Little Baby Sister is here at last!

Apologies for the lack of posts for 3 months! First a PC meltdown then I spent the month of May in hospital as a scan revealed I had polyhydramnios and the baby was at risk. Further scans revealed she might need bowel surgery at birth so it was all a bit traumatic but baby Isabelle was born fit and healthy at 8lbs on 22 May by c section. Shewas in th SCBU for a while just in case but we came home together a week later. She is doing well and 6 weeks old tomorrow. Older brother Alex coped v well with being separated from me despite being in the middle of potty training and getting chicken pox on top of everything. I on the other hand missed him like mad and sobbed hysterically everytime he came to visit me on the ward. We have never been apart for more than a few hours before! It was all pretty horrendous but having spent the month with plenty of seriously premature babies I know we are the lucky ones.

Will postagain when I have more time ie when Isabelle naps for longer! Anyway I leave you with a cute photo and fond regards!

Boys will be boys

Alex and a friend making the most of the mud and puddles to make a proper building site. My boy just loves his diggers!

Something Crafty - at last!

At long last my crafting mojo has returned. It deserted me the moment I got pregnant and nauseous and has been a long time returning. I am making a fabric picture to frame and hang in Little Baby Sister's room and as I have a thing for little cottages and cottage gardens that's what I'm making. I am of course inspired by the wonderful Amanda and her son Ezra as well. I have never done anything like this before so it's all experimental but it's also great fun getting stuck into a new project I can do by hand. (My Mum and I share the sewing machine and she has it at the moment.) Will show a pic when it is finished - I promise. Actually now I am finishing work for the year maybe I will have more time to start some new craft projects before the baby arrives...... here's hoping! (On that note: Amazon UK have told me I have to wait another 3 weeks until Amanda's book arrives - argh!)

Down on the Farm

We are very lucky in that Chris's sister and her family live on a small farm just under an hour away from us. She has lots of animals and rears her own pigs and chickens as well as growing her own veg. They also have horses, dogs, cats, doves, fish and a rabbit. Alex just loves it there as there is plenty of land to run around on, his older cousins to play with and lots of animals to visit. They live in a farmhouse perched on a hill in Suffolk with sweeping views from all sides. I love visiting there because it's really my dream to live somewhere like that and this way I get to do it for an afternoon here and there. We also some great chats about homegrown food and raising children and cooking. She is a fabulous cook - we had her hand reared pork at the weekend with home grown veg and home baked bread and butter pudding. The meat was delicious and all the better for having been humanely reared and despatched as all meat really should be.

I am so glad Alex has a chance to grow up near to his cousins and our extended family and to be able to experience a farm based lifestyle at first hand. I want him to learn where our food comes from and how important it is. I want him to learn about animal welfare and to be engaged with animals rather than scared of them (he's not but I know a lot of kids that are). I want him to learn responsibility through caring for animals and the land around us. I think these basic and natural lessons engage the child and teach them a lot about life and the world around them but in a way that interests them and that has meaning for them. Especially at this young age when I really feel that practical learning is far more important than classroom learning (but that's just my opinion!).

I am troubled whenever I read about the problems with today's society where everything seems to be about furnishing the economy and not about the people or our community. I worry terribly about our unhappy and old-before-their-time children (especially the way everything is about a shallow culture of looks and possessions). I have my doubts about the school system and the effect of peer pressure on my kids. It was bad enough it my day but I think it is far worse now. The more I think about it all the more I want to run away to the hills and bring my kids up on a self sufficient smallholding miles away from anywhere. I don't want them to grow up in the electronic age I want them to be wild and free and outside. I want them to be muddy and rosy cheeked and adventurous and at the same time independent, responsible, kind and educated. I believe it is possible to raise your kids that way and I know that the blogs I enjoy reading the most have a similar ethos. I just hope that financial pressures don't mean that we can never achieve this kind of lifestyle for our kids. All it would take right now to start would be a bigger garden and for me to continue working part time if possible - if not give up all together. Some say I have an overly romantic or nostalgic idea of life but I think we should aspire to live a certain way and not just settle for the norm just because it suits everyone else.

