Tag: family

Introducing Pixie

Finding time amidst Christmas preparations to share an overdue post introducing the newest member of our little family, a rescue cat we adopted at the end of October.

I wasn’t really ready to adopt a new cat, and Mara was such a special cat that I knew I’d struggle not to compare another cat to her, but the kids were asking when we’d get another cat and once I’d started seeing ads for cats needing to be rehomed, it was impossible to look away. Cats are such creatures of routine and familiarity that I really feel sorry for those that experience the shock, upheaval and distress of having to be rehomed.

We contacted a couple of local rehoming centres, and I arranged to meet two cats in foster care on a Saturday morning while my husband took the girls to dance class, both cats were lovely and I hated having to choose between them (though the other one has also been adopted now). On a Monday morning, after dropping the kids off at school and nursery, my husband and I went to pick up Pixie, a three year old black and white girl cat from her foster home.

We never knew much about Mara’s past, but we were able to get Pixie’s date of birth and full medical history, and a bit about why she had to be rehomed. Sadly, she was living with her brother and the two of them weren’t getting on, I have no idea how you choose in that situation.

Pixie spent the first week mostly hiding under the couch, but she’s gradually been getting more curious, vocal and confident. She’s been very gentle with the kids, though she does tend to hide when they get too loud or boisterous, I’m not sure she had much contact with kids before coming to us, but she’s very playful. My husband put a box on top of one our bookcases, and she likes to take herself up there when she wants to watch our antics from a safe distance, but she’s a lapcat that will happily settle down with us while we’re watching TV or reading.

I still miss Mara, but Pixie is a lovely addition to our family. X

Romjul Reflections

Finding some time after an extremely busy festive week to relax and reflect on December.

Through December, we enjoyed our oldest daughter’s nativity at nursery, and a family trip to Blair Drummond where we saw sea lions, rhinos and finally saw the two beautiful tigers. We also took the kids on the fair rides at Blair Drummond and the Christmas Market in Glasgow, with our little thrill seekers thoroughly enjoying the spinning cups, Helter Skelter, carousel and mini roller coasters. 

I ended up working late on Christmas Eve due to a last minute crisis, arriving home as everyone else was finishing dinner, but just in time to put our two excited girls to bed. Before a last minute gift wrapping session, filling stockings and sorting presents into piles.

Our daughters woke up at 5.30am (as usual) and were remarkably patient as we let them watch cartoons in bed before letting them check if Santa had been and giving them their stockings to open before they woke up their grandparents and tore into the rest of their gifts.

My husband outdid himself with Christmas dinner this year, in addition to our usual Quorn roast and sage and onion stuffing, he also made a butternut squash and chestnut wellington and Yorkshire puddings (apparently a controversial choice).

After lunch, we took the kids to the park, before heading home to watch Julia Donaldson’s Tiddler and try out more of the kids’ toys and games. Gymnastics equipment, train sets and games like Pop Up Pirate have been big hits with our daughters this Christmas.

We’re still missing our little Mara so much; Christmas isn’t the same without her, she always loved the festivities from playing with tinsel and hunting for spiders in the tree to getting stuck into her stocking for new toys and treats. 

Now that our extended family have gone home, I’m glad we have some time off together just the four of us to settle back into our routines and find some calm after all the excitement.

Wishing everyone all the joy and peace of the season. X

More Autumn Adventures 🍂

It feels like time is slipping through my fingers, this has been such a hectic year and we’re well into autumn and the ember months. The weather has cooled and the evenings are growing darker, the leaves have turned into a gorgeous array of gold, amber and scarlet, and every breeze causes a flutter of them to fall.

We had a really fun day trip to Dalkeith Country Park in Midlothian where the kids enjoyed exploring the adventure playpark and Fort Douglas with its all it’s climbing frames, bridges and slides, as well as the bouncy pillows and flying foxes. It’s a bit of a jaunt for us, but always lots of fun and great value.

We’ve been out foraging for chestnuts or conkers at our local parks, and collecting seeds, flowers and leaves for sticky pictures. We also enjoyed the loveliest walk through the woods at Rouken Glen with the kids filling their baskets with the most colourful leaves, pine cones, moss covered bark and branches covered in lichen that they could find for a little show and tell nature project at nursery.

