The month of March and our Easter garden...

Well, this month has been rather an eventful one - with the arrival of Heidi, I suddenly realised this week I hadn't taken my photo this month for 12tel Blick. Every month I'm taking a photo of the same view from our patio doors out onto our garden, to see how the view changes throughout the year...

Here are the first 3 months!

Spot the difference!

Today, Ava and I headed out into the garden to make our resurrection garden ready for tomorrow. We meant to do this earlier this week, but things have been busy and we haven't got round to it. I found the idea here and we had fun hunting out stones, flowers and grass to decorate our garden. Our potato grave was also a success...

We used a tin foil tray to make our garden ('scuse the washing in the background!)

We filled our "garden" tray with soil (and had some "Oh WOW!" moments discovering worms en route!)

Decorating her Resurrection Garden

"Fertig Mama!" Now all it needs is a tomb...

Ava covers the tomb with a stone... what will she find in the morning!?

Right now, our grave is all closed up... but there will be a surprise for Ava M in the morning...

Happy Easter Saturday everyone... Sunday's coming!

Mini Mama...

Ava M had her Father and I in stitches yesterday... you know, those looks that you give each other when you're desperately trying to hold a straight face and not managing very well. You see, Ava has started "feeding" her babies. Until now, they have enjoyed a diet of cups of tea and raisins, but someone has been watching her Mama very closely and decided that what these babies need is milk from THEIR Mama. So David and I did our level best to hold a straight face while Ava wandered round the room with a baby attached to her, having its milk!

She is loving being a Mama! Its so very cute to watch...

Nappy changing preparations...

"Right! I think that's everything..."

"Lie still, Annabelle"

Time to change this nappy!

Finishing off with the traditional foot sniff and comment: "Puh! Stinky, cheesy feet!"

And here's the real Bubba - can't believe she'll be 4 weeks on Monday!

PS - I've been nominated for two awards in Britmums "Brilliance in Blogging" awards... If you enjoy the blog and want to support me, please do take two minutes and vote!

Thank you! :D

Nominations close on April 12th...

Just click HERE TO NOMINATE (or on the links in the top left hand corner!)

Blogging is cheaper than therapy (not that we would know). And sometimes sharing (over sharing?) family life stories can be a very satisfying process. These bloggers let it rip when it comes to writing about family life.

The content, the voice, the infectious enthusiasm of these bloggers encourages everyone around them. They are seen as leaders in their field and their inspiration is felt through the community.

The return of "Saturday Night TV"...

They were a bit of a tradition in our house. The usual "Saturday dinner" (pasta and frankfurters, or sausage/fishfingers/burger/chicken nuggets with baked beans and chips followed by a Mr Kipling apple pie), the family gathered around the coffee table in front of the TV... and then there was Saturday night television. It was the only night in the week we were allowed to eat in front of the TV, and we relished it, trawling our way through The New Adventures of Superman, Blind Date, Challenge Anneka, The Generation Game, Stars in their Eyes... the list continues...

It seems for the last decade, we have been in a bit of a black hole when it comes to Saturday night television. I mean, I love X factor and Strictly, but for me, Saturday nights have been lacking that family fun that used to make them what they were...

Which is why I am SOOOOO pleased at the arrival of Ant and Dec's "Saturday Night Takeaway". At last it seems Saturday nights are returning to the family fun feel with silly games and general laugh out loud moments. And I love Ant and Dec... they just epitomize British television for me and this past week, they made the nation's day when they performed their early 90s charts entry "Let's Get Ready to Rhumble". In 1994, it peaked at number 9... nearly 20 years later, it seems set to be a chart topper (it topped the iTunes charts within 2 days of their performance last Saturday...) Credit to them, they are giving every penny they make on its unexpected return to charity.

So, in memory of all those great Saturday night programmes past... here's a little taste of the return of Saturday night TV at its best... just in case you missed it!

On the lost art of swaddling...

My little glow worm!

It's been done for thousands of years, by thousands of different people groups across the world, and its becoming a lost art. I am the HUGEST fan of swaddling babies... both my girls have been swaddled - Ava was swaddled until she was about 4 months, and Heidi is being well and truly wrapped up these days.

Like every "parenting issue", swaddling is surrounded by a lot of debate (just look at the whole breast vs bottle, cot vs co-sleeping, on the back vs on the side vs on the front sleeping), but I'm loathe to believe that after thousands of years of effective swaddling, the "form of restraint" that its critics refer to is really enough to override the TONNE of advantages that swaddling has!

