FIVE

Dear Matilda,

Yesterday you turned five. Happy birthday, amazing little You. Our singing, dancing, drawing, daydreaming, funny, clever, creative, brave, beautiful, kind, strong, sparkly super powers princess, aspiring doctor, engineer and rabbit (pony would do, too) and would-like-to-be ballet dancer. You're stubborn and highly sensitive, kind and a very deep thinker.You also tell excellent knock-knock jokes. You love school and you're a serious book worm (just like I was). You've been reading by yourself with ease for some time and there's nothing I love more than to read with you.  Currently, we're halfway through The Magic Faraway Tree and we just finished Roald Dahl's The Minpins since Aunty Laura got you that one for your birthday. You love Rainbow Dash (of My Little Pony) and insist she is your real sister. It's so sweet. Five years of joy and hilarity and so much learning. Each day is a lesson in more and more patience, listening and kindness and being present. And  I love you more and more and more and more.

Right now.

Sunset in Huishinish, Isle of Harris, back in April

Well, right now, it's 8.04pm. The small people are settling down (silent is as good as asleep) and I'm just stealing a few minutes with a cup of tea before I sort the house out a bit and get packing. We're headed for a little escape to the Harris hills this weekend. Some much, much needed time together, as a family and hopefully this will include a bit of sun (I'm optimistic), some exploring, some resting and not a lot else. We're actually staying in a very little and quite dated caravan and I'm not the least bit embarrassed to say how excited I am about it. So, I hope to whoever may be reading this, that you have a little sun, exploring and rest in your future, this weekend, too. Bye!

an advent calender

November 30th and of course the completely brilliant, well planned, surprise filled advent calender I had promised myself to make hadn't yet materialised so I set to with what I had to hand. This was; a pile of envelopes, a large Baileys on ice, pens, bakers twine and tiny pegs (thank you Tom). It's quite fun I guess and the different little illustrations make me smile. (The robin is my favourite, I think... or the wreath maybe). Each day has a note inside with something festive to make/do together on. I'm sort of making it up as I go along -  but so far we have made special cakes, started colouring a HUGE Christmas tree poster (22 pages big, infact) and written a letter to Santa Claus. If I run out of ideas then maybe I'll throw some chocolate coins in, too.

home: procrastination, dust & progress.

This October just gone marked three years in our home. THREE YEARS?! Woaaahhhhhh... A lot has happened in that time. Matilda has grown from a dribbly crawler to an actual small person and I have borned her a friend by the name of George who is actually an actual person now, too. And plenty of living and doing and so on and so forth. That's enough isn't it? It is quite a lot really. Because not a lot has happened in the decorating department here. I'm pretty ashamed of the fact that we've been living in these wood-chipped walls for so long. (Wood-chip is a NIGHTMARE, by the way - we first started trying to remove it when we moved in, bleurgh.) So embarrassed in fact that very few humans besides Tom's parents have come over to visit. Yes so that's the truth. Enough is enough though. We're now making a huge push to really make this house our home. One that we love. And our little people love and that we really enjoy. Looking back, a great deal of procrastination has been going on, obviously but I'm going to allow myself one (or two) excuses. First of all is the eternal excuse of time. Everyone's short on time, there's never enough time, is there?. Tom's busy doing a brilliant job of running a busy hotel here on the Island so I am mostly just me. Second of all I should add that it's been only within the last few months that I've started to get some proper good sleep. When I had George and Matilda was 23 months old, she was still waking often through the night and then George's night time antics, since being a real newborn to maybe three or four months ago have been like that of a newborn, waking every couple of hours and never particularly keen on going back to sleep. Leaving me feeling pretty rubbish a lot of the time, in all honesty. These are just excuses, I know I could have got a lot more done, hey we live and learn. But enough with the excuses, that's all done and been and gone. And for now most of our furniture is squashed into one bit of the house and there's plenty of dust and debris and tools and ladders lying about but I'm very, very much looking forward to some results emerging. Because wood-chip certainly doesn't suit us. The thought of clean lovely crisp walls to fill really has me excited. I'm not embarrassed about that bit at all.

