Highlights Of The Week

Last week of the school holidays,how an earth has that passed by so quickly?

The weather has been really good,you can definitely feel a change coming as its not quite so hot more warm and there is a definite breeze about most days,actually it's not a breeze it's wind,yep the wind is coming back and September will soon be with us. 

This week we have been out walking again. Monday we went to find a trail that my dad had told us about. Bit of a misunderstanding occurred,he said the sign was at the train station but I heard police station! Bit different! Well we searched the outside of the police station from top to bottom but we couldn't find the sign. Later that afternoon when my dad and mum popped up for a cuppa it became apparent why we couldn't find the sign,it was at the railway station!Simple misunderstanding,I must clean my ears out properly in the future. 

Tuesday we went to Cresswell,it was beautiful up there and we sat on a bench eating the most drippy ice cream in the world. It went all over my trousers,again and again. Yep it was me not the young one getting messy,no change there then. 

And then Friday we went to find the original trail that I blundered up on Monday. That was a fabulously beautiful walk. Chips walked his little legs off,yet again.

To give Chips something different to do rather than our usual walk,chatter,roam,get lost and then found again,we went to the cinema on Wednesday to watch Despicable Me 2. I absolutely adored it! It made tears stream down my face with giggles. I would recommend it too anyone,it's such a funny film and I truly love Gru! 

Thursday was a much too busy day. We fitted in the library,the hairdressers,the shoe shop,the school trousers shop and Chips swimming lesson. It was busy and had to be planned like a military campaign.

Swimming went well. There were only three children there so they got lots of practice,it was backstroke this week and Chips did great. More often than not he swims straight across the pool without stopping and every single time he does this I'm so proud. I think I will always feel so proud to see him swim.

The boys have embraced the start of the footy season and have managed to find a match to watch every single night. Great. And if it's not footy it's F1 and if it's not F1 it's Motogp and if it's not MotoGp it's tennis,you get the picture,this is a sports obsessed house.

I managed to tame the Jenga like washing pile that has started to live on the dining room chair but blow me down it reappeared that very same night and now it's back to square one! That washing pile is my nemesis...fact.

So thats us and the week that was.

Zip Wire

Our park has recently acquired a zip wire. 

All the kids love it. 

We have never had a go on it before as its always been too crowded and noisy around it and I thought zip wires should be first encountered when there are not so many children jostling frantically for a go. 

Yesterday was such a time.

And it was fab!

At first we were both a bit wary,it went fast and at the bottom there was a definite bump,hold tight and fly in the air moment.

So we approached the zip wire very cautiously and took it step by step

and little by little, and hey presto you did it!

Again and again!

How excited and proud were we....?

Loads!

This is something that will become a firm favourite I feel!

Six Sentence Stories

Josie is encouraging people to get their imaginations working and to come up with a story in just six sentences. It's really good fun. Each week you get a prompt and then it's put on your thinking cap time. This week the prompt was Silence pop over to Six Sentence Stories and see what everybody has come up with. Here is my story,I wonder if anyone will empathise with it!

Silence

"That's enough,be quiet,pleeease don't say one more word for at least one minute" pleaded his exhausted mummy,it had been a long,hectic day and Lucy was whacked.

But as soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted them.

Yep she had got the most talkative child in the world,a true chatterbox,but didn't he get that from her,Lucy grinned,she knew full well the answer to that question!

And wasn't time running out,September was on its way,soon children would be swapping their brightly coloured summery clothes for the formality of school uniforms,not something Lucy was looking forward to.

Long days without her little friend,it tugged at Lucy's heart just to think about it.

Silence is over rated thought Lucy,she turned to her little boy and smiled gently at him "What did you want to tell me?" she said

The Boys,A River,Happy.

After a busy day,library,hairdressers,shoe shop (yikes,the worst torture ever - shoe shop) we went for Chips weekly swim lesson. He did really well,it was backstroke this week and there were only three children in the class so they worked very hard.

Afterwards we were sat waiting for a lift and I found a river. I know,I know,I'm always finding rivers or maybe the same river drifting through many different parts of our local environment. Anyway here are my quickly snapped photos. A sunny evening,a river and can you see the boys,I can and that in itself makes me smile

 

Adding to my 2 Minute Memories

Splash

Two Shoes Tuesday

Josies prompts this week were scent and stolen and I wrote a right cheery little piece,it was how I felt,need I say more,little Miss Doom and Gloom!

