Made To Last.....A Sisters Love...

Bonjour on this lovely but strange morning...it looks like the sky can't decide if it's going to rain or be fine.....either way it's a perfect day for me to do some more sewing.....

Speaking of sewing....have you ever had something made for you that has lasted forever? Well I have. 21yrs ago when I was pregnant with my first baby my lovely sister Charmaine was busy making me a patchwork quilt....only I didn't know about it because it was a present and she was doing it as part of a school project....any how when James (my then baby, now 21) was born she gave me this lovely quilt she'd made with her own two hands and I'm sure some of her blood, sweat and maybe tears.....I loved it straight away as it was quite big and easily fitted the cot and in the pram, so it went straight into James' cot, as he got bigger it got used as a blanket for him to play on, it went in the pram to keep him warm and it went over him to cover him up if he ever fell asleep on the couch or in his play pen. Then Luke came along and it was Lukes' turn to use the quilt in the same way, then Lauren came along and it was her turn....now the difference with Lauren was that because she was the youngest she got to use the quilt the longest....in fact she used it up until she was a bout 7 - 8yrs old when I eventually had to pry it off her......Lauren always called it her blanky and especially when she wasn't feeling well she would grab her 'blanky' and pillow and hop on the couch and watch t.v and fall asleep.....she loved it so much and hated parting with it and just a few years ago made me promise to pass it down to her when she gets married and has kids.....she believes in planning ahead..aye.

So my quilt has lasted through three kids, hundreds, possibly thousands of washes, being pooped on, spit on, thrown up on, weed on and dragged from home to staying away to wrapping up dolls, out in the sun on the line, thrown in the dryer in winter, folded, unfolded, stored away in linen cupboards to being included in bedding and still it is going strong.

And now after 10yrs of being packed away it's come out again to welcome a new baby into the crazy Bergeron/Lisle clan.....I never in a million years thought I'd be using this quilt again until I had grandchildren but life has a way of changing things....I took my quilt out of the cupboard last week and I am amazed how well it has held up after so much use....some of the fabrics have faded a little while others are still bright and colourful......it's still fresh and clean, oh and amazingly after 11yrs of straight usage it hasn't one stain on it..!!

The patchwork quilt made by my sister Charmaine, 21yrs and three kids later it still looks like new..

 

The reverse side, a little faded and slightly thinning but still in immaculate condition..

 

After 21yrs the only mending I have to do is a slight tear in this corner...

 

There is a little more to this story that a lot of people don't know...first of all, all the fabric used in this quilt was left overs mum had and most of them she had made us shorts and tops out of...I remember having a shorts and top set made out of the blue and white checked fabric with pineapples on it....mum made me school shorts out of the navy blue and white striped fabric and I know the other fabrics were used for my sisters clothes as well......

 

When I met Charmaine for coffee last week I told her I'd pulled the quilt out of the cupboard for the baby and she was surprised it was still going and that I still had it.....she also informed me her sewing teacher gave her a D for the quilt because it took too long to make.....I couldn't believe it.....I told her she needed to find the teacher so I could tell her she could reverse the grade and that it had lasted 21yrs..!!

 

I just said to mum last week, I don't know if I will be able to pass it on to Lauren now as it has so many memories and is the only thing I have left that has done all the kids and is about to serve another baby......

 

So to my sister Charmaine I say thank you, I love you and you did a wonderful job creating something that is obviously going to last forever and because of this gift you have helped to make so many wonderful memories through this quilt....xoxox 

 



100 Posts And Counting.....

Bonjour all my lovely friends and how are you all doing today? Today is a milestone for me as this is my 100th Post...!! I knew it was coming and I hoped to have something exciting to blog about for you all but not a lot has been happening around here lately so it's just the usual post you all know....

We are on school holidays at the moment and while it's quiet with the girls in Perth, I do miss them and the way Bec has of cracking me up....They will be home before I know it though so I am making sure I get things done and making the most of the quiet before it's noise central around here again...I have some great craft projects for them to do when they get home that they picked out in Spotlight last week but we didn't get time to do it before they left...so at least they'll have something to look forward to when they get home....

