Weekend bliss

Last weekend I enjoyed a much needed craft weekend away with the creative talent Leslie, my dear friend Jo and the lovely Emily - who I was meeting for the first time. Oh, and two babies, Emily's Annie and my Is. I am happy to say that both babies were so well behaved and fitted seamlessly into our activities.

I really enjoyed the opportunity to relax, craft, eat, craft, drink, craft, talk and sleep. The girls were super easy to be around, chat and laugh with. We shared ideas, admired eachothers creations and enjoyed candid conversations over dinner. They really were that easy and lovely to be around.

Amongst all the eating, drinking and talking I managed to complete two little projects that had been bugging me for ages. A doll quilt and pillow to go with the doll bed S got for Christmas. I also made a little softie for a friends baby. I'm so glad they're done! Now my mind is no longer cluttered with the nagging voice telling me to get them done.

So there was not much not to like on this weekend! Thanks lovely ladies for a wonderful time. Thanks also to Leslie for choosing the beachside location and to Jo for taking Is and I in her car...again x

3 months old

We've reached a lovely milestone - my baby is 3 months old. Smiling, sleeping through the night (!), chatting with us and the beginnings of a giggle here and there. That is my favourite, followed closely by her big gummy smiles.

So far Is has been an absolute delight - I didn't know babies could be like this. I'm sure it's mostly her placid, easy going personality, but another factor could be that she's a thumb sucker.

I tried many times to get her to take a dummy. I'd find her sleeping soundly in her bassinet with the dummy discarded and her thumb in her mouth. I immediately projected myself into the future where I had a 10 year old that still sucks her thumb and I'm grabbing it out of her mouth in public places.

Both of my girls have been "sucky" babies. S still has a dummy as she's just not ready to give it up. Is was placed on my chest as soon as she was born and withing minutes she was laying there comfortably sucking her fingers. I guess time will tell as to whether dummies or thumbs are better. I have my own involuntary experiment going on within my home. I'm hoping Is proves me wrong and gives up her thumb by 3...

Anyway, that's all a while off. For now I'm soaking up the baby bliss. I keep getting warned that her easiness could all change at 3, 6, 9 months. I'm hoping Is proves them wrong on that one too. x

Jumping on the bandwagon

I know this blog has been all about the kidlets of late, but don't think I'm not crafting away in the background. How else does a SAHM stay sane?

I've jumped on the crochet bandwagon. Many of us have taken inspiration from this blanket and have used these helpful instructions to create our own crocheted blanket. As I'm new to crocheting I used these instructions but found I didn't love the look. So as usual, I went and made some adjustments.

I'm using 8 ply cotton from the Bendigo Woollen Mills in colours Latte, Denim, New Ochre, Parchment & Light Teal. It's soft and luscious to work with. I'm loving it - portable, quick and satisfying to see a circle made in no time at all.

Now to start joining them...

Summer holiday

We recently returned from a quick 1 week escape to Merimbula to meet up with friends from Sydney. We have each had a baby since the last time we saw each other, so we decided to meet halfway, holiday together and meet the newbies.

Sun, surf, sand, poolside, walks, swims, brief book reading, food, wine and more food. Great fun, relaxing...except when Harper and S got tired and started up the 3 year old antics. The funniest/most annoying bit was when you'd try to discipline one, the other would repeat what the parent said. It went a little something like this:

Me: "S, give Harper some space. That's why he's pushing you"

Harper: "Yes! Give me some SPACE!" (while he pushes her away)

...and so on and so forth. They took it in turns. Funny how they know how to share when it comes to being ferrets!

I even got a delicious 40 minutes by the pool on. my. own. I know. By some miracle, both girls were asleep so I ran out the door with my book and towel and went to the adult pool to lay on a sun lounge and relax. After 10 minutes of quiet bliss the wind picked up. The clouds came in. I persisted. Even took a dip in the pool. It started to lightly rain. I sat there...and then gave up.
Strangely, I found that whilst I'm always craving some "me" time, after about 30 minutes of having it I was (dare I say it!) bored. It's more fun swimming when my family is with me. How I've changed my tune. Gone are the days of 3 week holidays by the beach/pool, reading 4 books and getting a tan. Perhaps I'm ok with that more than I realised... x