Discovery Bag

Last week, I attempted to make a discovery bag, one of Toni's Make It Perfect creations.

The kitchen table went from total mayhem, (thanks Katherine for saving the day with your sewing machine, after mine broke down) to.......................... (drumroll please)

ta da..........

A discovery bag is used to entertain little ones or big ones can find it fun too. The laminated bit tells you what is inside the bag and then it is your job to find them. They are all mixed up in there altogether. The plastic window lets you see them and try and feel them through the bag. The bag is nice and soft for little fingers to grab and squash and suck.

Toni would say the pattern is super-easy and Simon agreed but when you get to my age and you still need help threading the machine(thanks Simon) and trying to figure out what 'sewing right sides together' means (thanks again Simon), doing something like this is a major accomplishment.

And I am not tooting my own horn here because anyone that knows me, knows that I find this stuff very daunting and is something I was not naturally genetically engineered for. BUT I am trying to learn and I was SO pleased with myself after it was done!! (probably about 5hrs later-no laughing Toni) :)

So look out if you are having a baby, because practice makes perfect!!!

Back to school (with no undies)

This morning the kids returned to Westbury PS. Oliver in kinder, Hallie in gr 1 and Sarra in gr 4.
What do you get when you mix 3 pairs of shoes (pic above), 3 school bags (and one baby who wanted to play with the bag tags),

and 3 lunch boxes?? (drink bottles were in freezer ready to stay cold for today's scorcher)

3 very excited school kids eager to return to school.

Or in the case of this one, his very first day!!!

He looked so grown up in his school shorts with his school bag on his back. Little did I know that when I had asked him to get dressed, he ended up not wearing any undies for the whole day. (talk about a bit of chafing on such a hot day:) He had worn his Hawks boxers to bed and had taken them off to put his school shorts on.

Going to school Tuesdays and Thursdays until Easter and then after Easter, Tue, Wed and Thurs, although Wed is optional so we will see how he goes.

Grade 4 and trying not to think that high school is just around the corner.

Yes, Oliver is now slightly taller and yes I still get asked if they are twins.

I know, her hair was done beautifully before the hat got scrunched on.

Sorry, using dodgy point and shoot as the SLR is away with Simon.

Here Oliver is settling in doing a puzzle with Noah and Mrs Rixon (aide).

Oliver was not phased at all as here at Westbury and similarly at alot of schools down here, they have a Early Learning programme which sees them do 2 hrs a week in the classroom they will start kindy in, with the kindy teacher and with the kids that will be in their class.

They do it for a whole 2yrs before they start kindy. Plus Oliver tagged along when I did it with Hallie so he had been in the classroom since he was about 2.

Made the transistion super easy. He has a lovely number of 16 in his class, 8 boys and 8 girls, the same kindy teacher that Hallie had too so you couldn't ask for a better start to the year.

Which leaves me 2 days a week with just this little munchkin.

He keeps me on my toes.

Overhelpful

Since Fri night I have been sick with a fluey/gastro thing, hence missing a great party and spending the weekend lying down, well as much as you can with 4 kids. I feel a bit better today and with Simon away for the week on search and rescue training, it was good timing.

The positive thing about being sick (I know I am grasping at straws), is that it gives the kids an opportunity to do a bit more work around the house and do extra chores they wouldn't normally do.

The girls were asked to get the washing off the line and they went the extra mile and put all the pegs together in a row on the one wire. I am not looking forward to the next time I put the washing on the line, it will take twice as long having to grab all those pegs but the girls were so proud of themselves that I am not going to spoil it for them.

Thanks Simon for looking after me even though you were on night shift. x
Thanks Hallie for rubbing my arm with concern, even if it did give me carpet burn. x
Thanks Sarra for feeding Jonty breakfast and giving him a bath and reading the other 2 a story at night, until it was your turn to be sick the next night. x
Thanks Oliver for taking advantage of me being sick and eating all the goodies in the cupboard because you knew I wouldn't see or care. x
Thanks Jonty for having an extra long sleep in the day. x

What a lovely family I have.

PS Sorry I missed you dropping in to see me Chels. I didn't even know you had dropped by until after I got up and Sarra showed me the note. :(

I will sleep anywhere.............

This is the end result of Katie and Lilly coming for a sleepover. We packed so much into it that Ollie didn't even make the drive home.

How uncomfortable would that be. I suppose kids don't have the same aches and pains us oldies get.

This is what we did - skate park, swim, BBQ, sleeping bags on loungeroom floor, asleep at 11pm, awake at 6.22am, destroy bedrooms, clean up bedrooms, gym creche, picnic in the Brickfields park, swim and home.

Moving to the Bridport house

Last weekend, Mum held a garage sale at the St Leonards house to get rid of some stuff as she is renting it out while she remains in Bridport and continues teaching at Scottsdale.

She had put in the advert, not before 8am but we got up at 5.30 to start putting stuff out, knowing that people would rock up well before then. Just after 6.30am, the bargain hunters started appearing. It probably helped that Mum is on St Leonards Road, so it was easy to spot her garage sale.

Check out their bed hair.

The kids were great helping Mum sort things and Sarra's job was to go around, putting prices on things with some labels.

The day before the garage sale, Collette was up with her friend Fiona, (who was visiting from Melbourne - with them heading off to the YSA camp later) to help sort boxes and go through stuff. (Mum has lots of stuff). It's funny how we all have stuff, nothing of worth to be called anything, just 'stuff' but we all continue to lug it from house to house.

Fiona entertained the kids in the wheelbarrow when they got bored. I think the wheelbarrow went for about ten bucks at the sale. :) Thanks Fiona.

Getting a run up from the end of the street.

Sarra looks more than a bit worried.

Today Simon and the girls and Chris and Lisa moved the last of Mum's stuff to Briddy while Jonty, Ollie and I finished off the last of the cleaning. It was strange being in the house with absolutely nothing in it. Another end to another chapter.