*e*

happy laptop

i've been holding onto a yummy stash of thick wool felt for a while now and thought it would make for some nice laptop sleeves...my poor old computer bears scars and scrapes from children, airport security and being stashed under my bed every night - but will now be dressed in the finest of felt!


these three loves are up for sale in my etsy shop.

visit me tomorrow for a big blog giveaway!

west australian dreaming

 
(pics from jan '08)

dearest city of perth,

it's been three and a half years since we last resided in your lovely outskirts and basked in the beauty of your many gum trees and open spaces, far too long don't you think? i'm sure you have missed us just a smidgen of how much we have missed you, but not to worry - you can show us how much you care when we return in july.

yes, we'll be back for 6 months while we await a new grant for mick's research and give birth to another little sprout with all the many loving grandparents, aunties and unkies on hand to help.

aside from the above help and love (and did i mention babysitting?), we are looking forward to smelling fresh rainfall on our bushwalks, hearing the birds and crickets from the verandah, floating gum leaves down the little creeks near our house, eating the best ice-cream in the world and shooing the seagulls away from our fish and chips at the beach.

and straightening out ivy's accent.

the states have been good to us, but you know what they say - we still call australia home.

see you soon!
love, the falconbridge family xxx

52Q - 17

sorry i'm late to post this week...little people kept me very busy all day!

Q - what is my super power?

i asked ivy what she thought and after a minute she said 'taking care of everyone in the family' - bless! so i believe my super power is nurturing...

what is yours?!!

...now for some shiny spandex tights with my power embroidered on the bum!

our sunday evening ritual

it normally starts with an exchange at church that morning
or a phone call in the afternoon
"hey...what are you guys doing later?"
and so we cozy ourselves in at our dear friends the phillips for a few hours of chatting, good food and craziness. their 3 boys + our 2 girls...may i quote ivy at this time - "i LOVE going to their house because i get to be W.I.L.D!!!" and she certainly does :)

maren is a gourmet cook. (i try to bring some feeble offering so we don't look so bad). tonight we had an indian feast of chickpea & potato curry, fresh roti, rice (yeah, thats what i made!), mango-passionfruit chutney and chocolate cake. see what i mean? you'd go back every sunday too wouldn't you?!!

maren does everything with grace and style. she makes cooking (and multi-tasking) look pretty. she sounds cool even while telling her boys to stop sticking their fingers in the cake icing. she has awesome taste (i mean in her decorating but yes, friends too) and her house is a quirky mix of coolness that i adore being in.

they also have a great backyard for the wildness to happen - with a big dirt hill to climb and then slide down, and a pet turtle on the loose.

wildness is not restricted to the outdoors either. especially when the dads are involved...

and wo mumma! the mirror always catches me by surprise these days...am i really that giant already? ivy is sure there's twins in there (um, no!).

i'm glad i thought to take my camera tonight to get some snippets of our dinner ritual! we are SO lucky to call these lovlies our friends and will be making the most of our last 11 sundays together before we head back to australia! (it's true!..more on that later)

oh by the way - expect a wedding announcement in 15-18 years for the marriage of ivy and either one of the cute boys you see above, we plan to keep the traditions alive as we share grandchildren and go on cruises together with our bald husbands.

do you have a good sunday evening ritual?

a reminder that it is all worth it :)

have a happy weekend!

baby belly love

a few weeks ago, ivy's dear teacher went on maternity leave and i somehow wound up in charge of organising a little celebration for her (probably because i volunteered, someone remind me to stop doing that!). it was a simple and beautiful afternoon tea at the park - complete with some special little details from the children, and our combined class gift of the magic hammock!

ivy fingernitted (she's unstoppable i tell you) a 'crown' for ms. jodi, and all the children brought a flower to weave into the crown - isn't it beautiful?

i had collected pictures and letters from the class to bind together into a special book - they were all very proud to see their artwork being admired...

we brought a little bowl of beads and each child strung one onto a bracelet for jodi to wear, and they also rolled little beeswax candles for her to light during the labor...(glitter sprinkled candles bring extra strength!)



it was very sweet and i think i will be requesting my own flower crown and celebration in a few months time...any volunteers?

;)

the name game

while pregnant with yindi, ivy felt it was her duty as new big sister to come up with an appropriate (and perfect) name for her new sibling...often with 50+ suggestions a day...for example:
"how 'bout stick!" (we just walked past a stick)
"bushes is a nice name!" (we just drove past some bushes)
"i love the name tree!" (there is a tree outside the window)
"do you like the name nut?" (while eating some nuts)
etc
etc

this time around, her interest in naming the new baby just as keen, though her taste in names seems to have moved on from items she spies...to more um, creative ideas. yesterdays suggestion was too funny not to share - and had me wheezing like an old dog in hysterics last night as i retold the conversation to mick...

"mumma! i've got a great name for the new baby if its a boy!"
'"ok, tell me!"
"simpleton."
"wow...thats different!"
"yeah. i know. isn't it cute? and how 'bout acorn for a middle name? yeah! simpleton acorn falconbridge!"
(trying to keep straight face) "nice!"
"yeah! and then for a nickname, we can just call him SIMPLE!"

bless her heart!

(um, we'll keep thinking...!)

family photos

tara emailed me the link to our photos yesterday and there are no words! they are so perfectly US, the home video is the most delicious dessert - the photos the whipped cream and chocolate sauce drenching the bowl. i'll let you go over to tara's blog and check out her little sampling of yummies - they are bigger and shinier than they would be here! i will never be able to choose a favourite...

52Q - 16

Q - what is the truth?

(jenni bowlin rubons, blue eye dezines felt, heidi swapp alpha stickers, handmade paper)

lots of changes and craziness going on here, and this is my mantra! (ironic that the very moment i uploaded this yindi decided to poo on the floor after removing her own nappy...sigh, breathe, mantra!!)

upload your creations! i look forward to seeing your current truths :)

local class this saturday

i'll be at the pink pineapple in vista, ca this saturday afternoon teaching my 'hug a tree' class where we will make two colourful, happy layouts + a funky card.

details about what to bring etc are here (click on my class name on april 25 and it will open up), and you can call the store to sign up on 760.598.2222