Etsy Love

I am addicted to Etsy.  I love it.  Absolutely love it.  There is nothing that I could possibly want that I could not find on Etsy.  My love for it was reignited when I was in the last few weeks of pregnancy, daydreaming about wearing something other than pyjamas with a highly elasticated waistband, dreaming about the time when I would once again be able to wear something that I actually liked.  I bought quite a few dresses in those last few weeks, managing to think up little reasons why I deserved a present that day, things like surviving the day without taking an afternoon nap or doing the hoovering were all relevant and deserving of a gift to myself.  And now I have had my lovely baby things like managing to get dressed and apply make-up within the same day or moving the ever growing pile of clean washing off the stairs and to its next destination are just as treat-worthy.  The other day, after a lengthy debate with myself over what I needed to add to the kitchen I decided on some vintage mugs so I scrolled through pages and pages, adding to my favourites list (which is now up to about 135 items).  I have found so many that I love but eventually settled for some much needed vintage pot holders.  And the best thing is, I never even knew that I needed them.  Much joy.

 

A weekend at the park

We just got back last night from a lovely couple of days in Birmingham with Emma and Pete, we walked, talked, ate lots, got wet in the rain and then hot in the sun, saw animals at the zoo, drank tea and won teddies at the fair.  

It was great to spend quality time doing things that the children loved, away from work, away from home.  We love them very very much.

At last!

When Freddie was a couple of days old we found out that both of his hips were dislocated, something that I had when I was a baby and Freddie's brother Ben also had.  With Ben, we didn't find out until he was about 14 months old and he had to go into a plaster cast that went from under his arms right down both legs for 6 months.  But despite this, little Ben learned to walk and could even climb up stairs with his plaster on.  He was such a little star.  As it was found early with Fred he was put into a harness when he was 2 weeks old to keep his hips apart so they can grow properly and has just finished his 6th week.  

He now can be weaned off the harness, this week he can have an hour a day out of the harness, next week 2 hours a day, then 4 hours a day until he is only wearing it at night.  It was so wonderful to have our baby free to wriggle, to give him a bath (as we weren't allowed to take the harness off at all until yesterday) and to just have a cuddle with our naked baby!  He seems so much smaller when it is off, like a little newborn again.  He is just so yummy.

Freedom!

Home & Homework

I have broken the habit of a lifetime by getting on with homework on a Friday evening rather than last thing on Sunday.  Daisy wasn't very impressed by my efforts but she got on with it anyway (the picture at the top of her work is of a black cinema screen, she wasn't feeling very artistic).

 Freddie's nursery is now finished and I just love it - his face lights up whenever we go in there.  He is still in our room at night but it's ready and waiting for him...

What I got

We had a great morning at the car boot sale - just wanted to share a few of my finds ...

a lovely old sewing box full of bits and bobs

fab Pyrex nesting bowls

a pretty vintage tea set

and a gorgeous old Doctors bag!

Tea and Cake

My friend Jennifer came round this afternoon for a cuddle with Freddie, her little boy Alex goes to school with Daisy (Daisy LOVES Alex, she has asked him to marry her but is still awaiting a reply).  This very lovely lady made this very lovely cake for us!  It is just so pretty that I cannot bear to cut, Daisy is so desperate to eat it that we have had tears.  But I simply can't.  It's just too special.

 

Sleeping Baby

Freddie has just slept through the night for the 3rd night running, I feel so much better for getting that extra bit of sleep.  It will be so amazing if this continues but I do remember being lulled into a false sense of security with Daisy who was a great sleeper until she was 3 months and then that was it, she didn't sleep properly through the night until she was 3 years old.  She used to wake up shouting that she wanted cake in the middle of the night and wake the whole house up ~ the boys were not amused.  She is better at night now but still enjoys a midnight feast, I get her up on the morning to find chocolate round her mouth and her teddies sat around a little picnic blanket.

Our room has blinds up at the windows and they don't keep the light out very well so I have been looking out for some curtains that would do a better job.  The car boot sale on Wednesday was awesome.  We went over to ask a guy how much he wanted for an old tea chest and noticed that he had heaps of vintage fabric, curtains, bed linen and tablecloths and I literally filled up two huge black bags with everything I could and I found a pair of curtains that fit the window perfectly so I think they are to thank for my baby sleeping so well.  And they look fab.