Unplugged.

Good morning everyone! It is a cool but nice morning here, at least the crazy winds have passed for a bit. You would not believe the mess our poor plants and trees are in because of the wind, the leaves are all burnt!

Just a quick post this morning , I have decided to unplug, just a little, just for a while. No big reason as to why. I will still definitely be blogging though as I like to use this space to remember things that happen. And I use it as a time line, we often check the blog to see the dates of things etc.

But I just wanted to say that I may not be stopping by your blogs and commenting for a while and will not be about on facebook. I'm only talking a few weeks really.

We have a busy time coming up , Fraser has a show this week and we are now into the winding down weeks before the Summer holidays begin.

My head is ful lto the brim of chores, ideas and projects. But before I can accomplish them all, I need to finish up the things I have already started.

I need to start getting myself more organised in the morning as we will be having a massive change to our schedule after summer. I am wholly unprepared for this!! We WILL be able to make it to the school for 9am! eek!

It will be all change on the work front in the summer too, one of the littles that I care for is moving , very far away. So I will have a space to fill, advertising to organise and hopefully a new little soul to settle in to our days.

See my head is full! I must sit down this afternoon to write the mother of all to do lists!!

I have around 5 weeks left of having my girly here with me , alone, in the mornings. I intend to enjoy every moment.

We are going to take lots of time out. We are going to read and walk on the beach, play at the park and bake together. Camp out in the living room and have picnic lunches. I am going to enjoy the last few weeks of our lives as we know them right now. Before the big changes.

I am going to turn the TV off more and set a good example by having less "screen time" myself. I'm not online often in the daytime really, as I am working, but I do enjoy my snatched moments here and there.

Even if it is just for these few weeks. I can look back and remember that I made every moment count. I did not spend an hour in the morning reading about other peoples lives when I will look back and miss the life we are living. That hour needs to be spent soaking up my girl.

 I need to have no regrets! They tend to eat me up. A lot.

Pitter patter raindrops on my window

This is the view from the hamster wheel today.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

This week we have had howling winds, heavy rain and even hail.

It is May.

This is the reason I love winter.

You know where you are with winter.

Your expectation is that it will be cold, wet, maybe a little snow if we are lucky.

But by the end of May, everyones expectations have moved on, to sunshine, warm breezes, summer.

Just take a stroll down your news feed on facebook, every second person will be complaining about the weather.

Not I.

I will admit to a fleeting moment of gloom when I remembered that I had hung washing on a bright and windy evening.

 It is still hanging. It is still windy. It is not dry.

But I only have myself to blame.

I am sure my own Mum never had washing hanging outside overnight. By morning it would have been dried, ironed and waiting to be put away.

My washing is enjoying the rain.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

This morning has warmed my heart.

With nowhere to be , I flicked on the heating and K and I have hunkered down in the nest.

In our comfies.

We have snuggled.

We have played.

We have made bread.

 The dough is now snuggled up in the boiler cupboard and hopefully doubling in size.

We have pulled out the rainy day activities, train set, moon sand, play dough.

I love watching the raindrops racing each other down the window panes.

Always in such a hurry.

It somehow reminds me of rainy days sitting in Primary School, in the warmth.

I can almost smell the school smell, plasticine, pencils, dusty books.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Soon we will have to wrap up in our waterproofs and venture out to Nursery.

I am looking forward to an afternoon of sewing.

It's probably not appropriate to listen to Christmas music as I sew. Is it?

Maybe I'll put The Holiday on.

It's only a little bit Christmassy.

I have lost my bread recipe, I think the bread we made is a bit of a fail.

But it was never really about the bread.

It was about working together with my best girl.

Remember, we have nowhere to be this morning.

No destination.

It was all about the journey.

Feathering my nest

Since we moved into our home, two years ago now, our room has just never been finished. I bought new bedding and lamps before we moved in and loved them, but I soon became tired of them and the green and brown was just not me anymore. I rarely spend time in my room and it generally becomes a dumping ground for stuff that has nowhere else to go.

Well no more!!

It is makeover time!

I now have my little crafting corner just itching to be incorporated into the new decor and I badly want a relaxing space where we want to spend time. We have sacrificed a fair bit of our room to the craft corner and we have some very large furniture. But I love the furniture and want to show it off again.

I have been adding a little inspiration to my pinterest boards ( oh how much am I loving pinterest )

Source: 3.bp.blogspot.com via LeeAnn on Pinterest

Loving this cottage bedroom.

Source: google.co.uk via LeeAnn on Pinterest

I love the crisp white bedding and the pop of the pink flowers.

