Special People…

It’s wonderful when your grown-up children want to regularly pop round, but it’s an even bigger compliment when their friends ask if they can come along and meet you too! The fact that I always provide a variety of delicious cakes and fancy biscuits might help, but they always seem to enjoy coming home and therefore I suspect it’s potentially down to previous, complimentary post-visit reviews which led to me meeting their lovely chum. Not only was I treated to an additional guest, I was given a gift bag filled with chocolatey goodies by my lovely girlies which was very unexpected, but much appreciated. As usual, we chatted about anything and everything, and yet again time just flew by.

I’m so grateful that I have my gorgeous daughters as I’m well aware that there are women out there who sadly haven’t been blessed with offspring, and I can’t imagine how unfulfilled they might feel. Bringing up children is a roller-coaster ride, often with as many downs as there are ups, but eventually, whether you like it or not, they’ll fly the nest. However, if you love them enough they’ll always find their way back home. As the saying goes, “Home is where the heart is…”

When your Babies Come Home For Christmas…

I’ve had such an amazing few months that I didn’t believe anything could top it, but I didn’t anticipate my gorgeous daughters would announce that they’d be coming back home to spend Christmas Day with me! Oh my goodness, I honestly couldn’t ask for a better present.

Of course, I did the typical mum thing of going overboard with daft gifts and bought way too many festive snacks, but nothing gives me more pleasure than being able to spoil my children at this special time of year.

Being able to eat, drink and be merry with the people I love most means everything to me, and today has been wonderful. Such joys are precious and I will never, ever take them for granted. We pulled crackers, wore paper hats, and consumed far too much junk food, but that’s what a traditional Christmas Day is all about and it was magical.

Looking Forward to Christmas…

I just can’t believe how quickly my life is changing these days, and it’s all good. A few months ago, although things were going quite well, I was beginning to feel like I was in a bit of a rut. Same part-time, self-employed job I’d had for years, no firm plans for travelling, and nothing particularly thrilling on the horizon. However, within a few short months I’ve begun a brand new career, booked a fantastic overseas holiday and the icing on the cake is that I’ve just found out that I shall be spending Christmas with the people I love more than anything else in the whole, wide, world; my gorgeous daughters.

I’m not usually a festive person, and I normally treat Christmas Day itself with complete indifference, but this year it’s going to be amazing. I’m already excited about my ‘babies’ coming home and I just know I’ll go completely over the top and spoil them rotten. Although the new salaried position is terrific, and the vacation will be stunning, there’s nothing quite like the simple act of spending quality time with your children to make you feel special, and it’s something I will always cherish. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town…!”

What A Week!

When your week has included a fabulous afternoon tea with close friends, followed by the offer of a brand new lucrative job, what better way to finish it off than to enjoy a belated birthday celebration with the people you love more than anything else in the world; your daughters.

I was presented with a large, shiny silver bag bearing unique gifts and a special card. They fully understand and accept my Steampunk lifestyle and I was thrilled to bits with a spectacular pressure-gauge candle holder and long stemmed candles to go with it. It was the perfect gift for anyone obsessed with the genre and I was touched that they’d taken such care to choose something they knew I’d love. The beautiful card was covered in butterflies, which I adored.

As always, we munched on chocolate biscuits and cake and talked til the cows come home. I brought down the old photo albums from upstairs and we went on a nostalgic trip to the 1990s, re-living birthdays, Christmases, day trips and holidays. I’m so proud that my girls have grown up to be such good people, and I count myself very lucky indeed to be their mum.

Happy Families…

What better way to spend a day off from work than to meet up with both the older and younger generations of your family for a few hours catching up with each others news. I’d arranged to spend time in town with my elderly mother, but she had no idea that her twin granddaughters would also be there to greet her. The look on her face was priceless when she stepped off the bus and saw three smiling faces. The sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky as we walked around the park admiring literally thousands of glorious yellow daffodils, while laughing at the antics of the resident grey squirrels.

Lunch was provided courtesy of a quaint little independent cafe in the town centre, where we ate delicious freshly made sandwiches and paninis washed down with coffees and milkshakes, before a leisurely stroll around the shops. By mid-afternoon it was time for mum to catch her bus back home, so we waited with her until it arrived. Then it was hugs all round before plenty of manic waving as her bus pulled away. I really do appreciate how lucky I am to still have my mother here, and that I have extremely loving and caring children to share her with. Some days I really do feel blessed.

Doing Doughnuts…

In my opinion, you can never have enough visits from your wonderful grown up daughters, which is why this afternoon was such a joy. I feel that January probably had a few more downs than ups overall, but February is looking much more positive now that I’ve spent some proper quality time with my girlies.

We drank squash and ate chocolate coated mini-doughnuts, while putting the world to rights and catching up with each others news. I’d done the typical mum thing and got them daft little gifts, which made them laugh. It never ceases to amaze me how fast the time flies by when my children come to visit and within the blink of an eye 3 hours had passed and we were exchanging hugs at the front door again. I know I’m biased, but I really do have the best kids in the world.

New Neighbours…

It’s always a concern when neighbours who you’ve grown very fond of over the years move away to pastures new, leaving you with a fear of the unknown regarding who you’ll end up sharing a wall with, however, I needn’t have worried. Six months down the line all is well and slowly but surely we’re all getting to know each other.

Although they appear to have rather complicated living arrangements, with two ‘mummies‘ and numerous small children, it’s actually quite amusing to have an ‘alternative‘ family next door. With so many little ones playing in their back garden it’s inevitable that the odd meerkat (toy!) or ball ends up on my side of the fence, but they really are no trouble at all. Phew…!