new home - 2 weeks to go

Shedding Skin

We are on the move and loving it.  We are packing for our new house, getting rid of mountains of stuff, clearing cupboards, emptying draws and breathing fresh air into our hearts.  The kids are sooo into looking through older photos, baby books and are both very happy to pass on outgrown toys etc to friends which makes us feel great.

Lately so much negative energy has been heading my way from people I trusted and I now know that my family unit is so much stronger without certain stressful influences, it really is time to let go and enjoy life.

School Holidays are nearing an end and the children are packing bags to visit England with Daddy leaving me 'solo' to move house, we think this will work well, fingers crossed Im not being too optmistic.  Lately we have crammed in culture including the following:

Days out with Grandma to Lucca, Poggibonsi, Castellina in Chianti, Colle Val Delsa.  We have had many wondeful Italian icecreams, trips to gardens and museums, A day at the beach at Castiglione Della Pescaia we bought fish and had a BBQ.  I have even managed to make jam...twice.  TT has been to circus school 'on horseback' and the boy is off to train with the Newcastle Falcons this month to brush up his beloved Rugby Skills.  The Man took the boy to the golf driving range and we have been so lucky to enjoy many days at the pool near Siena.  AA and I went to see Duran Duran and stayed in a youth hostel which was fab.  All in all its been hectic and my temper has not been in check so from now on I hope to:

Breathe more
Sleep
Cycle
Dog Walk (our crazy Clifford size puppy and his Mummy)
Make Christmas presents
Read
Nurture myself and others
Boost my confidence
Spend Time with good Friends
Look at the view
Nest a little in our new home

Of course all of these things will have to gently mould themselves around my work but I will try and find that elusive balance.

For now some pictures of the summer so far, my heart breaks at how much I love these wonderful bright intuitive and creative children and their long suffering Babbo xxx

Reflections

For the first time in months I am a little calmer, I have felt overwhelmed and exhausted and close to breaking point lately. With huge work comittments and issues within the family, stressed and fragile children and health worries at times I simply havent had time or energy to shower or tidy the house.  Everything felt like it was sliding away or piling on top of me, but I think I am finally turning a corner.  For years, actually forever I have felt that I am failing, not working hard enough, not being a good wife, not being home enough, being horribly unorginised, always late and messy, not being intune with my kids, too chubby, too pale and pink, simply not living up to what I thought I should be.  But things are changing, I have to change as I am so tired emotionally and physically that I simply must be kinder to myself.  So in a kind of moving on cycle I feel that I am letting go of some of my hangups and I am literally clearing out our lives from the bottom up.  We hope so much that we have finally found a new house, one nearer school, nearer the boys Rugby, on a beautiful hilltop overlooking the forest.  We hope to have orgnised a new school for the boy, one that will encourage and help him succeed.  Our wolf size puppy has had the snip and is calming slowly, my wonderful children are just amazingly creative, patient and nourish my soul, the vegis are growing and sometimes we have enough water to share some with them, we have a new car which is giving freedom.  We have had some wonderful visits from friends and Grandma comes soon too but for now in order to be the Mummy and woman by family deserve I intend to.....

Read More
Breathe Deeply
Walk the Dogs everyday
Make more jam and soups
Plan for simple homemade Christmas
Nurture my Soul
Enjoy Music
Cutout the booze, caffiene and meat
Smell the Roses
Enjoy a long soak (new house has only showers)
Start decluttering and Packing and looking through old pics
Meditate and Yoga every morning
Repeat my affirmations
Be kind to myself
Learn to love who I am now
Soak up the summer
Let go of the things and people that cause me sadness
Laugh more and more x

four layer gluten free chocolate tower inspired by Roald Dahl

Twirling and dreaming

windy day in Firenze on the Ponte Vecchio

My wonderful son's Rugby blog is back

Rugby Geeks: BEEN AWAY FOR TOO LONG, READY TO BLOG!!!.

