A Little Relaxing And A Year Older

Well it wasn't quite the start to the summer holidays that I had planned! On the first day of the holidays I came down with a throat infection, which completely knocked me for six, and it soon become apparent that the only thing I could do was to wait for the antibiotics to work and in the meantime rest. Now rest especially bed rest doesn't come easy to me, I normally try and carry on regardless. But once I got over the guilty feeling of lying in bed in the day, and leaving my OH to entertain three very lively kids, I soon realised it was a chance to do a bit of reading.

My birthday is exactly a week after my eldest so it's easy for it to get a little over looked. I did my usual of ordering myself a present on behalf of the others in the house! I've been excited about this book 'My Heart Wanders'  ever since I read about it in the first issue of Mollie Makes. It is a gorgeous book, and soon my thoughts turned to living on a house boat in Amsterdam. The only tiny thing that I think is a shame is how dark the photos are. They certainly set the scene but leave you wishing you could see more. Now I must quickly say that after I had unwrapped my book another present appeared and inside was this lovely Orla Kiely mug. I've been wanting to start collecting them for ages so this was a real treat and I think my OH has made a very good choice!

Then just when I thought my birthday surprise couldn't get any better a third present appeared and inside was this stunning Oral Kiely  storage jar. Well let's just say I spent the day feeling very spoilt! What with such gorgeous presents and a little fabric shopping and a lovely lunch at Cowslip Workshops it was one of the best birthdays for a long time! And then just to top it off I decided to spend my birthday money I had been sent (thanks mum and dad) on an Orla Kiely composter.

I just love the fact that something so practical can be so stylish. And it now takes pride of place in our kitchen.  So now I seem to have crept into my mid-thirties how did that happen, and how did my little boy suddenly turn 6? His growing up really does feel like it has crept up on us and then shouted boo! And I'll admit that I spent a few days leading up to #1's birthday feeling pretty low and depressed. Purely for the fact that 6 sounds old and he really now has become a boy. He has gained independence and a life of his own out of our family unit with school and at times I feel like I just want to hug him so hard and keep him all too myself . So I really had to work hard to get excited about his birthday which I know sounds terrible. But then it happened.

We had celebrated his birthday on the Sunday even though it was really on the Monday. So after school on the Monday afternoon we asked him what he would like to do and gave him options like going to the park. His choice was to go up onto the moors and after a paddle in a stream we set off on a hike up one of the Tors and it was at this point that I realised that his growing up was very exciting indeed. For a year ago a walk on the Moors would have been met with a 'no', but now, now my big boy wants to run and jump, explore and climb. He wants to get to the top of the hill first and generally does, he can sit and admire the view and begin to understand the beauty in his surroundings. He has really matured in the last 12 months and in doing so has become a very caring and sensitive soul. A little stubborn at times and still unsure of new things but he has become a lego crazed boy and I'm looking forward to doing a hell of a lot more exploring with him, for I now realise that him becoming 6 has opened up a whole new chapter in our lives, which is something to be celebrated and for that reason and a million overs I love him dearly.