Well, the long weekend finally finished... I never thought I'd be so happy to get back to work yesterday morning! By day 4 (Atti, Elora and I had 5 days, remember?) Atticus was ready to go back to school. Now when I answer, "Yes, it's a stay-at-home day" to his question in the morning, he replies, "But I want to go to school!" The poor boy. He still has almost two weeks of holidays left!
Anyway, I thought I'd tell you what Dante got up to during the break. Well, actually only on Good Friday so far but there's still plenty of time. He started a blog! I don't think he was influenced by mine or Dan's - a school friend told him about it. He's been itching to start one up - he keeps searching for "blogspot" and keeps telling us "But, it's free!" so on Friday morning I gave in and helped him with it.
Technically blogspot is for authors aged 13 and over, but I figure that if I'm supervising and moderating it will be okay. He and his friend T have written some stories about "Smelly Sock and the Adventures of Garbageland". He has posted the first instalment already. Do you want to read it?
http://donskycesandtemo.blogspot.com
I hope he keeps it up - I love that he is using his imagination and building his writing skills. I know that when I was his age I would have loved to have access to this sort of technology!
Happy reading!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Good Friday morning
School holidays have begun. Hooray, I think!
It's a bit difficult for us this year because Atti is not old enough for Vacation Care (school age only) but the pre-school is shut down since it's part of the proper school. Child care doesn't have any spaces for him either, so it was a mad shuffle of days and calling upon grandparents and Auntie Bec to help take care of the boy (and the kids in general).
Atti is very happy to be home. I kept him home with me yesterday (my usual day off with Elora) as the pre-school had a half day and since Dan and Dante were both occupied until 5:30pm with work, school and after school care it was easier for Atti to stay. Both he and Elora were happy to have the time together. They play together beautifully. We had a lovely day - we visited the park, had some lunch, watched Hi-5. In the afternoon I took poor Atti to get his four-year-old immunisation shots. (A wee bit overdue). Poor kid didn't know what was coming. The first was a big shock - the second was a lot more trouble, trying to convince him to let us hurt him again! In the end he let us, very bravely and got spoilt rotten afterwards with an ice block and lollies, a balloon and a new pack of play-doh.
This morning the boys were up a little after 6am. Ack! First day of holidays and they are up at the crack of dawn! So much for sleeping in. Dante is busy at the computer. More about that later.
Have a nice Easter break everyone.
It's a bit difficult for us this year because Atti is not old enough for Vacation Care (school age only) but the pre-school is shut down since it's part of the proper school. Child care doesn't have any spaces for him either, so it was a mad shuffle of days and calling upon grandparents and Auntie Bec to help take care of the boy (and the kids in general).
Atti is very happy to be home. I kept him home with me yesterday (my usual day off with Elora) as the pre-school had a half day and since Dan and Dante were both occupied until 5:30pm with work, school and after school care it was easier for Atti to stay. Both he and Elora were happy to have the time together. They play together beautifully. We had a lovely day - we visited the park, had some lunch, watched Hi-5. In the afternoon I took poor Atti to get his four-year-old immunisation shots. (A wee bit overdue). Poor kid didn't know what was coming. The first was a big shock - the second was a lot more trouble, trying to convince him to let us hurt him again! In the end he let us, very bravely and got spoilt rotten afterwards with an ice block and lollies, a balloon and a new pack of play-doh.
This morning the boys were up a little after 6am. Ack! First day of holidays and they are up at the crack of dawn! So much for sleeping in. Dante is busy at the computer. More about that later.
Have a nice Easter break everyone.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Poor worn out bub
Elora came down with a stomach bug on Tuesday night. In the middle of the night. The poor thing. I am, as expected, exhausted. We got about 4 hours' sleep yesterday (from 2am).
Today she's at home with Dan and obviously completely worn out. He sent me this photo. My heart is breaking!
Today she's at home with Dan and obviously completely worn out. He sent me this photo. My heart is breaking!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Who doesn't??
Doing some web surfing tonight, I came upon this:
I mean, who doesn't love John Cusack?
And this song is totally stuck in my head right now.
I mean, who doesn't love John Cusack?
And this song is totally stuck in my head right now.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Waiting for babies
There's been a lot of babies born lately... the Sydney inner-west baby boom, I guess.
Two babies I know are due ANY DAY and I m anxious with anticipation for their mothers.
