Stepping out of my comfort zone

Our weekly knitting group is going great guns (how old am I again? Knitting group at 32?).

One of our group members, Jo, is a long time friend and a creative inspiration to me. She has the courage to tackle things she doesn't necessarily know how to do in order to learn more. So she was the first to whip out the Double Pointed Needles (DPNs) which looked scary to me. She has taken on projects that require yarn to be put all over the place, back and forth and every which way...or so it seems.

So with Jo having tested the waters, I took the plunge and copied a pattern she had made earlier. A beanie. A cute one at that. And it worked! DPNs and all...

What I'm NOT lovin'

I know it's the blogging norm to quip about the joys of motherhood, the comfort of rhythms, favourite family recipes and precious family moments...I know. But in this space of my own I just have to admit that whilst I love my job, some days are shit and I need to be able to vent about it. At the moment my pooh days are literal - it appears we have a smearer in our midst.

My S is a toddler with great zest for life. She loves all things sparkly and pretty, loves dresses, loves her baby "Daisy". She's right up there in the girly stakes. So it was with some surprise that I discovered her penchant for playing with pooh. It's just not lady like.

After cleaning up her cot on several occasions in the past, I'd thought we were perhaps over this stage. That was until this day. Anthony and I had moved her out of the nursery and into her own room and a big bed. Granted the room was empty but for her new bed and bedding. She is also a climber, and after pulling a chest of drawers on top of her we weren't taking any chances.

So when it came to nap time we unveiled her new room, new bed and bedding. And we left her to explore it and then have a sleep. What I discovered 30 mins later is pictured below. Talk about marking your territory...

Within 3 hours we had cleaned the carpet, the walls, washed the bedding and put everything back together. The next day the walls got "painted" again.

I'm all for artistic expression, but I'm feeling that this is taking it too far...

What I'm lovin'

Winter has certainly settled in at home and it's cold!

We have a delicious open fireplace that we tend to use about 5 times a year due to the smelly, messy nature of it. And the fact that I didn't really know much about lighting and keeping a fire burning. So we only lit it when my Big Fella was kind enough to tend to it...as I said, about 5 times a year.

Anyhoo. This year I'm really feeling the cold. The family room that hosts our fireplace is hard to keep warm due to lots of windows, so I've taken to learning how to keep a fire going. And it's been going. Every day. I'm lovin' it big time. So warm. Hypnotising. Beautiful. Lovin' it.

The long, happy wait

In March our little family of three were pleasantly suprised by an unexpected pregnancy. A holiday conception. You've heard of the type...the holiday vibe is going, there's good food, good wine, good company, great conversations, lots of good will going on between me and the man...and the good times continue. Enough said.

Now I'm 15 weeks pregnant and counting. I've felt much worse this time compared to the glow and hormone induced bliss I enjoyed with S. Lets just say that I'm still waiting for the glow to arrive...and the sickness to leave :)

So we are all happily awaiting the arrival of a new family member to love in December - making us 4. But until then, I'm waiting for the next bit...like feeling those butterflies across my stomach letting me know I've got life growing inside me.

Happy times.