Saturday, March 1, 2014

A busy couple of weeks


Finally, some time to scratch up a blog post. The last few weeks have been chaotic and very full. Largely in part as I had a birthday and by some stretch of luck the celebratory hoo-ha appears to have stretched on for a good fortnight or so.

Firstly, a few lovely gifts that came my way. This little cat came all the way from across the seas to live at our place. Anyone guess what he is for? I found one just like this a few months back at a second hand fair, haggled a bit, kept looking, came back to buy it and while chatting to my friend and waiting to be served, saw him snaffled up before my eyes by someone else. The horror! So, I was very happy to see the return of the one that got away.



This vase which is fantastic for people like me with allergies as it looks glorious even without any flowers. And would you believe this massive milk glass jug that my stepmother ferreted out of her cupboards for me? She was given this by her Aunty Betty years ago, thought it was pretty ugly and stashed it in a cupboard for a few decades. Having seen my collection she knew where it belonged. It is massive and I have never seen another one like it. Happy days. The funniest thing is while I think this is the best possible present, she felt terrible regifting this jug she has never liked and  so bought me another present as well!




We have of course all been watching The Block every night, hence Liongirl's need to build her own "Block" with her crusts.





We received some gorgeous parcels from some bloggy pen friends in far away places , 




and after initial enthusiasm and then some rampart disorganisation, we finally returned the goodies. (Lea yours is still coming!)




There have been vintage Fisher price family holidays,






a birthday cake picnic for me,




some colourful painting,




making discoveries within the depths of all those workbooks brought home at the end of last year,




and even more startling finds uncovered from the depths of school bags. This one fills me with equal parts pride (that he wanted to run for school council and did this all completely by himself) and our usual parental concerns that the force is strong in this one and we really need to make sure he never crosses to the dark side. (Is it only me envisaging Dr Evil's voice "under my control there would be absolutely nooooo problems...."? ) Luckily, he was non plussed about losing to one of his mates.




The kitchen art wall  expands daily (unlike the painting of said walls which remain firmly back at the undercoat stage),




This hat came home the first week of prep.





First she delighted in sharpening EVERY pencil in the pack, then had the brilliant idea to empty out ALL the shavings ( Noooooooooo) and then glue them down into a rainbow. (Phew).




And sometime after Christmas we made a start on painting the TV/family room. My god those primed mdf walls make Betsy look like a poor sallow creature. Is it a creamish brown? or a brownish cream? Either way it is not a good look.




Despite about two months passing by, it remains firmly at the half baked stage. Occasionally, if we are not completely buggered at 10 pm one of us will venture in there to fill some more holes or slap on some more undercoat. We have actually finished painting the laundry and the sewing room but there are no Ta-dah photos as we have then dumped stuff in those rooms in order to paint this one.




There is a bit of a deadline now though as we finally chose a new lounge and ideally need this room and the lounge room to be finished within 8 weeks before it arrives. As well as working around an eighth birthday party, Easter, school holidays, the school fete and minor surgery on my painting arm, all in the same time frame. Gosh, makes me wonder what all those Block contestants are losing the plot about. Really, they don't have to deal with kids, jobs or celebratory occasions. They just get to paint those white walls ALL day. Lucky buggers.

Anyway, back soon with part two of this post which is all about the best present you can give a worn out mother of small children, and how to make your birthday last at least two weeks.

15 comments:

  1. I'm saying string dispenser. Am spending the weekend scrubbing acres of wall to get the old wallpaper paste gloop off. Also constantly moving furniture to get each bit on to the next stage - so I feel your pain (not literally though - hope the surgery goes well) xxx

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  2. You have been busy, Happy Birthday too Mel. the green flower vase and milk glass are so gorgeous. All that art works beckons another gallery show I think. Happy week to you lovely xo

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  3. happy birthday honey!!.....that jug!!!.....yay for mother in laws with deep cupboards! (and questionable taste). it is beautiful. im thinking kitty is a string thingy?. but what would I know, seriously I too am operating purely on reserves at the moment. your lad blows me away, id vote for him. lucky you have that fab artwork to spice up bettys walls. bring on part 2!......enjoy your prolonged celebrations. Al x

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  4. It's for putting string in right Mel?!
    There is so much good stuff to comment on in this post, but I think I'll stick to a couple of things namely your birthday (Happy Birthday Mel!) , and the boyo's student council application. That just blows me away! What a kid! Awesome that he did this of his own volition, and awesome sentiments contained in his (very well written) little speal. A career in politics could be on the cards..."Absolootly no problems"?! He's my man!
    Looking forward to Part Two, Kylie x
    p.s. bathroom's on blog - if you're interested ;)

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  5. Happy Birthday to you lovely lady.
    The milk glass has me very envious.. it is stunning.x

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  6. Happy birthday to you!
    I had forgotten about those Fisher Price people…I used to love my set.
    That hat is fantastic…so much cheery colour!
    And I love that student council speech…he would have had my vote!

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  7. Love the creativity in those kids of yours.....and that manifesto, brilliant! I now have 4 unfinished rooms and 2 yet tobe started! I'm thinking of hiring myself a handyman.....but he must be attired with vest top, muscles and a full set of tools!!! Fab presents, glad you had a great birthday! :) x

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  8. Oh Mel I said no need to worry about me. The kiddos were very happy and excited about their mail. I am thinking about doing a snail mail swap on my blog so you might want to participate in that if I ever get my act together. Life is busy I hear you. It's birthdays galore around here atm too. Happy bday miss Mel. I hope you were completely spoilt. I love the speech. That's awesome. Kids are so willing to have a go. This is a lovely post Mel. I always enjoy reading about your little family.

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  9. Happy birthday Mel. Looks like you have been busy. Look forward to seeing house pics when everything is all complete. You must be feeling a little over it at times! x

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  10. Happy birthday to you! It would appear you've had a lovely, lovely time.

    I adore that vase - what a beauty, the colour the shape, everything! And I think the cat is a string dispenser?

    The 'school councilir' note is a beauty. I always tear up over things like that. He's a good, independent boy who would not be silly. I would have elected him for sure. x

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  11. Best wishes for your Birthday, Mel! It looks like you were appropriately spoilt and I'm curious to hear about Part 2! And painting sucks...but gee won't it look spectacular when it's finished.
    xx

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  13. Happy Birthday! Lovely gifts, the green vase is my favourite. I always love seeing your kids' artworks, enjoy that colour and expression while it lasts, one day I woke up and my girls were older and it was gone. Love the little clothesline and keep on keeping on with the painting.

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  14. Happy belated birthday! The milk glass is beautiful, as is the amazing collection of colourful artwork by your talented and creative children. There is always so much colour in your images. Good luck with the painting... x

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  15. Hi, great to see all your bits and bobs. My favourite comment was just how I feel about my house, still no ta-dah here either. Got an hour or two earmarked for moving boxes today, I dream of a day when there his nothing left to move about apart from the occasional, fun, moving furniture about just for the hell of it. Looking forward to part two since it's my birthday at the end of the month. Sounds like you had a good one, Happy Birthday, love Katie xx

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