"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. "

Ive written so many posts about the things we get up to, the places we go, and the things we create but I haven't actually written about the one thing that takes up my evenings when the boys are tucked up in bed.  Writing the blog has taken up a lot of my evening time over the years. I'd never really been the sort of person that committed to anything but that all Changed when I became a dad and my life was turned around for the better. Being a dad is the greatest thing that has ever happened in my life, my defining moment, and when the boys are awake my time is completely devoted to them and the blog really helps me with this. It keeps me motivated to be constantly doing things with them and making sure that they get the attention they deserve. 

I can see how easily it could be as a parent to just sit on your bum and let the kids get on with whatever they want to be doing but that's not the way I could ever be. I have unfortunately had a bad relationship with my own family over the years and I never want my boys to feel how I have. We may not have a house that is immaculate all the time, the list of DIY jobs keep mounting up and maybe we cant always afford to go on holiday when we want but I know that the boys go to sleep and wake up happy and as a dad that shows me that I am doing a great job.

I started the blog for the boys, we play a lot and I wanted them to be able to look back on this and see all of the fun that we had and are still always having. At first it was all about our Lego builds and the crazy craft activities that we come up with. As the years have gone by though it has turned into so much more, its something for all of us to look back on including friends, family and all of the regular readers that are following me on this amazing adventure of being a dad. I feel so lucky to have the boys in my life they will never know how much they have bettered me as a person and the fact that I can look back on the pages I have written is amazing as I know that time can never be taken away from me.

Even if there are negative things going on my life, things that are getting me down, I know that as soon as I sit down at my computer to write for that time it all goes away. I try not to write anything negative on here, after all the blog is a celebration of everything family, It's about colour, fun and creativity. Its a way for me to come across as I am meant to be seen with out the outside negative influences of my childhood creeping in.

What I'm trying to say amongst all the waffle is that the writing really means a lot to me and hopefully it will to the boys when they are older and understand it all. It's been an interesting journey, not all good, but the three of us have really grown together and we've got each other through a whole mess of heartache. I'm looking forward to another year of documenting our adventures and watching the boys grow into proper little gents. Being a dad us truly amazing.

Opeie, I need you to be the Ant-Man.

Sometimes i feel so sorry for the boys. If like us, as a parent you are completely smitten by your children there is a good chance you are continuously shoving a camera in front of their faces. Add in to the equation that i am a dad blogger and you can imagine how much the camera comes out. I am terrible for all the 'go and stand over there' and 'pull this face', especially when i am writing our LEGO posts and more creative reviews.

I should know better, I would hate having a camera pushed in front of me but most of the time the boys just go with the flow. Sadly though, sometimes they are not in the mood and one of them cracks. A few days ago was one of those times. The day Opeie started to shrink!.... and wasn't very happy about it.

"Maybe this is exactly where I am supposed to be right now. Maybe this, right now, is making me a better person."

Well i finally took myself out of my comfort zone and attended a blog event on my own (which until now has been unheard of). No Mrs M bigging me up to people and no adorable boys breaking the ice with their awesomeness. Last week i was invited by Netflix to the launch party for Orange is the new Black season 3 in London and after battling with my insecurities i decided to just bite the bullet and go. I know that probably sounds a little crazy but I've not really been away from Opeie since he came along and that on its own was almost enough to keep me home but i know i need to do these things and of course, i love the show.

The 4 hour drive there was fine and after 45 minutes driving around Waterloo i managed to find somewhere to park, It was time to party. I was so nervous about walking in but luckily i was greeted at the door when my name was heard, having an obscure name always works out well for me because people never seem to forget it.

The venue was kitted out like Litchfield penitentiary with some of Litchfields finest inmates in orange jump suits handing out drinks and canapes. Before i could get in though i needed a mugshot. I was probably the hairiest inmate in there.

Thankfully as expected my phone did all the hard work of breaking the ice for me and within minutes of being in the place people were snapping away, phew! I know hiding behind a chunk of LEGO seems insane but without this in your face accessory i find initiating conversation difficult.

That said though this event really helped me to come out of myself a little and when all the photos had stopped and people had moved on i found myself standing on my own. 'Cue phone call from Mrs M' Who always knows what to say to me to give me that little bit of extra confidence. She believes in and promotes what i do so much more than i do. After the phone call i just walked up to the two friendliest people i could find and said hi (and clearly i am a great judge of character). AK (My Buggy Junction) and Lauren (Mummy is a Gadget Geek) turned out to be the best of company and really made my long journey down to London.

After chatting and finding out about each others blogs we got to watch the first two episodes of OITNB season 3 before tbeing aired the following night. I was late to the Orange is the new black party and was introduced to the show by my friend Chris when series two came out. I was hooked by the first episode and me and Mrs M ploughed through both seasons so it was really exciting to now be a part of the UK launch party.

Being at the event and watching the episodes seemed to fly by and before i knew it it was time for me to make the lengthy drive back to Shropshire. Being out of my comfort zone really paid off, i had a great time and i felt privileged to be a part of it. Most importantly it made me realise that there are other great bloggers out there to chat too and maybe being the blogging hermit that i am a lot of the time isn't always the best way to be so thanks girls.

Orange is the New Black series 3 is showing on Netflix now and although i am only 4 episodes in i know this is going to be another great series. Put your feet up and go and watch some great TV.

P.S I couldnt wait to get back to this little cutie!

