More making

From top to bottom-
Frog no.1
Frog no.2
jeans re-hemmed
daughter no.2 "taking a picture" of the frogs

Making

inspired by the lovely Amanda Blake Soule of Soulemama fame, a felt cube I made for son no.2 (and then Scout got hold of it and ripped one of the buttons off....grrr....). Also on the go are two beanbag frogs for son no.2 and daughter no.2, hemming my jeans that I cut the bottom cuffs off yesterday because they were SO 1984, embroidery to sew onto a jute bag (traced from a drawing that daughter no.2 did at home one day).

Busy, busy, busy.........

What do you do when you have a plethora of eggs?

make cakes of course!

....and he's off

Son no.2 is walking. Now the fun begins!

A good, nay great, weekend

Mr H was away in Vietnam again so I took the opportunity to take the three younger ones and go visit my aunty in Birmingham. The visit co-incided with a planned BW meet of the ante natal club that I joined online whilst expecting son no.2. We all met up at Birmingham's Botanical Gardens, which are just lovely, and had a great time. Lots of adults, lots of babies and children and lots of food - I even managed to bring a trifle home for pudding!

Mr H came home yesterday morning and the children were ecstatic about Daddy's return, I think they missed him more than I did this time if that's possible. After many hugs and kisses and handing out of gifts from daddy, son no.2 managed about 5 or 6 wobbly steps from one part of the kitchen into his dada's arms. Cue excited clapping from mama, after all, I've only managed to get him to do four at the most!

And though it was a great weekend, today has been - well, to put it mildly - splendid. Sunshine, nappies drying on the line, fighter jets and airbuses adorning the blue sky as the Airshow continues and some really really good news, which I can't divulge just yet; suffice to say it's not related to babies or children in any way, well a little bit I guess but not much. So we're off out tonight to celebrate and that's the cherry on the cake, to go to my favourite restaurant with my favourite people in the whole world on a warm(ish) summer's evening. Bliss.

Can't stay angry

My little Scout (our Jack Russell pup) is at the vets today, she's being spayed and having what the vet thinks is a tumour removed from her left leg.

I was angry with her yesterday as she'd been naughty overnight and left mess on the floor instead of going outside to ablute. But this morning when I dropped her off at the vets and she gave me her best "don't leave me mama" look with those big doleful brown eyes, all anger melted away.

Sitting waiting for the phone to ring for the vet to tell me she's ok after her operations is slowly shattering the last nerve.........

Multi generational experiences

My mum is staying with us for a few days whilst Mr H is away in Vietnam with work. It's always been imperative to me that the children have, and value, their time with the grandparents - even though their time with their fraternal set is limited as they are in South Africa. Children learn so much from their grandparents and the relationships they have with my mum are lovely. Daughter no.1 loves her nana because she listens very patiently to her stories about boys, what sixth form courses she wants to do, boys, clothes, boys, music, boys, make up; and nana doesn't do the "uh huh" head nod that mama does.....(which means that mama really isn't listening).

Son no.1 is the apple of his grandad's eye, he's such a boy - untidy, forgetful, mad about sport, argumentative, hilariously funny. He's also the image of his grandad as a youngster, down to the position and shape of the crown of his hair on his head.....it's quite uncanny.

Daughter no.2 loves her nana and grandad because they love to participate in her stories, singing, drawing, painting etc. Mama loves to do this too, but somehow it's more fun when grandparents do it.

And son no.2 is spoilt with lots of love and cuddles and kisses for his hurts when he falls over trying to walk. He has also taken to yelling "hiya" when he hears his nana coming down the stairs in the morning and giving her his best cheeky grin.

I never knew my maternal grandparents as sadly they had both passed away before I ever had a chance to get to know and remember them. And had a very limited relationship with my fraternal ones. So my children are luckier than they can ever know and their lives will be forever enriched with the experiences they have shared/will come to share with their beloved nana and grandad.

Reliving your youth

Last Thursday daughter no.1 and I went to see Duran Duran live at the O2 Arena in London. The concert was brilliant, the Durans have lost none of their "oomph" live and for a bunch of blokes hitting their 50s, they were phenomenal. Daughter no.1 was impressed at how many songs I could sing along to (was a HUGE Duran Duran fan in my day) and I was impressed that she was able to appreciate what is essentially 80s music - considering some of the "music" she listens to.

And John Taylor , although older, wiser and a wee bit more wrinkly - but aren't we all? - is still as beautiful as ever.......sigh

.....almost walking

Today son no.2 took two steps. Well actually four if you count the one he took from his nana to his grandad, and then another one again from his nana to his grandad. Later on he took two steps from one baby walker toy to another. He seemed very pleased with himself, laughing and smiling. He then produced just before bath-time what was quite possibly the worst nappy in the history of nappy changing, laughing and smiling. I'm guessing he's not yet able to distinguish between mama saying "that's my good boy!" and "oh my good god boy!" and realising the difference.......