One of them is on the other side of the country! A fellow blogger, someone who inspired me to keep at my own blog, Karen is 40 weeks pregnant with her third child, and a little frustrated because her other two both came at 38 weeks. I know how she feels - I was terribly annoyed for the last three weeks of Atti's pregnancy since Dante was three weeks early! She's shared the whole story of this pregnancy, from when they first decided to try for a third, until now! I can't wait to see her little gem when he arrives :)
The other bub due is my next door neighbour's. They have a 16 month old little boy "Baby Simon" and are due any day with their second. Every night I keep an ear out for the sounds of a woman in labour just in case. The other night I was sure I heard something and then heard their car drive out at 11:30pm. I was so excited! But then last night I saw my neighbour, still pregnant. No baby yet.
Waiting, waiting. You can imagine how I felt during my own pregnancies if I'm this anxious for others!!
Edited to add: Karen had a little boy! and my neighbours had a little girl whom we haven't yet met because we don't want to pass on our dreadful germs.
Two babies I know are due ANY DAY and I m anxious with anticipation for their mothers.
One of them is on the other side of the country! A fellow blogger, someone who inspired me to keep at my own blog, Karen is 40 weeks pregnant with her third child, and a little frustrated because her other two both came at 38 weeks. I know how she feels - I was terribly annoyed for the last three weeks of Atti's pregnancy since Dante was three weeks early! She's shared the whole story of this pregnancy, from when they first decided to try for a third, until now! I can't wait to see her little gem when he arrives :)
The other bub due is my next door neighbour's. They have a 16 month old little boy "Baby Simon" and are due any day with their second. Every night I keep an ear out for the sounds of a woman in labour just in case. The other night I was sure I heard something and then heard their car drive out at 11:30pm. I was so excited! But then last night I saw my neighbour, still pregnant. No baby yet.
Waiting, waiting. You can imagine how I felt during my own pregnancies if I'm this anxious for others!!
Edited to add: Karen had a little boy! and my neighbours had a little girl whom we haven't yet met because we don't want to pass on our dreadful germs.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The next craft
Right, so. I knit, I crochet, I quilt, I sew. The main crafts. I wouldn't say that I'm an expert at any of them but I try, and that's what counts, right?
A couple of friends are into cross-stitching. It was never really my cup of tea. Pretty little ducklings and flowers and heart-felt messages. Not my thing at all.
But today I found some brilliant inspiration and now I want to start cross-stitching: Radical Cross Stitch. Their tag line is "Seriously Seditious Stitching". It says it all, really. Check out the gallery. Awesome! If that's not inspiring, I don't know what is!
A couple of friends are into cross-stitching. It was never really my cup of tea. Pretty little ducklings and flowers and heart-felt messages. Not my thing at all.
But today I found some brilliant inspiration and now I want to start cross-stitching: Radical Cross Stitch. Their tag line is "Seriously Seditious Stitching". It says it all, really. Check out the gallery. Awesome! If that's not inspiring, I don't know what is!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Monday night on my own
Every Monday night Dan goes out to a friend's place and I get an evening to myself... after I've put the kids to bed, of course.
Every week I have grand plans for my time. Sewing, blogging, housework. Most of the time I never get any of it done. Tonight is a prime example. As soon as the kids went to bed at 8:30pm I plonked myself down on the couch with a bowl of frozen yoghurt, Ugly Betty on the television and my knitting. And that's where I stayed for an hour and a half (two episodes) except for getting up to tell Dante to go to sleep.
And that's that. No one come near my kitchen - it's a nightmare!
Every week I have grand plans for my time. Sewing, blogging, housework. Most of the time I never get any of it done. Tonight is a prime example. As soon as the kids went to bed at 8:30pm I plonked myself down on the couch with a bowl of frozen yoghurt, Ugly Betty on the television and my knitting. And that's where I stayed for an hour and a half (two episodes) except for getting up to tell Dante to go to sleep.
And that's that. No one come near my kitchen - it's a nightmare!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
On the needles
I started knitting a bias baby blanket late last year intended for a friend's new baby boy on the other side of the world... but it got heavy on the needles, Christmas and the New Year happened and other projects got in the way.
