Opportunities Taken

I've learned not to share my op-shop scores with my mister, he just doesn't get it and his lack of enthusiasm rains all over my cheap shopping high parade. I will start sharing here instead.

Taken home from the op-shop this week...

• $2  Twister
• $2  Tangram  (by Haba, the German maker of a lot to the beautiful wooden toys I see in the boutique kid shops)
• $5  Spicy orange shoes for winter (just need to rub off the black marks on the toe)

Cheap $9 thrill!

Mx

Yarn Along

Working in alien green, and reading Perfume as our new book club selection.

We have a Disney Party next weekend, the crochet will be part of a "little green men" from Toy Story costume for the wee man. If it works out I will post the pattern.

Playing along with Ginny over at Small Things.

Mx

Creative Space

In my Creative space today, 5 old work shirts ready to be ironed and cut in to 5 inch squares for a quilt for the wee man.

Lets see if I can have it ready for his 1st birthday!

hop on over to Kirst's to check out other Creative Spaces.

Mx

Yarn Along

Playing along with Ginny again.



Knitting :: a Wurm beanie that was supposed to be for me but has turned out so small I'm hoping it will still be large enough to fit Charlie. This comes (again) from jumping straight in without doing a gauge square and using Granny's hand spun mystery ply wool. When will I learn?

Reading :: two books to help me with parenting once I have a walking talking little person, and loving them both. While How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk is specifically dealing with Children Punished by Rewards has chapters focused on both Children and adults. Such interesting books saying similar things.

The gist of Punished by Rewards is that rewards are the other side of the punishment coin and just as manipulative and ineffective a way of controlling people as punishment. Rewards may appear to work in the short term,but actually have the opposite effect of what you are trying to achieve in the long run because extrinsic motivators reduce intrinsic motivation and the desired result ends up being viewed as an obstacle to a goodie (reward). I think this book should be on the reading list of every teacher and manager of people. I'm just about to start the second half of the book where it discusses alternatives to using punishments and rewards.

I'm happy to have found How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk because its based on respect for children and their feelings as people not just little beings to be controlled but gives you effective and respectful ways to communicate with kids so they aren't little brats embarassing you at the supermarket (I'm totally frightened of being the too soft mum who can't control her kids). The opposite of "because I told you to" parenting without the use of punishments or rewards! So easy to read and has great examples of the principles being used by real families.

What are you reading? Any favourite parenting book recommendations?
Hop on over to Small Things to check out other Yarn Along'ers

Mx

0.5

the wee man passed the 6 month mark this week, where does the time go??

A quick look at where we're at...

- I've never slept less in my life, but I'm coping better than I ever thought I would.

- The cot has been pushed away from the bed and the fourth side has been attached to it. I wanted to co-sleep but wee man sleeps better in his own space (though you wouldn't guess it by the following).

- Naps have shortened to 45 minutes and last night he woke up every 45 mins. I hope this is just temporary and related to teeth?

- One tooth, bottom LHS. Probably the sleep thing is teeth related, he popped another between writing this and posting.

- Wee man enjoys a quarter of an avocado for dinner and likes to try and drink my drinks out of my glass.

- We have not done EC as I would have liked but wee man is pretty regular with his BM's and we generally catch them first thing in the morning in the laundry trough.

- Still sporting his baby mullet and not much else in the hair department.

- Weighs about 8kg but I prefer to carry him in the hug-a-bub over pushing him in a pram.

- Baths are outside on the back deck in the tummy tub, this may change soon as he grows and the weather cools down.

- Fingernails seem to grow at the speed of light and are kitten sharp.

- He still gomits (niece for vomit)

- I wish I had taken more photos when he was tiny.

so, does this gig get easier or harder? I've been told both.

Mx

February

1. 2011 0202, 2. 2011 0203, 3. 2011 0209, 4. 2011 0213, 5. 2011 0218, 6. 2011 0219, 7. 2011 0220, 8. 2011 0221, 9. 2011 0224

February

...was a month of heat...

...catching up with friends from overseas...

...a time of firsts (food and tooth)...

in regards to my 365 project, my inner perfectionist would say "it's got such big holes, so many days are missing and it's only been two months, give up already." I must be letting that part of me go a little because I don't care.

How was February for you? Do you believe summer is over? It certainly doesn't feel that way here.

Mx

knitted slouchy

Finished* on our camping trip to Cervantes, Australia Day week, and more than a year on the sticks.

based loosely on the Alice Beret in Knitting Little Luxuries by Louisa Harding. Knitted in hand-spun from Granny.

Mx

* actually the knitting was finished some time ago, but I only got half way through the seam before I ran out of wool.

January

In the style of "1/4 of an inch" I've made a mosaic of January photos from my 365 project.

1. 2011 0102, 2. 2011 0103, 3. 2011 0110, 4. 2011 0114, 5. 2011 0116, 6. 2011 0118, 7. 2011 0119, 8. 2011 0127, 9. 2011 0129

January

...was a month of quiet chaos...

...from moving from flat to house...

...and included a windy, beach camping holiday.

I may have to rename it "project 300 and something"... I've missed a few days already, but not to worry, I am picking up my camera more than I would otherwise and I've already learned more about my camera too.

How was your January?

Mx

my favourite time of year!

fresh figs off the tree at Mum's. It's only little now, but every year we get more and more figs :)

I don't know if it helps but often I check on the little tree and tell it I love it and that it's my favourite. Is it wrong to play favourites in the garden? Do you think the others get jealous?

