Picture

Week in review – Sunday 22nd March 2015

by with One Comment PersonalUncategorized

It’s been a funny few weeks here that have thrown me off the schedule I try to set myself for posting on this blog.  So much so that I didn’t get round to posting my week in review last Sunday, but instead I was treated to a glorious lie-in followed by breakfast in bed.

This week:

  • I caved and went to the doctors after being in pain every time I swallowed for a week.  2 days of antibiotics later and I’m starting to feel better.

 

  • I ventured back into the world of twitter.  After debating whether or not I should start a new account for this blog, I’ve decided just to use my personal account to represent me, this glorious life and my photography business.  You can follow me here if you want to!

 

  • We made huge progress with reducing how much Nerys is nursing in the night.  A little over a week ago she was feeding at least every 3 hours.  Some nights she was waking every hour and a half to feed.  I’ve managed to get that down to just one feed a night and have actually had 2 nights this week when she’s not fed till 5/6am.  Shame she’s still waking throughout the night, but this was always going to be a slow process!  I’m just happy we’re making progress!

 

  • Nerys witnessed her first solar eclipse and was not in the slightest bit interested in it!

 

  • Spring started to feel like it was on its way.

 

  • I’ve been reminded how lucky I am to have my in-laws so nearby.  I was very grateful for their help with Rhys and Nerys when I felt really rough in the week (and for the lovely bunch of flowers they gave me to help me feel better!)

 

Picture

Week in review – Sunday 8th March 2015

by with No Comment PersonalUncategorized
So that’s the first week of March gone then!  Here’s my recap of what we got up to this week:

  • Rhys went on a bear hunt for World Book Day!

 

  • We had a crazy but fun afternoon in Brynmill Park with a group of our friends.  Finally organising getting together more often, now that the bigger kids are mainly in morning school.

 

  • We spent another sunny afternoon in the park and Nerys had her first wander around, exploring the playground.  She’s still not entirely confident walking in her shoes, so I had to hold her hand most of the time, but she had a great time being out of the buggy for once!

 

  • Nerys spent a morning with Nana and Pops which meant I had a shower in complete peace – such a luxury!

 

I hope you all had a good week!
Picture

Shows I’ve binge-watched while feeding my baby

by with 7 Comments Family lifePersonal

My daughter turned one last week.  Now, I don’t know if it’s because she’s breastfed and digesting the milk quickly, or if it’s because she just has a big appetite, but I have spent a huge amount of time in that year feeding her.

I know that us mothers are supposed to enjoy every second of breastfeeding; spending the minutes and hours gazing into our babies’ eyes and basking in the beauty of what we’re doing (ha!) but, come on, after the first few minutes you really need some other form of entertainment!

For me, that entertainment has come in the form of binge-watching tv shows.  Some on the tv and others streamed on the ipad.

Here is my list of the shows that have kept me awake and entertained while I’ve been feeding my baby:

Charmed

I would call this a guilty pleasure but, you know what?  I don’t feel guilty about it!  I love Charmed.  In all its ridiculousness, I think it’s great!  I’d watched the middle few series quite recently when they were on tv, but hadn’t seen the first few with Prue in or the very last series for ages.  So I was really quite happy when I saw that all 8 series are on netflix!  This one kept me going for quite a while of evening and night time feeds!

Friends

I love the fact that, even after all these years, Friends is still on tv practically all the time and it’s still funny!  And, every now and then, I hear a line that I swear I’ve never heard before!

Prison Break

I watched the first 2 series of Prison Break when it was first on tv and really enjoyed it, but stopped watching when it started to feel a bit ridiculous after Michael ended up in another prison, trying to find a way to break out.  But I decided to give it another go when I found all 4 series on Amazon, and I actually really liked it.  I’m pleased I gave it another go and stuck it out to see how they ended the whole thing.  There seemed to be a fair bit of debate online about whether the ending was any good or not.  For my part, I was pretty satisfied with how it all worked out!

Gilmore girls

I have all the series of Gilmore Girls on DVD, but I’ve still been taping it from channel 5 recently so it’s there on the sky box when I feed Nerys during the day!  I absolutely love this show.  It always makes me smile and holds really good memories for me from when I first started watching it.  It’s like an old friend.  Although it really freaks me out when I think about the fact that I was closer in age to Rory when I first watched it, and now I’m the same age as Lorelai!

