We have an entertainment unit!

Erin:
Miss Diva Extrodinare!! She threw the BIGGEST tanty (Diva Moment) the other day when she went to the Moores for a few hours. They haddn't seen that side of her before! Poor people! With those Diva Moments, all you can do is walk away and wait for the storm to pass. She had another one this afternoon when we got home from our walk and she'd fallen asleep in her pram. How DARE I wake her! The thing is with Diva Moments is giving her what she originally wanted doesn't even work as she forgets what she wanted in the midst of the moment. Thankfully, they are not a daily occurrence. As she grows, I pray that this strength of will, will transform into strength of character. At the moment she is sitting beside me on the floor reading her new library books. Some of them are hysterical. There is one, "Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type" by Doreen Cronin that you really must read if ever you get the chance! Here is a exerpt:

Farmer Brown got out his own typewriter.

Dear Cows and Hens,
There will be no electric blankets.
You are cows and hens.
I demand milk and eggs.
Sincerely,
Farmer Brown

Duck was a neutral party, so he brought the ultimatum to the cows.

It cracks me up every time. Erin especially loves "Edwina the Emu" by Sheena Knowles and "My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes" by Eve Sutton, out of the books we got this week. We also got a video of 'The Very Hungry Catepiller" and DVD of "Peter Rabbit and Friends". Erin is getting so very big. Her hair is down to her collar at last. She climbs so well at the playground, having a go at everything every time. When I go in to tuck her in every night, I am struck by just how lucky I am to have her. Diva Moments and all!

Billy:
Is growing at an even faster rate! I had to change his nappy fold today because the triangle no longer fits around him. He has gone from the tentative, hit-and-miss grabbing of last week to deliberate grasping! He has also become reluctant to take the dummy so we have ditched it for good. It means he often grizzles himself off to sleep but that doesn't worry us. I gave him a bottle of expressed breast milk last week after he had refused to take my right breast for two days (meaning I had a couple of bottles of expressed milk to give him!) and I thought I would give him a go with the bottle. He took it no problems at all. This means he will be fine if ever I need to leave him with someone else for a few hours. He has gone back to feeding from both sides quite happily so it was just a phase.

The House:
We went to chicken feed on the weekend and got an entertainment unit - Whoo Hooo!!! It is a low line unit with 3 big drawers then three spaces for the DVD players (yes, we have two!), amp and VCR. The TV and two front speakers sit on top with plenty of room to spare. It actually looks pretty neat at that end of the lounge room now. It is quite comfortable in here now - even if we still have a few boxes stacked at one end of the room and we're waiting for some furniture (a couch Jon is rebuilding, a chest to put the board games and puzzles in and to sit on and a piano). I am very happy! We did actually go shopping for a pantry cupboard and book shelf this weekend and got neither - just the entertainment unit (for which we paid a quarter of what we were expecting to) and more books - darn op shops having good books! Jon is getting frustrated trying to sort out the wireless networking for the computers. He wanted to have it so we didn't need cables running from room to room to have computers running on the net with access to each other in several rooms. I think he does love having his study to sort these things out though. We are going to get a little cabinet for the hallway to sit the phone on and put a computer inside so that one will run the internet for all the other computers (which will be in Jon's study, in my study and in the lounge room - yes it is excessive I know! But it is nice to have a computer for myself and it is very handy to have a laptop in the loungeroom. We use it quite a bit to look up things we see on TV on the internet - with 3 bookshelves in here it is a real multi media experience!

The Garden:
looks lovely in spite of the neglect it has been facing of late! I am really looking forward to getting into it properly. The blackberries that cover the old chook shed are looking like blooming so I think we will be picking the berries before we pull them out. The fruit trees are in leaf now. I am hoping the crazy weather we have been having won't ruin the fruit crops this year. After a beautiful Indian Summer it has been raining and windy for the last three or four days.

Craft:
I have finally finished sewing up Billy's jumper - and the neck hole is too small! I am going to wash it and try and stretch the neck hole a bit but seeing as it is knitted from acrylic I don't like my chances. It may have to be put away for his little brother! I have started a beenie for Katrina and Jeremy Bott's baby - due next May. I will put some booties with it as well. It is quite nice to knit for babies, very satisfying how fast it knits up. I am going to start a jacket for myself very soon too. Most of my craft stuff is sorted out, I just have to arrange the tables. There are boxes of books in there that have to be put on shelves, mostly teaching stuff, but I have to get shelves to do that.

Well, I must get tea ready!
Jess

Bet ya didn't know....

The sleep you get in your eyes is actually called "eye poo" and the reason we can't see stars in the daytime is because they are at playgroup.

Source: The Devine Miss Erin

A photo or two by The Devine Miss Bekah!

the fall by ~mis-match on deviantART


erin by ~mis-match on deviantART

Almost totally moved

We're NEARLY done! It just takes forever to get this type of thing done with my family. And if one more person tells me a story of how they moved completely, including unpacking, in 20 minutes or less I will not be held responsible for my actions! Yes, bully for you! Did you do that with a toddler and a 3 month old? Did you do that with two chronic pack rats and only one license? Did you do that with several set backs in the form of people promising things then failing to follow through? I DIDN'T THINK SO! But as I said, we're nearly done now and life can start sorting itself into the rhythm of family.

