I heart opp shopping!!!

Okay so I have confessed! I love thrift/opp/antique/vintage shops....so many treasures to find if you find some good shops and have the patience to sift through the racks.

There is always many a bargain to be found and I usually have the nack to do just that :)

Don't get me wrong I don't buy stained,thinning, faded clothes....and nor do I look at the underwear, nightwear and oh so wrong parts of the opp shop world...I only buy the good ones and in return save huge amounts of money in the process and come out with really awesome quality stuff. So good, especially when kids grow out of clothes so damn quick.

Note: always always wash before use!

I went to one opp shop yesterday with the kids and ventured out again today when Andy got home to go to another and I found some gems!!

Here are our treasures from yesterdays shopping trip-

not a very great photo but....green 3/4 skirt for mummy ($5.00),green shirt with poka dots for mummy originally from crossroads ($5.00), Pink top for mummy with purple flowers originally from cotton on ($5.00), cute light green shirt for Thalia with embroidery ($3.00), brown shirt with car design for Declan ($4.00), Pink pants for Thalia with flower embroidery ($2.00), orange pumpkin patch pants for Thalia ($3.00), Pink and white floral summer dress for Thalia from Target ($3.00) and white pillow case with floral embroidery (50 cents).

Total of 9 items coming to $30.50!!!! mummy does a happy dance :)

My fave item would have to be Thalia's dress pictured below
Here is Thalia wearing it after washing it


Below is a close up of the embroidery on the 50 cent pillow case...I won't be using it as a pillow case but hope to make something out of it,not sure what yet.

Now for today's shopping bargains...

The large patterned fabric underneath the clothes is a double quilt (cotton) and only cost me $9.00. I have big plans for it, will be chopping it up and using bits and pieces for crafty goodness :D..such a find!!!

Found a lovely light green polo shirt with car design on front for Declan for $4.00, denim dress for Thalia with lady bugs for $3.50, another denim dress with flowers on it and frilly denim bits for $4.50 and a brand new (tag still on) blue shirt from the little miss shop retailed at $39.95 and I got it for $9.95..YAY

another great day coming out at a total of $35.45 :)

I think the quilt warrants it's own photo so here is a closer look

love it, love it, love it!!!....and don't be forgetting that as it's a quilt cover I have the underside of the quilt to play with too....arhhh my heads just bursting with ideas.

So you know you want to...go find your local opp shop and start hunting for your own gems and feel good about you purse and feel trendy at the same time :)

A week full of sickness,Party fun, cubby house's,new food and craftiness

well here I am typing from what has been of late the house of snot, sneezes and coughing......a week at home with a household of sickness isn't the best but we had a good go and making it a good one.

Andy as per usual had 'the dreaded cold' only for a 24 hr period unlike Declan and myself who have shared many snotty cuddles and nose blowing moments.Declan has become quite attached to "hanky"- he was given a couple of children's hankies from Great Grandma for Christmas and they have become like best friends this week, going to bed with Declan and being very loved.

Thalia as usual has been her usual moody self minus the sickness but in the last few days the nose has started to run and I fear she is cursed to share our despair :(

Declan and I are on the mend *touch wood* and although we have the odd cough or wipe of the nose we are hoping to get out and about more in this coming week!!!

To fill in our at home time Declan seemed to think it was a grand idea to spontaneously organise parties every say 3-4 times a day...lol....no really he found where mummy had stashed some party hats in the cupboard and decided he would take them out when he pleased and announced with great excitement "PARTY TIME!!!"
Yes it was party hats all round, not just for Declan but for every toy he deemed appropriate as well as Mummy, Daddy and Thalia :)
Then when it came to a time where he thought fit he suddenly announce "ALL DONE PARTY" and rush round collecting all the hats and packing them up....too cute.

here is a photo from one of the many parties Declan attended this week:

another activity we spent many hrs doing was cubby building.....a hard task when you are trying to build with a 1 yr old present who enjoys pulling the colourful bits apart and a 2 1/2 yr old who suddenly starts singing "there's a house with a floor, with a floor, with a floor....." (anyone familiar with this song would know that it ends in a crash....and "there's no house anymore" :s

We did end up making a house despite all this and the finished product was much loved complete with a door and all!!! which adds to Declan's new found skill of opening his bedroom door.

