{this moment}

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Soule Mama

Napping Toddlers And Knitting

Its fair to say Oscar is one of these children/babies who don't like to sleep. He has gone to extraordinary lengths to stay awake, although sprinting around the bed is his most common tactic. He sings, shouts, whispers, giggles and 'pumps' and tells you he has 'pumped' in order to keep the vocabulary going and stay awake. He has very rarely just lay down and went to sleep. Today I witnessed one such rare occasion. He started out hiding behind the curtain in the dining room, where the sliding doors are. Then slowly he slid to the floor and lay in a chink of sun watching little white clouds puff bye on a blue sky (its fairly windy again). I watched as his body relaxed and slowly his eyelids closed. I carried him carefully to the sofa, kissed his sweet little head, and marvelled at the miracle of him.

On the crafting front, I have finished another (long), weekend jumper. I have to admit though, this one is a bit too heavy for spring/summer, even here in Scotland. I realised this once I had completed the back and felt the weight of it, so I knitted a few extra rows in the sleeves so it will last until winter. I am sure that the little splash of green and the memory of my boy falling asleep in the sun watching the clouds go by, will brighten up a gloomy winters day for us.

Sewing And Formaldehyde Free Nail Varnish

So, I am still trying to work my way through the unfinished projects,  I finally gathered my courage, took out the new sewing machine (bought about 4 months ago, used twice), and sewed up my very 1st pair of trousers for Oscar. The fabric I had was only a small piece, which I bought on Ebay thinking it was larger (my mistake), so I knew I would only get 3/4 trousers out of it, but I really wanted to try. They turned out not too bad, just a little bit wonky but perfectly wearable. I couldnt believe it.



Sorry about the photo quality, there is a funny light in here this morning. Anyway, I was motivated to move on to the cushion covers I promised my Mum (she bought the fabric for me ages ago). I cut out the sizes using an old cushion cover as a template, tacked the edges, took out the machine, and then discovered I had no orange thread, (the fabric is orange obviously). I was a bit annoyed with myself, but thats how it goes I guess. So I popped myself into bed with my knitting instead, (still the weekend jumper, known this week as the long weekend jumper haha).

On a totally different subject, I wanted to share a little find of mine, have you heard of Zoya? I was looking through my favorite blogs last week and noticed a lovely shade of blue nail polish on someones toes. I actually had my toenails painted blue, but the shade was a bit brighter than I had wanted. I then started to ponder on the 'healthy' option of nail polish (I know, too much free time leads to silly thoughts). There is no such thing as 'organic' nail polish, since nail polish is a chemical compound cocktail, but there are healthier options available (primarily formaldehyde free). Enter Zoya, I found this one to be the nicest and I was really pleased how it went on, plus the range of colours is fantastic. You can take a look HERE, but I bought mine on Ebay for £7.99 incl p&p.


Its something to think about isn't it. I cant afford to throw out my entire makeup bag, but I may start looking at organic or healthier options once things need replacing. I can see this being a long term idea.

Coraline Hand Stitched Doll

Oscar used to have a really big interest in witches. We watched with much amusement and wondered how long it would last. It lasted 6 months (a long time in the life of a 2 year old). It was swiftly replaced with all things 'spooky', ghosts, monsters, skeletons and skulls. We think the whole thing is hilarious.

Last week we were shopping for Aimee's birthday when Oscar spotted a big black T-shirt with a skull on it, and asked us to buy it. It was a mens T-shirt and far to big for him obviously, so we went to a few childrens shops looking for skull T-shirts. We found some orange and blue T-shirts with skulls in his size, but he said 'put that one back Mummy, Oscar like the black one'. You cant argue with that, so we bought a plain black organic cotton T-shirt.

Oh yes, and o you know what every trendy Goth Babies favorite movie is?

Coraline of course. The Coraline doll is hand stitched, her body is a pillow case, her hair is wool, her hair clasp is a card decoration, and her skirt, coat and boots are felt.I may try and swipe her back to do stripy legs.

As you can tell, I am getting through the unfinished craft work.

A Knitted Doll, called Annie Rose

I am now going into overdrive (my mind anyway), about moving. Moving and packing and cleaning, and sorting to be precise. Not only that but we have put off potty training twice already, but is this really a good time? The first week Oscar had the bad cold (we all had it), and the second week Duncan was on holiday, so I figured we would be out and about more (although the weather put the dampers on it a lot). Anyway, my plan for today was to finish off a couple of projects. The first one being Annie Rose.

Oscar is a big Alfie and Annie Rose fan (the Shirley Hughes book series), hence the name. I bought the pattern from Etsy and she is made with pure wool, including the stuffing. I think she is pretty cute, and I can see a little Alfie on the horizon (after the move).

I also did a little T-Shirt for myself based on this design HERE



Mine was done with Dylon dye pens left over from Oscar's birthday T-Shirt for his Daddy (no pics as yet). The pens are great and a lot less messy than paints.

And finally, its my daughter Aimee's 20th birthday today, so a birthday cake baked by Mum was required.



Happy Birthday Aimee, your's is the last one in this house. Scary and exciting.

Edit:

While I was in the bedroom putting this post up, my little guy came toddling upstairs to see me. He has gotten pretty good at the stairs lately, but he was wearing his chunky outside boots and he hadnt had a nap so was a little wobbly on his feet. Before I knew what was happening there was an almighty clatter and my poor little boy fell down a full flight of stairs. It seems a nasty bruise is developing on his cheek, but luckily thats the worst of it. Annie Rose had her share of tears and cuddles earlier than we thought.

Visiting Kirriemuir In Scotland

We are still house-hunting as I have mentioned before, so today we set off nice and early for an adventure into the (relative) countryside. Neither Duncan or myself drive (although Duncan has the 1st part of his test booked for next month), so we went by bus.



Oscar was very excitable at the bus station,, but he soon settled back on the bus for the 1 hour journey.



Of course mama took this opportunity to do another weekend jumper.


When we got there, we were totally enchanted by the house. It has 5 bedrooms over 3 floors, but it isn't  a 'grand' townhouse type place, its a charming old cottage type place with an attic conversion, curly staircase and outbuildings.


There is a statue of Peter Pan



And in case you think thats odd, I had better explain that we were in the birthplace of JM Barrie, Author of Peter Pan.


Its a lovely little place with all the normal array of shops, including a wool shop which has a knit and natter' on Wednesday afternoons ( fab for mama). There is also a few little pubs, and a craft centre, and the usual bank, post office, library and school. Can you tell I am excited?

We had a phone call later this afternoon to say that if the paperwork is good, the place is ours!!!!

It looks like 4 will go to neverland and possibly not come back.

{this moment}

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Soule Mama