Both my girls are good sleepers (so far!) but BOTH of them had horrendous second nights... they were both born in the evening, so slept well their first night in the big, wide world, but the second night was killer. Endless feeding, constant crying and me feeling wrecked and tired and hopeless.

On both occasions, a wonderful midwife has come in and swaddled 'em up, laid them down and they've gone straight to sleep... feeling secure and warm and unable to wake themselves with that startle reflex that proves a nightmare in the first couple of months!

It's fiddly, til you get the hang of it, and my girls have both fought it at first (sometimes I still hear Heidi grunting away when I put her down to sleep, trying to get her little arms out) but BOY is it worth it... they feel safe and snug and secure, they sleep well, and its the next best thing to being snuggly held in Mama's arms.

I told you I was a fan!

All wrapped up!

PS - I've been nominated for two awards in Britmums "Brilliance in Blogging" awards... If you enjoy the blog and want to support me, please do take two minutes and vote!

Thank you! :D

Nominations close on April 12th...

Just click HERE TO NOMINATE (or on the links in the top left hand corner!)

Blogging is cheaper than therapy (not that we would know). And sometimes sharing (over sharing?) family life stories can be a very satisfying process. These bloggers let it rip when it comes to writing about family life.

The content, the voice, the infectious enthusiasm of these bloggers encourages everyone around them. They are seen as leaders in their field and their inspiration is felt through the community.

Easter Countdown Calendar

Opening her countdown egg!

So, the countdown to Easter has begun, and this week, with the help of a lot of ideas from Pinterest and other blogger friends, my intention is to help our family get ready for next weekend. The first project? Creating an Easter Countdown Calendar.

The idea, similar to our family Advent Calendar, is to unfold the Easter story bit by bit as the week goes by, and to hopefully help Ava to understand that Easter is not just about spring chickens and bunnies (cute as they are!)

So here goes...

You need:
Some plastic eggs which open (I ordered mine from Amazon)
Card
Appropriate props (see below)
Chocolate buttons
Sharpie


Step One: using your Sharpie, label your eggs 1-8 with the intention that one egg will be opened every day from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.

All labelled up (permanent marker or sharpie does the trick!)

Step Two: cut 8 small pieces of card, and write the following Bible verses on one side...
Day 1: John 12:12-19 (The Triumphal Entry)
Day 2: Luke 19:45-48 (Clearing the Temple)
Day 3: John 13:1-17 (washing feet)
Day 4: Mark 14:12-26 (last supper)
Day 5: Luke 22:39-46 (in the garden)
Day 6: Mark 15:1-47 (death)
Day 7: Matthew 27:62-66 (Sabbath)
Day 8: Luke 24:1-8 (resurrection)

Day 2: Jesus clears the temple... talking about making things clean

Step Three: on the other side of the card, write an Easter Activity to do together. This could be anything from doing a craft to singing a song to acting something out... I've included my activities below, but obviously you want them to be age appropriate...
Day 1: Make a crown
Day 2: "Jesus clears the temple" colouring page
Day 3: Sing "Stop and think" (Gettys - serving song)
Day 4: Make Challah bread
Day 5: Make a Resurrection Garden
Day 6: Watch "Das Erste Ostern Kinderfilm" on YouTube
Day 7: Make an Easter Swatch Book
Day 8: Sing "på Golgotha"

Step Four: gather together the appropriate props to fill your eggs...
Day 1: Some little leaves
Day 2: A mini cloth
Day 3: Footprint stickers
Day 4: Dolls house cup and plate
Day 5: Olive, cloth with a drop of red on it
Day 6: A nail, a cross and a dice
Day 7: A piece of rock and a bandage
Day 8: Empty egg!

Ready to go...

Step five: fill 'em up!
I put the little card, the prop and a chocolate button in each egg...

Voila!

PS - I've been nominated for two awards in Britmums "Brilliance in Blogging" awards... If you enjoy the blog and want to support me, please do take two minutes and vote!

Thank you! :D

Nominations close on April 12th...

Just click HERE TO NOMINATE (or on the links in the top left hand corner!)

Blogging is cheaper than therapy (not that we would know). And sometimes sharing (over sharing?) family life stories can be a very satisfying process. These bloggers let it rip when it comes to writing about family life.

The content, the voice, the infectious enthusiasm of these bloggers encourages everyone around them. They are seen as leaders in their field and their inspiration is felt through the community.

Titatoni Easter Giveaway...

I'm linking up with Titatoni today as she's doing this gorgeous Easter Giveaway...

