Walking in the Weather What a glorious week of sunshine! It is hard not to be cheered by the weather alone. I have been out in it every day, walking with our giant double buggy. The babies get two walks … Continue reading
Naughty and Natural Cheers!
Category Archives: love
Friday Flashback: Wee Sis
Today I have been missing my little sister. She lives in Australia and I know that she is very happy there but sometimes I really miss her, more than any words can say.
Today I have been thinking about when I first introduced, Julie, my little sister to my fiance, David. Dave and I were living in West Malling at the time and Julie came to stay in our flat for a long weekend. We had a fabulous time and as I knew that they would, Dave and Julie got on really well. It was brilliant, two people I am closest to in the world seemed to like each other, I was a very happy girl.
It was the summer of 2007 and I think it was a happy time for all of us. We certainly look happy in the photos I have chosen to share today.
It was a glorious summer weekend. The air was warm, the sun was shining and swimming in the sea was refreshing and cool. We went to the beach at Joss Bay and it was a perfect perfect day. At night we went to the pub, the three of us, and got merry chatting and playing drinking games. It really was a wonderful day.
This Friday Flashback is of happy summer days with the people I love best of all.
Flashback Friday – Don’t Put Your Daughter on the Stage!
This Friday I have chosen to reflect on my acting career – amateur dramatics that is.
I started performing when I was 6 years old in school nativities and local pantomimes and I continued into my thirties playing lots of fantastic roles, mostly in musicals and one act plays.
I studied drama at school to GCSE level and also completed A-Level Theatre Studies.
I share my love of theatre and acting with many of my friends and my fiance David.
I really do love acting and singing and directing and hope that at least one of my children will inherit the theatre bug from me.
Today I have been remembering good times and good friends made in theatres across Europe.
I have been recalling Little Shop of Horrors and playing Audrey, Dulcie in The Boyfriend, Mrs Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank, many principle boy and girl parts in panto and much more.
I have been reliving my roles and singing all the songs for I still know all the words.
There is no business like show business even when the show is an amateur one!
Great Big Ants in Your Pants!
After what can only be described as a horrible morning and early afternoon, our late afternoon was saved by reading books.
Part of my over tired, over emotional state led to me feeling a little jealous of my Mum. Stupid, I know! She is staying with us at the moment to help with the babies. Because she always gets a good night’s sleep she is so full of energy to play with Esther and William while I can barely speak out loud I am so shattered. I pathetically got to thinking that Esther and William might prefer being with her than with me! She is just so loud and so much fun!
Anyway, William was playing with my Mum when I sat down with Esther to read a book. As I started reading aloud William stopped playing and with the saddest face looked over to where we were and listened to the story too. That tiny moment, that one loving look just melted my heart. He continued to listen to the story, never not watching, from the other side of the room. When I finished reading to Esther I read to William too, the same story and one other. It was such a special time, reading with my son and daughter, that it totally made up for the rest of the day. It also made me realise that no matter what, only I will ever be their Mummy, and that counts for a LOT!!
I would like to share with you now, the books that made it all better.
Tell Me What It’s Like To Be Big by Joyce Dunbar
This is a lovely story about a little girl who wants to be bigger. When her brother tells her of all the things she might do when she is grown the little girl realises that perhaps she would rather stay small after all. A lovely tale about growing up with a subtle message of not growing up too fast. This was beautiful to read as a mother snuggled up to a son and daughter who are growing and changing every day.
Ants in Your Pants by Julia Jarman and Guy Parker-Rees
This is a fun book for reading out loud. It is written with great rhythm and rhyme. The characters are very funny and the pictures are bright and colourful. This is one that can be shared over and over again and every time you will notice something new. A great funny book full of knickers to make you giggle!
We Wanna Be Together!!
This weekend the Rewind asks us to think back to August and share a post from then.
August 2010 saw me spend every day in NICU/SCBU with Esther and William.
The post I have chosen to share reflects on a very special day when the twins were reunited for the first time outside of the womb.
Please read REUNITED
It's A Wonderful Life
I love Christmas, and Christmas would not be Christmas without snuggling up under a blanket with the ones you love to watch Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life. It is such a magical festive film and a firm family favourite. I love it. It makes me feel all warm inside, and for me does not work digitally remastered in colour. It has to be, as it is meant to be, in black and white.
James Stewart and Donna Reed form a formidable team in this festive fantasy. I always find myself singing ‘Buffalo Girl Won’t You Come Out Tonight’ long after the film is over. I love that song and that moment in the film. Just beautiful! George volunteers to lasso the moon for Mary. A lovely love story!
The most famous moment and quote from the film is near the end as the family are reunited by the Christmas tree.
“Every Time a Bell Rings, an Angel Gets Its Wings”
This is a feel good comedy drama about hopes and dreams and love, families and friendships. It is about loyalty and faith. It is about Christmas, and it features the song that marks the end and beginning of every year, Auld Lang Syne.
One for the family to start the festivities and to make you want to snuggle up close to the ones that you love.
A beauty in black and white.
Why not hop on over to Metal Mummy’s blog to share your favourite black and white movie?
Blog Gems – Happiness is …
I Believe
I believe in me
I am strong, I will fight for what I believe in
I am love, I cannot love you more
I am warmth, I beam with love and pride
I am loyalty, I will always be by your side
I listen
I learn
I am for keeps
I believe that I will always be here
I believe in you
You are our protector, you hold us in your arms
You are our provider, of all things big and small
You are our comforter, you are always by our side
You are our entertainer, you make us laugh, smile, sing and dance
You are our centre, in everything we see, think and do
I want to keep you
I believe you will always be here
I believe in them
The future
The sunshine of our day
Our inspiration
The reason
Our heartbeats
Our love
Can we keep them?
