My girlfriends joke that we should have a trophy made up to be awarded at our monthly dinners for Mother of the Year. A ferry ride in the rain to the city might get me a nod. So too might this ridiculously rich chocolaty afternoon tea that we had here (yes, those are my children's fingers poking into the melted chocolate). But I think what really won the award today was the spew that we stood next as we fooled around taking these pictures while we waited for Tools to pick us up. 
My two fight. I am utterly exhausted by their bickering, particularly when we get in the car. They screech and scream at each other like a pair of banshees. Missy is not asleep in this shot. She is pretending. Its her new weapon in the fight against her brother. He wanted the car. She had it. So she closed her eyes, hand protecting the prize in her side pocket, and zoned him out. He had no comeback to this very simple manipulation.
I love our front door. I love that it has a rapper rather than a door bell. It is almost always draped in a few cobwebs and even though our house is a "shoes on" kind of home, it almost always has a collection of boots beside it. It's a quiet door that doesn't creak or squeak or get stuck as you close it, meaning that it can be closed noiselessly. Very important when transferring sleeping children into the house late at night.
I love how it opens into our ridiculously large entry. The previous owners were generous with their proportions when they renovated and our entry is bigger than our bathroom. As such we treat it like a room. It is one of my favourite corners in our home. We have filled this space with a collection of treasures, each one with a story of it's own.
There's our telephone table, once teak with an orange vinyl seat cover, rescued from a council cleanup in the inner west about 7 years ago.
Sitting above it is this sweet set of shelves that my father built for my nursery. I am almost too scared to say that they are nearly 40 years old. I guess they could be classified as vintage. They have moved with me from room to room and house to house. They are the perfect fit for this little wall and house all my special pieces that I have accumulated in my travels.
A mirror from Balmain markets from uni days sits above an old washstand. That's a goldfish bowl marking space 'till just the right bowl and jug finds its way to me. Orchids from my garden and my African water bearer, one of the best surprise birthday gifts my mother ever bought me.
Down in the bottom corner of Nonna's back garden is the most enormous mulberry tree. Heaving with mulberries, I could only just reach the lower branches to collect perfect, ripe berries for our morning tea. Stained lips, stained fingers, Missy could not resist. The Rooster was apprehensive but was determined not too miss out. I think this sums up how my two approach life, one with gusto and with level headed caution.
