A Matter of Choice

Way back in 2011 when blogging was second nature to me, when I wrote several posts a week and joined in with many 'link ups', blog parties and the like, I started a series of blog posts called 'My A to Z'.   In order not to put any pressure on myself and make a promise that I might not follow through I said  "I have no time frame in mind for these - just as and when the mood takes me." Which was lucky as I after starting in May 2011, I managed to get to February 2013 and as far as 'L is for Leo and Louka'  I'm pretty sure I had at least a vague idea of what I would do for each letter,  assuming I would struggle towards the end but maybe I didn't believe I would make it that far.  Reading back through old posts now is very strange for me,  I always want to go and edit them, mainly to make them a bit longer as they all seem so short.   I was always worried about waffling on too much and them being too long, which is strange as that doesn't se...

Last month my lovely Mum celebrated her 70th birthday in style with over a week of celebrations and well deserved birthday treats.  Starting off with a celebratory meal with friends, continuing with a 3 day break in Paphos with my Dad and then for birthday No.2 at home with us. Of course we couldn't miss the chance for a family celebration as we didn't see her on her actual birthday, so when they returned home we surprised her with a butterfly birthday tea! Apart from teddy bears (which was our party theme several years ago) butterflies are my Mum's favourite thing, so with the help of the boys we created decorations, food and a birthday cake all with a butterfly theme.  With a party tea, music, presents and board games we had a lovely afternoon. Among the presents was a slate ready for Mum to choose a photo to be printed on it, so an impromptu family photo shoot took place... Another of our presents was a voucher for afternoon tea, for Mum...

This week for Flashback Friday I'm handing you over to my Mum, as she shares her Childhood Christmas memories. As a child on Christmas morning, my presents would always be at the bottom of my bed  in a pillowcase. If I woke up during the night, I would chose  one of the presents to open  and snuggle down in bed again till the morning, although I wanted to open them all, I  would have hated to have nothing to  open when I got up. I always had a selection box, normally books or games from my Aunts and Uncles, things that could be made or drawn and usually  something doll related.  My Dad was always the last to open his presents and  did so with the use of his penknife. In memory of those days every  Christmas Dad’s penknife is still put on the unit and if it is used we always thank him.   Mum and Dad always made Christmas exciting, Chicken was always on the menu (turkey was not a traditional dish then), and to have chick...

Regular readers will have gathered by now that my Mum is a bit of a teddy bear fan, so what better way to celebrate her birthday than with an Teddy Bear's picnic! Leo was involved in much of the preparations despite not being a fan of the theme at first, trains are more his thing and had to be persuaded that Nana prefers bears! In the week leading up to her birthday we made Teddy Bear holders for the cutlery...Bear shaped cut outs with paws and feet stuck on, then glued to empty toilet roll holders which we painted brown.  We also decorated cut out teddy bears to make a banner for the window. The cake was a teddy, baked by Leo and I but decorated by me... the first 'novelty' cake I've done. (Usually I bake and Aaron decorates!)  Party food was a selection of sandwiches, salad and homemade onion dip (first time I'd made that and it was yummy!) crisps, and bear shaped cheese pastry bites.  I also made 'paw print cupcakes to go with the mai...

Today is my Mum's birthday so I'm dedicating this one to her and looking back at her surprise 60th birthday party! I love arranging parties and when my Mum's 60th was approaching there was no way I was going to let it pass by quietly.  I knew that if asked Mum would not want big party and that going the whole hog with a party in a hall and lots of people would not be appreciated, so instead I arranged a small surprise party at our house.  Mum was under the impression that the four of us (Mum & Dad, Aaron and I) were going our for a meal and we came up with a much discussed plan to make sure she believed this until the last moment.We told her in advance that we would pick them up so Dad could have a drink but was wondering how we could then explain driving back to our house! In the end Aaron went to collect them on his own and told them I was not ready so they had to go back to pick me up, to add some realism to that Dad was a little 'annoyed' ...

Last month I introduced you to 'Travel Ted' - a mad endearing hobby of my Mums where she took her little bear all over the world and created a collection of photos of him on his travels.  I'm not sure she trusts me to explain the story without taking the mickey so I'll hand you over to my Mum so she can explain in her own words..... Ted was lounging in an all items 50 pence basket in the corner of a shop when I first noticed him. Whether it was his wink or a cheeky grin, I decided he was due a more exciting life! So the story of Ted began. I bought him a Passport on a trip to Brighton, where I could not resist popping into a Teddy Bear shop as I passed. Inside the Passport was a stamped mark - ‘Ironbridge’ so I decided that would become his place of birth and added underneath it -18 th June 1996, he now had a Birth date. I had the idea of taking photos of him with a different back ground each time we went on holiday, this turned out to be qui...

My parents always spent a lot of time in the garden as I was growing up, it had several re-designs over the years and of course there was always general day to day stuff to be done. I remember spending a lot of time out there with them, sometimes helping (well, I say helping but I know how much Leo 'helps' so I think they may not agree with that!) and more often than not running around playing with the dog or probably just making a general nuisance of myself. One summer's evening (in 1983 to be precise - thank you Mum for dating every single photo!)  Mum was creosoting the garden fence.  I remember hanging around, probably moaning I was bored as I was prone to and after taking this photo, was given the job of watering the plants. Using the hose was always lots of fun, and I was usually told off for drowning the plants, on this occasion however I casually asked.... 'Mum, are you a flower?' Engrossed in her painting and not really listening to th...

