I've moved!

Blog addresses that it. Since I often use my mobile to blog I have decide to relocate to one that is more accessible in that way so here it is ; https://rainbowstitch.wordpress.com/ . So far I've just been crafting (I have a Christmas Countdown going on!) but there will be more family updates & little memories eventually. Hope to see you there!

Natalie 

Autumn days

Autumn is probably my favourite season. The crisp morning air that promises frost, crunchy leaves in glorious colours and the ripening fruit in the trees and hedgerows make me want to spend most of the time outdoors. Just look at that blue sky!

 

If only this were possible! Of course the other side of Autumn is the rain and the start-of-school-year colds. At the moment I'm feeling slightly sorry for myself; partly because I have a cold but also because on a family walk over the weekend I realised that this year I won't be able to climb any trees in the annual quest for apples. I may have been slightly petulent about this realisation but we still had a lovely time. Lyra climbed the trees to reach the sadly few apples growing within reach;

She has a very sensible helmet on because she rode her bike, which she's a natural at after two weeks as a cyclist;

 

And we had lots of fun hunting for conkers in the grass, much to Logan's excitement and pleasure when he found several. Each time he spotted one his face lit up and he was very happy to have them photographed;

 



 

 

So all in all the season is off to a good start. I've started making Christmas presents because making gifts takes much more time than buying them but will wait to share any of them until the new year!

Growing up!

My little princess rode her bike without stabilisers for the first time yesterday... How can she be that grown up?! School has seen her blossom into a confident little girl who no longer hides behind mummy and is incredibly polite - her "please may I" is adorable. She can read and write so well; how
Is she old enough to do that?! Her tights are size 7-8 due to her long slender limbs, her feet are long and slender too, though her brother is catching her up. She is very funny, though her level of humour is "what's brown and sticky? A POO! Haahahahaa!"
I used to look at her and think "I did that" but now I know it's not just us who influence her and the person she's growing into; her friends and wonderful teacher do too. Growing up? Bring it on (burnout too quickly)

Summer has finally arrived!

After the most wet, miserable, grey June & July imaginable we've finally been blessed with glorious sunshine - since the children broke up from school in fact. It's been fabulous. I have absolutely loved having an excuse to fill up the paddling pool, chomp on ice lollies and the laundry drying so quickly is just the cherry on top. Yes, it's a mum's life but somebody has to do it!

Tonight, in my insomniac Internet browsing, I ended up looking through all of my old posts from back in the days when I used to update this blog religiously. It was wonderful for me to read the little reminders and anecdotes from when my babies were actually babies. They are so big and grown up now! Lyra has finished her first year at primary school and we will be receiving the school application pack for Logan in a few short months. The teachers will have their work cut out that's for sure.

Thr children are loving spending time together and have been playing really nicely (apart from the occasional scrap and one biting incident that resulted in some of Logan's cars being confiscated - they are children after all) the play house has been brilliant and they have loved playing house in it. Logan likes to set up shop and plays at driving to work in his little tikes coupé, either that or driving to the "cinema" (play house!) and eating pretend popcorn. Lyra does join in but her favourite things are dressing up, doing lovely drawings and writing about her pictures. She made me a booklet at school last week "facts about butterflies" (spelled kind of phonetically but she worked it ALL out herself. Logan joins in with the dressing up and makes a beautiful Rapunzel, though Lyra always ends up shouting at him if he "joins in" (read "ruins") her pictures.

As for me, I've discovered Fimo. I made a teeny tiny bucket the other day - to wear as a necklace and put real teeny flowers in. Love it! I've also discovered Fimo sticks as nail art tools. So has Lyra and I can't wait to decorate her nails tomorrow. I love doing girly things like that with her! She's so sweet; a couple of mums have commented on this to me; my little princess is very kind and considerate and even if she wasn't as clever as she is (beautiful writing, excellent reading, gorgeous drawings etc etc- she's a proper little clever clogs reading well over her age range) and she really is a mummy's girl right now. She has a huge collection of hints I've made for her that HAVE to go to bed with her.

Logan drew me a lovely colourful rainbow the other day. for a boy who has never been interested in drawing its a huge step and it wasn't "hotwheels"!!! He really cracks me up; he runs around singing the superman theme run when he's wearing his superman Pajs, points his elbow forward when he's running along being lightning McQueen & if he's being mater he puts both hands behind his back & wiggles his fingers as the "hook" - it really makes me laugh!