My husband and I even managed a day out by ourselves on a bank holiday Monday at the end of September. After dropping the girls off at nursery, we drove out to Callendar for lunch, a wee browse around the Nutcracker Christmas shop and a walk up to Bracklinn Falls. The waterfall itself is actually quite hard to see from the path, and best viewed from the rocks in front of it, which are sturdy but can be a bit slippery when wet. It’s been about a decade since we last visited the falls, and was really lovely to rediscover it again after so long.

I really love living in a part of the world with such distinct seasons, and autumn is particularly lovely in Scotland. Have a lovely week. X

Suddenly Everything

At the start of Spring, I greet every new flower like an old friend, glad to welcome them back after the long winter, they emerge one by one at first, then suddenly everything springs back to life at once filling our garden with flowers, greenery and wildlife.

This year has been a bit of a whirl so far. I returned to work in January, but almost immediately regretted it and started looking for another job. After a flurry of applications through February and interviews in March, I’m starting a new job this month. It’s a big shift as I’ve been with the same employer for eight years (give or take a year or two on maternity leave), by far the longest I’ve ever stayed in one place, but I was starting to feel a bit stuck and I’m hoping that this will be a fresh start.

At the grand old age of 40, I’ve also been diagnosed with combined type ADHD, which explains a lifetime of chronic distraction, forgetfulness, disorganisation, procrastination, impulsivity, emotional dysregulation, fidgeting and even sleeping problems that have effected me for as long as I can remember. I’m part of a so called lost generation of daydreamers, chatterboxes and fidgets who were missed because we didn’t fit the stereotype of disruptive, hyperactive children at school. I’ve known something was wrong since I started working 20 years ago, I’m still learning about ADHD but it’s a relief to know there’s support and treatment options. As my husband’s also an ADHDer, it means our daughters have a greater chance of having it than not, but hopefully they will have access to support we missed out on if they need it.

Speaking of whom, our kids are keeping us busy. Our 4 year old has always been little miss independent, and our youngest is trying hard to keep up with her big sister (with all the bumps and bruises to prove it). Our house is usually filled with shrieks of giggles as they chase each other around and wrestle on the floor, with only the odd squabble to sort out. We’ve been enjoying lots of puddle walks in the rain lately, playing in the park, trips to the beach and games in the garden, our weekends have been full of birthday parties, and we’re all looking forward to our summer holiday soon.

Our lovely old cat, Mara, is well enough, though starting to look her age with bald patches over her eyes. She spends most of her day snoozing in a variety of beds scattered around the house, but she’s still full of cuddles and sprightly enough to chase the red dot and feathery wands when she feels like it.

Very much hoping things will settle and slow down in the second half of the year, but as always when life feels busy or overwhelming, I’m steadying myself by counting my blessings and focusing on the people and things that always bring me comfort and joy, my little family, our garden, and nature.

Have a lovely week. X

Betwixtmas ~ 2023 in Review

Taking some time over my morning coffee to reflect on the year behind and the new one ahead. 2023 was overall a great year for us as we enjoyed so many new experiences and adventures as a family of four.

In February we celebrated our oldest daughter’s third birthday, she has always been such a determined and independent little girl and over the last year she’s reached new levels, learning to ride a bike, playing football and learning Spanish at preschool. She’s a sociable child and we’ve loved meeting some of her little friends for playdates too. Her imagination has exploded this year and we’ve enjoyed lots of make believe games of doctors, vets, hair dressers and librarians with various playsets and improvised props.

Our first family holiday

In July, we took our first family holiday together spending a few nights in a caravan on the East Coast and spending every day at the beach with the kids, which we all loved. I also celebrated a milestone birthday, and it has provoked some reflection on what’s important to me now and what I’d like to do in the next decade of my life.

Over the summer we enjoyed lots of trips to the beach, local parks and time in our own garden too, letting the kids eat fresh berries they picked, and our oldest grew carrots from seed. We’ve made some big changes to the front and back gardens this year, adding a pond to the front garden and replacing the unruly privet hedge with a fence in the back.

Homegrown fruit and veg

In October, we finally returned to the Enchanted Forest for the first time since 2019, which was a first for both our girls. We also celebrated eight year anniversary for adopting Mara, I’m not sure I ever imagined we’d be so lucky when we adopted her without knowing her age, but I’m so grateful for her companionship.

In November, our youngest daughter turned one and started walking. She is quite petite for her age but smiley, quietly determined, curious and mischievous; she loves musical toys, games of peekaboo and snuggling up to read her lift the flap, and touchy-feely books together.

