Tuesday 24 February 2015

Insta update #2 & In other news February ed.



Hello February! Hello daylight at 5pm, we've missed you!
#outsideafterschooljoy #lovemyboys #toocoldforme 


Some of my nice to do ideas are not 'great ideas' in reality! Imagine a pair of two year olds fighting over one Thomas book at a funeral! 
#earthswallowmeupnow #abandonedship #needmyheadchecking #majoriesaystolaugh 

As we met up in the foyer, (Sarah having had to scoop Simon up during the opening prayer after he had fallen and hit his head on the pew resulting in bawling) she agreed to say 'NO!' next time I came up with the crazy idea of going to a funeral with our toddlers!


Trip to Specsavers number 127697469873692
My bro wear glasses. I wanna wear them too! 
#bigbrosaremyheros


Today we are parallel playing. I have cushion covers on the machine and Seth has trains which like to crash into and fiddle with levers and buttons on said machine.
#gettoseethisfacedaily
#lovemyboys


This boy needs to be on Jimmy Fallon!! Lip synching to Sam Smith's 'I know I not the only one'
#lipsynchingtoddler
#sunshineboy

The video clip of this is hilarious : great moves, over enunciated lip movements, raised eyebrows, a swivel of the broom/microphone. We had a good laugh and he lapped up the attention!


 Lego time and an amazing Sunday Dinner at the Grice -Stilgoe home



Monday was the first day of half term - the boys had a PJ day. The playdoh made a rare appearance.

The boys are so imginative (tongue in cheek) when it come to playdoh. 'Look Mum! It looks like it's doing a poo!'
#tobetrueitdoes
#gottaloveboys
#suchfun


Happiness is...that moment when you sense spring is in the air. Ben felt it! 
#outdoorplayisbest #wellies #weliveinyorkshiredontneedtogoanywhereelse


Love it when you revisit places and the kids can do something they couldn't the time before.
#outdoorplayisbest


The 6 amigos. Joseph trying to find zen amongst the chaos!
#familyfun


Movie time with our pals.


Searching for worms at the 'Superworm' event at Skipwith with cousin rachel, lily and Billy. We were pants at charming worms!! Not a single one! Fortunately some more talented charmers shared with us.


When a friend brings you flowers for no reason. 
#happy


These boys have the best aunties. Fact. Just back from their date.
#autiesarebrill


Doing an impression of what Joseph did frequently around the crazy golf course.
#dontknowwherehegetshiscompetitivespiritfrom
#hedoesagreatimpressionofhimself
#auntiesarebrill



When it's one of those rare times your boy falls asleep in your arms.
#happy #simplepleasures
#nevertakeitforgranted

Sweet Valentines



This year we kept some of our established valentine's traditions and made some new ones. I had some craft time with Ben making secret valentine's cards to drop off. He enjoyed stamping letters to spell 'LOVED' and I enjoyed using some of my new paper stash. It is fun now that the boys are old enough to write their own messages. I really want to send 'snail mail' more often as I know how much it brightens my day getting something in the post. Mum stills sends me a Valentine's message each year and I love that she does. She told me she'll still be doing it when she's 80!  We started the tradition of writing one another valentine's messages which we opened and read when the boys had their heart shaped pizza and Brownie for tea. I asked Joseph how he felt when he read the messages of love that we had written on his card. He responded 'It makes me want to cry!' - he feels things like his mum!


When I asked Ben the same question he replied 'It makes me want to laugh!' - he feels things like his Dad!


Seth was unaffected by the sweet messages but he did enjoy the heart shaped pizza and practicing his utensil skills! 
He has shown a lot of interest in using utensils and demands a 'spoon' if I've not given him one rather than using his hands (which his older brothers were more than happy to do at his age!)He just ants to be able to do what they can do now.

Kids tucked in bed, we dressed up and dined on Steak and salad ( I impressed myself with cooking the steak!)
and had a great night in date.



The obligatory grainy selfie!

52 Project 8/52



'Uhh, we're a bit hungry'

Half term - yippee! The perfect mix of lazy PJ days and outdoor adventure.
Wednesday, we went to the early morning screening in York of The Penguins of Madagascar. Joseph and Ben loved it. Seth did reasonably well and only spent the last 20 minutes outside in the foyer running up and down the ramp. His little legs going like billy-o!! He is just the smallest bundle of sunshine, easy to smile, easy to giggle which sounds like Joseph at the same age. New words this week are 'qeen' and 'dinsaur' 
The boy cousins came with Granne and Grandad to play on Wednesday afternoon. We went for a first trip this year to the park. Seth was off, repeatedly up and down the slide. His legs stretched to the max to get up the rungs. The boy is small but he is mighty!



