mother’s day pamper morning

i have a love/hate relationship with mother's day pamper mornings at the school. this time around was no exception. monday morning my sweet boy skipped into class with me and then...

at his instruction, i rubbed some hand cream into my own hands, seven times, painted my own nails (i was smart and brought along my own clear polish this year... sneaky!)

i had my hair brush for approximately twelve seconds...

and then helped joseph thread coloured pasta onto a piece of string that amazingly i got to keep.

i guess you'd call that a success? mum life strikes again. but no matter what, i love his little face. so so much.

mother’s day 2018

i got some lovely gifts for mother's day this year, including getting to make and eat my own breakfast in peace, because no one else woke up until almost 8am!



doug surprised me with this lovely ring and also got me a denim jacket i'd been eyeing off (i know, i know, it's new? how dare i? well, i looked unsuccessfully for weeks prior to suggesting it to him... i just could not find one in the opshop and gave up in the end. which means, of course i'll probably find one next week.) from "the kids." i love it! maddie insisted on buying me a gift when we were out shopping one day and got me the mug, which i approved so she could use my money haha. 

and this little kindy monkey gave me a painting, a decorated dinner plate and a bookmark that he had made all by himself at school! So cute!

and so proud of himself, even cuter!

i love being a mum to these tiny people we made and wouldn't give it up for anything, it's the greatest job in the world.

but... mum still needs her space and i'm not going to lie... this is me most days by bedtime.

happy mother's day to all my mum friends out there!

mother’s day ward gifts

mother's day calls for a treat for each of the mothers in our ward... and this year it was up to me to do them again, so i picked something i thought was awesome... in the hopes that everyone would! we have a few sisters in our ward who are strictly gluten free and a few vegans, so i chose yummy cookies (coles ultimate choc-chip cookies, side note, if you haven't tried them, you should - they are delicious!!) that had a gf option (which you can find here), and once it was cookies, it was easy to deviate a little to other cookies and have oreos as well for the vegans, as believe it or not, the plain ones are vegan by ingredient. unexpected seeing as they are the original "milk and cookies" cookie.

i found this gorgeous little printable on pinterest (thank you to whoever made and posted it online!) and printed them two to a photo print at our local big w photo shop

then bagged them into little bags ($1 for 30 from our local reject shop) and tied them off with curling ribbon

so easy... and yum! can't wait to hand them out on sunday. ♥

my all time favourite opshop buy

all of my friends know i am an addicted opshopper, so i am often asked what my all time greatest bargain has been. there has been many things i've loved over time, but i must admit, this takes out first place. many years ago at the salvation army jumble sale in york (i mean before madeline was even born and i used to make road trips out with my girlfriends) i picked up this gorgeous tooled leather satchel bag. its just the right size to hold my purse, sunglasses, keys and lippie. and... it cost me a grand total of about 20c. not even lying. it was back in the day when it was fill a bag for $5 and upon counting up my haul that day, my average cost was about that. i can't remember exactly (so long ago!) but definitely well under a dollar.

i have used it and used it and i can guarantee that without fail, every time i use it, someone will ask where i got it from. makes for a few sad faces when they discover it was opped many years ago. i have used it so much in fact, that last year, one of the studs holding the handle in place broke and i had to pay ten odd dollars to have it replaced, which enraged me, but even with that, it's still the best bargain i've ever had. no doubt about it!

poppy’s birthday

we are so lucky to have doug's parents living close to us. it's a 8 minute drive between our houses and the kids love it, as we can just drop around whenever we like. it also means they've able to grow up seeing their grandma and poppy a few times a week. 

as much as the kids love to tease steve and call him grumpy old poppy, we know they love him like crazy and love to be around him. he has a great sense of humour and is a lot of fun.

last night we celebrated the old man getting a little bit older, with family dinner, followed by cuddles from the kids and cake. what's better than that?! ♥

pass it on

this morning i went to get something out of my handbag, which i hadn't used since sunday, only to find this little bag in there. i was so thrilled, i love things like this! i can't wait to refill it and pass it on. what a gorgeous idea! ♥

temple saturday

saturday morning started the best way possible by going to the 7am temple session with my mother in law. this picture was taken at 6:43am... after getting up at 5:45am, which for me was a trial in itself because i am not a morning person... at all.

but it was worth it, of course and it made the rest of my day a breeze.

"When a temple is conveniently nearby, small things may interrupt your plans to go to the temple. Set specific goals, considering your circumstances, of when you can and will participate in temple ordinances. Then do not allow anything to interfere with that plan. This pattern will guarantee that those who live in the shadow of a temple will be as blessed as are those who plan far ahead and make a long trip to the temple.

I encourage you to establish your own goal of how frequently you will avail yourself of the ordinances offered in our operating temples. What is there that is more important than attending and participating in the ordinances of the temple? What activity could have a greater impact and provide more joy and profound happiness than worshipping in the temple?" (quote found here)

since i made a commitment to attend the temple once a month in january 2016, things have been different. i know where i am meant to be and throught making a commitment, making sure i am there is easier. ♥