We've managed to avoid losing the kitten too! He's an adventurous little hung and I have to pluck him off of the back wall pretty regularly when we're in the garden. He lives being outside though and is being a bit better about not running away & staying in the garden than he was a few days ago. Thank goodness really; the neighbour on one side has a jungle of stinging nettles in his back green & I would hate to have to try to rescue him from there!!

Anyway ttfn, I'm finally sleepy (always tired!) aren't I doing a good job of updating regularly!

Nostalgia

I'm very lucky to have a box of very old photographs to help personalise my exploration of my family tree. Some even have names written in beautiful script on the back of them to help identify the subjects; "Uncle Harry" for example, who was the youngest son of my great, great grandparents and my Gran's uncle. It makes it all the more poignant and real when the subjects of these pictures reached an early demise. Uncle Harry and his brother, my Great Grandfather, were both among the many casualties of WWI...

Similarly it's very special to have some pictures of my Grandma and her sisters when they were young and beautiful and the world was a much less complicated place.

Another amazing thing to have (loaned from my mother while I scan and transcribe them) is the letters my Grandfather wrote to my Grandmother when he was away in the airforce. They married in 1944 and the tender, romantic, adoring tone of these letters is so very touching. Add to this the fact that she kept the letters to her dying day, 29 years as his wife and 33 years as his widow, and the are very emotive reading. I know that she never forgot him and that he was always in her thoughts even when she became very old and very frail and confused about everything else she was always constant in her love for her beloved Jimmy.

I am not a believer in life after death, certainly not in the traditional "heaven and hell" sense. However I like to think that, with time and space being the tangled mess of knots that they are thought of most often these days, somewhere Marj & Jimmy will always be young & together and in love. That sort of thing never ends.

Silence is golden

Because nobody likes a whiney complainer and you don't want to read about my everyday woes do you.

I've been signed off from work since the beginning of March following a minor knee injury that caused an underlying connective tissue disorder (Hypermobility Syndrome, now likely to turn out to be Ehlers Danlos Syndrome due to my other symptoms)to flare up big time. No it hasn't been fun. Yes it hurts a lot. No I'm not better. There, I think that's succinct enough.

However there have been a lot of positives in my life too & that's what I want to write about so I don't forget!!

Lyra has been thriving at school and had a glowing school report. She is friendly, kind, funny, clever & hard working. I'm so proud of her. Her reading & writing are amazing, her pictures are beautiful, she is already on year 1 reading books and was having extra ballet lessons because her teacher didn't want her to miss out on the extra syllabus the older girls were doing. On top of this she has loads of friends and is so kind and thoughtful other mums have commented on it to me. *glowing with pride & love here*

Logan is becoming a proper big boy. No nappies ever now! He had finally taken an interest in sitting down & concentrating on puzzles or drawings & did two age 4+ puzzles by himself the other day. He's getting better with his colours, though drawings are rare he CAN do really well - he traced around his name last week with minimal help. He's also so sweet & caring it hurts. He often says things like "I love you so much mummy. We love our chothers (each other!) don't we mummy" but is still such a BOY. It's like he read the how to be a boy manual. At his preschool sports day he won all of his races. Ok he came second in one but then he ran it again until he came first!!!

David has been amazingly supportive while I'm having a hard time. He's also managing to cope really well with the inevitable emotional fallout. We had a lovely family holiday in the middle of June and it was so wonderful to get to spend time with him. I do miss him so much sometimes when he's at work; surely a good sign after 7 years of marriage and almost 11 years together. Goodness hasn't the time flown!

After we came back from our holiday we brought a little kitten home - Chewy - who is absolutely adorable & so cuddly. His birthday is 3 days after Logan's :) he's been a great source of happiness already & tolerates Logan picking him up by random body parts so well!

I've managed to do quite a bit of work on the garden this year, despite the torrential rain & plague of slugs. Mum & David have done the heavy stuff but my veg patch is doing well & there are plenty of pretty flowers. In fact it's looking rather well established. I've not had the emotional energy to be inspired & get making things but am hoping this will pick up. I have managed to do some research into my family tree though and am hoping to carry on with this & do a little "family history" book for us all. Ok probably an e-book but that's not a bad thing!

