Sew Vintage, superstitious, so long summer..

This summer has flown by. The early mornings have been so much more inviting with the sun streaming into the breakfast room when coming down on one's travels to make the first needed cup of tea of the day and cup of milk for the little fella.  Most often done bleary eyed, yawning and half asleep.  We all snuggle up in our big bed, Tallulah if awake would have her ready to drink milk, playing with my fingers as she drinks it down. Sebas, cuddling up with one hand twirling and whirling his hair, a habit he used to do with my hair as a wee babe. Opening the curtains of our 1930's house with a view reveals a scene that never ceases to make us smile. From sitting snuggled we can see across the river to the harbour, the quay, the castle, Conwy town and the mountains beyond.  Everyday of course the scene is slightly different.  The sky can be freshly laundered blue, white clouds maybe scudding along, the flags flying above the castle violently flapping or lying quite still indicating the wind or lack of.. The water sparkling, boats bobbing and dancing or again lying serenely if a still day.  More recently of course the curtains have opened to reveal grey low misty clouds, so low they obscure the mountains, blending in with the grey stone of the Castle and the choppy grey waters below.
 Sunsets are also beautiful from this aspect of the house.  Many evenings have seen the richly embroidered sage green curtains in our room a glow.  The sun's heat can be felt just touching the curtain.  Amber light sifting through the rich chinese tapestry pattern all a blaze, as our little baby drifts off to sleep. However Tallulah has finally moved into her own room now though and sleeps like a dream.  Next to our room she has the same view and the same light, the sun dipping down over where the estuary meets the sea causing the the mountains to turn violet.

The dining room/my sewing room once the littles are all tucked up.  This summer's sewing with England scoring in the World cup  this summer 2014...

This summer I got my sewing mojo back.  The long light evenings inspired me once Tallulah's sleeping at night finally settled down.  I was determined for my own sanity to make some creativity happen, even when tiredness prevailed, which it did a lot. I managed to squeeze the time in to start and carry through a few projects. Now that I have so many friends with little ones I am even more inspired to make for them when occasions arise, and of course my own 2 little ones.

I started with rag dolls.  Most of the little girls we know, which are a fair few, have a rag dolly now.  They are a timeless classic. The fact that they are soft, fabric, and all have a personality of their own from being hand made, makes them all more charming and unique unlike the manufactured plastic dolls. I might even get round to making different outfits for the dolls next, you never know..

Rag dolly upon completion all ready to be wrapped up
opened and loved..!

Rag dolly in the making..

Lady bird dress with Peter Pan collar
She got the bug ..

Strawberries and cream with Peter Pan collar
Summer Vintage 

Ahoy there Captain Sebas standing to attention..!

My own little Pirate Girl ready to swashbuckle..

Getting ready for Conwy Pirates with their very own Rag doll Captain Jack...

Tallulah in her Vintage style shorts and jacket made from a lovely retro print fabric I found in a closing down sale of a local fabric shop.  This was well worn in this summer's warmth.

Tallulah rocking her Vintage style shorts and jacket.

Tallulah with her nain (Welsh for grandmother) in the Vintage Christening gown I was Christened in.

Sebas in his Christening shirt.  He was full of energy on the day and 'flew' around the church as well as the garden with his homemade wings afterwards..

I had bought a vintage cotton Christening gown when pregnant last summer  (even though I didn't know what sex the baby was).  My mum then found the family Christening gown that I was christened in which is silk and lace and was lovely to use.  As it was a hot sunny July day, we got to use both gowns, I changed Tallulah into the cooler cotton one after the church, here she is with it hitched up into her nappy so it doesn't get in her way as she pulls herself up onto her feet!

Pin tucks for the Vintage shirt that I made for Sebastian for his Christening.  I ran out of time to finish the shirt properly so it became a tunic top and a unisex style that Tallulah can wear when she is older.

We decided to have the children Christened this summer.  It was just a family event with Godparents.  I wanted to have the children christened locally and there is a Chapel near us so one sunday in May I took Tallulah with me to a service.  It was a sweet methodist chapel, Tallulah slept for some of the service and then was on my knee cooing and jabbering.  The moment the service finished 2 well dressed ladies in front of me turned around with beaming smiles.  They were so delighted to see a baby in the congregation, and were very helpful.  I managed to get the phone number of the right Reverend to speak to.  Unfortunately though the dates just didn't work so it was back to plan b… but as it turned out plan b worked out for the best.  Across from the Chapel is the local primary school, further along from that is a public footpath that leads through a field along the foot of the Vadre, which is an old Roman fort on a hill with fantastic views of the Estuary and Sea.  All Saints Church is the other end of the footpath and stile and it was in this beautiful church we had the children christened.  It is such a beautiful church and I am really looking forward to taking the children there as a family especially at Christmas and other special events throughout the year.

