involving food dye, water, plastic cups and pieces of celery.

We stopped off on the way home to get some celery from our lovely local green grocer Vince. Once I had provided her with the plastic cups (out of our trusty party box where I keep all party paraphernalia) she got herself setup.

She knew what to do and what the experiment should achieve. She wowed us with her capable and confident articulation. We were in awe of the brain-power of this five year old. School ready she certainly is:)

 

Littlest KAT turns five

Flower banner created when Oldest KAT turned 6

Prepare yourself people! This is one of those posts. You know, the ones that may make you want to smack me!!!

It's the birthday party post. Littlest KATs 5th to be precise.

Held some weeks after her actual birthday because it's a bit hard to look like the effortless party mum when you're swanning around with a broken arm, torn ligaments in your wrist and matching travertine step indentations on your shin and thigh.

Due to our backyard resembling a building site (Saint Mike may have many inimitable qualities but a tidy site isn't one of them) we chose to place our trust in Mother Nature and held this soirée at a great local park.

Invitations were duly prepared.  These shall not be shared as they mark an all-time low in my history to date of party invites.  Traps for young players include

1. Badly handwritten due to dodgy wrist/arm (remember I'm a leftie and this is the hand that has been out of action somewhat)
2. When you have a dodgy hand it's best not to have party at a park with a looooong Aboriginal name located on a street of the same name....can someone explain to me why Aboriginal place names have so many 'o's in them???
3. When writing invitiations for a delayed party check when Fathers' Day is....will help avoid writing twenty invites with 2nd September and then having to go back, cross out that date and find a new one!!!
4. Allowing Littlest KAT to write the envelopes which though educational and something I can clutch at when pondering my "good mother" status was slightly frustrating and took A.VERY.LONG.TIME!!!!

So you may ask yourself why in light of dodgy hand/wrist did I not simply do a McDonalds party or something that wouldn't involve all the usual party shenanigans?  Well, because I have this slightly anal-retentive nature (isn't that a pre-requisite of being a mum) that means I actually really enjoy doing parties for the girls...and doing them in a way that is special and unique for each particular KAT.

Each party I try to do something unique for that particular child.  In the case of youngest KAT she had really wanted a Diego party which I simply couldn't countenance.  The combination of commercial crap and really bad color combo (horrid shade of yellow and blue) had me clutching for something else that she could hang her hat on so to speak....which is where the pinata came in.



Thanks goodness for a glue gun

Yes folks, this is where the "what were you thinking" moment occurs.  A pinata, handmade out of a cardboard box, copious amounts of masking tape and tissue paper. 

I refuse to admit how much time it took because the end result was worth it.  Time consuming, yes.  Worth it?  Every minute!

I am a sucker for a bit of crafty stuff and this was actually a fun project - done with very little in the way of instruction just a picture from a blog as inspiration....mind you, that picture was from a 1st birthday party.  Let me tell you folks, a number one pinata has a heck of a lot less sides and curves than a number five!!!!!

I chose to fill it with lollies and trinkets...minimal cheap ones was the plan.

The kids all got an empty party bag and after the pinata was broken (hilarious), they got to put a certain amount in their bag...although some (won't mention any names Tessa) had 'issues' with counting, they mostly got it right and didn't overload...at least on purpose:))

I wish I had more photos but I was too busy being a good hostess and didn't snap enough!

Speaking of snapping, that was the other "feature" of this party.  I ran out and picked up one of the new instant cameras (ours is a Polaroid 300 Instant Camera) and we took photos of all the little ones with their heads poking through the flower banner.  So cute and a great take home idea.

The camera itself was just under $100, the film is pricey but given that we had no costs for 'entertainment' at this party (that was managed by Middle and Oldest KAT) I justified the cost as money well spent!

One of the "entertainment" highlights was a Yarn Trail conducted by Middle KAT with the help of a friend she had along for the ride.  Armed with a few rolls of colorful twine they proceeded to create a "trail" through the trees and undergrowth for the littlies to "follow" in search of treasure (some gold chocky coins).

As an exercise in frustration for Middle KAT it was a huge success.  As a ten minute diversion and "ice-breaker" for a bunch of five year olds it was hysterical!!!!  I got the idea from my favourite time-waster destination Pinterest

Find it on Pinterest here

The other park visitors that day must have been scratching their heads but it was a fun distraction and the kids seemed to enjoy it.

In the end, delaying this party meant I had more time to plan, managed to be on top of things in terms of execution and it all came off without a hitch...a great day for Littlest KAT.

 

There endeth the lesson in how to over-engineer a 5th birthday party:)

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Horse-Mad Holidays

So have I told you I'm a sucker for anything pony-club related??

