Category Archives: Family

My Creative Space

Posted on March 25, 2010 | 8 comments

My Creative Space March 25

My creative space has Grannies in it. I was packing up my Grannies. They were stacked so prettily. Then everything went awol…

My Creative Space March 25

Sigh. It is the end of a long week. A week in which those toes learned to step. And then to walk. And (before that perhaps?) to climb to lofty heights. There have been near misses (but Facebook friends will have noticed that I stopped mid-near-miss to get a photograph!) It has been a week of solo-parenting. Which I will never learn to love, but which I am learning to navigate more smoothly. It will be a welcome relief when Dermot gets in the door tonight. Even more welcome if he gets here in time for me to rush off to tonight’s Craft Bonanza (or at least a little bit of it.) See you there?

I’m rejoining Kirsty’s My Creative Space meme. See more spaces over at her place.

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Posted in The Kids, Yarncraft

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Uh… Happy New Year?

Posted on March 18, 2010 | 12 comments

(No, I suppose I can’t really get away with that in March, can I?)

So the wee boy recently raced past the 11-month post, which means I have been a non-blogger for four months people. Four! I think that may be my longest break yet, and people are starting to, you know, mention it. (Ok, namely Mum, but still…)

Also, I described myself to someone the other day as an ‘ex-blogger’, and then I wondered to myself whether the situation was really irreparable… so here we are, my blog and I – we’re entering into a trial reconciliation. No commitment, mind. We’re just casual friends. 🙂

In honour of it being my first post in 2010, how about some pics of a few firsts that have happened around these parts lately?

First day of Year Two:
First Day Grade Two

First day of Pre-school:
First Day Kinder

First swimming class:
First Swimming Class

First (ever) pavlova:
First Ever Pavlova
(This was so, so very good. It disappeared very rapidly. I baked another a week later for Mum’s birthday, and that one didn’t even hang around for a photograph! Pavs are definitely my new go-to fancy dessert. Yum)

[Left] First two-wheeler (technically a four-wheeler right now, I suppose); [Right] Finally getting rid of those training wheels, hoorah!
Two wheelin'

First glimpse at Melbourne’s baby:
Melbourne's Baby Elephant
(And so worth standing in line for, even though I only have crappy pics. Better ones at that link above. She’s since been named Mali, which is Thai for jasmine, apparently.)

Life. It’s pootling along just the way it always does, blog or no blog. Nice to be back 🙂

12 Comments

Posted in Baking, Family, General Ramblings, The Kids

Grandma Eye Candy

Posted on November 12, 2009 | 10 comments

Rohan 7m 02.jpg
This little bloke turned a whole seven months yesterday. And (knock-on-wood) we seem to be turning a pretty big corner in the sleep department… just like that. I have swaddled all my babies in the early months, the boys especially both had really strong startle reflexes that jolted them awake frequently. On Monday night, I decided it was just too damn hot for a wrap of any kind, even my lightest muslin wraps would have had the babe sweltering, so I took a chance and put him to bed without wrapping. And he slept through! Shout it from the rooftops! I’m close to being a proper human being again. Tuesday and Wednesday nights were pretty decent too – he had 4am wakeups both nights, but one wakeup is perfectly civilised really, compared to recent weeks.

Rohan 7m 01.JPG
(It truly has been stinking hot this week in Melbourne, for November anyway. This was the only way to sleep yesterday. Bonus points here for supercute handmade bunny cuddles! Minus points though for visible sweat/drool marks… I reheeally need to change those cot sheets.)

I’m not silly enough to believe it will be all fantastic from here on, but here’s hoping we’re on the way out of the doldrums.

Rohan 7m 03.jpg

Oh, and we’re getting better at this sitting up thing, too. And on the verge of proper crawling. Yea verily, all hell is about to break loose. Again.

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Posted in Family, The Kids

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November 11

Posted on November 11, 2009 | 3 comments

Eleven-eleven. It’s a memorable day, for more than one reason. (Not least the hanging of Ned Kelly or the sacking of the Whitlam Government)

Nine years ago, it was a memorable day for us.

Wedding Legalities

We were married beneath a maypole in the Kooyoora State Park (which gives this post its second bushranger reference!). Until the day, none of our guests knew the actual location of the ceremony. (Technically, nor did we, for several reasons, but the most important of which was, we had no rain plan(!), and the morning of November 11 brought an absolute downpour.)

Good fortune prevailed, however. At least as far as the weather. If you ask me to tell the story of our wedding photographs, I might still cry.

Thankfully, memories and lifetimes are not all about the pictorial evidence.

Happy Anniversary, my love.

