the toofairy

so willow lost his first tooth today. It's a tiny little thing, small enough to be lost in the bedclothes and definitely small enough to fall down between the cracks in our floorboards. So, after taking very good care of that little tooth, soaking it all day in a little container of water (it fell out before school, thank heavens, or we'd have never seen the thing again), placing it in a little envelope with the addressee written clearly on the front, losing it momentarily when it was taken out for one last look, and finally placing it under a special little pillow to be exchanged for monetary gifts overnight, the stage was set for the magic to happen. And that's when the penny dropped, so to speak.
A teary mr willow comes out from his bed, all heart broken over the thought of having to part with his first tooth and never seeing it again. So, whilst holding back the tears myself, I reassure him that he can keep his tooth if he really wants to. That the tooth fairy already has enough teeth to build her little house with, and besides, I'm sure plenty of other kids in the world have lost teeth today, and I'm sure she won't miss this one teensy tiny little one. So off we go and find a special little box to keep this little tooth in, and the tears are wiped away and it's decided that it's probably a good idea to keep it anyway, in case one ever needs a spare, and the little tooth is placed in there and made secure, out of reach of the jasper. So then we're all ready for bed again, well almost. Of course, an apology letter has to be written to the tooth fairy, because it's important that she not be offended in any way. That little note is under the special pillow, and we're awaiting her reply.
But not once does that boy worry about the money that he won't be getting for that tooth which is so precious to him. Because for that boy, it's not about the money, it's about the magic. And for that, I am so grateful.
So now, tucked away in the corner of my sock drawer, in a special little box with a lid that's just a little bit hard to get off (all the better for keeping it safe, I say), is a tiny little tooth that I think we will get out every now and then and just look at and remember when.

safe and snug

so I got my hands on a holga a while back, and after shooting a few dud rolls and almost abandoning the whole idea, I decided to have one last crack at it and bought myself some cheap crappy film from the supermarket. I figured I didn't have much to lose on $3 film. Of course, the mister saw me with my cheap crappy film and sneered, saying I really should buy some pro stuff, which I guess you could say was like throwing down the gauntlet. So, off I went with my plastic camera and my $3 film, and the rest is history. The whole story (so far) is over here.

so now I like the holga. Holga and I, we're good friends. And as much as I don't like to be too overprotective of such things, having a chunky plastic camera with a bad rep for having the back pop open unexpectedly rattling around loose in my bag with all the other junk that's in there is not something I'm really comfortable with, so a suitable case had to be made.

I thought long and hard about this one, trying to work out all kinds of designs that would go around the lens, until I finally I realised that all I really needed to do was make it in a semicircle. The camera sits nice and snug in there, and I can even fit in a spare roll of (cheap) film. Happy days.

here again

we're back, had a lovely weekend away, and feeling happy for having done it. It's always nice getting away for a couple of days, seeing new things and breaking the monotony. Not exactly what I'd call relaxing, never is with three boys in tow. Saturday was mine and arrans' special and weird double birthday, and we spent a good portion of the day driving, which was fun, apart from the constant bickering from the backseat. Oh, and jasper has learnt this great new "arrh" sound, which he lets out whenever someone has something he wants or he has had enough of being in the car (which he generally decides five minutes into the journey), that kind of makes my brain hurt. So that made for a pleasant trip. But, once we got there and the big boys realised that they were free to roam bush and sandunes to their heart's content, they pretty well left us alone, so we found ourselves on the porch of said accommodation with a cold beer and some honeyeaters for company. The little one did hang around to annoy us, but he became rather preoccupied with the birds, so that was ok.

for my birthday, I received lots of loveliness, as usual. These are my two favourites, vintage green pouf from my mum, and from the mister, calina, courtesy of ella. These people, they know me well.

and, on a completely unrelated note, two new skirts in the shop today, fancy that! More coming soon. Enjoy!

north bound

the bags are packed and the tank's full of petrol, we're headed north tomorrow on a little adventure. A weekend filled with two birthdays and a mothers day is cause for more than the standard level of celebration, so we decided to have a little holiday, because it's been a while. So, off up the coast we go, with three boys and a car full of goodies, and just a little bit of excitement. Looking forward to takeaway dinner, a little house with a spa and a dishwasher (imagine that) and not worrying about dirty feet and dirty clothes. See you next week.

oh, and happy mothers' day!

cutie pants

a birthday gift in an hour? Sure, no worries. Ah, it's little pants like these ones that make me think it would be nice to have a little girl child in this house.