Source: passiondecor.blogspot.com via LeeAnn on Pinterest

I love the pillow with the heart on it.

 I wish my walls liked shelves more, would love shelves like these above our bed.

It seems there are common themes running throughout, blue, white, cottagey, beachy

Source: plumwatercottage.com via LeeAnn on Pinterest

Lovely textures and fabrics

Source: abeachcottage.com via LeeAnn on Pinterest

Sigh.

In reality this is far too much white for a family as messy and dirty  fun loving as us.

Source: google.co.uk via LeeAnn on Pinterest

and well,  a little red never hurt anyone.....

And the pillows that are out there, oh the pillows!

Source: google.co.uk via LeeAnn on Pinterest

Source: vandco.bigcartel.com via LeeAnn on Pinterest

Source: google.co.uk via LeeAnn on Pinterest

I'd better get saving and sewing!!

Holding on.

6 weeks. 6 weeks until the summer holidays. 6 weeks until my baby walks out of those nursery doors for the last time.

I am back to chanting my mantra. It is that time of year again. She is more than ready, she is bored and needing her mind to be challenged and stretched.
K is so excited to start school. She asks to go every single day.
When I ask her what she wants to wear, in the morning, She throws open her wardrobe door and clasps the little red and white gingham dress. Her school dress. She can't wait.

 I am in utter turmoil, I can see her readiness, I feel her excitement. I am so proud when I listen to her stories of visits to her new classroom, telling me all about her lovely new teacher. Her words tumbling over one another , like an excited babbling brook. I am smiling all the while, feeling excited, with glistening eyes. Proud.

Inside I am also aching. Screaming - I'm not ready! I feel like I am trapped inside a giant hourglass. The grains of sand trickling through my fingers. The weeks are just flying in, I feel like we are hurtling through this year. I just want to lay down and hold on, slow time down.

 I want to hold her in my arms, make every moment a special and happy time. But in reality we all have lives, jobs, time restraints. There are squabbles to be had, deadlines to meet, tears to be wiped, friends to play with and chores to be done.

The mundane in life is so plentiful and so demanding.

 But in amongst the mundane there are precious little gems. Little glittering nuggets of specialness. The times where only mummy's arms will do. Listening to her feet as they skip happily through the house, flitting from one room to the next. Playing together, where I am the baby and she is the Mummy, I love those mothering little kisses, on the forehead, on my hand, on top of my head.  Bedtime is my favourite time of the day. When we curl up in her bed to read her story, I breathe in the soft warm smell of her golden little head and feel at peace.

I have watched her stretch, grow and blossom, turning into a strong and happy girl who has a very self assured, deep confidence.

The dark jaws of those long school days feel like they are looming towards me. I know I will miss her a lot. I have been here before. The house feels empty and like a light went out somewhere. I also know that those days do pass. They will pass in a blur as the days do now, the mundane needs will go on. The grains of sand trickle just the same. I love the excitement of 3pm approaching, when those doors open and my day is complete once more. The light goes back on.

The years of fun we have had together will not disappear, we will still love and laugh when we are together. Our memories are rooted deep down and have woven into us. Helping us become who we are today.

I suppose every moment can't be special and precious, we need the quiet, mundane times in between. We need the contrast.

  Precious moments are just that. Moments. They are so precious because they are so fleeting.That is why we have to hold on to them so tightly.

Nest News. 1st edition.

Our beautiful, sweet and much loved Lor Lor has temporarily flown the nest. (sniff sniff).

She has headed down to the big smoke (London Baby!!) for a while. Hopefully just long enough to learn a few new tricks of the cake making trade, while working as an intern for a very VERY good cake company.

We are super proud of her and the fact that she has coped so well with being far from home and in a place that is slightly larger than our little seaside town.

I have promised her regular updates from the nest, a little peek into home, here on the hamster wheel.

We have had a busy few weeks here with a few changes along the way!

The blossom on our apple trees was awesome this year!! Much better than Jimbo's apple tree (woo hoo!) which has sparked a full scale , all out apple tree war little friendly rivalry betwen the menfolk.

It's pretty much all gone now. As are the blue skies. Some good old wind, rain and HAIL has battered most of it off. I'm sure the "friendly" game of football, where Dad "accidently" kicked the ballinto the trees, had nothing to do with it ;-)

Another change is the wonder that is the toilet! Woo hoo, after 2 years , it is finally painted. And THOSE photos, you know the beach ones??

Well after 3+ years..

and a house move! They are finally on the wall.

I just want to lift the kiddos out of these two pics. So scrummy.

We slipped into May and flipped the calender to the ladybird photo! I've been looking forward to this month since Christmas!

