How Cool Are Kids?

This cool. I was tidying rather obsessively today as it was my turn to host bookclub. L10 asked me to leave the piece of paper he had left on the piano until my ladies (his words) came. I looked and saw it was Top Secret battle plans. A few minutes later it was gone, so I mentioned it to him and he whisked me into his room and told me to be quiet - it was a trap for his sister. Spreading misinformation. A few minutes later, the paper re-appeared, and I took a pic to blog because I thought it was so sweet.

 Not long after, in my eternal quest to put away tut, I was in P7's room and I noticed this on her clipboard:

LOL, the battle is hotting up! Not quite sure what Napoleon has to do with it, but it's kinda cute.

Hmmmm. . .

Probably not the best thing for your stroppy ten year old to be reading.

Old Lady Mauve

If you took all the old ladies in the Western world, boiled them up and ground them into a paste to make paint with, you'd have exactly the shade of mauve P7 chose for her wall.

I painted it today, and the chest of drawers a few days back, so that when I finally finish her quilt (in green and purple as requested) it won't look vile with the pinks. She very happy to have the pink gone. Pink is for babies don't you know? When you are seven, it's all about the mauve. I painted the sides of the bed to match the chest of drawers too, because they were covered in icky stickers and ripped bits. The painting was rushed and they are pretty shonky, but it's nothing I can't fix tomorrow.

 Only now I'm thinking I have to make new bunting too, 'cos eww to that with the rest.

Here's a pretty flower from the garden, which looks lovely on her new green/blue chest of drawers.

This

is what we have found P7 doing in bed in the mornings over the last few days:

Gotta love a girl who loves maths.

Playing

Maybe it's just because they are getting older, my children played together so beautifully all afternoon. Sprinklers on concrete (youch)

 invariably leads to washing the car. Yippee!

They're good sorts.

Bad Pics of Very Cute Plastic Things

My excuse for not blogging yesterday was that Geeky Husband and I actually went out to the movies. Together. Squee indeed. (Saw Gravity on familial recommendation. Was great.) Afterwards it was still early-ish, so we had a quick look in the Japan Shop and got the cutest wee things for lunches (well, for P7's lunch anyway, and she's the only one who likes homemade sushi in her lunch). 

Face-shaped rice moulds:

A cute winky face cutter for nori:

And best of all - super sweet, tiny, animal-topped, dinky bottles for a lunch amount of soy sauce, complete with pipette to fill them up.

Oooooo I love them so much.

Assembly

I went along to assembly today thinking they were presenting L10's distinction award for ICAS, but it seems I got the dates wrong for a second time. Quite possible. Instead, I saw P7 get an award for community spirit for taking it upon herself to fix the library toys by sewing them up at lunchtime. So cute. 

I don't think the principal noticed (but I did) that she wasn't wearing the t-shirt she went to school in. Instead she had her skirt pulled up into a dress, and a top she had constructed at school that day from a strip of fabric with armholes cut into it. Funny girl. 

After the pic she did the silly dance, and wanted a picture of that. Be careful P7 - this is what you want, this is what you get.

Hiding

This morning after breakfast I couldn't find P7 anywhere. . . until I spied something pink and dotty on the chairs pushed under the table:

 This one will do anything to read in peace.

Jumping

So proud of you L10 :)

Zoiks!

No picture today, but the news is so earthshattering you probably don't require one. It's true, been confirmed - L10 is representing the school for long jump on Wednesday!! A child of mine, representing the school in a sport?!?! Wowzer universe. You are a mighty strange being.

This is a fun clip - Mutti, the first few minutes are the thing I tried on you and completely stuffed up! This is how it was meant to go. . .

Busy Old Sunday

Getting ready to be a scarer in the Haunted House at the school fair.

Madly spinning with friends.

 Sliding.

Grandad R's speech at the cuzzie reunion.

My Floor

 . . . tonight! At last we have carpet that isn't grey!! It's actually much whiter than it shows here, but we waited half the day for the carpet layer, the other half the day for him to lay it, and spent the rest putting it back together, so it was night by the time the camera came out. Getting carpet was a huge mission, took months, and was a really frustrating experience.

But it's done, and done is good. 

It's more industrial looking than the one I wanted, but then I'm a heck of a lot richer now than I would be, had I gone with the one I wanted.  (It's not beige, I promise!)

