Phew!

I am not sure what happened to December. One minute we were lighting the first of the candles in our floating advent wreath and the next its a rainy boxing day on Shark Island.

The elves kept us busy, delivering daily messages into advent calendars instructing us to make and write and create and make believe. To dance to Aussie Jingle Bells, sing carols by candle-light and to be the best little duck at Christmas concerts. To love the stories that make Christmas real and to learn how to be patient and grateful for what comes our way.

The rain of Christmas day brought a gentle mist and cooler weather to enjoy a house full of family and a table full of food. Admittedly, the same rain caused us a little stress as we packed for Boxing Day on Shark Island. But the weather gods were kind with only a gentle drizzle to spoil our fun.

I am not sure where our summer has gone. I am glad that we got the chance to flop on a beach before Christmas to celebrate the end of another year and the start of our holidays. New Years Eve, camping in our van, overseas visitors. There is much more to come this January.

Wishing you the merriest of New Years. I hope you welcome in 2010 with the silliest grins.

A Christmas wish

Peace. Not world peace. Although that would be nice. Not peace and quiet. That would get boring after a while. Just peace amongst my children.

They love each other way too much. And of course they are polar opposites. Missy walks around singing an old Playschool song "I like peace, I like quiet" which is the most ironic tune to ever pass her lips. She charges through life with a bang and a crash, upsetting as many things and people that pass through her day. Don't get me wrong, she has the sweetest of natures and everyone she meets can't help but fall in love with her, but she is quite simply, an antagonist. Which does not mix well with my gentle boy.

The Rooster loves a quiet place to broom his car and push his train and look at his books. He doesn't need someone upsetting the space that he has set up so very carefully. It distresses him to no end to see his things disturbed.

The day started out so joyful, the littlies finding a treat and a note in their advent calendars, but by 10 I was exhausted from sorting out their squabbles.

So please Santa can Mummy please have some peace. I won't be greedy. One day will do. OK, I will be greedy. Maybe just once a week?

This weeks eye spy brought to you by the gal that puts it altogether, Cindy.

And then on number 25 it will snow at my house

The Rooster has been counting down the days since the 2nd of November. We even made a countdown calendar just to get us to today, when I said we would put up the tree, and tomorrow, the start of advent.
I didn't even remember the Christmas train we had under the tree last year. But I am not a 4 year old boy who spent the day lying under the tree's lights watching it go round and round.

The kids needed something to do while mummy battled with the branches. And what train doesn't need a tunnel to run through?

The advent calendars are ready for tomorrow, stuffed with a treat and a little Christmas activity, a different one each day to keep the littlies busy until the 25th. Tomorrow we are off to the library for some christmas borrowing. I am not sure how many more times I can read Aussie Jingle Bells without wanting to throw myself in front of a Rusty Holden Ute.

Adventures

We have just got ourselves one of these. Admittedly, ours does not look exactly like this. Its a little older and a little more pre-owned but we are just ridiculously excited by the many adventures that await us.

Thanks to Louise for such a well timed theme and to Cindy for hosting. Go check out the skirts she has been busy making for Mathilda's Markets.

pic via as ebay wouldn't let me copy a pic of the real thing. The one we now own. Yikes!!

New favourite gadget

A set of these, too sweet to resist, measuring cups arrived on my doorstep earlier this week. After spotting them over at Georgielove I couldn't resist getting myself and 3 other special people a set (wouldn't you when the postage was the same as getting one and Christmas is just around the corner?) .

The littlies love them and they currently rank as most fought over toy this week. I can now happily retire my little handpainted set from Prague back to the treasure shelf.

Getting sick and tired of the gadget that I am tapping away on. I have now written 81 school reports on my mac and I have to say quite frankly I AM OVER IT.

More gadgets at Cindy's.

PS These little guys were from here just in case you were wondering.

Orange polkadots

Yeah for me! I am having a tinny week. Had a win on the horses on Tuesday and have just discovered that I have won this cute as a button, shirred top for my Ellie from another Ellie who haunts the blogsphere. I have no idea how Miss Ellieboo does all she does. I am constant awe of what she packs into her week. Go check out what she is up to now. I tell you she never seems to sit still!

Will post shots of my girl flitting about and strutting her usual attitude later.

Rainy Sunday

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.

I can hear Missy coughing upstairs right now. Do you think falling asleep in the pram as it rained on her head would cause her to catch a cold? It couldn't happen that fast, could it?

Pirates and Scoundrels

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.

If only he could summon his inner pirate and swindle her with his treacherous ways. Maybe then they would be on an even playing field.

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.

Another two-for-one Eyespy Sunday here at glass halfful. Life has been pretty full on, so much so that there seems to be too much to blog and so little time to do it. Thanks to Cindy and Karin for the themes. More doors and favourite places over there.

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush

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.

In bloom

I am enjoying this springtime. There are freesias sprouting on the side of the road, their scent heady in the afternoon sun. The blossoms and magnolias, lilies and camellia's are in full bloom. So too are many of my friends and family.

I love how a woman blossoms with her pregnancy, how carrying something so precious and important gives a woman a glow of self assurance that is rarely seen at any other time of her life. I love how a woman's face fills out and that unmistakable glow takes over her whole being. How it connects her to the women before her, who have carried and birthed and to our great earth mother. I loved the secret feeling of carrying my babes, of feeling their movements and their cycles. It gave me a spring in my step knowing that I was growing a tiny human being as I went about my daily business. Growing babies was something I could do with relative ease. My heart aches for those mama's whose pregnancies are trial, who awake to sickness almost everyday of their 9 months. It surely taints the joy when you feel poorly for most of the day. My sister in law, way over in Canada is pregnant and I feel just a teeny bit sad that I will miss this part of her life when she blossoms and blooms into a mother. I will miss seeing my brother be a first time father. I have watched him play with his godchildren, my two little super heroes. He has buckets of patience and an abundance of knowledge. Too boot, he really is just a big kid at heart. I will miss witnessing him guide his babe into the world.

