Me and Mine: A Family Portrait - July

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Oh July, you beauty! It finally feels like we've had something resembling a summer - we've had so many lovely chilled out days just hanging out in the garden, having water fights with the hose, eating ice lollies, having dinner outside. It's been the stuff that summer is made of! I was much more organised this month about getting our monthly portrait done - we took the tripod out with us on our trip to Mottisfont (which you can read about here) and set about trying to get some shots in their beautiful walled garden. As expected, Max wasn't keen at first and just kept trying to run off, but we managed to turn it into a bit of a game ...

5 Happy Things #19

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This is a week I'll be more than glad to see the back of - it's been filled with some things that I'd rather forget and been a difficult one in general. But in amongst all of that there have been some lovely moments that have got me through.   01. Max and I visited Mayfield Lavender Farm on Monday and it was just as lovely as I'd expected. Max wasn't in the mood at first, so we just sat down in the middle of all the lavender and had a long cuddle, breathing in the sweet smell. It was like being in a fantasy - purple as far as your eye could see, and Max kept shouting 'popple!' I got some ...

#SharingtheBlogLove #5

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Welcome to the fifth week of #SharingtheBlogLove! I run this linky with Laura from Dear Bear and Beany, and we were really pleased that so many of you guys joined us again last week, even with the nice weather and the school holidays! Last week really felt like the end of an era reading all of your end of school posts - I hope you're all getting up to lots of fun adventures now that the holidays are here. It's been so lovely to have the good weather back for a little bit - we managed to get the paddling pool out for the first time last week, and lots of ice-cream has been eaten. It's what summer is all about! A big congratulations to ...

Sharing the Blog Love - Showcase 5

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Happy Summer Holidays everyone! Last week's Sharing the Blog Love linky had a very 'end of school year' / 'beginning of school holidays' feel to it that has really got me in the mood for summer! We were really chuffed to have so many fab posts to read again and here are my favourites from last week for your reading pleasure.   Lucy at Home My little boy is only two, so the whole starting school stage seems so far away at the moment. But I loved Reception: Is it Really Over?, a beautifully written post from Lucy, looking back over the first year of school - from drawing love hearts on their hands together on the first day to remind each other that ...

Living Arrows 30/52

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You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth – Kahlil Gibran It was so hot last week, wasn't it? We had so much fun just playing in the garden - ice lollies and water play seemed to be the theme! I asked Max to help me water my hydrangeas with the hose, knowing full well we were all likely to get a good soaking. His little face when he realised that he could aim the hose at me and his Dad and get us wet was an absolute picture!    

A visit to Mottisfont National Trust

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I'm a recent convert to the National Trust but you can't stop me going on about it at the moment! I'm making the most of our membership over the summer and one of the top places on my list was Mottisfont, near Romsey in Hampshire. Over an hour's drive from us, so I was really hoping that it lived up to the hype, and I think it's safe to say that it did! I'm a big garden lover, and love visiting gardens for inspiration, and the fact that Mottisfont has so much to do for children makes this one a hit with our whole family.   The Walled Rose Garden We headed for the formal rose gardens first, as Max's patience for gardens ...

Sharing the Blog Love #4

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Welcome to the fourth week of #SharingtheBlogLove! I run this linky with Laura from Dear Bear and Beany, and we were really pleased that so many of you guys joined us again last week - and if you're joining us again, a big welcome back! It really is a pleasure to read all your wonderful posts and it's amazing for us to hear how much you are all loving this linky as much as we are enjoying hosting it. It was really tough to select our favourites this time around - congratulations to our featured bloggers, we really hope you enjoy reading their blogs which you can find in our showcase posts - please head over there and show them all some love – we ...

Sharing the Blog Love - Showcase 4

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Welcome to the 4th Sharing the Blog Love Blogger Showcase! If you're a new linker - welcome! And if you're a regular (can we say regular now at 4 weeks in?) - it's lovely to see you again! I'm really enjoying hosting this linky - it's brought me to so many blogs that are new to me and I've loved reading all of your posts. It's often so hard to find the time to read as many blogs as I'd like to so I love reading them all here. It's so lovely to be able to showcase our favourites here - I really hope you enjoy reading them. Just a quick note to say do please make sure that you ...

When you’re no longer the favourite parent

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There's been a noticeable change lately in Max. It's fair to say that he's always been a mummy's boy. He's very attached to me, and even at over 2, the separation anxiety is still with us and I can't leave a room without hearing the cries start. That's not to say that he's not always had a great relationship with his Dad - John is a fabulous Dad and it's always been clear how much Max adores him. But it's always been me that he's more comfortable with; me who he'll head to for comfort and cuddles. As the primary caregiver, I suppose it's natural that I would feel like the 'favourite parent'. But I've noticed a big change lately in ...

Living Arrows 29/52

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You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth - Kahlil Gibran Yesterday we visited Mottisfont National Trust in Hampshire, which has rapidly shot to the top of my favourite National Trust places ever! They had this fabulous water play area for kids, full of dams and gates to let the water through. Max loved playing with all the gates, pumping the water and paddling!