Down the beach on Sunday..it was a beautiful day..



Today has been interesting in itself in some ways....it started with me getting up early and stripping the girls beds, putting fresh linen on and re-arranging their rooms a little....then a little later I thought I'd go check on the chickies as they were roaming free...as I looked out the door though I could only see three girls, which is unusal because they always stay together...any way I managed to round up the three I could find and put them back in their house upon which I discovered they had laid their first eggs this morning...5 in total....I couldn't be prouder of them.. (I have to wonder if they heard Chris' threat to behead them if they didn't start laying soon..hmm) and went looking for Miss Tallulah (Bec's chook).....I bocked and squawked and did my best chook impersonation I could all around the yard and still she was nowhere and my squawking like them usually gets their attention.....I then had a ridiculous thought...'what if she's got through the back fence and into the neighbours yard??' Well I called out three times to the workmen who were there and they didn't hear me...I actually think they just couldn't be bothered because I called out quite loud and there was no equipment going....then a younger guy comes out and I called out to him and said...'can I ask you a stupid question?'....'sure,' he says.....'you haven't seen a stray chook in the yard have you?'......Now I don't think I've ever asked anyone such a ridiculous question in my life but he answered me with...'yeah she's just here in this little shed.' The cheeky little madam had left our yard in search of greener pastures and a better house it seemed...he handed her back to me and I carried her round to the pen and put her in with her girls and pretty much as soon as her feet hit the floor she laid an egg..!!!...so with Miss Tallulah's egg laid that now makes 6 eggs for their first lay...pretty good work my chickies...

6 eggs from four girls...not too bad...they're on the small side
but will get bigger soon...

The girls raoming the yard the other week...no more til the new
fence is up now...

 

Between chasing dogs to get them back in the yard and now hunting around for stray chickens I am now more convinced than ever that I am living on the funny farm not a funny farm more so than running a household... even my animals can't be 'normal'.....

Today I also shuffled things around (again) in the kitchen as I'm tired of cleaning grease and grime off my coffee machine and canisters due to them being too close to the stove....so they all got moved to a new home....and the breadmaker and kettle got the coffee machines old home....

The bread maker and kettle on the bench where there is much
more room for them..

My fave appliance in it's new spot not to be covered in grease
and grime any longer...





In some ways I don't feel like I've done a lot today at all..it's been more odd jobs than big jobs but I guess as long as the work gets done it doesn't matter if it's a mountain of work or just a pile of washing...it's done and it's something I don't have to do tomorrow.....

On a side note bub has been kicking like crazy this last week and I swear by the time you see the next top view pic my feet will be gone......some of you might remember a few weeks back I said I had found a lovely maternity dress...well I finally picked it up yesterday and will show you all soon...I also ordered another dress online last night...again once it's here I'll show you.....and if you're like me and pregnant and having a hard time finding maternity clothes visit...... www.angelmaternity.com.au they have some amazing clothes at very reasonable prices... :)

Well that's it from me today, Chris will be home soon and I need to get some dinner sorted so I'll talk to you all again soon...take care, havea great week and Au revoir for now.....xo

A Creative Success....

So yesterday after dropping the girls to school and Bumble Bee I met my lovely sister Charmaine in town for coffee and caught up for a bit....but after getting home I found I was bored out of my brain..all house work was done and it was a horrible day outside and there really was nothing to do. Now I know some of you may be thinking 'enjoy the peace and quiet' and trust me I do and most times I don't mind having the house to myself but then there are sometimes I hate complete silence and being on my own....Not that I like the sound of kids screaming and fighting but I guess I'm just used to the noise of them being home.....Any way I was trying to decide what to do when I remembered I had some fabric in the cupboard I bought months ago as I was meant to make a change mat for Peta and forgot and some sheets too for that matter.....There was heaps of fabric there so I thought I'd make a a change mat for bub for home as the nappy bag I've bought has one built in that just unzips when you need it then zips away...such a good idea......also I've been wanting to do some sewing for ages but haven't had anything to do.....So I set up the sewing machine and pulled out the fabric from the cupboard and got to work.....this is one instance when I do love the house to myself as I don't have to worry about the girls getting in the way.....

