The Janelle Wind Collection

A special day...

I can't quite believe it but I am the mother of a teenager! Yes, that's right. My gorgeous girl had a birthday last week and turned 13. There was lots of excitement in the air on the lead up to Emily's special day and some mixed emotions too. She was excited about having a birthday but wasn't quite sure if she wanted to be a teenager just yet. I can relate, I wasn't quite ready for my girl to take this next step either (just quietly).

The night before her big day arrived and as per tradition in our little family, I got busy decorating her room for her special day. To make things easier for me we popped her into our bed and got busy decorating her room. There was no way she would have been able to sleep through my noise!

We started by putting in some hooks and lengths of white rope across her ceiling. To this I added some paper lanterns and lots of balloons. It was fun and I think her room looked great.

After hanging all the balloons and lanterns, I made some large number 13's from different coloured cardboard and hung them around her room as well.

Here is one on her bed head. Our cat Bella made himself at home. He didn't mind the fuss at all!

After the decorations were complete, I popped her wrapped presents at the end of her bed. It was then time to bring sleeping beauty back into her room so that she could wake in her newly decorated room on her birthday.

We all woke bright and early on the morning of Emily's birthday! We were all excited to share her day and watch her open her presents. After a quick squishy Daddy/brother hug, we all headed to her room to watch her open her gifts.

It was also Emily's blythe doll Gypsy's birthday as well, so she celebrated with us too!

The present opening began, and the smile on Emily's face made her day so special for us too! She loved everything we chose for her which is wonderful. 

Here she is with some of her gifts...

This is not a headless doll, in case you were wondering! It is a Licca body which can replace a Blythe doll body. It is more bendable and lots of Blythe collectors pop Licca bodies onto their Blythe dolls. Emily was VERY excited to receive a Licca body from her brother.

We also bought Emily a gorgeous outfit from a lovely business called Sweet Birdie Blue. Emily LOVED the skirt so much, she said it was her most favourite skirt EVER. Yay!!

We also made the BIG decision that this would be the year we give Emily her very own mobile. She is a very responsible and honest girl and we knew she would love one of her own. She didn't have any idea we were giving her one, so was VERY excited. 

Here is Emily's Blythe doll, Gypsy, all dressed up in some of Emily's presents. I think she looks gorgeous!

I let my kiddies have a day at home with me for Emily's birthday and even though I had to teach my ladies, we had a lovely day together. We did some Op shopping in the afternoon and were very excited to find a great dolls house for Emily. You can read about it on my last Thrifty Thursday post here.

Here is Emily outside the Op shop spinning around in her new outfit. I think she likes it!!

Emily then requested Carrot Cake for her birthday cake, so I quickly whipped one together to share after dinner. We sang happy birthday and shared cake together. It was a lovely way to end her day.

At the end of the day we tucked a tired but very happy 13 year old into bed. She happily proclaimed that she had a wonderful birthday - and I was one happy Mummy. I am looking forward to what the future holds for our girl too.

Emily has blogged all about her birthday on her blog, if you would like to read about her birthday in her words, pop over here... Back soon to share LOTS more. I have a lot to blog about. x Janelle

Last Monday...

was a special day for our little family. It was mine and my husbands birthdays. That's right, we share the same day for our birthday, but not the same year. It is often a little hard for the kids having to spoil Mum and Dad on the same day but this year we did things a little differently.

This year we shopped as a family for hubby and the kids shopped online for me - I gave them a budget and paid for what they chose without asking too many questions. It saved lots of Daddy stressing too might add!

We woke bright and early on the morning of our birthday to 2 excited kiddies. They were SO very excited about the present they had chosen for me. Emily had worked very hard and thanks to the help of some lovely ladies she chose and purchased a new blythe doll for me. Here she is, isn't she pretty...

For those interested in Blythe dolls, she is a Prima Dolly Saffy and was adopted from a lovely collector in Victoria (I love adopting second hand girls). After much thought, we decided to call her August. I think it is perfect since that is when she was given to me and it suits her too. I am so proud of my kids for being so thoughtful and thinking of me. I adore my new girl too. Now my little blythe family has grown to four.

