I Heart Notes

Can't Stop A Girl On A Mission

And my new mission is to teach P7 to ditch those trainer wheels! She was quite keen to get on her bike today, although she did spend most of her time tucking various toys into the seat on the back, making sure they had pillows and blankets. 

So different from L10, who was off as soon as he sat on a bike at about 3 years old. He's still racing.

Chopping Onions For Dinner

L10's way.

Cheesy Pics

L and I become amazing cheesemakers today. Well, that is to say, we made our first cheeses anyway. Ta da!

It was also a very special day being the birthday of M18!!!! All growed up. Wishing you a very special day M :) I searched back through picasa and found all these nostalgia-inducing pics from 8 to 10 years ago. . . I was a kind aunty though, and left off the nudey ones, tempting as it was :)

Jewels And The Crazy-Eye

Took L&P out today to a place with an infamous gift shop. Well, infamous in P7's world anyway, because it has become known at school news time as the place where you get gimmicky items with your name written on. P7 just knew her name was going to be nowhere in that shop. And she was right. 

Happily I found this instead, and was totally suckered in for her. A clam that you have to open to reveal. . . 

 your very own pearl. . .

 that you place inside your locket. . .

Ahhhh. . . finally, a pearl for a P7 (subtle eh?)

And sadly, for the last picture to make sense, I have to also include this one. When I went to take a pic of L10 with his achievement of the day, he wanted to copy the crazy-eye-photo that I'd managed to get of P7 when I'd tried to photograph her necklace. So here it is in all its glory:

 which is why L10 pulled this face when I took a pic of him with the merit badge he scored at his badminton programme:

Just in case you thought that was odd or anything.

Keeping Busy

It was a day for keeping busy, with Geeky Husband's dad not well and lots of waiting and phoning and hoping for good news going on. Luckily, it's pretty easy to keep busy with four children running around the house, which is what I had today.

I painted some girls. P5 always choses the cutest flowery patterns (I've learnt she doesn't like it near her eyes) while P7 has something more ghouly going on. (I've lost my sponge, which is my excuse for P7's streaky white.)

 I know I've blogged this before in a previous house, but it really only happens every few years, so I'm going to be that dull that I show it again. I have one really skinny pantry, which is woefully inadequate for a family of four. Yesterday, whilst sneaking late night cookies, Geeky Husband managed to knock the cornflour open, shedding it all through the cupboard in clouds of soft white. I told him not to worry about a thorough clean up - it was going to be my catalyst to finally spend some $$ getting proper containers and getting organised. No longer would I be ashamed when small guests help themselves in my panty. So here, the before picture of slightly cornfloury SHAME:

 and after - okay it doesn't look as different and thrilling as it does in real life, but ahhhhh it sure feels better:

It's All Over now

There's no hope for me now I've got over the raw egg thing and learnt how to make chocolate mousse.

Now I know it works, next time I'll put it in a fancy glass, but for now it's just a scoff-fest.

Cuteness

I took P7 for a girlie shop today to spend some of her pocket money. We went to the local op shop and she bought a wine glass for herself (!?) for water with dinner and a teeny tiny one for Big Lambie too. The slightly odd volunteer working at the shop fell in love with her a little bit and wrapped her purchase in special wrapping paper, as well as adding two lollies and giving origami advice, making P7 declare it to be the Best Shop Ever. Both Big and Medium Lambie had  a special dinner to celebrate.

Mean while L10 was lucky enough to be included in a family trip with our lovely friends. I told you his hair was getting out of control though. . . .

Hair Bow

Hairy Boy and Bread

Poor L10 is sick with bronchitis at the mo. We made sure we had a nice quiet Sunday, to give him time to convalesce. He stayed in his pjs till lunchtime. We did put him to work sawing shelves in half at the same time though. Gotta keep 'em busy.

 Check out the hair! The horrendous hair! I've become one of those you-need-a-haircut-naggy mums. The more I mention it, of course, the more determined he is to keep it. Come summer though, I know he won't be able to hold out.

 I fed him up with this lovely recipe I found last night - one hour skillet foccacia. It's a winner. Recipe link here.

Little Pigs And Little Dogs

I'm looking for a place to display the pictures that we've all been doing. It needs to be casual enough to change around, but fancy enough to still look nice. My big problem is I have no wall space left at all. I'm in danger of becoming a crazy lady with the busyness of my walls. I found the cutest magnets and remembered I had magnetic paint on the wall of what is now my bedroom. Yay. Then I tried it, and the only magnetic part is right behind where the bed and curtains are now. Boo. 

So now I have six homeless pigs and six homeless dogs hanging out on my fridge. 

How happy was I to see L10 had to put them in colour spectrum order. That's my boy.

