Birthday cards and boys.

A year ago, if you had asked Aesop to make a card for someone he would have sulked, and complained. And if you had pushed him to do so, he would have done a basic as drawing and written as few words as humanly possible. It is safe to say that he did not enjoy either drawing or writing.
I am over the moon that Aesop seems to have embraced felt pens, finally.
Aesop is one of those kids, that don't really like to do things unless they KNOW they can do them well. He also avoids anything that could even possibly be considered dangerous. He is not one to try new activities/foods etc and really prefers to do the same things again and again.
It has meant that he is a little 'behind' other kids his age in physical activity and coordination, and also in drawing and writing. Such a catch 22, when you don't want to do it because you're not very good.. but you only get better by practise!
He has made leaps and bounds this year though, in nearly all areas. He has even been on his bike a few times lately (his least favourite activity - involves both doing something he is not super good at, and the danger of falling off!) and is also getting really good at kicking a ball around and punching the boxing bag.
Hooray for coordination, and double hooray for creativity!

Otto loves to doodle.
He makes precise little circles or lines all over the pages of his art book. He carefully selects the colours and concentrates really hard on making his little markings.
Lately we have been practising turning those meticulous little orbs and lines into letters. He has all of the right shapes to form letters, and incredible control over his hand.
So far he has mastered his name.. sort of. Otot is close enough for now : )

Five Friday Felt Finds

I've been absolutely loving Emmas wee Felt showcases, and have decided to join in.

For the next few Fridays I will post a smattering of lovely things I have found on Felt, in the hopes of sharing some handmade joy, and perhaps inspiring a sale or two? Failing all else, it sure is some sweet eye candy.

Bear - Cute Companion By Minu.

Autumnal oak leaf pendant by Midgetdesign

Little brown rabbit upcycled wool jumper by Heart-felt

gold diamond amour by odi (small version) by Odi-design

Standing Fawn - a Timorous Beastie print by Ellaquaint


Happy Shopping!

Wardrobe Wednesday (late, as usual...)

I'm a day out this week, not tooo bad.
Thanks to Mollie sleeping nearly three hours, yesterday morning was spent photographing and listing bags in the felt shop. All of which was done in my pjs.. something you really don't need to see on the blog!
I decided today would need to make up for it.

I've also had a very negative body image this week, for some reason.
I've been down in the dumps about my lumps, if you will.
It is safe to say I fell off the Weight Watchers wagon pretty quickly.. and it has well and truly left me behind. (Left me exactly the same weight I was too, unfortunately.)
I'm trying ridiculously hard to remind myself it is early days/Mollie is still new/it's hard to lose weight on no sleep etc, but it's exhausting. It's a vicious wee cycle: feel stink-eat to feel better-don't lose weight. And so on and so on. Made a million times worse by my zombified state.
A few semi-decent photos of oneself goes a long way though. I might walk past a window or mirror this afternoon and feel a bit sick, but looking at these photos I feel half okay about my current body. And that's good enough to keep me going for awhile.

Sunglasses - ASOS.com $26
Striped top - Glassons $20
Dress - Glassons $50
Flats - The Warehouse $9
Necklace - Wild Bramble A gift from Abraham : )

Girl Style.

Cardi: T&T
Dress + tights were both gifted.

Have I mentioned how stoked I am to be able to use my uber-floral quilt? Sure, I could have used it for another wee boy, but with the little dresses it is just a million times cuter!

Browns and reds.

 

 

I picked up a few wee bits and pieces at the op shop this morning (as I do..) and, as I was photographing them, I looked around and realised there was a lot of other things around in similar tones. I ended up with a wee red and brown collection of sorts.
These are colours I often find myself drawn too, especially when it comes to homewares. Something about them feel very homely : )
The things I purchased (this may be obvious) were the wee hat, the plate and the smocked dress. I'm particularly pleased with the dress, it is the softest fabric and should be just about the right size for Mollie come next Autumn/Winter.

8 of the things that made up my day.

1.Delicious, chubby babies. (Well, just one actually..)
This wee miss is packing on the pounds and amassing some seriously scrummy rolls.There are not many things in this world that I love more than chunky babes.

