Time to thank you!

Well, goodness me...you must think I've forgotton about you! Time is absolutely flying by, and now we're in June (how on earth did that happen?).

It's been busy over at 'Lil Things HQ. Other than life in general, I've been getting ready for the markets - you can catch me at Fairy Floss Markets in Bulleen this Sunday 9am-2pm. If you're in Melbourne and love gorgeous handmade pieces for children pop on by, and make sure you come say hello! You'll see the Winter Wonderland range, along with loads of fabulous new pieces including the new "Dress-me-ups" range for 'Lil Mr. 

Now, it's time for me to give my first "thanks to you". I decided to get my inspirations involved, so my 'Lil Miss randomly selected a number with my 'Lil Mr trying to help (wish I could have taken a picture, it was comedy of errors with me making sure my 'Lil Mr didn't try and eat the paper!). 

And so the winner is...

2 - Sarah Stunt

Congratulations Sarah! Thank you for liking 'Lil Things and taking the time to enter (how easy was that!?!) Please email Danielle at ccslilthings@hotmail.com so I can make arrangements to send you the Reversible "cosy".

As for me it's back to sew sew sew....more ramblings, life with autism and behind the scenes at 'Lil Things HQ will have to wait for another day. Don't forget, there will be a new "Thanks to you" for June, I'll have the post up for you soon. 

So whatever your day brings you, keep well and until next time..... 

 

~ Live ~ Love ~ Laugh ~ Breathe ~ Believe ~

 

Love D

Thanks to you

Thank you. It is one of those phrases that I don't think is said enough. Why? I'm not sure. Maybe it's we world we live in these days, maybe it's assumed people know or maybe it's just forgotten. So I'm standing up and saying "THANK YOU", and in the spirit of giving thanks I've decided to offer a special something each month as my thanks to all of you.

Each month you could win a product from 'Lil Things

Something for nothing? Yes, absolutely! Why? Because it's my way of saying thanks to each and everyone of you who support 'Lil Things. Ohhhh, I can almost hear you say it - "What's the catch?". There is none, I'm just giving a 'lil bit of love back. After all if it weren't for you, all my lovely customers and those that support the brand there would be no 'Lil Things.

It's as easy a 1, 2, 3

1. Follow us on Facebook (easy! Click "like" on 'Lil Things)
2. Head to this blog & find the "Thanks to you" post
3. Comment under blog post "I like 'Lil Things (& your full name)

That's it, easy! The winner will be randomly selected and announced on my blog. You can only comment once each month, but remember there is a new "Thanks to you" each month...follow us on Facebook, I'll post the blog link for you each month to enter. Like it? I hope so!

This month you could win a "Cosy" scarf from the reversible range

Once again, THANK YOU, and until next time....

~ Live ~ Love ~ Laugh ~ Breathe ~ Believe ~

Love D

An end to the week filled with "firsts"

Well, you can definitely say life around here is NEVER boring! What an end to the week, here's hoping next week is rather uneventful (I sometimes long for a mundane "groundhog day" kinda life).

Busy getting back into the swing of things....looking at my business 'Lil Things, visiting a stockist (The Coffee Apple in East Ringwood), developing more stock ideas for the "Winter Wonderland" range for 2011 and looking at market opportuntiues and yes, that's right, that little thing called life just keeps on keeping on.

After battling a bit of flu & a sinus infection for over a week I deicided it was time to take myself back to the doctor's only to be tested for whooping cough! Still wating for the results, and fortunately with a sensible doctor have also been put on antibiotics as a precationary measure. Here's some facts I found out at the same time at  my visit::

• Australians are vaccinating their children less these days
• Victoria has the highest rate out of all our states and territories for not vaccinating their children
• Currently there has been over 6,000 cases in Victoria of whooping cough (pro-rata that puts us on par with a third world nation!)

For more information on whooping cough go to the Better Health Channel website: http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Whooping_cough

So life for me here has come to a grinding halt, well at least from a social perpective anyways.

Moving on from me, I noticed Thursday and Friday night my beautiful 'Lil Mr was scratching his head a little. Uh-oh, that can't be good! A few quick head checks (yes, he started school this year) and seemed all ok. That was until Saturday lunch-time. Autistic or not he is my eldest child, so the fun of things like head lice had not yet been experienced in this household. Needless to say during lunch on Saturday, and just before I was taking him off to ABA, did I see a little rash around the nape of his neck. Oh-no...another quick once over and yes there it was, that awful thing called head lice or nits. The very word makes my skin crawl and I feel the sudden urge to scratch my own head.

I think my chemist must love me, it was the 3rd time in as many days that I'd been up to purchase from them (it's little wonder they all know me by name LOL!). Armed with the neccessary equipment it was back home to cut my 'Lil Mr's hair and get right to the source of problem - he has the most amazing locks, super thick dark hair and hates having it cut (which suits me fine as I do it) but it needed to be done before I could even consider applying any treatment.

One down and one to go...time to check my 'Lil Miss too, and no surprise, she had the start of it. YUK! More solution, more combing & more washing. At least that filled in Saturday whilst I was in "lock down".