Alias

This is another series, like Gilmore Girls, that I actually have on DVD but I’ve started watching it again on Amazon instant video.  My husband loves to mock Alias, and I know that it’s a bit cheesy, but I love it!  Pretty much all the characters “die” at some point, Sydney kicks ass in the most ridiculous of outfits and Bradley Cooper is in it.  All makes for good entertainment in my book!

Orange is the new black

This was the first ‘mystery’ series that I watched on netflix.  I’d heard of it but didn’t really know what to expect.  As it turned out, I must’ve liked it as I watched it in record time…and was then a bit gutted when I realised I’d reached the end of the second series and that the third hadn’t been released yet!

Please tell me I’m not the only one who relies on multiple tv series for entertainment during endless feeding sessions?!

Does anyone have any good recommendations for new programs to watch?

How love expands

How love expands

by with 12 Comments Family lifePersonal

I have found myself completely smitten with my daughter over the last few days.  Don’t get me wrong, I have loved her since the day she was born, but just recently I’ve been getting those waves of love for her all over again.

As she hurtles towards her first birthday her personality has just blossomed.  She is spirited and determined and full of fun and mischief.  She has started laughing whenever she hears someone else laugh, even if they’re in a different room.  And I’m finding these funny giggles impossible to resist.  When I hear them I can’t help but smile and feel that unmistakable rush of love.

This has brought me to thinking about a conversation I had with my friend when she first had her daughter.  She was so completely in love with her that she couldn’t imagine having another child, as she couldn’t see how her love for her daughter could be shared with a new baby.

How love expands add another child to family

 

At the time I didn’t have any children of my own and didn’t fully get how she felt.

All I knew at that point was that I loved my husband with all my heart, but I knew I could give just as much love to a baby as it would be a different kind of love.

A few years after that conversation, I had my son and, once the fog of having a new baby had lifted, I was overwhelmed by my love for him.

It was so different from anything I had experienced before.  This tiny person who was completely reliant on me.  He became the centre of my world and I didn’t want to share him with anyone.  He was my first born and every ‘first’ we experienced together was wonderful.

I started to understand what my friend had meant – how could I love another baby this much?  How could I share this love with someone else?

How love expands add another child to family

 

Then, when Rhys was 2 and a half, I fell pregnant with my daughter.

And I realised pretty early on that I needn’t have worried.  As my bump grew and I began to feel her moving around, I quietly started to fall in love with her.  Feeling her kick and squirm when the way I was sitting made her uncomfortable, I felt like I was already starting to get to know her.

My hopes for a baby that wasn’t desperate to be on the move and who would happily just sit on a play mat faded quickly as I felt how busy she already was in my tummy.

 

Then, a week overdue, Nerys arrived.

 

And in those quiet hours after she was born, when it was just the 2 of us and ‘never gonna give you up‘ playing in my head, I was completely overwhelmed by the love I felt for her.

“I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once” – John Green, The fault in our stars

And when we took her home from the hospital and I saw my suddenly-big boy again and felt the same love for him that I had before, I knew for certain that I’d had nothing to worry about.  The love that I have for Rhys didn’t get shared with Nerys when she was born; a whole bucket-load of new love was created, just for her.

So for any of you out there who might be concerned about loving a second child as much as you love your first, please try not to worry too much about it – our capacity for love really is astounding!

 

Picture
I’d love to know your thoughts on this – were you worried about loving a second child as much as you love your first?
What my parents have taught me about love

Things my parents have taught me about love and marriage

by with 12 Comments PersonalRelationships

My parents will have been married for 46 years in August, and they’re still very much in love.  They have given me something to strive for in my own marriage.  Seriously, if Steve and I are as happy as they are in 40 years time I’ll count myself very lucky.

I don’t see my parents anywhere near as much as I’d like to (they’re in Kent and I’m in Swansea) and most of our chats are spent catching up on day to day life and what’s happening with our family (my parents have 7 grandchildren to keep track of!).  I don’t really get the chance to talk about relationships that much with my Mum, but from the chats we’ve had in the past and from watching my parents together I’ve managed to learn a few things:

Things my parents have taught me about love and marriage

 

Always say ‘I love you’

This is something that Steve and I seem to do quite naturally anyway.  There is a lot of love expressed in our house every day, between the two of us and between us and the kids.  And I do wonder if it’s something I say a lot because I heard it a lot growing up.

