Ideas

I found this site via another blogger and they have some free patterns for bags which I think I will add to my list of things that I want to attempt to sew

http://www.ottobredesign.com/en/print/index.html

BUSY

AROUND THE HOUSE

We didn't spent much time at home today so not much got done around the house! I've decided to get rid of a huge 8 cup coffee plunger that we got as a engagement present nearly 8 years ago and have never used! Its just too big when we usually only need 1 or 2 cups of coffee. A SMALL coffee plunger has been added to our Christmas wishlist :D Unless anyone has one that they want to get rid of!

Went to sewing class tonight - mended some of Alex's cloth nappies - the elastic around the legs had died from overuse so I removed the old stuff and replaced with brand new stuff - YAY! Should get another few months out of them now, atleast until he grows out of them! Also started on a new pair of PJ's for me!

IN THE GARDEN

We had another nice storm and downpour on Sunday so everything is looking shiny and clean and fresh again - Alex and I went around and watered the pots that are on the deck and under the eaves with the water we collected in buckets and the wheelbarrow during the storm. I need to teach Alex to hunt for snails - they are eating my Lupins and several other things in the garden! Naughty! Was thinking about setting traps - apparently little dishes filled with beer work but I'm afraid the dogs would just drink them - or worse, Alex would find them and drink it - ew!

THE LITTLE ONE

A big busy day for us - Gymbaroo this morning - lots of singing, dancing and climbing things. Then a playdate - loved seeing Alex interact with his friend Cael, was the first time they had really played well together. The best bit was when they stood face to face and had a little chat, each of them taking it in turns to speak - us mums had no idea what they were saying but they seemed to understand each other! We also had a lunch date with another friend. Alex sat up at the table with us, and got given a colouring book and pencils from the waitress and a baby-soy-cino :D. He was very good and then fell asleep in the pram for an hour so Mummy could do some shopping!

Sewing stuff :)

AROUND THE HOUSE

I have a couple of very inspirational friends in the sewing department - they are so talented it makes me sick :P I won't even try to compete with them but they have inspired me to give things a bit of a try.

I bought a sewing machine 18 months ago and only recently pulled it out and decided to start some sewing lessons at a local shop. Once a week on a Tuesday evening I usually manage to get out to class and try to learn a thing or to about making stuff! Whilst I'm very good a growing things in the garden, cooking things in the kitchen and taking photos of pretty things, I've never been great with sewing.

I've just about finished off a jumper for Alex that I started in Autumn - I'm sure it is going to be too small for him by next Winter but anyway at least I finished it! My next projext is a pair of summer pj's for ME! I also bought the "Softies" book and some pretty fabric scraps to make some little soft toys for Alex, or if they turn out okay I might give them away with Christmas presents.

As for the decluttering, its going very well - minus one or two days, I've managed to get rid of a heap of 'junk' and unused items around my house. On Saturday I went through mine and my husbands winter clothes and now have 3 big bags of coats and jumpers and ls shirts to take to vinnies one day this week. On Sunday we finally got rid of huge pile of garden rubbish that has been accumulating around the side of the house for about 6 months! YAY! Today I'm having a rest!

IN THE GARDEN

The potatoes are poking little green shoots out of the ground. The fruit trees are covered in fresh new growth. I've planted capsicums, a chilli bush, squash and cucumber. The strawberries have loads of flowers. My basil has survived the unseasonably cold weather thankfully and everything is flourishing due to FANTASTIC spring rainfall we have had (apologees to Brisbane ppl who are in desperate need of a little of this rain).

THE LITTLE ONE

I've just been so impressed with Alex's sleeping lately that I have to share. He has not always been the best sleeper and quite often will end up in bed with Mummy and Daddy at 3 in the morning instead of in his own cot :/ I don't really mind this at all - I figure that he is going to grow up so fast, so i'm going to take all the snuggles I can get right now. A couple of months ago I finally got him into a good routine of going to sleep without me have to be in the room with him, or feeding him, or rocking him etc. Most nights now he stays in his own bed till atleast 6 and then comes in for some Mummy snuggles for an hour or so. The last few nights, despite having a yucky cold and pretty bad cough, he has slept all night without a peep till 8am.

