Brought my little girl to the cinema to see Disney's 'Cinderella' last weekend. She loved it and so did I.
Nostalgia breezed through me as I watched the dance. I recall watching an old movie version of Cinderella with a beautiful dancing scene resembling this one. So elegant. So graceful. So poetic.
Times like these, I wish we were able to go back in time and relish the costumes in that era. Beautiful gowns.
To share a few handholding moments with my baby girl was just so lovely. She got scared when the carriage reverted back to a pumpkin, so we held hands and she squeezed up to me. I may have enjoyed the moment more than her. I plan for more bonding moments like these ♥
Our gorgeous 3 friends were with us, which made the day very special - full of fun, pizza, play, icecream and fairytale endings. My childhood best friend (often sidekicks) and her 2 adorable children. There are 3 months between us 2 and 6 months between our 2 girls. Ever so hopeful that we can make efforts to help them bond like we did many years ago. I don't have many childhood memories without my lovely friend, and it would be so cute to see how our little ones develop their own friendship. We have 1 girl, 1 boy each. Who knows! Maybe their friendships can have a happy never-ending just like their mummies, 30 years on... ♥♡
Overheard this funny moment today:
Teagan to Jude: "Was that funny, Jude?" (Obviously after doing something to amuse him)
Jude to Teagan, as clear as day: "Nope!"
(Photo credit goes to my Dad, after we assembled Teagy's loft bed earlier this week)
Dear Teagan,
I knew about you 6 years ago, a scan introduced us formally and from then on, we got to know each other.
You had hiccups often, that didn't change much after you were born and these days, at the ripe old age of 5, you often like to argue with me about the best way to get rid of your hiccups.
You are sweet, sensitive, comical and stubborn. You know your own mind, just like me, your mum, and I love that about you (sometimes ;) ). I'm trying to bond with you more recently because I see you are growing up so fast and you and I are so similar in ways, we grate on each other at times. I don't want you thinking I don't care. I do care. A lot. I see similarities in you and I, as I see them in my own mum and I.
We're odd beings, you and I. We mean well, we take things personally and we stick our feet into the mud too much, but I'm told we're still very loveable. That matters too, kiddo. So take a deep breath, look around, see what and who truly matter in your life and embrace it. Friends will come and go but your family is your safety net, your haven.
We love you.
I love you.
Love Mum xx
My name is Emma and I am a hoarder.
I have a terrible habit of hanging on to this and that, for another day. I call it practical and sentiment, others may call it loopy, clutter and just too much.
And I get it. There is a side to me that craves order and simplicity.
My daughter (Little Miss T) is starting to show the same... I want to say traits but to me, that sounds harsh... habits. She stuffs all kinds of things into a handbag, then weeks later gets upset because she can't find something. Sounds familiar to me.
About 2-3 years ago, I started taking photographs of sentimental things and throwing them out afterwards. I don't even remember looking at the photos after, I just feel better after taking them. A bit of closure before moving on.
Last month, I taught my little girl this handy trick. Here is the photo we took together. Her favourite trainers (her Welsh daddy calls them 'daps'). Hello Kitty trainers. She wanted to keep them but couldn't use them anymore. They were kindly given to her last year by our lovely landlady. T had smaller feet then but kept trying them on for size. She was thrilled when they could finally be worn, just in time to start her first year of school ♥
We might not look at these photos again but who knows. They went into Nanny's bin so easily after we had a photoshoot and tried on her new Peppa Pig replacement trainers though. We're so alike at times, it's uncanny...
So I finally managed to pour my felting equipment on our large kitchen table. Been waiting to do this for a couple of weeks, ever since my lovely post arrived from Jayne.
Baby happy, daughter at the ready with her helping hands, clean and dry... so we started the process and here are photos as promised :)
We followed Jayne's instructions (see her Facebook page called Flowerfelt by Jayne). She's in Co. Kerry, Ireland, makes some beautiful flowers, corsages, broaches etc.
I read the instructions out loud and we both figured out how to do the layering together. Something my 4 year old Teagan enjoyed, once she understood the layers needed to overlap so that the fibres would merge later on. She helped with the olive oil soap, lathered it up with a scrunched up plastic bag. Thoroughly enjoyed the satisfying creation of bubbles. She didn't like waiting around while I made sure everything was correct but that's to be expected... she's 4 :D
Anyway, I did the process of dipping the final product in hot water, then warm, then cold water to shock it. So cool. Teagan happily stirred it with a wooden spoon while little brother watched on.
The felt is almost dry (left it dry naturally, it's taken the full day and a half because it's January... the heating isn't always on and well... it's cold weather and I didn't want it to shrink too much so have been patient for a change) so watch this space...
Now to decide what to make. A flower (for my hair) I reckon... what do you think?
♥
I love how my kids enjoy their food.
Teagan can be a bit fussy at times, a bit like me I suppose. She often judges a meal by the way it looks. With some encouragement (okay, and some reverse psychology sometimes), she'd eventually sample it and make her honest, sometimes callous, review - eg. Dan made a yummy satay recently; she licked it and loudly exclaimed 'but it's got peanut butter in it! I don't want/like peanut butter in my dinner!' etc... you'd swear she didn't like peanut butter... she actually does! We explained that wasn't very kind of her to say it wasn't nice, just because SHE didn't like the taste, we liked it, Daddy kindly made it for us...
