from somewhere in my imagination

A New Year

Hello.

It is very nice to be back.

I would have been back posting before now but unfortunately Steven's dad passed away on Monday.  He made it to Christmas, that was what he wanted.  The week has been a blur...but that is all a story for another day.

Despite the heartbreaking start to the year I have welcomed 2012 with open arms.  I can't wait for the year ahead, there is so much to look forward to.  2011 was a massive year, it was a year where I felt I was in perpetual motion with one thing coming after another, I felt like I/we never really stopped still to just be very much last year.  I'm looking forward to a year with more time for us to just be.

We are moved and mostly settled.  We are at that point in unpacking where there are 4 boxes of random stuff scattered around the house waiting for us to find homes for the contents.  We have one room where we have stashed the things that we haven't found homes for yet.  The key to the filing cabinet is misplaced, so the 3 boxes of paperwork that belong in it are conveniently tored next to it.  I'm hoping the removal company come and pick up our unpacked boxes today.

Our beautiful house is starting to look like our home...although we already have plans for a few changes we'd like to make here and there ;)

My studio is about 90% unpacked.  I am definitely on the home stretch out there, getting it to a useable point it one of my missions for the day. Lots more crafting than last year.  I am going to be jumping back into scrapboooking in a big way and doing plenty more sewing.

I have lots planned for 2012, both in life and on here and I am looking forward to spending the year here with you again.

So...Happy New Year to you.  Why not tell me one thing you have got planned for yourself this year?

Tatum xx

A Perfect Kind of Sunday

A Perfect Sunday, probably quite the opposite to yesterday which was filled with packing, sorting and tidying.  Not much fun for anyone really, although it is pretty exciting.

This is more my idea of how it goes..

Waking up about 8 it’s a beautiful blue skies kind of day.  Snuggles in bed followed by a cooked breakfast of runny poached eggs, bacon, cooked mushrooms and tomatoes, the necessary hash brown and a slice of wholemeal toast served up with lattes and fresh orange juice and enjoyed as a family.

Next I think we’ll head out to do something fun as a family and take advantage of the weather.  A bike ride, a walk along the beach or a play in the park; they are our favourite sorts of things to do.

A lunch of sandwiches on fresh bread.  Maybe home grown tomatoes still warm from the tomato bush with tangy mayonnaise and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper like I remember eating once in my childhood.

We’ll spend the afternoon doing our own things.  Maybe some sewing, some baking or some papercrafting for me.  Lego, drawing, painting, creative play or whatever takes the kids’ fancy.  It’s days like this when they have been out enjoying the sunshine in the morning that they get along best in the afternoon.

Late afternoon I’ll get dinner started, it might be lamb and vegetables for the barbeque or pizzas for the wood fired oven, enjoyed outside in the early evening warmth with a touch of sea breeze on the air.  Sharing laughter, discussions of our weekend and the week ahead and dreaming for the future.  We might finish with a quiet stroll down to the jetty for an ice cream before bed for the kids.

Once the kids are all tucked up we’ll enjoy a movie, something that makes us laugh, and a glass of wine before bed.

Our Perfect kind of Sunday.

In reality we are lucky enough to have regular Sundays that play out along those lines but I am looking forward to them becoming even more common with our impending move.

With that move comes change.  Now, instead of hopping in the car and driving to work on Monday morning, most weeks Steven will be catching a cab in the early hours taking him to the airport where he will head to site for a few nights.  It’s a big change for us, one in a scenario where something had to give.  For now that something is a modified fly in fly out arrangement, how that will work for us I’m not sure but I’m confident we have the solid base and support network we need.

What do you picture when you think of your perfect day?

Tatum xx

So, The Boy Turned Five

And we had a ball, literally.

To be honest it is so hard to believe that it is 5 years since the little guy arrived on the scene.  Between drug free child birth and the fact I'd popped out a boy after 2 girls it is undoubtedly one of the proudest moments of my life.  Not that the fact he's a boy had anything to do with me ;)

We had a baseball birthday party at the baseball on Saturday night together with family, I mean what else do you do for a nearly 5 year old boy who is going to be a baseall player when he grows up...he's happy enough that if the Adelaide Bite don't want him, he'll play for the Yankees....O-kay ;)  Despite the unseasonal December cold the Bite turned on a win and we had a great night. 

One of the things that made it extra special was our adopted baseball family.  One of the things about having 4 fairly outgoing kids is that they like to make friends where ever they go and boy have they made friends at the baseball.  It's a good thing.  It adds to it all for us.  I like feeling like we are part of another kind of family.

There was a 'melting' baseball cake, the melting part was unintentional but time was of the essence and it was still warm on the inside as we underwent transport to Norwood Oval.  I must say that Steven did a stellar job for his first foray into royal icing and I suspect he is keen to explore that icing medium some more ;)

We took great delight in all signing his cake ball for him.  Hooray for gel writing icing.

After peanuts, dogs, cake and chippies we headed home to bed with one tired, happy boy.

Sunday dawned blue skies and beautiful, just like the day he was born.  We gave him his presents and I took him over to his Granny's house for a tea party with his cousins and J (who followed after she finally woke up). 

Later in the day we enjoyed hot chips for a late lunch in the park followed by a casual dinner outside and then cake with candles.

Sebastian carved the cake himself, that's probably the best word to describe the way he wielded the knife to cut it into eight (roughly) equal pieces faster than any of the adults at the table could possibly grab the knife off him.

It was a perfect way to celebrate our boy turning five. Over dinner last night, just him, J and I, I asked him what he was most looking forward to at school.  'Everything' he said.  That's my boy.  I cant wait to watch him blossom as a schoolboy...and perhaps somewhere along the way his sister will become less cheeky?

No, I don't think so either ;)

Hope that you have had a great weekend.  We had a garage sale (more about that later) and have been packing, sorting and all that good stuff.  Our truck gets loaded up on Thursday for our move to Adelaide.  Mixed emotions but it's the right time for us to make this move.

Have an awesome week...I have plenty to write about, hopefully I get some time to actually do it :)

Tatum xx