'Mickey Christmas Everyone'.........

I explained in my last post that I hadn't been around for a while....the reason for this was because I was trying to get everything prepared for Christmas and all the family coming before we went on holiday to America, enjoying Disney World and the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. I wanted to be totally prepared; presents wrapped, decorations up, food all bought before we departed so I could enjoy the holiday in the knowledge that I didn't have it all to do when we returned.

Also my wonderful, kind and generous (is that enough creeping now?) sister Rachel, who is returning home from New Zealand this week has VERY kindly volunteered to look after the little people whilst Rob and I enjoy a week of bliss straight after Christmas, visiting our holiday home in Cyprus, ordering furniture etc ready for our first family holiday there in May next year. This has meant that I have had to be really organised and prepared, but it has all been worth it.

The girls were told on many occasions by total strangers just how lucky they were to be experiencing Disney at Christmas, but to be honest I think it was the other way around, we were the lucky ones to witness the sheer enjoyment and pleasure plastered all over our little girls faces for the entire 2 weeks. Many have said that they are to young/won't remember it etc, etc but to be honest I think that's total nonsense...it's the perfect age to take 2 little girls obsessed with princesses to see those characters brought to life in front of their very eyes

How I struggled to pack for a family of 4 into 2 suitcases...... even though we were allocated 4 pieces of luggage each, 2 other pieces of luggage were used up for car seats (I am not a huge fan of the American car seats). One case was full of clothes for 4, taking into account the fact that the weather could and did change from 86 degrees one day to 60 degrees on another and the last of course was full to full to bursting with Nylon Princess dresses that the girls insisted were vital for such a trip (yes Hen, if you're reading this, you were right)!!....to hell with mum and dad trying to manage with very limited clothing....

Of course with 2 daughters of a similar size and age they were able to swap and change a little according to their mood and the princess of the moment.

The highlight of Imogen's entire trip was meeting her idol Ariel from the Little Mermaid. They discussed in depth having the same colour hair...

Thankfully she didn't realize that their faces had changed!!

Now I could go on and on and on with princess pictures, as you can imagine I have about 150. However I'll try not to bore you. Just one more for Auntie Rachel who has been eagerly awaiting a picture of Mickey on this blog....

And another of little Beatrice....Who could argue that this little lady wasn't having the time of her life?....



OK,OK, enough ..not very 'bloggy' I know; nylon dresses and Disney characters, in fact I'm pretty sure I could even get thrown out of 'blogland' for even entertaining such a holiday let alone admitting to it!! We did do other things I promise you, which I'll hopefully show over the next week...that is if you haven't all given up on me by then as I haven't had the time to read your blogs and leave comments recently...I have missed you all terribly and look froward to spending a lot more time in blogland come the New Year and my return from holiday no.2....I know, I'm a very lucky lady indeed..2 holidays in a month.

Back to our trip.....

Evenings were spent more often than not relaxing...our favourite spot at the Animal Kingdom Lodge was sat around the campfire on the rocking chairs.

Each evening someone from Africa (A high proportion of the staff are from Africa) tells stories to all the children about the African Bush, however Imogen & Beatrice preferred stories told by daddy..oh and the odd cuddle now and again.


This hotel is amazing. Every time you walk through the doors you instantly relax and are transported to the African Savannah.... Everything about this hotel is beautiful and authentic...no Disney tackiness here..... genuine African artifacts displayed around the hotel, African music piped throughout (even relaxing me whilst watching the girls play in the playground), giraffes, zebras and buffalo grazing below the terraces of the hotel rooms and a beautiful pool and spa, flood lit at night to relax and unwind after a stressful day in the parks. Anyone reading this and would like to let their children experience Disney, but want a little luxury and relaxation for themselves I'd highly recommend this hotel.

When we had enough of the Princess's, well me anyway, (the girls or Mr PL for that matter, could never tire of these beautiful ladies), we'd hop in the car and unwind on one of the many stunning beaches along the Gulf of Mexico.



Where we walked along the seashore collecting seashells..


And made lots of sandcastles with the beautiful white sand.

Disney I know is not for many of you, in fact I'm sure it would be your idea of living hell ,but for those with young children it can be truly magical and create moments in time that both you and them will remember forever.

