Crafting order out of chaos

Poppy's arrival

2009-12-21T16:47:00.000+10:30

So many people have asked me if I got the home birth I wanted, and each time I laugh a little. I certainly got the home birth but I can't say it went exactly how I wanted. You'd think with my third baby I'd be able to recognise the signs of labour right? Or at least make some basic connections between separate events. I can only say that it must have been tiredness and a disbelief that I was ever going to go into labour led to the events of Friday morning.

On Thursday 10th my midwife came for a visit and did a stretch and sweep to try to get things moving. I was a week overdue and not seeing any 'signs' that things were happening, and after the procedure my midwife said I'd made no progress from the last time she checked. I'd had the same thing done twice when I was over due with Daisy and once with Felix and each time had been very painful. This time I felt nothing and I assumed it had had no effect. That was mistake number one. I went to bed at 10pm and then woke at 11pm to go to the toilet, and then spent the next two hours going between the bedroom and the bathroom. I assumed I had a dodgy tummy from something I ate and as I have a naturally sensitive stomach (and therefore suffer these bouts often) I thought nothing of it. Mistake number two. At 1am I ran a warm bath as my back was a bit sore and I was feeling crampy (stomach crampy that is) and I was having a few strong Braxton Hicks. I figured the warm bath would soothe my muscles and I tucked myself into a comfortable position. That meant using my legs as a kind of brake against the sides of the bath and as a result I drifted off to sleep. The was mistake number three. About an hour later I was jolted awake by a contraction that went for about 90 seconds. It went on and on and was shockingly painful, and I realised I was in the late stages of labour. I had shut the bathroom door on my way in and as a result I quickly realised Chris couldn't her me calling out. Each time I tried to climb out of the bath a contraction would hit and I would be forced back down from the pain and I began to realise I was in trouble. Fortunately after about 30 to 40 mins Chris heard me and came to help and that's when things got really exciting.

After calling my Mum to come over and watch the kids, and my midwives to ask them to meet us at the birth centre, Chris got down to the important business of making sure I had ice to eat. I practically live on crushed/shaved ice when I am pregnant but when I'm in labour it is all I want, it's like a drug. When Mum arrived the first thing I heard her say was that we didn't have time to go to the hospital as my contractions were too close together. The midwives were called and told to come here instead, and that is when I felt the urge to push. Chris then called an ambulance and prepared himself to deliver the baby. I managed to get out of the bath at this point, despite the pain, but stayed on the bathroom floor. Not long afterwards the ambulance crew arrived and suddenly our bathroom was full of people and noise. A couple of pushes later and Poppy arrived into the hands of an ambulance guy, and the hardest couple of hours in my life were over.

The next few hours are a bit of a blur for me. I know my midwives arrived not long after, and that I was transported to hospital in an ambulance. My blood pressure was very low and they also wanted me to deliver the placenta in a delivery suite rather than at home or in the ambulance. At the hospital all I could focus on was the pain of needing to deliver the placenta and for some reason I was struggling to keep my eyes open. I think I was in shock actually, and my mind was keeping me from opening my eyes as a way of coping with what had transpired over the previous couple of hours. Certainly, once I was given the injection to get the third stage over with I felt a lot better and started to focus more on what was going on around me. It was about this time that Poppy was weighed and when they told me she was 4.2kg I was pretty surprised. I had figured she was bigger than Felix (I could just tell by how she felt towads the end of the pregnancy) but I hadn't picked her as being as big as Daisy. And the fact that I was able to push out a big baby that quickly was also a surprise as I had struggled to get Daisy out for almost 18 hours and assumed it was based on how I was built. Obviously there were other factors at play with Daisy's birth and my body shape/size had nothing to do with it.

I was determined to get out of the hospital as quickly as possible as I am certain a lot of my post-natal mental health problems are triggered by being in that place. All the beeping, all the intrusion, having to share a room with a stranger, these are all things that set me off. But because I was strep positive they wanted to keep Poppy in for 24 hours to monitor. Fortunately I had a superbly fierce midwife looking after me (my main midwife had to go home at 8am but the woman who replaced her was the one who replaced her when she was on annual leave) and she heavily advocated for me to go home. I think the paedatrician relented purely to stop her from lecturing him on how crap staying in hospital is so by 3pm I was able to go home and be surrounded by the things that make me feel safe.

I have to give major props to my student midwife here actually. Kylie had to drive all the way down from Gawler for most of my appointments, and then had to do it in the wee hours of the morning for Poppy's arrival. I was so disappointed that she missed out on catching the baby and doubly disappointed that it was a home birth that I know she really would like to have attended. She was a total rock through my whole pregnancy and took great care of me at the hospital too and I feel bad that I couldn't return the favour by actually having her at the birth. I fear I was quite non-responsive for a quite a while too as 3/4 of my brain shut down but in that time I think she helped Chris out by keeping him company. His experience was equally as shocking as mine, just in a less physical way, but he still had to handle a lot of stress and responsibility at a time when he probably just wanted someone else to look after it all. She'll be moving to Sydney next year so she won't get much of a chance to see Poppy growing but we visit Sydney often enough that we'll hopefully be able to catch up once or twice a year.

I slotted back into life quite quickly this time. My recovery has been pretty darn painful but my mind is clear so I'm feeling pretty good about that. Without getting too graphic you don't push out a big baby that quickly without some damage (my body just wasn't ready and ambulance officers aren't trained to get babies out gently like a midwife is.) And when the guy who comes in to do the stitches takes one look and then goes and gets his supervisor to come do it you know you are in a bit of trouble. Add to that the strained back muscles from the sudden and full on contractions and of course the sore boobs and you get a pretty miserable first week. But at just over a week now I'm pretty much pain free and have been out and about with the family quite a few times, and may even venture as far as Spotlight tomorrow to get a few last minute supplies. I'm certainly not worried about hosting Christmas Day lunch now as I know I can handle it physically and I can just pass Poppy around (she is a ridiculously mellow baby) in order to free up my hands and get things done.

Poppy Margaret Williams

2009-12-12T20:15:00.000+10:30

11/12/2009 @ 04:10 - 4.2 kg - 51 cm

The Waiting Game

2009-12-07T10:12:00.000+10:30

So I'm overdue now, just as I knew I would be. Never mind all those annoying 'experts' who kept telling me I'd go on time or whatever. I know my body better than anyone else and it know I have to keep waiting. My midwife is coming over on Thursday so if I haven't gone into labour by then we might do a few things in order to get the situation moving.

In order to stay busy/active I have been continuing to work on craft projects and little jobs around the house. I've been meaning to stencil a horse on to one of the t-shirts I made for Daisy (the practice one to test the pattern size that she actually likes a lot) so I cut out a freezer paper stencil and sorted that out during the week. I also made a larger stencil to finish off the cushion for her bed that is going to be one of her Christmas presents and that turned out really well too. I can't show you a photo of it because it is already wrapped up, but basically it is a big fat 50cm cushion made out of a some green floral dress fabric I bought for myself years ago (the dress was an utter failure unfortunately) and then a large green horse stencilled on one side. The photo cube for Felix is on hold, thanks to the crappy t-shirt transfer paper I had and the fact that none of the Officeworks in my area had the mid priced stuff (it was all either expensive or crap basically.) For the price of the expensive paper I could get Felix three new Thomas trains so I decided it wasn't worth it.