I can't believe how quickly we are hurtling through May! Over halfway already.

All of the sunshine we had early on, has brought our little peas out! Look at them stretching for the sky!

I am so going to give Birds eye a run for their money this year!!

Of course pretty much everything else has just stayed the same, you know how it flows around here. A comforting blend of same ol' same ol', with a healthy dose of routines and everydayness.

The two fat ladies are well

and as greedy as ever. I will have to get one that shows off those glorious bellies!

And of course the Old el Faso.

Just snoozing it right up in her usual spot.

Well , it's 5pm. Better go rustle up something for the cherubs to eat.

Back with the next instalment soon xx

Happy 30th Birthday Peaty.

Our beloved Peaty, my handsome hubby turned a very respectable 30 years old last weekend.

Here are a few photos of Kirsten him opening some of his gifts.

And wearing lots of his other gifts, t shirt, shirt, hat, watch....

He received some awesome presents. My favourite gift, hands down was this one..

A net book!!! Hallelujah! Thank you so much to Murray's mum and Dad and of course Beebs! For the best and most fantastically timed gift! 

Ok Ok Ok I know the gift isn't ACTUALLY for me. But my super loving, very generous and very handsome husband firmly believes in what is his is mine. woo hoo!

And back to blogging we go! yee ha!

With our beautiful Lor Lor away living it up in the big smoke (another blog post due to debut around two weeks ago but we'll get there now that we are back online!) we were without a fantabulous expertly decorated Birthday cake. So I whipped up a batch of cupcakes instead, in Dundee United colours of course :-)

Murray didn't want a fuss, he likes things simple. But after a lot of persuasion, he agreed that this birthday did need to be marked. So we planned a family barbecue.

" It is always sunny on my Birthday" he declared confidently.

Famous last words!

The rain tipped down. All over the garden we had lovingly prepared all week long.

All over the tables and chairs we had borrowed.

So the Dad's (and Uncle Ronnie) hid under the umberellas and warmed their hands on all of the candle jars I had made for the lovely sunny evening in the garden, that we had been expecting.

The men were tough!

The wind was so strong that it kept blowing the flames out on our gas barbecue, so in the end we all retreated into the house.(even the men) We grabbed as many chairs and tables as would fit inside and fired up the George Foreman grill.

(I may or may not have consumed a small glass of wine at this point. just to steady my nerves and calm the panic rising inside me as my mum found a burger raw in the middle, which led to BBQ abandonment and the full embrace of burgers cooked indoors)

No one minded and the party continued. We had such fun, we are very lucky to have such an awesome family and great friends.

Make a wish!

We think you are the best Daddy in the world ever.

And we are looking forward to seeing what the next 30 years holds.

The end.

No really this was where the day ended. K went to bed, the guests all left and we enjoyed a quiet night in with Beebs.

You really don't want to see what happened when everyone else left.

It got slightly messy...

with just a few "elite" guests attending the "after party"

An occassional beverage was sipped in an orderly fashion

There seems to have been a lot of hugging and reminiscing.

K decided the music, dancing and singing sounded so fun, she wanted to join back in.

( I am too ashamed to publicly admit what time this pic was taken)

Happy Birthday sweetheart, it's a good job you don't turn 30 every day!

 A week later we are still recovering!

I guess we really are getting old

x x x x



*sigh*

I think our laptop is dead :-(
it is really old and was second hand when we got it.
I haven't backed up yet, this month,and I think I'm going to lose some stuff :-(
we can't afford to buy a new one, hoping that a friend of my Dad may be able to save the old dinosaur.

I will hopefully be back soon x

A very royal affair.

The girls and I enjoyed doing some Union Jack themed crafts for the big day. Some stickers,

And some miniture flags for our cupcakes and sandwiches.

We hung bunting

and bought special paper plates and cups.

There was tea and biscuits galore!!

Along with lots of sandwiches, sausage rolls and the ultimate party food. Cheese, sausages and pineapple (of course!). No pics I'm afraid, we were too enthralled by the ceremony at that point (and starving! lol)

Some very fine guests were in attendence

It was hilarious when we saw that good old Lizzie had stolen Beebs' wedding colour choice.

Ah, magical moments.

Fraser was not so enthralled, he stayed in bed for most of it. And in true male fashion, his comments were less than  festive. So he was sent off for a shower and to get ready for the street party.

After the wedding there was a street party held in the street where my Mum and Dad live. We continued to party on mass, with even Fraser and Misty getting into the spirit.

Friday 29th April 2011, is certainly a day we will remember.

We wish our future King and Queen a life filled with love, luck and hopefully a little fun along the way xx