the great escape... chicken style

it seems that we may have adopted Houdini's chickens!

bob and wendy keep escaping. they are cheeky little things who keep finding a way out of their pen. granted their pen is nothing special and the fence is only low but we are too poor too afford anything more spectacular at the moment.

we have a fancy house for them which is escape proof but during the day we open the door and let them out into a little fenced off area so they can spread their wings and have a little room to move.

the little area must be becoming too boring for them because they keep jumping out and trying to set out for greener pastures.

wendy is the escape artist and i know when she has got out because i can hear bob, who has been left behind in the pen squawking at her to come back.

she has managed to crawl under the house and out to the front yard. many a time i have opened the front door to find her staring at me with a guilty look in her beady eyes.

on the weekend she got out of the pen and then jumped our side fence (which is only a low fence) and went into the neighbors yard. she was having a field day in their bushes scratching around and doing what chickens do for fun.

and then this morning my neighbor from across the street bought her home, she was over at their house on their driveway!

anybody know any great chicken recpies? because they way wendy is going she may just end up on the dinner plate because she has been either hit by a car or hunted down by the next door neighbours cat for being in its territory!

getaway weekend for two

the hubby and i headed to the city for a little time away...

i have stayed in cities all over the world - london, new york, san fransisco, hong kong... but i love our city because it is slow and sleepy compared to the others. no sirens to keep me awake at night and nothing but friendly faces that greet me on the streets.

we shopped, relaxed, ate, drank, read, slept in and reconnected...

and then it was back to our little cottage by the sea where we put on our slippers and warm jumpers and sat and watched the football. unfortunately my team didn't win

my favorite part of the weekend was when i was reunited with this little guy...

he spent the weekend having fun with his nanny and poppy, the lucky little guy had just as much fun as we did.

hope you had a fabulous weekend too and that you have a fabulous week ahead
xoxo

Fill in the blank Friday

thank goodness it is friday! i love friday. it is the end of the working week for us here in the blessed household and it is the beginning of the weekend.

weekends always hold such promise for fun times spent with family and friends. there is usually great food involved, sleep ins and quiet moments when the hubby is entertaining the little guy for me.

friday also means it is fill in the blanks time. i join up with Lauren every week from the little things we do.

if i could get away somewhere for the weekend i would go to a little cottage in the country side
and i would bring my family of course and lots of tea, cheese and wine, books and DVDs. I am in the mood for a little winter getaway, far from civilization to spend time with loved ones relaxing.

one item i need to have in my fridge at all times is... well for me it is chocolate, the hubby it is white magnum ice-creams and for the little boy it is milk

my life-saving product is my tinted moisturiser. i never feel fully dressed or prepared to face the world unless i have it on, vain i know

a friend is someone who is there for you through the thick and thin, who can put a smile on your face by just walking in the room and who can love you unconditionally. I am lucky enough to have a few of these kinds of friends in my life... love you guys

if i could write my own blank it would be what is your favorite day of the week and why. my favorite day is sunday, not only because it is church day but it is usually a day of relaxation and a day to spend with family and they are just a few of my favorite things.

my favorite kind of art is photography. i love looking at photographs and i love taking them.

if you would to join with lauren filling in the blanks each week just head on over to her blog and link up.

hope you all have a wonderful weekend doing what ever it is you do on the weekend
love Meek
xoxo

the week that was...

this week i discovered that the little boys LOVES broccoli and will eat it up like it is candy 

i spent a lot of time in bed in the morning drinking tea, eating muffins and reading (Harry Potter)

the big boy went to work while the little and boy and i watched from the warmth and comfort of my bedroom. he works hard for us and we truly love him for that and we miss him greatly when he is away from us

there was a lot of playing with trucks this week

this little guy still smiles even though he is a sickie, I should take a page out of his book

i have been preparing to start my new job (not entirely new just switching from teaching sport to teaching pre primary) so that means new shoes (yay!)

i took advantage of k marts crazy prices and picked out a few treats for myself.

honesty i don't know how they make any money. they are selling boots for $15, ballet flats for $10, accessories all under $10, just crazy

i wore this sweet necklace to remind me that i am loved and that there is always hope

i was reminded of a verse in the bible that a dear friend of mine called upon when her life could have ended recently

though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death

i will fear no evil for you are with me

a good reminder for me this week... i will fear nothing

{Loving}

 I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is.

Paisley Jade

The hubby and I are totally {loving} watching The Amazing Race Australia.

 

We are huge fans of the original TV show Amazing Race (the American version) and it is always a gamble if the new show is going to be as good as the original. So far so good. I love watching the show because you get taken around the world with the contestants and it is fun to watch and see where they go and what kind of crazy things they have to do in the challenges.

