First World Problem: Baby Clothes

When I had my eldest daughter I kept every piece of clothing she outgrew labelled in big plastic tubs and stored away in our garage. I must admit when I had my second daughter 14 months ago I thought, "You beauty! I won't need to buy a single thing!". And to be honest, I haven't really bought many new things - but I have found I've hardly needed to tap into my storage tubs carefully horded away for five years waiting for this specific moment in time!

I like to think of myself as one that doesn't like to 'spoil' or go on excessive shopping sprees coming home with bags of new clothes that may fit for a month or two (if lucky)! But looking at my ridiculous amount of baby clothes in storage ranging from newborn through to size 3 I ask myself, "How on earth did I accumulate so much??"

I have no problem sending stuff off to the local 'Vinnies' store on a regular basis. I'm BIG for de-cluttering whenever I can. Not just when I have too, but actually enjoy the outcome of knowing that what's hidden behind closed doors won't jump out at you if you open it! Plus I find housework relaxes me, "Come over to my place I hear you yell!" and I would if I was invited and would thoroughly enjoy it! So this week my ambition has been to sort through every single tub, donate what I don't have some sort of sentimental attachment to, and 'pay it forward' to someone who actually needs baby clothes. Let's face it, they are all in pretty good nick and are definitely unworthy of my husband's search for spare rags to use in his garage!

The issue I am finding however, is that I seem to have some sort of sentimental attachment to pretty much everything my daughter once wore. I guess it just reminds me how much she has grown and as much as I love her to pieces, I also miss the tiny baby she once was. And this makes me sad. Luckily I have a second daughter! Woohoo! And I can re-experience all the wonderful things I enjoyed raising my first little bub into a big girl who is almost ready for school. And that is the really exciting part. Being able to love and guide my baby girls as they grow into beautiful children that make mummy very proud.

God help me when it comes to de-cluttering every piece of artwork I have tucked neatly away!

'Biscuit' the Kinder Puppy

My eldest daughter is in 4yo kindergarten and had the privilege of taking home the class puppy 'Biscuit' last week. Biscuit is new to the class and comes with a special book filled with pages to detail how he spent his time at your home on an adventure!

The weather in Melbourne this past week has been chilly and wet. The perfect weather for crocheting in front of the TV once the girls are tucked up in bed. I decided to pull the crochet hook out - it's been in hiding for so long I can't even tell you what I last crocheted! Needless to say, Biscuit had a 'ball' with his new toys. The bone in particular was taking my crocheting to a new level with so much increasing and decreasing I had two marker rings going at one point! I'm sure all Penny's classmates will love their new puppy and his toys and go on many adventures together.

Here are the links to the patterns if interested: Water Bowl & Bone Pattern, Toy Crochet Ball

Behind the scenes... Father's Day

We've been away in Brisbane for the past few days and have had a lovely time! It's always good to get a break away from the sewing machine and recharge the batteries! We went to Australia Zoo north of Brisbane in Beerwah and I absolutely loved it! If you're ever up that way I highly recommend going - P had a fantastic time and even got to feed an elephant! It's such a hands-on place and the Irwin family have done a marvelous job at educating visitors about all the different animals in Australia and from around the world.

We spent Father's Day in the city and had a delicious meal down at Southbank where they have these fantastic man-made beaches for children to swim and play! What a great idea! Plus there were markets on so it was smiles all round! So P got to spend the day with her daddy, her daddy got to spend the day with his dad and I got to see my dad which was very special. I hope you all enjoyed your Father's Day however you spent it!

Update from Ernie & Bird HQ

SO much has been happening the past few weeks and it's been hard to keep up with the world! The sewing machine has been going flat out with two wholesale orders for Hootie Owls. These adorable little owlets are on their way to Scamper Hampers by Emmaline and a shop just for owls opening soon...

Then I had a customer request a Hootie in the same colours as 'Hoot' from ABC's Giggle and Hoot children's program. I thought he would be easy enough to make and accepted the order only to discover he was a lot harder to make than I thought and took an entire afternoon to complete!

Now for the really exciting news!!! My very own 'Arty-Farty Craft Room' as my hubby likes to call it has been erected and has a roof and all! He's not just handsome but pretty clever with the tools as well (mind you I mastered the nail gun to construct the thing!) So stay tuned... hopefully there will be walls within the fortnight and I've chosen some really nice stack stone to go on the front with rendered walls. Then we get to decorate inside!!! Exciting times ahead!

Market Wrap

The Children's Market at Mordialloc at the weekend wasn't exactly what I had hoped for. I think being a long weekend in Victoria the crowds were down and maybe not the best audience for my stall. Don't get me wrong, I got lots of lovely admirers walk past and comment but about 99% of people there were after $1 bargains from all the second-hand retailers (and boy were there lots of bargains - I highly recommended this market if you're expecting!)

I think I made more money from eBay sales as I was sitting at my store than I did on the day! lol... not to worry! Here are some pics from Sunday. I was pretty happy with the overall setup :) Lots of new stock is also being listed today in my eBay store so check it out at http://stores.shop.ebay.com.au/Ernie-and-Bird