Stolen

Left in a swirl of greyness.

A marshmellowey puff of nowhere land.

Where things carry on as normal but nothing is the same.

The world keeps turning but you are standing still.

Or are you moving,but out of sync with the whole world.

You are stuck.

There is a queasy feel to the day.

And it's easier to hurry bedtime along so that the thoughts stop.

Nothing is stable,nothing feels safe.

Everywhere you turn is confusing.

Nothing and nobody makes any sense.

Empty words.

Actions speaking louder than the words ever could.

Thoughts that tangle round in circles.

And feelings that are beyond hurt.

Peace of mind,stolen

Pop over to Two Shoes Tuesday
and see just what other intriguing ideas and thoughts people 
have come up with.

I Can Feel It

I can feel Autumn creeping in these days,I have felt it for a week or more now. 

The leaves are beginning to drift from the trees. Chips and I have seen them slowly swirling down and falling gently onto the ground. 

And,on the ground as we walk, leaves are beginning to appear,not many yet but Iam noticing them,more and more. 

We have seen conkers growing in trees.and along the sides of the roads,pavements,rivers and fields we have been passing,the grasses and plants are getting so tall and I see some of them starting to turn brown. 

Things are beginning to change and Autumn is on its way. 

The wind is picking up strength. Yesterday while we were out walking the wind was blowing the trees and it felt cooler. Chips said he was cold. I said it wasn't cold but it was cooler,for definite.It wasn't a warm gentle summery breeze,that on a hot sunny day is so welcoming,more like a autumn wind that rustles through the trees and makes you brrrr if you are not wrapped up. I guess it's safe to say that there's a nip in the air.

The colours around me are changing. Some fields are brown now and some are completely golden,a brightly coloured yellow that reminds me so much of Chips hair. It honestly does!

The nights are slowly but surely drawing in and there's is a back to school feel in the air.

I think we have had quite a good summer weather wise. Young Chips has been in shorts all summer long.Not once has he put long trousers on,so it can't have been that bad a summer. Boy isn't he going to feel strange when he crams his legs into those stiff school trousers and I'm going to feel ouch as I look at him in trousers again,fully knowing that the summer has gone.

I feel September is on its way but we still have a week of August left so I'm going to make the most of it and play,play,play with my little gang....while I still have the chance.

Throwing Stones

Aunties

I was thinking the other day about my aunties.

And thinking back to when I was growing up I now realise what a big part my aunties played in my life.

I had three aunties but if I'm really correct only two of them were actual aunties,the other was my grandmas sister so that would make her,er I'm not sure to be honest,to me she was
 always Aunty Polly.

Aunty Polly lived on my grandmas street and that is where I spent most of my time. Her house was on the opposite side of the road and a few houses down from my grandmas house.

I can picture the front door,it was a terrace row of houses,but this morning what I'm trying to picture most is the back to the house and slowly these memories are floating back into my mind. To get to the back you had to walk down a little gennel,is that what they are called?Gennel seems a funny old word to be honest but even as I think it,in my mind its beginning to sound right,gennel. All the houses were linked by gennels and I guess that's the way you would get to a middle terraced house. When you walked through the gennel you would eventually come to a courtyard,quite a big square concrete yard and that was a communal space for my Auntie Polly and her neighbour to use. I'm not sure if they also had a private garden anywhere or not. I'm not sure where they hung their washing and to me this is major,I always like to know what people did with their washing...I often think I must have been a washer woman in a previous life because my thoughts often are consumed by laundry...that or a wet nurse because I think I could feed any baby but let's steer away from that subject.

As I'm casting my mind back things are slowly drifting into my head and memories are coming back to me.

Isn't that weird! Five minutes ago I could only picture Aunty Pollys front door but now I can picture the courtyard,the back door,the kitchen,the room she lived in and her front room. And I'm wondering if this is because I always used this entrance,down the gennel and through her kitchen door. I didn't often use the front door at all,even though that door was the only thing I remembered when I started writing this.

