*SQUEALS* OMG!

Yesterday afternoon, quite late for a Monday, our mail was delivered.  And Stew brought it inside.
I was not expecting anything, so when Stew handed me a parcel I was quite puzzled.

WHO would be sending me a parcel?  
It was sent from 'J', who's wall hanging I am working on right now.

Hmmm... what was she sending me?

ABOVE:  Can you imagine the squeals and OMG's when I saw the box? ! ? ! ? ! ???

ABOVE:  'J' had sent me an utterly gorgeous BRITTO Trinket Box!  I am so shocked!  But THANK YOU 'J'!  I love it... and it is now in my BRITTO cabinet.  I don't have anything like it at all in the Britto range!

I'm glad you (J) now know what a 'Fat Quarter' is... and I hope to visit one day and check out your local fabric shop!
How cool will that be?  Maybe next time I'm down in Palmy I can pop down on the train.

I found a new dessert to make ... saw it on the Annabel Langbien programme the other night.  Toffee'd Oranges.

ABOVE:  Because I didn't have many oranges I added apricots on Saturday night.  

Last night I made it again because Steve missed out on Saturday night's serving.  I used oranges and pineapple last night.  It's not that healthy!  Simply put it's fruit with hot toffee poured over it, then shards of toffee on top. 

Annabel has a website: http://www.annabel-langbein.com/   This dessert is slightly different there, but basically the same thing as what I saw on the telly.

It's quite fun trying something new, and I should try it more often.  We so often fall into the habit of making the same old dinners, and not getting venturous.  I want to get more variety into our meals.  

So that might mean spending some time pouring over recipes! 

But not today.  I'm going to read a few blogs, then sew.  And look after Miss Tallulah... though I do have a few willing hands to help with her of course.

ONWARD...

Tallulah screamed and cried from 4 am till 6 am, when I finally gave in and went and lay on the floor with her.  *sigh*
Then at 7 I got Griffin to stay with her and went back to bed!

Stew is probably yawning his way through the day too... Whoops.
Tonight I'm going to make Coco stay with her and see if that stops her crying?

 ABOVE: Dante decided it was an 'all toys' day, and got them all out.

ABOVE:  Morning tea time.  Eating Grandma's favourite crackers... Arnotts Country Cheese.  OMG they are delish.

 ABOVE:  I finally got my new blender in use.. well.. in the kitchen.  We have been using Bex's, but now her's is packed away and we can use mine.  I can't wait to give it a go.

Don't ya just love kitchen gadgets?  I sure do.

Alrighty... me head is killing me.. so while I've not read that many blogs at all... I'm taking a break.  Might even have a nap... this cold, on top of the cough is really doing me in.

Poor Bex is even worse than me...  being pregnant isn't the half of it for her.  Poor girl.

I have felt steadily worse during the day, and an now thinking I might just have my first case of the flu?  My eyes, neck, arms etc are all just so sore.  My nose hurts, I'm sneezing like a freight train (noisy) and just miserable.

Bex has improved with some antibiotics from the Dr today, thank goodness.

I cooked a nice big meatloaf for dinner... not exactly a quick meal, but not to onerous.

End of Day:  plans in place for tonight...Tallulah and Coco confined to the Family Room together.  Fingers crossed that keeps Tallulah quiet.  
If not... I am going to be a right mess tomorrow!
nite nite

WE HAVE TWO TIGGERS

A few days ago I got a phone call from Surprises in Sylvia Park, letting me know that the Tigger figurine we had ordered was in the shop.

So yesterday when we were at Sylvia Park doing the grocery shopping we picked him up ... and a cute BRITTO cutting tray as well.

When we got home I went to put Tigger in the cabinet... only to see.... we already had a Tigger!

Damned if I know how that happened!  And DOH, fancy forgetting we already had him and going and buying another one!  

Also... when we got home and looked at the cutting tray we noticed it had marks on it... so I rang the shop and said I would be bringing it back.

So, that's what we are doing this morning... taking Tigger and the cutting tray back.  I will probably swap Tigger for a figurine we don't already  have,  and also the tray.

I also need to stop in at OPSM and get my driving glasses fixed.  One of the arms keeps falling off... most annoying.  Fingers crossed it's an easy fix.

It will be the first time Tallulah is left home alone... sort of anyway.  She will have Teddy and Coco around to keep her company I suppose.

She is doing really well for a little puppy away from her Mum and siblings.  I'm sure having our dogs to be with has helped her immensely. 

Right, after the glut of photos on yesterday's post... I have NONE for today ... yet. *smiles*

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  And so it starts.  Shoes and socks seem to be universally attractive to puppies.  

She cried in the night... like at 3am ... for quite a while.
We could hear her, but we left her to it.  She has to learn that we won't come get her at that time of night!  No bloody way.

Just about ready to head out to the mall to swap Tigger for someone else.  Hmmm.... who to get?

