put the kettle on and catch up...cup of tea?

Its one in the morning here and the house is all silent except for the gentle hum of the freezer... my puppy sleeps at my feet ensuring they are cosy and warm. Its been a busy week here at the Dotty Red Household and I am pleased we are now on to the weekend. As I sit at my kitchen table with my big mug of Lady Grey sporting my rather posh new Cath Kidston apron, which was a treat to myself having wanted one for over four years and is making me HAPPY! My thoughts run through the week past and start to plan the week ahead...
At the moment my life is full of plans for the future and its direction. A lot of a planning and research is going on at the moment and seeing if things finally come off and next week some meetings take place to take this research onto the next level. Its exciting and full of anxiety all at the same time. Next to this is completing my studies and my time spent working as a teaching assistant. I adore my hours in school and I am working with a teacher who is allowing me to concentrate on the creative side with the children and I come home very happy and covered in paint. How can I explain the thrill I get as I watch these very little people learn to draw and paint, mix colours and see their excitement when they turn red and white into pink, the work is truly inspiring...
So I have a decision to make in the coming months, do I sew for a living and come away from being a hobby and actually make it my family way of life that puts food on the table or do I follow the teaching assistant path. The decision I think will be made for me as due to all the education cuts its the Teachers Assistants jobs that have been cut. My college have talked to me about continuing my studies to a foundation degree, whilst I would love to commit to this on so many levels MONEY and CHILDCARE stop me. I have to put that food on the table NOW not in four years, the advantage of the course... a stable and secure career in teaching, if there are any jobs at the end of it!!!
Its a dilemma for sure and far to serious for this small hour in the morning. The reflection of the past week is a good one, it was a week of success and getting things done...
Working on a new range of tea pot cosies, watching them grow from the idea of a friend of mine who wanted one to making a lovely pile of them, selecting all the fabrics and matching them up, cutting out little bits and putting it all together...
The joy this brings never stops making me smile, tweaking out any little problems, finding the right wadding and how big or small to make the loop... then suddenly it all falls in place and satisfaction is bliss...
Whilst I have sewn I have allowed my thoughts to wonder back to my holiday...
I am still carrying the feeling of contentment this week brought to my family. A few new little routines have been put in place and we rediscovered our time together, the boys and me, so much more enjoyable without all the modern stuff, the computer games and the Nintendo. Drawing and reading an hour before bedtime, long walks with the dog, family bath times full of silliness and of course cookie making....
COOKIE MAKING. I always used to bake cookies for my kids, but life changes and things stop, to rediscover this simple pleasure enriched now as the kids do most of the baking, and it is me that sits tapping my fingers waiting for the cookie to come out the oven and be the first to eat one.
Memories of the beautiful cottage, sweet and pretty have made me take time to clear and tidy up my own home. It was a break that made me slow down and take stock and see things for what they are instead of thundering through life, its left not just me but the boys too with a new rhythm and new appreciation of what we know is important to us and that is our precious time together.
So the thoughts to the week ahead... well its birthday week here, both boys a day apart (plus four years and two minutes) so plans are being made, presents being bought and made secretly in the evenings...
Birthdays are such special times, I think for the children it is filled with great excitement but for the Moms its a time when you stop and look at the stage your child is at. One birthday marks a change...as my little boy, my first born, turns into a teenager. As we sit together in the evenings when the littlest one is asleep, I know now that this is not a time to fear, it enriches us, he doesn't need me as much as he did, he is capable and balanced. (Most of the time)! Our time is now spent talking, as he questions everything, he laughs too at his silly Mom who gets her knickers in a twist and he helps me see the funny side of our life. He is a support, a helper and my friend. Sometimes when the going gets tough it is him that gives out the hugs and that fills my heart to bursting...

Have a fabulous weekend.

Pictures: (1-7) tea pot cosies and a small selection of my china cups, yes I am a collector!!! (7-13) pictures from our holiday away in our cosy cottage with a sprinkling of snow on top...oh yes and the flying dog!!!

NB: All cosies gone to new homes. Thank you :)