I can picture it all now! The whole layout to the house. And that has made me smile,a nice memory to have remembered.

And I have wandered miles away from what I was going to write about!

I was going to talk about the impact these three ladies had on my life although at the time I was very unaware of it. And I was going to discuss family dynamics and how family structures have changed so much,even in my lifetime.

I'll save that for another time though,a little boy has wandered down stairs and will soon be yelling out 'breakfast please Mummy' and actually I could do with a cuppa and a biscuit myself.

Linking this up to my Add A Memory

Afternote I have spoke to my mum about my recollections and she says that all the houses in the street had the square yard that I remembered but some houses eventually put a brick wall up in the middle of the yard to give each house it's own separate yard and that is why my grandmas yard looked different to my Aunty Pollys.

She also said Aunty Polly did have a little garden at the back of the yard and apparently she used to cut me flowers out of there to take to my teacher. Quite a nice new little memory for me to keep.

Best Swimming Yet!

Let's talk about swimming! 

Wow! Haven't you done well Chips at swimming. 

Long time coming but it is coming,slowly but surely you are getting stronger and everyone is noticing. 

Last week your teacher said you did your best ever swimming. 

And I agreed. 

And so did the lady next to me.

And Fs mum,our shower partner in crime. 

And our Twitter friends are glad for us 

And your mamma and grandad have noticed and are suitably pleased.

So Chipmiester,people are noticing and are very happy for you. 

Which is nice to know and does make me smile. 

And yesterday you finished stage three and got a badge and a certificate. 

It's been a whole year since you got a badge. 

Thats a long time for a little one to wait...and to still keep on trying. 

That makes me as proud as the swimming itself Chips. 

The fact that you have stuck this out,through thick and thin,even when times have been hard,even when you must have wondered when it was going to click for you. 

Well your hard work has paid off and even more exciting than the certificates you received yesterday was the mention of the big pool.

Wowzer! The big pool! 

If you keep improving,you and this group of young swimmers may be moving up to the big pool next time.

 Now that is something to aim for. 

We shall just have to wait and see. 

I knew how special your achievement was when I saw the physios faces at our last appointment. 

That's when I knew, even more so, just how well you had done with this swimming lark. 

That night your teacher had said you needed to be a bit more stronger to achieve your stage three and I can remember still grinning because I had seen your arms moving more fluidly and the stage three didn't even register in my head that night.

Your mamma rang that night and was indignant about the teacher saying you should needed to try harder;

"Doesn't she know how hard he tries" she yelped.

But even through all that I still had that proud little feeling tucked in my heart.

Who cares what a swim teacher thinks and I mean that in the best possible way.

She is looking at strokes and strength and techniques.

All well and good and I really like your swimming teachers Chips,we have been with them for years now.

But I'm dealing with something far more precious.

I'm dealing with perseverance and strength of character and tenacity and just the sheer effort it's took to make those flippin muscles of yours move!

Movements for which most other children are as natural as eating ice creams and sweeties.

But not for you sweet boy,these movements take learning,lots and lots of learning.

And that's why the look on the physios face was more important than the words of the swimming teacher.

The physio knew where you had started and how hard you had fought to get to swim at all.

Week in,week out,small,small steps,that have tired you out most weeks.

But kid,you are doing this,you truly are.

And I have a dream,yep just like Martin Luther King had a dream.

I dream that one day you will swim a length in the big pool and even more ideally you will swim 50 metres.

At that I would think you were truly a swimmer and I would feel safe in the knowledge that you could swim and get yourself out of trouble if necessary.

This is my aim. And I hope it will come true.

We shall see.

And in the meantime keep up the good work Chips,mummy thinks you are great and is so proud of you....as she always is.

And now part two!This is what I thought about in bed last night...the swim saga continues!

Swim 2!

And another milestone and magically marvelous moment last night was when your teacher,Jenny, asked you to demonstrate 'push and glide'

You are good at push and glide.You seem to have quite a knack for floating and being restful in the water when needed to. We sit and wait for your starfish float every week,it's amazing,I think you could go for hours on your back.It always makes us grin.

So,back to the push and glide moment.