And even now, whenever I go and visit my parents I’ll hear a real heartfelt “Oh I do love you” from one to the other several times a day.  It’s so genuine and so ‘meant’ that it’s just really nice to hear.  Especially when they don’t necessarily know we can hear them say it!

 

It’s the little things that count

Research has shown that it’s the little things couples do for each other that really help  a relationship survive, and maybe that’s part of my parents’ secret.  There are little things that they do for each other that are really appreciated, like my dad bringing my mum a cup of tea to have in bed every morning.  It may seem small but it’s really important in making you feel like you matter to your partner.

 

“Choose a man who makes you laugh”

This is the one piece of advice my mum gave me time and again over the years.  It makes sense really, if you’re going to spend your life with someone you want to be able to have a giggle with them!  My parents have a very similar sense of humour and a real sense of silliness and there is always a lot of laughter when we’re all together.  I think Mamie’s advice will be passed on Nerys –  “choose a man who makes you laugh”.

 

Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith

Before my parents were married my dad lived and worked in Germany for a while.  In fact, he was living there in the run up to the wedding, meaning that the first time my parents saw each other for some time was when they were at the alter ready to say their vows.

Bear in mind, this was before the time of video calls and skype and Facebook!  It was a bit of a leap of faith to commit to being married having spent so much time living away from each other.  But thank God they leapt!

Nothing in life and love is guaranteed, but sometimes taking that leap into the unknown is the best possible thing to do.

 

Make time for each other

It can be so easy, once you’re in an established relationship, to stop really spending time together.  Especially when there’s work and children also in the mix.  I’m very aware that I don’t spend enough quality time with my husband, just the two of us.  Especially at the moment, when I’m still up throughout the night with Nerys, I’m so tired in the evenings that I often head to bed pretty early.  And our weekends are spent as a family or with me trying to catch up on sleep!

My parents, on the other hand, have always known how important it is to spend time just as a couple.  Even when we were little and money was tight, they would go out and share half a pint at the pub, just to have time to be a couple.  This is definitely something I need to make more of a priority.

 

But also have time to just be you

On the flip side, my parents have shown me how important it is to also have time away from each other, to do things that you enjoy that they might not be so interested in!  They do a lot together but also have their own time and interests away from each other.  Like on a Sunday, my mum will go to church and my dad will go and spend time on his allotment.

What my parents have taught me about love and marriage

I’m sure there must be lots more that they’ve taught me about love and marriage: maybe I’ll do a follow up post with another set of things I’ve learnt from them.

Maybe the most important thing to take away from this is that my parents aren’t perfect, and of course they bicker and wind each other up and I’m sure they’ve been through their struggles, but all the positives have always completely outweighed all of that.  What’s that saying about love conquering all?!  I do believe that’s true sometimes.

So, thank you Mummy and Daddy, for showing me what love and marriage is all about, for giving me something to strive for and for showing that, despite all the statistics about failed marriages, there is hope that they can last and last!

Picture

Week in review – Sunday 22nd Feb 2015

by with 2 Comments PersonalUncategorized
Another week over; where is this year going?  Another week and my baby girl will be a year old!

So let’s review, this was the week that:

  • Nerys first gestured ‘gone’ and said ‘boop’ when she went to boop Daddy’s nose.

 

  • We all had a fun time at soft play at the LC2.  I was so pleased Steve was there when Nerys experienced it for the first time – the look of joy on her face when she first ran in there was brilliant!

 

  • We took Nerys to get her first pair of shoes.  Turns out she takes after her Daddy and has feet that are, not only huge, but different sizes.  After being measured as a 4 and a half G we were brought a choice of 2 different pairs, neither of which fit her properly!  So out came the trainers because, and I quote, “with a closed shoe you can’t see the problems!”.  The problem being that, in a t-bar shoe, her feet were (ever so slightly, or maybe more than slightly!) bulging out of the holes.  So, white and pink trainers it was then!  Good thing she tends to be dressed in jeans and not dresses anyway!

 

  • My sister came with her three girls for the day on Friday and we had a lovely time, catching up and then going for a walk to Brynmill park.