Anyway... we taught her about tact and kindness and how to be respectful at the dinner table. We thought it was resolved.
Bearing in mind, she IS four.
A day or two after, she burst out in praise of the evening meal 'I like THIS dinner, this is my favourite, the best dinner ever!'
We commended her for saying lovely things, and then the bombshell hit...
'I like it because it DOESN'T have peanut butter in it!!!'
And proceeded to go on and on and on about it for weeks later.
She is her father's daughter *wink *
Last week, I was sent a lovely little package of felting goodies to test out and review - thanks to the lovely Jayne @ Flowerfelt by Jayne (on Facebook).
Since I received it, there's been a hectic week... been out, had visitors, fallen down stairs, rested back, teething baby, funeral, preschool... and another funeral tomorrow... that's not all but I won't bore you with details.
Needless to say, my new felting experience has sadly not been sampled yet :( It's been put aside for a rainy day. Which could be this weekend by the looks of the weather forecast!! Never looked forward to a rainy day so much before! Teagan keeps eyeing the felting pack as it's something she can do with me... if I can cope with a 4 year old handling MY fluffy wool ;) Watch this space.
I was commenting on a friends photo on Facebook. Thought I'd save the comment for future embarrassment ;)
Love my little girl.
Little girl just woke from a bad dream, approx. 02:45. Tears, crying, shaking, tired.
Dinosaurs? No.
Monsters? No.
I ate her apple...
Yesterday, I couldn't quite figure out why there were some ornaments on the coffee table. Then I noticed the fly swat was laying flat on the windowsill and when I lifted it, there was a very dead something squished into the sill... I forgot all about it when I went to feed the baby before bed...
Til this morning.
Teagan was happily munching on muesli (after a mini meltdown when she sussed we'd eaten all the Maltesers from yesterday's visitors and she wanted some with breakfast.. I never agreed to that. And I say 'all' loosely, lovely small box, shared some with visitors, most with her & hubby after dinner... and they were MINE!)
Anyway... back to the mystery fly swat/squished thing...
I asked her 'did you move the ornaments from the windowsill?'
Without any hesitation, she replied 'Yes! I did! I moved them cos there was a fly there and I got it and... and... I did it ALL by myself!!'
I exclaimed 'Welldone T! Next, I'll show you how to clean up afterwards ok?'
'Ok Mummy.'
Mystery solved.
Teagan is turning 4 very soon and today she asked if she could type a message to 'Daddy's Mummy & Daddy'. 'I want to type - Thank you for my books and toys'.
So she did (with a little guidance) :)
Can't believe how she's progressing. She's a strong willed little girl, with an adorable little heart of gold too. Love her <3
My word, is she stubborn! If I'm honest, I get flashbacks of myself when I see how she works some days... a mirror image of me (but when I was actually a teen, she's not even 4 yet!!)... scary!
She just disciplined herself this evening! Didn't finish eating her fish pie, decided herself that she wasn't getting any dessert so carried on eating everything else on her plate, said thank you for dinner and walked away from the table without fuss, knowing full well we had clean plates and would soon be nibbling on yummy icecreams.
I guess that means she has learnt from our previous lessons about consequences then... impressive... but ssssh, don't tell her I said that!
Good morning Tuesday, you are almost as awkward as your friend Monday!
Today started with 'Mummy, I have poo on my top'.
Later, I was greeted with a bit more of the same subject, different child...
And then at breakfast time, she finished her cereal, I offered toast, said 'I don't know where Daddy put the butter, can you have peanut butter instead please?'...
Her reply: 'You can MAKE some butter, IF you want!'
3 year old logic, can't beat it!
*chuckle*
Update:
At the end of my evening, I heard 5 words I never want to hear put together again... 'There's poo on the soap!' Boy, was I glad it was nearly bedtime.
The words that stopped me in my tracks and made me think today ;)
Even though she's 3 and only has a stuffed animal under her top, I wondered about how I will feel when/if she tells me this for real when she's older/married/able to have her own little family. It's so hard to imagine our future when all I want to do is protect and nurture her as she is now. '<3 her bones' as the saying goes.
Then I wondered how my mum felt when I told her I was expecting the first time... and then sadly lost it... and the time after that, when I gave birth to my little girl and my mum happened to still be in the delivery room same time as my husband, so saw the birth firsthand... and then finally, this time... what sort of feelings come up? I would only imagine I'd feel helpless and protective all over again. I may just ask her... or leave my curiosity here for another day...
First morning at preschool yesterday, she was a giddypants, we were trying not to show our dodgy nerves ;)
We entered the building and her teachers were lovely and welcoming, complimenting her new lunch bag. T starts talking to them and said 'My mummy says if anyone is naughty...' to which I retort 'I'm still here, are you telling stories on me already?!' :D
She had a blast and we recovered nicely too... and enjoyed our lunch together with our big girl- fresh bread roll stuffed with warm chicken, salad & mayo, a summer berries yoghurt, yummy Magnum, some fresh strawberries and a good ole cuppa! :D
T'was da berries! Literally ;) <3
