weekend....

We had a pretty busy weekend...E had a sleepover at mum's on Friday...then Saturday morning we visited family friends to see their new house...and then had lunch at our house...just my sister and her family and mum that is...and the boys and my brother in law went off to stay at his parents farm for the night...
...so Sunday morning mum, my sister, Evangeline, Morganne and I went to breakfast at Taylor's Studio...great place...good food and there are front and back gardens perfect for kids! And there is some nice sculptures and art work...Sunday afternoon my friend Jo visited and then later the boys were back from the farm...the kids played and had a swim and we had a burger from Alfred's in Guildford for tea...and that was the weekend!
Hope you had a good one - Lissy

cousins...

The last couple of days have been busy with cousins...E loves her cousins and is always excited when she get to play with them...and misses them when they have gone...she has two girls on one side and two boys on the other!

Yesterday my sister, mum and I took the kids to Fremantle...we played in the park, had rides on the Merry Go Round and had fish and chips down by the water...all good except Morganne did a big puke all over me...

Today E's other cousins came over with their dad who had yet to see Morganne (he works away on boats too)and they had a ride on the motorbikes...Ike was here too...E now has bike armour...
Morganne had her first play outside!And she had a long play on the mat today...she is quite alert now and interacting so much more each day...
E loves to chat to her and give her kisses... Ike and E had a ball outside this afternoon...E has planted some seeds and is excited they are growing...just trying to make sure she doesn't drown them!
I had to take the cat to the vet today as he had a sore leg....looks like he has had a fight with another cat and so has an infection...

Mum has taken E home to have a sleep over with the boys as they are staying with her...she hardly paused to say good bye...lol...
And here we are at the weekend again! Hope you have a good one planned - Lissy

28 days....

Morganne is four weeks old already...time is already flying...we went to mum's place for morning tea as a family friend was coming to visit... here she is in the very cute outfit Megan sent to us (the shiny face is due to cream I have been putting on her poor little face...it is improving but the heat makes it worse)and with me...

and having a little snooze...

and with grandma...


And E had fun with her cousins...

And tonight I am just plain worn out, tired and at my wits end with two children who would not settle and go to sleep...it took me two and a half hours...being a single mum when Ben is away is not fun sometimes...hopefully tomorrow will be a better day - Lissy

Tuesday...

Well we had another new addition to the house today.... after waiting for months we finally got our Giotto Premium...now I just have to learn to use it well enough to do it justice...E worked out how to ride the banana today..I had thought it was going to be to hard for her but she is getting the hang of it! I actually sat outside and relaxed while E swam today as Morganne was asleep! Normally E has to wait until mum or someone is around...And here is our littlest one...horrid rashy face and all...but still gorgeous to me! She is getting more social and alert each day...It was supposed to be cooler here today but we had 38C out here in the valley...but the bonus of living here amongst all the vineyards is that it is nice and green in the summer and the neighbours drop in with boxes of yummy grapes! Still waiting to be given wine yet though!

And that is it for this Tuesday - Lissy

create...

I have just being wanting to do something creative...anything really...just a little bit of time for me...an hour maybe...if you are not into making or creating things then you probably think what's the big deal...but I have always made and created things...sewing, art, crafts, jewellery, scrap booking, photography...all sorts...but have done nothing much recently...and we all need sanity break!

So yesterday and today I made sure I had a "me" break...and I am trying not to feel guilty about snatching a hour for myself...I have had some ideas swimming in my head to create a canvas based on my word for the year "remember"...(see post below called this year)... it turned out quite differently to how I planned and of course is full of imperfection and mistakes as I was impatient to get it done! But I like the result...It is called "dans le jardin de mon pere" (written on the last two letters... and means in my father's garden) from the text of the book I was using for my flowers and letters...which seemed appropriate as ...to be all "arty" on you ...I was thinking of my dad and the ideas he planted in our minds of the importance of family and working on relationships to make them grow...he was not at all a gardener...hated it!...but the seeds he planted in our minds have grown...something to remember and pass on to our kids....

I layered and stitched papers for the background...then stamped the flowers on book pages...and printed red letters on the book pages too...cut them out and glues them on...easy! And used loads of Mod Podge to stick and seal it all...

