Tutu love

Having a girly girl for a daughter is heaps of fun. Most days. Except when the weather or activity calls for tracksuit pants and warm jumpers. Then we need to negotiate the prettiness factor.

So I'd been looking around at kids dress ups. Something she can throw on over her jeans or long pants and still feel pretty at a moment's notice. With the added bonus being that there is no inconvenience to me. Pricey sums the majority of my dress up research. So it was off to get some fabric and some research on the internet (and discussions with one of the talented members of my knitting group - thanks Nicola!) and we are now a two tutu household.

I was delighted. S was somewhat nonplussed. She's worn one of them twice but won't even try the other one on. Hmmm. Take a deep breath.

I had visions of a little photo shoot with my happy toddler dancing around the room in each tutu. Apparently that is reserved for her fairy dress or her princess dress. Not a tutu.

So in order to show you my creations I had to get pictures of the tutus using her largest toy - whose sad puppy dog eyes don't look too wrapped to be roped into it either...Oh well. Into the dress up box they go for kids to use when they visit.

Fresh air, wide open spaces

We drove up to Hepburn today with family friends. The object of the day was to take a chainsaw to a felled tree and bring the firewood home. That was for the adults. The kids had a whole other plan.

Fresh air. Wide open spaces. Muddy ground. They were in heaven.

With all the fresh air and running around the kids were zonked by the end of the day. As a parent its beautiful to witness. Even better for a quiet drive home.

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.

A rose by any other name...

At the risk of this becoming a gardening blog - I just wanted to share that I found this gorgeous rose in my mum's garden this morning. Julia's Rose - which she planted to remind her of me.

The thing I love about it is that it's not pink. Or orange, or peach...it's brown. I know! It's a pale brown with peachy, pinky tones. So pretty. So appropriate. He, he!

Magnolia

Late October last year I bought a Little Gem Magnolia tree. I lovingly planted it outside my bathroom window and envisioned beautiful shade in summer and sunlight in winter. And in between...those beautiful blooms.

Then we had the hottest, driest, smokiest summer I can remember. The heat was unforgiving on some days and my little trees leaves fried. I chastised myself for having planted it too close to summer and expected to watch it slowly die.

So you can imagine my delight when a single, pure white magnolia flower bloomed last week. I was so taken aback that I gasped loudly. Big Fella thought I'd seen a rat, or snake or something equally dramatic...like catching a neighbour with their pants down?

It rained most days last week and so it was several days before I ventured out to take a pic. By then the petals were bruised...but still so beautiful.

Keeping her warm

I'm what I would describe as a beginner sewer. Straight lines. A baby quilt here or there. Can't read a pattern. Don't know how to utilise my machine to the best of it's 50 stitch ability. Never done a button-hole. Getting the idea?

So I must have been in some kind of hormonal stupor last night when I rushed off to Spotlight for some cheap Polo Fleece and some tulle...

I know, they don't usually go together, but I'm having a bit of a problem at home. I have a girly 2 year old. She loves putting on dresses. The latest is that the dress must "spin" well. You know, when you twirl, there must be some good air and swish in the skirt. Hard to find in anything but summer dresses.

She also fights with me about putting a long sleeved top and leggings under her summer dresses...given it's cold now.

So I decided to replicate her current summer favourite. A "princess" dress she got as a hand me down from her cousin. It is light, airy with the best bit being the tulle overlay in the skirt that twirls and swishes beautifully.

Somehow I made this dress. No pattern. No idea. But it worked. She loves it. It's warm AND it twirls. Phew!

Now, onto making one in pink.

Getting all Granny

Whilst trawling through Flickr, I've been seeing some beautiful crochet projects on the go. Namely these ones. Gorgeous.

But alas, I can barely knit - let alone crochet - so I put my desire for a hexagon crochet rug to the back of my wish list. Given I needed to attain the skills.

Then I was introduced to the lovely Kirsty during my weekend at Sewjourn. She brought her crochet project with her. The delicious coffee, chocolatey granny squares are planned for a king size blanket. She's got guts! Kirsty was also kind (and patient) enough to show me the ropes of creating a granny square.

They're a bit wonky. Bit too loose. Not perfect enough for a blanket...and until I've mastered it I'm not moving onto circles. So in the mean time I'm practicing my squares and one of S's dolls may score a little blanket out of it. She's not as fussy as I am. Yet...