Christmas at home

This last month has been an emotional one starting and ending with funerals for two very different women but both of whom were much loved and who lived well. Despite the grief, we’ve managed to enjoy trips to the Christmas Market with rides on the carousel, ferris wheel and waltzers, snowball fights on a snow day and a lovely few days with our extended families for Christmas itself. We are now enjoying a few quieter days at home just the four of us and Mara, of course, with a few playdates to tide us over until nursery and work resume, and I’m feeling incredibly grateful for my little family.

Wishing everyone the very happiest New Year. X

Winter Solstice Reflections

Taking some time on the Winter Solstice to reflect on the build up to Christmas so far. December has been a bittersweet month, our festive preparations and fun bookended by funerals at the beginning and end of the month, it’s a very pertinent reminder that the most important things cannot be bought and never to take our loved ones for granted.

I’ve shown remarkable restraint in not overbooking our calendar and dragging my family to every Santa’s grotto, light show and pantomime. Yet we have enjoyed trips to the Christmas markets with full family rides on the carousel, waltzers and ferris wheel. We also attended our oldest daughter’s first nativity and Christmas show at preschool, which was lovely, if a bit overwhelming for the young cast.

Decorating the tree was no mean feat with our one-year-old daughter stealing the baubles, our cat chasing the tinsel and our nearly four year old daughter “helping”, but we got there in the end. I added two new ornaments to our collection for the tree: a wooden Santa, that I found at the Christmas Emporium in Pitlochry back in October when we went to visit the Enchanted Forest, and a Nordic Gnome (or Gonk) because our youngest daughter is fascinated by them.

We had a couple of snow days in early December, waking up to the muffled silence of snow blanketing our corner of the world. I was every bit as excited as our kids as we wrapped up to tumble outside throwing snowballs at each other and making Angels on the ground. It was a wonderful reminder that sometimes the most fun can be both spontaneous and free.

The festive season can feel stressful and overwhelming as we rush around buying presents and trying to squeeze in all the magical experiences, forgetting that the true magic of Christmas is often the warmth and comfort of our homes contrasted with the cold and darkness outside, waking up to the world blanketed by snow and just enjoying time together with the people we love most.

Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas when it comes. X

Spring Moments and Milestones

I feel like blogging has fallen by the wayside; time seems to be slipping through my fingers and I can hardly believe that we’re a quarter of the way through the year already – life is just so busy and full at the moment.

Our oldest daughter moved from nursery to pre-school at the start of the year, which has generally been a smooth transition. We still go to our sensory group together almost every week (which we’ve been going to since she was 6 months old), and I’ve also been taking her to playgym where she can play and experiment with gymnastics equipment. There have been regular trips to the swimming pool with her dad while I usually have a coffee and cuddle with the youngest. We bought her first pedal bike for her 3rd birthday, and with her typical determination she mastered pedaling, steering and braking in just a few days so we’ve been spending lots of time at the park while she practices cycling.

Our youngest – now 5 months old – is also hitting new milestones every day from giggling and rolling to teething. She’s still very petite, but a bright, cheerful and curious little baby. We’ve been going to Bookbug song and story sessions at the library (something I missed out on with my oldest during the pandemic) and we’ll start baby sensory soon but most of our days are still spent at home reading stories, singing nursery rhymes, playing and snuggling. Our daughters are fascinated by each other, and it won’t be long until they’ll become little playmates and friends.

Our senior lady, Mara, has spent most of winter hibernating, but she’s been a bit more active lately, wanting to play, snuggle up and curious to see what we’re up to. I’m so impressed with how well Mara’s coped with the upheaval two noisy little interlopers joining the family caused. Mara really is a very special cat, we’re lucky to have such a gentle, playful, affectionate and stoic family pet to teach them about caring and handling animals, and our little daughters adore her.

I’m so enjoying this period of family life as the baby and toddler stages are so brief and the girls’ milestones come thick and fast as they change and grow. I love having my blog to record all the details of daily life, and always enjoy looking back at older posts when I’m feeling nostalgic. Have a lovely week. X

Counting my blessings amidst change…

Our daughter turned three this week and we had a little party at a soft play cafe with her cousins (our daughters are two of seven girls on my husband’s side all quite close in age) to celebrate. Our oldest daughter can be shy, but once she feels comfortable I’m always impressed by how enthusiastically she falls in with other children and their games.

At times our oldest still seems so little but I’m often surprised by how grown up she is; she’s bright, funny, determined and kind with seemingly boundless energy (that puts my laziness to shame), and she fills our days with so much fun, mischief and laughter.