Our new food for the week was dragon fruit, from our own backyard it grew and we were eager to for ripening time to see what this fruit was all about.

It looks pretty awesome on the outside but on cutting it I was shocked, it almost looked fake...a white grey blob of jelly with black dotty seeds everywhere (pictured below)

it didn't look very appetising but we gave it a go....Daddy thought it was okay (somewhere between the taste of a kiwi fruit and figs), Mummy thought it was okay ( a tad bland needing to be eaten with other fruits), Thalia gobbled it up and had very strange poos the next day and Declan although very excited that it was something to do with dragons..smelt it, licked it tasted a nibble and discarded it.
I am yet to google dragon fruit and see what to do with them recipe wise etc.


The next thing on Mummy's agenda for the week was a spotlight shopping trip (always welcome :D) to get some materials for making Thalia's very own hair clip holder.
Thanks to Be a fun Mum for the inspiration, Amanda for reminding me when she posted Bianca's gorgeous clip holder on fb and Pretty things distract me for the beginnings of Thalia's hair clip collection :)

So here is the result to be either hung on the wall or displayed on her bookshelf in Thalia's room



The background is a floral material, covered in a weave of pretty pink ribbon on which the clips will be clipped..lol...framed in a purple frame (even though it looks a bit blue in the pic)
and hot pink buttons for cuteness.
Yesterday we enjoyed a visit to Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandma and Uncle Dave as well as the family dogs Jodie and Kayla. Thalia was thrilled with the dogs and loved playing pegs while Declan bounced with Grandpa on the little trampoline and terrorised Jodie (Dog) by chasing her, or should I say hunting her down wherever she went.....we were forever hearing "COME BACK JODIE!!!"...needless to say I think Jodie would have had a big fat sleep last night.
Jodie soaking up all the attention:

Grandma.Grandpa and the peg Lady


The peg footed Thalia :P



Grandpa and Declan having a bounce!

so that was our week! onwards we go to hopefully enjoy a week of happy healthy times *fingers crossed*

Boobie milk memory's- Gods great gift

This post captures one of the very awesome gift God has given to Mothers world wide...the gift of boobie milk!!!
There is nothing quite like the bond between Mummy and bubba during that special time, that tinny being relying on the milky goodness you yourself have created....and through Gods amazing set up it's all that baby needs to remain strong, healthy and happy :)



The last few days have been a bit on the emotional side for me as a Mummy, I have successfully fed both my baby's with 'human milk' for 12 months or there abouts and loved it, as did they but Thalia no longer has boobie feeds.
It is a bitter sweet moment for me, I know I have done the right thing in feeding them all this time and support breastfeeding for all Mothers...why give little human baby's anything other than 'human milk' for their first years...a calf drinks 'cow milk',a piglet -pigs milk and so on.
It's just harder to wean this time around knowing that I might never breastfeed again unless we have another bubba in the future.

My beginning of the breastfeeding journey was a sore one...

Declan was born on the 19th July 2007 and after a shower birth in my hospital birthing suite I retired to the bed to have our first breastfeed...I must admit I hadn't done to much research on breastfeeding, I don't know why, I just guess I thought it would be pretty straight forward, easy latching and away we go (lol how naive was I!!).

The midwife came and helped him latch on and our first feed was a good one (1/2 hr of examining and being in awe of this tinny being in my arms...felt so right).

Declan and Mummy enjoying some quiet time having the very first breastfeed after the roller coaster ride with a ring of fire exit

The next few days we both had a bit of trouble latching on and getting all the bits right :D

Mummy got quite sore with a bit of bleeding but we got there!!! by the time we left the hospital I felt confident, my milk was beginning to come in and my boobs were tripling in size!!!! (o)(o) :O

Within the first month the first wave of mastitis came and the ouchies began.

Luckily I realised quite soon what was happening as I had seen a friend go though Mastitis only a year prior, so was fairly familiar with the symptoms.

After a frantic call to a close friend I decided that it had hit so suddenly no massaging, hot showers, expressing and stripping boobs was going to help much so to the Dr we went.

I was put on antibiotics and continued to cringe during feeds with the pain....there was no way I was giving up breastfeeding my baby!!

