Now I am 9 Months...

9 months ago, I gave birth to an incy-bincy, cuddly little koala bear who liked to curl into a tiny ball inside my Baby Bjorn and sleep for hours...

... hmph.

in which it is near-on impossible to photograph the man-boy on his back...

Then, about 8.5 months ago, Elliott discovered he had arms. And legs. He regarded them with interest. These days, I am certain he has about 8 of each, his tentacles able to weave and extend and grip and wind and tug and wrap like he's an octopus. Indeed, just changing the boy's nappy requires sheer determination, brute strength and about half an hour; no sooner have you got two legs in the air than his little body has flipped like a pancake and he's trying to crawl off the end; its all I can do to get him over onto his back again before the process starts over...

Yup, the boy is a boy. In every sense of the word. His shoulders are square. His first word was 'yum!' (I swear this is true -- ask Fern!) He has a short attention span. He has a voracious appetite. He is messy. If you are sitting in his path, he will slip into 4wd and climb up and over, continuing on his merry way as though you were never there. And he loves his mum.... at night when he's tired (it's all I can do to keep him up til 6.00pm!) he crawls around the house calling out til he finds me, then he climbs up and holds onto my legs until I scoop him up and take him to beddy byes... and I get to hold him for about 10 minutes while he has his milk, to gaze into his huge greeny-greyey-browny eyes until he's full and he's on the move again, leaning away from me towards his bed where he wants to be deposited with his teddy and blankies....

Sigh.

9 months old and I'm still mad about you, sonny-boy. Who else with 4 teeth in their mouth could look so cute?!


the many faces of Elliott Daniel...

the door...


Too little
has been said
of the door, its one
face turned to the night's
downpour and its other
to the shift and glisten of firelight.


- An extract from The Door by Charles Tomlinson

Winter Fashion Favourties

Hello everyone - I am back - not that I have been anywhere except here burning the midnight oil putting together the finishing touches on my new website.

The other reason for my absence has been that my blogger account was having big problems last week so I could not log in, write any posts or leave any comments on anyones else's blog.  

Pleased the problem seems to have resolved itself today so I thought I would drop in with some of my winter fashion favourites for the coming season - once again my virtual shopping spree has been at Seed Femme - classic easy to wear pieces at a reasonable prices.  While I am definitely a summer girl at heart I do enjoy winter fashion for it's layering, long boots and cosy knits.  Is there something you love about winter fashion?



It is going to be a big and exciting week with the launch of my new website and online store - I can't wait to share it with you all.
Leanne

Pretty Crafting

Pretty Crafting
This week on Flickr Faves Sunday, I bring you pretty coloured crafts. I so need to organize my buttons! Check back soon for some more of the most inspirational photographers on Flickr.

Some beautiful shots from my Flickr favourites (clockwise from top left):

Have a sweet day!

They didn't want my Pops


My sister and I have always been suckers for hidden pathos. I've never properly investigated just what makes a moment heartbreaking, but I think it mostly has to do with someone going to a lot of trouble and it just not working out for them. The unacknowledged care is what is so heart wrenching.

The elderly fellow sitting alone on a park bench holding a little sack of seeds he's brought from home but the ducks are off scoffing some kid's Wonder White.

The market stall owner who has lovingly handmade every single item in her shop but has sold almost nothing at the end of a busy day.

Candlelit tables and apron-smocked waiters in an empty restaurant at dinner time.

Every time the tears well up a little. All that effort and no one seems to notice or care.

I had my own mini-moment today. I was asked to make some things for the school fete cake stall and instead of just making a carrot cake / caramel slice / lamos combo, I had to go to that extra bit of trouble, didn't I? I spent ages making chocolate dipped cake pops with little sticks and ribbons. And chocolate wholegrain biscotti lovingly wrapped up with string like a gift.



Well, when I left only one of each had been sold. It was so stressful watching them sit there while boring old glad-wrapped fruit loafs got snapped up smartly. Nobody seemed to want my little creations. I know it's probably because they were all thinking 'what the hell is a cake pop?*', but still.

Still.

I wish I'd just made the cupcakes.

* Not you too? You can find out what a cake pop is here. I think I am an early Aussie adopter of this Bakarella phenomenon and they're just not taking off here in the way I expected...

Bubby Makes Three in Pictures...