All you have to do is hop over to her blog here and leave a comment to be in with a chance of winning this lovely little Easter kit with cute plates, serviettes, a cupcake set, paper straws and the bunny cookie cutter - everything you need for a little Easter party.

Cute, huh?

Preparing our Hearts for Easter...

In the run up to Christmas last year, I was really blessed by a free little eBook devotional produced by John Piper for Desiring God Ministries. This Easter, Piper has produced another little book that is free to download to be used in the week running up to Easter Sunday... it starts tomorrow (Palm Sunday)...

I thought it was too good to keep to myself, so you can click on the link here and download the eBook for yourself. I hope it will be a blessing to you.

Lots of weekend love,

Claire

Back to life... back to reality...

We've made it... made it through our first Papa-less week. I've made it through my first week alone with two little ones. Well. Almost. My Mum, as always, has been an absolute star and has been with us most mornings. Ava has learnt to climb out of her cot with the help of the bathroom stool, her Tripp-trapp and a helping hand and "The Plan" has been well and truly put into action!

We are slowly entering our new normal... our new rhythm. Heidi is so good. She sleeps and feeds and sleeps and feeds and is so contented. Its incredible to think that she is doing so much growing that 20 hours sleep in every 24 hour period is necessary. How intricately designed these little Bubbas are. She is so perfect and just fits. Life without her is already fading dimmer in my memory.

Ava is adjusting well - she showers so much love upon her "Schwesterchen" -  wanting to cuddle and kiss her and hold her hand all day long. She has also become busier with her own babies. They get read to, nappies changed, fed raisins (!) and told off. She is still my little helper. Heidi sleeps so much that Ava is largely unnaffected. Mama still has plenty of time for her, and I know that is such a blessing.

Reading to her "babies"

Ava's finding Mama's physical inability harder to deal with though. How do you make a 1 year old understand that its not that Mama doesn't want to lift her up and give her a big hug, doesn't want to cuddle her as she lowers her into her cot, doesn't want to carry her up the stairs... but can't? Another four weeks recovery to go seems like forever. At the beginning it broke my heart as she would just hold her little arms up and cry, and me getting down to her level to cuddle her just didn't seem to cut it for her. Now she's got savvy and thats the challenge... she knows that Mama can't react so quickly, can't launch herself across the room, can't chase her, and she's making the most of the opportunity to get her own way... so we're having fun and games in that department at the mo...

Ava M sporting her first ponytail! She headed off to "Tots" yesterday with Nanny so Mama and Heidi had a quiet morning in! 

Its all change. A new way of functioning as a family. An adjustment for all of us... but one we are loving, and cherishing and so grateful to God for. Our little bundle is such a joy and so precious to each of us.

Our little Heidi S

Loving the homemade gifts...

We have been thoroughly spoilt rotten these past couple of weeks. Heidi turned two weeks old on Monday night, and she has literally been showered with prayer, love, affection and pressies! People are so generous, and little Ava has loved the seeming endless flow of parcels to unwrap - (of course, when you're one, its the unwrapping that's the best part of getting presents)...

We're definitely living in the times of the renaissance of homemade gifts... it seems everyone is loving the handmade look and Heidi has been very privileged to receive some really beautiful and precious hand-crafted gifts from some very talented friends. I couldn't resist sharing...!

Cute homemade felt bear - thanks to our East End friends - Ava got some little hanging birds too! The cardigan was also knitted by my very talented Mum

My lovely friend Cheryl made this gorgeous blanket with Heidi's name sewn into it

Heidi received some lovely home-knitted cardigans from neighbours and friends. I think little ones look so cute and snuggly when wrapped up in those cuddly cardigans!

And don't get me started on the food... we got homemade brownies (beautifully wrapped), lemon drizzle cake, fruit cake, chocolate cupcakes, chocolate cake, loads of homecooked meals... only I don't have photos because we've eaten them all already! Oops!

Linky Party time!

I am SO excited to finally open this linky party... please spread the word and link up any fab ideas you have for making Easter meaningful! Yesterday I shared some ideas I have had/pinched, but I'd love to hear from you guys too!

Please do share! Just click on the link below and share your fab ideas!

8 ideas to make Easter meaningful...

"We reveal to ourselves and others what is important to us by the way we celebrate"

- Noel Piper, Treasuring God in our traditions -

Easter is the highest celebration of the Christian calendar, and yet so often, it slips up on us unexpectedly. In our house, Christmas has the whole build up of Advent; the countdown, the traditions, the (dare I say it) magic that surrounds it... yet Easter can often be a bit of a forgotten celebration. All too easily, our children come to the end of the day, thinking it is all about fluffy chicks, chocolate eggs and Easter bunnies...

