special delivery.....

David has bought himself a present... can you guess what it is from this picture of Lyra trying out the contents of the package that arrived yesterday....

Yes he finally decided that now is the time to invest in a full set of stormtrooper armour.. obviously!!! Unfortunately there is a little work to be done on the ensemble before I can reveal him in all his glory, ready to annihilate any rebel forces that may happen our way. He still needs his blaster and boots before he's fully ready, but he is so excited by the prospect of actually being able to take part in the comic book event (where several stormtroopers will be making special guest appearances) on 19th September in Taunton that it makes up for any expense - well the amount he's spent anyway....

Logan is more interested in bouncing around in circles, rolling onto his tummy and chewing things...

& has been rather distracted by being a bit sick today - well very sick really any time he wriggles it seems to make him sick poor lamb. He's got a bit of a chesty cough so I think that's upset his tummy a little.

What with Logan's sickness and Lyra's tantrums today has been rather trying, with about 1hr 45mins worth of screaming tantrums from Lyra this afternoon while Logan wailed because his dinner wasn't quick enough because I was trying to prepare everyone else's food too while being distracted by Lyra's howls. I was impressed with myself for keeping calm... We have managed to make time for playing with toys and having afternoon tea from a real fine bone china tea set that I bought the other day for just £5 from a charity shop - bargain as it has 6 cups & saucers, sugar bowl & coffee pot with lid & is a nice Royal Standard set. No matching milk jug sadly, only real negative as I really want a coordinating set. & for that price it's not a worry bringing it out for afternoon tea with a 2 1/2 year old, even if I do ask her to be careful. One cup already hs it's handle broken off so I think we'll just have to make sure we always have it on a table rather than on the picnic blanket as yesterday's breakage has shown! I think it's a lovely tradition to start that she'll always remember.

In the same charity shop I also managed to find a wooden elephant that holds a certain significance for me - it is slightly bigger than but identical to one that I already have - inherited from my grandma who passed away 3 1/2 years ago aged 90. She received it and its 4 fellows in graduating sizes (each grandchild has one, I am the middle grandchild so I have the middle sized elephant) as a gift from my grandfather when he was away in India, carved in a little Indian village.... & I have managed to find an identical one in slightly different wood so perhaps from a different tree. OK the tusks are missing (as are those of the one I already have) and it is slightly damaged from time and poor repairwork on a chip but I'm so happy to have it.How lovely, really - & how meant-to-be....

our holiday in pictures....

Good morning, I hope you've had a good weekend? We came back from holiday on friday so here's a little summary of our week away......

A couple of days before we went Logan decided to start sitting up all by himself for several minutes (until he gets excited or carried away eating his toes!) just over 4 1/2 months, almost exactly the same age Lyra was...
We swam in the cold sea in our wetsuits, at high tide Lyra loved jumping fromthe low wall into the sea...

Lyra spent plenty of time undressing & lining up her teddies....

We spent a lot of the time on the beach... (I made the dress Lyra's wearing here!)

Logan dipped his toes in the sea for the first time... (not too impressed!)

We admired the views...

& built sandcastles perfect for sitting on (& a sand aeroplane!)...

& went to Newquay aquarium...

As there was just a shower in the flat Lyra & Logan bathed on the balcony in the baby bath (notice how close the sea is behind them this was at high tide)

Logan had his first ever ice cream & loved it...

Lyra & I collected lots of sea glass & shells so that we can make a more personal souvenir than we could ever buy....

& this was the view we were greeted by every day from the balcony of the flat we were staying in...

We had a really lovely time, even though Lyra decided to whinge a ridiculous amount. She felt a little poorly & was in a strange place so ended up sleeping in the double bedroom with the rest of us as the first night saw her waking screaming a lot. Such a daddy's girl she made him sleep on the floor next to her half of most nights (pushover? absolutely!)

We spent most of our time on the beach as it was so close we only had to walk down a slope to get there... well you can see from the pictures. There were lots of shells and sea glass which I loved collecting with thoughts of making pretty things from them. We ate fish & chips, Lyra insisted on going to the pub "I need to go to the pub daddy, I want a pint" (hahaha!)

busy busy

Good evening! & it is indeed, nice & cool after a hot day & I'm sat here with a nice glass of wine & two children blissfully sleeping upstairs! We had a really lovely day today. I took Lyra and Logan over to play with Molly, Pippa, Celly, Maya and Dylan at Elaine & Molly's lovely house. The children had a great time running in the garden, playing doctor/ dentist (with a flowerpot ornament as a "light"!), sliding, bouncing on spacehoppers, blowing bubbles and eating peas straight from the pod. I had a lovely time chatting with the lovely mummies too - Lyra is a great conversationalist but regular adult conversation is a must for sanity purposes!! Jo and Pippa and Me, Lyra and Logan stayed for a picnic afterwards. Jo is about 30 weeks pregnant and still cycling! OK just for short distances but still rather impressive!

