In a Slump

a photography slump that is...

I have this lovely new computer, with a 22inch widescreen and I just can't get interested in taking or editing photos. Such a waste.
Maybe it has something to do with breaking my 50mm...Am I distancing myself from the camera??? or is it this atrocious weather?

I really don't know.

I hope it will pass soon.

Miss 3 has been giving me a real run for my money over the last week. Thankfully I am getting more sleep, since C started her Inner Health Plus she has only been waking once or twice during the night for a feed...and no wanting to get up and play. YAY!! Still no teeth.

AFL Grand Final is on today...GO SAINTS!!! demolish those cats.

A Bargain, Tears and a Tantrum

Sunday was a day of extremes for me...

I bought this gorgeous little chair at a antique/second hand shop for a measly $30 (thankyou to my sister in law for bargaining the price down by $15). It's a bit stinky and the fabric is falling apart it's so perished...but with some funky new fabric S has decided that it could be hers. I'm hoping it will make for a good photography prop. Here is C test posing for me in the very late afternoon.

 

Now for the tears and tantrums...I broke my fantastic plastic...my 50mm 1.8II.

It got tangled in my camera strap and when I picked up the camera it flew across the room...and broke in two. I screamed, I yelled, I believe I even stamped my foot...learned from the expert tantrum thrower Miss 3 no doubt. Then I sat down and cried. I think I cried for a good 10 minutes while I fiddled with the damn thing and tried in vain to jam it back together...no dice.

Then little Miss 3 came and gave me a cuddle and kisses and told me it would be alright...and I calmed down. I calmed down and I studied the lens...it had come apart in 2 clean pieces, one tiny little clip was sheared off. I can't believe how flimsy and poorly built this lens is. I know it's the bottom of the range cheapie lens, but really!!!! I turned the focus ring all the way one way and slotted the other piece in and pushed and miracle of miracles it clicked back together. Then I put it on the camera and miracle of miracles it works...relief...more tears...lots more tears. It does sit at an imperceptibly slight angle, I guess that's where the broken clip is. But it still works for now...I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

It scares me a little that my reaction for a $130 lens was so extreme...but there you go!!! It means a lot to me obviously.

My rollercoaster Sunday.

And just because she's so darn cute...here is C. (This wasn't taken with the Nifty Fifty).

And Miss 3 being creative

Should I???

I am considering undertaking a 365 photo a day challenge, starting on my 34th birthday. Do I really have the energy?? Certainly not today after only 4 hours sleep. Both of my girls are sick with a cold again and as an added bonus a rash ...what am I doing wrong?? So back to the doctor we have been, and now I am embarking on a dairy free diet for a least a month to try and see if this is a factor in my little one being sick all the time. He also recommended some Inner Health powder, which I have purchased. Now I just need to figure out an efficient way to get a 9 month old to take it...hmmm!!! Not an easy task.

We spent some time enjoying the sunshine yesterday at the Botanical Gardens with one of lifes little pleasures...that's my dairy free lemon gelati that C is tasting there...

and I got to take some photos of the lovely flowers ...bit of a change from the last few years, with the drought we haven't really had any flowers in the gardens. People with cameras everywhere.

I got a little bit initimidated by a guy with a lovely looking rather large lense. I am sooo lusting after a macro lense. Lots of selling on ebay would be in order for that to happen I think.

Anyhow...I will give the 365 challenge some thought and I will work on getting the kids a bit healthier...even the doctor said he doesn't know why she's getting so many colds..."you're doing all the right things!!" doesn't really make me feel any better about it. Obviously breastfeeding isn't the panacea I believed it to be. If giving up milk leads to more sleep and less sickness, then I guess I can forgoe my latte...for the moment, this too shall pass...after all I won't be breastfeeding her forever.

Sunshine at last...

but only for a day or two.

We made the most of it though and spent the majority of the day out in our back garden (if you can call long grass and tangled weeds a garden).

 

C loved it...I could tell she was wondering what that shiny bright thing in the sky was, and why did it hurt her eyes to look at it. It's amazing what a bit of fresh air and sunshine will do for the soul. Maybe it's just getting out of the house, not being cooped up with two bored kids. Unfortunately today we are back to rain.  The table and chairs look so forlorn out in the backyard...all abandoned and covered in water. The (very very long) grass is drenched again and will take at least three days of no rain to dry out enough to mow...it doesn't matter anyway because our lawn mower is broken. That's enough complaining about the rain...we are in the depths of a drought here and I really should be rejoicing about it instead of cursing it.

The thing is though...I was determined to get my patch of back garden weeded so that little miss 3 and I could plant some seeds that she chose at Bunnings. I even purchased weed mat, because of course last time I weeded it and had it looking beautiful I didn't use any and the weeds grew back like crazy and I couldn't keep up with the weeding (huge belly and all, followed by the velcro baby).

This is the garden back when S was just a littl'un, around 11 months. Now it is overrun with weeds. It's been low on my list of priorities for a long time, but with the weather warming up it would be nice to be able to safely spend some time outside with the girls. With this is mind I began the monumental task of weeding...I spent half an hour on it and it doesn't even look like I've made a dent, but we will get there...slowly but surely. Which reminds me...I really need to take some cuttings for someone so they can also get their garden in shape...I will get to it I promise.

Fathers Day

I know I'm a little bit late with this one...but while the honoured one slept in we got busy and made pancakes. YUM!!