Snow Day

At last we had a day of snow on Easter Sunday. I have been looking forward to going out with Alex to play in the snow all winter and at the beginning of Spring we finally got some snow. Just a few centimetres and it was gone by the evening but it was enough to play snowball, make a snowman and play some games. My favourite thing about snow is the hush that descends - it is so quiet and peaceful and everything including the ugly building site next door is covered in that pretty blanket of white for a while. The light was grey and overcast so it wasn't exactly the sparking snow day of my dreams but it was enough to feel like we had a proper winter.

Not quite spring yet

Not quite spring yet, but almost there. Still cold and wet and possible snow to come but at least the flowers are here.

Soon it will be Easter and the great village Easter Egg Hunt. Alex has been making Easter cards and easter egg baskets and pre-school.

Pregnancy Update:I am 30 weeks pregnant and enormous already. Little Baby Sister is doing well and moving lots. Alex has been very sweet and kissing the bump on a regular basis as well as shouting "hello" loudly at it! I feel fine - apart from a few of the usual aches and pains - but I am being driven to distraction by the health service at the moment. I have been trying to obtain my blood test results from almost 8 weeks ago to check that I don't need any iron supplements. Can my midwife find them - no. I asked her to hunt them down and post them to me and instead she sends me forms to request new tests. I go to my GP and ask for them but she tells me I didnt have the full blood count done. Which is rubbish as I know I did as I discussed it with them when they were taking the 6 vials of blood. And then when I ask her to follow it up she rushes off to take a private phone call and doesn't bother to finish the conversation with me! I finally manage to speak to the phlebotomist who tells me if something was wrong the hospital would have contacted me. Which is also rubbish as they never contact me about anything at all. Between the hospital, the midwife and the GP none of them appear to have a clue what's going on and who is doing what. I finally managed to speak to another phlebotomist who did track down my results and has printed them off for me to collect. But I have to make another GP appointment to discuss them - again. Sigh. Also I have to spend a couple of hours at the hospital this week doing a GTT test even though I don't have Gestational diabetes because I had such a big baby last time. Which I have explained is genetic as my m-i-l had big babies but it seems they aren't paying much attention to me (just like last time!). It really doesn't give me much confidence in the whole system at all.

And I had such a traumatic labour and delivery with Alex (you really really don't want to know the details) that ended in an emergency c section and emergency blood transfusion that I think we will be booking in for a planned c section this time. At least I might be able to gain a tiny bit of control over the whole process. But of course my consultant despite having read my horror story is still trying to get me to do a Vbac.

So 8 or 9 weeks to go........tick tock.

Vegetable Box Schemes

I have been using good old Abel and Cole for a while now as my veg box delivery service. I get a mixed box of fruit and veg once a fortnight and I really enjoy the challenge of making new recipes from the unusual things I get. Today I think I am going to tackle a red cabbage coleslaw which I have never made but must be very easy- I think. I have been trying to increase my daily fruit and veg intake (and the rest of the family's) and the box makes it much easier. I seem to crave nothing but toast and chocolate for this pregnancy which is none too healthy! I hate waste and I make sure we finish everything off before the next box arrives. We have been having lots of vegetarian pasta bakes, vegetarian couscous and lots of yummy fruit salads and it does inspire me to try new things as well. It also means we get a lot more variety and Alex is introduced to a bigger range of flavours than he is used to. However my friend N. has found a new delivery company that specialise in organic produce but just from the local area to here. Organic meat, veg, flours and bread. I am going to change over because I tried for years to find a local company to deliver that had a good range as well and finally we have one! And this one specialises in mediterranean vegetables - my favourite food.

I would of course dearly love to grow my own and I have a long held dream of being self sufficient one day. I need to move to a place with a bit more garden first so in the meantime I dream. I did plan to get an allotment a while back but gave up on the idea when I started to try getting pregnant again. I had a lot of vegetables growing in pots on my patio last summer but they got washed away in the torrential rain we had last summer and the rest got eaten by the plague of slugs we had as a result. I managed to harvest a handful of peas, a handful of strawberries and some lettuce leaves. So I think we need a good vegetable box.

