Treasure

These are the things I am really treasuring at the moment.

Our recently updated season table, which now has a big fat sunflower to make it properly summery. Eve bounced out of school waving it proudly, even more proudly bursting with the news that she has her first wobbly tooth. Oh gosh, that hit me! Surely it only came through five minutes ago, as I cradled her, carried her and soothed her in my arms? It is the very same tooth she first cut. And now she's talking about the tooth fairy....

We sat down to make some Fathers' Day cards for Harv and the Grandads. After a while I wandered off into the kitchen to get on with some chores while they were busy, and was followed a few minutes later by Noah, smiling shyly and offering me this. 'Who's this one for, Noah?' I asked. 'It's for you, mummy,' he said. He melts my heart, that boy.

More camping. We packed up and scooted off for a single night away with some friends on a fab eco-campsite on a hill not too far away. I love how the children see the open spaces and RUN straight into them.


Thom watching the Tigers, trying to sneak up on him.

And the view from my back door this evening.

Wow!

Corr! I never thought I'd get one of these - THANK YOU!! to Claire over at The Green Queen.

So, now I get to pass this on..... These blogs are the ones that I love, that touch me and inspire me, and that really hit me with how HUGE life is.
(And that often having me sighing 'Wow, I wish I could make such beautiful things.....')
I really, REALLY don't get very much time to read blogs, but I am a faithful follower of these:

Enjoying The Small Things

Lazy Seamstress

When I Get The Time

A Smile a Day

Border Stories

Different Choices

My Handmade Haven

Free Range Family

Making Stuff

Buffering

The high pitched whinings of post-dinner, crotchety littles was grating tonight - they were arguing over the various contents of the doctor's case, Noah insisting that everyone needed injections (we've finished ours for a bit - phew)..... Gah! So 'Hey,'I said, 'Let's have a dance - what music would you like?'
'Mamma Mia!' they yelled.
Trusty Youtube was running slowly tonight though, so their current favourite kept stopping.
But..... no whining about it - 'Hey, we can play musical statues!' shouted Eve, and they did, loving every minute, including the buffering. See - they teach me things all the time - to enjoy the buffering, the little breaks in life where it feels like nothing is happening.....but you're still, if you let yourself, enjoying it.

Happy Campers

How much do kids love camping??
It starts as soon as we tell them that we are going - where will we camp? they ask. And who'll be there? The tent becomes a sort of play barn. They make their own beds (well, sort of). I had to BEG Noah to let me take the Bedroom photo - 'I want to mess it up, Mummy!' he insisted, trying to push past me and laughing.
And then there are rope swings, streams, camp fires, other people's tents, woods, swamps and waterfalls to throw ourselves into the love of.
After a looooong bath, their feet are still filthy.
Yep, we love camping.

Hunter-gatherer

Isn't it amazing, and fab.....? One minute you have a poorly baba who is floppy and listless, needs to be carried everywhere, and has a temperature of 39.1. Then he finally falls asleep on the sofa at 4.30, wakes up an hour later, and is BETTER!
And come bedtime is absolutely full of beans, not even close to tired....
So these photos were taken at about 8.30 as he munched his way around the veggie patch. There's not much in it this year as we are leaving for Nepal at the end of July, but he had a chomp of the purple sprouting broccoli and the chives....and finally went to bed about 10.30.




And check this out - at the grand old age of 15 months, I think he is finally growing some hair!

This is my first little flower child, made from a pattern sent to me by very, very kind Shell. Eve was delighted to come down and find her one morning - and I was very pleased that I managed to make her before all the blossom has gone from our apple tree. I reckon she can stay for at least another couple of weeks as the trees around here are still covered in beautiful frilliness and bloom.

Songs for my babies

Pregnancy songs. These are the ones that remind me of growing my little ones.

Here's Eve's.
We went to see 'Closer' either just before or whilst I was pregnant. Romantic tragedies have unsurpringly seemed a lot less poignant ever since I became a mother - this is the last time I remember feeling empathy..... Might it come back at some point in the future? Anyhow - this song was on the radio a LOT when I was expecting the little chops.

This is Noah's.

And here's Thom's.
We went to see Radiohead at the Oval when I was 6 weeks pregnant with him. And listened to In Rainbows kind of exhaustively for an embarrassingly long time afterwards.....