Just About Seven

L6 is having a birthday on the day he starts back at school, poor chap. So we decided to have a pre-birthday, and happily enough instead of a party he asked to go tobogganing with his best mate at Snow Planet. Yay! Much more fun for parents for sure. Check out that toothless grin, I think he was pretty happy.

(Daddy and P4 with L6 overtaking, in case you couldn't tell. Yeah it's sideways. And your point?)

Science 101

This morning we noticed one of the caterpillars was starting to change. We keep missing them so we took photos of this one every half an hour or so. It looked like so much hard work.

But alas! We chose a dud to follow. He got so close, but couldn't quite get there. Whatever went wrong, pretty soon he was a feast for the ants.

Shoulda known when he spent the last day on a tomato plant. Not the smartest caterpillar maybe?

A Day In Which I Am Unusually Discrete But Predicatably Cowardly

This is the tummy that caused so much concern yesterday (I didn't want to spoil the birthday post but poor L6 spent a large portion of the day in crippling pain, and the other portion of the day running around just fine, to really confuse his poor mother).

Yesterday's diagnosis (real proper by a doctor not just me guessing) was a hernia, but today's ultrasound ruled that out. What it is exactly is probably not something that he'll want his mother writing on a public blog, so I shall be discrete for once and say Gah! Boys' Stuff is Difficult and leave it at that for now.

To distract you I will tell you how we took L&P to Rainbow's End for the afternoon and O........M.......G........ but it is the most exorbitant treat ever for a family. How come there were so many people there??? Frankly I'm scared to admit what it cost, but since we had driven through traffic for a billion hours (well, actually one) and hyped them up, we could hardly back out. So see these people:


They are not us of course. Bleurg. Just looking at them made me want to puke, and sensible L6 declared it Far Too Scary even from a large distance. This was more our style and P4's fave:


and this was about as adventurous as we got:


except for me, since I used the "must keep camera and Blokey Husband's Other Wife (the blackberry) dry so will be selfless and miss out this one" line. Phew. Narrow escape.

Mutti Gets Even Older. . .

Happy Birthday to Mutti! So when asked to go around the table and say a few words about Mutti, I could not. I'd cry as soon as even think about it, being the proud owner of that weepy gene. Besides, what can you say? She's the most thoughtful person I know, and I just love her to bits, that's all.

Two Things

Chrysalis

Mermaid

Homegrown

Harvest time. Mmmmm.

And That Was Today

The plus: The children played so nicely all day today.

The minus: Hut building. Messy, hot and L6 is the bossiest hut builder in the known universe and no-one can build to his exacting requirements. Especially not me. He wants to be an architect when he grows up, and if so? I pity the poor builders. He eventually spent about three happy seconds in his hut with spy hatch.

The plus: Last night I managed to reinstate my tummy piercing seven years after removing it due to the stretching preggie tum.

The minus: bit of blood and pain as it was juuuuuust about healed up at one end. Also the horror of trying to get a pic that didn't show my rather rounded puku at the moment. Been missing the school and kindy walks and it shows! Yay for self-mutilation though. Tempted to get a facial piercing since I just cannot persuade my sister to draw me a large and beautiful arm tattoo in time for summer. Just had to pop that in Iz, nag nag nag. Swap you for some liners ;)

The minus: No electricity throughout much of the country this evening.

The plus: Camp stove made us a beautiful pasta dinner.

Blokey Husband even got out the guitar for a strum around the camp stove. Not quite the same though is it?

Chocolate Art

Went to the Art Gallery and this was our favourite exhibit. It's a crappy phone photo with no flash to be all proper and good, although since the exhibit is constructed from chocolate fish I don't think it would be too harmed by light. Yep, you got to eat one.

Yep, it felt naughty and wrong anyway. And all the more delicious for it.

Friends

The good thing about having friends over is that you get your house really tidy before they come. Then when they go, you do it all again. Spent this avo tidying the playroom once again. Bought shelving even, due to the excessive number of toys. I'm going to record it since it is spectacularly unusual that things are quite this tidy up here. The white dots are magnetic words for poetry which I finally unearthed to stick onto the wall we painted with magnetic paint. Taking the picture really makes me keen to change the ugly grey carpet.

It's a day late really, but so nice to have good friends for L&P. Get the girls together, and they are gonna have a laugh.

Get the boys together, and they are gonna make poison. . .

(That's actually a sunflower they are dissecting for ingredients. A really big one.)

Dancing Whirl

Self-portrait by P4

and just because Grandma J will enjoy it. . .another sideways video of P4 this morning.