New play table

I have been wanting to create a play area or table for Alex for a while but not really done much about it till now. He is at the age where he likes to create little scenarios and prefers standing up to making them on the floor. I noticed him gravitating to playing on tables etc at pre-school recently so decided that now was the time to get on with it. I braved Ikea (why do I always go only when heavily pregnant??) and bought a Lack coffee table for £11.50 and some cardboard boxes (4 for £10) and hey presto a new play table with some storage for his toys underneath. It doesn't take up much room and it can be used as a grown up coffee table when he is too old to need a play table. I sorted out his toys into boxes: cooking and food, wooden blocks, lego blocks and cardboard boxes and tubes (for making things) and they all get stored underneath. His paper and art stuff slots down at the back next to the wall and out of sight. All very neat and tidy (essential in a small house!).

Happy Mothers Day

Spring is almost here - daffodils are cheering me along.

The longest and most beautiful swing I have ever seen.


Purple red and yellow.


My day - Pain au chocolat and orange juice for breakfast:time to read the Sunday papers: tulips from my boys: phone calls to the Grandmothers: walking in a local garden all overgrown and romantic: a sunny picnic: swinging Alex under a lebanese cedar pine: spring is in the air: home to a fire and playing games: a Sunday roast cooked by Chris: bathtime: apple crumble and ice cream all round: early to bed with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book: watching my bump wriggle all over the place and dreaming of my little girl to be: Being a mother - just bliss.

Remembering my good friend B who lost her mother and best friend last year.

I love being a mother. It wasn't something I ever really wanted as I preferred travelling and being footloose and fancy free to domestic bliss. Then my first nephew was born (on my side of the family) and he had my mother's eyes. And something just clicked and I knew that that was what I wanted. I was terribly broody for a long time. I wanted a child when I was 30 and I finally managed to have my son a few months before turning 36. I used to cry at babies in supermarkets and gaze longingly at bumps and strollers. It was heartbreaking for a long long time.

The first few years were taken up with trying to find a job that didn't involve 4 hours daily commuting (just across London!) and then working for a year in a new job to get my maternity allowance. To then have that job move across London and being back to a 4 hour commute again! Finally after 2 years of this to-ing and fro-ing I managed to wangle a position working from home and we could begin. Only it then took us 3 years and many tests to finally get pregnant and stay pregnant. I thinking having to wait so long and having a tough time getting to motherhood has made me appreciate it so very much. And I feel lucky in that as not everyone gets to feel that way. I knew it was what my heart desired and I was one of the lucky ones who managed to get there in the end. Not everyone does and for them Mothers Day must be a terribly cruel day to celebrate.

When I had Alex I was on a total rush of maternal love. I had an incredible mummy high and it has never gone away to this day. I look at my son and my heart skips a beat. I watch his dark eyelashes curl on his cheeks when he sleeps. I watch him laugh and giggle every day and he makes me feel ridiculously happy. I miss him like crazy when I don't see him for a couple of hours. I have never spent the night apart from him. He makes me laugh every day. He makes me melt every day. Yesterday when I came downstairs with the washing he said: "Mummy I love you. You are the best mummy in the whole world". He is 2 and 1/2 yrs old! I can't get enough of him. His twinkly hazel eyes, his quizzical eyebrows, his chuckle, his cute little legs, his freshly shampooed hair, his sweet nature, his love of playing with his friends, his cries of "chase me chase me", the delight he gets from jumping up and down on our bed. He is so good natured and loving and happy. I love you too Pickle. You make me the happiest Mummy in the world.

And as for my mother - I am very lucky. She is my role model and I love her to bits. She is warm, loving, caring, chatty, fun, friendly, kind, a fantastic cook, seamsmistress and homemaker. I had a very loving and happy childhood and I hope that I manage to re-create that for my kids. As with all mothers she can drive me potty at times and we do have different ideas about the world but at the same time I know we are scarily alike. She is also the best grandmother a child could have and for that I am doubly blessed. Thanks Mum - I love you too!

Spring Flowers

Toxic Childhood

I am currently reading Toxic Childhood - How the Modern World is Damaging our Children and What We Can Do About It by Sue Palmer.