I've made lots of new friends since Lyra started school and I really feel I have a good place I the community. I've done a lot for Logan's preschool as the chair of thei management committee and really hope to be able to help a bit in Lyra's class next year (work allowing - we shall see what happens with that soon enough) I really feel good if I'm helping out. It's good to know that I'm considered a good, reliable and responsible person even though I'm not so worried any more about what people think of me if I'm being me. If I have an off day I worry though!!!

Anyway it's late and I need to sleep. TTFN & I hope it's not so long next time.

This too will pass...

Time is a strange thing isn't it, flying by st a crazy speed but at the same time seeming to drag... Children are the very essence of this; their lives made up of fleeting moments that pass far too fast as they grow and change so quickly. My little princess is 5-years-old and blossoming at school. She is soon to be moving up a group in her ballet lessons, will read and write surprisingly difficult words, draws beautiful pictures and holds amazing debates with us. Always a one for encouraging questions I love it when she reasons her way through an argument. It may not make it easy for me but I'm proud fit to bursting! And my baby boy? There's no baby in this house any more and hasn't been for some time now! Turning 3 in just over 2 weeks he holds proper conversations with us now, has the confidence to ask for what he wants in shops and will more often than not take himself to the toilet without any assistance. He loves his cuddles and plays and dances and sings all the time... A bundle of cuddles and movement and enthusiasm. My darling son! They are both so full of life and newness that I am simultaneously full of joy at their thriving and growing and grieving for those lost moments; they will never come again. In life there is no going back, not really. We all change over time and what has been passes into memory, some more clear than others. Neither the good nor the bad can last forever so I try to cherish the moment and make the most of what we have. It has been a tough couple of years and I've grown and changed a lot myself. I'm now so much happier being myself and don't try to be anyone else as that frankly won't make me happy. I've become more honest; I've always been truthful but I'm more likely to get issues out in the open now rather than ignoring them. I know I've helped a lot of people and given a lot of myself. I have achieved a lot and upset one or two people along the way too. I have lived. Who knows what tomorrow will bring; embrace happiness where you can find it because you'll never have this moment again.... Xxxxxxxxx

Nobody said it would be easy....

... though I had hoped this year might be easiER at least... So far it has been rather stressful with my little lady developing some issues that have started to really affect us all. She's perfectly healthy but is completely and totally obsessed with washing her hands and won't touch something that somebody else has touched. She won't even hold hands with her friends at school any more and will refuse a biscuit or similar if she things somebody else might have touched it. She sometimes won't even cuddle me and will keep her hands firmly tucked into her sleeves if I try to hold her hand *sigh* so difficult for me in particular because it seems to be partly directed at me. I'm talking to her school and will be taking her along to the GP as soon as I've discussed it properly with her teacher & the school support adviser to try and nip it in the bud so it doesn't become a full-blown behavioural problem. We shall see how it goes!

It does make me feel really guilty as if it must be my fault; though I don't see how. Perhaps it could be some all-knowing deity being vengeful because I've had a falling out with a rather religious friend recently?!! I seriously doubt that somehow. While we're on that matter I feel the need for a bit of a rant; this falling-apart of a decade long friendship has not been kind to me emotionally either, but it just had to be done. I refuse to be preached to or looked down upon by anybody; I am no better or worse than anybody who regularly attends church and am a strong believer that it is the way you treat others and lead your life in general that count in this world rather than your level of religious fervour. Everybody is entitled to their own beliefs and I'm not going to put up with anybody saying that I will be punished by some fire and brimstone God because I believe differently from them & say so...

I work in a hospital and am good at my job, I volunteer as chair of a preschool committee to help out (though I didn't particularly want to) which is rather stressful and time consuming and involves a LOT of work and I will always be there for my friends; having been told I have saved more than one person's sanity/ welfare with late-night discussions and rescue missions over the issues troubling them. I am not a bad person. OK I may be a slightly blunt  person but that is more due to my honesty than anything bad and I am careful not to say things that may be taken too close to heart or may imply somebody is, for example, a bad parent ; that's just not good form. I don't like the whole "ignore an issue until it goes away" attitude and this is, I fear, the heart of the matter. I couldn't bear the fact that I was just being ignored without response  just because I have said something that needed to be said so ended up removing the person in question from Facebook, which has stopped a certain amount of the bad feeling and was rather a relief. There is no point harbouring resentments after all, people change and sometimes they change too much and you have to let them go.... it is a shame though isn't it.

