Bliss

Today was awesome. It was one of those days I thought being a mum was all about when I was a kid.

I have been sewing a fair bit lately, ticking things off my to do before baby list, but usually I have fit it around when the kids are in bed and weekends. Today was not one of those days. Today I have been able to sit and sew while the kids have happily sat and played on the lounge floor. Totally content! I was my version of Bliss!

Chaos and Fun!

My weekend project - These were just sooo easy to make and Monkey has already asked for another pair!

Spurred on by my successful weekend of sewing, todays sewing effort was something special for Monkey. As we have bub 3 arriving soon the lovely hood in the corner towels that my Granny and Mum made for him, need to passed on (he is really growing out of them too). I was inspired by Sew like my Mom who is in a similar situation and came up with a great towel option for big kids using a towel, a hand towel and a facecloth.

I had planned to only put his Initial on the back but fate stepped in and plans changed.

I had forgotten when I came downstairs this morning (my only trip down each day) to get the fabric choices out for Monkey, so had to send him up on his own to look through the boxes of fabric I have. I tried to give clear instruction about what to choose but fabric types are  a little hard for a 4 year old, I had envisioned using my patchwork fabric. He first found some lovely stripy left over winter PJ (brushed cotton) fabric which I thought for a second and decided maybe it would be nice to have soft cuddly binding, but as there wasn't enough for 2 towels I sent him back for more. At which point he came back with the Dinosaur fabric we used to make a buggy liner for him when he was a baby. It is a much heavier fabric than I would ever have chosen and I did try to get him to change his mind... Not happening. I even pointed out that the dinosaurs wouldn't even show up properly for just his inicial.

This was when I made error number one. I suggested that we might be able to cut some of the dinosaurs out and sew them on especially. The towel designs were sold no going back now.

While Miss Boo slept Money excitedly helped me print out his initial and trace it and choose the dinosaurs I was to cut out. Error number 2 instead of cutting a general shape around the dinosaur and sewing that on I decided to cut very precisely around each of them spikes and all. Probably doubled or even tripled the time it took me to sew. They did turn out pretty fantastic though.

Water play - cleaning the foam for our project later in the week.

Just out of the oven...Learnt that one packet of gluten free cupcake mix makes 51 mini cupcakes. Plenty to freeze, if I don't eat them all!!!

For the rest of the day I chatted to the kids while I sewed. Each of us content just be hanging out. We baked and even played outside when a break was needed. And at the end of the day (in time for his bath) Monkey has two IMHO awesome bath towels. Now he just has to choose which one to use first!

Early!

This week, with the announcement of our induction date being two weeks early I have started work on my to do list in ernest. I am sewing up a storm this weekend and hopefully getting it all ticked off so I can start on the new stuff next week.

Miss Boo has been wanting to sit on Mummy a lot the last few days. She makes a be line for me where ever I am sitting and insists "Up mumum" then proceeds to cuddle, pull faces at me and demand songs. I am loving these little moments we share. Her face is so expressive right now and when she thinks shes being cute or cheeky she pulls her shoulders up to her ears and pulls a closed eyes smile. I love the way kids feel so strongly and it is all etched on their little faces for the world to see.

Next week marks the beginning of school holidays for us. Im looking forward to just relaxing and trying to reduce my pain as this baby grows. "I WILL NOT end up on crutches" is my current mantra and anything I can do to reduce the chances is being done. No more vacuuming, no more going upstairs more than once a day (once Im down I dont go back till bed time - means I miss bedtime cuddles :-( ), I chop vegies sitting down and try not to bend too much. Researching this I have found that not ending up on crutches will mean I could reduce my recovery period by a few months so it is a good goal to aim for.

As for the kids over the holidays I am planning a lot of craft and at home activities as well as a few outings to visit friends where I can let them run without me having to worry. We will not be making any of our regular big trips to new parks or playgrounds. Its only for another 10 weeks then we can start returning to normal, I hope. The monkey and I are very excited to walk all the way around the Albert park lake this summer so I will have to get my strength back as soon as possible.

Busy, busy, busy!!!

Been fighting a cold, severe reflux and chasing after little ones this last couple of weeks. Not sure where the time went actually. We have been busy, so here is a bit of a photo dump from the last couple of weeks.

