When we were in New Zealand we would often talk to ex-pats about their experiences of visiting home.  Due to the distance and expense the whole family would generally need to take four weeks off to make the visit manageable.  Even then, they would always come back totally shattered because the four weeks would be a mad rush around various friends and family homes scattered across the country, the whole family staying in one or two rooms, managing the children’s behaviour as they juggle tiredness and not being in their own space along with trying to squeeze in a few landmarks or “must-sees” of the UK, of which there are many! One person suggested to Gareth, when we had been considering it a couple of years ago, to go over in the UK summer, rent a big holiday house in some beautiful part of the country and book in friends and family to come and visit you.  That way, in between the two 32 hour flights your family has had to endure, they can stay …

There was no one, particular event that put the line “I will try to fix you” into my head, but once it arrived a couple of weeks ago, it stayed and has danced around ever since. Therefore, I will blog. I’ve been thinking about how much of what I say and do is motivated by the ‘fix you’ intention.  I’m not alone either. When I take a step back from the interactions I have with others, those close to me and those that are new to me, there is an element of us all trying to “fix” each other.  If you look at the news, it’s filled with examples of people going out of their way and in fact to extraordinary lengths to “fix” others. Listening to Chris Martin’s words (and after Googling ‘chris martin explains fix you’), it’s clear that the song is a declaration of commitment to someone he loves.  He’s saying he understands their hurt, that he’s there for them and will help them through a hard time. The motivation is care …

My children are not easily ignored.  They are loud.  They are opinionated. They are communicators.  They have a lot of energy.  Everything is important and urgent to them. When they are doing something they go all in, unless it’s reading their school book or eating frittata. Minnie is kind, generous and spots details like Sherlock Holmes. Jackson always has a project he’s working on, he has it all planned out and he wants you to be part of the team (under his leadership of course). I love my children.  I can see so much of me, their, daddy and their grand parents in them and that delights me.  I think my children are fascinating and I hope we help them to grow their God given talents into gifts to the world. My children can also be self absorbed, bullish, cheeky and sometimes out and out rude. They are young, they are at the beginning of their lives and perfection only happens in heaven, which is true for all of us by the way. I know all …

I don’t think I am going to be alone when I say that without a doubt, my most favourite part of every day is the couple of minutes I spend tiptoeing into my children’s bedrooms, just before I go to bed.  The house is silent, there is nothing left for me to do and my children are fast asleep in their beds.  I walk in and feel the same rush of joy I felt when I clapped eyes on them in the delivery room.  Bending down to adjust their duvet cover so they are fully wrapped up or lifting their heads back onto their pillows, I can smell their skin and place the tip of my nose onto their super soft cheeks so I can practically drink in their deliciousness. Then I whisper that I love them and creep back out.  Sometimes I will get on the bed and snuggle alongside them for a couple of minutes, sometimes I am so overwhelmed with how much I love them I can get tearful, sometimes they look so gorgeous I …

Dear Mum As it’s Mother’s Day in the UK today I thought I would write you a letter and thank you for all the things you have done for me over the years. First of all, and most importantly, thanks for giving me safe passage into the world.  Given that you are five foot one, I was nine and a half pounds and two weeks late in the hottest summer ever this was no small task. Thank you for teaching me that the world does not revolve around me and that I must always be aware of the people around me and try, as much as my imperfect self is able, to be kind and thoughtful, putting others needs first. Thank you for always being so generous.  You never spoilt me as a child but there were so many riches in my life; a beautifully decorated room of my own, Marks and Spencer snowball cakes on Fridays, your attention every day I came in from school, a home in a village that had a river 15 minutes …

There is something really lovely about your children getting to the age of five.  Actually there are lots of things like; they finally wipe their own bum, they go to school so a professional has to tell them backchat isn’t becoming, you can drop them off at a birthday party and go get a coffee somewhere civilised and once in a while, they use a fork. The something I am thinking of is that you start to remember what it was like when you were their age.  And it kind of reminds you to not panic as a parent. For the last month or so our children have stopped going to sleep the right side of 8pm.  The routine was (and would still be if we had any say in the matter at all) was bath at 6.30pm, PJ’s, clean teeth, have a little play and then to respective bedrooms for stories.  Lights out about 7.45pm and sleep would soon fall upon our sweet angels. The hot weather and light nights have royally screwed us …

Wouldn’t it be great if family life was like this all the time?  Like the photos we take, and especially the ones we share.  Where the sun is shining and the children are smiling. This photo was not taken today.  There is no way on earth this could have been taken today. Today, the neighbour brought round my children after they had snuck out the living room window and visited her, without telling me they were leaving the building! Today, my children got out almost all the cutlery we own and chopped up carrot and tomatoes and added water, a whole pot of cinnamon and fennel seeds to make soup for dinner.  And then spilt it all over the floor I’d hoovered and mopped one hour before. Today, my children decided to climb into the garden shed we’ve had locked up for two years now with some poisonous mold problem, to have a play. Today, my four and six year old children didn’t go to sleep until 9.15pm. Today, I told my children off so …

Being a mum is the great equalizer between women.  No matter how your babies came to you, now matter how ready you were for their arrival or qualified you feel to look after these precious gifts, whether you are a real disciplinarian or spoil them rotten, you are exactly the same as the next mum when it comes to how you feel about your children – literally every part of your being loves them, from the tips of your toes to the ends of every strand of hair on your head. Mother’s Day is this Sunday in New Zealand so I’m getting pretty excited about my lie in.  Today I was treated to a special assembly by Minnie’s class that included a short play on everything mum’s do for us and then also a song about how our children try to show us love but often end up making a mess and trashing the place.  I also learnt that more than $18 billion is spent each year on Mother’s Day in the States – yikes! …