Half Term!

Since my husband is a teacher, I sort of live for school holidays. I mean, who doesn't love extra quality family time (and by 'family time' I mean the hubster watching the kids in the morning so I can take a shower for longer than 5 minutes, and put on make up in the bathroom rather than squinting at my reflection in the toaster).
But, I'm excited for reals, you guys.  We're heading off to Cardiff for the week, and spending some time in our old stomping grounds. As much as I love living up North, I do miss Cardiff insanely a lot. My to-do list is much too long  (is it bad that 90% of the things on the list have either to do with eating food at certain places or drinking alcohol at certain other places?) but I'm hoping we can get around to all of the places we love and hug all of the people we love.

If I've managed to survive the 4 hour car journey with the babies, you can expect updates throughout the week.

Exciting News!

I don't know why, but since I've had children I always feel the need to preface any exclamation of "Exciting News!" with the disclaimer "I'm not pregnant."  So yes, I have exciting news, and no I'm not pregnant.

I'm so very excited to announce that I will be joining 9 other amazing bloggers over at the brand new Emma's Diary Blog!  If you've had a baby in the UK, I'm sure you remember getting the Emma's Diary magazine from your midwives  Well, Emma has taken her journey as a mother to the web, and has brought together a group of amazing (if I do say so myself) writers to share our experiences as well.  Whether you're already a parent, trying to conceive, or are making your way through pregnancy, there will be something for you!  I hope you all decide to follow this great new blog!

My first post should go live today. I'd love to have your support :)

Harvest Time!

Although the weather app on my phone told me that the weekend was going to be a washout, it actually turned out to be lovely. Blue skies, blossoming chrysanthemums, and crisp autumn air.

When the weather is quintessential to the season like this, I always feel obliged to do something seasonal. So today we went apple picking in my father-in-law's allotment.

We picked our apples and loaded up on lots of fresh autumn veg. Iwan took a bite out of a raw potato. Elle sucked on her coat collar and took it all in.

It was just one of those colorful, bright, days where nothing much happens, but the kids come home muddy and tired.  We didn't finish much on our weekend to-do list, but I know we'll sleep well tonight.

The weekend went by too fast, but these smiles will tide me over until the next one rolls around.

Maternity Leave

What kind of stay at home mom takes maternity leave? Apparently I do.  Sorry to have left you all in the dark for so long, but, hey, raising two kids in no joke.  While the baby is relatively low maintenance (insofar as little babies can be "low maintenance"), I seriously needed the past few months to adjust to this new way of life.  But now that I can once again find time to get dressed before lunchtime, I can carve out time for ye olde blog.  Oh?  What's that?  You don't care about me?  You just want the details on the baby?  Oh alright...

Sweet baby Elle was born on July 2nd, 4 days late (much to my chagrin).  She weighed 8 lbs 9 oz, and is the spitting image of her daddy.  I won't bore you with a birth story, except to say that it was med free, painful, triumphant, and one of the happiest days of my life.  She is sweetness personified, the very image of happiness, and she lights up our hearts with joy every minute of every day.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you The World's Sweetest Baby:

Life is good.  We are happy, and I'm happy to be back :)