Silent Easter Sunday

Boy Flu and week 13

Week 13.
Unlucky for some.
We have been infiltrated by the lurgy / flu.
And the Wee One got the full force of it and has officially been diagnosed with Boy Flu.

A sneeze requires anyone in a meter radius to seek immediate shelter or be slimed.
Snot trails stretch all down one sleeve and back up the other.
Sofa snuggles last 96 hours.
Previously eloquent boys repeat the same phrase, "Mummy, I got snot", 4621 times. At least.
New extremes of attachment parenting are reached in the bathroom.

You get the picture.

As spectacular as some of those snotty sneezes were, I have saved you from photographic evidence.

Poorly boys need cars to play with. And poorly Mummy's need a dustpan and brush to tidy with.
Poorly boys are fascinated with Plasma balls. *distraction therapy*
Not poorly girls are always up for a laugh.
A plague of icicles.
Poorly Mummy wearing a scarf indoors to fight off the shivers.
More snow. *yawns*
Poorly boy. Get well soon Wee One x

Join The Boy and Me to see what they've been up to this week.

Walking

My kids can't walk.

Before you get social services involved, let me explain.

They can walk, obviously, but prefer to run, or skip, or side step as if they are in training for something like the 'fastest escape from Mum' competition.

The school run is exactly that - a race to the bottom of our hill, or the next lamppost, or the road we have to cross. It is always a competition and as the rules are set by the Big One, he naturally wins. Every time.
The Princess is not the fastest on her feet but is getting stronger and quicker and with an imposed head start can actually put up a good fight. The Wee One plays along, fully aware that one day his time will come.

Me? I'm going to get a scooter so I can keep up. I do walking but I don't do running.


Joining in with The Gallery and the theme Walk.

Silent Sunday 24.03.13

365project Week 12 2013

We are all so fed up with the cold and greyness seeping in through the windows and under doors. It creeps silently, sapping the energy from your bones and leaves you drained, empty, begging for colour and light.

So we have had a few treats this week to lift the spirits.

We went for a walk
Colourful pens
Sugar, dough and oozing jam
Whisking up a Danish Apple Cake
Wotsits
Dreaming of travels
New knickers

Go on, treat yourself x

Join The Boy and Me to see what they've been up to this week.

Bloglovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

*waves a fond farewell to Google Reader*

*shakes bloglovin by the hand*

*Keeps one eye on alternative blog readers just in case*

Red

The speed and exhilaration must be incredible, breathtaking.
The skill and concentration unfathomable.
To watch the Red Arrows is to see a sight so enthralling that the screaming of their engines overhead is almost drowned out by the gasps of onlookers.





These photos were taken two summers ago from my back garden.
I have been looking back through some photos and find myself desperately looking forward to summer, to being in the garden again, watching the children playing and, maybe, possibly, a repeat performance from the Red Arrows.

Joining in with The Gallery and the theme Red.

We went for a walk

We had been cooped in all day (my fault entirely) and we needed some air. Misty Moo was starting to get that look. The look that says, 'Hey you. Owner. You remember when we hooked up and you promised to walk me every day? Yeah, that.'

So the Wee One and I went for a walk.
Not that amazing.
Except.
He is big enough now not to need the pram for a dog walk.
Yes it takes longer. A 30 minute quick walk, turns into 45 minutes or longer.

But I have to stop to let Misty Moo do her sniffing thing, her 'No wait! That there smells amazzzzzing' thing, her 'I know I'm being strangled but I reeeeeally need to sniff that leaf over there' thing.

And the Wee One is growing up.
He runs ahead, excitedly laughing at his own brilliance and daring.
He occasionally looks back to see how far behind him I am, laughs at me, and steams on ahead again. In my mind I can see him tripping over, face planting on the path, gravel grazes on the knees. He will fall, he does fall, but he is tough and moments later is running again.
And yet, when I call him, and he has run out of puff, his warm little hand seeks out my own, secure and safe, happy to be close. He looks up at me, still smiling.

