Poco Nido

My nephew has FAR too many shoes, but I reckon his mama would be very tempted by these cute pre-walkers from Poco Nido.

Back...with a Splat!

Hey Ho, I'm Home!  It's great to be back and I'm dying to share all the exciting finds discovered over the past two weeks in the UK and Ireland. First up - SPLATS!
Our youngest is in dire need of a new pair of gumboots (or wellies if you're reading this in Europe). My problem with his last pair was that as they were the longer length boot, he struggled when it came to running, and climbing really wasn't much fun. And lets face it, he hardly ever walks... Ok, so you're saying 'Jen, just get him the shorter length ones.' Well, they are pretty useless too as all the water that he usually manages to gravitate towards would fill his feet pretty quickly and completely defeat the purpose of their function. You see, this kid LIKES puddles, ok?!
So if I am to get him another pair that are sure to keep his feet dry then perhaps I need to think outside the square...
CUE LIGHT BULB.
On my trip to London, I visited the lovely Olive loves Alfie boutique in Stoke Newington. Oh my goodness, so many goodies, I had to contain myself quite seriously. I spotted a very cool pair of green boots that I instantly thought - oh snow boots, don't need them... WRONG! After researching Splats online, I realised their function was much closer to home. Breathable, flexible, waterproof, squashable, fun, bright and uber cosy, they are designed by local London mum's for kids who love to scoot, climb, run and play, Splats are EXACTLY what I've been searching for.
So to all you lucky folks in the UK, you can get your hands on them either online or from selected stockists. They aren't quite ready to ship internationally so I'm going to ask my sister to send me a pair. Dag-nam-it, they could so easily have squeezed into my suitcase...

Almost Home

I'm finishing up my 2 week trip to the UK and Ireland, counting down the days to seeing my boys again. I've had such a great time though and enjoyed taking a break from my hectic life. With that being said, I've been collecting lots of goodies along the way and look forward to sharing them with you when I get back. Blogging on an iPhone just doesn't cut it I'm afraid! I hope you haven't missed me TOO much...

Small Stories giveaway: We have a winner!

Heidi, you've won!
Your favourite monster is  NUNU, a ''black alien looking thing with one eye and little round ears...little girls are a little bit afraid of poor NUNU but little boys absolutely love him!''


We'd love to send you a heelander monster...unfortunately, we don't have your email address, so please get in touch.  Send me a message via my facebook page with your mailing address.


Thanks so much to everyone for sharing your favourite monsters with us from Cthulhu to the Gruffalo and every lovable & horrific creature in-between!  


flannery o'kafka and Hugo (who had the difficult job of pulling a name out of a bowler hat)

Really Really Big Questions...

It's Easter this weekend and I've been pondering over the whole meaning for us as a family. I was brought up within an Irish Catholic tradition whereas my husband grew up with little or no religious background. He has chosen to abstain from any religious practice but respects my desire to teach the children about faith, offering them a somewhat irregular but well meaning education in religious practice. My goal really is to offer the boys an education in religion as a whole, not just the one they have been baptised into, but an understanding of all, and any help I can find along the way I usually snap up!
I discovered the Really Really Big Questions series and especially liked the one by philosopher Julian Baggini as it dealt with this enormous subject through super illustrations, simple language and a pretty fair viewpoint - (its worth noting that he is in fact an atheist).
I'm not quite sure why I've suddenly felt compelled to share this usually private side of our life, but with the weekend that's in it, well maybe it'll spark a conversation or two.

Tate a Tate

I am getting just a teeeeeeeeeenchy bit excited. I am going to see this exhibition...next week... in... LONDON! Hello Yayoi Kusama-san. I look forward to experiencing the wonder all those Queenslanders shared last year.

REMINDER! Small Stories Giveaway

We'll be choosing a winner before the week is out for the Small Stories Heelander softie...

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment in the box below telling us your favourite monster.  

Extra entries for liking Small Stories, The Brothers Trimm, and Flannery O'kafka on Facebook! Be sure to
leave a note in the comments below telling us what you've done, otherwise your extra effort will be missed!

GOOD LUCK

Electric Mayhem

What can I say - I'm smitten by these posters and although I'd pretend they were for the boys, it would be a completely self indulgent purchase on my part... Of course most of them are sold out but Floyd and Janice are still available. They have been created by the super talented Michael de Pippo.

Oliver Jeffers, Beanies and me

My year so far has been surprisingly fruitful and I seem to be ticking off some nice goals on my fantasy list of achievements. Out of nowhere, it's all kinda rolling.
This week I have finally conquered my frustration with knitting. Too many old memories of holes and slipping stitches have allowed me avoid needles and yarn for many a year. But since I am in charge of a rather large knitting project at work, there is no way I couldn't join in our Oliver Jeffers Beanie Project.
Your what? I hear you cry... indulge me, I'll tell you ALL about it!

As you may know I am a HUGE fan of Oliver (I'm pretending we're on a first names basis) and happened upon a pre Christmas tweet hinting at his 2012 Australian tour. Hot on the case I discovered there were no plans to hit Hobart, so I set to composing a submission to make him change his mind.

And. guess. what.........

On May 15th, we will have the audience at our event wearing 100 beanies, all knit by local ladies who all heard my call and jumped at the chance to participate. 95 women in the space of 9 days - proactive brilliance - I'm still in awe.

We'll also be involving local schools with out own interpretation of the tree from Stuck, and oh yes, he'll be launching his new book.

Our little beanie brother