The Gallery: Extreme close up

 

Poor Bigger. He's very proud to have lost 3 of his baby teeth, but it really doesn't make for the prettiest of photos. In looks almost threatening in this photo - I think it's the nose-wrinkling in an attempt to show off the gummy gaps to the max. There's no sign of any big horse teeth yet, so I can still say he's my baby. Even though he'll be 6 next week. SIX! *weep*

This post is for Week 96 of The Gallery over at lovely Tara's place. The prompt is 'Extreme Close-ups'. Click here to see all the other entries.

On the cusp

 

The sky is blue, the sun is warm(ish) and I feel like spring has finally sprung. We had a glorious weekend, where none of us vomited, nobody had a stonking cold, everybody slept at night and cleared their plates at mealtimes. Simple pleasures.

Afternoon tea and delicate cakes were eaten, the sandpit was cleaned and replenished, an hour of (albeit frustrating) digging occurred on the allotment and I even tidied up one little corner of the garden. New strawberry plants were planted, more seeds were sown and some seedlings even decided to pop up and enjoy the sun with us.

Every year, the seeds I sow take me by surprise. Not because they're a mystery or a lucky dip or anything. But because one, tiny seed is capable of producing new life. All it takes is a bit of warmth, a drop of water and some potting compost and you get new life springing forth with leaves and a complex system of cells that in time will produce fruit or blooms...amazing really.

I love it how they surprise me. I check on them every morning, willing these teeny tiny seeds to germinate and just when I'm starting to lose faith (and patience), there they are! Lovely, fresh, green seedlings. Full of the promise of spring and the potential to be something wonderful, usually to both the eye and the palate. A delight for the senses. All from a tiny seed.

Oh I do love this time of year. Traditionally, it's also a time for big change for us as a family. Babies, house purchases, career changes, all seem to happen for us at this time of year. Exciting times people, exciting times.

Spring!

 

 Time for:

:: hatching new plans

:: watching seeds burst into seedlings

:: making plans

:: thinking ahead

:: new beginnings (hopefully!)

:: picnics in the sunshine

:: running around in the fresh air

:: being more positive

Food on my face

Yesterday I stumbled across a thread on Mumsnet that had me hooked for hours (again). Recent virus woes and work stresses have cause a rather unattractive outbreak of eczema on my face, in particular my eyelids. Nothing seemed to be working, not even smothering my eyelids with vaseline every night in an attempt to rehydrate the tired, fragile skin.

Every night I would remove my make-up, trying to be a gentle as possible. Trying different make-up removers, just water and even baby oil. But the result was always the same. Red, angry eyelids that itched like mad. And of course itching them just inflamed them more until I looked like I'd been repeatedly punched. In both eyes.

But yet again, Mumsnet came to the rescue!

Those lovely mumsnetters yesterday educated me on the mysteries of the Oil Cleanse Method. Basically, you smother a mixture of almond oil (or another oil such as olive oil, sunflower oil etc) and castor oil over your face, give it a good massage and then wipe off with a muslin cloth soaked in hot water.

So, being the sheep that I am, I ran off to the nearest health food shop at lunchtime and purchased the necessary ingredients for this miraculous skin care regimen.

I couldn't wait for bedtime to roll round.

I decanted some of the almond oil into a small spray bottle and mixed it with some of the castor oil (I used two-thirds almond oil to one-third castor oil), scraped my hair into an attractive ponytail and got to work. The oil mixture rapidly dissolved my eye make-up and I swear my skin sighed in delight. I used a quarter of an old (clean) muslin cloth soaked in hot water to remove it and...wow. My skin felt lovely. My eyelids didn't start itching. Not a srcrap of make-up was left on my skin (not that I wear a lot of make-up admittedly, but waterproof mascara can be a bitch to remove sometimes).

This morning, my skin still felt lovely. All the horrid dry, flaky patches around my nose (left over from a streaming cold  at the weekend) had disappeared and the redness across my eyelids had definitely faded.

So I can't wait to see what improvements the next couple of oil cleanse sessions bring! I need to read up on it a bit more as well. In my usual sheep fashion I simply skimmed over the relevant information, filed the basic principles and bashed on. But I have a sneaking suspicion I may have missed a step...I think there should be some steam action to open the pores in there somewhere...hmm.

If you want to read up some more, Crunchy Betty had some great information on her website. I'm almost tempted to try her No 'poo lark as well...
I'll be knitting my own lentils next.

The thing about dreams...

This morning as I was changing Littler's nappy, I had this conversation with Bigger:

Bigger: Mummy, do all your dreams come true?

Me: No, not all of them. Just some of them. Why?

Bigger: Good because I don't want my dreams to come true...

Me: (intrigued) Oh?

Bigger: Because I had a bad dream last night about robbers messing up my lego and we called the police who told the robbers to tidy up the mess but they said no and tidied up the litter instead so my lego was STILL a mess...

Bigger: I don't want that dream to come true mummy...

Me: (didn't know whether to laugh or cry)

The things they say and do!

I'm linking up with the lovely Christine Mosler over at Sticky Fingers...what have your cherubs said this week to make you laugh/cry/scratch your head?

This too shall pass and why I love Mumsnet

 

On Friday afternoon, with everybody healthy and not an antibiotic in sight, we decided to head to the park on the way home from school. It was the first time in weeks that I felt I managed to spend quality time with my boys, focusing just on them without coughing a lung up or wondering when I could take another painkiller.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as idyllic as we'd planned.  Don't get me wrong, it was lovely. There was fresh air, trees to climb, snowdrops to admire and not many tears. But I was really struck by how completely different my boys are at this stage. They may look like peas in a pod and I have to admit there are some baby snaps where I'm not entirely sure which baby I'm looking at. But at 19 months and almost 6 years, they couldn't be more different.

The almost 6 year old is fantastic company at the moment. Proper conversations are had about science, geography, natural history and of course poo (he is a boy after all). He has inherited our love of books and is devouring Famous Five novels, which brings a tear to my eye remembering how I did too but also infuriates my feminist principles (boys have to get more pocket money than girls? Go boil your head Julian).

Then there's the 19 month old. Oh. My. God. Fiercely independent, everything has to be on his terms. Now he's mastered the art of walking, any other mode of transport incites a full on tantrum. Dinner served on the wrong plate? Expect food to meet floor very swiftly. If daddy speaks to him at the wrong time (which could be any time, day or night, at the dinner table or in the bath, it changes daily), the bottom lip is employed and much pouting ensues with the occasional bout of stomping.

It's all a phase, I know it's a phase. But my god it's an exhausting phase. I honestly don't remember it being this bad with Bigger. Maybe time has erased or altered my memory. Maybe it's just because there is such a contrast between the boys and their behaviour just now that Bigger seems even more of an angel compared to the ball of rage and frustration that is Littler.

They only thing that has cheered me up about the whole situation is this classic thread on Mumsnet. Absolutely hilarious in true Mumsnet fashion, it has saved my sanity and reminded me of the Mumsnet mantra "this too shall pass".

Onwards and upwards as they say...