Of course he lingered in bed just a little bit too long for one very impatient 3 year old. So we started without him. How on earth he slept through the noise we made in the kitchen is beyond me...

For the longest time...

I have had a ridiculous desire to go out to Waubra and take photos of the wind turbines...

and so here they are...

I think the problem is that I'm completely bored with taking photos of my all too cute girls. How is this possible??? and I'm always on the look out for something other than them to photograph. I even asked my lovely man to set me a weekly photography challenge, and he agreed, but that was 3 weeks ago and there's been no challenge set!!! Oh well, I know he has other things to think about than indulging my hobby.

He did however indulge me by driving out to these lovely towers and trying to find the best roads to get as close to them as possible. Every time I see them it makes me think of War of the Worlds and I think they are about to come to life and start moving across the landscape. It was actually quite frightening being very close to them. We could hear the crackle of electricity passing through the lines right above us. Didn't seem to bother the sheep though, all they were concerned about was the strange woman leaning across the bonnet of her car taking photos.

Anyway...now that I've taken these my appetite for them has been sated...but not completely. I think I need to see them at dusk, or maybe dawn. Then my hunt will shift to something else. I really want to find an old shed in a paddock somewhere next!! It's always dicey though when your trying to get a small child to sleep in the car and there is every possibility that she will wake up if you stop to take photos, thus defeating the main purpose of the car ride.

Haircut

I have been thinking about it and talking about it for a long time and yesterday I took the plunge and finally did it...

She got her haircut...

I had to restrain myself from bringing a halt to proceedings at the very last second...

but then I thought about how much of a struggle it has been to convice her to have her hair brushed, how damaged the ends are from swimming in a chlorinated pool every week, and how she wakes up with a tangled mess every morning...as though the birds have been nesting in her hair... and yes I even thought about what her Aunty Celeste would say :)

I wasn't so sure I liked it yesterday, but today it's looking lovely after a shower and naturally curls under (wish my hair would do that). It's sooo much easier to brush and hopefully I should still be able to get it up into a pony tail.

At the end of the day it's just hair really...It will grow back.

who needs sleep...

apparently not my 9 month old.
So here I am at 6 in the morning, with one small being crawling around on the floor happy as. Obviously I was blessed with a child who doesn't need sleep...lucky me. She's been awake since 5 and I have tried everything I know to get her to go back to sleep. She may be happy to only have 8 hours sleep a night, and maybe I should just learn to go to bed when she does...but when does that leave time for me.
Is she teething?, is her cold making her grumpy when she lays down??

She slept incredibly well for the first 3 months of her life, then things started to go downhill and they've gotten progressively worse. The controlled crying route isn't an option for me...I just won't do it. However, the co-sleeping isn't working in our favour either. Maybe she needs space for herself, but everytime I think I want to try and get her to move to her cot she gets another cold. This kid has had soooo many colds. Her sister was such a healthy baby, and it's been a bit of a shock to the system to have to deal with so much snot and coughing from one so little.
I will end with this photo, just to remind me how beautiful she is and that this too shall pass. She is a precious gift, and such a delightful child most of the time. Enjoy her while she's so small. Love her with all my heart.

As I type this she has fallen asleep sitting on me...so I'm off to get a half hour rest before my day heads into top gear.
C.

Just a photo...

way too tired to think of anything to say tonight...everyone is sick with a head cold and I'm running on empty.

I have rediscovered...

my sewing machine.

After clearing all the junk off my sewing machine I managed to clear just enough space to work and then I dug deep and found some creativity. I made this...

and this...

Birthday presents for a gorgeous little girl who turned one. The doll is "Pepper" from a pattern by Fiona Lech of Dear Fii. I think she looks a little like an alien with no arms...but still cute.

For the cushion I just used some ultrabond to attach the letters and added some cute little flowers with ribbons for stems...both quick and easy gifts.

This...

is a work in progress.

The Sophia Carry All from Amy Butler...it's certainly taking some patience, with all the interlining you need for structure. It's not something I have ever done before. I'm hoping to use it as a nappy bag if I ever finish it. All I have left to do is assemble the lining and stitch it in place, but only being able to work on projects after both girls have gone to bed leaves me with limited time, at a time when all I want to do is crawl into bed myself.

C has a bad habit of waking in the early hours of the morning, usually around 3, and deciding that it's time to play...until she fills her nappy and then a quick change and back to bed...I could be up with her anywhere from half an hour to 2 hours...and then she still wakes at her normal time in the morning. This generally occurs once or twice a week. Wish I knew where she keeps her stash of rocket fuel...I really need some.

And this...

is a lovely stack of fabric that I purchased in anticipation of some warmer weather. I especially love the yellow fabric in the middle, makes me thinks of daffodils and bright sunny days. I am hoping to get some tops and dresses made for the girls before Summer really kicks in. Before I can do that however, I need to finish a dress for a 21st Party in early October. Also a work in progress, can't show you any photos of that one...don't want to spoil the surprise.

And i still have a quilt to finish for C, although I'm thinking maybe I should add to it and make it into a single bed quilt, considering she doesn't sleep in her cot at all.

I also have a roll of fabric and lining sitting in my sewing room waiting to be made into drapes and a roman blind...it's been there since I was about 8 months pregnant with C. Obviously not high on the priority list...but is making for a very expensive obstacle to my bookshelf.

So much to do, so little time.