I'm sewing

Making a little linen crop blazer from Salme Patterns. It's unlined thank goodness, as lining is a skill I am yet to master. To make the inside clean I have bound all the seams which I actually quite enjoyed and I think has added some structure overall. The linen is a beautiful navy, which is a departure from black for me. I am currently putting together a super simple skirt with little bits of navy through it and hopefully the two will go together nicely.

A terrible photo of my bound seams - right when I wanted to take some photos the sky darkened and the rain came. Maybe I am being punished for being a bad blogger (what do you think Hannah?). I bought some lovely black ponte a while ago and I think this pattern would work well in that fabric. Might but that aside for a Sew it Together project.

Mother's Day Classic Fun Run

Not the most flattering photo of me...but the only one I have. I look like a fly with those glasses and boy my stomach looks distended! Anyhoo, this is photo is of my beautiful sister, Melanie and my dear friend Sjaan (middle). We had an awesome run, for me, it felt so good to be running for a cause with thousands of others touched by the cruelty of breast cancer. I felt privileged and quite emotional at moments, especially when I was running behind a young girl - maybe 8 or 10 years old with her tribute on her back for her mum...the impact of cancer is immeasurable and being there today sharing in the joy and the pain was amazing!!

These two girls (my Siena and Sjaan's Hannah) kept us happy and entertained the whole time. Despite not training at all they finished the run only 5 minutes behind us - we were lucky enough to see them sprinting towards the finish line. Aren't they beautiful?

Still here...

Broken computer, new tablet, technologically challenged, making me impatient!,

there was supposed to be a birthday post but things went awry!

On the 18th April my Lucia Larly turned 8! Her grandma, grandpa and uncle came for breakfast and even Andrew hung around (unheard of!) to celebrate her birth. She was born just after midnight (12:02am), weighed 3.280 Kg and left hospital bigger than what she arrived (3.300 Kg). She is a powerhouse of thoughts, emotions, queries and inquiries! She thinks she's smarter than me (I wouldn't actually want to test that), and has BIG ambitions for her life. Parenting her is a joy, a continual lesson and extremely satisfying.

Andrew left for work and then I received a message from my sister in law to say my little brother was at our local hospital suffering chest pain. They were waiting on test results to see what could be the cause. The cause was discovered hours later; a dissection of his aorta and he needed emergency open heart surgery...He was transferred to Royal North Shore hospital and underwent grafting to his aorta and he received a mechanical aortic valve. There isn't really anything that could adequately sum up the past few days. Waiting for surgery to finish took an age, seeing my big burly brother in ICU knocked me over. Playing over in my mind what could have happened if he didn't get to hospital was a horror I couldn't seem to shut out.

This is Christian day 2 post surgery. He was SO happy to finally have his breathing tube out hence the smile. He is still very sore, very tired, breathless, anemic,and mainly just completely shocked and traumatised. Things are hectic and we visit and take turns with each others kids etc. Please keep my little brother in your hearts and thoughts.

her style

Her style was black jeans and tee shirts for the longest time - which was fine, I haven't ever tried to influence her style, but it was just a bit, black...lots of black. Recently she has discovered a bit of colour - and it really suits her!



She wears those eyes to school. Seriously. One of the teachers at her school stopped her in the playground, complemented Siena's eye makeup and then proceeded to tell Siena that she has always struggled to get her eyeliner looking good and did she have some tips to share!



One thing I want for my children that supersedes all is happiness. I look at these photos and Siena is glowing. She has come SUCH a long way in the past 12 months. There is still the occasional quip about her fat thighs (I know!) and her ugly skin (seriously!) but far less. To see her smile for the camera, to see that confidence and joy makes everything in my world good.



You go and get them Siena!

Do you want a bit of Evie cuteness? Oh, ok! If you insist!



Still sporting the remains of an amazing black eye from falling off the top bunk!



