Category: Family

One of the saddest things about adopting our two beautiful children has been missing out on their early life, we never knew them as babies just little toddlers. Little man’s homework this weekend had me searching for his life book to find out his birth weight and height, facts I’m sure Mums can recite off without thinking but not me. We also never got to experience any of those special firsts written about in baby books, birthdays, Christmas, words, steps, teeth etc.. until tonight!

This evening after a lot of wiggling and wobbling, Little Miss’ first baby tooth fell out and she is now dreaming of the tooth fairy. The Ben and Holly Tooth Fairy episode was a favourite when we were younger so we’re all very excited about a visit tonight. And nobody more than me, I have had my little Tooth Fairy bag ready for months to hide under her pillow with a beautiful personalised message printed on one side and a very special letter too. These are the moments I want to make magical and precious, it is my delight to add the sparkles to my children’s lives. I wasn’t able to do it in their baby years so I want to make everything so joyful and sparkling that they feel so special and loved throughout their childhoods with me and Mr S.

After a period of horrific gun crime with the murder of black worshippers in a church in America and tourists sunbathing on a beach in Tunisia I really found it difficult when Little Man wanted to play with his gun this afternoon. I never wanted him to have the gun but he got it at Disney in Frontierland, as a surprise treat from Daddy to go with his cowboy hat. Daddy thinks its harmless fun, it is brightly coloured with no caps or bullets but to me it still is a gun and I feel very uncomfortable that my son plays with a weapon. Mr S did sense my discomfort today and the gun has been hidden away but how do I resolve my anxiety? His other toys have weapons, his current obsession is Star Wars, the Storm Troopers have gun like weapons and a light sabre can be used to maim yet the fantasy nature of the characters make this seem less realistic than a gun. As much as we try to protect our children they see and hear bits of the news and ask questions which can be very difficult to answer. I truthfully explained to Little Man today that I did not want him to play with his gun because bad people have hurt people with their guns recently and that has made me sad. I only hope is interest is taken by other toys and that the toy gun can remain hidden.

Last week, during half term we had an amazing time at the Aqualand Resort in Corfu. It is an all inclusive resort set among the green hills of Corfu, with three swimming pools and an adjacent Water park.  It was the perfect venue for us, the resort was so clean, tidy and well maintained, the food fresh, plentiful and varied and there was plenty of entertainment during the day and the evening.  However rather than write a full review of the holiday I thought I would just note down the sparkles which made us love the holiday.

* The preparation, holiday hair and fancy nails.

* Shopping at Departures.

* Stepping off the plane late at night as the warm air hits you by surprise.

* The smell of suntan lotion.

* Swimming costumes and cover ups .

* Flips Flops and sunglasses.

* Taking time and enjoying getting ready for dinner.

* Sitting on the balcony early evening with Little Miss reading our books in warm sunshine.

* Just being in the moment.

* The Children’s Euro disco, cheesie classics and Dad dancing!

* Putting away the digital devices.

* The taste of sunshine in salads and fruit.

* New scenery

* Family photos.

* Just the 4 of us.

* Regional foods and delicacies.

* Cocktails.

* Happy sounds, laughing, splashing, chatting.

* Waking up to bright sunshine and a warm breeze.

* Pancakes for breakfast.

* No cooking, cleaning or washing.

* Watching a spectacular thunder and lightning storm and soon after sunbathing in beautiful sunshine.

* Tan lines.

* Lie ins.

* Devouring a bestseller on a sun lounger.

* Rediscovering your ‘fun’ side

* Family card games.

* The tinge of sadness as suitcases are packed and its time to leave.

I love the preparation and anticipation of a big event and so am in my element this week as we get ready for our holiday on Friday.  Away from all the admin, clothes packing etc.. I love to do the special sparkles to make the holiday special.  This includes my secret ‘holiday’ bag full of treats for everyone and the task I’ve been working on today my ‘Mix tape’  The Mix Tape has been a feature of many holidays and special events over my life.  I love my music and love creating a soundtrack for special times.  My first mix tapes were taped from the radio and my double tape player, this progressed to CDs and now it is playlists on my iTunes account. Friends used to make me mix tapes too and I will always be grateful to one, who made some classic tapes for me. I still remember my delight and amusement at discovering Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Foxy Lady’ on a tape he had done for me.

Every tape needs to start with a strong number and in celebration of our trip to a Greek island, this mix has to begin with Zorba the Greek!  It needs to be an identifiable song and set the tone of the holiday.  As it’s a holiday mix it’s upbeat and happy and includes songs for us all.  Little Miss has asked for ‘Let it Go’ from Frozen and ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’, Little Man has the Star Wars theme and ‘Happy’ from Despicable Me.  There are also the family songs which we all sing along to together, Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’, American Authors, ‘Best Day of My Life’, classic Summer songs and some special songs which have special meaning.  I’ve included Noah and the Whale’s Five Years’ Time; it’s such a lovely song with beautiful lyrics. It was originally out In August 2008, the most heart breaking time of my and Mr S time together.  We needed to believe that life was going to get better and this song put our hopes to music.  This year we’re celebrating 5 years as a family and the song full of love is perfect for the mix tape.  My choice  for the mix is Mark Ronson’s ‘Uptown Funk’ my favourite song of the year so far and one that is guaranteed to put me in a brilliant mood.

The Mix tape is now ready and downloaded onto the necessary devices.  I’m not going to play it until we arrive in Corfu and am looking forward to singing and dancing to it as our little family in the warm sunshine.  Life is about little details and our Mix tape is a little detail to help make the holiday sparkle.

