Enjoy the little things!

 

Enjoy the little things for one day you may look back and find they were the big things!

 

One of my favourite quotes! It's been in my head a lot this past week, I've been forced to realise just how quickly time is passing and how quickly our babies are growing up.  Particularly, my littlest baby!! Just going from milestone to milestone, from one first to the next.  It seems like no time ago at all that we were taking him home from hospital and having his first night at home, first bath, meeting family for the first time!

 

Then, in the blink of an eye, we were doing first spoon-feed! 

In the past week alone we have had HP'S first night in his own room, his first tooth and he has rolled over for the first time!!  Understandably, a little much for any mother to take!  While, I love to see him doing so well and achieving all these little goals, ultimately it means he his growing up and a little to fast for my liking. 

Just look at that cheeky little face, devouring the strawberries!                 

Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to slow time down, so I have came to the conclusion that all we can do is try our best to live in the moment, and truly experience out lives as they are happening.  This is no easy feat, most of the time I'm so caught up with the daily routine of cleaning, cooking, feeding, school runs etc. to truly enjoy the little things.  So this summer the plan is to take life at a slower pace and enjoy as many moments as I can, and hopefully give the illusion that time is going even just a little bit slower.  

All of this philosophical thinking brings to mind another wee poem that I like very much and should really try to live by, so I will leave u with that!

I hope my children look back on today

 and see a mum who had time to play! 

There will be years for cleaning and cooking,

but children grow up while were not looking!

Anonymous.

 

 

Here we go again!!!

I'm embarrassed to say it's been well over a year since I last posted, and while I hate to make excuses, I'm going to anyway!  I haven't been doing much on the crafting scene, over the past year I have mostly been focusing on my family!  Adding to it, would probably be more accurate. 

I am now the very proud mother of not two but three beautiful boys! 

Most Of my pregnancy with my last little darling was dreadful and I was completely unable to do anything else, let alone crafting.  Even my love of crochet had to take a back seat, for the entire nine months I was completely incapable of picking up a crochet hook, and believe me I tried!  For most people, expecting a new baby is the perfect excuse to crochet and create beautiful baby clothes, blankets and all sorts of gorgeous things!  In fact I actually taught myself to crochet while I was expecting my first baby, such was my intense desire to create some of these wonderful baby things!  But, for some reason during this pregnancy the very feel of the wool and hook in my hand made me incredibly nauseous! When I did manage to start something, the act of crochet gave me motion sickness.  It was not very pleasant!  After nine long months without any form of crafting I was anxious to get going again, but then of course I have my beautiful new baby boy to look after, as well as the two little handfuls of trouble I already have.  As you can imagine it's a very busy household! Eventually, we did manage to get back to some form of normality, our new baby fitting in like he had always been here, and I finally managed to pick up my hook.

It has taken me a little while to get my crochet mojo back, but I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere.

I have completed a few projects in the past few months, and while all I have time for at the minute is my family, with a little bit of crochet on the side, I hope that as time goes on I will get back to some of my other crafty notions as well!

 

 

 

Back Again

I find it really hard to think about how long it's been since I last posted.  I really just completely lost touch with everything there for a while, it's been such a long time since I even dropped in on some of my favourite blogs.  Since I was last here we have been through Autumn and now almost the whole of Winter.  Thankfully it's almost Spring and I can't wait for it,  I absolutely detest Winter.  It's the dullness I hate most of all, I just feel so much better about everything when it's nice and bright outside.  I've sort of hibernated my way through Winter and now I'm just starting to waked up again to greet the coming of Spring.

It has, however, been very busy here in my little world this past few months.  We have had Halloween, Christmas, lot's of cold family outing's, enough sickness to last me a life time (although, thankfully nothing to serious, just a month's worth of chickenpox), and lots and lots of growing up.

They really are growing up much too fast.  My oldest boy is over half way through his second and last year in  nursery,  this morning when he told me I could only kiss him on the cheek on his way out to school, I was devastated.  Last week my youngest little one started a little toddle and talk group, he goes for two hours two morning's a week for two month's.  On his first morning I was all prepared for a hard time when it came to leaving him, but to my utter surprise he just toddled on in not a bother to him.  I have to admit I was a little devastated about this as well.  It's just the sudden realisation that they are not so little any more and don't need me as much as they once did.  As mother's we expend so much time and energy teaching our children to be independent, why then does it come as such a shock to us when they begin to grow into confident independent children?

