Eats plants
Welcome 2023 and happy hogmanay! Yesterday was a crazily busy day. It started early with cake-baking for Elizabeth's birthday. She turned 13 and I finally got to hand over the ant colony which is thankfully still alive. She is still pondering a name for the Queen and her empire. I made a chocolate cake which… Continue reading Elizabeth’s 13th birthday and a Hogmanay ceilidh
It's Elizabeth's 13th birthday this week so we'll officially have two teenagers in the house soon. She's been asking for an ant colony for months and months now so we finally caved and that's what she's getting for her birthday. Expecting delays with the postal strikes and public holidays I ordered it last week but… Continue reading Ant colony
Yesterday my Hövding helmet deployed the airbag and I wasn't even on my bike at the time. The Hövding is an airbag helmet. You wear it around your neck and in the event of an accident while cycling, it deploys an airbag around your head. It's got much higher shock-absorbing ability than a plastic helmet… Continue reading Hövding deployed, a birthday and a BBQ
It's Daniel's 15th birthday today. It's hard to believe I've now been a mother for 15 years. It seems like such a long time but then it has also been the best years of my life and seems to get better and better with each year. Daniel was a very cute baby; born 3 days… Continue reading Happy 15th birthday to Daniel
It's Hogmanay and Elizabeth's birthday today. The years tick by and although there are big global events - like the pandemic - we still go through all the same motions each year. Elizabeth is 12 and had a lovely celebration at home with two of her school friends. Elizabeth was such a cute little baby.… Continue reading Hogmanay and Elizabeth’s 12th birthday
It was my birthday yesterday. I'm 46 and edging ever closer to half a century. But I'm in great health, indeed I feel healthier than I've ever been, and happier than I've ever been. I just got the results of my annual (although it has been two years now) blood tests this week and everything… Continue reading Another year, another birthday
It's Victoria's 1st birthday today. At least we think it is. She was born on or around the 26th April 2020. Here's a little video of her having her fur brushed which she loves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vTnQV3BgbU It has been more than a week since I posted anything which is unusual for me. Things are looking up… Continue reading Happy birthday to Victoria, open again, and a successful competition
If you're looking for something funny to watch this New Year's Eve then might I suggest this 15-minute British comedy sketch filmed in 1963 which will have you laughing out loud. It's played annually on New Year's Eve in many European countries and is widely known throughout northern Europe except, oddly, in the UK where… Continue reading A happy birthday, happy Hogmanay, and Dinner for One
I'm 45 today. If I'm lucky enough to live to 90 then I have lived half my life. I hope I'm still riding my bike at 90. You're only as old as you feel or, as Groucho Marx once said, "You're only as old as the woman you feel". I heard another quote recently that… Continue reading Half my life
Daniel turned 13 this week. They say it gets hard again when kids become teenagers. We've been enjoying the golden years with both kids between the ages of 6 and 13. They're reasonably independent in this age bracket and all the sleepless nights and nappy changing is behind you. You're also still a big influence… Continue reading We have a teenager in the house
My boy turned 12 yesterday. Where did the time go? He came into the world listening to his mother swear like all babies did prior to the word "epidural" entering the lexicon. It wasn't my choice not to have pain relief. He was just too quick and we were living in a third world country… Continue reading Happy birthday, Daniel
Ben's mother is staying with us and it was her birthday yesterday so we went to Foodstory for dinner. Foodstory is hands down the best cafe/restaurant in Aberdeen. Daniel's plate of chilli was huge. But it disappeared very quickly. He's only 11 and very skinny. I'm not sure how he can be so skinny yet… Continue reading Foodstory
Elizabeth is 8 today and to celebrate her big day she's put together a list of activities for us to do: We found it interesting that she put "open presents" as one of the last things to do today. She has opened a couple of present already this morning but all the rest she's chosen… Continue reading Birthday activity list and happy Hogmanay!
Yesterday I did everything in my power to kill myself accidentally. It's fortunate I survived because today is my birthday and I'm now the meaning of life, 42. I'm a bit of a goody two-shoes but this is only because I don't like getting into trouble. This makes it doubly painful when I do the… Continue reading Goodbye goody two-shoes
A conversation at school this morning. Elizabeth (to her friend): It's my mum's birthday today and she's 41. Elizabeth's friend: Wow, my mum's heaps younger than your mum but your mum looks heaps younger than my mum. The best birthday present ever 🙂 I had a nice day today. I did one of my favourite things which… Continue reading The best birthday ever
It's my birthday on Friday and so I decided to buy myself a surprise birthday present: a pair of vegan Dr. Martens. I've never owned a pair of Dr. Martens before but used to lust after them as a 19-year-old. Now that I'm no longer a broke university student and can afford to buy a pair… Continue reading Vegan Dr. Martens
9 years ago today I became a mother. Daniel's birth was very quick and hideously painful. I did not get any pain relief for his birth because although I asked for an epidural, there was no anaesthetist available at the hospital in Christchurch to administer one. It was ghastly. But now he has grown into a… Continue reading Stirling
I turned 40 yesterday; I'm officially middle-aged. I didn't do anything exciting other than eat almost an entire box of chocolates. I didn't even feel sick and I'm unlikely to put on weight because a) I'm vegan and b) I've got Busby. The interesting thing about Busby is that there's a positive correlation between my age and the amount… Continue reading I ate a box of chocolates yesterday
I'm turning 40 next month. If anyone wants to send me a present I like flowers and chocolate. The gym I signed up with for the purposes of teaching my kids how to swim offered to do a free MOT so I thought I'd do it given that I'm about to pass the threshold into… Continue reading Turning 40
I started this blog because of the Christchurch earthquakes but many women start blogs as a way to record images of their children. My blog has certainly morphed into that over the years but there's nothing of my children from before the earthquakes. I realised this yesterday when I went searching for a baby photo… Continue reading Baby photos
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