"Sit on the toilet, here he comes Squeeze and tween your festive buns!"

We hadn't even reached December when Opeie decided that he knew exactly what he wanted to get Mrs M for Christmas. I love it when the boys are really passionate about something and for Opeie, Knowing how frequently Mrs M uses emoji's (especially this one), this gift was going to show his beautiful doting mom exactly how he feels about her....

I think it complimented the reindeer shaped washing up brush he also chose nicely.

I hope you all had an amazing day.

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

We've spent years trying to get Opeie to favour one toy in hope that he will have a little buddy that he takes everywhere. I've always thought it was cute when a child has a companion  that must go everywhere with them. I had kind of hoped it would have been the cat in the hat toy we got in Florida a couple of years ago or his Paddington bear but sadly no. Opeie has however found himself a sidekick thanks to an unexpected gift from nanny and grandad.

Rose the cat came into our lives about 5 weeks ago and since her arrival she has been everywhere with opeie, keeping him company and meeting his friends. It's 3am at the moment and I've just been in to check on him and as expected, Scrunched up tight in his arms is Rose.

A couple of days ago Opeie informed us that yesterday was Rose's birthday and he wanted to buy her a present. So while we were seeing friends yesterday afternoon we popped to the shops in search of a gift for Opeie's beloved cat. 

Yesterday we made her a party hat, sang happy birthday to her and gave her a special birthday dinner. She even got to go out on a long scooter ride with us which Opeie loved, she was shattered after though and fell asleep on Opeie's helmet, to cute!

I think Rose is here to stay, with all the toys that the boys have its great to see that Opeie has become attached to one that is clearly more important than any of the others.

"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.

"Tea, though ridiculed by those who are naturally coarse in their nervous sensibilities will always be the favorite beverage of the intellectual."

One of the last things i thought i would hear when picking Mrs M up from work is ' One of the girls has bought you a present', exciting! It seems that our friend Kelsie has been brushing up on her Gifts from the Pirates adventures and has been reading all about our Fox hunt. I was so chuffed when i opened the bag to find a dapper looking fox staring back at me, monocle and all. This is the first fox item bought for us and it is much appreciated.

Within 10 minutes of walking through the door the gentleman fox had been washed out and was full of tea. A good old cup of tea just cant be beaten and drinking from my new mug made it all that more enjoyable. Thanks Kelsie that was really kind of you and a lovely surprise.

The Gifts from the pirates fox hunt returns very soon for part 4!

“If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands.”

Seth hasn't been with us for the last week, he's been away. Obviously we really missed him so today knowing that he was coming home we were all really excited, Opeie especially (he's been asking for his big brother every day). After all the big hugs and kisses Seth was desperate to give Opeie something he had got him while away, a selection of super hero ducks. It was so sweet how excited he was to give his little brother his gift and Opeie was really happy when he saw them. I love that they are so close it's so important and knowing that Seth was thinking about him while away makes me so happy. They've been joined at the hip this morning, Opeie's going to be even more excited when he realises that Seth doesn't have to be in school for a while.

Roll on the summer holiday and some amazing adventures with my favourite people.