This is Summer

Happy New Year.

....and to all, a good night.

No Knives Allowed.

Nina's present for Ruby.

The battle

Starting the battle, all in there places and teams

Fork team  - cut up sausage.  Spoon team - soup

Fork captain, Spoon captain

This is them with hair

"darn, she loves sausage.  This soup smells yuk" "Sausage! Yummy"

the battle goes on for ten weeks and they don't get much rest

...they get to go back to they're draws they flop on to the bed.

Sometimes it does feel that all that we've achieved is a bit of sausage throwing and soup hurling. Here's hoping we all get to go back to our drawers and flop onto our beds these holidays.  Sounds like paradise.

Reality Bites

Lest I ever mistakenly give the impression that it is all Christmas bunting and gingerbread around here, this is a snap of our dining room right now.

There has been a lot of sewing. Turns out I wasn't quite finished with my chenille phase and sewed up 5 more dresses and a pair of shorts for friend's children. Then circle skirts for my nieces. So easy and adorable, from here.

Christmas dresses for my girls. It's become a bit of a tradition but these were quick and easy, unlike last years.

I like to make stuff and encourage the kids to make stuff, but I don't want it to become a burden for any of us.  Grace woke up early the other morning and sleepily, but worriedly said "I've got so many Christmas presents to make".  Oh sweetie, you're only four.  Still, she found time to have a tea party.

Tis the season and all that

Carols in the park

Shortbread

Grace in my Christmas present to myself

Next year we'll make a gingerbread bush hut.

Making the crackers

Last week at work we sang carols and raised $1020.00 for medicins sans frontieres. A lot of that came from people who earn a decent whack but just as much came in from the legal assistants, the mail room clerks and the office juniors who don't have a lot to spare. One young man had already set aside a substantial amount of money to donate to MSF, but he gave it to us to give instead, to push us over the $1000. Hooray for Gen Y.

Run Run Run

As fast as you can

You can't catch me



I'm the gingerbreadman.



(I warned you that I love Christmas)

Collaboration

Ruby and Nina worked together all Sunday morning making this tiny little house. You can see the scale by the blades of grass.

Hours and hours of happy collaboration. It's not always this way.

I overheard: 

'how will we make a laundry basket?', 'what else did old fashioned people wear apart from overalls, aprons, dresses, pants and shirts?', 'can we make a rocking chair?', 'what can we use for pegs?', 'how can we stick up the poles?'.

They figured it out themselves and showed me at the end. I took the photos.

It's beginning

to feel a lot like Christmas.

And I admit it, I love it.

Carols, cards, decorations, gingerbread.

Not mince tarts though.