Absence makes the heart grow fonder, Yes?

June 21, 2016 / manicmumdays / 6 Comments

So then you guys must be VERY fond of me then, hey? haha

How are you?
I am still plodding along.
It’s been an extremely busy and tiring few months here … We have 2 weeks of school holidays coming up and I have some time off work booked and we are just going to do NOTHING! I am working the weekends, but otherwise PJ days is the plan 🙂 Oh, and we might go to the movies one day and see Finding Dory {I wouldn’t be able to wait for the DVD. Yes, me not the kids haha}

I love Dory! Crush and Squirt are firm favourites 🙂

This is probably going to be my last ever raggy quilt. It’s just getting too hard to find quality flannel here these days. Oh well … I enjoy regular quilting more anyway these days I guess 🙂 This one is for my little niece! It’s a large single bed size and I am a little bit in love with it!Front.Back.
I have a brand new nephew! He was born last month on Star Wars Day {Mother of boys info I never knew I needed to know! haha}
May the 4th be with you He is the most precious little bundle! I have ~~started~~ nearly finished a quilt for him. Then I need to get cracking on one each for my elder two nephews.
They have been ~~waiting long enough~~ so patient!
A sneak peek :It’s a simple square patchwork with meandering quilting. But it’s very cute 🙂

I also have another top-secret project on the burner. As well as trying to get a bit of furniture painting in somewhere. I did do some painting a couple of weeks ago –
This is chalk board paint around my pantry entrance {… and this is the tidiest it’s been since we started using it haha The boys LOVE it!} There’s usually a small canvas covering the yellow phone point because we don’t use it and it annoys me to see it there. But I need to sand the spot for the hook …
Anyhow, I am about to crash!
Cya next time ❤

KATE Sig for Manic Mumdays

three65positive – 7th Jan

January 7, 2016February 7, 2016 / manicmumdays / 2 Comments

I am feeling very positive today!
The reason I chose POSITIVE as my word for 2016 is because I believe you get back what you give out. And I needed some positive in my life so decided that if I made the conscious effort to be positive every day {even when I am down} positivity will come back at me. Makes sense right?

So, anyhow, today I had to get up at 5am for an early shift at work. I had a lovely breakky of Avo on toast {my favourite!!} and a nice strong coffee and headed in for my shift. Had a great, productive shift and was feeling great still … Come home and check out my email and find one from the Government saying they were going to back pay me family benefits!!! We’ve never claimed them but they can only back pay to last financial year! But still!! A nice little bonus right before our long-awaited holiday which means we will be able to do lots of things while we’re away! Very excited!!!

I think it’s positivity and karma coming round at me cos I am in the right head space to ask and receive what we need … Makes me sound hippy dippy, but I don’t care 😛

Besides the initial sluggishness, I really like getting up and going to work early!
My boss has offered to keep me on my larger contract after hubsy finds work if I can do Thursday & Friday early starts. I immediately said YES!! It’ll mean putting the kids in before school and holiday care, but they will be ok with that and we will all enjoy the extra $!! I am so lucky to LOVE my job! And now I am off to work on my latest quilt – a raggy!!

Hope you are having a wonderful day!

three65positive – 7

Kate’s Top 5 – Things I Ask My Kids

December 29, 2015 / manicmumdays / 2 Comments

Top 5 Things I ask My Kids ….
Hmmm. This could be interesting only to me …?
Oh well, here goes!

#1 – What was your favourite thing about today?
I ask each of them this one on the way home from school thru the week, and after work on the weekends 🙂 They got lazy for a while there and would just say “Everything.” But I am nothing, if not persistent! And I don’t accept that these days haha.
More information needed.

#2 – What was something you didn’t like about today?
They got a little lazy with this one too, but are now being more creative. My big man fell over one morning before school and that was his least favourite thing … Until he had to get in the bath with his war wounds and told me he changed his mind – that was worse! haha

#3 – Will you pair please quieten down?!
This is less a request and more a plea for peace … I’m sure most parents {and non-parents!} can relate haha
They can make a surprising amount of noise for 2 small humans!

#4 – Who did you play with today?
This one I ask because I like to stay in the loop with their social lives. It can often explain behaviour and moods outside of school.

#5 – Where do you fit all that food??
My big boy eats the same size dinner as me at night. He will have 2 sandwiches or 2 giant sausage rolls for lunch and just eats alllll day long! His little brother doesn’t eat quite as much, but is close behind and will catch up one day soon I am sure 🙂
I think hubsy and I will have to each take on second jobs to feed them when they are teenagers!!
The thing that annoys me most tho, is that they are both skinny minnies and I am the fatty in the family even tho I dont eat as much as them! haha *sigh*

And, just because I am in love with Adele at the mo, here is my song of the week! (Can you believe it’s had nearly a BILLION views in just 2months??!?!)

