Christmas Traditions.

I have always loved Christmas. Always.

I couldn't wait to have kids so I could start even more traditions with my own family.

One of our traditions, I started when my oldest boys were very little.

We call it the "Twelve days of Christmas with Stockings".

The children all have their own stocking monogrammed & hanging

(Jen @ DeekieBelleDesigns makes the Most Beautiful Stockings I have ever seen & 4 of her gorgeous designs for the children are on my wish/to.do.list).

Every night whilst the kids are sleeping "Santa's Elves" leave a little treat for each of the kiddos.

They bound out of bed & race to their stockings.

I asked my big boy, who is now a teenager what his favourite memory of Christmas was & he replied "I love the stockings, they're the best part".

He loved the idea that the ELVES came & left them a little treat.

Because you know Santa is very busy at this time of year.

Once when the teenager was little, he was getting a bit suspicious of the whole lark,

I rang the ElF, Elf Cyril was his name.

He spoke at length to Ry in his quirky little Elf voice.

I laughed till I cried later when the Hubster replayed the whole conversation to me.

(He was listening to the whole thing of course ;).

Where the heck did "Cyril" come from?, was my first question.

Anyways these treats are chocolate coins, lollipops, bouncy balls, sour worms, Pez Holders, stickers & the like.

Anyway that's one of our traditions. I will post one each day or so.

What are some of yours I would love to know??

Love Niki

Ps Last two images from Mrs Christmas herself-Red Shoes Blog-link on my side bar.

Glow.

Pottery barn Kids-Oh to have a Porthole straight to Pottery Barn Kids & the Budget to match.

These rooms all have a warmth & a glow about them.

Although not overly bright still filled with lots of rich colour.

My favourite decor shot at the moment. From Edie @ Life in Grace Blog.

Love all the little touches in this room.

Just beautiful.

Off to clean & declutter the living area, so we can hang the tree after school today.

Wish me luck, my kids are Nutbags.

More Kids Room.

This rug is TO. DIE. FOR. Ikea has one I think.

OMG. Love.

Now this my friends is a CRAFT room, imagine the shelves filled with toys, puzzles, games & brightly colored pencils.

My kids would go nuts for this.

That Aqua blue wall is LOVE in colour.

I am a big fan of ORANGE anyway, but this just seals the deal.

This little table & chairs is 100% pure love.

As are the little wooden toys.

So I am addicted to bright colours.

I have always loved colour.

If the Farmhouse move goes ahead I will unleashing COLOUR in a big way.

No restraints & no second thoughts.

My Boys Rooms

Some random shots of the boy's rooms.
Ry's room is Green-My favourite paint color ever-Kelly's Flower by Dulux.

Fin likes little collections.

Finny has "Red Box"- by Dulux.

His beloved Dragon Uncle Jamie gifted him on his "Christening Day".

Pirates in the little ones Room.

Finny's Christmas Linen, bought @ Big W last year in the after Christmas Sales for $10.

Don't look at the Painting tape still there. Doh.

Fins old car collection

More of Fin's Christening gifts.

The little Boys have a Blue Room-Blue Oar by Dulux..

More shots later. Needed a light post after my Jeddy Post.

Love to all, Niki

Jeddy the Wonder Dog

Jed is Fifteen in April.

He came to us on an August day in 1995.

We were a newly loved up couple looking to parent.

Along came Jed.

Jeddy the wonder Dog.

Jeddy Jones.

JJ.

The Jayster.

Jivin Jeddy.

A so called Labrador/Kelpie Cross being given away due to unsuitability at 4 months old.

Funnily enough , the couple were getting rid of him because he was over zealous with their 2 year old son.

Too full on.

Well, they shoulda held on a minute, because he has been the best kids dog EVER.

He has 4 little brothers, Ry, Fin, Kai & Kells.

He has graciously accepted all of them as they have come along.

Not a worry or a care, just pure love.

