"True love is selfless. It is prepared to sacrifice."

A few days back I was looking through one of our external hard drives and I found a folder of photos I hadn't seen for quite some time. As I scrolled through the pictures i started to feel a little sad when I came across pictures of the custom Raleigh choppers that me and Mrs M had before Opeie arrived on the scene. As Mrs M was so ill during the pregnancy I left uni and my job to take care of her and Seth, it was the start of my 'stay at home dad adventure' that I've been on since. 

There wasn't really much chance of us getting out on them and we knew the extra cash would really help so we sold them. I'm kicking myself now as they would have been great to give the boys when they are older. Sacrifices need to be made though when you make that decision to become a parent.

That sad feeling soon passed though when I continued to scroll through the pictures and came to this little cutie. We do make sacrifices for our children but the return you get from their adorable faces, addictive smiles and 'daddy I love you' comments means far more in comparison.

With that in mind though, he's no longer this size so I am thinking of two new custom bikes, a Raleigh chopper and it's little vintage counterpart the tomahawk, Watch this space.

"If your stomach disputes you, lie down and pacify it with cool thoughts."

Being a parent to two boys it's crazy how sometimes the little daily tasks that you do can become a big issue. Today I was reminded that I take these things for granted, take having a pooh for example. I don't mean to be so blunt but it paints a picture. Laura was working in London today and me and the boys went to Madam Tussauds and then spent some time adventuring on the tube. We popped back at lunch time to meet Mrs M and grab some suitable food for Mr Allergy as she was at a vegan show.

Mrs M queued for almost an hour for the food and when it arrived i wasn't sure what it was and Mrs M looked as confused as i was as she took her first bite. It was repulsive! (I'm kicking myself now for not taking a photo), Seth enjoyed what he had which was lucky but i was really hungry, it was healthy and so I just ate it anyway. Mrs M found it so horrible that she got our money back, go Mrs M. After lunch (if that's what you can call it) Mrs M went back to work and we hopped on a train to continue our adventuring. This was when some very odd noises began emanating from my stomach, uh oh.

Within 20 minutes I was in agony and would have been doubled up had it not been for the fact that Opeie was sitting on my knee while I also held the pushchair against the Side of my chair with my foot. The train was packed and honestly I feared the worse (a complete loss of my bodily functions). Thankfully we made it off the train accident free. 

Have you ever tried to squeeze into a public toilet cubicle with two children with a really upset stomach? No? me neither and today wasn't going to be my first attempt. I'm sure there are many parents out there that have done it but I like privacy during this very private time and I didn't need two spectators that would have been practically on top of me taking it all in. That sort of image could stay with them forever. It was touch and go for the next hour, jumping from train to tube to train, carrying a pushchair up and down the stairs and making sure the boys were okay but we made it through. In the end we found a slanted ramp like wall and we sat there chatting until the pain had passed. It's amazing the things you sacrifice sometimes as a parent (not that the boys would ever know) and it made me realise how much I take Mrs M being there for granted sometimes.

Sacrifices were made and it was a lucky escape but maybe I won't be so fortunate next time.