So if we have time, and he has the energy, we are walking, me and my little man.

Silent Two-days-after-that-day

365 Project week 11 2013

A week of contradictions.

Mothers Day Flowers blooming brightly as the snow fell.
Wearing red noses for comic relief but scowling at having their photos taken.
Snow and blue skies above.
(Not) hiding behind a fence.
Dark and light - beautiful ice crystals glistening and melting to wet sludge.
So happy he balanced the glasses, moments later tears as they fell.
A lovely decorated box from The Big One to keep secret things in. Only the secret things need to be tiny and now he knows where I would keep them (if I had any).

Hope your week has been filled with more highs than lows, more laughter than tears and more chocolate than spinach.

Now to check out The Boy and Me to see what they've been up to this week.

The Letter C

C is for camera.

C is for capture.

C is for caught.

C is for contrast.

C is for click.

C is for conversation.

C is for collation.

C is for compulsion.
C is for create.

What would your C be for?

Joining in with The Gallery over at Sticky Fingers

Cake, crumbs and cooking

If you asked my children how to eat cake the answer would be in two parts.
First you eat it raw, unbaked, straight from the bowl or possibly via a wooden spoon or spatula.
Secondly, you eat it warm from the oven, while the crumbs are fresh and all the easier to mush into clothes or chair covers.

Fortunately I can bake a cake. They generally look the part and taste the part, but I was entirely taught by Delia. My Mum, bless her, isn't the most accomplished cook. Her ability to sacrifice a joint of beef is legendary, but she can make a pretty decent fruit cake. I have a few vague memories of borrowing my Dad's red an white striped butcher's apron (he wasn't a butcher) to help stir in the fruit or roll out some pastry, but spending hours in the kitchen helping Mum cook just wasn't something we did. I think we prefered to stay well out of the way of the smoke!

My children however, have their own aprons, and regularly ask to wear them, occasionally for cooking too. They get stuck in up to their elbows, following the Masterchef example, and tasting as they go. Occasionally there is enough cake mix left to bake. They have a couple of children's cook books having found Delia a bit too complicated for them so far. The Big One briefly had ambitions to go on Junior Masterchef, that was until he realised it was an Australian programme and we would need to emigrate. I should stress at this point, he can make a slice of toast without assistance, but otherwise, he is still in the 'watch and help Mum' stage.

I am more than happy to encourage their interest in the kitchen and provide a role model and if they want to make me a birthday cake this year, I will even tie their aprons for them.

Who taught you to cook? And do your children join you in the kitchen?

This is a commissioned post.

The highs and lows of potty training

High: Telling you he needs a wee/poo before doing a wee/poo
Low: Telling you he needs a wee/poo as he does a wee/poo on your foot

High: Getting all the wee/poo in the potty
Low: Spilling all the wee/poo over floor whilst trying to dispose of it in the toilet

High: Saving a fiver a week on nappies and spending it on wine
Low: Needing at least a bottle of wine a night to de-stress

High: How potty training promotes his independence
Low: How he shuts the bathroom door on you

High: Choosing big boy pants
Low: Throwing away big boy pants rather than deal with poo accidents

High: His look of self congratulation on his face when he 'makes' it
Low: His look of concentration on his face whilst performing

High: Giving you advance warning that he wants a wee/poo
Low: Repeatedly giving you advance warning that he might want a wee/poo between the hours of 2.00am and 4.00am

High: Holding on till you can get to a public convenience whilst out shopping
Low: Paying 20p to get into public convenience for it to be a false alarm

High: Not needing to take nappies, wipes and nappy sacks out with you anymore
Low: Needing to take 3 changes of clothes, a roll of bin bags and a potty everywhere you go for the next month

High: He has progressed to doing poos on the potty
Low: He takes a comic into the toilet with him

High: He is potty trained
Low: But where has my baby gone :-(

Silent Sunday

365project week 10 2013

Newsflash!
Spring has been spotted.
Fresh sightings of the sun have prompted unprecedented exposure to fresh air and exercise this week. Young and old alike have been venturing out beyond the safety of their raincoats to experience the first signs of 'warmth'. The public should not be alarmed and to venture outside at the earliest opportunity, but should carry a scarf and umbrella as a precautionary measure.

