this little house

grandparents rock. fact.

while the cats away, it's time for caleb to play!

we certainly weren't the only ones having fun last weekend, whilst we were at our friend's wedding, caleb was living it up in edinburgh with his grandparents.

oh yes those magical beings, grandparents.

also know as...the best things ever/ what the hell would we do without them?/ do you think he likes them more than he likes us??! (don't answer that ;)

at the start of last week we were stressing about how much of a handful caleb might be with his teething. distracting him in the daytime from his pain was one thing but the nights had been just plain hellish. yes, not exactly a selling point when you're in the market for a couple of babysitters ;)

thankfully caleb's teething subsided a couple of days before we left, more to our relief than michael's parents. so we were able to set off no worries, no stress, safe in the knowledge that he would have an absolute ball.

here's a little peek at just some of the fun they had...

i seriously love this last shot. thanks grandma edinburgh!

grandson feedback...slept well, ate well, full of smiles, and they were going to miss him at their's.

could not have been prouder, and that my boy is also a fact.

Thursday 26 September 2013 Comments: 8

after a busy day today it was time for cuddles on the couch, and as we sat there wrapped up in blankets and giggles i felt a surge of excitement for the season ahead.

autumn is rolling on in and with each new season come new firsts, and i can never get enough of caleb's first moments.

the first time to wear wellies and splash in puddles,

to collect leaves as they fall from the trees,

to have fun at halloween (hmmm costume this year...),

to sip hot chocolate after a cold day out,

and these are just to name a few.

before you my dear boy a season was just another season. too busy, always too busy to just stop and take it all in. experiencing the world through your eyes has reopened my eyes.

even with tough times this summer you have made it one of my favourite summers ever, so it is safe to say we cannot wait to see what you have in store for us this autumn. bring it on :)

....so i'm maybe thinking matching costumes this year. you with me, caleb? caleb?? ;)

Tuesday 24 September 2013 Comments: 8

happiness is spending time with the people you love.

celebrating that love and all the joy that comes with it.

this weekend we have laughed.

we have cried.

we have danced.

we have sang.

we have refused to go to bed until our legs no longer wanted to carry us.

congratulations lisa & alex. what a wonderful weekend we have had. thank you for letting us be a part of your special day. it was an honour.

Sunday 22 September 2013 Comments: 2

there's nothing like a good wedding, especially a best friend's wedding. my lovely miss lisa will become a mrs this friday, and to say i am excited is an understatement.

lisa and i go way back.

back when lisa didn't own a brush (no joke)

or wear blusher.

back when i cut all my hair off after a bad dye job

and wore orange blusher

(yes orange! it said coral but who was i kidding, it was orange).

back when we would drink anything with wine on the label and take vodka shots from an egg cup not too dissimilar to this one...

i know, i know, the word you are looking for is classy.

god have we laughed over the years, and still do.

i could write all day sharing funny stories.

but i ain't got all day. this bridesmaid has gotta get her pamper on.

what i will share with you though is back in those days, lisa made edinburgh home for me. not claire the girlfriend to michael home, but claire the girl with a life outside her boyfriend home. does that make sense? probably only to me ;) i can't thank her enough for that.

the few friends i had in edinburgh at the time were actors and often our schedules meant we didn't see each other very much. i loved being with michael but in truth i was lonely. i wasn't used to having to rely on my boyfriend's social life in order for me to have one. i 'm a big believer that a good relationship is one where you build a life together but don't always have to live in each others pockets.

and living in michael's pocket i was.

until one day i got a phone call. it was lisa saying she was back from travelling and looking to move back up to edinburgh, and did i know of anyone who was looking for a flatmate. hell yes i did.

the rest as they say is history.

five years ago (feels like five minutes ago) lisa broke the news to me that she would be moving to leeds for a new job. i acted as any good friend would which was congratulate her and support her decision (okay so i maybe cried and asked her more than once was she absolutely sure ;).

that decision led her to meet her future husband.

i am so, so proud of you, lisa.

for taking that chance and moving somewhere new, i know how scary it must have been. seeing you happy with your little family now makes missing you a lot easier.

so let the celebrating begin.

lisa loved the hangers i did for my friend so asked me to make one for her wedding dress (total honour) and for the bridesmaids. for lisa's hanger i went for the to have and to hold quote, and for each of the bridesmaids i went with lyrics from bob dylan's 'make you feel my love', which i will be singing on the wedding day (eek!!). wish me luck, it's been a while since i've sang in front of an audience and i'm well aware that caleb doesn't count.

love you lisa!! xxx

like i said...classy :)

*purple puffin is were i got the image of that handsome sheep.