I was also spoiled with some other lovely gifts from family and friends. The lovely Hailey (Mum to my favourite artist Zali) sent this beautifully packaged gift to me when the family recently visited us.

Inside was the most beautiful card and brooch, handmade in Peru. I just LOVE it and have worn it many times since my birthday too. HUGE thank you's to Hailey and her family for spoiling me.

I spent the rest of my birthday at home on my own working and thoroughly enjoying reading all of the birthday messages that came through facebook and twitter throughout the day. Those messages were a real highlight to me, it was so lovely to be thought of by so many friendson my special day.

We ended our birthday by enjoying a lovely baked dinner and a roast that I cooked especially for hubby as it is his favourite.

The next day I made myself a cake and the kids enjoyed singing happy birthday to me - it is fun to stretch birthday's just that little  bit longer don't you think.

Thanks for letting me share my day with you. It was my last birthday before a BIG one, so I am hoping this last year of my 30's goes VERY slowly... xx Janelle

Edited to Add: I forgot to share a photo of one VERY important gift that was  made for me. For about 3 days leading up to my birthday, Emily set up her sewing machine in her room and wouldn't let me in to see what she was working on.

On my birthday she proudly presented me with a little dolly quilt that she made for me, all by herself. I am bursting with pride that she would spend her spare time making this for me and I just LOVE it. Thank you Emily for spoiling me xx

Birthday celebrations...

Sunday Sept 26 we celebrated my beautiful Mum and Aunty's birthday. Being an identical twin, Mum always celebrates her special day with her sister and for me, it has always been like I have two mothers - a double blessing.

(my Mum is on the right)

Having recently moved house my Mum recently mentioned to me that she would like a guest book, so when it came to choosing a birthday present for her, I knew exactly what to get. And because I know Aunty loves the same things Mum does, and having shifted into a unit late last year, I decided she would also be receiving a guest book.

So after purchasing a plain guest book for each, I decided to make a fabric cover for them. I chose some of the early 'Flower Sugar' fabric range, my favourite star block, and got to work. I was really thrilled with the end result and Mum and Aunty loved their new guest books. We all happily signed Mum's book while we were there for their birthday dinner.

I am so blessed to have 'two mum's' in my life. Wishing them birthday blessings for another year... x Janelle

It's Jasper's turn...

Today is my gorgeous boys' 9th birthday...

As is the tradition in our family, last night saw me wrapping presents and decorating Jasper's bedroom in preparation for the BIG day today. I just love how exciting birthdays are to my kids and I am happy to get totally caught up in that excitement too. I love decorating their rooms and seeing their excited faces when they wake up on their birthday morning.

To decorate Jasper's room, I decided he could have some pom poms just for him too, so I got busy and made some 'boy' coloured ones to hang from his ceiling. I also made him a fabric bunting - you can see that in photos further down.

This year there were two main things that Jasper wanted as gifts for his birthday, the main one being a pair of black converse shoes. He rewarded me with HUGE excitement upon opening the box that contained just the very thing he was hoping for. I love how expressive my boy is!

We also gave Jasper some other gifts - a new outfit, a DS game and headphones for his DS, some slip on shoes and some Spongebob DVD's.

I let Jasper have a day at home today to celebrate his birthday and we have enjoyed chatting and hanging out together. It has been a very special day for me too - just a day with my boy and me.

I can't believe that my baby boy is 9 years old already. I can't believe that in one year's time he will be double digits. Time sure flies by when you are the Mum of small children. I really hope we can make this next year go REALLY slowly...

Jasper has asked for a pool party for his birthday, so we will work towards that for a few weeks time once the weather is a little warmer...

Happy Birthday gorgeous boy, I hope your birthday is really special. Lots of love forever xx Mummy

Our little 'Alice in Wonderland'...

Yesterday we hosted an Alice in Wonderland themed party to celebrate Emily's 12th birthday. She was SO super excited and was bursting by the time Sunday arrived. It was party day!

