Living Arrows | Finger (and face, arms, body and toe) Painting!

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

In my mind this was going to be a lovely Pinterest worthy parenting moment. In reality the photo above shows Iris gagging from the paint she just ate. It's made a good photo but ultimately this wasn't the calm, methodical painting session I imagined, partly due to Iris being a little young and partly due to my completely unrealistic expectation!  

Living Arrows | All The Fun of The Fair

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

The fair's in town! When I was a teenager the fair was the place to be, we spent hours stood around the waltzer making eyes at boys. I have such fond (and rather cringey) memories of the fair and now I get to add a new set of memories as a parent!

Living Arrows | Welcome To The Fun Palace

 'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran.

This week's post is yet another one featuring our local library. I've always loved the library but since having Iris I've discovered so much more that it has to offer and i'm astounded that it's mainly free or amazingly affordable. These photos were taken at the annual Fun Palace that tours hundreds of places across the UK.

Living Arrows | We are all so tired.

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

This week's Living Arrows is sponsored by caffeine! I am not exaggerating when I say that these last few weeks have been hellish. Iris has always been a fantastic sleeper, even in the newborn days we would get 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep at a time so it's been quite a shock to the system for her to turn one and suddenly stop sleeping!

Living Arrows | Another Day...Another Dog Photo....

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

Puppy + Child + Wash Basket = Too Much Cute.

Me and Mine | September 2018

I've seen the 'Me and Mine' link up appear on quite a few of the blogs I follow and decided to have a go myself. I love the idea that it's about sharing a photograph of the whole family as more often than not it's one of us taking a picture of the other two so it's good to be making a conscious effort to get us all in front of the camera.

Living Arrows | My Big Boy Turns 8!

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

This weeks Living Arrows is a special one as it's dedicated to my other child (no, not Daddy!), this week is all about Ian. My big man is turning 8, not that he knows it! He is still very much a puppy at heart. He bounces around the house and greets all people with an enthusiastic jump, lick and fuss. He maybe looking a little grey around the edges but his personality hasn't aged since the day I brought him home.

Living Arrows | One Year Old

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

This week's Living Arrows is a thought provoking one. It was Iris's first birthday and I anticipated a glorious collection of photographs celebrating a glorious weekend of activities. We had a family day on her actual birthday, just me, Iris and Daddy. Then we had plans to go to the football match on the Saturday and then we were having a party with all our friends on the Sunday. In my mind it was going to be 'Insta-fabulous' but in reality the photos are largely just blurry smudges and nothing like the perfection I expected.

Books We've Been Reading | August 2018

The local library has always been one of my favourite places. A peaceful and quiet haven. A chance to get out of the house but not expose myself to too much social pressure. I have also always found comfort in reading and wanted to share this world of wonder with Iris. We read together daily and have a collection of books at home but we love heading to the library to see what new adventures we can discover. This month we borrowed...

Living Arrows | Finding My Feet

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

So here we are. Stood up. Putting one foot in front of the other and getting scarily close to walking independently and i'm not ready. Where did my baby go?

Living Arrows | All Aboard

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

What a wonderful way to spend a summer's day! Iris is so lucky that her great grandparents own a boat. This week's picture was taken during Iris's first trip aboard the boat and she absolutely loved it!

Living Arrows | Safety Day at The Library

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

Last week as we headed to the library for our regular book choosing we noticed things were a little different. We'd clearly arrived in the chaos of an event being set up. We spoke to a lovely memebr of staff who informed us that the library was hosting a safety day where lots of local organisations would be helping raise awareness of safety issues such as the correct installation of car seats and highlighting the work of the emergency services. It sounded like a fun, educational event so we nipped to the nearby park for a play and a picnic then headed back when it was all set up.

Living Arrows | A Girl and Her Dog

Ian and Iris- The Terrible Twosome

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

This photo perfectly sums up our summer. No, not the pouring rain but the closeness of these two trouble makers. Wherever one of them is the other is never far behind. I spent months of my pregnancy crying and panicking that the dog wouldn't get along with the baby and I'd be forced to get rid of him. He was my first baby, my first experience of someone needing me completely, my first taste of responsibility and the first time i'd experienced that motherly love. The thought of having to give him away haunted me throughout my pregnancy, even though I knew he was a kind soul I worried that he'd be jealous, feel left out or just hate the new arrival but I was wrong. We've got the opposite problem, they love each other too much! 

Books We've Been Reading | July 2018

The local library has always been one of my favourite places. A peaceful and quiet haven. A chance to get out of the house but not expose myself to too much social pressure. I have also always found comfort in reading and wanted to share this world of wonder with Iris. We read together daily and have a collection of books at home but we love heading to the library to see what new adventures we can discover. This month we borrowed...

Living Arrows | When Grandparents are Great.

Iris with Mama

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

Grandparents are naughty. They don't follow the rules that you set as parents and i'm okay with that. It's what grandparents are for. They disciplined their own kids, they don't need to discipline anyone elses. Visiting grandparents is a treat but when you've got a pair of great grandparents on either side of the family then you're really going to get spoilt.

Living Arrows | End Of Term.

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

Since Iris was a few weeks old we've regularly gone to our local library for Rhyme Time. Iris loves to sing, make noise and in recent months crawl around stealing the older children's shoes. She's loved her time at the library, she's made friends and grown in confidence- as I have I if truth be told. Now it's broken up for the summer I am sure she will miss singing and giggling with the other children.

Living Arrows | Bouncing With Daddy

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

This week's Living Arrows post is entitled 'Bouncing with Daddy', it's alternative title is 'how to give mummy a heart attack'. As you can see from the pictures below Daddy is entertaining, fun loving and the best person to be on a bouncy castle with. Mummy is less fun.

Books We've Been Reading | June 2018

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to read. It's something I've always enjoyed and I think it's so important that we grow and nurture a love of reading for future generations. The library has been my safe place for many years. A place I can disappear in, work in and relax in. Since having Iris I've also discovered it's a place to sing, create and make new friends. We choose several books a month to read as a family, here's what we thought of this months selection...

Living Arrows | How To (Messily) Wean A Baby

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

Iris has loved every bit of food she has tried and hasn't turned her nose up at anything. She is a joy to eat with and sits beautifully whilst we all eat together. Before we had Iris we would slouch in front of the tv, not really talking to each other, not really concentrating on what we were eating and just using the time we were eating to shut down.

Living Arrows | Our Sunday Best

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

At the weekend we attended our wonderful nieces christening. It was held at the church in the village where Dan grew up and it is a truly wonderful church, set back from the main street in it's own woodland clearing. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and everyone was feeling the love.