If ever you get the chance and you have small children, save enough pennies and go. If you can, make it Florida rather than Paris as they are streets apart. Especially the Animal Kingdom Park at Disney World. To me ,only the Americans can really 'do' Disney and create the 'magic' that Walt visualised when he turned that vision into reality on 17th July 1955.

The Magnificent Seven.........

Thank you so much to the following ladies for their kindness in giving me the following awards;

Thanks Lesley

Lesley, you're too kind...

Now you're REALLY spoiling me Lovely Lesley!
Thank you for thinking of me Sian.

And to Joanne thank you for the following award.

I feel a bit of a fraud, as you may have noticed that I have been somewhat 'absent without leave' over the last few weeks. I have been extremely busy (I'll blog about this at a later stage - don't get too excited though, all very boring)!! I've had to be very disciplined however to get things done, as once I sit down at the computer, one blog leads to another and another....you know how it is?!! It's amazing how much I've achieved in the last few weeks though staying out of 'blogland', I must admit though, I have missed catching up with everyone's news.

Now, I've been tagged by Joanne to reveal 7 things about myself, well 42 actually, blimey that'll get the old brain going!...so here we go;

7 Things I'd like to do before I die.

Take my children to visit the countries and homes I lived in around the world.
Take a 3 month 'whistle stop' tour around the world with the girls before they leave home.
Live in our home in Cyprus for a period of time, enabling the girls to experience another culture/schooling system, as I did.
Own a Donkey!
Watch my children grow up, whilst growing old with Mr PL.
Study photography.
Learn to sail and buy a boat to keep near my 'dream house' in the South Hams (obviously haven't yet bought boat OR house)!

7 Things I do now.

Hyper-ventilate every time I look in the mirror at how many lines I now have and how tired, old and haggered I'm looking these days!!!
Wonder; "Should I have botox"?!! at least 5 times a day.
Spend far too much time and money internet shopping having not quite got to grips with 'window shopping'.
Dream about what lovely things I'd buy if I hadn't spent so much money shopping on the Internet.
Bake lots of glittery cupcakes.
Attempt to fill grey/dull/wet days with interesting and fun things for two very 'demanding' pre-schoolers.
Try and remember to buy 'essential food' at the supermarket when there are far more interesting things to spend money on!!

7 Things that I can't do.

Stop myself pressing 'Confirm Order' on the Boden website.
Cook; I can bake but I am a hopeless cook.
Crochet.
Anything too technical on the computer!
Speak a foreign language fluently.
Stop worrying about silly things.
Leave my daughters and husband without telling them I love them.

7 Things I say often.

Be nice to your sister.
Go back to bed, 5'o'Clock is far too early.
I'm SO tired.
Archie be quiet (the 'vocal' dog).
You're driving me bonkers!
Do you need a wee? we're going.
It wasn't 'that' expensive!

7 Things I find attractive in the opposite sex.

7 x 1 million pounds in the bank!
Oh and of course, caring, good sense of humour, nice shoes and all those things!!!!

7 Foods I like.

Cinnamon Rolls.
Cheese (The stronger the better).
Potatoes in any form.
Enchiladas.
Pickled Onion Monster Munch.
Key Lime Pie.
Stilton and Sweet Potato Soup.

So, if I ever I come to your house for dinner you'll know what to make me....Stilton Soup to start, followed by Enchiladas smothered in strong cheese with potatoes on the side, and Key Lime Pie and Cinnamon Rolls for dessert...Oh and a bag of Pickled Onion Monster Munch to take home!!!! Anyway fancy joining me?

News in Norwegian......

To most of you reading this today it's just 'Wednesday 12th November', just another day, a day of normality, off to work, taking the children to school, a supermarket shop maybe? or a little preparation for Christmas festivities. To our family it holds a little sadness but also love and fond memories of a strong and wonderful woman that left our world one year ago today surrounded by her children as she passed away, free of pain and suffering. The woman I talk of is my Mother-in-law; Adit.

It was just under 80 years since Adit (pronounced 'A'dit) was welcomed into this world by her mother Friedl and father Willie in Berlin, Germany, and who would have thought where her life would take her, on a path to England where she would spend the rest of her life.