I love my sewing machine....

 

Thankfully I can sew because my mum taught me when I was about 11yrs old, first to hand sew and I have to say to this day my buttons never come off and my mending never comes undone......and secondly to machine sew as well....I definitely prefer to machine sew and while I'm not the worlds best dress maker, when it comes to things like change mats, patchwork quilts etc they always come out amazingly well.....I've never made a change mat before until yesterday and I knew it couldn't be that difficult but I also no myself enough to know that if anything I do get too finicky or fussy I'm likely to turn into my Dad, curse the life out of it and throw whatever it is out a door or window...it's the Bergeron way after all....lol.......Thankfully I had a good feeling about this little project and remembered a few tips mum has told me over the years and got to work....and I have to say I'm really pleased with the way it came out, in fact even mum said she was impressed.....

 

The changing side of the mat....

 

The reverse side...I love this fabric...

 

Folded up ready to use....I hand sewed the buttons on myself and put them along the folding lines..

 

The next project for bub is to make some sheet sets for his bassinet as although you can buy bassinets, no one stocks sheets to fit the mattress, only cot sheets which are way too big.....so I will be picking up bubs bassinet very soon and getting to work on the sheets and I have some gorgeous fabric for those too.....oh and I'll also be making some bibs as they are ridiculously over priced and yet so easy to make....so I'll show you each thing I do as it gets done....

 

Well that's it from me tonight I hope everyone is having a good week and looking forward to the school holidays or enjoying them already as is the case for some of you.....I'll be back tomorrow at some point in time.....take care and  Au revoir for now....xo

Who Will Be First....

Bonjour and I hope everyone's morning is going well so far......If you know me then you know I'm friends with the lovely Nellie over at McCarthy Designs and Occasions and if you're new to my blog then pop over and check Nellies out too she also has an online shop by the same name.....anyhoo.....Nellie and I are both 20 weeks pregnant and we knew each other was pregnant before we told anyone in our circle of family and friends......we are enjoying this journey together very much and we only wished we lived closer to each other so we could catch up....it's amazing to me that two people who are both 20 weeks along can carry a baby so differently.....Nellie is tiny and barely showing and I'm exploding like there's no tomorrow.....hehe...Now I was a size 16 before I fell pregnant and thankfully I'm just exploding in front and haven't put on too much weight but I can feel in my bones I'm going to have another big baby....probably close to the 9lb mark I reckon....Luke was 9lb 6oz and I do believe this little man is taking after his big brother....



20 weeks and 2 days....no hiding this baby that's for sure...

It will be very interesting to see who goes into labour first and Nellie and I joke about instagramming and blogging about the bubs while we do midnight feeds....lol...

I will be updating the Baby Journey page very soon so keep your eyes open for all the latest news...we have bubs coming home outfit, will be picking up his furniture soon and making some sheet sets for him too with some gorgeous material I got from Spotlight.....Well I'm out of here for now as I have a few things to do and an impatient Bec complaining she's starving...yet again....take care and I'll be back soon....Au revoir...xo

 







Bye, Bye Clothes......And Hello Coffee....

Well have you ever had a favourite pair of pants, a dress, skirt or top that you love and have lived in and then it has fallen apart from so much wear?? I'm sure you all have and that's exactly what's happened to me tonight.....a pair of jeans I love to bits (and actually happen to be my most comfy jeans) died on me tonight....I bought them last winter from Rockmans and they fit like a dream and with the help of the Belly Belt they have still been serving me faithfully.....until tonight that is....I washed them last night, popped them on this morning while getting dressed yet it wasn't until I was getting changed tonight I noticed a small whole right next to the back pocket..!!....an unfixable whole unfortunately and on further exploration I noticed the same thing is happening on the other side next to the other pocket.....How could this be happening to me??.....So far I've managed pretty well in only buying a few maternity tops, two bras and one dress for summer but all my pants (all three pair) have been lasting thanks to help from the belly belt....without that I would have had to buy pants ages ago as I'm exploding at a ridiculous rate....