We had been doing some planning behind the scenes and worked on some little special touches to try and make the day just that bit more special.

On Saturday afternoon, Emily and two of her friends collected the most gorgeous bunches of flowers to the birthday table. These little mixed bouquets would have to be my most FAVOURITE bunches of flowers, I just LOVE them. To make the cutlery feel special, I wrapped each trio in a serviette, then paper doily and finished it off with a blue ribbon...

For the prize bags for the games, I filled some little blue bags with mixed lollies and treats and finished them off my wrapping a 1/4 of a lace doily over the top and machine stitching them closed.

I also printed and made place cards for each girl at the party - to keep is simple, I added some alphabet stickers with their initials.

To add to the afternoon tea party theme, we put together a little crazy dinner setting for each girl - all with different plates, saucers and tea cup. (I am thinking we might keep these mixes sets to use every day at home - they make me smile BIG time)

For the gift bags to send home with the girls at the end of the party, I really wanted to do something just that little bit special. When a friend told me about these teapots that she had in her store that weren't selling, my mind got to thinking and our special 'gift bags' came together. I filled each teapot with mixed lollies, and tied a tag and heart playing card to each teapot. The girls loved them!!

About lunch time, we began to construct our 'little wonderland' in our front yard. I am SO thankful to Michael for all of his help - he did a fabulous job bringing my 'vision' into a reality.

To make our little wonderland, we (insert Michael) put five very tall star pickets into the lawn, carefully measured to have it work with our curtain. We then threaded some white rope through a sheer curtain to become a back drop for the party. Then across the two front star pickets, we tied fishing line and hung some more (yes I made more) tissue paper pom poms. We added two tables, crisp white table cloths and our china dinner sets and we were ready for an afternoon of Alice in Wonderland tea party fun.

  

We hired a costume for Emily this year, I just didn't have it in me to make something (I know, terrible!) She was thrilled with what she wore and felt extra special being able to dress up too. Thank goodness for costume hire stores...

 Once all of the girls arrived, we headed inside to open the presents. It was so lovely to see Emily's friends being so kind and supportive. She is one blessed little girl to have such lovely friends.

After the presents, it was time for the party to begin. The girls headed out to our little wonderland in the front yard and found their place to sit. They were happy to begin eating - who doesn't love party food!! We made 'eat me' and 'drink me' tags to add to the food too - just a little bit more Alice in Wonderland fun.

After the food, it was time for some games. We played lots of good old fashioned games like musical chairs, three legged races, egg and spoon races, musical statues and even some crochet (our version of it anyway). The girls all laughed hard and had a great time.

 

After the games had worn everyone out, it was time for the cake. This year Emily requested butterfly cupcakes. So I happily obliged and made some butter cake butterfly cupcakes.

 

 

During the party, I also set up a little area for some group shots and fun photos. I let the girls choose the combinations of friends they wanted and I happily snapped away. Here is Emily with one of her best friends Erin - as the Mad Hatter. What a fun pair they are.

 

Here is Emily and Jasper with our lovely neighbour friends - who were both a wonderful help with planning and running the party. Jasper and Claira were wonderful waiter staff too. Thanks guys x

And I couldn't resist a group shot of all of these lovelies together too...

To finish, the girls headed indoors to watch 'Alice in Wonderland' on DVD and head home, with their own teapot to remember their time at Emily's party. And my darling husband spent ages bringing our little wonderland down, and returning our front yard to normal while I rested my sore back with an ice pack - bless him for being SO helpful.

And that was the end of the party...

Would you believe it is Jasper's birthday on Friday, so we will be doing this all again - just for Jasper (a different theme). I can't wait!! Thanks for sharing Emily's party with us xx Janelle

 

My girl turned 12 (insert shocked face here)...

I can't quite believe that my girl is 12 already. It seems only a few years ago that I was giving birth to my little baby girl. The years sure have flown and I am now the mother of a 'tween'. Oh dear - only one more year until the teenage years begin...

