snuggled in

After a full morning of swimming and playing at the pool with friends all you have the energy for is lying on the couch together to watch a movie.

Actually, the amazing thing about this photo is the level of sustained cooperation being demonstrated by lying together, sharing a blanket, feet touching to each other, for the entire duration of Bee Movie. Either cooperation or total exhaustion.

insipid ???

Last year I planted a Cercis (Forest Pansy) in the front yard. It had a demanding first year. It was planted bare rooted and dormant in July and then we moved it in October just as it was flowering and sprouting leaves. As a result it went into shock, dropped all its flowers, lost most of its leaves and did not grow at all.

About a month ago Michael said it was the "most insipid tree in the world". I defended it, knowing it had had a difficult life since we bought it. It is paying me back for my faith now. Covered in tiny pink blossom, it is breathtaking. It has also started growing its beautiful heart shaped leaves which you can see in the top photo. Emily loves it, it is just outside her bedroom window and when we opened the curtains one morning when it first started flowering she gasped and declared it "So pretty Mum". For that alone it has been worth the pain of nurturing it.

one little crow in a sea of cats

In lots of Victorian schools, the last day of every term 3 is "Footy Day". Kid wear the colours of the footy team they support instead of uniform. Sam's Kinder also planned football games, crafts and activities, had hot chips for snack and spent two weeks learning a dance to perform for the parents.

Sam was one of four kids not wearing Geelong Football Club colours. He was thrilled to be different from the other kids, wearing his (now very snug) Adelaide Crows top. Years ago the surrogate aunts Shirley, Jude and Maryjane gave it to him and he loves it. Look carefully at the bottom photo and note that he is wearing a red long sleeved shirt under it as the yellow cuffs end above three inches above his wrist. He had also made Adelaide Crows coloured streamers which made him stand out even more.

The dance was glorious to watch, kids going in every direction and then suddenly finding themselves in unison for a few beats before losing it again. Samuel of course took it very seriously, watching Sue (his teacher) and following her lead throughout. he sang along and has been asking us to get a copy of the song for him (One Day in September, I think it is called??? Needless to say we are not rushing out to buy it).

At the end all the kids received a Footy Day medallion. In typical Grand Final Day fashion, by the time the last kid had received their medal the interest levels had seriously waned.

Everytime I go to one of Sam's kinder performances I am totally smitten by him. He is hilarious and serious and intense and happy all at the same time. He never reveals the details of these things, declaring them "secret" when we ask for information. This is the first time Michael has not been able to attend and I had strict instructions to take LOTS of photos so Dad could see it.

Now that the Cats are in the final he is coming around to supporting them a little more as his Home Team, with the Crows as his Adelaide Team. I am sure if they lose they will be out of favour. I offered to buy him a Cats top to replace his outgrown Crows but he still wasn't having it.

emily the prankster

Emily is getting harder and harder to photograph. She just wont stay still when required. Perhaps I need a new camera/faster shutter speed ??? This was an hilarious moment the other morning when she emerged naked from the bathroom with Sam's pyjamas wrapped around her head telling me she had just washed her hair.

morning tea

The kids worked hard with us in the garden on Saturday and shared a very dignified morning tea when they needed a break.

animalia

Emily's current obsession is the book Animalia by Graeme Base. She reads it constantly, carrying it with her when we go out, flicking through it in the back of the car, lying on her stomach on the carpet reading it to her teddies. This morning she read it while she was having breakfast.

sam's new job

Sam has a new job around the house. Mowing the lawn. It helps that we spent hours on the weekend drastically reducing the amount of it in the front. I could barely walk for three days after spending hours on Friday morning digging up the lawn. Nonetheless he loved doing it and was actually quite efficient at it. I am not quite sure why we have both a petrol mower and a push mower but it has something to do with the complex nature of turf, which is different from grass or lawn. Michael could explain it if asked. In great detail.

the power of suggestion

Emily developed the habit of sucking her teddy when she was old enough to control her hands and stuff it into her mouth. I suspect that if we had offered her a dummy at about three months old she would have loved it. Instead she had Green Teddy. She would stuff it DEEP into her mouth and down her throat and ferociously suck on it. It has always been alarming as her airways look completely blocked. She would fall asleep with it in her mouth and after a while it would fall out and sit on her face.

