In which the hills are alive with the sound of Minty...

My parents are organised hoarders.  Name an item from our childhood and they probably have it neatly packed away somewhere in a box at the top of one of their cupboards.  But recently they have begun to 'declutter' and more and more items are finding their way to the op-shop.  Luckily my mum had the foresight to offer me this little dress before she threw it away.  I can't help but laugh a little when Minty wears it, as she looks like something from The Sound of Music.  But Minty loves it and it certainly made a fashion statement when she wore it to playgroup!  I am tempted to upcycle it into something a little more modern - perhaps remove the bodice and make it into a skirt?  Or perhaps I should emulate my parents and keep it untouched for posterity? 

And because it has been a while, here are some excerpts from the dictionary of Minty…

I think perhaps Minty might have a future as a copy writer.  She has an uncanny ability of making food more magical and therefore infinitely more appetising…

silver syrup =  golden syrup

fairy toast = fairy bread

smiley button = carob button snapped in half (she demonstrated the logic of this by placing the half circle of carob in front of her mouth and grinning to show me how the shapes matched)

In which life is good...

Sorry I've been a bit quiet around these parts.  I've been taking a bit of time for myself.  I went back to Melbourne yesterday without the kids for some retail therapy of the fabric variety.  I went to fabric heaven when I found Tessuti in Flinders Lane.  I couldn't stop smiling and stroking all the beautiful fabrics.  It is absolutely to my taste and I was hard pressed to find a bolt that I didn't fall in love with.  And don't even get me started about the Japanese pattern books, ribbons and buttons.  The staff are lovely, and almost as stylish as the store.  Have a gushed enough?

I also stopped at Clegs for some cotton voile, and Lincraft (blah) for some plain flannel.  I'll give you a peek at some of what I bought in the next day or so.

While I was in the city I stopped at The Cupcake Bakery for a tiramisu cupcake.  I was absolutely prepared to be less than impressed but seriously people the buttercream on that cake was to die for (probably literally as I'm fairly sure my arteries won't thank me).  And keeping in the cake theme I also went to Cake Deco in the Port Phillip Arcade.  This shop is such a treasure trove and totally worth a peek if you find yourself in that part of the city.  I stocked up on cupcake liners and some other fun bits and pieces.  

I've also been doing a spot of sewing which has really helped to lift my mood.  There is something about fitting together the pieces, like some kind of three dimensional jigsaw puzzle, that quietens the buzz in my head and soothes my soul.  I should have some cute things to show you in the next few days.

Pictures are from a birthday party we went to on Sunday.  It was such a gorgeous afternoon - and as you can see from Minty's satisfied expressions the food was amazing!

For Japan with Love...

I'm participating in the bloggers day of silence today.  Just wanted to share this link to some incredible photographs.

Normal posting will resume tomorrow.

In which I don't win parent of the year...

When I first became a parent I had visions of creating a childhood bubble free from the trappings of our consumer culture.  My house wasn't going to be full of plastic crap, my kids weren't going to watch TV, the words 'control' and 'crying' were never going to be used adjacently in a sentence coming out of my mouth and I certainly had no intentions of bribing my children.   I guess it's easy to be idealistic in theory.  Reality is somewhat more difficult.

I can count the number of times I've slept through the night in the past twelve months on one hand.  More often than not I (or Mr) spend several hours in the middle of the night tending to wakeful children.  When it comes to sleep Minty operates by the motto, 'outwit, outplay, outlast'.  In fact come to think of it Minty would probably make the ultimate survivor contestant.  She eats virtually nothing, would happily go for weeks without bathing, loves to go to the toilet outside and has more stamina and determination than anyone else I've ever met (adults included).  

Anyway, I digress.  Frankly it's difficult to keep high parental standards when you're extremely sleep deprived.  I've already broken my commitment for Lent.  The past couple of days we've watched more TV than I care to admit.  If I was going to make excuses I'd tell you it was because everyone has been sick, we've been cooped up in the house and I've been having trouble even keeping my eyes open let alone coming up with meaningful activities to keep the kids occupied all day.  But no one really likes excuses, least of all me.  So all I can do is wake up tomorrow and try again.  Try not to resort to ABC for kids, try not to operate on a short fuse, and try not to be that parent who garners scornful looks from strangers for her out of control children.

Pictures on our way to the doctor.  I thought I was being a responsible parent seeing as the kids have been sick for 3 weeks.  The doctor on the other hand seemed to think I was this lady.

In which things are up in the air...

With the way things are developing at Fukushima it is looking as though our trip to Tokyo is increasingly unlikely to go ahead.  I can't imagine what it must be like for people living in Japan waiting for this to all play out.  I can't stop thinking about the people who work at the plant and have to continue frantically trying to avert disaster, in the face of the threat of radiation, injured coworkers and the tragic quake and tsunami that has no doubt affected their families and loved ones.  I think I'd just be in the foetal position somewhere sobbing.

Speaking of being unable to function… I'm currently operating on four hours of sleep (for the second night in a row), and seem to have finally succumbed to the horrible cold the kids have had for the last three weeks.  I'm officially too tired to eat dinner, or write anything remotely comprehensible about what's been going on around here, so I'm signing off and going to bed.  Catch you all on the flip side.

Japan...

I'm really struggling to write at the moment.  Everything seems pretty trivial right now in the face of what has been happening in Japan.  It's hard to imagine how something so horrible can happen in the land of bento boxes and washi tape.  I'll try and get my act together tomorrow and give you a bit of an update on what has been going on around these parts.  But for now just a quick thank you to everyone who helped out after my last post.  The universe and I are sending love your way!

In which I fall in love and ask for your help...

I took the kids to the Cowes night market tonight for an ice-cream and while we were there I fell in love… with Thula Thula.  I think I must have been living under a rock because Naomi the designer of these gorgeous kids clothes lives virtually around the corner (in Wonthaggi) and somehow I haven't heard about her until now.  So I'm asking you for a favour - please head over to the book of faces and 'like' Thula Thula, then leave a comment saying I referred you.  If I refer enough people I could win a $60 voucher… and then I could buy this dreamy skirt for Minty, or maybe put it towards a little winter coat for her.  I realise it is probably tacky using the blog like this to try and get you to help me win a competition, but sue me I really want to win!