I have LOTS to share about Emily's birthday, so this is PART ONE of her birthday celebrations. Here are a few photos to share how we celebrated her actual birthday. I will be back later to share all about her 'Alice in Wonderland' party from yesterday.

The day before her birthday, I took some time to individually wrap her presents. Yellow for her favourite colour with some wool for decoration. It looks like lots of pressies, but I collected lots of little gifts for her for months, and it was such fun to wrap them all separately.

One of the traditions in our family is for me to decorate my kids bedroom the night before their birthday, while they sleep. This year I wanted to do something different, not the same streamers and balloons that I usually use. So this year, I made a fabric bunting and a lot of tissue paper pom poms. The night before Emily's birthday I was creeping around her room trying to tie fishing line and pom poms all around her room. I tell you, some gymnastics or acrobatic training would have come in handy LOL and I am sure Emily woke a little bit too but kindly 'pretended' to be asleep without peeking cause I am sure she loves the surprise too.

So on the morning of her birthday, Emily woke to pom poms hanging from her ceiling with a bunting across the top of the blinds too.

(I made the pom poms using this great online tutorial)

Thankfully Emily LOVED her room decorations and said it felt like waking up in a Wonderful - phew, mission accomplished!

She quickly ran, woke us all up and we sat together in the lounge as she opened each present - something we all enjoy. This year I was a little sneaky and left one special present in the closet. When she had finished opening all (so she thought) of her presents, I said 'hang on, I think I might have forgotten one'. So I came back with a box - and she knew straight away what could be inside. After the initialy SCREAM of delight. She took a minute to catch her breath - too much excitement for one little girl LOL.

Inside, Emily soon discovered we had bought her another Blythe doll (the last we plan on buying for a LONG time I might add).

Thi Blythe doll is called (by the manufacturers) Bohemian Peace but Emily soon renamed her Gypsy. We think it suits her and she is now a much loved member of our family.

Being the Mum that I am, it didn't take much convincing for me to let Emily (and Jasper) stay home to play with Emily's new presents and celebrate her birthday together. So Emily was SUPER excited when a package arrived from her gorgeous friend Bella on her birthday.

This was Emily's reaction when she opened her gift - we were ALL  blown away by Bella's generosity and gorgeous gift.

 

Bella had so generously crochet this beautiful snow beanie for Emily, all by herself - AND she is only 9 years old. Emily just LOVES it and happily wore it for the rest of her birthday...

 

There was lots of playing with Blythe dolls, some monopoly and generally being a happy girl for the rest of the day. Daddy brought home a yummy cake and we shared a meal of spaghetti pasta and cake for dinner. I think my girl went to bed with a happy smile on her face - and so did I...

Happy Birthday gorgeous girl... xx Mummy

Today...

We hosted an Alice in Wonderland party for Emily and nine of her special friends. We all had a wonderful time - but are plum tuckered out. So as I head off to pop my feet up for a rest, I just wanted to share a photo of 'our' Alice. We love you Emily and happy 12th birthday xx

Back soon to share all about her birthday and party too... x Janelle

Yesterday was...

My birthday

AND

My husbands birthday too...

Yes, that's right. We celebrate our birthday on the same day however we were born seven years apart. It is quite special to celebrate our day together, although sometimes tough for our kids who want to spoil us both on our birthday.

Anyway, yesterday we were woken at 6.30am by little people sneaking into our room and trying EVER so hard not to be heard, so we stayed a sleep until the kids shouted out 'surprise' and started singing happy birthday to us. It was SO gorgeous to see their happy faces as they sang to us - that was gift enough for me.

For those of you who follow my blog, you may remember that on each of my children's birthdays, I sneak into their rooms while they are asleep and decorate their room around them. Well our gorgeous two had planned a similar thing, hence the tip toeing and whispering. They sat our presents on the end of our bed and stuck gorgeous handmade signs for us too - so precious. We are so blessed.

