After last week’s wobble, Nicco is doing rather well. He still has a rough time when I feed Caterina—he usually does his worst to attract attention then—and occasionally overreacts to reprimands, but getting him to snap out of his mood is becoming easier. Or perhaps I am learning how to handle him (hint: give him as much attention as possible, and defuse any tense situation with humour; never tell him off unless he has done something absolutely unforgivable). Still, I suspect this will be a steep learning curve for both of us.

It helps that Caterina sleeps most of the time. This allows me to spend plenty of one-to-one time with Nicco—a result of which is that I have now become quite adept at making helms and armour. Archery, however, remains beyond me. Being thoroughly beaten by a not-quite-four-year-old is fairly humbling experience. Especially when he then adds innocently: “But mummy why are you so bad at all sports?” Hmm, perhaps because I read, drew and crafted during the time I should have spent exercising?

Talking of which (crafting that is, not exercising) I miraculously managed to find a spare minute or thirty to work on the family book I am giving my husband as his birthday present. Which is a good thing, considering his birthday is now just nine days away. Here is my latest page—now I only have four more pages to go, plus the front and back covers. At this rate, I may even finish the book in time.

Children in a pocket

Incidentally, I am also entering this for the Created by hand challenge, which is all about using textiles in your projects (I used lace here to decorate the tag that’s in the bookpage pocket). That’s because I no longer have time to make any dedicated effort for any challenge—beyond keeping Nicco entertained while I feed Caterina, that is!