• Short sleeves, bare feet and a spring in her bounce.
• Renewed energy to kick that ball.
• Daffodils are blooming.
• Over exposure to fresh air leads to sedate tower building.
• Blossom. yes, blossom.
• Feathers floating.
• Garden skeleton.

Linking up with MADS finalist and the Queen of 365, The Boy and Me. Do pay a visit.

Ooh! Saturday!

He loves his lips.
He likes a good old fashioned pout.
He likes kisses too.
He especially likes it if I squish my lips (sometimes aided by his own fair hand) into a pout and kiss him.

Not entirely sure what his thoughts were here but he is very fond of his new green hippo. Feel free to supply your own interpretation ;-)

Joining in with the Goddess of Captions Mammasaurus.

Pass it on

Today I had a little tiny bit of good news.
I have got a part time job. It is so part time it hardly registers on the clock but it is a start.
It is the beginning of the next bit. The bit that comes after trying to interpret gurgles, calling a day when you washed AND dried laundry productive, baby groups with self congratulatory mothers, competitive tiredness and nappies.

This is the bit when I become a self congratulatory mother for one paragraph. feel free to skip ahead if it makes you scream inside. The Wee One has mastered the potty. He is in pants full time and And AND he is dry at night too. I have done my grocery shopping and not a nappy in sight. I am celebrating by spending the fiver I would have spent on nappies on a bottle of cabernet sauvignon.

With two bits of good news in my positive pile, I had a wander through my blog reader and wanted to share a couple of posts with you. You may already have read these but if not pop over and have a gander.

Firstly, BabberBlog. His take on conjunctivitis is hilarious, masterful in fact. I implore you to read it. If you haven't ever had to administer eye drops to a small child then take this very well placed advice.

Secondly, Mr London Street. He is desperate to open up and tell people what he really thinks, do what he really wants to do, even if that is write jokes on meeting room white boards. I think we all feel like that sometimes (most of the time) but he wants to tell himself what to do first. Go and give him permission.

And finally, this from Likecool. No further explanation required.

Are there any fab posts that you have read this week that you would like to share? Have you had some good news? Pass the love on.

SAD

There isn't much that actually makes me sad but yesterday I realised there is one big thing.

It is huge. Vast. And spectacularly hot.

It's influence is far reaching.

Even to the extent of my mood.

It is the Sun.

It isn't until the rays of the sun shine down on your face, that you realise how much, how very much, you miss it in Winter. It isn't until your children run home from school, throw off their uniforms and launch themselves after a football in the garden, that you miss that big yellow glowing star (Not a planet. The Big One has confirmed this) in the sky. It is there, of course, occasionally teasing you with a few moments of brightness through the clouds. But it is just that, teasing. And then it hides itself away for a few more days. And leaves me feeling SAD again.

But yesterday and today, the Sun shone. And we went into the garden and played. And we were all in better moods. The Wee one had a nap, worn out from walking and playing. He slept better last night too.

I like this mood. I have missed feeling happy. I have missed the Sun.

Silent Sunday

365project Week 9

I am ready for Spring and finally today seemed to be hinting that it might be on its way. I need some sunshine in my life, some warmth on my cheeks, some colour in my garden (other than green and brown). It may also provide some photographic inspiration, which I seem to be lacking. I almost published two photos of my teapot this week. Lame.

The Big One seeking thrills on the computer.
Injecting some colour through face paints.
A colourless sky made to look bleaker.
Lashes needing some love from a tube.
Cupcakes for a birthday cake. It is what he asked for but still.
Tea. yep, just tea.
And some baking to make up for my blahness.

Hope you have found some loveliness this week x


Linking up with the Queen of 365, The Boy and Me. Do pay a visit.