After our lovely wake up, we happily opened our presents so lovingly chosen for us. This year Granny and Grandad (my parents) took Jasper shopping for us while Emily (being more grown up) was given some money and allowed to shop in our small Target (with Daddy nearby but out of sight) and choose whatever she wanted for us.

They both did SO well and were so excited to give us our gifts. Jasper chose an alarm clock for Daddy (which is just what he needed as he uses my iphone as an alarm) and for me he chose a mug (he knows how I love my cups of tea) and some oven mits (because I usually use a teatowel to take things from the oven and often wish out loud that I had some oven mits).

Emily did equally as well, choosing a gorgeous white shirt for me and a tshirt and thongs for Daddy. He really wanted some new things so badly that I think he has thanked her about 10 times already. And I happily wore my gorgeous top ALL day on my birthday too - I just love it.

As soon as I was properly out of bed, Emily reminded me that I had one more gift to open. This GORGEOUSLY wrapped package arrived a few days before my birthday from the beautiful Sheree Forcier.  I emailed my excited thank you and asked Sheree if it was OK to save it to open on my day. 

So I sat down to open my gorgeous gift and inside was the most perfect aqua crochet scarf that Sheree had made just for me, a perfect handmade card and some lovely fridge magnets. How gorgeous of Sheree to spoil me. I LOVE them all SO very much. I popped on my scarf with my new white top and some jeans (and new red shoes) and I was ready to go. (My darling hubby suprised me with these roses too)

Except I didn't go anywhere LOL. Seeing as it was my birthday, I asked my family if I could have the day off from cleaning at the other house we are moving out of, so my wonderful husband worked tirelessly all day making trips with more boxes and my amazing parents worked hard on cleaning windows for us. I am eternally grateful for their help. I stayed home and watched the kids and unpacked boxes all day!

Our day finished off with some scrambled eggs cooked on the one hot plate that still works on our poor stove, and a delicious chocolate cake made by my Mum. My lovely Aunty spoiled us with some lovely gifts as well.

So even though we couldn't really celebrate our birthday due to moving and cleaning, we had a lovely day made so special by family and friends sending us such lovely well wishes. We plan on having a celebration / birthday dinner once all the moving is finally over. We can't WAIT!! Thanks for letting me share our day with you. xx Janelle

Happy 80th Birthday to my Dad...

Today is my fathers 80th birthday - what a milestone. Happy Birthday Dad xx

My Dad is amazing and to look at him you wouldn't even think he was anywhere near 80 - but to have reached 80, raised 4 children, lost one to a motor bike accident, survived cancer and been married for nearly 55 years, reaching 80 is an achievement!

We were all thrilled to gather together on Sunday to celebrate this special birthday with Dad. Family came from far and wide to celebrate this milestone and to say he was thrilled is an understatement.

My brother and his family opened their home for the celebration. My sister in law Bev, along with my cousin Laura put lots of thought into decorating and I love how the tables were decorated just for Dad, with clocks. Dad is an avid clock collector so it was lovely to see just a few of his clocks decorating the table.

There was PLENTY of delicious food to eat - so much we could continue to eat away all afternoon!

I was the 'official' photographer for the day and wanted to make sure that I took LOTS of photos for Dad. We had photos with all different combinations of people, it was fun! Here is Dad with his brother and sister who both travelled down from QLD just to help celebrate Dad's day.

My Dad was also presented with a special certificate and medal - an OBE. It was even signed by the Queen - OBE stands for Over Bloomin 80! How fun!!

It came time for the cake and it was wonderful to see Dad surrounded by his Grandkids to blow out his candles. The kids were all giggling because they knew we had special (hard to blow out) candles.

I was thrilled to have a few special photos for me too, this one is a favourite. This is two of my sister in laws with me.

And my wonderful Mum and Dad...

And the kids had a great time playing for hours in the back yard too. Here are my two being pushed around by their Dad.

 

All in all, we had a wonderful day spent with family, to celebrate with my Dad. I am so grateful to be part of such a wonderful family and thankful we still have Dad with us to share these milestones too. Happy Birthday Dad xx Janelle