It's back,  My favourite linky and it's now hosted by yours truly, thanks to Cafe Bebe who has kindly passed it over to me, Thanks Karin! The idea is simple, find a photo from time gone by, it can be a year ago or much longer and then share the picture and  relive the memory. From next week I'll help you out and give you a prompt to give you a starting point but for now I'll leave it up to you. I'm going back to my baby days, as they were taken at the same time as the photo I used for the new Flashback Friday badge. Summer 1978... I love the expression on my face, it seems I wasn't impressed about Mum walking away while I had my picture taken! Obviously I don't remember the day, I don't personally remember the place either, but I know it was taken in the communal garden of the flat we lived in at the time.  We moved out when I was two. Mum always said how happy she was when we moved and had our very own garden, and front door. We lived on ...

After the ultimate Reason to be Cheerful in my post last week where I announced I was pregnant I thought it was going to be quite hard to follow it, I've been joining in with the link up lately but to be honest have been struggling a little to find reasons, this is the beauty of these posts though, they make you realise you can always find something but this week I actually am feeling cheerful, it seems the  tea and sympathy  from the other day helped! Today I've been very busy and I've been in 'good wife/ mother AND daughter' mode and it's felt a bit more 'normal' to be doing stuff... not only that it's still only 2pm and I haven't even poked my hubby in the eye for not actually helping with any of those things :)    However I will now be going on strike for the rest of the day I think! 1. I went to get my blood tests done (all 7 of them!) and it was an unusually successful hospital trip. I was there at 7.30am and was out in under an hour, ...

Today is my birthday so I thought it would be a good idea to ask my Mum to share her memories of my arrival while I turn the computer off and go and eat a lot of cake :) Our daughter, Emma Joanne was born on Tuesday 11 th October 1977, at 11.10 am. (which was a coincidence) weighing 8 lbs .9 ¾ oz. (3.9 kilos). Being born on a Tuesday was apt, as Tuesday's Child if full of Grace - my Mum's name. Emma was delivered by Dr. Barnard, nephew of the heart surgeon, Christian Barnard, by Caesarean Section. I had undertaken fertility treatment, so we were extra lucky to have Emma. As proud parents Nick and I left the hospital on Thursday 20 th October, it was like stepping out into a different world, autumn had definitely arrived, golden leaves were everywhere, there had been none when I first arrived. Emma was wrapped in a shawl and I cradled her in my arms. Nick took us home to where her Grandparents (Nick's side)  were waiting for us, it was so good to get home....

I am very lucky to have a wonderful Mum, we are very close, have always got on well and although over the years she may have driven me slightly mad (but that's including going back to live with her twice as an adult so it's not bad!) you cannot fault the way she powers on through any obstacles that come her way. One of the obstacles she has to face is the fact that she suffers from  Meniere's disease , a disorder of the inner ear Meniere’s Disease (Syndrome)  equals  Tinnitus - Vertigo - Deafness People say they: Have a fuzzy head, feel light-headed, feel woozy, have eye pains, noise or pressure in their head or ears, double vision or blurred vision. See moving objects and rooms spinning. Sickness, nausea, have burping. Feel they are in a virtual reality, have a sensation of not being in the room when they are, become forgetful and lose concentration. Have a drunken feeling, a staggering walk and veer from side to side. Bump into doors, have feelings...

This time seven years ago I was preparing excitedly for my wedding tomorrow, I have blogged about my wedding day before so for this week's Flashback Friday I'm just sharing a different aspect... Me in my wedding dress In the run up to the wedding I was trying to think of an unusual thank you gift for my Mum. Flowers are lovely but I really wanted something that would last. As Mum is the worlds biggest teddy bear fan  my plan was to go to the Build a bear shop and get her a bride teddy.  Great idea in theory, but have you seen the price of those bears, and the accessories!  The wedding dress wasn't even floor length! My Mother in law was making my dress so I went to her and asked if she could make a little dress for a bear and maybe just add a touch of red somewhere on it to link it to mine... Look what she came up with, an exact replica of my dress. Isn't this the best dressed teddy bear you've ever seen! We presented the bear to Mum after the ...

This week we've had several 'Mother' related posts, Sunday was Mother's Day, and I had my very first Mother's Day card , I've even been out meeting other Mums in Cyprus  so I thought lets round off the week with one more 'Mum' related post for 'Flashback Friday' This is my Mum and I, taken in the very early 80s. It adorned our wall in the front room for many many years, in fact it also cropped up in another photo years later, although Mum is hidden by a balloon! Don't forget to check out the other entries over at Cafe Bebe

A Mother's love is understanding, it is unconditional and lasts forever. It also means that you can carry a wooden spoon halfway across the world. Back in 1980-something this was the gift I gave my Mum for Mother's Day It was made by me, at Brownies. All the girls were given a wooden spoon each, lump of blue tack and some flowers. A very simple idea which was then given the finishing touch of a piece of ribbon through the hole at the top so it could be hung on the wall. It was hung on the kitchen wall, where it stayed until my parents moved house and was then placed into it's new home on a new kitchen wall. This week it has been unpacked and is awaiting it's new place on a kitchen wall in Cyprus. Mum said she there was no way it couldn't go back up. I wonder if any of the other spoons from that Brownie meeting are still going strong? This week's Gallery entry is Mother Love

  Happy Mother's Day to my fantastic Mum!