We put the tree up on the 1st and the kids had a great time sticking all the ornaments on. Of course it is all very random and a lot of things are bunched close together but I've been resisting the urge to rearrange things to make them more even. We still need an angel or a star on the top but Daisy has been in charge of making that the last couple of years so we'll work that out before Christmas comes. This is the first time I've not done an ornament swap in several years and that is a bit of a shame, but obviously I just don't have the time this year. I still have a beautiful collection of handmade ornaments from around the world on the tree from previous swaps though so that will probably inspire me to try again next year.

My latest craft project is a couple of car caddies for the kids, based on this tutorial. Instead of holding craft stuff it will hold all the things that they are currently storing in the baby seat between them (I'm guessing B3 won't appreciate being a drink and sunglasses holder.) I have an elasticated pocket for a sippy cup, and a smaller elasticated pocket for a pair of sunglasses and now I just need to make a zippered pocket for 'treasures' and a couple of other attachments. The caddies aren't overly large so I'm not sure if I can comfortably fit a book pocket down the bottom but that is something I'll work on today. B3 doesn't let me sit down for more than about 10 mins so I'll be doing this job in tiny little spurts so I doubt I'll get it done in one day, but I would like to get it done by about Wednesday.

Everything is ready for the baby to arrive. Swaddles, slings and clothes washed, nappies in nappy holder, car seat installed, it's all done. I have my birth clothes and after care stuff ready to go (or not go as the case may be), Chris knows how to get to the correct side of the WCH and get up to the birth centre should I opt to go in (I'm playing that by ear) and everyone is sleeping with their mobiles next to their pillows. The only thing missing is the onset of labour now and I think I'll experience that around Wednesday or Thursday. I'm trying not to get obsessed looking for 'signs' but its hard when my Braxton Hicks are so damn painful and I think "ooh perhaps this is something happening". My midwife did an internal on Saturday and I have made progress so I know things are going to happen at some point and I am very grateful I am not sick or suffering greatly (no swollen ankles or anything like that.)

This week is about waiting. Not in an active sense (pacing the floors and getting obsessed/upset/anxious) but in a passive sense. Just keeping the house clean so I can let things go a bit after the baby arrives, doing some small craft projects to keep my mind busy, and generally maintaining a sense of normality. We still have kindy this week so we have some kind of routine to follow and that is also keeping an increasingly freaked out Daisy busy for at least half the day too.

Getting organised

2009-11-30T10:31:00.000+10:30

I'm due around the end of the week so I really need to get a few things organised. I had some handmade presents planned for the kids, some stuff for B3 and a few bits and bobs around the house so I just had to suck it up and make the most of my last few days of freedom.

First up was Daisy's doll. She is based on the Wee Wonderfuls Olive doll (from her Make-along story) but I changed the hair and the face in order to match a doll Daisy really fancied in a store recently. A feature Daisy really liked was that the doll had a flower in her hair so I decided to crochet one and after a bit of experimentation I had a beautiful hot pink rose to match the hot pinkness of the doll's dress. As usual it was the face that really held me up - I am not artistic in the slightest so creating something as symmetrical and attractive as a face is tough. I'm pretty happy with the result though so hopefully Daisy will enjoy unwrapping her on Christmas Day. (Please excuse the crappy photo but I only have my mobile camera at the moment.)

Next Christmas task was stockings for the kids. I like to do new ones each year (because I am mad obviously) and when I saw the tutorial on Purl Bee I knew it was the one for me. I used Christmassy fabric that the kids picked out at Spotlight and opted to fill in the embroidered names with crayon rather than hours of extra embroidery, but essentially they are the same. B3 has a stocking too of course, but doesn't have a name on it yet. I traced off their two choices of name - boy and girl - and it'll only take me about 5 mins to transfer the name and 10 mins to embroider it so that will wait until after they arrive. (Once again we have a crappy mobile phone photo but I'm sure you get the general idea.)

Felix has shown a lot of interest in the fabric photo cube I made for Daisy years ago so I've started making one for him too. Unfortunately the t-shirt transfer paper I used was super crappy and made the photos look rubbish so that present is in limbo until I can get to Officeworks to get more paper (and spend a few more dollars on it this time.) I've got the six pieces of fabric cut out and sewn together though so all I have to do is reprint the photos out, iron them on and then sew the cube together and stuff it. Easy.

Another thing I've been working is a few more small MCNs. I tried a bunch of patterns when Daisy was born and none really fit nicely so I ended up using mostly the old fashioned towelling squares plus some store bought MCNs (my god they can be pricey!) When Felix was born I realised I didn't actually have any MCNs small enough for him (and the Baby Beehind adjustable one was too bulky for his skinny frame) so I kind of dropped the ball as far as cloth nappying went. We moved interstate when he was 7 weeks old and by the time we had settled into a new place I just had other stuff to worry about (my mental health being a pretty serious issue at that time.) This time around I intend to do things the way I did with Daisy so I've spent a lot of time tweaking the Ottobre MCN pattern to fit better (it measures way too large for some reason and what they say should fit a 50cm long baby would Felix right now) and I think I like it. Of course I have to wait for B3 to arrive to be sure - will I have another skinny minny or another buddha basically - but they are much much smaller and better fitted around the log now. I also sourced some more PUL (the most expensive fabric I've bought in a while) so I'll try to bash out a cover pattern now based on a Baby Beehinds one I have in the cupboard.

I've been told quite a few times in the last week how good I look considering how pregnant I am and I have to admit I appreciate it. To a certain extent it is the luck of the draw and I have my Mum to thank for passing good genes (she also stayed slender and only stuck out the front too) and my height certainly plays a part too. Having such a long torso gives me more space to tuck the baby away neatly and carrying babies who like to get head down and stay that way also helps a lot. But I do try to watch what I eat (I do not believe in the 'eating for two' concept) and staying physically active is important to me (chasing two kids all day tends to help with that) so I feel I can take some of the credit for how I look. The downside is that I feel utterly awful and in loads of pain so I look as though I'm dealing with it all just fine when in fact I'm not.

This week is about heading towards my all powerful and magical due date. That magical date that only 12% of women actually go into labour on and yet everyone seems to hang all of their expectations on it. I need to finish the photo cube, freezer paper stencil a cushion for Daisy, put together a few more MCNs and bring in the Christmas tree box so we can set that up once Dec 1 rolls around. Other than that I am just going to lie around and relax. Ha!

Losing patience

2009-11-22T18:13:00.000+10:30

I'm at that part of the pregnancy where people start endlessly me telling how I'm going to have the baby soon. And I want to punch them very hard in the face. I am not due until early December and I have a history of going overdue so I am not at all expecting to have this child 'soon' and I don't appreciate people telling me they know better. Going two weeks overdue with Daisy was crushing and then going overdue again with Felix was disappointing, even though I had stopped listening to all those know-it-alls with their crap advice about how obvious it was that I'd go on time. How people think they are helping me by bullying me into getting my hopes up I don't know, but it shits me and I wish they'd bugger off and leave me alone.