Last year, we decided we wanted Ava to understand what Easter was really all about, and to do that, we would have to be purposeful about teaching her the real meaning of Easter, and making it just as special (if not more so) than Christmas. You can read about that here. I've had a bit more time to think about it now, and a bit more time to scour the web and steal other people's ideas, and I've gathered together some of my favourite ideas that I'd like to give a go. Tomorrow, I'm going to be opening a linky party, for anyone out there to link to their blog and share any fab ideas they have for creatively "Making Easter Meaningful"

Here's some ideas to get you started...

1. Easter Breakfast

This was something we started last year. A special meal is central to any celebration. We wanted to have a meal together as a family where we could enjoy each other's company, make the day a bit special and share the Easter story. Of course, boiled eggs and soldiers were a must, and a little treat in everyone's place... little easter baskets filled with chocolate eggs and Easter biscuits... Of course, you could have an Easter lunch, or dinner... but we wanted to celebrate in the morning the fact that Jesus had risen!!

2. Easter baskets

Last year I made these little Easter baskets for everyone (see the tutorial here) that we filled up with chocolate eggs and Easter biscuits. There is absolutely no significance to these, other than the fact that a small treat makes the day memorable to little ones, and tells them that this day is something special! Ava thoroughly enjoyed tucking into her baby friendly version (she was only 6 months old so enjoyed rusks as opposed to chocolate eggs!!)

3. Easter Tree

I saw this idea on Pinterest and love it. It follows the idea of a Christmas tree mixed with an Advent Calendar, but in each hanging egg is an item that tells the story of Easter. Each day in the 12 days running up to Easter, the children can open an egg and uncover the next part of the story. The last egg remains empty, representing the empty tomb. You can see a more detailed explanation on this blog here.

4. Colour Swatch...

This is a cute little craft idea for children that helps them understand the Easter story and would be a nice activity to do with the kids in the run up to Easter. The children make a little book of paper with5 pages inside and colour each page/decorate each page with a certain colour... each colour represents a part of the Easter story and is an easy way for the children to tell the story themselves...

- Purple - Jesus' royal robe

- Red - Jesus' blood

- White - Christ's purity

- Black - Sin and darkness

- Gold - Paradise

5. Easter Book Box

A book box is something special that we do at Christmas... I keep back all our Christmas books for the Advent season and this year I thought I'd try the same for Easter... I'm still sourcing a good collection of Easter books, but these are some I'm currently looking in to getting a hold of!

- The Tale of Three Trees

- J is for Jesus - An Easter Alphabet and Activity Book

- My Easter Basket

- The Eggcelent Egg Hunt

- XTB Easter Unscrambled

6.  Resurrection Garden 

I found this idea on Pinterest as well, and its one I will DEFINITELY be doing with Ava this year. I love the idea of watching the garden slowly dying with the special surprise on Easter morning... click here to see the full tutorial...

7. Resurrection Cookies

Of course, any celebration has to have some yummy treats involved... these cookies are to be baked with the children - with accompanying verses to tell the story. The surprise comes when you bite into them and discover they are empty. Another opportunity to talk about the empty tomb! 

Please link up tomorrow with any other ideas you have, or comment below!

Great girls your girls should know...

I was reading a blog post the other day over at Molly Makes Do and came across a post she had written called "Great girls your daughter should know" and I felt really inspired to come up with my own list...

As I'm sure you have all realised by now, I am an AVID reader. I adore books... I always have. It'a a love my own Mum instilled in me as a little girl, and its a love I intend to instill in my own little girlies over the coming years. There is something wonderful about the world of fiction; lessons learned, adventures undertaken, creativity... and I want so much for my girlies to meet some particular characters, grow to love them, learn alongside them and laugh with them...

So here's the list of the top 20 girls I want my daughters to know... anyone else got any suggestions? Comment me below!!! I'd love to hear your recommendations!

1) Anne Shirley (from Anne of Green Gables)
2) Heidi (surely that was a given!)
3) Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March (from Little Women)
4) Pollyanna Whittier (Pollyanna)
5) Katy Carr (from What Katy Did)
6) Christy Huddleson (from Catherine Marshall's "Christy")
7) Mary, Laura and Carrie Ingalls (from the Little House on the Prairie series)
8) Darrell Rivers (from Malory Towers)
9) Mary Lennox (The Secret Garden)
10) Lucy and Susan (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)
11) Lizzie Bennet (Pride and Prejudice)
12) Milly Molly Mandy
13) Scout Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird)
14) Arrietty (The Borrowers)
15) Bobbie (The Railway Children)
16) Pippi Longstocking
17) Mary Poppins
18) Margaret Thursday (Thursday's Child)
19) Francie Nolan (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn)
20) Alice and Edith (Children of the New Forest)

Tweet tweet!