So onwards and upwards! there really is no point in dwelling on your problems is there; now to address the problems with Lyra as well as we can and to accept that there are some things you really can't do anything about, namely other people!!!! Watch this video, it certainly puts my problems and importance into perspective....

Goodbye 2011

It's been a particularly difficult year... Of course life is never easy and the good almost balanced out the bad so there must have been a LOT of good. I have to say, though, that I'm glad it's 2012 and I can feel I will be starting anew. The chocolate content of my diet aside, there is no point in full-on dieting until the stash is significantly reduced.

Happy new year!

Logan's birthday photos - finally!

The day before he hit the big "1" he had a little party with two baby friends....




He had lots of presents on the day itself but my car-mad boy was most interested in the cars Grandad Rob had sellotaped to one of them :0)


He did a good job of unwrapping them when he realised that there might be more cars in them!


Maracas don't quite fit in even Daddy's mouth...


It's very tiring being 12-months old...


Mummy almost forgot about this present, which came out after dinner when I remembered!

A first birthday, Easter, Sharing a room and other big adventures

Oh dear, it's almost been a month since I last blogged. We've been rather busy and exciting grown-up things have been happening with my little ones.

Of course the big event was Logan's first birthday. My little monkey had a little party with a couple of friends over the day before and a nice family day of presents and cake and cuddles and playtime on the big day itself. He is getting much better at opening presents now he's had some practise and ripped the wrapping paper off happily. His favourite presents by far were his cars - my little boy is a definite fan of cars! The Brio train set will be a lasting present though and Lyra enjoys playing with it too. The cake went down very well and I was quite happy with how it turned out. I will have to find other excuses for making & decorating cakes after David's birthday on Saturday has passed... Really hoping I get a chance to decorate his cake on friday!

Last weekend was Easter, which is always a big family thing with us. In a change to our usual tradition we went to spend the saturday and sunday at my parents' house with my sisters and Genni's boyfriend Simon. It was a lovely relaxed affair with lots of yummy food and chocolate, an Easter Egg hunt and even a board game on Saturday evening! Lyra and Logan adore my family so it was great fun and I even had a little time to rest myself :0) I really miss my sisters now they have both moved away and am very glad we are so close that we all make an effort to keep in close touch.

I took the weekend off from my diet but have been back to it for the past couple of days so hoping damage limitation will mean my hard work isn't all undone!!! I have now lost over 2 stone and weigh the same as I did at 17/18. I aim to lose another stone by the summer so fingers crossed I can keep up the motivation.....

Another couple of very recent steps forward involve bedtime - Logan spent last night sharing Lyra's bedroom for the first time and Lyra finally agreed to say goodbye to her dummy over the past few days! Sleep wise it went fine, Logan woke twice but Lyra slept through it and he settled back down again. In fact it was the first night in a while that he hasn't come into our bed until morning (6am!). A bit of a nuisance for me to go in there when he wakes as it's more effort but it does mean I have to get up and of course I will continue to be the only one that gets up in the night for him... but then it does mean I wake up so I don't wake in the morning to find he's appeared in bed with us and I have sleep amnesia! Lyra has relinquished her dummy in exchange for a Princess Giselle (Disney's Enchanted) wedding dress in her size. She was shown the dress and given the choice - dummy or dress - & chose the dress as she has lusted after it for weeks and weeks. To be honest she's not had her dummy for a few nights recently so was more receptive but I'm thrilled as I HATE dummies. She only had it from age 2 because we had a couple of "just in case" dummies we were getting ready for Logan's birth and David said she could "look after them for the baby". Yeah right, big mistake; she's been addicted ever since!! Never mind, it's gone now & I'm very happy.

I'm now officially on sick leave from work due to my continuing pelvic problems. These are being investigated further this month so I may even get a proper diagnosis & prognosis so I can make some work-type decisions. I've made 2 pieces for my Etsy shop and will put pictures of another on there to demonstrate a customisable project.... will be useful for Christmas money!

