4/52 {a weekly family portrait}

{a portrait of our family, once a week, every week, in 2013}

i hope i'll be forgiven for cheating a little this week, (this photo was taken the week before last), but i'm hoping to have all our 52 family portraits printed and i really wanted to include this super-special moment of watching the sun set at the very top of New Zealand - where land ends and oceans meet.

our previous family portraits here:

{family} this is happening

he is ONE in less than a month
he is our earliest crawler, and set to be our earliest walker.
he is still heavy.
he is busy. 
and a little bossy (no.5 needs to be heard!)
he still snacks a lot during the night (a lot. it's cool.)
he is generous with his smile and gives the best koala-cuddles.
he doesn't like it when his brothers watch "The Gruffalo" movie.
he pulls everything off anything he can reach.
he loves sand and water.
he LOUDLY protests the safety gate on our steep deck stairs.

he's the baby. and, well, pretty much everyone's fave.
xo

Flox, fame and irrational fears

{final image from Flox on Facebook}

on sunday, i sat a few metres from one of my artistic heroines, FLOX, and observed her at her craft, live.
and no, i didn't say hi. i have an irrational fear of "famous" people. 
once, when i was at high school, i went into town after school (my school was in the downtown area of the city) and found myself face-to-face to two very famous All Blacks. right in front of me! crossing the street towards me! 
so there i was...with my irrational fear...i couldn't ignore them, or pretend i didn't know who they were (everyone knew who they were!*) so i was forced to face my fear and *gasp* say something...!

(should i tell you what i said? or should i leave it hanging?
it is kind of a LOT embarrassing...)

ok, here's what came out of my mouth: hello, famous people.
I KNOW!!! they looked at me liked i'd been smoking something i shouldn't have been behind the pool changing rooms during recess, too!

it was at that moment i vowed to never try to conquer my fear again. 
instead i am happy to sit a few metres away in complete, anonymous comfort.
xo

*those were in the days when the All Blacks team changed every decade, not every game. 

{family} Ty is 7

Ty – my first son – turned seven (seven?!) on Sunday. 
I am so proud of this kid. For a long time, I struggled with his ‘quirkiness’ but eventually realised that was about me placing more importance on what others thought than about accepting my own son for who he is. Ty doesn’t waste time on trying to impress people but gives his whole heart, and then some, to anyone who loves him just the way he is  - quirks and all! 
I love that. 
He has taught me so much about respect, sincerity and loyalty. I hope I am a better person for having the privilege of being his mother.
xo

3/52 {a weekly family portrait}

{a portrait of our family, once a week, every week, in 2013}

on Monte's birthday we had a picnic by the harbour....and a bit of fun with his new cat costume i made him.  

(also, i'd like to think i'd take care of my baby if a real big cat ever decided to join our family picnic...hmm...)

see our 2013 family portraits so far here::

linking in with Jodi

{family} Monte is 5

my days of having "3-under-5" are over.

5 years of this beauty - i am so thankful i get to be his mama.

Happy birthday, Monte!

xo

2/52 {a family portrait}

{a portrait of our family, once a week, every week, in 2013}

i'm sure you're aware of Jodi's [52] series.

i'm realistic and know there is no chance of me photographing five kids every week for an entire year, so i'm opting to take a family portrait instead. mostly with a self-timer......and a lot of hilarity.

for example, JR had to jump a ditch and sprint to make this shot. here are the outtakes:

are you joining in, too?

{restyle} vintage blouse

i'm kind of addicted to restyling clothes. 

i can't help it - i see potential in every op shop rack. take this shirt, for example, i ignored it FOUR times before i finally brought it home.  

then JR told me it reminded him of Princess Diana and the 80s - both very complimentary things - but not what i was hoping for. so i decided i'd shorten the sleeves (i'm tall so sleeves often look awkward-short on me), deepen the neckline and add a peter pan collar.

.....................

 So in 4 basic steps, here is what i did**:

one:: cut a new neckline using a top you have with a neckline you love. shorten sleeves leaving enough length for casing.

two:: fold sleeve edges over to make casing for elastic and thread through. 

three:: cut a collar to your desired shape. pin, sew, snip, turn through and press.

four:: pin to your new neckline, sew, overlock/serger, press under and top stitch (optional).

i am looking forward to sharing my restyles and tips with you in 2013.

maybe it will inspire you to see potential in the clothes you would usually pass by in the op shops.

xoDee

**i'd love to share my restyles with you this year but i'm not able to do step-by-step tutorials. i will try to provide basic instructions where possible though. x

makeover

lookit! my friend, Talia Christine, waved her wand of gorgeousness over my blog and doesn't it look AMAZING? 

if you're thinking of having a blog-makeover, she's the one you need to go to. i can vouch for her flexibility and p.a.t.i.e.n.c.e!! Talia made endless changes to ensure i had a design i loved - she even hand-drew the lace! oh, and totally affordable.

thank you so much, Talia! xo

(i just had to add some totally unrelated photos of my scrummy baby because i LOVE the new image size! hurrah)

{family} i'm a parent!

the longer i'm a parent, the more i understand parents.

i know, now, why they get up in your grill about doing dumb stuff when you think it's no big deal.

when i saw these pictures i got a preview of that gut-twisting fear of this child losing her beautiful light to dumb, immature choices.

that would be devastating - almost like losing a child.

or, is it completely unfair to expect my pre-hormonal child to have the same personality as one full of hormones and independence?

now, more than ever, i'm starting to feel like a parent, and more than just a mother.

this job is HUGE, people!

resolved

i was inspired by this print from Castle in an attempt to keep our goals and resolutions simple this year.

'YOU' - JR's top 3 goals/resolutions (so i can encourage and support him in them). 

'ME' - my top 3 goals/resolutions

'US'  - our top 3 marriage goals/resolutions

'WE' - our top 3 family goals/resolutions

did you make goals this year? or resolutions?

are you intentional about keeping them?

x

2013

 happy new year!

did you make resolutions/goals?

one of mine is to take lots and lots of self-timer family pics...

starting TODAY!

wishing you all a safe and happy year!

xo