some snapshots of my day....

Do you believe in Angels?

Now I'm not sure I believe in cute dudes in long white dresses with halo and fluffy wings BUT I do believe that some people in our lives are sent to enhance and protect our lives. I have often felt that someone is watching out for me . I have always been blessed with an amazing family who would do anything for me and I don't know what I would do without them. However I also have some pretty amazing friends. Fairly recently a wonderful woman and her family have become a very important part of our lives. I don't even really know how our friendships began? I know that our children became firm friends fast but my daughter makes a lot of friends , not all of them lead to new friendships for me too. This time tho play dates soon became a regular thing and I truly class this woman as one of my closest friends. She has been there for me so much already and I can't imagine her not being around. The greatest thing is that our husbands also get on.... which means we can socialise as a whole family! I LOVE this as my husband is my best friend and I try to involve him in everything I do :)

This weekend we will become godparents to the couple newest arrival and I cannot begin to tell you how honoured I am to be becoming truly part of the family.

If angels do exist then I am fairly certain that I have met one of mine ... you know who you are. Thank you.

oh deary me

Spent at least 3 hours today tantruming and sulking over a lost camera cable that was sneakily hiding in plain sight! How very dare it! I think my hormonal pregnant self needs to chill!!!My mood swings are getting out of control and I potentially have another 20 weeks to go! How my marriage will survive this I do not know!

On a lighter note.... I am knitting my first pair of longies for the baby! CUTE! Using the Pimp my Longies pattern. Photos to come soon!

A lovely Weekend

Easter Bonnet

My eldest requested an Easter to take to preschool.We had limited funds and supplies but she was over the moon with the results! What do you think?

And breathe...

The scan was wonderful! All was well with our little jelly bean . Maybe now I can finally relax. We took our daughter to the scan and she was overjoyed ! She loved seeing the baby on the screen and the sonographer was amazing with her. Even printed her own little picture to keep!So now to enjoy the next 20 odd weeks till new baby arrives :)

Thursdays outfit

MMM skirts a bit short but not too bad ! lol! Tho I'm not sure it was really a suitable choice for what Tegan later decided to do....

Pregnancy Update

I thought I'd post a little pregnancy update! Got the ida from a great blog that I follow called Welcome to Mommyhood! Check it out!!

How far along: 15 weeks
Total weight gain: about 2lb...looks like more lol!! But I lost some in the early weeks!
Maternity clothes: Yup I'm in them already!! Gotta love elasticated waistbands!!
Stretch Marks: only my old ones...but there is lots! Im not sure I would notice anymore!
Sleep: I am sleeping loads but still always exhausted!
Best moment this week: Hearing babys heartbeat! Sounds like a train to me!
Worst moment this week: Fainting. Urgggh!
Movement: I can only feel it when lying down but definately feeling it :)
Cravings: Anything anyone mentions, I've got to have it!
Baby's size in food terms: er Naval orange apparantly!
Belly Button: Still an innie
Gender: no idea and we won't be finding out :)
What I miss: having energy
What I am looking forward to: getting some energy back lol!
Labor Signs: none thank goodness
Weekly Wisdom: 3 children is the new 2!!

Fun with the children

Busy busy busy

Just lately every day has been filled. Art and craft projects, playing in the park, manic decluttering sessions,rehearsing,family visits and games being played. What a wonderful way to spend your days! And yet today I feel down, I've lost my smile and can't seem to drag myself from my bed. Isn't being a girl fun! Hormonal mood swings that have no actual basis in your real life! So pre menstrual blues GO AWAY! I have no room for you in my packed schedule so find someone else to bother!

More painting fun....

We have far too many rainy days this summer so the paints have been out again :) And I've been using the ice lolly moulds as paints pots.... well its far too cold for ice lollies!!!

So true..

Sometimes on the way to a dream you get lost and find a better one

I have a sign that says that by my front door and I couldnt agree with it more. If 10 years ago you had told me I was going to be a stay at home mum I would have laughed you out of town. This is NOT what I had planned for my life. In fact I didn;t like children had no dsire to be married and wanted to travel the world! And most of all I wanted to sing. BUT I love my life and find it more fulfilling than I could ever have imagined. Best of all I am discovering that I don't need to give up on all of my old dreams in order to have these new ones. Life is GOOD!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Wishing you a beautiful weekend!

Borrowed from http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2010/07/this-moment-3.html

Adding a little routine

Left to my own devices I can be a little (OK a lot!) lazy! But give a routine, some structure, some discipline I thrive!! Unfortunately I am my own boss so there is no one to kick me up the butt! So I am hoping to implement a little structure to my day. I have ordered the book Sink Reflections and I am going to try to follow the Fly Lady routines to help me organise my home. And here is a list of a couple of other things I hope to fit into my day - EVERY DAY! lol! Wish me luck.

1. Check emails... don't just read! Respond , forward or delete too!
2. Trip to the park. Yes that's right folks EVERY day! The weather is NOT an excuse ...there's a reason we buy wellies and raincoats! lol!
3. Exercise ... even if its only a 10 mins . I MUST find time!
4. Make a phone call . Whether its to a family member or the bank! I need to get back into the habit of speaking to grown ups!
5. Singing/Breathing exercises... if you want to improve you have to practice! FACT!

So thats it to start with... not too tricky I hope!!

Its only a bit of freedom..