David is making an aluminium E111 blaster piece by piece and is continually upgrading his stormtrooper armour. He's 33 this weekend and I've hardly bought him any presents as he's been a bit awkward about letting me know what he wants until this week. i'm trying to make him something too but that's not progressing well because he's always there when I get a chance to crochet!

OK, I think I will do separate photo update posts because they are always a faff with text. I think I'm going to have to set up my own website soon and possibly have a little shop on there too...... save Etsy fees!

busyness...

Hello, hello, how's your weekend going? I thought I'd take advantage of the rest of the household being asleep to blog on the computer not just via e-mail on my phone.

We've been rather a plague-ridden family lately with constant colds over the past 2 weeks, poor Logan has had nasty tonsilitis & been on yucky tasting antibiotics, Lyra has been off of preschool this week as she had such a bad cough & David has just about struggled along...

The children are still gorgeous and wonderful though and David has organised some lovely surprises for mothers day tomorrow (I missed out last year as we had a 2-day-old logan to distract David & he didn't get around to it so he's really spoiling me this year... Lyra has taken to going shopping with her own little pink shopping basket, she has drenched herself in perfume today (made me sneeze!!) and runs around like a loon a lot of the time. She can sing beautifully and knows the words to most of the songs from "Enchanted" - she thinks she IS Giselle & asks "why am I falling down the hole? did auntie Genni (wicked stepmother!!! ha ha!) push me?". She is no longer crying when left at preschool, whci is fabulous!

Logan is climbing everything! he can and will push something over to aid his ascent, no sign of walking because it would slow him down!!! He likes to "talk" on the phone - or anything to be honest - going "heyo? yeah, yeah" and talks a little"mama" "dada" "arara" (Lyra) "dairs"(stairs= anything he can climb!!!) "yeah" "no" "done"(done - finished) "dat" (cat) & a few more but is ever so expressive without words - he will growl & make funny voices too! He goes "da da da dadaaa" in time with music & bounces to a rhythm.. posts things out of the cat flap, LOVES pushing his cars around the floor and makes car noises or aeroplane "niaow" noises (the latter while swooping his hand through the air) still eats cat food with obvious relish, chases the cat & his sister, both of whom he adores. no buttons, knobs or dials are safe from his twiddling little fingers!

As for me; I finally went to Occupational Health last week regarding my imminent return to work and my inability to stand for long periods let alone.... I was really worried because I hate to feel I'm letting anyone down but the OT was lovely & so understanding, she made it clear she was concerned about ME not just my ability to perform in my job (HCA for stroke patients). She explained that I need to go to my GP to be referred for an "expert opinion", which I did on Wednesday... & was also referred to the hospital for an x-ray (which I had done by half an hour after leaving the GP! super fast!) and a fasting blood test with the surgery Phlebotomist (next wednesday first thing) so I'm being fully assessed!! I have telephone number to phone next week to book an appointment with Osteopathy. Phew!! I need to see my GP next week or the start of the following week to be signed off sick but also need to contact my manager to let her know I'll be doing this & have physio next thursday too. Oh & it's Logan's birthday next Saturday so I'll be sorting that out and a little tea party on friday too so I'm super duper busy and trying not to get stressed out and EAT too much!!! I've now lost 1 stone 9lb since the 10th January and am very pleased with myself. I'd put a bit of weight back on due to my inability to exercise due to the aforementioned pelvic problems so I've set myself a massive target of 3 stone to lose by this summer, which is a MAJOR challenge when you have stresses going on and are still breastfeeding. I do SO hope I can do it - I now weigh the same as I did at age 18 and the lightest I have been in my adult life really. Hmmm what else - I've actually managed a little gentle gardening over the past few weeks - spring is on the way! So that's us - a little insight into our current lives!!

Sun, sun, sun here we come...

March = spring = sunshine & flowers. I love springtime! If it weren't
for my sore hips & wiggly small children I'd be out in the garden all
day but I'm sure I can be for a while at least today...

Its nearly here...

The spring that is! Crocuses, snowdrops and even early daffodils are
starting to make their bright and cheery appearance in the cold
February ground. (the photo was taken 3 weeks ago or so and is the
first spring flowers I saw) I do so love the springtime; the young and
fresh green life that will soon be surrounding us, the SUNSHINE-
goodness knows we're in need of it- the chance to get out in the
garden and start off some plants....