Yesterday we saw Isa, Tom and Jack for a brief visit with shameless kissing between Lyra and Jack (OK slight mummy encouragement there but the pictures are SO cute!!), Tuesday we spent a lot of time in the park & had a picnic (I got sunburn on my shoulders!) and on Monday we went over to see Stacey, Ollie & baby Thomas so we've been realy busy this week. Tomorrow Daniella will be here ready for holiday cat-sitting....

We're off on holiday in Cornwall on Saturday so I doubt I'll be updating my blog again until we get back, when I hope to write a nice long summary of Logan's first proper holiday! We're going to Portscatho in Cornwall (near Falmouth) and plan to go to The beach, Flambards, the beach.... well we shall see what the weather has in store for us. This week has been gorgeous so I'm really hoping for more of the same, fingers crossed!!

illness again!!

Good afternoon, I hope you had a good weekend? Poor David has had severe tonsilitis since wednesday, typically this weekend was gorgeous & sunny - the first in ages - and he was most definitely not feeling up to doing anything like going for a walk or similar that we would usually do on a nice weekend day. He even went to the doctor, which is unheard of for him, and has been dosing himself up with penicillin since friday. Obviously he was convinced it was swine flu at first because the symptoms were similar at first, thank goodness it wasn't!!


Logan is a bit grizzly at the moment, I think he must be teething as he's so chewy and dribbly. It's so unlike him to be grizzly and grumpy that I don't know what to do with him! If he's in a grizzly mood he likes to be carried around. It also means he's been waking more in the night - last night 10.30, 1am, 3am, 5.30am & he was awake then so avid brought him downstairs so I could get another half hour's sleep. Oh the joys of parenthood! Lyra is being very good, though she's determined to thwart my efforts to get rid of her dummy. David has suggested "forgetting" the dummy when we go on holiday next week so she has a whole week without it & with none scattered around. We must make sure we dispose of the ones around the house before we go!! Genni and Daniella are sharing responsibility for house & cassie-sitting while we're away



I've made a start on my first crochet blanket!! I ordered some patons washed haze aran yarn in 2 shades of pink, blue and lilac last week on ebay, which arrived on Saturday, and made a start on it on saturday evening. I'm making a smallish ripple blanket to start with but will probably make a little blanket for Logan too as I have some green cotton yarn that would go well with the blue. The cotton means it won't be at all scratchy and he'll be able to chew it! I've been making lots of other things too - Eric the zombie was finally completed last week and given to Genni on friday, I've made a skirt and a dress for Lyra and 3 bandana bibs for Logan (he's so dribbly at the mo!) feeling really pleased with myself as they are pretty productive hobbies & the results were pretty good :o)
& to finish - here are a few pictures. First my gorgeous litle ones having a cuddle as they often do ....

the start of my crochet blanket...

Eric the crochet zombie by my many tomato plants...

& inside....

Lyra's patchwork skirt....

drip drip drip.....

just a quick post today as Lyra & Logan are both asleep in the afternoon for once & that NEVER happens!! (actually Logan is awake but up in his cot wriggling happily so effectively the same.
Weather has left a lot to be desired this week, today is the first sunny day in ages & next door has been burning garden waste all morning so not been able to go out or do laundry - big issue with 2 little ones!!

My garden is benefitting from the wet weather though & is full of life & growth. The other day I actually bought some flowering perenials so we have a little colour in our garden - a blood red dahlia, a yellow & a pink coreopsis & a lilac budlea. It was about time I had some flowers in my garden really!! My tomatoes are doing amazingly, we have finished all of the potatoes from one potato plant but will leave the other for a while to let them get bigger, the carrots are becoming orange & recognisably carroty & the butternut squash has buds starting (that's the one I really can't wait for). The slugs ate all of the leaves on my runner beans & the peas were gobbled up as son as they sprouted but there are bound to be some casualties....

I've been making lots of different things recently - a patchwork skirt & replacement doll's pushchair seat for Lyra, a bandana bib for Logan, a crochet rabbit for my cousin's new baby, Genni's zombie is a continuing work in progress and I've started crocheting some granny-hexagons for a bright little blanket... I have ordered some aran weight cotton yarn in order to get started on a stripy crochet ripple blanket to have on the sofa ready for snuggling - I'm planning on a reasonable sized one so have ordered 1500g of patons cotton yarn in 3 colours, another ebay auction for 500g of another colour in the same yarn is finishing today so hopefully I'll win that as turquoisey blue, lilac, rose pink and dusky pink will go well together I feel... certainly keeping busy aren't I!

OK off to have a bit of a tidy while the small ones are sleeping (Logan has dropped off by himself now - yay!)