20 weeks and the belly is exploding....

 



My fave pair of Jeans...worn out already...

 



Back pockets worn out....

 

Love this detail on the front pocket....

 

The detail on the back pockets is one of the reasons I bought these jeans...

 

I have to admit I probably haven't loved a pair of jeans like these ones before...I bought them mostly for the detail that's on them plus I was also lucky enough to get a pair when they had been marked down from $70 to $30...!!!....I was quite happy that day.....Well I guess now I'm really going to have to start looking for maternity clothes as my clothes are dwindling down to nothing....thankfully t-shirts stretch with you while pregnant so they haven't been much of a problem but skirts, dresses and pants...well now that's going to be a shopping mission...

 

On the upside this week our little man has decided he'll let me drink coffee again...yey!! If you know me you know I love my real coffee and my coffee machine but from just a few weeks in bub decided he didn't like it at all....however I really felt like a coffee the other day and thought I'd try one and see if it would agree with me or not and thankfully bub let it go with no after effects.....personally I think he's taking after me and enjoyed the caffeine hit...lol.....however I'm not going crazy on the coffee just one cup a day will do me nicely....

 



Ah sweet coffee how I missed you....

 

Well that's it from me tonight, I have just had a brain storm and need to investigate something...more on that soon.....I hope everyone's had a good day and a good start to the week...this is the last week of term for us then two wonderful weeks of school holidays.....take care Au revoir for now....xo

 

 



Bedside Revamp, New Nails And We Have A.....!!

Bonjour mon amis....ok so I'm not back as quick as I said I would be but I'm back quicker than I have been lately so it's good to see you all and I must thank you all for still reading the blog even though I haven't been here much of late.

So last week I said I had some home decor going on and I sure did....some of you may remember I revamped Chris' bedside table back in April and had every intention of doing mine not long after but as things would have it not long after I did Chris' we moved house. This is the first chance I've had since moving to revamp my bedside, so last Wednesday while I had the house to myself I got to work on it...being pregnant definitely made it a little more challenging but I got it done....

In its place in our room on my side of  the bed..

 



Before the work began....

 



First coat down....

 

The almost finished product back where it belongs....

 

It's taken a little getting used to seeing my Pop's cupboard whitewashed but I'm so happy with it and there's just one more addition to it I have to make tomorrow but I will show you that soon...

 

This week I've also been doing my own mani's and pedi's as they can get quite expensive after a while and being that I'm a qualified nail tech I thought I'd start doing my own nails a little more often and treating myself. I have to admit doing my toes was a little difficult with the belly now getting in the way so I think the next pediure will be done at the salon...

 

I'm really happy with this job considering the belly was in the way...lol..

 



 I love using nail art as it dresses hands and toes up a tad more...

 

I love this red it remind me of 50's hollywood stars....

 

I'm really enjoying doing nails a lot at the moment and would love some models as I'm wanting to put together a portfolio to attract more clients, so if you live in Busselton and would love a mani at a very reasonable price leave me a comment or email and I'll get back to you......And yes I know I said models and then said reasonable price but I have to still cover cost of nail art etc so models will get an absolute best price....

 

Now the other news I have to tell you is that as some of you know we had our 19 week ultrasound yesterday and I'm very happy to report bub is doing very well, apart from not wanting to be measured....once again he was making things difficult but we got what we needed in the end and the technician also tells us we have a little fatty!!! I feel another 9lb baby coming on but I'm not surprised with the way I'm popping.....bub also made it difficult to see if we had a boy or a girl and as it turns out we have a......BOY!!......Chris was stunned and speechless for a while that bub was actually a boy....I think he really thought he was destined to have girls only.....but I knew it was a boy and I told him the minute the test came back positive I knew it would be a boy, so there was a lot of 'i told you so...' from me yesterday....lol.....really either way we would have been happy but I'm glad it's a boy and Chris has a son to carry on the family name......