We visited our local garden centre today for both a couple of new
plants and as a gentle family day out - fountains, fish, windmills,
garden ornaments &swing seats are good to entertain the little ones
and the plants keep me happy! I only bought a few plants (grape
hyacinth, thyme, sage and English lavender) to keep me going but we
also bought some fat balls for putting out along with the bird table
and feeder we already have to attract more birds to our garden. We
have two friendly robins who are regular visitors already & the
children get very excited when we have avian guests in the garden.

I have managed to get out to do some gardening 3 times so far over the
past week and am most pleased with myself! Compost has been removed
from the composter and spread about; plants have been potted up,
planted out and pruned; the patio has been tidied & swept and the
plantless pots emptied and stacked... I love the way the improving
weather motivates me to this!

In other news; I made Logan a pair of cords last night and am in the
process of crocheting a cardi for Lyra; this productivity and busyness
is so gratifying! I really hope that next week is a positive one; our
washing machine should be fixed tomorrow and I have physiotherapy on
Thursday morning, possibly the last before my return to work... The
tooth that has been plagueing Logan all week is half broken through
and Lyra is back at preschool tomorrow... I already did the majority
of my spring cleaning but expect I Will find more to do, it's
impossible to rest from tidying with two small mess makers!

I hope you have a good week too :o)

small treats, big pleasures

Hello! I thought I would take a few minutes to catch up while Lyra is upstairs playing nicely with her auntie Genni and Logan is chilling out & starting to doze on my lap...
I've taken advantage of Genni's presence and visited town this morning. After an initial drama of Lyra jumping in puddles and soaking her clothes on the one occasion I didn't bring a change for her & trawling charity shops for dry trousers we had a rather successful trip... I bought some "Hot Choc Shot" (that we have been waiting for for months!) and some fab chocolates for just 50p a pack from Whittards, plus coasters to match our favourite mugs also on offer...
In lush I indulged in a "heads, shoulders, knees and toes" box - full of a variety of lovely goodies - and a "comforter" bubble bar that is my absolute favourite. I also found a lovely chenille jumper and two fab t-shirts for Lyra, plastic scooby doo characters (a favourite with
Lyra), a "1" candle for 25p for a certain young man's rapidly approaching birthday and two chunky cars for Logan (probably a birthday pressie) from charity shops so feel quite satisfied with my spends! Lush and whittards are my favourite shops for little treats. The things I've bought will provide weeks and weeks worth of little treats and small indulgent pleasures, just what you need on a rainy February day when you have had little sleep!

As its been a couple of weeks an update is probably in order; Last weekend David was away in Sussex (4 1/2 hours away!) for the SFX weekender; in armour of course. We went to stay with my family for two days and the night in between and all of us really enjoyed ourselves,
though we missed him terribly he missed us more as we three were together... In the 7 years since David and I have lived together that was our longest seperation and it was very odd! On the Sunday our washing machine broke!! We are still awaiting a part & I hope that we should gave it fixed in a couple of days, we've done 3 loads of laundry at the launderette but are still bogged down! Then last week we had a major breakthrough with Lyra and the ongoing saga of crying-at-preschool; she didn't! It was the first time since October (when I had 2 tear-free sessions before half term holidays & they returned in full force afterwards) and inevitably this week is half-term!! It was a good week though as we visited lovely friends, finally met one friend's beautiful new baby and had a visit from lyra's godmother with lyra's birthday present.
Logan's 4th tooth (left incisor) came through on Monday, beating his 2nd (right) front tooth that is still en route. Genni arrived yesterday, we've missed her loads now she lives in London; it's been 2 months!!! Logan celebrated by projectile vomiting all over her, she's so amazing though that she dealt with it very well!! Having lost a whole stone in a month I'm having a few days off of dieting and we are having a Chinese takeaway tonight & if Logan is well enough I will hi to the cinema with David as a belated valentines day. I really hope I don't suffer for it weight wise!! I would LOVE to lose at least 12lb in the next 6 weeks before Easter... I'm giving up bread for lent; You never know I may do it! TTFN x

My 3-year-old....