You and your classmates had all done one push and glide across the pool when Diane said "Chips can you demonstrate push and glide please. Everybody watch Chips."

Well your reaction was precious.You looked around as if you were thinking what me,really me... and then you quickly ascertained it was you Diane was talking about and you pulled your goggles down and did it beautifully.

Was I proud or was I proud! Little boy I was amazeballs proud of you.

Two and a half years of swim lessons and your first time to demonstrate. It won't be forgotten in a hurry Chips,I can tell you that for sure.

Little things like that sink into your consciousness,I think, and set a good train of thought going.

And I want to end with some things that make me smile about your swimming journey Chips.

Things which define you and probably me too,your partner in crime along the wet,slippery,fraught but amazing journey that is swimming.

The Swim Hat How much do we fight with the swim hat Chips!?! Yep we put talcum inside it,does that help,probably but not enough! We laugh,growl,melt on the floor with utter frustration and desperation when I put that swim hat on you. I can't do it! It just bounces off your head. Oh the pain,yours and mine. And the laughter on Sharkys face when he comes to watch you swim,I see it run through his head "Roll up,roll up and watch the spectacular fail of the swim hat" he has a grin as wide as the Mersey! And sitting here I can nearly smile at his grin but when I'm in those hot sweaty changing rooms boy is it hard not to growl at his grin.

The Showers Another painful process! This swimming lark is full of pain isn't it! But you know what they say,no pain,no gain...

It would help my dear Chips if when showering you actually stood in the shower. You know, under the shower, yep... where the water is. That would be helpful,it might even get the job done,but you don't stand under the shower,do you.

Oh no. Instead you chose to stand outside the showers for most of the time,listening to everyone's conversation and having a right good old chinwag with the parents. So you go through the motions of showering,shampoo on head,shower gel rubbed on your body but you spend most of the shower time not actually immersed in the water!

And today I touched your skin as you ducked in and out of that shower and it was freezing I knew the shower was cold but I didn't know it was that cold.

No wonder your face scrunched up so tightly tonight. You truly can stand freezing cold water!

The Starfish Float This makes us all smile! Chips is amazing at floating like a starfish. He can go for ages just lying on his back and quite a long time lying on his front. It's as though he hasn't got a care in the world,he just zones out and floats and floats,usually his teacher has to call his name before he gets up or I think he would float there for ages. 

Jumping In Once upon a time Chips didn't like to jump in - at all. I can remember the early days when Jenny used to have to hold your hand and you were so tentative stood on the side. It was painful to see,I think I went through the wringer nearly as much as jumper did!

Not know though! Now both of us are laughing. Well kind of! Me....because apart from the worry that you are going to bump your head on the side of the pool as you fling yourself into the water,it's great to see you jump with such joy and abandonment. Oh and the fact that quite often you soak all the parents as you splash into the water with such force that the water splashes out of the pool and gets whoever is sat on the side. Usually they laugh. And smile at me with raised eyebrows as if to say 'that's your kid who's just splashed us y'know. and I grin back,albeit a touch apologetically and nod as in 'Yep thats my boy,soz'

On a hot afternoon it's not as bad,in the winter I think it will be not quite so funny!

The Changing rooms Yikesy Spikesy the changing rooms!Possibly the worst part of swimming.So hot and confined and slippery. Hot sticky damp bodies trying to get changed or dressed,I find them horrendous and whilst usually I have quite a lot of patience it drains away pretty fast when Im hot and bothered in a confined space faced with a little boy who is sometimes growly after a long day at school and then a tiring swim session,not the best combination in the world.

So thats my stance on swimming,three cheers for swiiiiiiiiming!Long may it rule!

Beautiful Matlock

Six Sentence Stories

My entry for Josies six sentence stories is this...tah dah.... dream.... 

 Dream

And it was there,the castle in the air,just as big and shiny as she had always dreamed it would be.

There was no doubt in the girls mind that this was an enchanted castle,why wouldn't it be,for it was born out of dreams and built on hope,a castle like that was bound to be magical.

All around the castle was beauty,the shimmering sea where waves lapped the sandy coves,the tall trees of a immense forest which gave people and animals a place to shelter if they needed too,a river which curved its way through the patchwork fields that surrounded the castle,it was a breathtaking view and the girl loved every bit of it.