This courageous young woman, just 18 years of age came, over to Britain in the late 1940's from her home in war blitzed Berlin, it had been an extremely frightening place for her to grow up during the war years. I remember her telling me on one occasion of how frightened she was when one day the Russians invaded, forcing her and her family into a secret hiding place in the flat above the bakery where she lived, her story had similarities to The Diaries of Anne Frank.

It must have been terrifying for her to travel, on her own, through a very fragile Europe before arriving in England, which up until 3 years previously, was the enemy of the leaders of her country...and to make matters even harder she didn't speak a word of English, How brave this young lady was in her search of a better life.

Her English however turned out to be perfect, although she did manage the odd spoonerism or two, which down the years has had us in fits of laughter with her jumbled up words. When she'd talk of 'Cleest Intwood' (Clint Eastwood to you and I), or when she went to buy fitted sheets and asked the shop assistant where she could find "Shitted Feet"!!

Another fond memory that has me in fits of giggles is when I remember the story of her sometimes rather suspect hearing! She was extremely confused one day when the national news reader announced; "And now for the news in Norwegian"; what he actually said was "And now for the news in your region"!

There were many times, as with all us, when she'd have to reach deep within for that inner strength to get her through difficult times. One of these being when her father, Willie Klopsch, was living in what became West Berlin. In August 1961, he was working on the east side of the city the day the Berlin Wall went up. He was unable ever to return home, his family home where is wife and family were awaiting his return from work that day. That never happened. Can you imagine, leaving for work one day and never being able to return to your home? He died 6 weeks before the wall came down in late 1989. I remember being in St Louis, Missouri the day the wall came down, such an historic day. Little did I know at that time what significance it would have for my future family, the story it would hold for my daughters, of their great-grandfather.

Another time that Adit showed her true strength and spirit was when her husband 'Ted' sadly died over 20 years ago. Instead of becoming a lost soul, she started to re-build her life again and after 30 years of marriage she decided that life was for enjoying. She began to travel and loved it, visiting The United States, California, New York, Chicago...Australia and Europe.

Adit kept a very close circle of friends over the years, many of whom were German. We still don't know how she managed to find so many German friends, but she did! One of these friends included a wonderful lady, Ilsa, who was a friend going back to her childhood days in Berlin, they would often travel back in their minds to the fun they'd had together during those early years. It was lovely that she still had such a strong connection with her past. In fact the picture at the start of this post is of Adit (left) and Ilsa at 16 yrs of age, proudly wearing clothes they'd made from remnants during the war. I believe these particular dresses were made of parachute silk.

Her 2 bundles of joy were her only grandchildren, my children, Imogen and Beatrice. When Imogen was born just over 4 years ago, Adit was no longer Adit/mum anymore but suddenly became Omi, which is an affectionate term in German for Grandmother. Her biggest regret was that her time would be cut short with them. She would have dearly loved to see them grow just a little bit older. How I cried when I walked away from the hospice just a year ago holding their tiny little hands, knowing that the goodbyes we'd just said to this woman whom we all loved so much would be for the last time. How I wanted to run back in and hug her just one more time whilst she was with us instead of having to stay strong and happy for my two little girls.

Omi lives on in many ways however...Imogen has taken on her German formal side and has Adit as her middle name, whilst Beatrice has her looks, expressions and sense of fun, oh, and lets not forget the singing, like her Omi she sings ALL the time! Both however, have inherited her stubbornness and independence!!!! Oh my, am I in for a fun time ahead! Imogen can however say "Fitted Sheets" so that's an advantage!!!

Adit, we all miss you greatly but we all hold you close in out hearts and in our minds. locking away precious memories we'll treasure forever.

Ghosts and Ghouls...

Oh my, what a week! Lots of sickness here in Petticoat Lane. With a week full of half term Halloween celebrations and gatherings this was not good news!

Having had to cancel arrangements earlier in the week, by Wednesday we were more than ready to take a step outside and breathe in the fresh air, so as planned, we donned our Halloween costumes and drove on our merry little way to Lacock Abbey for a Witches and Wizards day.

Two minutes after arriving at the Abbey...