Yesterday my little princess turned three and I can hardly believe it;
where on earth has that three years gone?! She has grown from a
beautiful, stern eyed baby who was too interested in the world to sleep
to a gorgeous, strong willed, clever little girl who can recognise her
name written down, counts to 16, sings the alphabet song, makes up
games where she is going to work or shopping or being a mummy, says "I
love you" to her family frequently and with feeling, loves to help
cook (especially cakes!) though eating isn't her thing, is as dainty
as a little pixie but rough as a tomboy with her daddy. Lyra is
protective of her baby brother then runs away with his toys because
she wants them, has a wicked laugh and a very earthy sense of humour
(it's all "poo" "boobies" "bottoms" etc!), can use a pc, iPhone and ds
with ease, insists she is a big girl but is heartbroken every time
mummy leaves her at preschool (which she soon recovers from) and wants
"some boobie milk" when she feels poorly or sad. She is bossy,
independent and imperious at home and with family but shy and quiet,
watching but hiding from questions at preschool. She loves peppa pig,
tinkerbell, scooby doo and harry potter. She is obsessed with her
dummy even though she didn't have one until a year ago, when she
obtained the one we had 'just in case' for Logan. She drives me crazy
and melts my heart, she is so precious to me I would do anything for
her and her happiness. She wails and stomps like any child her age but
is open to reason and doesn't ask "why" ALL the time at least. Her
speech and vocabulary are amazing, she is so sharp she picks up on
everything and I worry she will be too clever and find it hard to deal
with.

I love her. That, most of all.

10 months old... My big little man!

the past week or so has involved some major developmental steps for my little boy.Please excuse the quality of the pictures; taken on my iphone!

The stair gate/ room divider had to be put up last Tuesday because he decided to start climbing the stairs... He now climbs the stairs all the way to the top, all by himself every night ont he way to the bathroom.....

Incidentally the stairs are not all he climbs. This morning alone he has climbed onto the footstool to get onto the chair to try to see out of the window (and then fallen off!) and onto Lyra's oy bench in her room to get to toys on the windowsill.

He learned to drink from his doidy cup all by himself (slanted, lidless baby cup) with minimal mess and great enthusiasm....

He has learned to post things out through the cat flap! I found a rattle out there yesterday, this is him trying to post a scarf!

And last, but certainly not least, he slept from 7pm to 5am last night. The first time he has effectively slept through the night! he's a happy, chirpy little man, into everything (including but not limited to eating cat food) and ever so cuddly but definitely mummy's boy! He loves playing with cars, trucks, wheeled alligators, brick trucks - anything he can push along expecially if it makes a noise. It's lovely that he can now play properly

As for everyone else; Lyra is now back at preschool and loving it apart from the initial separation from me where she still cries. Next week is he 3rd birthday and I am arranging a little party for her at home. She is very excited about the whole thing and to be honest so am I! I've ordered some coloured sugar paste from eBay to decorate her birthday cake and can't wait to see her face when she opens her presents!

David isprobably going trooping over the first weekend in February in Sussex!! He really wants to go but it's such a long way that he is still undecided. I think we need to properly look at possible troops more locally becasue he really doesn't want to travel such a long way from us and be away from me for the longest time since we've lived together 6 1/2 years ago!

I'm on a diet and have lost 5lb in just 1 1/2 weeks. I am hungry sooo often as I'm trying to avoid snacking!!! I'm happy though, mostly & keeping pretty busy. It's nice to get back into routine after such a long break and I'm very proud of myself for doing sp well. I do at least 30minutes on my wii fit each evening aswell as dieting so have less time for crochet, only real downside!!!!!

TTFN,I'm being climbed on!

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.....

It has been very, very wintery and festive over the past week, with more snow than I've seen since I was about 5 years old! of course we had to take advantage of it and build snowmen, go sledging and have snowball fights... David had last Wednesday and Thursday off due to the treacherous conditions so it has felt rather like an extension of the Christmas holidays. Love it!

Logan seemed vaguely confused, a bit interested but mainly not too fussed however Lyra was ridiculosly excited about the whole thing! When the snow first began falling heavily she ran from front to back of the house saying "it's snowing!!!" "It's snowing in the back garden too!" and was very hyper! Of course she has got a bit chilly a few times and we've only spent limited time outside but here are a few pictures at least becasue it is such a rare occurrence to have such generous helpings of snow in this part of the world.......

