applehead

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.

distractions....

I'm in the middle of packing up my office.
I need to sort everything into piles of Things to Take, Things to store and Things that need a new home.
This includes my magazine collection which in theory should be a simple and quick task - pick up a magazine and put it on the Yes or No pile.
Except first I have to open each one and have a brief look through just in case there is Something Useful in it.
Which I then tear out and add to the Pile of Pages of Useful Stuff.
This Pile must then be filed away for future use in a group of folders that I have especially for these types of Pages- let's call these the Folders of Pages of Useful Stuff.
This can take a while.

When I stop for a well deserved reviving cup of tea, I often take a look at what I have just added to my Folders of Pages of Useful Stuff. Then I might pick up a glue stick and my favourite Micron 005 pigment ink pen. Just for a minute or so, because I have come across exactly what I was needing for an idea that has been floating around my head for quite a while.

A quiet song that I have sung all of my babies off to sleep with.
At last,a small collage to hang on Grace's wall.

And a still sizeable pile of unsorted magazines. 

making her mark...

Rose tells me that she wants to be an artist when she grows up.

I tell her that she already is.
( drawing by Rose - no help, no prompting...I think I'm going to get this one framed for her....)

20 weeks ...

or so!
Poor Grace.
With Rose, when someone asked how old she was, I could pretty much tell them right down to the day. Grace is lucky if I manage to get her name right first time.
On the plus side, she gets cuddled and rocked off to sleep much more frequently than the other two girls did. Because back then I had Rules.
Rules that said babies should go to sleep in their cot and not be picked up for cuddles just because Grandma has dropped in.
Rules that relied heavily on routine and schedule.
Rules that don't really work with baby number three.
Thank goodness.

I think she's just a bit cute. Cradle cap,dribble rash and all.

from Charlotte's point of view...

Rose was given a simple digital camera for her birthday when she turned 5. Charlotte has been wishing for one of her own ever since. Even though she is only four, we decided that it was perfect present for her birthday. Poor little Gracie pie  has her photo taken about 200 times a day( seriously) and I have had to explain that there are good times and not so good times to take photos ( ie the bathroom is not a place for the camera!).

Charlotte loves a close up...

It's never occurred to me to lie on my back and take a photo of the ceiling.

Blue skies, nothing but blue skies...

I have my fingers crossed for a very early Summer. More about that later on....

mischief turns four...

Such a Charlotte look this one- there's that little twinkle in her eye that says she's up to something!
I call her my Little Black Thunder cloud - but definitely one with a sparkling silver lining.

Sings and dances and occasionally yells her way around the house.
Loves her sisters and Lindt dark mint chocolate.
Sweet and fierce- that's my Charlotte.
Happy Birthday Charlie!

Learning to....

sew on a button - I believe everyone should master this very basic skill.
Especially considering the shoddy job most manufacturers do with attaching buttons to garments these days.( one of my pet hates are buttons that come off after just a wear or two.)

We have been making these rosettes to put in party bags for Rose's friends.
Scraps of fabric, a button and a brooch back ( or safety pin will do) - with just a few stitches you have a pretty rosette.
Rose is quite proud of the fact that she has helped to sew these. And I'm happy that she has learned how to deal with those loose buttons!

7 years big...

Rose turns seven today.
My how she has grown.

And so quickly.

Happy Birthday to my big girl....may you always be so bright and shiny.

my, what big eyes you have....

Grace has discovered her hands.

Now she wakes singing and gurgling in the morning and always has a big smile for her sisters.
And when Grace smiles, she smiles with her whole face- even her slightly sticky out ears wiggle with happiness.

She has an infectious chuckle that sometimes turns into a belly laugh.She truly is a content,relaxed little soul.

16 weeks old and my baby has grown out of her little hats that I knitted for her.
Not such a tiny applehead anymore...and time to knit another hat.

(Knitted hat in Rosegarden popcorn wool using this pattern.)

that's one fierce rabbit...

Rose and I (with Gracie pie in her pram asleep) spent a morning together at the MCA. She was meant to be at school but I felt it was about time for some quality one on one time. (Lucky for me, Rose's teacher is of the same firm belief that family time is sometimes more important than sitting in the classroom, so I didn't feel too guilty).
We came across this sweet looking white bunny in the MCA shop which I thought would look perfect in Grace's room....

However, sometime between leaving the store and posing for the camera, White Bunny seems to have had undergone a personality change.

Watch out, I bite.

He has taken to using standover tactics in his bid to reign supreme over the rest of his dresser top companions....

Who you callin' big ears, bear?

By the way,it's Mister White Bunny.
And don't you forget it.
Sweet?
Maybe not......