Sunny days :o)

We've certainly been taking advantage of the unseasonally sunny days of April...

Fun at a friend's house...

And some lovely afternoons in the garden, paddling, sand-pitting, eating and learning...

Finally: A weird mutant dandelion we found in the garden (there are plenty!) with SEVEN heads!!!!!! Odd, but beautiful. Bit like my kids ;o)

Visiting friends.

Today we travelled a couple of hours to visit friends. A lovely afternoon of smiles, playing and chatting. Wish we lived closer so that we could see them more regularly. Fantastic people. Here's Tans with her little pal Seri...

Happy Easter :o)

Happy days... Planting seeds in the garden...
Wanting tattoos like Mummy :o)

Sporting stickers on faces....

Posing with a multitude of vegan Easter eggs!

Yummy!!!

And having tattoo coloured in. Lovely!

Happy Easter everyone. xxx

My beautiful two-year-old. x

So my beautiful baby girl turned two on Thursday and is no longer a baby. She's now a toddler with the full-blown tantrums to prove it ;o) I can't quite believe that two whole years have passed by since the night she was born at two minutes past eight in this very room where I'm sitting now. Right behind me the birth pool was up and I was utterly drained and exhausted, yet thoroughly elated lifting my new baby out of the water. As I looked into her eyes for the first time my first thought was that I had never seen anything quite so beautiful in my whole life. Tansy's eyes were like huge brown pools of knowledge and wisdom. She was an old soul (like Romy) and I was truly honoured to have her come and join our family. She made me complete. Our surprise baby, arriving after five-years of trying. She was waiting for just the right moment to come to us and she chose it perfectly.

I wondered how I could ever love another child as much as I love my Romy. She was (and still is) the whole world to me. The sun and the moon and the stars. My everything. I worried about how I would be able to halve that love. I needn't have fretted. My heart just doubled in size the very second I looked into those huge, perfect eyes. Romy's birth had been traumatic and we had been separated for a while and she was dressed before she was given to me, so I didn't have that beautiful ecsatic moment of lifting her from me and holding her to my chest. I still bonded with her immediately and felt the huge rush of love, but Tansy's birth was such an honour. To be the (rightful) one to touch my baby first and to not have her interfered with was just so healing after Romy's birth. I am truly thankful to my amazing (not really the word) midwife Debs for leaving me to have a 100% natural birthing experience. It was incredibly agonising, but unbelievably wonderful.

Tansy has certainly been a shock to our system! We had been so used to our wonderfully placid and compliant Romy (and, dare I say, slightly smug and self-congratulatory, lol) that Tansy has been a bit of a challenge to say the least. Head-strong and willful are just two of the adjectives I would use to describe her character, others being; free-spirited, independent, funny, beautiful, disobedient, loving, kind, hilarious, adventurous, sweet and confident. There are moments when I could happily tear my hair out, but then the next second she has melted my heart with just a look or a funny word and all is forgotten. I love her so very very much. We all do. People comment on her physical beauty wherever we go and my heart swells with pride. But we know that there is so very much more to her than that. She is even more beautiful on the inside!

I love to watch my girls together. Their love for each other is so strong. Romy is protective and loving towards her little sister, and Tansy looks up to Romy with such an impressed and awe-struck look in her eyes. She often just says "Wow!" when Romy does something or has drawn a picture or made something. They are both so wonderful and I get to be their Mummy! How incredibly lucky am I? I must have done something good in a previous life to be living such a blessed existance now. I am not rich. I live in a pigsty. I am unhappy with certain things in my life, but I get to spend every day with the two most wonderful girls ever created and that makes me the luckiest person alive.

Happy Birthday Tansy. Never forget how much Mummy, Daddy and Roo Roo love you. xxx

Ho-hum. I just cried when I read that back!

Anyway, we've had a lovely birthday week. Here are some (loads of) pics...


The girls at Sundown Adventureland. It was freezing, sleeting and Tansy was petrified of 50% of it, lol.

See what I mean? How scary is that???

How to keep your husband in check :)

World War 2 evacuee day at Rushmoor Country Park. Fantastic day! Romy and some other home educated children dressed up as evacuees and learnt all about life at the time. A wonderful time was had by Tansy too, as we got to stroke lots of animals...

An albino peacock!

The kids lined up with the 'Billeting Officer.'

Writing a post-card home.

Trying on a gas mask.

Digging for victory.