I haven't made up any shorts for Daisy, mainly thanks to the fact that I cannot think out modifications to patterns right now. She has enough skirts and shorts to get her through so I think I'll leave it until the new year and try again then. I'm also occupied with sewing Christmas things, such as the stockings for everyone this year and a doll for Daisy (a copy of one she liked at a store we visited recently.) The weather has been really nice the last couple of days so I am trying to stick it out at the sewing machine as long as I can before the heat returns and makes it too uncomfortable to sew again.

The garden centre excursion went ahead as planned but fortunately the temperature dropped enough overnight that the morning was quite pleasant. I dropped Daisy off and didn't have to stick around as there were enough parents there to help, and then picked her up just as the temperature was starting to sky rocket. Unfortunately the kindy concert the next night was just about unbearable as about 150 people crammed into a small church hall (across the road from the kindy) to watch the kids do their thing while the aircon desperately tried to keep things bearable (it failed.) I just about passed out by the end of it and opted not to stick around for the picnic supper outside - it was still about 40C at that point - and went home instead.

The weather seems relatively mild this week so at least I should be able to sleep a little better. Sleep makes everything more bearable I think, and will certainly help me cope with the endless fighting between the kids. Those two are at it 24 hours a day these days, with Daisy being the main instigator (usually needling Felix out of boredom.) And my pain levels are so high that I am using up all my resources on dealing with that so I have little patience for the constant bickering between those two. I'll be happy to not lose my voice yelling at the kids, get the sewing done that I want to do, and not turn to hard drugs/liquor/risky behaviour to cope with it all.

Hot hot hot

2009-11-16T14:06:00.000+10:30

The heat wave definitely cramped my style this week but that was to be expected. The kids haven't slept well and have therefore been rather cranky all week (and weekend for that matter) and I haven't slept that well either. The baby keeps getting bigger and having more of an impact on me too so that has slown me down (in a literal physical way but also mentally) and kept me from getting things done.

I did get a few important baby related tasks done, getting some clothing storage set up in our cupboard and giving the slings one final wash. I have to go out in the shed and get the newborn clothes out but obviously it is like an oven in there at the moment so I'm putting that off until early next week when the temps are supposed to drop for a few days. I still have two weeks to go and my babies are never on time so I'm not too worried, plus the baby is only going to be wearing singlets and nappies over the summer anyway so clothes aren't a huge issue.

To use up some more of the cheap lycra and jersey that I made the t-shirts out of last week I made up 4 tank tops for each of the kids. The cut is almost exactly the same and I modded the ribbing in the same way as it worked so well on the t-shirts, so that some more hot weather clothing I have now sorted out. I'd like to do some shorts up for Daisy but I can't find a suitable pattern in any of my Ottobre magazines (I know, shocking!) so I may have to purchase a pattern from Spotlight this week instead.

The garden centre trip at kindy was cancelled as I hoped it would be and has been rescheduled for this Wednesday. Unfortunately they are predicting 41C for Wednesday so I'm assuming it will just be cancelled instead. And what is worse is that Thursday is also expected to be 41C and that is the day (well evening actually) of the kids kindy concert so I'm not sure if that will go ahead either. This hot November weather is just so unexpected and quite frankly it sucks.

This week will be about surviving the heat, enjoying the two (alleged) days of relief we are apparently getting and making it to the next weekend in one piece.

T-shirts

2009-11-08T18:13:00.000+10:30

T-shirts. That is what my life has revolved around this last week. I traced out a pattern for each kid, did a test t-shirt and then cut/pinned/sewed my heart out. Now the kids have four new t-shirts each and I can now move on to some tank tops for them, using the same fabric and same basic cut.

I had my 36 week review during the week and was surprised by the modern and progressive outlook the OB had. I was expecting the narrow minded scare session I had last time but this was really pleasant and I got through without saying a single cross word. Well, I did complain about the 2 hour wait but I was hungry and had a sore back from sitting on the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room. Still haven't heard from my midwife but that is no great surprise and considering I got my BP done, the fundal height measured and even got to hear the heart beat on the doppler I'm not too fussed about not seeing her. I doubt the lazy cow will call me next week but you never know, miracles sometimes do happen.

How much is this week going to suck? Doing the kindy run in 37C heat does not appeal to me at all, and it really worries me that the garden centre outing has been rescheduled to Wednesday and that it going to be one of the hottest days. Fingers crossed they reschedule it again and I don't have to go out in the scorching heat with the kids. The house seemstot be coping much better than the Magill house as far as keeping out the heat goes, but we'll give it until Friday to see how it stands up to a whole week of over 35C heat.

The kids now have a bunk bed in their bedroom and I'm hoping the novelty wears off in the next few weeks (before the baby is born.) I'm not looking forward to rescuing Felix off the top bunk every time I sit down to feed B3 so I'm just hoping we've left enough time for him to get that out of his system (or work out how to climb safely down the ladder by himself and that's pretty unlikely.) The bottom bunk is actually a double bed so they can hang out together down the bottom during the day and then Daisy can retreat to the top at night and if Felix needs a cuddle during the night then it is comfortable for one of us to lie down with him. Getting the bunk then frees up the single bed Daisy currently sleeps on so we can store that and bring it out if we have visitors come to stay.

This week is about surviving the heat. Simple as that. If I get other stuff done like tracing or cutting out etc I'll feel very pleased with myself but it is not the priority it has been of late.

Summer arrives

2009-11-02T10:21:00.001+10:30

Well we've sure had some warm weather the last week, finally reminding us what the next three or four months are going to be like. Surprisingly the heat hasn't really bothered me as far as the pregnancy goes, I think because I am already at the limit of being uncomfortable plus this house is much better at dealing with the heat than the last place. What did catch me out was the complete lack of hot weather clothing for the kids but I quickly sorted that out over the weekend after finally finishing Chris' laptop bag.

I'm really proud of how the laptop bag turned out.

On the inside it has a pleated pocket with a flap that has a velcro closure, and on the other side are three deep pockets that span the width of the bag. I'd show you those but Chris has already filled his bag up with stuff and I couldn't be bothered unpacking it in order to take photos.

After I got that task done I moved on to some pairs of shorts for Felix. I realised during the week that when we moved I accidentally put the bags of his Summer clothes in with the Goodwill stuff instead of packing it into a storage crate (I blame preggie brain but it was really just disorganisation.) So when this hot weather hit he only had tracksuit pants and jeans to wear which obviously wasn't suitable. I quickly whipped up three new pairs using the Ottobre pattern I used last year and he loves them. And the temp is going to drop down to 20C tomorrow. Of course.

Now I can get on to the t-shirts and get a few of them ready for when the weather turns back to hot again (at the end of the week I think?)

Mum's return from South Africa meant a much needed break from the computer for me and far less trips out of the house in the afternoon. As much as the kids loved the runs to the post office I was getting a bit worn out from it all so its really nice not to have to do that anymore. She brought back some lovely souvenirs though and the kids love what she got them. I love little handcrafted objects and I appear to have handed on that love to my kids so the zebra ornament and spider toy have been given a solid workout.