Is it possible that I've been blessed with three girls so I can live vicariously through them as they don their jodphurs and riding boots?? 

Hmmmmm me thinks so!  We're too poor and city-bound to afford much in the way of equestrian activities but occasionally I let the genie out of the bottle  and this holidays the genie has been well and truly given free reign (ha ha look a horsy pun!!)

For three glorious days, KAT 1 & KAT 2 are attending a horse-riding camp and BOY were they excited.  This is the second camp they've attended this year, in the winter school hol's I did it as a 'reward' for great behaviour whilst SM was overseas....and we've repeated it again for this school hol's as it was such a "winner".

The only mistake I made was in one-upping myself by telling them that for this camp I would buy them the requisite attire as they found the grungy boots provided by the school ill-fitting and uncomfortable at the winter camp...so mum, with the SUCKER in huge letters on her forehead traipsed off to Horseland with the three KATs thinking I was going to be leaving with ONLY two pairs of reasonably priced boots!!!!!

Where do I start.  Suffice to say DO NOT EVEN LET YOURSELF BE FOOLED INTO MAKING THIS MISTAKE!!!!!

We departed Horseland an hour later and $400 poorer in possession of:

• two pairs of boots
• two pairs of jodphurs
• two pairs of riding gloves
• two puffy vest/jacket thingys which I fell in love with (RM Williams)
• One polo shirt with a horse on the back for the littlest KAT

I was lucky to get out of there without a life-size plastic horse that they spent an inordinate amount of time attempting to brush (have I mentioned it was plastic???)...littlest KAT had it by the 'lead' and was encouraging her sisters to drag it around the store :)

Anyhoo mummy grinned and bore it as it was ALL of my own doing!

So this morning they were up bright and early attired in their 'gear' and we had the joy of presenting littlest KAT to her daycare provider with the afore-mentioned polo shirt on back to front (ie buttons at the back)....why you ask?

Well that's what you do when the picture of the horse is on the back of the top and you are four and insist that you want to 'see' your pink horse....so we wear it back to front don't we!!!!

Do you harbour any horse-riding fantasies from child-hood?

Toddler Couch Torture

Whoever invented the toddler couch deserves a good time out (I would say smack but that's not PC anymore!).

Has anyone else notice that these things are an instrument of torture?

I avoided them with our oldest two KAT's...some instinct told them that aside from being a constant trip hazard, stain magnet and general source of annoyance there was something about them that I just didn't take to.

That will teach me.  I should have stuck with my instincts!!

But no, 3rd child comes along...poor little KAT...SO deprived (NOT).

I wasn't even looking for one but the cute green ginhamness of it just snuck up and sucked me right in and before you know it I had bought it (online of course!!).

The first warning that I had ignored my instincts at my peril was when it arrived with a SPARE COVER....alarm bells started ringing and I then spent the first few days desperately trying to circumvent any potential 'food' item from coming in contact with it.  Actually, that's probably an exaggeration...first few seconds is more like it knowing me :)

In the just over 12 months that we've owned it I will fess up that I've washed the cover twice...once quite early on in the piece and the second time this week.

Why you ask....well you obviously have never had the pleasure of owning one of these contraptions, you need a degree in multi-dimensional CADCAM design to engineer the stupid pieces of foam back into the bloody cover!!!!!!

After wash #1 I was so exhausted by the process that I was loathe to EVER wash it again..if our littlest KAT hasn't developed a kick butt immune system from the germs on this thing then she never will! 

Don't ask me why I decided to finally wash the cover again...I have no idea, must have been during a sugar high (those happen quite frequently).  Anyway, photos are to demonstrate how it's only still in situe in our house because:

1. The green gingham still has MAJOR pulling power with me
2. Littlest KAT adores it and loves to use it as a play area with her tigers...and
3. She looks super cute sitting on it :)

Note the fact that it was redressed beneath the Keep Calm picture on our oldest KAT's bed!!!!  That advice was certainly required today.

Have you endured the torture of the toddler couch??





Our Littlest KAT turns 4

The butterfly cake that happens when mummy is at work all day, remembers to order a cake from the local bakery and then manages to rustle up some 'butterflies' for decoration....good job mum :)

Bunting that we've had for a few years now...always comes out the night before any of the KAT's birthday's to give their day a festive twist (unfortunately I didn't have time to iron it this time!)

The birthday cards...the world can become complete digital but nothing will beat a display of birthday (or christmas cards) to make you feel the love

Dolly, Bear and assorted Tigers, Leopards and little people had to be arranged next to the dinner table for our birthday celebration...which consisted of lots of rice at the request of our youngest KAT (her favourite food)

Happy Birthday sweet girl...we adore you :)