Tansy trying to push her friend out of a ride!

Girls with their gas masks.

Tansy on the climbing wall!

Roo with friends.

In The anderson shelter.

A donkey ride :)

With Mummy. Not too sure of the horse.

Playing with friends.

An assortment of fowl!
Lovely lambs. So cute and friendly!
My little red riding hood :)
Crappy squashed cakes (made by me for Tansy's birthday.) Tasted lovely though.
Who looks this good first thing in the morning??? Not fair!!! Lol.
Look what Nana made from an old pair of dungarees!!

Just look at this beautiful birthday crown that my gorgeous friend Denise made esecially for Tansy. She wouldn't take it off all day. She absolutely loved it. Thanks Denise!!!
"Again again!!" We lost count of the times she blew out the canles, lol.
Beautiful birthday girl :)
A 'fairy' jumping from a Roman candle on the cake.
Cuteness personified!!!
Here's the cake my Mum made. Good job one of us is a Domestic Goddess ;o) Thank you Mum for making the day special. (You always do!)
Down at the Humber bridge. Roo with her newly-cut hair!
Tansy in a cave.
Some nice photos Colin took...



We had a lovely day :o)

Happy Days :o)

Well, it will soon be Tansy's birthday, so I thought I had better update the blog before then. We've had quite a few little days out, so have some lovely pics :o)

Yesterday I had a lovely Mother's Day. I got breakfast in bed, some cross-stitch kits and some beautiful hand-made cards from Romy. This is her current obsession; she's made lots!!! She's very good at making them though and I've treated her to a few supplies, although they can be horrendously expensive! I went to see my own Mum yesterday too. How I love her. She is just the perfect Mum. She's always there when I need her for advice or just want a chat. She's never been judgemental or anything less than totally accepting of my sometimes "weird" (alternative) lifestyle. She always sticks up for me if people question my choices to home educate and bring my girls up as vegans. She means the absolute world to me. Oh and she's just the most fantastic Nana ever! I love you Mum. xxx

Here's a random pic of Tansy Dancing with Roo. She was dancing to a High School Musical song. She is almost as obsessed as Roo, lol.


Roo with a scrummy cake she made.

The beginnings of my new tattoo. I go to have it coloured on Friday. Can't wait!

Two of Tans looking mean 'n' moody. "Don't mess wiv me, right?!" Lol.



Modelling a beautiful dress I bought her from a charity shop for summer.

And a little romper I couldn't resist. It's only 12-18 month, but she's such a little dot, it's still big on her. Such a different story with Roo who was really tall for her age.
Just a beautiful picture.


This was at a chocolate factory we went to visit. She looks like she's saying "Right, I've got my chocolate... Let's go!"

A play on the beach :o)



Tansy had bad sickness and diarrhoea for about five days. She lost a lot of weight, but she's been eating for England since and has put it all back on - and more! Here she is on the one day that she was really tired and poorly. The rest of the time she was out and about with us. She didn't let it bother her. She's hardcore!! :o) Doesn't she look sooooo sweet?

"Oh, so I can't have one then?" :o(

Having fun at a play area, despite being poorly.



My beautiful big girl :o)
More fun on the beach. Bit chilly though!

Look - wormy things!

We went on a home ed trip to see behind the scenes at a multi-plex cinema. It was really interesting to see the reels of films and the machinery.
In the foyet of the cinema, just before another vomiting incident!

Strong girl!
A trip to Bransby Home of Rest for Horses...

Dancing at a friend's 30th birthday.


"Can't we have them ALL Mummy?" He he, dark choc Lindt bunnies. Yum!

Playing in the woods...




"I'm watching you."


Those eyes!
More from the woods :o)


With Daddy :o)

Tansy climbing a climbing wall. Wow, can that baby climb!

March 20th...

Is the day we remember somebody very special. xxx

Such an inspiring blog post!!

I found this linked to on my friend Denise's blog. I have just read it and feel so at peace. After a 'bad' day of home edding, when everything seemed to go wrong and I felt like pulling my hair out wondering if Romy ever really 'learns' anything, this post has made me realise that even the most ordinary days are full of wonder and learning. Even when you think you're doing nothing, you're doing so very much.

I love being with my girls. Even on a 'bad' day when they scream at each other, Romy doesn't want to do anything, and Tansy trashes the place. Lol.

Go and read... http://mamauktalesfromwales.blogspot.com/2009/02/ordinary-days.html