I got the babyseat into the car so the kids can get used to it being there - unfortunately it means Felix is no longer able to 'blast off' into his seat from the centre of the back seat. I'm thinking of putting a little step in the footwell below his carseat and hopefully he can blast off from there instead. I also need to sew up a couple of 'car caddies' that I have a tutorial saved for somewhere as they can't store their books etc in between their carseats anymore.

This week is about dealing with the miseries of the last few weeks of pregnancy (welcome back sciatic pain! nice to see you again!), the heat and the myriad tasks I have on my to do list.

Secret Squirrel

2009-10-28T12:29:00.000+10:30

Well I can finally talk about the sewing project I have been working on for over two weeks. I bought a laptop bag pattern from Nicole Mallalieu's website after seeing a great hat pattern of hers used on another blog I read regularly, originally planning to use it around Christmas time to make a present for someone. Then I realised that the messenger bag Chris used to take to work had gotten quite ragged and realised I could make a new bag for him and give it to him as an anniversary present. Of course I didn't factor in how tired I was about to get, or how much time Mum's business stuff was going to take up, nor did I realise how hard to find some of the bag pieces were going to be (way to go crappy Adelaide craft stores.) This final problem would actually result in me giving Chris an unfinished bag for his present today but fingers crossed the small black plastic clip that is part of the strap assembly arrives in the post soon and I can finish off the bag in relatively decent time. Once I've done that I'll post some pictures, as it really isn't much to look at at the moment.

Now that the bag has taken a backseat for a while I now need to get the kids' summer t-shirts organised. I've traced off a basic t-shirt pattern for both of them from an Ottobre magazine so now I just need to make up a copy in the grey jersey I've been using for t-shirt 'muslins' lately and make sure I have the sizing right. Once I get that sorted I can then wade through the enormous pile of cotton lycra/jersey/interlock that I got on sale from Spotlight recently and churn out as many t-shirts as possible.

The poor old garden. It gets watered but that's about it really. It needs weeding in the spots where the mulch wasn't thick enough (there is some kind of voracious vine type weeds sending in suckers from another property I think) and I need to set up the trellis for the peas but I just don't have the energy.

I am so incredibly sick of being pregnant. And I am sick of people saying "Well you'll be even more tired once the baby is born!" as though I don't already have two kids and know what it is like to have a newborn. I may be tired but I won't have indigestion, back/hip/neck pain, a constant need to wee, a massive belly that gets in the way all the time, etc. I just want my body back basically, and will happily trade that in for someone who just wants my boobs every two hours for a few months. New preparations for B3 this week involve moving the car seat into the car so the kids can get used to it, and finding the sling and running it through the wash a few times to soften it up.

The postie has just gone by and dropped something off so fingers crossed it is the clip I need for Chirs' bag. It still has a bit of work to do on it and I want it done before I start on the kids' t-shirts.

Pain

2009-10-20T13:08:00.000+10:30

The last few weeks of pregnancy are pretty much all about the title of this post. With Daisy my back pain was so bad I used to cry when I was trying to get out of bed. With Felix it was back pain again, but not to the same extent, and also a variety of other pains that crowded in on my day. And now with B3 it is the same. This weekend was particularly awful and because I'm not getting much sleep I really don't have the resources to deal with it properly. Of course I am trying to do much and of course my standards are too high but realy that is just part of my nature and not something I can fight. When Mum gets back from O/S I'll get her to mind the kids so I can see my physio and see if something can be done about the back pain (other than simply giving birth and getting rid of the problem completely) and also see my psychiatrist as well. I need to get her ready for once B3 arrives as I will more than likely have some serious issues again, but I could actually just do with a good chat right now too.

I went to Brown Owls during the week and that was really lovely. It was quite a quiet night, really mellow and small, and was exactly what I needed. I think I got exactly three rows done of Felix's jacket sleeve done but I really feel Brown Owls is as much about connecting with other crafters as it is with getting things done. I have a running joke with myself that B3 will definitely be a week late just so it can arrive on a Brown Owls night, as babies love nothing more than to arrive at the least convenient time posible.

I haven't done any sewing lately but I am pushing myself to patch the knees on a few pairs of Daisy's jeans. I figured it would be leggings and skirts weather all the time by now so I let the maintenance slack off a bit and a few bare patches show through. But she has still needed those jeans for kindy (except for the last two days, which have been divine) and will need them later in the week by the looks of it. I've gotten as far as ironing on some light interfacing and have even cut out the zebra fabric patches to put on but I just haven't gotten to the pinning and sewing point yet.

The midwife's visit was great but tinged with disappointment. Turns out she is just a relief midwife for the permanent midwives when they are on leave so I'll get my crappy midwife back by my next appointment, along with having to go to the stupid 36 week checkup they make all VBAC clients do. Quite frankly I think it is a waste of time for me as I have proved I can do a VBAC and don't need to be intimidated with scare tactics relating to exploding caesar scars and what not. As it is my germ fears are going through the roof right now and the thought of going to the hospital freaks me out, so I'm not going to be in the best of moods when I get there.

This week is simply about soldiering on. About recognising that I have limitations and that it is OK to leave all the things I want to do on a list or in my head.

Completed

2009-10-12T14:33:00.000+10:30

I finished off my maternity capri pants over the weekend and whipped up a top as well, both from Ottobre Woman. I've made the top before but I had to redraft it as I am a different shape this time (late pregnancy not mid pregnancy basically) but the pants were new and funnily enough it is the pants that fit better.

There is a really nice skirt pattern in another issue that I like but I'm just not a skirt wearing person so I think I'll focus my attention on making a few more pairs of these pants.

We survived the school holidays and Daisy is now back at kindy - hurrah! Once again she has been given a new girl to look after so that is something she will really enjoy, and it will hopefully take her mind off the fact that quite a few of her kindy friends went to school this term. Felix seemed to enjoy his Daisy free morning so hopefully we can settle back into a nice routine and enjoy the coming school term.

We did a bit more work in the garden over the weekend in preparation for the rain we are getting this week. We've put a few pumpkin seedlings in over on the left hand side of the cavernous hole chris dug last week, and also put in a few onion seedlings. I've never grown onion before so it's a bit of an experiment - if it works out we get fresh red onion from the garden, if it doesn't we chalk it up to experience. Gardening is all about trial and error after all and nothing is certain in that earthy world out there. I really need to get the trellis up and running as the pea seedlings are sending out masses of tendrils but with the rain (and wind) setting in for the week I'll have to leave it until next weekend.

Another home visit from the midwife this Friday so that'll be nice. Always a joy to hear the heartbeat on the doppler, even though the endless kicking of this child reassures me that it is doing just fine. When B3 dropped down a bit lower last weekend it set off a chain of events that now leaves me in a fair amount of pain so I've really had to pull back on how much walking around I do. And I think my tiredness has a lot to do with coping with the constant pain as well, but because I can't nap (thanks to the pelvic pain and heartburn) I can't really do anything about it. Anyway, only about 7 weeks to go (please be on time B3!) so I just have to suck it up and move on. Slowly.

This week I really have to finish off Felix's jacket. The sleeves sucked all of the joy out of the project for me so it is in serious danger of becoming a UFO, except that the cotton yarn is really beautiful and cost a bit of money and it would be a terrible shame to put the project in my UFO container. I also have to keep my head above water in regards to Mum's business and not allow all the emails and ebay crap and trips to the post office overwhelm me.