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Posted in Family

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Feeling Flat

Posted on October 22, 2009 | 8 comments

Feeling Flat
So I fell off those there Blogtoberfest rails a little bit, yes? It would be lazy of me just to write this post all over again, but there you have it. Same old same old. Lack of sleep begets grumpiness begets ratbaggy kids begets grumpiness begets… no damn crafting of any kind around these parts (begets grumpiness…)

I will not dwell. I will be back…

{Artwork credit: Feeling Flat by Niamh. Awesome.}

Blogtoberfest Day, uh… 22… I think.

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Posted in Family, The Kids

Blogtoberfest Day 14

Posted on October 14, 2009 | 2 comments

Cafe Concert
My big boy yesterday, at his first ever piano recital*! He played beautifully, and I’m so glad he made it. Piano, or more accurately, the practice of, has been a huge point of conflict for us this year. Huge. We have recently hit upon a new system of bribery motivation, though, which is (so far) easing the way a bit. It would be nice if he chooses to keep playing.

*I see you wondering about that oh-so-stylish mosaic artwork, yes I do! Our school is mid-renovation, and the piano was parked in front of a huge pile o’ junk. Please excuse my terrible attempt at photoshopping the background. I do think they could have moved the piano over just a bit!

Keeping warm on the couch tonight under my new birthday blankie from Creswick woollen mills. It’s Alpaca wool, very snuggly. We’ve been catching up on Heart & Soul, which is a lovely show… the thinking man’s Glee perhaps? (but I like Glee too!) And then the last episode of United States of Tara (sob!) Can’t wait for the next season already!

Edit: oh, and have you discovered Sleeveface yet? You should!

Blogtoberfest Day 14

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Posted in The Kids

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Breakfast

Posted on October 12, 2009 | 2 comments

Breakfast 1

Breakfast 2

I have a brand new lens on the camera. It’s taking some getting used to, but I think I’m going to like it. A lot 🙂

Blogtoberfest Day 12

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Posted in The Kids

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More Self-Portraiture

Posted on October 8, 2009 | 6 comments

It is really difficult to take a photograph of yourself and the babe-in-a-backpack!

New Ergo

I thought my baby-wearing days were nearly over. Rohan’s pretty easygoing, and most of the time is happy to go in the stroller. But there are times when only holding will do, and those times are mostly called 5-7pm. I’m sure many a parent is familiar with that special time of day (who was it called them the arsenic hours?) Also, we’re hoping to get to do a little bit more bushwalking, and after packing him in the Hug-a-Bub for a couple of easy walks, I have got to say – bushwalking is easier when you can see your feet!

So I succumbed, and ordered an Ergo Sport. Our very cheery postie delivered it this morning, and we’ve spent the day trying it out. Verdict = winner. (Though the hair-grabbiness will have to be stopped :grr: )

Blogtoberfest Day 8

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Posted in The Kids

Why Is It

Posted on October 7, 2009 | 2 comments

That when children discover the camera, almost the very first thing they do is turn it on themselves? (And then giggle themselves silly over the results).

Niamh self 01
Niamh self 02
Niamh self 03
Niamh self 04

That last one is a bit ‘Blair Witch Project‘, don’t you think?

Just be glad I didn’t include the snot-nosed edition :giggle:

Niamh is a fan of the extreme close-up image. Recently she took a photographic tour of the house, which included photographs of the inside of the toilet bowl. Don’t worry, I’m not going to subject you to that!

Blogtoberfest Day 7

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Posted in Family, The Kids

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Holiday Snaps

Posted on October 2, 2009 | 7 comments

Our trip away last week was so very welcome, but at the same time… well, you know. Holidays with young children are never really completely restful, are they? But with a view like this from our accommodation in Port Fairy:

Viemfromourdriveway

Views like these to visit:

PortFairyHallsGapViews

And fun like this to be had:

PortFairyHallsGapFun

…I can’t really complain, now can I?

We headed down to Port Fairy, on the coast of western Victoria, for three nights, and then headed north to Halls Gap in the Grampians mountain ranges for another three. The weather was a little volatile, but we did manage to get out and explore a bit, spend time on the beach (albeit rugged up), walk a couple of short easy bushwalks, and cook a few marshmallows on a campfire. We also sought out cheese, chocolate, fabric and devonshire teas – all pretty standard requirements for our family holidays 🙂 In the rainy bits, we very happily lazed about inside – there might have even been a bit of crochet and (shock!) a bit of cross-stitch.

Sigh. So nice. Wish we could do it all over again next week.
CampfireBaby

PS. Pssst, Mum, more photos over here!

Blogtoberfest Day 2 – squeaking in just under the wire, at 11.32pm! And apologies to anyone who read the pre-edit version. At this time of night, my brain it does not.

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Posted in Family, The Kids

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