 

  • After my oldest niece said that she thought Nerys was heavier than her 2 year old sister, we actually weighed them both.  Yep, Nerys weighs more than her 2 year old cousin!
My top ten rom-coms

My top 10 rom-coms

by with 2 Comments Family lifePersonal

Continuing with the love theme for February, and following on from my favourite romantic moments from tv, I give you my top ten rom-coms.

Now, I’m not ashamed to admit that I am a big fan of romantic comedies, quite often I find that the cheesier they are the better!  I rather like the predictability of them, that at the end the boy gets the girl.  They’re sheer escapism and I love it!

So, after looking through my collection and having a think to narrow down my options – I give you my top 10 rom-coms:

My top ten rom-coms

 

1) Clueless

I remember going to see this in the cinema (back when it only cost about £3.00 to see a film!) and I loved it then.  And I watched it recently while doing night feeds with Nerys and I still love it!  Also, has Paul Rudd aged at all since this making this film?!

2) Love actually

Ahh, love actually.  Every year I try to wait till the perfect moment in the run-up to Christmas to watch this film!  It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s sweet, it has Andrew Lincoln in it.  What’s not to like?!  (note – my husband’s answer to that question would be “Keira Knightley”, but I personally have no issue with her!)

 

3) 10 things I hate about you

One of the classic high school movies.  I don’t care that it’s predictable that Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles will end up together, it’s still a great story!  And it has some of the best embarrassing Dad quotes ever!

“I’m down, I’ve got the 411, and you are not going out and getting jiggy with some boy, I don’t care how dope his ride is. Mamma didn’t raise no fool”


4) He’s just not that into you

I wasn’t sure how they would translate the book into a film, but I like what they decided to do!  This is a film that I can watch over and over again.  Maybe because, like ‘love actually’ there are several overlapping storylines which keeps it interesting?  Maybe it’s the fact that Bradley Cooper is in it.  Who can really know for sure?

5) Boys and girls

This is one of those films that I’m not sure how many people have actually seen, but I really like it!  It’s the story of a boy and a girl who meet when they’re kids, then bump into each other a few times over the years, before becoming friends and then more than friends.  It is cheesy (it stars Freddie Prinze jnr so of course it’s cheesy!) but it has some good, funny dialogue, a choreographed danced routine in a club and Alyson Hannigan which all add up to make it pretty enjoyable to me!

“Hey, did you guys read how the zoo animals tried to reorganize their cages in alphabetical order? Apparently the aardvark started it”

6) The time traveler’s wife

Now, the time traveler’s wife is one of my all-time favourite books.  I absolutely love it.  So I was a bit nervous about watching the film in case they ruined it (like the tv adaptation of Goodnight Mr Tom, another one of my all time favourites.  I just didn’t get on with John Thaw as Tom, sorry!).  But I was really pleasantly surprised.  I think the film is faithful enough to the story to satisfy me and I really love Rachel McAdams so I was happy with her as Clare.  This is one for a rainy night when I want to be all cosy inside!

7) How to lose a guy in 10 days

When a rom-com has Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson as the leads you know it’s going to be good!  Kate Hudson as the crazy girlfriend is just brilliant!

“Our love fern! You let it die!”

8) Little black book

Little black book is another one like ‘Boys and girls’ that I’m never sure how many people know about.  I don’t think it was really that big when it came out, I mean, I don’t remember it being on at the cinema, but I bought it on a whim on dvd and really like it.  It’s actually one that’s not quite so predictable and formulaic, with the ending not necessarily what you think it might be.

9) The Family Stone

Another one with Rachel McAdams in it and another one that tends to get saved for Christmas time.  I just find this such a lovely, cosy film to watch when it’s cold and dark outside!  I think Sarah Jessica Parker plays the role of uptight Meredith really well and I just love the family dynamics that are the basis of the film.

 

10) Dirty dancing

How could I have a list of rom-coms and leave out Dirty Dancing?!  It’s a true classic and the soundtrack is just awesome.  I have some really good memories surrounding this film and the songs from it.

“You just put your pickle on everybody’s plate, college boy, and leave the hard stuff to me.”

 

What do you think?  Do you agree with my list or do you have another favourite that I’ve missed out?  I’m always looking for recommendations for films to watch!