It is a great read and very very interesting. A lot of what she says goes along with my personal beliefs on child-rearing such as the importance of parent intereaction and time and love. I have not finished reading it yet and will give a full book review when I do but in the meantime I highly recommend this book to anyone who is or wishes to become a parent or grandparent or teacher.

The main premise is that a combination of many different factors such as TV, the electronic era we live in, hard working parents, junk food, junk culture, instant gratification, lack of outside play, too much testing and narrow curriculums at school etc are leading to our children being very unhappy, and badly behaved. This in turn leads to the problem we have now with feral teenage gangs and then anti-social or criminal adults. And the point she makes strongly is that even if you bring up your kids to become well rounded and happy individuals we need to make sure as a community and society as whole that we also do our best to help achieve this with other people's kids as well. Otherwise our children will end up living in a violent and nihilistic society.

I was just reading the chapter on nutrition and she makes an interesting point about how we give our children too many choices. That we think loving someone we should give them a choice. (I do this a lot as I think that it is part of the growing up process but maybe I am wrong!). And the choice issue is very important with food. We should decide what, when and where the child eats and they can decide how much. And thats it. If we give them choices they will always pick the unhealthy stuff as we all have a natural liking for sugar and salt etc. As children don't know about the importance of nutrition we have to make these choices for them. I must remember this next time we are eating out and not let Alex choose chocolate cake for his main course just because I feel like spoiling him! I do think a little treat now and again isnt bad but that I mustn't slip into a bad habit.

The other interesting fact was the importance of the family meal together on a daily basis. I have always thought this as it was an important part of my childhood and I really think it bonds a family together. But studies have also shown all sorts of other benefits such as high educational levels and well adjusted teen years as well as the obvious such as conversation skills, better table manners, the ability to share and be patient etc.

I am so enjoying reading this as I am not a great fan of parenting manuals. I can't wait to get stuck in to the rest of the book. Only on page 40 so far.........

Show and Tell - my vintage Sasha Doll

So I was talking a while back about my old Sasha doll from the 1960s which I am going to put in LBS's room (that's little baby sister aas she is known around here - even though she is still a bump!). I love this doll as she was one of two I had as a kid. I was such a tomboy I really hated dolls and only this one and a ragdoll were tolerated. I think because she looks older and exotic I thought she was cool. And as she was from my very cool older swiss cousin that made her even better. She also came with her own suitcase of handmade clothes from the sixties which I still have today. Look at all these cute dresses!


In the spirit of not making gender based choices for my son I gave him the doll to play with but he is not interested in her at all. I guess she just doesn't do much! He likes things that go (cars, trains, planes), building blocks, the toy farm and animals, jigsaws and art such as drawing and glueing things. He does like domestic things like cooking, playing picnic, pretend ironing etc. I wonder if LBS will be the same?

A Late Happy Valentines Day

We do things simply round here for Valentines Day. A couple of cards with heartfelt messages, some tulips and a meal cooked with love. I thanked Chris for giving me two children and for working so hard to provide for our little family and then dotted capers in a heart shape round his supper. It made him laugh which is what was intended!

We went to Southwold at the weekend. It was gloriously sunny but bitterly cold with an easterly wind making it sub-zero with windchill! Alex loves the seaside and had requested it so off we went. First things first we headed to the sand so Alex could make some castles with his bucket and spade. Then when we had had enough we pottered around the town - Alex drew some oohs and aahs as he looked so cute holding onto his bucket and spade and grinning happily. And we weren't the only people there - we even had to queue at the little fish shop for lunch. It is such a pretty town and full of little cafes and galleries etc. The architecture is so quaint and lovely and unspoilt - I do love it so. It is just a shame it takes us a good 2 hours to get there.

Ahhhh Sunshine

Some photos from the gloriously sunny weekend for you. Sun - how we have missed you!

Thrifting Treasures and Going Girly

I have been having a good week thrifting this week and have noticed a decidedly girly influence coming through. I found some really nice fabrics and noticed when I got them home how pink they all were - not my normal preference at all. So I am planning a cot quilt as my first ever quilt for my baby girl-to-be. (All fabrics below are thrifted except the yellow one - not bad eh?)

