This little girl is NINE!

It amazes me that it's been nine whole years since I gave birth to my tiny baby girl. She's still fairly tiny now, but with an attitude to compensate...! She is the most wonderful, changeable, dynamic, inspired, driven and funny person I've ever met, and I have learned so much from her that I can't begin to explain. When she was three, she was a rock of strength and determination to me and my reason for being strong - well actually just my reason for being! She had a wonderful birthday weekend. Swimming at a (hideous) waterpark, followed by cake and shell-seeking on the beach, a riotous sleepover and then family visiting for a lovely bbq in the garden the next day - oh and a riding lesson to try out her lovely new boots from Grandma and Grandad! Hyperactive, birthday-food induced mania at 10pm, but by 11.30 she was insisting that her friend get off her bed and go to sleep as she was so tired, lol!

Riding a lovely pony called Oak :)

A not very inspired birthday cake - last year I made a dolphin cake and she was very impressed - but this year my energy levels could only stretch to this one, and it tasted just as good - well, better actually as it wasn't blue ;-)

And she's been very happy since her birthday - especially since the trampoline we'd decided to exchange our faulty climbing frame for just 'happened' to arrive this weekend! So perhaps age nine will be calmer than age eight has been... Oh and she also has a very grown-up new haircut which is very stylish and gorgeous! So happy birthday to my little girl, who will always be my baby, even when she's a hundred (we used to say this a lot when she was little and now she says it to Finn!), my little star.

Natural Parenting Group!

Hooray, the first session went really well! A few teething issues, like some of the toys not being as good as others for group play, not remembering to sing songs after snack time so having to cram them in at the end and not having any printed info about the slings... but plenty of people came and it broke even even with the initial tea and coffee outlay! I know it's easy to get people to come once and harder to persuade them to come again, so I'm planning to do more publicity for next week and not let it slide, but I'm relieved and pleased and I hope it'll be sustainable. Oh and everyone helped out at the end with tidying and washing up too, so I hope that wasn't just a one-off first time thing!

I really need to post our GP Meet pics and write about the weekend, but it's Chloe's birthday this weekend so all my efforts are going into planning the perfect sleepover at the moment...

Crafting at last!!

Well, it's only a mini-craft one and I REALLY wish I'd remembered to take a photo of the apron I made my sister last month as it was the most gorgeous spotty fabric and I was really pleased with the way it turned out! I'll have to try and sneak a photo next time we visit her...

Anyhow, this is a present for a semi-cousin of our little ones (lots of step-family relationships in there so I'm not sure exactly how it all works!) and sadly I don't think it'll be appreciated as when we see them (rarely) the focus seems to be very much on money - but since we've got none of that, here's a little apron and some mini-cakes for a four year old:

I'm pleased with them, although I found the cakes really fiddly and frustrating so it's a relief to have them all packed up and ready to go! I just hope they go down ok :-)

More holiday photos :-)

I've run out of photo space again and can't really justify another post (that work really ought to get a look in...) but I wanted to post one with the lodge in the background - I really would highly recommend Bluestone, it's like a smaller, more friendly and less busy (and MUCH cheaper!) version of Center Parcs but in the most beautiful area of Wales I've ever seen! Their website is definitely worth a look. One gorgeous sleepy little man in the ergo we were lucky enough to borrow from the very generous Vanessa from the GP forum :-) And a very strong little archer, who was cross because Daddy came first in the competition!

A very funny game in the ergo - shout 'koala!' and grab daddy tightly! We loved this carrier and hope to add one to our collection at some point - Finn really loved it and kept asking to go on 'Daddy back!', which makes me feel sad that I can't carry him myself with my SPD, but he did have eighteen months of being carried everywhere and it's lovely to see Phil carrying him.

And a beautiful waterfall in the woodland that Bluestone is set next to. Lots of lovely walks, including one to an Iron Age Fort (we're all experts on these now as Phil is a history teacher and fanatic and every holiday we go on features one somewhere!), and lots of cycle trails too which we hope to explore if we return when the children are older. And finally, a little pickle who loved being able to open the fridge in the 'oliday 'ouse, as he called it! Sneaking in and eating the Caldey Island chocolate that's full of dairy and other such forbidden treats - he bursts into laughter every time he sees this picture!
This was such a lovely holiday, we all want to go back one day!

Procrastinating...and holiday photos!

Ok so if I'm honest, I have masses of work to do and I'm putting off starting something as I'm so desperate to post on here. I'm trying to make the most of a child-free afternoon, which is so rare for me that I can't believe I just wrote it! Phil realised when I almost had a breakdown at his reminding me that he was playing golf all of yesterday afternoon and evening that the balance of time out in our house isn't exactly equal - or even close. I think I let it slip a lot because I know the children are difficult sometimes if I'm not there and I just can't be bothered with the hassle - and also, it's hard to say that my time alone is more important than theirs. However, as I'm in danger of becoming a basket-case, I've decided to be more honest about what I need, more accepting of support, and more in touch with what I need in order to stay sane. Which, I think, is writing time, meditating time and calm headspace time. I don't need all of those things every day, but I've been lucky to get one of them once a month lately, and that's not enough.

So, today I've had time to do a meditation on goal setting sent by my doula tutor, do some journalling and thinking about what I need to change, send some work-y type emails and catch up on here. Hooray! I also plan to do a piece of work before the troops arrive home, but it's not long or involved so I'm hopeful, and I feel like these things were more important to me today.