We slipped back into nice relaxing feeds and comfy boobs, but throughout Declan's breastfeeding days we battled 3 more mastitis monsters and fought the fight in all cases before needing a Dr.....thanks to the support of my friends and the help of the lovely ladies at the ABA.

I fell pregnant with baby # 2 when declan was 9 months and continued to bf through the first trimester to reach our 12 month bfing goal.....by 11 1/2 months my boobs were going through so many changes and every time Declan latched on it nearly made mummy yelp :o.

I thought about it for a long time and decided that we would say goodbye to the (.)(.)'s and pack them away after a precious 11 1/2 months.....it was close enough to 12 months for me to be happy and Declan wasn't that interested in boobie by then after all (probably due to my milk taste changing due to pregnancy).

So Declan went onto cows milk after having the remainder expressed milk via sippy cups.

I did feel sad giving it up but I know it was the right decision, the little blighter didn't even flinch when the boobies disappeared as if nothing had changed :(

That gave me some reassurance that Declan was truly ready ,as where my boobies so it was a job well done all round.:D

this is a statue I admire of a Mother with her children.

I would like to acknowledge those Mothers who tandem feed and say Good on you!!!! wow amazing women and much admired.

After the inevitable deflating of the boobies after Declan began to wean, it was nice to see them growing and beginning to ripen as baby #2's due date came closer.....anyone who knows me would know if you take breastfeeding and pregnancy out of the picture Shell is just about flat :(

The day came and Thalia just couldn't wait, she plunged into this world a day early and made her dramatic exit greeting us with screams and a screwed up face :) thus screaming, squealing and all things loud became her motto.

The 2 midwifes that were attending to me during labour checked Thalia and myself and quickly went to the birthing suite across the hall to attend to the 'screaming one' who was shouting out "I CAN'T DO IT!!! GET IT OUT ALREADY!!!" mmm

this left Daddy, Mummy and a hungry bubba with nothing else to do but attempt the first feed :)

I felt good to not have midwifes prodding around trying to show me how it's done.....and although I had some confidence and the experience of a good bfing journey I was scared, not knowing what to expect, anxious and ready to learn all over again.....waiting for the sore boobs, latching trouble etc

the funny thing was as soon a Mummy got the gear out Thalia wasn't being told what to do thank you very much, she was a pro!!! She latched straight away with no probs without Mummies help and sucked for dear life.....that girl was hungry!!! I was shocked , amazed and excited.

Thalia's first feed:

eyes on the prize!!! :D

The midwifes came back to 'show me the ropes' to see us in the middle of our first feed...happy with how it was going they congratulated us and went on their way :D

Thalia seemed as though she had done a degree in feeding at womb school and got top marks, but in saying that she took it a bit far.

She though it would be a good idea to use Mummy as a dummy for sleep time for a while until Mummy twigged on and needed a sleep too.

Our journey together had begun :) the mastitis monster made a slight appearance in the first few months and again nearing 9/10 months (the worst monster ever!!!)- left me feeling almost cripple, unable to drive and lifeless yet still having to look after a 2 yr old and 9 month old :s

Thalia had been having only one feed for about a month and a half now, just before bed, on the lounge we would sit listening to Daddy read to Declan while Thalia feasted away.......unlike Declan at the same age, Thalia grew attached to the (.)(.)'s and had names for them, giggled at them, had one way conversations with them and 'duddles'...such precious moments but 12months had come and gone and Mummy and Daddy thought it was time...

Friday night we got the gear out and had the last feed :( On Saturday night Thalia was looking for boobie, refusing the sippy cup and crying nearly breaking my heart with every tear but she fell asleep and smiled at me in the morning.....thankfully didn't hold a vendetta against me

Sunday night she was a bit better, had some sippy cup, read a book and had only a few tears, hardly cryed before bed!!!! yay

But tonight she glanced at the boobie (Declan and Thalia both preferred the left) and after a "no Thalia" in a kind Mummy voice started looking though the book chattering away with giggles, drinking from her sippy cup and enjoying it :) she said goodnight to Daddy and Declan got a Big Brother kiss and came with Mummy to sing twinkle twinkle and get tucked in with Miss Cat.

