Esther and William love to help David and I work on our laptops and so this has prompted David to write a programme which means that they can make things happen just by bashing any key! Baby Play is a … Continue reading
David is a wonderful father to Esther and William He is always calm He is so tender with them He takes care of all three of us We know we are safe when he is around David is a funny … Continue reading
In January 2010 my fiancé, David, and I started our fifth cycle of ICSI in the hope of getting pregnant and having a baby of our own. We were starting to wonder if IVF was ever going to work for … Continue reading
“/> This week’s Listography asks for our top five simple pleasures. Mine are: The smell of David. He has such a gorgeous scent and having him close enough for me to breathe him in makes me feel safe and secure … Continue reading
Kerry at Multiple Mummy is encouraging us all to take some time out from being a Mummy and share things we are passionate about. I have only been a Mummy for 9 months but I have to say that my own passions and interests are already a hazy memory. What did I do before Esther and William were born?
Drama – acting and directing
I love the theatre. I love going to London to watch a show but I also love small theatre, amateur theatre and schol plays. I have always enjoyed acting from a very early age and have been lucky enough to play some fantastic roles in amateur theatre. I have also worked with some exceptional children when directing school plays. Theatre is my main passion. I have been involved in all aspects of theatre at one time or another and know that I will be again when the babies are older. This is a passion that I share with David and I hope that we will both tread the boards again one day.
Writing – blogging and poetry
I have written poetry, stories and plays since I was a young child. I love writing! I find it easy and can write a poem very quickly. My poetry is quite childlike in format and style but it works. My writing has taken a new direction in the last year since starting this blog. When I was a teenager I went mad with my Mother for reading my diary now I am publishing it online for all to see. I find blogging therapeutic, a release, an escape and a way of making friends.
Photography – taking photos and sorting photos
My camera goes with me everywhere. I have always loved taking photos and being in other people’s. I took GCSE Design and specialised in photography but spent more time modelling for other people’s photos than taking and developing my own. Photographs are another form of diary for me, I record very milestone I can, especially since the babies have been born. I am currently taking the 365 photo challenge to try and improve my skills and if I a feel at the end of the year that I have been successful then I am going to treat myself to a proper SLR camera and deveop this passion even more.
Reading – to myself and out loud
Any regular reader of this blog will know that I love reading with Esther and William. I want to encourage them to have the same love affair with literature that their father and I share. Our house is full of books of every genre and we all love to read. I love to read aloud. When David and I first met we used to read plays aloud together. Now I read out loud to Esther and William whenever I can. We generally share at leats three picture books a day and you can read about some of our favourites here.
The West Wing
David introduced me to this series when we first met in 2007. Since then we ave watched all 7 series about 5 times. I am sure we are on our fifth go through. This is an Amrican drama set in The White House with a Democtratic president. It is fantasticaly written, superbly cast and very well acted. It is easy to watch yet challenges your thinking. It makes you laugh and cry. It feels real. It sparked an interest for me in American political systems and I have learned so much through watching it. It is great! David and I can quote many lines from it and often share them as personal jokes. It is a shared passion and a strong bond between us. We have watched it every day for years. I love it.
Planning
I am a planner. I love to make lists and tick things off. At the moment I am busy planning our wedding, before that we have Esther and William’s first birthday party to arrange and after it their christening to plan. I love researching ideas and making plans.
So there we go, seems I can remember after all! But none of these things compare to the passion I have for my children and sharing in their learning and development. None of these things compare with my love for David and my desire to make him happy, to make us happy as a family. There is nothing in the world that beats that!
But it has been nice, really nice, to take a few minutes out to write this post and remember who I am for a while, who I am when I am not being Mummy x
Daddy Cool!
I love Bank Holiday weekend!!
We have David (Daddy) all to ourselves and we have been having a wonderful time!!
I am so lucky to have such a hands on father for my children. David and I do everything we can together for our babies. We make every decision together and we share every idea and emotion. I could not be the mother I am without him. I think that our dynamic us quite rare, from what I have seen first hand anyway. Most couples I know the mother takes the lead and the father does what she decides. It is not like that with David and I. It could never work like that. We are both too strong headed, we like our own way which is exactly why every thing that we is debated, thoroughly debated. But it works for us, it makes us, it is why we work, it is why we love each other. We are a team! I love that we are equal in the eyes of our children and that we make the most of the time we have available to share.
Esther and William’s faces light up when David enters a room. They love playing with him and the funny noises that he makes. He is so good at feeding them and changing them. Bath time is his domain! He takes them running every morning and he soothes them to sleep every night.
On top of all that he looks after me too. I really am a lucky lady and I hope that every day I am learning to be more like him, enough to deserve him, to marry him! As I will do, 10th September 2011 and I can’t wait!!
Before that I am looking forward to Father’s Day when Esther, William and I will spoil their Daddy rotten and until then we will remind him every day how much we love him, appreciate him and need him.
He is our Daddy Cool!!
Here is another pick of The Gallery archives from me. This time I have chosen to illustrate the theme of celebration and to do this I have chosen the bittersweet event that was our engagement party. It was held in May … Continue reading
I have been struggling to get any writing done these last few days as I have been home alone. Tuesday I was alone with the twins for 12 hours and since then I have had David’s Mum with me as … Continue reading
Every year since David and I met we have had snow. We have had lots of snow. And in both houses we have shared we have been lucky enough to live somewhere beautiful that is even prettier when iced with … Continue reading
Inspired by http://superamazingmum.blogspot.com/2010/11/raindrops-on-roses-and-whiskers-on.html which I read during an early morning breast feed!! I have dug out my list of favourite things that I shared with David when we met in 2007. At the end I will add on some new ‘raindrops and roses’ that have grown through knowing him.