After about six months of this the teddy ceased to be cleanable, I would wash it every week but there was an emerging brown stain on the section she sucked. After a year and a half of being sucked on, the brown stain evolved into a slimy brown patch of filth. I washed it three times a week religiously which meant that the smell was controlled as much as possible (but impossible to eradicate completely). Keeping in mind that the use of high strength cleaners was impossible as she shoved it down her throat and I did not want to poison her. I researched and found that putting it in the freezer for a few hours would kill bacteria and this was added to our cleaning ritual. Dad pronounced it useful in building her immune system. Mike and I would cringe if anyone picked it up or saw it, it was disgusting.

About a year ago it was rechristened from Green to Yucky. Sam has Blue Teddy and Orange Teddy. Emily has Pink Teddy (who is not sucked on) and Green Teddy became Yucky Teddy. Sometimes he was called Stinky Teddy. In moments of grief she would wail "I need Yucky Teddy" and sucking on it would console her.

Finally, at the start of this month I took drastic action. I told her that I was going to cut out the yucky bit and replace it with new material. I had no hopes that she would stop the sucking, just that we could start the process of ruining him afresh. I imagined that the sewing of Yucky Teddy's back would be a regular occurrence in order to restore some level of hygiene to our lives. I talked her through the process and gave her a couple of days to adjust to the notion before I did it.

The night before I did it Michael asked her what was going to happen to Yucky Teddy. She explained that "Mummy is taking off his yucky bits" then added "I not suck him anymore" We were agog at this revelation but played it cool, she elaborated "Sam said not to suck him anymore. In diesel car." In other words, she and Sam had had a conversation in the car and he had told her not to suck on the new improved teddy. She was declaring an intention to follow his orders. Michael and I both saw her declaration as well meaning but impotent as her dependence on sucking the teddy as a method of soothing was a serious addiction.

So on a Friday afternoon, she woke up, I washed Yucky Teddy, got out the scissors, sewing machine, replacement fabric and fresh stuffing then set to work. She was seriously unimpressed at seeing him mid surgery. The photo really does not do her rage justice as she would not stand still long enough for me to focus and capture her expression of disdain and fury. I battled through the process and finally finished him.

I returned the new and improved teddy to her. She loved him, cuddled him, forgave me for ripping him apart. She then declared that he was not called Yucky Teddy anymore. He was Fluffy Teddy.

When she went to bed she announced "I not suck Fluffy Teddy". We were highly dubious. When we checked on her as we went to bed Teddy was pristine and dry. We mused that she would crack the next afternoon when she had her nap. Nap time came and went without sucking. We decided to wait for her first injury or misfortune which for her entire life had been fixed through the sucking of Yucky Teddy. This too came and went without sucking.

She has not sucked him (or anything else) since. He has not been called Yucky Teddy since. Apparently all that is needed to break a (literal) habit of a lifetime is a backseat conversation and suggestion by your older brother to "Just Say No". If he ever gets a whiff of his power and uses it for evil she is in dire, dire trouble.

my other space

Sam and Milly asked what my classroom looks like so at the end of term I took a few photos of the displays before I change them for term 4. I have been teaching Myths and Legends in Literacy and Ancient Egypt in MESH. look closely and you will see the tiny mummies on the bookshelf. If you ever want to test your behaviour management skills - deliver a lesson with lumps of plasticine, wet plaster bandages, twenty five kids and a room with carpet on the floor.

