10 things I'm loving

1) Thunderstorms washing away the heat. The girl were playing in the street with the neighbours' kids when suddenly it was bucketing down, the kind of rain that instantly soaks you to the core. Hearing them squeal and laugh and watching them splash in the water, what a simple joy, especially after such a hot few days!

2) Spending time lounging around with friends without watching the clock

3) Having the weekend off work. I always end up wondering why every weekend can't be like this. I seriously need to retire!

4) Having a project - the market is next weekend! I'm slightly stressed because I have more sewing to do than I have hours to sew, but it is nice to have a reason to be creative, and I'm learning so much by sewing consistently every day rather than in my spare time

5) Watching the girls with their new pets Poppy the rabbit and Esther the guinea pig. I love watching the care they have for them, they are so gentle. Indigo is going to bed happily for the first time (her bedroom is at the other end of the house away from all the action so she pretty often jumps into bed with Crystal and Rainbow) because she has Poppy and Esther in her room at night

6) Eggs. The chickens are laying up a storm at the moment and I love having an abundance of eggs to feed my family and to give away to friends. Is there anything an egg can't do? It's the basis of so many meals! As I can type I can hear one of the chooks proudly declaring she has just laid an egg!

7) Re-arranging. I just rearranged the play area and things that had been in containers in the cupboard are now out in view. It seems so obvious I don't know why I didn't think of it before! Rainbow now actually plays with the trains and blocks and Mr Potato heads because she can see them! So she's been having lots of independent play time while I've been sewing up a storm, much more fun to build a block tower than repeatedly flick Mama's sewing machine on and off!

8) De-cluttering. Similar to re-arranging, it's so cathartic to rid the house of excess, although I still have a long way to go! We're having a rack of second hand clothes at the market and I'm trying to be ruthless with the girls' clothes - they have more than they can possibly wear and they usually end up in piles around the place.

9) Family. Of course! Having 3 sweet (sometimes) girls and a husband who loves me, how can you not love that?

10) Blogs. I've been spending a lot of time reading other people's blogs and I come away feeling so inspired and refreshed, I love having a little window into people's lives! The stickybeak in me is feeling very fulfilled!