So proud of my boy who is battling hard at school and has so little time to relax.  Finally school is coming to an end for summer tomorrow and we all get more time together.  He has rekindled his Rugby blog, would love him to have more followers so please share with any other sport mad 12 year olds xx

Easter pics

 Craft, Fresh Air, Chocolate Gazing, Gardening and more...

Lovely relaxed Easter weekend.

best friends

Our journey with animals has been a long and lovely one, yes we have suffered the losses too but a lifetime of companionship is worth the pain.  Our most recent animal family members are Zoe and her son LB (Little Bear).  Zoe is a Boxer mix and was handed in to kennels 3 says off giving birth to 7 boy puppies.  We brought her to our home with her boys 6 weeks ago and finally on Saturday the last puppy was rehomed to a family in Prato.  We loved having a troop of mini boxers but it was pretty tiring for everyone.  So now we are just us again, Zoe and LB are now our dogs and I just have to change over the documents for her finally.  The love Zoe gives us is truly immense and we are so lucky to have her and of course LB who at 3 months is a pickle yet calm and happy.  Now I have to go and pick up poo and try and make the garden look less like a warzone as these fantastic new dogs are skilled in the fine art of mining for jewels and our garden is booby trapped with holes and trenches... Ah what fun x

 

April Antics

Already we are in April, how I don’t know.  So much has been happening and the time is literally flying past in front of our eyes.  In the last few weeks we have had the usual ups and downs plus a few worries.  TT with bronchitis, antibiotics, steroids then a trip to hospital after accidentally taking the dog’s medicine. Yep, bad mother award heading my way!  The bottles really did look the same, honestly.  We have had a lovely start to summer with Grandma staying with us from England.  The girl was so lucky to have her Nonna here when she was poorly as she managed to spend time curled up on the sofa under a duvet learning Sudoku, being taught how to do crosswords, enjoying puzzle books galore, watching old films, listening to music and relaxing with the puppies.

Grandma also showed us how to French Knit and inspired me to continue knitting again.  Knitting hates me, it tangles me up and messes with my brain, I so want to be OK at it but really it’s like Algebra to be, logarithms with wool an fact.

We managed to finally re-home Ted the last of the puppies we were fostering so now we can concentrate on Zoe (Mummy) dog and LB (Little Bear), he had his very first walk on the lead today and would only move from the doormat when bribed with biscuits which we had to throw every few feet, he looked very cute out in the big wide world though.

 There’s been Rugby Matches, Trips to Medieval Towns, Picnics, Ice creams, Homemade Hot Cross Buns, Chocolate Cakes, Fruit Bread, Seed Loaves, Organic Wine, Pot Roast, Artisan Cheese bought in the optician (love Italy’s random finds), Gardening, Dog Walks, Lots of Reading, Creating an Easter Table (well windowsill really), painting eggs, making cards, lego, glitter and paints.  A few evenings by the woodburner, phone calls to older relatives, lunch with family, lots of sun kissed views of Tuscany and time to restore and revive. 

In the garden we have:  Asparagus, Tomatoes, Peppers, Aubergines, Mange Tout, Yellow Beans, Green Beans, Peas, Zuchini, Cucumbers, Lettuces, Onions, Leeks, Strawberries, Quince, Pomegranate, Plums, Cherries, Figs, Apples, Walnuts, Peach, Apricots, not to mention Olives.  In the old wooden barrels we have basil, fennel, tarragon, thyme, parsley, purple basil and many more herbs on the way.

Everything is growing thanks to the recent rain but our garden looks like The Somme according to my DH as it has been ransacked by puppies and Zoe Dog who have dug trenches, bunkers, hides and dens and completely annihilated my original herb spiral!

This week I hope to make flapjacks, muffins, soup and even the occasional crumble.  The freezer is well stocked and we have several tubs of delicious rich Chianti fuelled Ragu to have with Polenta, Rice or Pasta.  For now though my thoughts are all about making sure TT gets rid of her cough and being there to help the boy get through his exams at school.  I am consciously trying to be more tolerant, accepting and above all read the signs all around me and hear, really hear what my loved ones have to tell me. x