Celebrating The Small Things:Week Eighteen

At the beginning of the year I wrote a post as to why I wasn’t making any resolutions this year and my ‘celebrating the small things’ series seems to be a testiment to the fact I never seem to be able to keep anything up and my organisation skills leave a lot to be desired!

I have decided to forget about a few weeks of this year and get back on track and fingers crossed more organised as I do love recording and looking back on all these moments.

Anyhow that is enough procrastinating, here are this weeks small but special moments.

Blossom Fights – This wonderful weather has meant we managed to get out and about a lot last week and we managed to spend a wonderful day with friends taking in the sunshine whist BBQing in their beautiful garden.
They are lucky enough to have to most wonderful blossom tree over hanging their decking that I sat and admired for most of the day.
As the evening drew to a close the kids…well actually the big kids decided to shake bucket loads of petals from the tree allowing them to have the roar amazing blossom fight.
They spent ages trying to catch handfuls as it fell from the trees, bundled it all up into piles and of course covered each other in it.
The giggles of excitement were an absolute delight to hear.

Finally Friends – On Sunday we attended the most amazing event with Little Tikes where Frankie and Oscar got to go on a behind the scenes tour of Silverstone Racktrack and a once in a lifetime helicopter trip. This in no way counts towards a ‘small thing’ but one thing that really stood out for me amongst all the excitement was the fact that the boys have finally started to build a lovely bond with each other and played, whispered and giggled their way through the day which after a long few years is so refreshing to see.

A Fab Parents Evening – Last week was parents evening for Izzy. She’s not naturally gifted when it come to anything academic and has always struggled at school. However since starting secondary school she has really found her feet and is blossoming. Each and every teacher said she was a delight to teach and always gives her all which is all I have ever wanted.

Feeling Guilty This Valentines’s Day

The 14th February comes around again and the shops are full to the brim with stuffed toys carrying hearts embellished with heart felt messages,huge bunches of bright red roses and boxes upon boxes of delectable chocolates.

Our Instagram and Facebook feeds are full of gushing posts to loved ones and pictures of romantic dates and gorgeous gifts…then reality hits me that yet again I have made zero effort for the man in my life!

The man that always goes out of his way at this time of year, not with extravagant presents or over priced days out but simply with loving gestures and beautiful words that mean the absolute world to me, even though I don’t let him know this enough.

This year it really hit me that I can’t use the excuse that I’m not romantic and we don’t need a day to celebrate our love as in reality our busy lives find it hard to share a cup of tea together, let alone a entire meal on our own.

So from hear on in I will use this special day to celebrate the kind, loving, thoughtless man I was lucky enough to find all those years ago and make him feel as appreciated as he does me.

Family, Fresh Air And Precious Moments

When all the hype of Christmas and New Year is over and the rushing around like headless chickens has commenced one of my favourite parts of the season begins…outdoor adventure!

Although I love the excitement and magic of Christmas I equally love getting out in the chilly winter air and spending quality time with my family before the routine of school and work sets back in.

This year we managed to have a trip to Knowle Park to spot the dears, collect some sticks and get VERY muddy!


We also took a trip to Brighton to grab some delicious seafood as a welcome break from the richness of all the Christmas food and blew some cobwebs away with a long walk along the seafront.


The beginning of January can be a pretty depressing time with the miserable weather, the come down after all the fun of Christmas and those purse strings a little tight. So why not get out into the fresh air and release some of those feel good hormones and I can guarantee it will perk you up no end!

Country Kids

Point And Shoot:Love

As a family we are very close and not a day goes by that I don’t talk to my parents – well actually I annoying them several times a day usually!

They are always there for us and we love spending as much quality time with them as we can.

This weekend we took a trip to visit Santa and this was one of my favourite moments.

The laughter and love on their faces is just infectious.

You Baby Me Mummy

My Sunday Photo:National Grandparents Day

I’m not a huge fan of all these national this and national that days as there seems to be special day for everything possible these days!

But as my parents hold such a significant place in all of our lives National Grandparents Day was certainly one to celebrate.

Whitstable is one of our favourite places and holds lots of happy memories for us all.  

