It’s a real problem, that I just can’t see a solution for.

He needs to make some sort of mental adjustment to better manage his tension and stop bringing it home.

I didn’t marry a man who is always snappish, impatient and full of negative comments in a bleagh tone of voice.

We’ve ended up arguing lately because I open my big mouth and tell him to calm down

It’s not something I can talk to him about, so he’ll just have to deal with it by himself for now.

On a brighter note…

The kids had a lovely time hunting for eggs in the lounge room this morning.

We always have the hunt inside because the grass is so wet at this time of year.

I’m not sure whether the Easter Bunny doesn’t want to get his own paws wet, or doesn’t want the kids to get in a mess…

Personally, I’m glad he hides them inside.

Because what if a cat got in the yard and peed on them?

Euw.

Edit: Mr Blogs informed me this evening that he’s made some decisions regarding work and the way he deals with the stress.
Thank god! I don’t want him to have a heart attack at 40.

Answer:
A fantastic Mother’s Day gift that will go on giving her warm fuzzies for months.

Here’s how to personalise Mum’s cuppa.

1. Buy a box of Mum’s favourite brand of tea and gently tear the tags off all the bags.
2. Get the kids to do lots of little drawings of a similar size to the tags.
3. Staple the new tags onto the string of each tea bag.

We bought a box of 100 tea bags, so that the treat would last for a few months, however 100 tiny drawings was a bit much to expect of my little artists.

I made up the short-fall by cutting up scraps of clean pretty fabric with pinking shears in Mum’s favourite colour (blue).

My scraps were purposely chosen, from clothing that each of us has worn in the past, to evoke lots of wonderful loving memories.

Tips:

• One thing I have learnt from doing this is that is impossible to put teabags back in their box neatly. So I’d suggest you look into getting a little gift box to scatter yours in.

• If you have problems stapling your tags onto the string, try glue instead. – or just tie the string around a scrap of fabric.

• Ideas for tag materials:
  • scrapbooking paper
  • magazine pictures
  • photos of family members
  • ribbons or woollen bows
  • crochet hearts or flowers
  • beads and buttons

Wishing you all a warm & loving Mother’s Day this year.

This is my first attempt at a pattern, and I’ve been making heaps of these cute little eggs for Easter gifts this year.

It only takes about an hour from go to woe!

If you have any trouble following me,  just let me know and I’d love to help.

Materials

• 8ply wool / acrylic
• Size 3.50 crochet hook (USA size E)
• Stitch marker
• Polyfil

Pattern

Magic ring – 6sc
2sc in first sc, sc in next sc* repeat  (9)
2sc in first sc, sc in next sc* repeat  (15)
2sc in first sc, sc in next sc, sc in next sc* repeat  (20)
sc round
2sc in first sc, sc in next sc, sc in next sc, sc in next sc* repeat  (25)
sc round for 5 rounds

Decrease
sc2together, sc in next sc, sc in next sc, sc in next sc* repeat  (20)
sc2together, sc in next sc, sc in next sc* repeat  ()
sc2together, sc in next sc* repeat  ()

Finishing
Finish off, leaving a 3in tail
Sew on eyes in black and a red or pink V for a mouth
Stuff egg very firmly
Thread tail though the remaining stitches and sew shut, weaving the end inside out of sight.

Note:
When decreasing, your egg will look neatest if you line up the decrease stitches one above the other.
Don’t worry if this means you have to add or skip a sc in places. The important thing is that you have 5 evenly-spaced decreasing stitches in each round.

We had quite a heavy rainstorm this afternoon, with a blackout as well,
which the kidz found quite exciting.

After the downfall had eased, WonderHubby noticed that the creek behind our place was suddenly full.

We all rushed out to take a photo, but it had already subsided a lot in only a few minutes.

We often take them out there to play and run around when it’s not too hot. It was a great opportunity to show the kids how dangerously fast the flat, grassy area can fill up.

Apparently I’m pretty short on time for more than just parties at the moment, and I’ve been pretty slack with blogging, too.

So anyhoo, here’s a little something I prepared earlier to keep you occupied while we do the packing and moving stuff.

I thought that Thomas’ face would be a bit different to last year’s effort, so I traced the outline from a picture and got to work.

I used the same grease-proof paper technique for the eyes and mouth.

For the outlines, I would usually use finely cut liquorice, but unfortunately I went to the cupboard and the cupboard was bare…

The only thing I could see that would work was some White Wings ‘space food sticks’, and they turned out fine.

Around the face at the edge of the cake is a line of small silver cachous. At the top is a chocolate muffin cut into the shape of Thomas’ funnel.

Rhys also decided he was interested in pirates the day before the party, so that’s what the things at the bottom of the cake are: Pirate candles, the perfect accompaniment to a Thomas the tank engine cake, don’t you think?