Things I love as a mum

Little things I love as a mum (that add up to a perfect Mother’s day)

by with 26 Comments Family lifeParentingPersonal

I really do believe that when it comes to happiness, in relationships, as a parent, in life in general, it really is the little things that matter the most.  Those little details that make you smile; they all add up to make life pretty glorious!

So while there are lots of things I would be very happy to wake up to on Mother’s day, really it’s the little things that I love most about being a Mum and that when put together will make a perfect Mother’s day for me.

Little things I love as a mum

 

Here are some of those little things that I really do love about being a Mum:

The new-found luxury of the occasional lie-in.

Before I had children I could sleep in as late as I wanted to at the weekend, and I’m not sure I really appreciated it!
Now though, on the odd occasion when my husband gets up with the children and I get to carry on sleeping, oh, such luxury!

I really love and appreciate it now.

 

A shower without an audience.  

This sort of goes along with the lie-in thing.  I never appreciated how lovely it is to shower in peace before I had my children.  Now though, I normally grab a quick shower with one or both of them in the room with me, shouting for help to brush their teeth or to wipe a bottom (seriously, how they manage to time these things to badly?).

So when I get to have a whole shower with no one in the room with me, it feels like a trip to the spa!

 

My son bringing a drawing home from school that he’s done just for me.

Sure, it’s one of hundreds of pictures he’s drawn of angry birds, but this one is especially for me!

 

Having little conversations with my daughter and being able to work out what she’s saying.

There’s just something quite special about being able to understand what your toddler is saying when people outside of the family are just hearing gobbledygook.

Admittedly sometimes it takes me a few minutes to work things out, like realising the other day that “monkey door” was her asking for me to sing “see saw majory daw”, but I really love being able to chat with her.

 

Hearing my children upstairs with their Dad at bathtime.

It feels like their special time together, and it makes me so happy to hear them singing and laughing together.

 

Big hugs and sloppy kisses.

No further explanation needed!

 

So, here is what I would really love for Mother’s day:

A little lie-in followed by a lovely, uninterrupted shower.  A card or drawing created by my son.  A simple conversation with my daughter.  An early evening relax on the sofa while listening to my kids enjoying time with Daddy before bed.

And hugs and kisses.

Lots of hugs and kisses.

Sounds like a pretty good day to me!

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A birthday trip to the beach

by with 12 Comments PersonalPhotographyUncategorized
Yesterday our baby girl turned two years old.  We kept things pretty low key for her, as we’re all still run down with coughs and colds (still!).

So we wrapped up warm and headed down to Swansea bay in the morning for a run around and a blast of fresh air.

Both Rhys and Nerys love it down at the beach, regardless of the time of year.  They really enjoy just running about, playing in the sand and jumping in the sea.

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When the cold started to get a little too much we headed off the beach and over to Victoria park for a bit more of a walk and a play on the swings and slide.

Pretty much the perfect morning for a 2 year old and her big brother!

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OneDad3Girls
Super Busy Mum
The photos we wish we'd taken show you were there

The photos we wish we’d taken – #showyouwerethere

by with 19 Comments PersonalPhotographyShow you were there

I’m pretty sure we all have them.

The photos we wish we’d taken.

The moments we wish we’d recorded.

The people we wish we’d captured while we had the chance.

The photos we wish we'd taken show you were there

 

Over the last year or so I’ve found myself becoming very aware of how few photos I have of my parents.  My visits to see them are normally so rushed, so full-on, so busy with children underfoot, that I often don’t end up taking any photos at all.

I like to just ‘be’ in the moment, enjoy everyone’s company, take in the little details of home.

But then, after I leave, I kick myself for not taking 2 minutes to take a few photos.  To capture forever the way my parents look at each other.  How in love they still are.

So, as I was packing up my bag ready to head back to Wales at the end of my last visit home, I grabbed my parents and my camera and we headed out to the back garden for a quick photo session.  And I’m so, so happy that I took that opportunity.

 

I will never regret taking these photos.  But I know had I not, I would always wish I had.

 

These photos mean so much to me already, and in years to come they will mean so much more.  So, thank you to my parents for humouring me, stepping out of your comfort zone a little and getting in front of my camera.

 

It means the world to me that you exist in these photos.

#showyouwerethere

#showyouwerethere

#showyouwerethere

Last year for the month of March I challenged myself to get in front of the camera and in a photo every day for the whole month.

