Me & Mine in June 2017

June has been a fantastically hot, summery and outdoorsy month that has had a real holiday feel to it, despite school only being halfway through term six. We've been to the beach a fair few times and remembered very quickly (but not quickly enough) that emptying shoes and pockets before getting back inside is good advice. There have also been many a desert of strawberries from the garden, and a few family dinners outside on the decking, always much to the childen's delight.

Here, we have just come back from a trip to the beach, my hair is still messed up from the wind. The children have been bouncing on the trampolines and want a rest from 'so much' hard work; Cara has no pockets but Theo's legs and clothes are still sandy. On three out of five shots, he is rolling his eyes at the camera. Jay has been briefly summoned from the kitchen where he is turning over ripe bananas into tasty cake. Alba, little curious bundle of energy, is raring to get her feet back on the grass and walk places holding hands. For this picture, we all came together briefly, from left, right and centre, only to disperse again a minute later. *Click* - and that's June over. There aren't many strawberries left but if July could let us have more of the same, we'll be happy.

Me and Mine, June 2017

Cara decided that she didn't want to hide her face for the 'me and mine' project, and I hope she won't regret her decision! This month, she discovered my part of the bookshelf and dipped right in to the innocent enough looking Gardens of Water only to inform me that "the girl kills herself at the end". I swallowed hard but could not argue with her "... but you said it was a really good book!", and after Autobiography of a Geisha, she is now reading Middlesex. She's nearly eleven and it looks like I'm too busy to continue filtering life for her as I have. Is she ready and old enough for life-as-it-is?  She also won a bronze merit certificate for her 'saxonphoning'. I've enjoyed hearing her practise as much as seeing her read... and put her books  down when asked to entertain her sister while I try do get stuff done (the dinner, usually).

Theo has loved going to friends' houses after school and every time his "can I go to so-and-so's house, pleeeeeeaaase?" catches me by surprise I can only shake my head at myself for such otherworldy absent-mindedness before I inevitably walk home with just his jacket and book bag. He loved art week at school "because we don't have to do any writing" and I was hugely impressed with the card board model they built of our town. Theo continues to feel passionate about pokemons and is on dad's phone as soon as he comes through the door in the evening. Their Friday after-dinner pokemon walks have been re-started, hurrah!

Alba has become a moving little hurricane that bumshuffles slowly across the ground floor and wreakes havoc where she shuffles. It's time to baby-proof the house, not a small task with all the lego around and her love for climbing the stairs holding the hands of anybody that offers them. Up she goes, laughing and shrieking! She has also (finally) worked out how to turn from back to front, from where she then sits up and shuffles off. Nothing is holding her back and as long as mummy is near she is a confident little exporer who doesn't seem to eat quite as much paper as before.

Jay has earned a much deserved promotion at work and has been baking a shedload of banana cakes that are somehow always gone the next day. All the reason to bake more. More posh jackets and coats have arrived in the post. His collection of Helly Hansen and Superdry is will soon grow beyond the capacity of our wardrobe but I can't argue with "it was only £25 on ebay, hardly worn, and would have been £five gadzillion in the shops!" because...

... I have been going slightly mad in the online summer sales, buying mostly delightful baby clothes but also a few breastfeeding tops and dresses for myself, spending a fortune and unfortunately the pennies set aside for a new pushchair. The jury is still out on whether or not I should get one when the old one is still kind of sort of good enough and I'm also oogling more new baby carriers. My eye starts twitching slightly as I write this, also the jojo maman bebe website isn't opening due to high traffic on account of the sale. And I did get Jay's latest superdry haul as it suits my style better. July - I need to come off the sales and maybe bake some cake myself (I did love making unicorn crayons) or go on long walks in nature (possibly with a new pushchair or sling)!