Dishwasher

The plumber is about to arrive to plumb-in the dishwasher we've had sitting in the kitchen since New Year, so this is a very momentous day!!  We've used a dishwasher before, obviously (we wouldn't book a holiday home without one) but are fully hoping that this is going to transform our lives - the time we would spend washing up can now be put to work on other things - getting the house straight and hopefully earning more money.

Sarah has stopped calling Charlotte Fah-Ah and started calling her Fah-Lut.  She still calls Edward Garo, but Elizabeth has become Lih-Zu-Buth on a good day, Si-buth on a normal day!!  Her language is getting much better, but she still gets very frustrated when people can't understand her.

Edward is approaching his 4th birthday, and I can't quite believe all that time has flown by.  I keep having to remind myself that this Spring/Summer will be his last at nursery, and he'll be starting school in September.  We find out about his school place in April, then it will be buying uniform etc.

Charlotte slept through last night, but seems to wake up most nights, perhaps one in three she sleeps through.  She is a lot more aware, and has lots of big smiles for her big brother and sisters.

I've made lots of decisions lately, having shaken the 'what can I do to make money?' question that has been on my mind for literally years.  I really want to start making 'craft' things - bags, toys, bunting... maybe even clothes, quilting etc.  Would like to do a college course in time.  Six years ago when I'd just had Elizabeth I dabbled in this, and made some bags and a couple of baskets with linings, but got disillusioned with the process of selling.  I remember selling a basket on E-bay which people were bidding for (so I didn't set the price) and the feedback I got was 'expensive for what it is' which was a bit gutting.  Nowadays I see that people use Facebook to sell what they have made, and do more personalised commissions (e.g. offer people a selection of materials showing pictures online etc) and there are websites such as Etsy and Folksy designed only for handmade items - so putting a value on the handmade aspect.  E-bay is more geared towards getting a bargain, which you can't really do with handmade stuff unless you are able to mass-produce...  So I'm optimistic.  I've had the sewing machine out, and have made some bunting for Charlotte's christening, and am going to make more.  Have 'pinned' lots of ideas, and am feeling really positive about it all.  Just need to get some basic equipment, then try some things out!