Things that Bring me Joy

The girls' discovery and subsequent love of Tintin books. 

The school library having this on the shelf, as well as the five Spiderwick books, which we read together in quick succession. 

Rachel, spontaneously reading to me while we wait for Sophie at jiu-jitsu. 

Sophie, and her Wings of Fire books - these are read, reread and studied all the time. 

Rachel, reading books to the guinea pigs. 

Buying a book for the girls, and reading it myself to find it's pretty fabulous. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World. Can't wait to read more of those. 

When I wake up in the morning and find these two on the couch together, reading the bible. 

Creative Rachel

Sometimes things just fall in to place. You wake up and have some egg whites in the fridge that need using up, sugar eyes in the cupboard that have no purpose and a Rachel who could use a little something to do while Sophie is out. 

So you make meringues. Dip them in chocolate and add the eyes for fun.  

All is right with the world. 

People Have Babies

 So I make shorts.

To give to them for their babies. 

And because mass producing small things is a great way to feel very accomplished. 

Duck Cake

Every now and then, I really feel like I'm winning a Cool Mum Award. This is one of those moments. Sure, we may be way more strict on screen time and healthy eating and bed times than other parents, but we are also the parents who say; "Let's spontaneously make a completely ridiculous cake for no reason whatsoever. Yes." 

And so I give you the Duck Cake. 

This is the infamous Women's Weekly Birthday Cake Book Duck Cake which has recently been made more famous (if that is at all possible) by appearing in the Australian children's animated series Bluey. It's just such a fun cake, so when the girls were having friends over and we needed to make something for afternoon tea, I said "Let's make a Duck Cake!"

We did. 

The girls did lots of it, and we decided to make it a black duck because chocolate. Obviously. 

And it was flipping fabulous. 

Catching Up

There was a little lull in life back in September where there were finally no more lockdowns and I had some breathing space to sew. So sew I did. 

Firstly, all the things that Sophie had brought home from school for me to fix. Insert eye roll here. I mean, I'm a little chuffed that Sophie things that I can fix anything, but I also don't love to just be fixing things. The girls' school has heaps of stuffed things that the kids use in class - sometimes they are weighted to help the kids with sensory needs to sit and focus, other times they are just soft toys for squishing, or pillows for reading on. The Japanese teacher also has a giant Pikachu that she uses as a class reward. 

Whenever Sophie notices that one of these has a hole, her hand is up and she's offering to take it home for me to fix it. 

This Happy Cat is glad I have fixed him. 

When I wasn't fixing these school-related stuffed items, I was digging through my sewing stash looking for fabric to use. I found a bunch of free patterns online from Mood Fabrics, and thought I could give sewing up the Cypress Dress a go. Mum had given me some green Japanese looking fabric which I didn't see myself using for anything else, so I figured why not. 

I had actually already used a section of this fabric to try to make a retro style blouse, which turned out to be a failure for me. I guess I don't often share my sewing mistakes, but this was one. Not that the sewing was bad. 

Actually the sewing was some of the most professional sewing I had done, but it just didn't look good at all when I put it on. I ended up giving it away to a girlfriend who might get some more wear out of it. 

And I went on to use the rest of the fabric in the Cypress Dress. 

Which I was much happier with than the retro top. There are some things that I would adjust next time, but otherwise, it's a workable dress. I actually had three perfect buttons in the stash, so I just sewed up the bottom part of the dress, rather than going out to buy more buttons, and just have buttons on the top part. 

Because I used some of the fabric to make the failed retro top, I didn't have enough left for both pockets and sleeves. Pockets obviously won. Maybe the next Cypress Dress I make will have sleeves, but given that we live in Australia, this dress being sleeveless is not really a problem at all. 

I had just enough scrap fabric to make a matching mask, so when I wore it to a wedding in August, I was super fashionable in all the COVID ways. 

Made a Shirt

Remember back in March when I learnt to make a men's button up shirt? Well, I had enough fabric left over, so I used it to make one for my nephew for his birthday. Check out that pattern matching! 

He loves these kind of loud, button up shirts, and I was pretty stoked to have been able to make it for him. I just sized the pattern down slightly based on his measurements. 

I think he liked it. 

Camping Memories

 Last camping trip. Maybe ever.

It sounds very fatalistic, but in the lead up to camping at the start of October, I started to realise that even though I would love for us to be a camping family, we just weren't. Camping wasn't a priority for us. Steve was happy to camp, but it was never something he would actively suggest or be excited about. While I loved going camping, I had to admit, I wasn't advocating for a four wheel drive, or to go off an explore places that were any more than two hours away. 

So while I was a little sad at the realisation, I was also ok with it too. We aren't a camping family. 

That said, we did have a great time camping with Steve's mum, brother and all the kids for four days at the start of October. 

We took everyone back to the property at Fernvale where we had camped in 2020. Steve's brother had bought a four wheel drive (he's committed to camping), at the start of the year, and as soon as I heard, I booked us in to camp together. It was perfect. I was a little worried the kids would get sick of each other, but they had a great time playing together. 