She was also wary though,her heart told her that although she had found her castle it was only the beginning of her journey and that if she wanted to get to where her heart lay she must cross many tricky situations and places and people.

And a journey like that was fraught with danger.

There was only a slight hesitation and then the girl started to run towards the castle,the voices in her head were to strong to ignore,the castle was calling to her and she smiled as she raced up to the slowly opening castle doors

Aeroplanes

Emirates....Air Buses....Virgin Atlantic's....3680's....Beasts of Planes....Flight Tracker....Dubai...Houston...

Manchester....Trails In The Sky... and much,much more...

My boy loves planes.

Lost

This weeks prompts from Josie at Two Shoes In Texas were lost or habit I went for lost.

Now lost is one of those words that resound with me at the moment. I'm always getting lost recently and I lose things all the time and I kinda feel lost most of the time. So I had to think hard as I think the word lost could have produced some spectacularly dark and sad post.

Here's my offering to the Two Shoes Tuesday party....I give you

Lost

We had a little teddy bear,

The cutest thing you had ever seen.

We got him from a fairground

And his name was Green.

He was a tinky,tiny thing,

That fitted in just one hand.

He became my sons bestest friend,

And on that we hadn't planned.

You see,Green was unique.

No other Green could be found.

And one day the worst thing happened

He fell onto the ground.

And nobody saw him go,

So we carried on with our shopping,

We didn't know Green had tumbled.

We had no thoughts of stopping.

Suddenly my son noticed that his friend had gone.

But it was too late,

And nothing could be done.

Everybody searched,for that little bear.

The truth was though,that he had simply disappeared.

We never did find him,

And my son was bereft.

We haven't forgotten him though

And the memories he left.

My son was seventeen months old when we lost Green. In early baby and toddler photos Green is always by his side. No matter what teddy bear or cuddly toy we tried as replacement to Green our son never accepted them and after Green he never had a favourite cuddly toy.

Being as Green was from a fairground we couldn't find any similar replacement but when my next son began to have a favourite cuddly toy I was wise and ordered replacements,just in case the worse thing happened!

Linking up to Two Shoes Tuesday

 Six Sentence Story

Josie has started a Six Sentence Story prompt and Iam joining in! The prompt was TRIP and here's my attempt....

Trip

As she tumbled down the overgrown grassy embankment she thought she would never stop.Branches hung overhead and the nettles that grew under the trees stung her legs as she slid down the slope at a pretty amazing speed

And stopped at the bottom of the hill with a resounding bump.

Wow!

In all the time of walking these paths she had never managed to get here and it was amazing."Get ready for another adventure" she yelled up to her son. 

*************************

This was based on a true story. I read it to Chips and he grinned,he has a mad mother y'know.

Thanks for hosting this linky Josie,I for one appreciate all the fun and care you bring into the blogosphere and I know plenty of others feel the same way.

The Seaside

This year, same as last year, we are not going on holiday,not going to spend time at the seaside and this makes me sad. 

I see lots of people going on holiday and I want to go too.

Not anywhere fancy,just somewhere where the boys can see and play and spend time near the sea. 

The sort of time where you just sit on a beach and watch the sea and look in rock pools and spend time together. 

For me a holiday is not about the place but more about the people you are with. It's about time spent together and memories made. You could probably plonk me anywhere and I would be ok as long as I had my people around me. To me life is about people first and all the other stuff comes after people. 

But the sea....the sea. 

Not the amusements or the crowded airports or the fancy swimming pools or any of the razzmatazz that come with holidays,just the sea. 

But it's not to be,so I've had to look for things to make me happy closer to home. And that's not so easy when your heart wants what everybody around you has. 

The choice is though, be sad because you can't get to the sea or make the most of your time off work because all too soon you will be back at work and the boys will be back at school and the routine will begin again and as I full well know,you can't get time back,so don't waste it. 

With this in mind I have been trolling around the outdoors around our town and have found what I probably was looking for in the first place,smiles from those nearest and dearest to me. Isn't it ironic that we sometimes think we want a place when really its the people around us that make the place come alive,well for me it's that way. And last week I had three reminders of that very fact. 