 





Bub with his hand in his mouth....

 



 

So after we found out we had a boy we went pretty much straight to Best and Less and grabbed his coming home outfit which I spotted last week but decided to wait til after the ultrasound to get it, though I should have just got it as I knew we'd have a boy.....Chris loved it and I'm glad he was there to have a look at it and we actually got one a little different to what I was originally going to get but not much....

 

Bub will be coming home in this gorgeous outfit that daddy helped pick...

 

So there you have it, that has been our week.....I'm looking forward to getting more decor done, hopefully finding some models for nails and picking up bubs layby and having things set up by the end of december just in case he takes after Chris and decides to make an early appearance....well I hope you've all had a great start to the week and are enjoying the sunshine....take care and I'll be back soon...Au revoir...xo



Spring Has Sprung At Last....

Bonjour on this lovely sunny day...finally spring has sprung here in Busselton and it's the 11th day of september....last week we had some wild storms and plenty of rain but finally and thankfully we have some sunshine and clear skies and I'm loving it...!!

I hope you've all been well and enjoying Spring or Fall depending on where in the hemisphere you are.....we actually took a drive to the beach Sunday afternoon as it was just too nice a day to stay home all afternoon...the girls loved it and had a ball....Bec in particular has been asking me heaps lately when she can go back to the beach so she was super excited to put her bathers on, grab her towel and hop in the car....

Chris chasing the girls...cloudy but nice...

 

Beautiful rays coming through the clouds....

 

 

We really didn't do a great deal this weekend but it was just nice hanging out as a family enjoying the sunshine and doing some gardening and watching the girls play in the yard.....I also happened to notice that I have some new shoots on my standard Iceberg rose bush and I can't wait until it's flowering....Icebergs have been a favourite of mine for years now and I just can't resist them....

 

Looking forward to some beautiful blooms...

 

Last week I also had another good find at Thingz Living....my computer desk was looking good but lacking something...it needed a little more zsa zsa zsu....and I just happened to find exactly what it needed....a gorgeous picture...

 

Now it looks finished and I love this pic....

 

Last weekend while in Perth we had a great time catching up with friends and spending time at the convention and it was lovely to have a couple of days kid free which we haven't had in such a long time now....We had a great dinner Saturday night with Lyn and she surprised us with some pressies for bub.....

 

 Towels, flannels, wipes, chemical free bath wash and shampoo,

a rattle come teething ring and some thermals for next winter..

 

 Bubs' stuff so far...more linen than clothes...we'll fix that little

problem very soon....we have more singlets than outfits ...

 

I have been finding lately that I have been getting very tired with the pregnancy and little things are bothering me just a tad more than they usually would, espescially by the late afternoon....I really look forward to Chris walking through the door at the end of the day and last week he knew I had had enough of kids fighting and was tired and getting quite cranky so he did something very sweet for me.....he ran me a bath and made it all girly and lovely....take a look...

 



Candles and flower petals....such a romantic....love heaps...

 

It was lovely to just soak and relax...

 

The left over flowers....

 

Chris is such a sweety and a good husband and I'm sure I've been driving him crazy at times with getting cranky and tired but he doesn't get grumpy with me....

 

Sunday also marked the 18 week mark with the pregnancy so technically we are at the halfway point and I am popping like mad and have started to feel a few fluttery kicks....a few far and in between at the moment but no doubt they will pick up soon......Next Monday we have our 19 week ultrasound and hopefully they will be bale to tell us if we're having a boy or girl and I will let you all know....I'm still betting on a boy....Chris was betting on a girl but I think he's undecided now....really as long as they're healthy we'll be happy.....

 

The feet are slowly disappearing....18 weeks along...

 

Well I'm off for now as I have some washing to fold and some rissoles to prepare for dinner tonight but I will be back very soon (possibly tomorrow) as I have a few decor things going at the moment that I'd love to share with you....have a wonderful afternoon and take care and we'll talk again soon....Au revoir...xoxo