the season for giving

How sweet are these dragons.

This one is for Mary, Jim's teacher.

This one is for Anne, Joseph's teacher. She adores red.

The pattern is from Winterwood.

All the children would like one for christmas.( it's not going to happen, seeing christmas is tomorrow)

Gifts

Well school is finished, back home enjoying the sunshine.

This apron was a gift for Alice's playgroup teacher, Tania. I used this pattern. I really like the bias cut, and it was super easy to sew up.

Some Alexander Henry fabric birds straight stiched on to the pockets.

bloom

Bloom, that's the best word to describe the garden at the moment.

When we arrive back home on fridays, the children scatter in different directions, as soon as the car stops. I don't see them for a good few hours.

I, on the other hand, walk around the garden, wondering what did I miss while I was away. Did I really appreicate this place when I lived here? I think so......

The children and Dan seem so able to shift from one place to another. For me it feels like it takes a day for my soul to find itself again.

My latest affirmation that I say hourly, is "love the one your with".

My tree top climber.

Wet

Still having trouble blogging, hopefully it's on the improve.

Well I think the drought has finally broken around here, this is our little winter creek, usually you can step over the trickle, not this day!

Jim, trying to catch the big one.

I'm home here in Ballarat for five glorious days.

It's been a few months since we decided to send our children to a different Steiner school. and it has gotten easier.

We are keeping our home in Ballarat, too much of us has gone into this place, to sell it would break my heart. But of course traveling everyday is not ideal with little ones, so we have bought a little cottage in Guildford to live in during the week and then come home on weekends.

It's been hard, I miss my garden, my home, it is the centre of who I am.


Lugging a weeks worth of dirty washing home every weekend, and trying to get it dry in two days, is impossible. Did I tell you how wet it has been?


Imagine how you feel when you are packing up to go on holiday, how there's no head space for anything else. Well I've been packing up every Sunday and unpacking every Monday at the cottage and packing up friday and unpacking Satuday at home.

And because I don't have two of everything yet, I do have to pack everything including the kitchen sink.

Crazy....

But I do feel grateful.

Grateful, that I have this option.
Grateful, that I have found more blessings than I realised.
Grateful, that I see it with new eyes.

Nappy free zone

For ten years, toes have been tickled, belly-buttons have been kissed, songs have been sung and bottoms have been changed on this change table.

Yet, not one photo I have, of a baby on it.

This piece of funiture has followed me round my house for over a decade, it sat by the fire when my first was born. Then it followed Jim into the nursery.

When Joseph came along, it made it's way to the family room till summer then into the cooler laundry.

Upstairs it went when Flynn was born.

And stayed in the bathroom for the whole time for Alice.

If only furniture could talk.

An outfit for Alice

I don't normally dress Alice in such vibrant colours, maybe the day was grey and rainy( highly likely) and I needed a lift.

Beautiful fine pinwale cord from Stenzo. The pattern was in last years Autumn Ottobre. I love the pants detail, If only I could get them in my size.

Spanish Day

We celebrated Multcultural day at our school with a Spanish theme. The language taught at the school has always been French, but this year they changed it to Spanish, so fitting to have a celebration with a Spanish theme.

All the children made a fish pinata.

There was much singing and dancing and eating, and we were lucky that the sun shone down on us.

Smiles everywhere.

Our Studio

This is where we have been living this last month, It is owned by a family from the school. They lived in it till they built their real house. I could live here forver.
Oh, I forgot about the sugar gliders who do a dance ( and more) every night and all through the night!

Everything has been reclaimed, it is so inspirational. And it runs off solar energy and has a composting toilet which I love, they are fantastic, although Joey thought he could fall through the toilet hole, so I had to hold his hand.

The family are professional muscians, and everynight Ron would come down and play the didgeridoo and tell us stories about catching red bellie black snakes and how a perentie carried him up a tree!

Jim was in awe. The next week he brought along his didge to play along with Ron.

Felted goodie's

The goodie bag for the children comming to celebrate Joey's birthday, each got a felted friend.

I got the pattern from Etsy, I love e-patterns. Instant!

I made one a night. luckily there were only 12 children ( my four make a big chunk). I wrapped them up for pass the parcel, so there was no fighting about who wanted what.

Isn't he cute!.

Joseph's birthday

I have a seven year old......... just like that.

My party's always have a theme, and Joseph wanted a dinosaur party.

So..... a dinosaur egg race.

A pin the tail on the dinosaur.

Happy birthday, my sweet sweet boy.

Oh, the magic of those first seven years!

Homelife

Sorry for being off the radar lately, besides pacing the floor, chewing my nails down to their stumps and all, and blogger hasn't been able to publish my posts.

Last month, I thought I would be here in this house, the home that Dan and I built, built for us and the dream of our family to be. ......forever.

This land, our land is family land, our roots are deep and after 10 years, I can see what a wonderful place we have made here.

But life sometimes throws you a curveball, and I've had enough signs to know that this is the right thing to do.

Friends and family are in shock they can't quite believe we are doing this, so quickly, but you know, there's no need to hesitiate when it's the right decision, right for us.

Flynn and Alice eating our bumper crop of apples, we have not bought an apple since Feburary, and it's August! the last of the crop was eaten tonight. we have a wonderful orchard of snow apples, jonathan, golden delicous, pink lady, lady williams, granny smith.

I love this pattern, I think it's been around for decades.

Fully reversable pinnie. I think you all know my obsession with pinnies.

And I love that it keeps her jumpers clean, much easier to wash a cotton pinnie than a wool jumper.