So, I've finally joined the world of Twitter...
Better late than never, hey?
You can follow me @Clarina85

 Happy weekend!

Thankful...

Saw this newspaper clipping on Facebook yesterday and was TOTALLY challenged by it! In our privileged and comparatively wealthy society, we are SO quick to complain, aren't we? It made me think of a little girl I have taught this year who reminded me in a lesson recently,

"I think we should all be a little bit more like Pollyanna, don't you think? She tried to see the good in everything!"

Incidentally, I love that story - definitely one I'll be reading to my girls in a few years time!

So here's a little Friday morning challenge for you... instead of complaining, lets recognise how very blessed we are...

Focus on the family...

Out for the count

In our Bible Study group at the moment, we're working through this brilliant little book called "Gospel-centred Family" by Tim Chester and Ed Moll. Seeing as I missed the last study (I had the poor excuse of being shut up in hospital post C-section), I decided to have a look at it on my own yesterday morning (Dave had taken Ava out for an exciting adventure to the car wash, and Heidi was asleep - you forget HOW MUCH newborns sleep. Seriously, she's awake for a grand total of about 5 hours a day, and 4 of them are spent feeding!)

It's been brilliant to re-assess where we're at in family life. Family is such a funny one; its so very important to so many of us, and yet often we can "do" family with so little forethought, planning or reflection. When I think about the number of lessons I have "reflected" on as a teacher - the lesson plans, the yearly overviews, the assessments, the one to one child reviews, the parents evenings.... it seems crazy that I put so much emphasis on reflecting on the goals, purposes and outcomes of the children I was teaching, and yet so often can be goal-less and purposeless with my own children. All too often, life is so busy, I fail to stop and reflect on what my desires for my children actually are... what it is I want for them in life, what I am doing to proactively encourage certain character traits, or behaviours? All too often, I am so caught up in life, that actually, the things I really desire for my children are not the things that are being prioritized.

What would your child say if you asked them what they thought you wanted most for them in life? Happiness? Educational success? A family of their own? Fame and fortune? Popularity? None of these things are bad, at all. In fact, they are all natural desires of any parent. But what is most important to me, and am I being purposeful in allowing that to be the thing that drives our family life?

This quote really stood out to me...

What do you want for your children? If you want them to be middle-class, prosperous and respectable, then live in a leafy suburb, send them to a good school and keep them away from messed up people. But if you want them to serve Christ in a radical, whole-hearted way, then model that for them in the way you live. That won't necessarily mean moving to the inner city. But it does mean exposing them to costly ministry.

If our heart's desire, as christian parents, is to see our kids passionate about serving the Lord in any and every context, then we have to ask ourselves some tough questions. We do not have the power to convert our children. We should not try and force them into belief - such a faith would only be shallow and fake. Instead, we want to make Christ attractive to them by the way that we live our lives...

Only the Spirit of God can open blind eyes to the truth about Jesus (John 3:3-8) but we can ensure our children realise what matters to us. We can communicate the surpassing value of Christ. We can teach them the importance of serving others. we can model a life lived for the glory of God. And we can pray that God will work in their hearts.

Amen!

Operation Home Alone!

Last night, after the girls were both in bed, Dave and I sat down to create 'The plan'. A bit like a military operation, "the plan" needed to be foolproof, watertight and prepared for any eventuality. It starts operating on Thursday...

It's the 'Mama Home Alone' plan, and its gonna be fun and games! Throw in the added complication that I am unable to lift my eldest daughter for the next 5 weeks (into highchair, cot, up stairs etc) and you might begin to understand why such a military style operation is necessary.

We identified equipment needed, potential 'hotspots' and 1 year old training necessary...

Ava has been in training to climb the stairs herself and get in and out of her highchair. Tomorrow, 'Operation Cot Entry and Exit' will be put into practice! Of course, all of this is reliant upon her cooperation... Could be fun when a certain young lady decides she doesn't really WANT a nap!

I think I could be in for a rude awakening!!

Anyone got any top tips for managing two children under two!?! Comments and suggestions VERY welcome!