Motorway Blowout to Country Dancing

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Today was supposed to be a day of retail therapy. Esther, William and I were going to Blue Water with their Godmother and my best friend, Michele. We had a very important brief for the day to look at navy blue dresses to identify some bridesmaid possibilities for our wedding in September. The date had been set for weeks.

David dropped Esther, William and I at Michele’s. We enjoyed a lovely hour of playing with the babies and catching up on news. We began to plan our day.

Just after 11.00am we got in the car and headed for the M25. We were on our way.

On the motorway Esther began to cry. This is something that she does not do. I was trying to soothe her and wondering what could be wrong. Most likely diagnosis, dirty nappy! There was a noise getting louder. It sounded like it could be the exhaust of the sports car over taking us at first, but the car accelerated away and the noise lingered on. In fact, it got louder. Michele began to worry that there was something wrong with her car. We were in the fast lane, thankfully not going too fast. Michele saw the smoke. She realised that she must have a flat and proceeded to make her way calmly and safely across the lanes of the M25 to get us safely to a stop on the hard shoulder. As I got out of the car I did see the smoke and I just said, without thinking, “We have to get the babies out of the car.” We took the babies behind the safety barrier and settled on what little grass there was. The babies were calm, William was fast asleep at first, soothed by the lorries thundering by!

It was very annoying for Michele that her new car had lost a tyre, she was shaken thinking about what could have happened, but we were safe. The babies were safe. We took them behind the barrier and waited for our rescuers. Michele did not have a spare tyre and so she had to call a recovery company whilst I called David who came to collect the babies and I.

While we waited we sang songs for the babies, took photos, talked about dresses and decided that dress shopping is safer online. We were lucky that it was a warm sunny day or I am sure that we would have been feeling far less jolly than we were. The babies were so well behaved, they didn’t cry, but then why would they? They didn’t know anything was wrong. The Mummy Milk Bar was open for business and there were cuddles aplenty for everyone. We even had music and toys!

At the end of our wait poor Michele was towed away to get a new tyre and David took us home.

Once we got home, David and I decided to do something together as his planned day of work had been so disturbed already. We decided to roadtest the buggy with the forward facing seats. And guess what? Esther and William loved it! They loved looking out at the world around them and they were also able to nap safely and soundly in the reclining seats. I think that we are going to pack away the carry cots and move to this new mode of toddler transport permanently. Another milestone, a proud but sad moment for Mum!

The walk we did this afternoon made me realise why it is so lovely to live in Kent. We walked up the hills behind our village to a pub called The Bowl. We had planned to have a quiet drink in their extensive rural beer garden. When we got there though we found that there was a country dancing festival taking place and so we introduced William to the delights of Morris Dancers. Esther slept through the entire thing, in her new forward facing buggy seat!

As we walked home through the pretty country lanes on a glorious Spring afternoon I felt glad to be alive and so proud of our little growing family.

They say that good always comes out of bad. David and I badly needed an afternoon like this one. Some time out together, as a family. It was great!

Where we live in Kent is a beautiful, peaceful place to be and days like this one serve to remind us of that, particularly in stark contrast to an hour beside the terrifying roaring of the M25.

So Motorway blowout to country dancing extraordinaire, what a lucky people we be! Everything happens for a reason and good does come out of bad.

Oh! And I am certain that in that car Esther knew. She had not done a poo, she knew that something was wrong and that is why she cried. I know! She knew. She was crying to let us know that something wasn’t right. I am sure of it x

013/365 Treasure Cupboard!

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TREASURE CUPBOARD

This is my cupboard where I keep all my treasures.
The love hearts are favours from my sister’s wedding.
The Esther and William dolls are presents from my oldest friend.

Inside the cupboard is my collection of Willow figurines. I absolutely love these ornaments. The first I got from my Aunty on my 30th birthday and since then I am regularly given them by David, my Mum, my friends and family and my pupils. I even bought myself one, the twins one, I bought it when we first started IVF and kept it in a drawer until 5 attempts later we were finally successful and I became a Mummy to twins!

Inside the cupboard is a framed photo of my sister and I. I love my sister so much and miss her everyday. She lives in Australia and so we do not see each other very often at all. I dream that one day we will live in the same village by the sea and our children will become life long friends.

Inside the cupboard are china personalised Christmas baubles from Esther and William’s first Christmas. I keep them here, I keep them safe, ready for the tree next Yuletide.

Inside the cupboard are various plates, ornaments and oddities that I have collected from my pupils over the years. As a teacher I was given a lot of wine, chocolate and flowers but I was also lucky enough to be given some truly thoughtful and personal gifts and those I will treasure for always. They are, of course, in my Treasure Cupboard!

Mothers’ Day Wishes

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I have seen a few people posting a wish list for Mother’s Day, including a VLOG from Karin at Cafe Bebe and so I thought that I would publish mine as I know for a fact that my wonderful partner, David, is email subscribed to my blog!!

We have discussed already actually what might happen on the day and this is what would make it bliss for me.

6.00am David breakfasts the babies and takes them out for a run as usual. I get up and have my breakfast before having a lovely long hot shower and organising clothes for myself and the babies for the day.

8.30am David and the babies get home. David showers whilst I get the babies milked and dressed for church.

9.15am Photograph taken of me with Esther and William all in our Sunday best. A photo to frame and treasure for always, my first ever Mothers’ Day as a Mummy!