Oldest and littlest! Evie wears a skirt from Grandy and Baa, originally made for Lucia. T shirt from K mart appliqued by me and sneakers from Target!

lucia and eva's room

Animania

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Siena's initial foray into Anime today - her choice of character: Hitagi Senjougahara. A mouthful I know! If you read her bio, her and Siena could be sisters (apart from the 5kg weight). Did you know her choice of 'weapon' is stationery; staplers, hole punchers and the like!

I didn't realise Siena was so into Japanese comics, and her knowledge was so thorough! It's no surprise though and I find it suits her personality, she is so alternative, left of centre, it was so cool to see her blend into a crowhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifd that was so like her. It has been hard for her to find her sense of identity in a very beachy, homogenised environment such as the Northern Beaches. I really encourage and push her to be herself, to discover what makes her happy and to embrace who she is, cause she is just so cool. I would never have had the same confidence to express myself at 15.

And what did I do after I dropped her off at the convention? I went to the Remnant Warehouse of course and had a really, really good ($) time!

eva update

I have had a few people ask me how Eva is doing at school. Even the sweet boy at the check out this morning asked how she is doing. It's not all that unusual, I think Eva makes a lasting impression with her disproportionate to the rest of her body big voice and her crazy antics.

Eva is pretty good actually. At the beginning of the term I was a little worried about her getting tired and puffed out but after a check up with her cardiologist, those fears have dissipated. Her Dr told me to not restrict her in anyway, she will monitor herself and kids with chronic illness need to be fit and healthy, just as much as 'regular' kids do.



So, physically she is well, but she has managed to earn herself a reputation for being a bit naughty in class and generally cheeky all round. I couldn't say I was surprised when her teacher told me that Eva does not like being told what to do, she is unfocussed and can't sit still for long periods of time. Yep, I hear you, I know that very well.

Eva participated in a study at The Children's Hospital at Westmead called "Developmental after Infant Surgery" or DAISy whereby she was followed for 3 years post surgery and was tested on all aspects of development as kids who have major surgery in the first 3 months of life are at increased cognitive and developmental risk.

One risk is learning difficulties, concentration issues and behavioural problems.



We are currently at the stage of watch and see. Her paediatrician once said to me, I think the only time I have seen Eva still is when she is really seriously sick, and that is about right. I am not concerned and neither is her teacher but I know this is something that we will have to revisit from time to time.

And as for the sweet check out guy, I just said she was fine. A little cheeky but fine.

harmony skirts

It's Harmony Day tomorrow here in Australia. The official colour is orange and so kids are allowed to wear orange to school which is such a big treat.

Lucia and Eva picked their own fabric for new Harmony skirts. I think they did really well. Lucia's fabric is an orange homespun and the stunning floral fabric is Alexander Henry and Evie chose a pretty Lisette sateen spot which looks so lovely. (I would have provided a link but blogger is being a pain).

It's been a while

I am particularly fond of this little shirt I made for Lucia to wear to a 'Bop till you Drop Party" - it's not exactly 'disco' but a little more fancy than a regular T.

Lucia is so keen for the camera as you can see!

The skirt is Cotton On but I found it at the oppy for $2. The elastic had gone but the skirt was perfect so I bought it home and luckily Lucia found it to her liking.

The shirt is made from Japanese voile from Spotlight and the pattern is from Sewing Recipe for Girls - a beautiful pattern book. Not that I need ANY more pattern books, having collected Ottobre for 2 years but what the hey!

I got a lot of compliments from mums at the party - as any 'sewer for your kids' parent knows, that swell of pride from your child loving their clothes and recognition from others makes it worthwhile. (OK, so recognition is not essential to feeling good, but it does feel good when people notice, doesn't it?)

I also found this photo which I LOVE



EVA! Holy cow this kids kills me. She is equal parts naughty and nice, can you tell by that photo. This is probably "I know I shouldn't have drunk/eaten that, but gosh darn, look at my face, I'm adorable!" And yes she is, completely edible!



$350 worth of books! Impressive much?
Uni has begun. I have completed one week back part time and it feels so good to be back in the saddle so to speak. I think I will enrol for Summer school next year just to keep me going over the long uni break which is about 3.5 months.

That's all for now, but I hope to not neglect this space for such a long time in the future!