Holidays

2009-10-06T12:25:00.004+10:30

The first week of the holidays was as bumpy as expected, as Felix lost his quiet mornings and Daisy wallowed in the throes of intense boredom. Of course her first choice for boredom relief was to needle her brother endlessly but it seems we now have a lot more harmony around the home. We are swamped by craft projects now - seed pictures, paper bag puppets, play dough dioramas - as I have desperately tried to fill some of the long boring hours and most of the toys have not been put away for days but so far I've kept my sanity intact. I'm just glad the weather has been dried (if not much warmer) than predicted so the kids have been able to play outside for most of each day.

I've been using up my meagre supply of energy with small and manageable jobs lately. I figure that I am going to be exhausted by mid-afternoon no matter what I do so I might as well get stuff done in the morning. I had been taking it easy after I got up in the hopes of preserving my strength for the rest of the day but I finally accepted that wasn't working so now I just go for it and then collapse in a heap later. I made a pair of maternity capri pants from an Ottobre pattern but they need cord and toggles in the leg hems before they are properly finished so I'll sort that out before I post a picture. I also have a maternity top from Ottobre also in the works but this is more of a 'muslin' as I get my dimensions and measurements right. I prefer tops to be longer than average and I prefer cross over tops to not gape open too much so I need to see how this top works before I make it in any of my 'good' fabric. I made this top during my last pregnancy too but I'm a different shape this time and I need to fit me at the end of the pregnancy, rather than the middle, so I really do need to make it again (several sizes larger around the bust and belly!) to see how it sits.

Mum goes off to South Africa tomorrow so once again I'll be baby-sitting the business while she is away. I'm just selling existing inventory on eBay though so I won't have to do any sewing, so it'll just be a lot of computer work and regular trips to the post office. I handled it just fine when she went to Europe a while back but I guess the most important thing is to ensure that the baby stays put until she gets back. I'm pretty good at one handed typing whilst breastfeeding but I'd rather not have to do it!

Chris did a heap of new work in the garden and now it is looking fantastic. We solved the issue of where to get the extra soil we needed by simply stealing it from one side of the veggie patch. It is huge so it wasn't a problem to just split it in half and just focus on one side, and now we finally have some seedlings in. Once we get a little bit more money coming through we'll slowly dump bags of cheap potting soil into the hole, along with some compost, and then perhaps get some vine type veggies such as zucchinis and pumpkins in. Hopefully all that admiring I did of Cat and Nathan's garden the other day will sink into my subconscious and I will feel energised to do some planting here as well. The problem is of course that I feel worn out after about 1o mins of physical activity and that never seems enough to actually get anything done.

The second week of the school holidays started with a public holiday so that was a bonus. Only four days left and then it is the weekend again! Hurrah! A trip to Spotlight will sort out the toggle/cord issue and a bit of persistence will get the top done, so I should be able to get those done. The only thing other than that is getting the watering can out to all our precious little seedlings each day and that will just about do I think.

Quack

2009-09-27T14:21:00.002+09:30

So I've started to waddle like a duck. A duck in a great deal of discomfort too. Apparently there was room for the baby to drop down a bit further so it did, and now life is a little bit more unpleasant. Bring on the next ten weeks and get them over with I reckon.

I've bought a ridiculous amount of cotton lycra from Spotlight lately, starting with my trip to Sydney and then following on with a voucher funded shopping binge a few days ago. At $3 a metre for most of it I was buying 2 metre lots so I should be able to do a whole heap of leggings for Daisy on top of all the t-shirts I am planning to make both the kids. Unfortunately the shopping without kids bit is the easy part, and now I have to trace off the patterns I want to use and get into some sewing. I didn't really finish all the SWAP items but they aren't really appropriate for the hot weather coming up so I'm not too bothered, and will just get on with the new items I want to make. I did manage to add ribbing cuffs to all the pants that were getting a bit short so at least I didn't have that job hanging over my head any more.

I'm still working on Felix's jacket, despite a few sleeve related set backs. I tried to pick up the stitches and knit it in the round but I just couldn't get the decreases right. No matter what I tried it just didn't sit right so I had to frog back several hours of work several times in a row. It was not a happy process. Now I am knitting the first sleeve flat, will seam it up and then set it in place just as the pattern asks. But I won't like it and it will not look as nice as if I had been able to knit it in the round.

Two weeks of school holidays loom ahead of me now so I doubt I'll be getting much done other than organising endless activities and constantly breaking up fights. We got some more storage for the craft/exercise room so I think I'll just spend some time doing that. I need to transfer some words to plastic storage bins and need to think of the best way of doing it. Vinyl adhesive letters would be ideal but I don't know if I'll be able to find the size I want so I may end up stencilling them on. A quick trip to Officeworks is probably the bext way to start I think (my second favourite store chain after Spotlight.)

Slack

2009-09-21T12:25:00.002+09:30

I find it very hard to post a blog entry when I am sick, and I've been sick for weeks now. Every time I think the cold has passed it comes back in a slightly different guise. Not only do I find it hard to find the mental energy to sit down and write something but the very act of being ill means I'm not really doing anything, certainly not worth blogging about.

I've managed to do some sewing for Mum but that's not particularly interesting, and I've also done a bit more knitting of Felix's jacket but I haven't made much progress. When I am sick I have little patience for things and I really need to reserve what patience I have for the kids so everything else kind of goes on to the backburner. I have a pile of pants on the sewing table that need ribbing cuffs put on them (to make them a bit longer and therefore last a bit longer) but I haven't touched them yet.

At Brown Owls last week (or was it the week before last?) I did a work shop on freezer paper stencilling. I'm no great expert on it but I do have all the supplies and have mucked about with it over the last year or two so I offered to show everyone what it was about. Despite a good number of women all trying to trace, cut, paint and iron all at once I think the workshop went well, and hopefully everyone got a good taste of how it all works and whether they want to take it further. The little gro-suits I made up as examples of the different steps in the process have been put away for B3 so even they got to benefit from the workshop (and not have an entirely hand me down wardrobe for summer.) Gillian is holding a wet felting workshop this week but I'm going to opt out of it as I've done it plenty of times and the last time I did it my psoriasis flared up really badly on my hands. I'll use the crafting time to keep knitting Felix's jacket so I can hopefully finish it before September ends.

Today is my birthday. Another year older and hopefully a little bit more wiser. We celebrated my birthday yesterday for the benefit of the kids, doing the cake and card and present thing while all of us were home. I honestly don't care what day my birthday is celebrated on so the kids baked a cake for me with Daddy while I had a sleep in, then they decorated it once we got home from a morning at the markets. I picked out my own present, then went out and bought it and then wrapped it when I got home, then the kids helped me unwrap it when we had cake. Glamorous hey? But I got the 1kg handweights for the WiiFit that I wanted (goodbye tuckshop lady arms) so I'm happy with that.