The first came on a visit to the duckpond. How many times do I go to feed the ducks....millions of squillions of times! I probably know each duck by name and am their most regular visitor. Hardly a trip to see the sea. But the boys took a football and it was that what I will remember. They played so beautifully together. Blasting a ball around,chasing after it,their voices echoing around as they played. It was good to watch. My boys are getting older now and there is not as much opportunity to see them play together,that was the magic I needed to see because it was those moments that I will remember...the laughter between the boys and the squeals as young Chips tried to get the ball back from his big brother. And the grace and ease that Sharky moved around that field.

I loved to watch it. I knew I was seeing magic and I stored it in my head as moments to remember.

Then the next day we ended up at a little ice cream parlour for afternoon tea. Sat round a table where some of my nearest and dearest people. The day was bright and sunny and I sat and drank in the atmosphere. It was catch a smile moment! Lots of laughs and smiley faces and just a feel of ease. I knew it was a moment to savour and I did.

The day after was Sharky's birthday and we had a family tea. And again it was that feeling of seeing lots of people,young and old,smiling and getting on together.

This may not have been the school holiday full of exciting places to visit but it has still had plenty of nice little moments to catch hold of and added together they make a great big happy picture and maybe that place is the best place in the world anyway.

Linking up with Jaimes Magic Moments and looking forward to seeing what everybody else has been getting up too.

Today We Found A River

The Big Book.

After a pretty rough first birth I had a idea in my head about how my second child's birth would be and the one thing I knew for sure was that I did not want to be induced again. 

I thought being induced accounted for lots of the troubles of my first birth. 

Firstly the baby simply wasn't ready to come and I believe that when a baby is ready then labour will start. 

 The interventions I had when I was induced meant my first labour was spent lying flat on my back nearly all the time and I don't think this is conducive to a good labour. In my head I think it's better to be upright during labour whenever possible,gravity and all that.

When I was induced with my first baby the labour started with vengeance,eventually,there wasn't any slow build up and I felt a slower more natural birth would be better for me. 

So although I was willing to take any advice offered to me about birth,I just knew I didn't want to be induced. 

My second baby was due on July 28th and to my horror that day came and went and no baby appeared.

I tried all the usual things that people say start babies but to no avail and there was no sign of the baby arriving.

So I ended up at the hospital to see the gynaecologist with a view to having the baby induced.As you can probably gather,I wasn't in the mood for an induction. But given the size of the baby and the ever going by of the days the choice was slipping away from me.

And this is the reason for this post ...my visit to the gynaecologist and the reason for my second sons birthdate.

I walked into the gynaecologist office and when the introductions were over he opened a big book to see what days were available for inductions.

To this day I can picture that book. It was a diary and the gynaecologist flipped though the pages.

I stated my case that I wanted to be left for as long as possible and he raised his eyebrows but seemed to listen.

Then the fun started.

Monday 12th August...this was pushing the boundaries but when he glanced on the page it was already full with booked in caesarians and inductions.

So we moved on.... Tuesday 13th... oh uh I had a problem with that date. The thirteenth...unlucky for some....I didn't want my baby born on a unlucky day,not at all. Okay if it arrived naturally on the thirteenth I wouldn't have had a problem with the date but I certainly wasn't choosing that date...so I said no. 

I don't think my reasons for refusing to book in for that date went down well but he moved on to the next page, Wednesday 14th August and this is where my quirks really kicked in....I refused that date. Well Wednesday child is full of woe and I certainly didn't want that for my precious baby.

I'm not sure if I actually gave that reason for refusing a Wednesday induction but knowing me I probably did.

By this time the gynaecologist was losing the will to live I think and in no uncertain terms he said Thursday 15th August was the last day I could be possibly booked in.

So Thursday 15th August was the day I finally booked in for and on Thursday 15th August at 4.50pm my beautiful second son was born.

I did have to be induced,even though my baby was so overdue.

None of my babies have ever started naturally.

Looking back I have to smile at how I sat in that room and decided when my baby would be born or more to the point when he wouldn't be born.

That baby will be seventeen years old tomorrow and when I told him this story recently he couldn't believe that I had done this. But as he knows me so well it didn't take much imagination on his part to know its something I would so do.