Nothing Short Of A Freaking Miracle

L6 swam at a friend's house. Out of his depth doing the crazy dog paddle even. Okay, buoyed by 4 squillion floaty things, but considering the wild panic that ensued a few weeks ago on entering a pool, this is nothing short of a miracle.

Of course today the confident water baby P4 wouldn't enter the water, even when her long-suffering mother took the freezing (okay 22 degrees, which is close enough to freezing) plunge to cuddle her in.

Sigh. There is always one.

Birthdays Again

P4 decided it was my birthday today. Apparently I'm turning five. She cooked me a cake and sang to me:

"Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday dear mummy,

Um . . . how does the rest go?"

As luck would have it I made a cake today too. A chocolate zucchini cake.

Ha! I'm not kidding. I'll get those pesky greens into them somehow.

Perception

When I was young I had a big wine-fuelled argument about whether you could like a work of art more by learning about it. Such a stupid argument. How could you possibly think that learning about things doesn't change your perception? You'd have to be a) drunk b) an idiot or c) a law student looking for an argument. Or all three as it was in that particular case.

Anyway, a couple of years ago when I started knitting, I would never have imagined I would knit a lacy shawl. But now? I love it. Even when Blokey Husband says it looks like something Batman might own.

I can appreciate that this:


turned into all these intense knits and purls and yarn overs and never mind losing count all over the place, it is so pretty.


Most especially thanks to this beautiful sock yarn from my friend cc :) I didn't realise I had a pink and black thing going on, but friends seem to notice.

Doesn't look too Batman-y on does it?


I'm even beginning to get a thing for cables. Might try one soon.

Capturing Sunshine

OO and lookie, I've found a cheaty way to get photos even bigger on the blog. Oh happy day.

Oh poo, I published, and it cuts the edge of the picture off. So much for that.

On Being A Mad Old Lady

Managed to find time to sneak to fabric sale and buy some sweet prints

for my planned Emmeline Apron. Just need to find time (and some skills) to sew now, but think that might be pushing it in the holidays. Not sure why I suddenly like blue? I always used to find it too dull.

Ha, I'm such an old lady that I'm too busy struggling through knitting the end of my lace shawl pattern (what possessed me to think I could knit lace??!) to begin work on my apron. I may as well be ninety already really.

Perhaps when it is done I shall model it naked for the pics to spice things up on here. The apron that is, not the shawl ;)

Call Me Noddy, Or Perhaps Servalan

I just went and bought white wool carpet for our lounge area. I know. Two small children, grown ups with fondness for red wine. . . Anyway, all good so far - all two days that is. And much better for retrieving lego than the flokati that we had in here before.

I'm also a noddy because - sorry freezing Brits - I took photos of P4 and I paddling in the pool because it was so stinky hot today, but somehow managed to not push the card in right and it didn't work. Still learning.

In other thrilling news, have had fairly drastic hair lop, and while I can't get a reasonable picture, suffice to say if I don an evening gown with an over-sized collar I could go to a fancy dress party as Servalan for sure, so this will do.

And if you don't know who Servalan is then you are either not old enough or hip enough to read this blog anyway.

Painting

by P4

(See, we're not always gross.)

Chilling

After a big day yesterday tempers were frought and many a 'boring cuddle' required. They work like magic on L6.

Meanwhile my sister has decided to join the blog crowd - "All baby pictures, all the time. Run away! Run away!" I think that is the funniest - and is trying to win hearts with grodiness and bogeys. I'm sorry my sweet sister, but P4 can out-grody you any day. . .

She might look charming, but this morning L6 began the whole "what's worse than finding a worm in your apple? joke. Half a worm of course. He began with "maggot" thinking he would shock us. He and P4 had a good few turns before Blokey Husband turned and asked if he should just take it to its logical conclusion before the kiddies did. I nodded of course. "What's worse than finding a poo in your apple?"

Uproarious laughter from small ones.

Mischievous smile from an angelic P4. "What's worse than finding a dog in your apple?"

We nod, thinking she has missed the point.

P4: "Finding half a dog with half a poo out his bottom."

I can't even write it without crying. Take that Iz. P4 will up your grossness ante anytime.

Happy Birthday P4!

This is where blogging rocks.

Ah, nostalgia.

Ah lookie. . .here she is the fist time she met Cousin P

and today

Actually it began like this, with many prezzies!

There were some friends and pass the parcel.

How I love this child - she wanted to go out to a cafe for lunch. Yum. No pics. Busy eating.

Lots of my lovely girl throughout the day though.

She also decided she would go to the local park for fish 'n chips in the evening with family. So yay, no cooking, but two cakes. My kind of day.

Finally a chance to try out the famed french dart.

So worth the wait! Woohoo!!!

And a bit of skipping fom my delicious, happy, birthday girl.

What a joy you are.