My Floor

. . . tonight:

as opposed to. . .

Sewing Day

With a bit of room improvement too. Ah yes. 

P7 chose purple and green as the colours for her new quilt. It's caused me a little consternation, because you know this is going to lead to a total room makeover eh? She can't have a tickled pink wall and a purple and green quilt, that being the stuff of nightmares.

I decided to define it with black to make it stained glass window-y and to put stuff I like on the back to make it reversible, in case it looks ghastly. The top is almost done - just ran out of black for the borders. It's not terribly restful, but she's happy.

Better Together

Making wedding bouquets from garden flowers with a friend.

 Drinking coconut with your Dad.

Boy

L10 got his ICAS results - a credit in English and a distinction in Maths. Other way around from last year. Clever boy. So proud of him. 

He hates both these pics because apparently his eyes look huge and weird. Personally, I think he looks like he needs some early nights!

Movie Stuff

Went to the daytime movies with my Invisible Friend and (despite the plot flaw) blubbed like a baby. Goodness I'm a shocker once I get going. Being a stay at home mum rocks sometimes.

Good Stuff With P7

This afternoon turned into a scorcher, so P7 and I did some gardening. She took charge of the strawberry straw, since she was the one who had noticed we had some strawberry plants emerging. Being P7, we had to enact that we were part of a berry business, and she was the owner, gearing up for a busy day of berry sales. She has decided she might indeed become a berry farmer when she grows up, and she will bring me home strawberries for my pudding.

I didn't realize what a bad shot this was until I saw it clearly this evening, but I think it's kinda funny, and does illustrate how she gets right in there with her work.

She had the trowel, but the hands couldn't resist.

A bit of watering. I can't believe how lanky she is getting. How can this be my tiny baby?

We found an unexpected bonus in the garden - a dinner's worth of potatoes. Apparently last year when I harvested I didn't quite get them all.

L10 was away for the day so we also got time to sit down and make the mice and house in a shoebox that she has been planning. In the end I made the mice because she wasn't keen on hand-sewing, but she got right into the house.

I particularly liked the three pictures she created for their wall - fireworks (old wrapping paper), Grandfather mouse, and a piece of cheese. :)

The day also held some room tidying drama for P7, which wasn't quite as idyllic, but I hereby declare we only remember the good bits, for they were pretty darn lovely.

Oh Happy Day

How lucky is my husband? I sorted my entire Christmas present and paid for it too. Think that is plenty reason to get it two months early eh? Okay, I'm pretty lucky too. I've never bought a sewing machine for myself before, so it was insanely exciting.  So exciting that I even tidied up the room so I could set it up prettily.

Look at that fancy shmancy stitching! See the little hearts!! But best of all. . .

Free motion sewing - squeeeee! That's the first bit I ever did, so forgive its wibbly-wobbly-ness. I'll keep practising.

Making Your Way

I bought  a new card reader, so finally we get to see the photos from L10's camp. Mostly they look like this:

because apparently photo bombing is insanely hilarious when you are ten. But there is this one that I love so much it makes me teary:

Mostly because he looks so happy, but I suspect part of it is that someone else got to give him a kind of a hug while I was missing him so. Naw, growing up. Mates. Okay perhaps that's a headlock?

L10 completely shocked me today by telling me that he came second or third at long jump. I thought he meant out of a group of four, but actually he clarified it was out of all the year 6 boys, so he (quote) might get to go to cluster athletics (unquote)!! That's not genetics I tell you! Best part was he told me he did it because he read in a book about the Ancient Greeks swinging their arms with weights as they jumped, so he tried that (minus the weights) to get momentum. LOL. Best way to do well ever. Who'd have thunk reading would help you at athletics?

Gah!

My computer card reader has gone bung. Too many photos I guess. I'm gonna have to steal an oldie. . .

Happy birthday S4! How cute were you four years ago??

Pictures From My TV

This afternoon L10, P7 and I watched some old family movies together. There were shrieks when they saw Mutti and Bunce.

But mostly they could not believe that the super cute, angel-wing-wearing, chipmunk-sounding flowergirl at our wedding was cousin M18 (then six).

So then I showed them M18 at two. They thought that quite hilarious. . .

especially when she did this :)