Boing Boing

P7 came home from a visit to Mutti and Bunce's house with added boing boing curls (think Susan from Ramona the Pest).

 Just in the front though, so Geeky Husband reckoned it was a wee bit. . .

orthodox jew styles:

More Drawing By The Smallest One

A while ago P7 told me that she couldn't draw, and I noticed she'd stopped doing it as much since she lost that confidence in herself. I've been trying get her enthused again, and I was super happy when this morning she looked at her bird pictures (blogged a few weeks back - she'd given them to me as a birthday present) and told me she hadn't realized that she was such a good drawer. Even better, at reading in bed time tonight she asked for paper, and she drew this:

P7 you are a great little drawer!!

The Second Day Of The Holidays

The Cultured Ape. Half way through watching with L10. So interesting.

The First Day Of The Holidays

Lots of lovely home stuff. First, we went and nabbed this cupboard that I'd seen a week or so ago  and really wanted for L10's room. He's so in love. It's all industrial and funky and has a clasp that can be padlocked (pretty rocking when you are ten) and it can be closed but still show off your rock collection (bottom) and star wars lego (top) so the cat can't knock them over. He's still busily creating a lego scene now. I've never seen the boy so keen to haul furniture and clear tut, as he was to get this in.

 In between the heavy shifting and clearing, P7 and I spent most of the day faffing with a difficult pudding. It looked really impressive in the book:

but there just weren't enough hours in the day to get that sucker to set. We could have held off till tomorrow, but honestly, who has the internal fortitude required for that? We ate it melty. It still tasted gooooood. 

I love P7's attention to detail - she insisted on the raspberry and mint leaves :)  There is now pudding for the next two days at least - that cheeky baby took twelve eggs and four cups of cream.  It will probably just instantly clog your arteries and kill you directly through the computer screen.

Reinvented Room

 Poor old P7 has had more than her fair share of disappointments this last week or so. Nothing major, just little thing on little thing. All part of growing up, and all things I know will help shape her into the amazing (grown-up-type) person she is becoming. Today though, yet another disappointment. She was definitely a girl in need of a little TLC.

Yesterday we'd done a big clear out of her room and she'd decided her rug was not doing it any more, and she'd rather have a bare floor. It looked so stark, so today we went out for a bit of a girlie treat and bought a brand new fluffy sheepskin just right for curling up on with a book.

Then things cascaded out of control as they have a habit of doing when I attack a room, and through a serious of disasters we ended up changing the whole shelving unit for the one in the playroom. Geeky Husband was none too impressed by my timing of a major clearout (hence the evening photos), but one bag of rubbish and a whole box of books to donate later, I'm feeling it is a much nicer place for a small girl who needs a bit of calm.

I did take a picture of the many books to donate, but then realized that's just a mental thing to post a picture of, as various family members spot loved favourites, or small children look back and pine for those lost baby days. You'll just have to take my word for it, things are better pared down a little.

And a quick cutie from L10. I had some leftover chocolate stash so I called out "Who's been lovely?" so I could chuck chocolate at them when they replied.

P7 - "Meeeee!"
Catches her chocolate.
L10- "I’m not sure. I think that’s your decision. I’m trying to state that in a more people-friendly manner than just going ‘waaaaahhhh’."

Happy Birthday Bunce!

You are awesomely old :) 

Naw, Sweet Things

Thank you cards after a parent helping on a school trip. Best comment inside goes to this one:

"Thank you so much for coming to Pippi Longstocking. Bet you kept everyone safe, give me ten if you didint."

Also super sweet is catching up with old friends who now live overseas.

 It started as painting, and ended up as making paint. Subtle difference. I can appreciate the lure though.

Lights

That actually work. Big day.

Only now L10 and I are starting to plant the seed with Geeky Husband that we need to change them for something less ugly. How long will it take us, now that we have a reliable electrician??

Crazy Creative daughter

P7 loves to make and perform. This afternoon she dressed herself up (with leotard on backwards), made herself up (with beauty spot), and performed a ballet for us. It was actually a contest - we had to guess which ballet it was from her dance. Small hint: she's holding a doll. . .

 She has turned her elasticated ballet shoes into the object of her desire - ribbon shoes! The ribbons come from a birthday present wrap, but that's not stopping her. She wants to wear them to actual ballet like that. I'm interested to see how her teacher will deal with that one.

In the few spare minutes between bath and bed, she could be found cutting and tying a revolutionary pair of slippers:

And creating herself a 'dressing gown'. Yes, even bedtime is game for creative dressing:

It does, however, mean her desk very quickly turns into this:

Eeep! Of course, she had a solution for that too, and tied a large sheet up in the middle of her room to form a secret partition behind which she could work in peace without a mother's eyes spying the mess.

Abominable Snowman

. . .  icecubes!