"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

It only seems like 5 minutes ago since my last birthday but its been a whole year and this year like every other Birthday (I was woken up by 2 excited little boys). Seth had woken Mrs M up at 5am and from the sound of it forced her out of bed to blow up balloons, when I was woken against my will at 6:15 she looked shattered but the boys were eager to give me gifts and make a fuss of me (i love being a dad).

I think someone must have let slip at some point that I was a slight fan of LEGO as all of my lovely gifts were LEGO themed. The boys as always had made me some lovely cards, Opeie had drawn lego heads and Seth had drawn a lovely selection of mustaches, delightful. 

It was clear that Mrs M needed some more sleep so I took the boys downstairs and while the boys played I put my feet up and had a mooch through the new LEGO book they had bought me.

After a pretty eventful week I didn't really feel up to doing all that much and when Mrs M finally came down after catching some extra Z's it was obvious she felt the same. We had a great morning playing and taking it easy and I was rewarded for my lazyness with tasty chocolate cake with a light show.

We didn't want to be stuck in all day so we asked our friend Tabiitha what she was up to and we all went out for a scoot/ walk around a local lake. We all had a great time at the park although Mrs M looked a little embarrassed by my playground antics and I got a few disproving looks! Its my birthday man and I was having fun. Opeie told her she was boring and to go home (the boys got my back). It's probably a good job she doesn't see what we get up to while shes at work.

The afternoon soon came to a close and on the way home we stopped off at the supermarket and Mrs M attempted to get me a sneaky bottle of wine for a relaxing evening. She returned looking a little miffed and explained that she had been asked for ID and didn't have anything so they wouldn't serve her to which i said "I bet they would have served you if I was with you" Seth then piped up from the back seat and informed me that she would have still got served because I look like her dad!! great way to end another year of getting older, thanks Seth.

"Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did."

I am always so positive on the blog as my writing is for Seth and Opeie to read in the future. Its easy to stay positive when you have two extremely well behaved boys, who are happy most of the time and have impeccable manners. Sadly though no family is perfect and every now and again those sunshine rays of happiness are over cast my big dark clouds (if only for a few hours).

Ive probably made that sound so much worse than it actually was but at the time i wasn't a happy boy. Opeie's sleep has been all over the place recently and a few nights back he kept me awake for all but an hour and a half. It was a nightmare and the knock on effect for the following day was awful. which wasn't a great set up for the following night where i finally got him (and myself) down properly at 5am only to be woken up at 6am by a him, full of beans and ready to play.

I cant really describe how i was feeling that day, if you had have asked me in person you would have most likely received a mix of slurred words that didn't make much sense, it really knocked me for six. I decided that morning that enough was enough and he needed to be worn out in preparation for the following night. 

Physically i didn't think i had it in me, but i decided a walk up the Wrekin would do us both the world of good, crazy i know but it was for the greater good and all that. So i packed a bag with a picnic and water, gloves and hats and we headed out. On the way Opeie almost pushed me over the edge, i knew it was going to be freezing at the top so i packed Mrs M's (crazy expensive) ear muffs, which Opeie has worn many times This day though while in his hands in the back of the car i hear a SNAP! while driving a long. He didn't do it intentionally but i was already feeling crappy and now that had turned to furiosness (spell check says that's not a word haha).

On the way up Opeie shouted "CROCODILE!!!!" when we saw a tree trunk that looked like a crocodiles mouth...

... Followed by "Daddy the hills look like mommies boobies!!!" at this point i was starting to cheer up a little.

The fresh air was clearly doing us both the world of good. Considering Opeie didn't go on my shoulders once and tackled the whole thing on his own we shot up and back down in no time at all. We did attempt to have that picnic at the top but i think that was just wishful thinking, red freezing hands and being slapped about by the wind, soon stopped us in our tracks and we ate back at the car.

I'm so glad that these days don't happen very often, in fact it was actually the first time i have felt like that with the boys, it's amazing how bad a little sleep deprivation can make you feel. I'd love to be able to say that a walk up and down the Wrekin sorted Opeie out and that night was a breeze, but that would be a lie!!! I have no idea whats up with his sleep routine at the moment but i am hoping that it'll pass swiftly. Until then... YAWWWWWWWNNNNN!!!!!

“Young cat! If you keep Your eyes open enough, Oh, the stuff you will learn! The most wonderful stuff!”

The boys are bookoholics which i love, when Opeie is feeling tired at home and wants to relax he will usually request 'books and bed', this is one of my favourite times of the day. If you are a regular reader then you will know that Dr. Seuss makes an appearance at our house daily.  Today when Opeie requested 'books and bed' i realised just how much Opeie takes in when he is being read to.  This is just part of the reading session we had. While reading a Dora the explorer book Opeie started reading on his own and i had to stop him and get it on camera...

"Raising children is an uncertain thing; success is reached only after a life of battle and worry."

This time last year i was about to write a post about our Halloween celebrations, We had brought tickets to go to Blists Hill and Mrs M made me up to look like a zombie. Well almost a year has passed and i find myself feeling exactly how i looked that night, like a zombie. Opeie has had some major dietry issues over the years that have made him poorly but hes never actually had an illness, well that was until last night.

For such a laid back guy it's amazing how quickly I went in to stress mode. Maybe it's a stomach bug, maybe something he ate but our little boy was being continuously sick last night and I couldn't bear to go to sleep as I was stressing he was going to throw up in the  night and choke so I stayed up. He must have woke up 20+ times and looked so uncomfortable the poor thing, I could have cried. When your feeling poorly yourself it's terrible but when it's your child the stress and worry is far much worse than that. I managed to catch a few hours at 6am but I don't feel much better for it. Opeie seems a little better this morning but I think it's going to be a long day. Plenty of cuddles and 'The Cat in the Hat' for us I think.