Sugarlemon

Grandma Eye Candy

Melanie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:37:03 +0000

This little bloke turned a whole seven months yesterday. And (knock-on-wood) we seem to be turning a pretty big corner in the sleep department… just like that. I have swaddled all my babies in the early months, the boys especially both had really strong startle reflexes that jolted them awake frequently. On Monday night, I decided it was just too damn hot for a wrap of any kind, even my lightest muslin wraps would have had the babe sweltering, so I took a chance and put him to bed without wrapping. And he slept through! Shout it from the rooftops! I’m close to being a proper human being again. Tuesday and Wednesday nights were pretty decent too – he had 4am wakeups both nights, but one wakeup is perfectly civilised really, compared to recent weeks.

(It truly has been stinking hot this week in Melbourne, for November anyway. This was the only way to sleep yesterday. Bonus points here for supercute handmade bunny cuddles! Minus points though for visible sweat/drool marks… I reheeally need to change those cot sheets.)

I’m not silly enough to believe it will be all fantastic from here on, but here’s hoping we’re on the way out of the doldrums.

Oh, and we’re getting better at this sitting up thing, too. And on the verge of proper crawling. Yea verily, all hell is about to break loose. Again.

November 11

Melanie — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:08:00 +0000

Eleven-eleven. It’s a memorable day, for more than one reason. (Not least the hanging of Ned Kelly or the sacking of the Whitlam Government)

Nine years ago, it was a memorable day for us.

We were married beneath a maypole in the Kooyoora State Park (which gives this post its second bushranger reference!). Until the day, none of our guests knew the actual location of the ceremony. (Technically, nor did we, for several reasons, but the most important of which was, we had no rain plan(!), and the morning of November 11 brought an absolute downpour.)

Good fortune prevailed, however. At least as far as the weather. If you ask me to tell the story of our wedding photographs, I might still cry.

Thankfully, memories and lifetimes are not all about the pictorial evidence.

Happy Anniversary, my love.

Feeling Flat

Melanie — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:29:40 +0000

So I fell off those there Blogtoberfest rails a little bit, yes? It would be lazy of me just to write this post all over again, but there you have it. Same old same old. Lack of sleep begets grumpiness begets ratbaggy kids begets grumpiness begets… no damn crafting of any kind around these parts (begets grumpiness…)

I will not dwell. I will be back…

{Artwork credit: Feeling Flat by Niamh. Awesome.}

Blogtoberfest Day, uh… 22… I think.

Blogtoberfest Day 14

Melanie — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:05:54 +0000

My big boy yesterday, at his first ever piano recital*! He played beautifully, and I’m so glad he made it. Piano, or more accurately, the practice of, has been a huge point of conflict for us this year. Huge. We have recently hit upon a new system of ~~bribery~~ motivation, though, which is (so far) easing the way a bit. It would be nice if he chooses to keep playing.

*I see you wondering about that oh-so-stylish mosaic artwork, yes I do! Our school is mid-renovation, and the piano was parked in front of a huge pile o’ junk. Please excuse my terrible attempt at photoshopping the background. I do think they could have moved the piano over just a bit!

Keeping warm on the couch tonight under my new birthday blankie from Creswick woollen mills. It’s Alpaca wool, very snuggly. We’ve been catching up on Heart & Soul, which is a lovely show… the thinking man’s Glee perhaps? (but I like Glee too!) And then the last episode of United States of Tara (sob!) Can’t wait for the next season already!

Edit: oh, and have you discovered Sleeveface yet? You should!

Blogtoberfest Day 14

Blogtoberfest Fail

Melanie — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:37:12 +0000

I am not going to blog tonight. The End.
(Knew I couldn’t make it!)

Blogtoberfest Day 13

Breakfast

Melanie — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:29:06 +0000

I have a brand new lens on the camera. It’s taking some getting used to, but I think I’m going to like it. A lot

Blogtoberfest Day 12

Birthdays and Broken Blogs

Melanie — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:21:20 +0000

Blogtoberfest Day 10 ended up being the day that wasn’t. Sorry about that – we had server migration issues. Which I realised at ten to midnight when I sat down to post. Fixed by my on-site tech person this morning. (It’s good to have a live-in tech person).

Yesterday was spent paying a flying visit to the Northside Makers’ Market, then heading to my Dad’s to be stuffed full of calories by my lovely stepmum (or should that be stepmom, since she’s Canadian?!) She’s a wonderful cook, but always provides for an army… (and I have no self-control. Ahem.)

And now we’re off to do more celebratin’. For today, I am 34

Blogtoberfest Day 11

Zzzzzzzz

Melanie — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:20:18 +0000

I was going to call it a Blogtoberfest bye today. But by telling you, I would actually be posting, so therefore it wouldn’t be a bye at all. Hmmm. And does a tree falling in the woods make a sound if no-one’s there to hear it, anyway?

Fridays this month are less bliss, more crazy. Niamh starts at creche no earlier than 9am, and Finn is supposed to be several suburbs (and 25 minutes drive) away by 9.20 (9.15 this morning). He might be the one going off to do advanced maths, but I’m pretty sure even you and I can do the sums on that one! We weren’t the latest to arrive this morning though, and that’s how I’m planning to measure success

There wasn’t much point in driving home and back again, so Rohan and I ended up at Volumes in Eltham for a coffee and a bit of a potter before picking Finn up at midday (while Niamh was picked up at the same exact time… thankfully Mum came to the rescue on that one). I’m probably going to do the same again for the next three weeks, so if there are any bloggy peeps out that way at a bit of a loose end on a Friday morning who’d like to get together for a coffee, drop me a note, I’d love to catch up!

Full and busy weekend-y stuff coming up, starting with the Northside Makers Market in the morning. Looking forward to seeing all the local craftiness

Blogtoberfest Day 9

More Self-Portraiture

Melanie — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:20:34 +0000

It is really difficult to take a photograph of yourself and the babe-in-a-backpack!

I thought my baby-wearing days were nearly over. Rohan’s pretty easygoing, and most of the time is happy to go in the stroller. But there are times when only holding will do, and those times are mostly called 5-7pm. I’m sure many a parent is familiar with that special time of day (who was it called them the arsenic hours?) Also, we’re hoping to get to do a little bit more bushwalking, and after packing him in the Hug-a-Bub for a couple of easy walks, I have got to say – bushwalking is easier when you can see your feet!

So I succumbed, and ordered an Ergo Sport. Our very cheery postie delivered it this morning, and we’ve spent the day trying it out. Verdict = winner. (Though the hair-grabbiness will have to be stopped )

Blogtoberfest Day 8

Why Is It

Melanie — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:47:25 +0000

That when children discover the camera, almost the very first thing they do is turn it on themselves? (And then giggle themselves silly over the results).

That last one is a bit ‘Blair Witch Project‘, don’t you think?

Just be glad I didn’t include the snot-nosed edition

Niamh is a fan of the extreme close-up image. Recently she took a photographic tour of the house, which included photographs of the inside of the toilet bowl. Don’t worry, I’m not going to subject you to that!

Blogtoberfest Day 7