Thankful Friday is back

Apologies for my absence. Life has been really very good lately. Anthony has been enjoying his new job and I have been enjoying being a mummy. We finally seem to have found our roles again and it is having such a positive effect on family life.

This morning I was showering both the girls and I said to Robyn “It’s Friday! We’ll be able to have a lovely weekend together”. She replied “Yes we will. Daddy doesn’t have to go to work at the weekends anymore and he is not as grumpy at his new job is he?!”. I admit that what she said really choked me. Even she has noticed how much happier we all are.

So many things to be thankful for:

• My family. Every day I am astounded at how much love is in our little family.
• The sunshine. We have been blessed with good weather the last couple of days. It makes such a difference.
• Birthdays. Robyn turned 7 on Sunday and she had a lovely day. She also had a birthday party last Friday which was wonderful. She has a great group of friends.
  My best friend also had a birthday this week. She turned the big 3-0. Gutted I couldn’t be there to help her celebrate but we will make up for it in the summer.
• Ice cream. Yum!
• Paracetamol. I had some horrible headaches this week 😦
• Winning £5 on a scratch card this morning. It paid for coffee and cakes in a café.
• Friends. This morning I went out for a walk with friends and then to the park after the café. Without them I would have sat indoors with Katie and probably wasted this beautiful day.
• Make-up. I’ve finally decided to start wearing makeup again. Only a little bit but I’ve realised how much better it makes me feel. Who’d have thought that a bit of confidence could be found in a pot of eye shadow?!

Have a lovely weekend everyone. We are hopefully heading out for some picnics so we can enjoy the sunshine that is forecast.

The Gallery: Me

It’s Gallery time again!

The prompt this week is “Me”. I’ve already posted a self portrait on week 1 so I’ve had to choose something slightly different.
I’ve sat and thought “Who am I?”. I’ve been wondering what one image I could use that incorporates all that I am. I came up with this…

It is obviously a picture of me on my wedding day. Here I am surrounded by my wonderful family. I am Mel. I am a wife and I am a mother.
I am my own person too. I like to spend time on my own and I love my friends dearly.

At the heart of all this though is my family. Without them I would crumble.

To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.
–Confucius–

The Gallery: Number 3

The theme for Tara’s ‘The Gallery’ this week is numbers. She explains the prompt here…

So today’s prompt is: A number. I want the title of your photo to be one number.

What the heck? I can here you all saying . . .

Well, what about 14: the age you discovered fashion?

Or 10: the number of years you’ve been married?

Or 3: the number of pets in the house?

Or 4: the number of children you have? Etc etc.

I have chosen the number 3. There are 3 people in my life who are at the centre of everything I do. Here they are:

We are a team. We do as much as we can together.

I was reminded on Emilys blog this morning that even our flaws are important to somebody. I love my family to the ends of the earth and back again. Yes, they have traits that might be annoying at times but those flaws give personality. Someone who is perfect would be awfully dull don’t you think?! If you think you are perfect surely you are setting yourself up to fail.
These 3 people teach me new things every day. They make me proud every day and they make me laugh every day.

Be proud of yourself and your family. Don’t aim for perfection, aim for happiness.

Find more Gallery posts on Numbers here

Robyn returns

Robyn came home today. This made us all very happy. Katie came down the stairs grinning from ear to ear. She came up to me and said “Mummy! Robyn there!”. She has been looking for her all week. They love each other to pieces those girls. It is really lovely to see.

This afternoon they have had so much fun together. They have dressed up as “Weeners” (Ballerinas) and worn their “gink gwasses” (pink swimming goggles). My family is back together again where it belongs. That makes me all warm inside 🙂

Here is todays picture for my 365 project. I know I said I probably wouldn’t post them here but I might be changing my mind lol.

Best of 2009: Laugh

My family love to laugh. All of us have a great and sometimes wicked sense of humour. When we get together with my mum, dad, sister and nephew then big laughs are guaranteed.
Sometimes the phone will ring and when you answer all you can hear is laughter, so much laughter that the person on the other end is unable to speak. It is usually my mum or dad. We do it to them too. Something will have happened that is hysterically funny and you just need to share!

On Boxing Day I was reading through something of Robyns where she had been prompted to write who in her class was the best at certain things. There were headings and she had to fill in names underneath. It went something like this:

• Best dressed: Paige
• Best dancer: William
• Best hair: Me
• Best make up: Me
• Most popular: Me & Chloe
• Best drama queen: Me
• Best cheerleader: Me
• Best singer: Me
• Most handsome: Isaac
• Best prom King: Isaac
• Best prom Queen: Me
• Most likely to become famous: All the girls

When I read it I howled with laughter. I read it out to Anthony and he did the same. I said “I’ve got to tell Mum and Dad!” so picked up the phone and read it out to them too. I could hardly speak, they were both creased up with laughing too. I knew they would appreciate it.
This is what our family does… laugh. We laugh at the slightest little thing but most of all we share our jokes and make others laugh too. Each time we meet up one of us has a funny story to tell. There is no point in keeping big laughs to yourself is there?!

This post is part of  Gwen Bell’s Best of 2009 blog challenge

Best of 2009: Word or Phrase

My word of the year is FAMILY.

Lots has happened for our family in 2009. More recently with Anthonys job, Katie has taken up alot of headspace this year with her behaviour etc, Robyn has been superb at school, my sister and nephew moved here, my mum is going through an exciting and challenging time and my dad continues to be fantastic.

It has been challenging, exciting, happy, sad, tough and joyful but with my family around me I know we can get through anything that life throws at us. Family remains at the centre of who I am.

Thanks to Mel for the wonderful photograph of my little family! Did I mention I’ve lost almost a stone in weight since this was taken?!

This post is part of  Gwen Bell’s Best of 2009 blog challenge

Best of 2009: Restaurant Moment

The combination of not much spare money and the fact that I am married to a chef mean that we havent really eaten out much this year. Going to a restaurant with a chef is like a busman’s holiday. The thing is most of the food Anthony can cook at home and for a fraction of the price. Therefore when we do go out we usually choose a chinese restaurant or go somewhere like Nando’s where the food is something we like, could recreate at home but it’s just different.

However, the occasion that stands out for me was my Grandma’s 90th birthday celebration at The Thatch in Bottesford. Anthony was working unfortunately but I went with the girls, Mum, Dad, my sister Ali and my nephew, Michael. There in one room sat my whole extended family from my Dads side (apart from Anthony 😦 )

Aside from two cousins who drank too much and made fools of themselves we all had a wonderful time. It was a lovely way to celebrate Grandma’s birthday and the food was wonderful too… Delicious roast beef and perfectly cooked vegetables. It is a day I shall remember for ever.

This post is part of  Gwen Bell’s Best of 2009 blog challenge