The first week of a new term is never without a hitch. We only had a two week school holiday to enjoy together, after a long, 11-week, first term. We were just getting into our stride, and really enjoying ourselves, when the end of the holidays hit us with a bang. It felt premature that […]
Sarah
A mother knows; back to school blues.
On the surface, her child is smiling, but a mother knows, there’s something hiding. A child may be sat – Straight backed, on the mat. But those focused eyes, aren’t alive, like a cats. She sees the tension, the torment within. The waning of a flame, as her child is tamed. Her child glazes over, […]
The wedding dress…
Counting down… not long now! I’m in bed watching the ‘The Royal Channel’ on YouTube. Alice is asleep next to me on the futon. Sophie is asleep in my bed next to the futon. Dan is watching the proceedings on TV3 (screening the ITV coverage – Twitter peeps report it’s a lot more ‘jolly’ than […]
Comfort Baking
I never used to bake much; always ate to survive, rather than living for the pleasure of eating. I grazed on the run, grabbed a piece of fruit on the way out the door, hurried down a few slices of toast for lunch, downed a glass of milk before bed… all whilst vaguely ensuring I […]
Q & A
London City Mum tagged me for this meme, based on The Guardian’s Life & Style Q&A. I rarely partake in these, but having read London City Mum’s answers (and laughed a lot), I thought I’d have a go… (can’t promise to make you laugh, but you might see a different side of me after you’ve […]
Good Friday
There have been sunsets of significance, in my life, many times before. But on this Good Friday, it was more. As a child I’d grimaced, at His gruesome death. I still can’t understand the cruelty, that people can inflict. The hot cross buns, that tasted yum, did not sit well, in my tum. I knew […]
The Gallery: My Blog
It’s what I do when my children sleep. It’s what I think about, whilst I wash their clothes – scrub paint off walls, and food off the floor. It makes me focus on the magic. I want my children to look back one day, in awe at the precious childhood they had. I also want […]
A Perfect Birthday
Autumn sunset on the Kapiti Coast, star gazing, from the beach house, driftwood bonfire & guitar strumming, children dancing & baby (mostly!) sleeping. Mama sipping champagne, & eating Belgian chocolates, Tending to her youngest, stirring in happy dreams. Daddy ever patient, being bossed about. Master of the party, torch in hand he tries – to […]
You know it’s the school holidays when the weather does this…
It’s that time of year when the weather toys with us and we flit from board games and bagels to ice-creams and boules at the speed of a flying frisbee in a southerly gale. Last night the chest of board games was dusted off, hardly touched since last winter. Charlotte and Sophie reveled in the […]
The Gallery: Tomorrow
Tomorrow is like the pages of an unwritten book. Tomorrow we choose which foot to start on – be it the left or right, good or bad. Every new day holds promise and we choose how to live it – no matter how the odds are stacked against us. Sometimes those odds seem unsurmountable and […]
Weekend Highlights: from Football to a Doll House (with a car boot sale in between!)
Got to admire him… Partying till 1am (YouDo 4th Birthday), woken at 6am by his daughters jumping on him, spends the morning delivering flyers to advertise the school car boot sale, and then attempts a game of football. Twenty minutes into the game he’s injured and hobbles off the pitch. But his support crew stay […]
Us MAD Bloggers
I’d rather read blogs than magazines. I prefer reading about real lives than watching soap operas. The television is reserved for movie nights. My MacBook gets a lot more viewing hours. And I love writing. I’ve always loved writing. I prefer writing my thoughts to speaking them. I’m one of those people that would rather […]
Things I’m Loving! Purple tights, red boots & more!
LOVE Purple tights and red boots, because sometimes a girl likes to pretend she’s a cosmopolitan chick – even if she does get very strange looks at the school gates of her local school. So after cleaning the windows (that nobody but her notices whether they’re clean or not), and being the laundry fairy to […]
Upside Down this Lyrical Sunday!
A poem from my dear Mum (and wishing her and Chinese Grandma a very happy Mothering Sunday in the UK x): Spinning on our world of awe by Grandma – Celia Aspinall Spinning on our world of awe Day light there Night time here Whatever time Always dear Love birds Up-right – upside down Swinging […]