Matilda style

Long gone are the days when I could dress my little doll girl however I pleased. Putting together outfits for my lady small is fun (any mother who says otherwise is a liar) and I used to really love this part of getting ready together in the morning. Since she began dressing herself, however, there is absolutely no chance. She is very much in charge in the style stakes. Occasionally (very occasionally) I may be able to sway her on a practical level. "Hmmm, Matilda, It might not be a good idea to wear just pyjama trousers and goggles to nursery today." Says I. "Why?" (Oh the never ending "why?") Says she. "Because it's cold and everyone else will be wearing proper clothes." "Why?"... And so we continue but sometimes we do find a passable compromise. To be honest, although at times I'd rather she just went along with me, purely for selfish convenience that is, on the whole I love it. I love when she makes confident decisions and is proud of herself for doing so. I'd much rather walk along with a happy little girl who looks a bit silly but is delighted to be wearing all of her favourite things at once than one who may be understandably upset and refusing to cooperate because I don't appreciate how important it is to her. And on this particular Sunday, her ensemble was just too spectacular to not share. As you can see her theme was pink, all of the pink. Underwear on head and on bum, trousers, top, wellingtons, tutu, dressing gown and rain jacket.



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Incidentally, this was also the day I discovered how difficult it is to travel a couple of hundred metres back to our house with a giddy dog, a toddler who will not go back in the buggy but will also not walk and a girl who  also refuses to walk because she is upset that she is getting wet in the sudden downpour and a three wheeled buggy with a puncture. Ah, the perks!

anniversary

Somehow, this wonder of a human has stuck around for another year and I am extremely happy that he has. He is brilliant, no doubt about it.

A while ago
This guy, I wed
With a perfectly
Formed head:
A nose,
A mouth
where they should be
Two eyes,on top,
For, to see me (of course)

And just below,
A chiselled chin
To hold the most
Contagious grin.
And that might be
Plenty enough.
That formula,
Is winning stuff!

But there's more
For me to say,
He does things
In a certain way,
With pizazz and
Plenty flair
(Let's not forget,
full head of hair!)
I'm sure I'm not the only one
Who does appreciate
Him some.

Each day
I laugh
Until I cry
(Because you are hilarious)
I love you Tom
Yes
We do
Da dee
Da dummm

xxxxx

autumn bright

I was reminded again why autumn is my favourite time of year. It's been bright and crisp and all that it should and while I feel as though I probably haven't made the most of it, (I always think this though, of most things) It has been one to remember. Especially with our mini escape to Harris with our lovely Granny and Grampy. Next autumn, my little favourites will be another year older, (I know, 'cos that's how time works, almost all of the time...) and It'll be even more fun and we'll have even more adventures, fo sho. Winter is here now, the air has certainly changed in the last week or two and the early morning ground is getting a frosty crunch. There's plenty afoot to make it a good season for us, too. Enough to stave off the winter crazies... hopefully.

a small masterpiece

This is the first ever portrait of me, by Matilda. She even got my hair perfect, I had it up in a messy nest on top of my head (as I often do at home) and yes, I DO have orange hair all the way around and over my head. AND blue eyes and a funny face. Not so much the bright pink skin but I'll allow her a little poetic licence. I just wanted to share this little piece of pure joy (to me).
In other news, we've been spoiled with five whole days together as Tom managed to steal a little break away from his busy schedule at the Hotel and it has been perfect. Much overdue and very, very much appreciated. We had a date night on Friday, our first since last November, would you believe... It was SO much fun. Dinner and a play and a couple of cocktails. He's back to work tomorrow and we're going to miss him very much indeed.

This song got me through some chores this morning, it's good for wiggling along  to, I hope you like it too:

garden green and tasty (...and swampy and weedy too)

Our lovely scruffy garden is definitely a work in progress but the children couldn't care less. Knee high weeds are a jungle to them and I'm certain they preferred it when I hadn't yet planted up the veg patch, they had a mud garden to squelch about in. It's a joy to pull the odd gnarley treat from the ground, though. I'm day dreaming of having a croft and a few animals one day. A donkey and a goat, top of the list. Donkeys are my favourite.

just pretend bedtime, Mummy.

Matilda and George playing beds on the sitting room floor a couple of afternoons ago. Today has been one of those funny stop-start, no George nap, teething and a bit all over the place kinds of days but with (just)  enough of those lovely hilarious moments to keep us all going. And look at them, simply the best.

halfway to Harris.

Slow Sunday morning exploring, all of us. Grassy moors peppered with yellows and violets and stretching into high up hills. Muddy shores sit beside dark churning lochs. Wind whipped grasses, rusty rocks and tumbling grey-blue skies.

sunday at home.

Play dough warm from the pan feels good on small tummies and chasing kittens is endless fun. Matilda and George obviously have each chosen their favourite kitten friend already. George slows down for gentle cuddles (between trying to carry his Rumpus around by her head/tail/ears) with clumsily careful holding hands. Bouncing on the bed and eating tasty treats. I loved slowing down with my two today.