He is gentle & kind.

Patient & Funny.

Seriously, he's a Dog, I know.

But he has been like a mate to me.

A Pal. A real Pal.

He's had a great innings our Jed.

Lived freely on a an acre property for the first half of his life & with all his "boys" for the second half.

He is quite simply... the dog you all dream you will have with your kids.

My boys have never known life without him.

He was here when they were born.

He has filled our house & garden(really filled the garden over the years) since their first breath. They don't know a garden without him.

Once I lost Reilly near water when he was 2.

Jed led me to him.

Once Kai accidently slammed his tail so hard in the door I thought it would drop off, nary a lip lift.

Just a yelp & a sook to his Mama.

Once I walked out the back to hang washing and he was sitting with his legs out front with a tea towel over his shoulders, a cup of tea in front of him & a big dump of yellow sand on his brow slowly trickling into his eyes.

Not one complaint.

He just played along with a very bossy 2 year old, namely Reilly.

He cuddles up on the couch with Kelly to watch the morning cartoons.

Just last week I walked out to Kelly brushing Jed's teeth with MY toothbrush.

Telling him all matter of factly that

"you muff brush your teef Jeddy after Reakfast"

Noice.

The time has come to say goodbye to our mate(& my toothbrush).

We are simply gutted. Nothing more, nothing less.

To feel great love, comes with great risks.

The risk of Pain.

Of Losing.

But a life experience.

I am thankful.

Plain & Simple.

Just Thankful.

That he was ours.

That naughty black dog that chewed up my husbands expensive wetsuit a week after he bought it.

Soft Pretty Christmas Inspiration

I feel like I have hit a brick wall today with a draining Virus I picked up from the kiddo's.

Blah.

Need serious inspiration.

These images should do it in bucket loads. I love how the all feel a little rustic & homemade but still so stylish. Love. Love. Love.

Divine. Sigh.

Niki

The Weekend.

These photos are for my amazing Mum.

Hi Ma,

My Mum has been looking after a family member around the clock for 3 weeks straight, no breaks & not one complaint.

She hasn't seen Dad or the grandkids basically for 3 weeks.

Even her newly born granddaughter Alice for weeks.

(Sorry Ma, no photos of Ally, she was asleep)

So here is a little snippet of the weekend that usually Ma would be apart of.

A Dinner & Bath date with the adorable Lucy to give her Mama a break on Friday evening, whilst my brother is away working in another state.

Her Mama gave me a gift voucher as a "Thank you" for my time with Lucy,

which please......

I'd have everyday if it was appropriate behaviour,

but I make myself step back, a little, ha.

Anyway I bought myself this amazing bangle with the voucher,

Thanks Jess. I L-O-V-E it & it was the starting point for my outfit for the Engagement Party................

There's been a Caity sleepover.

Pancake breakfast of course, as you do on sleepovers, as has become our family tradition over the last couple of years.

Even the Hubster is impressed with my pancake shapin & flippin.

They are wholewheat pancakes made with free range eggs & raw sugar.

Served with Brown Sugar & a squeeze of LEMON.

Seriously YUMMO.

An Engagement party for Cj's cousin, which Ma was scheduled to have the Kiddo's.

My most amazing neighbour Aarn stepped up & took the kiddos for us.

She took them to Saturday Mass at Church & then for Pizza & Icecream.

I could cry just thinking about how lucky my children are to have her in their lives.

She is building memories with my kids, for no reason other than she loves too.

I adore her & she is a great hardworking role model.

She is a beautiful Christian, homemaker & gardener & still makes time for my 4 rowdy boys.

She is one in a Million.

A bit of Gardening , getting ready for Christmas.

Lots of "Mastercheffin".

A big cricket game for the teenager. Who plays a grade up & is always a little nervous on Sunday mornings, dunno why, he is a champion & I could burst with pride when I see my shorty walk out on the field with all the boys nearly 2 years older & towering about him.