ABOVE:  Well.. we got Dumbo.  And a store credit for the chopping tray.  So, all's well that ends well.

We had lunch at Manukau Mall after getting Dumbo, and I also got my glasses fixed.

HOME, and ummm.... a certain little puppy had escaped from her pen!  No idea how she did it... except maybe?  she climbed out?

So, we sat and watched her for HOURS... until she got desperate to get out... then I got her escape on film.

It's still uploading, so will show you later.


Clever little tart!

Feeling like utter crap.  Got a heavy cold now to go with the cough.  Lovely.
Bex is the same.  We are both feeling miserable.

End of Day:  got something AMAZING in the mail today!  Will show you tomorrow.
nite nite

FIRST FULL DAY WITH TALLULAH

Well... today is the first full day we have Tallulah in our family.  
Let's see how our day pans out... which will include friggin grocery shopping.  Ikkk.

ABOVE:  The only decent photo I got of Tallulah yesterday!  She is beautiful, with a gorgeous stance.

I asked Steve to take a photo of me and the dogs... and he took about 153... and there was only ONE that was any good!
He took photos upside down, sideways, and in weird positions... so I only got this one:

 ABOVE:  Me and my dogs.  
I had been telling everyone to be careful if they were holding Tallulah, so she didn't get dropped and possibly hurt.
And what happened while she was on my lap?

ABOVE:  The little bugger jumped off!  I was so shocked... Steve got the moment rather well.
I have to laugh.... both dogs are looking down at the puppy sprawled on the ground.  
WHOOPS!

Some other fun photos from yesterday afternoon:

 ABOVE:  getting some air with his Daddy.

 ABOVE:  Dante putting grass on his Daddy...

 ABOVE:  Daddy reciprocating.  I think Daddy won.

 ABOVE: Dante didn't mind, he loves playing with his Dad.

 ABOVE: A sweet moment...

 ABOVE:  Steve being a bloody poser!

 ABOVE:  How cute is this?

The puppy woke at 6 am... even though the clock said 7 am... Daylight Saving just started.
*sigh*
There goes the end of my sleep ins.

More photos from TODAY:

ABOVE:  first thing this morning... looking all fluffy and cute... but can't see much of her eyes.

ABOVE:  Mum fed me brother and sister, then she offered me some of that stuff... and after much hesitation... I really liked it!

Then... once Mum had lulled me into a false sense of security... the bitch did this to me!...

ABOVE: She trimmed around me eyes... and as if that wasn't bad enough...

ABOVE:  She tried to bloody drown me!

ABOVE:  I was NOT impressed, and gave her the stink eye.

ABOVE:  waiting to be dried... by a heap of beer bottles... how embarrassing.  *sigh*

ABOVE:  I'm told I will get over it.  Well... I am not so sure.

ABOVE:  still a bit damp, but getting over it.

Well... the rest of today was spent playing with the puppy and doing the grocery shopping.

Not much else!

End of Day:  Daylight saving has started here, and it's making the day very long!  Having to get up to Tallulah early sure has made me tired.  Can't say I'd like this stage to last too long!
nite nite

TALLULAH!

Well... today is the day we get our new little girl ... TALLULAH.

We have to kill a few hours before we head out to Pukekohe to pick her up.

Once we have her, we are visiting Gayle and Peppa at Patamahoe too.

So, it's going to be a fun filled and exciting day!

We are all looking forward to getting our wee girl home... and introducing her to Teddy and Coco.

I've been thinking of how to do it.  I think we will let Coco meet her first, and keep Teddy away from her for an hour or so.

I will introduce her 'smell' to him first, then once he's used to that... I will bring him into the room and carefully let him sniff her.

Fingers crossed he doesn't snap.

If he acts true to form and decides he wants nothing to do with the puppy, that will be fine.  He can slowly get used to her.  He didn't like being around Coco's puppies and seemed frightened of them even.

I hope he's the same with Tallulah and keeps his distance.  

Then of course we have Dante.  Dante is fairly rough (in a loving way), towards Teddy and Coco, so hopefully he's not too exuberant for the puppy.  

Or maybe the puppy will jump all over Dante and maybe even chew his toes... and it will be us having to 'protect' Dante!  Ya never know.

So, that's our day for now... waiting to go get Tallulah!

I will take a gazillion photos and share when we get home.

ONWARD...

I was going to take a photo of the empty puppy crate... and say something like... "Empty, waiting for puppy"...

But...

ABOVE:  it's not exactly 'empty' right now.

*squeals*... we are off to get Tallulah!!!!

 ABOVE:  This is Sandra with Tallulah on the left and Bella (unsold) on the right.

ABOVE:  Buddy the daddy dog, Molly the Mummy dog in the background and two of the pups.

ABOVE: Leaving her birth home... and heading for her 'Forever Home' with us.