The garden still hasn't seen much action lately, other than a good mowing and some edging as well. The veggie plot has not seen any fertiliser or top soil and the seedlings are getting a little unruly so I really really have to get on to that. No landscape supplies places in Adelaide seem to do the courtesy trailer thing like they do in Sydney so our next idea is to hire a ute for a few hours. then we can drive it straight through into the backyard and push the soil into the plot with a broom and spade, rather than transporting it from a trailer out the front to a wheelbarrow to the back yard and then back out to the trailer again.

This week is about dealing with my cold, dealing with the crappy weather, going to Brown Owls and that's about it.

Royal Show time again

2009-09-08T17:02:00.005+09:30

A whole year has passed and once again it is Royal Show time. Or as Daisy calls it, the Animal Show. Because that is what it is all about to her still. Not the rides, not the show bags, but all the animal pavilions. And as with the last two years she once again enjoyed herself thoroughly. We were a bit worried when we couldn't find the pony ride in the same place as it was last year but while the kids and I were on the Ferris wheel Chris managed to find the pony ride so all was OK again. Baby animals were patted, alpacas were gazed at and lunch was enjoyed from the covered stands while we watched some girls put their ponies through their dressage paces.

I made a fair bit of progress on Felix's jacket too, which was a bonus. The intarsia/stranded knitting turned out to be an absolute nightmare of difficulty but it was only 11 rows so I soldiered on through all the tangled tiny balls of wool and it worked out well. Now it is just rows and rows of stockinette stitch with a fair whack of decreasing and increasing thrown in at a few points.

The garden didn't see much action this week, other than for a bit of weeding and fertilising. We were planning to hit the Morphetville area and grab some bags of horse manure but then of course the show got in the way and we didn't end up doing that. I need to look into landscaping supplies places close by that offer a courtesy trailer so I can get a big load of cheap mulch for the front yard (that ugly dark brown bark stuff will be fine) and a decent amount of top soil for the garden bed to go over the manure and fertiliser.

This week is about doing sewing for Mum so I won't be doing much for myself. I'll get some knitting done for Felix but I doubt I'll get the whole thing finished off as I really do have to spend all my useful spare time (as opposed to the spare time I have at 11pm) to focus on getting the body stockings done.

Rain

2009-08-30T19:48:00.006+09:30

There has been a lot of rain here this week. Not solid rain, not constant rain, but random rain that seems to strike when I am dropping off Daisy at kindy or putting the kids into the car after doing some shopping. But all the same it has left the back yard sodden and the atmosphere cold so the kids haven't been able to play in the backyard and that has led to issues. Boredom, fighting, the usual crap that goes on but I'm just too tired to deal with it well at the moment.

The one major highlight of my week was a midweek trip to Sydney. I wanted to see the crochet reef exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum that I had contributed to, and as expected it was fabulous. I'd love to show you all the photos I took but they all turned out crap so I deleted them all. Not even Photoshop could save them from the underexposed, blurry awfullness of it all. But the use of unusual materials was impressive and inspirational, and the effect off all the small pieces all put together in one mass was quite powerful. I also took the chance to visit a wonderful friend and her gorgeous twin boys, my most favourite librarian in the whole world and then spend a quiet and casual evening with family. I then retired to a hotel room for the night (after having yet another hot and uninterrupted shower) and got up at the crack of dawn to go home. I do miss Sydney, despite how expensive, crowded and frantic it is, so driving around my old stomping grounds was a real pleasure. And I especially miss how much better Spotlight stores are over there (especially at Rockdale) and they make the Adelaide stores look even more crappy than they usually do.

I finished the bolero jacket for Daisy and it is a little bit big but still wearable (as opposed to needing to be put away for next year.) She loves it and wore it happily for quite a decent amount of time but I do think it needs a fastener of some sort to stop it slipping off the back of her neck all the time. I will eventually get a nice photo of her wearing it but the light conditions are just too bad for a decent photo, so this one will have to suffice for now. **EDIT**

Felix's jacket is now on the needles and progressing nicely. Of course I totally forgot that I would be knitting it from the ribbed hem up and would need the two other colours for the argyle pattern (the main colour is light blue so I need a small amount of navy and white for the diamond pattern) quite early on. So now I am stuck until I can hit Spotlight tomorrow (and be disappointed by its crappiness after a lengthy stop at Rockdale recently) and get the small skeins of cotton I need.

I've done nothing in the garden this week other than to water the seeds. It has just been too cold and too wet to be outside and I've been preoccupied by my trip to Sydney. This week has been looking equally as wet too though so I have no idea if I'll actually do anything in the next week either.

This week will be pretty quiet I think. A fair bit of rain is predicted so that means we'll be stuck inside all day, so I doubt I'll get much craft or gardening done. I'd like to get Felix's jacket done but that depends on me getting the two other colours of cotton I need early in the week (preferably tomorrow) and then I need the actual time and space to work on the knitting too. I've still got quite a lot of organisational stuff I want to do around the house so I may get things done here and there, in between setting up stuff for the kids to do (and breaking up fights.)

Finding a rhythm

2009-08-23T21:42:00.005+09:30

I function much better when my life has a certainty to it. When there is structure and rhythm and a schedule of some sort. Moving house always creates chaos and it takes a while to settle back in but now that things are pretty much in the right place I can get back into a rhythm of sorts. The best thing about falling back into step with life is that I get back into craft, whether it be sewing or knitting or just creating in general and there has been a whole lot of everything going ont his week.

I made a tracksuit for Daisy, using the tunic top pattern from the other week and making some matching skinny tracksuit leggings to go with it, and a charcoal grey/blue tracksuit for Felix from the same pattern as the brown and black one I made him a few weeks ago. I've also almost finished a knitted bolero jacket for Daisy, using a pattern from a Debbie Bliss book (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/molly), and I'm just waiting on a delivery of Addi Turbo needles to finish it off. She chose both the pattern and the wool colour (a lovely cherry red) so hopefully she will actually wear it a few times once I have finished it. Next up is a light jacket with an argyle detail along the bottom for Felix from some cotton I am waiting on from Bendigo Woollen Mills (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/argyle-cardigan.)

The garden is also progressing, which is very satisfying. Chris has done all the hard work in the vegetable patch, clearing out all the weeds and turning over the soil, and now I need to put in a huge amount of organic material so it is ready for the seedlings I am hoping to raise. My little seeds are in their planter box and Daisy has been tasked with misting them with water each day until they are ready to go into the ground. All the path weeds have been poisoned, the roses have been pruned and the lawns have been mowed once again. I've pretty much written off the citrus trees in the backyard though. I'll give them some citrus food to help them keep going but the lack of water over summer really is killing them and I'd rather focus all the water for the garden on the veggie patch.

This week I am going to Sydney for a day and a night so that's all I am really focussing on. I'd love it if my circular knitting needles arrived before I go, so I'd have a project to take along with me, and I'd also love to see my Bendigo cotton as well but I have a feeling neither will arrive until the end of the week. Other than that I don't really have any great ambitions for the week and will be happy to arrive at the weekend not too stressed out and relatively healthy.

Finally moved in

2009-08-11T13:14:00.003+09:30

Sigh. Thank god that is all over. All of our stuff is moved over, old house is cleaned and almost everything has been unpacked here now. And best of all I have the internet back - hurrah! That was an unpleasantly long break I was not prepared for and not very happy about.

