Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Back after a long break

It has been so long since I last wrote (the last post was in summer, and is now decidedly chilly!) that I feel a bit awkward about starting again, but better late than never. Somehow ordinary life with the two boys just got a bit too busy. I've been job hunting too and have just started a new job part time. So far it is hectic but really rewarding.

Sadly I haven't even got lots of creative things to show for the break, although it was very satisfying to have the book I was working on last year finally published and launched:


At the moment there is a national consultation going on about whether Australia should adopt a legislative bill of rights, and our book aims to give some background to this and examines the bills of rights now operating in the ACT and Victoria. There is still time to have your say in the national process if you are interested - the website is here. It probably won't surprise anyone to learn that I am in favour of greater protection of human rights, although more along the lines of the UK Human Rights Act rather than the American bill of rights.

Anyway, enough of work already! Thomas and Owen are doing very well. Here are some recent photos. As you can see Thomas' train obsession continues unabated and Owen's cheeks are as chubby as ever. I'll sign off now so I can go and catch up on all my favourite blogs. I promise to post again soon and to have a bit more to show and tell. Cheerio!












Monday, February 2, 2009

Hot Summer days



I have been having fun dabbling with making glass tile pendants. My lovely husband bought me the materials for Christmas (with a bit of prompting), and these are my first attempts. Super easy and effective, especially with beautiful washi paper. There is a great tutorial here and lots of suppliers of glass tiles, aanraku bails and diamond glaze on Etsy.



Lucky that these are so quick to make, as the boys are pretty demanding at the moment. It has been incredibly hot here, which is wearing all of us out, but there have been lots of lovely moments, and we have been enjoying simple outings like going to the pool or the park. I love this picture of Thomas in the park on Australia day.



Owen has now started smiling and cooing which is such a joy - it is quite beautiful to see his happy little personality emerging, and our relationship with him changing to a two-way interaction. He certainly loves feeding and is right on the edge of the chart for all his measurements, those cheeks just keep getting bigger!



Thomas is currently obsessed with Thomas the tank engine - here are both boys mesmerised by our sole dvd which is getting a workout lately. Thomas got two small wooden trains for Christmas, which came with a catalogue of all the others - very clever marketing. Thomas is constantly poring over it and has memorised the names and details of all the trains. He even wakes up talking about them and listing the ones he has yet to collect. I always thought I would try to resist this type of wanton consumerism with my kids, but it is quite insidious, and I confess I have been spending many of those precious quiet moments scouring ebay for second-hand trains, when I'm not setting up the tracks again, ready to be destroyed in the next play session!



I keep thinking how much Owen reminds me of Thomas at the same age, and I was looking through the old photos - this is Owen on the left and Thomas on the right, sharing the same suit. Pretty similar huh!
I'm off to bed now to get a couple of hours sleep before the next feed. I've really been missing reading all my favourite blogs - sorry I've been missing in action. Fingers crossed we might get some nap time tomorrow.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Happy New Year!

I can hardly believe it is 2009 already! This year has flown by. Christmas arrived much quicker than expected (as always!) and I only managed one creative present, a patchwork name for a friend's new little girl and a matching one for her older sister.



I enjoyed thinking it up and seeing it through to completion - I've hardly made anything lately and had almost forgotten how satisfying it is. I appliqued letters using fusible webbing, sewed the centre to a patchwork border, added batting behind it and covered a basic photo frame with it (removing the glass), with the raw edges tucked inside behind the backing board, so it is ready to hang.



I liked the patchwork so much as I was making it for the borders that it was hard to cut it up, but I still have a strip left, which I might use in a cushion.



Thomas and I also made tons of Christmas biscuits, much to his delight. I did the icing and he applied the decorations, although he ate a lot more than ended up on the biscuits!


We had a lovely Christmas with the boys and our family. Now that Thomas is old enough to have some idea about what is going on, it adds a lot of joy and excitement to the day.

He was so thrilled to recieve this cute rocking horse handmade by his wonderful uncle. Little wooden trains were also a huge hit, and he is still playing with them endlessly.

Owen had no idea what this Christmas malarky was all about, but loved all the cuddles and put up with this shameless exploitation with pretty good grace!

We stayed with my parents in Sydney afterwards for a few days, and Owen met lots of friends and relatives. Luckily he only projectile vomited once (this is a particular talent of his), and only on me.


Thomas enjoyed meeting up with old and new friends, and all the love and attention showered on him by his doting grandparents.



We then had a few days in the Southern Highlands, a beautiful relaxing time which ended far too soon. Here is Thomas on the Illawarra Treetop walk. He keeps asking when we can go back to Bowral.
Hopefully I'll manage another post before Christmas comes around again. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday break and best wishes for a brilliant 2009.