Links!

I've been doing this for a while without knowing it!

Oooh.

Keeping art simple.

Oh my, this made me laugh a lot.

'Tis the season.

This is pretty ridiculous.

This weekend.

Just discovered a new series of this on Netflix!

Two years!

This time two years ago, I was relieved that the baby had finally put in an appearance - ten days after his due date, but to make up for it, just a three hour labour.  We were nearing the end of our first day together, daddy had brought the big sister to the hospital for their first encounter and I was adapting to being a mummy of two.

When we thought about having another baby, Isabella was about one and a half, she had been a dream as a baby and she was still at the cutest of ages (scientifically proven!)  Naively, I though - this is easy, let's do it again.

The jump to two is way bigger than the switch from none to one.  First of all, Joshua is a very different child.  He refused to sleep in his own bed for ages, during the day he would only sleep on me for six months and he is way more active.  Secondly, while you can divide and conquer when you have two children and are lucky enough to have an amazing co-parent, you get way less 'time out' than with one.  Plus, Isabella quickly moved from the cutest age to the Jekyll and Hyde stage of threenager and beyond.

Starting nursery made the biggest change in Joshua.  I was seriously worried that he wouldn't settle in as he had been such a clingy baby.  Now he runs in every morning (after a goodbye kiss) without looking back and has developed so many skills over the last twelve months.  

He adores his big sister and most of the time she loves her role as teacher and often leads him into mischief.  Our little boy has completed our family in so many ways.

Every day, both of them amaze me in new ways.  I am so proud of how far we have come over the last two years - through all of the ups and downs and I am equally excited about the next two years and beyond.

November Goals Review

Well, November was a bit of a wash out:

• Family day out - nope.
• Celebrate Joshua's birthday - planned.
• Lantern festival - done!
• Lose weight - done! (Just.)
• Budget - nope.
• Complete a crochet project - nope. (I now have two on the go!)

Recipe: Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

• 1.5l chicken stock
• 1l pumpkin puree
• 2 chopped onions
• 1 clove garlic
• 250ml creme fraiche
• seasoning
• parsley
• thyme

Instructions:
1. Heat all of the ingredients except the creme fraiche together.  Bring to the boil and then simmer over a low heat for thirty minutes.
2. Puree the soup using a hand mixer.
3. Simmer for another thirty minutes before stirring in the creme fraiche and serve with fresh parsley.

Make it Monday - Ceramic Drawing with Children

Through my Gonis sideline, I came across ceramic drawing recently.  I bought a turquoise pen to try out for myself and knew that Isabella would love to try it.

A few months ago when Nico was donating blood, they had a kids corner where she did something similar on glass.  Last time we were at Ikea, I snopped around the bargain corner and picked up a couple of dirt cheap mugs (because you can never have too many, right?) and let her loose on them.

I love that she tried it and liked it, I also love the relaxation that the activity brings out in me.  It's so nice to let your mind wander and really doodle. The pens are washable if you don't bake the finished product in the oven, so it's up to you whether you keep your design or start over with something new.

I really recommend trying it whether, you do it yourself or let the little ones go wild.

Weekly Wisdom

A ship is safest when it is docked close to shore. But it wasn’t built for that. And neither are you.

The Saturday Update

This week has been a hard slog.  Lots of late nights for Kindergarten work or school.  This morning we didn't get up until ten and I still feel exhausted.  I'm also fighting off a cough and losing my voice.

I've also made more of an effort to do things with the kids on an evening, on Monday Joshua and I played lego while Isabella had a playdate and Nico worked late.  On Tuesday and Wednesday we made salt dough decorations and started to paint them.  I had to work Thursday evening - parents' evening and last night was my work's Christmas do, which was a really nice evening.

I'm not sure I'm ready for Christmas yet though.  I feel like next week is going to be manic with Joshua's birthday and then I can make plans for Christmas.  I was quite disappointed to hear Santa Baby on the supermarket radio in the week - it's not even advent yet!

Despite the drop in temperatures this week, I have been cycling and getting my steps every day during the week.  I'm trying to keep up with my water intake too but struggling healthwise isn't helping to motivate me at the moment.  Hopefully, things will look up after a quiet weekend.