Those of you that have children will appreciate the last "first" for the weekend, especially if your child/ren are in primary school. The historic moment when your child loses their first baby tooth! I think parents fall into one of two mindsets. It makes some of us laugh (me - I remember doing all sorts of things that would freak my parents out, like wiggling them, twisting them and the such) OR the others become squirmish like my 'Lil Mr's Dad (he freaked out good and proper!). My little boy is growing up, he has that devislish "I'm missing a tooth" grin which is odd particularly when I can still clearly see in my mind his gorgeous baby gummy smile.

Amongst all the mayhem, madness & firsts I still managed to finish two new items that are being added to the range so when the new day dawns I will add some photos for you all to see. But in the meantime it's goodnight from me, so until next time...

~ Live ~ Laugh ~ Learn ~ Breathe ~ Believe ~

Love D

Wordless Wednesday

Playing along with Wordless Wednesday...

this one made me smile, so excited and did such a good job!

All smiles for my 'Lil Miss on 1st day of ballet

~ Live ~ Love ~ Laugh ~ Breathe ~ Believe ~

D

Another day...

Another day, Tuesday, and what an upside-down-topsy-turvy kinda day it was! Here's why....

Last day of school holidays

I love spending time with my 'Lil Mr and 'Lil Miss, but as any parent knows the school holidays are exhausting!

Entertaining two young children can be challenging at the best of times, a roller-coaster of fun yes, but throw Autism in the mix and the bar is raised. Yes, Autism....that can put a completely different spin on life. Don't get me wrong, I love my beautiful man more than I could ever express, he has taught me so much about life AND myself on this journey on the "A-train" but phew! Mummy needs a holiday!

So what did I do "for a break" on this final day? Why I took my darling 'Lil Miss for a quick shopping expedition. Quite possibly not my brightest idea, particularly as I've been out flat with flu & what-not for the last 5 days, compounded with people manically shopping, kids screaming, frazzled parents everywhere and me with an almost 3 year-old in tow doing what she does best (shouldn't complain, she gets her determination from me LOL). So when the going gets tough, Mummy calls a time out so we can stop for a treat in order to calm, collect & sit for a mo' whilst I grab myself a yummy coffee.....ahhhhhhh bliss!

coffee heart art by Judith Bartos on art.com

And then there was...

Calm, mostly, and home again. With one child (thankfully!) sleeping & the other digging in (read - digging up) the garden it's time to grab some 'Lil Things time, scribble out some new ideas & check in on the Facebook world and BANG! It almost slaps me in the face.

There it was, another competitor page who had launched their "unique" reversible product. SLAP! Ouch! One of my products, copied. I know it happens, see it far too much, and then there is was again....SLAP! SLAP! Not only was the product idea copied but the copy I use to market the very product was too. Grrrrrr.

Yes folks, this is one of my biggest gripes. Sure, there's many players in the market (handmade or otherwise) so there always will be similarities but the blatant use of "selling" their concept their product in the manner as mine...you guessed it, I was not happy!

What does one do in times like these? Time to call my mum. You're never to old to need your mum. So buoyed by her words, and those of other 'Lil Things likers (yes, had a little whinge there too) the day moves onwards and upwards.

The day draws to a close

A peaceful dinner, well as peaceful as can be with two cheeky monkeys, then pride. My 'Lil Mr eating, using his fork, managing mostly by himself just prompted verbally, no shoveling food too fast, just calm with his sister by his side cheering him on as I do & giving him high 5's. 

These are the small victories, the moments where my heart swells with pride, simple milestones others may take for granted....yes, in the end it was another day but it ended in such a good way.

Time to say 'til next time, so until then...

~ Live ~ Love ~ Laugh ~ Breathe ~ Believe ~

D

And so it begins...

Same old story, so much to do so little time....so I've decided to finally put pen to paper (so to speak) and launch my blog.

What's it all about? Well, it's basically my journey through life. How interesting you find it, well I guess that depends on what you expect and how long you decide to follow my journey for. Either way, I hope you enjoy the ride.

So here I am, a 30-something mother of two children - my beautiful 'Lil Mr, who is autistic and my darling 'Lil Miss. In a life B.C (before children) I was a marketing/business development manager, and these days stay-home mum and owner/designer of 'Lil Things-made with love which is a business that was born in July 2010.

I have a passion for beautiful things, whether they be simple like flowers picked on a walk with my 'Lil Miss or finding (& creating!) gorgeous handcrafted items. I LOVE chocolate and a great cup of coffee, catching up with family and friends. The very simple act of laughing with people is another favourite pastime and I believe highly under-rated, but more on that another time...

There has always been a creative outlet in my life - from oil painting and pottery, the various musical instruments I've mastered like flute, piano, saxaphone & voice, or be it even cooking up a storm in the kitchen - creating seems to run through my veins.

But enough for now, the dinner hour is looming, so until next time

~ Live ~ Love ~ Laugh ~ Breathe ~ Believe ~

D

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
Lest We Forget"