So tiny, so precious?
I believe they will always be here
I believe in us
Our unit
Our team
Our family
Our fortress
I believe in us
Together
One future
One destiny
One dream
Four heartbeats
Four souls
Can we keep them?
Will we be here?
I believe in us
Together
Entwined
Entangled
I believe that for all time we will always be here
I believe …
Please visit Sleep for the Weak to see what others have come up with for this week’s writing workshop about belief.
I Am What I Am!
Mummy Beadzoid has tagged me and asked me to ‘Fill in the Blanks’ and explain a little about who I am.
So here goes …
I am a worrier. I have always been a worrier for as long as I can remember. And the thing that I worry about most is what other people think about me. Pathetic, I know. I worry about what people think about what I wear, what I do and how I do things. I worry about what kind of teacher I am, what kind of parent I am, what kind of blogger I am! I let these worries impact on what I do. It leads to a lot of loneliness actually and to an inability to really be myself in front of others. Very few people know the real me, I do not let people close. A fear of ridicule, a fear of rejection. I can come across as rude to some people, I know, but it is not rudeness, it is shyness. People find this hard to believe as I am confident on a stage or when teaching a group of children but among a group of my peers this confidence leaves me. Deserts me and lets me down. This worry is quite a handicap for me. It leads to irrational thinking and over reactions to silly situations. Sometimes it is like an out of body experience as I emotionally react to a situation I am telling myself to stop. But I can’t! This worry causes me stress but I cannot stop it. I should be able to but I can’t. I am a worrier and it is something about myself that I hate.
The bravest thing I have ever done is have abdominal surgery whilst 26 weeks pregnant with my twins. Although this is not something that I chose to do, I had no choice, I have never been so scared in all my life. David and I had tried for so long to get pregnant, we had come so far in this twin pregnancy and we were about to lose everything because of me, because of my body. I was letting him down. I was letting his parents down, my parents. I was letting down our children, before they had even been born. From being admitted to hospital to being cut open took 3 days. 3 days of tests and assessments, pain killers, blood, vomit and terror. David was far braver than me, he did not know if any of us were going to survive, no one seemed to know what was wrong or what should be done. I told him that if it was a choice between me and the babies then I wanted to be the one to die. It was awful but worse for David as my recollection of those days is blurred and I know for him the memories are still very clear. After the operation I was in hospital for 7 days recovering. I was heavily pregnant. My bump had been cut from top to bottom to allow the surgeon to save my twisted bowel without disturbing the babies. I could not eat, I was on oxygen. David had to help me in a way a husband should never have to help his wife, let alone fiance to fiancee. I was so swollen with water retention I could barely sit, stand or walk. I had to fight on to get fit and well for the babies. When I was discharged on the 21st July I did not expect to go to hospital again until October but in spite of my best efforts and those of all the doctors the babies were born on the 24th July 2010 at 27 weeks plus 3. I am so sorry babies that I was not able to keep you safe inside me for longer x I will always feel sad about that.
I feel prettiest when I forget to worry about what other people think.
Something that keeps me awake at night is my son, William. Bless him. Born at 27 weeks, now 7 months, there is nothing my little man likes more than Mummy’s milk. Every 2 – 3 hours right around the clock. I always complain about this but actually I love feeding him and will miss it so much when this special time is gone. But it does mean a severe and prolonged lack of sleep.
My favourite meal is fajitas. David and I started eating fajitas regulalrly when we started IVF as a good way of eating lots of vegetables. When I make fajitas they are filled to bursting with veg – peppers, onions, mushrooms, chillies, tomatoes, spinach. We have lots of different varieties of mushroom and they are really filling and flavoursome. We started IVF in January 2009 and we still eat fajitas at least once a week even now. Yum – Yum!
The way to my heart is to surprise me. Tell me something nice, make me laugh, write me a story, cook me a meal. Be thoughtful and kind and spontaneous. Treat me in some way, make me smile. Show that you have been thinking about me enough to plan a surprise no matter how small. Do this and my heart will be yours x
I would like to be thinner. Since starting IVF and being pregnant I have gained over a stone in weight. It is coming off slowly but I still have a way to go before our wedding in September. I am struggling to lose weight and tone my stomach because of the scars from surgery. I will keep working at it and hope that by September I will be somewhere near to where I used to be in tone and weight. If not, well, I have two beautiful babies to show for it, and at the end of the day, I am alive.
This is me, I am what I am.
Thank you Mummy Beadzoid for the questions x
Lord of the Rings … Again!
This week I am joining Metal Mummy in her Movie MeMe. She has asked us what is our film of the 21st century, our film of the decade?
For me, there can only be one!
There are a few 21st century films that I have enjoyed but for me none come close to The Lord of the Rings as I mentioned in my Listography post last week.
My favourite of all the films, to David’s dismay, is The Fellowship of the Ring. I know that it has the least action and the least effects but it tells the story so well and introduces each of the characters in detail. I think that the film is so well cast and the actors really complement each other particularly those playing Frodo and Sam. This is a tale of friendship, of courage, of determination and strength, of loyalty, of love.
This is a film with it all. Magic, humour, romance, intrigue and great one liners! I love the script, the language from the book is just beautiful. The sets and scenery are breathtaking and the music tells a story all of its own whilst perfectly blending with the words and actions.
I am not a great film buff or reviewer. I do not watch a lot of television or many movies but I do read a lot of books and for me what makes a great film is where the translation from the page to the screen is true and meaningfuk. It has to work on a personal level for me and this film really does.
And being a Mummy of premature twins, this film of the 21st century provides the best quote of all time:
Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.
Why not pop over to Metal Mummy’s Movie MeMe for some passionate beautifully written movie recommendations. Popcorn at the ready!