Where did summer go??

School run views

Artist at work

Tula's growing fast!

More chair rescue using salvaged fabric

Sisters posing

Milly and her babies

Cheeky monkey

Always smiling!

Footprint painting!

The result! Just need to find a frame for it now....

Important to make a decent cup of tea every now and then if you only drink it once a day!

Homemade bread + homemade jam on favourite birds of paradise china!

Weaning - oh the mess!!!!!!

Sewing

Those colours again and again

Up to 22 squares now - all very wonky, sewn at speed! Question is now when to stop??

Here we are nearly halfway through September and already there is a chill in the air once the sun has dipped below the treeline that makes me want to get a fire going to curl up beside. I'm still breastfeeding Tula to sleep in the evening and although she sleeps very deeply at night, she has recently started wanting to feed up to five times during the night too, which means I'm shattered during the day.

Hence the infrequency of my posts lately! Jess is having a great time at school, but has instantly turned into a sulky teen, which is very hard to deal with at the end of a school day, along with two tired siblings. Luckily my parents have very kindly offered to pay for Milly to have an extra day at nursery which is fantastic, as she absolutely loves it there, and she is much loved by the staff in return! So it means I will have two whole days where I don't have to be thinking up new entertainment and ways to keep Mil occupied when I'm trying to put Tula to sleep during the day...

I honestly don't know how homeschooling families cope when there is a new baby at home - Tula is by no means very demanding, but I can't juggle all three at with their various needs and keep them all stimulated let alone educated. I did seriously consider it at one point, but Jess seemed so keen on the idea of school from books like Harry and his dinosaurs and Angelina Ballerina for example that we just went for it, and it is a really nice little school by the sea so we're very lucky.

Anyway, quite selfishly I am looking forward to having a little time to myself to gather my thoughts: not having grandparents or other family nearby means I literally never have a break and I think that it is quite important to have some space for yourself every now and then, or you can start to crack up. Jude does what he can to help when he gets in from work, but he's tired too. It feels as though friends are moving on, moving away so I need to look outwards more, find the strength to move on too. And of course, there are all those projects to work on! At the last count, I think I have five sewing projects on the go, three of which are quilts.... lots to keep me busy!

Enjoy this beautiful season xx