Organisation task #2

The pantry.
(Cue da, da dum dum... daaaaaaaa!)

I have a terrible habit of keeping something organised for some time, and then when things start to get out of place, going 'to hell with it' and letting it all go haywire. So goes the story of my pantry.

To start with, I'm fighting space issues. We have not got a lot of good storage space in this house, and so each square centimetre is at a premium. I'm also fighting a household of males who know not how to put things back where they came from. Perhaps the baby is excused here, but I'm including him because I'm sure he'll be a guilty party in the future!

This is the beginning:



I've stocked up on plastic containers at IKEA. I'm also on the hunt for

glass jars for pasta, beans etc



A vegetable box for potatoes, onions etc




A step shelf



And a bread box


Can't wait to have a functional pantry again!

The week that was... beautiful sunshine

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy...
John Denver

What a week of beautiful weather. We've done a lot less on the organised acitivites front, and a lot more dabbling, and digging, and running, and playing outside. It's been lovely - sunshiny, warm (not hot!) weather always puts everyone in this house in a cheery mood.

Friday early morning out in the garden, watering and weeding



Saturday family playground trip





Sunday a trip to C's brother's to meet their new Dorper sheep - two ewes, two lambs and a ram - who have joined the alpacas.



Monday and Tuesday we spent the majority of these days playing outside





Wednesday we met some friends at a playground





Thursday paddling pool fun



In other news this week, check out the herb garden!



We're also trialling growing a butternut pumpkin in a big pot so will have to see if we have any luck. Fingers crossed!

Organisation task #1 - finished (ish)

What I've done I actually did a couple of weeks ago. I'm not happy with it, but I can't find a storage system that would work for this space and these items. So this is it, and the wardrobe can officially be called finished I think. (For those of you wondering, amazingly, the other parts still are neat and tidy! I think it helps that I still pick Josh's clothes, so he's not ferretting around in there too often).

Before:



After:

The week that was...fun, frolicking and laughter

Sorry, these posts seem to be getting later and later! Will try to improve on that next week.

Friday Riley and I had to pick a gift certificate up from Windy Point - the view up there is amazing



Saturday trains with Daddy on the floor



Sunday (Valentine's Day if you go in for it!) C and I went to a wedding



Monday Josh went to the playground with C for some Daddy-son time while lucky Riley got to stay home and help me with chores - is it scary that he already loads clothes into and out of the washing machine?





Tuesday Josh drew a picture of his great grandma (Greatyma) and wanted to send it to her, so we did the envelope and stamp thing and popped it in the post



Tuesday not a photo... but a shameless mummy brag :) Riley performing his latest trick




Wednesday we made a zoo with a set of wooden animals we borrowed from the toy library



Thursday the boys had a tonne of fun (and made a lot of mess!) fingerpainting with home made gloop



A fun, laid-back, happy week. The best kind.

The Great Agapanthus Experiment

Inspired by Rebecca at Two Plus Two Plus, Josh and I have had some fun over the past week experimenting with changing the colours of our white agapanthus flowers. None of ours looked quite as speccy as Beck's but it was interesting nonetheless!

The first bunch of flowers in their original glory



We tried green first, as it's Josh's favourite colour. The effect was a little difficult for him to make out though, as it blended in with the stems of the flowers.



Then we tried blue



And yellow (my personal favourite, I think)



And finally, red. Unfortunately we had only one unprepossessing bloom left by this stage, but it was pretty.



It was an effective way to explore the way plants use water, and the different parts of the petals. Also just a lot of fun!

The week that was... a quiet one

We've had a quiet week, with not a lot going on, mostly because Riley's been ill with a cold. It's been nice to spend lots of time chilling at home especially with the sleep deprivation that comes with a sick little man!

Friday love this picture



Saturday we went to our local primary school for a play on the equipment. I discovered that Riley can climb half a dozen steps without a worry. Unfortunately he tries to go down face first - have to work on that!







Sunday we went to visit C's brother and our SIL, who live on an acreage with alpacas and soon to be sheep also. Josh loves the quad bike.





Monday we did some drawing




(the bottom one is Josh's drawing of 'toast man')

Tuesday with the biggest zucchini I've ever seen



Josh and I made some zucchini slice (I also used it in 2 casseroles, a risotto and cooked and froze some for Riley!)



Wednesday we went to the toy library and borrowed some new toys - great resource for a mum who isn't organised enough to rotate toys!



Thursday Josh is learning to dress himself. Apparently this is not uncomfortable in the slightest.



Hope your week was pleasant, and not too hot.

The week that was... the days get longer

Well, not really longer - but they feel it! Josh has just given up his day sleep and the time between C going to work and coming home again feels like it's been extended by two hours. I'm coping a lot better than I thought I would though.

Friday Riley and I spent some time reading and looking at books. I often feel guilty that I haven't made the time to read to Riley as much as I did to Josh at the same age, and often the books he does hear are Josh's, rather than baby-appropriate. He loves the 'That's not my...' series though.



Saturday we covered the lounge room floor in puzzles





Sunday some Daddy/son time on the floor on Daddy's one day off for the week


(excuse the dress ups and toys all over the floor!)

Monday we played dress-ups, and from there graduated to playing pirates, which meant a lot of treasure 'burying' and hunting - until Riley stole all the treasure! Josh loves hiding/seeking games at the moment, be it the traditional hide and seek in the backyard or hunting for something hidden indoors.





Tuesday some relief from the heat and humidity



Wednesday we met some good friends at the local playcentre for coffees, babychinos and a play





and in the afternoon, Josh painted some pasta (and ate plenty too!) and we strung it together to make a necklace





Thursday everyone was a little tired and cranky. We sat down together and attempted an amicable game of skittles... we were somewhat successful.





In other news this week, Riley has decided that being spoon fed is for babies, of which he's obviously not one (according to him...). This means that the following is what he now looks like after every meal.



Next week will bring some cooking, as we attempt to use up the biggest zucchini I have ever seen. Pics to come!