Among the blogs which I like to read there is a trend to share 50 things which make you happy.  There is a hashtag or linky to it but I prefer my blog to be private.   As well as my list I also asked the children about their happy things, we chose 5 and I love their choices.

50 Things which make me happy and sparkle (in no particular order)

1. Cuddles with my children.

2. Warm, fuzzy memories of special times with my husband.

3. Being with my family.

4. Radio 4 especially Women’s Hour, the Archers, Desert Island Discs and The Westminster Hour.

5. Afternoon tea ……. the ultimate being at the Ritz.

6. Lists

7. Lovely, new stationery.

8. Pottering around.

9. Strictly Come Dancing, the sequins, sparkle, music, costumes, make up no other programme comes close to making me this happy.

10. Music, I have a very eclectic taste!

11. Twitter, especially for all the amazing, kick ass women.

12.  Running

13. A ripe mango.

14. Chris Evans’ breakfast show, he would be the DJ to the soundtrack of my life.

15. A new Boden catalogue.

16. Baking and licking the bowl.

17. Holidays.

18. Photos, taking, organising and looking but definitely not posing for!

19. Bags, I love, love bags.  My lust for item.

20. Sewing.

21. Appreciating art.

19. Prints and patterns.

20. Sunshine.

21. Warm, Summer evenings.

22. The sun on my face and the sand between my toes.

23. A good film.

24. Scrabble.

25. Hats and scarves.

26. My Filofax.

27. A cup of tea.

28. Test Match Special, TMS.

29. Painted nails.

30. Sunglasses and flip flops.

31. A library.

32. Politics, local, national and international.

33. Poetry.

34. My town

35. A clean and tidy house.

36. An empty laundry basket.

37. Carnival week.

38. Tommy the Elf.

39. Recipe books.

40. My job as a special needs teacher.

41. My children’s giggles and laughter.

42. Children’s literature.

43.  Books, Kindle or the special feel and smell of a new paperback.

44. Hot Cross Buns.

45. Glossy magazines at the hairdressers, the only place I get to catch up.

46. Family heirlooms, my ring and bangle.

47. Freshly washed bed linen.

48. A warm bath filled with bubbles.

49. Essential oils and natural remedies.

50. Friends.

Little Miss’ 5 Happy things ..

1. Being calm.

2. Having friends.

3. Being kind to everyone.

4. Being with my family.

5. Playing

Little Man’s 5 Happy things..

1. Reading a book with Daddy.

2. Star Wars.

3. Playing with cars.

4. Playing on the beach.

5. Playing Wii U

For a number of personal reasons I don’t use photographs of myself or my family online, the most prominent reason is that my children are adopted and I need to keep our family life private.  I do find this a shame as I love to take photos (daily!) of my little family and our life and would love to be able to share these photos. However for my own peace of mind the images used in this blog are more general images which protect our identity.   This weekend I have decided to try and jazz up my blog, by replacing the rather childlike avatar into something which reflects the real me (honestly I am a real person)  I have had a little play on an avatar website and have come up with the above images, illustrating me at different stages of my life, on the website it doesn’t specify an age simply as now and future.   I was quite impressed with the images, although I must stress that the now photo should have a few more lines.  I’m comfortable and happy in my skin at 42, it tells a story of my life.  However, I find it remarkable how your hair colour changes over time in these illustrations but your skin appears ageless.  I suppose the now photo is me on a good day, hair recently straightened and coloured, wearing my Estee Lauder foundation ( a little bottle of magic)  and my sparkly lip gloss which counts as my make up routine.  I actually have a blouse like in the picture!   So this is me, minus my silver hoop earrings and a few lines and blemishes but hopefully it adds a more personal touch to this site.

Its rare that we go to see a film on opening weekend, our nearest multiplex cinema is a 40 mile round trip so we have to be very excited to make such plans.  Today was one of those films that we were all keen to see and wishing to have a quiet relaxed weekend before all the Christmas parties and events sprinkle the diary, it was the perfect timing.

Paddington was one of those books and television programmes which I fondly remember as a child and its charm and wit were beautifully transferred to this film.  Its a timeless film which could be set in any decade, but it had a magical quality, I loved the scenes in the antique shop and around London a mix of fantasy and fairy tale against the city setting.  The children loved the slapstick but for me it was the beauty of the themes which made the film.  Its about belonging, with poignant references to World War 2 child evacuees and the importance of being and loving as a family.  It felt so relevant to our family life and a few tears did fall in the darkness of the cinema.

This story was such a part of my childhood that I reminisced with the children of when Granfer would take me to find Paddington Bear at Paddington station.  I remember the Paddington so well, a very large plush Paddington Bar in a glass case and I loved it.  I’ve since been on the Internet and cannot find an image anyway, its so frustrating when you can remember something so clearly in your head but cannot find any evidence on the net.  Now, there is a statue at Paddington station and whilst it looks lovely, for me  it doesn’t have the same charm and style of the 1970/80s model.

The children have been asking for some play doh playtime all this week.  Its been a busy week with sickness, a ballet recital, school trips and just the daily ‘busyness’ of life so such an activity was difficult to fit in but I had promised that we would get creative at the weekend.  The pleas were still being made this morning, so after hair cuts and football, we settled down to our play doh afternoon. Now, it would be easy just to prep up the activity and leave the children to play whilst I tried to tackle some of my never ending to do list, but something in me felt the need to be in the moment to be playing, listening and creating with the children.  They are growing up so quickly and its these moments I’ll remember and look back fondly on in the years to come, I want the children to remember me as Mum who was there, did stuff and laughed with them.