Erin:
is getting tanned with all the time we are spending outside. She is getting a bit big for her boots at times now, which could be being two, could be play group, could be the move but is likely a combination of all of the above. She does settle down fairly quickly after being reminded of manners etc though and is still generally a great kid to have around. She adores Billy and has taken to calling him "Billy Boy" and "Little Man" like I do which is very cute! We went to the library last week and got some books out. She has fallen in love with a book called "Dear Zoo" by Rod Campbell. She sits down for ages looking through her books at the moment. With the amount of napping she is doing lately, I think we are in for some heavy duty growth spurting sometime soon. She has started wearing dresses and shorts with the sunshine lately which has been wonderful. She just seems so grown up. It strikes me every now and then that she will remember this time in her life, possibly, forever. The responsibility of that is rather frightening and thrilling all at once. I hope she remembers being curled up in bed just before her afternoon nap reading together. I hope she remembers playing "kissy monsters!" and me helping her up on to the slide at the park. I hope she remembers being happy.

Billy:
is grabbing things. When they are held out to him or dangled in front of him he will grab them. The movements look very random still but happen repeatedly so I am pretty sure they are intentional. He is so vocal lately and gets loud and obnoxious (in a cute sort of way) some times - like a small, balding great uncle who has had too much to drink is loudly telling the same story over and over again to whomever will listen, but nobody has the heart to tell him to be quiet! He did a massive chuck all over himself (and me) about an hour ago and complained loudly the whole time I was changing him because he wanted to be asleep. There is nothing quite like his belly laugh though, or the small, warm solidarity of his little person curled up next to me, or the feeling of watching him wriggle with the sheer joy of being alive and without pants! Sometimes I look at my children and wonder whatever I did before I had them. I try and preserve these memories of their babyhood but even now I worry that I will forget that certain smell of a freshly washed baby or the touch of little arms flung around me.


The House:
is slowly becoming a home now. I scrubbed the kitchen floor yesterday which made it look fantastic. I am taking out empty boxes every day now. There are photos of the kids on the mantle piece and toys tucked into their homes. The bookshelves are filling slowly as I sort the books (My inner librarian comming out!) and Jon and my bedroom is turning from a dumping ground to a little love nest.

The Garden:
needs a bit more attention than it has been getting but inside has had to take priority. My tomato plant is looking like blooming already and lawn dasies cover the lawns like little drifts of spring-time snow. Jon mowed some of the back lawn yesterday which made it look great.

Craft:
has been limited to a bit of knitting. I have nearly sewed up a little jumper for Billy. It will look good once it is done! I am feeling very inspired by spring at the moment, I just need to find the time to do something with the inspiration now! I'd love some little shorts to go under Erin's dresses and keep having a little fantasy about doing a quilt themed on the lawn dasies which I love so much and keep reminding me in a strange way of Erin. I have a stack of projects that need finishing before I start another though.

Must go to bed.

Jess

Well, here is the new blog!

I wasn't happy with the other blog, it has been acting up. I will sort out a better system for the photos soon but here are a few pics from Victoria to tide you over ;)

My Granny with Billy

The Kids and Me

Erin talking to Nana Julie's ducks

Billy, Granny Nanny, Erin and me

Granny Nanny and Erin

Erin:
loves the new house. We're going to 2 playgroups a week which she is stoked about. We stop in at the op shop on Mondays and last Monday the ladies gave her a pair of purple rabbit ears because she is so good when she visits :) At the 'big' playgroup (wednesdays with about 30 kids) the older girls kept trying to carry her around which was hysterical to watch. She loved it! Some of the kids find her a little overwhelming but they survive LOL She falls asleep in the pram on the way home which should indicate just how much she does at playgroup!

Billy:
has started a strange habit of grabbing the edge of his play gym, pulling the whole thing over and chewing on it! He is nearly as big as some of the 6 month olds at playgroup. Last weigh in he was over 16 pounds. He is almost entirely in 00 clothing now. He is a real chuckle chops and belly laughs very easily now. We're still getting back in routine but we're getting there.

House:
is great! Still unpacking of course but it is very nice. A lot warmer than the last place. Jon hooked up the dishwasher on the weekend so I am A VERY happy girl now :) I love my dishwasher.

Garden:
is blooming like crazy! Camelias are going crazy, daffodils are nodding, dasies are peppering the lawn. I bought a tomato plant the other day which I am keeping in the patio until it is warm enough to plant out.


Craft:
is a bit stalled at the moment. I am sorting out my craft room which is very exciting. I am hoping it will be sorted soon and I can get stuck in and enjoy having the space. Even knitting is completely stalled as I don't even sit down in the evenings until I am so tired I can't do anything. I hate moving with a passion.

First Entry

Well, I have officially cracked it with MSN Spaces and I am starting an ALL NEW Blog! Please bear with me as I set this up and get it going.