Mx

I hope you are enjoying this time of year too and have missed the devastation of flooding around the country.

Project 365

I was inspired by Chez Larssons's 365 project last year, and just yesterday by this gorgeous montage of images throughout the year from Garden Mama. Being the lucky girl I was last year getting a DSLR for my birthday, I think a Project 365 will help improve my photography and capture some moments that perhaps might go unnoticed.

Anyway, I needed a new New Years Resolution, as I just don't think I'm going to get very far this year with my usual stand in of 'get organised'. At four months old Charlie is no longer a new born, but I'm still trying to find out how I'm meant to get everything done... I suppose you just don't.

On top of that, we are shifting from the flat to house in a week and I don't know if that will help or if the unpacking (or boxes sitting around waiting to be unpacked) will nudge me further away from my perpetual goal. I am terribly excited though to be getting a bit more room!

You can find me and my Project 365 over on Flickr, and I might post some of them here.
What projects are you starting this year?

Mx

2010

seagull foot prints taken this morning at South Beach

2010... I love you! I've had such a great year, the best yet!

I spent most of the year being pregnant and loved it*
Gave birth to our gorgeous baby boy and loved it** 
Getting to know our sweet little man, looove him!
Spent too much time reading other peoples blogs, and loved it.
Met some other about to be new parents, and loved them.
Got my first DSLR for my birthday, and love it.
Started to have much more of a relationship with my Granny, and am loving it.

Happy New Year!!
I'm excited for 2011, I hope you are too.
How was your 2010?

Mx

*(minus a queasy month or too in the first trimester)
**(except for the blood loss and fainting afterwards)

Freo Friday

 
This one is along Henry Street. I love it.

Mx

Poppy Doll

 

made just in time to send off for Softies for Mirabel 2010, organised by Pip from Meet Me at Mikes. You can buy the Poppy Doll pattern here from Hop Skip Jump, really cute patterns, I think I'll have to get the Gerald Giraffe one next.

Mx

Freo Friday

I haven't made it in to Freo for a few weeks because post natal yoga is getting in the way of my usual friday lunch with the girls, so I only saw these lovelies yesterday. The guess was they've been up about three weeks already.

Along High Street in front of New Edition (the best bookstore in town) right next to the backpackers.

Have a lovely weekend. We're going to have a housefull (flatfull?) of girls* over making softies for Mirabel.

Mx

*not real girls as in teenagers or younger, but my mates, the girls. I probably should start using the word ladies, but it doesn't feel right... maybe when we're in our forties...

Yarn Along

Playing along with Ginny again this week.

I've had this project on the needles for longer than I care to remember,  but I'm so pleased that three solid days being driven all over the country side has given me many hours with my hands free to knit. This slouchy beret is so close to being finished, and look at how close I was to not having enough wool left! (dang, I cut that off in the photo, but trust me, there are mere millimeters on the other side of the photo edge). The pattern is the alice beret from knitting little luxuries.

And I'm reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel for book club. I have read it before and loved it, so I've chosen it for our current book club selection.

Head on over to Small Things to check out other Yarners.

Mx

Breakfast of Kings

Of The King... PB and banana hotdogs, a simplified version of Elvis's fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches, soo delicious! I love a lot of butter (real butter, organic and most definitely salted) and smooth PB, put on while the bread butts are hot enough to make it melty.

I've Nigella to thank for putting me on to this wonderful flavour combination way back in 01 with her Nigella Bites Series and cookbook. That cookbook is hands down the most cooked from cook book that I own. I have a goal to cook at least one dish from every cook book I have (to justify keeping them all), but alas most of them just sit in the book case and I get most of my recipes from blogs or the internet.

 I just did a search and Nigella's recipe for Presley's Fried Peanut-Butter and Banana Sandwich is available here.  Unfortunately you miss out on the preamble you get to the recipe in the book, which is one of the reasons I love her cook books so, as much for the food as to read her stories. After all these years, I still have a girl crush on her.

Try them, you'll only be sorry calorifically...

Mx

Yarn Along

Ginny over at Small Things has started a new meme - Yarn Along, a photo of what you're reading and knitting/crocheting.

I have the granny shrug by Kootoyoo on the hook at the moment (it's been on there for a while), and I'm reading The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley, trying to get a little insight into the sleeping habits and needs of babies.

Aparrently the wee man could be giving me another 5 to 6 hours a day to catch up on sleep and housework (16-17 hours a day instead of 12). Things have gotten better though and I think 5 years of night-shift at the Mail Exchange are finally paying dividends.

Pop over to Small Things to check out other crafty readers.

Mx

Freo Friday

So much more interesting than a plain wall. I took this photo last summer and I think it's been painted again (not as nicely).

Mx

Sunday Quote

“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”
- Elizabeth Stone

 
We had our first scare with our precious wee man today which really bought home this quote. Now I will be sure that anybody holding the babe is no where near the car when I shut the boot.

The strength of feeling I have for someone I've known for eight weeks is frightening, obviously you can't walk around every day thinking about how bad it would be if anything ever did happen, but today...

The enormous love I have for this little man has opened me up to the preciousness of all children, I have a new understanding that all these little people walking around are carrying their parents hearts with them. Somebody would feel the same despair I would if anything ever happened to them. It makes me drive more carefully. At the same time, seeing kids makes me smile now, because I also know the joy they are bringing to someone.

Hope you had a lovely weekend with no scares
Mx

Freo Friday

A photo of the backpackers on High Street in Fremantle.

And a very green pano (panel van) parked out front.

Have a great weekend!

Mx