Visits from the Cousins

Something we all look forward to are the visits from my sister's family, Here are Molly and baby Maddy. My children get on so well with them, and while it can be chaotic, it is always fun! Molly is 4 yrs old and i've really enjoyed watching her grow and change and develop her own personality. Maddy is new, just 4 months old, but is already showing herself to be an individual. distinct and different from her sister, she's a chilled out smiley wee thing.

Last year, for my birthday, i got the most thoughtful birthday present from my friend, Jean Tidy. It was a card making kit! And since then, ive been creating allsorts of designs for birthdays and babies, and thank yous! The cards personalised with the recipicients names seem to get the most feedback. So i try to do that wherever i can, and work the design around the name. Embellishments and things can be quite pricey, but there are bargains to be had at haberdasherys, online auction sites, garage sales and the like.

The Monarch butterfly season here in New Zealand is traditionally from October to May. The kids and i, planted swan plants, (the monarchs favourite food source) and sat back and watched the action begin. The photos you see are of our very first butterfly hatching out of its coccon. Strangely, we had soooo many caterpillars, but we got less than five actual butterflies, and our cat got two. This year, i plan to put netting around the plants to limit butterflies laying eggs and to stop predators laying in wait for naive butterflies! This is one of my very favourite things to do with the kids. Ive always had at least one swan plant around. Last year i planted seven. And i even planted a 'butterfly garden' around the swannies to attract them.

Welcome to my Blog!

Having always been interested in keeping a diary or journal, combined with my love of status updates on facebook...And throw in my desire to scrapbook...And you pretty much have the premise for a blog.
Introducing myself, My name is Melissa, I am married with four kidlets, ranging in age from 2 - 14. Life can get pretty hectic, but we do seem to get through some pretty cool stuff. The kids always have something on the go, and in this digital age, its great to be able to record all those precious moments.
I hope you find something on these pages that makes you smile. You have to find those smile moments among family life. The wisest piece of parenting advice handed to me, is the title of this blog, with kids, the days are long, but the years are short.