A Spring recap!

 

 

February was Ownie's first Birthday. The Birthday Ring that Opi brought back from Germany came out. It's still mostly me that gets a kick out of seeing it...though both kids liked blowing out the candle.

 

 

A rather unprofessional-looking robot cake was made. Tasted good though! 

Woolly pants were worn...mostly by Ownie thank god. Children grew and played and learnt to walk...

Some of us briefly channelled a "Miami Octogenarian"  look for a while....thanks Mam!

 

Flowering red current (one of my favorites) blossomed outside the house. Smells like cat wee but it always remind me of the time I was falling in love with my husband...am not sure what that says about us!

My best friends came to visit!  They've been multiplying too!

 

Ownie and I had a fantastic trip to Cornwall. It's such a cool place. For instance at the town where my friends live they have a bubble room just for babies (and their tired Mothers). Some of my favourite people live there too!

To cap it all off a purple hen came and laid a bunch of colourful eggs on our table! Hope she comes again next year, although all that messing with dyes and three year olds wanting to be involved and dyed eggs being thrown across the room I'm not sure she will...

Darkness and Light

These were taken on a cold Winter day....

 

 

 

 

...followed by a warm hot chocolate x

Seaweed scones for lunch!

There's nothing like hot-from-the-oven scones on a cold Janurary afternoon. Especially so when they're Prannie Rhatigan's delicious Duileasc and Cheese Scones and you get to make them with a charming little helper!

photo from Hugh

For kids, baking breads and scones are great as they can really get their hands stuck in and this recipe is perfect as at the start you have to crisp and crumble the seaweed. Good fun if you're three!

photo from Hugh

They turned out pretty darned yummy I have to say and I admit finding some pleasure in seeing the kids eat seaweed. Lots of iron!

Best served with this much butter. Bad...but very very good.

photo by H.Fox

 

 

 

Rainy Day....

Where did the Summer go?? And now Autumn is racing past....

So many rainy days we've had. In the house, looking out at the grey, endless housework, too much t.v. Then a rainbow appears! Quick into raingear and wellies, Eoghan into the sling and out into the freshly washed outside!

 

Stamping in puddles is great stress relief....

So is peering into them.

Murphy is trying to tell us something...what can it be I wonder??

 

Ah yes...

 

 

No trip to the  lake is complete without a swim!

 

 

 

Thanks for the little break rain!

The view from here....

 Savouring these days of plentiful kisses, rubs of his fuzzy head and the breathing in of his soft baby scent.

If you are 'wearing' a baby these days link a photo in the comments!

xxx

Eoghan in the kimimela.

 

The view from here....

Wow. These days are going by so fast! It seems only yesterday I was cradling my newborn and now I have a little man who is starting to eat and learning to sit up!

He spends a good part of every day being 'worn', sometimes snoozing, sometimes taking in all that's going on around him but always ready for a chat or a cuddle. I want to savour these days of plentiful kisses, rubs of his little fuzzy head and the breathing in of his soft baby scent.

If your wearing a baby these days link a photo in the comments!

xxx

Play dough time!

Another rainy day, another indoor activity! Lack of clothing while making it was Maisie's nod to the summer. Making play dough is the perfect impromptu activity, as all the ingredients are usually to hand. We got the idea from this lovely blog.

Play Dough

2 cups flour
2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon cream of tartar
1 cup salt

The salt is to preserve the mixture and like Erin I didn't have enough so I just stuck in a little bit. We mixed everything together and heated it in a pot until the mixture clumped together in the middle of the pot.

When it cooled a bit we added some food colouring and mixed it up. Sticky and fun!

 

Truthfully though, our play dough didn't turn out that great. It was too sticky. I was too impatient with the cooking I think! Sometimes I have this problem with the simpler things...yesterday I made THE worst rice crispie buns ever and I burn the porridge more mornings than I'd care to admit to. So the play dough was more fun to make than to play with. But the making of it was fun enough to want to try again and hopefully a little more expertly next time!

More knitting baby gorgeousness!

These are Nifty Knickers baby longies, from a free pattern on ravelry. Link to my page here. The photos were taken on the same day as these and I am still looking at them and feeling guilty about how tired he looks when I put him through this 'photohoot'!

I had never seen a baby in 'longies' before but noticed them in someones blog (can't remember who now!) and thought they were the cutiest things. They're perfect for the baba in a sling, keeping the chubby legs warm when they're sticking out and reckon they'll be great when he starts crawling too. 

I've knit two different sizes as I love them so much. Wooly goodness and baby toes....can it get any better than this??

The Hippy Sack

So, while waiting for the little guy to arrive, some knitting happened! This post is just me wanting to show off really! Both my knitting...and my gorgeous little guy!! He was really sleepy when I took these pictures, but still smiling. That's my sweetie!

The pattern is 'sleepy time' from Pipsqueak Knits. I can't remember what wool I used, but it was a baby merino and it came from my lovely, local knitting shop Treasure. I changed the pattern a bit, as when I was knitting it I thought it was looking a bit narrow. Luckily, Catherine from Treasure is a whizz crocheter so I got her to crochet side panels for it. I also skipped the sleeves as I thought it might be too warm. I LOVE the way it turned out. It's super soft and roomy for my big boy. I knit a cord for the end so it can be left open or closed. It's perfect for keeping him snug when we're out and about or he comes out of the sling for a feed. Hugh christened it the Hippy Sack!!

On the beach...

We took a little holiday to Tramore recently. Our first as a family of 4! Clonea Strand is a beautiful beach outside Dungarvin. When we got there it was actually sunny, so we built a little sun shade for the sleeping baba.

I find it impossible to stop staring at him...so why try?

Rockpools were discovered, crabs were found, sandcastles built, it was a wonderful day.

Back on Tramore Beach a gypsy princess was seen dancing across the sand. She was accompanied by her faithful friend Murphy. As always partly delighted and partly tormented by her games. 

 

Here's hoping we'll get a few more beach days in the midst of this rainy Summer we're having!