Obviously we need to live in the house a bit longer before I feel that everything is in its right place but so far I am happy with it all. The backyard is huge but the lawn is manageable (I mowed the back and front yards with the push mower yesterday) and there is a fabulous spot for a veggie garden that Chris and I are going to work on over the weekend. Campbelltown council apparently sells its residents discounted worm farms and compost bins so I'm quite excited about looking in that. A lot of our weekly garbage load is kitchen scraps and a worm farm would allow us to dispose of them a lot more responsibly and give us something to then put on the garden in order to fertilise the veggies. But first the plot has to be weeded and dug up, and then a lot of organic matter needs to go in in order to prepare it for seedlings.

I have done very little craft during the moving period, mainly thanks to not having the time and also packing up most of the stuff I use to craft with. I did finish the knitted vest for Felix though:

It fits beautifully and was a really easy pattern to follow so I'm now browsing through sooz's other patterns to see what else I'd like to do. Once I've sorted out another knitting pattern (perhaps a vest for Daisy?) I'll get my Ottobre patterns out and start work on my SWAP 09 items again. I do have a bit of fabric for that already but I am planning on buying more when I go over to Sydney in a few weeks time.

I have been obsessing about organic fabric lately. Just one of those fabric obsessions I go through from time to time but this time I can get samples! I now have an envelope full of samples from a variety of Australian companies and the quality is really really good. I'm thinking of getting a metre of organic bamboo jersey at some point so I can make some gro suits etc for B3.

Unfortunately I got terribly sick over the couple of weeks we spent moving. I had a flu that morphed into a nasty cough and I was left utterly devoid of energy (not helpful when you have a house to pack up and clean.) I'm finally over it now and have just a lingering cough to deal with but it really was a miserable two weeks. It's hard enough just being pregnant but being sick and pregnant too really sucks.

This week is about more unpacking and organising, picking out a new knitting pattern, sorting out a craft space for myself and forcing myself to go to work in the evenings. Sounds fun hey?

Moving again

2009-07-27T09:28:00.006+09:30

We have been looking for somewhere new to live for a while now, mainly because of the lack of air con in this house and its unmanageable garden. And the constant traffic outside the house. And the crappy hot water system. Yeah, we have a few issues with this place. Well we found a new place about two weeks ago and have been madly packing and cleaning ever since so I haven't really had the time or interest in posting a new blog entry lately. And with the regular bouts of rain I've been busy entertaining the kids too (although not Daisy last week as she finally went back to kindy.)

So did I achieve anything in the last two weeks other than packed boxes and cleaned walls? Well actually I did. I finished the grey knitted jacket for Felix and have been looking for the right button to finish it off properly but he won't actually ever wear it. Apparently my garter stitch gauge is different to my stockinette gauge because although the body fits just fine the sleeves are too narrow and don't fit his arms. I'm really annoyed as I put a lot of time and effort into it but I guess it will just have to go into the box for B3.

I also joined an Ottobre SWAP which is not actually a swap. SWAP stands for Sewing With A Plan so you submit a plan of the items you intend to sew by a certain date, identify the fabrics you'll use by another date, and then have all the garments finished by a final date. And we are posting each step of the way on the Ottobre Flickr group as a way of keeping ourselves accountable. The main idea is to put together a capsule wardrobe for a child (or yourself by sewing out of Ottobre Woman issues) but as I have two kids to sew for (and one of the way) I have opted to make a couple of outfits for each child that can be mixed and matched with their existing wardrobe. I got the plan in on time and traced out all the garments as well, which I was very pleased about, and have begun to make them now. Unfortunately the first to I made for Daisy turned out crappy thanks to some poor quality fabric (I'm not even sure I want her wearing it to be honest) but at least I got a practice at how to put the tunic together (and now I'll have to go get more fabric.) Unfortunately it is a crap photo of a crap top, thanks to the poor light conditions today (more rain and grey skies and the house is perpetually dark even on good days.) Basically it is a long tunic top with a hood and front pocket, with raglan sleeves. *edit: Here is a much better photo*

I've started on a knitted vest for Felix in the hope that I can make him at least one thing for this winter. It's actually looking a bit on the large side but that is way better than too small. I only have the Ravelry link for it so sorry to those of you who aren't members - link.

This week is all about packing and cleaning. I pick up the keys on Friday so I can move a small amount of stuff over then, then we'll borrow a trailer to do a run to the tip and then a few loads of boxes to the new place on Saturday, then Chris has hired a big truck on Sunday to move the bulk of our stuff over. The new place is only a five minute drive from here to the whole process should be a lot less painful than when we moved over from Edwardstown.

Celebrations

2009-07-13T09:26:00.003+09:30

We decided to go down to Victor on Sunday so that we could celebrate Felix's birthday with the whole family, but with us doing the big trek instead of my brother (he usually comes up here for any get together.) Of course illness can stuff up the best laid plans and my brother came down with a nasty stomach bug and wasn't able to join in the fun despite us all being down there. The weather also took a turn for the worse (a few possible showers turned into torrential rain and gale force winds) but we all still managed to have a good time.

I have not gotten as far on the jacket as I would have liked so the hood remains only half finished at this point. I did do one sleeve and realised once I had bound off the edge that my binding stitches were very tight and Felix's hand would not actually fit through the hole. My knitting guru friend (I ask her advice on all things knitting related) pointed out I could just leave the first inch of the sleeve edge open and have sort of an open cuff, and that would then allow plenty of room for his hand to go through and add a little design feature there as well so that is what I shall do. As soon as I have sucked up the will to actually start doing some seams on the jacket! God I hate seaming.

I made a couple of new belts for the kids and improved on my original design a bit, and also incorporated Daisy's new favourite colour into hers. Her favourite colour is now red (not pink) so I am eagerly grasping that and encouraging it for all it is worth. She looks great in red and I really don't like pink so I'm glad I can work a new colour into her wardrobe. Next is to make a new hat for her (a red version of the pink cord Ottobre hat I made a while back) and this one will fit a lot better now that I understand how the elastic is sewn on to the hat band.

Had my second ultrasound during the week and everything is looking good. Baby is the right size and all the bits and pieces are in the right place so now its just the long slog to delivery day. Despite being plagued by a thousand niggles the pregnancy itself has been quiet drama free so I'm hoping for a continuation of this. I can deal with all the small stuff as I go along (with a decent amount of whinging) but I'd rather nothing major happened.

Another week of school holidays means another week of Daisy not knowing what to do with herself in the morning. This is her first experience of school holidays so I think there is a small worry that she'll never go back so that's added to the general "what can I do now?" feeling that she's had for the last week. Plus we've had quite a bit of rain so the yard has been too wet and muddy for the kids to have their usual run around. I think we'll all be glad when this week is over.

I have no idea what I'll get done this week. I'll work on the knitted jacket and perhaps get started on Daisy's hat. It all depends on how tired I am from day to day and how much the kids need me to set up activities for them.

Getting back on track

2009-07-05T17:24:00.005+09:30

I've gotten quite a bit done this week, which has been nice. I quickly whipped up a jacket for Daisy out of the polar fleece and as expected she was thrilled with it.

I also made a couple of hats for the kids out of the fleece as well from the same Ottobre magazine and while the shape is a little odd they are both happy with them.

