This weekend

This weekend wasn’t great. It’s as simple as that. A baby who doesn’t stop for one second, a grumpy seven year old and a stiff neck do not a happy mum make. There were some good moments but, mostly, I’m glad it’s over because weekends like this one are exhausting. Here are the few shots I remembered to take for posterity’s sake:

When I tell you that we have a baby who NEVER STOPS, I mean it. I’m still trying to figure out who this little girl is. Here she is attacking her sister.

I won’t bore you with the details of my weekend trying to keep an eye on two girls who seem to have boundless energy, but this is Maia’s depiction of a particular episode on Saturday which saw Maia trying to stop Robin from eating muesli off the floor while I shouted “NO!” and tried to sweep it out of the way before she reached it.

This little girl gave me a hard time these past few days. I hate to admit it, but we are so similar in character that we often clash. I do love her to bits, though.

One of the bones of contention was this pair of shoes. We both loved them but couldn’t find the right size for her growing feet. Thankfully, we settled the matter after HOURS of arguing and lots of tears.

We had long faces all Friday and Saturday.

Then came the Eurovision Song Contest and our woes faded into insignificance. I mean, really, if that show isn’t the best medicine for the grumps, then I don’t know what is.

Yesterday was a different story. We went to the larger island for a very special friend’s First Holy Communion. It was a very VERY tiring day, but a good one.

This little girl was a very happy one, which made the rest of us very happy too.

And things only got better when a girl came up to her on the ferry back home and offered to paint her face. She couldn’t believe her luck!

How about you? How was your weekend?

Let’s start over

How’s the weekend going your end? Mine hasn’t been that rosy so far but I’m going to take a deep breath, count to ten and start afresh.

Until we meet again, HERE’S A LINK to the post I wrote this week for the Sunday Circle. It’s a subject I feel very strongly about and would love to hear from you about how you dealt or are dealing with this problem.

This heart hangs in our kitchen and it always surprises me how much its sight cheers me up.

Have a happy weekend and, to those of you in America, a happy Memorial Day!

READ THIS NOW…YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!

Whoever knows me or has read my blog for some time will know that I have a handful of friends who happen to be gay. I love them. They’re the kindest, funniest and most honest people I know. One of them just drew my attention to a bill against homophobia which is being voted on in the European Parliament within the next couple of hours. Great, you will say. It is!

The only problem is that for every person willing to live and let live, there are others who make it their business to judge and make other people’s life a misery, simply because they feel that everyone should fit in a pigeonhole and conform to what they have been taught is ‘the norm’. That is why I’m urging you to SIGN THIS PETITION AS SOON AS YOU CAN (like, NOW!) so that we can let the MEPs voting know that the majority of the people are not close-minded bigots wanting to deny homosexuals legal rights just because they don’t fit into their pigeonhole.

A welcome surprise

I don’t know about you, but I love surprises.

So, yesterday, the husband and I grabbed a bag of balloons and went to my sister’s house just as they landed on the larger island. We blew as many balloons as our lungs would allow us to and hid upstairs. Hearing Miki exclaim “WOW!” as she walked in and saw them was priceless. Seeing how well she is doing is also pretty amazing.

All photos are from my Instagram feed (islandfairy). Please do not use without my permission.

Miki and Rose

Last night I wrote about how sharing personal information on social networks can backfire and land you in trouble. However, there is another side to the miracle that is the internet. It’s hard to put into words how overwhelming it was for our family to know how many of you were praying for and thinking about Miki last week. Your love was felt, not least by my sister and her husband. One day, little Miki will be old enough to read the loving messages that were sent for her and she will know just how special she is.

And, believe me, special doesn’t even begin to cover it. She’s an amazing human being. Her strength and resilience amaze me. She was born with a perfectly functioning pair of ears. She used to hear and had started to talk and then tragedy struck. And yet, she’s always smiling. Her overbrushed little teeth are permanently on show. She’s one of a kind.

Her surgery went very well and she’s recovering brilliantly. She’s very proud to be getting her second ear soon (switch-on is on Robin’s first birthday!) and is already firm friends with Rose, who was waiting for her when she resurfaced from the anaesthetic.

Today we’ll be welcoming them back home and we just can’t wait!

Of real life trolls

There are days which are harder than others. That’s a fact. Today was one of those days and on days like today, it’s these little moments that keep me going:

One of the things that upset me today was being ‘told off’ by Maia’s teacher. Those of you who follow me on Facebook know what I’m talking about. I don’t wish to go into the matter here too, but what happened made me think really hard about the internet and social media in particular.

I’m a self-confessed addict to Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and, obviously, blogging. I also use Facebook on a daily basis, mostly because it’s the only way I can keep up with most of my friends and family who live on the larger island or abroad. If you are a regular reader, you’ll know that I am very open and honest about my personal life and experiences. I don’t sugar-coat my past or whatever feelings I would be going through. If there are things I don’t want to share with anyone but my husband and closest friends, then that’s what I do. I don’t write about every single thing I think of, struggle with or go through. I do, however, share more than most people would feel comfortable with and I do so knowing that I might be judged or ridiculed and I’m fine with that.

What I am not fine with is people who call themselves my friends using information I would have shared online to hurt me or others. That I cannot accept. So, from now on, I’ll be more careful whom to befriend and whom to mention in my writing, but hell will have to freeze over before I stop writing whatever I want, whenever I want to.