So I wanted to add some photos and a recommendation after our holiday at Easter, and it's taken me this long to get around to it!! We went to Bluestone in Pembrokeshire for a midweek break as our Christmas present from my parents and the in-laws, and it was fabulous! We stayed in a gorgeous lodge, there was a huge emphasis on being green so we didn't feel guilty for being there, and we had some wonderful family time out. We took the boat to Caldey Island one day, and I really would've liked to just miss the boat back! It was so beautiful and the whole family were so relaxed and happy all day - I'd like more of this in our lives!

Above, my gorgeous family on the boat - and one of Finn finding the whole thing totally hilarious! And below, my beautiful girl who is growing up so fast, standing by the most perfect beach :)
Finn exploring the beach (while daddy fell asleep on the sand nearby!) and Chloe in her usual upside-down state:
And that's all the photos that'll fit into one post so I'm going to do another one to fit some more lovely shots in :-)

Well I'm really embarrassed about how little I've been able to blog lately, particularly when, on logging in this week, I discovered that the wonderful Mama4 at http://abigsmile4.blogspot.com/

had sent me this a long time ago and I hadn't responded:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gznSDn4dTh10VUnRVLxsciA1yLSqJW-jER_Z77LNbmHRTHyYIhSFOVLlwLl4eGfvb3A3EuBEdRQIuH0gTYMGAKpB81ZU2FXwrHI-HlFtFoGRLnBv6LJ2RgLC935qXVY205-CqpPhHuY/s1600/blog_award.jpg

I've never tried linking before, so this post is going to be terribly messy and may not work at all (any tips on how to fix it will be greatly appreciated though, lol!) but this is a 'Beautiful Blogger Award' and should be passed on to up to 15 newly discovered bloggers you find inspiring, and you have to list 7 things about yourself.

I'm so flattered to receive this - although it feels especially unjustified in light of my appalling attendance on my own blog lately! I'm not sure I can link at all, and I'm not convinced that I have discovered 15 blogs, but I'll try my best :0)

So, I'd love to pass this on to:

Joxy, at http://freerangefamily-joxy.blogspot.com/ because I love reading it and it always inspires me to blog more frequently.

Kat's blog, at http://www.slugsontherefrigerator.com/home/ which is always fabulous reading but especially so at the moment with so many gorgeous pictures of their new baby girl!

Claire's blog, at http://blackhobbescat.blogspot.com/ because it's inspiring and real and I'm really looking forward to the GP meet and to seeing you all again!

Becky's blog, at http://napfan.wordpress.com/ because it's fabulous, and because I so admire Becky for her determination and dedication to her writing - I dream of doing this in the future!

Pippa, at http://when-i-get-the-time.blogspot.com/ because I love this, although I have no idea how P finds the time to be so creative as well as such a gentle mama!

And Lucy at http://daisymoon-benpixie.blogspot.com/ because again, she's an inspirational creative mama who manages to find more hours in the day for wonderful adventures than I realised was possible!

Thank you to you, and to all whose blogs and kind words on the GP forum inspire me to be a better mama and a better person. I know that sounds icky, but really, I'm so glad I discovered this online world that helps to make real life a better place!

And 7 things about me:

1) I can't believe I'm lucky enough to have two amazing children already and another on the way, I feel so lucky everyday, even when I'm being shouty mummy
2) I hate the shouty mummy in me and I really want to find ways to banish her from our house!
3) I have been inspired and changed hugely by the Green Parent Forum and the new friends I've made there
4) I'm training to be a doula and antenatal educator and it's really exciting!
5) My husband is more patient than I deserve and we've been married almost three years
6) I intend to get fit after this baby is born and to have fun doing it!
7) I don't know if I'll ever again have a job that makes use of my degrees in English and Critical Theory and I don't care!!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful bank holiday weekend :) xx

This little boy is TWO!

I can't believe my little boy is two already! He seems such a baby and it's amazing to me that I thought his big sister was so grown up at this age - one beauty of second children, I think, is that you have more perspective on how much children change and learn not to be always looking for the next stage!


We had a wonderful day for Finn's birthday - we met up with some friends for a picnic in the forest while Phil was working and Chloe was at school. It was incredible to watch three little boys, who were bumps together at active birth classes, running around playing with sticks (where does that sword-fighting instinct come from?!!) and exploring the world. I didn't want to put identifiable photos of other people's children up without permission (and no-one in real life knows I have a blog, lol!) so this one is Finn sword-fighting with a tree instead!! Collecting fir cones...And this is how far from us the little explorers went without looking back - yes, those tiny dots in the distance are toddlers!!!

And then after school, we collected Chloe and Phil and went to a lovely pub garden by the canal where the children (and Phil!) played for hours and had tea. The highlight of my week was the amazing opportunity to lie in the sun with my eyes closed for twenty minutes - bliss!

And then home for some dairy-free birthday cake with hideous blue icing that was the result of a failed attempt at a train cake!! Finn was absolutely delighted with 'the birthday song' and after about 70 renditions, he'll be mightily confused when it's Phil's birthday on sunday and his name isn't in it anymore! He was so sweet with his presents, looking for 'one for lowee, one for daddy' each time he opened one - he's definitely got the hang of sharing!

I can't believe it's been two years since that tiny boy was born into my hands in the birth pool in our lounge. He makes me smile so many times every day and is the funniest, happiest boy I've ever met. And his ability to play for hours on his own with the duplo figures he has named after all the members of our wider family is astonishing and delightful. I can't believe how lucky I am, it's such a privilege to be his mummy :-)