I have also decided that when she is born our current office come guest room will be turned into her room come guest room - even though she will be sleeping with us for at least 6 months - as I really want to create a space that is for her. This means I will have to put all the computer stuff into storage at least until I have to start working again. I work from home so I have a company PC (giant thing and very ugly) and a lot of client files currently taking up a whole wardrobe. If I am very lucky I might be able to get a laptop sometime as we really have no room anywhere else in the house for a whole computer desk and printer and hard drive and office files. And I do plan to keep blogging, reading blogs and putting photos on flickr in the meantime.

I have started collecting a few thrifted bits here and there and got out my gorgeous old Sasha doll from the sixties. I had two dolls when I was a child - one ragdoll a friend made for me and my Sasha doll that was a hand-me-down from my Swiss cousins. She is beautiful with dark brown honey skin and white blonde hair and a wonderful handmade-by-my-aunty retro wardrobe. I also have some nice girly vintagey pictures. The girl in the heart is actually a printout from Emily Martin at the Black Apple - go take a look at her wonderful creations. I love her gothic and vintage style - she is a very clever lady.

I have also collected some old favourite books such asBeatrix Potter and Enid Blyton - the ones I remember well from childhood. I am going for a vintage feel depending on my luck thrifting and my skill crafting.
I also scored a book on crochet and one on patchwork which will be gifts to my friend who likes crafting and whose birthday is coming up soon in March. I am very lucky to have a friend in my village who likes crafting, thrifting, cooking, camping, gardening and just hanging out with the kids. We like exactly the same things which is almost spooky and she bought the house in the village that Chris and I had had our hearts set on. (|Yes I have forgiven her because I wouldn't have her friendship if she hadn't moved here!) She even drives a vintage seventies camper van - my dream car!

Peekaboo

WIP

I have a new WIP at long last.


The creative vibe has just deserted me completely since I became pregnant. I seem to be concentrating on nurturing rather than creating. Plus I am completely worn out by the end of the day. But I have managed to pick up some knitting. I am terrible at knitting and I really need to learn how to do it properly but I do enjoy the basic clicking of needles and the end result and that's enough for me. This is a scarf for Alex then I will do one for Chris but with better wool and bigger needles. I also still have Alex's crochet stripey blanket to finish but that's still languishing in a heap at the bottom of my wardrobe as it's only about 4 inches long so far. It's knowing I have another 3 feet to do that puts me off!

Pre-school has started

Alex made his first biscuits this week - at his own request. Delicious!


So Alex started pre-school playgroup on Monday. He is going to go just one morning a week to start with and then maybe two when he is more settled. I stayed with him all morning but kept hidden in the corner so he got involved with everyone else. He was very quiet at first but soon started to join in and enjoy himself. I know he likes socialising with lots of other kids so I think he will be fine. As he only came over once to say hello and didn't seem to miss me at all I am going to try coming home and leaving him next week. It was an emotional experience though. I don't know if it's the pregnancy hormones or mummy love but I was almost in tears on several occasions. I was very close to not enrolling him at all but now that our other playgroup has finished I thought it was important for him to find another one to join. I do think socialising kids is good as they learn so many life lessons (hopefully the nice ones like sharing) - I am just less keen on the leaving him. Although that's more about me than him. And the playgroup is nice - they try and teach them to sit still when told and wash their hands before eating and to play nicely etc.

I still think that 4 is far to young to start school though. Alex will only just have turned 4 as he is a summer baby. Some areas dont start till January for the summer babies and some do part time hours only for the younger kids. I am tempted to start him after he turns 5 as this is the legal requirement but it depends if he has friends going at the same time or not. And I still hanker after the idea of homeschooling. I am going to do much more research about it first. I think since we live near to Cambridge there will be a good homeschooling community there. It just depends if I can persuade Chris and we can afford me not to go back to work.

***Edited to add: Well this week (28 Jan) I left Alex on his own for the first time in his life with someone other than his grandparents or father. And he was fine. He ran into school and got stuck in straight away and he was fine according to the teachers/playgroup leaders (not sure what to call them!). It might all change of course - he might decide he doesn't like it or he might get more clingy in other situations but at the moment he seems fine. To me it seems like a huge development as he still seems so young. But I do think learning to play in a group and socialise is very important and the stimulation he gets is excellent so it's worth me getting all teary about it! ***

It's going to be a ...............................

