me and mine {march}

Daddy is loving...

* his new job.

* finally having his knee operations.

* having more of a relationship with the beautiful girl as her personality starts to shine more.

* work trips to Paris.

* Cadbury's trifles.

Mummy is loving...

* new Clinique and Lush goodies.

* getting to spend a whole week with her baby brother.

* sunshine and trips to the park.

* having a new mattress, duvet, pillows and bedding - it's like sleeping on a cloud.

* celebrating 10 years of being with the Mr.

The beautiful boy is loving...

* days out with his Uncle Matt.

* getting to ride his bike more.

* his "rocker" t-shirt.

* getting up early and watching Netflix in Mummy and Daddy's bed.

* bath crayons.

The beautiful girl is loving...

* her ragdolls; Blossom at bedtime and Polly during the day.

* having splat cuddles with Daddy in the morning while Mummy is at swimming.

* pressing buttons that she shouldn't on Nanny and Pops' television.

* pink wafer biscuits.

* opening her arms wide while looking at Mummy, and realising it gets her a big cuddle.

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a grateful heart

Thank you babies,

for being mine,

for being the people who made me a mother,

for letting me join the amazing 'Club of Mummy'.

I get to celebrate Mother's Day because you came along,
I get the magic of you saying "Thank you very much",
and I get extra cuddles and kisses,
and to be wished a "Happy Mothers Birthday."

You challenge me,
you make me laugh,
you drive me mad.
And you make my world brighter, louder and so much more special,
just by being in it.

You're growing so fast 

and so strong

and so beautifully.

And you make me so very proud 

every. single. day.

My beautiful babies,

you gave my life a purpose that I never knew it lacked,

you showed me a love I could never have imagined.

you make me a better person,

and you make me want to be better.

Thank you 

thank you

thank you

from the luckiest mama alive.

I love you with all my heart.

x x x

9

him and her {week thirteen}

he has been singing the roly-poly roly-poly song at every opportunity,

is being an absolute monkey about nap times at the moment,

constantly asks to go to the park,

and loves giving hilarious "long kisses" when he's being cheeky.

she is absolutely crazy about pink wafer biscuits,

had her first go in the shower and loved it,

giggles like a wild thing when her big brother tries to cuddle her,

and seems to know the exact moment when you need a hug the most and runs over to give one.

5

out of the mouths of babes {march}

Mummy: "Would you look at your sister. She's swimming like a fish."

beautiful boy: "No she's too big to be a fish. She's like a whale."

Mummy: "Where is your towel?"

beautiful boy: "I left it in the bathroom."

Mummy: "Well I think maybe we should put it away."

beautiful boy: "No Mummy. Don't. How could I ever be happy without it?"

beautiful boy: "Mummy, I need a weewee."

Mummy: "We'll be home in a minute and then you can go."

beautiful boy: "No. It's okay Mummy. I want to wee behind a big tree."

Uncle Matt: "Have you ever seen a dinosaur?"

beautiful boy: "No. Not yet."

Uncle Matt: "No, me either."

beautiful boy: "We should go on a dinosaur adventure Uncle Matt."

while sitting at the table at Nanny and Pops' house while they were away:

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5. There are five of us. But 6 and 7 are on holiday."

"Twinkle twinkle little star

How I wonder what you are.

Up above the world so high

Like a diamond in the sky.

Now I know my ABC

Next time won't you...

... Oh no, I missed it!"

Nanny: "Did you do a bottom burp?"

beautiful boy: "No Nanny. Not yet."

(a little later on)

Nanny: "Are you sure you didn't do a bottom burp?"

beautiful boy: "No Nanny. Here's my bottom. It's in my jeans."

(pulls jeans and pants down to flash his bottom)

"It's the best bottom I've ever seen."

Mummy: "What do you think we should call your sister's new doll?"

beautiful boy: "Ummm, Lick is a good name."

Mummy: "Uhhh, I'm not too sure about that one."

beautiful boy: "Or Mr Bumblebee."

beautiful boy: "Mummy I really need a cuddle."

Mummy: "Are you okay?"

beautiful boy: "No. I've got sneezes in my nose."

Mummy: "Oh no."

beautiful boy: "I need you to rock me like a baby."

beautiful boy: "Darcy and Wentworth [our cats] are going to go to Sainsbury's."

Mummy: "Are they?"

beautiful boy: "Yes they are. They are going to buy us all some clothes."

beautiful boy: "Daddy, I've got a mouthlash."

Daddy: "A mouthlash? Don't you mean an eyelash?"

beautiful boy: "No because its in my mouth."

Mummy: "Are you going to finish your breakfast?"

beautiful boy: "No. I'm going to give it to the cats."

Mummy: "I'm pretty sure that cats don't really eat toast."

beautiful boy: "They do. I just need to chop it up really small."

when the sun went behind a cloud:

"The sun has gone to get some more petrol."

beautiful boy: "I'm wearing my funny ears."

Mummy: "It's bunny, not funny, sweetheart!"

beautiful boy: "No they are funnies. And they eat carrots."

Mummy: "No, we say bunny. They are BUNNIES."

beautiful boy: "No Mummy. It's a rabbit."

beautiful boy: "One...?"

beautiful girl: "Two."

beautiful boy: "Three...?"

beautiful girl: "Three."

beautiful boy: "Oh no. That's not right at all."

11

ready for the big day

We seem to have a year of weddings this year,

with lots of friends and family members getting married.

In May, my husband's cousin is getting married,

which means not only new threads for the hubby and I

but also cute mini outfits for the kiddos too.

And the probably excites me more than it should!

2

blue skies and big smiles

What is it about blue skies

and the way they seem to call you outside?
The white wisps of cloud just beg to be chased.
And we like to chase them all the way to the park.