playgrounds - old school style

The kids are loving the river playground at the moment. While the photo shows a new cantilevered digger contraption in the sandpit, the majority of the equipment is quite old fashioned (actually it is just old). A large, heavy steel merry go round that unceremoniously tosses kids off if they wander too close the edge; long and treacherous metal slippery dips guaranteed to burn bums in the slightest heat; seesaws with half tyres wedged into the ground under the seats allowing kids to bounce their opposition off the seats as they reach the highest point; huge concrete pipes which are half buried in the hills and a (surely carcinogenic) permapine fort with a suitably terrifying swing bridge about a metre and half above ground. We are hoping that the worksafe inspectors never get around to visiting as I am sure it would not pass even a cursory OH&S inspection. It would be dismantled and then remodeled with plastic coated steel in primary colours, redesigned with soft corners and the required metre depth of bark under every piece of equipment. And what fun would there be in that?

busy

I have always been careful not to make posting on this blog a chore. I have a lapse and then post about lots of things in a rush. I have lots to post about but seem to have no time to do it.

I have not posted my birthday, I had a mystifying conversation with Sam about vaginas, the garden looks amazing as we have transplanted a dozen crabapples into a mini arboretum in the front yard, the kids and I have been baking up a storm and I have made reams of paper garlands which are spectacular and cryign out to be photographed and blogged about. My aim this week is to catch up.

On Thursday Amber and Russell arrive until Sunday, Kate and the girls will be here that evening until Saturday, which gives us a day to change the sheets before Mum and Dad arrive for a week. It will be great. It will feel like holidays, but I know I wont get much chance to blog.

Stay tuned, just writing it here means it MUST happen.

And I am on school holidays for two weeks, i have no excuses. I can't even bear to think that about the slow evaporation of my wonderful project over the past few weeks.

already?

I just discovered that it is 99 days until Christmas. I am aghast that Spotlight already have their Christmas stock on the shelves but I am planning to make some gifts this year so the 99 day deadline is worth keeping an eye on.

belated birthday

After months of posting about birthday wishlists and preparations for my birthday and my pretend birthday I still have not posted about the actual day. Which was lovely and started with opening the door of my borrowed bedroom in Kate and Paul's house and discovering this...
I promise I will post about my birthday soon. It was an embarrassment of riches and love and loveliness.

lazy thursday

It is raining outside, soaking constant rain that makes me rejoice in the work we did in the garden last weekend. It is the kind of day where doing anything other than sitting on the floor in the lounge with the kids and a heap of books and board games doesn't make sense. Typically, the kids tired of that just when I was willing to give up my list of jobs and settle into it for the whole morning.

So now Milly is in the bath having a conversation with her toys (:what's your name?: Crocodile: hello Crocodile, my name is Emly, do you want a drink of water?:) - The Emly is not a typo, this is how she says her name - we LOVE hearing it.

Sam is in his room making lego before kinder in an hour. I have spent the last twenty minutes looking at blogs and have been inspired to go and DO SOMETHING. I think it is time to finish making the paper garlands for next week's party. After that, the towel cupboard beckons to be organised. Once that is done I may retire back to lazy Thursday mode.

The lovely rannuculi in the photo are from Mum and Dad's front garden bed - gorgeous!

thirsty work

Sam likes nothing more than to drink water directly from the tap. On Saturday he taught Milly how to do it. She ended up very wet - which explains why she is planting peas sans pants in the previous post. I long for a time when we live without water restrictions as they both LOVE playing with water. I can imagine hot summer afternoons sitting on the verandah while they play for hours running through a sprinkler. I fear that this is destined to be an extinct childhood pleasure.

seedling progress

Michael's first attempt at sowing our spring seeds was destroyed by wild weather on the 25th August, he doggedly went back to work and re-sowed them on the 29th. Sam, Emily and I are making sure they are watered daily and taking weekly photos. Next week we will plant the radishes, beetroot and rocket into the garden beds. In a few weeks we will transplant the remaining seedlings which take a little longer to germinate.