Hope you have a wonderful NYE, see you next year! 🙂

I’m Still Alive!

October 28, 2015February 7, 2016 / manicmumdays / 4 Comments

Wow! What a busy month it’s been!

We have had alot going on around here … Mr Manic was retrenched in August so he has been looking for work. There are so many retrenchments happening round here lately, it’s quite scary! But … he has an interview for a dream job next week, so please send up a prayer for us … And some luck wouldn’t go astray lol 🙂
While he is searching I have been lucky enough that my boss has doubled my work hours to keep the $ trickling in. I am very grateful, but that also means double the work for me! haha Which in turn means less time for creativity and sewing.

I have managed to do a couple of little bits n pieces – SLQ’d a lap/couch sized quilt; about 1/4 thru FMQ’ing a cot sized one; Made a couple of test blocks that I can’t share yet … Hmmmm no pics in that bunch. How about this one –
This baby is destined to be a place mat for me! I have made two and I am just loving the pretty fabric

❤

I am also up to my neck in module 2 of my Interior Design course right now.
I’m so LOVING it! Don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it before, but in high school I toyed with the idea of doing Architecture {among other things}.
And this Module is all about architecture!! YAY!

While I was studying this morning, I remembered something I think of now and then from when I was a child … It’s a memory from Grade 2 – which for me would be about 33-34 years ago.
It’s of my teacher criticising my drawing of a house. You know the type, sun on the corner of the page, rolling hills behind, tree to the side. A square house under a triangle roof, with a front door and crossed window to the side. Maybe with a chimney atop the roof blowing smoke and a few flowers? Kinda like this!
… well he said that it was totally unrealistic. That the windows were totally wrong, along the lines of “Windows are only one pane of glass, not broken into 4 like that!”
I was 6, too little to argue the point and it stopped me from drawing them for a good while … and I still remember it! I am surprised that he had never seen windows with more than one pane when you consider the famous buildings in the world with more than one-pane-windows 🙂
Even Buckingham Castle has 4+ panes in its windows, see? haha
Isn’t it funny the things kids remember?
Oh well, lunch is done, back to the ~~books~~ computer lol

I’m Sick of Food

November 11, 2014February 7, 2016 / manicmumdays / Leave a comment

I am sick to my back teeth of food! I’m sick of thinking about food. I’m sick of preparing food. I’m sick of thinking up something for dinner each night. I hate that it’s usually meat and 3 veg or meat and salad.

Since we had the kids we have a rotation of about 12 meals that they will eat without ~~losing their shit~~ too much argument {most of the time}.
These include sausages, chicken schnitzel, rissoles, shepherds pie, fish fingers or homemade pastry pies all with veg or salad. As well as vegie pasta bake, spag bol, tacos, lasagna … Hmm. It’s worse than I thought – 10 meals – freaking TEN!!!

It’s not just dinner. Master 8 has almost the exact same lunch every day. I can’t tempt him to change and if I try to surprise him into eating something new or different by popping it in his lunchbox, he will just not eat …

I made a beautiful lamb rolled roast the other night with a delicious salad. They sat there moping for an hour and then complained they were hungry! Grrrr!! One of Hubby and I’s favourite meals is corned beef and baked veg with yummy white sauce.
… It’s like I am feeding the kids poison!
And don’t even get me started on their reaction to a gorgeous stir fry!! Ugh!

Mr Manic and I used to eat so well!! I was vegetarian when we met but started eating meat again when I fell pregnant. I keep meaning to go back to vego but it’s just too hard with the way the kids are – I’d be making 2 meals each night or eating a plate of veg or salad … And did I mention how SICK I am of preparing even one meal per night? haha

Add to all of this the fact I am on a new diet. Again.
It’s an anti-diet kinda diet. I feel like I have been on a rollercoaster of regimented diets since I gave birth to my first baby.
Go on a diet, lose weight, go off the diet, put weight back on {sometimes even more than you lost in the first place!!}. Repeat.
Time to hop off the rollercoaster and just start making better choices.
Everything in moderation. Make the healthier choice. I am committed to eating whole foods as often as possible, and am hoping by changing my thinking and actions it will become a lifestyle change. One I can stick to and still live!

What’s the craziest or worst diet you’ve ever been on?
Do you have trouble getting your kids to be more adventurous with their eating?

Exciting Project and School Holidays Are Over!

July 14, 2014February 7, 2016 / manicmumdays / Leave a comment

I know my monsters have already had a pretty eventful school holidays, but I took them to see RIO2 at the movies the other day. The kids liked RIO but fell in love with it all over again on the ship … where they watched it ~~heaps!~~ a couple of times. We went with our friends up the road, also a mum and 2 boys.