Whale OnesieTulle headbandButterfly dreamcatcherEaster BunnyTaggie ToyButterfly dreamcatcher
embroderybutterfly dreamcatcherDream butterfly dreamcatcherCheeky Monkey OnesieDream butterfly dreamcatcherPeter Rabbit Baby Onesie
Peter Rabbit Baby OnesieWhale Baby SetCherry Tree Flower HeadbandGorgeous baby dressFlower Hair clipFlower Hair Clip
Flower Hair ClipsGorgeous Baby Girl OutfitButterfly 2D top2 dimensional butterfly top and matching skirtBaby Boy Lounge SetBaby Boy Lounge Set
Bubby Makes Three Handmade Designs, a set on Flickr.

If you like what you see, would you be so kind as to 'Like' my page on Facebook? It's over there, on my sidebar -- see? I've just signed up, you see. A little late, but better late than never! If YOU have a facebook page, by all means share! Let's share the joy!  Have a great weekend....... x

This week I'm grateful for... the laughing cry


Some days you've gotta laugh or you'd cry. I like to do both at the same time.

All week I've been mental at work. I'm making approximately fifty five decisions an hour and everyone wants a piece of me. Just so busy that my head spins.  I'm getting through it on a carefully planned schedule and good old fashioned humour. So, don't fret, I'm okay.

But this morning my work crisis went straight out the window.

The Badoo's usual Friday routine is that LOML drops her off on his way to work in the city ("Dad", as she calls him, never "Daddy" or "Dadda" as the older Tsunamis do) while I do the school run because I work from home on Fridays, but today we only had one car, so it was me.

On the school run she seemed a little quiet, she complained of a sore tummy. No, she didn't want to go to the toilet, no she wasn't feeling sick. She wasn't hot, she wasn't miserable, just 'sore'. So I decided to drive her over to Nonno's on schedule and maybe I'd still make my 9 o'clock meeting.

By the time we arrived, she was miserable and crying from the pain. She indicated that she was 'really, really sore' lower in her abdomen. I freaked out (as you do). I thought 'something she ate', I thought UTI'.

I really thought 'appendectomy'.

I gave her a hit of Panadol to help quell the pain and drove her to the medical centre. I made calls on the hands free all the way there to rearrange my busy working day. Little Badoo was crying out how much it hurt by this stage and I thought 'maybe they'll see her first since she's so little'.

I really thought 'Emergency, stat'.

By this stage, everyone in the waiting room was freting for this poor child who was obviously in incredible pain. I had already mentally rearranged the next week of my life ready for the hospital stay. A number of kind people came over to us to say that the Badoo could take their place if they were up next. I was beside myself with worry over my darling little Badoo who was by now a huddled, cuddled mess in my lap. Then she sobbed, "I need the toilet".

I raced her to the toilet, ready for the projectile vomit of blood and almost in tears because I should have taken her directly to the Emergency department for her apendectomy requiring a week's stay at the hospital.
Then she weed. And weed. And weed. And, dear god, weed some more.

When she had finished pissing Niagra Falls, she said, "I'm all better now." And smiled. And skipped back to the waiting room where the doctor came out immediately and called "The Badoo". Of course she did.

Surprisingly, there is no treatment necessary for a child needing to do a wee. The doctor humoured me by performing a tummy squeeze here and there, but with the Badoo singing nursery rhymes at the top of her voice and giggling because the doctor was 'ticking me', we both knew there wasn't really a whole lot to say.

So, this week I'm grateful for...

130. The laughing cry - those silly moments when life is just so superbly sweet and sour all at the same time that as much as you want to cry, you simply have to laugh.

131. The crying laugh - when you are laughing so hard that the tears are streaming and your laugh rattles your bones. My favourite kind of laugh.

132. Any old laugh - the more then merrier. How else are we ever going to get through it?


So, what's making you smile today? Add your I'm Grateful For post to the list below (and please, we love you, but it really does matter that your post is a Grateful one and not just a random), add the button (grab the code from my sidebar and paste it into your post) andpretty-please add a link back to me.  Then pop over to visit other bloggers who are spreading a little sunshine. 



You can also link up with our British cousins over at Michelle's Reason's To Be Cheerful and maybe make a new bloggy bud. They're doing 'new blogs to find' this week too, always fun.

[Image via weheartit]