7 days after sowing - 5th September

14 days after sowing - 12th September

no training wheels

I had a very excited phone call from Sam while I was driving home from Adelaide on Friday. He has started to ride his bike without training wheels. There is still some work to be done on taking off and stopping but he is managing the straight line with expertise. By the end of a training session Michael is exhausted from but Sam is very pleased with himself.

spring planting

The weekend was spent organising the vegetable patch in readiness for planting all our seedlings next weekend. Saturday was lovely, the four of us working and playing in the garden. Lots of hoeing, turning in the green manure we have grown, laying out the beds and direct planting some peas. Emily was very involved in it - digging and then sowing the peas. Sam was more interested in playing Totem Tennis and kicking the soccer ball, although predictably he was highly interesting in watering.

trying to catch up

I have been away in Adelaide for Simon's 40th and have fallen well behind with blog updates. Apologies in advance but the next few posts will be out of chronological order while I try to catch up. Lots has been happening.

pretend birthday

Today is my pretend birthday. I am heading to Adelaide tomorrow to celebrate Simon's 40th (my brother, we are born on the same day) and so will wake up on my actual birthday (Thursday) away from home. This is a concept that Sam would struggle with so we are pretending that my birthday is today.

It feels a little weird though. I still celebrate birthdays like a child (as may have been evident in my birthday list and musings leading up to it) but today has not quite right. I got some gorgeous presents from Michael and the kids but wont post them until my actual birthday.

Sam gave me his insight into aging this afternoon. He asked if I was still 38. I explained that yesterday I was 38 but today I am 39. This concept took some explanation and once he understood it he said "That's still a long way from being dead though Mum". Worth remembering.

wonderful #28

I have a thing about garlands and bunting. I recently shared this with Amber and she was reserved in her enthusiasm. I was later horrified when I realised that she had an image of crafty, fabric, cliched bunting. I love it as a more whimsical, floaty and ephemeral decoration. Stay tuned as I have an idea for our "birthday" party.

~Carol

Today's wonderful has three of my favourite elements: water, a gorgeous shade of blue, and circles.

~Amber

indulgence

So I have ordered my birthday present to myself and in the process found a great website for stationery lovers. They stock the O-Check range of 3d cards.

I saw these Moleskine diaries in the gift shop of the Qld State Library while I was visiting Amber and instantly wanted them. I had already decided that I would be starting a new diary for my 40th year and these are perfect. 12 books (one month per book), each with two pages per day.

I started buying myself a birthday gift in 2000 when I turned 30 (I bought the watch I still wear everyday) and I still indulge in the ritual. Somehow, even though I buy myself things throughout the year I always manage to find something that feels like a birthday treasure. It is not dictated by expense, just a sense of indulgence and something special.

a boy and his (borrowed) dog

We are the official dogsitters for Hudson, dog of Anna and the Taylor family. The last time he stayed with us he barked a lot and he has a history of chewing on things. He has recently been 'Dog Whispered' so this time he arrived with some instructions and a tether chain (no need to use it yet so I think he has turned the corner, behaviour wise).

While a dachshund would not be my dog of choice, it is lovely to see Sam play with him. He has to wait until he is 8 before he gets a dog (this means Emily will be 5, my minimum age requirement for a dog in a family with children). Only three years to go and there is not a week that passes without Sam mentioning a dog, wishing for a dog, wanting to discuss having a dog.

taking the waters

Sam has started having hour long baths in the late afternoon. He plays with his aquatic creatures and stays in there until he is a prune. This afternoon there was a request for a sandwich which he ate while bathing. If you look closely you will see there are sequins in the water as this adds some sparkle and excitement.

lovely package exchange

Life has been hectic here the last few weeks. Both the kids and Michael were sick last week. On Wednesday night The kids were in bed by half past six and Michael and I gave up and were in bed (and instantly asleep) at 7:15. Kids at work have been really ratty, making my two days as a teacher less of the escape that it can be. Things have been falling behind and I have been racked with guilt about my first foray into blog exchanges...

Some time ago I registered to be part of oh hello friend's Lovely Package Exchange. The aim of the exchange was to select and send a package to whoever you were matched with (spending about $US20); and of course, receive a package yourself. I asked for two partners and was given a lovely woman in the US with two kids and a Melbourne woman with great aesthetic and a thing for cats.