 Finally have your children ever inadvertently beaten you up? I'm not normally that superstitious but they say things happen in threes…
One lovely bright sunny day day, I was just getting Tallulah ready after yet another nappy change when wham! She stuck one of her little hands with sharp finger nails in my right eye. Thus my eye was a weeping swollen mess. I couldn't open it half the time. Thinking that initially it wasn't that bad we set off anyway to have a jolly and took Sebs to a nearby beach with a mandatory takeaway of  coffee on the way.
Anyway it turned out I had quite a big scratch on the cornea of my eye a doctor at A & E informed me. Eye wateringly so as it happened, my eye was a weeping swollen mess and would not stop tearing up, it felt like there was a large obstruction in it.  The cornea is apparently the most sensitive part of the body. I got prescribed some special antibiotic ointment to put on it  and then a follow up clinic appointment. Things got even better at the weekend though when out and about with the family the next day (with my dark glasses on of course) during lunch I noticed a strange numb sensation in my bottom lip, I couldn't feel it.  I must have ingested some of the ointment from a tear rolling down to my mouth.  A quick look in the mirror showed my lip swelling up so we trotted off to the minor injuries unit at the local hospital and administered some antihistamine tablets from a kindly nurse.  Before seeing her though my darling son on his reins I was holding did a sudden movement and yanked my bad shoulder  (I broke very badly 15 years ago and have a metal replacement joint in). That made me wince to even move my arm away from my body. Anyway, an x-ray made sure everything was ok thank goodness and 3 months on I am seeing a fantastic physio who is helping me get my shoulder back to good working order by checking in with her every so often. All part of my joys of parenting list I'm starting to compile…

Mad March Hair

Our dining room is one of my favourite rooms in the house.  It overlooks the garden at the back and the Crettel design windows and door open out onto a paved area in front of the lawn. Since being here we have changed the windows and the door to double glazed units which making the room feel warmer and more secure. The old windows and door were very draughty and required quite a bit of maintenance.  They have the same style though, And we were determined that the room should keep it's elegant feel and proportions, the door has a very simple white strip pattern detail that has art deco echoes.

We viewed the house virtually a year  ago now (already) and George the old man who had previously lived here must have loved this room too.  He had an armchair facing the garden and his radio and speakers were set up in the windows,  I like to imagine him sitting having a cup of tea and listening to radio 4 whilst watching the blackbirds and squirrels in the garden. He was 96 and had lived here for years on his own having lost his wife 20 years prior. They had no children.  It was George's niece and husband who sold us the house. They were a nice couple, they had their gardener tend to the garden while it was on the market and right up until we exchanged contracts. I was sorry not to meet them as only Mark met them when he went to meet them with his father at the house one time. The house was pretty much set back in time with Axminster carpets in each room.  A rather dark red patterned carpet in the dining room with a thick dusty underlay got ripped out a few weeks after we moved in, revealing a dark oak boarded floor.

The Retro Axminster carpet that encompassed most of the floor of the house.

Being pregnant when we moved in, the carpets harboured so much dust that I couldn't wait to see them go.  The flowery carpet in the living room ran through the entrance hall and up the stairs to the top landing. Together with a thick underlay it was heaven for dust mites but hell unfortunately for us and me my allergies.  So we (or rather Mark) ripped up all the carpets room by room revealing oak and pine wooden flooring. All the carpets went to the tip apart from one gem that we kept from what is to be Tallulah's nursery. We think it is an authentic 1930's carpet that was the stairwell runner and had been stitched together. We aim to clean it up and restore it as a stairwell runner.

The gorgeous 1930's carpet in what will be the nursery.

Spring it feels has arrived.  The days gallop by in a blur of play groups, coffee and fighting tiredness even more so in the last couple of weeks.  Tallulah has been waking more frequently at night, Sebas went through the same phase at this age, it's soo tiring. Sleep regression, very common when breast feeding, they become more alert during the day and don't concentrate so much on feeds so they want more at night. I googled mumsnet to help get some sanity on the situation as it could drive me mad some nights when all I want to do is sleep. There were threads and threads of comments of women in the same boat with their little ones. Reading mumsnet, it appears everything is in code, I went to look at the acronyms and was particularly tickled with some of them especially SWI - Shagging with Intent (trying to conceive), NAK - Nursing at Keyboard ( which a lot of us do), JFGI - Just F**king Google It, LTB - Leave The Bastard, ODFOD - Oh Do F**k Off Dear (the Dear on the end tickled me) MMTI - Makes My Teeth Itch and PITA - Pain In The Arse. We are very lucky in this generation  to have everything at our fingertips. It was a different story for our mothers back in the 1970s.  It can be quite isolating and lonely when it's just you and your bab(ies).

