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Living arrows – 11/52

by with 4 Comments PersonalPhotographyUncategorized
I was busy setting the camera up the other day, to take a photo of me and Rhys together as part of my project for March (to get in a photo every. single. day).

So I took this test shot to make sure the camera position and settings were right, and I just love it!

For one, with the way he’s looking right at the camera, it feels like he’s looking right at ME.  And I love the slight questioning expression on his face.

I also love the quiet, everyday moment that’s been captured.

My not-quite-five-year-old, sitting (well, kneeling) at the kitchen table doing his homework.  We’re lucky that, for the moment at least, he enjoys sitting and doing his writing.  I’m sure all that will change in years to come!

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I really like having these kind of lifestyle photos of my family.  The everyday moments that we’ll otherwise forget.

The little details of our lives, like the hoover in the background, the clothes drying on the radiator and the spotty tablecloth on our table.

This is life, and I love it.

It does look a little bit better in black and white though!

 

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Living Arrows
Don't just teach your children to read George Carlin

Stay curious my child

by with 16 Comments ParentingQuotesUncategorized
As I was writing my letter to my daughter last week I started thinking about how I really do want her to stay curious.

Yes it’s exhausting when she asks 100 questions a day, but I still want her to keep questioning things.

Which made me think of this quote from George Carlin:

Don't just teach your children to read George Carlin 

 

“Don’t just teach your children to read… teach them to question what they read.
Teach them to question everything”

 

I’m not saying I want my children to be pests who question anything and everything just for the sake of being awkward.  I want them to respect authority and listen carefully to what they’re told, at school for example.

But, I don’t want them to blindly follow everyone else, and mindlessly accept whatever they’re told.

I want them to be independent thinkers.  To read and to listen to the thoughts and opinions of others, and then make up their own minds about things.

I don’t want them to follow a path that someone else tells them they ‘should’ take.

I want them to gather as much information as they can and then make their own choices and decisions about the world and about life.

I want them to be open-minded.

I want them to question everything.

Even if I feel like I’ll scream if I’m asked ‘why?’ one more time today!

 

 

Cuddle Fairy
Mummascribbles
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A letter to my daughter as she turns two

by with 30 Comments PersonalUncategorized
To my beautiful daughter,

It feels like only yesterday that you came along.

As is typical of a child of mine, you came in your own time.  7 days past your due date you finally came, on your own terms, which was just fine with me.  You caught us all a little bit by surprise, making your appearance while we were still in the triage room rather than on the labour ward.

And there we stayed most of the day.

While Daddy went home to get some sleep you and I got to know each other.

In that little hospital room I studied your perfect face and knew in my heart what your name was.

Not the name we’d loved for the past 9 months, but one that we hadn’t even considered until the midwife who delivered you introduced herself with the words “Hi, I’m Nerys”.

Nerys.  Perfect.

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And now, 2 years later your name suits you beautifully.  I can’t imagine you being anything else.

You are loving.  So, so loving.  Some evenings I sit by your bed before you go to sleep and you ever so gently kiss my eyes, my nose, my ears, my mouth.  I hope you keep that gentle, affectionate part of you always.

You are chatty.  Oh my word are you chatty!  And you’re so proud of yourself when you’re able to tell me something.  And you make us laugh so much when you catch us by surprise with a new word or expression.  The look on Nana’s face the other day when she thanked you for something and you replied “You’re most welcome” was just brilliant!

You are independent.  “Me do it” is one of your favourite expressions, and to be fair, most of the time you CAN do whatever it is you want to do.

You are curious.  You ask me “why?” 100 times a day.  And while this gets exhausting after a while I hope you stay curious.  I hope you never stop questioning the world around you.

You love Peppa Pig (much to Daddy’s disappointment), Fig rolls and Jam Tarts, oranges and bananas, jumping in puddles, eating hoops with Nana and Pops, copying anything and everything your brother does (oh how you love him!), looking at books and pretending to read them, singing along to the wheels on the bus, sleeping in your own big girl bed (after nearly 2 years of ending up in Mummy and Daddy’s bed most nights) and telling me proudly in the morning “me slept in my bed, ALL NIGHT”.

You are a joy to have around.  You and your brother bring so much light to the world.

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You are my baby girl, who’s not such a baby any more.

You are Nerys.

 

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Mummascribbles
Cuddle Fairy
MS Calling
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Living arrows – 10/52

by with 16 Comments PhotographyUncategorized
Every night in our house we basically follow the same bedtime routine of bath, pjs on, stories on Mummy and Daddy’s bed and then little ones off to bed.

Sometimes Rhys will read his latest book from school, other nights they’ll have 3 stories read to them.

Sometimes they’ll get into Rhys’ bed together, sometimes Nerys will switch ends of her bed so she’s closer to him.

Sometimes they’ll go off to sleep quickly, other nights there’ll be shouts for drinks, and teddies and one-more-hug.

But the part of the evening that’s pretty consistent is the bath.

We’ve found that they seem to need that signal that it’s time to start preparing for bedtime.  And they’re both big fans of being in the water, so they play with their bath toys, pretend to swim, sing with Daddy and generally have a good time.

I love this photo of Nerys enjoying bathtime, partly because you can really see how her hair is finally starting to grow longer, with the lovely little curl around her ears.  It’s taken a long time to get to this point!

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

Living Arrows
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A little trip to the Swansea Community Farm

by with 8 Comments ParentingPersonalUncategorized
A good friend and I had been trying for about a month to get together for a play date with our children, and we finally managed it!

She suggested we take the children to Swansea Community Farm in Fforestfach.  I’d heard of the farm before but had never actually been for a visit and, honestly, was a little bit nervous about going there as it was somewhere I’d never driven to before (I’m still not great at driving to unknown places).

I’m so very glad I went though, we all had a really lovely morning there, and the drive was really quite easy in the end thanks to Google maps and useful information on the Farm’s website about how to get there!

We got to the farm at about 10.30, which was just in time to help the staff herd the sheep (and one lamb) out into their field.  I love that, as it’s a community farm, the staff encourage visitors to get involved.  The children loved seeing the animals come past them and then they ran after them to have a little look at them in the field.

After that we had a good wander round the rest of the farm, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much there was to see.  We saw pigs, ducks, chickens and geese and wandered past the bee hives, the compost station and the allotment plots.

The children had a great time running round and exploring, and we all enjoyed a little visit to the cafe for some cake!

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I’m really looking forward to more visits in the Spring and Summer when there are more plants springing up and more animals roaming around.  I’m strangely curious about seeing the bees in particular, and hoping to be able to buy some honey at some point!

If you’re looking for something free and great fun to do with your children in Swansea then I highly recommend a visit to the community farm.  We all had a lovely morning there.

Do you have a community or city farm near you?  Do you visit it very often?

 

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OneDad3Girls
Super Busy Mum
Living arrows

Living arrows – 9/52

by with 10 Comments PhotographyUncategorized
My boy.

My sensitive, handsome, bright-as-a-button little boy.

He’s starting to get more self-conscious about having his photo taken, which means I sometimes get a really fake smile, or an over the top one, when I try to capture him.

So I really love this picture of him.  Flushed cheeks from running on the beach on a freezing cold day.  Attention captured by something in the distance.  Little smile on his lips and in his eyes.

My boy.

Living arrows  

Living Arrows