We hired the kyaks and paddled around on the river. The days were warm enough to get in the water, at least a little anyway.

Everyone tried fishing. 

Rachel caught a fish. 

We played card games, we had campfires, we ate all the food. 

The last night, we watched the grand final of some sports ball game, which I never would have even though would be something we would do while camping, but it was important to John, and it was his birthday, so we did it. Glad we were in range for the wifi to work, or I think he would have packed up and driven home. 

I loved waking up to these little girls in our tent. 

And it was over at just the right time. We packed up and came home. 

I have given away most of our camping stuff since then. Camp chairs, the four man tent, the huge twelve man tent, the cast iron saucepan, the self inflating mattresses and all sorts of other stuff. I'll admit, I haven't got all the way yet. We still have one box of camping related things in the garden shed; plastic plates and cups, the lantern, the bread toaster thing, as well as one two man tent, which packs flat and easy to pop up. 

So if I did feel the need to take the girls for a one nighter again, I've got the means for a little while longer. Our street people are talking about a group camping trip too, but I figure, if we go with people who camp - they will have all the stuff right?  

Halloween 2021

Just because one day I know I will want to look back and remember these things, this is Halloween for 2021. We just used costumes that we already had for the most part. 

Sophie is a generic Jedi, using Steve's Jedi shirt and her own brown pants from her Clara Costume. Easy. Rachel is a green globby monster from the book, Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman. Her costume was again, very easy, because it was my dressing gown and a lot of green face paint. 

Steve is wearing the costume that was the only one created specifically for this event - he is the Milk, from Fortunately, the Milk, which is very scary since it expired in 2014. We were cleaning out under the house for the impending build and found some old paint and a box. Costume made. The Wheat Bix box he is holding adds to the costume, but also hides all the lollies we were giving out. 

I am a generic Rock and Roll chick/Rydell High student, which is a costume I made in the Time Before Children. I look at it now and think the skirt is way too long, but since I literally dug it out the morning of Halloween, and no one noticed it, it really didn't matter and I couldn't be bothered to fix it now. Maybe if I'm intending on wearing it again. Maybe. 

Halloween is really taking off in Australia and I think because this year, it fell on a Sunday, there was a huge turn out. People were out on the streets at five, and there was a lot of families walking around. Living on the best street in the world, we had heaps of people to walk with and visit, and we all went back to our neighbour's house for sausages and bread for dinner and a quick happy birthday to one of the kids who was five on Monday. 

The best thing about this Halloween was meeting the newest member of the best street ever, four day old Sebastian. Can't wait for you to grow up a bit so the girls can baby sit you. 

Made Rachel Some Shorts

Did the usual cull of clothes in the girls wardrobes at the end of the winter season and the subsequent shuffle down of clothes that they have grown out of. I was on the look out for gaps and things they might need, but was surprised to find these were rather few indeed. Rachel just needed shorts. 

I suppose I could have made more than one pair, but to be honest, I'm not sure she'll wear them too much, given her history of dress/skirt loving. Still, these are pretty cool and she does love them. Especially the pockets. 

Legacy (or Painting More Things at School)

People often seem confused as to why I volunteer so much at the girls school, or maybe they are confused as to why I enjoy it. I'm not sure. Either way, I'm quick to remind them that I don't do everything, and it just happens that the things I do do, like making sure information is shared via an email or on Facebook, are the visual, easy to see things. So even though it looks like I'm doing a lot, there are loads more people working hard in the background. 

I guess a lot of my motivation is the conviction that God has put us here to work for the good of others, not just ourselves. That contributing to a larger goal is actually something that gives us more purpose than doing things for our own benefit. Also, I want my kids to see me doing these things, so that they learn how to love others in the same way. And if their school needs something done, I don't want to be someone who just grumbles about it. I want to be a part of the solution.

All that said, here's a look at a little project the P&C did this term, which again, I had very little to do with, but I'm proud to be a part of all the same. 

We painted the besser block walls near the hall where the local Community Garden group has their set up. I did lots of the green (because it was the worst paint to deal with, and since I was barely painting, I felt I could handle doing it when I was there). It was designed by, Lis Gillet, one of the Community Garden members who turned out to have design skills. 

And I think it looks fantastic. There was lots of detail, compared with the prep area, so it felt like it was taking a long time, but the results are really beautiful. 

This is the kind of thing I want to leave behind. Doesn't even matter if my name is mentioned at all, but I want to have done something that's made things better, that has helped people move forwards. To have contributed to things that last. Things that change for the good. This is what God wants for us too: positive forward motion, towards love and relationship. Towards faith and hope. 

I'm often overwhelmed by my slow progress, by the way I'm not doing enough, by the weight of a world that is so self-driven and competitive. But this is what I want to be working on, little by little, leaving behind small changes that make the world that little bit brighter for those who come after.