 It reminds me of last Winter on the cusp of Spring, Sebas was going to sleep at a reasonable hour for a change so Mark and I got into viewing some boxsets. We tucked in Sex and the City, which say no more every girl loves and my other half was happy to go along with it as a lot of men do. It was the episode when Miranda first becomes a mum and is struggling with soothing her little one. She bumps into a neighbour who is rather cold with her, but the neighbour sees her struggling and lends her a vibrating chair which works wonders in soothing the little guy. They come to an understanding and the neighbour makes a comment "none of your girlfriends have babies do they? So basically you're f**ked". Never a truer statement though. Unless you know others who have "been there" noone else really has a clue unless they've experienced too.  Unless you have a friend or know someone else you can talk who has a baby then you are very much on your own. It's hard work at the best of times but when you don't have someone giving you little tips or suggestions then it's even harder, but then again maybe some don't know what they're missing..

I've managed to find somewhere to take the little ones every week day morning to get us out of the house and let the worker work in peace if at all possible... Most days we manage to get out at a reasonable hour and get to the required play group/church hall so Sebastian can get stuck into his favourite car and yellow hard hat. Both their personalities are really coming out now, and despite Sebastian being boisterous, they really do love each other. They really capture my heart and mind as I watch them grow and unfold before my eyes.
Today on a sunny Sunday, after a spontaneous visit from friends and once he had woken fresh from his nap we took him to the park.  He didn't play on anything but found the greatest delight from racing around, about under and to the side of all the different climbing frames, slide and seesaw, chasing his shadow. So simple and yet he had the greatest fun and we had the greatest fun with him, hysterical giggles as we took it in turns to run and chase with him …

I finally cut Sebas' hair this month too. It had to be done. One night in the bath I seized my moment and took off a good 3 inches and he looks better for it.  It felt like the little baby was properly gone and the little boy had properly arrived.  Of course I've kept the hair and the curls I cut, it may not ever be that baby blond again or have that innocent curl so I'll keep a lock of it to go in my locket.
I finally got my hair cut too. It made me wonder about hair and how intuitive it can make us feel.  Can we really lose a sense of perception or strength by cutting our hair, a myth of course from biblical Samson references, but does that have undertones of truth about it?

I did find an article about American indians and why they kept their hair long, basically because they could sense their enemy coming up behind them to attack them. It gave them a sixth sense of intuition and perception so maybe there is some weight in it...?

A new year, a new month & the promise of a new season...

Our new year started very understated, in fact around the chime of midnight, all I could hear in the background were fireworks as sleep enveloped me.  Mark gave Lulah some formula in a bottle which she took an ounce of (slightly cheating supplementing? I don't have any qualms about it this time as I need some sleep!) and I grabbed some well needed sleep to see off 2013.

What a year it was though.  We sold two houses, both to the first viewer.  Viewed, fell in love with and bought our beautiful 1930's project house.  To top it all off though, we made and met our lovely little Tallulah. Phew! It can't get more hectic than that, or can it? Well maybe it can especially with a terrible two year old in the house…

January has been and gone already.  When it gets to Epiphany around 12 days after Christmas, I'm always desperate to get  the decorations down, store them away and move on into the year.  The new year always fills me with a sense of hope, new beginnings, a fresh start which is very true in our case.  January can also be the most depressing month.  Post Christmas blues, long dark wintery nights.  It's easy to drag you down especially when you're not seeing much sunlight.  It can make all the difference.

Mr & Mrs Moon, The Oily Cart Theatre Company.

We beat the January blues towards the end of the month with a trip to the Theatre to see Mr & Mrs Moon by The Oily Cart Theatre Company at Clwyd Theatre Cymru in Mold (which also happens to be my work place).  It was absolutely delightful.  I now have the perfect excuse to go to their shows as I've always wanted to see them! They have been coming to Mold for many years now,  always sell out and always get the formula just right providing theatre for 2 - 5 year olds.  A group of us met for the 10.30am showing with our little ones.  We started off in a function room the other side of the art gallery space/corridor from the Studio Theatre, where the children were asked to take off their socks and shoes and were given a bucket and spade.  The actors came through and introduced themselves in character and we all followed them through to the studio theatre.  The children were led along a path with a beach theme to the set which was a circular sand pit in the centre.  The little ones all sat along the edge of the sand with their bucket and spade and were entranced by the characters singing and narrating a story to them.  Mrs Moon was an acrobatic lady suspended above where Sebas was sitting, when she uncurled and stretched her limbs from her sling, his little face along with all the others was absolutely entranced by it. It really engaged him which was an achievement in itself for such a busy little one!