Talk soon Ma. We think you are AMAZING.

Niki

What we love about Summer at ours.

Lots of Long, Late evening Bubble Baths while its still warm outside.
We fill the Tub with these Delicious bubbles from Method.

Nothing says Summer to me more than filling the Car with tunes of "The John Butler Trio" on the way to our FAVOURITE weekend Beach getaway. Lancelin. Miles of white Beaches stretching as far as the eye can see, safe for the kiddo's & we can take along the "girls".

Its great for a "Day trip".

The Hubster doesn't drink, so his weekend drink of choice is SPRITE with loads of Ice.

Strawberry's. That's it, just Strawberry's. (the "Baby" eats them by the punnet load.)

A staple Summer Meal at ours.

Must use Paul Newmans Caesar Salad Dressing.

Nothing else compares.

My weekend drink of choice, usually on the front verandah with my beautiful neighbour "Aarn.

Or Jules.

Eagerly await these for our beach getaways.

I read it from cover to cover, even the advertisements.

Lots of BBQ's in the backyard. Yes with Seafood, the Hubster loves Seafood.

Watermelon & lots of it.

This juice is the BEST juice I have ever tasted & it has become an early morning staple to get everyone energised & moving.

And as any Mother will tell you, after a Winter of washing continuously around the clock, I bow at the feet of who ever invented Quick dry surflex, our Summer wardrobe. They take about 30 mins to dry & can be worn days on end as they breeeeeathe. Bliss.

And Lemons. I use Lemons everyday. I would go as far as to say that they are one of my FAVOURITE things in the whole world.

I love the taste, the smell & just the plain look of them.

In Summer we have them in juice, squeezed on Salads & Fish.

Served in Wedges with most Salady meals. We have them with sugar on Pancakes.

In Winter we have them in hot honey & lemon drinks, squeezed over Curries & Chicken Soup, seriously try it. Delicious.

One of my favourite childhood memories is Mum's Curry-which I loathed because she put big, fat, soggy Sultana's in-Gross-Sorry Mum, but she always served it with slices of Lemon. After the meal I would take the little dish of Lemons & sit out the front & eat them all.

Dunno why, but just one of those random childhood memories, with no effort put into it at all & one of my fav's. P.s Plus Bucket loads of these tasty morsels.

Sad but true & the reason I will never be a size 10 again.
Niki

So this is.......

..........my baby I've been telling you all about.

Seriously I know I am biased, but does it get any cuter than this little guy?

It seems he went from a baby to a chunky little man in a flash.

He has the best sense of humour, a little dry, but very funny.

We spent the day together today wandering around the shops, having a milkshake & a browse. In between little jobs here & there.

He is just the best company.

I wonder if all of a sudden I am enjoying his company so much more because I know in February he is off to Kinder 2 days a week. Seriously what will I do.

He looks so much like his brother at the same age in these photos, that the Hubster thought it was indeed the "older" brother's photos pulled up from 7 years ago.

Niki x

Today

It seems I have a lot to be thankful for & I am taking a leaf from my dear sister-in-laws book,

My snapshot in time right now for what I am thankful for.

1.That we have a Beautiful Summer Holiday to look forward to & enjoy each others company for a whole 7 days without any other interruptions.

Bliss.

And that my BIG Boys will LAUGH until they cry trying to teach me to once again-BOOGIE BOARD.

Seriously it seems to always be a trip highlight, can't imagine why.

2. Fresh Summer Fruit Salad.

3. Sunshine

4. This FABULOUS colour that makes my hair all shining & new for a hot $14 odd bucks.

The little conditioner that comes with it, is a treat for my wildly thick hair.

Better than dropping a quick $100 at the salon. That I am thankful for.

5. That I get to be a Stay @ home Mama to this little guy, all to myself for another while yet.

6. Update- the lastest issue of House & Garden, now ya talking.

Great days,

Niki x