Five Today

2006

My sweet little girl turned five today.

Happy Birthday Lily,

we love you very much!

2011

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Checking in

I've totally neglected my poor blog during our recent bout of illness! Mark is slowly on the mend, though he still gets very tired and breathless. He is signed off work until next week and I just hope he is well enough to go back when Tuesday rolls around. He has been very unwell and I think it is going to take some time for him to get his strength back. The Podlings are all well again and though I am still suffering from a raging sore throat and a cough, things are slowly returning to normal. I am colossally behind on the housework and laundry and, since a certain little lady is turning five this week, I also have a birthday to organise. All this to say that I'm afraid the blog is likely to remain quiet for a few more days. By way of catch up, I will leave you with some photos I took of Lily and Spencer from when she was Star of the Week a couple of weeks ago.

We've been growing some vegetables from seed this year. Lily is proudly showing off the peppers we had just potted on.

Lily and Spencer at a local ball pool on an afternoon out with her Nanna and Grandad

Lily at her Star of the Week tea party which we held the night before Spencer had to go back to school.

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All quiet on the blogging front

You've probably noticed it's been a bit quiet on the blog for a couple of weeks. I'm afraid blogging has had to take rather a back seat lately. Mark is currently signed off from work with pneumonia, so he is not a well man. In addition, Tom and Lily were home from school ill almost all of last week and they seem to have been rather generous with their germs as I now also have a cold. Emma has been enjoying good health, so I also have an inquisitive, active toddler to contend with. Poorly children mean busy days and sleepless nights, so this mummy hasn't had a lot of energy left for taking photos and blogging (I'm not whining, just giving a reason for my absence)!

Hopefully normal blogging will resume when life takes on some semblance of normality again!
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Bluebells at the bottom of the garden

Mark and I spent an evening late last spring planting some bluebell bulbs in the garden. We both love this pretty little flower and Mark has a particular fondness for them as they remind him of his native Sussex. Our gardening efforts have been rewarded this year by a modest little patch of bluebells under the trees at the bottom of our garden. We hope that we will see a few more every year until we have our own carpet of blue to look forward to every Spring.

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How to keep your toddler amused...

...let her have at the saucepan cupboard!

Here's how Emma amused herself the other day whilst I put the weekly shop away. She diligently spread the entire contents of my saucepan cupboard all over my kitchen floor! I also keep my potatoes in this cupboard, so she was in the process of sharing these out amongst the saucepans when I snapped this picture. Little pickle!
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