"Mummy I feel really poorly"

"Oh, you'll be fine when we arrive and you get some fresh air"

"But mummy I feel sick and have tummy ache"

We had a little chat about how poorly she 'really' felt and decided that we'd just go and have a quick look, but if she felt unwell come straight back to the car. She asked for the pushchair which was a sign that she really was poorly as she now feels far too old for a pushchair, and rightly so!

Imogen looking as white as a sheet, perked up slightly when she saw how many other witches and wizards were promenading around the abbey grounds, but she still didn't manage to haul herself out of the pushchair, leaving me to manoeuvre around the crowds, trying not to run over too many dainty little toes as I went.

Lacock Abbey is beautiful and was used for some of the Harry Potter scenes, I think this 'extra' got left behind!



Inside the Cloisters there were magicians roaming around entertaining the hordes, arts and crafts activities (that is if you could fight your way to the table or were willing to push small children flying in order to participate in such activities)!! and 'spooky' storytelling.



This magnificent cauldron wasn't displayed just for the day, but is infact a permanent fixture in the Cloisters and dates back to the 1500's. You may have spotted it in the first two Harry Potter films.




The patient managed to haul herself out of the pushchair for me to get pictures of them both, looking a little like Michelin Men with the amount of layers I had put on underneath their costumes! As you can see, I was only allowed approximately 2 seconds to get the shot before she was heading back into the pushchair!





Beatrice was a 'Pumpkin Princess (?) by the way, just incase you were wondering! I did mention how pale Imogen was didn't I?!!!

We decided to cut our visit short due to the amount of whinging and whining coming from the lady in the witch costume, and take a stroll around the magnificent village of Lacock. As a family we love this village. If you ever get the chance, please go and take a look, it's full of beautiful old buildings like this...

Lacock is often used for filming as there are no street lights, pavements, lines painted on the road etc, with every turn into the next little street you really do feel like your stepping back in time...like you're an extra in some beautiful costume drama...... Productions filmed here include; Pride & Pejudice, Cranford, Chronicles, Emma, Moll Flanders and The Other Boleyn Girl.

We waved this 13th Century picturesque village goodbye and returned home to rest and recuperate for the following day's party, filled with lots of Halloween themed party games.

Being blindfolded to find chocolate 'eyeballs' in bowls full of worms....





......and jelly 'brain matter'...YUCK!!!! They thought it was great fun!


Back home ready to carve out the pumpkin and for Mr PL to make us all some delicious Pumpkin Soup... Forgot to take a pictures of the soup, it didn't last too long!!! But credit where credit's due to Mr PL and his culinary skills, it was delicious.






We decorated the porch....

We got the big bowl of treats ready incase we had any 'trick or treaters'....

Did we get any?...did we heck! Not a single ghost appeared on our doorstep. I guess not many ghosts and ghouls venture down little country lanes! At least I was prepared. Anyone for Smarties?!!

With such a big build up to the 'big' day, (obviously this had nothing to do with me also trying to fill half term week and catch up with the girls friends), Imogen woke up on Friday 31st October expecting something similar to Christmas Day, she even wished the man that came to fix the dishwasher "Happy Halloween", he was slightly surprised!

She had to wait all day for the finale of our week's activities and spend most of the day asking; "Is it 4'o'clock yet"? as I'd told her she couldn't put her dress on until then. I must say, even I was a little excited as our Halloween evening has become somewhat a family tradition for us. Meeting up with friends and their children and taking a walk down Catherine Hill.

Each year on Halloween, Catherine Hill in Frome, Somerset, is closed to the little amount of traffic it sees and all the wonderful vintage shops, jewellery designers, florists and gift shops stay open between 5pm -7pm, giving out treats so that all the local children can enjoy Halloween in a safe environment. It's a fantastic idea with a great atmosphere. It also stops people being frightened in their own homes by knocks at the door (I know my grandmother used to get so scared on Halloween). The above picture was taken at 5pm, believe me, by 5.30pm you couldn't move for fancy dress costumes!

All the shops decorate their windows.....

Even the delectable 'Fifi' outside one of my favourite shops 'Fifi de Villes', got into the Halloween spirit..




The streets were decorated with Pumpkins....