I want to be sure that I exist in photos for my children too.  I want to show them that I was there.

So this March I’m doing it again.  Every day I will step in front of the camera, and I would love as many people as possible to do it too.

I’ll be posting my photos using #showyouwerethere on Instagram and on my Facebook pages for this blog and for my photography business.  If you fancy joining in please tag your photos with that hashtag so I can find them.

Don’t end up wishing you’d taken those photos.  Just do it!

 

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Living arrows – 8/52

by with 6 Comments PersonalPhotographyUncategorized
I’ll be completely honest with you here.  I’ve been feeling a little bit frustrated with my photos of the kids, or lack thereof, recently.  I think with all the rain and dark and illness I’ve been a bit uninspired, and then end up only picking the camera up at bedtime to snap a quick shot of them.  By which point the light is gone and the photos are nice, but a bit, well, uninspired.

So today Nerys and I had a little photo shoot.

I opened up the hallway door to let the natural light flood in and, oh, the results make me so much happier!

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I’m planning a blog post in celebration of her second birthday this coming weekend, and I think a few more photos from our little session will make an appearance then!  For now though, I just had to share this one.  I’m not sure what exactly had caught her eye outside but I just love the expression on her face.

At times she seems so grown up to me, it’s hard to believe that she’s only just turning two.  But at the same time, I can’t believe she’s turning two!  Where did that time go?  Where did my teeny baby go?!

Living Arrows
There's no place like home

There’s no place like home

by with 14 Comments PersonalQuotesUncategorized
I went home to see my family in Kent at the start of this past half term week, and have spent the time since thinking about that word – ‘home‘.

See, I’ve lived in Swansea for about 15 and a half years now.
This is where I’ve built my family, and my life.
This is home.

But, at the same time, my parent’s house in Kent is home also.
I grew up there.
I lived there for 18 years before leaving for University.
It’s home.  I mean, my parent’s landline number is listed on my phone under ‘home’!

So I’ve been feeling a bit confused, wondering what this word ‘home’ really means.

Is it a certain place?  A particular building?  Is it the place where special memories are made, or simply the place you return to every evening?

For me, I think it’s a mixture of all of those things.

Home is where there is history, where those special memories are made, where there is comfort and security.

Above all though, I think that home is where the people you love are.  And in that case, there really is no place like it.

There's no place like home 

So, my parent’s house in Kent is definitely still home, because my parents are there.  And even in the future when, for whatever reason, they’re no longer there, I think it will still be home because, to me, that house IS my parents.

They bought that house from the plans.  No one else has ever lived there.  All it’s memories are OUR memories.

And, while I’m not sure about this house I’m currently living in, Swansea in general is most definitely home too.  As soon as I moved here it felt right, then the moment I fell in love with my husband it felt like home.

I’m pretty lucky I think, to have two places to call home!

I’d love to know what you think about this.  Do you still call your childhood home ‘home’?  Or have you moved on to a new place that feels more ‘home’ to you now?!  

Cuddle Fairy
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Living arrows – 6/52

by with 4 Comments PersonalPhotographyUncategorized

Another week of cold and rain and general under-the-weatherness means we’ve once again not really ventured outside much.  I think we’re all starting to go a bit stir crazy and once storm Imogen goes on her merry way I think a good trip to the park is in order!

In the meantime though, we’re having lots of fun at home with sticker books and a growing collection of character toys.  Nerys has started to enjoy getting them all out of the basket and lining them up, just like Rhys used to do, which really makes me smile.

Here she is proudly showing off a well-loved and rather-worn-out-looking Sarah, before she went to join Mim Mim, the Twirly woos and about 6 Peppa Pigs!

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“You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth”

Living Arrows
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Living arrows 5/52

by with No Comment PersonalPhotographyUncategorized
I am really enjoying watching the sibling bond develop between these two recently.  We’ve all been stuck in the house with horrible colds and chesty coughs, but they’ve been fab, only winding each other up a teeny bit!

More than anything, there’s been lots of hugs and kisses and holding hands which is just so lovely to watch.

I try to take a ‘headshot’ photo of both of them every day, with the aim of having a record of how they change and grow over the months and years.  Most of the time I end up taking these photos just before we have a bedtime story, and recently they’ve started asking for me to take a photo of them together as well.

This is one that I thought was pretty sweet!

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Living Arrows