We had a wonderful day of breezy seaside walks, good food and most importantly time together.

Photalife

Having An Extra Cuddle On Mother’s Day

As I sit here tonight with some little ones in bed and my youngest cradled in my arms I am feeling eternally grateful for being blessed with five wonderful children.

For me Mother’s Day is a time to sit back and really take in how lucky I am to be a parent.  With everything going on in day to day life we tend to take things for granted and although a lot of people are negative about days like Mother’s Day and feel it is to commercialised I think it can be as extravagant or as simple as you want to make it.

This year I was woken at 2.15am by number four whispering Happy Mother’s Day to me and clutching his card.  I snuggled him in bed with me until I was woken again with a huge pile of pastries and chocolate.

  
I didn’t want to go out for a restaurant meal as it always ends up costing a fortune for something we end up throwing down our throats before the children all start to play up.

I love spending time outside so opted for Priory Farm in Nutfield.  Sadly everyone else had the same idea and we couldn’t get a table!

Bundling everyone back in the car we went to one of our favourite cafes in Reigate, happily got a table and had great food without the formality of a sit down meal. 

   
   
We then walked down to Priory Park and head a good walk and mess around in the playground.  

   
   
I went on a bit of a mission hunting for fairies doors that we had never managed to spot before. The kids got bored but I kept searching much to their annoyance and couldn’t find even one!

  
We made our way back home to yet more food and the normality of getting ready for the week ahead.

Such a simple day and nothing that we don’t do on a regular basis but with the emphasis of Mother’s Day in our heads the kids were that little more well behaved and I was that little more relaxed and thankful for all that I have.

What did you all get up to today?

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

Point And Shoot:Magical Moments

It was number four’s birthday this week and probably the highlight of his day was the fact that his Dad took a whole day off for him.

My husband works long hours so when he is around the children relish every moment with his biggest fan being number four.

He got a wonderful new gokart for his birthday and we took it up to our local aerodrome to try it out.  Whist we were there my husband and son clambered on top of the disused air raid shelters and with some wonderful lighting I managed to capture a few shots that I have fallen in love with as much as I love these two.



  

A Sunny Trip To Brighton Breeze

One of my dreams is to one day own my very own Volkswagen camper van, I simply love everything about them.

I know that in reality it would be completly impractical for seven people, they cost a fortune and break down all the time but this will still not quash my dream!

I saw that Brighton Breeze was on this weekend so the hubby and I took the youngest two on a trip to see the huge congregation of vans that meet there.


I was overwhelmed with the vast display of old and new vans and a few cars that were there with their proud owners.  Such hard work and dedication had been put into each vehicle and the owners love and personality completly shone through.

The boys loved looking at all the different colours and decoration, even though one can left number four a little worried with a pair of fake legs dangling out from under the van.


My husband favorite was a fantastically designed brown van with a pinup theme.


I loved everyone of them but my favorite has still got to be the split screen.

              

Once we had spent a good while looking at all the vans and taking in their beauty we made the most of the wonderful autumn sunshine and spent the rest of the day wondering around one of our favorite seaside towns.


      

Full up with fish and chips and worn out from a windy walk along the front we all went home with happy thoughts and dreams of camper van trips we would love to experience in years to come.

My Captured Moment:Our Best Year Yet

  

I was looking through my Facebook albums today for some inspiration for this weeks captured moment with Running In Lavender when I came across this picture.

It was taken whist holidaying in Florida during what I could only describe as the best year of my life!

I gave birth to my fourth son in the January, I got married to the love of my life in the August and had the most fantastic family holiday to Florida in the October.

This captured moment of my husband was taken getting his face painted in the Magic Kingdom.  The happiness on his face just sums up how we all felt on that trip.  It’s will defiantly take a lot to top 2012!!
  

My Captured Moment:My Handful Off To Nursery

I’ve not linked up to My Captured Moment with Heled at ‘Running In Lavender‘ for a few weeks now.  With all the children off on holidays I took a bit of a back seat and enjoyed some time with the family.

This was a special holiday as the new term was starting with number four’s first term at nursery.  It is now just me and the baby now and our mornings are now a lot quieter without this little guy around.