‘These are a few of my favourite things!’
ART
Andy Goldsworthy
“Andy Goldsworthy is an environmental sculptor in which his use of the natural surroundings create an art form. He explores and experiments with various natural materiel such as leaves, grasses, stones, wood, sand, clay, ice, and snow. The seasons and weather determine the materials and the subject matter of his projects. With no preconceived ideas about what he will create, Goldsworthy relies on what nature will give him.”
This is one of my favourite pieces.
Gustav Klimt
Kandinsky – I like abstract art
Mondrian
Lowry – I also like art that tells a story
Jack Vettriano
PLACES
Lost Gardens of Heligan – Cornwall
Have you ever been here? It is wonderful. Has a real sense of magic.
http://www.heligan.com/flash_index.html
Gyllyngvase Beach, near Falmouth, Cornwall
Kynance Cove, The Lizard, Cornwall
Hidden away from all the world!
The view from the top of Gummers How, near Windermere
On a clear day you can see the sea far far in the distance
Camber Sands, especially when it is empty and when it is winter.
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Windermere
Window seats in old houses. Where you can curl up with a good book and watch the world go by at the same time. Watch raindrops as they race down the panes.
Warming up by a roaring open fire – toasting marshmallows
Holidays by the sea
Campfires on the beach
Sleeping under the stars, beneath the night sky
TO DO
Camping, walking, climbing, cycling and swimming. Reading and writing, teaching and learning. Going to the theatre, acting, singing, listening to music.
READING
I have always been an avid reader. Starting with Enid Blyton and The Folk of the Faraway Tree, moving on to The Famous Five, The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper, The Hobbit. I love Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy and other classic literature. I love The Secret Garden. I love 1984 by George Orwell and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. I studied and compared these two books for an extended study as part of my literature A Level and have loved them ever since. I love The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. I love Lord of the Flies. Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger. I love The Silver Sword by Ian Serrailer, I Am David by Anne Holme and Children of the Oregon Trail. Books I can read over and over again! I will read just about anything to be fair.
WRITING
Though I have not written much outside of school and university for a few years now. I have written and enjoy writing stories, poems and plays. The first play I ever wrote was called The Happy Scarecrow when I was 8 years old. I directed and performed in it in a school assembly. My friends and I used to write shows and perform them in my garden all the time when we were younger. Poetry I wrote was pretty intense as a teenager. I went on holiday to Scottish highlands with my parents when I was about 15 and write some pretty moody stuff. I have not felt much like writing for years, until I met you, and now I feel inspired again. Thank you. I have had some educational articles published and some of my work from uni, I have also had some poetry published when I was younger. I will always try to keep a diary. I want to be able to look back on what we have when I am old and remember how wonderful and magical it was to find you (David).
ACTING AND DIRECTING
I have always been into the theatre. First started acting when I was 6. Started with small parts but always speaking roles and then as I got older I always got the lead roles in school productions and at the various drama clubs I belonged to. Got some really good reviews for my acting and for the productions that I directed. The last two Christmases I have produced and directed the school Christmas show (with Debbie) but it is not quite the same thing.
Parts I have played
Loads of pantomimes always either the young female lead (Snow White, Cinderella) or the Prince type person.
A review from when I was in panto – “Colin was of course played by a girl in true panto tradition. This was the delectable and talented actress Jennie Nairn who was quite outstanding. She was all that the lead panto ‘male’ should be. Striking looks, true stage presence, a magnificent smile and a marvellous set of legs which all made her perfect for the role.”
The Governor’s Wife / Rider in Bertolt Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle
Sara Bond in Wolfsbane
“Pivotal to the whole play was the part of Sara Bond, played by Jennie Nairn. It is difficult to believe that one so young (20) could have such a mature acting ability. She had terrific stage presence and built up Sara’s character with subtlety and guile. Jennie is a handsome girl with a clear and powerful voice and was a joy to watch. Her powerful scene with Gran was a highlight. Her domination and mood changes, threats and ridiculing of the old lady had the audience on the edge of their seats. It was marvellous stuff. She never hesitated once, such was her command of her part, and at the end I was an ardent fan full of admiration. There have been some fine perfomances at CATs but Jennie Nairn’s was amongst the best that I have seen.”
Antigone in Antigone
Mrs Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank
Karin Rust in Albert
Dulcie in The Boyfriend
Audrey in The Little Shop of Horrors
Alice in The Killing of Sister George
Plays I have directed
Doggies by Jean McConnell
Love Stinks by Sue Herscombe and Pete Scott
“Amateur dramatics often gets stuck in a rut. Give the younger generation a chance to show its talents and this refreshing pair of duologues is the result. The young CATS were led by the hardworking Jennie Nairn (me) who directed without unnecessary frills,, allowing us to concentrate on the well-written texts … We look forward to more work from this combination of young talent.”
All of the above are my favourite things from 2007, now in 2011 I would add
David, my children and all the wonderful things they do, teaching, directing children’s drama, blogging, taking photographs, Ullswater!!, Devon, Durdle Door, snow days with igloos, animation, The West Wing, Spooks, Twilight, planning our wedding and so much more …
Think I will post more about this soon.
Thank you for the inspiration x
http://superamazingmum.blogspot.com/2010/11/raindrops-on-roses-and-whiskers-on.html
