The little BIG moments #4

The little BIG moments #4

This isn't actually a little moment in my book.

This is big.

Huge.

My baby boy went for his first proper haircut and came back a fifteen year old.

It all started with a little trim by moi. Said trim turned into a disaster. One word, mullet, and not the cute kind (wait, is there a cute kind?!), it looked baaaaad. So I tried to rectify the situation, ya know, a little trim here, a little trim there, until it looked really, REALLY bad. So bad in fact I kind of missed the mullet.

I awoke the next morning as if it had all been a bad dream and that I had not butchered my boy's beautiful blond mane. Pahhhh, denial, as a seventies inspired, wonky haircut danced into our room. 

So I did what any good mother would do, begged my husband to take him to the barbers and save me the shame of showing off my handiwork. Obvs.

He agreed (what a guy!) and then looked at me horrified as I started sending him Pinterest images of little boy haircuts to his phone. I clearly had not been schooled in the local barber's etiquette, apparently you just sit in the chair and hope for the best, you absolutely do NOT show pictures of random kids that aren't your own on your phone (my husbands words). I mean, who knew ;) 

They left. I felt sick. I looked at Archie and made the mental note to never cut his hair myself. See, there are some benefits to being the second child!

Before long I heard that familiar, 'HI' and the stomping of his feet, it would appear that's where the familiarity would end though because in walked a different boy. My jaw dropped.

'So?', my husband nervously asked. 

'He looks like you.', I said stunned, and then burst into tears.

Yep, sorry about that hubs. I promise it was just the shock ;)

Just like that, it felt my toddler boy and his blonde locks were gone, and in his place was this little grown up beaming at me because he now had hair like his daddy. Seeing him love it, made me love it all the more. Oh and the blond curls, I've got them tucked in an envelope next to my bed. A lock of his toddlerhood that I'll keep forever. Sob, sob.

With the big three just around the corner (eek this coming Saturday!) this boy has got the threenager look down, and of course the behaviour. Oh, dear. Guess I can't blame the barber's for that one.

Sunday, 29 March 2015 Comments: 2

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The little BIG moments #3

The little BIG moments #3

His eyes shine with glee as the stones leave his hand and hit the water. The winter sun beats down on our faces, and his laughter and squeals of delight fill the air.

I'm reminded of the sheer joy in the simplest of pleasures. I may be trying to teach him how to make boats out of leaves but he is the one teaching me (as always) the big life lessons. It's incredible when you think about it really, two years old and he's got it sussed.

I've recently come to the conclusion that nothing can prepare you for being a parent to a toddler. One minute you're cradling a baby, the next minute you are in the thick of toddlerhood, and let me tell you, it is a messy business. You question yourself a thousand times a day as to whether you are making the right parenting choices, and you know what? Sometimes I'm not, but that's okay. I'm learning to not beat myself up when we've had particular trying day. Caleb isn't asking for perfection from me, which is good, as perfect mother I am not. I'm wising up however that this 'perfect mother' figure we conjure up in our minds, is exactly that, a figment of our imagination, a mythical creature. She does not exist! Mistakes are okay, and learning from them is what is key. Even if you have to make the mistake several (hundred) times ;)

For I know now as Caleb grows, so will I as a parent.

Here's hoping he never gets too old to throw stones in a pond and make leaf boats with his old mama though.

Tuesday, 17 February 2015 Comments: 0

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The little BIG moments #2

The little BIG moments #2

So how does life work with two little's under three?

The honest answer...

Some days it does.

Some days it doesn't.

The days when you feel like you're winning makes life sweeter than sweet. Dressed before noon, naps taken, food on the table, washing hung and dried, not to mention getting to drink HOT coffee, yep, that's right, not lukewarm, not cold, but hot! Oh those are the good days, when I feel like I can wear that mama badge with pride. When I feel like I've got this.

Then there are the other days. When the naps are refused, the food comes out of a packet or a box, our underwear and socks may be clean but the rest is questionable :/, and coffee is not enjoyed but downed like my life depended on it. 

My husband can come home to either a scene of serenity or downright chaos. I've often wondered whether he listens at the door to determine exactly what he's about to walk into.

But no matter what day we're having, even if all three of us have been reduced to tears at various points in the day, you can guarantee there has been plenty of laughs, cuddles and smiles, and isn't that what it is really all about? 

After all a bad day does not a bad mother make.

Within everyday there will be the little BIG moments, that let you know you are doing more than okay. That you are actually doing a pretty kick ass job at this mothering malarkey. For all that matters is you love and are loved, and sometimes, just sometimes you get to drink hot coffee ;)

Oh and if you're really lucky your child may even share his jelly sweets with you! As Archie fed, Caleb slipped jelly rings on my fingers and planted the sweetest slobbery kisses on my lips. Pure love right there. 

The little BIG moments.

Sunday, 8 February 2015 Comments: 4

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The little BIG moments #1

The little BIG moments #1

Life is beautiful, but it sure as hell gets muddled up with daily stresses and anxieties.

I've been feeling so tired of late (thanks to a gorgeous teething boy ;) that negativity and general blahness (totally a word ;) have been creeping in. Without realising it this mood of mine is stealing precious moments away from me. One day my boys are going to be fully grown and they are not going to want to hang off  around their dear old mum. Do I really want to look back at this time with regret?

Regretful that I wasn't in the moment, that I was too tired or too busy. Does it really matter if there are toys everywhere? Or that pasta has been served three nights in a row? Or that the laundry pile would have you believe that there are over a hundred people living in this house? None of these things are what really matters. I'm never going to look back on this time and think, woah Claire, you did really good with the laundry, well done you ;)

Granted I need to keep on top of these things to some degree for my own sanity, plus I really don't want anyone in this family turning into a penne pasta tube ;), but I will not let them lay so heavy on my tired mind that it zaps the enjoyment out of everyday life. 

So, I've decided to start a little weekly series on this old blog of mine, to celebrate the little moments in life. The moments that although may seem simple, are to me, some of the most beautiful.

I couldn't think of a better way to start this series off than with these pictures I took of Archie with his great grandparents. 

There aren't words big enough to describe what my nan and grandad mean to me, I cannot thank them enough for everything they have done for us and continue to do. My favourite childhood memories reside in the walls of their home. Memories of baking with my nan, building blanket forts on the washing line with my grandad, not to mention gardening, baking, knitting, dressing up (in all of my nan's amazing 60s and 70s clothes and shoes. I tell you it was a sad, sad, day when I outgrew my nan's shoes!)

It was under that roof I learnt to play cards and numerous other board games (they even indulged my love of Monopoly, now that is unconditionally love right there ;), the list really does go on. The happiest of childhood memories.

I know I hit the grandparent jackpot and I am so happy for Caleb and Archie that they have them in their lives. Seeing them together smiling and laughing, makes my heart burst with love. Simple moments, that are so beautiful that if you're fully present, they take your breath away. Moments that make this life what it's all about. 

The little BIG moments ♥

Sunday, 1 February 2015 Comments: 8

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