Tuesday 19 March 2024

World Book Day // Better Late than Never!


A little late to the party, but didn't want to let our first World Book Day with Annika pass us by without documenting it - I also LOVED the kids costume choices this year! They chose well!

I was on the ball for a change! Usually our costumes are thrown together a bit last minute as all my creative attention has been on Heidi's parties, but this year we had her party a little earlier, and the kids came up with their ideas well in advance, so for once, I was actually on it!

This year we had...

Emma Woodhouse, from Jane Austen's "Emma"

Ava is a massive Austen fan, and when I knew that was who she wanted to go as, I reached out to our wonderful friend Carrie who does a lot of Regency reenactment in the hope she might have something that fit her. She didn't, but in usual Carrie style said "leave it with me". A couple of days later she was round at ours with a dress she had picked up in a charity shop, measuring Ava up to adjust it. And lo and behold Ava's costume was born! I actually loved it when she was in the full outdoor garb too (see the top picture!)


Nymphadora Tonks from JK Rowling's "Harry Potter"

Such a fun dress up for Heidi this year - my sister's leather jacket, some hair chalks from Amazon, a pair of boots from the charity shop and some extra accessories from Temu. Dave and I commented that Heidi scarily really suited the "rock chic" look!! Oh dear...!

We've used hair chalks a number of times and they're brilliant if you have kids with lighter coloured hair...  it just washes straight out afterwards!

Asterix and Obelix 

The boys decided to double act this year, and it was so much fun! Jonas is usually really up for a good dress up; Elias is a little more self-conscious... but this year they totally went for it, and though Elias had a little wobble right before, he totally embraced it and went into school happy as larry (or should I say Obelix!?)

I used some fabulous "viking" helmets that my wonderfully creative friend Emelie made a few years ago. For Jonas, I cut the "feathers" out of card and sewed them in place. For Elias, I made two thick plaits with orange wool and sewed them into his helmet. Jonas wore red joggers and a black t-shirt and I threw together his belt and made his sword out of toilet rolls and his potion (which you can see in the pic below!) with an old sellotape roll, a milk bottle lid and a glue gun! Elias wore pyjama bottoms for Obelix and a white t-shirt with a small cushion stuffed up it!

They both looked fab!

and last but not least...

Cottontail from Beatrix Potter's "Peter Rabbit"

Little Annika - our last minute thrown together "Cottontail" looked super cute and was able to join in with the fun!

All the costumes (bar Heidi's boots which decided to lose half their sole on the way home!) survived the day, and everyone came home with big smiles on their faces, full of plans for next year's costumes already.

Oh help!


Monday 18 March 2024

Life round ours // A Weekend Documented

A few years ago, there was a blogging photo project that I took part in every month called the #homelifeproject - I've assumed its disappeared now, as much of the blogging world has evolved and changed and moved itself onto other platforms, but on Friday afternoon, as the children were going about their different after school activities, I remembered it and the joy of documenting the ordinary, very small, insignificant scenes that are actually the moments that make a life.

I miss that.

And so I decided to document again. Just this weekend, to pick up my camera a bit more and not ask for poses or highlights - but just document the every day ordinary...

FRIDAY

Saturday 16 March 2024

Heidi's Escape Room Party - The Circus Medrano Challenge!

Time is flying by at force at the moment, and its hard to believe that two weeks have already passed since Heidi's 11th birthday party! It was such a fun one though, and while I've been a bit lax sharing the birthday parties in recent years, I didn't want to miss this one!

Thursday 14 March 2024

Whatever the Weather // On Sleeping Scandi Style!

 

In Norway, with very little exception, babies sleep outside in nature. It's a beautiful tradition which has stood the test of time, and which I first adopted on our first trip to Norway as parents back in 2011, when Ava was just nine weeks old.  I was a new Mama... still in the overwhelmed stage but definitely out of the initial "shock to the system - life is changed forever" phase. I was eager to learn and very aware of my own cluelessness and was desperate to do a "good job". I read every book I could get my hands on, devoured motherhood blogs and podcasts and soaked in conversations with more seasoned mothers than myself.

So when I rocked up in Norway, and friends and family began encouraging me with all the benefits of outdoor napping, I bundled my 9 week old baby up, laid her in her pram, put the raincover over her and parked her outside the kitchen window in the drizzle!

Tuesday 12 March 2024

One Week Ago // On Accidents and Thankfulness

It's only once in a while that you stop and realise that so much of life's direction depends upon a single moment - one decision, one miscalculation, one split-second can send you down a route you never expected. When Ava and I logged onto her parents evening last Tuesday, and David had still not returned, I simply assumed he was running late. It was only when the repeat calls started coming through from a number I did not recognise that I began to wonder...

"Claire, its me... I've been in an accident"

Monday 11 March 2024

Annika + Beth // A story of names


It feels like such a responsibility, doesn't it? The choosing of a name... the responsibility of bestowing on your child something they will carry with them throughout their years. We have always wanted names heavy with meaning and purpose, beautiful and strong, names which work across the three languages that flow from our children's tongues. Scandinavian and Germanic influences, and yet names known and appreciated in the country of their birth.

Monday 4 March 2024

Dear Heidi - you're 11!


Dear Heidi,

HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY! Hard to believe our two biggest girls are now well into double digits. How the years fly! It makes me more determined than ever to make the most of every minute. Having Annika now, and dressing her in some of your clothes, it feels like those days were yesterday - and yet a lifetime ago. Time is a funny thing.