More blooming marvellous things here.

PS Another ridiculously late Eyespy Sunday but this one was sitting in my draft box just waiting for me to hit publish

Red (and something to try)

I am ridiculously late in posting this Eye-spy Sunday. What, with a party, a birthday, a trip into the city, 3 days of work, two other 4 year old birthday parties (I tell you my social life is a whirlwind!), a 20 year school reunion....there didn't seem to be a smidge of time to breathe, let alone blog.
But I really wanted to post this one. A few months ago I dropped into Mathilda's markets to visit a special somebody over at bugandpop. She had blogged about this gorgeous cape and when I clapped eyes on it, I knew it was just the cape to match this one.

There is something very special about a little girl walking around in a little red cape. She wears it almost daily and the comments we receive as we wander down the street are just amazing.

My friend has a twenty-something son who recently applied for a job in children's television. His CV stated that he is waiting patiently for the day when capes will make a comeback.

Missy is not waiting for any comebacks. She and the Rooster think their capes are the bomb. Just today, the Rooster was marvelling at how his cape was blowing in the wind, just like a real superhero.

The joy.

Imagine if we all threw caution to the wind and donned our capes. I think that I'd like to try that just for a day. It could transport me back to simpler times when a cape and a heartbeat was all I needed for a great adventure.

More punctual posts here. Thanks to Ellieboo and Kimono Reincarnate for their great themes. Quite by accident, I have managed to combine the themes. That would make me almost on time.

Bunny Pigs

It seems our Missy is born to love all creatures great and small. I suspect she will be the little girl bringing home the strays and imploring us to keep it.

Today she came face to face with this little creature. Having discovered rabbits a few weeks back, she immediately thought she had met another.

"Bunny Mama".
No. A guinea pig.
Ahh...."Bunny pig"
There was no convincing her. And so the bunny pig was born

Our little friend, a true Bindi Irwin and wildlife warrior in the making, had Missy entranced.
Already she loves the bigger girls couldn't help but mimic all the actions of her older friend.

How she would have loved to have taken this critter home and patted him to sleep, all the while singing, nina nana, till his little eyes shut.

The party is over

Count them.1…2…3…4
It’s what I’m turning, that’s for sure
Mum and Dad tell me it’s what I’ll be
And I’m well over being three
August 16 come around 1
Join us for music, cake and fun
We’ll cook some snags, salad too
At Glenbrook Park, no presents, just you
Here’s Mum’s email address to drop her a line
RSVP by the 12th would suit her just fine



I was right. It is all about the cake. Tucking our tired little birthday boy into bed tonight I asked him what was the best part about his party and he said the cake. He loves it when people sing happy birthday to him and he gets to blow out the candles. Such a simple 4 year old pleasure.

So too is brooming cars in the mud. Not that there was any mud about on this unseasonably hot August day. Just a very big water container and lots of toing and froing with plastic cups. Wet, muddy happy boys. Is there any other way they should be?
My kids love the party treat bag. I on the other hand, usually don't. My children don't cope with sugar well (a bit like skinny girls getting tipsy on one glass of wine) and go pretty feral on just the smallest amount of sugar. With that in mind I sent this little stash home. (I must credit my friend Bec, who doesn't have a blog but should because she is making the best smocks as we speak, who made nearly 4 kilos of green play dough to add to our treasure bags)
Borrowed from Bec over at Red Chocolate, they are filled with crafty bits and pieces to create an alien monster. I can't resist a little competition, so instructions were given to make and then forward photos of their creation so that the Rooster could pick his favourite. The ultimate long distance party game.
Not sure what I was doing all day but I came home with only 4 photos on my camera, all of which have been posted here. The last, our family shot, taken for prosperity.

I can't believe that the Rooster is 4. This time 4 years ago my labour had just started but it took 2 more days for him to come out and meet us. He's still a shy guy, unsure about new situations and always a little apprehensive to enter into them. But once he gets going he is unstoppable. A ball of energy with the softest and sweetest heart. As he lay in bed utterly exhausted, he thanked me from the bottom of his heart for his lovely party and all his friends who came. And you know what Mum, he said, it's not even my birthday yet!

Blast off

The Rooster has been tearing the numbers off his countdown book one day at a time. While patiently waiting for number 18 to arrive, he has been browsing our very old birthday cake book for inspiration for his cake. He was teetering between a racing car, a dump truck or a race track number 8, until he spotted this book at the library. I have no idea how he knew it was a birthday cake book, but he snatched it off the shelf and found exactly what he was looking for.

Each morning our Rooster makes a rocket with his Lego while he waits for the morning to arrive. This cake was right in his universe. It was the one he was waiting to discover.
He knew something special was waiting for him downstairs this morning. He snuck down and found his Rocket ready for take off.
We like to recycle our cakes and get a few uses for our cake making efforts. The cupcakes, 30 moon and stars, were for preschool with instructions that the rocket could not be cut. The rocket will make its maiden voyage on Sunday at the Rooster's party.

Reading the introduction to our latest cake book, it talks of children not remembering what they were given for each birthday or who came to the party, but the cake. It seems that the highlight is the cake. I can remember many of the efforts of my mother from that very first train covered WW birthday cake book. I wonder which cakes will hold fast in the Rooster's memory?