.........................................................................girl!

So the 20 week ultrasound went well last week and all is looking OK. Chris and I were terrified beforehand after our last experience in the ultrasound department but after 45 minutes (we had a trainee) and then a further 5 minute wait while they inputted the measurements - they came back to say all was well. Pheweeee. We sighed a huge sigh of relief and then started grinning from ear to ear. I am still nervous that something will go wrong. I know too many sad stories not too but at least thus far things are looking good.

And we found out we are having a girl. I am very pleased because it's nice to have one of each but in a weird way I was also kind of sad to say goodbye to the little boy I had in my head (which is why I had to find out - I was worried about getting too attached to the idea it was one or the other and then being wrong). I know I won't be having any more so I had to let go the idea of having another boy. And because I am used to having a boy it seems weird having a girl. But I am very happy indeed.

And even more happy for my mum who after 3 grandsons was very keen for a girl especially as this will be her last grandchild. We decided to tell her by buying a dress and hiding it in a bag for her to pull out. Except I bought a blue dress so it took a while for it to sink in it was a dress and therefore a girl! I have a real aversion to pink and sparkly things - I have always been a tomboy - so I am trying to spread the word for when the time comes. I don't normally buy anything for the baby this early on but I thought it would be a fun way to announce the news to my family!

On other baby news my next door neighbour had her little boy 6 weeks early last week. She has placenta previa so it was on the cards but the little thing was tiny - under 4lbs so he has been in an incubator for the past 10 days. The good news is he got out yesterday and is now feeding every 3 hours and putting on the weight at long last. My poor friend is stuck in hospital though and has missed her son's 4th birthday and is desperate to get home and start being a family. Hopefully it will be very soon. I can't wait to spend the summer sitting outside chatting with the boys playing footie and the babies chilling out under the tree.

A week in photos

Fairy Cakes

Alex spent a day last week at his best friend Hannah's house making fairy cakes for the first time.
It was so sweet watching them both stirring and icing and sprinkling away with gusto. He did everything himself except put them in the oven. He was so proud of the end result and so was I.

Pregnancy Update - 20 weeks

As I haven't said much about this pregnancy for a while - here's a quick update.

No bump photos yet as I am just at that stage where I look like I overindulged at Christmas rather than having a proper bump. Or maybe it's just that my bump is well disguised by a layer of plumpness! And winter jumpers and coats etc. Anyway no neat photogenic bump just yet.

I started feeling some movement finally around the 18 weeks mark which is late for a second child but then it was the same with Alex so who knows. I might have another anterior placenta again which doesnt help.

Tomorrow we reach the 20 week half way mark (already!) and we are having our big scan. I feel nervous to know everything is alright and very excited as we are going to find out the sex.
I am one of the camp that needs to know beforehand. I like to bond with the baby in utero and I find it more real if I know who I am talking to - if that makes sense. Also I dont want to go down the road of imagining it is one thing when it turns out to be the other. And I think it will be easier to explain the concept to Alex if he knows its a brother or sister not just a baby. I dont mind what I have so long as they are healthy and happy. We will tell Alex afterwards. We have talked a bit about brothers and sisters in general and that a baby is growing in Mummy's tummy but we haven't really pushed it yet as its a bit difficult with nothing to make it seem real yet.

I am having that weird conflicting emotion of thinking how can I possibly love another child as much as I love Alex. I think it's common with a second child and I am not really worried it's just weird imagining how it can be possible. Before I had Alex my heart was empty and longing for a child and then he came along and filled it up in more ways than I could have imagined. It doesn't feel like there is any room to spare now. But I am sure I will fall madly in love - just like last time. Being a mother has been the absolutely best thing that ever happened to me and more wonderful than I ever imagined. It's intoxicating. So I am looking forward to spreading that love around more and sharing our life with another little one.

Only another 20 weeks to go.....

Friday Night Social Club

Our tiny village is a fantastic place to live and very friendly but sadly it no longer has a pub of its own. When the the last pub closed down in the 1970s the villagers decided to run a social club in the village hall instead. And it has been going strong ever since.

