if-youre-interested-keep-working-if-youre-bored-keep-working

Keep working

I’ve written and then deleted a few versions of this week’s quote post.

I just can’t seem to settle on what it is that I want to say.

There’s a lot running through my head at the moment, but at the same time I feel a little empty.  There are so many words, but it’s like when I try to write, I have nothing to actually say.  Or too much to say maybe, which makes me seize up.

All I know is that I’m finding this hard today.  And when that happens I just want to stop.  I want to shut down the computer and climb into bed.

But I’m not sure where that would lead me if I were to do that today.

So, instead, I will sit and I will work.

work-inspires-inspiration-keep-working

 

I’ll work through the mental fogginess, hoping for a moment of clarity.

I’ll work through the worries about whether I’m good enough or not.

I’ll keep working.

 

Cuddle Fairy
living-arrows-portrait

Living arrows 48/52

 

I went to put together today’s living arrows post, and realised that I’ve not really taken many photos of the children in the last week.

We’ve not really been out anywhere, with all of us feeling a bit under the weather and generally a bit lacking in energy.

So this week’s photo is from bedtime last night.  After taking my standard headshot of Rhys and Nerys (I try and take one most days, it’s an on-going project), Rhys asked if I could take a few more of him.  And he gave me this.

living-arrows-portrait

I do love me a nice shallow depth of field!  I love the effect of just getting a glimpse of his expression, with the focus on the random hand gestures he was doing for me.

Hopefully we’ll be out and about a bit more next week and I’ll have a nice selection of photos to chose from.  Only a few more weeks left of the living arrows project for 2016, I need to go out on a high!

Living Arrows
9-years-wedding-anniversary

9 years

Today is my wedding anniversary.

9 years ago today my husband and I said our vows in a tiny, low-key ceremony.

9 years ago we wandered over to the beach and toasted our marriage as the sun set.

9 years ago.

A lot has happened in those 9 years.

We have 2 children now.

We have 6 nieces.

We’ve been through a lot of changes.  Most of them have been for the better.  Like having the children, changing jobs, leaving jobs, pursuing new interests, making new friends.

But some of the changes haven’t been so great.  We’ve lost several family members over the last 9 years.  Which is to be expected I suppose, but it doesn’t make it any less sad.

What it has done though is make me cherish even more the present that my sister handed to me on my wedding day.

Unbeknownst to me, she had spent weeks and weeks contacting our friends and family and asking them to send us a postcard or a photo with a message on it, sending us their love and best wishes for our future together.

At the time it made me cry.  Reading all the lovely messages.  Knowing how much time and effort had gone into putting the whole thing together.

anniversary-absent-friends

And now, just thinking of it makes me cry all over again.

Because there are messages in that album from people who are no longer with us.

But the thing is, reading them now, seeing their handwriting, makes it feel like they’ve not entirely gone.  All that love that I felt on that day 9 years ago.  It’s all still here.  It’s all around us.

So, as I celebrate our wedding anniversary, I’ll make a quiet little toast.  A toast to say thank you to those who took the time to write a message in a card, 9 years ago.

It means the world to me.

wedding-toast

To absent friends.

 

Keep Calm and Carry On Linking Sunday
christmas-button-crafts

Christmas crafts – button snowman gift tag and Christmas tree card #Bostikbloggers

With it being so close to the big day, this month’s theme for the #bostikbloggers craft project is Christmas.

I was sent a lovely box full of crafty bits and pieces to create something festive with.  After a little dig around I decided to make a gift tag and a Christmas card, decorated with coloured buttons.

button-gift-tag-and-christmas-card

They’re both really cute and fun, and surprisingly easy to make.  So here’s how you do it if you fancy making some of your own.

Button snowman gift tag.

You’ll need a blank gift tag (you can buy these, or simply make your own by cutting out a piece of card), 3 buttons (one big, one medium sized and one small), glue and a black marker pen.

button-gift-tag-what-you-need

Making the snowman is really easy.

Simply glue down the three buttons, with the biggest at the bottom of the gift tag, then the medium sized button above it and the small button at the top.  So basically you’re using the buttons to make a snowman shape on the card.

button-gift-tag-snowman

Next you just need to grab your black marker pen and draw on a little hat and some stick arms to finish off your snowman.

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Pretty cute don’t you think!

Button Christmas tree card.

For this you’ll need a card blank (or a piece of card folded to in half), some glue and a selection of buttons.

button-christmas-tree-card

Making this fun little card is also really simple.

Get your buttons and arrange them in a rough Christmas tree shape.  You might want to spend a few minutes playing around with them at this stage, to get the look you want.  I used 2 orange buttons for the trunk of my tree, then random coloured ones for the tree itself.

Once you’re happy with the layout just grab your glue and stick the buttons down.

button-craft-christmas-tree-card

I also added two square buttons to my card, that are meant to be presents underneath the tree!

So there you have it.  2 really simple, really fun crafts to make for Christmas.

Do you like to make your own cards and gift tags at Christmas?  Do you have any craft activities that you do every year, as part of your Christmas traditions?

button-christmas-tree-card-and-snowman-gift-tag

 

I was sent a box of craft materials to create this post, but all words, opinions and creations are my own.

wise-words-twitter

Wise words from the book of everyone – review

It was my niece’s birthday last week.  And while I’d managed to get her a nice present that my sister had suggested, I wanted to get a little something more to make it all a bit special.  Then the lovely people at the book of everyone came along with a wonderful suggestion.