62

him and her {week twelve}

he is a little comedian 

who just loves it when people laugh at something he's said or done,

but he doesn't like clothes much at the moment and far prefers to run a round naked.

she is learning to tiptoe and looks like a little fairy,

will stamp her feet with excitement when she sees something she wants

and stamp her feet with frustration when she doesn't get what she wants.

12

eighteen months new

Eighteen months old,

officially a proper toddler now,

and just the best little girl ever!

1

me and you {march}

Nobody ever tells you that marriage will be easy,

people who have been married for the longest of times,

will tell you that it's all about working things through together,

about making compromises,

about knowing when to admit defeat,

and putting the other person's feelings first a lot of the time.

But I think we all,

somewhat naively,

think that our own love stories

will be plain sailing on still waters,

like the happy ever after from a movie.

Well let me tell you...

we do not have that marriage.

We argue.

We irritate one another.

We pick fights with one another.

We take each other for granted.

We have days when we just wish the other would leave us the hell alone.

But that's just it,

we have a marriage.

And those things are as much a part of marriage,

as the romance and the kisses and the "I love you's".

Ultimately for us

I think it comes down to one important word:

choice.

Ten years ago this month

we chose one another.

We didn't exactly know what we were choosing at the time,

but we still made that choice,

to choose the other person.

And that word choice, is always the first one to pop into my brain

on the days when I'm mad as a crazy thing at that man I chose to marry.

I chose him,

he chose me,

we chose this life together.

And through thick or thin,

I still choose him

and the life that we've made together.

At our wedding a sign (which I painstakingly made) read

"Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale."

It was sort of the tag line of our wedding day.

And of all the many beautiful words that we heard and said and sung on that day,

it's the quote which has stayed with me the most.

Because as corny as it may sound,

that is our fairy tale;

the ordinary life.

We chose it,

and we wouldn't have it any other way.

32

brothers and sisters

music credit: Somewhere Only We Know by Keane

I am so so happy that my children get to experience the brother-sister bond,

I think they will learn so much about people and relationships

by growing up with someone of the opposite sex.

It gives them such easy access to different sorts of toys and different sorts of play.

And growing up with a brother myself

I kind of have a soft spot for a brother-sister combo.

My kiddos struck lucky with the uncle jackpot in my baby bro.

He's so great with them;

firm when he needs to be,

very kind and fair,

and so much fun.

They both absolutely adore him.

When he was visiting us

we couldn't pass up an opportunity for a brothers and sisters day out,

and we had such a lovely one.

Matt and I fall into our old roles when my parents are around

with a fair amount of teasing and joking at the parentals' expense,

but when it's just him and me, 

we really are such good friends.

And he's one of my favourite people to waste a day with;

especially days involving sunshine adventures,

and lots of laughter,

and singing really loud in the car.

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him and her {week eleven}

he has left the difficult patch behind and is back to being a charming little man,

is on a constant quest for adventures,

continuously making us laugh at the funny things he says

and being the most lovely and protective big brother in the world.

she adores that the change in weather means she can explore outdoors more,

is talking, talking, talking all the time,

definitely knows her own mind and isn't afraid to let us know about it,

and is such an absolute delight to be around.

29

building bears

Last spring we were lucky enough to be invited to review the Build-A-Bear experience

and we thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing and raved about it to anyone who would listen. 

Our beautiful boy was at an age where he was just big enough to understand some of the excitement

but his little sister was still a baby, who smiled the whole time but had no idea what was going on.

So when Build-A-Bear Workshop offered us a chance to review for them again,

I was absolutely thrilled to accept,

knowing that they would both get so much more out of it this time around.

7

siblings {march}

Over the years I know that my children's relationship will change.

I like to think that they'll feel like a team,

part of really special unit of their own.

I actually love the fact

that that team won't be something I'll be a part of,

or even necessarily get to witness,

but something which is theirs to share.

Right now they co-exist a lot of the time

(simply sharing a space and doing their own thing),

absolutely delight in one another some of the time

(giggling together while sharing little moments all their own),

and irritate each other very occasionally too

(getting in each others' way and not knowing when to give the other some space).

I guess those three situations will be the format for their whole lives.

But I also hope that that in amongst the co-existing, the fun and the irritation,

that they will also be true friends.

That they will support one another,

challenge one another,

and look out for one another.

Because that's the gift I hope we've given them

in giving them each other to grow up with.

 

63

him and her {week ten}

he positively lights up at the mention of an adventure,

is playing with his writing board constantly,

and doesn't walk anywhere when he could run.

she giggles hysterically at her big brother jumping,

will drop everything to play with her fairy toys,

and really clings on with her arms round your neck when she cuddles.

29

something started...

Ten years ago something started...

the beginning of an adventure.

Of course if someone had told me ten years ago

just what was beginning

I'd never have believed them.

And I could never have imagined back then

how those tiny, tentative and exciting steps at the start of a journey

would bring so much happiness into my life.

Ten years has seen someone in my life

change from "Fit Rich"

(the nickname my uni friends had given him)

who was a guy we used to drink with when we were out clubbing,

into my boyfriend,

into my house mate,

into my fiancé,

into my husband

and then into a daddy

to our beautiful babies.

There is no one else I'd rather be sharing the journey with,

and I'm grateful everyday

that ten years ago we started that adventure together.

17

him and her {week nine}

he is such an amazing, clever, little genius of a boy sometimes,

practising his pencil control, putting letters in alphabetical order, and reading numbers,

but still curls up against your chest like a newborn when he's feel sad or poorly.

she is obsessed with spoons and manages to find them and hide them all over the place,

absolutely adores cuddling and carrying her different dolls around

but is a rubbish mummy because she throws them all out of the doll pram to climb in it herself.

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