Illyria

Mira and I went to play in the autumn leaves last Friday and this is what we made - I helped with the design!

This one she did with her friend Jenny and is all her own design. I love the explosion of colour!

And I had a go too.

Has been busy! Jamie had his eight week check up and he was so brave with his injections he barely cried! Thanks to Auntie Jackie who was a sanity saver and kept Mira occupied throughout!

Jamie now weighs almost six kilos and Mira is thirteen. She has also grown three centimetres this summer.  Her favourite activity is giving Jamie kisses followed by painting…

This is a giraffe and a tiger. We had been to the zoo so she is having an animal theme at the moment. I have also had a few creative moments as I keep running out of thank you cards…

The card blanks themselves are recycled material and so is about half of the decoration.

And here we are!

Today I went for my check up at the hospital and was unexpectedly sent for another scan. I was quite happy about this, although the registrar was worried that my placenta was in the wrong place. But all was fine, and no I didn’t ask if it was a boy or a girl, just the weight which currently is 7lb 12oz, so already 9oz bigger than Mira. I am quite uncomfy, and happy if there is an early appearance!

This is the patch of nasturtiums that she helped dig and plant! The lupins are doing less well… but here is my purple patch

And a friendly snail!

It just keeps getting better!

Where did the time go?

Eight and a half months pregnant with number two now…

Very blessed!

Its not that I haven’t been being creative, its just I’m not happy enough with th results to post them! I am currently frogging a blanket and have an iffy pendant waiting for fresh inspiration, but am very proud of Mira’s work and happy to show it off to you!

A lot of what she told me she was painting was snakes, I hope in the sense of their wisdom and healing symbolism and not the other stuff!

I am currently waiting for her to fall asleep for her afternoon nap which is taking a while…

But an ideal time to catch up quickly on phone calls and emails plus my ever growing to-do list - testing paint pots next! Washable whites. Thanks for dropping by! xxx Heather

Today I feel like I have recovered a bit from school after spending the last three and a half days sleeping or dozing. I hate that the house is a tip so this morning I did some long overdue cleaning and made lemonade:

The recipe is: zest and juice of a large lemon, a pound of sugar, a pint of boiling water and a 1/3 rd oz citric acid.

As we have another heatwave predicted, it seemed essential to have a batch made up - and the smell! Definitely in my top ten smells.

Mira felt her hair needed more jazzing up today.

There are two guaranteed ways to produce this face: saying no and turning off the TV. We have a week of exciting activities planned - yesterday was soft play and she actually went in the ball pool for a whole two minutes! Today is knit and natter day, and swimming later on. Bath time has now occured twice without drama and she is sitting on a toilet every morning (but not actually using it yet!).

Ben and I graduated from Invest yesterday, and I finish work this coming Friday, which will give me seven weeks before the baby is born. Bump is still apparently testing my muscle elasticity or trying to kick his or her way out early! So now it is time to get going on finishing projects and getting the house ready. Completed project 1 - Birdie Brooches from ‘The Happy Hooker’ book:

They don’t look quite the same in the picture and something weird has happened to the middle one’s head/beak.  I prefer the flowers really - and have plans to put some on a cardi for Mira that Penny helped me finish! Photos to follow soon! I am also nearly finished my shoes and doing some more on my Babette.

There are zillions of things that need doing round the house - the cushions and carpets need cleaned, the open plan living/dining/kitchen needs painted to remove all the marks that won’t wash off. I think a washable tough white is the way to go! But I’m getting over my cold, and am fed up putting house stuff off.  The bathroom also needs a bit of finishing. I hope I can get through it  - in a sensible, not-wearing-myself-out-before-the-baby fashion!

Honestly it feels like there are two of them in there, and they’re constantly wrestling! I thought Mira was quite active but this is something else! I was assured at my scan there was only one…  Plus Mira is being very bouncy and doesn’t seem to understand why Mummy is a bit fragile right now, but she’s so cute we can’t wait to meet no. 2!

I’m rather forgetful now and  I can’t fight the fatigue anymore -  why bother, my body knows what it needs and the world won’t fall apart without me. The dentist can wait! I feel encouraged to ’seek peace and pursue it’ and was given this wonderful picture last week which blesses me so much in this way!

When I look at it for even a short time, I feel like the qualities of the deepest meditation wash over me and I’m transported to a realm of rest. I’m so grateful for this gift!