Aquadraw

We went to our friends' son's 2nd birthday party, where one of the presents was an Aquadraw. Fabulous invention, the Aquadraw. Anyway, I looked down and Zac was carefully writing out the names of himself and other family members. He couldn't write until very recently, so I'm proud.

Self portrait

I can see why it's a good idea to do these regularly throughout the 365 project. What I don't like, though, is the fact that I seem to look more tired in each one I do.

Cupcakes

It's my friend Liz's birthday on Saturday, but she's going to a wedding so I'll only see her tomorrow. What with it being the year of the home-made present, I made her these cupcakes this evening. I bought a special box and everything!

Snack time

This week, I am mostly snacking on apples and oranges. The apples are gorgeous this week. When the organic box scheme lady called to do a customer satisfaction survey yesterday, I was particularly careful to mention the yummy apples.

Winter sun

And Tabby, hiding from me behind a post-it note. She likes me to draw on them while we wait in the car for the older children to finish at school. Mainly she asks me to draw babies, and highchairs, and then draw babies in highchairs.

Coaster

Leah gave this to me because she found it in a gift shop and felt it accurately sums up our lives. It does! She has a matching one...

More creating

I knitted this hot-water-bottle cover for my friend Amelia's birthday and finished it this morning. I was supposed to be handing it over in person tonight on her birthday night out, but alas Yasmine's not very well and Tabitha was already under the weather, so I'm staying home to assist husband in coping with them. I've packaged up the gift to post on Monday, so hopefully it'll be a cheering if belated surprise.

Tea time on a Friday

Some friends and I went to the cinema for a girly film-watching session (complete with chocolate) and then went for fish and chips...accompanied not by a crisp glass of white wine but by a nice cup of tea. Heavenly!

Creativity

I'm exceedingly proud of this cushion, which I made from felt and funky buttons as a present for my childminder, whose birthday is tomorrow. The photo isn't brilliant, but it gives an idea. I'm so pleased with how the cushion turned out that I think I'm going to make loads of them for my own sofas!

I've decided that 2009 is the year of the hand-made present. They are much more special. I might decide otherwise soon though, as my current knitting project (present for another friend) is making my hand hurt horribly. Who knew knitting could give you RSI?!

Mum

My mum doesn't like having photos taken, but I took this as she left her house and put on her coat, so she didn't notice until it was too late.

Snapshot

Yas took this while we were driving along. It makes me laugh - I think Tab was holding forth on some topic or other, probably the fact that she wants a Peppa Pig scooter and Peppa Pig cake for her birthday (which isn't until July; clearly she likes to be prepared).

New week

I really hate Mondays, and I hate the alarm clock even more. Just looking at this picture makes my head hurt...

Sunday night happiness

The paper, a buttered scone, and one's wife sitting on the sofa next to one (he didn't specify that as a source of happiness, but I can't see why it wouldn't be).

Condiments

Today was a very sad day. It was my uncle Laurie's funeral in Evesham, which is about 150 miles from here, and I drove my dad there and back (about 4 hours each way, in the end). The funeral was lovely.

We were very early, so before everything began, Dad and I found a cafe and had a cup of tea. That's where I took this photo.

Cheat

I was rubbish at photo-taking this week. It was a bit of a bad week - very rushed at work, and my uncle died, and I had some wobbly moments about my granddad who also died recently.

To make the gap between dates less hideously long, here's a photo from Saturday night, Leah posing in her Rambo headband on our pampering Girls' Night In.

The Wire

The husband's working his way through Series 3 of The Wire at the moment. He professes to enjoy it, but I can't make any sense of it at all. This is what I see from my pillow when I look up from my book...

Haircut

I cut Zac's hair tonight for a smart new week at school. He hated it, as usual, and spent a long time moaning even after I'd finished. I was quite proud of my handiwork though, and he looks a lot less tramp-esque. The big scab on his head (from a collision with the door frame last week) has healed now too, so we washed his hair as well. An altogether smarter Zac peered back at us when we'd finished.

Sundae

My friend Becka's son, making the most of his Pizza Express ice cream. The rest of us looked on in silent envy.

Old and new

I walked with Tabitha from her childminder's to the school and we passed this church, which was the victim of a big fire in the 1980s. The red-brick bit was added to the old part after the fire. It's improved the place inside (I used to take Zac to toddler groups there), but it still looks a bit bizarre from the outside.

Christmas books

Hmm. I may or may not have forgotten to take a photo until about 11.43 pm. Not wanting to get out of bed, I decided to record for posterity the row of books on my bedhead that I received as Christmas presents, and which I'm working my way through.

"Maybe a helicopter, or the moon"

We were waiting at the school gates for Zac to emerge, and Tabby was fascinated by the sky. I think it was the moon, rather than a helicopter.

Momentous day

Woolworths' last day in our town. The staff were locking the doors when I took this photo, because it had been completely emptied - although it was only 3.30pm.

It was the biggest shop on our high street - no idea at all what'll replace it. Absolutely the end of an era. It was quite sad to see...

Back to work

Important things on my desk: my SpeechMike (into which I ramble all morning, and my secretary translates my ramblings into letters and such), my coffee cup (complete with trashy lipstick stains) and Yas and Zac's school photo. Oh, and a stash of leaflets imploring people to remember cats.

I didn't take a photo of the stacks of horrendous paperwork that greeted me when I got to work - too hideous.

Gap-filler

I don't want gaps in my photoblog yet. The new year's barely begun! However, I DID forget to take a photo today. So here's another NYE one, of Yas and me, looking quite similar.

I am going to endeavour to be more dedicated to my photo-taking in 2009. From now on, anyway.

Dinner and lunch

These are our friends Christina and Lawrence. We have a pizza-based relationship: every few weeks we get together for pizza, never any other kind of takeaway. It works well. I had to post a photo of them today because this afternoon, upon hearing they were coming over tonight, Tabitha mis-heard "Christina and Lawrence" as "Dinner and Lunch" and has decided that's what they are called...

Little miss

Not getting off to a great start to 2009's pics, with a cheat photo, but I forgot I took this on New Year's Eve and didn't want to miss putting it up as I think Tab looks so grown-up and pretty in it! We were walking back from her first buggy-less shopping trip - a real milestone, so I wanted to record it. She'd got a big moany by this point!

Knife

This is my brother-in-law's fiancee, Heidi. I believe she was slicing limes for the first Mojitos of 2009...