2010 - peace out

Sunset 31st December 2010

Farewell 2010. You've been a bit of a roller coaster.

Our arms are open and ready to welcome in the new year with peace, love, hope + joy.

God Bless, sleep tight (or party hard) and see you in 2011.

E x

the tree ...

...went up. And we let the festivities begin. I was also knee-deep in threads, snippets of fabric, packaging and other pre-market detritus. Including finding one thread in Woo's hair at school pick up one day. Not pretty. So the tree really helped me to relax and enjoy some of the more traditional Christmas preparations.

It seems to have become the boys tradition to pop the star on top. You may note that there are a couple of obviously 'not by me' decorations front and centre. I think I really deserve a pat on the back for 'letting go' and allowing them to remain in place throughout the holidays.

school's out

Oops, time ran away with me...

I'm back now and the madness has quietened a little.

It became extremely busy for me in the lead up to Christmas and something had to give, it was between feeding the family and blogging ...

I barely kept my head above water (my mantra became, "I'll sleep when I'm dead") but managed to at least grab some photos along the way that I knew I would ultimately be able to reflect on and to post here for your enjoyment and for my failing memory!

1) with his bestie and teacher

2) with his grade 6 buddy on muck-up day

3) bestie and first girlfriend from 4yo kindergarten

So my precious boy has completed his first year of formal education. And what a year it has been for him. We've seen him mature emotionally, make some lovely friends and learn SO much - he had a brilliant report. We are so proud of his achievements and are incredibly grateful for the wonderful start he has been given by his teacher - SJP better watch out here's her doppelganger.

Tiggyism:

Tigs: I don't like flying.

Flossy: That's okay darling you're not going anywhere.

Tigs: I don't like looking out of the window.

Flossy: Well you don't have to fly anywhere at the moment.

Tigs: But how will I get a baby one day.

Oh he melts me, and Flossy.  He does know that not all babies are adopted but i love that in his mind and world that is the first way he thinks of to make a family.



lessons

woosie finds even the tiniest creatures fascinating and worth her time. i don't take credit for much with my children, (although i do take it for their impeccable manners), and in fact silently berate myself all day for my failings as their mother, but i do love nature and i want to instill that same love in tigs and woo.

it's only possible to do this by allowing time for these precious moments to occur and to provide accurate, age appropriate information to them, woo said it was a "funny 'nail" to which i smiled and agreed and then she added " 'nail did a poo". "woo, that's its trail not a poo, it helps it to slide along the ground", "oh", said woo. "'nail s'iding mummy". and then because i always have to add a bit more, "it helps it stick to the surface it's on". "ohhh (bemused), funny 'nail mummy!" note to self: you do go on, emma

moving on to her next friend, "heyo bird". "oh, woo isn't it lovely? it's a beautiful baby magpie. look its mummy is over there. it's just learning to fly". woo, "funny bird mummy". lesson complete :)

Notes: she clutched her takeaway 'babycino' the entire time. her shoes are two sizes too big, but i challenge anyone to get them off her with out every window in the house blowing out. i love her to the moon and back.

i hope that you have a super week and i'll be back next week (if not before) having taken my wares to market and hopefully having the tree trimmed - it's up and glorious and currently home to some "creations" thanks to tigs. i am ashamed to say that they will not remain front and centre and will be lucky to be visible if they even stay on the tree. make NO mistake the tree is MINE.

e x

a moment ...

...preserved.

so sweet. so pure. spontaneous love + affection.

it made my heart ache with happiness then, and now.

e x

oh, buttons

the production line swings into action. deadline racing towards me...

have a great week.

e x

i am absolutely captivated by this story.   a brilliant, unravelling mystery.  the one about a completely untouched apartment, left as it was, just before the outbreak of the second world war and not returned to for 70 years.  can you imagine? what an exquisite find.

you can read all about it here, but in a nutshell:

mme de florian, a ‘demimondaine’, headed for the south of france before the war and remained there for the rest of life, until she died this year at 91 years old.  she continued to pay the rent on her her beautiful apartment for the next 70 years. her home abandoned, it became a time capsule, a tangible snapshot of life as it was paris in the 1930's.

some people have a box of heirloom pieces, an antique clock that sits in pride of place on the mantelpiece, a special vintage quilt they love and saved up for.  but here is a life, an entire household with nothing added to, or removed, in decades.  not a vignette, a mock-up, or an ode to the 30's but a real home, a luxurious dwelling with the normal paraphernalia and unique accouterments of a life lived.

how i would love the chance to wander through, to handle the old pieces and oh, what a tale.