Fathers day was the last day with G and GD and the weather was fine so we were able to head to the park for a ride and play. Monkey loved racing GD and He-Man.

 Miss Boo is a daredevil at the playground always heading for the highest scariest slide.

We had two hail storms in one day. It was a it of a shock, but the kids thought is was hugely exciting.

In the weekend we ventured out to Resource Rescue a place I wish we had had when I was teaching in NZ. It is huge and has such an amazing array of stuff. We grabbed a bunch of stuff, some of which Ill be transforming and posting about later but the rest was for Monkeys Makedo Robot kit. It was one of the amazing gifts he got for his birthday a kit with reusable connectors and some stickers so you can use junk around the house to build your own robot. Makes for an incredible discussion about recycling and reusing. These are going to be added to my list of possible gifts to give at parties.

He was so proud of the outcome, and we have lots of extra stuff to use in other activities later on.
Miss Boo has been learning a word a day it seems and has become even more determined and sure of herself. Its beautiful to watch.
Monkey has suddenly started to write. He hasnt really been interested too much in writing actual letters but surprised me on Wednesday and decided to write the words hot and dot on the blackboard. sounding them out as he went. Then he also decided to practice his writing so he could write his own letter to Santa this year. I cant believe this development. It is wonderful to see his enthusiasm for writing.

We made a very gentle trip to the zoo on Thursday as Miss Boo has been obsessed with the animal toys lately and loves identifying them. Especially the Giraffe and Tiger, but she hasnt seem them for real since she was too young to remember. The weather was perfect and after Miss Boos nap we headed out packed lunches and all. I had forgotten what it was like to meet random generosity from strangers but when we got there we not only found a parking in the shade near to the entrance but the previous tenant  gave us his parking docket so I didnt have to pay for our parking.

Balancing practice

"Gaff, Gaff"

Check out the t-shirt from "One Infinite Loop"

Practicing his orangutang fine motor skills. 

First ice-block!

Finally Id like you meet the current non-baby related bane of my existence - the tree hanging over our fence. It is a prolific leaf dropper and I am rapidly running out of places to sweep them!!! I am planning to cut it back but want to wait and see how much shade it provides in summer. 

Newest Trick!!! 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Octo-Alert!!!

Yesterday was Monkeys party day. It was an Underwater Octonaut party, now if you havn't been introduced to The Octonauts then you are really missing out. Basically they are a group of animals who live under the sea whose mission it is to "Explore, Rescue and Protect". It is a lovely show and here on at 5.15pm perfect for dinner prep time.

The scene was set with the Octonaut Invitations I made. For decoration I painted the shows characters and we decorated the lounge like an undersea cave complete with a kelp forest to walk through to outside. There were even sharks and fish swimming around above our heads.

 

A special new shirt for Monkeys big day... soon to be the most often asked for and worn shirt Im sure.

As Monkey is getting older I decided that for this party I needed a little more structure than just come play eat go. 

So as the kids arrived they were invited to make a fish tank with Dr Shellington. I had a bunch of fish bowl shaped blue card and some ocean animal stickers. The kids loved it. 

Afterwards the kids played for a while and Monkey opened presents. Then we had food. As usual I made a bit too much, but better that way then the other I recon. All the food was fishy or Octonaut themed, from Octopus sausages to fish crackers and chocolate crackle coral. I was really pleased I managed to only have 2 items that weren't gluten free, so Miss Boo was able to tuck in too.

Check out the hat, so easy to make!

After food the kids played and practiced their bandaging at the Peso bandaging station. Then I played my first ever party game.. pin the eye patch on Kwazii. 

Finally the cake. Dashi Dog as requested by Monkey, made with three different types of gluten free cake. It was a huge success. 

It was a very low stress party in the end as all my planning payed off and I had lovely helpers. 

Things I have learnt this time:

• Having both a start and end time is great as there is a very defined moment to start packing up. 
• A loose timetable or plan works wonders to reduce the stress and means people helping know what they can do (I might even be really teacherish and write it down to go on the fridge next time). 
• Finally kids just want to have fun and play together but having a couple of activities rather than just heaps of games seemed to work really well at keeping the flow.

Oh and as always you can never have too many bubbles!!!

 

Time for a tidy up and sleep I think!