I've also embarked on a knitting project and so far I'm doing really well. No errors, no weird looking bits (usually thanks to my random tension) and I'm getting through it quite quickly. Eventually it will be a hooded jacket for Felix so fingers crossed I can still it out to the bitter end (otherwise known as seaming it all together.) I actually altered the pattern to allow the shoulders to be joined by a three needle bind off, rather than binding each piece of separately and then sewing them together, but I will still have to sew the side seams and the sleeve edges together.

I've certainly felt more pregnant this week and have been hit with all sorts of niggles, from tiredness to heartburn to backache. I think work is contributing to that so I've decided to cut back one night a week and will cut another back at the end of the month. I'm hoping to get a little bit of energy back that way and hopefully not feel so stiff and sore all the time. On the plus side I've been feeling kicks for about two weeks now and I even felt a bit of rolling about the other night (at 1am when I was suffering from a hayfever attack actually.)

This week I'll focus on getting the knitted jacket done. I have Brown Owls so that will give me a nice period of crafting time but thanks to a bunch of appointments we have this week I might have to be happy with getting maybe just the hood done. I have a few really small tasks I'd like to work on (a belt for Felix, a new hat for Daisy) and the beauty of each of those is that I can do them in small increments, instead of having to commit to a block of time each time I start them.

Mr Personality

2009-06-28T20:02:00.003+09:30

We had Chris' parents over this last week so I pretty much spent my time going places with them and hanging out at home together so they could enjoy their time with the kids. It was really lovely to see them and the kids really enjoyed having them here too. Daisy especially enjoyed the extra attention I think, and was very upset when they left.

Because they were here I opted to take some nights off work and I really felt the difference. I felt so much less exhausted, even after a drive out to Strath and big walk around, so that has shown me just how much work is affecting me physically. As a result I've decided to cut back my hours and not work Wednesdays any more. I need to look after myself better from now on and as my hours have now changed I'm only going to get more tired as time passes. We still really need the money from my income though so I can't stop altogether and instead have to find a balance that me healthy and our family financially stable.

I haven't really had much time for craft this week but I did go to a Brown Owls meet so that was a bonus. Two and a half hours of uninterrupted crafting in really good light with great company. Perfect. I also managed to put together a jacket for Felix as he has suddenly decided he will not wear jumpers any more and will only wear jackets (I think the zip up the front is the issue.) I traced a pattern out of Ottobre, cut out the fabric and had the jacket put together in about 45 mins and it fits him nicely. The fleece and ribbing were stash items so the zip was the only thing purchased so it was a cheap way to add a new item to his wardrobe.

Now that I know I like the pattern I'll trace it off in Daisy's size and make her one in the rainbow polar fleece I bought for her a while back.

Felix has really really started to show his personality lately. He over dramatises everything for comic effect and I spend all day laughing at him. His little voice squeaks with emotion and his face contorts into the funniest faces as he pretends to freak out about everything, and when he plays on his own his toys carry on constantly. Trains crash and fall over, planes zoom around uncontrollably and cars smash into everything. I remember Daisy going through the exact same thing at pretty much the same time too - she started speaking and then suddenly exploded personality-wise. It's a lot of fun and so incredibly entertaining and I really am trying to make the most of it while it lasts.

This week is the last week of kindy before the school holidays so I've got to do some serious activity planning. Its easy to keep Felix entertained all day - just rebuild his train tracks endlessly and make sure he gets enough food to eat. Daisy is a whole different kettle of fish so I've got to get cracking.

Catching up

2009-06-14T17:17:00.004+09:30

I have been feeling a hell of a lot better in the last couple of weeks and have finally seen the end of the morning sickness (hurrah!) I'm still battling some serious tiredness/exhaustion issues though so I am hoping the return of my appetite will herald a return to better form in that respect too. I can't expect to create a new life and live my usual hectic life with actually consuming any food (or not keeping it down once it is in.) This has allowed me to get a few things done in the last week that I have wanted to do for a good couple of months now.

I saw a photo on a website a while back and unfortunately despite searching around I can't work out where I saw it. Someone had made fridge magnets out of Perler beads and some of the shapes had been Super Mario characters and I immediately decided I wanted to try that out. And here are the results:

I also added to my amigurumi lolly collection as the kids had trashed the last lot I made, plus a few pieces from the 'breakfast food' collection as well.

Design*Sponge posted the most beautiful tutorial (and included a template, bless her) for making jointed cardboard horses that can be put up on a wall as a decoration so I made a few up for Daisy. I'm not at all artistically inclined so my painting leaves a lot to be desired, and working out where to place the legs was equally difficult (and that's why some of the ponies look a bit odd) but Daisy adores them and that is all that matters.

I also managed to get out of the house for a reason other than work - amazing! The Adelaide Brown Owls had their first meeting, thanks to that hard work of a couple of women, and I had an absolute ball. One of the organisers put together a little owl badge project for us and I abandoned my lolly amigurumi in order to work on that for most of the night. We have agreed to meet up every second Wednesday from now on so I shall definitely be taking that night off work in order to go. I have to scale back my work nights anyway as I am really finding the late nights are taking their toll, so by taking the occasional night off I can hopefully extend how long I am able to work for.

Right now I am focussing on small projects in order to get my mojo back and I will then start tackling some bigger projects. I just need to get back into the flow of creating stuff and have a few 'wins'under my belt and that will then carry me on to bigger and better things.

A long break

2009-06-01T09:53:00.003+09:30

Well I didn't mean to stop blogging for so long but I've really struggled with settling into our new routine. The illness that I've been dealing with for the last few months is slowly fading away but I'm still really tired so everything is still all a bit of a struggle unfortunately. And I'm really not doing anything to blog about either, as there are only so many entries I can write about the kindy run I do every day and the games I play with Felix while Daisy is at kindy. Maybe this week I can actually do a few things that would be blog worthy enough for me to write about next week. Fingers crossed I can do that but I won't hold my breath.

A change of routine.

2009-05-03T20:26:00.002+09:30

Daisy started kindy this week. It went far better than I could have hoped so from that perspective it was smooth sailing. Felix took it very badly though so that was the first bump in the road. What has really knocked me for six is the absolute change to my daily/weekly routine. All of a sudden I have to get Daisy ready to go by 8:40am, head out into traffic, then entertain a very upset and sooky boy for 3 hours and then go back out and pick up Daisy, and then do something for the rest of the day. I really need to sit down and write up a new schedule to follow, breaking the day up into totally new segments, and make sure I still get something done each day. My mornings will be written off for a while until Felix settles down, and the afternoons are tough as the kids catch up on all the play they have missed during the morning, but eventually we will all calm down. I hope.

I've done no sewing or knitting at all this week because of that seismic change to our lives. It's pretty darn impossible to knit with a small child lying on your chest, and obviously the sewing machine is out of bounds for that reason too. I have loads of projects lined up but I'm struggling with too many things right now to get into them. I'll just keep reading my craft blogs, stoking my creative fires, and keep flicking through my day planner to remind me of all the projects I have in mind.

This week is about getting used to our new schedule. Making sure Daisy is still enjoying kindy, getting Felix used to not having Daisy around in the mornings and finding some time for myself.