It was pretty good. I give it 3.5/5. I have to say, some of my favourite movies of all time are cartoons!
Finding Nemo would be in my top 5. Forrest Gump and Dirty Dancing would also make my top 5. But I would have to be super selective in choosing the other 2 😉
What are your favourite movies?

Actually, Saturday night I stayed up til nearly 3am watching an old favourite – Up Close and Personal.
Michelle Pfeiffer. Robert Redford. *sigh*

While I was watching ~~Robert Redford~~ the movie I was cutting white charm squares to use with my
Aussie Kate Spain Charm Swap!
I played a double hand in the stash so ended up with 224 charms 😀
Since the quilt I have planned uses HST I had to then cut 224 white charms.
And then rule all of them in half and match it with the others.
Which means I’ll end up with 448 HST eeek! 😀

….. hmmm hope I have enough haha!!

I would have been further along except we took the Mad Mutt to the beach for his first visit. {I’ve made a bit more progress since I took this pic tho …} He absolutely loved it!!! Here’s the big goofball overgrown puppy smile :

It was also his first trip in a ute {Hubby’s new work truck} and he’s such a clutzy non-dog! – he dragged his chin on the road as he was jumping out. Small graze. Big bleed. I wore some of it on my shirt. Ugh!

School is back this week – ~~yaaayy~~ Gee I’ll miss them 😉 I have a couple of full days so I am looking forward to ‘alone’ errands.
Hope to be back in a couple of days with some progress pics from my big project!
Have a great week 🙂

June Bee Block … AND … We’re going on HOLIDAYS!!!! :D

June 20, 2014 / manicmumdays / Leave a comment

I finished a gorgeous Bee block last night for our June Queen.

Perfectly named the Scrap Jar Star, it’s a wonderful scrap-buster and I have one cut out for myself too
{I am slowly catching up on making myself a block from each Queen Bee’s reign with the view of mashing them all together at the end of the 12 months for a gorgeous throw for my couch!}

~*~

Only 4 more sleeps until we go on our longed-for Holiday!
When I say “longed-for” I really mean it … we booked this in Feb last year! That’s right 16months ago!!!

This time next week we will be here :

And while this is my plan :

I am sure I will be overruled by the 3 males
Along the lines of :

But that’s ok!
Cos after our Gold Coast adventures we move onto more sedate, relaxing adventures!

To say our family is excited for this holiday is a complete understatement!

Sew … If I get a chance before we scoot I will come chat again. If not, see you in a couple of weeks!!
Squeeeeeee!

A Letter To My 16 y.o. Self

May 10, 2014February 7, 2016 / manicmumdays / Leave a comment

A Letter to my 16y.o. Self.

Dear Kate,
I thought as your future self that I would send some of my ‘wisdom’ back thru the years …
* I know you think you are grown up now you have a job, but you’re not. Please go back to school. If you think money’s tight now, wait til you have a couple of kids and a minimum paying job because you have minimal schooling and no skills.
* Travel, travel, TRAVEL!
* Spend more time with your family – they are the ones who matter.
* Put more effort into friendships that matter to you. A good friend is worth their weight in gold. And if you are lucky you might even find yourself with a couple of life long friends whose friendship is as strong and beautiful no matter how much time passes between coffee dates. These people are gold, hang onto them.
* Buy shares in Google and Facebook. As soon as you hear the names! Believe me, you won’t regret it 😉
* Save, save, save!!! It’s so freaking hard to earn and once you spend it on ‘stuff’ you’ll never get it back! … And most of the ‘stuff’ is just crap that doesn’t last.
* Don’t keep drinking that diet coke you like so much. It’s poison.
* Don’t let any of the men you meet control you or define you.
* Don’t rush into marriage. Get to know yourself and, it sounds corny, to love yourself first. You and your love are worth more than you think.
* Choose your words carefully. It’s horrible to regret words you said or wrote in haste that have caused pain. Think first, then speak.
* Don’t get rid of your first sewing machine. You will always regret it. Sewing and quilting will become one of your favourite things!
* Stop dieting. Eat well and exercise regularly. Just KISS {Keep It Simple Stupid!}
* Wear sunscreen!
* I know I said to save, but always make sure you have a few bucks for fabric. It makes you so happy! haha {Maybe just become a little more discerning in what you buy!}
* STOP waiting for one day, some day, or when the time is right. The day is today, the time is now. Jump.
* Look after yourself better overall. There will come a time when you will want to hang onto your health, fitness and life for as long as you can. Because 2 little people will mean more to you than the universe and you won’t want to miss a single second of the amazing creatures they are.

Love, Yourself xo

Sew, what would you tell your 16y.o. self? x
I might write a letter to my future self next 🙂