We have a lovely village hall with vaulted ceiling, great kitchen, a store room for all the table and chairs and a lovely cosy bar area with open fire. It is used a lot by the village but mainly by the social club who organise masked balls, quiz nights, BBQs, parties, big screen sports nights - you name it - they do it.

Anyway one of my friends in the village had the inspired idea of setting up a family night at our village social club. The main thing parents complain about is that they can't go out in the evenings to see their friends. And we don't have a village mother and baby/toddler group so it is difficult for new parents to meet people when they arrive in the village. So she set up a family night once a month so that people can go to the social club and take their children with them. It starts at 6.30 pm and most are back home between 8 and 9pm when the adults take over. There are a quite a few toddlers and some 10 year olds and between them they have so much fun. They run around a lot, have a few cartons of apple juice, do a bit of drawing etc and then go home worn out and ready for bed. Us parents manage to catch up with friends, sit down for a chat and a drink (OJ for me!) and then wander home with tired but happy kids.

Inspiration

One of my main sources of inspiration for a lot of things; mothering, photography, cooking, creating and much much more is Amanda of the awe inspiring Soule Mama blog.

I have ordered her book (due out in April) about nurturing creativity and connections within the family and I cannot wait to get my hands on it. I think she has such a wonderful attitude to life and family in particular and she manages to convey this in a beautiful way on her blog. Her writing is wonderful - she has such a way with words and her photography is also stunning. I am sure she too has piles of ironing and days where she feels overwhelmed but her attitude of count all your blessings and appreciate the here and now is something I strongly believe in.

One thing I would love to copy her by is to give up our family TV. However Chris is not keen at all (he gets home so late from work all he can do is zonk out in front of the TV for half an hour before bed!) but he has compromised with the idea of one day a week being telly free for the whole family. We are thinking about getting back into playing cards or chess instead.

I just wanted to do a quick mention of her fabulous bird calendars that she made with her family and sent out as Chrismas gifts - take a look at Soule Mama. I am just amazed by such a great idea but also the quality of the end product. I think we might be trying a few of these ourselves next Christmas.

The Happy Campers

As I mentioned before my favourite Christmas pressie was a book called The Happy Campers by Tess Carr and Kat Heyes. I always ask for books at Christmas. Last year I got the Allotment Book and a book of Ansel Adams photos, the year before a book on Waterside Living (for dreaming!), the year before that the Vegetarian Cookbook. I am such an easy person to buy gifts for!

Anyway The Happy Campers is a great book, just the thing to see me through the bleak winter months with dreams and plans of a summer spent outdoors. The book is written in a very chatty, informal style and covers lots of fun topics as well as the essentials. It is also a very beautiful book with great photos. The photos are of the casual, non-staged variety and a lot are overexposed or polaroid style. This gives it a lovely 1970s vintage vibe. ( There is even a little tip in the book on how to achieve the '70s/polaroid style with ordinary film such as putting it in your washing machine!) I think this is very clever as the ages of the people its aimed at would probably have very fond memories of camping in the 70s (and earlier or later) and it gives it a lovely nostalgic feel as well.

On the down side it is a bit "trendy"as it has lots of photos of young beautiful people being effortlessly cool but overall I recommend it as a fun, family friendly guide to camping.

The chapters cover the basics such as what to take, how to make a campfire and setting up camp. Then there are the more fun things such as cooking (chapatis on spades anyone?), making your camp pretty with wildflowers and candles and games to play. There are tips on making extra comfy beds with handmade crochet blankets and sheepskins, beach games, weather watching, a map to the stars, wildlife guides, how to take photos, knitting, kite making and lots of fantastic recipes.All in all I can thoroughly recommend this book if you like camping and you want something fun to look at. It will inspire you to make all sorts of plans for the summer months and to make the most of camping when you go. As for me considering I will have a newborn this summer I don't think we will be camping anywhere other than the back garden perhaps. I am planning instead to do lots of picnic outings and to make these as close to camping trips as possible with blankets and candles and lots of star gazing.

(Apologies for the terrible scans - an old computer and no software for photos/scans so it won't let me crop or fix photos. I tried photos on my camera of the pages but they were worse!)