Monday, January 31, 2011

#Project365 31/365 My Lunchtime Surprise

Sunday, January 30, 2011

#Project365 30/365 Back on Track?

Saturday, January 29, 2011

#Project365 29/365 Hot Chocolate and Lemon Curd Sandwiches

Friday, January 28, 2011

#Project365 28/365 Flying High on Friday Night

Thursday, January 27, 2011

#Project365 27/365 A quiet night in with Mr Nice

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

#Project365 26/365 Four Months From Now

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

#project365 25/365 Folder Day

Monday, January 24, 2011

#Project365 24/365 The Spire at Night

Sunday, January 23, 2011

#Project365 23/365 Sunday Afternoon Planning Session

#Project365 22/365 IKEA is just a big playground for kids.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

#Project365 20/365 Duty Day

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

#project365 19/365 Cycling under a chilly morning sky

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Natural Mothers


This weeks gallery prompt is Mother Nature. Each week there are wonderful photos and heart warming posts related to a theme. So go over to the gallery at Sticky Fingers, have a browse at your leisure and be inspired to join in as well

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Time to get a little tenuous, my first thoughts around the theme of Mother Nature centred on my allotment. So I put on my wellies and took some photos of the weather beaten fences, gnawed sprouts and my rusty wheel barrow, but the light wasn't great and my heart wasn't in it. I don't want to force myself into a theme, that's what review posts are for.

Where my heart does lie is with MiniMck and MrsMck, aka MummyLimited.

MrsMck and her best new-mummy friend (lets call her BNMF) are what I would call nature mothers (tenuous link by swapping the words round). They first met at anti-natal yoga class, then at our NCT group. This was not a friends-at-first-site moment, but a gradual friendship, that developed strong bonds through shared experiences and converging ideas about parenting.

Initially, this was when all the mums in our NCT group met together for coffee at each others houses. It was not long before MrsMck used the phrase to me that BNMF was her leveller.
"She grounds me," she said.

Known for her persistent worries, questioning guilt and anxiety about this new thing called motherhood- BNMF provided a constantly positive relief for MrsMck. BNMF never seemed fazed by anything, never talked in a derogatory way about people and always had a good word to say about someone.

And then there were the unrelenting sleepless nights. MiniMck has never been a great sleeper, he was just under a year and a half before there was any semblance of sleeping through the night- he's nearly two and still doesn't now. However, BNMF's daughter was nothing compared to MiniMck. This was the first shared experience that allowed MrsMck and BNMF to bond. Other sharing followed, co-sleeping and baby-led weaning, baby swimming sessions, Mini Monkeys softplay mornings and singing groups. These were invariably linked to a cake and coffee session for mums after. And it wasn't all about the babies, there was also the occasional Sunday afternoon trip into the city for a few glasses of wine or beer, while us Dads looked after the little people and got to know each other.

To top it all off MiniMck and BNMF Junior became playmates, holding hands, chasing each other and kissing without prompting. It was a wonderful site to see.

Those with a literary eye will note, I have been moved into past tense. Unfortunately, this is because BFF and her husband moved to California, for his job, just after Christmas. Communication these days is obviously so much easier, and MrsMck and BNMF have already had their first Skype webcam chat. I sincerely hope that their bond of friendship stays strong

So here's to nature mothers, true friends and levellers in life. Hopefully BNMF and her husband may one day return, because in life true friends do not come along that often, and when they do they are worth keeping hold of.

This slideshow was taken when we visited Best New Mummy Friend a few days before they left.

#Project365 18/365 And it's only Tuesday

Monday, January 17, 2011

#Project365 17/365 Monday Morning- Reality Bites (the right way round)

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Silent Sunday- Late night at the Allotment

Silent Sunday


16/365 #project365 Playing Chase at B&Q

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Project365 15/365 Norwich v Cardiff

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes..and nose and eyes and....and


This weeks gallery prompt is Body Parts. Each week there are wonderful photos and heart warming posts related to a theme. So go over to the gallery at Sticky Fingers, have a browse at your leisure and be inspired to join in as well

I would defy anyone not find the miniature hand or foot of a newborn baby cute. That first grip, tightly clenched around your little finger, filling you with so much warmth, love and simple ahhness.
'Look he is holding my finger!' cousins and aunts exclaim. (There is a nerd in me that wants to point out it is called the palmer grasp and it also works on his foot, the planter grasp).

Along with most new parents we have taken endless photos of our addition to the family. Since I got my first Zenith, I have always been interested in the versatility of an SLR camera and it's lenses to find those quirky angles or close up shots, with Mini Mck two loves came together, photography and him.


There were a few days during summer 2009, when our garden was in glorious sunshine and a gazebo was a permanent fixture (until it collapsed in high winds and was 'permanently' replaced again). Mini Mck was about 4 moths old and it meant that he could roll about in his nappy and vest, and I could lie down and get some close up pics of his feet, hands, mouth and most importantly of all his eyelashes. It seems some babies are born with eyelashes that are at full size and ready for adulthood. Mini Mck is one of these babies, they are a feature that many adult female admirers and relatives are jealous of.

When I told MummyLimited that I would be using this series of photos, she advised that I should chose just one. Maybe she was right, but I thought the theme, body parts, is plural, so that gives me an excuse to use several photos. Not that I ever need an excuse to show as many photos as I can of the person I see as the most beautiful in the world.