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suddenly 10...

 One day 6 months old...

and the next thing you know she's ten years old, with an amazing imagination and the courage of a giant.

Happy birthday to my girl who is brave, strong and full of joy.

Never give up on the magic.

xxx mama

 

No, her toes are quite alright...

This is what happens when your three year old finds a bottle of red nail polish and a quiet corner to play in.She was rather pleased with the results.

Note to self: Grace is quite proficient at opening bottles....

No, her toes are quite alright...

This is what happens when your three year old finds a bottle of red nail polish and a quiet corner to play in.She was rather pleased with the results.

Note to self: Grace is quite proficient at opening bottles....

funeral for a bee...

The girls found a bee in the grass.

Quite dead

 

So they named him and buried him, with a few words, a solemn procession and  a small yellow flower to mark the spot.

 

Then played in the sandpit until it was time for bed.

Life goes on.

RIP Grass.

chasing my tail...

it feels as though this is what I have been doing for the past six months. And not very successfully, I might add. There are still boxes to be sorted through and two rooms to be organised.

If I focus too much on the things I haven't managed to get done, I get quite frustrated and annoyed. So, possibly more useful to look at what I have achieved so far.

I started this last year, just before I began packing to move to the UK. All it needs now is to weave in the end( artfully hidden in the photo) and lightly block it.

 

A simple charcoal cowl....
I decided halfway through knitting it, that it would be perfect for a friend,so the fact that it is summer here and rather hot isn't really important.
It is my own pattern ( if you can call it that) using a Jo Sharp silk,alpaca and merino mix. I find that this type of knitting suits me perfectly - in the round, so no seams to sew and a few cables to make me feel a little bit clever without trying to hard.

This little girl is now sleeping from around 7.30 pm until 4.30 ( or 5.30 on a really good day) - which is quite something,considering she was waking every two hours and needing attention( mine!) back in January.
It certainly hasn't been quick or particularly easy but I held firm to my resolve to avoid the controlled crying regime and I think we are both the happier for it.
Now I have to work on going to bed a little earlier so that I can catch up on a little missed sleep.

My big girls are trundling along quite nicely as well - all good here.

If I can work out what is happening with my broadband connection ( painfully slow to the point that I can feel myself aging as I wait for pages to load), I aim to start posting a little more regularly. Once every month or so does not a good blog make. 

See, glass half full kind of stuff.

What I have done, rather than what I haven't. That would be me, Pollyanna all the way.

Tail is in sight. At least I think that's my tail.

the big girls get bigger...

Rose and Charlie have both shot up in the past few months.
I call them my two spaghetti sticks- Gracie pie is of course still in the baked bean stage!

Charlotte is rather happy with her new grown up bob and has decided that next haircut,she will go even shorter like her big sister.

Rose is a little self conscious at the moment about smiling for the camera - I think it has something to do with missing and growing teeth.Here she is all ready to head off to the school Christmas disco.

( note the lovely background- my sorting and packing has been somewhat hampered by Charlotte using my boxes and crates to build an apartment block. Oh well,at least one person is enjoying the moving process!)

almost there...

The Horror is almost completed. There is still quite a bit of hand sewing to do but the hardest part is done.
Think I'll sleep well tonight....

 

Well, I would sleep very well if Gracie didn't insist on a bit of room service in the very early hours of the morning! However with the big move looming, there is no point trying to change her sleeping and eating habits at the moment. Time enough for that after we are settled in our new home.

And with big brown eyes like that...well, she's pretty much got her mama (and everyone else in our family) wrapped around her chubby little fingers.

cute hat...

My marvelous mother in law has just returned from a trip to South America, where she explored the Amazon River, went piranha fishing and paddled about in a dug out canoe.
As you do.
She also bought Gracie pie this very cute hat.
Now I just have to work out how to knit another one - the bobbles are just so.....bobbly.
.

another (small) elephant...

Much to their delight, Rose and Charlotte have been invited to be flower girls at a wedding, two weeks before we leave.
So instead of thinking about boxes and cold weather, I have shifted focus to pink embroidered silk and pale green frothy tulle...

I am using a pattern from a favourite Japanese book...

As it will be hot here (hopefully!), the girls will be minus the top and the leggings, with a singlet top instead.

(Fabric details - embroidered silk  and pale green tulle from Tessuti fabric)

what to do...

when you have a house to sort and pack up and the girls want something fun to do?
Teach them to blow eggs of course.

Charlotte got the hang of it quickly - Rose was a little too enthusiastic and ended up with a handful of egg and eggshell.
Quick wash and dry of the  eggs shells, bit of glue and crafty bits and pieces and there you go.

Egg people.

Glamorous egg.

Middle egg toppled over and came up a little worse for wear.
Nothing a bit of sticky tape can't help, though.

As for the eggs...cinnamon butter cake seemed the sensible option.

And the final tally?

Eggs blown: 5 in total with one casualty

Egg people made: 3 whole and 1 a little cracked

Cakes made and eaten: 1

Boxes sorted and packed: ........not many really.
Actually none to be precise.

Oh well.