{oh so grateful..} for steve irwin..

I never met Steve, nor visited Australia Zoo, or even stepped foot on Queensland soil for that fact, but this guy has brought many belly laughs into my life. Many of them were while I was living in the states and everyone.. and I mean e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e would ask me to say "oh crikey". I never really got into the whole Crocodile Hunter fad when it was big, but recently.. things have changed.

I wrote a few weeks back, about my little man having a slight obsession with documentaries and this by no means has changed. What has changed however is that Steve's little girl's DVD's are now a big hit with both my kids. Zac gets to watch all the animals and Steve interacting with them in such an amazing way and Ella just loves  Bindi and her tree house.

I as a mother love watching the Irwin family and how they interact with each other. We're kind of the flipped version of the Irwins. I'm from Australia and hubby is the one from the States and rather than my hubby being into animals he's into fish and plants.. with as much enthusiasm as Steve was into animal conservation. My heart goes out to little Bindi as I know how much of a part my hubby plays in my daughters life and if she ever lost him, I'm not sure that she'll be able to cope as Bindi has.

So this week I'm grateful for
{1} my hubby and the amazing relationship he has with my little girl..
{2} steve irwin for being himself and following his passion..
{3} the irwin family for being such an amazing example of what family can be..
{4} my kids for taking interest in their dad's passions of gardening and fish..
{5} my awesome family.. each one a little different yet still respectful of eachother..

joining in with maxabella loves.. you should too..

{etsy love..} pdf doll-house pattern..

I've been on a hunt for a doll house for my little girl for a while now and have even contemplated making one myself. No big dramas either way, but I guess what has been stopping me is the question of whether it will just be another big item in her room that will get used once in a while but mainly just take up space. We've got a little castle and a few of the Little People range buildings which do just that.. take up space. 

So when I stumbled upon this little treasure, the Eco Friendly PDF Dollhouse Pattern from a fellow Etsykids Team member, DollsAndDaydreams.. there was a huge smile on my face and finally an answer I was happy with. 

There are even printouts to decorate your house and turn it into a farmhouse, dollhouse and a school house.. So potentially you could have a whole little village. 

What I really love about this idea is that you get to teach your kids about recycling and making things yourself rather than buying a manufactured product. It gives you the chance to make something with the kiddos and gives them the chance to decorate the house themselves. Great for all ages and such a cool idea for school projects too. 

Well.. I'm off to purchase this little download and its going on the rainy day to-do-list.