you might find a mummy trying to keep her not quite 2 year old in focus whilst forcing her to count to ten….

yes….

that would be me….

Listen out for Isaac saying 'i want to go home now'  ;D

1. It is almost the last week in November…….

…..

is all im saying….

2. Oh whirly spinning wheel of many colours…i see far too much of you lately, dont take offence but your company and frequent appearance is starting to get to me and when you appear i have an irritating habit of falling asleep on the desk. Not pretty…

3. Yes you can fill a 16G compact flash card in one go..pretty easily really….

4. I think somewhere or other i have lost a week….or two maybe.

5. One day i will sit down and have nothing to do…and ill probably be too knackered to enjoy it.

6. Sleep appears to be optional in our house at the moment.

7. I got up at 4.45am on Sunday morning to edit some photos…now that is dedication or plain insanity right?

8. I made Nigella's sticky gingerbread with the children. Four kids on stools 'helping' was almost enough to send me over the edge..but we managed it and we got it in the oven…and when out it tasted incredible. I took some and a cup of tea and went to sit in a corner, whimper and rock backwards and forwards for a few minutes…

9. Learning..learning..my new geeky favourite past time is to watch photoshop editing tutorials that people upload to youtube. Who are these photoshop angels who spend their time and energy to give out their knowledge for free? I don't know but i love you for it…

10. Matilda likes the peppa pig iphone app, the animal noises app and the thomas the tank engine app…

You may just notice a theme to some of my ten this week…

teamjames 

When we visited my parents at half term i had the veritable treat of meeting one of my oldest friends for a coffee and wonder around a local retail outlet. I took wee jemimah to meet her and we spent a fantastic couple of hours…just…um…chatting…

Helen is one of those friends where in terms of our relationship, time has stood still, the circumstances have changed quite a bit. I met Helen when i was unmarried, living down south and refusing to cook anything that necessitated me using 'flour' ….all facts that have now changed…but those changing facts, the years passing, the distance that now stands between us…seems to never change the fact that getting together seems like just an extension of the last conversation we had….much like one of us got distracted mid flow to pour a drink, answer a call or tend to the requests of a small child..and come back and pick up the thread. She is one of my all time favourite people. 

We were talking about kids and raising them and the different challenges that they present at different times…'cos lets face it, raising kids doesn't get harder it just gets different….and what struck me about Helen's reaction to the various things that may be concerning her was just how much peace she had about the future for her tribe. Im not talking 'peace' from a spiritual point of view, although that may be it, but to me it was more the attitude of 'well, yeah…its going to be okay though..'

just a relaxedness…and a belief that 'yep bad times are going to probably come and yep they are probably going to hurt and when they do its tough…but you'll walk through it, might be slowly, but you'll be okay'

That sort of steadfastness and gentle strength of belief in the better outcome gives faith to stand and stare resolutely down the tunnel and look onwards past the dark and see the light at the end. 

I hope to catch up with her again soon…but then it doesn't matter if i don't…'cos some things just don't change…

teamjames

I have discovered over the years that mothering isn’t about the big issues: breast vs. bottle, to circumcise, or not, cry-it out or never sleep again… No, the things that matter most are the little things, the small lessons we pick up along the way. They are the legacy we pass on to our children. They are the things our children will remember us for, good or bad.

Here is a small list of lessons I have learned:

1: The color white should be avoided. At all costs. In everything. Walls, cars, bedding, towels, floors, and let’s not forget clothing.

The lesson here, white leads to heartbreak.  Brides wear white because once they get married and have children they will never get to wear it again.  True story.  It has nothing to with purity.

2: Baking cures all ills. There are no pains that some sugar, flour, and chocolate mixed together in some form can not assuage.

3: One day your child will shout that he hates you. Although you logically know this isn’t true, it will cut you to your core. Take solace in the fact that this means you are doing your job right. You aren’t your child’s friend. You are their parent.  You probably hate you too, sometimes.

4: When your kids are behaving in a way that makes you least want to give them affection and attention, that is precisely when they need it the most.

5: The healing power of a hug. Hugs rank right up there with baked goods.

6: You can never have too many vases. If you are lucky they will always be filled with flowers. Sometimes those flowers will look an awful lot like dandelion heads. You will love them the best.

7: You have an infinite reserve of patience. Yes, you will be tested. Yes, there will be times when you think you are right at that edge of your sanity. But then your kids will push right over to the other side and you realize, with surprised joy, that you have not strangled them nor has your head popped right off. And at that moment, you should feel proud.

8: The loss of a child is something that you will never get over. My mother-in-law still mourns her child, who died 50 years ago, with an intensity I cannot even fathom.

9: Don’t worry what other people think of you. Don’t compare your inside to everyone else’s outside. Live your life in a way that makes you happy. You know the old saying:  If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. It’s true.

10: Make your words sweet, for you never know when you will have to eat them. Criticizing the way any of the children of your friends behave is a sure way for that behavior to be visited upon you by your own children. Ten fold.

11: You will say completely ridiculous things to your children. Just like your mother said to you. You will claim to have “eyes in the back of your head.” You will ask them if they “live in a barn.” You will threaten to “pull this car over right now!”

12: Don’t wait for your house to be perfect to entertain. As long as you have children it never will be.

13: You can never have enough pens or pencils. Considering affixing one to your counter otherwise you will never have one when you need it.

14: Cheerios. When your children are small you are required to carry around a container of them. Always. I am not sure if any kids actually eat the Cheerios. BUT THAT IS NOT THE POINT!

15: Smile.

16: Never underestimate the healing power of a good cocktail at the end of the day.

 and because i simply cannot post a post without a picture..here is one little boy who has a simply wonderful Mama..

um..enough to watch it many many times..it just lifts my spirits, makes me smile and shed a little sentimental tear. There is something so compelling about the story of coming home  and what someone has gone through, the miles they have journeyed, to get back to that place in their heart that is home. I remember hearing someone talk once about the 'story' of getting home and at an airport you can get a little glimpse into those stories watching people return home. 

Ever since i can remember i have loved airports..i don't know if it has been the excitement that you might be going somewhere on an adventure or, if in fact, it is just watching people returning from their travels and wondering who is there to meet them. I could watch people in an airport for hours, where have they been? where are they going? Have they been gone long? Is there someone desperately scanning the sea of faces to find that one that they connect to.

Maybe im all sentimental about this right now because lets face it…at this present moment in my life…sitting in an airport people watching is just not going to happen. Unless of course you count the frantic 1,2,3,4 head count I do every five seconds to make sure that all are present,

So I just love this video and would have loved to have been caught up in it. How cool are those singers?? seriously the 'I am the passenger' guy. What a legend.

watch it and see if you dont want to watch it all over again…

teamjames