This week I was determined to complete it so I could send it off. I have three balls each of a cotton/linen yarn in three colours to make nine stripes but decided to only make six. I added two whole balls to the blanket, 5 out of 6 stripes. Wonderful work. Lots of knitting...
until I laid it out on the floor and realised it would be too small to be useful. So just like that, in five minutes, I pulled out a week's worth of work. Huh! So easy to undo.
And so, back to work I go.
This week I was determined to complete it so I could send it off. I have three balls each of a cotton/linen yarn in three colours to make nine stripes but decided to only make six. I added two whole balls to the blanket, 5 out of 6 stripes. Wonderful work. Lots of knitting...
until I laid it out on the floor and realised it would be too small to be useful. So just like that, in five minutes, I pulled out a week's worth of work. Huh! So easy to undo.
And so, back to work I go.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Dressmaking!
Starting tomorrow, for the next four weeks, I'm going to a dress making class at the Sydney Community College. It goes from 9:30-2:30pm on each Friday - a whole day of sewing :)
I'm so excited! I worked today instead of tomorrow - usually Thursdays are my day off. Thankfully my mother and Dan have combined forces to allow me to work for the Thursdays adjacent to my Friday classes. How lucky am I?
I chose a pattern - Simplicity 2848 - a "jumper" dress (I always thought they were called pinafores or some such). It looks a little daunting but I didn't want to choose something too easy. I mean, it's a learning experience so I have to challenge myself. I tried to do a little preliminary work tonight, tracing the pattern etc. But I couldn't work out what size is best - my measurements don't fit into one particular size (surprise, surprise - not having the "ideal" body shape). So, I'll have to do it all in the classroom. I hope I won't run out of time. I know that four weeks will go very quickly!
I'll keep you posted with my progress.
I'm so excited! I worked today instead of tomorrow - usually Thursdays are my day off. Thankfully my mother and Dan have combined forces to allow me to work for the Thursdays adjacent to my Friday classes. How lucky am I?
I chose a pattern - Simplicity 2848 - a "jumper" dress (I always thought they were called pinafores or some such). It looks a little daunting but I didn't want to choose something too easy. I mean, it's a learning experience so I have to challenge myself. I tried to do a little preliminary work tonight, tracing the pattern etc. But I couldn't work out what size is best - my measurements don't fit into one particular size (surprise, surprise - not having the "ideal" body shape). So, I'll have to do it all in the classroom. I hope I won't run out of time. I know that four weeks will go very quickly!
I'll keep you posted with my progress.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Our trip to Hawks Nest, NSW
We spent a week out of town in January. Hawk's Nest is about a three hour drive north of Sydney. A small seaside town whose population triples during the summer. It is right on the beach - two beaches, actually. One an ocean beach with big waves and sand dunes and the other backing onto Port Stephen with no waves, shallower and great for kids.
We had a wonderful time. The kids loved it. Dan and I loved it. So relaxing. No internet. No phone. Just reading and knitting to be done.
On Jimmy's Beach, the gentler one. Part of every day was spent at the beach.
Elora loved her bucket and spade. Although sometimes she had trouble.
"Can you help me?"
My parents came up for one day. We went for a walk to the ocean beach, Bennett's Beach. We didn't have time to go swimming.
Dan found a tiny, tiny crab.
Proud builders, father and son. A wave came and knocked the top of this sand castle seconds before the photo was taken.
Dante and his unusual building style. I'm not sure what he was doing but he sure did like digging deep holes! I guess that's seven year old boys for you.
On the ferry ride across the bay to Nelson Bay. Just a morning trip to see some dolphins. We saw some, but didn't really get a good picture.
More photos in my Flickr set.
We had a wonderful time. The kids loved it. Dan and I loved it. So relaxing. No internet. No phone. Just reading and knitting to be done.
On Jimmy's Beach, the gentler one. Part of every day was spent at the beach.Elora loved her bucket and spade. Although sometimes she had trouble.
"Can you help me?"
My parents came up for one day. We went for a walk to the ocean beach, Bennett's Beach. We didn't have time to go swimming.
Dan found a tiny, tiny crab.
Proud builders, father and son. A wave came and knocked the top of this sand castle seconds before the photo was taken.
Dante and his unusual building style. I'm not sure what he was doing but he sure did like digging deep holes! I guess that's seven year old boys for you.
On the ferry ride across the bay to Nelson Bay. Just a morning trip to see some dolphins. We saw some, but didn't really get a good picture.More photos in my Flickr set.
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