But before that... we stopped in to see Peppa and her forever family:

ABOVE:  Gayle's face when I took her photo and said it would be on me blog!  hee hee.
She's holding Tallulah and at her side... Peppa (left) and Molly (right).
They also have a boy dog :

ABOVE:  He's a gorgeous boy too... those freaky 'camera' eyes!

ABOVE: Shane holding Peppa, she is from our 2nd litter and is now 2 years old. 

ABOVE:  At Gayle,Shane and Jenna's home.

ABOVE: Peppa outside in her garden, she likes to look at the goldfish.
All of Gayle, Jenna and Shane's dogs didn't mind Tallulah at all!

After visiting with them, we had  lunch in Patamahoe, which is bigger than we expected, with quite a large subdivision of brand new homes being built.

ABOVE:  HOME.  What cracks me up about this photo is Patick in the background... photo bombing!

I was amazed at how well Coco and Teddy took to her!  Coco was like "OMG, play with me!" and was super excited... which was lovely.
Then we introduced Teddy to her, and to my amazement... Teddy sniffed her and didn't seem to mind her at all!

All that worry for nothing, so relieved.

I'm downloading a short video as I type, once it's finished I'll put it on here too.



End of Day:  well it's been an awesome day.  Tallulah is gorgeous, and right now happily asleep in her 'area'.  The crate?  She didn't like it, so we put up a puppy fence in a corner of the lounge for her, she's much happier now.  And she gets to sleep on the fluffy woolen rug, which she seems to like very much.
nite nite

PATCHWORK CLASS... AND ONE MORE SLEEP.

Today is the last school day of Term 3 for the kids.  Then... two weeks holidays.

Luckily I have something that is bound to keep them amused... arriving tomorrow!

TALLULAH!  One more sleep...  Then my days will be a bit busier for sure.  Can't wait.

ABOVE:  Tallulah and her mum and siblings.

I'm off to Patchwork class this morning.  I'm not sure what I will be working on.... I've now got several things on the go.  But, I go for the company more than anything else, so what I do there doesn't matter!

When I get home I will assemble the puppy crate, get her blanket, paper, feeding bowl, toys etc all ready.  Oh I'm quite nervous... what if Teddy and Coco hate her?

What else?  Not much.  So I shall go now and get ready for me class.

ONWARD...

Class today was just lovely, we had a nice time... and I had a muffin for morning tea too.
It was a pineapple muffin with raisins and was soooo nice!  I don't usually like muffins either.

Then Ngaire had a shit load of long cardboard rolls that fabric arrived on, and she was throwing them out, so I said NO...  don't waste them!

I took them to our school for art supplies.  They were very appreciative.
Now I'm home and it's well over lunchtime.... hmmm...what to eat?

So... the afternoon has been good. .. followed by a left ovets dinner. 

I'm now watching Coronation Street down in the garage while Stew watches rugby in the lounge.

End of Day: last sleep.... tomorrow we get our new puppy Tullulah!
Nite nite

HAIRCUT FOR THE LITTLE MAN

Today I have these for a missing Daddy:

ABOVE:  "Hi Daddy, I miss you".... 

Steve is out of town, has been since Tuesday morning, he's due home later on tonight.
Dante has been saying "Where's?"  and looking around for his Dad... it's so cute.

I hope he is super excited to see him when he does get home.

In the meantime, Dante is getting a haircut today.  He hates it too... Bex has to hold his head still while the person cuts his hair.
Dante screams.

Not that I've been there when he's had it done... but I will be today.  I shall take me trusty camera and get a few shots of the bedlam!

After that, Bex, Dante and I are off to the mall for a browse around, and Bex wants to get a few groceries too.

So that's the morning taken care of.

When we get home I might read a few blogs before doing some sewing.  I've not done any sewing for days!  It's just been so COLD down in the garage, not at all inviting to be down there right now.

Oh and before I forget!  We received a gorgeous card in the mail yesterday from a blog reader:

ABOVE:  From Louise F, who made the card as well.    It's a congrats on the new baby coming card.  Awwww thanks Louise, it is so cute.

Right, catch ya later...

ONWARD...

HAIRCUT:  Well... as predicted, Dante kicked up  a right stink-fest ... which started the moment the hairdresser tried to put the cape on him.
Once he got settled down over that...

ABOVE:  Bex had to hold his face to keep him still and calm.  He HATED the water spray on his hair too.

ABOVE:  The process took a while... and lots of faces... and snot.

 ABOVE:  And TEARS... lots of them.

 ABOVE: Getting braver!  The bottom lip was never far away, but for his FIRST time in a hair salon, we think he did really well.

ABOVE: LOOK!  I still have some!

Quiet afternoon.  Steve got home earlier than expected, so he's spent some lovely time with his wee man and Bex this afternoon.

Stew just got home too...so now it's "What's for dinner tonight?".

Takeaways.  Pizza looks to be the consensus.

ANNE:  seeing you up here would be wonderful!  I hope it eventuates.

End of Day:  a bit early, I'm shattered for some reason.  So, so tired.
nite nite