From my kitchen sink I look straight out my window to the front of my house. I can see a very busy road...and yesterday during one of my 40 billion washing up attempts I spot a small boy playing alone. He is at most 2 1/2 . I watch him for about 10 minutes and there are no adults or oldre siblings in sight. He has a scooter with him that he is just a little too small for. Then the boy starts crossing the road..back and forth. Its too much , I have to do something. I go outside to help him cross the road. This boy is too young to tell me his name. He follows me back to my house without question. I don't know what to do. I decide to just wait outside with him while I work out what to do for the best.Eventually a older girl on a bike comes round the corner , she is about 5, and say 'oi come on. home' And off the little boy trots. I am stunned. The little boy is clearly just out to play. He hasn't run off , nobody is frantic. He is just out to play. Over the course of the afternoon I spot him out there a couple more times. More than once I run out to help him across the road. The last time he cam out he was barefoot, in pyjamas and wet hair. Hes clearly had his evening bath and then been sent out again. Eventually his mum comes round the corner and takes him home to bed. Again no panic or anger. The boy is just out to play.

I feel stupid for being so freaked out. Am I so out of touc?. Should my kids (2 and 3 1/2) too be allowed such freedom? I never let them out of my sight. I am doing them a disservice? I'm afraid I will be seen as cruel ,mean, crazy. Am I the only one that thinks that children should be kept safe?

A bit about what I do..

It says in the title that I am a WAHM (Work at home mum) and yet I rarely mention any work! So I thought I would blog a little about the work I am supposed to be doing. I say supposed as I am nowhere near as disciplined as I should be . But around looking after my family, looking after the house and my hobbies I do what I can.

My WAHM journey began when my youngest was just a few weeks old. My husband had been involved in accident at work and had broken both arms. My toddler was not yet 2 and I was struggling to establish breastfeed with the newborn. I had my hands FULL. I looked for something , ANYTHING, that would make my life easier. And one of the things I bought was a fleece pouch to carry my baby. It SAVED us! it meant I could cook, feed, shop, clean basically do EVERYTHING with baby strapped on! :) Result! Man I loved that pouch. Now at the time my Dad had been made redundant. He is an upholsterer and pretty nifty with a sewing machine. Once he took a look at my magically pouch he immediately decided 'I could make those!' And so BampisBabyBags was born! Bampi is a welsh phrase meaning Granddad and when a forum friend suggested the name I thought it was perfect! I bought a website from WAHM and I was off. This business isn't going to make me a millionaire , I don't put enough effort in, but it ticks over nicely and I am very proud of it!

I also run Ret-Row which is really little more than a hobby . While I was sick in bed with Swine Flu a friend send me some beads and finding to have a play with. Before I knew it was hooked! I love making jewellery and coming up with new ideas..I really hope this little business venture grows and grows.

And last but not least I also work for Mama Pack. I am a distribution manager and my role is to spread the Mama Pack love and find people across the UK to distribute our Eco friendly ethical natal packs. If you haven't seen one I urge you to take a look at the website. These little jute bags are packed full of yumminess and a must for any pregnant woman or new mum!

So that me ... fingers in lots of little pies..and LOVING it!!

Co - Sleeping ..

Co-Sleeping doesn't come naturally to me. When my husband and I first met he joined the army and then later he became a truck river. Consequently I have become VERY used to having a king size bed all to myself. Now though my husband is at home every evening and we have 2 small children. Suddenly I find myself having to share my space...and I'm not sure I like it. As babies both my children slept in moses baskets before being moved to cots. And now they both have there own beds.But increasingly they seem to want to sleep with us. In principal I am OK with this. I much prefer to have them sleep in with us and get a good nights rest than be up and down all night convincing them to sleep in there own rooms. But in practice... I'm not keen. First of all there simply is not room for 2 nearly 30 year olds, 1 almost 4 year old and just turned 2 year old. There just isn't!! My husband normally ends up sleeping in my daughter butterfly bedroom leaving me to fight for the duvet. My daughter then likes to sleep as close as humanly possible to me. Seriously if that child could climb back into my womb she would. My son however would prefer not to share ...he just wants the big bed. He spends all night rocking and rolling, kicking me in the head and trying push his sister out.To make matters worse if anyone ELSE dares move he is immediately is WIDE AWAKE. He wants to chat ,sing and laugh...and he really doesn't care that is 2am.
All of this makes for one tired and grumpy mama. So how do I make this work for us? This is not a rhetorical question , I really need to know?! Is this just another green parenting issue I will fail at???

Its all about balance...

This weekend has just been an almost perfect mix of everything I love...

Friday I spent the day with a good friend of mine and her wonderful children. We haven't really been friends long but already she has proved herself to be amazing. Cant imagine her not being in my life now. She is inspiring, funny and generous. What else does a friend need to be! :)

Friday night I sang at an old peoples home! It was really lovely to sing for them as they were a lovely appreciative audience. I also had the opportunity to catch up with some old friends who I have not seen in ,well, too long really!

Saturday morning I touch my daughter into town for some 'girly time'. We shopped, we drank coffee, (well she had milkshake ;) ) and we ate cake! Bliss. That afternoon I was picked up by my friends and off I went to a BBQ. Fabulous evening! Good company, nice food, Pimms and Singstar...blummin marvellous!!!And I stayed up til well past 4am ! Rock and Roll!! The only thing missing was my husband who had stayed at home to look after the children. Sad as it may sound but I feel miss him when he's not with me and he would have made the evening perfect for me. I do love that man.

And then we all went to a family BBQ to celebrate a couple of birthdays that are all around now. Such a relaxed and lovely event. The kids played, my husband cooked on the firepit and I chatted with my friends. All and all a simply wonderful weekend... here's to many many more!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Wishing you a beautiful weekend!

Borrowed from http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2010/07/this-moment-3.html

Weird Emotions

My little man is no longer a baby and I just adore the little boy he is turning into .... but I also feel sad! Where is my baby gone?