And I let E help (in her super hero outfit...read on)...boy was that hard too do...but I managed to get over my fear of something being messed up...figuring I had not created perfection anyway!
It is now sitting above the fridge...we have a LOT of brick walls that could do with something colourful!I love the work of Jennifer Judd-McGee...so that got me started but I am afraid mine is a poor imitation of her fabulous work...I have several of her prints yet to be put on the wall...I am hoping Ben might put some pictures up for me when he gets home this time...especially all the family photos...

Other things...E has been a superhero most of the day! This is her idea of a superhero outfit...she wants a real bat man style cape though so I shall have to go and buy some material and create one for her...but she was quite happy with a tea towel and a peg! We have had a busy day really doing this and that and then mum, my sister and the boys came over this afternoon for a swim...and now it is time to get ready for bed and get a bit of sleep before the next feed - Lissy

recording our lives...

This morning I was writing in Morganne's diary and Evangeline was watching...she thought my writing was very cool...lol...I wrote a diary for Evangeline's first 3 years of life and want to do the same for Morganne....just recording little bits and pieces of our lives, her growth and development....I do miss odd days but mostly I get a few sentences down...

Anyway off E goes deciding she is going to practice her writing! I have been talking to her about this...I am letting her develop her literacy and numeracy skills as naturally and incidentally as possible...if she ask for help with a letter I will show her...but I have been talking to her about practicing things like writing and talking...and other things like swimming...as that is how we learn and improve...she has a tendency to be hard on herself and get frustrated if she cannot do something as she imagines...
She has been a little mummy today....playing with her dolls mimicking what I do with Morganne
And she loves to steal my glasses...
Alli and the boys and Penny (Alli's mother in law) came today for a swim and lunch....very nicely provided by Alli..so the kids had fun and Alli, Penny and I relaxed!Morganne is getting a lot more interactive and aware and we are starting to get little smiles!Her skin is looking a little less horrid today...but still not good...and she is more settled today than yesterday - YAY!!

Evangeline has gone off to see a movie with friends...this is the first time she has been to a movie so goodness knows what she will think!

So I am finishing some baby tins as gifts...and will maybe start something else...I have an idea for a canvas...and a little bit of time for myself will be bliss...depending on Morganne's plans for the afternoon! And that is mostly it for this Sunday - Lissy

time...

I knew babies were time consuming...but I had forgotten just how much...feeding, changing and settling takes SO long! I had thought I would get something done in the day but really by the time I get all that done and see to Evangeline everything else has gone out the window...trying to feed myself is a bit of a challenge sometimes...my day today started at 5.30 a.m.

I am tired and grumpy and E gets the rough end of the deal a lot...so I am trying very hard to spend time with her each day doing something fun...so today we made puff paint (thanks to Mel's idea)- I think her picture looks like a birthday cake though she tells me it isn't!
And she told me she is missing her dad...so she made this picture this afternoon...she said she drew in the bones!! The letters down the bottom are the first letters of each of our names...me too though I am not in the picture!
And that is it for today...time for Morganne's next feed...and then bed hopefully - Lissy

growing...

Today we had our second visit to the child health nurse to have Morganne weighed and measured...and she is THRIVING.....she has put on 830g in two weeks (now weighing 4.46kg) and grown nearly 3cm...

She still has a terrible milk / heat rash as you can see....poor thing...she is a hot baby and the weather here has been horrible...the other night the minimum was 28C and it got to 43C the next day...fortunately we are having a few cooler days again before it heats up to 40+C again on Monday...our air con is not working well so it makes it hard to keep the house cool...hopefully the rash will improve soon too...

Her colic sees a little better but we were up last night a lot for some reason...

Evangeline is still being fabulous though she is a little bored I think...we did some painting this morningAnd she made up her own pass the parcel present using her toys and bits of wrapping paper so we could play a game!And that is about it around here. I did finish my baby thank yous and posted them off...they were very basic but did the job...I cut out pink felt hearts and stapled it on some craft card stock that I had printed Morganne's name on...with a space for a message...