"The motto of chivalry is also the motto of wisdom; to serve all, but love only one."

 

I had a great email a few nights back that really made my evening. Gifts from the Pirates has been included in the Top 100 Male blogs over at chivalrous.co.uk . Its always nice to get emails like this and know that the blog is getting some unexpected recognition. I love writing and its so easy to stay motivated when you are writing about something you are so passionate about.

Thanks Bob, it's nice to know who our fans are every now and again.

“When you're in a Slump, you're not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.”

Sometimes in life and I'm sure it happens to pretty much everyone, you go through a rough patch. Maybe everything is getting on top of you, you've had to make a life changing decision, Lost a close family member or friend. Whatever it is that's going on its nice to know that you have people out there looking out for you. Its lovely to know that Mrs M, the boys and M's family are there for me and i will never take that for granted. Sometimes though people you have only known for a short time do the most amazing kind things.

We had had a really awful few weeks,  it was just one bad thing after another being thrown at us and it had got to the point where we were wondering 'whats next?' 'How could things get any worse?'. We're really positive people and i like to think we work hard at making our own good fortune but sometimes things are out of your control and things can very quickly get on top of you.

Last Sunday, early morning there was a knock at the door and i thought 'great whats this now?' as i said loads has been going on and it was causing me to be a little pessimistic in regards to daily situations, no body knocks our door on a Sunday morning unexpectedly. I opened the door and there stood a courier holding a package. Couriers don't generally come on Sundays so that was a surprise in itself, i signed for the package and said goodbye. As i turned to close the door i opened the package and stood silent for a minute before saying 'what?' in a loudish voice. Mrs M, Clearly feeling as pessimistic as i, called through the house 'Oh no, what is it?' I walked into the room smiling from ear to ear. Mrs M repeated 'what is it?' in a slightly more abrupt voice so i handed her the package.

Now I'm not going to tell you what was in that package (sorry), I'm not even going to mention who it was from (but i know you will read this so again thank you.), the important part of the story is the sentiment. The package was from another blogging family. A kind and caring group of people that we already felt lucky to call friends before this event. It seems that they had been thinking about us and the unfortunate list of things that had happened to us over the previous weeks and wanted to let us know this in a very thoughtful way. When speaking to them to say thank you they explained that they too had been in a similar situation once and someone had done something similar for them and they felt they wanted to share it with us.

I would usually be quite clear about the fact i have lost my faith in humanity, let down by my extended family and friends i thought were close. But recently we have been lucky enough to meet a few people who have quickly become our close friends, people we can trust and people we have a lot of time for. This gesture of kindness has had a huge impact on us because it has made us realise even more so that our friends are watching out for us.

Sundays surprise package set something in to motion and since then we've had one piece of good news after another. It seems our life now has a new path, There are big things later in the year to look forward to, and a new company to work with on the blog (which i am really excited about). Its great to know that despite recent events we can start moving forward again with smiles on our faces. I feel so lucky at the moment to have the friends and family that we do and i hope (although i know!) we can be there for them as much as they have been there for us!

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

Earlier in the year we had a great weekend away with another blogging family who had chosen us to go along with them as they had become Centre Parcs bloggers. It was an amazing weekend and because of it we have become great friends with the Beesley family. To read about our weekend Click Here. A week ago The Beesley Buzz published a post about meeting us and i was genuinely touched by the kind words written. A lot of time and effort had obviously gone in to the writing of it and it was so nice to hear that the weekend away meant as much to them as it did to us.

The post was also titled with one of my favourite quotes from the good Doctor. 
Click below to read their lovely post.

"Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” ― Dr. Seuss

 

Thank you Rebecca for your very sweet words, we're really looking forward to seeing you all very soon xx

Our application to become bloggers for Center Parcs 2014

After having such an amazing weekend away (which we will write about tomorrow) we were eager to get home and make our application video to become bloggers for Center Parcs. Whats our favourite thing to do as a family??? well find out here...

New friends and kind words...

I spend so much time writing about the boys, Mrs M, friends and all the nice people that we come in to contact with. These people are important to me and i love writing about the people outside of our family because the boys can look back at the posts and see who played a part in the fun that we have. Until last week i had never read a post written about us/me by someone else and in the space of a week giftsfromthepirates have appeared on two great blogs.

After meeting Em, Annie and Ezra last week, our new friends from snowingindoors.com, Em wrote a lovely post about us and what we got up to. I can see how Seth felt now when we were mentioned on the Batblog. It's so nice to know that we have friends out there that really enjoy knowing us, ill be honest after some of the things i have been through over the last few years i had given up on the idea of making new great friends but it just goes to show there are lovely people out there.

If you would like to read the post and are interested in the adventures of the snowingindoors family then click below...

Literally a Gift From the Pirates

 I love these photos taken by Em...

Then after writing a response to an article i read that upset me, my friend Alice from bigmilkthing wrote a beautiful post pegging me as some sort of parenting Guru, which was really nice. I'm not of course, but who doesn't like reading nice words about themselves. Its spurred us on to collaborate on a post which has the makings of quite a fun post for both Alice and her boys. So again, I'm really thankful for new friends.

The Link below (proud to be  a 'moron') is to Alice's lovely post and if your interested in reading more about the family behind bigmilkthing then be sure to check them out...

Proud to be a "Moron"

Thank you both for such great post's and i look forward to future adventures with you both xxx