My second maternity leave has been very different from my first, most of which took place during consecutive lockdowns through 2020 and 2021. This time around I’ve been able to meet friends for lunch, and join local baby groups like the Bookbug singalong sessions at our library and a music group at our community centre too, as well as a post natal pilates class, but I’m still enjoying slow days at home playing and snuggling with the baby too. Our youngest is now 3 months old, seemingly more placid than her big sister ever was, but absorbing everything with her big, blue eyes and always quick to flash her wide gummy smile.

Life has been a bit hectic lately, and there are times when I wish I could pause the clock as our girls are growing, changing and learning so much every day. We’ve had a run of almost laughable misfortune since Christmas that has added to the usual stresses and busy-ness, and although I’m hoping our luck will improve soon, it’s been a reminder to focus on our blessings, not our burdens. Have a lovely week. X

The Year Ahead and the One Behind…

January is usually a peaceful month for us spent recovering from the Christmas busy-ness. We’ve been gradually settling back into our routines, our older daughter was delighted to be reunited with her friends at nursery and returning to our weekly sensory group, exploring new soft play cafes and I’m glad to have a few days at home with the youngest (now 10 weeks old) while the older one is at nursery.

I always like to take some time to reflect on the previous year, and 2022 was another good year for us with visits to Culzean Castle and Five Sisters Zoo, trips to the beach, a night away in Edinburgh and ice-skating at Elfingrove among the most memorable moments. Our oldest daughter turned two in February, then in September my husband and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary and 7 years since we adopted our cat Mara in October, but the real highlight of the year came in November with the arrival of our second daughter, who has slotted into our family so smoothly.

The low points of the year were mostly related to illness, in March we were all knocked out by the flu, and our toddler had a night in hospital with chicken pox due to a stubbornly high fever and a secondary skin infection, then we had a nocturnal trip to A&E in October when she had croup. We ended the year and started this one with illness too, thankfully nothing serious but it’s taken me a little time to bounce back.

I don’t go in for new year diets and gym memberships, which seem so out of sync with the natural world that’s conserving energy until spring, but there are some changes I’d like to make. I started going to yoga classes in 2014 and continued right up to the month before my first daughter was born in 2020, since then I’ve struggled to get back into a routine so I’ve joined a local post natal pilates class – something I’ve wanted to try for ages – and I’m determined to get back to my old yoga studio once the baby can be left for longer.

In many ways I’m feeling very content and I don’t have any burning ambitions but there’s a whole year stretching out ahead of me and I’m looking forward to time with family and friends, reading, gardening and improving my fitness. What are your plans for the year ahead? X

Twixtmas Greetings

I’ve been reminiscing about Christmas’s past lately, from one very cosy Christmas when I was little that was just me and mum to the year there were so many extended family members that the grandkids and cousins needed their own kids’ table; the early years of marriage when we’d spend the morning with my husband’s family and the rest of the day with mine; and visiting my nanna at the care home for our last Christmas with her before she passed away… For the last couple of years my husband and I have hosted Christmas, and the benefit of having had so many different festive experiences over the years means we’re free to make our own traditions instead of trying to fit in with everyone else’s.

On Christmas Eve, we spent most of the day outside hoping our nearly 3 year old would tire herself out enough to sleep (it worked and we got a rare lie-in on Christmas morning!). We had takeaway for dinner, a little tradition that started when my husband and I used to finish work, rush home to load the car with presents before driving down to spend Christmas with our families. Afterwards we put out a mince pie for Santa and an oddly-shaped apple for Rudolph that our toddler chose instead of a carrot, and read The Night Before Christmas before settling the little ones into bed.

There was absolute chaos on Christmas morning opening presents, before gathering around the table for our Christmas Dinner, then a leisurely afternoon of adults chatting, the little one playing with all her new toys and our six week old daughter wide awake and taking everything in, before a buffet supper and an early night for all. It was a simple, lovely day of togetherness celebrating the return of the light after the shortest day, followed by more of the same on Boxing Day and a visit from my in-laws the day after.

Christmas isn’t always a joyous or peaceful time though and within my family there have been deaths and divorce around the festive period, a sobering reminder never to take the people we love and care about for granted.

The remainder of the week has been busy and we’ve had an unexpected run of bad luck from our car breaking down, my husband and kids getting conjunctivitis, and a cracked phone screen, so I’m hoping for a quieter, calmer January.

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year when it comes. X