Mums the word

Mothering Sunday was a rather chilly affair, but we were determined to celebrate in beautiful Doddington Place Gardens, no matter the weather.

I loved having a special afternoon to explore these magical gardens with four generations of my family. My Grandson had a whale of a time hiding in formal flowerbeds and climbing trees while we explored the grounds and it was lovely to spend time with my own grown-up children in such a beautiful setting; not to mention two of my sisters, a niece, brother-in-law and of course, our own Mum ...who couldn't have been more delighted to have four generations of her extensive family gathered together on Mother's Day!

To the cynics who deride such celebratory days as 'crass commercialism', I say try telling that to a mother who raised five daughters, is a proud Grandmother to ten Grandchildren ranging in age from eleven to thirty six and is also a Great Grandmother to four very lively little 'uns!

Happy Mother's Mum. 

It was lovely to share our special day.

 xxx

:-)

Snow in March, sunshine in April

For the past few weeks, my life has been a busy whirl of Mother's Day, Easter and birthday celebrations, the obligatory Easter Bank Holiday decorating project and of course, daily dog walks.

And on those dog walks, we have experienced every kind of weather from snow in early March, through to glorious Spring sunshine today!

Snow in March ...

Spring sunshine in April!

There's rarely a dull moment when it comes to the British weather as it never seems to hand around long enough to bore; although I must admit, I am tired of the endless swampy mud puddles and longing for dry earth to walk on!

We celebrated my son's 33rd birthday yesterday and my daughter's 35th birthday three weeks ago. My goodness, I know it's a cliché, but where on earth does the time go?! It only seems yesterday I was holding each of them in my arms for the very first time. I loved being a young mum and will always have a deep nostalgia for those happy days, but I am so proud of the adults my two have become ... independent, well respected, hard working and loyal, they quietly go about their daily business with good grace and a twinkle in their eyes their Granddad would have mirrored in his own, had he still been with us. 

Happy Birthday you two. 

Much love to you both, always.

Your Mum xxx

Mother's Day

I not afraid to say, I absolutely love Mother's Day! 

Whilst others may complain of its crass commercialism, I delight in the opportunity to spend time with my children, both of whom now live independently. I love the gentle fuss of Mothering Sunday of course, who wouldn't? (!) but most of all, I just love having my kids back home with me for a few very precious hours, laughing, joking, teasing me and making sure I know that grown-up as they now are, they will always care. Yes, they do that other days too, but the point is, they never fail to do it on Mother's Day.

I loved our time together strolling along the riverbank and sipping hot chocolate with marshmallows in the Spring sunshine yesterday afternoon.

Thank you so much kids, for always making the time to be with me.

Love you loads,

Mum xxx

:-)

The best medicine

I almost had to cancel my Mother's Day after being knocked for six by a nasty sickness bug last week, but the thought of postponing my family made me sad, so I wobbled on and by the afternoon, felt strong enough to receive visitors.  Without wishing to sound contrived, chatting over a cuppa with my kids and future son-in-law, had a genuinely medicinal effect ... I felt so much better for spending time with them!

It was so lovely to be made a fuss of but the best Mother's Day gift of all and definitely my best medicine, was sharing time together.

Thank you so much for your love, thoughtfulness and time.

You kids are my world.

Mum xxx

Mothering on Sunday

It was Mothering Sunday here in the UK yesterday and my sister Fiona and I were delighted to spend the afternoon celebrating with our families.

Mother's Day at Doddington with our families

A big thank you to this lovely bunch for caring enough to travel from their respective homes on a freezing cold afternoon to share Mother's Day with us at Doddington Place Gardens.  We loved having you all together in these beautiful gardens and were especially delighted to celebrate our special day with Leah and Hannah, our two newest mummies.

Mother's Day selfie with my kids, their partners and if you look carefully, 

you'll spy my little grandson!

I think it's only when your kids finally leave home for good, you really discover the true essence of the work you have done raising them. Watching them fly your nest is tougher than any mum can ever foresee, but helping them leave to build their own families, knowing they will be confidently independent, is the best reward of all for the years of hard work as a mum.

My sister with her daughters and granddaughter

Mother's Day may be heavily commercial these days, but that really doesn't matter.  I don't believe the heart of this special day is purely for children to show mums they love them, it is also the perfect opportunity for we mums to let our kids know that no matter how old, or independent they are, we will always be there for them.

So to our kids and their lovely 'other halves', we wish you a very Happy Mother's Day. Thank you all so much for taking time out to show us how much you care.  

We couldn't be more proud of you all ...

With our love always.

Your Mums.

 xxx

Mother's Day, butterflies, daffodils.

It was Mother's Day here  in the UK yesterday, a day to set aside and celebrate Mums everywhere.  A day of special cards, Spring flowers and in my case, butterflies and as is traditional, daffodils too ... thanks kids xxx

It was a day to set aside and share with Mum,

... a day to remember Mums who are no longer with us ...

Our Gran holding Mum in the early 1940's

... a day to let our own Mum know just how special she is ...

Mum

... and of course, a day to share chocolate and cakes!

Mum with me and my younger sister Fiona, in the early 60's

Mum's five girls

... a day for happy family memories ...

Me with my daughter in 1983

...  a day to think about the next generation ...

With my son in the late 80's

... a day to know how much we are loved ...

Mum's ten grandchildren

... and a day to celebrate our future generations!

Maintaining a time honoured mother son tradition

 ... thanks son x

Wishing Mums everywhere a Happy Mother's Day!

Sunshine days.

T'was Mothering Sunday here in the UK yesterday and as my poor Mum has been a bit under the weather lately, I popped over to see her in the afternoon, armed with posh chocs, some pretty Spring flowers and a couple of bottles of Lucozade as a 'pick-me-up'. We sat in the conservatory, drinking coffee and eating chocolate biscuits while we nattered about life, the universe and of course, my newest tiddly sized niece, who happened to be visiting with her mummy and big sister. Needless to say, I couldn't resist another Auntie cuddle.

In fact, through the family grapevine, I recently discovered that quite a few of my family pop quietly in to read 'Bearing All' from time to time (I had no idea!) and Mum is one of them, so if you're out there Mum, I hope you're feeling better by the time you read this post!

Of course, as a Mum myself, I too was treated to a burst of sunshine yellow flowers and lovely girlie pamper products. Both my son and daughter gave cards designed to make me smile and as you can see below, my son's card was very apt! It was nice to feel appreciated yesterday, but all in all, I feel pretty lucky all year round because of course, I am Mum to the best kids in the world.

Earlier today, I took a photo of the apple blossom tree which grows right outside my bedroom window; it won't be long before those buds turn into zillions of tiny flowers, filling my window with blossom, pretty as a bridal bouquet! I have a little pot of ornamental daffodils blooming on the patio too ... oooh, I do love Spring flowers and it will be tulip time soon!

This burst of Springtime yellow is tugging at my creativity, so today I'm going to fling open the window in my workroom and invite the sunshine to stream through. Then I'm going to finish this little fellow because it's about time I gave that cute knitted vest a bear to wear!