The resident Accordion player entertained the crowds adding to the wonderful atmosphere. Only I could manage to take his picture in front of the only graffiti in the whole of Frome!!





My own little Pumpkin Princess had a wonderful evening popping in and out of the shops with her pumpkin bag and her sister collecting sweets and chocolates from all the shopkeepers....





The evening is always finished off in the same way, a visit to a local family pub where the children dance around and count out their sweets whilst the adults get to enjoy a glass of wine and a little conversation before taking the happy, sleepy, little people home exhausted to their beds...to dream of ghosts and ghouls.......................................BOO!

Playground Mafia

Taking my daughter to pre-school yesterday I encountered them, Who? Well now for any parent out there, you know them, They huddle together, glance in your direction, hush their conversation and wait for your approach....

OK, OK, I can do this, stand tall, shoulders back, head up, smile politely as you approach and out it comes...The chirpy "Good Morning"

I'm almost at the door of the pre-school when I realise I still haven't breathed out. This is probably due to the fact that I'm feeling rather dizzy as I haven't allowed enough oxygen to get as far as my sleepy old brain!

Why oh why on God's earth do I let these ladies intimidate me so? I have no idea, but I do. They see themselves as the hierarchy. Just because their precious offspring are that little bit older than my own and they have notched up a few more PTA meetings than me; does that give them the right to make me feel inferior? Does it give them the right to speak in hushed tones and whisper as I walk on by?

These , as many of you know them (and have read the book!), are The Playground Mafia. Once met, never forgotten. Often spotted around 8.45 am and 3pm huddled together in school playgrounds around the world, in their own little clique and heaven help any poor mother who dares to question their superiority. After all, Little John* is now in Year 5, attends chess club, belongs to the school choir, has come first in every sports day since he began reception year (mother too has pushed others flying in order to be placed 1st, 2nd or third in the parents race), and attends French, Italian and Russian classes on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon. Oh let's not forget the fact that Little John* is in training for the 2016 Olympics in Badminton for which his mother hires out the local memorial hall for him to practise on a nightly basis, sometime around 5.50 when he managed to fit it in between after school clubs and tuition and that all important function of eating, supper.....Lots of fish obviously for the omega 3!

When was it written into the rule book of being a parent that children had to forgo their childhoods for us parents to live our lives through them? push them, pull them, mould them into completely different human beings than they would probably have grown into had they been left to mature and develop at their own pace.

I had NO IDEA when entering into the world of Motherhood that this undercover competitive world existed. I assumed quite naively that I would nourish my babes with milk, hold them close whilst our bond developed into something quite unique, precious and individual to us, laugh with them, cry with them, love them unconditionally, enjoy them, play with them, be frustrated with them, photograph them, celebrate the milestones they reached as I proudly looked on, but nowhere, nowhere in all those manuals and parenting magazines, I of course felt it necessary to purchase, did it mention that if my child didn't have a Mensa score of 165 by the time it turned 7 yrs old that I would have failed as a parent!!

Where on earth should I have noticed this? Is there a manual that I missed out on somewhere? I thought Richard & Judy would have reviewed it sometime in their Book Club surely?

Now, my way of thinking is simple surely? you let them have fun, you shower them with love and affection, teach then right from wrong along with good old fashioned values and good manners and let them learn through play.

I like my children to spend time outdoors, even when it's raining we'll pull on our rain coats and wellingtons and have fun in the woods, we read together, collect things, look at various colours and textures of everyday things in our lives, we explore different foods together, look at the globe together to see just where Auntie Rachel lives nowadays. The most fun of all we have is singing together..loudly...in the car, oblivious to those around us. I like my children to be children, I want them to grow and develop at their own pace, obviously encouraged and praised by us but exploring their strengths and weakness's, creative and academic abilities as they grow. Somewhere along the line by some, these things seem to have been forgotten....

Competitiveness between parents is extraordinary isn't it?? Is your child crawling yet? talking yet?

"Gosh you mean they can't swim 10 metres without floatation and they're almost 2? goodness...well I can recommend a fabulous teacher...Intensive lessons for your little one every morning for a fortnight, my little Janet * went from using armbands to diving off the top board by the end of the fortnight and she was only eighteen months at the time".