Ben loved being outside. It was great to watch him at the park, taking the lead in imaginative play, with Jack, Charlie and a school friend Alice who attached herself to the gang as it was much more fun than playing alone. They were lions, star wars characters and then superheros. This FHE we started out 'My family' books. I'm really excited to help the boys fill them in to preserve thier memories of who they see themselves as and their parents, grandparents and Great Grandparents. 


These two are peas in a pod. Jack loves Joseph and wants to be where he is and doing what he's doing. I think he sees himself as more like Joseph's age, he is in fact, though two years younger, a inch taller than him!! 

Monday 16 February 2015

52 Project 7/52


The boy lost his first tooth!! It came out at school and came home wrapped in a coin bag and then got lost! We have a knack for loosing lost teeth! Last Friday night whilst I was at work, poor Daddy had to deal with the aftermath of Ben running into the wall by the toilet. It created a good enough gash to have blood squirting from the wound! Fortunately it did stop without a trip to minor injuries and now he has a more lasting impression of a Harry Potter scar than the biro from last week!


'Oops, you've caught me!' Sum dog again! 
He loves it! It has done wonders for his rapid recall of maths facts. He loves maths because of it and is proud that he is good at it. He is furthest along the Sum Dog programme in his class where he is one of the youngest. It also makes a great motivational tool for me to use too! 

52 Project 6/52



Arrgh,missed last week. I think I was just wrecked on Sunday evening and ended up asleep on the sofa after dropping Nathan off at the train station to go to London for a couple of days. 
Seth's eyes look green in this photo don't they? In some lights they still look blue and others they look green. He can still just about squeeze into the Tigger sleepsuit Granne and Grandad bought him for his first birthday!  He loves to roar!  Animal noises are being added to his repertoire - elephant and monkey are the new ones.  A new word this week was 'Qeen' (McQueen as in Lightning not Steve!) 


Some photos make you do a double take, this is one of those. Er, how did you get so grown up looking Benjamin??  I love that there is sauce round his mouth and a faint pen mark on his forehead, yes he still likes to draw on himself. I makes me smile and shake my head when he gets changed for swimming  and has pen marks on his thighs! I think this is a make do 'Harry Potter scar'
On Monday night we decided to take a road trip and help Daddy out by taking him to Manchester instead of him having to lug awkward boxes filled with workshop material across town. It was quite fun really driving into the city. The boys are not used to city lights, towering buildings and seeing so many people in one place. Funny to think that we're raising village boys when Nathan and I were urban raised. As we were driving Ben asked 'Mum can we sleep in a Museum tonight?' (Guess which film series we've been watching!) and 'Mummy are we in England?' 'Mummy do they speak Engerlish here?' 
Love seeing the world through their eyes and having the opportunity to broaden it for them. 



On the same road trip as we were driving over the M62 by Huddersfield, where you can look down the valley over the Calderdale Valley including Halifax, Joseph enthusiastically exclaimed ' Mum? Is that what I think it is?'
'What do you think it is?'
'....New York?'
Halifax never looked so good!

Sunday 1 February 2015

The 52 Project 5/52


More and more words are coming. 'Sit down' he points to the stair, a book in hand. 'Mamee, Mamee, Mamee' 
'Dahdee, Dahdee, Dahdee'
'Oh he's got a lot to say hasn't he?' commented a fellow mum round Aldi!
He had fun one morning playing with Mummy's Bare Minerals. he is a dab hand at the 'tap,tap' part of the application!



Joseph had to get wrapped up good and proper for his Saturday match. He came home beaming not because they won but because he got his first 'man of the match!' This means that next week he gets to be Captain! His self evaluation was 'I just got stuck in ALL the time!'
He's been of a more even temperament this week. We are trying to keep Seth out of their bedroom while their at school, as he has a talent for destroying lego models!



Love our Ben. He keeps us on our toes. On Wednesday on the walk home, his mood was as black as the storm clouds because Joseph received a mini refresher sweet from his teacher (10 ticks for ten good pieces of good work for 1 mini refresher) - wailing and gnashing of teeth all the way home. Then, in the same afternoon, he has been so sweet and understanding about not going to a friend's birthday party ( a go-karting party at that, I felt sad for him) because it's on a Sunday. He was totally fine when I explained and he came up with a plan to have his friend over for a play date and tea on a different day. 
#keepsusonourtoes #CTR #sweetsmatter #sundaysmatter