8 Years and Counting.....

On 23rd August, our sweet Joey turns eight!  Our little serious, sensitive, eccentric, fluffy, goofball of a boy is entering the 'aware zone'.  And by this, I mean, the layers of innocence that come with the first seven years of little lives, are slowly peeling away.  From experience, every year now that passes, we will see more of the 'grown up' in him shining through.  He's going to be more aware of other people and his surroundings and what it means to exist in this world.  So bittersweet, watching the transitions of your child, as their last baby characteristics fall away.

Already things are changing.  No more big kisses goodbye in the school carpark, no more wiping the crumbs from his face in front of his friends, no more "have a nice day - I LOVE you" as he waves goodbye.  Now its just a quick hug, a straightening of his collar and whispered 'love you sweetheart' under my breath and I watch him walk away......

Things are changing for my Joe-Boy but it's comforting to know that deep down he's still the sensitive, sweet, loving little boy who was placed in my arms almost 8yrs ago.

No time to think about it yesterday, no time to be nostalgic and sad about the years rolling by, it was PARTY TIME!!

We kicked off with a treasure hunt, which had kids flying all around the park in a big screaming mass, trying to find clues...

Followed closely by the 'Doughnut eating competition'.  The funniest thing was looking back at the photographs that I'd taken and seeing, along with our huge line of party friends,  about 5 'unidentifiable' kids all chowing down on doughnuts, and nobody having a clue who they were, or where they came from...

Next was a spot of lunch...yum yum...

The 'tidy up your room game' that had various pairs of socks flying around the park...

The one request from Joey, was a Pinata (but not a donkey one please).  A nice toothy shark seemed to do the job...

The two hours passed in one big birthday blur, which I'm guessing is a good thing..

Even the ridiculously unprofessional, huge comical cupcake seemed to go down a treat!  And I swore that pictures of this monstrosity would not make it to my blog, as I was icing it...

The present opening was a very serious affair, but the cards were the sweetest things.  Seems like, eight year olds love spending time drawing 'best buddy' pictures inside them, along with captions and arrows pointing out who is who....love it!

If I close my eyes, I can still see that small little person, staring back at me, with my eyes, my nose, my mouth, my features, but all of his Daddy's expressions wrapped up in a white blanket, all tiny and new.   I'm so proud of the little boy that he's already become.  I won't will the years away to try and peek into the future, I'm planning on savouring each and every moment of this little man. 
Joe-Boe, Joey-Boy, Joe Boe Belly-O Big bum Billy-O, Joseph David Gene Detroy Wood, BoBo, or just plain old Joey Wood....Which ever way you say it, it all sounds pretty wonderful to me....Happy Birthday lovely Boy!

Hello Ice Lollies!

It's that time of the year again, when it's almost, almost feeling like Summer again.  The temporary evening heaters have gone back into storage, the wheat bags are no longer warmed for the cool nights and the lightweight sweaters have been folded and put to the back of our wardrobes.

"Hello" shorts and t-shirts,  "Hello" loose flowy long skirts and cute tank tops, "Hello" swimming pool, "Hello" ice-lollies, and "Hello" Sun!

I won't lie to you - I'm scared for my sanity...for all the moments over the next few months, when I know the heat will crank up a few more degrees every week, and I will struggle.  At some points this year, just walking from the house to the car will be a major operation.  I will have to throw blankets over the kids car seats, just so that they don't get so hot that the buckles burn their skin.  I will have to run fast from the pool to the house, in order to not burn my feet in just that short distance, and I will be less tolerant on the really really hot days, when the air con has been on constantly, and doesn't seem to make a dent in the heat and humidity.

But then there are days like these...when the pool will be at our fingertips -when the children squeal with joy and splash in it from sunrise, to sunset.  When all I see are little bodies in bright coloured swimsuits, and smell that tropical coconut smell after slathering them all in sunscreen. When we wake to the warm sun streaming in through our blinds.  When there are rainbow coloured ice-lollies everywhere....

And little people running around in summer dresses, sandals, and humidity dampened curls!

One thing for sure - it's gonna be a scorcher!  :)

Feeling Blue?

Are ya?  Well I am! :)  Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a healthy obsession with duck egg blue, especially in the kitchen.  I gravitate towards it in the isles, where I'm sucked into shops and feel compelled to pick up every single object in it, of this colour.  I have been known to become obsessed with certain things, (mugs, washing powder, shampoo, to name but a few), and this colour is a definite obsession.  The duck egg blue theme, actually runs throughout my entire house, and still I crave more.. I also love retro, massively,.and the more retro the object - the better!  I would wear purple with orange paisley on it, just because it throws me back into the 60's/70's.  And yes, I was there in the 60's - barely and by the skin of my teeth, but still....

So, imagine my absolute delight when I stumbled across this little beauty a few weeks ago.

 Are you kidding me?? Duck egg blue and washing powder, two obsessions rolled into one!   Do you know how many times I walked into that laundry room, just to keep looking at this thing?  Well, I'm not gonna tell you, and you probably won't guess, thank goodness!  
 I love that I've been able to add another 'special' to my growing collection...

Just a  taster of the state of my kitchen, and I want to at least appear a little on this side of normal, so I'll stop there...but oh just have one more look....

Ok, I'm done!  No more pictures of laundry powder tins, I promise, I'm really not that obsessive.  In fact, I'm also very laid back, so much so that this little piece of genius writing is completely and utterly written about me..

I have been known to 'hide' the Christmas presents on the bottom of the ironing pile! They never get found, and even I forget where they are!

Today, it was love...

Lucy has finally managed to master the steps to our secret garden.  The garden at the top, hidden away by bushes and trees, that she's been desperate to get to since forever.  Usually she holds tight onto the hand of one of her siblings to get to the top, but today she went solo and was so proud of her little self.  So proud in fact, that her little smiley face  looked  almost effervescent with joy.  Up and down she went, teetering at the top on occasion in a way that would have had her Daddy running to 'save her'.  But she didn't need saving, and she certainly didn't want it either.  The couple of times that I reached out a hand to steady her, it was firmly pushed aside and the determination of her expression, making it quite clear that she was fine and dandy without her Mamas help, thanks very much..

This is often the view, as I run to keep up with her, such an independent little lady, this one. 

She may look like me, but I'm pretty sure she's no shrinking violet, thank goodness for that!

Tiredness got the better of her eventually, and I swapped one little minx, for a couple of others....

Joseph, Poppy & the Bounce!

How I love days like this.  Days where they play for hours and hours, shrieking with joy, giggling, thinking up new games, dreaming up new dreams, it's just....sparkly and beautiful...

'Oh don't watch, Mummy' Joey says as he finally notices me!  'No, no, I'm not - I'm just playing with my camera, don't take any notice of me, you just carry on', I reassure him....but he's already back into the game and pays me no attention...

Swinging eachother round and around, they giggle until they both get hiccups, and Poppys hair is a big ball of electric fluff!

How much longer will days like this last, I wonder.  What age will my boy be when he becomes more aware of what other people think.  How old will he be when that age gap becomes too wide, and playing with his younger sister won't be 'cool' any more.  I am dreading that day....I don't want this to end.  As he approaches 8, I can't help thinking that we might be on borrowed 'Joey and Poppy' time.

My two little eccentric ones.....how I love them so.  And how I love days like today, when it's just love!