Happy SUNNY days...

Good evening & I hope you've had a lovely day? I'm sitting down taking the opportunity to update here after a really lovely day. My best friend from Uni Isa (aka Liz to anyone else!), her husband Tom & gorgeous little boy of just over 2 Jack popped by en route from their home "up North" to Padstow where they will be having a couple of weeks holiday. It's been over a year since we've seen them as they used to live in Bristol but moved to lancashire last July & oh how I've missed her! The weather seemed to reflect my happiness at seeing them and after a brief and violent shower in the morning stayed sunny, bright and breezy all afternoon. Lyra and Jack had a lovely time playing in the park, running up and down the grassy slopes and kicking Lyra's Peppa Pig ball, holding hands, rolling and tumbling down the hill, jumping, swinging, laughing - glowing with the exuberant happiness of little children that is just so achingly irreplaceable... It was fantastic to have a catch up & a hug with my lovely Isa, but far too brief after such a long time apart. I really feel we must make more effort to meet up regularly, really must.

David had an interview this afternoon but unfortunately didn't get the job despite working very hard ont he presentation required. They said other candidates had a stronger statistical background, which I really feel isn't fair as they shouldn't have offered an interview if they didnt' think he had enough experience in a key area... so the job hunt continues, it's definitely Time For A Change as he will have been in this job, with only theinflation payrise everyone receives each year, for 5 years this November. They haven't even given him the payrise & review they promised after 6 months, very naughty, & have just taken away his flexible working hours due to "changes in the business structure" Bullsh*t! the only flexibility they gave him was that he had to make up his hours & had to be in between 10am & 3pm every day. minimal flexibility in my opinion.. I'm starting to get a pang of fear every time I think of going back to work in February... 6 1/2 months... it isn't really that long and I don't want to be away from my babies now there are two of them to miss.

We've had a great week really; on Saturday we went to the Maypole Inn for a big joint birthday party for the group of mummies & toddlers we know (& several we don't know so well) which was fantastic & we even had nice weather & no rain until the afternoon. What a lovely idea, the lovely Jo H initiated it, Jo L runs the pub & organised it & Elaine baked a fab cake - there was a little bouncy castle, a pinata, ice cream, pass the parcel & presents & lots of children (though Lyra played with daddy mostly, she loves him best of all) - perfect & wonderful to see everyone as we all seem to have separated now. Tuesday over to visit Tina & Tom & Lily in their lovely new house, playgroup & library yeaterday & friendss over until late today... can't remember what we did monday (park & baking I think). I must make sure I keep us busy over the next few weeks, must make sure I phone people & arrange things. The problem is I'm not at all as confident as people think & unless I'm in the right mood I'll think people won't want me bugging them to meet up... isn't that silly from a grown woman?! I was discussing it with Isa today, how I often get left to my own devices because I don't come across as needing looking after, even immediately postnatally I've been left to it by family both times. Thank goodness I've been OK this time as PND was a very bad place to be after Lyra's traumatic birth and I don't want to go there again..... must try harder!

In order to not finish on a melancholy note - We started Logan on "solids" (i.e. mush) a week ago and he's loving his proper food!! We waited until her was 18 weeks old and though I really wanted to wait longer it just wan't possible with our hungry boy - he wasn't happy and was constantly hungry, what was I meant to do?!

Isa is on the way to becoming a professional photographer & has taken some fabulous shots of my family today but in the meantime here's some pics by me....

Both of my gorgeous little ones all dressed up.....

Logan's first taste of food.....

Lyra's first picture of a "man" with body & limbs....

Lyra & Jack.....

I've been absent from blog-land for this week because the plague descentded upon our house this week - that's right, Logan demonstrated his generous and sharing nature by sharing his sickness bug with us. I started puking on monday evening, david during the night & Lyra first thing int he morning. Looking after 2 children & a sick husband when unwell yourself is NOT fun I can tell you! I'm pretty certainit's NOT been swine flu because none of us had a fever & it passed so quickly... We're all mostly better now but have felt really achey and washed out ove the past couple of days. David had it worst as he has such a delicate tummy, I felt the most drained though due to breastfeeding and looking after everyone else.... all fun and games!!!

Yesterday my mum & lovely sisters came to entertain Lyra for us, whcih was great. Did somehow mean more housework though as David and I are a lot more strict about tidying up after Lyra has been playing with things so by bedtime Lyra's room was a real state and took a while to tidy. It DID mean that we didn't have to put up with Lyra's constant demands and leaping all over us though and we were able to do things like change the bedding and do laundry, which we weren't at all up to earlier int he week. After mum and Daniella had gone and Lyra and Logan were in bed I also got to have a lovely long chat with Genni, something that's always nicest face to face isnt' it...

Off to make a nice cup of tea now while Lyra watches Balamory and Logan has a nap!