Very,very me!

Buddy Boy

This time seventeen years ago I gave birth to my middle son.

It's hard to remember exactly how I felt or exactly what was happening...time ticks on and the memories get hazy around the edges...you remember the big bits...what time it was when they were born and if they had hair and who came to visit them.

I wish I could picture it all as it was.

But I can't, but what I do know is that on that hot sunny August day,I had a beautiful baby boy who has grown up to be one of my best buds.

He really is a good friend. He knows me extremely well and can probably second guess most of my moves and he makes me crease up with laughter every single day. We laugh so much,usually over such ridiculous things that those around us can't quite understand what sets us off,they just know if we are set off trouble is sure to follow!

I feel I'm so lucky to have a friend like him...and I know that as he grows older and finds his way in life this friendship may change but nothing will ever take away the laughs we have had or the deep understanding that we have of each other and what I find really amazing is that this really good friend of mine is my son...the baby I had....how special is that

The Box

''Here is a box. With a lid. I wonder whatever inside is hid? Why it's some 'memories' without any doubt. Open the lid and let them come out.''

Ahh my special box of memories. 

Believe me I save a lot of memories.

 Most people round here would say I save too many memories.

But this box is special because only the very special stuff goes in here. And to earn a place in this box you have to have done something very meaningful to me. 

Let me delve into it a bit and you may see what I mean. 

It's has all my positive pregnancy tests in. The boys find this gross but to me it's probably the most special thing of all. The first signs of my boys...need I say more. 

There is a card from my mum and dad when I left home. Inside that it says 'we will miss your chirpy little voice.'

This always makes me smile,I bet it was quieter once I had left home,I think Iam the worlds biggest rattler and I do chew people's ears off on a regular basis. 

My boys first locks of golden hair are in there. Again the boys go...nooo but I love it. My little blonde baby boys...very precious to me. 

I have the tiniest scrap of paper cut out of the newspaper to announce that I had passed my NNEB. It's so tinky a slight breeze could blow it away in a instant. And goodness knows how I found it amongst all the rammel that is in this house. But I did find it and into the box it went. 

One of my favourite things is a poem a mum wrote me when her last child left nursery. I think the date on the poem was 1997. Thinking about that makes me blink! 1997...it's ages ago and I had taught all three of this ladys children by that time. Gosh that has hit me! It's a fab poem and it tells the tale of each of her girls journey through nursery. Looking at it brings back memories for me of how things were back then and how I adored that little family. At the bottom of the paper it says a thank you to me for looking after all her children and the words 'you will always be welcome in our home'

You can't say nicer than that,can you.

A Toy Policeman! This has mega sentimental value to me.... it's Eeebeat! Eeebeat was Tigers toy that went everywhere with him,when he was two years old. The story goes that Tiger loved policemen,he always dressed up as a policeman and he used to hold this policeman all the time. He named him Heartbeat after the tv show and he pronounced it Eeebeat. When I pick up Eeebeat I remember my little boy,as a two year old...very emotional.

I have a couple of cards from my grandma. My grandma died when I was 15 years old,I was very close to her and so to see her writing is very special to me.

A shiny key is in there from my mum and dad from when I was eighteen years old.

My pregnancy notes are in there. Gosh these are so special to me. Can't get anymore special than notes to tell you how your unborn baby is growing. I will always treasure these. Unfortunately my midwife took Chips notes with her and I never got them back,this does make me sad.

Inside a envelope is a newspaper clipping from when my friend J did a trek through the Himalayas to raise money for a hospital. It's dated 2003,so ten years ago! How time flies. I was pregnant with Chips at the time. I was proud of her then and reading the article I'm always proud again...she's a pretty amazing lady and I'm lucky to have her as a friend.

Wrapped up in a tissue is a rose from Tiger. He bought it me with his own money,a single red rose,talk about melt...I melted alright and the rose lives on...inside my box. 

So a very mixed box of tricks! Funny thing is that these things have evolved over time. I didn't put them in,in date order,they went in when I found them,usually as I was routing around my vast collection of sentimental tat.

It's nice to have a box for the special things in life....a true treasure box. 

Linking up to Two Shoes Tuesday 

Where the prompts were box or dark