Blogging and decluttering

Right, so its been awhile since I've blogged, but being spring has sprung and we are getting out and about doing more interesting things I really feel I should get back into it. I've been inspired by a couple of friends too :)

AROUND THE HOUSE

I really like this idea of decluttering. For sometime now we have been considering having another baby. Almost every morning, in those semi-awake hours, I lay in bed thinking about how I would arrange my house to accomodate another little person. Ideally they would have their own room which would mean finding somewhere in our not-so-big house to put a computer desk and spare bed for visitors to sleep in! Quite a challenge!! In the dreamy hours of the morning I have a lovely extension planned with a huge new lounge-living area and a new deck...and then I wake up properly and remember how much money this would cost! So for now I've decided one thing I can do is organise and declutter. I have inherited a hoarding gene from my father it seems (lucky for him he has an acre of land and two massive sheds to store all his stuff in). I have a lot of stuff already in crates under the house and in our sheds for those things that "I might just need one day".

So the point of all this rambling is that I am going to take a idea from a friend and throw out, or donate to charity, at least one thing that I don't need/use, every day for one year!

It will be quite a challenge...I'll start tomorrow :D

IN THE GARDEN

Yesteday I bought some fruit trees. Two apple trees, as you need two so they pollinate each other, and a Peacharine! Today I'm going to prepare the soil and plant them. I have dug out two barrowloads of lovely compost that has been stewing in the bottom my compost bin for over a year. This is going to be dug into the holes for my new trees and will hopefully give them a great start! MUST REMEMBER TO WATER THEM EVERYDAY WHEN ITS HOT!!

I also bought some pretty Petunias and a cherry tomato plant for a pot. Its still too cold for planting the tomatoes in the garden but I'll keep this one on the deck where its a little warmer. I also must plant the potato eyes I bought 3 weeks ago today!! Its going to be a busy day in the garden. I am very thankful for the warm spring weather - 22 today

THE LITTLE ONE

It was a busy weekend for Alex and his routine has been thrown way out. For two days he has only had one tiny 40 min nap, whereas he normally has between 2 and 3 hours each day! Poor little guy was exhausted, and just a little cranky! Todays challenge is to get back into the routine! We did have a lovely day yesterday at the Tulip Farm Festival though - atleast for the parts where Alex wasn't tired and cranky :)

Growing up

My little boy is growing up! Today I realised that I no longer have a baby - my little boy is now walking 100% of the time and I guess this means he is officially a toddler. I'm still amazed as I stand on the deck and watch him toddle down the garden path, stopping along the way to pick up a rock, splash in puddle of water, touch the leaves of the lavender bush and attempt to nibble on a cosmos flower (Mummy intervention was required with this one). I'm torn every step of the way between allowing him his freedom and independence (which means that he will fall and bump his head many times along the way) and bundling him up in my arms to prevent him from hurting himself. I guess life is really about finding a good balance... between chocolates and vegetables, between chores and playtime, between being there for him when he falls and allowing him to discover how to balance on his own little legs! Never fear my little man, Mummy is never too far away!

Homegrown Goodness

My veggie patch has been a little neglected over the past year – being heavily pregnant and then looking after a tiny little person - I haven’t spent much time tending it. I did however, have a spare moment to plant some potato eyes a few months ago, and yesterday I reaped the rewards! Over 6kgs of yummy potatoes dug up from a few metres outside my back door. FANTASTIC! Potatoes must be the easiest vegetable to grow – as long as you have some nice friable soil, just throw in some seed potatoes, cover with soil and some straw and pray for a little rain to water them in! A few months later when the all the green tops have died down and you wonder if there is anything at all buried in the ground…dig, dig, dig and discover these little gems!

I can’t wait till Alex is old enough to be out there digging with me and discovering that real edible food grows in the ground and comes out covered in DIRT!
Give them a little wash throw in them in a pan with some olive oil and some herbs(also home grown!) and some spices, in the oven for 30 minutes and yummo, super delicious roasties to go with our Australia Day Lamb Roast! Next year I hope there will be a few more things that we can harvest for our Australia Day dinner!