It was still snowing heavily when we first went out, Logan soon fell asleep all snuggled up in the sling though
Lyra considers sledge to be THE best mode of transport....

David is an angel... in an eiderdown jacket...

I made this snowman almost unaided last Wednesday and he only collapsed last night, I have made another from his remains, how gruesome!! He was about 7 foot tall :o)

Our Christmas in pictures

On Christmas Eve the children snuggled up with Daddy in their new PJs to listen to "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"...



I finished the masses of wrapping we had left to do(!) and piled the presents under the tree... the toy box is underneath the pile!!


Logan woke us at about 5.30 and after playing with him and trying to keep him quiet for over an hour we gave him his stocking (and opened ours) before Lyra came in and joined us at about 7.30 to open hers :)


Everyone got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast (breakfast BEFORE presents of course)


Then the serious business of present opening began in earnest....


Logan wasn't too sure about the opening presents and I think was a little overwhelmed, though he did try to eat the wrapping paper when he did tear a bit off...

OK he does seem rather uninterested in the farm animals I lovingly made for him, however he does play with them (and chews them!) a lot

Lyra, however, was quite a pro at the present opening thing and opened a lot of Logan's too (and ours). This is a little bag I made for her for the kid tough camera that was her main present.

Even Cassie got into the festive spirit and suffered a jingly jangly fluffy festive collar for a little while

And then we generally played, nibbled, cuddled etc etc etc.... as you can see the lounge was rather a state by the time the Opening was complete!

& that was our Christmas day! of course int he run up we had numerous parties, Lyra's first Nativity with preschool, Christmas Eve with my family and so on but that was the day itself, a lovely family time with presents and happy exciteable children. Unfortunately Lyra was poorly and Logan was teething but everyone managed to be in good spirits and we had a lovely day... can't wait until the next one! x

Goodbye 2009... Goodbye to the noughties!

Hello, hello! It's new year's eve night and I can barely believe it, the ups and downs of this year are many and I've certainly fitted a lot in but the year has gone very fast for me... Christmas was lovely, unfortunately the children were both poorly but the presents helped perk Lyra up; I will put up a couple of photo posts to summarise the whole of my busy December but will have to put the pictures on the pc first :o)

So a new decade... At the start of this decade I was in my final year of school so in the midst of a-levels. I went to plymouth uni in September of 2000, meeting the love of my life soon after though it was october 2001 when we started dating as I started the 2nd year of my degree.... In September 2002 we moved in together after a difficult year long-distance, I graduated with a 2:1 honours degree in psychology in 2003 and we moved to Bristol to look for jobs... And in 2004, a couple of months after David proposed (on a gondola in Venice! Who says romance is dead?!) we moved to Taunton... 2005 was the year that we married and bought out first house as soon as we returned from honeymoon. 2006 was one of ends and beginnings; my grandma passed away on mothers day and Lyra was conceived around our anniversary. My pregnancy was difficult and I spend more time throwing up than is fair, the birth was worse though and nearly finished me off.. However Lyra and I both survived her arrival in January 2007 though I found that year very hard I never neglected to notice how beautiful, sweet and clever my little girl was. In 2008 I started a new career when the bank I worked for neglected to have a job for me and made me change contract.. I began work as a healthcare assistant at the local hospital. We decided to try for another baby in the summer and Logan was conceived immediately just like Lyra had been. Logan arrived in march this year and 2009 has been a year of blissful motherhood, despite a few challenges and the anxiety of Lyra starting preschool!!

Every year has brought huge changes to my life and the lives of my little family. I do hope that the next 10 years is a little less testing but I am undeniably happy with my wonderful husband and beautiful children. I am in two minds about returning to work in march, I must admit I wish we could afford for me to stay at home with the children but I do love my job and it carries its own rewards.

As for resolutions? I would like to resolve to be more organised in 2010.. I hope to be able to fit in plenty of crochet and making things for my family and I am so busy that organisation can only help! Perhaps this will be something I can teach myself this year? I want to be more positive and try not to take things so personally too. I do tend to interpret things badly and assume people think the worst of me, which is silly really since it is me who is hard on myself... Finally; I intend to do more exercise and have a generally healthier lifestyle because my pelvis pain has meant that I have done much less than I want to in 2009....

HAPPY NEW YEAR! xxxx