We are also {loving} the show Modern Family.

It so such a hilarious show. The character Phil reminds me a lot of my hubby so Greg and I watch it together and have a good laugh. 

The little boy is {loving} Fireman Sam :) 

2 more of my favorite shows at the moment are Cougar Town and Big Bang Theory.

They are also hilarious shows and well worth a watch if you are in the mood for a good laugh.  

I am linking up with Paisley Jade 
after all it is her brilliant idea of posting weekly about the simple pleasures in life that bring you joy.

Thrifty treasures

Last weekend I went on a shopping trip with the lovely Stacey from
{Blogs, tea and me}

I took her to a few of my favorite op shops in our local area. I was giving away some of my best places to shop for lovely thrifty treasures (hope you appreciate that Stacey!) but it is better to share then to hog all the good stuff for myself right?

Here are a few of the sweet things I picked up...

As soon as I saw this funky yellow 70s scale I just had to have it. The sticker on top has measurements on it and it is written in Italian. Such a great find, and Stacey I am sorry that I took it for myslef but it was just too good to give away!

Yes my son plays with dolls! I bought this dolly for my little man so that he could bath it and to help with his potty training. Granted it is not as exciting as some of the trucks I have brought home for him but he is still playing with it.

I just adore this little embroidered purse that I found. I will probably end up using it as a make up purse as my last one was destroyed but the little guy who decided to take it into the bath with him and paint it and himself with my mascara and Vaseline!

I also found this sweet vintage dress a few weeks ago. It fits me perfectly and I love the colour of it. I have not worn it yet but am looking forward to getting the opportunity to dress it up with boots and tights. All I need is to find somewhere fancy to go so I can wear it (just a slight hint to the hubby).

While I was visiting a friend recently she showed me some baby clothes that her mother-in-law had given her. Her mother-in-law gave them to her because they were once worn by her hubby (my friends hubby, the mothers son, get it?) when he was a baby. She was laughing at them because they were old fashioned and she couldn't image dressing her new baby in them. When I saw them I started drooling over them. They were the sweetest little knitted jumpers and jumpsuits. She thought I was crazy but because I loved them she graciously gave them to me.

 

I just adore them and I love that mumsy-in-law has held on to them for all these years. They are going to go into storage for now until one day we get around to having another bubba or if my sister-in-law beats me to it then she can have them :)

the goings on in the land of Blessed...

Well a lot has been happening in my little world of late, let me fill you in...

As you can see a new look for the blog, hope you like it. Change is as good as a holiday they say and right now I could do with a holiday.

We added two new members to our family, Bob and Wendy the chickens. They have yet to lay eggs but they have been providing lots of entertainment for us. Which has included them getting out of the pen regularly even though we though we had chicken proofed it, they have been exploring under the house and out in the front yard. Cheeky chickens! 

You may have noticed the lack of outfit posts, I was finding that I was spending far too much time and money on buying new things and putting together new outfits. So I have decided to not focus on it too much at the moment.

I am going to be going back to work for 3 days for awhile. One of the amazing teaches at my school has just been diagnosed with breast cancer, which is devastating...
So while she undergoes surgery and recovery I am going to be teaching her class. I am looking forward to being back in the classroom again but not looking forward to being away from my little boy a few extra days a week. However he goes to the most amazing daycare center at my school and he absolutely loves going there and he learns so much so it isn't too much of a big deal.

Cold and flu season has hit our house. The little guy has had a cough and runny nose for the past few weeks and now the big guy is coughing too. I can feel the sore throat coming on and I am trying to keep it at bay as best as I can.

A dear friend of mine gave birth to a precious baby girl a few weeks ago, her name was Faith. Faith went to be with her heavenly father just half an hour after she was born.
This news has devastated me...

I have been feeling tiered and worn out by nothing in particular, just life in general. The hubby has been wonderful giving me mornings to sleep in and then bringing me tea and toast in bed. He has been doing stuff around the house for me and not complaining when all I serve for dinner is spaghetti or eggs on toast.

He has organised for the little guy to spend the weekend with his Nanny and Poppy and we are going to have little getaway together in the city. It is going to be a time of rest and relaxation, a chance for both of us to recharge our batteries.

A sneak peek into my home :::

Here is a quick look at my little boys playroom...

We have endless hours of fun in this little room which is at the back of our little beach shack. It is a great room for him to play in because it has a door that leads out into his other playroom,  the backyard.

Of course the photos were taken after a tidy up while the little guy was asleep. Shortly after he woke up it looked like a min tornado had swept through it!

Each day that we are at home there is usually a different play experience set up. For example we may have the train set out and we build tunnels and towers out of the lego and put the farm animals and little people around.  Or we may have built a cubby house out of chairs and blankets and be sitting in there with the torch reading story books. 