The Little Things
I’ve learnt heaps since becoming a Mum. Things that you can only learn by being there and living the moment and learning every step of the way what works for you and your little newly created individual. People will give you advice and ideas, but at the end of the day it’s your instincts that get through for the most part! I just wish I had an instinct about toys. I’ve grown up in a western, consumer-orientated society. Somehow I’ve become tainted by all these bright, shiny things that are thrown in our faces day after day and I believed that babies and toddlers needed these specially-created pretty toys to be entertained. My son has taught me that the simplest things are far more entertaining most of the time.

Alex has a couple of tubs full of baby toys and yet the most exciting things, the things that he plays with the most are those things that are not specially designed for babies – the remote control is a great toy – even though he rarely even looks at the television (thankfully) – a tissue is fun to hold on to for a while and then tear into tiny little pieces; a piece of paper is great to swish across the carpet – a plastic cup makes a great sounds when you put it over your mouth and blow noises into it. But the greatest thing of all at the moment is just being outside, Alex wriggles around in my arms, shrieks and waves his arms in excitement as soon as we approach the back door and I say the magic word “outside”! He loves crawling around looking at the trees, touching the grass, hearing the birds twittering and generally discovering little things! ROCKS are the greatest – don’t give me plastic colourful blocks or balls, just give me a pile of little sandstone rocks and I’ll happily play with them…banging them on the concrete, picking up one in each hand and banging them together , making little piles and examining each one with intent curiosity!

I know it’s not just my baby either, a friends little one has a favourite toy too – an empty plastic soft drink bottle! I’ve made the mistake many times of looking at a toy and impressing my own views of entertainment onto it, forgetting that even the smallest, most insignificant everyday item can be fascinating to a 9 month old!

Which is also why you have to watch them VERY closely whilst they are discovering things!

Making Connections and Sinking Roots

We've been in Canberra over 6 years now and I think I've finally resigned myself to the fact that the "no more than 5 years" remark was a bit of a dream...we're here for the long haul. But i'm still living half my life in Brisbane and half my life in Canberra and sometimes that is really hard. There are so many times that I wish I could just pop over and see my folks and see Alex cuddle up to his Nanny or kiss a friend who just gave birth to twins.

I complained for years that it was too hard to make new friends in a new place, especially in such a transient place as Canberra is. People often remarked that it becomes easier when you have kids - well, easier it may be but I still would not say it was easy! My son, Alex, is 9 months old now and it is only with the new year of 2009 that i have made it out and about to those meetings and groups that I told myself I would do within 2 months of him being born!! But, I did it, the hardest part was walking out the door. No, not just the physical act of getting myself out the door with a 9 month old and all the baggage and organisation that goes along with an outing, but actually summoning up the courage and squishing all the excuses I'd used to stop myself before! Once I got there it was great, lovely friendly people that were fun and interesting to talk to! Of course, Alex jumped straight in there and started playing when I just wanted to cling to him and hide behind his smile! I doubt I will ever find the true, deep friendships that I have in my hometown, the ones so full of history and beautiful memories that no one could replace them. The trick is to stop trying to replace those friendships, and...well...just enjoy the moment I guess. Oh, and remember to nurture those new growing friendships as you would a tiny sapling. To create deep roots you need good nutrient rich soil, lots of water and time.

Savouring Every Moment

The little man sleeps. I used to keep a diary...a long, long time ago. My plan when my son was born in March last year was to start a new diary to give to him when he is older. I wanted him to read about all the adventures we've had because he won't remember...and I'll probably forget lots too with all the sleep I've lost over the last 9 and half months :), but i digress...
This is for him and I to remember our adventures, and maybe to inspire other mum's to enjoy every little moment, every tear, every smile, every giggle, every cuddle (even if its 2am and you would rather be curled up in bed fast asleep), every mess, every game, with your children, because time is lost to us so quickly.
My New Years resolution is to focus on the now, because the past is gone so there is no use regretting the things that we did not do (or perhaps those that we did do) and the future...well it will be here sooner than you think, with a list of even more things we have to get done! Oh, and take lots of photos, but don't get so wrapped up in getting the perfect photograph that you miss enjoying the moment too!