Some days I don't know how I'll ever make it through till 7pm (kid's bedtime). There have been far too many of those lately. Yesterday was one. There was isolation in the bedroom, time-out in the laundry, and encounters with the spatula. For the first time ever, I had to abandon my shopping trip due to a screaming toddler. After several minutes of trying to settle him it was clear we were in for a long session, so we quickly put back the few things we had gathered and raced out the shop, apologising to the checkout lady. (A couple of hours later when things had settled down somewhat, we managed a more successful shopping trip.)
It was one of those days, where there was not a moment's break from dealing with one child or another. Dinner too was eventful, involving the disciplining of all three children. We did manage a good talk with the kids about how the day had gone, and then rounded off with singing a hymn together. The kids picked the longest one we know (which is also our statement of faith, and doesn't have the easiest tune) and sang with all their heart. In Hannah's case, that is quite something to behold - loud, no tune, and random speeds, but heartfelt all the same. Never mind that it makes it very difficult for anyone to sing with her. By the time we were 2/3 of the way through, we had the hymn happening in four different keys, and Phil and I had all but given up (with tears of laughter in our eyes). Hannah was oblivious, though, so Phil had to stop her. After a few minutes we tried again, with instructions to sing with all our heart, just not quite so loud. We made it through that time, and Hannah said, rather seriously, 'that was just like grocery shopping this morning, wasn't it, Mum' (having to start again). Yes, it really was one of those days!
Other days, just when you brace yourself for the worst, roll along rather nicely. Like today.
We had home-made books.
We had oil-pastel artwork
We had ambidextrous drawing (we still don't know which hand he favours)...
...and baby gurglings.
We had sandpit fun...
...and coffee and quilts enjoyed in the sun. Not sure why today is so different from yesterday, just making the most of the fact that it is!
I knew there would be an uproar this morning when I suggested that seeing as we were all so nicely busy, we should just skip coffee time. "No way", shouted Hannah, "I'm already rumbling!" Actually, the biggest problem with skipping coffee time would have been missing out on these monkey faces, made by Hannah yesterday, from Donna Hay Kids Issue 5.
Quite appropriate, I'm thinking.
We had home-made books.
We had oil-pastel artwork
We had ambidextrous drawing (we still don't know which hand he favours)...
...and baby gurglings.
We had sandpit fun...
...and coffee and quilts enjoyed in the sun. Not sure why today is so different from yesterday, just making the most of the fact that it is!
...and just generally fooling around...
Just kidding! Truthfully, while I spend my days stitching away and having a grand time with my fabric and paint and the kids (and the housework) Phil (matched hour-for-hour by Dad dV) has been slaving away for the longest time to build this: 
That's right - our new house! Still a good year away from completion, but very exciting nonetheless! My new studio is going to take up a sizable portion of the upper level seen below. 
My most favourite thing about this new house is all the storage we have planned - a place for everything! The other most favourite thing is going to be the wall space on which to hang artwork. Another most favourite thing is... (and so ad infinitum).
Anyway, just thought I'd share for now! At least you can rest assured that I don't let Phil sit around bored while I'm busy sewing! (Photos by Mum and Dad de Vos)
Not sure if there has ever been a more popular IKEA purchase in this household (and that's saying something!)
It's been a whirl of activity again today! After several loads of washing and a whole lot of housecleaning, and once the little boys were in bed for the afternoon, we layered the latest quilt. Yes, the piecing is completed a whole week ahead of schedule! For some reason this particular quilt is rolling along very nicely and very quickly. Perhaps it's the closely looming deadline that does it.
and we also love our hairpins and earrings by Emma and Aimee, the juggling balls by Pip (love that green,and the fact that juggling instructions are printed on the bag) and dukkah by Bex.