Thursday 19 September 2013 Comments: 8

an autumn weekend

this little house has been hit hard by teething. again. we're now on week two of hardcore teething, we're talking all the molars and four other teeth all fighting to make an appearance at the same time :( caleb has been the most sensitive, teary boy ever. the simplest of things set him off, which means looong days of high emotions. parents included ;)

as the weekend rolled in i breathed a sigh of relief that it would be all hands on deck. after a meltdown of a morning (caleb and myself that is) michael took charge and suggested a trip into to town to distract our little teething mess and to give this mama a bit of retail therapy while the boys hit the play park in princes street gardens.

after a medicinal trip to zara (oh how i love thee) i met the boys in the gardens where caleb took centre stage quite literally...

oh so serious! i swear he was smiling before the click of the camera.

this little guy couldn't get enough of this stage, well what did we expect with two former actors for parents. god help us ;)

i have to say taking a ball with us wherever we go has been a accidental stroke of genius. it keeps caleb happy and the amount of little friends he makes who want to play ball with him is great. that day it was the cutest three year old, after they sorted out their sharing issues (oh kids!) the game was on.

it was lovely to see caleb his usual social self. teething has made him very clingy and moody lately, not the key ingredients for a social butterfly that's for sure ;) apparently while i'd been at the shops he was in full flirting mode too. atta boy :)

we then headed for lunch at the huxley where we tucked into some amazing food. michael, the roast beef sandwich. me, the cajun spiced crispy shrimp po boy (oh boy!). caleb, a little of both :)

it's always great to find more restaurants that feel 'grown up' but are still child friendly. the staff couldn't have been more accommodating and had caleb grinning from ear to ear. major tick :)

plus if you sign up to their newsletter you get 30% of your next bill. throw in glasses of prosecco at only £3.50 a pop...girls when are we going??!

with full bellies we went for a walk after lunch before we headed back to the car, and it struck me that autumn is well and truly here. i'm ready for autumn, it's been a tough old summer (with amazing bits too). a summer of goodbyes.

so hello autumn.

this little family is happy you are here and we look forward to all the adventures you hold.

*this little house wants to say a big thank you for everyone's continued support of our blog. some of you may have already voted for us over at top baby blogs, but just to let you know they have reset their site again which gives us much newer blogs a fairer chance. so if you can spare a minute (literally two clicks!) we'd really appreciate your vote. just click on the link below :)

Monday 16 September 2013 Comments: 0

have you ever wanted to completely revamp a room in your house for no other reason than that you just want to?

i really like our bedroom but every so often i get the craving to change it and go with a completely different look. it's the gemini in me.

so when i saw that the lovely annie from mammasaurus was co-judging a debenhams dream bedroom competition with jen from love chic living, i knew my gemini self had to enter. so here it is folks my virtual dream bedroom, and with a £5000 budget dream i could...

1. betty jackson zig zag lamps x 2 £65.00 each

2. teak 'comet' cabinet x2 £270 each

3. ben de lisi geometric cushion £22.40

4. hand carved wooden owl door stop £11.20

5. ben de lisi white trees bedding kingsize £54.40

6. white pendant lamp £230

7. lime green 'kandinsky' chair with dark feet £648

8. cube black bed frame kingsize £648

total cost, drum roll please = £2284

(check me, i'm way off my £5000 budget, michael would be impressed! come to think of it though i haven't selected any wardrobes or drawers as we have fitted ones in or bedroom, £5000 is really easy to spend otherwise...scary!)

ah i can but dream...now i'm going to slope off to my measly double bed ;)

Thursday 12 September 2013 Comments: 2

i love these two crazies and i love this picture, even though it's blurry, i love it. it sums these two up, mad as a box of frogs. like seriously i don't know who was having more fun.

we've had such a good weekend with grandma liverpool, who has been the perfect distraction for a teething caleb. four teeth in a matter of a week. ouch.

living away from my side of the family, is well, pretty crap but i do stand by that when we do spend time together it is always quality time. that is if you call quality time being on your hands and knees chasing a one year old around? that's quality time isn't is ma?? i mean i did supply wine too ;)

there were a few tears shed tonight after we said goodbye to grandma liverpool. mostly caleb, okay mostly me. i count myself incredibly lucky to have the friendship i have with my mum, and now seeing her and caleb form such a strong bond makes me so happy.

we love you, grandma liverpool, and the fact that caleb is now saying 'oops' because of you :)

Monday 9 September 2013 Comments: 4

prison break

after caleb being unwell we were both starting to get major cabin fever, so fighting fit it was time to prison break :) we started our day off with a visit to our favourite place to hang out, the national museum of scotland.

i seriously love this space. it's open and yet full of twists and turns to discover, which to caleb is heaven. it's ridiculously child friendly too with lots of installations encouraging the kids to touch and explore, and explore he did...

my little archaeologist

i managed to get him to sit for eh a whole 5 seconds to eat. eat my pasta that is, not the the pasta on his plate that had been right in front of him.

another added bonus of a date at the museum is that when your date wants to take a nap you are left in the most beautiful place to explore yourself :)

i left the museum with my napping date to find the sun cracking the flags so decided to take a stroll down to dynamic earth

the most amazing fudge :)

caleb woke up in time to have some underwater fun at dynamic earth's soft play

it was then time to head home. we had a big event ahead of us that night. oh yes, it was introducing caleb to his first ever disney film (and my all time fave), the little mermaid.

i got cuddles and everything :)

not for long mind, as when he really likes something on the tv he has to stand up and lean on the table to watch it...

oh and yes karma (my friend and her actual real name), of course i sang along (poor caleb!)

and bash (my friend and not her real name ;) you can keep my little mermaid video that you stole all those years ago!! this little house has updated to dvd (finger on the pulse us ;) baby!

Thursday 5 September 2013 Comments: 7

this little house

grandparents rock. fact.

an autumn of firsts

happiness

oh i love a good wedding

an autumn weekend

debenhams dream bedroom competition

these two crazies

prison break

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