The cute little bunting was a gift from a friend and I made some more paper pinwheels. The next thing we need to add to our playroom is a big display board to hang all of Williams art creations on.

Check out this super cool playroom ( here and here)  that belongs to Williams little friend Imogen, it is such a great play space and the little guy has so much fun in there when we go to visit.

Image courtesy of Childhood 101

Image courtesy of Childhood101

Things I'm {loving}

I am {loving} all things Harry Potter related this week.

I am a huge Harry Potter fan and I am getting very excited for the upcoming release of the last HP movie

{Harry Potter and the deathly hallows Part 2}

which comes out in cinemas in a months time. 

I have been watching part 1 on DVD at home. When part 1 came out I was living in Canada at the time and was stuck up on the mountain and so I didn't get the chance to go to the cinemas to see it which I was totally bummed about.

At the moment we have the hubbys big screen TV from work at home (we have a tiny little old school TV) so it is great to finally see part 1 on the big screen.

To refresh my memory I have started re reading the book

{Harry Potter and the deathly hallows}

It was a wonderful morning for reading in bed today. A storm has blown into town bringing with it lots of rain. So this morning I had a lay in and I listened to the rain on our tin roof, read my book and had breakfast in bed, it was pure bliss.

My sister is an even bigger Harry Potter fan then I am, she already has her movie ticket for when the movie comes out! She put me onto a great Harry Potter website called {MuggleNet}.

It is great for finding out all the latest HP news and it also interesting to go onto the chat rooms and talk with other fans about the books and the movies. To hear other peoples insights and pick up on thoughts and ideas that hadn't occurred to me.

When I was in Seattle earlier this year I visted the Seattle Science Museam to see the Harry Potter exhibit which was totally awesome.
You can read about that here.

Head on over to Paisley Jade and join in with her {Things I'm Loving} linky.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
I am totally pumped for my weekend as once again it is going to be jammed packed with family and friend fun.

{creative fun} painting with bouncy balls

Before I was a stay at home Mumma I was a pre primary teacher. I used to teach a play based curriculum and the things we would learn, do and make were always based on the children's interests. The children were always interested in new and interesting things all the time so everyday was a new adventure and often one that I could not plan for.

My days a home with the little guy are also very much like that. We wake up and then decide what super fun things we are going to do that day, all based around what William is interested in of course. He is really into playing with his trucks at the moment so a lot of our games and activities are based around that. When we are out we see who can spot the most trucks, we take our trucks to the park to play and we make our trucks talk to one another (I am really trying to encourage the little guys speech atm).

It was Nanny's birthday last week and we needed to make something special for her, we had run out of time so I asked the little guy if he wanted to do a painting for her and of course his answer was no. So I had to draw on some of my creative ideas that are filed away in my teacher head space (I let her out every now and then) and come up with something that is a little more exciting then just painting with a paint brush. In the past I have tried dipping his little trucks into paint and driving them across paper but he didn't like that idea. So this time I tried a painting with a ball. Will thought I was crazy but he trusts his Mumma implicitly so he went with it.

I put out some paint with a bit of glitter swirled into it and he loved looking at it in the sunshine. Will rolled the ball in the paint and then had fun rolling it across his paper. We put the piece of paper into a tray so that he could hold the tray in his hands and roll it around.

We also tried dropping the ball onto the paper and looking at the interesting marks it left behind. He was having such a great time that he stayed with the experience for a lot longer then he normally would have, which is a good sign because now we can start doing much more complex art projects. 

Here is the finished artwork and it looks lovely, he was really pleased with it and wanted to keep it, so I cut it in half and gave one half to Nanny and the other half is being displayed proudly on our fridge.

hanging with the ladies

On Saturday night I went to the movies with my lady friends and I realised that the last time I went to our local cinema was probably two years ago! Not a good record. We went and saw 'Water for Elephants'.

My sister has been raving about the book and said it was a must read before seeing the movie. I have yet to read it but I went along with her to see it anyway, plus I couldn't resist seeing another movie with Robert Pattinson in it!

It was a good movie. It took me awhile to get into the story but eventually it hooked me and I fell in love with it. I wont ell you anymore as I don't want to spoil it for you. I recommend that you go and see it.

Me and my new friend Wendy... The chickens are going pretty good however one flew the coop this morning and Will and I were chasing it around the yard to try and put it back it in before we went to school, not cool.

We need to clip their wings, no correction my hubby needs to clip their wings. I am taking no part in clipping or cleaning up after them, that is his job. That was the deal when the chickens came to live here. they were to be the boys responsibility I have enough to do running around after the boys let alone adding two chickens to the equation. Hopefully they stick to the end of their bargain.