Random Stuff.....

A milo vest for Charlotte (please excuse the snot & dodgy atop-the-kitchen-bench location!)...

Some new wooly pants from Grandma...

And my new, improved little man...

He read me 5 stories last night and told me that the glasses "make my brain smart 'cause the words are bigger" so here's hoping it makes things easier for the little guy!

In uni news I've just (literally 5 minutes ago!) finished my last essay and the final exam is tomorrow and then I'll have a whole month of class-free, stress-free, reading-free time - bliss! Slightly dented by the prospect of having all four of my wisdom teeth out but bliss none the less.

Master chef...

... Izaak

He's decided he wants to be a chef "once I grow up to be a big man". I see opportunity so we've started some basic cooking lessons and as a result once a week he is going to (with assistance) be cooking dinner.

Last week he decided on enchiladas and while I fried off the mince he prepared the rest and this was the final result. Looked good and tasted great!

Any ideas on particularly kid-friendly recipes for budding chefs??

What a weekend!

So for the long weekend the whole extended tribe headed over to Batemans Bay for a 'family' holiday. I use that term loosely because the tribe consisted of me with the two ferals, my folks, my sister & her partner and their two little boys. In the end it turned out much better than expected and I even managed, for the most part, to keep my mouth shut!

Kids had an absolute blast. Izaak has been wanting to learn to ride a bike without his training wheels for a while now but on the advice of his physio and occupational therapist I had decided to leave them on. I'd love to say that it was my intrinsic belief in my child tht I took them off but the reality is that my seven year old has amazing 'nag' powers and it all got too much for me. I should have gone with the first motivator because I put him on the path, gave him a little wobbling, pushing and lots of encouragement and he was off! This was the first day I took the wheels off and he did so well (and was so big!) that I got him a bigger bike while we were away. He rode 5km from the cabins into town and back again and was on the bike every free moment he had - definitely worth the investment!

Charlotte loves her bike too and did a great job on the massive 5km ride as well. It was crazy looking at this little girl and remembering that 18 months ago she was too scared to even walk on sand and I had to carry her when we went to the beach. A dozen camping trips later and she runs through the water, jumping in the puddles and having a great time watching the pelicans and seagulls in the water. She was fascinated by the boat ramp as well and spent a good half hour in the evening watching the boats come outof the water and onto the trailers. Same thing in reverse the next morning.

It's been a crazy ride but man do I love this little chicken...

We headed home on Monday around lunch time but had a quick stop off for a game of putt-putt. It was hilarious and wonderful at the same time. I loved seeing Izaak - waiting, sharing, talking, interacting like a 'normal' kid. Heart warming for this proud mamma!

Then it was back to reality - my law & ethics exam was today and went well. I've got one more paper to write and another exam then I've got a few weeks of uninterrupted, unplanned, creative crafty time that I am **so**looking forward to!

Clapotis v2.0

Remember my first clappy? I love her and she'll always be part of the family given that she's one of the first 'real' things I have knitted but I have since discovered that mohair and I don't mix well. I itch. and itch. and itch. So I have been planning another one with various different yarns over the past months but had done nothing about it until we went to the OBDM wool day. I went with mum and it was a lovely outing with no children! Bliss! We made our way around to Helen from Waratah Fibres and I spotted some lovely 8ply in reddy/berry colours and decided I *must* have it. 200gr of "mixed berry" 8ply followed me home and the following weekend at our Brown Owls meet Clapotis v2.0 was cast on.

Fast forward 6 days and she was finished! A super quick knit for me given the time of the semester, kids etc. I had initial misgivings about the needle size and gauge but she has blossomed bautifully after a good soak and has already been taken out for a number of excursions!

Excuse the dodgy photos - just one of the many pitfalls of living alone ;-( Anyway, crazy thing?? I'm thinking I might just need another one. I do have some smoothie laying around.....