I found this finger puppet under the sofa the other day. I dedicate this photo to all the backstabbers out there. May karma bite your arse back.

 

All photos are from my Instagram feed (islandfairy). Please do not use them without my permission.

The sweet month of May

I meant to share this photo with you a couple of weeks ago but forgot about it. It doesn’t top April, but it’s still a sweet picture.

In case it’s not clear, this is Maia’s rendering of a beach hut. And, as you can see, she still has issues with the letters b and d occasionally.

For all those who asked about my niece’s surgery, it went great and she’s recovering very well! I have to find the time to write more about it but I’m afraid it will have to wait. Meanwhile, I’m sending you all a big hug of thanks for your prayers and sweet thoughts. The whole family felt your love and, one day, Miki will get to feel it too.

Have a fantastic weekend!

A funny feeling and a funny baby

A funny feeling I’ve had in my throat turned out to be a full-blown pharyngitis. So I’m forced not to talk (to the relief of many, I’m sure), am having antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicine. I’ve never been so grateful for drugs. Had this darned (extremely) sore throat struck a couple of weeks ago, I’d have been forced to stick it out with the only help of paracetamol, which has proved useless in this case. Now that I’m not breastfeeding any longer (gosh, that was painful to write!), I can drug myself silly if I like.

Speaking of medicines, my mind is in Manchester right now. I’ve been feeling very absent-minded today, all out of sorts. Nothing new, you say. True, but today I am particularly bad. I just realised, after seeing a photo on Facebook posted by my sister, that the reason is Miki. In less than 24 hours, her operation will start. It’s a very delicate procedure, not without potentially catastrophic side-effects. While these are rare, and Miki has already undergone this surgery before, I cannot help but worry. This is why I ask you, again, to spare a few moments to pray for her or send her positive thoughts. I’m sure she’ll be fine, but still…

This photo was taken a couple of years ago, but it’s still one of my favourites.

Meanwhile, Robin is keeping me on my toes. She’s also keeping me smiling. I dare you not to smile at this chubby face:

This weekend

Aaand it’s Monday again.

How was your weekend, friends?

Ours was good. There’s always room for improvement, like having the husband with us all the time, but that’s not very realistic. Even so, our weekend was full of good moments and even though I didn’t get to sleep in or have breakfast made for me yesterday, I got to spend Mother’s Day with the two girls who made me a mum which is more than I could ever wish for. On days like yesterday, I can’t help but think of all the women out there struggling with infertility and all those mums who have been through the worst possible pain, that of losing their child. So being able to hug my daughters, take care of them and kiss them goodnight feels like a luxury I’m grateful for.

Here goes this weekend’s photofest:

We had lunch by the seaside on Friday. Robin LOVES ice cream but I feel guilty when I allow her to have sugary treats, so I’ve been compromising by giving her the biscuit that comes with it. She doesn’t complain.

Maia couldn’t wait to give me her Mother’s Day card so she did so as soon as she was out of school on Friday. This is the poem she wrote at the back of it. Honestly, where did her teacher get the letter O from?!

Saturday morning was spent mostly playing at home. Robin managed to get some climbing practice thrown in. I cannot lose sight of her for fear of finding her perched on a table or cupboard. Here she’s climbing on her poor sister.

We also took Maia to yet another ballet lesson. We waited mostly in the car, where I got sunburnt by the rays coming in through my window! Robin was sweaty but happy guzzling her water.

And eating her take-away lunch.

Saturday night we left the kids at home with our best friends and went to a wedding. The location was stunning, food was excellent and we laughed till we cried. It was good.

Yesterday was the first time Robin wore short sleeves this summer (because summer is most definitely here already). I couldn’t get over her chubby wrists! My heart melts!

We spent the afternoon playing games with cousins, best friends and godfathers who are the BEST entertainers outside Cirque du Soleil.

We caught up with best friends while counting down the days till summer holidays start and we can start living in each other’s pockets.

We spent a lot of time cuddling babies and catching up with cousins.

Especially this pretty cousin who leaves today for her next big adventure. We miss her already and can’t wait to have her back next week.

And, all the while, this little girl was either climbing some more…

…perfecting the headstand with her dad…

…or making the acquaintance of a purple dinosaur.

One of my favourite moments was coming upon this note that Maia wrote about the spinning top my parents gave her. She hasn’t quite mastered the technique of spinning it, but she obviously liked the gift.

Friday love

Can you believe it’s Friday again? What are your plans for the weekend?

We’ve got a wedding to go to (sans kids!), ballet lessons and workshops to rush to and friends to catch up with. I also have a lot of reading to do, children permitting.

For those of you on Instagram, I’ll be posting throughout the weekend. You can find me under islandfairy. I hope to ‘meet’ more of you over there too! I’m pretty addicted to it, much to my husband’s amusement (I used to be the one telling him to get his cameras out of our faces…now I’m the one brandishing a camera or mobile phone every three minutes).

This is us during our first dance at our wedding. It has nothing to do with this post but lately I’ve found myself thinking a lot about that day, especially this moment right here.

Meanwhile, I’ll leave you with a link to the post I wrote for Sunday Circle this week. Speaking of which, how has becoming parents affected your relationship with your partner? I’d love to read about your experiences.