When the assignments were made I was in Adelaide so I did not start thinking about it until I got home. On arriving home I got excited and enthused and started thinking and looking for inspiration for their gifts. Then I went to Brisbane and had some issues with email and became a tardy communicator with my partners. The exchange had a time frame - sending gifts out by 22nd August, I was rapidly falling behind. When I returned it took a few days to get things back to normal. I bit the bullet and told my partners that I was going to be running late with sending my packages.

I got an email to say that Jenilyn in the US had sent hers (good grief, the guilt). Then my package arrived from Julia. By this time the kids were sick as dogs, Michael was suffering from his cold and I was struggling just to stop myself walking out the door and not returning until the Health Board gave the 'all clear' (if at all). I bought the final pieces for both packages and determined to send them off by the end of the week. Simultaneously I did not allow myself to open the package from Julia until I knew I had sent and she would be receiving hers.

It has been sitting on my desk since Thursday last week, an enticing fabric parcel. I FINALLY (and I can not believe how poorly organised I have been in this, people who know me will attest to my organisation skills) sent the packages on Wednesday. So I have just opened my beautifully wrapped package from Julia.

I am in raptures at her uncanny ability to find me such a perfect gift. She has bought me Meet me at Mike's. The craft project book from Pip Lincolne in Brunswick. I had been wanting the book but had decided that this would be my end of year Summer Holiday gift to myself. I was planning on going through some of the projects over the summer. Now I can spend some time looking through it and deciding what to make. She also included a really sweet photo of a cat. She has an etsy shop uberjoi.etsy.com where she sells photos of rescued cats to raise money for the Lort Smith Animal Hospital. Milly is dying to claim the photo for herself but I am resisting and 'squishy' will sit on my desk for a while.

I can't blog about what I sent Julia yet as she may not have opened it. I will update this post when I know she has received it.

little things

Emily is fast asleep and Sam is in the bath. I have just sat down to update my blog and relax. Dinner is organised, the house is in order, the shopping is done and I am having a moment of rare calm and order on this Friday afternoon.

I did two loads of washing this morning and had them hanging out before 9am. About ten minutes ago I was outside and thought it might start raining. I brought the dry clothes in off the line and then, just as I sat down with the laptop it started bucketing down. Feeling very satisfied with myself.

Little things - getting washing in before it rains, then sitting and listening to it hammering down on the tin roof - are what reminds me I have a pretty good life.

ici et la

I have not posted as much about my trip to Brisbane to see Amber as I wanted to, so over the next few days I am indulging myself in the memories of my weekend escape.

One of the things on my 'must do' list was to go to ici et la. I have looked at their site for years. They have shops in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, but not Melbourne. So on the first morning, after a stroll through New Farm and morning tea at Amber's local Village we headed to Paddington to have a look.

It was predictable lovely. The wall of canvas was gorgeous. I am such a sucker for anything displayed with such order and repetition, add the notion of a colour spectrum and I can not resist. Amber bought three of their deck chairs a few years ago from voco in Geelong West and they really are lovely on her shuttered verandah. Apparently the owner of the Brisbane shop has parents living in Geelong - PLEASE open a store here, I will work there for no wage, just stock!!!

I loved the cotton shirts hanging in the hallway. Made from lovely floaty muted cotton in an unstructered shape but with intricate pin tucking details when you look closely. The plimsolls are really quaint but I fear need lithe, tanned legs to carry them off.
I am looking for pots to use in my vintage steel milk crate. I have an image of planting something delicate and lacy in the industrial crate and setting it on my verandah near the Adirondack chairs. I measured these French pots (Amber was astounded that I carry a tape measure with me, but it is amazing how often it is useful) but I still have not checked the dimensions of the crate. Something I must do this weekend as if they are the correct dimensions I will send Amber back on a shopping mission.

Other things I loved - the very old and weathered metal venetian blind hanging on the wall. Michael has vetoed metal furniture as too industrial and I fear this too would offend his design sensibilities. The image makes me want to dust off my vintage dress form and drag it out of the garage. The French linens were stunning as were the glass hanging votives. I struggled with focus that morning but there was the perfect "mantique" leather sofa in there as well, as cracked and worn.