"Instead of hate, celebrate."

Day 2:

 I'd like to think that what is happening in the world at the moment will make people take a step back and look at how they have been acting towards people in their lives. As heartbreaking as this situation is it could also be a turning point for fixing those relationships that don't need to be volatile.

It's also important to really make the most of days like mothers day to celebrate and remind us that although dark, its not all bad.

Happy Mothers day all.

"The most important educational vehicle in all life is a parent figure."

I love mothers day, probably more than Mrs M's birthday, but then shes the kind of person that stresses about getting older so that may be why. Mothers day and fathers day have been huge for me since having the boys as they are a celebration of parenting, the thing that is most important to me. Becoming a dad changed everything for me and having children makes everything so much more amazing. They are hard work at times and demand a lot of attention, so I have always made it very clear how important it is to say thank you to mommy for everything she does for us.

The boys don't need any prompting when it comes to this time of year, when the words 'Mothers Day' are mentioned they spring in to action. What can we make her? can we buy her something nice? To be fair though, being such caring thoughtful children they are like that all year round, always wanting to put a smile on Mrs M's face (and i know how they feel).

After waking mommy up and presenting her with lovely cards we asked her what she wanted to do and she told us she fancied a walk up Carding Mill Valley, so we wrapped up and headed towards our mothers day celebration. I think as soon as she opened the car door she instantly regretted her decision as it was freezing. But we ventured up the valley and it was a lovely way to spend the special Sunday morning.

After an hour or so we we all craving a hot drink so we headed to the cafe and Mrs M made a bee line for her table, situated right next to the log fire. So we all sweated having our lunch before heading home for an afternoon of family time together.

We're so lucky to have Mrs M looking after us and it was great getting to spend some quality time with her considering she has had so much work on recently. 

To all my mom friends out there...

I hope all you moms out there had an amazing Mother's Day.

For me, every day is like fathers day.

Fathers day is my favourite time of year, not because i crave the attention, i get all the daddy attention i need every day, but because its a day that celebrates everything i hold dearest to me. Being a dad has completely changed my perspective on life and it is bettering me as a person more and more as the days go by. After craving children for so many years it so lovely to feel like I'm exactly where i am supposed to be now. it is lovely also to wake up to Opeie though waving a card he has made and shouting 'happy daddies day'.

This year Opeie's card was me if i was an Octonaut.

The card was brought to me in a box made of Duplo that lasted about 20 seconds before crumbling before my eyes, bless his wobbly hands. And a special gift inside a Custom Lego box which also put a big smile on my face especially when Mrs M informed me that it took her an hour and a half to make. 

I feel like the luckiest guy on the plane, I hope all you dads out there had an amazing fathers day.

"As far as I'm concerned, there's no job more important on the planet than being a mom."

I love Mother's Day, I love being able to celebrate Mrs M and all the amazing things she does. She always puts us first and always makes it so clear how much she loves us I feel so lucky to have her in my life and I would never take that for granted. Although sometimes she can feel a little pushed out when were doing our boy thing I know that if there's ever even a slight mention of cuddles the boys are all her, I completely understand though, I'm quite partial to a bit of her affection myself.

Mother's Day is a great way for the boys to make a fuss of mommy and despite us celebrating Opeie's birthday yesterday too he must have said 'happy mothers day' at least 50 times. They really do love their mom. Mother's Day preparation started around a week a go and although our house is full of craft stuff the boys were excited to see a new box of craft items for our little creative session.

Me and Opeie had used the bits to make mommy an I love you card a week ago to so we've made good use of it. we made her a sheep out of buttons, combining two of her loves, sheep and textile related things.

The boys wanted to make a Mother's Day card each and I also made one too because I wanted her to know just how much I appreciate her as a mom. I really couldn't ask for a better mother for our two boys she is a truly amazing woman. So production started and the boys were loving anything with a sticky back. I decided to use some pages from a Dr. Seuss book and hand sewed some buttons on. In keeping with Dr. Seuss Seth made a Truffula tree on his card which was very cute.

Cards made and gifts wrapped we hid them away and waited patiently for the mommy celebration to begin. 

As expected Mrs M was all smiles and couldn't get enough of her little boys yesterday. It's so lovely to be reminded every day just how much me and boys clearly mean to her as she truly is the most important person to us and we would do anything we can to make sure she is as happy as can be.

Happy Mother's Day Mrs M we are all so smitten by you xxx

"To the patient, any operation is momentous."

No matter how many times people say "when you have children time flies by" it doesn't prepare you for how fast it actually is. Tomorrow Opeie turns three and I really can't believe how quickly that time has gone by. I can happily say though that we have crammed in many adventures along the way and I think he has a great life.

Sadly though there won't be any celebrations tomorrow as the lovely people of the NHS had given us 11 days notice of an operation that Seth needs which has unfortunately landed on Opeie's big day. It seems like we're having to postpone it for a few weeks until we have the time to celebrate it the way we want. I know it can't be helped and at 3 he doesn't really understand but I'm still feeling a little guilty about it but under the circumstances Seth is our main priority.

Seths been going through a roller coaster of emotions which has taken it's toll on him and he's exhausted, the poor thing, but hopefully the op will go by issue free and he'll be back home to relax with us. It's a shame that things like this have spoiled our plans, we had planned a weekend in Brighton and lots of fun for the boys but when you have children sometimes you just need to put things into perspective. Doesn't make it easier that Seth was crying last night saying he had ruined Opeie's birthday, he really does take the wait of the world on his shoulders.

You may not hear from me for a few days but I hope you all have an amazing weekend.

"Feeling hungry? Time to eat. Finish off with something sweet!"

Yesterday the sun was out and was desperately trying to warm the place up, it looked lovely from our lounge window. Seth wasn't with us yesterday which always makes Opeie a little blue so we decided to try and make the most of the sunshine and get out and do something. Opeie was still feeling a bit off but we had had a quiet day in for his birthday. After cleaning the house we jumped in the car and headed up to see our friend Chris.

It was lunch time when we arrived so we picked Chris up and went for Lunch at TGI's, Opeie was asleep when we picked up Chris, so he was very excited when he woke up and saw his playmate sitting next to him. Chris and Michelle had kindly brought Opeie some birthday and Easter presents and after the excitement of opening gifts yesterday he was eager to get in to them.

The food as always was lush but the company made it so much better, we love spending time with Chris it was just a shame that Michelle was unwell and didn't join us. Opeie managed to eat a little too which after the food protest he's had over the last few days was a good sign.

After lunch, a potter round the shops and almost driving the wrong way up a one way street we headed back to Chris' for a cuppa and a chat before heading off home with a grumpy and very tired Opeie. It was a great 2nd 2nd birthday and today we will be celebrating his 3rd 2nd birthday with family. Thanks Chris for a lovely afternoon it's always great catching up with you.