Although being a Wardrobe person I couldn't help but wonder as I sat and watched about the maintenance of the costumes with all that sand…

It was a nice opportunity also to pop in and see my work colleagues who love a bit of baby worshipping and having a hold...

At the very end of January though disaster struck for us in that our little Sebas had an accident.  He fell down four steps on the stairs and ended up in plaster. Sebs had broken 2  little bones on the top of his foot connected to his toes resulting in a plaster cast up to his knee. Poor little man. He was in shock for a bit and very subdued.  That night when he woke later on he slept in bed with us for comfort and he promptly had a nose bleed in the middle of the night.  I thought I was dreaming when I saw dark splodges on the white pillows. Luckily a bar of vanish came in handy for soaking the stains...

Poor little thing although he was only subdued for a day. The following day he started crawling on his knees, the day after that he started to gingerly get on his feet despite us constantly telling him to sit down or get down.  It made me laugh to myself when someone asked if he had crutches. The doctor at the fracture clinic said that the beauty of children at this age and up to about the age of five was if something hurt them or caused them pain then they wouldn't use it.  So, having his foot encased in plaster protected it and supported it.  It obviously wasn't paining him too much to weight bear, although his little foot would swell up as he wasn't elevating it enough, so we had just the odd night where he would whimper in pain as it was aching from him over doing it.  Little children and babies'  bones heal very quickly though so in total he will be in plaster a total of four weeks hopefully rather than us adults who have six weeks.  It hasn't stopped him and if anything he is being more naughty and testing of us more than ever!
 He is lovely though and his language is coming on.  Favourite words are 'ank oo' (thank you) "help" mama, babba and dada as all he wants to do is help. Words are being strung together and he will copy us a lot.  My baby is growing up.  I took my other baby, Tallulah to Alderhey hospital in Liverpool recently on my own rather than bring Sebs too and have him get bored in the waiting areas as it is quite a long day with a lot of waiting around.  I only got slightly lost once near the hospital, I doubted myself and the directions I was following and pulled over to ask someone when I found out it was only 50 yards down the road! I told the doctor about Sebastian and she agreed with me in the fact that it was a positive sign that it was only a little fracture and not a clean break to his femur or Tibula and Fibula.  We go back ironically next month for a check up for him, but the doctor said in the future we could combine the two of them for appointments to save on time and the hassle of getting there.  Tallulah met the doctor and finished with a full Skeletal X-Ray, which turned out to be clear and the cranium plates on her head were clear too (signs of Osteo Genesis Imperfecta can be detected from the skull, Sebastian was clear too) so as you can imagine we were absolutely delighted.  On the whole she is doing well despite a blip with her weight and reflux/sickness which weirdly seemed to get worse a couple of weeks ago.  It was like having a bulimic baby, she was sick after every feed.  She is now on Gaviscon which is really helping and soothing her thank goodness so she can really thrive.

We seem to be busy every week with appointments for either the babies or us. Amidst this diabolical weather and it being the wettest winter for years, the days are flying by.  I don't get much time to do anything (let alone on my own!) bar washing, occasionally hoovering the house, cooking, feeding and changing nappies.  A treat for me is coffee out even if it's takeaway or from a drive through which is a Godsend when they're afternoon napping.  A friend tipped me off about Macdonald's drive through and how she used to take a Grazia or equivalent magazine as a treat and "me-time" for that precious time when not one but two are sleeping as they should be!

  I remember trying to wax my legs in between feeds with Sebas, I managed half of one leg before he indignantly demanded a feed (he must have been around 12 weeks old). I probably managed to wax the other half a week later .. My iPhone is quite a blessing as a source of apps/entertainment and  communication  when being chained to a feed although Sebs can hunt it out and is a little bit too good at swiping the screen and taking selfies.  Still we are having the odd day where the  sun breaks through and the promise of spring is just around the corner.  As I said to my neighbour this morning who came round for a coffee with her 8 week old baby Perl, there are pluses to having a baby in the autumn and winter months. You can get through the winter blues as you're so pre-occupied with your new-born, you don't really care what the weather is like.  By the time Spring makes an appearance your baby has grown, put on weight and all importantly sleeping well (fingers crossed) so you can start to feel human again rather than a walking foggy headed, caffeine addict.  So as you start (hopefully) to feel better in yourself, the world around you is budding and coming to life with a new season...