Well to Mummy's delight Thalia looked at Mummy with a massive smile, gave mummy big cuddles with her little voice "duddles" and asked for cat......with cat in hand she got all snug in bed and waved goodbye.....mummy just melted, it was as if Thalia had just said "Thank you Mummy for the boobie you have given me all this time and it's okay, I am ready to stop now and I love you!! our bond will never end"

All I can say is I am truly blessed to first of all have 2 beautiful children and secondly I am proud to say that I fed both of them the milky goodness which is breast milk!! I did it, Thank you God for such awesome gifts of life and an amazing experience of breastfeeding!!!

Last week I went and purchased some normal (not maternity/feeding bra's) bra's and undies to congratulate myself on this achievement, not to mention the need for bra's now my boobs have went back to their deflating characteristics :(

So now I have my first new bra's after 2 1/2 yrs of Motherhood....a time I will always cherish.

I'll leave you with a few pics I like:

Although I think breast is best and think that 'if breastfeeding offends you, put a blanket over your head'....I also understand sadly that through issues and troubles not every Mother can breastfeed....please fight the fight and look at the info, listen to the lactation consultants, ring ABA and seek support before you give up the fight...give it a good go I say, it's well worth it!!!!

In this painting, Saint Bernard prays to the Virgin Mary and asks her to "show that you are a Mother" at which point, the statue comes alive and squirts milk into Saint bernards mouth.
This miracle is sometimes called "the miracle of lactation"

Thalia's 1st Birthday Bash!!!!

My little baby girl is 1!!!!!!!
As the title suggests I have a very good excuse for not blogging for a little while, we have been busy planning a birthday bash and spending time with family, sorry to snob you all but really it's only a short time in the whole scheme of things :)
If it's any conciliation, I'm typing this while my much loved/most fave show is about to start (big 'HOUSE' fan) so I am using precious 'house' time on you guys :D ox
Needless to say this post won't be too long so I don't miss too much...LOL

Well I'll update you....Declan is going alot better with his potty training since we knuckled down a bit and although we have the odd accident he goes to the potty most of the time and sometimes without a fuss...yay finally!!!

My folks (the parents) arrived on Tuesday to spend a week and a half here with us :) so catching up and looking forward to their permanent move up, now that their house is on the market!!! it's all coming into place :D

Thalia's 1st birthday was Thursday just gone (4th Feb) and we held her Ladybug themed party at home yesterday and it was great :)
Here are a few pic of the recent goings on in the Offord house:




Thalia with her very first birthday present - a dolly named willow, has already become much loved and gets lots of 'duddles' ( translation is cuddles).
We are also celebrating the bit of hair length Thalia now has and have brought a few cute clips!
mummy's loving enjoying all the girly things :D




Thalia showing off her new Baltic amber teething necklace. I figure she is 1 and has no teeth whatsoever (:o i know) not that it stops her from eating anything...she will give anything a good suck, gnaw, chew.....the problem is she has been 'teething' since she was 5 months with nothing to show for it. The last week she has become more moody and often found sitting on mummy's lap with cold face cloth in mouth, gnawing on a frozen teething ring or just snapping at anyone and anything in her way!! I'm guessing she is going to be one of those babies who get a whole lot of teeth at once and any help a natural teething necklace will give us is very welcome :)
So hopefully happy teething days ahead and less drugs required.



all dressed up for her party and awaiting guests

such a daddy's girl!!!

the kids loot bags made by decorated by myself :)

The cake!!!! a lazy ladybird....we thought it very fitting for Thalia

they may be cute but they are a bit special...the female ones actually kill of the male ones after mating them..lol it is adorable though and we couldn't get past that

Mummy and daddy decorated it the night before the party with lots of serious lolly munching going on :D

the cupcakes!! bee's, dragon flys, butterflies, spider, caterpillars and baby ladybugs
the most time consuming of the lolly munching hours but worth it

Cake time at the party. Declan helped blow out the candles while Thalia just thought it would be cool to try and touch the flame!!! please note....no one was hurt

the wonderful presents thanks to all Thalia's friends and family- she is very lucky to have you all
It wouldn't have been such a good party without you all :D



Declan and Thalia grooving on the new foam letter mat :) love this pic

pure joy!!

So that's a wrap.....till next time