Big girl, small shoes

Amber has achieved something that took many months (years?), tears and a whole lot of courage.
For that she deserved a reward...




















Tiny shoes that are impossible to walk on!
She was like Cinderella's step-sister trying to wriggle into these, but you should see how happy she looks when she has them on :))

Now what was the big project that we finally managed to tackle? She now sleeps without a nappy (diaper for you Americans) and that's a BIG deal!
It's been a long road for her, but apparently the time was right now. It's been more of a mental struggle than a physical one; she was just scared to go to sleep without a nappy.















However, on Monday morning -after another dry night- she earned her final sticker and that was that.




















We're so proud of you, little big girl!!




















Simon fell out of the tree... does he care? No way!




















And how do you like my new sunglasses? These were the only remotely normal ones that I could find!! Michel now calls me Queen Bee Bling Bling. Well, this will be the summer of the bee then :)

A bright day

This was today:















And this was last week:

Nothing changes like the weather, right?!















When I came home from work, I received this wonderfully sweet present from Amy. Amber complained: 'Oh no, not ANOTHER package for mum!' Such a lovely Valentines gift, thank you so much Amy!! You and your stash are just the best! And I can assure you that the fabric will be put to good use. Like the other fabrics you sent me:


I made this little princess tote for Amber last week.

It really was a bright day today, filled with sunshine and signs of spring approaching. I just had to take some garden photos...what will the garden look like in a couple of months time?!















This tree was filled with ladybirds. A little get-together to discuss their plans for the summer (we did just that today and will hopefully be going to France in August)?!

Time-out

I can't believe a week has passed without blogging. Life seems to be racing by at the moment and I'm running to keep up. More on that some other time, or not... perhaps if I just ignore it it will go away.
(Nothing serious going on by the way, just T.O.O. much!)



Nevertheless, today was a good, relaxing day. I decided to leave the household-mess for another day and spend some much needed quality-time with the children.
Nothing too exciting, but very valuable: shopping with Simon, some time spent in the garden, and in the afternoon we went mushroom-searching in the forest. I'll show photos of that soon.



Simon had a great time picking all the remaing tomatoes of the plants in our garden (he was allowed :)) and Amber and I arranged them nicely and took photos. The result is lovely, don't you think?



Take care everyone!

PS My first package arrived, yay!

Garden update

I thought it was time to show you some recent photos of our garden.
We've achieved quite a bit in the past year!



In February we laid the base.
Over the past couple of months we continued the work by removing bushes, weeds, tiles etc.
My mum is in charge of the planting and she's done a great job so far.

Michel and his father have spent quite some days paving the garden. Everything is now finished!!
Our terrace is ready; I'm so happy with this! It is so wonderful to sit outside at any time of the day, but I particularly love having dinner outside; it makes me feel as if I'm on holiday in my own house!
This is what it now looks like at the back (of course it's a bit bare and empty right now, but next year this will all be plants):



As a comparison this is what it looked like when we first moved in last year... quite a difference!



And this is at the front of the house:



I also made a small vegetable garden which consisted of carrots, strawberries, tomatoes and zucchini. The children (and I) have enjoyed watching everything grow. And picking your own tomatoes is a real thrill!!



Before this house we lived in an apartment on the first floor. Having a garden is still such a luxury to us; I want to hold on to that feeling forever! The fact that the children can safely play outside and just walk in and out at any given moment is fantastic... I'm just really happy with our house and garden:)))

Even the weeds are great... look!

In and around the house

We've been enjoying the lovely weather here. Did you know we had a heatwave last week?! Pfff, it was hot!! Now it's a little less warm... a lovely summer day.



Friday was Amber's last day at school. She made drawings for both her teachers and she picked sweet peas from our own garden :) Her teachers certainly deserved it since they gave her a very warm welcome and contributed to a wonderful first year at school.

Michel has also been busy in the garden. We now have a fence!!

The garden is slowly starting to look the way we want it to look (still a looooong way to go, but one thing at a time...).
And our two ugly pigeon babies flew the nest...

Then there were some definite milestones concerning the children.
Amber learned how to cycle all by herself! Here she is on her small bike, but her new bigger bike is all ready for her at grandma's.


And Simon first went to the toilet and did something! (a nr. 2, only a mother can say this with pride, I suppose :)))



Yes, big things are happening here!

Me, I've picked up crafting again, although there still isn't a lot of time to do it.
Yesterday I finished a log cabin cushion that I was asked to make to match this kissbee:



I'm happy with the result; I think it looks calm and bright at the same time :)

Presenting... Jack the BT-bunny

Meet Jack, a Dutch bunny that wants to go on an adventure. In fact, he is about to try his luck in America.


He's looking a little serious, because although he's acting really brave, he's quite anxious of the long flight that's ahead of him.


After the necessary photoshoot this afternoon he went outside and said goodbye to his homeland. This is him overseeing his land (the garden):


Well, I stuck to all the BT-rules: Jack is black & white with yellow as the additional colour, he has 5 buttons and bears the initial of the recipient (Michelle).


I really enjoyed thinking out how to incorporate all the rules into my softie. I liked making it very much. Tomorrow Jack will be on its way to his new home in America, where I'm sure he will receive a warm welcome!

And yes fellow Lost-lovers, when naming him I did have someone in mind... just look at his eyes, the resemblance is uncanny :)))

(Even more photos here)