As well as all the family things that have been going on, I have found time to continue crafting.  I really don't think anything could stop me, it's the only thing that keeps me sane in this crazy world.  My very first craft fair, which i had talked about before, has long been and gone.  I was really busy getting things ready for it, but in the end it didn't go as well as I had hoped.  But nevertheless, I am not put off, I have another one coming up in April for Easter and am busy preparing for that.

After the disaster of the craft fair I was a little disappointed and I would be lying if I said my confidence didn't take a bit of a battering, but I busied myself getting ready for Christmas and home-made a lot of the gifts for my family.  One of which was the rag doll in the picture above, she is called Penny and thankfully is now much loved by my little niece.  There is nothing like the pleasure and delight a child get's from something you have made, to give you a little boost in confidence.  After Christmas I slowed down a little bit, and took some time to complete some projects that had been waiting for a while to have their finishing touches, and now I am once again in full swing and am very excited about some of the projects I have going on at the minute.  I promise more info. on those soon, but for now I am glad to be back!!

The Dreaded Dummy!!!!!

 

We had a bit of a hard time this weekend with our oldest boy and his beloved dummy.  He is four now and for about the past year and a half has taken his dummy just at bed time, he literally has it about 5mins and he is out like a light.  Lately we have been telling him how big he is getting and that he really doesn't need a dummy anymore, in the hope that he will decide of his own accord to leave it out for the dummy fairy's. 

We have tried once before to get rid of the dummy, I took it away while he was at nursery and told him the dummy fairy's had taken it to give to a little baby who didn't have a dummy.  WELL!!!!  The hysterics were unreal, and he ended up being so terrified of the dummy fairy's coming into his room he didn't sleep for 3 nights, even after I had given him a new dummy.  So we had to tell him that the fairy's will only come for his dummy when he is ready to give it up and leaves it out for them.  So, has anyone spotted my mistakes. 
Mistake number 1:  The fact that my four year old should even have a dummy!!!! I can practically hear all you mummy's out there screaming at me, and I'm not even going to try and make any excuses for it, because I don't have any.
Mistake number 2:  Giving him back his dummy after I had taken it away.  I know, I know, I should have persevered then and I wouldn't be going through this now!!  Again I have no excuses, other than to say four year olds really know how to make you feel bad.
Mistake no 3:  Putting the ball in his court (so to speak), by saying they won't take it until HE is ready, I have now given him the control, as he constantly reminds me by saying "I'm not ready to give my dummy away yet mummy".

Anyway, this weekend we thought we were having a bit of a breakthrough.  The boy's go for a 'sleepover' at my sister's house once a month, and then in turn I will take her girls once a month.  This weekend was the boys turn and when packing their bag's, we couldn't find dummy anywhere, and we looked everywhere.  I thought disaster, it's six o'clock on a Saturday evening, where am I going to get a dummy.  But, miraculously my big boy didn't seen too bothered by it!!!!  He just said he 'wouldn't need it'.  Brilliant thought I, let's go with this!!  So we all made such a big deal about it, he thought he was the best thing since sliced bread.  Slept all night, no problem's at all.  Again the next day we made such a big deal, even bought him some moshi monster's, which I usually think is such a rip off and refuse to buy, but this was a special occasion!!!  All was good.  Until......
Bedtime, my big boy walks straight into his room, open's the train station's door (obviously a toy one) and lift's out dummy looking far too smug.  He had obviously known it was there all along.

I tried and I tried to get him to give it up, but to no avail.  So many people, have told me to just take it off him and put up the crying, he will stop in a day or two, but I just feel so guilty.  So, long story, that I haven't made any attempt to shorten.  We have compromised and are going to leave it out for Santa this year in exchange for an extra present.  I'm feeling quite defeated about the whole thing, I really thought we were getting somewhere.  Anyone out there with any advice is more than welcome to share it!!!