2. Washing.
I don't love washing. But I accept it. I am the only person in my house that does it (because I'm so anal about how it must be done - Abraham wouldn't be brave enough to try it!) so it is something I do every single day, without fail. In fact, I do at least three loads a day....
I must confess, I do rather enjoy the satisfaction of bringing in a dry load of washing. It would be nice if that happened a little more often than it does at the moment.

3.Nappies.
These sort of come under 'washing', I know. But they also enter my life at other times. I fold them, I change them, I rinse and soak them.
We bought new nappies this time round, a different brand than before, and I'm still getting used to them. Mollie seems to like them though, that's the main thing, right?

4. Thrifting.
I have popped into at least one op shop nearly everyday for the past few weeks. It is an addiction, it has been for years now. But you know what? I don't spend money on coffee/visit cafes/smoke. I don't drink wine (at the moment) and I don't buy magazines/make up/expensive clothes. I spend $20-$30 a week filling my house with other peoples junk instead. Haha. SO much better.

5. Orders.
I have been blessed enough though have had a few sales through my Felt store this week. I've had so much fun wrapping each order in vintage wallpaper, and choosing out a business card to attach, before popping them in their postbags. I feel so lucky to have people who want to buy the things I make.

6. Otto.
Today, and last Thursday, Ottos homecarer has been unwell and Otto has spent the day at home with me. It's a hard one for me, because I really look forward to my two days with just Mollie. They are my days where I (usually) manage a little more sewing, and also where I run my errands in town and, sometimes, meet up with a friend for sushi or something.
But these two Thursdays have actually been really choice. Otto is a very cool guy to hang out with. Both boys are actually, when they are separate. It's hard to remember this sometimes, when all they seem to do is bicker and bicker. I need to try harder to spend more one-on-one time with each of them.

7.  Flowers.
My sweet, sweet husband read my blog post yesterday and felt sorry for me. He phoned my fave florist and had these amazing flowers delivered, with a card that says ' Hang in there! I love you, bro xoxo'. Isn't he just the loveliest man? I'm quite fond of him.

8. Feeding.
This is what I'm doing as I type this. It's what I will do, on and off, from now (8pm) until morning.
It is pretty much my main purpose in life at the moment, and fills a large portion of my day. Sometimes I feel okay about this, sometimes I love it, and other times.. well, it makes me feel tired.
It is a stage though, and soon enough it will be over and I will look back and miss it. It is what it is.


Overall though, I feel so stoked with my life today. It is (and I am) far from 'perfect', but I think that's what makes it perfect. If that makes any sense. If it doesn't, well, I'm claiming nappy brain.

Swings and roundabouts.

I'm not getting much sleep at the moment.
I know, that sentence is bandied about a lot as a 'new' Mum, and I would have probably told someone a few weeks ago that I was lacking in sleep. I didn't think it possible, but I seem to have reached a next level though, perhaps I should change it to: I'm getting almost no sleep.
It's amazing what you forget about babies. How you remember the smooth, velvety feeling of their heads, you remember how their little legs form rolls at the knee, how they make little hedgehog noises when they are hungry.. but somehow you block out the less pleasant parts. (An instinctual mechanism in our brains, to ensure we have more children, perhaps?)
Mollie is going through a phase (yes, I know it is a phase.. this too shall pass..) of refusing to sleep at night, unless there is a nipple in her mouth. She suckles the ENTIRE night long - finally falling asleep properly around 6 in the morning and sleeping in til 9. I find myself having to change sides at least hourly, if for nothing other than to try and ease the pain in my shoulder for lying with my arm up for an hour.
Her day time sleeps have become 10-20 minute catnaps, and yesterday she only took two of those all day.
I've had three comments already this week, on how tired I look, or how big the bags are under my eyes. Well, yes, no sleep will do that.

This point of this post really wasn't to complain - I try to keep my complaining to Facebook. Ha!- but more to remind myself, by typing it 'out loud' that this truly is a phase, and this is what child rearing is all about. Swings and roundabouts, ages and stages.
Soon she'll be onto the next thing... maybe that next thing could involve a bit more shut eye, please?