9.30am Mothers Day Service at our village church, where we will be getting married in just over 5 months time! I love going to church, I love the singing most of all. I want to introduce Esther and William to the church and the community.

11.00am Eggy bread brunch with the babies. I want us to all sit at the table together and enjoy a meal, however simple, together. I want David to make the bread whilst I milk and change the babies out of their church clothes.

11.30am Go to the zoo, Port Lympne, to be exact. I want to go on the safari and spend some time at the cafe near the water hole overlooking the giraffes’ habitat. I love giraffes! Along with penguins they are my favourite animals.

1.30pm Lunch at the zoo, sat on a blanket on the grass overlooking the park and the downs so that the babies can have a kick about

4.00pm Head for home so that the babies can nap in the car.

5.00pm Baby dinner, bath and bed

6.30pm In an ideal world the babies would then go to sleep easily and have a settled evening leaving David and I a relaxed evening with Thai takeaway and The West Wing. Bliss!

What are you wishing for this Mother’s Day?

A Day in the Life …

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A Day in the Life of Esther and William

As a first time Mummy of twins I am beginning to wonder if I am doing enough for my little ones.

Here is a typical day at home for Esther and William, how does your little ones typical day at home compare?

6.00 Esther and William get up and have breakfast and a play with Daddy

7.15 Daddy takes Esther and William out for a 4/5 mile run in their pram

8.30 Mummy welcomes Esther and William home. We go in to the playroom for time under the gym and on the Jumperoo. During this time both babies will also have some milk.

10.30 Nap time

11.30 Both babies up and playing on a circuit of activities in the lounge. We have a chill out zone, the gym and a sitting up area also space to practise crawling.

12.30 Lunch and milk

1.30 Nap

2.30 Playtime with Mummy and story time. I try to change the toys and activities whenever they have a nap so that they do not get bored and can find something slightly different when they wake up.

4.00 Mummy takes Esther and William for a walk in their pram or nap time if raining

4.30 Play and dinner

5.30 TV Time

5.40 Bath time – this includes an all over wash before the bath and any medications / supplements needed

6.15 Bed time

I encourage Esther and William to play independently but they are not very good at it. I worry that I do not spend enough time talking to them. I wonder should I try to have some individual time with each of them?

I often think that with one baby I would put them in a sling and go out to town for coffee, read magazines in a cafe, meet friends, go shopping. We don’t do any of that because it is just impossible on my own.

What does a day in your little ones life look like?

Here are some pictures to illustrate our days x

Active under the gym

Gym, Mirror Talk, Bouncy Chair, Sit Up Play, Cosy Snooze Corner

Playing together, learning to crawl

Gym, Sit Up Play, Chill Out Corner

Sitting and Chilling

Concentrating

On the Move!

Getting to Know You

Independent Play

Jumperoo or Jump A Poo more accurate in our house x

Story Time

010/365 Esther Grace

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Today I am unable to choose between two photos that I really like. Do you have a favourite?

They are of my daughter, Esther Grace.
8 months and 4 days old.

At her most beautiful …

What the hell do you think Leona really puts in that pizza?

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This week Hannah has asked us to share our favourite chick flicks for her weekly Movie Meme.

For me it has to be a film that I have mentioned on the blog before, Mystic Pizza.

This 1988 film, set in a pizza restaurant, stars a very young Julia Roberts who is one of my favourite actresses. I love her in My Best Friend’s Wedding which is another great chick flick by the way.

This film is an 80s girly film that I watched with my younger sister. It is a film that I bought again in 2009 to watch during my two week wait when doing IVF. It is a movie about three teenage girls coming of age.

It is a romantic comedy with some very endearing characters that tug at your heart strings.

My favourite character is Kat who is played by Annabeth Gish. In my last post about this film I said that she was also in Space Camp but in fact she isn’t, that is Lea Thompson (oops) but what she is in is The West Wing, where she plays the presidents eldest daughter.

I like Kat because she is the good daughter who falls in love with someone that she shouldn’t. Annabeth plays the part very well and you really feel for her as you know that the relationship she so craves can never work.

The actresses playing the sisters and friend in the movie really work well together and make this film complete.

There was also one memorable line said by a very young, little known actor called Matt Damon!!!

I think this film was a springboard for him and Roberts and Gish who have all gone on to be big stars, but for me this is an honest, heartwarming portrayal of being a teenage girl and trying to please everyone in your life whilst also being true to yourself.

A great feel good movie about being a girl!

Why not hop on over to Metal Mummy’s to share a chick flick of your own?

I Was Lookin’ Back To See …

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I was lookin’ back to see
If you were lookin’ back at me
To see me lookin’ back at you

When I was at University (the first time!) I only had 8 hours of lectures a week. I was studying English and Drama. The rest of the time I was living my life and being educated in an altogether different way.

I went to University in Liverpool and I spent my weekends clubbing. It was 1996 and the club scene was massive. I had the time of my life!

After a big night out a few of us would gather in our halls to unwind together and we would play more relaxed music, music I would often leave playing to lull me into sleep.

There are two albums that dominated my stereo were Massive Attack Blue Lines and Leftfield Leftism. Two albums that I adore to this day.

The tracks that I have chosen to share for Mumra’s Playlist are ones that I would hear repeatedly through the night as I slipped in and out of consciousness, dream time! They are Massive Attack’s Safe From Harm and Leftfield’s Original.

Sleep sweet one and all x

And if you need more chill out tunes to send you on your way head on over to Mumra’s to continue the relaxed vibe.

Mumra Playlist