To Find A Silver Lining

These are loads 3 & 4 - yesterday... we were only away 1 night, but I had two loads of clothes to do on Monday and then a load of towels and a load of sheets to do yesterday.
Praise the Lord for good weather!
Today isn't so good - but my washing is up-to-date, so I don't mind as much!
Elizabeth

There is still 2 weeks and 2 days until my birthday:


We saw family over the weekend, and won't be seeing them again near my birthday - so they were super organised and had my presents already.
Now I have to see them every time I walk past the spare room.
And wonder...
Elizabeth

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is. 

Linking up with: PaisleyJade
1) Precious Daddy/Daughter times after work - always big smiles and cuddles and happy clapping when Daddy gets home... so lovely to see:

2) Our ALMOST-toddler:





3) New shoes (and bed hair - hehehe) that have been tried, tested and approved! These days they get handed to me if I am not quick enough putting them on:



4) Loving Aunty's:

5) Road trips with Sleeping Angels (she only slept 35 minutes of the 3 hour trip, but she was happy the rest of the way - a mighty miracle, as she has not been a good traveller previously):

6) A birthday boy who turned 1 three weeks after his cousin did:

6) Family who gathered to celebrate Munchkin's 1st birthday:

Yep - and there they were... this morning, leering back at me from on a new pair of navy slippers we bought for Button last night.
I swear it wasn't there last night - sure there was a white motif on the slippers, but navy is a neutral colour, especially for slippers, isn't it? I guess not! 
I don't understand why baby slippers would have a skull and crossbones on them though? I might not like them, but I 'get' the design on older kids clothing - older kids who have minds of their own, and want things a certain way / a certain look, older kids who understand these things.
But babies - REALLY?!?
So what does one do when they 'discover' this innocent mistake? We do this, of course...

Now you see them... now you almost don't!
Praise the Lord for black pens made to 'mark' clothing, this - theoretically, should mean the pen won't come off... guess we'll wait and see!
Elizabeth

The other day we went for a walk - Button and I, and we discovered this little gem:


A gold gatepost... yep, you are seeing correctly - it really is a gold gatepost!
Why, I ask you?
There is only one - here is what the whole entrance looks like:

It is quite a lovely entrance - the stone fence leading down to a wrought iron gate, with poplar trees (currently small) lining the driveway... so much effort and thought put into it originally, so much potential once those trees are fully grown. 
But now a gold gatepost.
I ask again - WHY?
*Sigh*, sometimes I can only shake my head in disbelief...
I have a good friend who would approve - she has painted her bathroom with gold highlights... but, hmmmm!
Anyway - food for thought!
Elizabeth
PS - One thing that works for me; at least it's not white!

This afternoon Mr. C got a phonecall asking him to help move a family from our church - they needed to get out of their house TONIGHT, and apparently lived just down the road from us. He had to assemble at 6pm, which gave him less than an hour after arriving home to eat dinner, change and spend time with Button... it also meant I have had an evening of solo-parenting.
So I have fed, bathed and bedded the baby - after having spent all day with her also. She barely saw her father, and was looking for him when I took her to bed; they have a little ritual they go through as we head upstairs and she was obviously missing him... thankfully for me, she went to sleep quickly and easily like usual, with no dramas.
But I don't like this solo-parenting lark... after having put her to bed, I still had to tidy the bathroom, tidy the living areas and clean the kitchen. I then had to sort my own dinner out, sort out the load of dry washing and do a number of other small jobs before I could sit and…

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is. 

Linking up with Paisleyjade
1) Beautiful Sunsets... more gorgeous photos when you check out the link!

2) The chance to rearrange my lounge (and a very patient husband who doesn't mind!)!

The child-friendly versus the adult-friendly versions!!!!!


3) A chance to get out on Mothers Day all by ourselves... Button was baby-sat for the first time! She was an angel, and we are so doing it AGAIN!!!!!!!!!

4) A very messy play area, 'cause that means the baby has been busy and having loads of fun:

5) Warm cardigans knitted especially for my daughter by her Nana - means we know she'll be plenty warm enough this winter:


6) A Grandma who also blogs, and also loves making clothes for my daughter, check out the link to see the overalls and jersey she has made for Button!
7) A baby that escapes at nappy-change time:

Mothers Day last year sucked - big time! Button was only a week old, and we had planned on taking her to church for the first time, followed by a coffee out for just the two of us (making the most of my parents still being with us to baby-sit), of course we couldn't and wouldn't have been out very long with such a young baby! However, as is often the case, Button had other ideas and had kept us up till 4am due to reflux and wind (not that we knew she had reflux back then)... so nothing happened, as I was too tired and far to emotional still to show my face in public!
THIS year however, has been a different story - and I am pleased to say that everything went like clock-work for a change (well - almost everything!), and we had a lovely day!
Mr. C had initially promised me pancakes for breakfast (we'd even bought a gluten-free packet mix of them), but they were unfortunately forgotten! However, he did send me back to bed once I had sorted Button out for the morning (feeding, c…