"Do you know my son could recognize a fruity wine from an oaky wine, purely by aroma of course, by the time he was 8 you know, his father felt it necessary for him to learn the difference from an early age to stand him in good stead at future dinner parties".

Somehow I think I'll keep it quiet that my daughter by the age of 3 could put together outfits by colour and design and colour co-ordinate her hairbands and underwear (OK, OK hands up that was me that unknowingly encouraged such a talent), or calls Boots the Chemist the 'make-up' shop! But is that wrong? I don't think so. I may have had an influence on her, shall we call it 'styling', but I still encourage all the important things and keep this quiet but I let her....play and have fun! I never want my children growing up feeling inferior, just special to us and to one another.

One day I want my girls to look back and have wonderful memories of their childhood, the adventures they had and the knowledge they gained along the way, not memories of feeling like they were letting us down or felt inferior, because they couldn't speak Outer Mongolian by the time they turned 6.

I, like anyone else, have aspirations for my children but feel as long as they remain measured then that's ok as that to me goes down as support. Aspirations are one thing but obsession's another!

Here's to kids being kids, having fun and enjoying their childhoods.

*Names have been changed to protect identities of John and Janet!!

'E' for Edwina......

For those of you that read the fabulous blog written by Michele at Cowboys & Custard you will no doubt be aware of the artist whose work I am about to share with you. Edwina Bridgeman.

Michele's extremely kind, thoughtful and generous husband Mr Custard recently presented her with a piece of her friend Edwina's fabulous art for a recent birthday. Ever since I have dropped the most almighty hints to Mr PL but somehow I think the closest I will get to it will be viewings at galleries both at The Black Swan Arts in Frome and The Brewery Arts in Cirencester!!


Edwina Bridgeman without realising it has been a HUGE inspiration to my four year old daughter Imogen. She has taken a huge interest in art in all it's different forms since visiting another of her exhibitions at Black Swan Arts, which I blogged about back in August; An exhibition entitled 'Welcome to our World', of which Edwina was the lead artist.

When we returned from the exhibition, Imogen then just 3 years of age, asked to do some painting. I left her to her own devices for a while and when I returned this is what she had created.

OK,OK I know, proud mummy and kiddie art moment, but I thought it was rather good. I didn't help with any of it at all, didn't tell her what to draw or what colours to use, she just beavered away and produced this lovely mermaid. Look at the bra, isn't it fab? As you can see, it now hangs proudly on our wall at home, and she's so pleased with it.

Everytime we pop into Frome to peruse the vintage shops on Catherine Hill and sample homemade cakes at The Garden Cafe, Imogen will always ask; "Mummy, can we see the art"? How lovely it is, that my four year old daughter wants to go and look at art? So we do, usually just the two of us, alone to explore, for me to explain the meaning behind the creations, paintings, ceramics that are exhibited so beautifully for us to enjoy. I treasure that time we spend together. Thank you Imogen.

Edwina's recent exhibition; 'Wonderland' at Black Swan Arts was such a treat, her marvelous work laid out, displayed for us to admire, long for, photograph and share with others. I'm sure you'll agree, her work truly is delightful? I first came across Edwina Bridgeman's work quite a number of years ago now at The Brewery Arts in Cirencester and both my mother and I have been fans ever since. So much so that even my mother came along to take a peek at this latest exhibition even though she lives some distance from us. It certainly didn't disappoint. In fact Imogen asked to go back three times!

Instead of explaining the exhibition myself, I shall leave it to Edwina herself...

Let me share some of her Wonderland Exhibition with you.

This funfair was inspired by the Nottingham Goose Fair, now the largest fair in Europe.

You & I

Goose Girl.

This was Imogen getting excited when she found where Postman Pat was hiding!! There was a little quiz for children where they had to find certain things within the exhibition, Pat being one of them.

Whilst writing an 'Arty' kind of post I thought I'd show you these lovely paintings that my mother did for me recently knowing my love of Poppies. They are far more vibrant in the 'flesh'. I was thrilled with them and love how they brighten up the wall in my home.

Hope you've enjoyed you're little trip into 'Wonderland' and if ever you get the chance to see Edwina's work please take a moment of your time to do so, I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed!