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A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2013.

43/52 - Wiggles with a biscuit, confusing, right?

43/52 - Not exactly hidden!

A perfect day, all of us together.  A lazy morning, followed by brunch, followed by a walk in the woods, with biscuits at half way.  We did get rained on, but that was ok, it made us laugh.  We ran home and had hot chocolate, warm milk and snuggles.  

Currently.....#27

Hello Lovelies!

I am very happy to be joining in with Ot and Et and Harvesting Kale once again and am Currently....

Loving:  We have been catching up on watching The Walking Dead. Somehow we managed to watch half of series one, then we lost track. Thanks to a new Sky box we have been able to start again from the beginning. We now have zombies on the brain and I am LOVING it! Such a well written, terrifying series. 

Listening: To Radio Four. As a younger girl I always thought it was the dullest station in the world, but lately I've started to realise that it's not all stuffy old men banging on about things I'll never understand. I really enjoy the comedy, the news programmes, but perhaps most of all, and most surprisingly; The Archers! 

I've also been listening to "Of Monsters and Men" and their completely brilliant album "My Head is an Animal". It's one of those that I can happily put on repeat and listen to over and over and over.  

Worrying: Sadly I am a natural born worrier. I worry about most things, both rational and irrational. Lately I have been dedicating my worrying time to subjects such as: the baby's seemingly incur able nappy rash, whether both girls consume sufficient vitamins, whether Mr Husband's car will last the winter, how we will afford a new one. My list of worries could go on and bore you al to tears. But I must say, despite being a worrier I truly value what I've got and consider myself very lucky indeed. 

Singing: My singing has mostly been limited to several wonderful renditions of Raa Raa the Noisy Lion and a splendid chorus of Doe a Deer. 

Reading: Tomorrow evening I am planning to be reading Dinner Menus and closely after that Cocktail Menus. I'm heading out to a nearby town with some Mummy friends for an evening of eating, drinking and laughing. I cannot tell you how much I'm looking forward to it!!

Join in?

Mushroom Walk...

The other day we went for the most wonderful walk through the woods.  I've always loved woodland, I particularly enjoy walking through a pine forest.  I love the wonderful smell, the bouncy carpet of needles and the strange bubble of quiet you get in amongst the trees.

This wasn't a pine forest, but it was beautiful!  We spotted so many different types of mushroom nesting on the forest floor, and whilst I would never ever pick, eat or even recommend touching them, they certainly are fascinating.  I don't think I've ever seen so many!

Biscuit invented a new game; Musical Photographs.  It works along similar lines to Musical Statues, only without any, erm, actual music.  The rules are that you must be vigilant at all times and if you spot Mummy taking a photograph, you have to remain completely still.  Handy!!

Although we steered well clear of the mushrooms we did manage to snaffle a few sweet chestnuts, one of my favourite autumnal treats.  We also hunted for fairies, looked for elves and gnomes and Biscuit sang us a song about ants.  It was my favourite kind of day.  There's something so special about going for a walk all together, just us, our little family.  I treasure these memories.

 

 

I haven't edited, added filters or changed any of these photographs, they really are just that vivid.  This is how Wiggles and I look on pretty much every walk, we're still happily using our beautiful Sleepy Nico carrier, love the way she's blowing a kiss!

Have you spotted anything usual around you this year?  Everything seems to have been supercharged after such a beautiful summer!  

Magic Moments...A Game of Two Halves

Little Baby Biscuit visits the Mothership with Daddy....

Mr Husband is a football fan. A huge football fan. Before we met I was firmly of the opinion that people who followed football did so because they were incapable of reading books. Of course, I was quite wrong. Mr Husband is an actual genius (in my opinion) not least because he completed an Open University Degree course in his spare time, despite having a small screaming baby and frazzled wife to contend with. He got a first. A Magic Moment in itself!  But in addition to being a genius he is also a football fan.

He's usually quiet and sweet and thoughtful (and gorgeous, grrrrr) but when there's a match on, something comes over him. He gets very, erm, passionate....it's pretty much the only time you'll ever see him get aggressive or raise his voice. He loves it. Absolutely loves it. I'll probably never really understand it fully, but I try my best to be supportive.

On Saturday Mr Husband went to a  football match in London. His team were playing at home. For him a long trek by car and train and underground. He doesn't go that often, but I know that he loves doing it.

For his 30th Birthday, as well as taking him on a surprise trip to Barcelona (serious Wife Points) I wanted to get him something lasting and more permanent. By happy accident his team were selling personalised plaques set within their home ground. I chose (and paid an arm and a leg for) a large stone, inscribed in gold with his name, a cannon and the words Happy 30th Birthday.  It happily sits just outside the club's shop doors.

On the evening of his 30th Birthday we travelled to London together. It was dark, raining and very, very cold. I wore a long faux fur coat in an attempt to survive the match minus hypothermia.  I'd been sent a map with the rough location of our stone which I smuggled into my bag. Thankfully I'd had a last minute brainwave and took a small rechargeable torch with me. We arrived and I sent Mr Husband into the shop whilst I searched valiantly for his stone, on my hands and knees on the ground, with a tiny, pretty much useless torch in my teeth, amid throngs of people (some of whom took pity on me and helped) in the pouring rain. 

By the time he emerged from the shop I was stood, soaked to the skin and triumphant, holding aloft a pathetic, spindly little torch in an act that I hoped made me look like a sort of sexy Statue of Liberty, planted on top of his personalised stone. He initially thought I'd gone potty, but was chuffed to bits when he clicked what was going on. He visits that stone, that very special stone, that took so long to find, before every home game to bring the team luck. Must have worked this weekend, they won by a mile! It was a pretty flippin memorable night, and pretty bloomin magical, I tell thee!