I have lots of ideas in my head for art pieces and craft and scrap booking...but no time to do anything at the moment...a quick dash to the supermarket when mum is here and the baby is asleep is about as much extra stuff I am managing! Oh and I did get the ironing done the other day...lol...very exciting! And cleaned the toilets today...yay!

But I cannot complain as I am loving our new addition to our family...and I am very conscious of the fact that this is the last baby around here so I plan to enjoy her as much as I do Evangeline. I hope you have nice things planned for the weekend - Lissy

this year...2008

Again this year, Ali Edwards is talking about a word for the year....I chose balance for 2007...and I really did try and think about creating balance in my life as I made choices through out the year...It may sound a little silly but it really does help...

We had a pretty tough year in 2007 for many reasons but the main one being the death of my dad...and knowing that Morganne will never know her fabulous Grandad like the other kids did...I find this very upsetting...I am going to try to ensure that Evangeline remembers him but being only 4 I am not sure how much she will remember...

So for 2008 I think my word will be REMEMBER...I had thought of peace (as in peace of mind) but I think remember is more what I am aiming for...it is easy just to get lost in daily life...and I want to remember what is important...and to me the most important thing is FAMILY

REMEMBER to retain in the memory

I have been thinking a lot about family history and family traits passed on through generations...and layouts I want to do with these...

I also like the idea of PROJECT 365 ...I take photos most days anyway but might try and be a bit more focused this year on capturing our daily lives...This has always been my aim with my scrap booking...to capture the everyday...I enjoy the creative side to it but it is really the memories I am trying to preserve...but just one photo a day...hmmm...bit hard...lol

And I am trying to preserve the memories of our daily lives on my blog too...my online diary...I used to write a diary...but now blogging with photos is perfect for me...
Morganne is now 3 weeks old and lots more alert and looking around. She is getting quite strong too and lifts her head a lot. She will be weighed and measured on Friday so it will be interesting to see how much she has grown.
Evangeline and Morganne's cousins came over for a swim today...all girls on Ben's side fo the family!
So what are your plans for 2008? Lissy
PS And thanks - the ideas for colic are greatly appreciated!

new year....

Well here we are in 2008...the millennium seems just like yesterday but we are nearing the end of the first decade of this new century! Amazing!

Things are pretty quiet around here...Morganne has been very unsettled and has colic...not ideal at all...Sunday was terrible...Monday was passable...today was OK...

Here are the girls this morning...getting to know each other a bit!

Poor Morganne's face is a sea of horrible rashy milk pimples...apparently something to do with hormone changes in me...E never has it so bad but Morganne's face looks shocking!

New Years Eve...Mum had tea with us last night...so jsut a quiet evening...and after finally getting Morganne settled and asleep I was in bed at 10 pm....then she was up for a midnight feed so we saw the new year in together...lol...then up at 3 am...all ok...but then she woke at 4 am until 6 am...with wind....not good at all...so any advice regarding colic would be greatly appreciated...I am hoping tonight will be better...

Mum came over this afternoon so I could sleep for a bit in between feeds...I really needed that...We were invited to Alli's for their New Years Day get together...but after last night I just couldn't manage it!

Anyway hopefully your New Year has started well and there will be good things to come - Lissy

last weekend of the year...

Pretty quiet around here....but cooler...I have an unsettled baby....but I can type one handed...so I can blog if nothing else!

E has gone off to the beach with friends which is great as she has been asking to go and I feel terrible that I can't take her! She has been great despite being stuck home with Morganne and I...

Mum has been here some afternoons so they have a swim...
E has been practising with her flippers and snorkel...
She wants to go fishing with her dad when he gets home...Ben is currently heading north towards Dampier on the boat to avoid Cyclone Melanie which now seems to be heading out to sea (west)

I should take some more photos of Morganne but babies are hard to photograph I think...and they always look like they are frowning!!

E made a treasure map yesterday...Treasure Island she says...(click on the pic to see more details) ...She must have seen something in TV...so she wanted to go digging for treasure...but the ground was too hard...she said we really needed to go to Treasure Island...but maybe she would try at the beach!

My friend Penne is popping in to visit today also which will be nice...and now while I have a sleeping baby I may just try and make some thank you cards...I hope you have had a good weekend! Lissy