friday fun

What a difference one day can make.

Normally Ayla has nursery over 3 days tue - thur. This year I will be taking her to assembly. It is only for 30min or so, but we have the whole morning routine to do for an extra day.

Is it worth it? Yes, I think so. It means that she has structure for another day. It means that we don't waste half the day lounging about. (It also means no long lie for mummy, ugh!)

As I sit here writing this post, I realise that although it is only a half hour event it impacts on the whole day. We have done more today than normal, albeit with crazy girlie hair. I am also more tired than normal for a Friday evening. Oh well, a long bath for Toots and then hopefully bed for us both.

Have a great weekend everyone xx

Facebook or blog?

I have an iPhone so I can upload photos straight to Facebook. No hunting for cables to download onto my computer first.

There is much more immediate feedback with the like/comment functionality. Instant gratification keeps me going. Often blog posts will be read but if no one comments is it really a conversation or just an internal dialogue?

More of my friends are on Facebook, and they get alerts to new content immediately. It can actually keep me in touch with friends on a daily basis, where you wouldn't necessarily send a text or make a call.

Some of the groups that I belong to on Facebook as specific support groups for Edwards Syndrome. I tend to post a lot in there because there is a mutual sharing of information and support. I read those threads regularly for the same reason.

Other groups are specific to scrapbooking, so you can have those conversations with people that understand your (addictive) hobby and are of the same ilk. In the UK it's not a hobby with as many interested in it as cardmaking might be. There is a cross over in skill set and product used, but they are 2 distinct activities.

All that said, I still try to update my blog. It is a space where I can ramble on about my thoughts, observations and feelings. Its not just a tagline against a photo, or answering a question. So for me, there is a purpose and a place for both Facebook and blogging.

Do you have a preference?

my ideal day

If  I were to choose where to go, what to do, it would be a day of two halves.

I would enjoy a morning crafting. I love scrapbooking and I enjoy card making too. It is partly a release and partly an addiction. I'm not even going to start thinking about how much stash I have, or how much I spent on it. I did mention it was an addiction!

The rest of my day would be spent going somewhere with Ayla. Somewhere we could enjoy together. Probably to the beach if it was a really warm day.

Now that's not to say that we would be anywhere near the water, but sitting up on the dunes or on the headland watching the water and having a roll about on the blanket would be ideal.

What would your ideal day look like?

trying to resume a more regular service

Its hard. It takes time, something I don't always have enough of. How am I going to manage a more regular routine?

Over on www.braveloveblog.com she has come up with a strategy. She's calling it blogtember. Her first prompt is about introducing yourself. If I'm honest it feels kind of weird introducing myself a few years into my blogging adventure. So I got to thinking, am I a different person now to who I was when I first started blogging?

Eh, most definitely. I'm a mum.

I've done all the personality tests. I know who I was, when I worked in HR. But who am I now? Mostly I'm Ayla's mum. My life revolves around her needs, which are complex and pretty full on most of the time. It doesn't leave much time for other stuff. I'm OK with that. I love being her mum, for however long she stays with us. She has Edwards Syndrome, trisomy 18. She is my little miracle, who is redefining the classification of 'not compatible with life'.

You might think that classifying myself primarily as her mum means that I am belittling myself. Actually, I think I've grown and become much more than I was before I was her mum. I'm a carer, an educator, her nurse and a whole lot of other roles all rolled into one. I've never felt as important as she makes me feel now.

In the free time that I do have, when she is at nursery, I'm a daughter and a wife and a crafter. I love those roles too, but against being a mum they don't stand a chance! Ha! Isn't that the way it should be? I think so.

Hopefully I'll manage another few posts this month. Have a lovely day xx

4th Birthday

It went so quickly.

First day back at nursery this morning:

You are wearing trousers age 4 but all the other items are age 3. We felt that it was easier to have you in trousers this year, to keep you tidy and managing you between chairs etc.









Gran and Aunt Sandra came to visit and we had cake. Aunty babs and the boys came later on.

You got lots of presents: lay-z-spa; scoot; clothes; chiffon scarves; shoes; hamma beads; beach towels; balloons; sensory balls; name picture; rattles, toys and money. You are so loved, and so very spoiled by everyone.

This year a lot of your presents were wrapped in tissue paper so you could rip it apart with a little help. You seemed to enjoy that.






It was a lovely day and we got to spend it with you enjoying yourself.

We made it through our first 7 week summer holiday

At the end of June I worried how I was ever going to survive having Ayla home all summer. 7 weeks! I made a resolution that every week we would do at least one thing, or go one place, or see one new landmark. It was a bold statement, but a promise that I made to myself and to Ayla.

We actually made 11

1. The Kelpies - Helix Park 
2. Istanbul Palace in Edinburgh
3. Falkirk Wheel
4. Play & Chat at Plus Stirling
5. Butterfly Farm in Edinburgh
6. 5 sisters zoo in west lothian
7. Cockenzie House - Falco's secret garden restuarant
8. Rosslyn Chapel
9. Linda's new house in penicuik
10. Pittencrieff Park
11. Aberdour - silver sands beach

I am so very pleased that I managed to take her out and about. Some of these places I had never been to either. There are more photos of each of the locations, but i think they might be in my SLR.

 pittencrieff park peacocks

Rosslyn Chapel

 Drinking my cappuccino in Ocean Terminal

One of the Kelpies

oh dearie me....2015 is running away with us

I can hardly believe that it has been 6 months since I have posted.

May 2015 - a trip to Turkey to see Ayla's Turkish Granny.

We also got to paddle in the Aegean Sea

April - Ayla got to roll her boiled egg down the hill for Easter. She also wore lovely bunny ears

March - met Uncle Apo, comic relief at Rachel House and had first hot tub of the year after playing on the swing with her cousins

February - after hospital at the beginning of feb we had an evening meeting all of mum's cousins

January - bundled you up warm after spending after spending the 1st of 2015 and the next 2 weeks in hospital. Still at least you met Elsa and Olaf!