Have a great week everyone!

Love, love,

Friday Treats....#7 Rings on her fingers, bells on her toes...

Due to being a little under the weather this week, my usual Friday Treats post has been a delayed. I did, however, manage to purchase a Friday Treat for Biscuit, so I thought I share it anyway. Better late than never, hey?

Friday Treat: Rings & Stick-on Earrings

Price:  £2.50 from H&M. 

Reaction: Pretty chuffed! She loves the idea of having earrings to wear, as some girls in her class have had their ears pearced, and she knows she's not allowed. I didn't get my own ears pierced until I was 33! These were a happy compromise. Her favourite was the pink heart ring. 

Hope you've had great weekends! 

Love, love, 

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A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2013.

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42/52

You can put them in pretty dresses, but you can't stop them scrabbling all over the furniture, hey?  Love Biscuit's face in this picture, she knows she's up to no good!

Wiggles sitting and enjoying some pumpkin seeds, her new favourite thing!  It's strange to see her sitting so still and being so quiet.  She's usually as loud as her dungarees!

Silent Sunday - 13th October 2013

41/52

A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2013.

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At our allotment, Wiggles is the guardian of our pumpkins!  Biscuit caught in a thoughtful moment before going out for a walk.  She can never keep a hair clip where it's meant to be!

The Dark Side of the Blog...

Sometimes I wonder whether blogging is a good idea, whether I've opened up the people most precious to me to a whole world of dangers.

They didn't ask me to share their lives, and as much as I love to record our life together I wonder whether doing so in such a public format is sensible of me. If anything was going to stop me from blogging it would be this fear. That I've allowed strangers too much access. 

Obviously I think my children are the best things ever, the most wonderful, the most beautiful and the most perfect. I worry that the kind of people that I want to sheild them from will somehow spot them on here and think exactly the same thing. Am I a fool? Should I stop this? 

I rarely check the stats in relation to my blog, but the other day I thought I'd have a look. This is what I found:

I really don't know what to make of it. Has someone stumbled across us, looking for young pretty girls? What are the xx's? X rated? Kisses? I don't know, but it scares me. I also seem to get a lot of hits from porn sites. Is that something that every blogger has to suffer, or something I'm just unlucky with? 

Usually keyword searches just make me laugh and the crazy and varied ways that people have managed to stumble across this place, but my paranoid side can't help but sound sirens at this. 

I've never named my children here, never discussed where we live, or even named myself fully.  Is that enough?

I need your advice bloggers, your wisdom, your guidance. Should I be doing something more? Am I just being ridiculous? Should I cut and run? 

My Fitness Pal....

I mentioned the other day that I've been being a little careful with my diet lately, in an effort to shift some of my unnecessary flab. I've tried Weightwatchers before and had some pretty good results, but I start to resent having to pay so much for the privilege.

Instead I decided that this time I wanted to do something a little more easily accessible. I'm happy enough to weigh myself at home, and after the initial stages of a diet, when I'm usually starving, I'm pretty good at sticking to one.

I'd heard some really good things about My Fitness Pal, a free app you can use on your PC, or on your phone. Essentially it's a food diary, on which you record what you've eaten. You input your gender, height, the weight you are, the weight you'd like to be, the rate at which you'd like to lose weight and how active you are. It then calculates how many calories you should consume on a daily basis to reach that weight. 

You search for what you've eaten from a huge database and you can even scan the barcode on food to make sure you're being really precise. You can also record what exercise you've done and it calculates how many calories that exercise will have "earnt" you. It also breaks down your diet so you can chart whether you're eating the right amount of fat, protein and carbohydrate. Something I'd never thought to check before!! 

You can also interact with other dieters and use a whole social networking aspect, although I haven't done this, so can't speak from personal experience. I do love the idea of finding online support from other people in the same boat, but I hate the idea of sharing my weight!

It the end of each day it also gives you a prediction of what you "could" weigh in five weeks, based on how that day went. 

According to my prediction I'm going to be really flippin skinny in just five short weeks. A cruelly dangled carrot full of hope and promise. You can't eat the carrot, of course. If you actually dare to scoff the orange dangled one you will never reach the skinny malink status you so badly desire... it's just there to let you know what could happen... It's like Bullseye all over again with a dietary version of Jim Bowen saying "Here's what you could have won!" If only you hadn't got barmy with those Weightwatchers cookies when you thought no one was watching....

So far I've found it so easy to use, I'm really pleased with my progress. This is my sixth week of using My Fitness Pal and I've now lost 15 pounds. Only another eight to go and I'll be a very happy bunny indeed!! I'll scoff that dangly carrot yet!!! 

Have you tried My Fitness Pal? Do you prefer another weight loss method? Any recommendations for me? 

Love, love, 

Treasure in the bushes...

There are so many beautiful things hiding out there in the bushes right now. I've been pacing myself and it's been killing me, but I think, finally, by the look of these sloes, they're about ready to pick, at last! Next weekend we're off for a forage! 

Anyone else planning jam? Gin? Syrup?? :)

40/52

A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2013.

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This week saw Biscuit's first bowling adventure. I love how she's looking at the ball so suspiciously! 

Wiggles decided she would like to play with Biscuit's wooden farm. It entertained her for ages. The only downside was that we couldn't find the proper animals, she didn't seem to mind the giant dogs, dinosaurs and tigers though!