They asked if I would like to review one of their brand new books, the book of wise words.

book-of-everyone-wise-words

I popped over to their website to have a look, then very quickly told them that I would absolutely love to review one for them.  Having already reviewed a book of everyone for them I knew the quality would be fab.  And after checking out what this new book was all about I knew it would make the perfect present for my niece.

The book is aimed at children aged 8-12, although you can adapt it to make it suitable for any age really.

It’s a fun, brightly coloured book that you fill with quotes, sayings and wise words of advice that you want to pass on to the child you’re making it for.

Like all the books from the book of everyone, this one is really nice and simple to create.

To get started you just put in who the book is for and who it’s from.

Then you simply go through all the pages that are automatically generated and edit them as much or as little as you like.

One thing I love is that you have 2 main options with this book.

On every page you can choose between 2 quotes that are pre-written for you, or you can write your own.

So if you’re in a hurry you can just quickly scroll through and chose the text that you like the best each time.

Or you can make the book truly personal and write your own quotes and bits of advice each time.

Although you might actually choose secret option number 3, which is what I did. This is where you take the mix and match approach, using the pre-written text on some pages and writing your own advice on other pages.

wise-words-book-of-everyone

Once you’re happy with all the pages then you simple complete your order and wait for it to be printed.

What’s great actually is the amount of communication there is from the company. You get an email to confirm that your order has been placed, and another one to let you know when it’s been reviewed and is being printed.  So you’re not left in the dark until it turns up at your house one day; you’re kept informed about the book’s progress along the way.

When the book arrived in the post I obviously had to check it out before handing it over to my niece!

I was really pleasantly surprised to see it came already wrapped, in brightly coloured paper that I think any young person would like.

wise-words-book-of-everyone-wrapping-paper

It’s little touches like that which make the book of everyone stand out to me.

I also love that tucked inside the book are a few stickers with quotes and sayings printed on them.

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I chose to create a paperback version of my book of wise words and I’m really pleased with it.  It feels lovely to hold and to look through; it really is lovely quality.  If you want to though, you can get a hardback version, or even just a digital version if the child you’re buying for prefers reading things online!

I was so pleased with how my book of wise words came out, and really do hope that it’s something that my niece will keep coming back to.  Now, I’m not claiming to be particularly wisdomous, but I would like to think that I’ve chosen some quotes and messages in this book that might help Amélie in some way as she gets older.  Even if they just make her smile or pick her up a bit on a bad day.

That feels like a pretty special present to be able to give to her.

book-of-everyone-wise-words-cover

You can create a book of wise words of your own on the book of everyone website.

And whilst you’re there you can check out the other books they have on offer, like the original book of everyone and their special Christmas edition book of everyone.

 

I was given credit to buy a book of wise words, but all words and opinions are my own.

learn-children-patience

Have a little patience.

When I was pregnant with Rhys I read quite a few different books, to help me get my head around all of it.

I read books that talked about pregnancy.  I read books that sort of helped me get my head around giving birth.  And then once he’d arrived I read a couple more books that offered advice on what to do now that he was actually here.

One of my favourites was the baby whisperer solves all your problems.

I liked the philosophy behind it, as it acknowledges that babies aren’t all the same.  I also liked that it acknowledged that parenting is hard.  And that one of the best things you can do as a parent is learn to be patient.

I’ve definitely had to dig deep into my reserves of patience in the last 5 years.

For the most part I think I do a pretty good job with it.

We were patient with Rhys, when he just didn’t ‘get’ potty training.  And it was the best decision we made.  Because it took the pressure off all of us, and he got there in his own time.

I was really patient when he regressed a bit at bedtime, and didn’t like being left to go to sleep by himself.  We knew controlled crying wasn’t for us, so for weeks I sat on the floor.  By his bed, in the middle of the room, by the door, on the landing.  Gradually inching away until his confidence came back and we could put him to bed with a kiss and just walk away.

I try to be patient with the constant, endless questions.  When my two seem to take it in turns to ask questions that don’t always make sense.

I do my best to be patient when Nerys decides she wants to do things herself, when we really just need to get out the front door.

Some days though, especially if I’m tired, I struggle.  I snap and I shout, and then I feel awful about it.

But I think that is just being a normal parent isn’t it?

you-can-learn-many-things-from-children

 

Did you find patience you didn’t know you had, when you became a parent?

Or have you found that you’re really not as patient as you thought you were?!

 

Cuddle Fairy
living-arrows

Living arrows 47/52

I can’t quite believe we’re at week 47 already.  How is it that close to the end of 2016?!

I’m so pleased that I’ve kept up with these Living Arrows posts every week though.  I’m really quite excited to look back at them all in a few weeks time.  I have a feeling I’ll be amazed at how much both Rhys and Nerys  have changed over those 52 weeks.

Nerys is still desperate to be like her big brother.  She likes to be involved in all the action with him and his friends outside school in the mornings.  And she loves playing games with him at home.

What’s really lovely to see is how patient Rhys can be with her.  He was teaching her songs from his Christmas concert the other morning, while waiting for it to be time to get up.

And he’ll sit with her and the ipad, explaining what she needs to do to be able to play his games with him.  And she’s so happy to just be a part of what he’s doing.

I hope they stay close as they grow up, I really do.

living-arrows

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

Living Arrows